Sometimes, a person's actions really can't change anything. But much of the time, people simply lack a clear direction and goal—so if someone is the first to shout, "Let's get out of the dream!" then more and more will follow that voice, throwing themselves into a great cause. Humanity is not inherently brave, but sometimes it can be rich in courage.
...
In the boundless darkness, countless dreamscapes stirred and boiled, like a great beast awakening from deep slumber, stretching out its enormous body at will. One after another, faint lights drifted away, breaking free from the pull of the light clusters, floating up into the pitch-black sky. Within those faint glows flickered shades of pink and cyan—the colors of souls. The giant of the dreamscape was collapsing from the inside out.
Once the first hard layer was pierced, the dream was as fragile as a film of foam at dawn—ready to burst at any time.
----
Inside Cecilia's villa.
Cecilia looked at the slightly flushed, embarrassed Theresa and smiled warmly.
"Sometimes I do forget—our Headmistress also carries the duties of a teacher. Theresa still needs to keep working hard~"
"Mm—if it were you, Cecilia, you'd definitely do an even better job." Theresa's eyes couldn't help but hold a trace of hope as she looked at her. In that dream, her own words had faintly carried Cecilia's shadow.
In the past, the light she longed for in her heart had been this very woman, and she hoped that she could be like her—helping more people in her own way.
"It's not necessarily that easy to say. You should have more confidence, Theresa. You also have your own special strengths, don't you?"
"Ah—what strengths?"
"You can easily get along with children."
A glint of playfulness flashed in Cecilia's eyes as she quickly reached out and rubbed Theresa's head.
Caught off guard, Theresa's face turned crimson, both shy and flustered. She instinctively tried to push Cecilia away, but the other woman's advantage in arm length kept her well out of reach.
"Don't bring my height into this!" she huffed angrily. Why was it always like this? Was there really no one who could genuinely respect her from the heart?
"According to the data, Headmistress Theresa ranks first in the academy's headmistress popularity chart," Prometheus said calmly.
"That's just because I'm the only headmistress in the academy," Theresa replied with a somewhat strained and awkward smile. What—was she going to be overthrown before her own uprising even succeeded? She still wanted to know who was behind those votes, so she could deal with them sooner or later.
"No, I mean they hope that in the next headmistress ranking, you will still be number one," Prometheus corrected. "It's worth noting that, correspondingly, because of the old 'Virtuous Plan' series, your approval rating as host has reached a new historic high."
"..."
"I don't know where this list even comes from, but why am I not happy at all? What kind of shady list is this? The role of a host has nothing to do with a ranking, right?" Theresa's face was full of question marks—she was speechless. She had no idea where the AI had gotten these figures, but presumably they were pulled from the real-world network somewhere.
Also, she had no idea what those voters were thinking—were they that worried about her becoming a host?
----
In the game.
Kevin naturally noticed the abnormal changes in the dreamscape. There were still others searching within it, working to change the mindset of those trapped in their beautiful dreams.
He had already seen people after they were changed: children who dreamed of flying, girls who were once lost but had found their direction, old men who could calmly accept death and face reality...
Life came in many colors, and every ordinary person had their own answer. No longer lost in the dream, they willingly awoke from the beauty of their childhood dreams to face the cold reality.
In corners he couldn't see, the world had already begun to quietly change thanks to those people.
He didn't mind. But as he approached the gate to return to reality, he unexpectedly encountered the one blocking his path—Durandal.
He understood her intentions, and she was indeed someone worth meeting—whether she called herself the heir, bore the final title of Kaslana, or stood as a Celestial among humans at the very peak...
She was worth him stopping for.
But no matter how they tried to alter the path, there was no avoiding a fight with him. Only by surpassing him could they claim their chosen way to save the world.
The dreamscape was indeed dissipating piece by piece from the giant's body—but in the next instant, it was completely restored by an entirely different kind of existence.
Humans can only indulge within dreams, but the Honkai Beasts can think clearly even in daylight dreams. The Chimera, which unified all Honkai Beast dreamscapes, thus eroded the shadows hidden within humanity's dreams.
Now, those shadows were repairing the human dreams, filling the mind of Adam, and replacing the lost human dreams with those of the Honkai Beasts.
For humans, dreams are illusions; but for the Honkai Beasts, dreams are reality.
This meant that Theresa and the others could no longer dismantle the collective dreamscape by treating it as a human one.
The "Reclaim the Earth" plan was once again put on hold.
However, this was also the reason Durandal had come to talk to Kevin.
After Rita appeared in this difficult situation, she put forward a bold idea—could the Holy Sword Durandal cut away Kevin's shadow, Chimera, thereby severing its link with Finality's power?
At the same time, they could use Kevin's shadow to locate Finality's Cocoon, taking the opportunity to approach her until they could become one with her.
Durandal's tests confirmed that the Holy Sword could indeed achieve this.
But before challenging Kevin, they still needed to invite another helper—the Herrscher of Sentience. After all, everyone knew the Herrscher of Sentience could fight Kevin to a standstill.
Inviting her out wasn't difficult—although she made a show of acting tough, when told, "The world needs you. Fu Hua needs you," she still pretended to be annoyed while agreeing.
—Of course, she would never admit it was because she couldn't resist acting like the old mischievous brat she was.
The grand principle of saving the world—she understood that much. Even if it was just lending a hand along the way, she still did it. After all, who told her to want to oppose the Honkai?
----
[Herrscher of Sentience: Stop always bringing up that old timer when you talk to me! Like this... how am I supposed to refuse you~]
[A five-thousand-year-old man like Kevin, and Durandal—you actually go for sneak attacks, confessions, and romantic gestures?]
[Next, I have to mention someone's sarcastic remark—Compared to you, this world matters more.]
----
In the Recording room.
"Honkai Beasts daydreaming in broad daylight—now that's rare." Herrscher of Sentience nodded casually, eyes glinting with curiosity. After all, no matter how you put it, she was still just a child less than a year old.
"Hmph~" Kiana shot her a glance. She already had the other's tactics written all over her mind, yet always liked to claim she didn't care about the class monitor. What a woman—mouth says no, heart says yes. She didn't even consider that she herself often did the same when it came to Mei.
"Inviting our little Senti out was truly a smart decision," Luo Mo couldn't help but praise. Even though the little one was embarrassed the first time she met Kevin, when something had to be done, she did it—charging ahead without hesitation. That, was called courage.
On the other hand, after experiencing the oppressive brilliance of Kevin firsthand, Luo Mo himself didn't dare meet his gaze again. Of course, the gap in strength was an important factor—back then, he was no different from any ordinary person before Kevin.
"Stop, stop! I've realized—every time you praise me, bad things happen to me afterward." Herrscher of Sentience stepped back, inhaling sharply, looking annoyed. She had every reason to suspect he was plotting against her again.
"There's no logical connection there at all!" Luo Mo said firmly, determined to clear his name. Since when did praising someone become a crime?
Fu Hua glanced over, the corner of her mouth twitching, but said nothing. She simply pulled Herrscher of Sentience away from him, putting distance between them.
Lesson one in teaching children—stay away from the wrong people.
---
In the Golden courtyard.
"What a bold idea ♪~"
"You want to cut away Kevin's shadow, then secretly become the Herrscher of Finality, right? Could something like that really work? I'm so curious." Elysia's eyes sparkled with interest, clearly intrigued.
It was hard to tell whose side she was really on. Of course, if you asked her, she'd say she stood on the side of truth—but not just Bronya's side. The so-called truth, for her, was simply "whichever side has more beautiful girls" ♪~
A human Herrscher… she was genuinely looking forward to seeing what their world would be like after success.
"...Becoming the Herrscher of Finality is, of course, not so simple. But it must be a human Herrscher who faces the Cocoon of Finality —that's the basic requirement." Vill-V adjusted her magician's hat, drawing more eyes to herself—something she was well-trained in.
"But speaking of that sword... it reminds me of an interesting invention. Originally, it also came from the hands of Fire Moth. Manipulating micrometer particles... Back then, no one thought it would one day become what it is now—a weapon capable of cutting even the intangible."
Time had indeed transformed things beyond expectation—whether it was the Void Archives taking on someone's form, the Key of Corruption Jizo Mitama, or Durandal's holy sword... all of their evolutions brought joy to this former weapons specialist who had once handled them.
"Accepting the Power of Finality isn't that easy. If all the Herrschers bore it together, then maybe it could work," Mobius frowned, stating bluntly.
"But didn't Kevin bear it all alone?"
"Hmm... Considering Kevin's growth afterward, we could at least try, right?" Elysia, the Fire Moth's deputy commander, blinked playfully.
Even against Kevin, she wasn't one to easily back down. In the past, she could actually fight him to a draw—unlike the little one.
"First of all, I don't think any of them have two powers like you do. More importantly... strictly speaking, Kevin only obtained a portion of the Power of Finality, and even then, shared some of the burden through the Stigma Project."
"They still have a long way to go before they can truly overcome the Honkai," Mobius shook her head.
Kevin... if he hadn't been a MANTIS, but instead a human Herrscher, would he still have had that chance? The root of changing all these outcomes still lay with her—Elysia. A trace of uncertainty flickered in her eyes.
---
In the game.
Just as Kevin was about to return to reality, he found himself in the Elysian Realm again. In every corner, tiny clusters of light appeared—Honkai Beast dreamscapes—across every planet in the galaxy. Clearly, this was not normal.
Dreams stem from reality. And since Raiden Mei hadn't entered the dreamscape, no one could have fabricated a situation like this. But the dreamscape created here by the Herrscher of Sentience could, at most, only make Kevin walk a few extra steps.
In the end, using Honkai Beast dreamscapes to counterattack Kevin was an unrealistic idea. Even for a Herrscher of Consciousness, this was impossible.
After leaving the dreamscape, he found himself on an ancient battlefield. Towering stone swords and countless chains locked space itself, pressing down the gray sky and giving the battlefield a heavy atmosphere.
"You should know—you're not my opponent." Kevin calmly watched the Herrscher of Sentience's performance and spoke evenly.
Reasonably speaking, she had no obligation to get involved. The Stigma Project 's final stages had nothing to do with her, and he had ignored her antics many times.
But if she wished to challenge him, he would welcome it. That was his duty.
"How would I know unless I try?! Things are different now!" A confident smile spread across the Herrscher of Sentience's face as she rode her sword straight at him, engaging head-on.
On her home turf, drawing on billions of dreamscapes to create the battlefield, she first unleashed eighteen different weapons against him. Kevin, however, merely used his ice powers casually, blocking her entirely and preventing her from advancing a single step.
Even as an entity of consciousness, immune to easy destruction, she was still sent flying multiple times by that overwhelming power. Kevin hadn't even drawn his greatsword.
The balance of victory was already tipping toward Kevin. He hadn't even used his Honkai power—but when that fearsome body of his manifested before her, she couldn't even block a single strike.
When Kevin transformed into his demonic form, his cold expression unmoving, he simply threw a punch—
Boom—
The Herrscher of Sentience slammed into a barrier, sliding down heavily.
It was just like before—when the old Timer who wielded Honkai power was subdued by Kevin. Kevin was still just as terrifyingly strong, suffocating in his presence.
But then Kevin suddenly stopped, his gaze narrowing at a crimson feather drifting in the air. On the horn atop his head, a faint crack had appeared—some kind of damage.
In the past, he had traded a dream to obtain the Herrscher's body, rendering weapon attacks ineffective against him. In theory, this new type of damage wasn't an illusion.
It was the Herrscher of Sentience's unique attack.
The Herrscher of Sentience had originally been connected to Fu Hua—sharing glory and humiliation alike. But judging from Fu Hua's current condition...
This time, their relationship had been completely severed.
Kevin thought about it for a moment. If one wanted to reach the point of being able to harm her, the opponent must have found the core of Feathers of Tranquility, taken refuge within it, completed their weaponization, and only then could they fully unleash all of their power.
He glanced at the crimson feathers filling the sky. Each feather was a medium for her to channel her power, and as long as her core remained intact, only by exhausting those feathers almost completely could one truly harm her. The dreamscape rich with conscious control indeed created the perfect battlefield for her — a top-tier time-stalling tactic.
But so what?
Kevin's gaze had not changed from beginning to end. He saw her power as no different from that of a child. He had once borne the title of "Deliverance," accumulated tens of thousands of years of experience, and now carried the power of the Finality Branch — a human vessel for the Collapse-born Honkai... He already stood at the highest peak a human could reach.
And precisely because of that, surpassing him would mean that humanity could truly leap across the abyss of Honkai.
Slowly, he drew out the Endbringer. The power of the Collapse Demon gradually filled his body, gathering entirely into the great sword he raised. At this moment in the battle, the full force of the Honkai Collapse within him was unleashed. Only in his hands could this "Key of Ruin" display its true power.
In the next moment, he swung his sword, trailing searing heat and blazing fire into the sky.
–Heavenly Fire — unsheathed!
The scorching flames swept through every inch of the dreamspace. The temperature was so intense that ordinary eyes could not even look directly at it. Everything visible to the naked eye was burned to near nothingness — including the Herrscher of Sentience standing before him.
With just a single strike, he could shatter all the feathers.
When he willed the flames to freeze in place, nothing remained in the dreamspace before him. He took a few calm steps forward toward a distant door, his expression unchanged, as though nothing had happened.
But then his eyes narrowed — the door in the distance had vanished from the dream, along with every other passage, leaving nothing but endless pitch-black void.
"..."
"How many times must I tell you — in the space of consciousness, do you still think you can kill a Herrscher by will alone?" The Herrscher of Sentience's voice once again echoed in the space, still brimming with vigor and provocation.
The scene before him was pulled back to the starting area once again.
Kevin frowned slightly. He knew, of course, that his earlier strike wouldn't erase her completely, but to say she was entirely unhurt… something about that seemed off.
He plucked one of the feathers from the air and examined its unique nature.
"So that's it..."
Kevin let the feather go. The countless crimson feathers in the air weren't actually the mediums of her Herrscher power, but rather projections of the dreamscape's borrowed strength — the Herrscher of Sentience was using the dreams of other humans from the Stigma Project to sustain her strength against him.
But ultimately, this was not her own power. Using their dreams meant she was unconsciously influenced in return. Even with five-thousand-year-old Fu Hua's memories and her own formidable will, as time dragged on, even a will multiplied by millions could erode her until she was no longer herself.
"When that happens… you might completely become someone else — someone you, right now, wouldn't even recognize."
Kevin watched her quietly as he spoke. Just to stop him, such a price seemed a bit too heavy. Still, he didn't reject a fight like this, even knowing she had other schemes.
Right now, he was Kevin the human — and as it happened, he had once crossed paths with the civilization's Herrscher of Sentience in the past, under less-than-pleasant circumstances. If she was going to come at him as an enemy, he had no qualms about trampling her a little.
"Ah, who said this is a price? Becoming a Herrscher — I didn't get to choose. Being unable to escape the influence of that old stubborn Timer — I didn't get to choose that either."
"Even if this continues, I still won't be anyone at all. What's the difference between the two?"
The Herrscher of Sentience's tone was one of resignation. She had long analyzed her own situation, yet still could not find her true self.
Whether as a Herrscher or as Fu Hua, neither was what she wanted to be. Those memories only brought her entanglement and contradiction. She couldn't blend into Kiana and the others, nor could she turn away from the Honkai with indifference. Even she felt she'd been acting strangely lately!
So fine — let this battle decide. If time truly dragged on to a certain point, being eroded by millions of human wills might not even be a bad thing.
Let this decide — what she would ultimately become.
----
[Waaah — I can sense the aura of an epic fifty-fifty split! Keep it up, little Senti!]
[Herrscher of Sentience: In terms of adapting to Houkai energy, he's stronger than me. In combat skill, I'm one step above Kevin. He has Shamash, I have Fuhwan Down… We're fifty-fifty!]
[Senti's Keeper: Fifty-fifty, my ass. You're just a Divine Key. Your whole family's Divine Keys!]
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