Honkai Impact 3rd: Saving the Pre-Civilization Starting with Hand-Crafted Black Tech

Chapter 63: Eighth Herrscher, I Wasn't Lying

"That was pretty fast."

Ai Yue was a little surprised. He had originally planned to help clean up, but it seemed unnecessary now. "Let me see it."

"What can you even tell from it?" Mobius said verbally, but still handed the potion over. "Be careful, though. There's only this one. If you break it, I'll have to make another."

"Don't worry, I'm very steady." Ai Yue took the potion and pretended to hold it up to the light, but in reality, he activated the System. "Hmm, it should be fine. Let's use it now. We've found the Herrscher."

"Use it here?" Mobius took the potion back and then frowned slightly, glancing at Aponia beside her. "Wait, are you sure you don't want to bring someone more capable? You're not expecting me to fight the Herrscher, are you?"

Even though she and Aponia were Fused Warriors, they hadn't experienced much combat. Going to face a Herrscher like this felt a bit too hasty.

"Please rest assured, Doctor Mobius," Aponia said gently. "I will not let the Herrscher harm you."

"That's not what I'm worried about," Mobius shook her head. "But is it really okay for just a few of us to face a Herrscher? Especially you, you're just a normal person, right?"

"That's exactly the effect we want. You wouldn't understand," Ai Yue smiled slightly. "If there isn't a seemingly weak breakthrough point, how can you expect the opponent to struggle in their death throes?"

"As long as you have a plan," Mobius no longer hesitated. She took a few steps back, away from Ai Yue, and then injected the potion into her own neck.

As the potion was injected into Mobius's body, her aura and energy became chaotic, as if something else was awakening within her.

Aponia took half a step forward calmly, ready to protect Ai Yue if things went wrong. However, Ai Yue remained unfazed, merely observing every detail of Mobius.

He wasn't worried about Mobius going berserk again, because the potion had been tested by the System and was naturally without problems.

Reality unfolded as he had imagined. As the energy within Mobius stabilized, she opened her eyes. Her pupils, now golden, showed no madness or malice, but were filled with reason.

"It's successful." Mobius was initially somewhat excited, but seeing Ai Yue's calm demeanor, she couldn't help but suppress her emotions and adopt a similar state. "This is what it feels like to wield Herrscher power? It is indeed quite marvelous."

Mobius could feel a new energy expanding within her. Whenever she subconsciously tried to control this energy, corresponding knowledge would naturally surface in her mind.

Was this the information hidden within the Herrscher's genes?

Mobius paused for a moment to sense it, then pointed at the device on the table. A golden rift suddenly opened above the device, engulfing it. Then, another rift opened on another table not far away, "spitting" the device back out.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye. A device that originally required two people to lift was easily moved.

Then, a golden rift opened behind Mobius. She took a step back and walked directly into it, swallowed by the deep darkness and disappearing from the room.

Ai Yue couldn't help but look at Aponia. "Can you track her location?"

"Of course," Aponia said, placing a hand on the "mental wave detector" on her head. Soon, she showed a surprised expression. "She's... very far away now, almost on the other side of the Earth."

Is this Herrscher power? Even though she had only just gained control, she could traverse such a vast distance?

A few seconds later, Mobius reappeared before them, though she had changed slightly.

The purple patterns that had spread across Mobius's skin in the previous experiment reappeared, clearly related to her freely using the Herrscher's authority.

"That's about it. I feel like I'm going to die in another five minutes," Mobius said cheerfully, then looked at Aponia. "Where is the Herrscher?"

She had just tested the maximum range of her teleportation ability. It turned out that with accurate positioning, Mobius could now appear in most places on Earth.

Aponia reached out, placed her hand on Mobius's shoulder, and then shared the Herrscher's current location with Mobius through a mental link.

"Very good," Mobius opened her eyes. "Then let's go."

The next second, a golden rift engulfed all three of them.

"This should be enough, right?"

In a room within a certain building, the Eighth Herrscher finally breathed a sigh of relief after completing all the preparations she could.

First, she had gathered as many Honkai Beasts as possible, forming a vast sea of them outside the building. Then, she erected an illusionary barrier, which would cause all humans within its range to fall into a coma.

This way, she could hinder the human offensive as much as possible. And even if humans managed to break into the building, the Eighth Herrscher had her final trump card.

There were still many unconscious survivors in the building. Once the human offensive approached the building, she would awaken these survivors and have them call for help, making the humans hesitant to use large-scale destructive weapons.

As long as she could stall for enough time to master the final skill of Herrscher authority...

The Eighth Herrscher closed her eyes with confidence, beginning to comprehend the information that had appeared in her mind since her birth.

However, at that moment, she felt a peculiar energy fluctuation strangely appear on her face.

That energy fluctuation—though weak, it came from Herrscher authority?

The Eighth Herrscher opened her eyes in shock and saw Ai Yue and the other two stepping out of a golden rift, appearing before her.

Eighth Herrscher: ?

What in the world is going on!

"Hello there, we meet again." Ai Yue, who had just emerged from the golden rift, had a pale expression. Clearly, the spatial teleportation experience hadn't been pleasant, but he still tried to appear calm. He then drew out Pikachu and pointed it at the Herrscher. "I told you, I would find you."

"Damn human!" The Eighth Herrscher let out a roar. Knowing there was no retreat, she unleashed her full power and lunged at Ai Yue. "Only you, I will never forgive—"

"Bang."

The next second, a bullet whizzed out from the barrel of the gun, accurately hitting the Herrscher's chest.

However, as the Herrscher's body fell to the ground, Ai Yue also slowly leaned backward.

He felt his vision blur and found himself in an unfamiliar place.

The Eighth Herrscher, who should have been dead, appeared before him, giving him a mocking smile.

Chapter 64: Eighth Herrscher's Cause of Death: Popping Champagne Mid-Game

"Surprised?"

Seeing Ai Yue looking around, the Eighth Herrscher couldn't help but sneer. "Did you really think that defeating a Herrscher of consciousness would be as simple as killing its physical body?"

After being thwarted by this man for what felt like the hundredth time, the Eighth Herrscher finally felt like she'd regained some dignity.

Of course, this was only in her own mind.

"Oh, so what?" Ai Yue finally shifted his gaze back to the Eighth Herrscher. "This is a dreamscape you created in your final moments, isn't it? After your physical body's life force is extinguished, can your spirit still exist on its own?"

Ai Yue spoke calmly, unfazed by the Eighth Herrscher's increasingly contorted expression. "Even if the flow of time in this dreamscape is different from reality, how long can you possibly last?"

"I can exist forever!" the Eighth Herrscher finally roared, her voice filled with venom and hatred. "As long as I kill you and take your body!"

For a Herrscher who toyed with consciousness, a physical body was merely a vessel that could be replaced at any time. As long as her spirit and Herrscher Core remained, she would always have a fallback.

However, possessing another person came with severe after-effects and a period of weakness, so she wouldn't resort to it unless absolutely necessary.

But the current situation left her no room for hesitation. Moreover, the very person who had driven her to this desperate state was standing right in front of her. How could she possibly hold back?

If she killed him, she could not only avenge herself but also escape her current predicament. She could use his identity to recuperate and even find an opportunity to dismantle Moth to Fire from within, completely eradicating this biggest obstacle. The Eighth Herrscher couldn't find any reason not to do it.

"Then, what are you waiting for?" Ai Yue extended his hand, making a "please" gesture. "Let me properly experience the might of a Herrscher."

"Arrogant!" the Eighth Herrscher shrieked in fury, and an irresistible force instantly enveloped Ai Yue. "Drown in your own dreams!"

"Even now, you're still willing to give me a beautiful dream?" Ai Yue said with a smile. "You're surprisingly kind."

He didn't resist, allowing the vortex of power to pull him in.

Foolish human, you still don't realize the horror of a beautiful dream?

Hearing Ai Yue's words, a hint of mockery flickered in the Eighth Herrscher's eyes.

Nightmares, though terrifying, would cause people to instinctively struggle and resist, making them harder to control and requiring more power.

But beautiful dreams could make people willingly give up their struggle. Even if they sensed something was wrong, they would be lost in the dream's beauty, unable to let go, and ultimately become part of the Herrscher's authority after their physical life force was extinguished.

Of course, the current Eighth Herrscher couldn't use such a method against Ai Yue, as she didn't have much time left. Thus, she used all her strength to construct the most impenetrable beautiful dream ever, one that could manifest the deepest desires hidden in Ai Yue's heart and utterly defeat him with his own ideals.

Although this would consume a vast amount of mental energy, the Eighth Herrscher could afford it. After all, it was just the desire of a mere human. No matter how extraordinary he was, what could he possibly imagine?

Once Ai Yue was completely lost in the dreamscape, she would seize the opportunity to obliterate his consciousness!

Therefore, his only chance of survival was to find a way to kill the Eighth Herrscher's consciousness before he became fully immersed in the dream.

So, when she saw Ai Yue disappear into the dream vortex, the Eighth Herrscher breathed a sigh of relief. She had initially worried that the big-breasted Nun, whose mental power was inhumanly strong, would intervene. But either due to excessive trust in Ai Yue or sheer carelessness, she hadn't made a move until now.

Now, all she had to do was wait for Ai Yue's consciousness to completely fade.

Feeling the man's gradually weakening mental fluctuations, the Eighth Herrscher couldn't help but smile.

She was already envisioning her plans after possessing Ai Yue: how to use his identity to sow discord within Moth to Fire, destroy their trust, then find a way to contact Moth to Fire's higher-ups, turn them into her servants, and then incite them to war, dragging the entire human civilization into a quagmire of conflict...

Wait, why is the mental energy consumption so outrageous?!

A moment later, the Eighth Herrscher snapped back from her reverie, feeling the drastic depletion of her mental energy. Her face immediately turned grim.

The dreamscape she had specifically prepared for Ai Yue consumed different amounts of mental energy based on the target's desires. If he merely longed for a happy family, it would consume very little. But if he desired to be a ruler, it would require a massive amount of mental energy to construct a dreamscape on a national scale.

But the current level of consumption far exceeded that of a national-level dreamscape. What in the world was this bastard doing in his dream? Was he throwing a party for all the humans in the world?

She couldn't wait any longer. If this continued, even if she possessed him, she would fall into a prolonged period of weakness, and how could she possibly carry out her plans then?

With that thought, the Eighth Herrscher no longer hesitated. She closed her eyes and immediately sank into Ai Yue's dreamscape, intending to erase him while he was still conjuring his fantasies.

The next second, when she opened her eyes, everything she saw was enveloped in verdant light.

What the hell is this? Is this still Earth?

The verdant light emanated from an unknown source, covering every corner within her line of sight. Towering mountains, so tall they couldn't see the peaks, surrounded her, making her feel as insignificant as an ant. Even the mountains themselves emitted the same verdant glow, which, to the Herrscher's eyes, exuded a sacred sense of peace.

The Eighth Herrscher explored this dreamscape with her mental energy and was shocked to discover that such scenery covered most of the planet's surface. Beyond that, countless radiant giants were traversing between the mountains, displaying a vibrant scene of life.

It was only then that the Eighth Herrscher understood. Those glowing things weren't mountains at all; they were cities belonging to the giants!

No wonder the mental energy consumption was so immense. She was literally creating an entirely new world in a dreamscape!

But why would such a clear and realistic world be the hidden desire in Ai Yue's heart? What kind of plans did he have for the future?

The Eighth Herrscher vaguely realized that she might have stumbled upon something extraordinary.

However, at that very moment, she suddenly felt the atmosphere around her shift subtly.

She instinctively looked around and realized that, at some point, giants had gathered around her. Some stood on the ground, while others floated in the air, but their radiant eyes were all fixed on her.

Even though she was within the dreamscape she had constructed with her mental energy, the Eighth Herrscher felt like prey at that instant.

Chapter 65: Eighth Herrscher Confirmed Dead

"Ughhhhhhh!!!"

With a scream, the dreamscape that had bound Ai Yue shattered.

Ai Yue opened his eyes, finding himself back in the pure white space where it had just been him and the Eighth Herrscher. The Eighth Herrscher now stood opposite him, clutching her chest and gasping for breath, a trace of fear in her eyes.

But it was understandable. Even in a dream, being hit by thousands of light-based skills simultaneously couldn't have felt good.

"It would have been better if you had come a little later," Ai Yue said with a hint of regret. "I hadn't finished creating the King Star yet."

"What is that planet?!" The Eighth Herrscher was already bordering on hysteria. She couldn't accept being defeated in the realm of consciousness, having been beaten within a dreamscape. "What on earth was that!"

"It's my beautiful dream," Ai Yue stated as a matter of course. "And I have you to thank for it. Without this dream, it would have taken me ages to see such a scene."

What the Eighth Herrscher saw in the dreamscape was naturally Ai Yue's ultimate hope for the humans of this world.

It was the Land of Light - Ultra Star, located in the M78 Nebula.

Those giant beings of light were powerful entities that had transformed and grown from humanoid lifeforms after receiving energy radiation from the Plasma Spark Tower. Their civilization was not only incredibly advanced, but their individual capabilities were also ridiculously high. According to the lore, the Land of Light had no police system because no crimes had occurred in 400,000 years, making it the ultimate utopia.

However, Ai Yue knew very well that transforming Earth into a world like the Land of Light would require not just a leap in technology, but also a moral sublimation. Otherwise, if those with ulterior motives were to grasp immense power, it would only lead to an unmanageable tragedy.

There was still an incredibly long way to go until that day.

That was why he had buried this hope deep in his heart. If the Eighth Herrscher hadn't turned it into a dreamscape, Ai Yue likely wouldn't have seen such a scene for a very long time.

"You predicted this, didn't you!" Seeing Ai Yue's nostalgic expression, the Eighth Herrscher suddenly realized. "You knew from the start that I would use this method against you, so you've been preparing this way to wear down my mental energy, haven't you!"

The Eighth Herrscher had never taken humans seriously. Because of her ultimate fallback, she simply didn't believe humans could kill her, so she didn't care even when she suffered setbacks.

After all, as long as she could fully master the knowledge she possessed at birth, she would become an existence that humanity could never defeat. What was a temporary failure in comparison?

One could even say that a temporary death could be used by her as a smokescreen to deceive humanity, just as she had done to Ai Yue. When humans were immersed in a false victory and let their guard down, she could return like lightning and once again unleash disaster.

But now, even this fallback route had been cut off by the man before her. After actively shattering the dreamscape she had created, she had lost the chance to possess Ai Yue. And the current time no longer allowed her to find a new host.

Moreover, even if she could escape Ai Yue, could the Nun waiting outside really let her get away?

"I did anticipate that you would try to possess me," Ai Yue admitted honestly, nodding at the Eighth Herrscher's accusation. "However, regarding the dreamscape, I can only say it was an accident."

The reason Ai Yue appeared before the Eighth Herrscher was precisely because he knew she still possessed the means to possess others. Even if her physical body was destroyed, she had a chance to be reborn by taking over someone else's body.