"Me?"
"What problem do I have?"
Fu Hua showed no concern at Setsuna's words.
Her attention was fixed on the Black Box the Angeloids had recovered.
"That seals the Herrscher of Corruption. It's dangerous."
"Anyone in prolonged contact will inevitably have their mind eroded. Better to entrust it to me for sealing."
"…"
"Blade Mantra."
"Aponia's Discipline may strengthen your resistance to Honkai energy, but use it too long, and it's no different from a mental brand."
Setsuna looked her over from head to toe.
Normally, Fu Hua appeared no different from anyone else.
But under the daily influence of the Blade Mantra, her obsession with eradicating the Honkai had become a form of madness.
Setsuna had long pondered the matter of Fu Hua and her seven disciples.
In the original storyline, killing one's master was the ultimate unforgivable sin. Yet to place all the blame upon the Seven Swords of Taxiuan would also be unfair.
Raised together on Mount Taixuan, they were sisters to each other, and saw Fu Hua as their parent.
But Fu Hua, bound by her mission of "slaying any who fall to corruption," would cut down even a disciple who showed the faintest trace of Honkai taint, without hesitation or mercy.
A parent desiring to kill their children—such was the origin of tragedy.
The Seven Swords knew all too well the Immortal's strength. Fu Hua had guarded Shenzhou for a thousand years; her power was unfathomable.
Choosing to kill their master was, in truth, a desperate gamble, born from their refusal to watch their beloved elder slay their sisters.
To resolve this tragedy, the only true solution was to make Fu Hua normal again.
Otherwise, whether the Seven Swords killed her, or Setsuna warned her, or even if he helped her kill them all—she would remain the same obsessed figure.
The outcome would not change. Only more deaths.
Fortunately, with the Schicksal crusaders freshly defeated, there was still time.
"You know quite a lot."
Fu Hua paused.
"So? What do you plan to do?"
She knew full well the side effects of Blade Mantra. Yet her will would never, could never, admit she was wrong.
"You need treatment. Witness the power of interstellar science and magic."
...
Clack—
Setsuna and his companions traveled by shuttle to Earth's orbit, docking with the newly constructed space station.
Fu Hua noticed that the interior seemed larger than before.
Inside, the research lolis bustled back and forth.
Some worked at holographic consoles, processing incomprehensible data and information. Others pulled their hair out over sprawling equations.
"Mm-hm… projections for the Honkai world's future development… ¨¨…"
Midori Fuse, aided by sophon, analyzed tens of billions of data points.
"With Kallen Kaslana and Hellmaru taken away, and the Yae sisters here, their yuri bond won't form—meaning no pseudo-Herrscher will be born…"
"With Fu Hua also aboard, her deal with Otto won't occur…"
"Schicksal has already suffered a crushing blow. To ensure Theresa, Kiana, and others still come into being, we'll need to correct 127 timeline nodes…"
"Ughhh—why does this feel like we're repairing human history itself?!"
The researchers scratched their heads in despair.
Setsuna had given them a portion of the work, which in simple terms meant repairing history.
Ensuring that, despite him taking away certain individuals, the future of this world would still unfold in the proper direction.
The difficulty of repairing timeline nodes varied, but interstellar civilization had plenty of tools for the task.
"So from now on, the development of the Honkai world is all up to us?"
Kayo Senju murmured in awe.
From this higher vantage point, they could manipulate the fates of every person in the Honkai world and direct the course of history itself—like gods.
"Commander?!"
Spotting Setsuna, the lolis hurriedly stood to greet him, throwing themselves into a warm embrace.
Excitedly, they began showing him the fruits of their work.
"Commander, with sophon and the data you provided, we've already constructed a rough mathematical model of the Honkai world."
"From now on, we can accurately simulate this world's development and even make minor historical corrections."
"Impressive."
Setsuna patted the little loli on the head.
"Are you here to see Kallen and the Yae sisters? They're undergoing treatment and checkups—everything looks fine."
Kayo Senju tilted her head curiously.
"No."
Setsuna pointed at Fu Hua.
"Think of a way to fix her Blade Mantra problem."
"Oh?"
The research lolis gathered around, circling Fu Hua.
"So this is the 'Discipline' the Commander mentioned? Isn't it like hypnosis?"
"Uh… we don't do much with mental treatment. Anyway, let's run some tests first."
"We're curious how your body differs from ours…"
They tugged at Fu Hua, trying to lead her inside.
"?"
"It's meaningless."
Fu Hua instinctively tried to refuse, but Setsuna gently pushed her from behind.
His strength was immense—even an immortal couldn't resist—but the push was soft, only nudging her forward a couple steps.
"Be good. It's for your own sake."
"…"
Fu Hua shot him a glance.
This man and his companions were strange indeed, but not malicious.
"…Fine. I'll trust you this once."
...
Full-body scan, blood analysis, gene sequencing, physical examination…
Lying inside the life-monitoring capsule, Fu Hua felt as though she had returned to the Previous Era, when Mei and others had examined her.
She hadn't seen or experienced this level of technology for ages.
But the Starsea Empire's capabilities were far beyond even that.
After half an hour, Grey pulled up the report on a holographic screen.
"Fu Hua, alias Jingwei."
"Height: 165 cm. Weight: 53 kg. Measurements: 84-84-90. Age: 54,162 years."
"Your body has been modified with hyper-mutation factors. Cellular vitality is extremely high. Even compared to our genetic ascension tech, you're exceptional."
"Unmarried, childless, no experience… ah, so you're actually a fifty-thousand-year-old vir—uh, forget I said that."
"…"
Hearing her information laid bare, Fu Hua's expression stiffened.
Next, nanobots summoned Tohru and Mio—the magic specialists—to join the lead medical loli for discussion.
Fu Hua felt like a patient in the Previous Era's hospitals.
But treating the side effects of Blade Mantra with pure technology?
She found the notion absurd.
Or rather—she had never believed anything she'd done was wrong.
An hour later, Grey finally emerged from the conference room with several files.
"Ahem. Commander, Fu Hua's case is a bit complicated. Blade Mantra mainly interferes at the consciousness level, but her brain structure is otherwise normal."
"So we've devised two treatment options."
Grey cleared her throat and addressed them:
"First, aggressive treatment: Tohru and Mio can directly rewrite her consciousness, overwriting Blade Mantra's effects. Alternatively, we upload her mind into a server, repair it, then download it back."
"This is the fastest method, but carries some risk."
"The second, conservative treatment: use magic to subtly counteract Blade Mantra, slowly eroding its influence. It would take six months to a year, but she would fully recover."
"!?"
Fu Hua was stunned.
Rewrite consciousness directly? Upload her mind to a server?
What were they even saying?
"It means uploading your thoughts into a computer, stripping away Blade Mantra's negative influence, making slight adjustments, then reinstalling you into your body."
Grey explained further.
"Don't worry, the technology is mature. We've done it before."
"???"
"Magic that rewrites a person's mind—how do you even manage that?!"
Fu Hua pressed.
"Blade Mantra is just a kind of hypnotic suggestion. Directly erasing it is difficult, but we can overlay it with a stronger suggestion."
Tohru crossed her arms.
"For example—'The Commander is the master of the world, and each of us should be his loyal servant.'"
"…?? What??"
...
Fu Hua originally didn't want to choose either option.
But under Setsuna's insistence, she picked the conservative plan.
For no other reason than this: the idea of directly warping her mind with magic, or uploading her consciousness into a server, was far too horrifying.
If Tohru didn't carry no trace of Honkai, Fu Hua would have mistaken her for some Herrscher of Sentience.
Shwoosh—
Tohru raised her hand, summoning a magic circle. A strange energy flowed into Fu Hua's mind.
"I can use magic to slightly dampen Blade Mantra's influence, weakening its hypnotic suggestions."
"But in the long run, you'll still need to change your way of life and your thinking."
The dragon girl fixed her eyes on her.
"…Change the way I live…?"
Fu Hua muttered, momentarily dazed.
"Mm…"
Setsuna thought for a moment.
In her early years, Fu Hua had not been without emotion.
But over the long centuries, awakening again and again to guide civilization, she had watched all her companions pass away one after another.
To avoid unnecessary bonds, she stopped growing close to mortals.
If she could live differently, she might not have become so extreme.
"For now, stay on the station. Undergo mental treatment. Get used to the environment and companions."
"When you have time, take a ship to see other places. You can even visit the capital of the Starsea Empire—I'll grant you transit clearance."
Setsuna arranged calmly.
"I refuse. Shenzhou still has evils unpurged. How can I sit here and indulge in pleasure?"
Fu Hua frowned and declined.
"…"
As expected, a bit deranged.
Setsuna, the shipgirls, and the dragon girl exchanged looks.
Opposing the Honkai and guarding Shenzhou was her deepest obsession.
She was nothing but a machine without feelings, a workaholic against the Honkai.
In some sense, her disciples killing her had been her only chance to break free from that obsession.
"Stay put."
Setsuna pressed her down by the shoulders to sit.
"If something happens on Earth, I'll handle it. The research division wants to capture some Honkai beasts for study anyway. You don't need to lift a finger."
"Oh, and since you're being good, I'll give you something."
He snapped his fingers.
Ikaros walked in, carrying a half-sized loli.
Her hair was long, deep brown, tied into twin buns. She wore a white robe embroidered with golden patterns, a golden tassel hanging at the collar. Round-faced and adorable, she looked almost her own height.
The little loli's eyes were shut, her small frame curled up as Ikaros gently placed her on the sofa.
"Xuan?!"
Fu Hua instinctively called her name, shocked as she turned to Setsuna.
"How did you find her?!"
"Please. With sophon, Earth holds no secrets from us."
Setsuna chuckled.
"The Angeloids just retrieved her from Mount Taixuan. You abandoned her for nearly a thousand years. Did you never think of recharging her?"
The girl before her was the automaton "Book of Fuxi," created millennia ago by Cangxuan and Dan Zhu to look after Fu Hua.
The Book of Fuxi had been one of her dearest companions through countless years, but after the Tang dynasty's first century, it had powered down from lack of energy.
Human civilization lacked the ability to repair it, leaving the automaton shelved ever since.
"…"
Fu Hua gently stroked the girl's cheek, nostalgia softening her expression.
"Can… can you repair her?"
"Of course. We can mass-produce robots of this complexity by the tens of millions each year."
Setsuna signaled Grey.
"She's just out of power. Come on, swap in a new reactor."
The nanobot pulled out a semi-transparent, dark-cyan cylinder, crouched down, and got to work on the girl's body.
"This is a dark-matter reactor! Far superior to what she was originally built with!"
"Estimated lifespan… let's see… about 1.6 million years."
The structure of the Fuxi automaton was even simpler than that of the Angeloids. Grey didn't even need Bulin; she tinkered with it by hand.
Before long—
"Mm…"
The little loli slowly opened her blue eyes.
She hopped off the sofa with a thump, rubbed her eyes, and looked around curiously.
"Where… am I?"
"We swapped in a new reactor and patched a few of your bugs."
Grey explained briefly.
"Eh?"
The automaton examined herself. She could feel the surging power within her body—far greater than at her birth.
"You… who are you?! What time is it now?"
The little loli tilted her head, dazed.
"Well…"
Setsuna quickly explained their origins to the Book of Fuxi.
"For now, please take care of Fu Hua. You've been together before—help adjust her temperament."
"Oh~"
The little loli glanced at Fu Hua.
"Not bad. So many new friends after all this time?"
"I was worried you'd spend another thousand years alone with that block of wood for a brain…"
"…"
"No, they are—"
Fu Hua began, then stopped.
The truth was, she had been alone all these centuries. Being surrounded by this noisy, rowdy group was a first for her.
On Mount Taixuan, her disciples always revered her, never daring to overstep.
Only these outsiders treated her as no lofty "Immortal," joking and bickering without restraint.
They were always dragging her into lectures on strange topics she didn't understand—ascension, faster-than-light travel, vassal states, and the like.
Odd as it was, she found it interesting.
"…"
A ripple stirred in Fu Hua's heart. She didn't dislike it.
Seeing the familiar automaton again lifted her mood further.
Unlike Fu Hua's quiet demeanor, the Book of Fuxi was lively. She quickly bonded with fellow machines Grey and Ikaros.
"You're automatons too? Artificial intelligences? Angeloids? Call it whatever—you're all the same."
"I'm loaded with Honkai detectors, GPS, weapon systems, and programs like Joke King and Story Treasury. I was made to care for that blockhead. What about you? What about you?"
Naturally, she felt close to those who had awakened her, peppering them with questions.
"I am Ikaros, equipped with Uranus System, Apollon, erosion missile launchers, focused arc cannons…
"My duty is to annihilate Master's enemies and provide continental- and planetary-level firepower."
The stoic Angeloid answered seriously.
"Eh?"
The Book of Fuxi was stunned.
"I'm Grey Storm, a civilization-scale AI. I can wipe out the entire Milky Way, you know~
"If you ever want upgrades or superweapons, just ask me."
Grey pinched the loli's cheek.
"Eh-eh-eh?!"
Just awakened, the automaton nearly crashed again.
She stared wide-eyed at Ikaros, then at Grey, then at the starship's interior.
Finally, she crept close to Fu Hua.
"They're… scary…"
"I know."
Fu Hua nodded. Touring the Eternal Snowfall had already shocked her once.
She took a few steps to Setsuna's side and bowed solemnly.
"Thank you."
"She… is very important to me."
"If you ever need my help, just ask."
"Oh…"
Setsuna thought the treatment effect was immediate.
He pondered for a moment.
"Mm…"
"I don't really need you for fighting. Most things I can handle."
"But we have plenty here who train in martial arts and swordsmanship. Perhaps you could serve as a teacher, passing on the Taxiuan style?"
"Take disciples? That I can do."
Fu Hua agreed without hesitation.
"If you wish to learn a bit, I'll teach you too."
"Not the Commander, though."
Grey smacked her lips.
"His firepower's already absurd. Swordplay would only count as exercise."
"And besides, he's bound to talk back to the Immortal every now and then, tsk tsk."
"Hm?! …"
—
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