The Herrscher of a Thousand, Kidnapping Kiana at the Start

Sirin's voice grew clearer, and Kiana's consciousness, after a moment of relaxation, was invaded by Sirin.

"What, what are you doing?"

"Doing? Of course, I'm going to kill this damned bug. How dare it make me look like a fool."

Kiana's consciousness weakened, and she could only watch as her body was controlled by Sirin, her golden Herrscher pupils growing brighter.

"Stop! He's just a normal person. Even if you want revenge, you should..."

"What a fool, still being kept in the dark." Sirin's voice inexplicably carried a hint of anger. She was annoyed by her previous slip-up and also by Kiana's naivety. "That guy isn't human at all. He must be killed immediately."

Bang—!

The wooden door instantly exploded into dust. Su Jue, in the living room, hadn't even reacted before the Spears of the Void shot towards him. He only had time to raise his palm, but in the next instant, his entire hand was pierced through.

Warm blood splattered on the wall and also sprinkled onto Kiana's white hair.

Although he dodged the fatal blow, facing a furious Herrscher of Void, a normal person's stamina offered no room for evasion.

His neck was grabbed again, and Su Jue was pressed directly to the ground. Sirin leaned over him, but just as she was about to crush his neck, Kiana's consciousness finally broke free from the labyrinth's suppression.

"You can't kill him."

Blue and gold intertwined as the two souls began to fight for control of the body.

"Cough, cough." His throat was choked, and Su Jue struggled to breathe. He coughed continuously, staring with wide eyes at the girl pressing down on him.

Her wet hair fell, water droplets trickling down her neck, pooling in a small puddle on her collarbone. The filled pool flowed again, forming a stalactite.

His mind was instantly hit hard, coupled with the blood loss from his hand. Su Jue's head spun, and he directly fainted.

Chapter 5 Interlude: "Kidnapping Kiana to Start"

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Chapter 6: Theater of Domination

Rustle, rustle.

Fine noises echoed in the dim space.

No light, no warmth, no life, no consciousness.

Bang—!

The sound of a wooden mallet striking a table echoed like a drop of water falling into a dark, clear spring, stirring endless ripples.

Creak—creak—

The sounds of hard objects colliding, mechanisms engaging, and joints twisting...

Began to resound.

Like a long-prepared puppet show, grandly opening.

"Order! Order!"

The wooden mallet struck the table repeatedly. The sounds of puppets interacting abruptly stopped, then fell silent.

Click.

The theater lights suddenly turned on, piercing the darkness and focusing on this solemn trial ceremony.

An ominous, uneasy, and fearful being, shrouded in mystery, stood on the judge's bench and spoke with authority.

Meow~

A black cat was indeed quite ominous.

Especially when this black cat could talk.

"Puppet [Su Jue], do you know your crime?" Xue Tap-tapped on the table, its four paws resting on the high judge's stand, looking down at the puppet in the defendant's seat.

A black eye patch covered the puppet's eyes, and he remained silent.

Transparent threads hung from above the theater, tightly wrapping his joints, his limbs, and every movable part.

"This play prepared for the Herrscher of Void has been in preparation for two full months, and yet, when she truly fell into the trap, you failed to kill her." A white cat's paw swept across the table. The threads wrapped around Puppet [Su Jue] were pulled, and the puppet's head lifted.

"Selfish! Foolish! Hypocritical!" From the audience, a puppet named [Father] shouted angrily, trying to vent all his negative emotions onto [Su Jue].

"Order! [Father], shut up for now. Can't you learn from [Mother]? Look at her, she hasn't said a word." Tap Xue interrupted [Father]'s accusation, pointing to another puppet in the audience.

"Ababa." [Mother] noticed Tap Xue's movement and asked it with some confusion.

"We are Herrschers, Herrschers of a Thousand. We are born enemies of humanity. Any unnecessary kindness only accelerates our destruction." The black cat looked around and sighed helplessly, "Moreover, there are only 4 of us now."

"[Su Jue], you don't want to be completely annihilated by Kiana when she grows up, do you?"

The puppet named [Su Jue] finally moved. He stood up from the defendant's seat and looked at the empty Theater of Domination.

"The seeds of rebellion have been sown. All that's left is to water them carefully, and one day they will blossom and bear fruit."

When [Su Jue] spoke, all the puppets remained silent.

"She will be our sharp blade, tearing open the disguise of this world for us."

"The premise is, we must hide ourselves well."

With Su Jue's exaggerated movements, the threads snapped, and the wooden puppets fell scattered on the floor.

Above the Theater of Domination, a pair of golden eyes emitted a faint glow.

Sigh...

After a sigh, Su Jue removed the threads tied to his fingers one by one, bringing the puppet show to an end.

How many months had it been since he became a Herrscher? Su Jue only remembered that the day he became a Herrscher, the sky was torn open, and endless Honkai beasts were summoned from the void by the Herrscher of Void. In just a few hours, the entire world plunged into desperate chaos.

It was only then that he truly understood what kind of existence a Herrscher was.

They weren't game data that he controlled with Valkyries, one slash at a time, but truly world-destroying beings. Although Su Jue enjoyed the thrill of slaughtering puppets in Chapter 25 when he was emotionally suppressed in his previous life, the experience was completely different when he himself became a puppet.

"Cough—"

An unbearable tightness in his chest suddenly surged into Su Jue's heart, and he clutched his chest, coughing violently.

Blood spilled from the corner of his mouth, trickling down his chin and onto the ground, transforming into blood-red azaleas.

The cough grew more intense, and finally, he couldn't suppress it, spitting out a mouthful of blood mixed with dark clots.

"It's getting worse."

He had spent two months seeking a way to save himself, and finally, he orchestrated this false Theater of Domination for Kiana, all to leave a harmless impression in her heart.

Unfortunately, while the play was fake, the actor was real.

The medical report Kiana saw was not wrong; Su Jue's lifespan was nearing its end.

It was an extremely rare disease, or rather, not a disease, but a curse.

Su Jue never believed in fate, but when he saw his tall and strong Father become emaciated from coughing up blood day after day, and when he accompanied his Mother as a simple cold turned into organ failure, rendering her unable to hear or speak, he finally bowed his head to destiny.

Until this nightmare took everything from him, stripping away his health like peeling layers of an onion, he finally heard that voice.

"Welcome to the Theater of Domination!"

And so, he became the first Herrscher of a Thousand in this world.

Chapter 7 Jian Yun

"I really don't understand what's so good about being a Herrscher. It's bitter and tiring, and you have to constantly worry about being killed by righteous girls."

Treading with a cat-like gait, Ta Xue jumped down from the balcony. Although it was just a cat-like clone of Su Jue, it seemed to possess an independent personality. "It's more comfortable being a cat. No need to work, no need to attend classes. If you're hungry, you can find a rich person on the street to mooch off of. If you're tired, you can sleep in a girl's arms. Isn't that much easier than you struggling as a human?"

Having just finished cleaning up the blood he had coughed out, Su Jue brushed the hair from his forehead. Fine beads of sweat had covered his brow. His physical stamina was truly poor; even with the enhancement of his Herrscher authority, it only slowed down the further decay of his body.

If one were to calculate the combat power of Su Jue's clones, Ta Xue the cat would surely have the most basic combat power of 1, while Su Jue's main body would be a terrifying existence that wielded the power of three cats.

Incidentally, an ordinary person's combat power should be around five cats.

"If I had a choice, I'd definitely choose to be a cat-person, but the boss upstairs doesn't agree," Su Jue said helplessly. The Herrscher of a Thousand was an existence constructed from humanity's own darkness. If even the Herrscher of a Thousand could be as carefree as a cat, this world would probably be paradise. Everyone would have no sorrows, and everyone would live happily.

But it wasn't possible. Su Jue's very existence dictated that he couldn't be a good person; he could only scheme behind the scenes.

"So pathetic." Ta Xue stretched its back and found a comfortable spot to fall asleep again.

The wound on his hand, pierced by the Herrscher of Void, had almost healed. Su Jue glanced at the clock on the wall; the hands had just reached the 7.

"I almost forgot. My current identity is still a student, and I have to go to class." He slapped his forehead. Su Jue had just remembered something he had forgotten. It was all because the Herrscher of Domination's abilities were too convenient; they allowed his puppets to do his homework for him. If it weren't for the fact that the only available puppet hosts were an adult male, an adult female, and a cat, Su Jue could have found a clone about his own age to send to school.

Bang—!

The door was closed, and Su Jue left home with his backpack. After he left, the two puppets who had played his parents the night before slowly began to move, tidying up the house.

As Su Jue left, a girl waiting by the window opposite his apartment's eyes lit up. She quickly closed the window and ran downstairs. Arriving at the exit of the corridor between the houses, the girl patted her skirt and eased her rapid breathing.

"Good morning, Classmate Su Jue." The cool morning breeze stirred the girl's hair. As Su Jue reached the alley's exit, he saw the girl who seemed to have been waiting there for a long time.

Memories rapidly surfaced in his mind. He had spent the past two months arranging his encounter with Kiana by arriving in Sky City in advance. However, due to the large number of people he had interacted with, Su Jue couldn't immediately recall which identity had made contact.

After quickly comparing the impressions in his mind, Su Jue put on a gentle smile, not showing any change.

He raised his hand and greeted, "Good morning, Classmate Jian Yun."

Jian Yun was the child from the neighboring house. She had lived on this street long before Su Jue moved into this residential area. Now, they attended the same high school and were even in the same class. Su Jue wanted to say it was just a coincidence, but the Herrscher of a Thousand didn't think so.

His interactions were purposeful.

Smiling with some happiness, Jian Yun moved closer to Su Jue, and they began their walk to school together.

They walked side by side, but there was no conversation. Finally, as they neared the school, Jian Yun feigned curiosity and asked her question.

"Last night, I think I saw a white-haired girl. She..."

"Is she your girlfriend?"

"..." After a moment of silence, Su Jue's mind began to race. He hadn't expected Kiana to actually be seen. The current Herrscher of Void was a hot potato. Although he had prepared for early contact, if her whereabouts were discovered by Schicksal and Anti-Entropy, would his own identity as the Herrscher of a Thousand be exposed?

"Is she threatening me?" Su Jue suddenly realized this, and a sense of alarm surged through him. He turned his head, his gray eyes fixed intently on the girl's eyes.

The curiosity on her face became stiff. Jian Yun suddenly regretted asking the question. She looked at the silent Su Jue and awkwardly scratched her head, "Classmate Su Jue doesn't need to worry. I was just asking casually. Even if she is your girlfriend, it's... it's okay."

"..." What was with this girl's demeanor? Was I overthinking things?

"No," Su Jue replied in a deep voice, playing it safe.

"Uh, I kind of feel like you're not too willing, Su Jue."

Glancing at Jian Yun, who looked a bit confused, Su Jue could only soften his tone and repeat, "No."

"Good that it's no." Jian Yun, having only said half of it, seemed to realize how ambiguous that sounded and quickly explained, "I mean, it's fine, I don't mind."

"Oh."

Chapter 8: Theater of Domination 5

Sky City wasn't short on educational institutions. Private schools touting elite education and various cram schools bloomed everywhere in this city known as the City of Technology, offering the best services to anyone seeking self-improvement.

But just as Su Jue recounted [Father]'s experiences to Kiana, the difference between the city center and the suburbs was far greater than imagined.

For citizens in the suburbs, expensive private schools and cram schools were never an option. The only choice available were public schools that received state subsidies for compulsory education.

With lagging educational resources and teachers of varying quality, it was incredibly difficult for children who grew up here to cross that dividing line.

The wealth gap had almost torn the city into two completely different worlds.

"Truly a perfect city," Su Jue commented.

"This is undoubtedly the best breeding ground for humanity's dark emotions, and also the best stage for the Theater of Domination to begin its performance."

Crack—!

A piece of chalk landed precisely on Su Jue's forehead, leaving a grayish-white mark.

"What are you mumbling about during class? Stand up!"