Starting with the Herrschers, I Cut Down All

He fell silent for a moment, then looked at his big sister, whose bangs were plastered to her cheeks, and suddenly laughed.

"If you don't want to talk about it, then don't. It's just some illusory dream. It's not like it can suffocate a living person to death."

He couldn't understand his sister's Delusional Disorder, but ordinary people really did have a hard time understanding mental illness. Whatever. He couldn't just abandon his sister.

Not long after, accompanied by a faint groan, the little hand An Yu had been tightly holding in his palm moved.

"You're awake?"

"I..."

An Yu shook his head and handed her a paper cup. The water inside was just pleasantly warm.

"Are we eating here, or going home?"

"Let's go home."

Elysia touched her chest and did not continue complaining about how real the dream had felt. She had a strange feeling that if she said it aloud, things would change in a direction no one wanted to see.

Forget it. She was the big sister in reality. How hard could it be to stop An Yu in the dream?

She would gather the power of the Frenemy Group and show that fake Yu in the dream what they were made of!

"Dinner's ready. I don't know if it suits your tastes... Where is everyone?"

A few minutes later, Aponia pushed open the door and paused at the sight of the empty room.

She took out her phone, but Elysia had not sent her a message either.

The corner of her mouth twitched. Elysia, Elysia... you couldn't even spare a moment to send me a message?

And An Yu! Didn't he seem quite polite before? How could he not even send a message... Wait, wait.

"Oh, he sent it to this account."

Aponia saw the brief note of thanks on her new account and sighed. She really had not noticed because she had switched accounts.

Because of the sudden incident, An Yu had not cooked either. They settled tonight's dinner at a nearby noodle shop.

"Do you have any wishes, Sis?"

"Why are you suddenly asking something like that?"

Elysia froze for a moment, but she still happily poked apart the two fried eggs in her bowl, mashed them into bits, and stirred them evenly.

I'm afraid that if something happens to you someday, you won't even leave behind a final wish. After all, we're siblings. When I get married in the future, you might have to stand in for our mother and sit at the head of the family.

An Yu muttered inwardly, but his smile remained relaxed. "It feels like it's been a long time since we messed around together, Sis. Thinking about it carefully, none of the wishes we wrote down together in our notebooks back in school ever got fulfilled after graduation."

Elysia's eyes lit up, as if she had not expected An Yu to bring up something like that.

"Then when you're on leave, let's hold a 'concert' downtown!"

She made the suggestion excitedly, full of anticipation.

The smile on An Yu's face instantly froze.

"When the time comes, I'll play guitar and be the lead singer. How about you play violin beside me, Xiao Yu?"

Elysia was brimming with anticipation. Today, she had rented a guitar and discovered that she had not forgotten what she learned back then. The instant she held the guitar, she completely remembered her youth.

She was still young! She should roam the world with style, sword in hand!

Though the Earth was round, and poetry and faraway places ultimately meant home, if Xiao Yu came with her, they could leave whenever they wanted.

What place could not be home?

"...Do we really have to be this socially fearless?"

An Yu's voice trembled. Though the doctor said strengthening his anchors to reality was the right thing to do, he had never imagined his sister's wish would be this sort of... performance art.

"I'll invite some other friends too. We can totally form a band!"

"But I won't invite Eden. That would put her in an awkward position."

The more Elysia spoke, the more excited she became. She was completely immersed in her fantasies about the future, so much that even the approaching night no longer frightened her as much.

"Xiao Yu! You really are the best to me!"

She beamed, put down her chopsticks, then hugged her little brother tightly and kissed him all over.

She had wanted to do that for a long time!

By that, she meant forming a band.

After kissing him, she chuckled twice and sat beside him with satisfaction.

"Let's... just do that."

An Yu wiped his cheeks, his voice trembling.

It was not as though he had never done this in college. He had learned instruments precisely so he could show off big time. But... doing it downtown was really a bit too socially fearless.

Stigmata Terminal

"This is going to be troublesome."

An Yu returned home and habitually locked his bedroom door from the inside.

He was going to mow some grass.

The thought of doing an open-air ding-ding-ding-ding-ding performance downtown in a few days made his temples throb faintly. He could not sleep.

Hopefully there would not be so many gimmicky monsters in the game, and he could just enjoy himself for once.

Outside the door, Elysia pushed at it, but it would not open. Her little face immediately puffed up in dissatisfaction.

But when she thought about the band, she threw that bit of unhappiness to the back of her mind.

Forget it. She would ask everyone in the Frenemy Group first!

[Ever since the New Maginot Line was established, the turbulent world seemed to have truly been twisted into a single rope.]

[However, Elysia was filled with worry. Recently, Professor Mobius had gotten to know Vill-V, making her even more concerned about humanity's future.]

[Vill-V was also one of her closest friends, both in reality and in the dream. So in this friend's eyes, Vill-V's labels were one part enthusiasm...

One part uncontrollable danger, one part high risk awaiting disposal, one part extreme danger that demanded vigilance, and one part super-danger completely beyond expectations!]

[Mobius's Stigmata Project had also become utterly warped under the pressure of reality. At least for the time being, she had given everything in her plan lower priority than survival.]

[The defensive line had been built, and the surrounding cities were being relocated, leaving behind only an impregnable fortress designed by Vill-V.]

[She had even spent a fortune adding flight capabilities, though every major continent cursed her out afterward.]

Today, on the sixth train to the defensive line, in Carriage No. 6.

A clear female voice sounded over the broadcast. "Dear passengers, we have arrived at the New Maginot Line. Please keep an eye on your belong..."

Aponia sat quietly by the window, but her gentle gaze was not directed at the increasingly desolate scenery outside. Instead, it rested on the... Stigmata Warriors advertisement on the train door.

Ever since the previous fluctuation of fate and the news that the capital of the Mu Continent had been destroyed, the fate of the entire world had been shaken and thrown into complete chaos.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!!!

The sudden alarm blared, sharp and urgent.

"Passengers, please be careful. A passenger in Carriage No. 6 is suspected of undergoing a Honkai Disease mutation. Please pay attention to your safety! I repeat, Carriage No. 6..."

The broadcast spewed useless nonsense as Aponia slowly rose. Amid the chaotic and noisy carriage, she moved against the crowd and came to the side of the woman curled up on the floor, her body twitching unnaturally.

"Please..."

The words that followed did not come for a long time. She did not yet possess the ability to disturb another person's fate, and a simple warning could no longer change the woman's future of becoming a Honkai Zombie.

Her long lashes lifted slightly. Her burning fingertips touched the woman's cheek. Aponia knew that, even if she did nothing now, a cluster of flying petals would protect her life.

That was how it should have been...

"May the Lord receive your soul."

CRACK

Her fingers tightened instantly, ending the other woman's suffering with absolute decisiveness.

"Was I... too late?"

Elysia, who had arrived belatedly, froze in place. The Aponia she knew was indeed a little devious, and she even showed a frightening expression when chopping vegetables.

But should she have done that?

[Aponia has joined the party.]

[The nun whose eyes were as clear as a stream had lost a measure of her compassion. The disturbance in the threads of fate forced her to give up her hobby of watching other people's destinies, at least... until fate stabilized.]

[Elysia was preparing to take her to Mobius's laboratory.]

[Speaking of which, the professor had barely had time for her recently, leaving her with one less source of comfort in the dream.]

"We must eliminate the influence of the Herrscher of Reason."

Before she even approached, Elysia heard the professor's voice.

Then came Vill-V's loud reply, a mixture of enthusiasm and pride.

"That's right! And not only her personality and underlying logic—I've also made a few minor changes to her appearance."

"Since that Herrscher is an evil black-haired, brown-eyed type, then the masterpiece jointly crafted by Dr. Einstein and me must naturally go in the opposite direction."

"She must have flawless white hair, paired with sacred golden eyes... Forget it, golden eyes are a little unlucky. White and purple will do instead."

Vill-V had always been extremely wary of artificial intelligence, but Mobius told her she wanted the most perfect kind.

Then she could simply let her talent run wild. The creative urge she had suppressed for so long was finally completely unleashed.

"What white hair and purple eyes?"

Elysia pushed open the door and saw that beside the two gifted scholars, a petite girl was curled up inside a huge cultivation tank. Faint Stigmata patterns could still be seen on her pale skin.

"What is this?"

"A Stigmata Terminal built with the Herrscher of Reason, whose energy was continuously split and analyzed, as its core, and Soulium as its main body." Mobius touched the transparent cultivation tank.

"If we can survive this disaster, the future of the Stigmata Project will definitely not look like this."

Her tone was firm. Her Stigmata Project should not be like this. At the very least, there should not be a 'god' involved.

But for now, the Stigmata Terminal would serve as humanity's safety net.

"Before the crisis is over, she will become the point of connection between Stigmata Space and the Stigmata Warriors."

"Stigmata Space will anchor the dust left behind by all dead souls. That dust will become the possibility for Stigmata Warriors to create miracles through equivalent exchange."

It was power that completely surpassed one's own potential—relying on countless deceased predecessors, inheriting their will, and depending entirely on faith.

"There is still one most important step missing. After all, the connections between Stigmata are simply too... mysterious. For 'ordinary people' like us, they are far too difficult to observe."

Vill-V shrugged and picked up the thread of the conversation. Yet she was not discouraged; instead, she was full of the desire for a challenge.

Mobius truly was the most evil doctor. This method of manipulating souls had indeed stunned her, and Vill-V could even see enormous feasibility in it.

Cool! This is the best kind of magical theater, the kind worth devoting an entire lifetime to!

To give all humanity the possibility of surpassing their limits and truly let everyone become like dragons!

Elysia seemed to sense something and looked toward Aponia. Aponia extended her hand.

Then, the final piece of the Variant Stigmata Project puzzle had been found. The plan had changed. Prepare to take the crown!

"Because of this plan, people are starting to suspect that I'm an artificial weapon made by you professors."

Elysia sighed, pretending to be troubled.

She had stood unconditionally on the professor's side, which naturally gave others plenty to speculate about.

But without what had happened before, the professor could never have received support from nearly the entire world.

[That said, the Stigmata Project still has its greatest problem.]

[The number of Stigmata Warriors is simply far too small compared with all humanity. Although the pressure on the Terminal has greatly decreased, there are still far too few of them.]

[However, this problem was soon 'easily' resolved.]