Ka—
The starship landed at the space station.
The Angeloid dragged the Cosmic Juggernaut out from the cabin.
"Oh oh oh—"
The research lolis crowded around the locomotive, pointing and gesturing, occasionally checking its condition with the tools in their hands.
Since it was a peaceful handover, it was preserved quite well.
"I'll leave this thing to you first."
Setsuna gestured.
"Its original function can already open the passage to the Imaginary Tree, but… we can go one step further."
"Let's work toward building a vehicle capable of traversing the Tree and Sea worlds as soon as possible."
Its appearance resembled the Astral Express, and its function bore some similarities too.
Setsuna felt like he could probably craft one himself.
"Oh—"
A little loli nodded.
"If the Tree and Sea has other parallel worlds and different world bubbles, then yes, with the Cosmic Juggernaut's power, we could travel among them."
"Mm… now I'm curious about what we'll encounter in other universes. I wonder if there are more technologically advanced civilizations out there?"
"There will be."
Setsuna nodded.
"When the time comes, we'll sit down and chat with the Xianzhou Alliance, hmm."
...
The Second Divine Key was a small interlude brought by the research division.
After leaving all follow-up matters to the researchers on the space station in charge of studying the Honkai universe, Setsuna and Grey turned to another task.
Thousands of rainbow Bulins were transferred from the base.
On one side of the space station, they began constructing a spiritron transfer device.
Unlike the previous times where only beacons were used, this time they built the spiritron transfer device itself.
Its size was about thirty stories tall, black and yellow in color, its design somewhat resembling a globe.
The metallic surface gleamed, etched with complex patterns that left one dizzy if stared at too long.
Before it floated a console crowded with innumerable holographic interfaces, operating them alone was already complicated work.
"The time travel device…"
Fu Hua looked up at it, her heart shaken.
A civilization that had mastered time travel—unbelievable.
They could return to the past at will, altering history until the future developed as they wished.
"Ho~ho~ho~"
A teasing voice sounded nearby.
"This is the plus version we spent two years upgrading. Its transmission capacity and projection range are far greater than the thing the Commander originally gave us."
"And we specially optimized it for this universe ¨. ¨. ."
Observer had come as well.
She waved her tentacle riggings, proudly introducing the Sirens' great invention to Setsuna.
"Go on, thank me properly, Commander! Even if you kneel and lick my feet, I'd accept!"
The little loli lay sprawled on her floating rigging, shoving her pale little feet in Setsuna's face.
"?"
Seeing the tentacles swaying behind her, Fu Hua looked horrified.
"Three days without a beating and you're climbing the roof again?"
Setsuna rubbed her head, then pinched Observer's cheek lightly.
He turned to look at the massive spiritron transfer device.
From the outside, it looked similar to the one back at the base, just larger, with different surface patterns.
He didn't understand the technical details, nor did he need to.
Each profession had its specialization. All he needed was results. The specifics were for his subordinates to handle.
"How long a time jump can it support?"
Setsuna asked.
"No idea!!"
Observer put her hands on her hips and replied self-righteously.
"?"
"Ha!??"
Setsuna almost choked in anger.
Bonk!—
"Ow—"
"I mean anywhere from three thousand years to three hundred thousand years."
After a flick to the head, the little loli held her head and explained.
"This thing was originally built for use in the Type-Moon world. Using it elsewhere is troublesome. We haven't tried it yet…"
"To extend its range for time travel, Purifier and I installed some experimental technology inside. Hmm… the exact results still need field testing…"
"But don't worry, Commander! There's absolutely no chance of you getting tossed into a time-space turbulence! Totally safe! I swear on my personality! If you don't believe me, I can even come along!!"
"…"
Setsuna felt uneasy at the Siren girl's guarantee.
Because this one never had much integrity to begin with.
"Fine."
After thinking it over, he still decided to test it.
It would be convenient for making larger-scale time jumps in the future.
"I'll go with you."
Fu Hua spoke up.
"I want to witness the time travel device… and make up for past regrets."
"Alright."
Setsuna nodded.
"I… I also want to see what it looked like before…"
Little Griseo tugged at Setsuna's clothes, suddenly raising her hand.
"You too?"
Setsuna patted her head.
"That's fine."
...
Building the spiritron transfer device, setting coordinates, and preparing for departure took a week.
When everything was ready—
One afternoon, Setsuna brought his companions to stand within the transfer array beneath the device.
The research lolis and the Siren girl scanned from the main control console, working on the coordinates for some time.
"Mm…"
"Honkai Universe, 2100 BC, coordinates: somewhere in the Solar System. Doesn't matter, since the Commander has a starship. Even if we drop him on Neptune, it'll be fine…"
Observer calculated on the holographic interface.
"Commander, since this time jump exceeds three thousand years, you'll need to charge the spiritron transfer device with Honkai energy."
"That's easy."
Setsuna waved his hand, letting part of the Juggernaut dock with the station. A massive surge of Honkai energy flowed over.
"Mm, with this world's energy supply, we can support a large-scale time jump. But more energy is still needed…"
"Let me calculate…"
The Siren girl's fingers clattered on the console.
"Commander, this jump requires drawing sixteen thousand Wisdom Cubes to provide auxiliary power."
"…"
Setsuna had already anticipated this.
Crossing worlds for large-scale time travel naturally demanded an unimaginable price.
Wisdom Cubes were currently the Empire's highest-grade energy source, and also the most portable.
Fortunately, the Starsea Empire had vast territory and resources—affording it was not a problem.
"Transfer some from the base."
"Hiss—"
Several shipgirls couldn't help sucking in a breath of cold air.
"That cube thing… is it expensive?"
Fu Hua asked curiously.
"It used to be very expensive, but not anymore."
Setsuna pointed upward at the patrolling Bulin fleet, thinking for a moment.
"The cost of a single cube is about the same as a small starship. Natives can't afford it."
"For us, sixteen thousand cubes isn't too much or too little. Just about two months' output of a single Bulin production team."
"What?!"
Fu Hua had been about to say she'd compensate Setsuna for the expenses of this trip.
But halfway through her words, she had to change them:
"I… I probably can't afford that. I'll find another way to repay you in the future."
"No problem."
Setsuna found her seriousness unexpectedly cute.
"Uh… by that calculation, a fifty-thousand-year jump might need around two hundred thousand cubes?"
He did some math, finding the cost within bearable range—easier than he had expected.
The Starsea Empire never lacked resources. As long as it was something that could be manufactured, with over a dozen universes backing it, they could produce as much as needed.
...
[Reverse Summon System, Start]
[Initiating Spiritron Transfer]
[Countdown to Transfer…]
5, 4, 3, 2, 1…
[Time Jump: 3575 years]
[Process Complete!]
Fueled by tens of thousands of cubes and the Eternal Snowfall's energy, the spiritron transfer device gave off a low hum.
[Transfer Ready]
Boom—
Standing within the transfer array, Setsuna, Fu Hua, and Griseo instantly turned transparent.
Their vision shrank, then expanded.
When they opened their eyes again—
Before them stretched a reddish-brown wasteland.
Above their heads, a dark starry sky.
"Where is this?"
Setsuna instinctively raised a shield, sniffed the air, and looked around.
No sign of any human civilization structures in sight.
"Current temperature: –58°C. Surface gravity: 0.37g. Air composition: 95% carbon dioxide…"
The AI provided an accurate analysis of the environment.
"???"
Opening the star map, Setsuna instantly felt the urge to flick Observer again.
"Can't you set the coordinates more accurately, damn it?!
"You threw us onto Mars!!!"
"Commander, when performing ultra-long time spiritron transfers, precise positioning is really difficult, you know.
"To save a little processing power, I just expanded the transfer range a tiny bit. Mm, I'll adjust the data so it's more accurate next time.
"Anyway, it doesn't matter to you, right? Even if you get dropped at the event horizon of a black hole, you can still warp out. And you can protect those two as well…"
Observer's lazy voice drifted over.
"…"
"Although what you said makes sense, when I get back I'm still going to spank you."
Setsuna projected a starship.
Bringing Fu Hua and Griseo aboard, he took off.
Boom—
The warship shot out a long plume of exhaust flame, heading toward Earth.
From Mars to Earth was a short distance for an FTL warship.
Minutes later—
The ship pierced through the atmosphere.
The ancient Earth appeared before them.
2100 BC.
At this time, there were barely a handful of places on Earth that could be called nations.
Human civilization was still in its infancy, with only a few cradles of civilization showing the earliest states or tribes.
Most of the world was still wild.
The starship flew east.
Soon, they entered Shenzhou.
"Ah…"
At last, seeing the familiar yet unfamiliar landscape below, Fu Hua finally felt a true sense of time travel.
Even every blade of grass and every tree looked exactly the same as she remembered.
"Do you often use time travel to change history?"
Fu Hua suddenly asked.
"No, we've only used it a few times in other worlds."
Setsuna replied.
"The Starsea Empire's history of development has no regrets. There's no need to use the spiritron transfer device to return to the past."
"Is that so? That's wonderful…"
While cruising at low altitude, before long, they reached southern Shenzhou.
"Down there!"
Little Griseo pressed against the window, pointing.
"A Honkai Beast!!!"
A colossal monster, the size of a mountain, was rampaging on the ground.
Compared to it, even the Emperor-class Honkai Beasts Setsuna had created back at the space station were nothing but tiny gnats.
Every step it took shook the earth, toppling mountains and changing the very color of the heavens.
Every breath it exhaled carried searing energy, incinerating everything within hundreds of kilometers.
With a roar, it opened its massive jaws, ripping an entire city—along with its foundations—out of the earth, swallowing it whole.
A massive pit was left behind on the ground.
Such a monster seemed possible only in myth and legend.
"Chiyou!!!"
Fu Hua instantly clenched her fists, gritting her teeth.
This was the Judgment-class Honkai Beast born because Cangxuan and Dan Zhu had imparted knowledge beyond their era to humanity.
In the entire history of the Honkai, there were only two such creatures.
...
On the ground.
Facing it were only three girls.
One girl, wielding the golden Xuanyuan Sword, stood bloodied in her ornate ancient robes, her small body blocking the behemoth's path.
She leaned on the sword just to remain standing, panting as she faced the colossal creature.
"Jilin, be careful!"
Another girl, black-haired and blue-eyed, dressed in a long white gown, cried out.
Boom!!!
Jilin barely managed to dodge to the side, narrowly escaping one of Chiyou's attacks.
Under such overwhelming size, even the shockwave from a missed strike was a mortal wound.
"Damn it, how can there be such a monster!!!"
"Could it be because…"
Cangxuan unfurled a long scroll, summoning countless armed puppets, unleashing weapons far beyond this era in a barrage against Chiyou.
Bang bang bang bang—
The firepower, enough to level mountains, was nothing more than a tickle to the Judgment-class Honkai Beast.
Crash—
Another attack sent both girls flying.
Another girl, brown-haired and red-eyed, clad in a black robe, hurried to the other two and began healing their wounds.
"Has Fu Hua not returned yet?"
Dan Zhu asked anxiously, glancing toward the distant horizon.
At this moment, Fu Hua was rushing across the land of Shenzhou, fighting Honkai wherever she could.
Chiyou's appearance was a pure accident. If Fu Hua could make it back, the battle might yet turn.
"Hold on a little longer! Wait for Fu Hua!!"
"No!!! We can't wait! In a single day, it can destroy everything here!!"
The girls rarely quarreled, but now they clashed fiercely.
To mortals, this was a war between gods.
When spreading knowledge from the Previous Era, Dan Zhu had exploited ancient humans' reverence for the supernatural, reshaping her and her partner's deeds into legendary stories.
Over time, Shenzhou came to worship Cangxuan and Dan Zhu, who had imparted knowledge, as Nüwa and Fuxi.
Jilin became the primordial ancestor of Shenzhou.
But the three's strength was still far from enough to face a Judgment-class Honkai Beast. Defeat was inevitable.
"We must… protect this place…"
Jilin raised the Xuanyuan Sword, forcing herself upright.
"We cannot let Shenzhou be destroyed by it!! Please!!"
The girl coughed up more blood.
"…"
"Fu Hua… it looks like we'll go ahead first…"
"Please, you must protect Shenzhou in the future."
Cangxuan and Dan Zhu's faces darkened. Resolved, they pushed themselves up.
The three gathered their remaining strength, prepared for a final stand.
Facing Chiyou meant certain death, but for the sake of civilization's survival, they had no choice.
Suddenly—
A firm voice rang in their ears:
"Cangxuan, Dan Zhu, take Jilin and fall back. Leave this to me."
"Jingwei!!!"
The familiar voice nearly moved them to tears.
No time to wonder how Fu Hua had arrived, the fact they could hear her meant she wasn't far.
Then, looking up—
The three girls nearly staggered in shock.
A warship, more than ten times larger than Chiyou, floated above them.
Its bluish-gray metallic hull gleamed under the sun, bristling with countless turrets and main cannons, exuding a terrifying aura.
"So this is Chiyou… heh."
Fu Hua stood at the fore of the bridge, looking down imperiously at the giant beast.
Last time, she hadn't made it in time—Cangxuan and Dan Zhu had died, and Jilin had sacrificed herself to seal it.
For the next three millennia, only she and the Cangxuan puppet had remained to guard Shenzhou.
Thanks to Setsuna, she now had the chance to redo it all.
"Wha—?!"
Cangxuan and Dan Zhu gaped at Fu Hua.
"Hua?!"
"Where did you get a starship?!"
Meanwhile, Setsuna was curiously observing the three girls below.
Nuwa, Fuxi, and Ji Xuanyuan.
Not bad—Shenzhou's ancestors were all cute girls.
—
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