"It's been a while, Fu Hua."
In the conference room of Nagazora City, a rather strange scene was currently unfolding.
An incredibly adorable-looking girl with pink hair seemed to be conversing with thin air.
If one pulled the perspective back, they could also see Schicksal's former A-Rank Valkyrie, Miss Cheng Lixue, not far away, seemingly eavesdropping on the girl's soliloquy.
"It's been a while, Lynelle, but... the aura about you..."
Across from Lynelle, Fu Hua, who had materialized a mental projection visible only to Lynelle through the Fenghuang Down, sounded puzzled.
"You've already been to the Elysian Realm? I mean, your actual body has been there?"
"Huh, you can even tell that?" A look of confusion appeared on Lynelle's face.
"Because I can sense the Fenghuang Down and the Signets on you as well... It might be because I'm currently residing within the Feather; my perception has actually become sharper than before."
Fu Hua gave a somewhat helpless smile.
"Let's get to the main point, Lynelle. Regarding that other 'me'... what's your take?"
"Although I haven't made direct contact with her, I can definitively rule out the possibility Kiana mentioned."
"No version of me, at any point in my life, would develop such a personality... So, she shouldn't be Fu Hua, nor could she be Fu Hua from any stage of life."
"Quite observant." Lynelle nodded. "That's right. That 'Fu Hua' definitely isn't you... To be precise, she should be the current era's Herrscher of Sentience."
"So it's true..." Fu Hua sighed. "Is it Otto's doing?"
"The situation turning out like this is indeed connected to Otto, but I believe he probably didn't anticipate such a development... Because even he got beaten up by this Herrscher of Sentience and lost a Soulium avatar."
Lynelle's expression turned gleeful.
"Think about it, Fu Hua. Among all the Herrschers in the Honkai, aside from the Herrscher of Reason whose abilities are all-encompassing, there's a very distinct characteristic: non-mental slash perception-type Herrschers don't develop self-awareness; they're only influenced by the core."
"Meanwhile, mental slash perception-type Herrschers, due to their special abilities, descend into the Herrscher core as a blank consciousness."
"So, let's imagine this scenario: if a core carrying a blank consciousness enters a body already brimming with a vast ocean of memories, and directly completes fusion with that body... What would happen then?"
"That blank consciousness... would be washed over by a massive amount of someone else's memories?"
"Exactly right." Lynelle snapped her fingers.
"Due to the immense volume of memories within your body, the newborn Herrscher of Sentience had no time to react and was directly molded into your shape by those memories."
"In other words, it's not that Fu Hua became a Herrscher, but that the Herrscher became Fu Hua."
"That... that's truly an unexpected turn of events..." Fu Hua's expression became rather odd.
"However, my memories originally needed regular cleansing with the Fenghuang Down, and what remained was utterly incinerated during those times I used the Taixu Sword God…"
"Were there really that many of my memories left when the Herrscher of Sentience entered my body?"
"I can tell you quite responsibly that forgetting and rolling back are two different concepts. Borrowing from Sister Vill-V's way of putting it, even though your memories may be lost for various reasons, those experiences have still left their mark on you—you still possess them, you just can't recall them anymore."
"Even... I suspect your memories might not have been truly burned away."
"After the Herrscher of Sentience took over your body, she seemed to dig up and repair a lot of memories you thought were gone."
"At the very least, her knowledge of the Previous Era might be more extensive than yours now..."
At this point, Lynelle couldn't help but quip.
"Looking at it this way, the Herrscher of Sentience is practically the 21st century's greatest cultural relic restoration expert."
"The most outstanding entry on her resume would be presiding over the memory restoration work of the ancient artifact 'Fu Hua'—restoring it from 'battle-scarred veteran' to 'factory-new condition.'"
Ahem... "Please stop teasing me now…"
Fu Hua coughed a few times in embarrassment.
"But I think I understand your point. Regarding the Herrscher of Sentience, our approach should be to try our best to win her over, to avoid conflict, right?"
"Mhm, that's correct..." Lynelle nodded with satisfaction.
"Seems like being around Lixue has made a difference; you've actually gained a bit of insight, Fu Hua. But don't relax just yet. In the most extreme scenario..."
"I understand." Fu Hua's expression grew resolute. "In the worst-case scenario..."
"I will be prepared to subdue the Herrscher of Sentience."
"You should be prepared for a painless transition into motherhood... cough, wait, what did you say?"
Lynelle nearly spat out the milk she had just sipped.
"No, hold on. I explained it so clearly just now. Why are you still thinking about subduing the Herrscher of Sentience?"
Fu Hua: "?"
"Is... is that not right?"
"Of course it's not right! Little Senti went all out, unleashing three Taixu Sword Gods in a row to save me during the battle against the Herrscher of Ice."
"Who in their right mind would want to subdue such a good kid?!"
Lynelle vigorously poked Fu Hua's cheek.
"Fu Hua, you're quite literally the densest piece of wood in all of Shenzhou... harder-headed than Dr. Mobius's pride!"
"Listen, as the Herrscher of Sentience, she might be able to fool herself for a while, but definitely not for long."
"Over time, even just the constant small-scale Honkai energy incidents happening around her would be enough to make her suspicious."
"In that state, her confusion about her own identity would amplify to a severe degree. Do you know what should be done then?"
Fu Hua obediently shook her head.
"You... sigh."
Lynelle let out a helpless sigh, then walked straight to the door and yanked it open.
"Ack!"
Lixue, who had been listening intently at the door, tumbled in unprepared.
"Ah, Master, Lynelle, I..."
"Forget 'Master.' Your master is beyond hope." Lynelle's face fell into a thoroughly unamused expression.
"Lixue, the task of guiding Little Senti is now in your hands. Remember, keep a close eye on Fu Hua and stop her from spouting any more strange nonsense."
"For a child lost and confused about their own identity, recognition from others—especially from those close to them like a mother, partner, or family—is the most important encouragement."
"At the very least, we need to establish for her that even if she isn't Fu Hua, she will still be our important companion."
"But she really isn't Fu Hua..."
"Silence, you block of wood!"
Lynelle gave Fu Hua's cheeks a vigorous rub.
"I am now seriously considering just tossing you straight back to the Elysian Realm. There are two over there who became mothers without the pain; they'd probably have some excellent advice for you..."
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.