"Eh?"
The little loli stared blankly at the standing Fu Hua.
For some reason, she felt that the "Fu Hua" before her was completely different from the Immortal just moments ago.
The Immortal was cold and aloof, but still polite.
At the very least, she wouldn't have smashed the pod lid into the ceiling with one punch.
"Eh? Why am I wearing these clothes? Such a hassle."
"They're so inconvenient to move in. What's going on?!"
Fu Hua looked down at her Cloud Ink Daoist Robes, clicking her tongue.
With a rip, she tore off half the hem, turning the long robe into something like a short coat.
"???"
The loli froze.
Since when was the Immortal this unruly?!
She glanced at the monitors—
Fu Hua's consciousness was still happily playing in Azur Lane.
She hadn't noticed at all that her body outside was moving freely.
Very strange. This had never happened before.
"???"
"Who are you?"
The loli backed up two steps, nervous.
She pressed her hand behind her back, quietly triggering a Level-One Intrusion Alarm.
"I'm Hua, are you stupid?!"
"Oh, you can also call me Jingwei."
Fu Hua gave her a look like she was an idiot, rubbing her temples.
"Eh, I just woke up, my head's still a mess with too many memories. Let me sort them out…"
"Mm… ah? Why so many? Let me think, fifty thousand years ago… no, wait, who are you again?"
As she muttered, she propped her chin with her hand, scanning her surroundings.
"Right, where is this?"
"Earlier, I was fighting the Herrscher of the End… no, that's not it. I was supposed to be guarding Shenzhou, then I ran into a bunch of random aliens…"
"Hah? And they said they were going to cure me? Blade Mantra? Magic? What nonsense?!"
She kept mumbling, touching her chin.
Just then—
Wooo—Wooo—
Shrill alarms rang throughout the observation station.
Clack—
Setsuna arrived with Mio, Tohru, and several shipgirls.
At the same time, tens of thousands of Angeloids surged in from all sides of the station.
All modules shifted into full lockdown and combat readiness, while the science lolis were evacuated.
The shipgirls on duty materialized their rigging, rushing toward the alarm's source.
"What's going on?!"
Bang—
Tohru and Bismarck were the first to smash open the door.
The dragon girl had one hand gripping a magic array, faint power radiating from the other, fully prepared for battle.
A Level-One Intrusion Alarm meant an unknown entity had infiltrated the station.
Then—they saw a bewildered Fu Hua.
"Why all the fuss?"
"It's not like a Honkai beast or Herrscher attacked you?!"
Fu Hua folded her arms, looking at Setsuna and the surrounding Angeloids with confusion.
"Besides, even if a Herrscher really came, I could help you take her down… Eh? Wait, who are you again? Let me think…"
Her tone lacked the coldness and composure of Fu Hua. Instead, it was lively, almost playful.
"?"
Everyone exchanged looks.
Something was clearly wrong with the Immortal, but they couldn't put it into words.
"Cancel the alarm. Have the Angeloids return. Everyone else, resume normal work."
Setsuna waved his hand with a complicated expression.
"Commander, what's going on with her?"
Mio asked, frowning.
"She's now the Herrscher of Sentience."
Setsuna gave a concise answer.
Just like in the original timeline—
When Otto shot Fu Hua in the head, the Honkai created a Herrscher in her soulless body.
Here, while her consciousness was uploaded, Fu Hua's body had likewise become an empty shell.
This fusion warrior's body was healthy, powerful, and had excellent Honkai adaptability. Naturally, the Honkai would not pass up such a feast.
And so, it implanted a brand-new consciousness into her body—
Forming the Herrscher of Sentience, wielder of the Authority over minds.
However, by the same logic, Fu Hua's brain contained memories stretching back fifty thousand years from the Previous Era. The vast sea of memories completely drowned out the newborn Honkai consciousness.
This caused the Herrscher of Sentience, upon awakening, to mistakenly believe she herself was the owner of those memories—Fu Hua.
"Ha?!"
Tohru was shocked.
"Herrscher?! You mean those beings who manipulate Honkai energy and wield strange powers?!"
The Herrscher of Sentience was equally shocked.
"Herrscher?! Where?!"
She projected a black-and-red spear, shielding the others behind her.
She looked around nervously, scanning the surroundings.
"…"
"…"
"She doesn't look very smart."
Mio and several shipgirls whispered to Setsuna.
Though she had taken over Fu Hua's body, in essence she was a newborn child—clumsy and naïve.
"Hm?"
"What nonsense are you spouting?"
Fu Hua puffed up her nonexistent chest, striking a cocky pose.
"Little Senti."
Setsuna patted her on the shoulder.
"Think again—who are you really?"
"Ha?"
The Herrscher of Sentience twitched her lips.
"Are you brain-dead too?! I'm Fu Hua!"
"I'm Shenzhou's guardian, warrior against the Honkai!! I even had a sect, what was it… School of Taixuan, right?"
"Tch, I wonder how those disciples are doing now. Hm? I recall one of them was slightly corroded by the Honkai? Afraid of what I might do?"
"What does it matter? If you're sick, get treatment! It's not like I'd cut them down?!"
Her head was a jumble, Fu Hua's and Hua's fifty thousand years of memories all crammed together.
Yet the Herrscher of Sentience couldn't help but find her "past self" annoying.
Too tolerant, too repressed, living without joy.
"What about Fu Hua's original consciousness?"
Seeing this impostor so confident, Setsuna turned to the info-department loli.
"Uh, she's in the server playing Azur Lane?"
The loli scratched her head, projecting the control panel.
Inside the server, Fu Hua was happily running dungeons with Kanae and Akame, clad in rigging, fighting the Sirens at sea.
"…"
The bizarre sight gave Setsuna a headache.
Never would he have imagined that because the Immortal got curious and tried an immersive game, she ended up spawning the Herrscher of Sentience.
An accident, yet strangely reasonable.
"Who's that? Why does she look just like me?"
The Herrscher of Sentience leaned forward, staring at the hologram of Fu Hua.
"She's the original owner of your body."
Setsuna replied.
"Ha? What kind of joke is this…"
Before she could finish—
Inside the game, Fu Hua suddenly looked up, sensing something amiss.
Through her faint connection with Fenghuang Down, she realized her body was in trouble.
"Can I return?"
She stopped her actions, pressing the logout key several times. No response.
She could only tilt her head back and call the admin.
"…"
Moments later, Setsuna and the admin loli appeared as avatars projected into the game.
"Um, Fu Hua, sorry, but there's a little problem with your body."
"?"
Fu Hua wanted to activate Fenghuang Down to return, but her consciousness was bound to the server. No tool would work.
"What happened?"
She asked coldly.
"Was my body destroyed? Or…?"
Instinctively, Fu Hua felt Setsuna wouldn't scheme against her. His strength surpassed hers—he had no need for such tricks.
"Uh… in short, while you were playing the game, a Herrscher consciousness took over your body. She now thinks she's Fu Hua."
Setsuna cleared his throat.
"???"
Even with all her knowledge, Fu Hua was stunned.
She didn't even flinch when her avatar in-game was hit by several shells.
"Are you making fun of me? Trying to amuse yourself?"
She frowned.
"No, Fu Hua, I did not lie!"
...
A few minutes later.
Inside the space station.
The Herrscher of Sentience stood to one side, beside a projected avatar of Fu Hua.
The two looked nearly identical—their appearances were the same, though there were slight differences in ornamentation.
And Fu Hua herself lacked the Herrscher's air of manic arrogance.
"Is this you?"
Setsuna pointed at Fu Hua's projection and asked the Herrscher.
"Yes, that's me."
Senti nodded.
"Is it?"
"Yes. Back then, I was thinner, and people called me Immortal."
"That's not you."
Setsuna's face was expressionless.
"You're saying she isn't me?"
Senti pointed at herself, then at Fu Hua.
"No."
"Then I say she's not me either! That's not me at all!"
Senti stomped twice, puffing angrily.
"Then what's really going on?"
Setsuna slowly guided the Herrscher to self-awareness.
"I want to know what's going on too!"
Senti pouted.
"You all tricked me into coming here for this so-called treatment. I've been stuck in this station every day."
"It's so boring, I had to find something fun. So I tried that immersive holo-game thing. The Fuxi automaton even egged me on…"
"Then I put on the gear, and everything went black, and then, and then…"
She recalled the events just earlier.
"Oh, I see. And then what?"
Setsuna prodded gently, drawing her deeper in thought.
"???"
The shipgirls looked at each other, confused but impressed.
"Commander, why does this conversation feel like déjà vu?!"
"Don't mind the details, ahem."
"…"
The Herrscher of Sentience kept thinking.
Her mind replayed everything that had happened since she first met Setsuna.
"I… I was uploaded into the server, and then I woke up?"
As she spoke, her delicate face—so identical to Fu Hua's—began to twist, her brows furrowing tightly.
"Right. Fu Hua's original consciousness was uploaded. So who are you now?"
Setsuna pinched her cheek.
"Feel the power inside you. You'll know your identity."
"…"
Boom—
From her body, an unfamiliar energy surged, setting off alarms across the station.
Honkai energy.
Though the Herrscher of Sentience had seized Fu Hua's body and its peak Immortal strength, the way she wielded power was still different.
"!!!"
The Fuxi automaton's Honkai detector blared wildly, nearly startling the little construct to tears.
"Mio."
Setsuna tilted his chin.
The Spirit of Origin gently touched her forehead with magic.
The restless Herrscher calmed down, earnestly sifting through and confronting her own memories.
"…"
Head lowered, lips biting, the Herrscher of Sentience realized through small details that she wasn't truly human.
Fu Hua's memories inside her head existed only because she had occupied the body, passively inheriting them.
There were so many of them, overwhelming her personality, making her overlook the fact she was a Herrscher.
"I'm a Herrscher…"
"I'm… the Herrscher of Sentience…"
The girl clenched her fists tightly, unwilling.
Exposed and forced to face her true self, she couldn't accept it at once.
"Little Senti, it's okay. I know you're different from the other Herrschers…"
Seeing Senti on the verge of tears, Setsuna stepped forward to comfort her.
"We can—"
"!!!"
"Wait, no!"
The Herrscher of Sentience suddenly raised her head, stepping back two paces.
Her expression returned to its usual manic confidence.
"So what if I'm a Herrscher?!"
"Isn't that even better? I'm way stronger than that old fossil!!"
She thrust her finger to the sky.
"From now on, it will be the great Herrscher of Sentience who leads you to victory against the Honkai! Wherever, whenever, I will protect you and the world from Honkai's invasion."
"I tell you this, humans! I am the strongest in this world! No one can surpass me! Got it?! That's final!"
"???"
The shipgirls and lolis watching were stunned.
Even far away, Kallen, and inside the server, Fu Hua—who overheard the conversation—were dumbfounded, staring straight at Senti.
Aren't you a Herrscher?!
Herrschers are supposed to be executors of the Honkai's will, monsters meant to destroy humanity and civilization!
And here she was, brazenly declaring a vow to fight against it?!
Setsuna, however, wasn't surprised.
Senti was, at her core, just a child. When she occupied Fu Hua's body, she was overwhelmed by fifty thousand years of memories, which led her to accept Fu Hua's mission of guarding Shenzhou and resisting the Honkai.
Thanks to Elysia, later Herrschers carried more humanity.
And so, a Herrscher who aspired to fight the Honkai was born.
After a long pause—
The loli who managed the game pods was the first to raise the obvious question:
"Uh… what about Sister Hua?"
"…"
Inside the game world, watching the live projection, Fu Hua's mood was complicated.
"Her?"
"That old fossil can just stay in the game world. I'll be keeping this body."
"She's had it long enough, it's my turn to play~"
Senti whistled.
"Impossible!"
Fu Hua's gaze was like a blade as she glared at Senti.
"This isn't your body. Return it to me."
She looked toward Setsuna for help. In this situation, only he could intervene.
"You think I'll give it back just because you told me to? Where's my dignity?"
Senti turned away with a huff.
"Are you a three-year-old?!"
Fu Hua quickly realized—the Herrscher of Sentience hadn't even existed for three hours yet.
Strictly speaking, she was an infant.
"Tch…"
Setsuna thought for a moment, then cleared his throat.
He looked seriously at the Herrscher.
"Little Senti, this body really should be returned to Fu Hua."
"No. Unless you take it from me."
Senti raised her chin stubbornly.
"Oh? You want a fight?"
Setsuna asked calmly.
"Of course! Come to think of it… what can you even do? I really don't know your abilities…"
Her eyes scanned him up and down.
"You're the leader here? From now on, you'll obey me too."
"…"
Setsuna stepped back two paces and gestured.
"Mio, Tohru, Richelieu, Bismarck, Ikaros… go!"
...
Boom—
Smack!!!
Rumble!!!
A short but fierce battle erupted inside the station.
The dragon girl, the Spirit, the shipgirls, and the Angeloids faithfully executed the strategy of ganging up.
Weapons and powers flew everywhere, the chaos so great it made the whole station tremble.
Thankfully, the materials were sturdy enough, and the Klein field held, preventing real damage.
Two minutes later—
"Cough, cough—"
Senti climbed up from the floor, glaring at Setsuna.
"Are you crazy?!!!"
"No, wait—you're all crazy!!!"
"I was fighting him, why did the five of you gang up on me?!"
She searched through Fu Hua's fifty thousand years of memories but couldn't even find proper curse words, left only with impotent rage.
That dragon girl and silver-haired one especially—Senti was sure if they went all out, they could've one-shotted her.
"The Commander usually doesn't need to fight personally."
"You really don't want to go against the full Eternal Snowfall, trust me."
Setsuna patted her head.
"…"
"Do what you want—kill me if you must."
Realizing brute force wouldn't work, Senti plopped down on the floor and resorted to sulking.
"No one's killing you. Just give the body back to Fu Hua."
Setsuna said with a smile.
"Impossible. Unless I anchor my consciousness in Fenghuang Down. But then I couldn't move freely—it'd be no different from being dead."
She huffed.
"We have a better solution."
Setsuna chuckled.
Of course he wanted both Fu Hua and Senti. He couldn't let them fight over one body—that'd be just like the original story.
"Through advanced life sciences, we can copy Fu Hua's body at the molecular level, exactly the same. Then we'll upload and download your consciousness into it."
"That way, Fu Hua can return to her original body, and you'll have one of your own."
"Huh?!"
Senti froze.
Like Fu Hua, she had never witnessed the Starsea Empire's cutting-edge technology.
"Is that real?"
"Why not try and see?"
Setsuna contacted Grey and Sumire Muroto.
"Mm…"
Senti held her head, thinking.
Compared to being beaten half to death, stripped of her consciousness, and replaced by the Immortal, this was indeed a good proposal.
"I have one more condition!"
"Say it."
"Make me bigger! That old fossil's lived fifty thousand years and hasn't grown a bit!"
She crossed her arms.
"Hah?"
Fu Hua: "???"
—
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