Past and Future / Uranus

"Bang!"

Yan Luo frowned as he looked at Lin Fei, who was not bound but instead had the chains that were about to entangle him repelled.

In his hand, he held a pure white Knight Lance.

Black Abyss White Flower? Why is it here?

... not the real Black Abyss White Flower.

The Herrscher Core within Yan Luo's body immediately made her realize that this was not the real Divine Key, but a counterfeit reproduced through other means.

Lin, panting, suppressed the cheers that threatened to burst his brain. He struggled to lift his head and meet the cold gaze of Yan Luo.

In his palm, the core of the Herrscher of Reason was pierced into flesh and blood, emitting a faint gray light.

Did it use the core of the Herrscher of Reason?

Yan Luo stared at the blood flowing from his palm and let out a cold laugh for no reason.

Isn't that ironic?

At this moment, what is inside Lin's body is the embryonic form of "that," and the external force he uses is the power of the Herrscher of Reason.

She uses the Divine Key, which was made from that power.

And she herself...

"Call..."

A long, straight sword with a white scabbard and a black blade appeared in Yan Luo's hand.

He is the true Herrscher of Reason.

Chapter Twenty-Two: Past and Future

In the Honkai Energy Quantum Sea Honkai energy is abundant, bizarre Honkai Beast can be seen almost everywhere. The impact of the two energy explosions overturned all the Honkai Beast on this plane, and the ring-shaped shock wave crashed into the fragments with a roar.

The blades of two weapons of the same color clashed, the heavy force creating a terrifying sonic boom. Inhuman power was transmitted between the weapons, and the rubble where the two stood was shattered into even smaller fragments.

In a pure clash of skills, Lin and Yan Luo exchanged blows amidst the flashing blades. Although they wielded different weapons, they employed similar attack patterns, with long spears and straight blades, imbued with death, leaving behind trails of black afterimages.

"Ping!"

With his other hand, Lin used a white Knight Lance to block the vertical slash of the straight sword. He strode forward and thrust the lance straight at Yan Luo's face.

Yan Luo's Black Abyss White Flower underwent prolonged use in her hands, transforming from a detachable Knight Lance into a purely offensive weapon simply wrapped in a scabbard called Abyss Flower. Perhaps the Black Abyss's destructive power has increased, but the abilities belonging to Abyss Flower have transferred into her body, preventing the Divine Key from exerting its full power.

But that was enough for her.

The chain crossed her shoulders from behind and collided with Black Abyss's spear. The chain was deflected, but it followed suit and became entangled with Black Abyss.

Lin immediately sensed that the Honkai Energy being suppressed. He decisively let go and retreated, using the remaining Abyss Flower in his hand to block the other deadly chains.

Yan Luo casually swung her sword, but instead of immediately pursuing, she picked up one of the twelve golden spears presented in the Oath of Judas. The remaining spears resonated with the one in her hand, radiating a dazzling golden light.

Lin caught a glimpse of this scene out of the corner of his eye, raised his hand, and the cannon body of the Floating Cannon appeared beside him. Driven by the Herrscher Authority of Reason, it quickly filled the skeleton, and Honkai Energy gathered in the muzzle, aiming at Yan Luo and Oath of Judas not far away.

"Bang!"

However, a strong gust of wind from above Floating Cannon.

A light spear beside Lin gradually dimmed, and fragments of the Floating Cannon fell at his feet.

Yan Luo coldly raised his spear, and the light spear within the Oath of Judas burst forth with even more dazzling brilliance, transforming into beams of dazzling golden light that rose from the ground and fell to earth like meteors.

"Boom!"

Flying out of the crack, Lin's entire right arm was reduced to a bloody pulp by the impact, and this time he did not regenerate a new right arm at high speed.

The power of the Black Abyss and the ability of the cross to Honkai Energy slowed his regeneration to an extreme degree, even hindering normal human functions, and causing blood to escape uncontrollably from his body.

Yan Luo, whose arms were wrapped in chains, rushed out of the crack. Her Prismatic Eyes immediately caught sight of Lin falling downwards. She swung the chains in her hand with all her might, and the unfolded cross at the end turned into a blunt weapon with terrifying weight, smashing down on Lin.

"Bang!"

Lin Zhou's stance blocked the attack, but his falling speed became even faster, and he crashed straight into the ground.

Yan Luo released the cross, letting it fall to the ground, and raised her hands high above her head, pale bandages sickly wrapped around her arms, encasing every finger.

The Herrscher, transformed from human greed, is permeated with human "disease" in every corner of its body.

The bandages on her fingers smelled burnt and were blackened by the fire; the "flames" transformed into sharp blades that appeared in her hands.

The calamity fire that once destroyed Australia has now reappeared in the hands of the "messenger of the gods." She wields her greatsword, and the raging flames roar as they bite into the deep pit in the ground.

"Boom!"

The flames, burning everything in their path, spread across the ground, their tongues greedily engulfing everything in their path. Even as everything in sight was engulfed in flames, there was no sign of them stopping.

Yan Luo's gaze was cold as she looked at the deep crater where she had been struck head-on. Then, her eyes sharpened, and she held the Phoenix horizontally in front of her—

"Ping! Crack!"

The raging flames washed over her entire body. The Herrscher's stance and Phoenix blocked most of the attacks for her, but her fingers and feet still instantly vaporized. She coldly glanced at her disheveled state, shuddered, and the missing body parts immediately regenerated.

Amidst the raging flames, another man wields the same flaming greatsword, his right arm, which should never have regenerated, now gripping the hilt of the sword.

Did the power of the Herrscher of Reason reshape the body...?

Once understood, the human body can naturally be reproduced using the power of the Herrscher of Reason.

Yan Luo swooped down from the heavens, his two giant swords, representing pure destruction, clashing in the fiery furnace. A pillar of fire shot into the sky, the heat melting the earth beneath their feet!

"Have you been unhappy these past three years?"

Yan Luo turned his slash into a thunderous strike, deflecting Lin's giant sword with a single blow. He then turned and grabbed the spear that was being shot at him, piercing Lin's shoulder with the spear.

She stepped on Lin's chest, raised the sword, and slammed it down on Lin, who could only do his best to block the sword in front of him.

"Bang!"

Each strike swept across thousands of miles, and Yan Luo's offensive grew increasingly frenzied. Lin's Honkai Energy blocked by the spear, forcing him to passively defend himself. His body parts were vaporized and reassembled, repeating the process at an unbelievable speed.

The bandages on Yan Luo's body came undone and tightened again and again, and pain was etched into her Prismatic Eyes as she questioned Lin.

"Even if you see everyone die in front of you, would you still keep going?!"

The Phoenix erupted with the hottest temperature. Yan Luo gripped the giant sword with both hands and slashed at Lin's Phoenix.

"Bang!"

With a loud bang, both weapons shattered simultaneously.

Yan Luo raised her right hand, and another long purple sword, enveloped in thunder, appeared in her hand.

"Can't you just choose to end it!"

"Boom!"

The Pseudo-Herrscher Core emitted a powerful vibration. Lin opened his eyes and slowly propped himself up. All his flesh and skin had been charred by electricity. Underneath the charred remains, new flesh and blood grew. With a gentle shake, new skin was revealed.

He gripped the spear embedded in his shoulder, pulled hard, and yanked it out.

The spear, radiating golden light, resonated with the core within his body.

Kneeling on the ground, even the Prismatic Eyes in her eyes were almost unable to withstand such an attack.

Lin raised his head and looked at the expressionless silver-haired girl, whose eyes seemed to hold both anger and sorrow.

Upon seeing Lin raise his head once more, she could no longer contain herself and raised her thunderous sword, as a storm brewed above her head.

Did you experience these things back then?

Just before the thunder struck, she stopped moving and stared blankly at the man whose eyes held a hint of pity.

Then, the flame in her eyes burned even brighter.

"Of course I've been through it."

"And now, I will never let anyone else go through that."

Chapter Twenty-Three Uranus

Blown open again, Lin plummeted straight to the top floor of the building. He staggered to his feet, gripping his spear. This time, he discovered that he had not fallen into a desolate area, but... in the city.

Why did he fall into the city?

After Lin got up, he looked up through the tall building and saw people below looking up in horror, discussing the crack in the sky.

Is this the World Bubble?

Just as the rift was about to close, a spear shot out from it. Lin swung his spear and deflected it. The figure that rushed out of the rift caught the deflected spear and floated in the air. The cross behind her was like outstretched wings, floating silently behind her.

Lin Mo silently gripped the spear with both hands, while Yan Luo drew a second spear. Without uttering a single unnecessary word, she charged forward again, her two spears crossed and aimed at Lin's head!

"Bass!"

A piercing, sharp scraping sound came from above the city. People didn't know what was happening; they could only see two blurry figures moving at high speed between buildings and colliding.

Yan Luo seized the opportunity and pierced Lin's abdomen with his spear, carrying him all the way through the entire floor of the building. Lin, however, gripped the spear in reverse and kicked Yan Luo in the head!

"Whoosh..."

But his attack missed.

The Yan Luo who was struck disappeared in a phantom, and Lin discovered that the spear that had pierced his abdomen was also gone.

This is... the power of the Eighth Herrscher?

Immediately afterwards, he was struck hard in the back, vomited blood, crashed through the roof, and was sent flying into the air.

The Herrscher abilities that Yan Luo could control were beyond his imagination. She possessed many Divine Key that Lin had never seen before, and she could use their abilities perfectly. The power of the Herrscher of Reason became the most perfect ability for her to use the Divine Key.

Lin turned around and his spear collided with another spear in mid-air. He looked at Yan Luo, who appeared out of thin air, Plasma Shadow Show he had used before appeared in his other hand.

Even Herrscher can only reproduce a limited number of things, let alone the Herrscher of Reason, whose total Honkai Energy is lower than that of a normal Herrscher. In fact, Lin herself was only using the core of the Herrscher of Reason to barely use her powers. The Divine Key of Black Abyss White Flower alone was almost exhausting the Honkai Energy in the core.

However, Yan Luo didn't even glance at the blade Lin swung at her. With Plasma Shadow Show into pieces. She then kicked Lin squarely in the face, sending him flying into the crack that had opened behind him.

"Bang!"

Lin fell into the sea. A violent storm raged across the boundless ocean. Yan Luo hung high in the sky, just like every Herrscher Lin had ever seen before. She was cold, ruthless, and filled with murderous intent.

However, her power has already surpassed that of Herrscher.

Lin had seen this world before; it was the location of his first Parallel World consciousness journey.

Wait... is this the world of Yan Luo?

"You seem to regard me as an ordinary Herrscher." Yan Luo stretched out her hand and pointed it at Lin. In her view, Lin was as small as an insect that could be crushed with one hand. She coldly declared, "Then die, human."

"Boom!"

A massive, mechanical arm extended from the sea beneath her.

When Herrscher is born, an Upper-class Honkai Beast may be born alongside her as her familiar. This beast will protect the Herrscher as she completes her metamorphosis and attack any creature that might harm her.

"Whoosh..." A large amount of seawater flowed out from the gaps in his arms like a waterfall. Then, a giant shadow that stirred up the entire ocean rose from the sea.

Its size far surpassed any Honkai Beast Lin had ever seen; its figure standing tall amidst the storm and the ocean resembled the father of the gods in mythology.

Four arms churned the seawater, creating overwhelming waves; a single, scarlet eye stole even the sun's radiance.

This is a mechanical creation.

However, it is also the servant of the Herrscher Abaddon Yama Demon, representing the end of this world's civilization and its ultimate fate.

It can easily tear apart continents and cleave oceans with its arms, just as its name suggests— Uranus, representing the sky.

"Sizzle—"

Under Yan Luo's command, its single eye emitted a crimson light that eclipsed everything in the world. The intense heat even caused the seawater to boil and evaporate. It aimed at Lin, and the crimson eye grew brighter and brighter until—

"——"

The voice was taken away.

The light is dimming.

"Boom--------"

The thunderclouds were split in two, and the sky, which had been covered in dark clouds, was transformed into a cloudless landscape in less than a second.

The ocean was split in two by the beam of light, and a bottomless trench appeared on the seabed, where the matter that was once there had been completely sublimated.