I'm Not a Flame-Chaser

Lin calmly sheathed his knife and walked past Night Owl: "Stand up, let's go."

However, after taking only two steps, Ling's anxious voice rang in his mind. "Brother Lin, ahead!"

Lin's pupils contracted, and he subconsciously drew out the Jizo Mitama. The flames on his body instantly ignited, and then two golden chains attacked from the void, their sharp ends resembling the fangs of venomous snakes!

"Whoosh! Bang!"

Lin Yidao cut one of the chains, then flicked away the other one with his backhand, took a few steps back, and stared intently at the white-haired man who walked out of the void.

"What's going on...?"

When Night Owl saw the white-haired man's face, doubt replaced all his emotions. He looked uncertainly at Lin, then at the white-haired man.

"He is Herrscher." Lin didn't have time to explain to Night Owl. He couldn't take his eyes off the white-haired man and stared seriously at the enemy who was slowly stepping forward. "Prepare for battle."

"Another Herrscher."

The white-haired man behaved almost exactly like Lin, glancing coldly at Night Owl, his Prismatic Eyes flashing with a dazzling, strange light.

"This is why I was born."

Humans who use Honkai Energy to strengthen themselves, and the Herrscher stand on the side of humanity, ultimately give rise to the "Honkai" that fights against Honkai.

Lin Jizo Mitama tightly, pointing it directly at the Herrscher, and retorted sharply, "You have clear logic, but you still act without logic."

This is the part of the Herrscher of Binding Lin finds most incomprehensible. Kiana, Welt, Rin, Seven, Night Owl... they are not empty shells controlled by Honkai. They all chose another possibility after thinking it over. But the Herrscher of Binding is completely different.

The Herrscher of Binding can understand everything, possesses all of Lin's memories, and its logic is consistent with Lin's, yet the results it leads to are opposite.

"...Not everyone in this world obeys traffic rules when driving. Even if you step on the gas pedal with peace of mind when you see a green light, you might still get hit by a car that runs a red light." Chains rose behind the white-haired man as he looked down at the fragile humans. "Obeying the rules is obeying logic, but obeying logic doesn't always lead to things going according to logic."

Therefore, the white-haired man did the most illogical thing.

He knew Lin's past, and could even personally experience Lin's pain and struggle, numbness and transformation, all the touching moments in Lin's life and his reasons for fighting for humanity, but the white-haired man remained unmoved.

He had said before that he was not Lin and would never be. Apart from deceiving Lin in the Quantum Sea in order to seize his body, the white-haired man had an obsessive and aversion to the idea of "becoming Lin."

Two men with strikingly different hair colors faced each other in silence. They had no doubt that they would kill each other. Lin changed his grip on the knife from one hand to both, aligning the tip of the blade with his gaze, like a loaded gun aimed at the Herrscher of Binding.

The fact that the white-haired man didn't directly use a barrier to eliminate Honkai Energy and biological cells on a large scale was beyond Lin's expectations, but after thinking about it carefully, Lin guessed the reason.

The white-haired man is now essentially reborn. His Herrscher Core and body are brand new. A new Herrscher needs to undergo ascension to fully unleash his powers, and the time required for ascension is neither too long nor too short.

Now is the perfect time to strike Herrscher of Binding!

The two of them moved.

The "Rebirth" of the Sky: A Symposium with Professor Lin

A dark-haired man carrying a cardboard box walked past the camera and sat down expressionlessly behind a table facing the camera.

"Ahem, audition, hello everyone. As you can see, I am the only male protagonist in this book, Lin."

"No, not at all. There have been more than three Lins who have appeared." A girl with long silver hair and wearing a cheongsam sat down next to him, looking at the camera side by side. "Including me, there are already two."

"Let's skip the trivial stuff and get down to business." Lin placed the cardboard box in the middle, and the two of them, with identical expressions, said in unison, "Then, let's begin the meeting."

"Due to the author's recent laziness, updates have been slow. Today, I finally had some free time and had a sudden inspiration to write something lighthearted. This led to the two of us having a talk show to answer some readers' questions and announce some settings."

"What utter laziness, you useless author," Yan Luo spat.

"... Watch your image, you're a beautiful girl."

"Huh? Pay attention to my image? My appearance has been changed twice by that lecherous bastard author, do I need to pay attention to it? From the initial image to a bandaged monster, then to a cheongsam and coat, the final image is a complete copy of a female character from a game, except for the hair color, it's a direct copy."

"The bandaged monster design has been retained as Herrscher outfit."

"What Herrscher would dress like that! They're not wearing anything underneath; in fact, if the bandages loosened even slightly, everything would be exposed!"

"... Ahem, after all, it's the author's favorite, so naturally we have to follow the author's wishes. Even I have a fetish for armpits, scents, and legs." Lin pointed to the sky and said calmly.

"... That's just your personal preference."

In short—

Lin reached into the cardboard box, took out a slip of paper, and glanced at it.

"The first question is, how are protagonists created?"

He stroked his chin, pondered for a few seconds, and said, "Turn to page three of your biology textbook..."

"Do you really enjoy using your humor that much?"

"After all, I can't fully portray his cunning in the main storyline," Lin said seriously. "The character Lin was conceived by the author after reading the story of the Thirteen Heroes. For the sake of the story, he can't be too strong or too weak, so he has various seemingly powerful settings in the early stages, but in reality, they are limited to the human realm. His personality is a saintly one chosen after careful consideration, possessing both rationality and sensibility, but lacking self-awareness, laying the foundation for the setting of 'Holy Child walking among mortals'."

Yan Luo twirled a strand of hair across his forehead and said with narrowed eyes, "In the early stages, he wasn't very human. His way of thinking was entirely from a higher plane looking down on humanity. It wasn't until the middle stages that he started to have 'extra emotions.' I once suspected that the author was just trying to make it easier to write the protagonist's expressions, since he was 'expressionless' most of the time. But in reality... it's surprisingly troublesome."

"My second question is, what's the deal with the update schedule for this book? Why is it often updated in the middle of the night?"

"That really hits the nail on the head." Lin put down the note, rested his chin on his hand, and sighed. "The author's personal lifestyle is unhealthy, or rather, extremely bad. He is often busy during the day, and he needs to drive people around, so he is often quite tired. Moreover, for some reason, he often travels back and forth between his hometown and his place of residence."

Yan Luo coldly pointed out. "But actually, the main reason is laziness."

"The third question: Is there a chance for characters who have already left the game to be resurrected? For example, male Delta, Soul, Little Seven..."

"Unfortunately, aside from a few characters who weren't exactly eliminated, those confirmed dead will not be resurrected. The author uses rather gentle language, but in reality, most of them die a gruesome death; for example, Anna was actually smashed into a pulp by ice..."

"Cough."

"Although the characters who are confirmed dead will no longer be active in the main story, special episodes about them will be added. Sigh, it's basically just to make me a harem."

"Knock knock." Yan Luo tapped the table, drawing the camera's attention to her. "If they're confirmed dead, they won't appear. In other words... if they're not truly confirmed dead, don't worry about their safety."

"Okay, the last question for this symposium is: how should we determine the update frequency for the special feature?"

Lin shook his head. "Special episodes are mostly updated during holidays, and occasionally when I'm in a good mood. Recently, due to the incomprehensible censorship of kissing scenes in the main storyline, the author has gone berserk and has developed rebellious thoughts about doing 'beep' in the main storyline. Actually, outside of the main storyline, it's the same as the special episodes. For example, the person next to me is clearly a woman, a young girl, an enemy, and has a sharp tongue, but I don't care at all and just go for it. I've been getting 'beep' every day."

"... Go to hell."

With the camera shaky, the black-haired man pinned the struggling silver-haired girl to the table, and the two fought so hard that the table was overturned. The person recording the video hurriedly turned off the camera.

The "Rebirth" of the Sky: Chapter Twenty-Eight - Possibilities

"Left."

The bell's reminder prompted Lin to slash to the left without thinking. After a muffled "clang," his arms went numb as he staggered backward. But his eyes narrowed, and purplish-black flames erupted from beneath his opponent's feet, instantly engulfing the enemy's figure.

The powers of the Herrscher of Erosion are undoubtedly very useful to Lin, but in terms of combat strength in a direct confrontation with Herrscher, he is still quite lacking, especially since the opponent has some of the characteristics of the Herrscher of Reason, making it even more difficult to break through the defense with attacks of consciousness.

Fortunately, the Herrscher of Binding could not exert the Authority of Binding, was not as powerful as imagined. The white-haired man, who had been subdued by the pillar of fire, coldly glanced at the injuries on his body and found some purple stripes spreading along the wounds.

Having all of Lin's memories, he knew very well that this was the corrosive ability of the Herrscher of Erosion, so he did not hesitate and directly dug out the corrosive part and threw it on the ground. The bloody wound quickly healed itself.

"..."

Prismatic Eyes caught sight of Lin's figure, a hint of hesitation creeping in.

This is really troublesome. Jizo Mitama has made up for Lin's physical deficiencies, so he can't gain the upper hand at all. Moreover, that sword is extremely dangerous; even Herrscher would be corrupted by its energy.

He hasn't returned to his peak condition yet, and if Night Owl also helps Lin, he probably won't fare well.

After careful consideration, the Herrscher of Binding considered retreating. He couldn't rush things with Lin, as he had already suffered many losses at Lin's hands.

After making his decision, the white-haired man retreated quickly without hesitation. The space here was complex and intricate; once he left his current location, Lin would find it difficult to continue the pursuit.

"Bass!"

However, when he caught a glimpse of Lin Pingju's Jizo Mitama, he did not pursue him. His heart skipped a beat as a terrifying gust of wind blew behind him!

"Bang!"

He was struck on the back by a tremendous force, his feet left the ground, and he flew towards Lin as if he had been hit by a tram!

Behind the white-haired man, a massive, hollow suit of armor floated in mid-air; it was this hollow suit of armor that had attacked him!

Lin raised his longsword, poised to strike, and delivered a fatal blow to the white-haired man's chest, who had no chance to dodge!

At this critical moment, the white-haired man's eyes darkened, and several chains flew out from his limbs to block in front of his chest, colliding fiercely with the Jizo Mitama!

"Bang!"

The seemingly inevitable strike failed to achieve its intended effect. Jizo Mitama barely pierced the white-haired man's chest. Lin glanced coldly at the right hand, which was bound by chains and seemed to have all its strength drained away. He raised his foot and kicked the white-haired man in the abdomen, separating the two.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the white-haired man didn't linger any longer. He rushed off in another direction at top speed and disappeared without a trace in the blink of an eye.

Lin wanted to give chase, but a sudden emptiness in his body made him stop. He leaned on his sword, gritted his teeth, and knelt on the ground. The armored humanoid figure not far away and the armor on his body gradually dissipated.

Using the Divine Key comes at a price. Even though Rin had controlled the Herrscher of Erosion's energy to the greatest extent possible, it still almost completely drained Lin's strength and Honkai Energy.

"...Phew." Lin turned to look at the indifferent Night Owl. He had neither helped Lin nor the white-haired man; he had simply watched coldly, seemingly indifferent to whichever side won.

After the battle, Night Owl came forward and silently helped Lin up.

"Was that Herrscher born from your body just now?"

"... They are remnants, just like me, who have been barely surviving since 50,000 years ago."

"You intend to let me go, but not him?"

"He is Herrscher," Lin said in a low voice, turning his gaze to the gloomy Night Owl. "You are not yet."

"So what exactly do you want me to do? Let me let go of the past? What good would that do? Without my past, I'm nothing more than a guy who can only kill and nothing else." Night Owl laughed self-deprecatingly. "Starting over, you make it sound so easy."

"Your death will have no impact on this world," Lin said calmly. "Since living or dying makes no difference, why not give it a try?"

"..."

"Let's go."

Night Owl sighed, "Should we give chase?"

"No."

Now that the Herrscher of Binding has made up his mind to escape, Lin's own condition is not good, and coupled with the complex spatial structure, it is almost impossible for him to catch up.

Moreover, whether it was Lin's imagination or not, he felt that the white-haired man's fighting spirit was not high, as if he was wary of something and dared not cause too much of a commotion.

Between the Imaginary Tree and the Intrinsic World, there are some even more bizarre things, even more... terrifying than the Herrscher.

We need to find someone else and leave this place quickly. The longer we stay in this space, the higher the danger level will be.

"Let's go this way. I've already tried the other directions." Lin looked at the only direction they hadn't tried yet. Yan Luo and Kiana weren't around, so they had to figure it out on their own.

Upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that there are already four Herrscher and one Divine Key lurking in the gap. What's even more peculiar is that none of these four Herrscher are on the same side. Kiana goes without saying, Yan Luo and Night Owl are fighting their own battles, and the Herrscher of Binding is indiscriminately attacking everyone except herself.

The two entered the next area, where the surrounding ruins had been cleared away, and an unexpected person appeared before them.

"This is... me?"

The owl stared in disbelief at the person who looked exactly like him who appeared not far away. The person was laughing cheerfully, dressed in a neat outfit, and strolling through the bustling city at night with a couple and a little girl. Their laughter echoed in the night sky.

"Why... I've never..."

He never had a reunion with his parents and Chen Tianwen.

"The Imaginary Tree records different time periods in all Parallel World. We are already very close to the Imaginary Tree, so it's not surprising that we can see these things." Lin answered Night Owl's question. He also stared at another Night Owl, or rather, Chen Tianwu had not become a Night Owl. "You can also see it as another possibility."

Night Owl stared blankly at Chen Tianwu, who had neither been modified nor always looked sleepy.

He realized that the other person was not him; they were just different people sharing the same name and appearance.

The other person's happiness doesn't belong to him at all.

Lin took a step forward, and the scene before him changed once more, but this time, it left him speechless.

He saw a pink-haired girl holding a photo album, sitting quietly by the river.

P. S.: I went straight to bed when I got home, but when I woke up I found I'd slept until the middle of the night, QAQ

The "Rebirth" of the Sky: Chapter Twenty-Nine - A New Beginning

The past never disappears; it is like a shadow that follows you. The closer you get to the light, the colder and more gloomy the shadows become.

No one can escape the past, just as no one can escape their own shadow.

The pink-haired girl rose from the riverbank, rolled up her sleeves, scooped up the clear water, and quietly gazed at the river reflecting her image, as if reminiscing about something.

The scenery that was deeply imprinted in Lin's eyes faded away like the end of a movie, appearing only briefly before the two.

That wasn't something that happened on the timeline of the Imaginary Tree, but rather a scene from the World Bubble in the Quantum Sea, a space that explores everything about those who enter it and then presents it to them.

As the two delve deeper into the story, scenes from Lin's past unfold, and some "other possibilities" emerge before them.

Lin saw him die in the Sixth Honkai War, become one of the Herrscher of Thousand People in the Tenth Honkai War, and be corrupted into a walking corpse by Rin who had become Herrscherification in the Twelfth Honkai.

There are also stories of him leaving the Firemoth after the Honkai Sickness rapidly worsened and dying in Dusk Street. There are even stories of him switching places with Kevin, with Kevin leaving Chienyu Academy for the Firemoth, while he stayed behind until he was killed by the Herrscher of Thunder during the Third Honkai War.

Besides these tragic endings, there are also some worlds that are neither good nor bad. Lin never remembered his childhood memories, was protected by the Speaker in Dusk Street, and lived a peaceful life until the Eleventh Honkai War outbreak. There were also some Honkai that did not break out in his time. In the end, he married Mobius or Eden and spent his life together.