After bringing K-423 and Sirin back to the Houkai Universe, the Will of Ruler switched to spectator mode. She stopped generating Honkai energy and no longer provoked hatred from the humans of the Honkai Impact 3rd world.
Kevin's so-called Project STIGMA—what a joke.
Its core ideas were mass immunity and eternal illusion.
The former, "mass immunity," was about deliberately triggering Honkai Eruptions to forcibly evolve humanity into Stigma Awakened. Those who survived would gain immunity to Honkai energy corruption.
Those who didn't would either turn to ash—or become zombies.
The latter, "eternal illusion," involved uploading humanity's consciousness into the dreamlike Stigma Space, where their minds would live forever, while their bodies—or rather, their Stigmata—would continue existing in the real world.
No matter how Kevin's plan played out, the Will of Ruler didn't care.
If he succeeded, she would watch.
If he failed, it wouldn't affect her at all.
She wasn't like the Will of Ruler from Houkai Gakuen 2—the one who mindlessly sought expansion and assimilation of civilizations.
This Will of Ruler had her own thoughts, her own emotions.
Perhaps, as time passed—when she had lived for eons—those emotions might eventually fade away.
But for now, she still felt perfectly normal.
Especially when she was inhabiting a human body.
The body of K-423.
The Will of Ruler named this vessel Kiana—after Kiana Kaslana.
In miHoYo's game universe, Kiana Kaslana was the true protagonist—the Herrscher of Finality.
She remembered how, in fanfics, self-insert protagonists—usually male—would become the Herrscher of Finality out of nowhere.
Every time, she would stop reading immediately.
In her eyes, the Herrscher of Finality could only ever be Kiana Kaslana.
Even if this Kiana Kaslana wasn't the real one.
"Her consciousness is becoming unstable?"
The Will of Ruler detected turbulence within Sirin's consciousness, residing inside the Herrscher Core of the Void.
After pondering for a moment, she decided to transfer Sirin's consciousness into her own true body.
Then, she separated Sirin once again.
The newly reborn Sirin's body had shrunk—into that of a small, purple-haired girl.
"Where… is this?" Sirin opened her eyes, confusion written across her face as she looked around at the glittering starlit void.
The Will of Ruler had intentionally severed Sirin's connection to the Herrscher Core and K-423's body, so she had no knowledge of what had transpired.
Sirin's consciousness had never split into two personalities—it had always been one and the same.
"Sirin, do you still remember me?"
"You're… God!"
Sirin stared at the tiny white-haired girl before her, her eyes wide.
"Not 'God'—call me Mom. Your body, after all, came from a part of mine." The Will of Ruler cupped Sirin's cheeks gently. "My precious daughter."
Sirin blinked blankly for a moment, then nodded, obediently whispering, "Mom."
The Will of Ruler smiled with satisfaction. "You're now a being like me."
A daughter of God?
Sirin didn't quite understand—but she extended a hand toward a nearby red giant. With a single motion, the entire celestial body disintegrated into blazing plasma.
As a Herrscher, she was familiar with manipulating Honkai energy.
Was this the power of a god?
So strong!
Sirin's inflated confidence returned immediately.
She felt powerful again—so powerful that she could wipe out those hateful adults with a flick of her finger.
"God—"
"Mom!"
Before she could finish, the Will of Ruler interrupted firmly.
"Oh… Mom." Sirin quickly corrected herself.
"What is it, my dear daughter?"
Her true body was now a lifeform of pure Honkai energy. The Will of Ruler no longer cared whether she was male or female.
Before transmigrating, she had cosplayed countless female characters at anime conventions.
Becoming one for real didn't bother her in the slightest.
She adapted quickly—far better than most of those melodramatic protagonists.
"Mom, I want to take revenge on those humans," Sirin said, clenching her tiny fists.
She was eager—almost desperate—to kill every last one of those despicable adults.
"There's no need to rush revenge, my dear. For now, let's just sit back and enjoy the show."
The Will of Ruler hugged Sirin close and switched back into observer mode.
Though she held overwhelming power, she wasn't reckless enough to draw all attention to herself just yet.
The Will of Ruler knew there were still characters within Honkai Impact 3rd she couldn't fully account for—
For instance, the mysterious entity who had taken Su away to play chess, or the being behind the Cocoon of Finality.
"What show are we watching?" Sirin asked curiously.
But as the obedient daughter she was, she quietly sat with her "mother" and watched.
...
Meanwhile, in the Honkai Impact 3rd world—
Human civilization had fallen into chaos.
After taking Sirin away, the Will of Ruler used the remainder of her Honkai energy to broadcast a global message directly into humanity's collective consciousness.
She revealed the existence of World Serpent's Project STIGMA, giving it a gentle push with hints and implications—
Just enough to make World Serpent shoulder the blame for the recent worldwide Honkai Eruptions, as well as those of the past.
The broadcast's content also exaggerated the true scale and danger of Project STIGMA.
Plan A: Trigger a massive Honkai Eruption to forcibly awaken Stigmata in all humans.
Unsurprisingly, almost no one accepted that idea.
The chances of surviving Stigma Awakening were terrifyingly low. Even if one person succeeded, their family, friends, and loved ones would almost certainly die.
Plan B: Transfer humanity's collective consciousness into the dreamlike Stigma Space, while the awakened Stigmata would live on in the real world.
That plan, on the other hand, gained massive support.
Most of its supporters were from society's lowest ranks—people whose lives in reality were already miserable.
Living in a dream, they thought, might not be so bad.
...
To the Will of Ruler, Kevin was an incredibly arrogant man.
His Project STIGMA never once considered the will of the people living in the Current Era.
Kevin alone made the choice for all of humanity.
A single strong individual deciding the fate of all the weak.
Yes—Kevin was arrogant.
But he had the strength to back it up.
That was the reality of the world.
The weak had no right to choose.
They could only follow the will of the strong—and accept their fate.
Even if Schicksal and Anti-Entropy united all of humanity against Kevin, he would still hold the upper hand.
"What is he waiting for?"
The Will of Ruler observed Kevin, who sat motionless within the ruins on the Moon.
He made no move. No command. No next step.
Was he waiting for Otto?
Impossible.
Welt Yang?
No, that didn't make sense either.
Then it struck her.
Could it be… that Kevin was waiting for her—the new Will of Honkai—to come to him?
No way!
The Will of Ruler thought about it for a moment—then shook her head decisively.
Nope. Not her problem.
She decided to take Sirin and go explore a new world instead.
Kevin? What did he have to do with her?
They weren't friends.
They didn't know each other.
And they certainly weren't close.
Why should she go to the Moon just to meet him?
What, was this supposed to be a confession scene?
She hadn't received any love letters.
Pass.
...
On the Moon—
Inside the ancient ruins, Kevin sat silently.
A week had passed since he received news that the Will of Ruler had temporarily left.
He fell deep into thought.
"This… isn't how it was supposed to go," he murmured.
She really just took Sirin's Herrscher Core… and left.
He looked at the massive Cocoon of Finality beside him.
"She didn't even come to see this thing?"