Can a Thousand Lives Beat Honkai?
Chapter 606

Axis of Void and Reality Transformation, Satou Yunona is Invincible in the World

4,909 words16 min read1 view1mo agoSource
Next

This is a unique result.

The girl's existence is quite different from Kiana's, whose existence was truly recorded and completely reproduced, and whose arrival process was folded away from previous records.

Her preconditions are fundamentally different from those of other outsiders who have crossed over from other Lostbelt phenomena.

In other words, Satou Yunona did not enter the cycle of reincarnation again in this era. As a part of this world, due to the cumulative effect of the butterfly effect, she truly lives in this distorted and deformed era.

However, this period of life, which was indirectly caused by that Your Excellency, was still not pleasant.

The girl witnessed her parents die of Honkai Sickness while trying to meet family quotas. Her twisted world became desolate, and she ultimately chose to end her tragic life by cutting her wrists.

But just as her blood flowed to the point of unconsciousness, a Lostbelt phenomenon, as if from the heavens, suddenly descended, seemingly trying to hold her back from her passing and indicating that this story was not yet over.

Then.

After all the records were overlapped, the girl, who had more experience with death than Su Qing'an, instinctively used her abilities from the previous records to save her life and gained the three powers of Herrscher of Death, Herrscher of Thunder, and Pseudo-Herrscher at once, transforming into a state beyond her previous peak.

But these are just scattered embellishments that accompany the overlapping of records.

The most crucial aspect is the wondrous transformation that occurs to the soul after being favored by a grand will.

Satou Yunona was able to rely on pure instinct to have a complete view of her own Sea of consciousness and the depths of her soul. Apart from a crimson feather that had appeared out of nowhere, there was a chaotic and pitch-black Lightless sea.

Wherever her gaze fell, a dazzling array of lights, like a band of stars, appeared.

Majestic, mysterious, yet allowing one to look directly at it.

The girl's momentary clarity revealed the answer in her mind: this was... a gift and mark bestowed by imaginary numbers.

She lowered her gaze to her blood-stained wrist, and as if by divine inspiration, in the next instant, an even more vibrant red ink spread out, this time using soul matter as a dipping sauce and imaginary number marks as a base, ultimately outlining a strange pattern around her slender wrist, resembling an exquisite bracelet.

Immediately, the Heaven and Earth Qi bowed down around this pattern, forming a illusory yet stable red-ink halo, beautiful and elegant, like a miniature holographic image.

Satou Yunona is able to clearly understand a fact.

This mysterious texture is connected to the depths of one's soul, merging with the true form of the imaginary number mark to construct an ingenious structure that is more conducive to one's own control and use.

Specifically, it's almost like having an extra organ that's even more closely integrated with flesh and soul than the Herrscher Core.

Stigmata?

No, Stigmata cannot fuse with something as elusive and difficult to comprehend as the soul.

--[thing itself]

This is her interpretation of the organ based on her own understanding.

That is, something that exists outside of cognition and is absolutely unknowable.

But compared to that, our current situation is perhaps more worthy of our attention.

Cold drops of blood dripped from the girl's slender fingertips. The deep purple in her eyes gradually faded, turning into the pure emerald green of her original state. The wind blew her wispy hair across her forehead and swayed her peach-pink skirt. The white shirt that moved rhythmically accentuated her slender waist, and her bare thighs were so white they were almost transparent in the reflection of the distant searchlights.

She recounted the taste of finally fading into nothingness, her expression indifferent, her thoughts surging like a tide.

Although he didn't know exactly what happened, he did indeed experience a life where he faced death five times.

All the memories and emotions associated with it were pent up in one place, burning and then falling silent during the process of the soul's sublimation, but it was still enough to disturb the brain and make consciousness chaotic.

Satou Yunona looked up at the distant night sky, where skyscrapers and holographic images overlapped to create a picture. The patrol yacht, which should have been moving away, was now heading towards her, its searchlights casting her slender figure in a halo of light, making her stand out.

At this moment, with the records of multiple Herrscherization overlapping, the five senses, which have already evolved to the point of being inhuman, can still sense the storm and roar caused by a certain behemoth gradually approaching, as well as the high concentration of Honkai Energy from multiple individuals gradually drawing closer.

Even though she theoretically possesses her own subcutaneous crystal and her past life trajectory in this world, she will not be regarded as an outsider produced by the [Lostbelt] phenomenon at first glance.

The nanocrystals embedded in the body constantly monitor any unusual activity, allowing the reality of the Herrscher to be uploaded to the Shan Hai Series of this main city—[Zhuhuai]—without needing warnings from [Fellow Daoist].

As for whether the other side will come to capture them...

For a world that hasn't seen Herrscher for centuries and is almost abandoned by the Honkai, the answer seems to be readily apparent without much thought.

The girl understands her situation, but the overlapping of multiple records, the convergence of five lives, the feeling of death more than once, and even the gifts given by the imaginary number at hand, all put her in a strange and extremely unstable state.

Satou Yunona naturally ignored her own situation and stood there, gazing at the world under the neon lights.

It's somewhat like the expansion and transformation of one's perspective when wielding power.

The images reflected in the pupils resembled blank walls filled with buckets of various paints, twisting and meandering under a variety of irregular colors, ultimately creating an extremely chaotic beauty.

Despite the veil of mystery surrounding her vision, she could still see the spiral segments intertwined between everything, extending at bizarre angles, forming a still picture where illusion and reality coexisted in an unstable state.

Neither the Herrscher of Death retaining half of [Obliteration], nor the Herrscher of Thunder wielding the power of electromagnetic force, nor even pseudo-powers that are completely unrelated to this level, could cause this result.

Even without using normal logic to eliminate possibilities, the [thing-in-itself] that is integrated into flesh and soul can still tell us that it is the origin of all anomalies.

However, the girl didn't have much time to figure out what abilities she possessed at that moment. The Shan Hai Series warships of Flower Master City had already covered the sky above, and countless mayfly-like ribbons of rune light slowly lowered the empty space.

[Two hundred li further north lies Mount Beiyue, where many thorny and hard trees grow. There is a beast there, resembling an ox, but with four horns, human eyes, and pig ears. Its name is Zhuhuai, and its cry is like that of a wild goose. It eats people.]

The appearance of this warship can almost be directly interpreted by a passage from the Classic of Mountains and Seas. The biomimetic technology, which has developed to the point of being almost magical, has made it appear as described in the ancient book. Its entire body exudes a wild and magnificent aura.

At this moment, [Zhuhuai]'s eyes were like the lifeless Yellow Springs. During the descent, he looked down at the tiny figure on the rooftop, but he was using the onboard detection technology and the temporarily borrowed [Iris Whisper] system to try to capture the living person directly.

However, the warship's internal intelligent system made an accurate judgment as soon as it came into contact with Satou Yunona.

Even if the power of all the signal towers in the city were increased to the maximum, and the power of [Dragon Court]'s Udu-dust was amplified to the maximum, and the subcutaneous crystals in the other party's body were used as a precise medium, it would still be impossible to make the other party lose their sense of self.

The warship's intelligent system interpreted this as Honkai Consciousness connecting with the human soul, leading to the shattering of the thought imprint.

On the other hand, the soul detection technology inherited from the previous era indicates that the other party still possesses self-awareness, and the wavelength and thickness of the soul are extraordinary, making it highly likely that the link to the Honkai Consciousness has been severed autonomously.

Based on the calculation formulas incorporated into the intelligent system's database, a high-density overclocking calculation was performed on the individual Herrscher named Satou Yunona, combining multiple core fluctuations and even a clear soul scale, ultimately leading to the conclusion.

--Due to the existence of multiple powers, there is a 90% probability that this target has experienced the [Lostbelt] phenomenon.

--The appearance of what appears to be a [Lostbelt] or other unknown phenomenon has caused the target's soul to exhibit a linear curve different from previous records, resulting in a higher control rate over powers than any previous Herrscher individuals.

--Based on psychological models derived from personal chip records and government archives, this individual has an extremely high probability of possessing antisocial personality traits.

Therefore, the Level 1 alarm is activated.

The palace inside this warship of the Shan Hai Series was folded into another space. It entered battle mode three seconds after detecting the opponent. Mysterious runes resembling tattoos appeared on the bionic soul steel shell. Under the output of Honkai Energy inside, they were all lit up like gold foil.

The Honkai Energy chain formulas, meticulously researched by scientists, are sufficient to demonstrate the terrifying output of individual Herrscher, given that the World Bubble and Fission Reactor are the power sources.

[Zhuhuai] has no intention of persuading surrender. This is a battlefield regulation uniformly promulgated in response to the special nature of the Herrscher Authority. When encountering a Herrscher individual with whom it is determined that no agreement can be reached, it is necessary to launch an offensive without hesitation and regardless of any losses, to suppress and plunder.

And along with her came Su Mei, the 21st member of the Awakened Immortal Martial Series, who had just awakened.

The Soul Steel Doll silently drew its mass-produced Divine Key, without uttering a word or attempting to persuade it to surrender. It became like a war machine capable only of killing, following its imprisoned instincts and unleashing its sharp sword form.

During this process, the Mayfly Rune merged into it like a gentle breeze and rain, turning into a fervent fuel that rushed towards it, forming a transparent blade powerful enough to cut through the abandoned apartment building. With an aggressive and domineering attitude that disregarded economic losses, it slashed down before the warship could even begin.

Clearly, thanks to [Zhuhuai]'s accurate test results, Satou Yunona received an exceptionally warm welcome.

The girl remained oblivious to everything else, staring blankly at the painting before her, her soul receiving a massive influx of information, her brain seemingly burning ever hotter.

Time seemed to stand still, and everything was crystal clear.

--axis.

Satou Yunona had an epiphany: everything in the world before her eyes had been revealed from another dimension. In this perspective, the spiral axis that entangled all things, whether illusory or real, was the only subject, and also the part that burdened her with the heaviest amount of information.

But... what kind of shaft is this?

At that moment, she suddenly noticed Su Mei not far ahead, and [Zhuhuai] blocking the neon lights.

To be precise, it refers to the countless axes that form an intricate structure on top of both, much like a skyscraper.

What happens if you touch these axes?

What would happen if these shafts were disassembled?

If we could freely manipulate these axes, would interesting scenes emerge?

But in the instant the girl truly followed her instincts to raise her arm, grasp the void, and turn it into reality, these questions had not yet arisen.

And by the time these problems arise due to a moment's lapse in awareness, reality has already provided the answer.

Fall back.

Satou Yunona could clearly see that everything in front of her was moving backward.

Whether it was the particle cannon that had already fully charged and was about to engulf itself, or the domineering sword shape unleashed by Su Mei, a cultivator of the Immortal Martial Series, or even the mayfly Nano rune in the distance that should have fallen along with the warship...

Everything is going backwards.

The girl's outstretched hand was bathed in moonlight, while the emblem on her fair wrist, seemingly out of place in this scene, was rotating serenely and peacefully.

She blinked in confusion, but then turned her attention back to the scattered axle segments, following her instincts to pull on the segments of [Zhuhuai].

This time, however, they encountered great resistance. It wasn't until the massive Honkai Energy that surged in from the three cores acted as a propulsion system that a node on the illusory axis was finally materialized.

Thus, following the retreat of all the offensive, even Su Mei herself was slowly returned to the deck of the warship, eventually returning to her still-unrecovered state.

[Zhuhuai] then retreated to the area where it had not yet landed, and was continuously stretched and extended in the form of flying backwards, eventually stopping at the stage where it had just been traveling in this direction.

That concludes the discussion.

Satou Yunona sensed a weariness deep within her soul, and the countless axes displayed in her pupils disappeared as if frames had been skipped, leaving only the normal image.

After truly altering reality, this gift of imaginary numbers, which I vaguely defined as an organ of [thing-in-itself], also revealed the true nature of the ability.

That is, to be able to see the timeline and interfere with it.

Although it is not a power of the Herrscher, in a sense it is another kind of power that has never appeared in our understanding before.

The girl had a premonition that the method she had chosen to manipulate the timeline was probably the most strenuous and foolish one, akin to a human with a lever choosing to lift a heavy object on one side of the lever by hand instead of using the lever to pry it open.

Upon closer examination, once it is confirmed that the essence of those axes is the flow of time, it becomes clear that the previous approach of indiscriminately choosing to see all time axes within one's field of vision was not advisable.

To manipulate the timelines of [Zhuhuai] and Su Mei, one only needs to see their axes; any axes appearing above other things are superfluous and useless.

This is why the brain was so confused before; even after the "thing-in-itself" filtered out the excessive amount of information involving time, the soul was still overwhelmed.

Even if her consciousness did indeed undergo layers of sublimation, reaching realms that were otherwise impossible to access, it was still impossible to truly do as she pleased when it came to such dimensional levels.

Under the influence of the Manas consciousness, no one can truly and recklessly use this ability in a chaotic manner.

But once she realized this, the girl wouldn't make the same mistake again.

Her consciousness returned to normal after her vision returned, and the power of the Third Herrscher was thus activated. Amidst the roar of lightning, she transformed into a rainbow and disappeared into the distance.

The warship [Zhuhuai] of the Shan Hai Series is not a human being with emotions. Even when it encounters things beyond its comprehension, it still unwaveringly activates the city's autonomous defense system at the first moment.

Even though Satou Yunona could theoretically leave the entire Flower Master city within half a minute, the intelligent system still judged that there was a probability of leaving her behind.

The Herrscher's exceptional mobility has been a well-known fact since the last era and even centuries before. It is precisely because of this freedom to withdraw from the battlefield at any time that normal attack range and methods cannot pose a fatal threat to them.

In the past, these highly mobile and destructive Herrscher individuals were all killed by His Your Excellency himself.

However, in the centuries that followed when no more Herrscher were born, the research department, having had ample time, focused its research on this core issue, attempting to find a solution.

The Soul Steel Doll from the Immortal Martial Series is one of the items created for this purpose.

The existence of warships in the Shan Hai Series is also closely related to this.

Otherwise, theoretically, no matter how powerful the warship's suppressive force and its onboard weaponry are, they are of little significance in the face of Herrscher individual who can fight or retreat at any time.

However, each of the thirty-six main cities in this world has a warship integrated with the Shan Hai Series as a hub, and has set up its own set of defensive measures. Based on this condition, the Honkai Energy circulation shield on the surface of the Herrscher, is extremely threatening.

On the other hand, [Zhuhuai] has already sent a signal of aid to the nearest main city next door.

If all the enemy's forces, which are delayed until they arrive at another main city, are able to reach a 70% chance of victory as calculated by the AI system.

However, in accordance with the battlefield regulations to prevent unexpected risks, extremely surplus combat power can be increased in excess when necessary.

In short, to prevent accidents from happening, [Zhuhuai]'s intelligent system shook more than one person.

--The Shan Hai Series [Qilin], the Immortal Martial Series No. 18 Lin Zhaoyu, is expected to arrive in 37 seconds.

--Mountain Shan Hai Series [Bifang], Immortal Martial Series No. 20 Jiang Wanxi, estimated to arrive in forty seconds.

--Mountain Shan Hai Series [Jiu Ying], Immortal Martial Series No. 21 Ma Yanqing, estimated to arrive in fifty seconds.

Although the teleportation devices could not arrive instantly like transporting ordinary people due to their respective geographical locations and the size of their warships, they could still reach Flower Master city within a minute to deal with this Herrscher individual with unknown powers.

The combat power of the four main cities is enough to overwhelm all Herrscher of this era, except for those subject to constraints.

Satou Yunona has sixteen years of experience living in this world, and she knows that any Shan Hai Series from any major city could arrive directly in a short time.

Therefore, we must not remain in this main city.

Even though she didn't understand why she regained memories of multiple lives and reincarnations, the girl still believed that her awakening and the abilities she gained had their own inherent value and meaning.

Therefore, before finding a reason to be reborn, one cannot lose one's freedom and life.

Just as the research department had initially envisioned, countless mayfly -Nano rune appeared in every corner of the city. They resembled layers of gold foil merging into a torrential downpour, enveloping the entire Flower Master city like a holographic image.

Satou Yunona could only feel that the power to interfere with the outside world was getting weaker and weaker. Even the pure Honkai Energy as a propulsion was gradually becoming powerless. Her speed, which could have reached the outside of the main city in a dozen breaths, was suddenly reduced layer by layer, and she was eventually restricted to the embarrassing situation that she might not be able to step out of the city even in five minutes.

The lightning went out.

The girl landed in an abandoned factory in the lower city, her expression growing increasingly indifferent.

This is the current situation even with two Herrscher Core and one Pseudo-Herrscher Core working together to output a large amount of Honkai Energy and leverage a power.

She had reason to suspect that a pure single-core Herrscher would be less mobile than [Zhuhuai].

--[Constraint Barrier].

This is a barrier system developed and applied to the thirty-six main cities using the Herrscher Core Constraint from this era. Due to its extremely wide range of applications and the enormous energy consumption, when dispersed in a region of a main city, it only has the effect of selectively weakening the powers and Honkai Energy phenomena of a single or multiple individuals.

This is why countless large, fixed phenomena of Honkai Energy vapor can be seen in all major urban areas at night; without multiple Honkai reactors providing energy in each urban area, this outrageous plan would be completely impossible to implement.

The warships in the Shan Hai Series are equipped with a system that guides Constraint Barrier to its target. In other words, the negative buff cannot be removed unless [Zhuhuai] is destroyed to the point of malfunction.

The most troublesome aspect is that once the other Shan Hai Series arrive on the battlefield, they can also serve as guides and restricts the Constraint Barrier.

Even though Satou Yunona wasn't aware of all this, she still understood the reality that she couldn't leave the main city unless she left within a minute.

The halo around the girl's fair wrist spun softly, and the axis of reality and illusion of the entire world reappeared in the field of vision.

--She still can't properly block out timelines that she doesn't need to see.

Could we simply rewind time, returning this barrier to its state before it was even activated?

Just as Satou Yunona had this thought, time seemed to freeze infinitely. A phantom axis stretched across the screen, magnified continuously, and finally transformed into a brief fragment of the future.

--fail.

The reason for her failure was quite simple: the Nano rune that made up the Constraint Barrier were too numerous, and she, who was not skilled in controlling her abilities, was unable to elevate the opponent into a single, tangible concept and precisely control the timeline defined as the [Constraint Barrier].

Besides this information, Satou Yunona also saw a scene three minutes later where she was surrounded and attacked by four warships and four Soul Steel Dolls.

Having learned of [Zhuhuai]'s scheme to recruit people, she had completely abandoned any normal escape route.

But since it has been discovered that the [thing-in-itself] can not only interfere with past time by moving the axis segment, but also observe the future by magnifying the axis segment, and the consumption is not large, then there is no reason not to make good use of it.

While in a state of observing the axis, the time that passes by when the mind is focused on the external world is almost negligible.

Satou Yunona, who had barely regained her senses since the beginning, was given a chance to catch her breath. While sorting out her thoughts, she observed the short-term future on several timelines and finally came to the conclusion that there was only one way to achieve victory.

During this process, the girl also vaguely recalled the appearance of the current Your Excellency from her memories of this life. Connecting this with the promotional videos of that Your Highness that had spread to every corner of the world, she came to a very magical and unexpected conclusion.

First of all, His Your Excellency is an acquaintance he met at the St. Freya Academy in the second timeline.

In the "Legend of the Immortal" that has been passed down to this day, another protagonist is Su Qing'an.

This also explains the origin of His Your Highness's surname and why the other person and Su Qing'an look so alike.

At this moment, the sweet feelings I had for watching "The Legend of the Immortal" in my past life have completely transformed into extremely awkward and strange emotions.

When I awoke from my dream, my old friend had already been married for nine hundred years.

Aside from this reality that left her feeling somewhat relieved, speechless, and with a mix of unspeakable emotions, what truly concerned her was why Fu Hua had fallen to such a state, why the current Your Highness had been confined for seven hundred years, and... where that person was, whether he was doing well, and why his continued absence from public view.

However you think about it, once you connect the boy's personality with the current state of the world, you can understand that he is probably in a very special state, and Fu Hua's personality is closely related to this.

At this thought, intense anxiety shattered the previously indifferent state of mind.

Satou Yunona stopped observing the future fragments. She glanced at [Zhuhuai] approaching step by step, and the Soul Steel Doll that was even faster. The dark emotions in her heart grew stronger.

In that instant, the girl suddenly recalled the image of that person who had endured countless battles, finally managing to sever most of the Honkai links, arriving battered and bruised.

He said:

I will make Him return it to you.

It's okay, it'll be over soon.

[I'll make him get lost, then Yuno will be able to come out.]

His weary whisper was as soft as falling snow:

I assure everyone that Yuno a good girl.

I will make them accept it.

He earnestly agreed to all of his childlike desires, word by word:

[Okay, I'll wake you up.]

[Okay, I'll have Hua go with you.]

Finally, facing the boy's anxiety about the future, he gave an affirmative response:

No, that would be making an enemy of me.

Until his very last breath, Su Qing'an kept saying that he would take her away from here, and that everything would be alright...

But the grand fireworks display shattered everything, much like the whaling ship that killed him in his dream, hovering only between the unfocused, dark pupils of that person's eyes, overflowing with despair and sorrow.

Satou Yunona's fingertips trembled; she suddenly understood the profound meaning her death represented to that person at that time.

So, if I survived because of the other person, does that mean my existence itself is to prove that person didn't lose, that their efforts weren't in vain, which is why they regained all their memories and are standing here?

The girl pondered and thought, and came to a conclusion.

She had to see him, no matter what.

If what's blocking your way is Constraint Barrier, then step over it.

If the Shan Hai Series is blocking the way, then tear it apart.

If it's a Soul Steel Doll blocking your way, then destroy it.

--No one can stop it.

Satou Yunona watched the enemy rapidly approaching after she finished observing the timeline, a spark ignited a raging fire within her, igniting a multitude of emotions that had been dormant. Her soul was stirred by this, creating a symphony like a storm, an improvised Croatian rhapsody that resonated in every corner of her body.

The color in one of her eyes faded, the iris turned reddish-black, and the pupil became pitch black, creating two distinct realms with the axis seen by her other eye.

According to the scientific definition of time, these two realms represent the real axis and the imaginary axis, respectively.

The real axis signifies the past, present, and future.

The imaginary axis represents the curves and fluctuations that may occur over time.

Theoretically speaking, since the existence of imaginary time cannot affect the material world, the imaginary axis has no connection with reality.

But at this moment, this awe-inspiring power fell entirely into the hands of one person.

Satou Yunona slowly raised her slender hand, and as her five fingers closed, the illusory engraved ring rippled outwards, like the emergence of patterns, or like a noble crown, announcing that the moment of coronation was about to arrive.

Another ring-shaped mark gradually appeared in the girl's pupils, becoming increasingly clear. She said indifferently in a soft voice:

"You're in my way, Zhuhuai."

At this moment, the illusory axis segment at the future node is transformed into a real axis.

Inside the distant Shan Hai Series warships, all the stabilizers and limiting valves in the energy chambers were reversed to a stage where the manufacturing process was not yet completed. The interference Axis of Void and Reality Transformation then continued to spread in this form, eventually piling up into inevitable destruction.

As [Zhuhuai] exploded in the high sky in this way, disintegrating into countless pieces of soul steel scrap that fell like rain, the soul steel puppet that was still heading towards it was also disrupted in the same way, and it fell headlong into an unknown area.

That concludes the discussion.

In the blink of an eye, the strongest fighting force of a major city was wiped out.

Once the directional constraints of the Constraint Barrier were lifted, the sparse powers covering the entire city could no longer interfere with any actions of a three-core Herrscher.

Satou Yunona's pupils lost their color. Suppressing the stinging pain and weariness emanating from the depths of her soul, she followed the guidance of the vision of the future she had seen and left Flower Master City without hesitation.

She wants to see him.

No one can stop it.

End of Chapter
Prev
NovelSummaries
Next

Comments