"Everything you know."
Selene looked at Fu Hua and said softly, "I want you to say it yourself, rather than having me search your memories."
"...Hah."
Fu Hua's mind raced. To be honest, explaining this clearly in one breath was far more complicated than she had anticipated.
But Fu Hua was someone who honored her word.
Since she had already surrendered—and even drunk the celebratory wine Selene had personally poured—then she might as well be honest.
She had no intention of hiding anything.
Fu Hua valued promises deeply. After the failure of the 'Project EMBER' she had carried out, she still honored her promise to Dan Zhu and Cang Xuan. There had been no binding clauses, no penalties for breaking it—yet she guarded Shenzhou alone for thousands of years.
Until the day she was besieged by her seven traitorous disciples, she had remained steadfast for millennia without wavering.
"I almost wish Your Majesty would search my memories instead..."
For once, the typically rigid and serious Fu Hua allowed herself a faint, bitter joke.
After all—how much worse could things possibly get? Fifteen hundred years ago, what Kevin intended to do had hardly been any more noble than what Selene now sought.
At the end of the Previous Era, though Fu Hua had come to understand Dr. MEI's choices, that did not mean she felt affection for her.
Kevin and Dr. MEI had killed Captain HIMEKO.
Fu Hua had never forgotten that.
Even now, recalling it left a thorn embedded in her heart.
HIMEKO had been the captain of MOTH's Fifth Squad, the one who taught Fu Hua how to fight and guided her into becoming a MOTH soldier—her mentor in life.
(HIMEKO, the Seventh Herrscher of the Previous Era—Herrscher of Fire—her Herrscher Core was later forged into Judgment of Shamash. Her model had been based on Himeko.)
After Kevin killed HIMEKO, the blow—on top of what he had already suffered during the Sixth Herrscher incident—struck him even harder, forcing him to frequently consult psychological doctors.
Fu Hua understood his reasoning.
But did that mean there was no resentment rooted within her?
It was like this:
Imagine that after the "Final Lesson," Himeko had somehow survived—only for Kevin and Dr. MEI to kill her before Kiana's eyes.
Though the comparison was imperfect, it captured Fu Hua's feelings at that moment.
The fact that she had not erupted on the spot and defected was already a testament to HIMEKO's teaching—allowing her to endure, to prioritize the greater good, and to ensure that MOTH's will remained unified against the arrival of Finality.
Moreover, Dr. MEI had conducted many inhumane experiments. Fu Hua had strongly condemned them even back then.
"If only you had arrived fifty thousand years earlier..." Fu Hua murmured.
No one was holier than anyone else.
Dr. MEI had not been some spotless saint either.
If the Herrscher of Finality of the Previous Era had been as "reasonable" as Selene—if it had not sought to annihilate all of humanity—Fu Hua might very well have chosen to surrender.
"Hm?"
Maintain the status quo. Preserve Schicksal. Protect as many civilians as possible. Minimize unnecessary slaughter by Selene.
That was Fu Hua's current objective.
Crossing her arms, one hand supporting her chin, she did not deliberate long. She lifted her head and met Selene's gaze, her voice steady.
"The battle on the moon. There is no doubt—we were defeated."
"The Herrscher of Finality was born upon the moon. Kevin, Eden, Kalpas, Su, Kosma, Mobius, and I chose to ascend to the moon to intercept her and prevent her from entering Earth."
After Elysia's death, Aponia had asked Vill-V to merge her with the Elysian Realm. Thus, she did not participate in the lunar battle against Finality.
"But she was too powerful. Five minutes after the battle began, Kalpas and Kosma were killed in action."
"Kalpas and Kosma... Mm. Two more confirmed. Who else?" Selene's expression remained unchanged as she asked with interest.
According to Aponia's memories, the sixth of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers, Kalpas, had been volatile and unruly. His combat style was reckless close-quarters combat, like a rabid beast. It was unsurprising that he had been among the first to fall to Finality.
The ninth, Kosma, had been little more than a boy—only slightly older than Griseo among the Thirteen.
The Honkai Beast DNA he had fused with originated from "Vishnu," granting him the ability to absorb other Honkai Beasts a second time.
It was an ability that required time to mature, with immense potential. Dr. MEI had even planned to assign Kosma to execute the "Project ARK," precisely because of his capacity for continuous growth.
But Kosma had refused. He felt it would make him a deserter.
He chose instead to ascend to the moon alongside his seniors to confront Finality.
As a hero meant for the late stages, facing the ultimate and strongest Herrscher while still in his growth phase sealed his tragedy.
Among the eight MANTISes who ascended to the moon, he was the weakest link.
He fell shortly after Kalpas, slain by the Herrscher of Finality.
"After that, to buy us time, Vill-V also died in battle."
Vill-V... the head engineer responsible for construction and major projects.
"In the end, through the Moonlight Throne's overloaded operation at the cost of its own meltdown, Kevin—using his Diabolic form—delivered a full-force strike that disabled the Herrscher of Finality for twelve hours. Only then did we manage to withdraw from the battlefield."
At this point, Fu Hua stood still, breathing lightly. The hand gripping the crystal goblet trembled slightly, as though she had been pulled back into that despairing battle.
Splash...
"Don't worry. I am not her."
The goblet in her hand suddenly grew heavier. Fu Hua looked up to see Selene smiling faintly as she poured a fruit-based alcoholic drink into her cup.
"Try it. It's my favorite lately. Not as strong as vodka—but it has its own charm."
Her voice carried a strange quality that calmed the heart without reason.
"Thank you."
The words slipped out reflexively. Fu Hua took a small sip, then continued.
"After the battle on the moon ended, I entered a cryo-sleep chamber with Cang Xuan and Dan Zhu to carry out the 'Project EMBER' assigned to us."
The 'Project EMBER'—to pass on the knowledge and technology of the Previous Era to the next civilization.
Under Dr. MEI's Project MANTIS, the twin girls Cang Xuan (Fuxi) and Dan Zhu (Nuwa), who were responsible for guarding the Xuanyuan Sword, were designated to protect the blade and serve as pioneers of civilization.
Fu Hua chose to settle in Shenzhou under the name Jingwei, serving as their guardian.
At the same time, Dan Zhu realized that early humanity of this era held a deep reverence for the supernatural. From that, she conceived the idea of spreading knowledge from the Previous Era through legends.
She embellished her own deeds and those of her companions with a mystical hue, allowing them to circulate as myths.
For example, the tale of Dan Zhu molding clay figures from yellow earth spread widely—eventually becoming the well-known Shenzhou myth of Nüwa creating humanity.
The Xuanyuan Sword had been forged from the core of the Herrscher of Dominance of the Previous Era. Due to the unique nature of the Herrscher of Dominance—the Herrscher of Legion—the Tenth Divine Key was unlike the others. It did not exist as a single artifact.
Xuanyuan Sword, Redsword, Water's Edge, and Grips of Tai Xuan were all manifestations of the Tenth Divine Key.
Fu Hua possessed roughly a hundred Xuanyuan Swords. Some she had gifted to talented allies, some had been destroyed in battle, and others were used to suppress Honkai.
"'Project EMBER'... It was not the spark of this era's civilization, but an extension of the Previous Era. In the eyes of Honkai, it was lingering poison."
Hearing this, Selene shook her head. "It is obvious. Your actions severely disrupted Honkai's evaluation of civilization's natural development. Retaliation was inevitable."
Fu Hua stood frozen in place, whether deep in thought or trapped in memories she would rather not revisit.
"That's right. Honkai responded swiftly. Though no Herrscher was born, even mere Honkai Beasts were enough—this newborn civilization was far too fragile to resist."
In 2100 BCE, because Cang Xuan and Dan Zhu had imparted knowledge beyond the current era's level, a Judgment-class Honkai Beast—Chiyou—was born.
"That was no coincidence. Honkai has always monitored the world," Fu Hua said quietly, staring at Selene.
When the Judgment-class Honkai Beast Chiyou emerged in the South Sea region, Fu Hua happened to be far away and could not arrive in time. Cang Xuan and Dan Zhu were killed in battle, and Ji Lin—the first of Shenzhou to wield the Xuanyuan Sword, of the Youxiong tribe—sealed Chiyou at the cost of her own life.
With that, the 'Project EMBER' was declared a failure.
"After that, I stopped teaching knowledge beyond the era to humanity of this age. The 'Project EMBER' proved unfeasible."
Fu Hua shifted her stance slightly before continuing.
"From then on, I honored my promise to Dan Zhu and guarded Shenzhou. Eventually, the other pioneers awakened as well. By the end of the 5th century, every ten years, we would hold remote projection meetings with Kevin and the other surviving Flame-Chasers, exchanging information."
Following Dr. MEI's directives, the surviving Flame-Chasers each carried out different plans.
Whether it was because Dr. MEI had prepared too many contingencies, or because fifty thousand years had diluted their camaraderie—or perhaps due to their divergent personalities and beliefs—their relationships in this new era had grown distant.
Their exchanges became a tangled mess.
Some were indifferent. Some extreme. Some fought among themselves. Some settled into quiet lives. Some chose solitary slumber...
"I no longer remember the exact date," Fu Hua said, a trace of pity in her expression. "But I received word that the 'Project ARK' had failed."
The 'Project ARK'—to seek a new home among the stars—had originally been assigned to Kosma.
But since he chose to remain and fight, the task fell to the eleventh Flame-Chaser, Griseo—the youngest child among them.
Selene thought for a moment before asking, "The little girl who liked to paint?"
In Aponia's memories, aside from Kalpas, Griseo seemed to be the child she cared about most. Griseo had even called Aponia 'Mother.'
Griseo once painted a piece titled Sunflower—a lonely, withered sunflower rooted in shadow—and gifted it to Aponia.
"That little girl never gave you a painting, did she?"
Reviewing fragments of data from the Elysian Realm and cross-referencing Aponia's memories, Selene realized Fu Hua did not appear to have received one of Griseo's paintings.
"No." Fu Hua shook her head. "I was an active-duty combatant. I was rarely stationed at the base, always deployed on missions. I was not close to Griseo."
"What a pity." Selene clicked her tongue, intrigued. "It's said each of her paintings held deep meaning. I would very much like to know—if we were to meet—what kind of painting she would give me."
The Imperial Capital? The sun? An angel? A savior? The starry sky? The galaxy?
Fu Hua remained silent.
A young girl, alone within a narrow metal vessel, drifting through the boundless darkness of the universe under the embrace of distant stars—for more than fifty thousand years.
They had lost contact for over fifteen hundred years. If the Ark had fallen into disrepair, the implication was clear.
Griseo had not been particularly strong. Without discovering a suitable new home, she could not survive in space indefinitely.
The conclusion spoke for itself.
"And Kevin and Su? What happened between those two?"
The topic returned to Kevin.
Compared to the somewhat impulsive comrade of fifty thousand years ago, the Kevin of this era—after Dr. MEI's death—had become so cold that Fu Hua barely recognized him.
By the end of the 5th century, Kevin had lost contact with Griseo, who was executing the 'Project ARK.' Meanwhile, Fu Hua's 'Project EMBER' had failed because Honkai intensified as civilization advanced.
Another pioneer, the seventh Flame-Chaser, Su, had spent fifty thousand years within the Second Divine Key—Key of Infinity · Cosmic Juggernaut—executing the 'Project VALUKA,' observing countless possibilities.
And yet he had found no answer.
Thus, Kevin decided to activate the 'Project STIGMA' ahead of schedule—no matter the cost.
He renamed the organization founded by Gray Serpent to World Serpent, intending to artificially awaken and restructure the genetic stigmata Dr. MEI had implanted into select embryos among humanity's descendants.
In simpler terms, he was willing to sacrifice the vast majority of humanity in exchange for the continuation of the species itself.
It was no different in principle from Cocolia's methods in Nagazora—manufacturing a Herrscher by triggering a Honkai Eruption, eliminating the unfit and leaving only those with potential.
Because genetic divergence over generations had altered the distribution of Honkai-resistant antibodies, Kevin selected the British Isles as his experimental ground.
His actions provoked fierce opposition from Su, who believed Kevin had strayed from the right path. Su refused to allow him to destroy the future of human civilization.
Moreover, in addition to overseeing the 'Project VALUKA,' Su had also been entrusted by Dr. MEI with the 'Project REGULATOR'—a safeguard meant to restrain any pioneer who lost control.
"Enough. I have a general understanding of your tangled relationships and plans." Selene leaned against the railing and raised her goblet toward Fu Hua. "Kevin being locked away in a dark cell by his own comrade for fifteen hundred years. How ironic."
"In some ways, his methods resembled Finality more than mine do."
Now Selene had obtained the information she wanted. The scattered fragments of knowledge had fallen into place.
"The remaining few—Mobius, Pardofelis..."