The Ninth Herrscher, the Pseudo Black Hole, the Final Farewell.

The Mu Continent was destroyed.

To be precise, the Sparks of Civilization that once gathered here, envisioning humanity's future and hopes, has been destroyed.

At the three minutes and thirty-one seconds after the Ninth Herrscher descended upon the world, the black hole that had annihilated the main city and its million inhabitants into fine dust stood silently, announcing the arrival of the final chapter.

Everyone understands that it is not a cosmic calamity that spans countless light-years and can swallow stars into nothingness, but merely a giant Honkai Energy phenomenon created by power.

However, this was still a tremendous threat. As the forefront of human technology, the Mu Continent had the highest level of defense and prevention facilities in the Previous Civilization. However, it was as thin as paper in the face of this giant Honkai Energy phenomenon. It could hardly struggle at all before its end.

The Ninth Herrscher used her power to manipulate gravity to simulate the phenomenon of a black hole. She sat on a mountain on the edge of the Mu Continent, gazing indifferently at the dark abyss that was collapsing, expanding, extending and spreading. Behind her was an endless sea, the sound of the waves silenced by the invisible gravitational field.

Everything was quiet, and it seemed as if childhood songs were echoing in my ears.

The soul, reduced to a prop by malice and modification, was able to hear the voice deep within her heart in the deathly silence. She seemed to feel sorrow and pain, but her face was covered by thick blackness, making it difficult to reveal her true appearance.

It cannot be communicated, nor can it be redeemed.

They committed crimes, yet failed to restrain themselves.

To understand the true meaning, yet be bound by it.

The so-called Herrscher are souls imprisoned under a greater will, unable to act on their own.

The culprit that treats these things as blades and tools, accumulating a sea of blood and bones, is the very mechanism of Honkai.

The significance of this selection process cannot be understood by human thinking; completely different levels of perspective determine that mutual understanding is impossible, let alone necessary.

Communication and exchange are useless in this war.

Only swords drawn.

Mei was once again thankful that she had banished Fuxi to outer space; otherwise, she would have had a hard time guaranteeing that, given the casualties and the heavy price paid, she wouldn't have been able to resist throwing him in front of the Ninth Herrscher.

Even though the Ninth Herrscher displayed terrifying destructive power, she still understood that the opponent was as weak as a child in front of Fuxi, and that this black hole phenomenon, whose extent was unknown, would be annihilated under the [Purification] domain.

The entire process might only take a few minutes, and this crisis threatening the survival of civilization could be resolved as easily as a farce.

This temptation, when combined with accumulated negative emotions, is hard for anyone to resist.

The mentality of being willing to take a gamble even when you know it's uncontrollable is never uncommon.

Mei was stunned and speechless.

Why Mu Continent of all places?

Why specifically during the period Ein had just arrived there for academic exchanges?

She understood perfectly well that it was perfectly normal for the target of the Honkai to be the most prosperous and flourishing Mu Continent, but emotionally she still found it hard to accept.

Only two months have passed since the birth of the Eighth Herrscher, and the memory of watching the rocket send Fuxi into space is still vivid in my mind.

Mei hadn't been immersed in her research for long when the Ninth Herrscher arrived as scheduled, and within minutes of her birth, she gave the entire civilization a terrifying surprise.

The already precarious structure of humanity's High Command, tested by calamities, has now completely collapsed under this Pseudo Black Hole.

The Mu Continent is known as the safest region in the world. Almost all of humanity's High Command reside in the main city area. In theory, it is indeed very safe. Even the latest developed Armed Puppet and super-powerful warships are being implemented and built in the Mu Continent region.

--Otherwise, Ein's personality would probably still be in Haiyuan City.

But now all of that has been destroyed. The main cities and surrounding areas of humanity on the Mu Continent are like a sand table that has been cleaned up by the palm of a hand. All the myriad things located in the center of the Pseudo Black Hole have vanished without a trace, and all traces of civilization can no longer be found.

Everyone understands the principle of not putting all your eggs in one basket.

But in any case, the Mu Continent remains humanity's core, its hardest and its most vulnerable heartland.

Its destruction signifies an inevitable defeat, and the future holds even greater implications.

On Mei's fair wrist, a virtual image popped up on the watch face. The person seemed to be in a vehicle that was moving forward madly. The image was shaky and extremely blurry due to the interference of the dense Honkai Energy field and gravitational waves.

He could only vaguely see the ever-expanding darkness and gaps behind him, and the girl watching him.

"Mei, use the final means," she said.

Mei's lips trembled slightly, but she swallowed back the naive and delusional statement that there were other ways.

Ein continued:

"Give me the license, and... that's also a farewell."

The girl stared at Einstein's indistinct face in the image, unable to feel the joy that her friend was still alive. The black hole continued to expand, even climbing to the edge of her field of vision. In less than two minutes, the girl, who was still so vivid in her eyes, would be sucked into the gravitational field and turned into a handful of dust.

There was no time to hesitate.

The disaster has only been going on for less than five minutes. Su Qing'an, Kevin, and Yae Sakura had only just received the notification. Given their distance from the Mu Continent, it was wishful thinking to Ein Yin.

Mei, however, has always been very rational. She understands that having expectations will only cause the remaining opportunities to slip away.

Ein's last resort was to directly pull the imperfectly tuned Sea of Quantum anchor point to its maximum power, activating a portal whose destination was unknown. The resulting spatial distortion would carry the remaining tectonic plates that had not been swallowed by the black hole, as well as Ein himself and those highly intelligent Armed Puppet, to an unknown distance.

What will happen when they enter the Sea of Quantum?

Nobody can say for sure about that.

But at least, there is still hope for survival.

The girl had no reason to refuse, nor any reason to hesitate, even if... they might never see each other again in this lifetime.

She handed the power of permission to Ein and responded softly:

"Ein, take good care of yourself."

The person in the picture seemed to be smiling, but even this final farewell was so blurry and annoying, Mei thought. She rarely saw Ein smile.

Ein said:

"Yes, I will."

"All my research data and findings should be perfectly recorded in Prometheus's possession, but it seems that after all the equipment on the Mu Continent was destroyed, it will be difficult to restore the original productivity and create new Armed Puppet in a short period of time."

Her eyes were downcast, and the little figure perched on her shoulder also looked somewhat listless. It was a technological marvel with emotions that were infinitely close to those of humans, the first Armed Puppet, but now it could only flee towards an unknown future with its creator.

I'm sorry to leave you all alone, Mei.

"But I still want to say, don't give up."

"No matter what, never give up, even until the very last moment."

Mei suppressed the surging emotions in her chest. She tugged at the corners of her lips as if she wanted to laugh, but she couldn't bring herself to show a beautiful expression as a final farewell.

"This doesn't sound like something you'd say, Ein."

"Um."

The anchor point of the Sea of Quantum has been activated. A gigantic portal has formed from a rift in the distant void, causing violent spatial distortion and emanating a magnificent, faint glow that gradually envelops everything...

The moment that light reached a corner of the video was the moment of true farewell.

But that only lasted about half a minute; there were far too many things left unsaid.

This young girl, about to lose one of the few friends in the world who truly understood her, swallowed her overwhelming sorrow and unspeakable pain with the air of humanity's highest leader. Facing the increasingly shaky video feed, she spoke with a solemn and earnest tone, as if making a vow, and said firmly:

"I will, Ein."

"I promise you, I will never give up, even at the very end."

In the final moments, as the space distorted and enveloped everything for a brief instant, the scene suddenly became clear. The girl, who usually exuded a lazy and carefree air, now had a complex expression. She raised her indigo eyes, and the magnificent radiance gradually reflected within them blocked out the transmission of her sorrow. Her lips curled up, revealing a smile.

"I believe we will meet again someday, Dr. Mei."

"Let's go stargazing together then."

The virtual image disconnected, and Mei remained silent as she watched the magnificent scene of the Mu Continent slowly sinking into nothingness.

"I will wait for the day we meet again, Ein."

She uttered these words, destined to be unheard, yet she knew in her heart that even if they did meet again, it would be a very, very long time from now.

So far in the future, perhaps fifty thousand years from now.

This continent, which once supported one-sixth of the world's population, was utterly destroyed by the spatial distortion created by the gateway to the Sea of Quantum and the Pseudo Black Hole created by the Ninth Herrscher.

Eight minutes into the incident, gravity triggered violent tectonic plate movement, causing the few remaining structures to sink into the unfathomable Mariana Trench.

It's impossible to say exactly how many people survived in that World Bubble between the Sea of Quantum annihilation and the ocean of quantum annihilation, but at least...

The Ninth Herrscher stood on the horizon, gazing at the sea surface that was being swallowed up by the remaining Pseudo Black Hole, leaving it a vast void. She could no longer sense any human life.

The Herrscher was surrounded by a gravitational field strong enough to intercept attacks, and dark ripples enveloped the nearby sea. From a distance, she appeared to be sitting on the abyss, surrounded and protected by darkness, ascending to the throne.

A deep, chaotic orb floated before him, a product of the condensation of power and Honkai Energy.

That is, the precursor to Pseudo Black Hole.

The Ninth Herrscher cannot indiscriminately mimic this level of physical phenomena using Honkai Energy; otherwise, the current Fusion Warrior would have no chance of winning against her.

Ultimately, the reason why the initial Pseudo Black Hole was so silent and incredibly vast was because the Honkai Energy consumed by the birth of the Eighth Herrscher was negligible, which caused the rebound effect.

Under the deliberate manipulation of the Honkai Consciousness and with the help of the Ninth Herrscher, the Honkai Energy that should have been used to shape the body of the previous Apostle was completely poured into this Pseudo Black Hole. In addition, the Herrscher herself continuously poured Honkai Energy into it, which resulted in such a remarkable achievement.

One-sixth of the world's total population.

This data was collected before the Great Honkai. After the Great Honkai, due to the Centennial Policy, the population of the Mu Continent remained at 70% of its peak, while the death and injury rate in other regions was almost 90%.

It can be said that the actions of the Ninth Herrscher struck at the heart of civilization; after the loss of the Mu Continent, the human population instantly evaporated by 70%.

And the time it took was a mere, almost imperceptible five minutes.

The exact number of deaths is around two million, but the rest of humanity that perished in the Sea of Quantum are essentially irretrievable.

The fundamental reason is that the Sea of Quantum anchor point set on the Mu Continent is merely an anchor point.

Forcibly opening the portal is a completely reckless operation. Putting aside safety and security, the anchor point was broken and damaged the moment the portal was opened.

This means the complete loss of coordinates. Even if Mei later has enough resources and time to conduct observations, without this clue, finding her compatriots and friends will be as difficult as finding a needle in a haystack.

Mei was willing to do this even knowing the reason, because beneath that Pseudo Black Hole, all her scheming was meaningless, and there was no method that would be effective in the short term.

The information Su Qing'an provided regarding the Herrscher only extended to the Seventh Herrscher. The Herrscher Authority beyond that were entirely unknown, with no specific target in mind. Therefore, she naturally had no way of anticipating the existence of the Pseudo Black Hole and making preparations in advance.

The girl wasn't unaware of Su Qing'an's abilities, but she had already calculated Su Qing'an's [Stigmata] limit using Prometheus earlier.

The calculations indicate that unless he takes the final step in soul materialization and perfects the [Stigmata] to the point of being comparable to Fuxi's [Purification], it will be impossible for him to absorb the Pseudo Black Hole.

Even after the Little Feather came to life and their storage capacity increased, this remained true.

Su Qing'an could at most Pseudo Black Hole, but that still wouldn't change the outcome; it would only allow this massive Honkai Energy phenomenon to grow stronger.

Therefore, Einstein's proposal came into being.

Compared to the hope of survival for the remaining population of the Mu Continent, the core objective of this plan is to use the opening of the portal in the Sea of Quantum and the power of space distortion to neutralize most of the Pseudo Black Hole.

Although Mei didn't know the reason behind the powerful Pseudo Black Hole, she could roughly understand that it was not an ability that could be released instantly. Even according to the Herrscher's exponential growth model formula, it would take at least half a day to accumulate enough power to achieve a similar effect.

By eliminating it, we can prevent it from accumulating power to release Pseudo Black Hole in subsequent battles, thus increasing our chances of winning.

The Ninth Herrscher made civilization pay such a heavy price right from the start; she absolutely cannot be given the opportunity or time to continue squandering her power.

In fact, the soldiers who came all harbored similar thoughts.

Any human being with intellect and reason would be enraged by such a tragic scene. Three warriors who had never fought side by side devised a plan to kill the enemy based on their respective abilities.

The girl held a katana made of thin, icy steel, wrapped in snow and wind. Her eyes were a pale, inorganic gray, and two soft ears peeked out from her long, cherry-colored hair. Her non-human canine features did not inspire much fear due to her beautiful face; instead, they added a touch of gentleness to her aloof demeanor.

These are all subtle changes that have occurred after the Fusion Gene. Compared to the many ugly changes that occurred during the unbearable experience in the Soul Steel Cube, it is fortunate that the final stable result has been maintained to this extent.

Compared to Kevin's frozen domain with a body temperature reaching below zero, Yae Sakura's mutated eye color and extra fox ears are much luckier.

As long as one does not participate in the Chimera Project in the future, these outward characteristics can be erased over time through self-control.

Clearly, Yae Sakura is not capable of doing that yet.

She had only been Fusion Warrior for less than two months. Even though she was very talented, her rate of genetic stabilization was still much slower than Kevin, who was already cheating and had undergone Su Qing'an's devilish training.

In fact, in order to accelerate the stabilization rate of gene fusion, Yae Sakura had previously been introduced by Mei and Kevin, and under Su Qing'an's command, she experienced a hellish ordeal that even Kevin couldn't endure.

The boy naturally didn't have any penchant for deliberately tormenting people or any perverse tastes.

However, the time when Yae Sakura asked him to come to his door happened to be a special period when he began his self-cultivation, deepening the connection between his flesh and soul.

What happened in between is naturally predictable.

Having gone through several more cycles of life and death, the rate at which the genes within her body stabilized also increased dramatically, to an astonishing degree that far exceeded Yae Sakura's initial expectations.

At least for now, she is able to perform at most of her current level.

The time when Yae Sakura can retract her fox ears on her own will signify that her genes have completely stabilized and her power can be perfectly controlled.

Kevin has achieved this; the low temperature on his body surface has been able to self-regulate to a normal human temperature.

Before accepting the Chimera Project, he was clearly no different from an ordinary person in appearance.

Kevin stared silently at the distant black dot, his hands gripping two exquisitely crafted guns, distinct from the Holy Judgment. The black surrounding his icy blue pupils swallowed the whites of his eyes, his emotions affecting him, causing a hint of his beastly nature to emerge even when he was using his full strength.

The Honkai Energy, as vast as mountains and as deep as the sea, spread wildly outwards from its axis like waves, yet at a certain boundary, all its outward manifestation was blocked by the crimson Feather of Illusion.

A white-haired, red-eyed boy sat in a corner of the clouds, his eyes lowered.

The Ninth Herrscher is destined never to leave this sea.