Chapter 118

An Yu: "No need, you're on the list too."

Lecturer:"..."

Conductor: "It's not time for internal strife yet. Everyone, quiet down and prioritize dealing with external threats."

Knock knock knock!

The sudden knocking startled Vill-V, who had returned to the workshop and automatically switched to her expert mode. Who would be looking for her at this hour?

Before she could respond, the Scholar automatically logged in and forcibly cut her off.

Expert: "Scholar, @An Yu, Conductor?"

An Yu: "Take a break, we don't need you anymore, you're just a mechanical idiot with your head full of screws."

An Yu: "I haven't eaten out for days."

Chef: "Wait a minute? Haven't you been filling in for me while I'm cooking these past few days?"

Conductor: "It's the Scholar who's in charge; she needs to continuously observe and calculate."

Chef:"..."

The message board fell silent again for the time being.

The current internal plan is clear: time will be dominated by "Scholar".

This strategy was agreed upon by most of the personalities, because when dealing with the current complex situation, especially when researching the Honkai and Elysia's anomalies, the Mysterious Scholar was indeed the most professional and reliable among all the personalities.

Mysterious Scholar, Mechanical Expert, Great Magician, Chef, Lecturer, the powerful Model Five, the Herrscher An Yu, and the deepest True Self.

This is all the personalities the Conductor knows, plus her, making a total of nine, which is the most reasonable allocation without much effort [as originally stated]. "Long time no see, my proud, star-obsessed Miss Vill-V ~" An Yu pushed open the door and sat casually on the toolbox beside him. The fact that the Scholar is currently the dominant personality is for a reason: a series of illogical events since Elysia took power. The Scholar, whose full name is the Mysterious Scholar, is also known as Vill-V overlooks the stars, a Vill-V without racial concepts, without hierarchy, only interested in truth and mystery itself. "Enough with the small talk, what brings you here?" The Scholar lowered her eyes. Elysia's performance was too perfect, so much so that the appearance of the second Herrscher she could communicate with made her think of many more things. Cooperation, and then winning twice. "I want to retrieve the Herrscher Core." An Yu's voice was calm; the Herrscher of Sentience's inherent power made it easy for him to overthink. He seemed to know how he participated in this game; now only one thing remained unclear, which was his ultimate goal. What kind of identity did he have to obtain this qualification? A lucky one? Or did he have a part in the past, in history? To be honest, An Yu's mind was a bit confused, because he considered himself a transmigrator, so how did he have a past life and a present life? Scholar Vill-V was stunned for a moment. "So the Herrscher likes to joke? That's something new to me." She crossed her hands to support her small head, looking extremely focused. "Then, as a second choice, I want to participate in the creation of the Divine Key." An Yu shrugged. Scholar Vill-V remained silent. Actually, this request was not possible, after all, the Herrscher had already revealed his goal. An Yu wanted the Herrscher Core, but a deal should always be fair. "You may not be a core member." "Deal." An Yu understood all of Vill-V's precautions. Anyway, this was just a feint. Vill-V shouldn't overthink things. Just prepare a bunch of backup plans... Heart Cocoon is very strong, but sometimes you really can't guess what a lunatic is thinking. "Next "Let's continue our cooperation."Scholar Vill-V spent the most time on this, because everyone knew that in researching Honkai, she was indeed the most reliable of all Vill-V's personalities. If Elysia and the Herrscher wouldn't reveal the truth, then Vill-V would find it herself. For Velvet, cooperating with the Vill-V was merely a significantly increased risk in the risk assessment. "If the Herrscher represents the concrete manifestation of a civilization's sins or flaws,"Vill-V suddenly spoke, as if talking to herself, yet also asking An Yu, "Then, what identity is Elysia currently playing?" She recalled the Doctrine of Original Sin in certain religious texts; of course, she wasn't going to apply it rigidly. She was simply speculating: what if the source of Honkai's judgment standard wasn't simply destruction, but based on a complex mechanism that humanity hadn't yet understood?" Jesus?"An Yu subconsciously interjected, then couldn't help but laugh. However, Elysia had indeed been somewhat different these past few times. Vill-V blinked. "I mean, let's conduct a thought experiment: without a 'goddess' like Elysia, possessing absolute power and prestige, forcibly guiding humanity, how would humanity weather these Honkai?" "Probably violence, relying on hatred to forcibly incite human unity, followed by Mobius, your, and others' advanced plans, but it might not be in time."An Yu didn't deny it; after all, even now, violence was the primary method. However, without those baseless resentments, perhaps Elysia's current approach was correct, because without those resentments, the need for violence seemed less pronounced. But then again, this was a dream; the order in which the Herrscher appeared was fixed. Elysia certainly had time to resolve each issue one by one; under normal circumstances, how could anyone handle things so perfectly? "Violence is indeed a good method." "In many mythological metaphors..."Vill-V whispered, "The angels responsible for executing the final judgment, what is their own fate...?" Volume 1: Chapter 177 Do you like looking at the stars? If the source of the Honkai doesn't simply aim to destroy humanity, then does it want humanity to overcome these cycles of calamity through violence, or is there some better way? "Suicide,"An Yu added calmly. The power of the Herrscher of Sentience gave him a natural sensitivity to concepts involving the spirit and faith. "In some religious narratives, when the angel of judgment violently cleanses the world of all original sins, but is unwilling or unable to bury all the sins accumulated by civilization through self-destruction in the end," "it itself becomes the greatest and final bearer of sins, thus... incurring the final judgment upon itself and upon the entire civilization." "If you insist on..." "If we're talking about substitution, brute force will yield the highest reward, but it's also the most dangerous." Of course, all of this is based on the premise that the Honkai mechanism can really so crudely apply this religious metaphor. Vill-V blinked again, her starry eyes sparkling: "Besides the Judgment Angel, what's the second way to clear the game?"An Yu squinted; he had never considered the religious explanation before, but Vill-V's suggestion was a valid approach." Jesus, as the innocent man in the Bible, will guide humanity to create instruments of judgment to cleanse their sins." However, An Yu quickly scoffed; this explanation was too far-fetched. If it came down to Doctrine of Original Sin, An Yu couldn't even understand which he represented—not that he was innocent, but An Yu clearly knew that he was dabbled in everything. Any normal person would be dabbled in everything. [Message Board] An Yu: "So boring, Chef, can you make a fragrant and soft strawberry cake? Chef."Chef: "Want to help me register as Scholar?"Scholar: "Go ahead, I want some too."Scholar remained unsurprised by An Yu's existence and his interactions with other personalities. Because the sincere and sublime atmosphere permeating the current Fire Moth and even the entire society was, in Scholar's view, extremely strange, even abnormal. Vill-V's personality couldn't withstand such a sincere environment; her True Self might be able to, but her decomposition... After that, there was no possibility anymore. And when everyone is currently united, even of one mind, there must be an opponent. Vill-V's choice to split herself is perfectly normal. This is everyone's thought. Although using "Herrscher" as a synonym is strange, it is indeed slightly more original than "Extreme Evil," after all, Elysia has really been searching for An Yu. Scholar: "By the way, I found the Eighth Herrscher."An Yu: "Shock!"Great Magician: "Oh? It seems this Eighth Herrscher is just another ordinary hurdle that Miss Elysia can easily overcome."Scholar: "No, I've reached an agreement with him."Model Five: "?"Conductor: "?" Expert: "?"An Yu: "?" " Great Magician: Two. 'This isn't part of our original agreement, dear Scholar.'" <→≌ Scholar: "I knew you would object, so I'm only saying this now. The cooperation has been reached, and the current profits are quite good. This is just a notification."Conductor: 6 Expert: "What convenience did he provide that made you condescend to cooperate?"Scholar: " The Herrscher of Sentience can delve into the depths of consciousness, even dissecting everything that makes up consciousness, and incidentally analyzing the specific source and cause of those resentments."An Yu: "You can give it to me, kill him and make a Divine Key for me to use."Scholar: "... The Herrscher might cooperate, but you definitely won't." As Vill-V's personality, they are very... It's clear what a persona representing evil will do when it appears. With Herrscher, perhaps we can still hope that the persona, like Elysia, possesses basic humanity and can change with the events they experience. But an evil persona... An Yu: "Alright, alright, you're on the list too."Conductor: "It's not the time for infighting yet."Scholar: "Back to the main point, based on current information, there are two main possibilities regarding Elysia and the current situation."Scholar: "One is that Elysia is indeed a goddess, guiding humanity through calamities. Those untraceable resentments at their source are indeed just remnants of history, unrelated to her."Great Magician: "No need to explain this." "Well, if that's the case, it's so boring." Expert: "+1" Humans should have their own pride, not the ignorance preached by religions. This kind of future is too boring; Vill-V dislikes this outcome. An Yu: "Then, what about the second one?"Scholar: "We are just NPCs in the game, and the whole world is just a miniature world created by a higher-dimensional being. Elysia's current omniscience and omnipotence are because she has played the game many times and accumulated enough strategy experience."An Yu: "..."Lecturer: "An even more boring guess."Scholar: "My focus is different from yours. I have completely handed over the initiative of this body to you." Afterwards, I still didn't give up the habit of looking down at the starry sky." An Yu: "What did you discover? Does the universe have an end? Or is there a problem with the physical constants?" Scholar: "You could say that." Scholar: "Although the physical constants are perfectly normal no matter how you calculate them, there's something wrong with the starry sky." Model Five: "Should I kill Elysia?" Scholar: "... You?" Great Magician: "If that's the case, then I'll have to think carefully about the curtain call." An Yu: "In my opinion, if it really is a game, why not find a way to identify the players and administrators, and then... kill them all?" Lecturer: "Actually, there's an even simpler way: confront Elysia directly."

"Long time no see, my proud Miss Vill-V, so focused on the stars~"

An Yu pushed open the door and sat down casually on the toolbox beside her.

The fact that the Scholar is the dominant personality type is certainly justified, given the series of illogical events that have occurred since Elysia came to power.

The Scholar's full name is the Mysterious Scholar, also known as the Stargazer, a Vill-V who has no concept of race, no hierarchy, and Vill-V only interested in truth and mystery itself.

"Enough with the small talk, what are you doing here?"

The Scholar lowered his eyes.

Elysia's performance was so perfect that the appearance of a second Herrscher who could communicate with her made her think of many more things.

Cooperate, then win twice.

"I want to retrieve the Herrscher Core."

An Yu's voice was calm, but the inherent power of the Herrscher of Sentience made him easily overthink things.

He seemed to know how he got involved in the game; now only one thing remained unclear: what exactly was his role in gaining this qualification?

Am I a lucky one? Or did I also have a part in history?

Honestly, An Yu's mind was a bit of a mess because he considered himself a time traveler, so how did he end up with past and present lives?

Scholar Vill-V paused for a moment. "So, Herrscher really enjoy joking? That's something new to me."

She crossed her arms to support her head, appearing exceptionally focused.

"As a second choice, I'd like to participate in the creation of the Divine Key."

An Yu shrugged.

Scholar Vill-V remained silent; in truth, this request was also impossible, since the Herrscher had already revealed his objective.

An Yu is after the Herrscher Core, but transactions should always be fair.

"You're probably not a core member."

"Make a deal."

An Yu understood all of Vill-V's precautions; after all, it was just a feint. Vill-V shouldn't overthink things; just prepare a whole host of backup plans...

Even though Heart Cocoon are very strong, sometimes you really can't guess what a lunatic is thinking.

"Let's continue our cooperation."

The Scholar, Vill-V, took up the most time because everyone knew that she was indeed the most reliable of all Vill-V personalities when it came to researching Honkai.

Elysia and the others won't tell the truth, then Vill-V will have to find it herself.

For Vill-V, collaborating with the Herrscher was simply a case of significantly increased risk in the risk assessment.

"If the Herrscher represents the concrete manifestation of a civilization's sins or flaws."

Suddenly, Vill-V spoke, as if talking to herself, yet also as if asking An Yu, "So, what identity is Elysia currently playing?"

She was reminded of the Doctrine of Original Sin in some religious texts, though she didn't intend to apply it rigidly.

But what if the source of the Honkai wasn't judged by simple destruction, but rather by a complex mechanism that humanity hasn't yet understood?

"Jesus?"

An Yu subconsciously replied, then couldn't help but laugh herself.

However, Elysia has been somewhat different these past few times.

Vill-V blinked. "I mean, let's conduct a thought experiment: without a 'goddess' like Elysia, possessing absolute power and prestige, forcibly guiding humanity, how would we have survived these Honkai?"

"It's probably violence, forcibly inciting human unity through hatred, followed by Mobius's, your, and others' advanced plans, but it might not be in time."

An Yu did not deny it, after all, even now, violence is still the primary method.

However, if it weren't for those baseless grievances, perhaps Elysia's current approach would be correct, because without those grievances, the need for violence doesn't seem very high.

But then again, this is a dream, and the order in which the Herrscher appear is fixed. Of course, Elysia has time to resolve each issue one by one. Under normal circumstances, how could anyone handle things so perfectly?

"Violence is not without its merits."

"In many mythological metaphors..." Vill-V murmured, "The fate of the angels who carry out the final judgment... what is it again?"

Volume 1: Chapter 177 (175) Do you like looking at the stars?

If the source of the Honkai is not simply seeking to destroy humanity, then does the other side hope that humanity will overcome these cycles of calamity through violence, or are there other, better ways?

"Suicide."

An Yu calmly added that the power of the Herrscher of Sentience gives him a natural sensitivity to concepts involving the spirit and faith.

"In some religious narratives, when the angels of judgment violently cleanse the world of all original sins, they are unwilling or unable to bury all the sins accumulated by civilization through self-destruction in the end."

"It itself will become the greatest and final bearer of sin, thus... bringing about the final judgment upon itself, and upon the entire civilization."

"If you insist on using a substitution, a brute-force approach to clear the game will yield the highest reward, but it's also the most dangerous."

Of course, all of this is predicated on the premise that the Honkai mechanism can actually apply this religious metaphor so crudely.

Vill-V blinked again, her starry eyes sparkling. "Besides the Judgment Angel, what's the second way to clear the game?"

An Yu squinted. He had never thought about the religious aspect before, but with Vill-V's suggestion, it did seem like a viable line of thought.

"Jesus, as the innocent man established in the Bible, will guide humanity to create instruments of judgment to cleanse themselves of sin."

However, An Yu quickly pursed her lips, thinking that such a claim was too far-fetched.

If we're Doctrine of Original Sin, then An Yu can't figure out which one he represents. It's not that he's innocent, but An Yu clearly knows that he's guilty of every single one of them.

As long as you're a normal person, you'll have some of these traits in everything.

[Message Board]

An Yu: "I'm so bored, Chef, can you make a fragrant and soft strawberry cake? Chef."

Chef: "Would you like to help me register as Scholar?"

The Scholar, "Go ahead, I want to eat too."

Scholar remain unsurprised by An Yu's existence and his interactions with other personalities.

The sincere and sublime atmosphere that permeates the current generation of Fire Moth, and even the whole society, is considered extremely strange, even abnormal, by Scholar.

Vill-V's personality is not suited to such a genuine environment. Her True Self might still be able to survive, but once it disintegrates, it will never be able to.

When everyone is united, even of one mind, there must be an opponent. It is perfectly normal for Vill-V to choose to split herself.

This is what everyone thinks. Although it's strange to use "Herrscher" as a synonym, it is indeed a little more original than "Extreme Evil," since Elysia has really been searching for An Yu.

Scholar: "By the way, I've found the Eighth Herrscher."

An Yu: "Shocked!"

The Great Magician: "Oh? It seems this Eighth Herrscher is just another ordinary hurdle that Miss Elysia can easily overcome."

Scholar: "No, I've reached a cooperation agreement with him."

Model Five: "?"

Conductor: "?"

Expert. "?"

An Yu: "?"

The Great Magician: "This isn't part of our original agreement, is it, dear Scholar?"<→≌

Scholar: "I knew you would object, which is why I'm saying this now. The cooperation has been reached, and the current returns are quite good. This is just a notification."

Conductor: 6

Expert: "What conveniences did he offer that made you condescend to cooperate?"

Scholar: "Those Herrscher of Sentience can delve into the depths of awareness, even dissecting everything that constitutes consciousness, and incidentally analyze the specific source and cause of those resentments."

An Yu: "You can give it to me. Kill him and make it into Divine Key, then I can use it."

Scholar: "... The Herrscher might cooperate, but you definitely won't."

As the personalities of Vill-V, they knew very well what a persona representing evil would do when it appeared.

Herrscher, one might still hope that the other party, like Elysia, possesses the most basic humanity and can change with the events they experience.

And the evil personality...

An Yu: "Okay, okay, you're on the list too."

Conductor: "Now is not the time for infighting."

Scholar: "Getting back to the main point, based on the available intelligence, there are currently two main possible speculations regarding Elysia and the current situation."

Scholar: "Firstly Elysia is indeed a goddess who guided humanity through calamities. Those untraceable resentments are simply remnants of history and have nothing to do with her."

The Great Magician: "There's no need to explain this. If that were true, it would be too boring."

Expert: "+1"

Human beings should have their own pride, not the ignorance promoted by religions.

This future is too boring; Vill-V really dislikes this outcome.

An Yu: "Then, what about the second one?"

Scholar: "We are merely NPCs in the game, and the entire world is just a miniature world created by a higher-dimensional being. Elysia's current omniscience and omnipotence are due to her numerous playthroughs and accumulated experience in strategy."

An Yu: "..."

Lecturer: "An even more uninteresting guess."

The Scholar, "My focus is different from yours. Even after I completely relinquished control of this body, I still haven't given up the habit of gazing at the stars."

An Yu: "What did you discover? Is the universe finite? Or is there a problem with the physical constants?"

Scholar: "You could say that."

Scholar: "Although the constants in physics are perfectly normal no matter how you calculate them, there is something wrong with the starry sky."

Model Five: "Do you need me to kill Elysia?"

Scholar: "... You?"

The Great Magician: "If that's the case, then I'll have to think carefully about when it's time for the curtain call."

An Yu: "In my opinion, if it really is a game, we should find a way to identify the players and administrators, and then... kill them all."

Lecturer: "Actually, there's an even simpler way: confront Elysia directly."