"MSA-079? You mean that helmeted freak everyone's been talking about?"
Ato set down the mission report he had written yesterday. He made it a habit to re-check his evening work the following morning, as his mind was always sharper in the early hours. He picked up his utensils and began eating breakfast, chatting with his heavily pregnant wife beside him.
"A helmeted... freak?" Blanca asked, slowly and meticulously wiping the table. She covered her mouth and giggled at Ato's description. "That boy is just a bit socially awkward; I don't think he's quite reached 'freak' status yet, has he?"
Ato took a bite of his breakfast and chewed. "Have you met him?"
"Mhm, I have. He was watching us back when we were dancing at the ball after the Third Honkai Eruption ended, you know."
Lin was actually there at that time? Ato hadn't noticed such a person standing in the corner of the venue.
"When we were at the Doctor's lab, we were in charge of his physical examination, so I'm one of the people who's had a fair bit of contact with him. He really does have some quirks, just like people say." Blanca pointed her fork at Ato, her eyes crinkling into a smile. "But it's normal for young people to have their own little obsessions, isn't it? Just like the Doctor."
"...But Mobius is older than you."
"Oh? Is she? I can't really tell. Well, in any case, I don't think that boy is as mysterious as the rumors suggest. He's just... well... he has a lot on his mind."
"And so?"
Ato found it a bit strange. Although Blanca usually loved to talk about everything under the sun, she rarely discussed people behind their backs.
"So, I think you should pay more attention to him. That boy is quite... tragic, I suppose." Blanca wore a complex expression of helplessness, struggling to find the right words. "A person like him—even if it's the wrong direction—will willingly give his life once he's made up his mind. He's exactly like you in that regard. He is bound to lose many things in the future."
"You don't need to worry."
Ato finished his breakfast and picked up his gear and report.
"He's still young. Even if death comes, it should be old-timers like us dying before them." At this, he gave Blanca a rare, warm smile. "Besides, even if I used to be like him, I have you now, don't I?"
Lin drove the Abyss Flower into the ground to use as a brace, barely steadying himself amidst the shaking and cracking earth.
The current battle was hurtling toward total chaos. All objects ignored the normal laws of physics: the sky was collapsing toward the earth, and the ground was falling toward the sky. Chunks of rock and debris suspended themselves in the air like disordered celestial bodies in deep space.
No matter how hard he chased that brown shadow, he couldn't get a single step closer.
The power stored within the Abyss Flower was only enough for one more use, yet he hadn't even found an opening to touch the Ninth律者 (Herrscher).
Boom!
The black torrent frantically gnawed at his forcefield shield. The impact and vibrations made every step a struggle, and the crumbling ground required constant vigilance.
What should he do?
Lin used his dwindling consciousness to think of a way to break the deadlock. Even if he were to die, he had to slay the Ninth Herrscher before he drew his last breath; otherwise, humanity would likely be left facing two Herrschers.
Tap.
A tiny sound, insignificant amidst the earth-shattering combat, yet in Lin ears, it was no less than a clap of thunder.
A figure was moving against the current through the wash of the black torrent, stepping on floating debris. Bathed in the gravitational flood, the man's armor and skin curled inward; his entire body was being crumpled and shrunken like a piece of waste paper crushed in a hand.
Lin cried out hoarsely before the scream could even form in the depths of his heart: "Ato!"
The man stopped in mid-air and cast a glance back at Lin.
There was no smile, and no words. He simply trusted, without reservation, that Lin would understand the meaning in his eyes.
"Don't go." Lin lips moved uncontrollably, uttering words he didn't want to say. "I'll handle it..."
The words he didn't want to say...
No.
Who was "he"? Was he Lin, or the Herrscher consciousness?
Regardless of who he was, the words exposed under the control of his inner heart were undoubtedly Lin true thoughts.
"I've always been the one to handle things, so let me do it this time too... Blanca and Griseo are still waiting for you to come back..."
However, Ato did not answer him. Like every reliable elder, Ato would always walk in front—and he would always depart in silence.
The receding figure was reflected in Lin eyes, his lips trembling.
"Don't leave me behind..."
Ato exerted all his effort to mobilize the Honkai energy within his body, resisting the gravitational torrent that was constantly destroying the surrounding structure of gravity and space. His skin shriveled and contracted into bloody folds, revealing the patterns of the muscle beneath, yet he moved toward the Ninth Herrscher as if he could feel no pain.
He had to create an opening for Lin. The "Abyss" in Lin hand possessed the power to kill a Herrscher in a single strike and decide the outcome.
There were no superfluous emotions; he simply had to do it because only he could.
Among the most beautiful sparks of humanity, there will always be a place for those who complete the tasks only they can accomplish.
That was all.
"Sixty-seven meters left."
Ato visually estimated the distance between himself and the Ninth Herrscher. The opponent was no longer the un-emerged Herrscher who could only target a single objective with a single ability. Now, she could exert large-scale gravity control and apply different gravitational influences to separate individuals within that range.
Furthermore, the way she used gravity had changed.
Ato grabbed a piece of debris beside him. The sharp edge sliced a bloody gash across his ruptured palm. He looked toward the "sphere" in the air that was swallowing everything.
The Ninth Herrscher had her eyes closed and her hands pressed together. The scene of heaven and earth shifting made her look like a saintly maiden in devout prayer, but above her head, that black hole—which even swallowed light—was continuously sucking everything nearby into its depths.
A black hole?
Impossible. Black holes are indeed produced by the effects of gravity, but even a Herrscher could not create a truly sustained black hole.
Therefore, this was a Pseudo-Black Hole.
Even so, it already exhibited terrifying gravitational force. The surrounding space was showing signs of abnormal distortion, and the laws of physics were trending toward collapse under its influence. If the Pseudo-Black Hole were allowed to continue expanding, the consequences would be unthinkable.
Ato didn't know if his estimation of the distance was correct; in fact, his visual perception was likely already skewed. He could only move based on instinct.
But—
"Lin, the rest... I leave to you."
He lunged forward like a beam of light escaping a black hole, toward the Ninth Herrscher who kept her eyes closed—