The Sixth Herrscher Awakens to Her Revelation

Sorrow, hatred, despair, pain.

These extremely negative emotions were churning wildly within my soul, yet reason and consciousness strangely detached themselves, clearly recognizing a peculiar sense of incongruity.

It's only natural for her to perceive change; Seele Fulei is the kind of person who is naturally accustomed to bearing bitterness and sorrow.

Even if they are questioned, neglected, abandoned, despised, or insulted.

As long as there is even a faint trace of kindness and love within, it is enough for her to banish the mountain of negativity, draw upon this spark to continue living, and sincerely thank it.

But now it's completely different. Pure negative emotions have overwhelmed everything. The little girl wants to sincerely thank the two of them, to say that they have already done enough, and to tell them not to be sad and not to say sorry anymore.

But at that moment, her mind was blank, and her body seemed to be driven by pure emotions. She could only sit there blankly, lifeless like a puppet. Only her consciousness was clearly separated out, warning her of the abnormality within.

--The current Seele Fulei is contrary to her original personality.

After vaguely understanding this reality, an eerie calmness seeped into my consciousness and filled my being like a cold spring.

Suddenly, Seele recalled her previous experience of trying to simulate Mei's thinking pattern, and she took the opportunity to use this experience to question herself.

--Now, let's begin the thought experiment.

Having experienced the Honkai Consciousness link and become the Sixth Herrscher, has he changed in the process compared to before?

Yes, this is an undeniable and unavoidable reality.

But change is a perfectly normal thing. A person's life and growth is a process of constantly dying and being replaced by a new kind of [life] or [wisdom] until the real death comes. The constant replacement and substitution is just natural.

Even though a major personality shift is a low-probability event, becoming Herrscher is almost a life-altering turning point that can extinguish a bright future. It is quite normal for a normal human to become someone whose personality contradicts their previous personality under such a turning point.

But Seele was not satisfied with this conclusion, or rather, the moment she came to this conclusion, she understood that it was just a mere excuse.

No matter how many excuses are used to evade the issue, the fact that the core has undergone a major change remains unshaken.

This signifies that Seele Fulei after becoming Herrscher has diverged from Seele Fulei before becoming Herrscher, creating a distinct path that only she can see.

But the problem has returned to its original starting point.

Even if things change, so what?

A person's image is formed by the evaluations and opinions of others.

Even though she believes her personality has undergone strange changes, to those around her, the current Seele Fulei is no different from the Seele Fulei of the past.

But for Seele Fulei, who has never valued her own worth, is this change really important?

"You did nothing wrong, Seele."

"It's my and Qiluo's fault."

Her words, strained to suppress her sobs, brought her back to her senses; her mind, caught in a storm, came to a standstill.

The final rhetorical question in the thought experiment naturally brought it to a close.

Seele looked toward the source of the sound.

--The girl's snow-white hair fell loose as she lowered her head, obscuring her vision. Her golden eyes no longer held their former liveliness and resilience, only a lifeless sorrow remained. Her slender hands, adorned with manicured nails, trembled weakly as she gripped the roots of her hair, her knuckles pale.

Seele Fulei knew all too well that she was the culprit who had turned Carole, who was once the most charismatic and seemingly always full of energy, into her current state.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

But what's the point of saying it aloud?

Even now, I still subconsciously crave the warmth of being embraced, yet I grieve for the coldness of my clothes soaked with tears.

Selfish, ugly, and despicable.

She listened to the girl's continuous sobbing and remorseful apologies, her lips moving but she remained silent.

"I'm sorry, Seele," Shiyu Qiluo whispered in her ear.

Seele understood that this was likely the last time she would see either Carole or Shiyu Qiluo.

But even so.

Emotions still blocked his throat and his will, preventing him from uttering any words.

She stood there, stunned, like an abandoned rag doll, stripped of all its luster and beauty, reduced to utter worthless trash in a dark ditch...

Three days have passed since that accident.

The first instance of the Sixth Herrscher experiencing uncontrolled Honkai Energy led to Seele Fulei undergoing another comprehensive physical examination and mental monitoring that same day.

The results showed that all indicators were normal, and the lethargy seemed reasonable given the circumstances.

Given that this possibility had been anticipated, the controversy surrounding this unexpected incident did not attract much attention.

However, the restrictions on personnel entering and leaving the Soul Steel Prison have become stricter. Even if someone still intends to visit Seele in person, they must be given a Soul Steel Ring with a higher concentration of mass reserves in order to prevent Honkai Energy from being converted into heat energy and taking their life in the event of an accident.

Since the living room was completely destroyed, Prometheus simply replaced all the materials in every corner of the house with Soul Steel of equal quality to prevent the next accident from happening.

All of this was completed in the short time that Seele was undergoing her physical examination, demonstrating remarkable efficiency.

The sporadic risks currently exhibited by the Sixth Herrscher are still within the expected range, but the way Honkai Energy is rampaging and transforming into thermal energy is somewhat strange to Mei.

Theoretically, barring a major stimulus, Seele should not exhibit such a destructive form even if her Honkai Energy goes out of control.

However, the little girl's subsequent account of hearing strange noises revealed the mystery behind it all.

Mei thus came to understand a reality: even after the Honkai Consciousness loses its connection with the Herrscher, it can still send vague, one-way messages, and there is even a possibility of re-establishing a connection with it.

With current technology, she couldn't detect whether He had reconnected with Seele through the faint channel. Theoretically, this was a troublesome situation, but fortunately, Su Qing'an's ability to observe souls eliminated this uncertainty.

So, on the seventh day of the boy's journey around the world, as he and Kevin continued to send the remains of Emperor-class beings to the research institute, Mei's message arrived as promised.

This is Fiji, the easternmost and westernmost country in the world.

It is a natural archipelago located in the heart of the South Pacific, with most of the islands designated as nature reserves to preserve their original ecological features.

The million-strong population that existed before the Great Honkai almost entirely perished in wave after wave of Honkai Vortex and the rampage of Honkai Beast. The few survivors were taken to Australia by the Moth to Fire team.

Given the current limited resources and manpower of civilization, and considering the issue of efficiency, this area is not currently part of the Holy Gate Project.

Allowing the Honkai to run rampant in Fiji is a desperate measure at present. Prolonged neglect of the hinterland will lead to semi-permanent large-scale abandonment, and the higher-ups are unwilling to see such an outcome. However, compared to other areas with large populations, it is easy to make a decision after weighing the pros and cons.

It is currently the height of summer in Fiji.

This country, which once enjoyed a comfortable climate year-round, has fallen into a silent and terrifying winter, with persistent black and gray smog ravaging much of the area between hundreds of islands.

This perpetually gray world is the dominant theme of our times.

The white-haired warrior gazed at the corpses scattered among the ruins in the distance. He glanced at the dual pistols in his hands, the gaseous Honkai Energy mist rising like wisps of smoke, the intense heat causing localized heating of the armor on his hands, the crimson patterns appearing as if flowing magma.

The mechanism of this weapon is completely different from that of normal weapons. Rather than being a gun, it is more like a highly active soul steel that is merely manifested in the gun's outer shell.

[Ruling]

As the prototype of Mei's latest project, its name undoubtedly carries profound meaning.

Not only does it surpass all current Soul Steel weapons in performance, but in terms of rarity alone, it is also the only one of its kind in the world.

The basic function of the Judgment is simple: to save the rate and time of gathering Honkai Energy for shaping, to have an intelligent system that calculates various combat situations and performs all the micro-management of the Honkai Energy formula, and to have a special Honkai power reactor inside that provides power assistance.

Just now, Kevin Kaslana successfully killed an Emperor-class Honkai Beast with her Soul Steel weapon, named [Judgment], which proves that the boost to combat power from dual pistols should not be underestimated.

Based on the data on paper, this helped him exceed at least two-thirds of his maximum output power.

However, the cost was that, due to the difficulty in containing the power, it was far less restrained than taking matters into one's own hands. The ruins ahead and the remains of the Emperor-class Honkai Beast were reduced to large swaths of dust that could blend seamlessly into the black and gray sky.

This is one of the reasons why the two chose to hunt in Fiji; such a completely uninhabited area is suitable for obtaining the basic data that Mei requires for observation.

Su Qing'an sat on a bench on the rooftop of a building, her dark eyes gazing at the gray world in the distance, her expression indifferent, making it difficult to discern her true emotions.

Since Kevin has been handling almost everything lately, the boy's trips have been like a pure vacation, but from Kevin's perspective, he's basically been spacing out the whole time.

Although Su Qing'an had a habit of gazing into the distance and lost in thought in the past, it had become more and more frequent recently. Even with all the signs indicating his recent abnormality, Kevin was still powerless to truly understand the predicament he was experiencing.

In his view, Su Qing'an's reaction could only be related to Seele, who had become the Sixth Herrscher.

Kevin could offer words of comfort to his former teammates, but for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to say them to Su Qing'an, who was acting as his teacher.

In Kevin Kaslana's eyes, Su Qing'an was far more perfect than Mei had described.

No matter how severe or perilous the predicament, how desperate and sorrowful the reality, or how incomprehensible the adversity, he could bear it all alone.

The comfort, pity, and even sighs of others are useless to such a young man.

So Kevin chose to remain silent, and perhaps he himself understood that the imprisonment in Su Qing'an's heart was an unsolvable problem.

The only good news recently is that, having not entered [Udu-dust •Critical] for a week, Little Feather has gradually regained some of its initial vitality.

The most obvious manifestation of this is that even at a high altitude, it becomes less likely to be blown away by the sweeping winds.

This shows that even if it's just a little bit, that ability to disregard matter beyond the soul will gradually resurface over time.

Su Qing'an had also gotten used to just how much mischief Little Feather could cause as she became more energetic and loved to jump around.

At least after this period of time, the boy gained a deep understanding of the micro-management techniques used to directly pull the two back through the Soul Link between them.

So much so that unless it misbehaves and runs out of range that would consume a lot of Honkai Energy, he adopts a laissez-faire attitude towards it.

However, in this respect, Little Feather herself is the one most afraid of encountering a sudden and massive depletion of Honkai Energy, which is also the core reason why she disliked being thrown to Fu Hua in Canghai City.

So in most cases, unless it swells up to the point that it thinks it's a particularly powerful feather, it will usually stay timidly on the boy's head or swim in the Mind Lake.

"Drop."

Mei's message arrived as expected.

[I apologize for adding to your workload while you're already working overtime, but something unexpected has happened regarding Seele, and I need you to come back to confirm whether her soul has reconnected with the Honkai Consciousness through a new channel.]

[Furthermore, from the perspective of stabilizing the Sixth Herrscher, I also believe you have a need to return.]

The boy's pupils contracted slightly. He hesitated for a moment, but finally responded:

[Good.]

Escaping won't solve everything, but if it could...

Fu Hua wore a pink apron, and her long gray hair was tied into a vibrant high ponytail. The corners of her eyes were slightly upturned, revealing a captivating smile.

The girl held up the curry in her hand to Seele and asked:

"Is curry okay for dinner tonight?"

The little girl tilted her head and blinked:

"Could you add more beef?"

Fu Hua nodded in response:

"No problem, but carrots and potatoes are also essential. Seele can't be a picky eater."

Seele confidently stated that there was no problem.

"I eat everything except green peppers."

She quietly added:

"I just prefer eating meat."

Fu Hua bent down and pinched the little girl's cheek before going into the kitchen to prepare dinner in advance.

Seele Fulei watched her retreating figure, the smile fading from her face.

In the days that followed, Fu Hua, who never mentioned the incident, continued to treat him with the same attitude as always. Her gaze was full of concern and affection, as if she had never been affected by the Honkai Energy out-of-control incident.

Even Carole and Shiyu Qiluo, whom she had undeniably hurt, only felt guilty about their own powerlessness and saddened by the weakness of their self-awareness, but never thought that Seele herself had changed.

This seems to further prove that the inner turmoil and strangeness I felt at that time were things that could be ignored.

Simply leave it alone.

The best choice is simply to continue enjoying your daily life as it is.

No one will notice, and no one will care about this harmless change.

However... Seele Fulei herself could not ignore this strange feeling. She was not worried about what her changes meant for herself, but she was afraid that this unknown change and uncontrollable power might bring terrible disasters to those around her.

Just like a few days ago when they almost hurt, or even killed, Carole and Shiyu Qiluo.

As the Sixth Herrscher, she inherently possesses a high degree of instability.

This difference, which only she could perceive, did not exist in the eyes of outsiders. This not only failed to reassure Seele, but also made her realize that her choice carried unparalleled weight.

Even if it weren't for the need to know the truth, but solely for the safety of those she cared about, Seele Fulei could not selfishly allow herself to ignore this strangeness.

Having gone through this incident, she has come to truly understand the instability and terrifying destructive power of her own being.

Even a few sparks within the Herrscher Core caused the entire living room to be almost completely destroyed; normal humans were terrifyingly fragile in comparison.

This also explains why Pepper and Qiluo unconsciously experienced physiological tremors and fear.

There is an immense gap between Herrscher and humans, and very few people can truly break through this barrier.

Having deeply understood this point, Carole and Shiyu Qiluo, who were still willing to come and visit him, must have made a considerable decision over a period of time.

But all these efforts were rendered futile by his own actions.

No matter how much she tries to control the power within her body, as long as she continues to resist the fact that she is the Herrscher of Death, she will still be unable to truly and perfectly control the Herrscher Core within her body.

The same applies to the existence of power.

This was her only ability that gave her any value in surviving, yet it couldn't truly help her brother's body.

In this respect, Seele can instinctively understand that as long as she can perfectly master this power, it is not impossible for her to make benign interventions in her brother's broken body through the barrier outside his body.

However, achieving this outcome requires meeting the aforementioned requirements. But if one does not resist the fact that they are the Sixth Herrscher, then some irreversible change may occur.

The logic thus becomes a closed loop.

It is impossible for Seele Fulei to maintain the status quo while completely controlling the power of the Herrscher; this is a paradox that she cannot escape.

But...

The girl sensed the presence of the boy, whose life hung by a thread, as he stepped through the door, and her eyes, lowered, revealed a deep, dark red.