Chapter Summaries

Shi Hen arrived at Schicksal HQ and took Otto’s place as Bishop, while Durandal struggled with the truth about Otto’s crimes. At his first meeting with Schicksal’s leaders, Shi Hen declared that they must obey every order he gave.

• Shi Hen left Peggy with Anti-Entropy paperwork while he focused his attention on Schicksal HQ.
• Durandal read documents detailing Otto’s crimes and asked Shi Hen whether they were true; he told her they understated the truth.
• Shi Hen explained that Gray Serpent had arranged for him to become Schicksal’s Bishop and Durandal to serve as his paid assistant.
• Rita led the Blade of Immortality Valkyries in welcoming Shi Hen as Bishop as the last twilight faded.
• At a meeting with Schicksal’s officials, Shi Hen dismissed their introductions and demanded that they carry out all his orders unconditionally.

Shi Hen asserted control over Schicksal, issued a massive bounty for Otto, and changed the standards for S-rank Valkyries before leaving Durandal to manage the meeting. Otto chose to focus on reviving Kallen, while Kiana visited Shi Hen’s office to urge him to rest.

• Shi Hen dismissed Sera’s challenge after Amber and Durandal confirmed Otto had handed Schicksal to World Serpent.
• Shi Hen ordered Amber to condemn Otto’s actions as personal conduct and issue a 102.4 billion bounty for him.
• Shi Hen restricted S-rank Valkyrie status to Herrschers and those who had defeated Herrschers, prompting Rita to resign and Durandal to object.
• Shi Hen left the meeting, and Durandal continued it by asking Amber for a report on Schicksal’s situation.
• Otto read the charges and bounty, then set aside his anger to focus on using the Second Divine Key to revive Kallen.
• Kiana entered Shi Hen’s office and said Dr. Einstein had sent her to make him rest.

Shi Hen left Anti-Entropy's office with Kiana, reassured her about Mei's safety in World Serpent, and invited Wendy to dinner. The story then shifted to Mei returning to Schicksal, where Rita greeted her as the newly appointed captain of Blade of Immortality.

• Kiana visited Shi Hen in his office, and Peggy stayed behind to handle the remaining work.
• Shi Hen and Kiana left the administrative district and talked about his leadership and her offer to help him.
• Shi Hen told Kiana that Mei was serving as a new S-rank Valkyrie of Schicksal alongside Yae Sakura and said he would ask Durandal about her.
• Kiana spotted Wendy and invited her to join them for dinner, and Shi Hen welcomed her.
• Mei returned to Schicksal's Floating Island, where Rita greeted her and guided her onward as Blade of Immortality's captain.

Mei arrived at Schicksal HQ, where Rita guided her through the strained aftermath of Welt Yang’s takeover and the Serpent Squad’s seizure of research projects. After learning that Schicksal was losing resources and Durandal was often absent, Mei revealed that the Far East Branch had developed Moon Ring armor that could help address the flaws of Artificial Stigmata.

• Mei confronted Rita about her role in Kiana’s capture, and Rita apologized rather than defending her past actions.
• Rita guided Mei through Schicksal HQ while Mei questioned why World Serpent had assigned her a comfortable life and only trivial duties.
• Mei and Rita saw the Serpent Squad seal a research institute and remove its researchers, prompting Mei to ask why Schicksal could not stop them.
• Rita explained that Durandal was frequently absent and that Welt Yang had redirected resources from research projects into his own account.
• Mei told Rita that the Far East Branch had developed Moon Ring armor to help compensate for the flaws of Artificial Stigmata, but left Rita to decide what to do with that information.

Mei offered Rita the Moon Ring armor, crediting Shi Hen as its true developer, while Kiana visited Shi Hen at Anti-Entropy headquarters as he worked to reform the Executor System. The chapter ended with Kiana describing how the orphanage children had settled into Anti-Entropy, though Rosalia and the others were already getting into mischief at school.

• Mei told Rita that Shi Hen had developed the Moon Ring armor and that he deserved her thanks.
• A burly man left Shi Hen's office after an unsuccessful discussion and suggested Kiana try persuading Shi Hen.
• Shi Hen explained to Kiana that he wanted to reform Anti-Entropy's Executor System so the organization could respond more effectively to the Honkai.
• Kiana brought lunch for Shi Hen and Peggy, and she admitted that Wendy had cooked the Shenzhou-style dishes.
• Shi Hen asked about the orphanage children, and Kiana said Rosalia and the others were energetic and that Seele had been called to their school several times.

Anna Schariac was lured into an abandoned construction site, where a traumatic memory pushed her into becoming the Frozen Herrscher before an unknown force froze her and the site. The Fifth Honkai Outbreak then began on Coral Island, prompting Schicksal and Anti-Entropy to dispatch support as Honkai Beasts rampaged through the city.

• Kiana reminisced with Shi Hen about St. Freya, while Shi Hen reassured her that they would one day bring Mei back and anticipated another Herrscher’s birth.
• Anna followed a secret summons from a Schicksal Bishop into an abandoned construction site and heard a child calling for help.
• Anna found a girl beneath rubble who resembled the child she had failed to save during the Manila Honkai Outbreak, then fled in terror as the girl pursued her.
• Anna’s fear and guilt overwhelmed her, awakening her as a Herrscher, but a strange buzzing halted the incoming Honkai Energy and an immense cold froze her and the site.
• The Fifth Honkai Outbreak struck Coral Island, and Schicksal and Anti-Entropy announced that they would send support as Honkai Beasts attacked the city.

Kiana, Bronya, Seele, and Wendy led Coral Island’s evacuation and fought the Honkai Beasts while Anti-Entropy’s fleet approached. Bronya later reported that the newly born Ice Herrscher appeared frozen inside an abandoned construction site, with signs linking the incident to Anna Schariac and Welt Yang.

• Kiana used flames to guide refugees while the Herrscher squad healed survivors and split up to contain the danger.
• Bronya and Seele warned Wendy not to overexert herself, but Wendy insisted she could handle the battlefield and left on her own.
• At dawn, Shi Hen contacted Bronya from the Hyperion, and Bronya reported finding the Herrscher frozen inside an abandoned construction site.
• Einstein identified the frost powers as resembling the Previous Civilization’s Fifth Herrscher, while Bronya detected power belonging to Welt Yang within the ice.
• Bronya said Anna Schariac had entered the area after receiving a secret letter from Welt Yang and then disappeared as Herrscher birth fluctuations were detected.
• Bronya reported that Coral Island’s Honkai Energy concentration was rising unusually slowly, and Einstein said human effort could not theoretically obstruct the occurrence of Honkai.

Shi Hen explained how he had frozen Anna as the Ice Herrscher to keep the Honkai Energy focused on her, while Anti-Honkai struggled to protect Coral Island’s nearly two million residents. Wendy returned from the front lines exhausted, learned that Mei was on the island, and kept her personal questions to herself as the crisis continued.

• Einstein speculated that Welt Yang was connected to the Ice Herrscher’s birth and might know how to create Herrschers, while Shi Hen urged everyone to focus on evacuating Coral Island’s civilians.
• Wendy returned to Anti-Honkai’s temporary base and saw that shortages of food, medicine, and personnel were straining the relief effort across the island’s camps.
• Himeko told Wendy that Theresa and Einstein were investigating the new Herrscher and pointed out that the expanding iceberg remained the most urgent threat to the refugees.
• Wendy asked which Schicksal members had arrived, and Himeko said Rita Rossweisse and Mei were helping, though Mei was fighting Honkai Beasts and could not be contacted.
• Wendy declined Himeko’s offer to ask Shi Hen to reach Mei, hiding her embarrassment about wanting advice on how to win over the youth.

Shi Hen coordinated the Coral Island response while considering reforms to Anti-Entropy’s Executor System, and Wendy tried to spend time with him but repeatedly found herself outmatched by his concern and Kiana’s closeness. The chapter ended with the relief effort improving and Shi Hen explaining that humanity, not Honkai alone, could bring about its own destruction.

• Himeko sent Wendy to rest, then told Shi Hen that Dr. Einstein’s analysis of the Ice Herrscher would take another four hours.
• Shi Hen learned that food shortages had caused a fight at the third camp and that Anti-Entropy supplies from Australia were delayed, so he planned to confront the Executors about their hesitation.
• After resting, Wendy found Shi Hen eating with Kiana, who cheerfully welcomed her and teased Shi Hen for worrying too much about Wendy.
• Shi Hen told Wendy that the second wave of reinforcements and aid from neighboring countries had improved the situation on Coral Island.
• Kiana remarked on Schicksal and Anti-Entropy fighting together, and Shi Hen said that humanity itself, rather than Honkai, was what could destroy humanity.

Shi Hen explained Anti-Entropy’s principles and the coming Coral Island crisis to Wendy while Kiana prepared for a mission to stop an outbreak that could turn millions of civilians into zombies. The chapter ended with Kiana flying off to act, while Shi Hen left Wendy to return to his duties.

• Shi Hen argued that humanity should unite against threats like Welt Yang, and Wendy praised his leadership after seeing him follow Anti-Entropy’s rule that front-line combatants received better meals.
• Shi Hen told Wendy that Welt Yang had likely triggered the Honkai incident and that Anna Schariac, captain of the Snow Lotus Squad, was probably the Ice Herrscher.
• Shi Hen explained that Coral Island’s Honkai Energy would reach a critical level within twelve to twenty hours, potentially turning most remaining civilians into zombies, with at least 1.2 million people still on the island.
• Kiana described the plan for Anti-Entropy and Schicksal to protect evacuation camps while she used the Void Herrscher’s power to send the Ice Herrscher and the coming Honkai away.
• Shi Hen promised to cook Kiana a feast after the operation, and she flew off when a crimson bolt of lightning appeared in the sky.
• Wendy offered Shi Hen some pork chop, but he left to return to his duties.

Mei returned to Schicksal’s temporary base and discussed World Serpent, Welt Yang, and Kevin’s plans with Rita. Rita asked Mei to help Durandal uncover the truth about Welt Yang, while Durandal’s unexplained absence left Rita worried.

• Rita gave Mei Anti-Entropy’s battle plan, and Mei agreed to cooperate.
• Rita challenged Mei’s distrust of Schicksal and invited her to talk on a rooftop.
• Rita described Kevin’s Stigmata Project and Welt Yang’s plan to gather Herrscher Authorities, while Mei questioned whether either could be stopped.
• Rita said Durandal had found secrets about Welt Yang within World Serpent and asked Mei to help her when necessary.
• Mei questioned whether Durandal’s secret was legitimate, remembering that Durandal had seemed exhausted during their encounters.

Mei warned Rita that she still distrusted Schicksal, while Night Owl resolved to save Anna from a disastrous fate. As Kiana sought Sirin’s Void Herrscher power to prevent a catastrophe on Coral Island, Shi Hen entered her mind and joined their confrontation.

• Mei told Rita she would consider Yae Sakura’s offer but warned that she might fight Schicksal’s Valkyries if they betrayed her.
• Rita vowed that Schicksal’s Valkyries would protect the world, and Mei departed in a streak of crimson lightning.
• Night Owl recalled Anna fleeing when he asked about his sister, Chen Tianwen, then used Anti-Entropy’s battle plans to prepare to save Anna.
• Shi Hen asked Kiana if she was ready to enter the Ice Herrscher’s domain, and Kiana descended into her mind to demand Sirin’s power.
• Sirin refused to help stop the Honkai outbreak, saying she wanted to see Kiana suffer as Coral Island’s 1.2 million residents died.
• Shi Hen resonated with the Plague Gem and appeared beside Kiana and Sirin inside her mind.

Shi Hen confronted Sirin in Kiana’s mindscape, acknowledged the suffering that drove her hatred, and asked her to help prevent similar tragedies. After returning to reality, Kiana began using the Void Herrscher’s power at Shi Hen’s urging.

• Shi Hen told Sirin that the Second Honkai Eruption was not entirely her fault, but Sirin demanded that he bring back her dead companions before she would help humanity.
• Shi Hen broke the bars imprisoning Sirin and promised to work toward a future where tragedies like hers would not happen again.
• Sirin hesitated to pull away as Shi Hen held her hand, and he then vanished from the mindscape; Kiana was forced back to reality.
• Mei rushed to Shi Hen’s side when Kiana woke, then reproached Kiana for failing to protect him.
• Shi Hen told Kiana to believe in herself and Sirin, and Kiana began drawing on the Void Herrscher’s authority with growing ease.

Kiana prepared to use the authority of space to prevent the Honkai from erupting on Coral Island while Shi Hen refused to leave the front line. An unknown force sent Anti-Entropy-like mechs to attack the camps, and the defenders fought to keep them from reaching the Ice Herrscher as Kiana worked.

• Kiana told Shi Hen she could stop the Honkai and began gathering the authority of space to move the iceberg and the Honkai Energy singularity.
• Shi Hen and Mei noticed unauthorized mechs approaching, and Einstein confirmed that they were not under her control.
• Shi Hen warned the camps that the mechs were enemies, and Theresa, Wendy, and Rita rushed out to engage them.
• Wendy questioned how the mechs could match Anti-Entropy models so closely, and Einstein admitted that an unknown force had infiltrated the organization.
• Shi Hen sent Seele to aid Rita, and Seele shielded the camp with vines before binding nearly one hundred mechs.

Night Owl forced Shi Hen and the others to choose between keeping away from Anna and risking the lives of 1.2 million people on Coral Island. Kiana transferred the Ice Herrscher and the glacier away, then found herself alone with Sirin, who offered to explain what had happened to Shi Hen.

• Night Owl escaped Seele and Mei’s attacks, reached the edge of Kiana’s power, and threatened to trigger his Honkai Energy Reactor unless everyone except Shi Hen stayed away from Anna.
• Night Owl demanded that Shi Hen choose between Anna and the lives of 1.2 million people on Coral Island, and Shi Hen agreed to trust Mei and Kiana with the situation.
• Mei led Bronya and the others away while Shi Hen urged Kiana to save as many people as possible; Kiana used her Void Herrscher power to transfer the glacier and the Ice Herrscher from Coral Island.
• Kiana awoke in a frozen wasteland, realized Shi Hen was missing, and was taken to the prison water cell where she confronted Sirin.
• Sirin told Kiana that she had tried to stop the will of a god and offered to explain what had happened to Shi Hen.

Kiana argued with Sirin over who would search for Shi Hen, and reluctantly allowed Sirin to take the lead after Sirin claimed she wanted to find him. Shi Hen arrived in the glacial region, changed his identity, and found Anna sealed in an ice pillar as the Ice Herrscher.

• Kiana insisted she would find Shi Hen despite her depleted powers, while Sirin mocked her faith in him.
• Sirin demanded control of the body so she could locate Shi Hen, claiming he was her toy and she would not let him be harmed.
• Kiana warned Sirin not to hurt Shi Hen and finally gave her a chance to search for him, though she remained wary.
• Shi Hen reached the glacial landscape and sensed the Desire Gem's power, suspecting that Sirin was using it.
• Shi Hen crossed the glacier, destroyed an Emperor-class Honkai Beast, and found Anna sealed inside a massive ice pillar.

Shi Hen entered Anna Schariac’s mind and slowed the Ice Herrscher’s erosion, leaving her to confront her self-hatred on her own. At Coral Island’s base, Theresa and Einstein investigated the aftermath and suspected Anti-Entropy had been infiltrated, while Wendy reported that Seele blamed herself for the accident.

• Shi Hen broke Anna’s mask, discovered that she hated herself for fleeing, and used Mayura’s power to slow the erosion of her consciousness before leaving her to face her own trial.
• The Ice Herrscher escaped in the opposite direction, while Theresa learned that residual Honkai Energy had affected more than two hundred people across six camps and that Shi Hen and the others were still missing.
• Peggy told Theresa and Einstein that Anti-Entropy satellites were searching for the missing group and that personnel had disappeared, while Einstein questioned how an unfamiliar mech unit had approached undetected.
• Einstein suspected a mole in Anti-Entropy’s radical faction but withheld her suspicions from Rita, and she and Theresa arranged to prepare Bronya and the others for deployment.
• Theresa found Wendy outside the fortification and learned that Seele was caring for the wounded and blaming herself for the accident.

Wendy resolved to join the search for Shi Hen and return to New Zealand, with Theresa promising to accompany her. Meanwhile, Mei found Kiana and Sirin on the glacier, learned Shi Hen was missing, and forced Sirin to come with her to confront the Ice Herrscher.

• Wendy blamed her lack of strength for Shi Hen's predicament and asked Theresa to let her join the operation once they had news of him.
• Wendy told Theresa she wanted to return to New Zealand after the operation, and Theresa agreed to go with her.
• Mei searched the glacier, defeated five Honkai Beasts, and found Sirin trying to bind and train a Knight-class Honkai Beast.
• Kiana took control of the body and explained the situation to Mei, who realized Shi Hen was missing.
• Mei decided to seek the Ice Herrscher first, trusting that Shi Hen could withstand ordinary Honkai Beasts, and ordered Sirin to come along or be defeated.

Mei and Sirin reached Anna Schariac, the Ice Herrscher, and Mei fought her while Sirin refused to help. When Kiana tried to take control to assist Mei, Sirin seized the body instead and intervened as Shi Hen battled Night Owl.

• Mei and Sirin found Anna Schariac fleeing through the ice, and Sirin refused to join the fight.
• Mei attacked Anna, who unleashed a vast field of ice; Mei dodged the attacks and pressed through the frozen forest.
• Kiana urged Sirin to help Mei, but Sirin refused, prompting Kiana to struggle for control of the body.
• Shi Hen appeared while fleeing Night Owl, and Sirin took advantage of Kiana’s distraction to regain control.
• Sirin dove toward Shi Hen and blew Night Owl away with a gust of wind.

Shi Hen and Sirin confronted Night Owl and Anna, but Night Owl discovered that Anna had abandoned his sister Chen Tianwen and transformed into a new Herrscher. As Mei prepared to face the two Herrschers, Shi Hen sensed that something had changed.

• Sirin threatened Shi Hen, but he knocked her aside to shield her from Night Owl’s attack and was wounded.
• Anna arrived to protect Night Owl from Sirin’s wind blades, then stabbed him with an ice spike as he tried to defend her.
• Night Owl remembered Anna fleeing from his trapped sister Chen Tianwen, and his despair and fury transformed him into a new Herrscher with rock-like powers.
• Mei protected Shi Hen from Night Owl’s shockwave while Sirin offered to retreat with him, but Mei chose to hold the Herrschers off alone.
• Shi Hen warned Mei that something had changed, and her attention returned to Night Owl and Anna.