Including You / The Herrscher of the Void and Vassago

"Speaking of which, Doctor Mei said that a new Divine Key Project is underway. I wonder who will use the new Divine Key."

"A new Divine Key?" Dessidobia tilted her head. "Aren't you going to try and get one, Kosma?"

"The Divine Key needs to be compatible. Even if you force it to be used because it's incompatible, it's no different from a regular weapon..."

Chapter Sixty-Three Including You

Lin withdrew his hand from the Oath of Judas. He looked up at the crack one last time, and through the darkness that almost swallowed the starlight and moonlight, he seemed to see something slowly wriggling inside.

"What are you thinking about?"

Bianca planted her lance in the ground, stood behind Lin, and asked him.

"...a lot of."

World Bubble, crack, Bianca, 50,000 years later, 50,000 years ago...

Also, Einstein and the Armed Puppet.

Einstein had told him from the beginning that he could tell she no longer wanted to return to her original world.

She wasn't afraid of Honkai and death, but rather confused about humanity itself. Was everything she had done for humanity truly worthwhile? Even without Honkai, humans would still kill each other. So, since the weapons she created were currently used to fight Honkai, would they later be used against humanity?

Let the Armed Puppet kill humans.

The ideas that crossed her mind sent chills down her spine, and what terrified her even more was that those ideas could very well become reality.

Lin would not condemn Einstein's choice; he would even consider whether Einstein's choice might have been better.

"Now that we don't have to fight anymore, what does that silly goose want to do?"

Lin sat down cross-legged, gazing into the distance as if looking at a future that was both desirable and unattainable.

Bianca sat down back-to-back with him, a gentle smile on her lips, "I'll teach the children at the orphanage."

"..."

"Scum Mushroom, I had amnesia when I was a child and don't know my origins. I chose the name Bianca Atajina myself. From the sanatorium to the orphanage, I met many different people." She combed her distinctive blonde hair, her eyes filled with memories. "Then, one day, I met Ragna, the captain of the Valkyrie Assault Squad. She taught me how to grow yuri."

"But she sacrificed herself. Only one person survived in the entire team. It was under the guidance of that surviving warrior that I signed up for the Valkyrie training and officially became Valkyrie. Then, in the first mission... I was the only one who survived."

"From that time on, I realized that I was different, and from that time on, I came to understand many people, including that surviving soldier from the stormtroopers, and of course Ragna."

"Many people say that childhood experiences will accompany a person throughout their life, and a childhood filled with incompleteness and pain will become a wound that will remain in the heart forever."

"But I want to thank my childhood, because it made me know what kind of person I want to be, that is, someone who will prevent others from having the same childhood as me."

She leaned against the forest, looked up at the moon, and it seemed as if millions of stars were twinkling in her soul.

"Scum Mushroom, what was your childhood like?"

Lin pondered for a moment, then shook his head indifferently and said, "It's nothing serious, but it is indeed what led me to where I am today. A man who I can't say I hate, but I don't like either, guided me."

Bianca smiled and said, "Then we are quite alike."

"Many people have influenced me in the second half of my life. They gave me their lives and ideals, and taught me how to be a normal person. But they themselves seemed to be torn apart by some kind of unreasonable malice. I used to think that was reality, but later someone told me that it was fate." Lin's lips trembled, and then she bit them hard.

So why would he not hesitate to rebel against "fate"? He's been taken away from almost everything, yet he's still expected to bow down to fate?

"What's wrong? Have I fallen out of your favor now?"

Chrono sat on the sofa with his feet propped up to the side, chuckling as he smiled at Immer, who had been staring at him.

"I specifically asked that woman to transfer you to the Poisoned Cocoon so it would be easier for you to kill me, but lately it's been so boring. You're just like Sakura, muttering about nothing all day long." Chrono cracked his neck, making a crisp sound. "Too busy with work? That's right. Anyway, Sakura and I don't care about these things, we'll leave it all to you. Do you want me to help?"

"...you?"

Immer was slightly surprised, his cold gaze carrying a subtle emotion toward Chrono.

"Enough talk! Give it to me!"

Chrono snatched the portable terminal from Immer's hand. He glanced at the dense, unintelligible numbers on it, and his mouth twitched under the mask.

"Why make it so complicated? Can't we just write it down?" Chrono slammed the terminal back onto the table in a huff. But despite his irritation, he handled it gently, knowing that if Immer didn't submit it in time, there would be a whole host of problems that he found extremely troublesome.

It's even more troublesome than the Nun who put him under a commandment!

Immer sneered as he took the terminal back, "Using words is too inefficient. I can save a lot of time by using a specific combination of numbers. Typing a bunch of numbers is much more convenient than typing a bunch of words."

"Tch, you think you can even understand it?"

"I am not you." Immer finally managed to verbally retaliate against Chrono. He sneered, "Besides, I have my own decryption software. As long as I paste the numbers I wrote before into it, it can translate the meaning of the numbers I wrote down."

Chrono remained silent for a moment. He was a beast in battle, and that was the assessment of him by both those outside the Poisoned Cocoon and its members. However, outside of battle, he was not exactly a normal person either.

Immer had seen the wooden carvings in Chrono's room before, Immer understood their meaning. He suppressed his anger but never vented it on Chrono.

"Could it be that Lin asked you to 'let go of your hatred'?"

At this moment, Chrono suddenly spoke, as if he had seen through Immer's thoughts and said what was on his mind.

"... Captain Lin didn't tell me to let go of my hatred." Immer took a deep breath. Even though he still couldn't treat Chrono with a normal attitude, he hadn't lost his mind. "He just told me to think for myself, to think calmly."

"Hmph, boring."

"Only someone like you would find this boring."

Immer really didn't want to argue with Chrono, so he focused his energy back on the data terminal and patiently entered the numbers one by one.

"Hey, I've wanted to ask this for a while now, are Sakura and Hayashi close?"

"..."

"Why is Sakura acting so hesitant, wanting to get closer but not daring to? And everyone here seems to have a close connection with Hayashi..."

That's enough.

"..."

Chrono's intrigued gaze darkened.

"Chrono, I know what you're thinking. Even if my opinion of you has never changed, I can't deny that you really care about your current situation."

"But... that's enough."

"Nobody wants to talk about it."

"Including me."

"Including yourself."

Chapter Sixty-Four: The Herrscher of the Void and Wasak

The sun was shining brightly, and the sky was cloudless. Even those who are used to storms rarely see such a clear and cloudless sky that is so captivating.

Only at the very center of this sky, there is a crack, like a scar on the sky, that is slowly writhing.

Lin and Bianca crouched below the crevice. According to Einstein's prediction, the "thing" inside the crevice could emerge at any moment. Lin explained his conjectures and the suspicious points about Bianca —her inability to use the Holy Sword and the presence of a "mark" that only he could sense.

What comes out of there is likely to be...

"Whoosh..."

The crack trembled as if it had been struck hard, and the thin, black fissure began to expand on both sides, like an eye that was gradually opening, its interior shrouded in darkness above the two of them.

Einstein watched from a distance, Rita protected her, and the expressions on everyone's faces were not pleasant.

And then, it came.

From the crack, a foot first emerged, followed by golden, transparent wings of light that slowly descended. When the true form of that "person" appeared before Lin and Bianca, his conjecture was confirmed.

Lin had participated in the Second Honkai War campaign, but at that time he was just a recruit who was rushed to the battlefield without a team, so his mission was to rescue the survivors in the city where a large-scale Honkai had occurred.

Lin was supposed to go to the battlefield to fight the Second Herrscher after completing the rescue mission, but an accident happened. The Second Herrscher's Companion Honkai Beast, a King-class Wasak Emperor-class Honkai Beast with extremely strange abilities, appeared on the battlefield and slaughtered more than half of the squad. Himiko's former squad members were killed by it.

Later, Lin Danren defeated Wasak, but because of this, he never saw the true face of the Second Herrscher —she was defeated by Elysia.

The Herrscher manipulated the Imaginary Space and first spread despair to humanity was later known as the Herrscher of the Void. Even today, the Moth of Flame is still grateful to have been able to defeat the Herrscher of the Void.

Now, Lin has officially met the god who came from the void and distorted space with a flick of his hand.

She had long purple hair, wore a white dress with a purple overlay, and had indifferent golden eyes that looked down on the masses.

"It really is... the Herrscher of the Void." Einstein, pale-faced, watched the Herrscher descend from the rift from afar, her fingers tightening around the electronic telescope. "Why would she appear in a place like this? Why is there a Herrscher in the Quantum Sea ..."

If Einstein were to choose the Herrscher of Flame from among all the Herrscher, she would undoubtedly choose the Herrscher of Flames. However, if Einstein were to choose the most dangerous Herrscher, she would vote for the Herrscher of the Void.

For humans, manipulating Imaginary Space is already synonymous with being a god.

Moreover, they currently lack equipment support and a well-trained Moth of Fire combat squad. The Herrscher of the Void, before she fully ascended, caused incalculable damage. How can they fight her now?

"Herrscher of the Void..."

Bianca remained hidden in the shadows. During her time, the Herrscher of the Herrscher of the Void caused the Babylon Tower massacre and the Great Honkai, killing numerous Schicksal and Anti-Entropy army warriors. There were fewer than a hundred survivors in Siberia. In the end S-rank Valkyrie Cecilia Saniyat perished with her, finally ending that horrific battle.

She gazed at the Herrscher of the Void, who slowly turned her head and looked directly at Bianca was hiding not far away.

It wasn't that she was discovered; rather, from the very beginning, the Herrscher of the Void had her as her target.

Bianca bears a mark made by the Herrscher of the Void. This mark was placed on her by the Herrscher of the Void as a target during her journey through the Quantum Sea. Even if she is in different spaces, the Herrscher of the Void will be able to find her.

Furthermore, the power of the Holy Sword within Bianca's body may have been sealed by the Herrscher of the Void.

But how did she do it? Even the Herrscher of the Void couldn't directly nullify Durandal's abilities.

Bianca, fully armed and wielding a lance, emerged from the shadows and met the Herrscher of the Void's gaze without fear.

Regardless of why the Herrscher of the Void appeared here, she felt no fear whatsoever.

She is the "strongest", so she will never lose.

But just as the battle was about to break out, the Herrscher of the Void turned her head without warning and looked in the opposite direction.

"Whoosh—"

A sharp, tearing explosion ripped through the air, leaving a golden streak in the sky. Light spears rained down from the heavens, instantly engulfing the figure of the Herrscher of the Void.

Lin, supporting the Oath of Judas, was panting heavily. He was currently unable to control the Honkai Energy of the Pseudo-Herrscher Core, and many of the Oath of Judas's attack abilities required a large amount of Honkai Energy. He could only barely use the Honkai Energy manipulation ability he had just learned.

Fortunately, it worked well.

He stared, drenched in sweat, at the scene completely obscured by the torrential rain of light. His attack was decisive; this strike should have been enough...

"—!"

Lin suddenly realized that he was being watched.

There's no mistake; this kind of gaze has appeared before.

A strange connection made him gaze in the direction where the rain of light was fading, and only then did he notice something.

Not a single spear of light fell to the ground.

They disappeared after hitting the Herrscher of the Void.

No, they didn't hit the Herrscher at all.

His heart skipped a beat. He had never felt his own existence so clearly before, even a drop of sweat trickling down his forehead was so distinct.

It's as if, from another perspective, we can clearly see the individual "Lin".

She was watching... me.

She is watching... you.

A chill ran up my spine to the top of my head.

After the light spears disappeared, the Herrscher of the Void remained motionless in mid-air. She didn't even raise her hand, her inorganic eyes fixed on Lin. Above her head, several pinkish-purple holes received all the light spears and then closed silently.

Lin's body was unable to move, and his mind was occupied by another feeling, as if something was stirring inside him and was about to burst out at any moment.

The Herrscher of the Void wasn't looking at Lin; she was looking at the "thing" inside him.

It was a mutual connection, a connection between "family" and "master".

Why...

The Hypervariable Surgery has failed...

Why are Wasak's genes still in his body...?

And there's a reaction?

Lin understood at that moment.

The Herrscher of the Void wasn't after Bianca at all! She—