"Oh?"
Vill-V noticed Hua's gaze and smiled generously.
"It seems he believes you're qualified to receive the key now, doesn't he?"
Hua shook her head, then nodded.
She felt it wasn't that simple. Michael had always maintained that words were pale and powerless; he wouldn't rely on a single moment of so-called epiphany to gauge Hua's growth.
Rather than thinking Michael had imparted something to her through the echoes of her past just now, it was more likely he himself had confirmed something through that experience.
As for the supposed key, perhaps he had confirmed her qualification to bear it long before—if she wasn't mistaken, it was during that brief, gentle embrace not long ago, when he told her:
"Welcome to World Serpent."
He never mentioned World Serpent to Hua again, as if it were just a fleeting thought, or perhaps a word meaningful only to him, a word he had to utter, an act of verbal confirmation needed to solidify some resolve within his heart.
This likely included detaching a small part of his consciousness to attach to her, and also confirming her qualification to unleash the power of Garuda.
Perhaps even the entire story unfolding on P-21 today had already taken shape in his mind back then.
As for Hua, the possessor of Garuda's power, having discovered nothing special beyond perfect memory and extremely strong self-healing abilities, yet Michael believed it was a power that could be unleashed and gave her the key—such prescient behavior was nothing new in Hua's eyes.
So, in response to Vill-V's knowingly asked question, she offered no further explanation, merely nodding slightly with a soft "Mm."
"Tsk, he really has an inexplicable confidence in you... Let me tell you upfront, what I'm about to give you, in some ways, doesn't match the description of a 'key' at all. Of course, that guy only makes demands, he didn't tell me what use this thing is to you either...
"At this point, both Mei and I can probably guess the direction of the story he arranged. But I feel that as the creator of the 'Key,' I must remind you—as a weapon, it lacks the immense destructive power of previous Divine Keys. Considering the state of the Herrscher it corresponds to, it's more like an early experimental model for a mass-produced product.
"So, if you really intend to fight a Herrscher with this thing, I advise you to think carefully. Sigh... Actually, if you ask me, letting you wear the Blank Key directly would be more reliable, but it's understandable. The strongest isn't always the most suitable..."
Hua paid no mind to Vill-V's rambling, even though the amount of information she revealed was, as always, substantial.
But she didn't consider herself the type to dig for every detail. If she truly wanted to know the whole truth, it would be better to muster the courage and ask Michael directly after everything was over.
Besides... there wasn't enough time.
She knew Captain Himeko's physical condition well. After fighting for so long, she must be nearing her limit...
Without hesitation, Hua took the suitcase from Vill-V's hands. As if guided by intuition, she had chosen the longer of the two suitcases from the start. According to Vill-V, it undoubtedly contained a Divine Key.
Hua had handled other Divine Keys countless times during training. The suitcase felt much lighter than expected, incomparable to the Judgment of Shamash or the Abyss Flower. Of course, the size difference was also apparent; the latter two felt heavy the moment you picked them up, as if reminding the wielder of the immense weight their weapons once bore.
But this one before her, Hua's first impression wasn't weight, but a resonance from deep within her body, or perhaps, a desire to possess it.
Even through the case, upon first contact, Hua felt a dull, stinging pain inside, as if something were trying to break out from every cell—much like the growing pains of her childhood, except this pain radiated from every cell in her body, not just her bones.
She pressed her lips into a thin line and opened the case without hesitation. Inside lay two objects quietly—
One was the all-too-familiar serum.
The other... was a golden-orange longsword that, at first glance, might be mistaken for bronze.
"This is..."
"The Dominance Key—How is it! Aren't you conquered by this genius's design? To match your origins, I specifically referenced the style of ancient Shenzhou swords!
"And, although it looks like just an ordinary longsword, I incorporated the PLUS version of the lottery system derived from the Third Divine Key! It can transform into various weapons suited to the user's needs, and of course, revert to its original form when necessary..."
"No, Vill-V..."
Hua interrupted her explanation:
"I mean, this core..."
"Ah? Oh? This thing, yes, it's exactly what you think. The core in this Divine Key comes from the first discovered Tenth Herrscher individual, designation L10-001, or by the name you're more familiar with—Carole. Of course, strictly speaking, we can't use that name, since it was her body plus the Herrscher's consciousness..."
Hua gently touched the dark red gemstone embedded in the sword guard with her fingertip. In her mind, that boisterous voice echoed across a thick, cold veil of water—
"Hey! Look at that girl over there, her clothes are so—lame—oh!"
Memories didn't flood out like an opened floodgate, just gently lifted a corner, allowing Hua to confirm the core's origin.
Her vision blurred instantly. She slowly gripped the so-called Dominance Key, resting it across her lap. But tears had already welled up, and she had no choice but to turn her head away, gazing at the still-burning dark sea, as if tears didn't count as crying as long as they weren't shed in front of others.
But then she remembered Michael's words—
"Regarding those yearnings for the past, obsessions, regrets, unwillingness—don't suppress them entirely, because they are intrinsically part of you. Others can't take them away, and you can't erase them."
"The true attitude towards the past is neither drowning in it nor bidding it farewell, but rather an embrace."
Did he think the same thing every time he held the Abyss Flower?
Then... just a gentle embrace, let it become the driving force to keep moving forward, keep fighting.
With that thought, the stinging in her eyes stopped, and the world before her gradually cleared.
A hot wind blew through the opening she had personally created—perhaps this wind had also caressed the green meadows of Bohemia, the white snows of Siberia, the dim yellow deserts at the foot of the Tian Shan mountains, the black and purple wasteland below Mount Taixuan, before finally being able to lift the strands of hair at her forehead.
She was glad she could still think this way.
A small black object suddenly flew past her vision, like a bird, but how could a bird survive in this environment?
Perhaps it was someone's soul, carried by that same wind that lifted her hair, taken to the ends of the world.
She reached out, caressed the sword's body, and finally gripped the hilt tightly.
When she turned back, she saw the astonished gazes of Mei and Vill-V.
With no time for further thought, an unprecedented power surged from within her in an instant, smooth like a dam releasing years of accumulated floodwaters, rushing forth uncontrollably.
Finally, she lowered her head slightly. The ancients of Shenzhou once polished bronze to use as mirrors; she was now doing the same.
Reflected on the patterned blade was the face of a girl with white hair and red eyes. Was it an illusion? Looking at her reflection on the sword, she inexplicably thought of the feather she had grasped moments ago before it vanished.
"Is this... my Collapse state?"
As Mobius's 'most qualified' test subject, she certainly hadn't missed the surgery to bestow the Artificial Cascade ability. However, like most experiments she underwent, this surgery seemed to bring no change.
Undoubtedly, Artificial Cascade—sacrificing one's human form and even part of one's sanity for greater combat power—conflicted with SWARA. SWARA had always firmly restrained this power, which was why the urge to suppress falling into a Cascade (Collapse) state, common among other MANTISes, had never appeared in Hua.
But today, under the intervention of another external force, drawn by another external power, the shackles imposed by SWARA were temporarily broken—
Besides the change in hair and eye color, flames began to flicker around her body. A sharp pain shot through her neck. She straightened her neck rigidly. Overly active Honkai Beast factors seeped from under the skin on the left side of her neck, like beads of blood dripping onto her face, stopping only after covering half her left cheek.
The changes didn't stop there. A slight ache bloomed in her shoulder blades, as if something were trying to emerge from within. Recalling Garuda's appearance, it was undoubtedly a pair of wings.
Just then, a strange syllable echoed in her mind. It seemed meaningless, yet also all-encompassing—SWARA. After this sound, Hua's form gradually stabilized, her body stopped transforming further towards a non-human state, and the wings on her back never appeared.
That sound didn't stop there but continued to resonate in her mind. It seemed to be saying something, but the anxious Hua had no intention of calming down to decipher it.
Because of this, she failed to notice a problem—the effects of the serum, evident just by looking at Vill-V's state, wouldn't dissipate so quickly. And the core in the sword she held was merely one-thousandth of the Tenth Herrscher's power.
How could it draw out enough energy to push her into Collapse?
Hua looked again at the Dominance Key in her hand. Accompanying her Collapse, the seemingly light sword trembled and reshaped itself amidst the flames.
Suddenly, her hand felt heavy. The Dominance Key transformed, wrapping around her hands as a pair of sleek, perfectly fitting gauntlets.
It was as if—as if the Dominance Key had also absorbed every drop of sweat she had shed practicing martial arts over the past decade.
Of course, an extremely strange thought also surfaced in her mind:
"That's nice... Michael's first weapon seemed to be gauntlets too..."
She turned her head, but this time not to hide tears. Her gaze swept towards her shoulders. Wings were impossible now, but fire could become her wings just as well.
She grabbed the tube of serum. Flames gathered behind her, coalescing into a pair of lifelike wings, and then—
She soared into the sky.
Mei closed her eyes. With her intellect, she had already deduced the full picture.
So, she just let out a soft, indifferent hum, dropping a brief declaration:
"We've won."
...
"Tch!"
Himeko twisted her body. Countless black hands shot past her sides, twisting bonelessly, as if trying to embrace her.
"Troublesome! Urgh!"
With a pained grunt, overwhelming flames surged again. The heavy, edgeless greatsword, driven by the power of her waist, carved a perfect arc, severing the masses of flesh held together purely by the Authority of Death, burning them to ashes.
"You look truly hideous like this..."
Himeko gasped for breath. The Tenth Herrscher aggregate before her, no, more accurately...
It resembled a massive polymer of flesh. Possessing too little of the Authority of Death, the Tenth Herrscher clearly couldn't precisely control and integrate cells.
So it could only crudely piece together living individuals and dead limbs towards a center, resulting in something like a giant meatball, covered in living and dead heads, with limbs flailing everywhere.
A small clump of this was the part Himeko had just severed. Drawn by its Authority, it reformed and returned, like a tree stump cut down in a forest.
Of course, that description was too simplistic. From Himeko's perspective, even after countless bloody scenes in her decade-plus combat career, she still felt the urge to vomit.
Especially since this urge mingled with the nausea from oxygen deprivation, keeping her stomach churning constantly.
Just as the Tenth Herrscher's attacks were ineffective, her counterattacks seemed equally futile. Under the effect of the Authority of Death, the severed limbs regenerated in less than a second.
"Tch, thought... I could... rest a bit longer."
Himeko felt her body grow heavier. The weakness in her limbs was one thing, but the real problem was her head.
Her vision dimmed and blackened. She quickly shook her head twice, but instead of clearing her mind, it made her bite down hard in pain—
Her brain felt disconnected from her skull. As her head moved, she could feel her brain sloshing around like literal paste inside her cranium.
"Hehehehe... Hahahahaha! Looks like this is the end for you."
The Herrscher seemed to feel the urgency of time as well. Although it knew the woman before it was truly at the end of her rope, perhaps just one more probing attack like the last would be enough for her to collapse from exhaustion, but...
Better safe than sorry.
Thus, over seven hundred heads opened their mouths in unison, emitting a dazzlingly synchronized wail. This didn't affect Himeko much, protected by the Authority of Sentience Michael had bestowed, but it was only the beginning.
Then, before the Tenth Herrscher, space began to warp into a deep purple, thick as night. Accompanied by rumbles of thunder, a cyan gale howled forth, bringing bone-chilling cold. Correspondingly, the flames consuming the entire sea area didn't subside with the wind and cold but grew fiercer. However...
While not completely out of Himeko's control—after all, the amounts of Flame Authority wielded by each side at this moment were incomparable—it still hindered her manipulation of the fire to some extent.
Can I dodge?
This was Himeko's undisputed first reaction. No one wanted to face this blow combining the powers of almost all Herrschers encountered so far. But unfortunately, setting aside whether she could dodge, what about P-21? What about Dr. Mei, Vill-V, Hua, and Aponia behind her?
Besides, Himeko quickly ran out of choices—
Under the combined effect of the Authorities of the Void and Rock, the surface rocks and soil of P-21 began converging towards the spatial collapse point in front of the Herrscher. Himeko could only plunge Surtr nearly halfway into the ground beneath her to barely resist being sucked in and crushed.
"Nowhere left to retreat?"
She turned her head. Her pinned-up fiery red hair came loose, scattering and fluttering uncontrollably like flickering tongues of flame.
She closed her eyes. That feather still rested in her mind, silent.
"Sigh... Michael, you really tricked me good this time."
Himeko knew Michael could hear her complaint from miles away. But was it really a complaint?
There wasn't a trace of blame in her voice. If anything, it was more like the relief of letting everything go.
She touched her cheek. Purple markings climbed up her right cheek, almost reaching her right eye. Even if the Tenth Herrscher suddenly dropped dead now, she probably wouldn't last until treatment arrived...
"Then let me show you..."
Her voice came out word by word, because with each syllable she uttered, the flames around her intensified, the purple markings on her body spread further, and the pain she endured grew heavier...
"A warrior's final strike—"
Crimson light flared in her eyes. In that instant, she drained every last bit of Honkai Energy remaining in the half-core of the Seventh Herrscher. As Surtr was pulled from the ground, flames coiled up the blade, stretching over a hundred meters long.
"Surtr, help me one more time..."
She let her body be caught and pulled by the spatial collapse point, using that force to raise the hundred-meter-long flame sword high above her head...
"Captain..."
"Urgh?"
A hand pressed down on her shoulder, forcing her back to the ground. Then, the owner of the voice embraced her from behind, prying the half Herrscher core from the Blank Key. The flames on Surtr instantly dissipated into a rain of fire.
"Leave the rest to me."
"You're... Hua?"
Himeko had just spoken when a sharp pain pricked her neck. Then, profound exhaustion washed over her entire body, leaving her without even the strength to lift a finger—
She knew this feeling well. It was the serum.
"Hua, you..."
"I said, leave it to me."
Hua's tone was gentle, yet carried an undeniable certainty.
Of course, after being injected with serum, Himeko had no room to struggle anyway.
"Crippling your own teammate, you humans are so melodramatic!"
The Herrscher sneered. Then, the massive earthen sphere, over a thousand meters in diameter, gathered by the spatial collapse point, was lifted high, as if by an invisible hand, raised behind its head, and then slammed down heavily.
"Hoo..."
Hua let out a soft breath. She even methodically laid Himeko's limp body flat on the ground.
Though it was her first time facing a full-power blow from a Herrscher-level entity alone, her heart seemed remarkably calm.
"Why must there be some special emotional fluctuation? You can ask Sister Eden. Many young actors, when portraying encountering a major event, often assume a very standard emotional progression, but that's wrong."
"Most people don't have much emotional fluctuation when facing something. They experience what, in hindsight, seems like a very important event with an empty mind or in a normal state—Did Prometheus truly realize the punishment awaiting him and the changes humanity would undergo when he stole fire?"
Michael's words even replayed in her mind.
By the time she turned her head back, the massive earthen sphere was less than a hundred meters from the ground.
How long does it take an object to freefall 100 meters?
Just 4.5 seconds, and this wasn't even freefall.
And that time was only enough for Hua to close her blood-red eyes, clench her right hand into a fist, and draw it back to her waist, just as she had done countless times before.
And then...
"Inch Punch: Heaven Sundering!"
This technique had been repeated at least ten thousand times over the past decade. Only this time, it was slightly different.
As her tiny body leaned in, delivering the punch with comparatively almost gentle force against the rapidly descending earthen sphere, an unprecedentedly vast energy surged from within her, lifting even the white ends of her scarlet hair into the air.
Time seemed to swallow that instant, until a torrent of scorching flame erupted from the other side of the sphere, shooting into the sky, then falling back as scattered sparks. Then, branches of this flame burst out from other parts of the sphere. This sky-obscuring earthen ball, over a kilometer in diameter, was thus easily disintegrated.
"This... How is this possible!"
Over seven hundred mouths wailed in unison. The Herrscher certainly recognized the girl before it, but it had never expected this unremarkable girl with no combat record to become the biggest variable at this moment.
"Merely a crude human imitation of a god, on what grounds... On what grounds!"
Thousands of hands and feet surged towards Hua. She quickly ducked, easily scooping up Himeko, who was much taller than her. By the time she looked up again, the horrifying limbs were right in front of her.
"Girl, you are after all a young lady. Your movement techniques naturally cannot be as wide and open as your senior brothers'. Lightness like dusting ashes should be your aim."
Her father's guidance echoed in her ears, everything so familiar...
"I understand. This is Dust-Sweeping Step."
Her toes tapped lightly, truly like a duster sweeping across a table. The dense mass of tentacles brushed past her sides, carried far by inertia, unable to retract quickly enough.
"Now!"
She advanced instead of retreating. Wings of coalesced flame spread once more, a gentle flap propelling her before the Herrscher.
Terror still lingered in the Herrscher's countless eyes as its vision was filled with crimson light.
Behind the Herrscher, Hua held Himeko in one arm, wielding the Dominance Key made from Carole's core in the other, casually flourishing the blade.
Behind her, the Herrscher's massive body had been split in two.
"Wait, Hua, the Herrscher... Authority of Death..."
Himeko whispered weakly near her ear, reminding her.
Hua's pupils constricted. She quickly turned. Sure enough, the Herrscher's body had already begun to regenerate.
"It's okay... This way... stall for time... is good..."
But could things truly go as Himeko wished?
"Hahahaha... Hahahaha..."
The Herrscher's laughter was somewhat boastful, yet also tinged with loneliness.
"I never thought things would come to this... But do you really think you can stall for time against me?"
"What do you mean?"
Hua pressed her lips together tightly, her brow furrowing slightly.
"Hahahaha, thanks to the First Herrscher! Although he was a traitor, at least... he left behind a method for mutual destruction!"
Hua didn't know what it intended to do, but she could feel... no, perhaps feeling was no longer necessary. As far as the eye could see, all the Honkai Energy in the world was converging towards the Herrscher, forming a massive vortex in the sky.
She didn't know, but Himeko had fully experienced the Third Honkai Eruption—
"Not good! It's, going to imitate Michael during the Third... Honkai... self-destruct its cores..."
"How did the Third Herrscher deal with it?"
"Take out... the core..."
Hua's breathing hitched. Unless one was also a Herrscher, how could they perceive the location of the opponent's core and separate it from the Herrscher itself?
Even if the location could be sensed, this method clearly wouldn't work for the Tenth Herrscher—there were nearly eight hundred Herrscher individuals, nearly eight hundred cores before her!
Even if dozens could be removed in a short time, it would be futile.
What to do?
What to do?
What to do?
She had no confidence she could survive such an explosion. But that didn't matter. If she couldn't find a solution now, she couldn't protect Himeko, couldn't protect Mei and Vill-V.
An explosion of this magnitude might even sever the connection between The Deep and the intrinsic world!
Hua took a deep, trembling breath of the smoke-filled, acrid air.
Could it be that even after obtaining the power she dreamed of, even after easily defeating the Herrscher, she still couldn't protect anything?
"Hoo..."
She slowly exhaled. In the span of that single breath, her perfect memory allowed her to read through almost all her memories from the past decade plus.
It also allowed her to notice what she had previously overlooked—the effects of the serum hadn't worn off, and the Honkai Energy within the Dominance Key was equally insignificant compared to the Herrscher.
Furthermore, Michael had also said the Dominance Key was just a [Key].
A key unlocks a lock, but the door remains closed. An external force is still needed to turn the handle and push the door open.
She hadn't achieved this through her own power; Hua knew that clearly.
Then, there was only one answer left.
"Michael..."
Hua silently called his name in her heart. And so, within the lake of her mind, the single feather that had always drifted there once again took the form of the person she wanted to see.
Though they had met in the same place just minutes ago, Hua felt as if lifetimes had passed. She tilted her cheek slightly to the left, pretending to adjust the small braid hanging by her temple, incidentally hiding the marks left on her face by the Collapse.
But enhanced by the Garuda Collapse state, she finally sensed the difference in the "Michael" before her.
"No, you're not him... No, you're more than just a part of his consciousness."
"Mm."
The man's reply was crisp and neat. Or perhaps, he had been waiting here for a long time, as a final failsafe.
"The Dominance Key is just a key. But you, Hua, you still lack a weapon."
He reached out towards the girl. The feather cradled in his hand gradually transformed into the shape of a lotus, only to change back into a feather as it was presented to Hua.
The base of the feather was blood-red, fading to snow-white, exactly matching the girl's current hair color.
"The Eighth Divine Key, Fenghuang Down."
Hua reached out to take it, but Michael withdrew his hand at that moment.
"There are two options to resolve your current predicament. The choice is yours—My main body can phase-jump here and deal with this trouble. As for the Binding barrier, the surrounding cities haven't finished evacuating. Conservatively estimating, one point two million people will be trapped inside. But I feel that one point two million lives are worth exchanging for you, Captain, Vill-V, Mei, and The Deep."
Hua's brow lifted upwards. She opened her mouth futilely, as if seeing Michael for the first time.
"I... I... Tell me the second option."
"Fenghuang Down, First Rated Output."
"Give it to me," she said.
Michael shook his head. In the space of consciousness, time flowed exceptionally slowly, so he had enough time, and it was absolutely necessary, to let Hua make the decision.
Even though he knew from the beginning what that decision would be.
"Aren't you going to ask about the side effects?"
Hua sniffled, pushed her lower lip upwards slightly, then glared stubbornly at Michael with her blood-red eyes.
"Fenghuang Down's First Rated Output can unleash an unstoppable blow, not just in a physical sense, but also in a spiritual sense. When the Herrscher's spirit is killed, it naturally loses the ability to guide its cores into collapsing self-destruction... But the price is, it needs to burn memories."
"Burn... memories?"
In a daze, the person before her was no longer Michael, but... an exact copy of herself.
"Are you really going to do this? Burn memories?"
Hua bit her lower lip lightly. "I am."
"You'll forget what you're trying to protect today. Is that okay?"
"It's okay."—As long as I did indeed protect them.
"You'll forget the reason you fight, which you just finally understood. Don't you care?"
"I don't care."—Since I could understand it the first time, I can understand it a second time.
"You'll even forget [yourself], forget everything you've lost and gained before... Does that not matter either?"
"...It doesn't matter."
This time, Hua paused for a full ten breaths before giving her answer.
"You hesitated. Is even losing all memory of him acceptable?"
"..."
After a long silence, came dry, pale words:
"I can accept it."—As long as he is still by my side, our connection won't be severed.
Her other self shook her head. "You still don't understand what your choice truly means right now. But before that..."
In reality, Hua still stood with her eyes closed. A feather had abruptly appeared in her hand.
All the voices in her mind, whether Michael's or her other self's, vanished.
She felt a fire ignite before her, as if burning something.
By burning away all memories, can dreams become transparent?
The question arose, only to dissipate like smoke.
And then...
Her father's smile, her father's voice, the feel of her father's hand ruffling her hair...
Carole's noisy chatter, the cool sweetness of ice cream, the feeling of their hands clasped together...
And that figure she always chased, unable to reach out when he faltered, unable to keep up when he strode forward with renewed determination...
All echoes of the past drifted away with the rising green smoke of the flames.
Leaving only an endless expanse of white in her heart.
But what did that matter?
For the first time in over a decade, she knew with clarity what she wanted to do—even if only for an instant.
"Echoes of the past..."
"I entrust them all to this blade!"