55. Herrscher of Sentience: You Could at Least Comfort Me (Pouting) / 56. Xia Ling: I Hope Fu Hua's Doing Well... Maybe?

The seal set by Kevin was easily broken by Sirin; at least in this respect, Kevin's skill was indeed inferior to Sirin's.

A faint, ethereal figure appeared in the air, her eyes closed, her body barely visible.

"Wow... Kevin, how did he manage to use you like this? No wonder he sealed you away."

The weakness of this feather even startled Sirin. She quickly activated her Honkai Energy and carefully transferred energy to the feather.

As energy gradually replenished, Fu Hua's consciousness reawakened.

However, she did not open her eyes.

There's no other reason than that, although she was still quite confused about the current situation, Fu Hua had even more confusing things at this moment.

She discovered something strange in her memory.

To be precise, this is a memory package.

As a master in the realm of the mind, Fu Hua naturally knew that it was no ordinary person that someone could send this memory package into her memory without her noticing.

Could it be the person who awakened me? No... the source of this memory pack's power is definitely not Feather Dust.

Fu Hua was suddenly startled; she had realized something.

The familiarity in this memory bag, an old friend of hers, this feeling of power, is discipline.

Of course, this memory pack is not a commandment, but rather the person who packaged this memory should be her old friend, Aponia.

Despite still being somewhat confused about the situation, Fu Hua carefully opened the memory pack.

Regardless of who used Aponia's power, such a large-scale operation must have been to convey a very important message to her.

Fu Hua pretended not to be awake and quickly processed the memory.

Then... she was even more confused.

"Aponia... why did you give me one...?"

"How to Get Along Happily with Children... by Elysia?"

"Huh, something I left in Feather Dust has been triggered?"

Xia Ling perked up and stopped what she was doing.

"What's wrong, Xia Ling? Why did you suddenly stop moving?"

Theresa put down the game controller and looked at Xia Ling's game screen, which had turned gray.

"Ah, it seems the network lagged for a bit. Perfect, I'll go to the restroom."

Xia Ling put down the handle, pretended to be in a hurry, and walked into the washroom.

Long ago, when she was still in Changkong City, she found an opportunity to summon someone through the Cipher Plate.

Aponia.

By compressing her existence time, Aponia can regain her peak strength in a short period of time.

As for why she did this... it's because Xia Ling needs a layer of mental protection. Whether it's Fu Hua, Sirin, or the subsequent Thousand-Man Herrscher, they all possess a certain degree of Mental Perception ability.

Although the system can protect her memories from interference if she wants, without paying extra, the protection is limited to protecting her memories.

Aponia once said that because Xia Ling entered Elysian Realm in the form of a memory, she could not bestow an imprint upon Xia Ling. However, Xia Ling could not enter Elysian Realm in person for a short period of time, so she could only summon Aponia to ask for help.

While leaving herself an insurance policy, Xia Ling also left Fu Hua a gift.

That is, the "parenting manual" that Fu Hua saw in the Feather Dust.

"Hopefully, with this, Fu Hua won't anger Sirin. After all, directly denying Sirin's existence is too blunt... At this moment, Fu Hua's name is the only thing Sirin can hold onto."

Xia Ling thought with relief.

However...

"In the instant I was killed by Otto, I activated the Zero Rated Power of Feather Dust, transferring my consciousness to a feather to suppress the existence of the Herrscher of the Void."

"This means that the body was abandoned, and it has no soul inside."

"... What are you trying to say?"

Sirin's voice sounded somewhat irritable.

"Since I'm here..." Fu Hua's voice remained unmoved. "—Who are you?"

Unfortunately, Xia Ling's advance arrangements, at least at this point, were of no use.

Chapter 55 Sirin: You should at least try to comfort me! (Feeling wronged)

Above Mount Tai Xu, two girls with identical appearances, yet clearly distinguishable from one another, strolled among the clouds.

They were Fu Hua and Sirin, or rather, the true masters residing in Feather Dust, and her body.

"So, you're inside a feather, and you don't have a brain, so your memories are probably stored in the Feather Dust."

"I guess so... When my feathers were weakened, I couldn't remember many things either."

"That's right!"

Sirin clapped his hands and exclaimed.

"You were almost bald when Kevin sealed you away, so your memory must have been damaged quite a bit."

"So you start having wild thoughts, feeling like you're not just a feather... feeling like you're the real thing—that's understandable, isn't it?"

"Things like consciousness transfer or splitting into two people can easily lead to errors in self-perception. This is related to each person's personality, it's normal, and it will get better."

Sirin gave Fu Hua a reassuring smile.

"It's alright, I'll help you. After all, you're my alter ego, just like sisters, we're inseparable."

Even though Fu Hua had just questioned Sirin's existence with her amazing emotional intelligence not long ago, Sirin was not too angry. Instead, she kept trying to make amends for her and persuade her.

However, Fu Hua could see that her heart had wavered, or rather, she may have realized this long ago.

But she still acts this way... Is she deliberately avoiding thinking about it, or is she simply running away? Should I just tell her directly?

Seeing Sirin's excited expression, Fu Hua felt a little reluctant to let him go.

She had just told me that she was going back to Mount Tai Xu and invited me to go with her.

It was called an invitation, but in reality, it didn't give her a chance to refuse, since the feather she relied on was in her hands.

However... Sirin's reason for going to Mount Tai Xu is quite interesting.

Sirin wants to return to her roots and visit her "home." In her opinion, if she can go back to her "home," she might gain a greater sense of self-identity.

As expected... even after fully acquiring my memories, she still inevitably felt unfamiliar with her "past." She was eager to grasp at something, as if only in this way could she feel at ease...

"Hey, I mean... I really don't understand."

Sirin's voice woke Fu Hua from her reverie.

"What?"

Why are you so hostile towards me?

"..."

"I am you, and you are me. We are of one mind and two bodies. You should be able to understand me, right?"

Sirin's expression was somewhat complicated, carrying anger and confusion, and... a hint of grievance hidden in his eyes.

She took the feather back from Kevin because Otto told her that this man could help her get to know herself and understand herself.

But in the end... he didn't get the comfort and help he wanted; instead, he started to doubt himself even more.

No, that wasn't doubt, just anger at being questioned for no reason. She is Fu Hua, how could that be wrong? It must be the feather that's the problem...

"I--"

"Just a heads up, don't say things like 'You're the real Fu Hua,' it's making me uncomfortable."

Sirin pouted.

"... Are you really Fu Hua? As far as I know, you are not similar, and you could even be said to be completely different."

"Although you possess her memories and her body, you are a completely new being."

If Xia Ling heard this, she would probably be so angry that she would take Fu Hua's feather and make it into a feather duster. After all, Sirin had already been so direct as to tell Fu Hua where her triggers were, but this blockhead still stepped on them without hesitation.

Even two feet.

"What nonsense are you talking about? I have her body, I have her memories. If I'm not her—then who am I?"

"You're the strange one. You're clearly just a feather, but you act like you're the one in charge."

"Do you think I haven't noticed? You always stare at me with that look of an elder looking at a child."

As she spoke, Sirin suddenly felt as if she had lost control of her emotions. She took a deep breath and calmed herself down.

"There's no need. You should worry about yourself instead... But you're not wrong."

Why be bound by my past self? I am a completely new me now, and I can just be myself.

She continued walking forward.

"How do you plan to get there? By Hyperion? Or by Helios?"

"Let's just take the Helios transport ship... It's too much trouble to send the Hyperion over just for archaeological research and digging."

Bronya thought for a moment and then chose the small transport ship.

Don't ask why she chose this route; it's because among the three people on this trip, she was the most skilled driver.

Kiana has absolutely no idea how to pilot a spaceship, and as for Xia Ling... she can run faster than a spaceship.

"That's right. Moreover, Mount Tai Xu has a special status in Schicksal. If we just send the Hyperion there casually, the process of reporting it and finding a port to dock would be a huge problem."

Xia Ling nodded, agreeing with Bronya's statement.

"Alright, then you can head to Helios for three days. Remember not to exceed the time limit."

Theresa patiently gave her instructions, after all, two of the three in this team were not exactly well-behaved.

"Don't worry, Theresa, I'll keep an eye on them."

Xia Ling patted her chest, causing a stir that made Duck Duck turn her head in surprise.

"You're the one I'm most worried about!"

Theresa said irritably, "Bronya, Kiana, you two better keep a close eye on her and make sure she doesn't cause any trouble."

Kiana and Bronya exchanged a glance, both seeing the helplessness in each other's eyes.

What? You want us to keep an eye on Sister Xia Ling? Really...?

"Sigh... Never mind, you guys should hurry up and leave now. Maybe we can still have dinner near Mount Tai Xu."

Theresa shook her head and watched the three of them board the spaceship.

With engines roaring, the Helios detached from the Hyperion and sped toward Mount Tai Xu.

A moment later, Kiana, feeling a bit bored, went to the cockpit and started studying how to pilot the spaceship with Bronya.

Time passed slowly, and it wasn't until more than ten minutes later that Bronya belatedly realized something was wrong.

"Huh? Where's Sister Xia Ling?"

Kiana looked around. "I don't know... Weren't we just playing games in the cabin a moment ago?"

"Little rabbit, did you see that?"

The Heavy Armor Rabbit silently pulled out a communicator from behind its back.

"Huh? You actually saw it?"

Bronya covered her face as she read the message on the communicator that Xia Ling had left first.

"I knew it..."

Chapter 56 Xia Ling: I hope everything goes well for Fu Hua... right?