Rita had been having a nightmare these past few days.
She was in an escort van, sitting in the front passenger seat. It was her Valkyrie colleague who was driving.
It was nighttime. The night was quiet. The mission wasn't difficult and they barely encountered any enemies.
She wanted to take a nap.
But just as she half-closed her eyes...
—No...
—Stop...
—I... don't want this...
—Ri... please... help me...
—Save me...
—Don't do this...
—Uuuuh...
—Aaah... ah...
A hoarse voice came from the back.
Mixed with sobs.
Like a mentally impaired child, unloading their darkest emotions in the most primal way.
It was the usual: a man who, after sinking into despair, suddenly sees a glimmer of hope, and his thin psychological defenses begin to crumble in relief.
Revealing his rawest cowardice.
Those weak cries for help.
She turned and, through the barbed wire of her vision, saw a young man lying in the rear compartment of the escort vehicle.
He had long since lost all his hair.
His lips were completely cracked, though they didn't bleed.
His exposed skin showed a strange pale white.
Across his neck, numerous purple lines stretched.
But what struck Rita the most were his hands.
Ten fingers, with no nails.
Only bloodied flesh membranes remained.
The most disturbing part was that the fingertips looked pierced.
Tiny holes, needle-sized.
Not just one per finger—several.
The same on his toes.
At that moment, it was hard for Rita to even imagine how terrifying the process must have been to inflict such injuries... or to endure them.
On the return trip, Rita could still hear the man murmuring.
As if that had been the final drop that broke his spirit.
That straw had many names.
Perhaps it was: Hope.
Perhaps: Beauty.
Or maybe: Kindness, Conscience...
But Rita forced herself to ignore it.
To be honest, deep down, Rita truly wanted to respond to his pleas.
To let him go.
But in the state he was in...
Honkai!
He had to be quarantined.
Otherwise, more people would be put at risk.
Furthermore, he was suspected to be an experiment from the Anti-Entropy organization.
—Bring him in.
—I want to see what Anti-Entropy is up to.
That was a direct order from the Overseer himself.
Thus, the post-disaster investigation team from Changkong City, led by Rita, transported the "test subject" found in the abandoned Anti-Entropy base to the West Asia branch.
In truth, the Far East branch was closer to the incident.
But that one was under Miss Theresa's administration.
Clearly, the Overseer didn't want his beloved granddaughter exposed once again to the darker side of things.
Besides...
The Far East branch, being located in China, wasn't suitable either.
Because that country, for historical reasons, deeply abhorred high-risk, coercive human experimentation.
And the West Asia branch...
Its high-ranking officials were mostly of Jacobin origin.
The notoriety of the Jacobins, for what they had done over the past hundred years, was enough to impress even Rita—a woman from a land where the sun never sets.
In short, following the Overseer's will, the West Asia branch was the ideal place to receive the experimental subject and maximize his "value."
At the time, Rita forced herself not to think any further.
Later, they sealed the man's mouth shut.
Her teammates, less composed than Rita, couldn't stand his cries that sent chills down their spines.
And when they finally arrived at the West Asia branch base...
—!!!
As the stretcher passed by her side, as she saw the man no longer resisting—who had tried to break free of his restraints along the way... at that moment, he turned his head with all his strength to look at her...
They had injected blood into him.
His pupils trembled continuously.
At the corners of his eyes, a single tear slowly rolled down.
But that tear...
It was an unnatural red.
As if it were recording everything it saw.
And then, silently declaring:
"I won't forget."
All of you.
Every one of you.
If I ever get the chance...
—!!!
At Schicksal headquarters, Rita awoke in her own bedroom.
Wearing a light nightgown, soaked in sweat.
Breathing heavily.
It took her quite a while to calm down.
Thankfully, no one was around. No one had seen that moment of weakness.
—Uff...
She took several deep breaths and finally calmed herself.
Regaining her composure.
Sitting on the bed, she touched her forehead with one hand.
It was cold.
Even now, she still couldn't forget that look.
Even after making a name for herself on the "Charon List" of the world's assassins, being the Overseer's sharpest blade, having dealt with far too much human corruption under the name "Dark Rose"...
Only in that moment had she felt fear.
Even if it was just a memory—even when compared to the Herrschers she had recently fought...
That fear lingered.
Maybe, back then, she had already sensed it:
"If the hatred in his heart was unleashed... it could destroy the entire world."
In the lounge, Rita remained silent.
For a long time.
—Sigh...
Recalling everything that had happened recently, she sighed helplessly.
Everything, everything had come true.
That man was now truly trying to destroy the world.
Still killing, mercilessly—more terrifying than any Herrscher.
If only, back then, she had disobeyed the Overseer's order and followed her instinct, letting him go...
Or at least, hidden him wisely, confined him in some remote and desolate place...
Even if it was just to think of him many times afterward, and to look for a chance to visit the West Asia branch and see how he was doing...
With her abilities, it wouldn't have been impossible.
But to this day...
—I'm disappointed in myself. I don't seem like me.
Rita gave a bitter smile.
—In any case... it's too late now.
She didn't know him.
Wait!
"Didn't know him?"
Today, years later, Rita—just awakened from a nightmare—suddenly remembered a detail.
That man, on the way to the branch, seemed to...
Say her name?
—Rita... please... help me...
—Help me!!!
Rita was stunned.
Why?
She could swear she had never seen him before.
Why did he recognize her as his last hope?
Did he know her?
How?
—Hmm...
Rita couldn't help rubbing her temples.
Her thoughts were so chaotic she nearly got up to take a shower and clear her mind.
As an active S-class Valkyrie, her living conditions were fairly comfortable when not on missions.
But even in such a peaceful environment, she never let her guard down.
That was the professional discipline she had built after years of harsh training—since she was young, having resolved to grow stronger for someone she once longed for.
Suddenly...
—Did you have a nightmare?
—!!!
An unexpected voice startled her. Rita immediately assumed a defensive posture.
She pulled a dagger from under her pillow and softly landed on the floor, crouching with her body tilted.
In that stance—with legs already bent—she could dodge and counterattack at any moment.
And by lowering her profile, she minimized her target area.
That simple move was enough to display her skill as an elite assassin.
But when she fixed her eyes on the source of the voice...
—You!
Rita felt her heartbeat and breath pause for half a second.
Ling Ke!
The Tenth Herrscher: The Herrscher of Domination!
He was here!
Indeed.
From her perspective, a young girl with dark hair, wearing a dress, sat on the sofa in the lounge not far from her bed.
She wore a serene smile, but her eyes were empty.
That brutal contrast between expression and gaze...
Made Rita's skin crawl.
And then...
—So, you have nightmares too.
Ling Ke spoke in a calm tone, as if commenting on something trivial.
—I thought you were the type who could always harden her heart, cold and composed. No... cold-blooded, rather.
—Like from the beginning: a thorny dark rose.
—Beautiful and alluring on the outside, but really... an illusion that hides its true danger.
Upon hearing that...
At any other time, with anyone else, Rita would have smiled gracefully and replied sarcastically: "Entering a lady's room is appallingly rude."
But now, facing him... she didn't dare put on any facade.
—Why are you here?
Rita asked in a low voice.
—Still looking to get your revenge on me?
It seemed she was no longer like Mei or Bronya.
She had already passed the point where she might still doubt her own judgment.
Even now, though she felt guilt over Ling Ke...
She knew he was the enemy of all humanity.
A Herrscher who must be eliminated.
So, as she spoke, she was secretly preparing a way to alert others to her current situation.
So reinforcements could arrive as soon as possible and they wouldn't miss the chance to subdue and capture the true body.
Unfortunately, Rita didn't know...
Ling Ke was not a foolish villain, nor arrogant enough to recklessly risk his life.
That's why...
"Let's have some fun with you first!"
In his Dominion Theater, Ling Ke was still seated alone on his high-backed throne.
Like a director watching the play through a god's gaze.
It seemed that what had appeared in Rita's room these days...
Was nothing more than a dominion puppet, composed of thousands of dots and shaped by the power of the Law of Reason.
As already said:
He would never truly place himself in danger... until the moment of his true vengeance arrives.