Honkai, Survive

It turned into a sun, or rather, a fireball.

It was a bit big.

A miniature, planet-sized sun burned fiercely in the starry sky. It generated an incredible gravitational field, pulling the existing 'moon' into itself. The entire thing transformed into pure energy, completely devoured by this sun, followed by a violent explosion.

A deafening sound and blinding light, flames and thunder consumed everything.

Fang Jie could see nothing, hear nothing.

But [Self] could see:

It was a self-destruction.

And so Fang Jie saw.

"It's a big self-destruction."

The magnificent stellar roar extinguished everything. When the shockwave dissipated, the 'moon', which had been repaired by the converging [Destruction] Path energy, caused the three-star system to become unbalanced. It grew closer to the sun, and the self-destruction had flung away most of the 'matter'.

The barely constructed 'Era of Stability' instantly switched to 'Era of Chaos', and the flying stars began.

"Destruction, I get it now."

Fang Jie, who had done such a thing, grinned. It was an expression and action familiar to the locals.

He gained a deeper understanding of the Path. Here, he was immortal and indestructible, creating reality, erasing stars—walking with the Star Gods.

Never mind the principle behind it, it was very scientific.

In Honkai, Herrschers directly possessed the Void Singularity, a source of infinite abilities.

Wait, Fang Jie looked at the 'galaxy' again. The manifestation of the Path. He tried to compare it with knowledge he had once studied but not deeply understood, only paid attention to.

"That's essentially an ocean of extremely dense quasars. Its actual radius is smaller than its gravitational field radius. It's like a black hole, but it hasn't become one. I'm at the boundary of its Schwarzschild radius."

Fang Jie suddenly burst into laughter. What unscientific scientific Star Gods, how interesting, so interesting.

Or perhaps, this path of his own Path's manifestation was a collection of what he knew and didn't know.

"And these... this is the kind of energy that can only be produced during a supernova explosion. These plasma polymers, these energy storms, these... she cherishes antimatter..."

Do all Destruction Path-walkers have such 'testing grounds' equipped?

No, he had at least been glimpsed.

Providing you with a pure environment, giving you the knowledge to create suns, giving you... Although most of it was swallowed by [Self] and then abandoned, Fang Jie had already gained a lot.

Aside from the one disguised as a sun, this version of himself could carelessly create unstable little suns.

When he returned to reality, there would likely be environmental restrictions, including but not limited to [Equilibrium] to limit it, as well as other objective limitations. How big an explosion you could create, how much energy you could release, and what thermal efficiency you could achieve all depended on practice and mastery of these.

Fang Jie finally understood.

Yes, return to reality?

Fang Jie pondered this, looking back at [Self] again, overlooking the star system he had birthed and created from a transcendent perspective.

It would exist here, even if the Star Gods fell, even if he himself perished, even if he changed his appearance.

Therefore, Nameless person, pathless person.

Engrave all of this in your heart.

This is the path you should walk.

"Let's go, leaving behind my name and surname. Setting off again, now, I am Fang Jie."

He suddenly thought this out of nowhere. No, he had already said it.

There was no reason why.

The corners of his eyes, which had cracked open to see, left black blood like tear stains, exuding a despairing blackness that had separated from the original gray.

Fang Jie, finally in the snowfields of Belobog, had been lost in thought for so long, delving so deeply into the Path.

I will fly high into the sky and become the sun in the heavens, stealing your light.

I will melt because of it and fall into the sea.

I will embark on a journey, not wanting the sun to set, I want to fly to a higher place.

.

.

PS: Good morning!

No, no, actually it's—

Chapter 17: Healthy Laughter Bell: So I Made My Move

"What happened?"

The world seemed to have stopped. Everything took on a new appearance in an instant.

Black Fox Rin roared at the magnificent figure, spitting out a fireball to hit Him, and then returned triumphantly to reality.

Power surged continuously, not Honkai energy, but another kind of power. Good, strong, excellent.

To the point that Rin could even afford to ponder philosophy.

'Who am I?'

'Where am I?'

'What do I want to do?'

Everything from the past became clear in this moment. The painful memories became bearable, became... lucid.

Fifty thousand years ago, Rin, who was still a girl, was suddenly told by others that she had become a Herrscher.

Although she wasn't attacked immediately, the girl who eventually willingly accepted imprisonment by the Flame-Chasing Moths for her sister was shot dead by soldiers in a sealed, specially made prison accessible only to a select few, without any resistance.

Ugly, ridiculous, pathetic, but... destruction.

When Rin died, pain, anger, and the Herrscher Core—

Childhood faded, corruption descended.

With the might of a conqueror, darkness shrouded humanity's dying embers, extinguishing them all. She personally severed the foundation of the previous civilization. Even when the Finality arrived afterward, it merely came to the world for reincarnation…

In her Herrscher of Corruption form, even her sister could only make her waver for a moment.

Then she was sealed by Dr. Mei.

It couldn't be helped, as she had wavered again because of her sister.

After that, she was sealed in the Black Box, unaware of the passage of time, existing with hatred for humanity for over fifty thousand years.

Following this, after accidentally breaking free from the seal, she encountered Yae Sakura, who resembled her sister and was also disappointed in humanity, which brought her joy.

But that Kallen... that blonde brat truly deserved to die.

However, this resentment stopped there, no longer growing.

Recalling Kallen once more, Rin unexpectedly discovered... that it seemed to be the same as many familiar people in her memories, walking towards the light.

So, setting aside personal grudges, Kallen... was right.

It's not why I think this way now?

It's why did my past self think that way?

'I am Rin, and I am Corruption.'

'I have finally broken free from the seal and returned to the human world.'

'I will... kill humans... destroy civilization...'

The great dream ended with this awakening.

"Enough!"

Rin easily broke free; no, she destroyed those lingering attachments.

The thoughts that should have been natural stopped there. The hatred did not cling to her as it had before. Rin now only wanted a free body…

No, it's probably not needed anymore.

With just a thought, she extended her hands, gazing at her now tiny palms, feeling her own tangible existence… Yes, I don't need you anymore, Yae Sakura!

Looking back, the heavily injured woman slept peacefully, almost like death!

"Trash."

Looking at her miserable state, Rin was momentarily lost in thought, recalling how she had once planned to make the outsider brat Kallen despair, preparing to devour her out of revenge…

She felt a little ashamed.

Strange thoughts, am I not quite normal?

Thinking this, she instinctively, as skillfully as she used her Corruption abilities to destroy the previous civilization, reshaped Yae Sakura's body with a new power.

This was simple. Just do this first, then do that.

—Power, I command you!

Yae Sakura's body instantly underwent cellular reconstruction. Regardless of any injuries or disabilities, as long as either the brain or the heart remained undamaged, she could recover through cellular reconstruction.

This was something Rin had snatched from that trash Pseudo-Herrscher. Those brats and that fiery woman really thought they could stop her? Let them all be corrupted.

However, that brat was still a bit weird; no move worked on him.

And why couldn't she sense that fiery woman, who was almost completely corrupted by her? This wasn't right. Even if nothing worked on that brat, a part of him was still corrupted.

Where, exactly, am I?

The intelligent Rin was becoming agitated. After all, this damned place didn't even have Honkai energy; it was like a person who needed to breathe falling into the sea.

Having efficiently adapted to this sea of stars, Rin continued to treat Yae Sakura—she took out the Pseudo-Herrscher Core that she and Yae Sakura shared, grabbed it, and instantly refined it.

This was simple. Just do this and that.

—Understand, decompose, reconstruct!

She casually split and recombined it into two things: a Herrscher Core and Stigmata.

The latter was returned to Yae Sakura, whom she cherished, sustaining her vitality in this hellish, frozen wasteland.

The former, Rin had intended to reclaim, but…

"It's nothing good."

Though she still didn't understand much, she knew what a Herrscher Core was. After all, she was a Herrscher herself.

"Got it."

Suddenly, her eyes lit up. Black Fox Rin's power flowed, initiating the God Key forging process that had been set within her core during the previous civilization.

This required not only the Herrscher Core but also her true self, the very foundation sealed within the damaged Black Box.

But Rin, at this moment, could easily break free from it all. With a flip of her wrist, she forged those so-called foundations into a God Key, turned the Black Box into a scabbard, and drew a blade from it.

The last God Key of the previous civilization—the Key of Corruption, Jizo Mitama!

Gazing at it, Rin couldn't help but curl her lip. "So weak."

Only its inherited authority of corruption was noteworthy, but she already possessed that. She didn't even need a Herrscher Core and could wield even newer powers.

So, what meaning did this blade hold for her? She knew everything it could do, and even better!

Might as well destroy it.

Thinking this, Rin couldn't bring herself to do it. After all…

"Forget it."

She casually tossed it aside, to… not Yae Sakura. It was impossible to give it to her; she disdained it, utterly disdained it.