Honkai Consciousness

Over there, Huang Hao headed toward the coordinates Kevin had given him. Knowing that a hard battle awaited him, he did not use teleportation and ran there directly.

Huang Hao said quietly, "This is an overt conspiracy. But whose side is it on? I don't know. Still, once I arrive, I'll be the one who wins!"

Along the way, Huang Hao looked at the ruins beside him. His heart ached terribly, though he could not explain why. He kept pushing away distracting thoughts and continued forward.

Soon, Huang Hao arrived at the coordinates and began observing his surroundings.

The area was filled with ruins and utter chaos, yet he did not see a single person.

Huang Hao said, "Strange. Kevin couldn't possibly have lied to me. But there's neither a Herrscher nor anyone else here. What was the point of calling me here?"

Just as Huang Hao was thinking, the Rock Herrscher teleported in front of him, startling him into retreating several steps.

Huang Hao said, "What kind of power is this? Could this be the Void Herrscher?"

"Of course not. It's merely pure power."

Huang Hao heard those words and widened his eyes, staring at the Herrscher in shock. "Why do you have human consciousness?"

"It wasn't him. It was me."

Suddenly, Huang Hao felt the world spin. Darkness gradually enveloped him, standing in stark contrast to the blankness he had experienced before.

Huang Hao hurriedly looked around. "Where is this? Who are you?"

At that moment, laughter came from an unknown direction in response to Huang Hao. "Who I am isn't important. What matters is—who are you?"

Huang Hao said, "What do you mean? I'm Huang Hao. I'm me."

The voice laughed even louder. Huang Hao could clearly tell that it was mocking him.

Huang Hao said furiously, "Who are you really? And why did you bring me here?"

"I am the Honkai Will," said the voice from nowhere. "You and I are made of the same substance."

"Bullshit!" Huang Hao immediately retorted. "I'm nothing like you. I'm a living human being. How could I possibly have anything to do with you?"

The Honkai Will said, "If this had been before, what you said might have been true. But after coming out of that place, can you still guarantee it?"

Huang Hao froze. "How... how did you know?"

The Honkai Will said, "I already told you. You and I are the same."

Huang Hao recalled that he truly was a consciousness entity, born directly from the Imaginary Tree. That thing might actually be telling the truth.

Huang Hao said, "Fine. Let's say I accept your point of view. So what?"

The Honkai Will said, "Join us."

"What?"

"Join us."

After hearing it, Huang Hao stared blankly for a moment, then laughed angrily. "Are you joking? Join you just to die? I have things I need to protect. Why should I follow you?"

The Honkai Will said, "Shh. Listen to me. After accepting this power, you'll be in no way inferior to the End, and may even surpass her. You'll have no more troubles and will experience happiness you've never felt before."

Huang Hao said, "That's it? You want me to join you because of that? Do you even know why I came here?"

The Honkai Will said, "Of course I do. But look at what you've done."

As soon as it finished speaking, a screen appeared before Huang Hao. It displayed everything Huang Hao had experienced before.

Huang Hao punched the screen, but his fist passed straight through it. He turned around and shouted toward his surroundings, "How have you been watching me?"

The Honkai Will said, "From the instant you entered, we knew everything."

Huang Hao said, "So what? Now that you know I'm useful, you've come to recruit me, is that it?"

Hearing Huang Hao's question, the Honkai Will admitted it directly. "Yes. You went from an ordinary human at the beginning to an existence surpassing the Herrschers. That alone proves your strength."

Huang Hao said, "But I'm not the only person like that."

The Honkai Will said, "But you're the only one who came from the source."

Huang Hao fell silent, and the Honkai Will began playing the footage again.

"At first, you only wanted to save the people you knew. But later, you created Angela, and your compassion expanded. You foolishly wanted to save everyone. So, when we came for the sixth time, you saved them all..."

Huang Hao interrupted solemnly, "What are you trying to prove?"

The Honkai Will said, "Look at what you protected."

The screen immediately switched to Himiko.

"This was a friend you knew before you came here, yet you killed her with your own hands."

"I did kill her, but I'll definitely save her in the future."

"During that period, countless people died. Why didn't you care? Or rather, why didn't you dare to care?"

"Shut up!" Huang Hao clutched his head and dropped to one knee. "Bring this up again and see if I don't kill you!"

The Honkai Will laughed contemptuously. "You? Or should I say, the you who exists now? Am I wrong? Back then, you only cared about your friends, and only afterward did you regret it. Before coming here, had you really never experienced any of this?"

"You!"

"Hmph. Look at what you've done." The Honkai Will cut Huang Hao off and switched the screen to the present.

The Honkai Will said, "Look at everything you've done. Your abuse of power is what gave us such immense strength, allowing us to help ourselves."

"If I'm not mistaken, your original goal was to save these people, wasn't it?"

Huang Hao immediately raised his head. "Where are they? What did you do to them?"

The Honkai Will said, "Heh. See for yourself."

Huang Hao looked at the screen. It showed the ruins where he had stood earlier. He was sitting there now, and beside him was a blood-red... person?

Huang Hao stared in disbelief. Blood covered the entire ruin. Under the pressure of gravity, there was not even a single intact corpse left.

Huang Hao's eyes went blank. "No, impossible! I can save them later. Yes, I definitely can!"

Just as Huang Hao was hypnotizing himself, the Honkai Will delivered another fatal blow. "Are you still immersed in your beautiful fantasies? Still counting on a future that doesn't exist? Think carefully. What have you changed? The people you wanted to save were killed by your own hands. These people died because of you. Look. We're about to destroy this continent. What have you changed?"

Huang Hao clutched his head and collapsed to his knees, endlessly muttering inside his heart, "Impossible, impossible, impossible..."

The Honkai Will said, "Stop thinking about those things. Join us, and you can still become what you want to be."

Gradually, the black space beside him began swallowing Huang Hao bit by bit, starting from his legs, then his body, slowly creeping upward.

Huang Hao was already on the verge of breaking down and did not resist at all. However, when the black substance spread over his body, it suddenly stopped moving.

The Honkai Will said, "What's going on?"

"Don't even think about controlling Father!" Angela appeared nearby.

The Honkai Consciousness was not surprised by Angela's appearance. Since they were originally one, it was only natural that they could connect through the mind. What surprised it was that she could actually stop the corrosion.

The Honkai Will said, "Oh? How can you call this control? We're helping him, too."

"Besides, what can you do now? His consciousness is already almost completely corrupted."

"But he is my father."