Honkai's Thousand Laws, Abducting Kiana at the Start

Her body was nearing its limit, Kiana's consciousness was starting to blur, and the erosion from the Herrscher of Void was constantly interfering with her thoughts. The more she used the Herrscher's abilities, the faster this erosion came.

The cross-shaped star on her right eye, symbolizing the Herrscher of Void's authority, grew brighter and brighter. Even her sapphire-like left eye had unconsciously taken on a golden hue.

In her struggle against the Herrscher of Void, Kiana could no longer maintain her absolute self-awareness; the Herrscher's authority was spiraling out of control.

Mottled Honkai Energy rapidly gathered around her. While the Honkai Energy was as docile as a child when she was in her Herrscher state, it was now incredibly erratic in Kiana's hands.

The continuously gathering Honkai Energy gradually formed Spears of the Void and light wings behind her. Her clothes were also transforming towards those of the Herrscher of Void, with four peculiar skirt hems rapidly spreading and fluttering.

On the hems of her clothes, strange eyeballs flickered with black lightning. The eerie power from the Imaginary Space seemed to be peering into this world.

The massive pillar of light set up by Su Jue illuminated the sky like a searchlight, also illuminating Kiana's figure as she desperately sent the Honkai Bomb into the sky.

Within the chaotic city, countless fleeing citizens finally realized someone was saving them. They gradually stopped running, tilting their heads back as if witnessing a miracle.

"It's a magical girl saving the world, she's saving us." Even more innocent children, unburdened by such thoughts, immediately shouted upon seeing Kiana flying into the sky. Whether they had been saved by Su Jue or had simply read comics, they all knew that a magical girl was saving the world.

"Mom, let's lend our light to Kiana together."

"..." The children's naive actions didn't cause much of a stir, but the figure flying in the sky was real. The supernatural powers of this world were finally exposed to the sight of ordinary people.

Magical girls of light didn't exist, but now, someone was truly saving the city and bringing hope to everyone.

Unconsciously, the adults who had previously dismissed the light began to silently pray that the girl in the sky could fly even higher.

At the same time, Anti-Entropy, Schicksal, World Serpent—every organization related to Honkai—saw Kiana in the sky through their respective channels.

Upon recognizing the girl desperately pushing the Honkai Bomb into the sky as the Herrscher of Void, some were filled with rage, others with disbelief, and some paced back and forth cursing. However, a few ultimately showed expressions of admiration.

Even with different stances, as long as she fought for the survival of human civilization, regardless of her identity, she was a hero of humanity.

"Another Herrscher fighting for humanity?"

At Schicksal headquarters, Otto looked at Kiana on the screen and let out a smile of unknown meaning.

Chapter 111: Sky Meteor

High above, there was silence.

Thousands of meters in the sky, the clouds were left far below. Here, there was only emptiness.

Without the obstruction of clouds, the myriad stars began to compete in flashing their light, looking down at Kiana as if curious about her actions.

The wounds on her body were still bleeding, but the intense pain that spread throughout her body was gradually disappearing. Kiana knew clearly that this was a precursor to her body completely losing sensation.

"Higher, higher..." Even as her consciousness blurred, Kiana kept repeating.

The Honkai Energy within her body had completely depleted, and even the Herrscher of Void's authority had reached its limit. The light wings dissolved into pale purple light particles and vanished.

Finally, the meteor falling towards the sky reached its destination.

But it was still far from enough...

In this emptiness, she seemed to have returned to the days when she was wandering. Like a stray dog, she roamed alone in the corners of the city, hiding in dirty sewers to endure the long nights.

Was I always alone?

Her consciousness began to blur, and she couldn't even see the Honkai Bomb that was right in front of her. An overwhelming sadness washed over her, engulfing her like a tidal wave.

Negative emotions were the best nourishment for a Herrscher. During the struggle against the Herrscher of Void, a little sadness was enough to tear open the cracks in her mind.

Sirin's consciousness quickly detected the loophole appearing in Kiana's mental space. In an instant, it broke through the previously impenetrable barrier of her mind.

"Fragile human, you are ultimately bound by emotions."

Sirin, having regained her self, finally entered the mental space. Now, all she needed to do was to erode it slightly, and Kiana would completely become the host body for the Herrscher of Void.

However, the moment she entered the mental space, she sensed something was wrong. It was a void, with only a strange theater swaying on hanging threads.

A young man holding a giant flaming sword stood in the center of the theater, seemingly surprised by Sirin's appearance.

"Sorry, Herrscher of Void, this place is already full."

"?" Before Sirin could even react, her consciousness plunged back into darkness.

Just as Su Jue and Sirin were simultaneously invading Kiana's mental space, Kiana had already fallen into past self-recrimination.

"Teacher Himeko..." Without a doubt, the deepest wound for Kiana was killing Himeko. Even meeting Su Jue hadn't resolved this knot in her heart. "I'm sorry..."

"No need to apologize, Kiana, you've grown." Just as Kiana's consciousness was about to dissipate, a hallucination appeared before her eyes. She seemed to see Teacher Himeko accompanying her.

It was just that this hallucination seemed too real. Not only the touch, but even the scent of Teacher Himeko, her breathing, her body temperature—everything seemed to be truly present beside her.

"You've done it, turning this imperfect world into what we hoped it would be."

The Himeko in the hallucination smiled at her. Kiana suddenly felt like crying. Even though she knew it was just a hallucination, why... did she still want to hug her one more time?

As she thought this, a warm embrace enveloped her. Himeko hugged Kiana, who was still desperately holding up the bomb.

Himeko knew everything Kiana had done in Sky City, except for what Su Jue had deliberately concealed. She naturally saw Kiana's growth.

The Herrscher was right, you're a big girl now.

Himeko released her embrace and gradually flew backward.

After all, this was just Kiana's [hallucination]. If her real body stayed by her side for too long, even with Kiana's consciousness blurred, she would definitely be discovered.

Himeko's appearance finally dispelled Kiana's inner turmoil. Although still in pain, Kiana managed a smile.

"Yes, Teacher Himeko, this is my promise."

Having reached the limit, Kiana used her last ounce of strength to push the Honkai Bomb fiercely upwards.

Then, a blinding white light erupted, and thousands of gigatons of Honkai Energy exploded without reservation. Even the starry sky was obscured by this grand explosion. The intense shockwave swept away all the clouds in an instant, and even cities hundreds of kilometers away could see the cleared blank area.

However, at this altitude, Sky City would be affected by the Honkai. So Kiana made a crazy decision: she would bear all the Honkai Energy directed towards the ground herself, and this was true salvation.

Was the Stigmata Project, a plan to sacrifice most of humanity to preserve the embers of civilization, truly salvation?

Kiana provided the answer: true salvation required no one to be sacrificed.

"I'm sorry, Su Jue, it seems I'll have to break my promise."

The excessive Honkai Energy had completely destroyed Kiana's bodily functions. She could no longer feel any feedback—no touch, no smell, no taste. Gradually, even her hearing disappeared.

Her body plummeted from thousands of meters in the sky, like a meteor streaking across the night sky.

The memory of that night on the grassland gradually surfaced in her mind, the swings swaying back and forth. The two sat on the swings, flying higher and higher, the starry sky almost within reach.

And now, the starry sky was before her eyes. The girl reached out her hand, wanting to grasp not the starry sky, but the boy's hand.

Goodbye.

Her vision was gradually taken away, and darkness encroached, swallowing everything.

At the very moment her sight disappeared completely, she seemed to see the ash-haired boy falling with her.

Their hands clasped tightly together.

"Mom, is that a shooting star?"

"No, that's a hero."

Just as Su Jue and Kiana fell from the sky like shooting stars, Durandal, Schicksal's strongest Valkyrie, finally arrived at Sky City. Holding the Black Abyss White Flower, she stood quietly atop a tall building, gazing at the stars streaking across the sky, lost in thought.

Rita, preparing to meet Durandal with the Immortal Blade Squad, also saw the shooting stars in the sky. A smile curved her lips.

"Not just a Herrscher, but a hero too? Miss Kiana."

Mei, who was also watching the sky, was not as relaxed. Her face was filled with worry. Although the Kiana organization had promised to ensure Kiana's safety, how could she not be concerned?

When she arrived at the hospital, the Honkai had already subsided. As for the person Kiana wanted her to save, she hadn't seen them. Now that Kiana had personally detonated the Honkai Bomb, she could no longer hold back and quickly rushed towards the direction where the shooting star fell.

At the same time, the mission information from Kiana had arrived.

"Schicksal's strongest Valkyrie, Durandal, intends to capture Kiana and will immediately conduct inhumane experiments after catching her. You must save her."

Chapter 112: 5 Cores

In a dim theater, the creaking sounds of puppets in motion echoed. Faint light filtered down from above the theater, caressing the girl lying within.

The girl was serene and beautiful, like the most brilliant treasure in the world, slumbering.

Below the theater, a large number of puppets stood in the audience seats. Some behaved strangely, some feigned calmness, some were like frenzied believers adoring their god, and some simply stood still, known as taciturn knights, guarding the girl's peace.

This was not actually the Imaginary Space. The entire theater was constructed by Su Jue using Kiana's mental space and the power of Feather Dust.

He had intentionally detonated the Honkai Bomb, knowing how dangerous it was. The erosion from the Honkai and the Herrscher could immediately destroy Kiana's consciousness.

Before detonating the bomb, he had not only carefully controlled the timing and intensity of the explosion with the threads of Domination but had also preemptively infused his authority of Domination into the mental space.

The last time he saved Kiana, he had discovered that the girl's heart held almost no defenses against him, which allowed him to successfully modify her consciousness space. This was to prevent the Honkai from taking advantage of the situation and eroding the girl's mind.

Sirin's Herrscher consciousness could corrupt Kiana, but against a clear-headed and rational Herrscher of Domination, she had no chance of success.

Now that Kiana had lost her five senses and fallen into a deep sleep, this Theater of Domination would become the best barrier to protect her. It could not only help her share the Honkai erosion but also prevent the invasion of Herrscher consciousness. As long as it wasn't an existence like the Herrscher of Reason that specialized in consciousness, no one could bypass Su Jue's protection and harm Kiana's mind.

But this theater was both a protection and a prison.

Before Kiana awakens, the theater will continuously extract her Herrscher authority, and the power of the gems within her body will also be stolen by Domination.

On the stage of this theater, in the area not illuminated by the lights, after confirming Kiana was fine, Su Jue turned to leave. As he departed, the Sword of God's Fall, which had only its hilt remaining, began to emit a faint red glow, followed by a surge of fierce flames.

Endless threads began to intertwine and spread, enveloping and stealing the Serenity Gem, representing death and creation; the Conquest Gem, representing thunder and roaring; and the Plague Gem, representing fire and destruction.

Su Jue did not touch the Herrscher core of the Herrscher of Void. Instead, he chose to create a pseudo-core, just like last time. This time, however, he directly fused the pseudo-core with the Herrscher of a Thousand core, making its power far greater than before.

Combined with Su Jue's own authority as the Herrscher of Domination, it ultimately formed the eternally indestructible Flamescion Greatsword.

No matter how long the darkness lasts, I will light up the distant sky for you, illuminating the way home.

"Kiana, when you wake up, you'll find that the world has changed. But don't worry, I will always be by your side."

Low murmurs echoed in the theater. All the puppets bowed their heads, like warriors about to march, welcoming their general.

"Even if it's in a way you don't like."

In Sky City, after the detonation of the Honkai Bomb, the crisis was temporarily resolved. The official forces of the Land of the Divine immediately began rescue operations. The survivors who had been scrambling to escape were eventually forced by the authorities' might to evacuate according to plan, preventing a stampede.

The adults were full of worry, the children full of longing, but in the end, no one dared to chase after the shooting star falling from the sky.

She was the hero who saved the world, but we are all just ordinary people.

As everyone retreated towards the shelters, Rita and Mei were heading against the flow, towards the direction where the Herrscher of Void had fallen.

Durandal's arrival undoubtedly signaled Schicksal's full entry into the fray. Under the deterrence of the strongest Valkyrie, both World Serpent and Anti-Entropy would have to tread carefully.

The remaining members of the Immortal Blade Squad quickly converged towards their captain's location, but Rita still harbored some concerns. World Serpent's forces had already withdrawn, but the woman named Crimson Snake had yet to appear.

If her suspicions were correct, and Crimson Snake was a contingency cultivated by the Herrscher of Void, then she would undoubtedly launch a rescue after Kiana's serious injury.

"I won't let you interfere with Lord Durandal," Rita murmured, her icy scythe carving a bright arc through the air before coming to a halt.

Before her, a young woman leaned against a lamppost, her vibrant, fiery red hair gently swaying in the evening breeze.

A decorative corsage adorned her exquisite long dress, and a black shawl with white trim was casually draped over her shoulders. Her fair fingers held a glass of red wine, and a few drops of alcohol stained her moist lips. She looked like an elegant noblewoman fresh from a ball, if not for the greatsword at her feet.

"Good evening, Rita Rossweisse." Beneath the pure white mask, a strange smile curved her lips. Himeko tilted her head slightly, meeting Rita's gaze.

For some reason, seeing this woman appear in person, Rita felt a sense of relief. This woman's background was far too mysterious. She had initially thought her to be a World Serpent executive, but she had repeatedly lured both sides into conflict while profiting from the chaos.

Rita didn't fear combat, nor would she lose her composure after being tricked once. Now that Durandal had arrived, as long as she could hold this woman off, victory would undoubtedly belong to Schicksal.

"Crimson Snake? That can't be your real codename, can it? Would you mind telling me your true name? It might save you some time during your interrogation by Schicksal." A chilling aura began to spread, and the Honkai Energy within her body, amplified by the Moon Soul battlesuit, became quite dangerous.

Hearing Rita's voice, Himeko couldn't help but laugh. Although it wasn't her first time fighting Rita, the latter's pre-battle taunts and post-battle blunders always amused her.

"Then I'm truly worried. After all, I'm facing an S-Rank Valkyrie from Schicksal. How could a nobody like me, who crawled out from some forgotten corner, possibly defeat Lord Rita?" While speaking in a tone of feigned apprehension, she pulled out the prosthetic eye she had snatched from Rita last time.

Trash talk? Himeko had never been afraid of anyone—except for a certain Herrscher.

In any case, both of them knew that the focus of the battlefield was not here.

Himeko's taunts made Rita's blood pressure spike a little, but despite being only an A-Rank, Himeko possessed extremely rich combat experience. It wouldn't be easy for Rita to defeat her, so she might as well chat a bit longer and see if she could glean any information.

Just as Himeko intercepted Rita, Immortal Blade members across the city were attacked by unidentified assailants. They wore different uniforms but shared a single emblem.

The Kiana Mark.