The neatly tied silver-gray hair suddenly unraveled, curling upward in a wild and rebellious wave.
Her bangs and sidelocks took on a playful, carefree flair.
A blood-red winged cloak was slung carelessly across her back, utterly shattering Fu Hua's usual calm and composed demeanor.
Her outfit—dominated by shades of black, gray, and gold—was adorned with dragon and cloud motifs.
Unlike the formal elegance of the Herrscher armors worn by the Herrscher Trio, C.C., and Himeko, the Herrscher of Sentience's battle attire pushed asymmetrical design to artistic extremes.
Layers overlapped and intertwined—an inner corset hugged her waist, while loose, flowing skirts trailed freely around her.
Golden feather-like ornaments sparkled in her hair, and soft pink diamond-shaped crystals dangled delicately.
Her pale, flawless legs were fully exposed to the air, and the open design between her underarms and chest left little to the imagination.
Her delicate collarbones framed her graceful neckline, further enhancing her alluring appearance.
There was a fierce, untamed aura just beneath her porcelain skin—elegance wrapped in madness.
"Ugh…"
It was only natural to feel overwhelmed after suddenly absorbing such a massive volume of memories.
A soft, pained moan escaped her lips.
Her long lashes trembled ever so slightly, like she was waking from a deep, dreamless sleep.
The rosy glow in her eyes still carried a trace of confusion.
She rubbed her eyes gently with her small hands, then slowly looked up to see two people staring at her closely.
Her awareness sharpened bit by bit, and the vacant look in her eyes gradually filled with life.
The moment she recognized Nagami, her expression brightened with unmistakable joy.
This girl—well, maybe "girl" isn't quite the right word.
Though she had Fu Hua's memories, the Herrscher of Sentience was technically a newborn, not even a day old.
She parted her lips, and with just two words, managed to drop Nagami straight out of the sky:
"Dad!"
At that instant, Himeko, now the newly awakened Herrscher of Flames, whipped her head toward Nagami, eyes wide in utter disbelief.
The expression on her face screamed:
"You little punk—what the hell have you been up to?!"
Nagami himself froze in mid-air, completely forgetting to maintain his flight.
He dropped like a stone.
"Ah—!"
A lively voice filled with chaotic energy, but also a surprising hint of tenderness.
A soft fragrance wrapped around him.
The Herrscher of Sentience acted quickly—just before Nagami hit the ground, she surged forward, caught him mid-fall, and wrapped one arm around his neck and the other under his knees.
She princess-carried him effortlessly.
Nagami stared blankly, his brain overloaded.
He couldn't process what was happening.
"Honestly! You're not even that old, Daddy, so what's with the memory loss?" she teased. "Let me be clear, I'm not going to take care of you every day when you get senile. That's old timer's job."
Her tone had that familiar tsundere sting—just like a grown daughter scolding her forgetful father.
Though her face still held some childlike roundness, there was no mistaking the sass behind those words.
Judging by her casual mention of "old timer," it was clear she'd already met Fu Hua in their shared mindspace and had a conversation with her.
"Wait! Time out! Hold it! STOP! Back the hell up!!"
Nagami flailed like a panicked parent, raising his hand in the universal "wait!" gesture.
"Just... stay right there. Don't move. I—I need a minute. I need to... recalibrate."
Seeing the Herrscher of Sentience blink at him in confusion, Nagami blasted upward into the sky like a rocket.
High above, he let the cold wind lash at him, letting it calm his wildly spiraling thoughts.
Deep breath. Deep breath…
(╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻
What's the point of deep breathing!? WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!
———————————————————————
[System Alert: Apocalypse Network Activated]
———————————————————————
[Nagami]: "Systerm! Translate for me—what the actual hell does 'surprise' mean in this context!?"
———————————————————————
He was practically screaming into the internal network, profanity-laced confusion radiating through his thoughts.
'How the hell did I end up becoming a dad?!'
———————————————————————
[System Response:]
"During the catalysis process, the King's Void Authority fused with a soul possessing cognitive domain powers.
This formed one of the fundamental factors in her birth. From a sentient being's perspective, the King is, without question, her paternal source."
———————————————————————
The system responded calmly, perhaps even a bit puzzled by Nagami's outburst.
To it, having such a powerful offspring was a blessing.
It meant survival, strength, legacy—what more could a king ask for?
With Void Authority acting as a core component of her creation, this Herrscher of Sentience was bound to be leagues stronger than her in-game counterpart.
And because her soul wasn't created through the usual collapse-consciousness process, there was zero risk of corruption.
No mental erosion, no influence from the Honkai Will.
At most… she might be a little too energetic.
But hey, what do you expect from a soul engineered by the collapse itself to be a perfect Herrscher?
So, with the intention of boosting their forces for the coming battle against Chiyou and the Herrscher of Domination, Nagami had merged his Void Power into the process...
But who could've known it would lead to this mess?!
Wait a second.
If the Herrscher of Sentience (Senti) is calling him "Dad," then who's her mother…? Is it the Honkai Will? Or is it Fu Hua?
Looking at it purely from a soul-based perspective, Nagami and the Honkai Will's powers were the fundamental components of Senti's creation.
Meanwhile, Fu Hua's consciousness and body served as the "incubation chamber"...
'Wait—doesn't that basically make this some kind of surrogate birth?!'
Father: Nagami.
Mother: Honkai Will.
Surrogate mom: Fu Hua.
Nagami inhaled sharply, genuinely stunned by the thought that just flashed through his mind—then frantically shook his head to chase it away.
His chaotic stream of thoughts was interrupted by Himeko, who had flown up beside him.
Even with crimson flames dancing in her eyes, Nagami could clearly see a very particular kind of "expression" in her gaze.
It was the kind of "expression" you'd find in a massive pie chart with too many overlapping segments. He was done.
He didn't want to analyze this anymore.
"Hey, hey, hey—what's this? Are you trying to follow in Ai-chan's dad's footsteps now? Into this kind of thing?" Himeko teased, wrapping her black lace-gloved hand around his shoulder and pulling him back a little.
Together, they looked toward the floating figure of Senti, who was gently swinging her long, slender legs in midair, looking for all the world like a child waiting for her parents at the mall.
Lowering her voice, Himeko added, "You really into that kind of play, huh?"
"There's no way I'd—! I mean—hell no! I'm just as lost as you are here! Who the hell saw this coming?!"
Even while pressed up against Himeko's blazing Herrscher outfit, surrounded by the scent of roses and the softness of her curves, Nagami didn't feel a shred of temptation.
Not right now.
"From a metaphysical standpoint... I guess you could say I'm somewhat related to her," he said, holding his fingers an inch apart to illustrate. "But as a carbon-based lifeform, I've got zero biological connection. Zilch!"
"Still can't believe you watch that kind of anime," Himeko said, smirking.
"Don't change the subject."
Himeko immediately saw through his attempt to redirect and gave him a sharp karate chop to the head.
Her tone was playfully mocking. "You realize the more you try to explain it, the more suspicious it sounds, right?"
Nagami opened his mouth to argue—but suddenly turned sharply toward the direction of Chiyou, his face becoming deadly serious.
"Oh no. We don't have time for existential crisis discussions anymore. The big boss is here."
To be honest, part of him almost felt grateful to Chiyou and Herrscher Himiko for giving him something else to focus on... almost.
But he pushed that thought aside and dove from the sky at full speed, landing in front of Senti.
He hesitated for a moment on how to address her, then said, "Senti, where's Fu Hua?"
Still playing with a lock of her silver-gray hair out of boredom, Senti scrunched her nose slightly in distaste.
"Old timer's probably too embarrassed to come out because of Dad. Seriously, what's there to be shy about? I mean, come on—"
"Ahem! Let's not get into that right now!" Nagami quickly interrupted, putting on the sternest face he could manage. "Tell her this: The Herrscher of Domination has awakened. Chiyou has fully evolved. The battle's about to begin!"
Time for the raid, dammit!
"Let me do it! Let me do it! Daddy, when it comes to fighting the Honkai, I'm way better than that old timer!"
Her grin was absolutely unhinged—healthy, sure, but unhinged.
If the Honkai Will ever manifested as a person and heard what Senti was saying, it'd probably faint on the spot from rage.