— — — — — —
"Kiana, is it true that Fu Hua's soul is linked to yours now?" Rimuru asked.
"Yeah, that's right. Why?" Kiana tilted her head.
"Nothing major," Rimuru replied casually. "I can separate her soul from your body, rebuild her a new body, and bring her back to life." His gaze shifted toward Kiana with a playful glint.
"You mean it?" Kiana grabbed Rimuru's hand, excitement all over her face.
"Relax, I'm not joking. I can really do it," Rimuru said with a grin. "Come on, let's find somewhere quiet," he turned and walked out first, and Kiana hurried after him.
"Oh, right." Rimuru suddenly stopped and glanced at Bronya. "You should come too. While we're at it, I'll help Welt get his body back."
"Really?" Bronya's hand instinctively went to her chest, where the Herrscher of Reason core quietly rested.
"Bronya understands." She nodded and followed Rimuru.
---
Hyperion – Training Room
"It might hurt a little. Bear with it," Rimuru warned.
"Do it." Kiana closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm ready."
A strange light formed around Rimuru's hand as he reached toward Kiana's chest — his hand phasing right into Kiana's body.
"Ah!" Kiana let out a sharp scream.
"Hold still. I told you it'd hurt." Rimuru sighed and conjured several glowing chains, pinning Kiana in place so she couldn't thrash around.
Closing his eyes, Rimuru focused, diving deep into Kiana's soul in search of Fu Hua's.
That's when he sensed it — a feather, brimming with immense spiritual power.
Key of Sentience. The Eighth Divine Key. The artifact that could manipulate brain signals and control consciousness itself.
It was what tethered Fu Hua's soul to Kiana.
"There you are." Rimuru reached for the Feather, preparing to pull it free.
But suddenly, a different ripple spread through the mental sea — one full of destruction, cruelty, and raw malice.
"Sirin's consciousness?" Rimuru muttered to himself. "Might as well remove her too while I'm at it."
His hand shot toward the hostile presence.
"What is this?!" Sirin's voice echoed in terror, but she couldn't move as Rimuru's grip closed around her.
Rimuru seized the Feather as well and dragged both out of Kiana's mind.
"Finally." He wiped imaginary sweat from his brow, letting out a relieved breath.
In his hands now floated a faintly glowing feather, shimmering between reality and illusion, radiating a calm that soothed the heart.
Next to it was a dark red cluster of light — Sirin's consciousness — completely sealed by Rimuru's energy.
Kiana had collapsed from exhaustion, so Rimuru shook his head and summoned a large bed from his guild's storage, laying Kiana down gently and pulling a blanket over her.
"She'll be okay, right?" Bronya asked quietly.
"She's fine. A bit of rest and she'll wake up good as new," Rimuru reassured her. "And when she does, she's in for a surprise." Without Sirin's interference, all Kiana would need was some training before she could fully master the power of the Herrscher of the Void. When that time came, she would truly become the Void Queen.
"Bronya doesn't understand." Bronya tilted her head in confusion.
"You will later," Rimuru said lightly. "For now, hand me the Core of Reason."
"Alright. Please take care of it." Bronya carefully removed the core and handed it over.
"No problem. This is child's play for me." Rimuru smiled confidently.
Holding both the Core of Reason and the Feather, Rimuru split off part of his own cells to envelop them, beginning the process of recreating their bodies.
He used magic to regenerate matter, building them from the soul outward, channeling the massive energy stored within his cells.
Bone, muscle, blood vessels, nerves — piece by piece their bodies took shape.
Rimuru kept his focus razor-sharp. The process had to be flawless. Any mistake could weaken the fusion of body and soul, leading to decay or damage that would make another resurrection nearly impossible.
That's when, not far away, a tiny space rift quietly opened.
It was so small and subtle that neither Rimuru, focused as he was, nor Bronya, who lacked the means to sense it, noticed.
A faint wave of Honkai energy seeped through. From the rift stretched a slender, pure-white tendril of condensed Honkai energy.
It darted forward with blinding speed, wrapping around Sirin's imprisoned consciousness.
"What the—?!" Rimuru's eyes widened, but the tendril was already retreating toward the rift.
He quickly split off another cell and sent it flying after the tendril.
Just before the rift snapped shut, his cell latched on.
"What was that?" Bronya asked, staring at the spot where Sirin's consciousness had been.
"That was Sirin," Rimuru said, his expression dark.
"What? The Second Herrscher?" Bronya's face went pale. "Then what was that thing that took her?"
"Most likely… the Will of Honkai," Rimuru replied grimly. "I didn't expect it to intervene directly."
"The Will of Honkai?! That shouldn't even be possible…" Bronya muttered, completely thrown off.
"We can worry about that later. For now, let me finish saving these two." Rimuru's voice was calm, but his eyes were sharp.
.
.
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