Who Isn't a Herrscher

In the deep, dark, black space.

His body seemed to drift unconsciously in an endless abyss, his eyes wandering hollowly, just wandering...

As time slowly passed, his consciousness seemed to awaken, and he looked around in confusion.

Where is this...

Luo Mio looked at the dark space around him.

My consciousness space?

Luo Mio felt confused.

"Teacher!"

"System!"

Luo Mio shouted, but in this endless void, neither Fu Hua's nor the teacher's voice answered him.

Empty, silent, still.

There was no sound, only Luo Mio's shouts.

What is this?

And in a deep mountain forest in Tokyo.

At Akatsuki Academy, Edelweiss was invited by Tsukikage Bakuga to stay there.

Kong was in the room, happily playing video games on the bed even though it was late at night.

"Hehehehehe..."

"!"

Suddenly, her laughter stopped, and she froze on the bed. Then she immediately stood up and went to the window.

Kong's golden eyes, like glass, looked up at the sky with a worried expression.

Edelweiss walked into the room with dessert and saw Kong standing by the window, looking confused.

"Kong?"

In the deep sea.

Beside the golden half-crystal, three enormous figures guarded the crystal.

A white dragon that only lived in myths and legends, which should not have appeared in the mortal world. It had white and blue wings, and one could feel four terrifying and horrifying auras from it.

Its white roots reached its crimson tail tip, and the faint, deep purple flames on its body seemed to resist the deep sea's low temperature. Its form resembled the ancient Chinese divine beast, the Nine-Tailed Fox, manifesting in the world.

The last figure, with a body even larger than the other two behemoths, protected the crystal. The oppressive feeling brought by its massive body far surpassed that of the other two giant beasts.

The three giant beasts sensed something and looked up at the sea surface. Just as they were about to act.

The golden crystal slowly emitted energy, and then the three giant beasts stopped their actions.

They fell back into silence.

In the hotel room, Luo Mio and Ikki's room.

Ikki was lying peacefully on the bed, fast asleep. Red and white feathers floated around him, forming a barrier.

Luo Mio, on the other hand, seemed to be in a coma, showing no reaction.

However, purple patterns covered his entire body, and the patterns flickered as they spread purple energy outwards.

And in the room, it wasn't just Luo Mio and Ikki.

A figure in crimson and a blue ball of light were present. They were Fu Hua and the System from Luo Mio's consciousness.

"I didn't expect Luo Mio's rampage this time to push us both out of his consciousness space," said Fu Hua, dressed in crimson and pure white, looking at Luo Mio with a beautiful frown.

Then, her crimson eyes glanced at the small blue ball of light beside her and asked, "Can't you do anything?"

The small ball of light transmitted the System's voice: "No, the host's current situation is not due to the rampage of Honkai Energy within his body, but rather another entity has intervened."

Fu Hua's beautiful crimson eyes turned to Luo Mio on the bed. She sighed and said, "As Luo Mio said, this system of yours is really useless."

Upon hearing this, the small ball of light immediately flapped around.

"I am just an auxiliary system to help the host become stronger. You are making things difficult for me, aren't you!"

Her crimson eyes glanced at the small ball of light.

"Then tell me, how did you pull me out of the Honkai World back then."

"Uh, that..."

The small ball of light instantly quieted down.

"I used the World Authority granted by the main world to enter back then, but it's different now."

"How is it different?"

"Now, in the Chivalry of a Failed Knight world, I can't access the main world's authority."

"Just as Mio said, it's useless."

The small light orb flapped around again.

What's going on?...

Luo Mio observed the pitch-black space.

He realized this space wasn't his consciousness space. Usually, whenever he appeared in his consciousness space, the red and white power of Feather of the Dust would adorn it. After absorbing the fragments of golden crystals before, tiny golden lights like stars even appeared within the space.

But now, this space was filled with only silent stillness and endless nothingness.

"It seems the seed has sprouted."

!

A voice suddenly appeared behind Luo Mio.

Luo Mio looked back.

Standing behind him was an identical copy of Luo Mio... no, it was "Luo Mio."

The only difference was "Luo Mio's" golden eyes and the white and gold halo above his head.

Luo Mio looked at him, his expression grave. "Who are you..."

"Luo Mio" looked at him and smiled.

"Don't you already know in your heart?"

"..." Luo Mio's eyes narrowed. If he weren't in a soul state, his back would probably be drenched in cold sweat right now.

Finality...

From Arisugawa's words about the meteor shower sixteen years ago, and the rampage caused by that fragment of golden crystal in Wallenstein's hand before, he had vaguely sensed what a terrifying and despair-inducing "monster" resided within him.

"You're really harsh on yourself, calling yourself a monster."

The golden-eyed "Luo Mio" seemed to read his mind as he spoke.

Luo Mio was startled. He didn't pay attention to the golden-eyed "Luo Mio" reading his thoughts; instead, he focused on his words.

"You said 'on yourself'?" Luo Mio's heart trembled. He had thought of information about "Herrschers."

Herrscher personality...

The golden-eyed "Luo Mio" said nothing, merely smiling.

Chapter 40: Conversation (1)

"I am you, and you are me."

The golden-eyed "Luo Mio" looked at him and spoke slowly and gently.

Hearing this, Luo Mio's mind was instantly thrown into turmoil.

Herrscher...

Born from "Honkai," the unfathomable will of a god, when Honkai Energy concentration exceeded 2000 HW and a Great Honkai outbreak occurred, it bestowed the "Herrscher Core" upon humans highly adaptable to Honkai Energy.

But it couldn't be denied that the Honkai consciousness was a god with a cruel sense of humor. Most of those chosen by It as Herrschers or Quasi-Herrschers were young girls who had experienced or possessed tragic memories.

And the Herrscher personality was a new personality born from the Herrscher Core.

So this guy in front of him, was highly likely...

And himself...

"Calling yourself 'this guy'."

The golden-eyed "Luo Mio" scratched the back of his head helplessly, then the corners of his lips curled up slightly.

"Besides, I'm not a personality created by that ill-tempered 'Honkai consciousness'!"

Hearing this, Luo Mio stared at him in surprise.

A personality not created by the Honkai consciousness...

Then, Luo Mio's gaze sharpened, staring intently at the "Luo Mio" who looked exactly like him, and questioned him.

"Did you drag my consciousness here?!"

The golden-eyed, no... Finality Luo Mio, faced his accusation without anger. His brilliant golden eyes, yet eyes that conveyed only emptiness, looked at Luo Mio gently.

"No, it wasn't me who dragged your consciousness here."

"Huh?"

Luo Mio was stunned upon hearing "Finality Luo Mio's" words.

It wasn't him...

Luo Mio suddenly thought of something.

(It seems the seed has sprouted.)

"What do you mean by 'seed'?" Luo Mio asked Finality.

"Finality Luo Mio" didn't answer Luo Mio, but instead raised a finger and pointed to a spot in space.

Luo Mio looked in the direction he pointed.

"!"

What is that...

Luo Mio's eye twitched as he looked at that spot in space.

In the pitch-black abyss-like space, in the direction Finality Luo Mio pointed, a slender sapling, one that could be easily blown askew by any gust of wind in the real world, was rooted there.

But this slender, fragile sapling alone gave Luo Mio an unparalleled and terrifying pressure! It was like an ant facing a colossal statue, even more exaggerated than that.

"Crack!"

Luo Mio's soul suddenly made a cracking sound. His soul felt like glass, with cracks spreading all over his body.

"You stared for too long."

Finality Luo Mio placed a hand on Luo Mio's shoulder in his soul state.

A gentle power flowed in.

The power gradually repaired the cracks that had formed from Luo Mio's shattering.

Luo Mio clenched his fist and looked at his soul body, which was now completely intact.

"Before you find your 'soul' again, it's best not to look directly at it."

"Huh?"