"General, don't tell me you mean..."
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"I had previously explained the pros and cons to General Feixiao of Yaoqing and General Huaiyan of Zhuming. With the combined power of the three Xianzhous, plus external assistance, I'm sure that those who have revealed their weaknesses will see reason."
At these words, Fu Xuan was dumbfounded.
"General, you..."
"Yukong is also involved."
"Yukong, her!?"
"Yanqing was serving as my guard at the time."
"Yanqing!!!"
"This joint decision was made and agreed upon by all three parties. There's no need to worry."
Fu Xuan's eye twitched, the veins on her forehead bulged, and after a long moment she gritted her teeth and said, "So what you're saying is, I was the last one to know?"
Even Yanqing knew!!
...
Kicked out of the Divination Commission, Jing Yuan scratched his head and chuckled.
Humming a tune under the surprised and delighted gazes of passersby, he went off to loaf around.
Buying a bottle of Immortal Happy Tea, he took a sip and smiled lightly.
"Ah, Diviner Fu, it seems the you will still need quite some time."
Given Jing Yuan's age, he was already long-lived among the people of the Xianzhou.
He was approaching the point of eruption of the Mara.
For Xianzhou people about to erupt into the Mara, the Ten-Lords Commission would monitor them; once signs of falling into the Mara appeared, they would take them to the Ten-Lords Commission, record their life, and they could never return to the world of the living.
No exceptions. Accidents often happened.
Who would have thought that the Mara that imprisoned the Xianzhou people would actually find a way of mitigation now, after eight thousand years.
Jing Yuan, who should no longer have been able to endure, once again gained a road toward life.
Therefore, the once slightly hasty methods of training could now slow down, shift to leading the younger generation of the Xianzhou to slowly experience and slowly comprehend.
Waiting for them to grow their talent, to gain the true power to lead the Xianzhou forward, Jing Yuan thought he should go enjoy himself, go traveling around mountains and waters.
Otherwise wouldn't it be a waste of all these years of hard work?
After playing around, he'd seek out the roaming Galaxy Rangers, join them, and become a name that would truly be written into history.
How magnificent the scenery would be then. Imagining the future, Jing Yuan's lips couldn't help but curl upward.
...
The past.
St Freya.
Yae Sakura slowly went downstairs with a complicated feeling in her heart.
When she saw that white-haired girl struggling to finish off a chicken drumstick, she couldn't help but pause.
"Mm? Miss Sakura, come down for breakfast quickly, or Kiana will eat it all," Mei beckoned gently, tilting her head slightly as she watched Kiana wolf down her food, speaking helplessly.
"Kiana, I told you not to eat such greasy food for breakfast." Holding a chicken wing in one hand and milk in the other, her cheeks bulging, the scene was truly like a little mouse in a factory.
"But if I don't eat this it'll go to waste. Mei said wasting food is shameful, and I don't want to be a shameful person."
Mei shook her head, both indulgent and helpless as she looked at Kiana.
At times like this she could come up with one excuse after another, if only she worked this hard at studying.
Incidentally, at first the four little ones were just arranged by Himeko to stay at her house, but as their numbers grew, they now lived in a villa of St. Freya... a bit farther from the school.
Breakfast over, the complicated expression remained between Yae Sakura's brows and eyes.
Himeko and Theresa exchanged a glance and nodded together. Falling back deliberately, waiting for the others to walk away, Theresa asked: "Sakura, you've been frowning since earlier. What happened?"
Looking at the two of them, Yae Sakura spoke.
"You still remember what I said that day, right, the power sealed inside my body?"
At these words, Theresa and Himeko's expressions hardened, and they asked anxiously, "Don't tell me something's wrong with it?"
The only thing Theresa could think of was that the power in Yae Sakura's body had started to run wild. After all, according to Yae Sakura's description, the monster inside her was a true Herrscher.
She didn't know which Herrscher or what authority it had.
But it was still a Herrscher. Because of this, they had included Yae Sakura in St. Freya's education system.
And there had to be at least one Herrscher or S-rank Valkyrie by Yae Sakura's side as a safeguard.
Fu Hua would also do.
"I don't know. But when I was sleeping, it seemed like I heard it talking to someone. I'm sure the person it was talking to is inside Kiana's body!"
At these words, the two of them were struck speechless.
"Kiana, Kiana..." Theresa frowned tightly, muttering.
She wanted to believe Yae Sakura. Because she felt warmth from Yae Sakura.
That warmth wasn't fake, and it was something many people didn't have. Yae Sakura had given that warmth to her without any defenses.
She wanted to believe her.
"Someone who can talk with the Herrscher inside Yae's body," Himeko's face darkened.
Who could converse with a Herrscher? Other than a Herrscher, who else!
"...Ah ah!!" She scratched her hair irritably, pressing down her anxiety.
"The Herrscher of the Void." Brows furrowed tightly, Theresa's thoughts were a mess.
She hadn't expected the Herrscher of the Void to already be active now, and to apparently have made some sort of agreement with the Herrscher inside Yae Sakura.
If Yae Sakura hadn't sensed it early and turned the tables, St. Freya could have faced a huge crisis.
"What do we do now, Theresa? Should we take Kiana somewhere safe to restrain her powers?" Himeko asked in a low voice.
Supporting her head in thought for a moment, Theresa shook her head.
"No. Nowhere is safe to take Kiana. Schicksal Headquarters' won't do, Grandpa would definitely meddle. Nowhere else can accommodate the Herrscher of the Void. Not to mention there's still World Serpent out there with unknown goals."
"Right now the safest place is St. Freya."
As Otto's granddaughter, Theresa was full of love for her grandfather, but also wary.
To put it in one sentence: That thing isn't good.
"Himeko, for this period I'm troubling you to stay with Kiana. If anything goes wrong, evacuate the students immediately. During this time, let everyone stay by Kiana's side."
Theresa finally decided to win by sheer numbers, both in quantity and quality.
She refused to believe it.
Back then, even in the Second Eruption, they'd managed to hammer the Herrscher of the Void back down.
After so long, how could the Herrscher of the Void still be so arrogant?
She had to remember, they now had two Herrschers, an S-rank Valkyrie, and Fu Hua, a martial artist capable of hitting Herrschers.
Even if the Herrscher inside Yae Sakura's body caused trouble, they could suppress it.
This was confidence born of absolute power!
...
Time slowly passed.
"Hey, hey, Silver Wolf, can you hear me?"
"I'm listening, I'm listening. Isn't it just that I didn't answer the call last time because I was gaming? This time I picked up right away, so don't say that anymore..."
"Hmph, hmph. How's it going over there?"
"All good, no abnormalities. I'm guessing this time's problem is Godzilla again. Have you ever heard of someone using dreams to travel through time and space?"
"Mm, indeed. But this way the problem's easier to solve, at least we don't have to worry about this change causing some kind of irreversible impact."
Sunglasses, parasol, a solitary beach bath.
Kafka, wearing a purple swimsuit, lounged lazily on the beach, a vacation long overdue.
On the vast white beach, she was alone, listening to the beautiful sound of the waves, flipping through the latest fashion magazine. Life couldn't be more perfect.
"I say, Kafka, you really have the nerve to talk about me." With narrowed eyes, Silver Wolf retorted.
"Hehe, just relaxing a bit after work." Kafka smiled faintly at Silver Wolf's words.
She'd worked hard for so long, what's wrong with relaxing a little?
The small talk ended there.
The two began discussing serious matters.
"The Quantum Sea, the Imaginary Tree… hmm, the Elation Aha once climbed to the top of the tree, and now even Godzilla has entered the Quantum Sea," Kafka mused.
Once Godzilla had entered the Quantum Sea, according to the theory of the Tree and the Sea, how could the Imaginary Tree remain unaffected?
"I'm actually curious about what the Imaginary Tree looks like, but we probably can't get in, right? I have some self-awareness, if I go there, I'll probably just turn into imaginary energy."
"Ah~ don't you want to witness the beauty of the Imaginary Tree with your own eyes?"
"Hehe, don't think you can scam me into going, I won't."
Seeing that Silver Wolf wouldn't take the bait, Kafka felt a little regretful.
Unfamiliar with the concept of fear, she was deeply curious about such things.
But Silver Wolf wouldn't agree.
After all, she viewed the world as a massive game, not as something devoid of emotion.
In games, you can revive infinitely; if you fail, you can retry.
But in reality, once it's gone, it's gone.
...
Under strict surveillance from everyone, Kiana didn't notice anything wrong.
But Siegfried, watching from the shadows, sensed something amiss.
"Could something have happened to Kiana…?" He narrowed his eyes, gazing in the direction of St. Freya, suspicion rising in his heart.
Should he go in and take a look? Ever since his "battle" with Kevin, Siegfried had reflected deeply and decided to prioritize protecting Kiana above all else.
What he remembered most vividly were Kevin's signature white hair and his seamless control of Divine Key: Judgment of Shamash.
That memory set off alarm bells in Siegfried's mind.
On top of that, after losing the Judgment of Shamash, his power had greatly decreased. With his current body, he could still handle low-level Honkai beasts, but against stronger beings, he wouldn't even be able to protect himself, let alone keep acting from the shadows.
After much thought, he decided to hide near Kiana and protect her. And facts proved his decision right.
Kiana was always surrounded by many people: Theresa, Himeko, Raiden Mei, Fu Hua, Yuna, and that new girl Yae Sakura.
Normally, so many people together wouldn't seem strange, but Siegfried keenly noticed they were all centered around Kiana.
That made him suspicious.
While Siegfried pondered, the shopkeeper looked awkwardly at the weary man before him.
Should he drive him away?
Could he have turned malicious because of some disability?
Should I warn him?
Several customers who were about to enter looked at the strange scene, quietly closed the door, and left without making a sound.
...
Inside the consciousness space.
The Herrscher of the Void crossed her legs, tapping her finger on the throne, deep in thought.
Suddenly, her expression changed. Excitement replaced her usual disdainful calm.
She was listening to the revelation of the gods.
The Herrscher of the Void's authority was over imaginary space. The Cocoon of Finality lay at the edge of the imaginary realm.
The two were connected by the same imaginary channels. Thus, something was bound to happen.
"Hm? What is this?"
On the Imaginary Tree, Godzilla slowly opened his eyes, his vertical pupils calmly fixing on the source of imaginary energy fluctuations. Curiosity rose within him.
What's happening? Normally, aside from the regions connected to the Quantum Sea, the Imaginary Tree remained silent.
Occasionally, small fluctuations occurred, but they never lasted long.
So this continuous, long-lasting imaginary energy surge caught Godzilla's attention.
Any living being would be curious about such an unusual phenomenon.
Coincidentally, he had some free time.
So... let's see.
....
The Herrscher of the Void listened to the divine revelation, her excitement growing.
A revelation from God, even though she'd lost so completely last time, God still loved her. That was the greatness of God.
Thinking this, the Herrscher of the Void focused more intently.
But before she could listen more closely, her connection to the divine was severed.
She suddenly opened her eyes, her mind blank.
Then, a chill ran down her spine. She focused her gaze, in front of her stood a massive amber-like tree.
It radiated endless majesty, making one instinctively fear to approach or defy it.
What... is this?
The Herrscher of the Void didn't know. Her mind was empty, her thoughts scattered.
"Eh!? A newcomer!" Just as she struggled to control her body, an excited voice reached her.
Using that voice as an anchor, she regained control of herself.
Following the sound, she saw a cute girl wearing a hood and mask, with black stirrup stockings, looking at her in delight.
The Herrscher of the Void was puzzled. She could actually feel joy coming from this faceless human.
Was she... not afraid of her?
"How did you get in? Judging by your appearance, you must be from that world, right?"
Miss Memokeeper girl chattered on.
No wonder, the Herrscher of the Void's beauty and bearing drew her in. Miss Memokeeper loved making friends with beautiful women.
"Human, where is this place, and who are you?"
Miss Memokeeper's endless chatter awakened the Herrscher of the Void's vigilance, disgust, and disdain. She spoke from on high.
Miss Memokeeper tilted her head, confused by the sudden attitude.
But she didn't mind. As a Memokeeper of the Garden of Recollection, who'd traveled the entire cosmos, she'd met countless eccentric people. Compared to them, this newcomer's arrogance was nothing special.
"This is the Imaginary Tree. That one behind you is Godzilla. You must be here because of him, right?"
Miss Memokeeper smiled.
Hearing her words, the Herrscher of the Void's pupils shrank sharply. She hurriedly asked,
"What do you mean?!"
Just then, a wave of heat surged through her body, stronger than before.
She turned around abruptly, disbelief still in her eyes and came face-to-face with Godzilla, whose eyes were slowly moving.
Expressionless.
Meaning: I'm here.