"Doctor, all data storage is complete. Do you have any further instructions?"
"...Enter dormancy. Disperse the data when the next civilization emerges."
The man waited for the screen to blacken. He leaned back in his chair, allowing the endless darkness to engulf him.
Humanity was left with only one settlement, the headquarters of Falling Star, where he was currently located.
The average Honkai energy reaction globally was now $300\text{ HW}$, meaning that at least one Emperor-class Honkai Beast was born every minute, and the rate of Honkai Beasts was calculated at about a thousand per minute.
Rather than saying humanity was on the verge of extinction, it had already completely fallen into the abyss.
In this state, the man's mission had also concluded.
"The Twelfth Herrscher will arrive in three days... That really leaves no time to breathe. Are they planning to deliver the final blow?" The man chuckled lowly. "But given the current Honkai energy concentration, three days is already a very long interval, isn't it..."
Before then, he still had much he could do.
For example, he had preserved the DNA of his original body. He had once planned to use his DNA and the girl's DNA to create their offspring, passing on the task of continuing human civilization to them.
But in the end, he abandoned that idea.
The man didn't want his child to walk a path burdened with the shackles of saving the world.
That was all.
However, the man still preserved his DNA. If a future civilization managed to find it, they might be able to create clone-like individuals using the information in his DNA and the deliberately left modification technology.
Or, for instance...
"Solo record. This segment is to be destroyed after viewing... if it ever gets viewed."
"The Herrscher, the leader born from the Honkai at the apex of Honkai creatures, possesses the ability to command other Honkai creatures, cause large-scale Honkai Eruptions, and use special Authorities. The biggest distinguishing feature compared to other Honkai creatures is... maintaining a human appearance."
"Unlike Honkai Beasts and Deadmen, which exhibit partial or overall physical mutation, Herrschers only develop a Herrscher Core inside their bodies. They are both the least human-like Honkai creature and the most human-like Honkai creature..."
"And they possess a considerable degree of intelligence, which is positively correlated with the amount of human knowledge they possessed in life. There have been instances of Herrschers, such as the Seventh Herrscher, whose intelligence and anthropomorphic degree far surpass their counterparts..."
"And Herrschers are only born from humans, as if... to fix the pattern of the Herrscher's 'appearance.'"
"So, coincidentally and logically, this was all a whim of mine... or perhaps, long-planned."
"From the moment I accessed the Tenth Herrscher Core until now, my hypothesis has become more complete, but a hypothesis is only a hypothesis. To achieve my goal, what is needed is not time, nor examples, but..."
"A miracle."
He paused, contemplating what to say next. Then, he laid out his entire plan.
"Next, I will use the Tenth Herrscher Core to reconstruct my consciousness. Thanks to my body not being an ordinary human body, I can, to a certain extent, change the form of my consciousness. I plan to reshape my consciousness into a form similar to the Tenth Herrscher, capable of invading the consciousness of other organisms."
"Then, after the arrival of the final Herrscher, the 'End,' humanity will be completely extinct, and I will invade the consciousness of the existence named 'End.'"
"I do not intend to seize or become the 'End.'"
The man fell silent before the camera, feeling desolate.
"I only want to use my minuscule existence to attempt to spark a miracle."
...
The girl stopped in front of the door. Behind the door was the room where the Starlight resided.
After "analyzing" the Starlight that had infiltrated the data library, she discovered something.
The bodies of these Starlights were not entirely metal-like lifeforms composed of technology, as they claimed.
And this was the fundamental reason why she decided to seek out this so-called "dove-faction" Starlight.
Ultimately, much of the information the Starlight provided about themselves contained contradictions, which humanity had no means to verify, but her methods were somewhat unique.
Upon reaching this location, the girl began to "communicate" with the Starlight.
Specifically, she simulated certain special frequencies.
Then, she waited quietly...
...
If people were asked to choose what they considered the most grotesque creature, many would likely have different answers.
If the people of the Fire Moth were to choose, it would inevitably be various Honkai Beasts. However, most Honkai Beasts could only be described as terrifying and monstrous, not grotesque. There were even Honkai Beasts with concrete appearances like dragons, wild boars, and snakes.
But at this moment, Lin could not equate the bizarre "thing" before him with a Honkai Beast that could be concretely described.
After consuming the two Honkai Beast corpses, a giant arm grew out of its spine, and on that giant arm were countless small arms, like human arms. Looking at the dense mass, it was as if countless people were struggling inside the monster's body.
Beyond that, Lin couldn't even find words to describe this Emperor-class Honkai Beast. It seemed like something that shouldn't exist in this world, with no discernible biological features.
"Sakura... report status."
Sakura position was not good at the moment. After she retreated from the Honkai Beast corpse, this new Emperor-class Honkai Beast burst from the ground, swallowed the other Honkai Beast corpse whole, and mutated into its current form. Sakura was separated from Lin by its massive, liquid-like body.
"...No Honkai Beast Core location detected here. Should we retreat?" Sakura reported calmly.
Retreat was certainly an option. With a Honkai Beast that defied conventional understanding, the most crucial missing element was intelligence about it. Engaging in a subjugation rashly was extremely dangerous.
Retreat, and then call for more reinforcements...
Just as Lin decided to retreat, in a flash of lightning, this Honkai Beast emitted a strange, soul-piercing howl.
"Wooooo——————"
An ice glacier instantly spread from beneath its feet toward Sakura position!
"This is..."
While confused, Sakura immediately dodged. After avoiding the glacier that sought to freeze her, she prepared to bypass the Honkai Beast and rejoin Lin.
However, to their shock, the next moment, this sky-obscuring, distorted creature...
Vanished.