I'm Not a Flame-Chaser - Chapter 599

Two humans from a previous civilization, using the Honkai power they had stolen, are locked in an endless battle in this chaos.

Kevin knew he was far from his peak condition. His fight with Su and his slumber in the Quantum Sea had left him feeling somewhat depleted. Meanwhile, the energy emanating from Lin's body was becoming increasingly powerful, and his attacks were no longer limited to the keratinous threads and long hair on his body. He dismantled the Great Void Sword Qi and incorporated it into his own fighting style, leaving even Kevin somewhat at a disadvantage.

But...

"Smack—"

After yet another round of attacks, Lin stopped in mid-air, making no further move.

Dark golden threads slowly eroded from the areas where keratin already existed, spreading to the other areas that still belonged to "humanity," constantly piercing into the pores and weaving the inhuman keratin.

Lin and Kevin exchanged a silent glance; they both knew the battle was nearing its end.

Even though the outcome is far from decided, one of them can no longer continue like this.

"Sizzle... Bang!"

Suddenly, the keratin on his neck burst open, revealing a ruptured blood vessel, and blood gushed out like a fountain.

The muscles twitched, the blood vessels healed, and the threads wove together again to form a keratinous substance that covered the neck.

Some iridescent light flickered in his dark golden right eye, like a faulty light bulb about to go out at any moment.

This was the first time Lin had actively awakened the Hyper-Evolution Factor within his body. Unlike other Flame-Chaser, he was not pure; his consciousness alone was a product of the fusion of Herrscher and human, which caused a conflict with the Hyper-Evolution Factor.

As Kevin said, rashly using Artificial Collapse would only put Lin in a near-death situation.

Ultimately, he was still a failure.

From birth to now, a complete failure.

Kevin slowly exhaled, crossed his arms, and calmly explained to the motionless man:

"Three seconds."

"..."

"Your disappearance and reappearance time will never exceed three seconds."

Instead of using space as a scale, time is the measure. There are two ways Lin can disappear: one is that he completely disappears, and the other is that an attack passes through his body. Regardless of which one, the process only takes three seconds.

The Herrscher of the Void's powers are related to Imaginary Space and Imaginary Energy. Specifically, she uses various imaginary creations and portals for defense and offense. However, after she was defeated, research on the Herrscher of the Void's core revealed a part related to "time".

According to the research findings, the Moth of Fire created a spacetime severing device that can reduce the time within a certain space. The core of this device is a key that can freely travel between the Imaginary Space and the Quantum Sea, two regions where the concepts of time Key of the Void space are confused.

Based on the battle just now, Kevin has determined that Lin's ability is similar to the Spatial Fracture Device.

Combining Lin's ability to see information from the future through his consciousness, which is related to "time," he is probably able to transform his entire being into a quantum state and select a landing point within three seconds from the "present" to the "future." Before reaching the landing point, he is no longer an individual within time.

Therefore, Kevin was unable to sense the fluctuations in the Imaginary Space, while Lin's ability to pass through the black ice was clearly a result of his body transforming into a quantum state.

After analyzing Lin's abilities, Kevin's only question was whether these abilities were truly the same as those of the Emperor-class Honkai Beast, Wasak.

But in any case, we've now reached the final stage.

After Kevin revealed his abilities, Lin remained unmoved. He stood there silently like a dead man, with only the dark gold and rainbow light flashing alternately in his right eye.

Kevin himself wasn't exactly optimistic either. He was already in a slump, and the damage Lin had done to him was healed by the activation of the Hyper-Evolution Factor. However, over-activation would cause Kevin's body to Honkai Beast, which was not a good thing for his current energy-deficient state.

What Lin wants to do is to completely trap Kevin in the depths of the Quantum Sea, so that he can rest there as a former hero and never reappear in the reality of the Intrinsic World as a "savior".

The final Honkai Energy was condensed by Lin, and in his hand, a dark golden Honkai Energy sphere gathered, gradually forming a long sword blade.

The dark golden beast eyes could no longer be maintained, and even the rainbow color in the right eye dissipated, turning back into a jet-black bead. The keratinous matter and threads all over its body, along with the long hair on its back, were also sucked into the sword blade in its hand.

Space and consciousness trembled with fear, and even this void gradually began to collapse.

It has neither form nor needs form; this sword fills space, and the sword itself is space. Therefore, it is omnipresent and invincible.

This is the last thing Lin can use now, and it's his final resort.

"Forest."

Facing the invisible sword that stung his very consciousness, Kevin gently exhaled, and after a second inhale and exhale...

His body also underwent changes.

He looked up, wanting to say something to his former friend, but stopped himself when he saw those eyes.

In a time so distant it was almost forgotten, the white-haired boy saw a pair of empty, emotionless, cold, and memoryless black eyes. Everything that a human being possessed had been brutally stripped away from those eyes, and all he felt was an indelible sadness.

But now, he sees the same eyes, filled with the same sorrow he felt back then, reflecting his own cold, inhuman eyes.

They are the most compatible friends, so there's no need for words, is there?

The dark golden longsword pierced through space and consciousness, shattering the void like glass.

The Tai Xu Divine Essence.

At the last moment, the white-haired man, who had transformed into the form of a demon, quietly watched the black-haired man calmly lower his hand and his body dissipate into nothingness.

The two stared at each other during the frozen moment.

Like two teenagers who once laughed together at the beginning of time in a small schoolyard.

See you tomorrow, Lin.

See you tomorrow, Kevin.

"Clatter."

Blood fell at my feet and turned into ice crystals.

That boy's blood will not freeze.

The Journey Begins in the Sky: Chapter One: Beneath the Sky, Above Hell

In February 2017, four months had passed since the global Great Honkai triggered by the awakening of the Herrscher of the Void. It had caused unprecedented catastrophic impacts on the world. For the first time, humanity came into contact with the malice of the Honkai on a large scale. Social order collapsed, and rats and snakes stirred from the shadows, plunging humanity's heart into a massive Honkai.

Sky City, a highly technologically advanced city built by humans in Shenzhou, became one of the main refuges after the Great Honkai. It has a well-equipped defense force to prevent various Honkai events, as well as the support of medicines and funds from the world-renowned Shencheng Pharmaceuticals. Until two weeks ago, there had been no significant Honkai casualties.

However, just two weeks ago, Honkai Energy leak occurred in Sky City, causing Honkai Beast and Honkai zombie to appear inside the city. The defense forces had to investigate the cause of the leak and remove the leaked Honkai Energy as soon as possible.

And so, time has come to the present.

The dazzling neon lights are mesmerizing, and the city's towering buildings are built on a unique topography, resulting in a complex spatial distribution that resembles the clouds merging into one place.

Trams weave through the middle of skyscrapers, billboards in the rainy night emit cool yet mesmerizing lights, and a movie trailer for an actress imitating Mary Monrolu plays repeatedly above the cinema.

The starlight spread across the vast night could not penetrate even a fraction of the city lights. Following the continuous shadows of people were the headlights of cars approaching from afar, stopping at the intersection, the windshield wipers monotonously wiping away the raindrops illuminated by the colorful lights.

An indistinct figure stood beneath a large neon sign. The bar's bass blast pierced the wall but couldn't penetrate his coat. A biting, strong night wind carried the smell of malt liquor.

Every five seconds, the neon sign above his head illuminates his hooded figure.

He raised his gloved hand, rolled up his sleeve, and looked at where the hands of his old-fashioned watch had gone. Even though the red numbers on the huge electronic clock on the bar wall next to him had already told him it was 7:09 p. m., he was like an old stubborn man who couldn't get out of the past, checking the time with his scratched watch.

"Tick-tock".

The second hand has passed 12, which is both the beginning and the end.

"Call..."

A puff of warm mist gently escaped from beneath the hood.

"Boom!"

Cities always come alive at night.

"Honkai disaster is occurring in the Sky Dome City North District. Residents of this area are urged to evacuate immediately and proceed to the nearest shelter..."

"Gurgle..."

A massive, deformed, pale body on an overpass disrupted the order of Night City. Against the backdrop of rising flames and the shattered mechanical screen flashing with repeated alarms, it emitted a low, guttural roar that no living being could utter. A scarlet structure, resembling both a single eye and a head, searched through the scattered ruins. Its deformed body was connected to a medieval knight's lance and shield, adding to its eerie and twisted appearance.

The mech patrols of Sky City quickly arrived and engaged in battle with the monsters that emerged from the void. It was destined to be a difficult night for them. Massive numbers of Honkai Beast came to the human world like swarms of ants, and even with the support of Titan Mech, they were soon unable to withstand the swarming beasts.

"Damn it... Where's the next reinforcement? We can't hold them off any longer! At this rate, the entire city's defenses will be breached!"

One Titan Mech after another was easily Honkai Beast attacking it, like prey being devoured by a pack of wolves. Even though most of the mechs had been mobilized to plug the gaps, the defensive line was still forced to retreat again and again.

The most despairing moment for them was when a Honkai Emperor appeared from the void.

As the strongest among the lower- Honkai Beast, its appearance shattered the already precarious balance. Its enormous body, suspended in mid-air, and the strange carapace structure revolving around it made it look like a hellish beast from hell as described in ancient tales.

"Whoosh—"

"Waaaaaaah!"

The shell structure, resembling a series of Floating Cannon, rotated and sliced through the Titan Mech's outer shell. The special armor, which was Honkai, couldn't even withstand the damage for a second before being torn to pieces. The pilot of the mech let out a terrified scream; the impending death caused his mind to completely break down.

A streak of light pierced the darkness.

"Clatter."

"Bang!"

The mech guard clearly heard a person fall on the head of his mech, and then the monster in front of him was sent flying backward as if hit by a truck, crashing heavily into the Honkai Beast.

"Wh-what?"

"Boom!"

In a dazzling flash, a white shadow shot out from the top of the mech and, to the astonishment of the disabled Titan Mech pilot, took down a Honkai Beast in just a few moves.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

With a flick of his wrists, the bullets transformed into imaginary matter the instant they were fired, passing through obstacles before solidifying again the moment they struck the Honkai Beast. This power far exceeded what a pistol should have, shattering the Honkai Beast's shell in a single blow.

White hair reflected the moonlight, Honkai Beast one after another amidst the bursts of fire. Instead of attacking with firearms, the white figure swung his fists and feet, using speed and strength that were beyond the reach of ordinary people to repel the smaller Honkai Beast, and then finished them off with a large-caliber pistol.

The Honkai Beast that had been a headache for the mech guards was quickly driven back by more than half of its members. The defensive line was pushed back by that slender figure alone. Then she noticed the Honkai Emperor and realized that the Honkai Emperor, which was spawned from the high concentration of Honkai Energy nearby, was the leader of this group of Honkai Beast. So she stepped on the shield of the Temple-class Honkai Beast, dodged the spear's thrust with a counterattack, and charged towards the Honkai Emperor was controlling the carapace structure.

"Oh!"

With a kick, she sent a small hill- Chariot-class Honkai Beast that was blocking her way rolling on the ground. The white-haired girl then weaved through the Honkai Beast once more, relentlessly closing in on the Honkai Emperor.

But she was too engrossed in the battle when a new Knight-class Honkai Beast crossed the void and appeared behind her after she had just defeated a Honkai Beast. It raised its spear, its scarlet eyes glowing with a bloodthirsty red light, and thrust it directly into her unsuspecting back!

Suddenly, as if reminded by someone, the girl turned around and caught sight of the spear thrusting towards her out of the corner of her eye. But it was too late. The Honkai Emperor's armor, capable of tearing apart Titan Mech, was already close in, and the swirling wind stung her skin!

She gritted her teeth, and her golden right eye, like a beacon in the darkness, shone brightly. A uniquely shaped white spear appeared in her hand, and she swept it across the surroundings!

"Bass!"

"Bass!"

Deflecting the spear and the carapace, the girl gripped the white spear tightly with both hands and thrust it towards the Honkai Emperor!

"Bang!"

However, a sudden change occurred.

A dark shadow struck the Honkai Emperor from the side even faster than her. Pinkish-purple blood splattered instantly, and the Honkai Emperor was smashed to pieces before she could even scream!

Her pupils contracted as the dark figure burst out from the upper body of the Honkai Emperor, which was not yet completely fallen, grabbed the spear in her hand, and hurled it at the Knight-class Honkai Beast behind her, piercing its core with pinpoint accuracy!

Finally, before she could react, the dark figure grabbed her by the neck, jumped down from the high bridge, and disappeared without a trace in a few moments, leaving the mech guards staring at each other in disbelief.

The "Departure" of the Celestial Dome: Chapter Two - Similar Stories

"Hmm..."

Under the cold, pale moonlight, beneath the indifferent Nisan Temple, a young woman from Yinba, her neck choked, was running wildly through a corner of the city with its complex terrain and varying elevations. The scenery before her eyes flashed by, and the hand gripping her trachea left her only a sliver of breathing space. She painfully opened her golden right eye, and upon seeing the person holding her wearing a black trench coat and a hood, she kicked his right leg hard.

But the mysterious man, though not paying special attention to her, could still hear the attack from behind immediately. He released his grip, dodging the girl's attack, and the girl used this opportunity to perform several agile backflips to create distance between herself and the mysterious man, watching him warily as he stood quietly not far away.

The moonlight fell on the girl's long, flowing silver hair, which resembled a cascading river of stars.

The black and white tight-fitting combat suit and the stockings on her right leg accentuated the girl's slender figure. Orange accessories and sheer fabric added a unique touch to her striking attire. A black shawl, lined with white, fluttered in the night wind. The flawless azure of her left eye and the unusual orange-gold of her right eye revealed her identity—

Kiana Kaslana, the Herrscher of the Void caused the Great Honkai four months ago.

Kiana, gripping her modified pistol Sky Ripper, stared breathlessly at the mysterious figure standing in the shadows of the neon lights. The intense battles of the past few days, and the use of her Herrscher abilities just now, had taken a toll on her, leaving her feeling increasingly empty. She had never seen this mysterious figure before. Could it be Shencheng Pharmaceuticals? Had her investigation already alerted Shencheng Pharmaceuticals?

The mysterious figure wore a trench coat that blended into the darkness, with blood-red lines along the edges. The hood covered most of his face, and a mask could be seen under the remaining small section of his chin. Just by standing there, it was as if no light could penetrate his surroundings, making him appear sinister and terrifying, like a ghost without a physical form.

"Who are you?" Kiana's crisp voice was followed by the muzzle of a gun pointed at the mysterious man. She stared intently at the attacker, wary of another sudden attack.

"..." However, the mysterious person did not answer her question directly. Instead, he lifted the sleeve of his left hand, glanced at the time on his watch, and then looked up at Kiana. A slightly hoarse, deep voice came from under the hood, "Kiana Kaslana, the Herrscher of the Void, disappeared four months ago after awakening and causing a global Great Honkai. Her whereabouts were uncertain while the whole world was searching for her. Until two weeks ago, a person suspected to Herrscher of the Void was discovered during a Honkai Energy leak in Sky City."

After the other party revealed Kiana's true identity, she became even more certain that the other party was from Shencheng Pharmaceuticals. She gritted her teeth and remained silent.

After saying those words, the mysterious man stood quietly in place, observing Kiana's grip on the gun and her striking right eye. Then, with a slight flick of his sleeve, two pistols fell into his hand and were firmly held in his grasp.