Creation, Sword Heart.

Consciousness is constantly falling into the crevices of the deep sea, the deathly cold seeping into every corner of the soul, falling into a half-asleep, half-awake state of sensory confusion, stumbling and falling in an unspeakable world, and after experiencing many bizarre and wonderful things, it gathers into a stable picture.

The boy leaned against a small boat navigating the sea filled with floating ice. The biting wind stung his skin, the cold, hard ice floes constantly bumped against him, and the drifting road ahead seemed endless, with only an unseen end in sight.

They dissolved together into the nourishment of solitude, giving it the opportunity to penetrate to the very marrow of one's bones.

The sunset is gone, the evening glow has vanished.

The gentle whispers that once filled my dreams have fallen silent and are no longer heard.

Half a month is such a short time, yet it feels infinitely long in this world of endless mental torment.

This is the consequence of using one's soul itself as a vessel, without relying on a creation like the Herrscher Core, and using one's pure self to contain such immense power.

Logically speaking, this is almost impossible.

Even though Su Qing'an's Soul Essence is hailed as an extremely special existence, and he has undergone several transformations after experiencing multiple deaths and tribulations, it is still impossible for him to bear the power on his own.

However, the Herrscher of Death used the Soul Hall within the Sea of consciousness as a foundation to completely disintegrate its own soul, creating a brand new base and indirectly creating a special buffer. This formed a mechanism completely different from the original control power, achieving a history that should never have occurred and a path that was never seen before.

The Honkai Consciousness lost more than just an Apostle; the power taken away in this way was far more thorough than the betrayal of a normal Herrscher. As long as Su Qing'an's soul is not completely obliterated, He will never be able to reclaim half of the Herrscher of Death's power.

And just as the original Seele Fulei had prayed and hoped for, another Seele Fulei, as the Herrscher of Death, achieved the future that could only be reached through this choice.

Even in the less-than-ideal third ending, the path to it is still fraught with hardship and sorrow.

On that path of breaking through despair and piercing through the ice, someone ultimately gave that solitary boy an inextinguishable flame, hoping he could continue toward... the best ending.

But in the end, will the lingering warmth of that torch relay reach his heart?

Amidst endless sorrow and despair, if one cannot cling to the slivers of warmth to fight against it and get through the long night, one will sooner or later be worn away halfway through the journey.

The experience right now is the same.

The path to the merging of soul and power is like a slowly turning millstone; the closer one gets to the desired outcome, the more unspeakable suffering one must endure.

During periods of mental confusion and low spirits, this torment seemed to have no end in sight.

Just as the boy felt lost in his subconscious, the embers that had been passed down from the previous timeline ignited and burned brightly, melting the floating ice in front of him.

Crimson feathers drifted down and filled the surrounding area, slowly burning the world that existed only in darkness and whiteness into ashes.

A faint murmur, its tone barely discernible, reached my ears:

Don't be afraid, I will help you.

Su Qing'an's consciousness began to truly recover. He leaned against the corner of the wooden boat, his eyes slightly closed, gazing at the world that resembled a painting woven from the setting sun, somewhat dazed.

The Little Feather, exhausted, drifted down and buried itself in the dark hair. It followed the boy's gaze as he looked towards the end of the world, as if it too was wondering what was going on with the scene before it.

But then, Little Feather looked at the afterglow in the distance and belatedly realized that it was all thanks to her.

It was overjoyed and wanted to boast to him as usual, saying how great it was and that it was a smart and useful feather.

But those pupils, which had gradually regained their focus, suddenly fell silent as consciousness cleared slightly. A profound emotional tide, as if sharing a deep empathy, caused them to lie listlessly on the strands of hair, earnestly making a stroking motion, trying to comfort it.

Su Qing'an didn't want to think about the origins of everything in this spiritual world. He stared silently at the huge hole that appeared on the sea not far away.

What would be the end of such a world?

Even such thoughts failed to surface. The boy tried his best to empty his mind, to delay the arrival of real memories. He let the wooden boat sink into the end of the world without any reaction, his eyes vacant.

As the bathing light faded, the view that came into view was an unfamiliar, majestic dome.

An illusory scale sits in the center, seemingly indicating where this place is.

But the real reason that forced Su Qing'an to break free from her chaotic mind and face the scene before her was the two butterflies that danced silently and circled around her quietly.

The wooden boat beneath the boy turned to [Ashes]. He sensed the two familiar yet now lifeless souls and understood everything.

That was... the soul of Seele Fulei.

The girl was undoubtedly heading towards death, and in order to achieve this unknown goal, she chose to turn her own remains into cold, lifeless tools, and to defile her own soul... to this extent.

Su Qing'an had been to the Soul Hall before, but this was the first time she had been so completely immersed in herself.

The boy watched this scene, then slowly walked to the scales. He reached out his hand, hoping to touch the two butterflies beside the scales, but in the trembling moment at his fingertips, he only touched a phantom of emptiness.

"Seele?"

It is only natural that the hoarse whispers go unheard.

The swarming of butterflies is merely a phenomenon of the ebb and flow of the tide; it has no spirituality or intellect whatsoever.

The foundation formed from the remnants extracted from the fragments of their souls could not possibly retain even a trace of consciousness; this was a reality he could understand at first glance.

The future that was not what it seemed, having received a response beyond the established mechanisms, left the boy speechless. He simply stared blankly at the scene before him.

Should they be blamed?

Blame the weakness within the Herrscher of Death, who was merely wallowing in her own pain and never realizing it; blame her for failing to listen to herself until the very end, for the twisted way she treated everything about herself as a tool; blame the constant failures and disappointments; blame...

In the end, perhaps even Su Qing'an herself didn't understand just how complex the emotions surging within her soul truly were.

In that instant when vision is blurred by tears and fingertips lightly touch the Soul Scale, all the elements truly come together.

Endless Abyss Flower bloomed, surrounding everything and coloring the world with a flawless, pure color.

Just like the legendary Dream Spike that can return people to their original state, transform them into pure white, and obtain happiness.

And at this point, power truly belongs to the Soul Hall.

Looking at the magnificent scene of blooming flowers and pure white blossoms, Su Qing'an understood everything.

The realm of Abyss Flower falls upon a part of the soul, symbolizing the power known as [creation].

This is a power unique to the Herrscher of Death, the true authority that links the soul to that girl.

[My brother will become stronger, stronger than anyone else.]

[It's achievable.]

[As long as brother doesn't give up, that's fine. Leave the rest to Seele.]

The memories of the past are vividly clear now, and the words that should have been taken as jokes and comfort slowly crack open at this moment, revealing the true determination and heaviness beneath them.

On the day Su Qing'an first revealed her timidity and sadness, Seele, who had already understood many things, made up her mind.

The girl was really cunning. She knew that no matter how outrageous her actions were, she wouldn't be truly hated, so she chose this grand yet silent way to give everything she could.

His pent-up regret and sorrow were beyond measure, and his emotions truly collapsed after his power was confined to the Soul Hall.

If the Soul Scale, and this intense emotion is not completely stripped away, and a part of the self is not truly separated, then the Clear Mirror Sword Heart will be utterly shattered.

But... I don't want to forget.

Su Qing'an also understood that the other person did not want to be forgotten by her.

So even as the physical body instinctively pulled at his consciousness, prompting a true awakening, he did not choose to touch the Soul Scale...

The ice in my heart was stained with pitch black, and the cracks gradually spread outwards, accompanied by a series of crackling sounds. My vision gradually became clearer.

The slight tightness in my chest drew my attention, and the sound of breathing so close to me was clear even before I opened my eyes.

The boy's gaze slowly shifted to her profile as he followed the information he received from the outside world.

It's Fu Hua.

I can't remember which city this is.

The missionary's power brought a silent crisis to the entire civilization. She sat in a popular coffee shop, enjoying afternoon tea. The power of [bewitchment] and the frequency of the Honkai Energy that interfered with electronic devices were enough to make her ignore most of the rules of the world.

She spoke to the being connected to her Sea of consciousness:

"Have you observed any interesting results, Your Majesty?"

He responded indifferently:

"This accident has value in being documented, but the key core issue that was initially hoped to be recorded has still not yielded the true answer."

The missionary thought for a moment and then suggested:

"Do you need my help?"

"If the requirement is to observe whether personality breakdown and emotional fluctuations lead to fluctuations in that power, then there should be other suitable candidates as subjects of stimulation."

The Honkai Consciousness responded:

"Assuming that this emotional fluctuation still doesn't cause any change in that power, it means that this experiment also has an answer; even if the observed outcome remains unchanged, it still states a certain fact."

"Besides that, he has acquired the Honkai Energy proficiency of the Sixth Apostle. Judging from your current combat level, if you were to encounter him, you would undoubtedly die. There's no need to take unnecessary risks."

The missionary took a sip of coffee; she neither agreed nor disagreed, but simply offered a suggestion:

"Why not do it like last time? Directly link to the soul, crush it, and create a brand new apostle."

The Honkai Consciousness responded indifferently:

"Given the extent of this apostle rebellion, the selection of the next apostle cannot be arbitrary; priority must be given to truly qualified apostle candidates."

"Moreover, destroying a soul is not without risk."

"If a similar betrayal were to occur again, it would be difficult to observe to what extent that person would go astray."

The girl leisurely pulled a book from the magazine rack beside her, flipped through the pages, and asked:

"Even if that apostle shared half of his power with him, what would be the point if he didn't have a corresponding core to carry it, a hub, a switch to drive it, and endless energy?"

"The nature of power is too vast and immense. Theoretically, a pure soul cannot bear even a fraction of it. And even if one were to succeed by chance, he would neither be able to pay for such a massive amount of Honkai Energy nor have the qualifications to leverage and utilize it. Therefore, it has little practical value."

The missionary made her judgment, and she said with a smile:

"It's just a pretty but useless decoration. She paid the price of scattering her soul, only to make him a toy. Even if a similar event occurs again, it might become a cause that makes his soul unbearable."

The Honkai Consciousness did not believe there was anything wrong with the missionary's words, but their perspectives on things were completely different. It said:

"He is special, and this specialness is the reason for observing this, which is also the core evidence of the information gap between us."

"The existence of information asymmetry implies both miracles and possibilities, therefore even with only a one in a billion chance, similar events cannot happen again."

The girl cut a piece of soft cake and put it in her mouth, saying:

According to human statistics, once the success rate reaches 95%, the remaining 5% can be ignored.

"In probability theory, an event that cannot occur under certain conditions is called an impossible event. People usually use 0 to represent the probability of an impossible event occurring."

"However, the probability of an impossible event is 0, but an event with a probability of 0 is not necessarily an impossible event."

"I can understand what you're saying in roughly this form."

"But does that mean you're planning to take action? After all, the best way to prevent accidents is to kill directly."

Honkai Consciousness Response:

"The significance of observation remains, but the risks and rewards are no longer proportional."

The implication was clear: the missionary understood that this opportunity was unlikely to fall to someone like himself, whose mechanism differed from the other Herrscher, but no sense of regret arose.

The girl glanced at the virtual screen in the center of the coffee shop, which was playing the latest news. Jacaranda on the north bank of the Brisbane River were falling as usual, alternating with the edited video.

The black and white colors that divide the world, and the majestic storm that sweeps across the heavens and earth, seem to testify to just how fierce that battle was.

The official editing techniques and virtual frame rate filling are still excellent. To avoid public confusion, they even used technology to reconstruct the details of the boy killing the Herrscher from the footage that was not preserved after the interference.

Even in coffee shops that are usually quiet, people were talking about it, with occasional small cheers.

No one will understand how much that seemingly glamorous Martial Immortal has actually endured for this, nor will anyone understand that the so-called Herrscher, hated and despised by thousands, is just... a little girl trying hard to give her brother a gift.

But that doesn't matter. The interplay of reality and illusion can always swell into unspeakable flames, and the resulting external opinions are always like guns and swords. But those who truly understand everything will not feel any unnecessary sorrow because of it.

Because that weight was enough to suffocate one to the point of being unable to comprehend any superfluous emotions.

The missionary didn't care what others said about it; she said softly:

"The stage play has ended."

The stage play has ended.

The little girl fed him water, saying as she did so:

"Dr. Mei spoke with Captain Himeko and said I can stay with you for a while."

Su Qing'an nodded, seemingly oblivious to the clamor that was constantly breaking within his Mind Lake, simply listening quietly to her words.

Fu Hua frowned, somewhat worried, as the other party's current condition did not conform to what should have been the case.

If it doesn't conform, it means something is abnormal. It's like a slow, silent collapse, an invisible tsunami and storm clearly plundering everything without showing the slightest sign.

She stroked the boy's forehead and asked cautiously:

Do you feel unwell?

"If you feel unwell, remember to tell me."

Su Qing'an felt her body's functions were renewed; this unprecedented level of health seemed to be something she had always dreamed of.

He had a similar experience in the past through Yae Rin in the Stigmata Space.

But that was a fictional world, and it was the natural ability of those born with Stigmata. It was completely different from the Honkai Energy immunity of the current Herrscher level.

The duration of [Udu-dust •Critical] has lost its necessity to fear [Stigmata] breaking the connection for it.

The difference between normal combat power and that after entering [Udu-dust •Critical] has become less obvious. Apart from the fact that Udu-dust itself can also serve as a Honkai Energy reserve and an extension of the ability of [Stigmata], the other elements have become exactly the same due to the disappearance of the flaws.

The output power has undergone a truly enormous transformation. The Honkai Energy the same level of the Clear Mirror Realm can control is no longer on the same level. The situation where complex shaping could only be achieved by predicting Honkai Energy particles and performing extreme micro-management is now completely different.

Su Qing'an has undoubtedly become stronger. This unprecedented strength seems to have truly caught up with the Herrscher he had faced in the past in terms of raw power.

Even without the cheat-like [Stigmata], he still has the qualifications to fight against the Herrscher.

However, he could not feel any emotion about it. Su Qing'an's reason for pursuing the perfect Stigmata was to avoid losing it again, so he naturally could not feel any joy or pleasure in obtaining it at the cost of loss.

The upside-down outcome offers no solace whatsoever.

The boy's dark eyes gazed at her face, and he whispered:

"I feel fine."

"I'm fine, Hua."

The symphony that erupted from the cracked sword heart was like a torrential rain.

Grand yet solitary.