Rustle, rustle.
Amidst the quiet swaying, a nondescript withered leaf could no longer cling to the veins of the treetop. Like countless others, it drifted away on the whistling autumn wind.
Despite any reluctance, the harshness of late autumn was clearly not as gentle as summer raindrops. It relentlessly tore these dead branches and withered leaves, whose lives had reached their end, from the treetops, ultimately crushing them brutally into the earth.
However, perhaps this particular leaf still had its own destiny. It fluttered desperately, finally landing on a windowsill, coming to rest in a boy's hand.
"..." The boy, his face slightly pale, fell silent. He subconsciously looked up at the tree outside his hospital room window, only to see the crown, lush just yesterday, had somehow become sparse, leaving only a few withered leaves clinging on for dear life.
But as the biting cold wind blew, even these stubborn leaves ultimately couldn't escape their fated end.
All that remained were bare branches, holding aloft the bleakness of the approaching winter, dyeing the cold autumn day and the boy's dark gold eyes with an indelible sadness.
Rustle~
The desolate autumn wind gusted again, seemingly unwilling to spare even the fallen leaves on the ground. The boy's expression turned panicked. He quickly clenched his hand tightly around the leaf, trying to keep the wind from taking it.
But when the autumn chill subsided and he opened his hand again, all that remained in his palm were the tattered fragments of the leaf.
"No..."
Realizing his foolish mistake, the boy stood frozen. In his golden eyes, an inverted, towering tree swayed gently, growing rapidly like cracks spreading across glass. Simultaneously, the aura around the boy began to decay like the leaves outside, becoming saturated with the stench of death.
Yet, just as the boy was about to lose control, a faint call gently reached his ears.
"Little Jue."
Instantly, everything—the leaves, the autumn wind—seemed frozen as if time had stopped. Only when the boy regained his senses did they resume their course, carried away by time as always.
"Mom." Hurriedly closing the window, the young Ren quickly answered, rushing back to the bedside.
The woman in the bed was pale, her eyes filled with an undeniable weakness. Before she could say anything, she began coughing again.
Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth with the coughs, staining her lips a vivid red. It was unclear whether stagnant blood had finally cleared or her body was recovering, but miraculously, after the coughing subsided, the woman's complexion seemed slightly healthier.
"Mom, I'll call the doctor for you!" Although young, Ren knew this wasn't a sign of recovery. Instead, it felt more like...
His voice trembled, forcefully pushing that word from his mind. But just as he was about to press the call button, his movement abruptly stopped.
"Little Jue, please listen to me, okay?"
His mother smiled, just as Ren remembered her. The button was right under his fingertip. He knew that once pressed, the alarm's call would immediately drown out his mother's voice, and he might never hear her words clearly again.
Clenching his fist couldn't save the leaf; it only shattered it more completely.
"Mom, I'm listening." The boy knelt by the bed, pressing his ear close to his mother.
Rustle~ Rustle~
The leaves outside swayed, whispering the final words of life's end.
---||---
「Vital signs normal. Awakening successful.」
As the dull synthetic voice sounded, the darkness receded along with the memory. The young man slowly opened his eyes, and clear light poured out like molten gold.
In that instant, everything around him seemed gripped by some invisible force. The steel-reinforced concrete foundation shattered with a roar, the integrated metal walls twisted, and even the high-purity Soulium framework crumpled like a toy.
"Lord!"
Just as the invisible force was about to engulf the entire laboratory, a woman's terrified cry for help finally sounded, belatedly. However, before that, a giant sword blazing with fierce flames had already whistled out, wrapped in infinite fire, striking towards Ren.
BOOM!
In an instant, the two boundless streams of Honkai Energy collided, exploding like a nuclear bomb. The entire underground base, buried nearly a hundred meters deep, was instantly overturned like mud on a riverbank.
When the Honkai energy dissipated, all that met Kevin Kaslana's eyes was a spherical crater stretching thousands of meters across. Fortunately, the underground base was located in an uninhabited area; otherwise, another city would have been wiped off the map.
"Friend, or foe?"
Kevin's voice was low, his gaze fixed icily on the figure in the distance. Behind him, the Mobius Serpent, having narrowly escaped, didn't dare linger for even a second, immediately opening a Stigma Space passage and darting inside.
"..."
The silent Ren didn't respond, merely standing frozen, seemingly still lost in the illusion conjured by the Herrscher Core. His reaction made Kevin's already grave expression even heavier.
For powerhouses like them, what often seemed like a casual blow was already at the limit of human capability. As humanity's strongest warrior, Kevin's strike, containing the full power of his normal state, was something virtually no Herrscher could withstand. Yet, clearly, Ren had not only endured it but emerged completely unscathed.
Kevin also knew that their clash couldn't even be considered a real fight. Ren had just finished absorbing the Herrscher Cores; the Honkai Energy within him was still unstable. The previous impact was merely akin to someone waking up grumpy.
Of course, Kevin, having already estimated Ren's combat potential, wasn't exactly nervous. But to prevent the situation from escalating further, he had no choice but to activate his Chimera form prematurely.
"Answer me! Friend, or foe!"
With a swing of his greatsword, roaring flames enveloped Kevin's body. When the light faded, all that remained was Kevin, sporting golden horns and a single漆black wing. In his Chimera state, Kevin suppressed the berserk ICHOR factors raging within him, his azure eyes holding only bone-chilling coldness. Seeing Ren still unresponsive, he attacked decisively.
Crack, crack, crack.
The extreme cold power belonging to Parvati instantly spread, freezing the surrounding space and earth. Simultaneously, flames, the complete opposite of the cold, erupted once more from the Might of An-Utu, sealing off all of Ren's escape routes.
Facing Ren, Kevin dared not be complacent, attacking with his full strength from the outset.
With one slash, space-time itself seemed to sizzle and warp under the intense heat. Ren, still rooted to the spot like a marionette with cut strings, had no time to react before the sword's gleam filled his vision.
BOOM!
Instantly, the earth was torn apart by the violent force. Searing heat radiated outwards, nearly vaporizing a nearby mountain, leaving only molten rock flowing like lava.
When the flames subsided, only scorched earth remained. Amidst the hazy dust, the figures of the two gradually became visible.
"Barely friends, I suppose. If you're not planning on continuing to slash at me with your sword," a clear young voice emerged from the dust, tinged with a hint of helplessness.
Evidently, the Project Stigma experiment hadn't caused Ren to lose himself. It was just that the memories of the past had struck too deeply, making him reluctant to return from recollection to reality. He hadn't expected Kevin to be so decisive, hitting him with a full-power strike in Chimera form right off the bat.
However, for the current Ren, whether Kevin was in Chimera form or his normal state made no difference. With over eight hundred puppets and having fused with the Herrscher authorities of Wind, Ice, Star, and Sentience during Project Stigma, Ren was confident he wouldn't be disadvantaged even if Kevin activated his Deliverance form.
"Your current self requires me to be cautious," Kevin shook his head slightly, not hiding his wariness towards Ren.
Although they were currently allied and cooperating, Kevin knew full well that the present Ren was no longer someone he could easily handle. If Ren suddenly turned traitor, it would only take three days to destroy most of human civilization. This was absolutely unacceptable for Kevin, who was dedicated to saving the world.
"Relax, I have no interest in destroying the world. After all, similar things..." Ren's voice lowered slightly, "...I've done hundreds of times."
Before Kevin could ask further, Ren deliberately changed the subject.
"According to our agreement, Project Stigma is one-third complete. The rest is just a matter of time. But don't forget, there are twelve Herrschers. Including myself, we currently only have eleven Cores."
"The only one yet to appear is... the Herrscher of Binding."
Memories flooded Kevin's mind, causing even his heart, frozen for fifty thousand years, to twitch for an instant. But he quickly regained his composure. "Herrschers are products born in response to the Honkai. When the right time comes, it will naturally appear."
"Are you saying we just wait for it to show up on its own?"
"No. I mean, we can artificially create the 'right' conditions."
"Hah, easy for you to say. If World Serpent could truly control the birth of Herrschers, why would you need to formulate so many versions of Project Stigma?"
"That's because the Herrschers of our civilization couldn't escape their own destiny. But someone severed those bonds for the Herrschers of this era. Since this era can produce Herrschers with emotions, like you and Raiden Mei, then perhaps using emotions to selectively cultivate a Herrscher is also feasible."
"So, what do you plan to do?"
"That's not for you to worry about. When the time is right, World Serpent will act." Kevin then added, "Also, if your 16th version of the plan fails, we will immediately activate the 15th version. World Serpent has prepared for centuries; we can't possibly bet everything on you."
"Do as you please," Ren replied noncommittally. He didn't care whether humanity survived the Finality; he only wanted to fulfill someone's wish.
"By the way, while I was absorbing the Cores, what happened outside?"
"Schicksal has already taken action. Most of the Herrscher of Dominance puppets you created have been eliminated."
"Expected. Those who only know destruction can achieve nothing but chaos and serve as consumables. No matter how much power you give them, they only accelerate their own demise with all their might." Ren nodded. A proper stage play doesn't consist of just one act; the chaos caused by the HoD was merely the opening scene.
"Additionally, Schicksal has issued a global wanted notice for Kiana Kaslana. And in her search for your whereabouts, it seems she's walking right into their encirclement."
"..."
Whoosh.
A sudden gust of wind whipped up sand and dust. When the storm subsided, Ren was nowhere to be seen.