St Freya, Classroom.
Bored out of her mind, Wendy lay sprawled across the desk.
The dark, inky letters endlessly irritated her vision, and now just seeing the words on the black board made Wendy short of breath.
This kind of life was simply not one a Herrscher should endure!
She glanced left and right cautiously, trying to find the right moment to escape.
With time's passage and constant, meticulous care… The hatred in Wendy's heart, the urge to destroy everything, had been suppressed.
On top of that, there were restraints on her body and a whole group of terrifying people outside.
Even if Wendy wanted to stir up trouble, she still had to carefully consider whether her defense and recovery were enough to survive it.
This was just too much bullying! Still, all those who once showed her malice were now dead.
So… what was she supposed to do now…
"Wendy, how's your studying going?" There it was, the demon's voice had arrived!
The moment the door was pushed open, Wendy immediately straightened up into a proper sitting posture, eyes firm and steady.
She looked every bit the model student.
Holding a bitter melon juice in her left hand, Theresa pushed the door open. Seeing Wendy like this, she nodded lightly to herself.
As expected, she was only pretending. How could she not know what kind of personality Wendy had?
Especially now, Wendy's patience for studying was about as bad as Kiana's.
But for Theresa, this was already enough.
At least until Wendy fully recovered, what she needed most was care.
"Headmistress." Wendy stood up.
"Sit down. Have some fruit juice if you're tired." Theresa chuckled softly.
Wendy obediently sat down.
Toward Theresa, she still felt a respect. Although she had been recommended by Theresa for the Gem of Desire experiment, she didn't blame her.
At that time, both she and Theresa were Valkyries of Schicksal.
Fighting against the Honkai was their duty, and the Gem of Desire was a crucial part of that mission.
She herself had agreed to participate. Even without Theresa's recommendation, with the selection process back then, she would have ended up on the list anyway.
Perhaps it wouldn't have been her in the end, but with the way she was back then, she probably would have volunteered herself.
It was mutual willingness, nothing more to say. As for what the base later did… That wasn't something Theresa could be blamed for.
Before then, even though Theresa knew not everyone in Schicksal was good, Wendy had been an S-rank Valkyrie candidate.
Even if burdened by the Gem of Desire, there was no way she'd be treated as nothing but air, or a mere container.
But… The world always unfolded in such strange, unpredictable ways.
And so things turned out like this, absurd and cruel.
Toward Wendy, Theresa always carried guilt.
So in daily life, she unconsciously gave warmth whenever she could.
"This problem's wrong again!" Good times never lasted long.
The truth was, no matter how gentle a person was, once they took on the role of teacher, irritability inevitably came out during lessons.
Not even Herrschers were exceptions!
Who said being a Herrscher automatically meant having a brilliant brain?!
After being defeated a few times in study sessions by fellow Herrschers Mei and Yuno, Wendy finally understood just how important knowledge was for a Herrscher.
If she had studied fluid dynamics seriously during the time her legs were paralyzed, she wouldn't have been captured so easily.
"Headmistress, how's that Herrscher from the Coral Island doing?"
Wendy, making full use of her "as long as it's not studying, I can ask anything" mentality, asked.
"Anna hasn't woken yet. According to Fu Hua, she's clashing with the Herrscher of Ice in the realm of consciousness. In this matter, we can't help her."
At the mention of Anna, Theresa sighed.
Battles within the consciousness weren't simple. Of those she knew, only Fu Hua had some research in that field.
Perhaps her grandfather Otto was skilled at it too. But she wouldn't dare let Otto get involved.
As for Raven's previous request, she had agreed after Kallen's persuasion. But only under strict supervision.
Even someone like Himeko, an A-rank Valkyrie, wouldn't qualify, only veteran squads with B-rank Valkyries and combat experience would do.
....
Inside the consciousness space.
Blocked by Fu Hua's restrictions, the Herrscher of Ice could only rage helplessly.
Damn humans!
"Hmph. You'd better save your strength. Behaving yourself will do you more good," Anna sneered.
That single remark made the Herrscher of Ice flare up instantly.
"You worthless trash, what right do you have to speak?!" She gritted her teeth, glaring at Anna with fury.
How dare this useless girl, who hadn't helped at all, act so arrogant here?!
If not for those damn people, her ice would have already blanketed the world!
But Anna just snorted, her smug expression impossible to hide.
This feeling, of being useless herself, but everyone else performing steadily, it was strangely wonderful.
She understood her own position very clearly. Without a huge stroke of luck, her life would remain like this.
And if she could protect just a few more people, that was already enough to make her happy.
The Herrscher of Ice kept ranting on. For however long she ranted, Anna just listened silently.
In this space of consciousness, there was no sense of time passing. Who knew how long it had been before Anna suddenly spoke: "You. Why exactly do you want to destroy the world?"
The Herrscher of Ice's face darkened.
"Do you even need to ask? Of course it's because I'm a Herrscher. Destroying civilization is my duty. As an apostle of the Honkai, bringing ruin to humanity is the only truth."
"But isn't that strange? Clearly, no one has done anything to you, yet you insist on bringing destruction to everyone."
Anna's face was full of confusion as she pressed her.
"Heh. Human, of course you can't understand these feelings. Everything I am comes from the great Honkai. Only by bringing ruin for the great Honkai is my mission fulfilled."
"But why?! Everyone just wants to live their lives, and yet you bring destruction, we just want peace!"
Anna's emotions burned hot, unable to comprehend such a way of thinking.
Herrscher consciousness was born from humans, yet was different from them.
Guided by the Honkai, each Herrscher's will would unshakably execute its commands. This generation, however, had… a small problem.
"You want me to understand your feelings? Heh. Human, that only makes you seem weak. If you want me to understand you, then defeat me. Do you even have the strength for that?"
At those words, Anna fell silent, her expression heavy. If she could defeat the Herrscher of Ice, things wouldn't be stuck in this stalemate.
That power could even be used to help everyone.
Just like the Herrscher of Thunder and the Herrscher of Poison at St. Freya, even the leader of Anti-Entropy had sided with humanity.
There was even the Herrscher of the Void.
Anna recalled the many Herrschers who had joined the siege against the Herrscher of Ice.
They had all chosen to stand with humanity, defending this beautiful world. But when she thought of Coral Island, and the Snow Lotus Squad…
Sadness welled uncontrollably in Anna's heart.
They had all died because of her.
"Don't you realize? If you keep this up, sooner or later you'll run into Godzilla. Do you really think you'd stand a chance against him?"
Anna's eyes flickered as she remembered that colossal beast.
When Godzilla battled the Honkai beast Chiyou, the fight was in the headlines for a few weeks.
No one could have imagined such a continent-sized Honkai beast was hidden beneath the sea.
Even just rolling around in the ocean, its destructive power was beyond what the world could endure.
Yet that unimaginably powerful Honkai beast hadn't even been able to fight back against Godzilla, fragile as a newborn in his grasp.
Anna didn't believe for a second that the Herrscher of Ice could win against Godzilla.
At her words, the Herrscher of Ice's expression wavered, almost unwillingly.
She wanted to argue, but the reality left no room for denial.
She had no confidence in defeating Chiyou, that so-called "Judgment-class" Honkai beast whose true level was hard to gauge.
And by that logic, against the beast that had effortlessly crushed Chiyou… she had even less hope.
"Hmph, so what? Do you think Godzilla would help you fight?" The Herrscher of Ice reacted in time, instantly breaking free of the strange trap.
How could Godzilla possibly fight for them?
"The power of that colossal beast is not something you can command. To covet the power of a being not under your control… will only bring destruction."
Her eyes were filled with scorn and ridicule.
As a Herrscher consciousness born from Honkai, she understood better than anyone what such an existence was like.
If that being happened to be in a good mood or wanted to see something amusing, perhaps it might intervene.
But to simply expect it to help out of kindness? Heh.
"What if? You act so brazenly, maybe somewhere along the way you'll catch its attention."
Even though she knew it was nothing but a foolish dream, Anna would never let herself lose face before a Herrscher. She absolutely would not disgrace Schicksal!
....
World Serpent.
"I've already spoken with the Headmaster of St. Freya's. If the Herrscher of Ice is willing to see you after she wakes, and after a check-up, then with supervision you can go in and visit."
"Thank you."
"No need to thank me. This talk cost me quite a bit of effort. If you really want to thank me, just pay me more."
Shaking her head, Raven looked at Chen Tianwu with an expression half helpless, half amused.
Every word was true. Especially the last sentence.
"Mm, I still have some savings." Chen Tianwu gave a slight nod, speaking calmly.
He never cared much for money. And given the nature of World Serpent, he had almost no use for it anyway.
As a cadre, his pay was not low to begin with, so it wasn't difficult to satisfy Raven's appetite.
Raven nodded in satisfaction.
As expected, doing business with colleagues was always the best.
"Let me remind you, whatever your purpose is, when you're at St. Freya, you'd better behave yourself. The people there are ruthless."
For the extra payment's sake, Raven kindly offered a warning.
Chen Tianwu nodded without replying.
Raven didn't mind. As long as the money was there, nothing else mattered.
If Chen Tianwu really did intend to stir up trouble at St. Freya... that had nothing to do with her. She was just a messenger.
Besides, with St. Freya's security, unless someone was suicidal, they wouldn't even dare.
Stepping out of the room, Raven exhaled lightly, looking relaxed. "Time to check in on the others."
After all, wasn't this hard work all for the children?
....
Honkai Star Rail.
"Unit One has failed."
"As expected. Their role was only to draw the target away."
"It's time to move on to the second phase."
Inside the Xianzhou Alliance.
The squad they sent out earlier had been annihilated. Expected.
But their sacrifice had value.
The swarm was lured away.
Jarilo-VI's defenses, under the joint efforts of the IPC, the Xianzhou, and Jarilo itself, were improving rapidly, but its foundation was still shallow.
To the Alliance, it wasn't even worth noticing. The heritage of the Xianzhou was not something anyone could casually measure against.
Meanwhile, on the Xianzhou Yaoqing, Feixiao initiated a call.
"We've detected their forces beginning to move. As for whether that means the Alliance's big shots are directly taking action, that's still uncertain."
Cracking her knuckles, Feixiao stretched her neck, ready for a fight at any moment.
"Those higher-ups in the Alliance may be parasites, but after holding power for so long, who knows how much strength they still have at hand. Not surprising why it's hard to detect them at first."
Huaiyan nodded slightly, chuckling dismissively. He didn't take their movements too seriously.
If the Alliance were to strike inside a Xianzhou Ship itself, catching them off guard, it could indeed cause trouble.
But their actions were already exposed. And worse for them, their opponents were far stronger.
With just their strength, trying to fulfill their ambitions?
"Generals, let's go. Time to see just who's behind these misdeeds." Jing Yuan smiled lightly.
Some things had already dragged on long enough.
....
Moments later, after a swift journey, three of the Arbiter-Generals appeared on a barren planet.
"Henlida-VII… I remember this planet used to be prosperous. Hard to believe three hundred years later it's become like this."
....
Huaiyan looked around curiously.
As an old veteran, he had seen countless sights in his life.
This world beneath his feet was no exception.
Only… it hadn't been this desolate back then.
"Migration due to resources isn't strange. But few civilizations actually commit to such a choice." Jing Yuan nodded slightly, sighing.
Across the universe, countless civilizations struggled with resource scarcity.
Even the Xianzhou had once erupted into turmoil over resource distribution.
Different civilizations had different solutions.
Most relied on interstellar trade. A few uprooted their entire people to migrate to better planets.
But the most striking thing about this planet,
"No signs of nearby civilizations."
"Which is exactly why it attracts them to settle here."
Feixiao stood hands on hips, staring ahead.
"Come on. Let's pay these so-called troublemakers a visit."
Really now, at their age they ought to be lying comfortably in bed, not stirring up trouble.
...
Boom!
With a deafening blast, the heavily fortified base was torn open in an instant.
Feixiao, blades in hand, stood tall upon the breach, a wild grin curling his lips.
"Everyone, this farce is over."
....
"Damn it! How did they find us so quickly? We specifically used operatives who rarely show their faces!"
Hearing the commotion outside, someone's expression turned grim.
"We should've used completely new operatives!"
"New ones? Their strength is worthless! They could never handle this mission."
"Then what now?! Those three are already here! You don't seriously think we can hold off three of the Arbiter-Generals, do you?!"
An angry shout silenced the room.
The Arbiter-Generals.
On the path of pursuit, they were the sharp edge shielding the Xianzhou.
When turned outward, they brought safety and reassurance.
But when that edge turned toward you, it was suffocating.
Looking down at the chaos below, the Vidyadhara elder calmly sipped his tea.
"So impatient. What kind of bearing is that?"
"Since we've chosen this road, we must be prepared for every possible consequence."
At his words, some steadied themselves again, at least on the surface.
But not everyone could keep up such a façade of calm, as if even the collapse of mountains wouldn't shake them.
"We're going to die! Once they break in, we're all dead!" someone shouted in panic.
The elder only raised his eyes, speaking evenly.
"Death is all it is. The Xianzhou people, after eight centuries, face the peril of Mara. The Vidyadhara, after three hundred years, must undergo rebirth."
"The Foxians, with their three-century lifespan, will eventually depart with the astral fleet to the sea of stars. If before I close my eyes and meet old friends again, I can see a sliver of hope for our people… isn't that worth it?"
Many who live long only crave to live longer.
But some grow weary of living.
The suffering of endless years outweighed the joys. The Vidyadhara had declined for centuries. If there was even a chance that this generation could resolve that plight…
No matter the price, it was worth it. Put simply, the younger ones weren't done living.
But he had lived enough. Life and death… what of it?