Note: Starting from this chapter, there will be many template characters appearing—around 20, I think? Some you might recognize, and others you probably won't know. If you want, you can look them up on Google or wait for me to upload their photos at the end of the chapter.
There are also several characters suggested by readers, but their appearances might come sooner or later. I'm estimating around chapter 50 or beyond. Too long? Well, what do you expect from a beginner writer like me? I can't be like other writers who manage to update every day.
Finally, if you notice any words or sentences that don't seem quite right, please comment on that paragraph so I can make the necessary corrections. Thank you for your attention and happy reading!
***
"[The human world... Has something happened?]" The voice echoed through the void—not from any throat, but pure consciousness vibrating in an untouchable dimension.
"[Should we intervene? Several entities have reported unusual activity...]" Another voice responded, heavier and deeper, as if emerging from ocean depths...
"[The 'terrifying' energy we sensed some time ago seems to come from beyond our world...]" A third voice joined in, its tone like morning dew—cold yet soothing.
A moment of silence passed before the first voice spoke again: "[But the human race still appears capable of handling it. The threat hasn't reached our intervention threshold...]"
"[I heard the Goddess of Life was injured...]" There was surprise in the fourth voice that had just joined—a tone rarely heard from these immortal beings.
"[Really? I'm curious who possesses the power to wound her...]" Interest colored the fifth voice.
The conversation took place without physical sound, in profound silence, far beyond the hearing of mortal creatures. Pure communication between entities that transcended Tier 10—the Transcendents. Beings whose very existence represented the pinnacle of this world...
While the gods discussed, the world continued spinning, unaware that its fate was being weighed by powers beyond imagination.
***
Time passed swiftly for ordinary humans. But for those who bore the world's burden, every second felt like torture.
"You look extremely busy, Valerian." An old man's voice rang out, disrupting the concentration of the World Organization leader who was studying reports before him.
Grand Marshal Valerian Brightblade—a man over 50 years old with silver hair falling to his shoulders—raised his face. A terrible scar from his left temple to his right jaw gleamed reddish under the room's lamplight, like a frozen river of blood across his face. His sharp gray eyes glanced at his visitor.
"Indeed," he replied with a heavy voice carrying exhaustion. His rough fingers stopped dancing over the holographic projection. "With the emergence of an entity equivalent to True Cthulhu—a Rank Unknown entity—we're inevitably overwhelmed by problems that seem endless."
Valerian sighed deeply before continuing. "Specifically, the Kingdom of Rebirn arrogantly took unilateral action by attacking the 'Herrscher of the Void'—a reckless act that caused many lives to be lost in vain." His eyes darkened.
"As an organization overseeing the safety of the entire world—though not all regions acknowledge our authority—the World Organization was forced to step in and resolve this damage."
Valerian stood and walked to the large window showing the metropolitan city below—the center of human civilization still standing strong. Skyscrapers gleamed in the sunset light, creating a beautiful vista.
"That's not all," he continued without turning around. "We had to impose sanctions on three Guilds directly involved in the Cthulhu Island incident. Only the Sun Order Guild accepted formal sanctions, while Shadow Order and Moon Order—" Valerian laughed cynically, "are basically not far from total destruction."
The man massaged his temples. "What makes it more difficult are the stubborn scientists and researchers who keep pressing us to grant permits for research on 'Honkai Energy' under the pretext of 'advancing humanity'." His tone implied deep doubt.
"As if that weren't enough, several major kingdoms have begun deploying their political influence to gain access to this new energy, convinced that this discovery will elevate them to power levels never achieved before."
John van Mighty, Chairman of the Main Hunter Association, nodded in understanding. His thin white hair moved gently as he took a seat across from Valerian.
"What they don't understand," Valerian continued in a lower voice, almost whispering, "is how dangerous Honkai Energy is. Prolonged exposure can transform even Rank A+ Hunters into mindless monsters. And that's not even considering the possibility of new Herrschers emerging."
John stared sharply. "Herrschers?"
"Yes," Valerian nodded heavily. "According to that Spirit's statement, Herrschers emerge when certain conditions are met. There's a possibility—though small—that our own Hunters could transform into such monsters."
Valerian returned to his chair, slumping down wearily. "These problems have kept me from closing my eyes for a full month. Problems that—" He stopped, as if realizing he had spoken too much.
Hearing the heavy burden his old friend carried, John chuckled softly—a sound that seemed out of place amid this grim discussion. "Unfortunately, though the Hunter Association is also a global organization, there's not much we can help with in this situation."
"I know," Valerian said, his eyes refocusing. "So what's your real purpose in coming here? Surely not just to greet an old friend?"
"I'm glad you're still as sharp as ever." John's expression turned serious. "I heard the SSS-level target, 'Unknown Spirit,' is under World Organization surveillance? Even participated in the last battle?"
"It's difficult to call it a 'battle,'" Valerian replied flatly, remembering the loss of SSS-Rank Hunters—an almost incalculable loss for humanity. "From any perspective, we were completely overwhelmed. But to answer your question... Yes, she's with us."
"Could you hand her over to the Hunter Association?" John asked directly, without beating around the bush.
Valerian raised his eyebrows, his sharp gaze piercing straight into John's thoughts. "You're really shameless, old friend. Our best Hunters risked their lives to bring her here, and now you come wanting to take her just like that?"
"Please, Valerian. This is very important," John urged, his voice dropping an octave.
"Does this relate to the woman who fought the Goddess of Life and turned Life Forest into a forbidden zone?" Valerian asked sharply. "Bounty Rank SS+ Raiden Shogun?"
John blinked, startled. "...You already know?"
"Did you think you could hide something from the World Organization?" Valerian smiled coldly. "What's more surprising is that woman also appeared at Cthulhu Island..."
"She appeared there too?" John couldn't hide his shock.
"Yes..." Valerian nodded slowly. "And apparently, she far exceeds the SS+ Rank classification we assigned her..."
He pressed a button on his desk, and instantly the room filled with advanced holographic projections that existed only in scientists' dreams decades ago. The air before them transformed into a terrifying scene.
The battle between the Giant King—a Rank SSS creature three hundred meters tall—and Raiden Shogun was clearly visible, recorded by surveillance satellites.
For several moments, the Giant King appeared dominant, his massive body pummeling the small figure of Raiden Shogun who seemed like an ant before him. But suddenly, something changed. The Thunder Goddess's appearance transformed completely.
Her deep purple aura exploded, turning the sky into a canvas of darkness. Purple lightning no longer fell from the sky but emerged from her body itself, creating complex formations that shattered reality around her.
"<
The voice from the recording sounded distorted, but the power behind it was felt to the bone. Purple light blinded the projection screen, so bright that the surveillance satellite suffered damage from abnormal radiation. The projection ended with static distortion.
...
John fell silent, his face pale.
"What happened afterward, you can guess." Valerian said flatly, turning off the projection with a finger gesture. "A ten-kilometer radius from that location is now marked as an absolute forbidden zone. Only Rank A and above Hunters are permitted to approach, and even then with special equipment." He looked at John.
"Dimensional rifts in that area are highly unstable and require further research. So you can imagine how busy I am dealing with all this?"
"And now," Valerian continued, "you're asking me to simply hand over the SSS-level target, Unknown Spirit? The World Organization executives will oppose this vehemently."
"Of course," he added with an indifferent tone, "that's not including the biggest problem."
"What do you mean?" John asked warily.
"Do you know the Holy Spirit Empire?" Valerian asked as if discussing the weather. "They want to elevate her as one of their sacred protectors."
John was silent for several moments. "...Are you serious?"
"Do you think I have time to joke in a situation like this?" The corner of Valerian's mouth twitched. "In accordance with their empire's name, they could never allow such a True Spirit to be taken by another power."
Valerian closed his eyes briefly, recalling his meeting with Holy Spirit Empire envoys several days ago. "Moreover, she is a truly pure Spirit. Pure in the truest sense." He emphasized by repeating his words.
"Even the Holy Spirit Emperor, famous for never interfering in worldly affairs, behaved extraordinarily gently toward her, as if that Spirit were their own guardian goddess..."
"But since that Spirit is still here," John concluded, "it seems their efforts were unsuccessful?"
"Yes..." Valerian sighed deeply. Remembering how desperately the Holy Spirit Empire representatives tried to persuade that Spirit, he was almost speechless. "That Spirit... she insists on wanting to return to the 'Frost Assassin's' side."
An astonished expression was clearly painted on John's face. The corner of his mouth twitched in disbelief. "I thought Frost Assassin died at Cthulhu Island? Intelligence reports mentioned all Shadow Order elite assassins were required to participate in that attack."
"That's what I thought initially," Valerian massaged his throbbing temples. "But somehow, Frost Assassin proved to still be alive."
"How can you be sure?" John pressed.
"Because several days ago," Valerian stared directly into John's eyes, "our surveillance satellites managed to capture his figure."
"...Where?" John asked, his voice barely a whisper.
"A place surely known by everyone, but not all Hunters can enter easily," Valerian glanced sharply at John. "One of humanity's strongest cities, with two SSS-Rank Hunters as its main protectors. The city with the highest population of sword users on this continent—'Master Swordsman City'."
***
"You're still sitting alone in this place, Miss Mayuri."
A gentle voice broke the peaceful garden's silence. Its owner was a young girl with sea-blue hair tied high in a bun. Most eye-catching was the glimmering water ring floating behind her back—the mark of someone possessing a rare Talent.
As soon as the girl opened her mouth, several garden visitors cast strange glances her way. But they quickly looked away, too accustomed to this scene over the past few weeks.
After all, the girl's identity was no ordinary person.
She was one of the most talented S-Rank Hunters, Gwen Brightblade.
From her surname alone, people could guess her relationship with the World Organization leader. Indeed, she was the beloved daughter of Grand Marshal Valerian Brightblade.
Thanks to her extraordinary status, no one dared criticize her when she appeared to be talking to empty air—behavior that would make ordinary people suspected of madness.
However, they knew they weren't special enough to see the figure Gwen was addressing.
Yes... that figure was none other than the Spirit who had previously been the topic of discussion between John and Valerian. The Spirit coveted by the Holy Spirit Empire.
Takamiya Mayuri.
Her blonde hair tied in asymmetrical twin-tails on the right side of her head moved gently in the autumn breeze. Her light red eyes that shone like rare gems gazed peacefully at the golden leaves falling around her.
She wore a clean white uniform that contrasted with the garden environment dominated by autumn's warm colors. Her crystal earrings changed color slowly, reflecting the emotions hidden behind her calm expression—beauty that emphasized her status as a non-human being.
Even Gwen, who was looking at her, had to admit in her heart that her own beauty would never compare to the perfection of the pure figure before her.
But she was aware that behind that calm face lay power capable of matching SSS-Rank creatures—power they had witnessed themselves.
Gwen glanced toward the sky, where a medium-sized black orb floated silently, occasionally covering its body with wings that appeared to be resting. The sight made her hair stand on end slightly.
Fortunately, after observing Mayuri's personality for several weeks, they were confident that the black entity wouldn't lose control without strong reason.
Conversely, people who could see Mayuri actually felt comfortable near her. How could they not? Her innocent expression that seemed unaware of the world's evils made it difficult for anyone to feel afraid of her.
Some talented Hunters even felt lucky that their abilities allowed them to see her figure—wasn't that proof they were among the special ones?
This Spirit's presence also made many parties insist and deploy various methods to separate her from Frost Assassin's influence. They feared such great power falling into the hands of a cold-blooded assassin.
Even Gwen, who initially only followed her father's orders, now genuinely wanted to "save" Mayuri.
Unfortunately, all their efforts always ended in failure. No matter what logical arguments they presented, Mayuri seemed to close her ears, her gaze always fixed on the horizon—searching for a figure that wasn't there.
"Is something wrong?" Mayuri asked without turning to Gwen. Her voice was gentle and calm like lake water in the morning, making anyone who heard it feel peaceful.
"...Nothing in particular," Gwen answered after a brief pause. "It's just that you seem to really enjoy this garden's scenery."
"Really?" Mayuri tilted her head with a graceful movement that was almost inhuman. "You're not wrong. It is quite beautiful here, but..."
"But?" Gwen asked, listening with full attention.
Mayuri smiled gently—a smile that made the flowers around her seem to bloom brighter. "It would be more beautiful if I were with him."
The corner of Gwen's mouth twitched, suppressing frustration. She sighed deeply, helpless. Of course, she knew exactly who "he" referred to—none other than Frost Assassin...
Seriously, what exactly had Frost Assassin done to Mayuri to make this pure Spirit so dedicated to him? A question that had haunted Gwen for weeks.
"Miss Mayuri," Gwen said with a serious voice, deciding to try once more. "I'm not saying you're wrong, but please remember." She took a deep breath.
"Frost Assassin is a cold-blooded killer. The fact is, he has taken the lives of dozens—maybe hundreds—of innocent people. This won't change, no matter how we view it."
Gwen stared directly into Mayuri's light red eyes. "Even so, you still want to be with him? What if someday he betrays you for his own interests?"
"He won't do that." Mayuri's answer came without the slightest doubt.
"How can you be so certain?" Gwen pressed, frustrated with the Spirit's blind faith.
"Because the one who knows him best is myself," Mayuri answered calmly, as if stating a simple fact.
"Besides..." She looked directly into Gwen's eyes, "even if what you say is the truth, I don't mind."
"...Are you serious in saying that, Miss Mayuri?" Gwen couldn't hide her shock.
"Yes..." Mayuri nodded gently, her voice sounding like a wind whisper as she continued, "His wishes are my wishes. I don't feel there's anything wrong with that."
Gwen fell silent, her thoughts in turmoil. Damn... Is this love from a pure Spirit so blind that it cannot distinguish between good and evil?
Poor Gwen... She didn't realize that what Mayuri said was literally true.
Mayuri was a figure without memories summoned by Lux, and every movement, every word of hers was the result of Lux's commands. So it was indeed true to say that Lux's wishes were Mayuri's wishes...
Though perhaps something was beginning to change in that relationship...
Suddenly, Mayuri raised her head. Her gentle expression returned to calm...
Seeing this change, Gwen followed Mayuri's gaze and found two figures dressed like priests in gold and white robes walking toward them. Their robes gleamed reflecting sunlight, with the Holy Spirit Empire's sacred symbol embroidered in silver thread on their chests.
"They really never tire, priests from the Holy Spirit Empire," Gwen said with undisguised annoyance.
"...Yes," Mayuri replied softly. The Spirit only gazed at the priests without changing expression, her face remaining calm as a lake without ripples.
As explained by Grand Marshal Valerian Brightblade, the Holy Spirit Emperor was very eager to make Mayuri one of their empire's sacred protectors.
Therefore, he sent two high-level priests equivalent to S-Rank Hunters to fetch her and offer various attractive rewards.
How wrong their calculations were—that Spirit seemed to have no other desire than to be with Frost Assassin.
When hearing Mayuri's wish, not only were the two priests shocked, even the Holy Spirit Emperor himself fell silent for a long time upon hearing this report.
How could they not? Frost Assassin was their empire's sworn enemy, a mercenary killer who had taken the lives of dozens of Holy Spirit Empire nobles and high officials over the years. And now, the pure Spirit they revered actually had ties with the figure who had stained their holy land with blood!
Truly ironic, they never expected the pure Spirit they managed to find had been "owned" by Frost Assassin...
But of course, the Holy Spirit Empire was not an entity that gave up easily. They continued trying hard to persuade Mayuri. Even their arrival this time seemed different—their faces showed confidence, as if bringing an irrefusible offer.
"Do you still want to invite me to join you?" Mayuri asked directly, her voice remaining gentle but firm.
"Yes," one of the priests replied with a voice full of respect yet serious.
"I'm sorry, but I will decl—"
"Please listen first," the priest interrupted, making Gwen beside Mayuri narrow her eyes at such rudeness.
Mayuri didn't seem offended by the discourtesy. She only tilted her head gracefully and gave the priest a chance to deliver his message.
"Please consider becoming a protector of the Holy Spirit Empire," the priest said with a voice full of sincerity. "In return..." he took a deep breath, "the Empire will guarantee not to disturb or pursue Frost Assassin anymore."
"..."
***
[Ding! Delayed notification!]
"Oh?"
The system announcement that suddenly sounded in his mind made the white-haired figure with heterochromatic eyes raise his eyebrows with interest.
This made him curious. Why was there suddenly a system notification?
Quietly he browsed through the information flowing in his mind, and when those details were revealed, his lips curved into a thin smile that was hard to interpret.
'I didn't expect the Holy Spirit Empire valued Takamiya Mayuri's existence so highly... The Spirit race is indeed truly important to them.'
Frost Assassin—or more precisely, Lux Frost—shook his head slowly.
The Holy Spirit Empire. Known as humanity's strongest empire in this era. They possessed twelve elite commanders, each equivalent to SS-Rank Hunters or reaching Tier 10's peak.
Lux himself had once faced two of the strongest among them directly—Second Commander Daniel Azura and First Commander Laura Silver.
Though he had fought both SS-Rank Hunters, Lux never managed to defeat them directly.
This wasn't surprising considering Lux's current strength was at most equivalent to S-Rank. Even utilizing the full potential of the Divine Ice Emperor Talent, his power might only reach S+... Still far from facing Holy Spirit Empire Commanders frontally.
Of course... if he used Mystic Eyes of Death Perception—the terrifying ability that allowed him to see "death lines" on everything—the result would be very different. But that ability was his final ace, something he saved for truly critical situations.
Regardless of all that, Lux was indeed very interested in the Holy Spirit Empire's internal structure.
Not just anyone could enter that empire's main territory without special permission. And Lux himself needed inside information to perfect his grand plan.
There was no harm in letting Takamiya Mayuri join the Holy Spirit Empire as his spy, but on the other hand it was too dangerous to let her go alone.
At least... someone had to accompany her.
"System, open all notifications that have been delayed."
[Ding! Understood]
[Accumulating achievements...]
Pale blue holographic light glowed around Lux. Previously, he had lost consciousness due to True Cthulhu's attack—a creature with almost incomprehensible power, capable of destroying opponents' minds merely through its existence. In that desperate state he used the Herrscher of the Void template.
Some might wonder... Why didn't Lux choose to use the Takamiya Mio template?
The answer to that question was simple: time limit.
Takamiya Mio was a limited ace card he didn't want to use wastefully. However, this wasn't the real reason.
The main reason was...
'Besides the human race, other races like ancient dragons, eternal elves, dwarves with insane technology, heavenly angels, even the Transcendents would immediately intervene if I used that template.'
Entities that couldn't even be touched by Mystic Eyes of Death Perception—beings whose existence transcended the concept of death itself. Lux wasn't ready to attract such powers' attention... not yet.
Fortunately, though Herrscher of the Void was very powerful with abilities capable of 'erasing' existence, only certain parties showed interest.
'Honkai Energy is indeed powerful, but its true strength only shows when this energy births the Herrschers...'
Lux paused momentarily. The World Organization—humanity's oversight and protection body—might classify each Herrscher as a Rank Unknown entity, but reality wasn't that simple.
According to system data, Herrscher of the Void was an anomaly among other Herrschers. Her Authority that could manipulate space absolutely was indeed broken even by Herrscher standards.
Among fourteen Herrschers, perhaps only two or three were truly equivalent to Herrscher of the Void. The rest, though still terrifying, were within the capabilities of the most talented SSS-Rank or even SS-Rank Hunters.
However, Lux had to admit that Herrscher of the Void indeed deserved fear. Her power was so absolute that True Cthulhu himself couldn't find a way to penetrate her defenses. Chaos energy? Honkai Energy was fundamentally chaos manifestation itself, so such attacks would actually strengthen Herrscher of the Void.
If not for the absurd Talents possessed by some humans in this world and Herrscher of the Void's arrogance—which made her careless—humanity basically wouldn't have had hope against her.
Even the World Organization that directly intervened in this incident...
Precisely because of this threat's scale, Lux felt very curious about the magnitude of rewards the system would give. Considering the extraordinary chaos caused by Herrscher of the Void's emergence, this achievement must have shaken humanity's foundations to their core.
And as expected... the rewards were not disappointing at all.
[Ding! Shaking humanity, gained 500,000,000 Achievement Points!]
[Ding! Shocking all humanity! Gained 200,000,000 Achievement Points!]
Notifications chimed one after another, their light dancing in Lux's heterochromatic eyes.
[Ding! New feature unlocked! 'History Template Creation']
[Ding! Gained opportunity to randomize three three-star templates (✯✯✯)!]
[Ding! Gained opportunity to randomize two four-star templates (✯✯✯✯)!]
[Ding! Gained opportunity to randomize one five-star template (✯✯✯✯✯)!]
[Ding! Gained opportunity to randomize six-star template (✯✯✯✯✯✯)—Limited use!]
[Ding! New feature unlocked! Character Template Power Up!]
[Ding! Gained three random template opportunities!]
"...Extraordinary." Lux whispered, his eyes glinting with genuine interest.
The system's voice continued echoing, his Achievement Points soaring to almost incomprehensible numbers.
And most shocking...
[Ding! Extraordinary achievement! Directly defeating Son of Destiny with Naruto System! Making him fearful, making him unable to offer resistance! Reward: Moon and Vessel Energy - Great Tenseigan!]
[Ding! Does Host want to summon Moon and Vessel Energy - Great Tenseigan now?]
Lux fell silent and question marks appeared.
A moon? As a reward?
He understood that rewards from Son of Destiny must be extraordinary, but... a moon? Though confused, his intuition told him this must have significant strategic utility.
What he hadn't expected was that when Herrscher of the Void took over his consciousness, apparently the Herrscher had faced Son of Destiny directly. They had even fought desperately!
The image of Pain Tendō's destruction after emerging from an artificial moon flashed through his memory. It wasn't hard to guess what kind of power that Son of Destiny possessed.
'Akatsuki? He intended to form his own Akatsuki group in this world?'
Somehow that thought made the corner of Lux's mouth feel strange. Without meaning to underestimate, he doubted Son of Destiny's ability to recruit individuals with power and ambition equivalent to original Akatsuki members.
However, considering they were talking about a Son of Destiny—a being with extraordinary luck—there was a possibility that an Akatsuki-like group could emerge in this world.
Therefore, Lux didn't need to hesitate.
"Use some opportunities to determine templates," he said.
[Ding! Starting to determine new Character Templates...]
[Ding! Character Templates have been determined!]
"This is..."
Lux's eyes changed slightly when he saw the cards appearing in his hands...
***
The template that Lux currently has:
1. Raiden Ei / Shogun
• Origin : Genshin Impact
2. Takamiya Mayuri
• Origin : Date a Live
3. Artemisia Bell Ashcroft
• Origin : Date a Live
4. Inaba Tsukuyo
• Origin : Busou Shoujo Machiavellianism
5. Dabi / Todoroki Toya
• Origin : Boku no Hero Academia
6. Tomioka Giyū
• Origin : Kimetsu no Yaiba / Demon Slayer
7. Kiana Kaslana – Herrscher of the Void
• Origin : Honkai Impact 3rd
8. Takamiya Mio (Limited)
• Origin : Date a Live
9. Itsuka Kotori
• Origin : Date a Live