February 3, 2000
"How could this... happen?" Theresa stared at Patrick's corpse, her body trembling uncontrollably. She had never expected that they would be separated by death after carrying out a mission together just yesterday.
"Lady Theresa, the intelligence team has begun investigating the surrounding area, but they haven't found any clues yet. HQ has already sent new reinforcements. They'll be here soon, so please wait a little longer, Lady Theresa."
Theresa listened to her, then looked again at the wounds on Patrick's body. Her heart still wouldn't settle.
"Lady Theresa, this is bad! A large number of Honkai Beasts have suddenly appeared in the snow. There are roughly more than five hundred of them. The defensive facilities of Babylon Tower alone won't be able to hold them back!"
Faced with the sudden situation, Theresa knew that this was no time for grief.
"Don't panic. I'll deal with these Honkai Beasts..."
Suddenly, a familiar, hearty voice came through the communication channel.
"No need, Theresa. Stay in the tower and give orders. We'll handle these guys."
On the snowy plain outside Babylon Tower, Siegfried stood before more than five hundred Honkai Beasts, raising both guns without the slightest fear. Beside him were the two A-rank Valkyries, Salome, Jokanan, Shub, and Nicholas.
"Pathetic weaklings. Even gathered together, you're still no match for us!" Red-haired, blue-eyed Nicholas charged ahead. Wielding Crimson Whisper, she swept it forward, killing two Chariot-class Honkai Beasts with a single strike. Under Theresa's command, the three grew braver as they fought, and the number of Honkai Beasts rapidly dwindled.
Not far from the battlefield, a certain Lobster-head Doctor watched the three of them and shook his head helplessly.
"Those idiots from Schicksal are completely tied up here, aren't they? She should be absorbing the Honkai Energy inside the tower."
Meanwhile, inside Babylon Tower.
"Hahaha, I can feel the power flowing into my body without end☆!"
Sirin greedily absorbed the Honkai Energy inside the tower, dancing around excitedly. As one of the few Herrschers who knew how to absorb Honkai Energy and gradually develop, she greatly pleased Enoshia, who stood nearby.
"Such a good opportunity. Aren't you going to absorb it?" Sirin turned her head toward Enoshia, who stood beside her without making a move.
"It's not that I don't want to. I can't. If I absorb a large amount of Honkai Energy as well, Schicksal will immediately detect two Herrscher reactions. It's not time for me to reveal myself yet... What is it?"
Sirin suddenly froze, then pointed in a certain direction.
"I can feel that something is waiting for me to go there." After saying that, Sirin opened a portal. Enoshia seized the opportunity and followed her through it.
Seventeen kilometers outside Babylon Tower.
"Whew... whew..." Sirin sat on the ground, gasping heavily. It was her first time teleporting such a long distance, and she felt as though all the strength had drained from her body.
"Looks like this is the thing connected to you." In front of the two of them was what appeared to be a gigantic egg, its surface shimmering with a blue glow. Enoshia knew that, in the original story, this was where Sirin became the true Herrscher of Void. But in this timeline, where the Will of Honkai might not exist, would she still succeed?
After Sirin entered the egg, Enoshia followed her inside. What appeared before her was Sirin beside a hospital bed, watching in despair as her mother passed away. Alone beside the bed, she wailed and sobbed.
Afterward, Schicksal adopted her. Inside Babylon Tower, a researcher told her that he needed her to "help with a little something." Sirin didn't think much of it. She simply raised her arm and allowed the Honkai Energy in the syringe to be injected into her body. Then, an excruciating pain spread throughout her entire body.
"Ah... It hurts! It hurts!!!" Sirin collapsed onto the floor, clutching her head with both hands as she curled into herself and convulsed nonstop. Unending pain consumed her entire consciousness, leaving deep bloody scars in her memories. Tears poured from her eyes, blurring her vision. Wave after wave of agony struck with increasing ferocity. Every cell in her body wailed, trembled, and struggled to break free. Yet faced with her suffering, the researcher merely wore an indifferent expression and spoke in annoyance.
"Tch, this test subject is useless too? What a worthless piece of trash." After curling his lip at Sirin, he strode away.
"It hurts!"
"It hurts."
"It hurts..."
Sirin's voice grew quieter and quieter, gradually changing from furious wails into desperate whimpers.
"You bastards... You all deserve to die!!!" Having witnessed Sirin's experiences firsthand, Enoshia could no longer feel even the slightest sympathy for Schicksal. Even if Schicksal were destroyed by her, it would be entirely their own fault.
The scene before them changed. Sirin went from the prison to a snowy plain. Snow fell heavily as she stared at a snow-covered mound ahead and murmured to herself. It was the grave of her friends. Through countless days and nights of torment, these battered souls had found brief solace only by huddling together for warmth. Now, of the people who had once embraced one another, only Sirin remained.
The snowfield of Siberia was bitterly cold. Dressed so lightly, Sirin could freeze solid at any moment, yet she continued standing there, saying her final farewell to the friends she had known for only a short time.
"Bella, Aurora, Agatha, rest well."
However, even her final farewell was brutally interrupted by the researchers behind her.
"Hey, is the defective material taken care of? Hurry back and continue the experiments. I don't want to waste any more time on this trash!"
Colder than Siberia's biting wind was the merciless indifference of the human heart.
As Sirin was forcibly dragged away, she used all her strength to look back at their graves as they grew farther and farther away. Her tears had only just fallen before freezing into ice in the frigid wind. Along with those tears, her heart froze as well. From that moment on, she abandoned all hope for humanity. Taking revenge on Schicksal became the sole meaning of the rest of her life.
"Drip." It sounded like a drop of water falling. The entire space warped, and only a few seconds later, Sirin before Enoshia had changed.
X-shaped patterns appeared in her pupils. She wore a close-fitting long dress formed from Honkai Energy, with a white short dress layered beneath a purple long skirt decorated with gold patterns along the hem. She was barefoot, with purple bandages around both legs and a Purple Polygonal Anklet around her right ankle. A Feather Ornament adorned her head. Sirin, the Herrscher of Void, had fully awakened.
"I want revenge! Not a single one of those bastards from Schicksal can live☆!" Sirin had clearly experienced the memories as well. Now, she glared furiously, her eyes seeming capable of spitting fire.
Seeing her like this after witnessing her memories, Enoshia felt nothing but heartache. She stepped forward and hugged her.
Feeling the warmth coming from Enoshia, Sirin froze in place.
"You... Why..."
"Don't let hatred cloud your judgment." After standing stunned for several seconds, Enoshia finally managed to say those words.
"Are you trying to stop me from taking revenge?"
Enoshia gently shook her head.
"Never. Every grievance has its source and every debt its debtor. There's nothing wrong with taking revenge on Schicksal. It just shouldn't become your entire life. Now that you possess power, you can do other things you want to do."
"What I want to do... Hmm?" A Honkai Beast as small as a mosquito interrupted Sirin's contemplation. It told her that several formidable people were rapidly approaching.
Enoshia knew that Theresa had probably found them using Judgement of Thunder mode. Perhaps because the Will of Honkai had not interfered, Sirin's awakening had taken far less time than in the original story.
"Whew, I'll deal with these annoying people first, then think about it." Sirin gently pushed Enoshia away, then used the authority of the Herrscher of Void to vanish from the spot.
"To help Sirin and bring the Second Honkai Outbreak to an end sooner, I should take some real action too." Enoshia muttered to herself, then quickly left as well. Reentering the network, Enoshia hurried toward Schicksal HQ without hesitation.
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