"The Imaginary Tree gave the world its rules, but only its rules. Humans born within those rules simply cannot survive for long once they enter the chaotic, lawless Quantum Sea. Although Fusion Warriors can survive in the Quantum Sea for a while, the success rate of the Fusion Warrior surgery is too low and cannot be widely applied. It is impossible to perform it on everyone."
"By sustaining the anchors and thus extending the world's lifespan, while having Fu Hua and the others continuously search for people capable of what you call inverting World Bubbles—that is our plan."
A Long, or Perhaps Permanent, Farewell
"So that was it. I understand now."
Kaino nodded.
He truly understood it all. It seemed the Book of Cang Xuan had put considerable effort into making the theory easier to understand.
"So tell me, what do I need to do to invert a World Bubble into my body?"
"The process itself is simple. Prometheus, the artificial intelligence, can handle all the overly complicated work."
Blue light flashed from the Book of Cang Xuan's eyes once more, projecting a knightly lance somewhat similar in appearance to the Abyss Flower. Numerous bonds extended from its tip, spiraling and intertwining until they formed the shaft and handguard.
It looked pretty cool.
"Rhongomiant—the first candidate when Dr. Mei created the first God Key. It was later abandoned because it could not maximize the performance of the Herrscher of Reason core."
"Even so, it is still a weapon forged from Soul Steel. Moreover, since it was originally intended to become the first God Key, it carries a subprogram of Prometheus. After the final battle, Doctor Mobius modified it into a computational tool for World Bubble inversion."
The Book of Cang Xuan dismissed the projection as it spoke.
"Of course, it is currently with Kevin. At first, the doctors intended to have Kevin become the one to invert the world, but unfortunately, even Kevin's Honkai energy reserves were insufficient to support the energy required for World Bubble inversion."
"Although I have never met Kevin, he must be very strong, right? After all, he is the only one who has held on in the Quantum Sea until now."
"Of course. It would not be an exaggeration to call Kevin the strongest warrior of our civilization."
"But even he could not invert a World Bubble into his body. Just how much Honkai energy does inversion require?"
Out of curiosity, Kaino asked.
"After all, it is a World Bubble containing the entire solar system. It is difficult to invert it directly through an individual's power."
The Book of Cang Xuan waved her tiny hand.
"Of course, for you, it is something that will absolutely succeed. After all, your Honkai energy is infinite."
"Will inverting a World Bubble have any side effects?"
Kaino asked to make sure.
"Like suddenly having a huge appetite, or suddenly loving bitter melon? I should prepare myself mentally in advance."
"We have never actually inverted a World Bubble, so how could we know? Still, we can make a rough estimate through our calculations."
The Book of Cang Xuan shook her head and floated to a spot not far in front of Kaino.
"For you... during the initial stage of inverting the World Bubble, the amount of Honkai energy you can freely mobilize should be very limited. Rhongomiant will use Su's power to continuously adjust the form of the World Bubble's inversion within your body, making it more stable."
"This stage will not last too long, probably around a week. Honkai energy can fulfill all the energy your body requires, but if you are not used to going without food, it would be best to bring plenty. You seem to enjoy eating quite a lot."
"You were fighting me for food back then too. More importantly, what if I encounter something like a Honkai Beast? There should be similar things in the Quantum Sea, right?"
Kaino asked.
"It will be fine. You have Judgement of Shamash, after all... And it is not all bad. Inverting a World Bubble into your body does come with benefits."
Noticing Kaino's expression becoming strange, the Book of Cang Xuan hurriedly continued.
"Once the World Bubble stabilizes within your body, it will emit an energy no weaker than Honkai energy and feed it back to you. Su's portion of power will also help you use that energy more conveniently. That should count as a benefit for you, more or less?"
"Oh, right. There is one more thing."
The Book of Cang Xuan tapped her little head and hurriedly added.
"Your body is connected to the Imaginary Tree, so once the World Bubble is inverted into your body, the world's rules may complete themselves. If that happens, the anchors will gradually disappear. I am not entirely sure what might happen during that process."
"Maybe it will greatly increase your appetite, or maybe it will grant you the authorities of every Herrscher. In any case, it will not have negative effects on you... Though the more likely possibility is that nothing will happen at all."
Kaino nodded. "All right. One last question: if the World Bubble is inverted into my body, can I still come back in here?"
"Huh?"
The Book of Cang Xuan froze upon hearing that.
"With the World Bubble inside your body, of course you cannot enter it. But if you want to come in, you can put the World Bubble back into the Quantum Sea first, then enter. It will just be a little troublesome at most."
"If you miss us in the future, or run into some difficulty you cannot solve, you can do that."
"All right."
Kaino indicated that he understood.
"There is still plenty of time. I want to go see my friends first. Don't worry, I will be back soon."
"Sushang and the others?"
Fu Hua, who had been idling beside them for a long time due to her missing memories, spoke up.
"No... Mount Tai Xu is not close to Yi Xin Mountain Villa, and who knows where they are now. If I searched bit by bit, three days would definitely pass. I will see Li Sushang and Master again if I get the chance later. I want to say goodbye to the friends I spent several years with in this world."
Kaino waved his hand, feeling rather helpless about it.
If possible, he wanted to say goodbye to everyone he knew. After all, barring accidents, he would not enter the Quantum Sea again for a long time. He was not some orphan without a single relative in his own world. Why would he keep running into the Quantum Sea whenever he had nothing to do?
Besides, how could the success rate of inverting a World Bubble possibly be one hundred percent? Doing it once or twice was one thing, but repeatedly taking it out and putting it back would definitely cause problems.
Still, it was a pity he would miss the gift Cheng Lingshuang and Li Sushang wanted to give him.
"If that is the case, then go do what you want to do."
Fu Hua understood and nodded.
"We will wait for you here."
The time difference between the Saintess Orphanage and Mount Tai Xu was not great. Not long after night fell, several rooms in the Orphanage still had their lights on.
For example, Theresa, who had already become an adult and entered the management level, no longer needed to follow the Orphanage rules quite so strictly. Then there was the Priest, who always tried to repair the God Key Void Archives before going to sleep each night.
Standing before the Priest's door, Kaino wore a melancholy expression.
If he remembered correctly, his journey through Shenzhou had begun when he entered this room at night. Several months had passed, and now it seemed it would also end when he entered it at night.
Fate... was truly strange.
Kaino knocked on the door.
"Hm? Theresa? Come in."
The Priest's voice from inside sounded somewhat surprised. Apparently, he had not expected anyone to knock at this hour.
After all, the Orphanage rules were still quite strict.
"Priest, you have gotten stupid. If Theresa were knocking, the sound would be coming from much lower down."
Kaino pushed open the door and entered, taking the chance to tease a certain five-foot-tall little cutie.
"Kaino?"
The Priest looked pleasantly surprised, a faint smile appearing on his face. He stood and pulled over a chair from the side.
"I did not expect you to return so quickly. It seems your journey in Shenzhou went smoothly?"
"Yes, it went quite smoothly... I found the immortal, and I also found a way to return home."
Kaino nodded and sat down after the Priest did.
"So you are going home?"
The Priest understood what Kaino meant. The joy on his face faded, replaced by a trace of reluctance.
To put it simply, the Priest was the person in the Orphanage closest to Kaino. The Kaslana bloodline made the Priest treat him like his own child, while the Priest's life-saving grace and years of raising him made Kaino regard him as a second father.
"Coming at this hour... Are you planning to leave tomorrow? You will not see Theresa and the others again?"
"Yes. I promised to help the immortal with something, and I need to hurry. Besides, if nothing unexpected happens, I may not return for a very long time."
Kaino's expression was complicated.
He was still not very good at farewells.
"Is that so? You have grown up. It is time for you to walk your own path."
The priest sighed, then put a faint smile back on his face.
"Then at least when you marry the one you love in the future, come back with your wife to visit. That way, I can give you both a wedding gift."
Kaino nodded, his expression solemn and earnest, with a hint of embarrassment.
"I will."
World Inversion
Having returned to Mount Tai Xu, Kaino placed the purple mask in his Imaginary Space, his heart heavy.
It was a parting gift from the Priest—the Violet Mask Saintess Kallen had worn when she robbed the rich to aid the poor.
Even during her most difficult and lost times, the Saintess never forgot her original intentions and defended her justice in her own way. Kaino, I am giving it to you in the hope that you can do the same.
Those were the Priest's exact words.
Now, he was about to leave the elder who had accompanied him through the most important five years of his life and embark on a journey to find his blood relatives.
"You are back?"
When Fu Hua saw Kaino reappear before her, she said, "There was still plenty of time. You could have talked a little longer."
"No, there is no need. We should start a little earlier, lest something unexpected happen."
Besides, the sooner it ended, the sooner he could see his family in his original world.
Although Bianca was currently at Schicksal, so he might not be able to see her, and his old man and K423 had no idea where they had run off to, he still knew his Big Auntie's phone number.
Teasing Theresa from the Orphanage was nowhere near as interesting as teasing his own Big Auntie.
No... Things were about to begin. He should be serious.
Kaino patted his face, turned toward the Book of Cang Xuan, and his expression became solemn.
"So next, I just need to enter the Quantum Sea and find Kevin?"
"Wait a moment. Take this first."
As Fu Hua spoke, she handed Kaino a Badge.
Kaino accepted it.
The Badge seemed to be made of some special alloy. A golden ring was set into it, and above that was engraved a moth.
"This is the Badge of that organization you belonged to, Fu Hua?"
Kaino casually tossed it upward. When the ring between the moth and the Badge caught the light, it refracted a glow like burning flames, making the moth shine brilliantly.
It was as though it were chasing fire.
"Yes. This is the Badge of Moth Chasing Fire. Everyone who joined Moth Chasing Fire was issued one."
Fu Hua explained the Badge's origins. There was not much nostalgia in her expression; her eyes held only calmness.
"Take it. Kevin will understand who you are and will not attack you because of your Herrscher abilities—though Kevin in his current state has neither the strength nor the ability to hurt you."
"Ah, these are the coordinates of Kevin's location."
The Book of Cang Xuan projected a set of coordinates again for Kaino to see.
"Because Su sent them to us a long time ago, there may be some discrepancies. Be careful when you get there."
"Prometheus can explain the remaining steps to you. As the intelligence program within Rhongomiant, she knows more than we do. And Rhongomiant is in Kevin's hands, so you can take control of it directly when you arrive."
"And take this too."
Fu Hua suddenly spoke, raising the dozens of Feather of the Underworld feathers she held in her hand.
"If you die while carrying the World Bubble, we will fall into the Quantum Sea once again. These feathers are for your protection. Although your unusual consciousness is not afraid of this sort of attack, they will keep you from being helpless against enemies who specialize in attacking consciousness."
Kaino blinked. Actually, when he had undergone Fu Hua's Feather of the Underworld test last time, he had taken the opportunity to analyze it.
But he should not tell her that now.
After putting away the Feather of the Underworld fragments and the Badge, Kaino nodded to Fu Hua and the Book of Cang Xuan.
"Take care."
Before you continue