The sun was bright and the sky was cloudless. Even those accustomed to great storms would rarely see such a clear, blue sky and white clouds that made one's heart race with longing.
Except for the very center of this sky, where a rift—like a scar upon the heavens—was slowly squirming.
Lin and Bianca were crouched beneath the rift. According to Einstein's current predictions, the "thing" inside the rift could emerge at any moment. Lin had also explained his theories to them, as well as the suspicious points regarding Bianca—her inability to use the Holy Blade's powers and the "mark" that only he could sense.
What emerged from there would likely be...
Whoosh...
The rift shuddered as if struck by a heavy blow. The long, narrow black slit began to expand on both sides, like an eye slowly widening. An indiscernible darkness from within loomed over their heads.
Einstein monitored the site from a distance with Rita guarding her. No one's expression looked particularly good.
Then, it arrived.
First, a foot stepped out of the rift, followed by golden, translucent light-wings slowly descending. When the true form of that "person" appeared before Lin and Bianca, his theory was vindicated.
Lin had participated in the Second Honkai War, but at the time, he was merely a raw recruit thrust into the battlefield without a squad. Consequently, the task assigned to him was to rescue survivors in cities where large-scale Honkai outbreaks had occurred.
Lin was supposed to head to the battlefield against the Second Herrscher after completing his rescue mission, but an accident occurred. The Second Herrscher's companion Honkai Beast—an Emperor-class Honkai Beast named Vasak with extremely bizarre abilities—appeared on the battlefield and slaughtered more than half of the squads. Himeko's former squad members had been killed by it.
Lin later hunted down Vasak alone, but because of that, he never saw the Second Herrscher's true face—she was defeated by Elysia.
The Herrscher who manipulated imaginary space and was the first to spread despair to humanity was later granted the title: Herrscher of Void. Even today, Fire Moth still considers itself fortunate to have defeated her.
Now, Lin finally bore witness to the deity who had arrived from the void, a being capable of twisting space with a flick of her hand.
She had long purple hair, wore a white dress overlaid with a long purple skirt, and indifferent, inhuman golden pupils that looked down upon all living things.
"It really is... the Herrscher of Void." Einstein, watching from a distance as the Herrscher descended from the rift, turned pale. Her fingers tightened around her electronic binoculars. "Why would she appear in a place like this? Why would there be a Herrscher inside the Sea of Quanta...?"
If Einstein had to pick the Herrscher with the greatest destructive power, it would undoubtedly be the Herrscher of Flame. But if she had to pick the most dangerous, she would cast her vote for the Herrscher of Void.
To humans, manipulating imaginary space was already synonymous with being a god.
Furthermore, they currently had no equipment support or well-trained Fire Moth combat squads. Back then, the incomplete Herrscher of Void had caused unimaginable disaster. Now, how were they supposed to fight her?
"Herrscher of Void..."
Bianca hid in the shadows. In her timeline, the Herrscher of Void had caused the Babylon Tower massacre and the Great Siberia Eruption, killing many soldiers from Schicksal and Anti-Entropy. There were fewer than a hundred survivors in Siberia. In the end, the S-rank Valkyrie Cecilia Schariac had perished along with her to end that horrific war.
She stared at the Herrscher of Void, and the latter slowly turned her head, looking directly at Bianca in her hiding spot nearby.
It wasn't that she had been discovered; it was that from the very beginning, the Herrscher of Void's target had been her.
On Bianca's body was a mark made by the Herrscher of Void. This was a brand placed on her while she was traveling through the Sea of Quanta, marking her as a target. Even in different spaces, the Herrscher of Void could find her.
Furthermore, the sealed power of the Holy Blade within Bianca's body was likely the work of the Herrscher of Void.
But how did she do it? Even for the Herrscher of Void, it should have been impossible to directly nullify Durandal's abilities.
Bianca held her lance, fully armed. She stepped out from the shadows, meeting the Herrscher of Void's gaze without a hint of fear.
Regardless of why the Herrscher of Void was here, she would not feel even a shred of dread.
She was the "Strongest," so she would never lose.
However, just as the battle was about to erupt, the Herrscher of Void turned her head without warning and looked in the opposite direction.
Whoosh—!
A sharp, air-rending boom carved a golden stream of light through the sky. Light spears fell like raindrops from the heavens, drowning the silhouette of the Herrscher of Void in an instant.
Lin leaned against the Oath of Judah, panting heavily. He currently had no way to regulate the Honkai energy from the Pseudo-Herrscher Core, and many of the Oath of Judah's offensive capabilities required a large amount of Honkai energy. He could only barely use it using the Honkai manipulation skills he had just learned.
Fortunately, it was effective.
Drenched in sweat, he stared at the scene completely obscured by the pouring rain of light. He had struck decisively; this blow should have...
"—!"
Lin suddenly felt it. He was being watched.
There was no mistake; he had felt this gaze before.
An inexplicable connection made him stare toward the direction where the rain of light was fading. It was then that he noticed one thing.
Not a single light spear had hit the ground.
After striking the Herrscher of Void, they had simply vanished.
No—they hadn't struck the Herrscher at all.
His heart gave a violent thud. He had never felt his own existence so clearly; even a single drop of sweat trickling down his temple felt vivid.
It was as if, from another perspective, he was clearly seeing the individual named "Lin."
She is watching... me.
She is watching... you.
A chill shot up his spine to the crown of his head.
After the light spears vanished, the Herrscher of Void's figure remained suspended in mid-air, motionless. She hadn't even lifted a hand. Her inorganic eyes stared at Lin. Above her head, several pinkish-purple voids had received all the light spears and then closed silently.
Lin body was paralyzed. His heart was now occupied by another sensation, as if "something" was acting up inside him, ready to burst out at any moment.
The Herrscher of Void wasn't watching Lin—she was watching the "thing" inside him.
It was a mutual connection—the connection between a "servant" and a "master."
Why...?
The Meta-Morph surgery had already failed...
Why was Vasak DNA still inside him...?
And why was it reacting?
In that moment, Lin understood.
The Herrscher of Void wasn't after Bianca at all! She—
Boom!
The pinkish-purple voids opened once more. The spears of light, with the same terrifying power they had when fired, came crashing down from the sky!