"A visit?" Mobius, who was placing the blood extracted from Lin body into a vessel, looked up, raising an eyebrow at Lin, who was standing properly nearby.
She wouldn't be surprised if anyone else said that word, but coming from the guy who was always focused only on missions, she did feel a bit startled.
"Rather than that, what I found on you is more interesting." Mobius didn't show much more expression on the matter. She easily projected the desired image and pointed at the abstract graph. "From both a conscious and physical perspective, you are very far removed from your past self. In a physical sense, you and the previous Lin are practically two different people."
"Firstly, regarding the two types of medicine I previously gave you, their compositions are similar, but the former's effect was less stable than the latter. After the Honkai Sickness serum cleared the Honkai energy from your body, the parts that were originally eroded by Honkai recovered. However, the modifications from those medicines were not included in this recovery, and you were already modified during the embryonic stage to strengthen drug resistance."
"To state the conclusion directly: you have developed resistance to drugs. Both positive and negative effects are basically invalidated. Your blood also contains additional drug sediment impurities, leaving partial residue from the drugs' effect on cognitive vitality."
Mobius handed him a mirror. Lin took it and saw through the reflection that his dark pupils had faint traces of emerald green. It didn't fill his entire iris as it did when the full drug effect was active, but when observed closely, it gave an unsettling illusion.
"Isn't that interesting? A color-changing lab rat."
Lin put down the mirror, the emerald green swirling in his eyes before slowly fading.
"However, this change was within my expectations. Surviving a certain death scenario means internal physical changes are minor. The important thing is that your consciousness after entering the Herrscher Core also has some... 'small problems'."
Mobius pulled her swivel chair closer. Sitting on the soft cushion, she raised her chin, observing Lin eyes with a strange look mixed with fanaticism.
"Tell me, what 'special' feelings did you have after entering the Herrscher Core? Note, I mean 'special,' not your personal feelings. It must be a Herrscher-exclusive feeling that humans cannot experience. That is the answer we are seeking."
Lin felt like she was about to pounce and dissect his brain the next second.
So, Lin began to recall the kind of empathy he experienced in that dark space where he confronted the Sixth Herrscher's consciousness, a feeling that held profound significance for humanity.
"The Sixth Herrscher said something to me." The words spoken by the Sixth Herrscher consciousness, who kept playing the role of human and Herrscher and was eventually named Seele, were not all true, nor were they all false. But to make people believe a lie, truth must be added to it, and Lin believed that some of the clues revealed might be the truth.
"..." Mobius knew this was a critical moment and didn't interrupt, watching Lin with some anticipation.
"'I am one with you now, so you are a Herrscher too.'"
Mobius's acute intuition immediately sensed the extraordinary meaning of this statement: "Does that mean... your consciousness at that time was already Herrscher consciousness in its nature?"
"At that time, besides confronting the Sixth Herrscher's consciousness, I could vaguely sense an 'existence' through the Sixth Herrscher's authority."
"..."
Lin stated solemnly: "I cannot explain what that feeling was. Perhaps it was a consciousness connection, or perhaps a connection exclusive to Honkai, but I could feel the Herrscher Core connecting to a similar 'thing.' However, that 'thing' was even larger than the Herrscher Core. The Herrscher Core might be the subordinate entity in this connection, akin to the relationship between a host and a client machine."
A 'thing' larger than the Herrscher Core?
Before this, many people had speculated whether Honkai was being controlled by one or more higher-dimensional consciousnesses, but there was no evidence or sign to prove this speculation correct. Based on Honkai's behavior, it was more akin to a 'response' to humanity. Every major Honkai Eruption would evolve to target a certain part or multiple parts of humanity, making it a single-reaction mode.
Thus, another speculation emerged: the highest-ranking existence within Honkai—the Herrschers—are actually sub-entities of the Honkai collective, continuously sending out sub-entities to strike at humanity until the true materialized manifestation of the entire Honkai descends upon the human world, bringing destruction.
That materialized entity is temporarily named "The End."
Lin current feeling undoubtedly reinforced the correctness of this statement, but this was not good news for humanity; it was, in fact, extremely bad news.
Because humanity was fundamentally incapable of resisting the manifestation of the entire Honkai.
The appearance of single Herrschers one by one had already dealt a major blow to humanity. Every major Honkai Eruption was like carving a wound on humanity's already fragile shell. If "The End" truly descended, it would be equivalent to delivering a fatal blow to humanity, the final straw that breaks the camel's back.
Moreover, the weight of that straw might be heavier than all the previous burdens combined.
"Interesting." However, Mobius didn't seem to realize this, or rather, she realized it but didn't care at all, giving a momentary twisted smile. "Since you could connect to that existence, it proves one thing: the Sixth Herrscher wasn't lying. You truly became Herrscher consciousness at that moment, gained Honkai's approval, and retained your human personality."
Honkai's approval?
It felt more like using a fake keycard to accidentally enter the correct forbidden door. Honkai itself would not approve.
"Then we can confirm something very important. Hmph... Come with me."
Mobius rose from her chair. She didn't pick up anything from the desk but walked directly to her private lab deeper within her personal office.
Within "Mobius'" lab, there was a Mobius-exclusive Mobius Lab. This was Mobius's private area, where she could conduct experimental projects different from those requested by the Fire Moth. Most were small projects, but more often, they were... covert activities.
Mobius placed her hand on the touchpad. After confirming her fingerprint, infrared scanned her iris, confirming her retinal pattern. Then, with a mechanical gnashing sound, the relatively small mechanical door slowly opened.
"My authority in the Fire Moth can be said to be high or low; it depends on how those old geezers treat me based on the circumstances. Of course, I have no interest or need to bicker with them. I generally obtain what I want before they can even issue a warning."
"So, approach with the proper attitude of humility and contempt to admire the most exquisite natural creation ever, and the most vile human artifact ever."
"The Second Herrscher's... Herrscher Core."
In that small laboratory, contained within a transparent vessel, was the gray gem, shimmering with the light of twisted space.