Regret?
As the girl reached the door of the warehouse storing her Herrscher Core, she looked down and pondered, pinching her chin.
In fact, the time she had spent viewing the world through a human perspective and identity was only a few short months. Everything was novel to her. It seemed there was nothing she regretted.
But, she was going to die soon. If she were human, shouldn't she take this moment to reflect on any regrets she might have?
"…"
No, if it were Lin, he wouldn't waste precious time like this contemplating regrets...
Yes, he wouldn't.
But the girl was not Lin. She was only herself.
"I..." The girl suddenly felt a cold liquid slide across her face. She reached up and wiped her cheek.
Was it raining? Was the water leaking in from the damaged crevice?
Yet, more and more rain streamed from her eyes.
"I... I don't have a name yet..."
The girl turned back, gazing at the tightly closed door at the end of the corridor. Behind it lay a human who held immense significance for her.
"I still want to eat more of Lin cooking. I still want to see more countries. I still want to make friends like Kosma."
As a Herrscher, she had lived too long.
As a human, her life was too short.
The memories belonging to the past did not originate from her. The time belonging to the future was no longer hers.
She was now going to be the miracle created by humanity, to save humanity.
...
"…"
Lin lay on the ground. He didn't know when his body would be able to move. Perhaps he could already move, but he remained lying there, allowing the blood inside his helmet to soak his eyes.
It didn't matter. He couldn't see the color of blood, and he felt no pain.
He just suddenly felt that perhaps he was tired.
The man who felt pain and fatigue for twenty years never considered himself "tired." Yet, less than half a day after losing the sensation of pain, he experienced what true exhaustion felt like for the first time.
He just wanted to close his eyes, find a random spot, and sleep.
"I told you. Just sleep, and everything will pass."
Without needing to turn his head, Lin knew who had arrived.
Her tone held little anger, seeming unbothered by Lin deception.
Lin wanted to ask if she had known all along, but asking now seemed meaningless.
Lin had no way of knowing how many untold plans Mobius and Mei had. Even if he asked, they would surely not tell him.
"Look, even your robot sidekick is here."
"Da, da, da…"
Prometheus's footsteps grew closer. She and Mobius arrived almost simultaneously, both having anticipated Lin would be here.
"...This time, you are not a participant. Being an observer might be easier for you, because going to Australia or going to destroy the extraterrestrial guests are both beyond your capacity."
Mobius patted the ground next to Lin, brushing away some small metal fragments, and sat beside him.
Prometheus stood silently, gazing at Lin, who looked like a dead man.
"Are you tired?" Mobius asked with rare gentleness.
"...You said before that I saw a vision of a parallel world's future while I was in a coma, and that I sensed the presence of the 'me' from that time." Lin finally spoke after a long pause. "I heard a voice from the 'future.'"
He was trying to force himself to change the subject.
"Vastsak, the companion Honkai Beast of the Second Herrscher, is a unique Honkai Beast whose ability is close to space-time information transfer. You, who fought it, should understand that the ability is an unconventional use of the Second Herrscher's Authority, given that time and space are meaningless in the Sea of Quanta." Mobius's explanation was general but direct. "Your surgery failed, but perhaps you also 'gained' a part of something."
"…"
Lin mind was blank. He didn't know what to say next; everything seemed meaningless.
Soon, news would arrive of Kevin defeating the Seventh Herrscher in Australia. The Headquarters command would discover that the Starlight's activities worldwide had ceased, and humanity had overcome another crisis.
This future was written like a script, and none of it required him to do anything. All he had to do was wait for Kevin to kill Himeko, and for the girl to overload her Herrscher Core and destroy the Starlight collective consciousness.
Yes, just sleep, and this desperate, inevitable future would happen.
No, even if he didn't sleep, it would happen, because he couldn't change anything.
"Are you tired?"
Mobius asked the question again.
This time, Lin nodded gently.
Mobius placed her hand over his helmet's visor, blocking his vision.
"Sleep. If you want to hear it, I can tell you 'I'm still here.'"
"...No need."
Lin quietly closed his eyes. The helmet system shut down. The world completely sank into silent darkness.
...
In the satellite orbit outside Earth, an invisible vessel was quietly docked.
The Starlight, their consciousnesses merged into a collective. Their physical bodies for action were merely expendable consumables that could be regenerated. They coexisted with the Honkai, left the infancy of civilization, and began interstellar travel.
Although their method of interstellar travel was more opportunistic, their technological level was already sufficient to assimilate an entire planet compared to a civilization like humanity, which was still in its initial stages.
Not driven by any malicious intent, but simply adhering to their logic. Assimilating humanity into the collective—this direction of civilized propagation, which discarded emotion, was the ultimate goal of the Starlight.
Now, the deployed Starlight was aggressively assimilating humans during the weak period of the Seventh Honkai Eruption on Earth.
Their main entity, aboard this vessel, was calculating the entire planetary situation, continuously refining their invasion plan, and estimating how much time was needed to fully assimilate humanity.
The only variable in the calculation was the Herrschers born from the Honkai. However, the Starlight planned to immediately start researching how to assimilate Herrschers once they obtained the Fire Moth' Herrscher Core. It was only a matter of time.
An insignificant variable...
"Beep————"
The vessel suddenly sounded an alarm. This was a high Honkai energy reaction coming from the surface of the Earth.
"Analyzing... Honkai energy reaction has exceeded historical peak. Displaying a compound energy concentration state. Inferred to be 'artillery fire.' Initiate evasion immediately."
The terrifying Honkai energy reaction was so high that it couldn't even be fully estimated by the detector. The preliminary estimate suggested at least six similar reactions.
The emergency alarm blared throughout the vessel, yet it remained eerily silent. None of the Starlight consciousnesses exhibited fear.
No, they were a single consciousness, and the Starlight consciousness was incapable of feeling fear.
Even as, the next second, six thick beams of light were launched from the Earth's surface. Seven seconds later, they pierced the vessel, vaporizing the Starlight collective consciousness.