Honkai's Thousand Laws, Kidnapping Kiana at the Start

Now that the children have embarked on their own paths, it's time for her to make her exit as well. This is how it should have been, until that young boy found her.

"You're clearly angry because the cat messed things up, but deep down, you're worried about it."

Himeko enjoyed drinking, but she disliked gambling. Yet, there were times she had no choice but to gamble. She gambled her life on Kiana's ability to control herself, and her freedom on Su Jue not being purely evil.

She won her gamble. Even when faced with a completely controlled version of herself, Su Jue showed no malice. Instead, he acted like a tsundere child, using a tough attitude to mask his true feelings.

What kind of experiences led him to develop such a personality? And for what reason did a boy in his early teens become a Herrscher?

She suddenly felt curious. If she could figure him out, Kiana and the others... might gain another ally.

With that thought, she secretly glanced at the boy diligently washing dishes in the kitchen. She saw the black cat named Tread Snow obediently squatting by his feet, nuzzling against him. The narrow kitchen wasn't well-lit, with only a sliver of light from the window falling on the boy, leaving most of his body hidden in darkness.

Murata Himeko felt a strong impulse rise within her. She wanted to reach out and pull him from the shadows into the sunlight.

As if sensing her gaze, Su Jue turned his head, glanced at her, and showed a displeased expression.

"I'm already cleaning up." Himeko's fiery red hair bloomed around her waist, and she suddenly laughed, just like she used to at St. Freya Academy.

Gently sweeping the broken glass into the trash can, Himeko picked up the photo frame from the floor. The glass of the frame was completely shattered, leaving only a slightly yellowed photograph.

Reaching out to smooth the curled edges of the photo, Himeko looked at it intently.

Sunlight, a garden, a lawn.

The atmosphere of a holiday rushed into her mind along with the kite flying high in the background. Colorful spring flowers filled the entire flowerbed, and the boy's smile was as bright as this beautiful spring day.

A small figure sat on a long chair, with a black cat, like dark clouds treading on white snow, curled obediently in his arms. Its tail unconsciously lifted, brushing against the boy's neck, making him laugh heartily.

A gentle mother sat beside him, softly holding the straw hat that was about to fall to the ground. A small flower was tucked behind her ear, seemingly picked for her by the boy.

She pursed her lips, watching the boy and the cat interact. However, Himeko keenly observed that her movements were somewhat unnatural. It was as if she hadn't heard the camera click.

Furthermore, besides the mother and son, the father's position was nowhere to be seen in the photo. While it was possible the father was the photographer, it wouldn't be difficult to find a passerby to take such a photo on a holiday outing. And judging by the angle, it seemed like a stranger had taken the picture.

"Was this him when he was little? He was quite cute." Looking at the boy laughing heartily in the photo, and then glancing at the silent boy in the kitchen, their demeanors were completely different.

What could have caused such a transformation...

After cleaning up the broken glass, Himeko propped up the photo frame and, while Su Jue wasn't paying attention, secretly rummaged through the cabinets in the living room.

Unexpectedly, after opening just two drawers, she found a stack of printed papers. She secretly pulled one out and discovered it was a copy of a disability certificate for congenital deafness and mutism. The name on it appeared to be Su Jue's mother.

"So my guess was correct. His mother did have a physical defect." Upon learning this, Himeko sighed. As expected, there must be a trigger for anyone to become a Herrscher. This world is never beautiful; it shows no kindness to anyone.

With new clues in hand, Himeko's curiosity about Su Jue's past grew. However, he had already finished washing the dishes and emerged from the kitchen, so she had to hastily put the items back.

The little cat, Tread Snow, padded softly and leaped onto the sofa. Himeko leaned back as well, scooping up Tread Snow, who had been preparing to nestle down for sleep, into her arms. Recalling the boy's actions in the photograph, Himeko gently stroked Tread Snow's fur. It felt soft to the touch, but its tail didn't wag like the cat's in the photo.

"Little Jue, I've put your photo back," Himeko said playfully while petting the kitten. To her surprise, Su Jue's emotions suddenly became agitated.

"Don't call me that!" The boy's eyes were filled with rage, and even the golden hue of a Herrscher flickered faintly.

After a moment of silence, Himeko softened her voice. "I'm sorry."

Himeko's apologetic tone slightly eased Su Jue's anger. He let out a long breath and shook his head in annoyance.

"It's none of your business. You can call me by my name, or you can call me Herrscher, but don't use that name." The tense atmosphere finally dissipated. Su Jue no longer paid her any mind and snatched the old photo from the table, intending to throw it into the trash.

But his movements faltered, and in the end, he chose to lay the frame face down on the table.

"Don't mess with my things."

With that cold remark, Su Jue directly closed his room door.

After a bang, the entire room fell silent.

Another chapter, please vote. Also, if you have any questions about the plot, speak up loudly.

Chapter 41: Childhood

The boy's voice, echoing in the room, faded. Once the house was completely silent, Himeko sighed and gently stroked Tread Snow's back.

"Little cat, little cat, what do you think he's been through?"

"Meow~"

Unfortunately, the kitten couldn't speak and couldn't answer her question.

With her lead broken, Himeko found it difficult to probe further and could only lean on the sofa, playing with the cat. No matter how she tried to entertain it, Tread Snow had no habit of wagging its tail.

"That's right, so much time has passed since that photo was taken. Even if it's the same black cat, it might not be the same one." She picked up the kitten and examined it closely. Unfortunately, the jet-black cat, apart from its heterochromatic grey and golden eyes, was no different from an ordinary black cat. Instead, she had provoked the kitten, and it kicked her chest several times. Before Tread Snow could get too angry, she quickly placed it on her lap and smoothed its fur.

"Still just a grumpy little cat." Not angry at all, Himeko continued to pet Tread Snow's fur with a smile.

Slightly displeased, Tread Snow lightly swiped a paw at her as a warning, then curled up, nuzzled against her, found a good spot, and closed its eyes, falling into a deep sleep.

Himeko, who had planned to secretly look for more evidence while Su Jue was away, was now "sealed" by the cat. Helplessly, she could only sit on the sofa with it, staring blankly at the furniture.

Su Jue's home wasn't large, barely exceeding 60 square meters. Accustomed to living in the staff dormitories at St. Freya, Himeko didn't feel cramped at all. Perhaps it was the arrangement of the furnishings that gave her an illusion; such a compact environment actually gave off a sense of homey warmth, as if every member of the family had their own things and could find their place. This was what a home should be like.

Several pairs of old shoes were placed on the shoe rack. Some were still relatively clean, while others were covered in dust. She didn't know who the shoes belonged to, or why they were left there.

Time had left its mark on the mottled walls, and occasionally, a small doodle could be found in an inconspicuous spot. Perhaps a boy had once sketched his dreams there, capturing a moment in time, but now it had all become the past.

Most of the graffiti had been painted over with white paint, as if filling memories with blankness, yet forgetting to write new stories on that blank space.

Perhaps it was because the boy had grown up, or perhaps he felt that happy times no longer existed, or maybe it was just a simple renovation. Regardless, he was no longer the child who loved to laugh.

The small living room hid too many stories. Himeko couldn't find them all, but she could still catch a glimpse of clues through small details.

Sunlight fell on the solid wood coffee table. Its surface was old and rough, yet it still gleamed after being cleaned. However, at the edges, there was a patch of stubborn dark red, like an ugly scar, marring the beauty that should have been there.

The moment she saw the bloodstains, Himeko's heart sank. She carefully examined every corner, only to find that these bloodstains were everywhere.

"What on earth happened?" Himeko no longer cared about Tread Snow's feelings. She gently picked it up and placed it on the sofa, stroking its fur. The kitten, which had shown signs of waking up, fell back into a deep sleep.

Why were there so many bloodstains? In an instant, Himeko's mind conjured up a horrific massacre or perhaps a terrible scene of family members turning on each other. But as she lightly touched the bloodstains with her fingertips and scraped away the layers with her nails, she realized they weren't from the same time.

Some parts were completely black, having seeped into the wooden furniture, while others still retained faint traces. The clearest bloodstain was surprisingly from only a few days ago.

"Is he sick?" Ruling out murder, Himeko quickly thought of another possibility.

She glanced at the quiet bedroom and began searching the living room cabinets. She immediately thought of the drawer where the disability certificate was kept and carefully pulled it open.

Indeed, in addition to the photocopied certificate, there was a recently printed diagnosis form. The signature, however, was not Su Jue's mother's, but his own.

Rare, vomiting blood, no cure...

The moment she saw these words, Himeko's heart skipped a beat.

With the current level of technology, most diseases had long been curable. Even some rare diseases, if not curable, could be detected. The only exception was Honkai sickness.

Honkai sickness wasn't a specific disease but a general term for pathological conditions caused by Honkai Energy. These conditions were often difficult to detect, and even if detected, human medicine couldn't cure them. For ordinary people, contracting such an illness was almost a death sentence, unless they were part of a large organization like Schicksal.

And the date of this test seemed to be recent.

She continued to search through all the test records and found that the initial test was four months ago, with the doctor's prognosis being less than a month to live.

The second test was three months ago. The same test results indicated a prognosis of less than three months to live.

"So he only became a Herrscher three months ago? And the event that happened then—the awakening of the Herrscher of Void!"

Himeko felt she was close to the truth. Just as she was about to press on, the bedroom door suddenly opened.

"What are you doing?" Su Jue's face was as cold as ice, his expression sinister, as if he were looking at a mouse stealing his family's grain.

"Sigh..."

Himeko sighed. She calmly placed the medical report back and looked at Su Jue, wanting to say something but hesitating.

If you are truly an irredeemable villain, I will do everything in my power to stop you.

If you were forced to become a Herrscher, then let me bring you back from the abyss.

She made up her mind.

Chapter 42: The Actor in the Play

"Kindness is humanity's purest beauty and the strength that sustains them. They have always firmly believed that only selfless love is the greatest weapon against Honkai."

"Do you think so too, Tread Snow?" In the magnificent Theater of Domination, the boy stood at the highest point, looking down at the entire theater, a faint golden light burning in his eyes.

The black wooden cat lay motionless at his feet, as serene as it should be.

"I guess I forgot. Without my control, you wouldn't move."

No one could answer him, and Su Jue didn't need anyone's answer.

He gently raised a finger, and the once lifeless black cat, Tread Snow, gained a spark of life in its eyes. Its heterochromatic gray and golden irises shimmered with intelligence.

"Meow~" It let out a soft meow, then shook its neck as if unaccustomed to speaking. "It's so uncomfortable to hold back and not talk. That stupid woman probably still thinks I'm just a wooden cat that can't speak."

"Shh!" Su Jue put a finger to his lips. "Tread Snow, you shouldn't say that. She is a warrior we admire the most, a teacher we respect the most, and a pioneer full of wisdom."

"Don't underestimate her keen senses, and don't underestimate her resolve."

The Imaginary Space was dominated by darkness and emptiness, which was the most crushing blow to one's will. Without the concept of time, endless fear would creep into consciousness, constantly eroding the desire to live. Yet, Murata Himeko had endured this despairing environment for three months without breaking.

This was a desperate situation, an abyss. When Su Jue appeared before her, when an unknown entity began to grasp her limbs and drag her into the abyss, she still mustered the courage to resist.

Facing the energy erosion of the Herrscher of a Thousand, facing Su Jue's constant verbal attacks, facing the darkness that eroded her inner thoughts, on the last step before falling into the abyss, she stopped. With her will burning like a flame, with memories stained with blood and tears, she launched her final resistance.

This was something an ordinary person could absolutely not do. Even Su Jue would be surprised by such firm willpower.

If that were all, Su Jue would only have to put in a little more effort. He would retrieve her after that faint flame extinguished. For him, the outcome would be the same.

The only unexpected element was that message. Su Jue had indeed never heard that recording and didn't know what Kiana had said to make Himeko absolutely trust her judgment.

So she made a gamble, using her freedom and her will as stakes, engaging in a losing battle with the Herrscher of Domination.

She would feed herself to the tiger to buy her students a sliver of hope. Even if the sky was dark, she was willing to burn her last flame to illuminate the final night sky for them.

"Foolish? Ignorant? No, this is her true wisdom."

The Theater of Domination was empty, but in Su Jue's vision, it was covered in dense puppet strings. These were traps that only he could see, and that he himself had set.

If Murata Himeko wanted to pry into his secrets, then let her see.

His past, his memories. How much was real and how much was false, no one knew.

While Himeko continuously probed Su Jue, had he not been engaging in a battle of wits with her?

From the very first word he spoke to her, Su Jue had been misleading her. The most fundamental point was that Tread Snow was his clone, not a puppet. Without his conscious control, it would absolutely not move.

And this was the first step in Himeko's misjudgment of Su Jue. The Herrscher of a Thousand was controlled by Domination, but it wasn't impossible to preserve one's consciousness. Conscious puppets completely crushed mere puppets in terms of combat power, intelligence, or other aspects, just like Griseo. Even a faint consciousness could make the play Su Jue set up lively and engaging.

This was why Su Jue, even at the risk of exposing himself, had preserved Murata Himeko's consciousness. The difference between a conscious A-Rank Valkyrie and a puppet was simply too vast.

Therefore, controlling a puppet and controlling a clone were two entirely different methods. Himeko, as a puppet herself, would naturally make judgments based on her own perceptions. This was the second trap Su Jue had set for her.

"Silk of Domination."

The Herrscher of Domination could only control through puppet strings. This was information Su Jue had continuously leaked to her through his words. To solidify his claim, he had even personally demonstrated it to her once. The feeling of one's own body being gradually stripped away was certainly unpleasant, and this would inadvertently deepen her impression.

"As long as I can break free from the control of the puppet strings, I will gain my freedom. Even if it's only for a short while, I can still stop myself from doing anything irreversible."

"She's probably thinking along those lines," Tread Snow said, standing beside Su Jue as they looked down upon the Theater of Domination. "But she has no idea that you don't need strings to control her at all, and she can't break free from them. And when she puts all her effort into severing those strings, what will she feel when you actively break them and release your control over her?"

"Joy? Relief? Or perhaps further confirmation of her own judgment?" The black cat grinned, laughing loudly. It looked terrifying and ferocious, but Su Jue's face held no smile, for he was thinking of his final trap.

A weapon called "Goodness."

She was a warrior, and a teacher. She had ignited herself to forge a more perfect future for Kiana. She was willing to sacrifice her entire life to save those lost children. And this was the first, and also the last, layer of the trap Su Jue had set using this goodness.

After becoming too deeply engrossed in the act, one becomes part of the play themselves.

The line between reality and illusion had become difficult to distinguish. After his first attempt to lure Kiana, Su Jue had no path back; he could only continue following his plan. And the further he went, the more dangerous he found this path to be.

Goodness was the foundation of humanity. If he always remained an observer outside the play, he would eventually lose his humanity entirely and become a pure Herrscher. But if he became too deeply engrossed in the act, he might become lost in it, losing the courage of a Herrscher, and that would be his demise.

If Murata Himeko truly fell into his trap, he might gain a puppet willing to actively help him. Even if she knew Su Jue's intentions were wrong, with her inherently kind nature, she might sacrifice herself just to pull Su Jue back from the brink of corruption.

The feeling of deception was not pleasant. Every lie was an interrogation of one's own soul.

Su Jue stood atop the colossal theater, closing his eyes.

Chapter 43: Thaw and Betrayal

As evening approached, the sun had already set, casting golden hues that flickered in the room.