"Much easier than I thought?"
On the space station, the shipgirls finally let out a sigh of relief.
They had been prepared for battle—due to an accident, the entire space station had been teleported here. If it had really come down to a fight, just defending this place would've been troublesome.
"Commander, Commander! Quick, let me take a look at your body—did your development turn out normal?"
Grey shouted toward Setsuna.
"Hmm..."
Setsuna took a deep breath.
He could feel countless streams of new knowledge flooding into his mind.
The intensity of Honkai was tied to the strength of civilization itself. Within the Starsea Empire, the authority of the Herrscher of Finality would display power far beyond imagination.
"Commander, Commander! You can create Herrscher Cores now, right? Give me one! I want to try being a Herrscher too!"
Gudako jumped down, circling excitedly around Setsuna.
"The Herrscher of Reason's is pretty handy—but the Herrscher of Fire or Herrscher of Ice will do too! I want to compare which is stronger, magic or Herrscher powers..."
"If that doesn't work, how about the Herrscher of Corruption? Or just give me a few new authorities, okay? ..."
Thwack—
Setsuna knocked her lightly on the head with a chop.
"You sure know a lot. We'll talk about it later."
"Tsk—"
The embodiment of human evil was still lost in the fantasy of becoming a Herrscher herself.
"Commander, are you sure... returning to Earth like this won't cause problems?"
Cecilia asked worriedly.
"No. I'll bring the power of Finality to the Starsea Empire," Setsuna replied, waving his hand.
"That world is strong enough to contain the energy of Finality."
Originally, Kiana could only stay on the moon to minimize the influence of Finality on Earth, but the Starsea Empire's overall energy level was leagues beyond that of Earth.
Even years ago, during first contact with the Honkai world, Honkai Energy had already been widely utilized.
For others, Honkai was merely a form of energy—a type of power source.
"Wait, then what should we do with the Cocoon of Finality?"
Once it was confirmed there was no danger, the Research Division personnel descended in shuttles, landing beside Setsuna.
They looked up, observing the massive object quietly floating in the starry sky.
"Hey? Hello? Can we link to its signal and hack into it?"
Tesla suddenly thought of the feats of the Previous Era.
Opening her holographic interface, she operated her console for quite some time—but the Cocoon of Finality showed no response.
It no longer interacted with the outside world; even the Honkai Energy it emitted was gradually fading.
"The body of Finality is the Cocoon of Finality. Since the Commander now holds the power of Finality, in theory, the Cocoon and the Commander are one and the same."
After checking the data, Einstein rested her chin on her hand.
"As a control mechanism, its mission is over. Naturally, it can no longer function independently."
"Huh?!"
"Then what do we do with this thing?" Tesla spread her hands.
"I feel like there are still tons of secrets in there! Like—how it was made, how it operates..."
"And it should also hold data about the civilizations it destroyed before—Mars and Venus civilizations, right? We could dig up so much information!"
"Since the station's already here, why don't we just study it on-site?"
The others nodded in agreement.
It was rare to encounter the Cocoon of Finality. Their scientific curiosity burned fiercely; it would feel like a crime not to study it.
"No, this is the deep layer of the Imaginary Space. Our experiments would face unpredictable effects here, and the flow of time is different from outside..."
"Still... the Imaginary Space itself is also an important research subject. I do want to stay for a while..."
Kayo Senju hesitated.
As she did, Setsuna suddenly looked at the Cocoon of Finality, and a bold idea emerged in his mind.
"Why not just take it with us? The Eternal Snowfall has room."
He threw out a teleportation anchor that floated in the void.
[Node 26: Honkai Universe (Imaginary Space)]
[Integrated into Main Node]
Whoosh—
Then, Setsuna unfolded the hull of the Eternal Snowfall.
The Juggernaut manifested from the void, its projection overlapping with the Cocoon of Finality above.
Both were similar in size, though the Juggernaut, counting its armament wings, was slightly wider.
"It won't fit, will it?!"
Grey was stunned.
"Commander, I didn't realize the Cocoon of Finality was this big! The Herrscher Core Drive Module of the Eternal Snowfall can't possibly hold something that size!"
"I know. During this time, I made some small modifications to the hull using the Herrscher of Reason's authority."
Setsuna smiled.
Crack—
The starship began twisting and transforming within the void.
The bridge and weapon wings suddenly extended in strange directions, expanding hundreds of times over.
Under extreme expansion, its shape distorted—the sharp metallic lines softened, and the ship's entire structure merged into one.
In an instant, the Eternal Snowfall became an enormous, incomprehensible mass.
Looking up, it filled nearly half the visible starfield—something that should not exist in three-dimensional space.
"If three-dimensional space can't contain it, just unfold it into higher dimensions. If I recall correctly, the Cocoon of Finality originated from higher dimensions too..."
"I've remodeled the Eternal Snowfall for transdimensional operation. Once we're back, the Sirens can fine-tune it."
Setsuna stepped inside the hull.
His vision expanded—pulled upward into a higher-dimensional view.
"Hmm?"
Unexpectedly, from that higher-dimensional perspective, the Cocoon of Finality's size looked much more reasonable.
He could see the bizarre internal structures within the "cocoon."
Reaching out, he manipulated the force field to pull the Cocoon of Finality into the starship.
Click—
It locked neatly into a reserved slot within the Eternal Snowfall.
Beside it sat the Wisdom Cube and the Allspark—both integral parts of the Eternal Snowfall, and of Setsuna himself.
They provided him with immense energy and countless abilities.
"Hmm..."
A strange power merged into the Eternal Snowfall.
After fusing with the power of Finality, it didn't take much effort for him to embed the Cocoon of Finality into the ship.
The data within the Cocoon was vast—too much for Setsuna to sift through at once. Normally, such things were handled by the Research Division; he'd let them analyze it slowly later.
"Store."
Whoosh—
The starship contracted from higher dimensions back into three-dimensional space, returning to its Juggernaut form.
The Cocoon of Finality that had once floated in the void was now completely gone.
Barely ten minutes had passed.
"Ah..."
"You really stuffed it in there? Along with all the other Herrscher Cores and Cubes?"
Gudako stared in disbelief.
Setsuna nodded.
"You just put everything in there?!"
The embodiment of human evil couldn't help but complain.
"The Imperial flagship contains all things. If it can hold the Wisdom Cube and the Allspark, then what's one more Cocoon of Finality?"
Setsuna smirked.
Swipe—
He opened the holographic interface and scanned through the data.
"Now that the Cocoon of Finality has been dealt with, the Honkai world's crisis is completely resolved."
"Next comes the simple part—wrapping up this civilization's affairs."
"..."
Fu Hua and Griseo watched from the space station as Setsuna and the cheerful researchers moved about, deep in thought.
Unlike the excited little girls or the stunned Cecilia and Tesla, they were thinking of something else.
"Hey, Elysia... didn't you once wish to give future Herrschers a sense of humanity?"
"I once watched you all from the future alongside the Herrscher of Finality... oh, and I even fell in love with him. Your wish came true, more or less."
...
"Whoa, whoa, whoa—so this is the Imaginary Space—!"
"Hiss, I could write two hundred research papers here! Everyone back home will die of envy."
After the Cocoon of Finality was secured, the Honkai scientists and research lolis who had been accidentally teleported here were ecstatic.
Piloting shuttles, they drifted around this endless void.
Normally, only true Herrschers possessed the ability to open a path into the Imaginary Space. As for this deeper layer—the one connected to the Herrscher of Finality—only by possessing the power of Finality could one reach it.
"I feel like I'm touching the truth of the Imaginary Tree and Sea of Quanta cosmology."
Tesla and Einstein furiously typed away at their consoles, running calculations on bizarre new data.
"Where did the Cocoon of Finality come from? Why does it exist here? What is the relationship between the Imaginary Space and the real plane? Is this space infinite in scale..."
"In three-dimensional terms—no, it's higher-dimensional. From here, one could theoretically link to other spaces..."
"Commander, can we study you—and your Cocoon of Finality—please? ..."
The Research Division continued their noisy enthusiasm for quite some time.
"All right, all right," Setsuna clapped his hands, motioning for them to calm down.
"Research can wait. Let's return and finish the rest of our work. Staying here too long won't do us any good."
The researchers were reluctant to leave after exploring the Imaginary Space, but everyone else was bored out of their minds—this place was pure nothingness, and nothing existed here.
"Oh!"
"Then how do we get back? Should the Engineering Division build another Disassembler, reverse the process, and send us back to the Solar System?"
Tesla twirled her hair as she asked.
"No need for that. I'll handle it."
Setsuna signaled for everyone to return to the space station.
Floating in the void, he clenched his fist forward.
A Herrscher Core was the key to connecting with the Imaginary Space. Now that he had fused with the Cocoon of Finality, he was the Imaginary Singularity itself.
He could freely manipulate the connection between this realm and the real plane.
Whoosh—
A rift opened in front of the space station.
"Ohhh, Commander, are you manipulating magnetic fields or something? ..."
"At this rate, maybe one day you could toss an entire planet into the Imaginary Space..."
As the lolis chattered noisily, the space station passed through the rift.
In the blink of an eye—
Boom!
The fortress-like space station descended from the void, reappearing in the Solar System.
Hum...
It trembled slightly as the anti-gravity systems automatically engaged, stabilizing it in orbit near Earth.
Setsuna stepped out of the Imaginary Space and onto the station's floor.
"Whoa..."
Everyone felt a bit dazed.
They had solved the problem of the Cocoon of Finality so quickly that, from their perspective—including the brief research conducted in the Imaginary Space—it had only taken a few days.
Many even wondered if they had just dreamed it all—the greatest threat to the Honkai world, gone so easily.
"Hmm..."
Tesla suddenly remembered something, hurriedly opening her computer to run a scan.
"No issues detected, Commander! Honkai readings in the Solar System are dropping!"
"To be precise, almost all Honkai Energy has gathered within you. From this point on, the Honkai Eruption is over."
After accepting the power of Finality and absorbing the Cocoon, Setsuna had gained supreme control over the permissions governing Honkai.
Earth would still have reactors and engines powered by Honkai Energy, and of course, they might experience malfunctions—just like nuclear or antimatter reactors—but no large-scale Honkai Eruptions would ever occur again.
Nor would new Herrschers be born from Honkai Energy.
"Ah..."
Fu Hua, Cecilia, and the other Valkyries felt as though they were in a dream.
They had imagined countless ways humanity might overcome Honkai—but never had they expected that the solution would come from Setsuna merging with the Cocoon of Finality itself.
"Hmm... From a practical standpoint, Commander, unless you can completely control the Cocoon of Finality's power, I wouldn't recommend going to Earth—or to any of the low-magic vassal worlds, for that matter."
Grey sat cross-legged in her chair, studying the data as she spoke.
"Your energy level is far too high. Earth can't withstand the Honkai energy you carry—if you appear there now, you'd basically be a walking natural disaster."
"Oh, that's fine. The Starsea Empire has Old Gods, shipgirls, and countless divine beings. Honkai power can't cause any trouble there."
Originally, when Kiana inherited the power of Finality, she had to remain on the moon for five to ten years to allow Earth to fully adapt to the Honkai energy.
Setsuna went even further—he stuffed the Cocoon of Finality into the Eternal Snowfall. Now, he had become a hybrid of Finality and the Imaginary Singularity.
If not for his incredibly strong body and exceptional adaptability, who knew what he might've turned into.
"I know. It won't take long."
Setsuna clenched his fist. Since he possessed complete adaptation to Honkai energy, mastering this power wouldn't be difficult.
"Hiss... also, there are about 236 research projects that require your assistance..."
Whoosh—
Grey sent a massive stack of applications to Setsuna.
They included studies on the Cocoon of Finality, analyses of Herrscher authorities, exploration of the Imaginary Space, and more...
The list of applicants was extensive—Einstein, Tesla, Edison, Kayo Senju... everyone in the Research Division involved in Honkai studies.
To them, Setsuna was a walking treasure trove, the embodiment of the ultimate truths of the Honkai world.
"...Do as you like."
Setsuna rarely refused the Research Division's requests.
"Focus on studying the Cocoon for now. I only recently obtained the power of the Herrscher of Finality—I'm still getting used to it."
Hum—
The hull of the Eternal Snowfall projected once again.
"Ohhhh—!"
The Honkai scientists and research lolis cheered like explorers discovering a new continent, clutching their instruments as they rushed inside the ship.
Inside the Herrscher Core Drive System, six Herrscher Cores were neatly installed on both sides—with the Cocoon of Finality embedded in the center.
It had shrunk drastically compared to before, now about the size of a standard particle transfer device. Its exterior had also changed—less like a fractured mirror sphere, and more like a refined technological construct.
"Oh... so the Cocoon of Finality was originally a higher-dimensional entity. What we saw before was just its projection into three-dimensional space."
"So the Eternal Snowfall stripped away one of its macroscopic dimensions? Compressed it into the ship? ..."
Everyone was fascinated.
"Yes. You're free to study it—just don't interfere with my normal use of its power."
Setsuna's voice was calm.
Tesla, Einstein, and the others nodded eagerly. Within the Eternal Snowfall, they began setting up a proper research area, clearly planning to stay there long-term.
"If I were still on Earth, I could publish hundreds of doctoral papers just studying the Commander. Probably win the Nobel Prize for the next three hundred years straight," Einstein muttered with a click of her tongue.
Never in her life had she imagined she would one day study the Cocoon of Finality and the power of Finality itself.
Of course, such mortal accolades no longer held any meaning to her now.
"Hmm, next... it's time to deal with Earth."
Setsuna returned to the Eternal Snowfall's main bridge, opened the holographic console, and began outlining his next steps.
With the Cocoon of Finality and the Honkai threat resolved, the remaining task was to integrate Earth into the Starsea Empire's domain.
The process wouldn't be difficult—but Kiana was still attending school there. He wondered how she was doing.
Beep—
A Sophon transmission suddenly came through.
"Reporting to the Commander. During your 27-month absence from Earth, the situation has remained stable. Now transmitting a full status report..."
"Hmm?"
Setsuna blinked.
"Wait—how long did you say?"
He glanced at the data. Sophons didn't make timing errors, yet this result felt drastically different from his perception.
"The Imaginary Space's temporal curvature differs from the outside world. Time there isn't linear—it may have jumped along the timeline," Grey explained after some quick calculations.
"When you merged with the Cocoon of Finality, the Honkai energy surge was likely strong enough to distort local time."
"Well, it seems nothing went wrong, at least?"
"Affirmative," Sophon replied respectfully.
"During this period, there have been no major Honkai Eruptions on Earth. Technology has advanced rapidly."
"Kiana and the other observation targets remain safe. The Angeloid Corps hasn't needed to mobilize even once."
"Humanity has just completed the construction of its first interstellar spacecraft. Under Theresa's leadership, preparations are underway to form an astronaut corps—to journey into space."
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