A deafening sonic boom tore through the air—so sharp, so piercing, it was like the sky itself had been ripped apart.
A deep, lightless darkness stretched out, as if the stars had been devoured by a black hole.
A crimson hellfire capable of burning all into ash erupted from Calamity's Edge...
The space was saturated with the overwhelming presence of the Void Sword...
A holy spear born before creation and lingering beyond annihilation, glowing with sacred radiance...
Black and red corrosive light, shimmering with a strange, ominous hue...
Thunder crashing like a thousand birds screaming at once...
Everything—all of it—seemed to freeze in that single blinding instant of light and shadow.
And then—
A blinding radiance surged across the entire world!
The solidified seawater ruptured as spiraling vortexes briefly formed, only to be overwhelmed and obliterated by the surging tide of energy.
A colossal beam of light shot straight into the ocean depths, vaporizing hundreds of millions of tons of seawater on impact.
Tidal waves roared like collapsing stars, surging forward as if the heavens themselves were falling.
Storm clouds twisted into monstrous tornadoes under the shockwave, casting hellish scenes onto the earth like glimpses into purgatory.
Under the howling gales, even space around them began to collapse.
It was as if divine judgment itself had descended, ripping everything apart.
The entire Pacific Ocean seemed to tremble.
Even on its farthest edge, a sharp observer could see endless ripples stirring the surface.
When the burst of light finally faded, all that remained on the sea's surface was a bottomless black void.
Steam billowed upward as seawater evaporated, forming a thick, hot mist—before falling again as a torrential rainstorm.
"Nagami!"
A splash broke the silence.
Himeko surged from beneath the waves, her shoulders trembling as she gasped for breath.
Her crimson Herrscher armor was tattered, clinging to her skin in scraps and revealing pale flesh underneath.
But Himeko didn't care.
Her eyes scanned the chaos around her with desperate urgency.
"Where is he? Where is he!?"
"Kiana! Raiden Mei!"
Mei's eyes, still faintly crackling with residual lightning, darted around the ocean surface as she frantically searched.
"Onii-chan, where are you!?"
A small, chibi-like creature floated just above the sea, struggling to carry an unconscious shrine maiden as it yelled at the top of its lungs.
A sudden splash shattered the water's calm like glass.
A figure burst upward, sending ripples dancing across the surface.
In her arms was the completely exhausted Durandal.
The little Herrscher of Sentience hesitated... but didn't drop her.
After all, even if the old timer had asked... a favor was a favor.
———————————————————————
[Nagami and Kiana's Herrscher energy signatures have completely vanished. They…]
———————————————————————
A voice echoed grimly in her mind, broken by ragged breathing—laced with sorrow.
"Impossible!" the little Herrscher snapped back, her voice ringing across the still ocean.
"Dad would never let something like this happen!"
"Hey, old timer, don't jinx it! Dad, he—ugh!"
Her voice cut off.
Her eyes widened in shock as she looked up at the sky. Disbelief filled her rose-red pupils.
———————————————————————
Above, in the sky—
A cold steel gloom hung in the skies.
A slash of lightning split the clouds before vanishing again into the darkness.
The rain came like a tidal surge, accompanied by howling winds. It was as if the storm itself were singing a requiem of death.
The malicious grin faded from Ji Lin's face. Her smooth brow was now dotted with cold sweat.
Her breath, too, had grown heavy.
The central core within her dark golden crown dimmed, along with the six embedded gems in the Xuanyuan Sword.
"This… is the price of defying the gods."
Ji Lin glanced down at the now-empty sea below her, her voice flat.
Once again, blazing thunder wrapped itself around her dark golden blade. Her gaze turned to the scattered Herrschers on the sea.
"Now then... it's time to reclaim what's mine."
Each of the six gems on the Xuanyuan Sword represented the powers of a Herrscher: Flame, Lightning, Death, Rock, Ice, and Wind.
The Rock and Ice cores were stable and fully under her control. The other four were... temporary accounts.
In this era, the Herrschers of Death and Wind hadn't yet awakened, so even though those cores were temporary, Ji Lin could still wield their full power.
But the Lightning and Flame Herrschers were alive.
As long as they lived, the corresponding powers on her sword would weaken—and eventually disappear entirely.
There was a simple solution to that problem:
Kill them.
A cold smirk crept onto Ji Lin's lips. With her strength, this task would be...
Child's play.
Without warning, the Herrscher of Domination moved.
The air exploded beneath her from sheer pressure.
Her slender figure shot through the storm like a falling star.
Her target: a lone girl drifting weakly in low-altitude airspace.
Blood dripped from the girl's pale, slender right arm.
Her left hand clutched her shoulder.
Her long, violet hair was damp and tangled, tips dripping with warm mist and rain.
The sound of a blade tearing through the air echoed as Ji Lin appeared again—her dark gold sword slashing down with suffocating force, aimed straight at Mei.
"What?!"
It wasn't Mei who cried out—she was too weak to even register what was happening.
The crazed smile on Ji Lin's lips froze mid-curve.
A flicker of shock rippled through her abyssal eyes—as if she'd been caught completely off guard.
"Where… did she go?"
The question slipped out, unplanned.
With a swing of the Xuanyuan Sword, she unleashed a shockwave so violent it tore through the air like a hurricane, churning the nearby waters into a raging storm.
"Gone? That's impossible!"
To Ji Lin's perception, Mei's Herrscher energy hadn't just faded—it had completely vanished, as if erased from existence.
She couldn't sense it anywhere within a hundred kilometers.
Her pupils widened, disbelief flooding her face.
And then—
Her senses screamed.
For a split second, she felt danger—raw, imminent.
And in that instant, the very space around her shattered like glass.
The world cracked.
A sickening crunch echoed out—the unmistakable sound of bones breaking. Her skull had fractured.
Under the crushing force of spatial collapse, Ji Lin was sent flying like a cannonball, skipping across the ocean surface like a stone, each impact kicking up a cascade of ripples.
"Who—did that?!"
She forced her power to stabilize her spiraling body mid-air.
Erupting with Honkai energy, she sent another towering wave surging across the sea.
But this time, something was very wrong.
It wasn't just Raiden Mei anymore.
Ji Lin could no longer sense any of the others.
The Herrscher of Flame. The Herrscher of Sentience. The Herrscher of Corruption.
Even that human who carried a World Bubble.
All of them—gone.
She hovered in the air, scanning her surroundings.
Then, her pupils shrank as she suddenly looked upward—toward the overcast sky, thick with storm clouds.
———————————————————————
Above the clouds—
The storm had parted.
Sunlight poured down with dazzling brilliance, the air at high altitude crisp and cold.
"Whew... haaa~!"
Himeko stretched luxuriously, her figure arching with perfect, graceful lines.
Her Herrscher dress now fully restored—billowed softly around her, modestly veiling her generous curves.
Sitting lazily atop a floating platform of pure Honkai energy, Himeko cupped her cheeks in both hands and pouted.
"Ugh, that little perv had help this powerful in reserve? Why didn't he call her out earlier? Geez…"
"I feel like I've seen that person somewhere before…"
Raiden Mei tilted her head, raising a delicate finger to her lips in thought as she stared at the mysterious figure.
The lavish Herrscher dress clung perfectly to tall, lithe frame, accentuating her elegant silhouette.
Her pale, soft skin shimmered almost translucently in the sunlight, evoking both awe and wonder.
Her long, slender arms—previously bloodied—were now completely healed.
Not a scratch remained.
"Did that little perv ever mention her to you before...? Or wait, him?"
"Nagami never said anything to me," Mei replied, thinking for a moment. "But he did mention having a few very special friends... maybe this is one of them?"
Her gentle, calm smile gave off a homemaker's warmth.
Mei glanced sideways with a puzzled look.
"Class rep, what's wrong?"
Beside her, the Herrscher of Sentience was muttering to herself.
"Grandpa...? No, that's not it... Uncle? Younger brother? Hmm… none of those feel right…"
She didn't answer Mei directly.
Her gaze had grown distant, locked in thought.
"What the heck is going on?"
———————————————————————
[You're saying... that person is related to Nagami?]
———————————————————————
The voice in her mind was filled with genuine surprise.
The Herrscher of Sentience shook her head.
"Not exactly. He's more like... hmm... how should I put this... emmm…"
Using the void-born powers Nagami had granted her, she could sense something from the figure... but the connection was fuzzy—like a half-remembered dream.
She stared below in silence.
The figure floating before them was almost androgynous—too elegant to categorize.
But there was a subtle resemblance to Nagami.
They wore a white longcoat trimmed with golden embroidery.
Long, flowing hair cascaded down their back like a waterfall, pure white at the roots and soft green at the tips.
They stood with fingers interlocked under their chin, lost in thought.
After a moment, a crisp, clear voice echoed out:
"Since I'm the fusion of Nagami and Kiana's souls... I guess I'll go by... Kanami, then~"