Just when everyone thought the crisis had finally been resolved, the sky itself ruptured.
Hovering high above was a massive, golden construct — a colossal mechanism of interlocking gears, spreading outward like an expanding planetary engine.
Kiana stared blankly for a second before her brain processed what she was seeing. And aboard the Hyperion, Tesla's jaw dropped.
"Hey—hey—HEY. Don't tell me that's the same nonsense we saw back during the Second Eruption?!"
Einstein's voice was calm, but the fatigue in it was heavy.
"From the energy readings… yes. Or more precisely — something similar to the God's Grace Barrier."
She paused, then added grimly:
"And judging from the system signature… this was created using Constraint."
Tesla immediately opened comms:
"Kiana! Get everyone OUT of there! If those gears touch you, you're DONE!"
They didn't know if this was a failsafe triggered by destroying the veil or something planned from the beginning. But the gears were expanding outward rapidly, with the Imaginary Seed at its core — eating the world like a blooming parasite.
Kiana rallied the exhausted girls and tried to retreat, but everyone was barely standing.
The Arlan twins had drained themselves to help Bronya; Lilia had already passed out.
Bronya was unconscious, and Seele was struggling just to keep her on her back.
Worse — the influence of Constraint hadn't ended. If anything, the expanding gears amplified it.
Kiana couldn't use the Herrscher of the Void's power at all.
If she could, she could have teleported everyone back to the Hyperion.
But the gears — and the power saturating them — were lethal to anyone who used Honkai energy to survive.
To Valkyries and Herrschers, Constraint wasn't just a debuff.
It was poison.
And the entire squad was poisoned, exhausted, and crippled.
Suddenly, a roar tore through the sky — a tactical ship diving from above.
"Is that— a Hyperion assault craft?" Tesla blinked. "Theresa?! When the hell did you fly out?!"
Einstein nodded. "It's better this way. If she's already on-site, evacuating may be possible—"
"No," Theresa cut in, voice low and steady.
"Evacuation is impossible."
The commander's gaze hardened as she assessed the battlefield.
"They're exhausted. If I land, board them, and take off… by the time we clear the range, Constraint will have already killed them."
The chat went silent.
Not because they understood — but because Theresa's tone made understanding unnecessary.
Einstein and Tesla did understand.
And their faces went white.
Theresa continued, eyes never leaving the chaos below:
"Doc, do you remember our experiment involving Constraint?"
Tesla's expression snapped from confusion to horror.
"Theresa — you're not seriously—"
Theresa nodded.
"If I use Judas to output an equal magnitude of Constraint… Kiana and the others will be safe."
Tesla slammed her fist on the console.
"Are you insane?! You're a fusion-type warrior — Constraint will KILL you!"
And not slowly.
Instantly.
Painfully.
Judas' Zero Output wasn't a shield.
It was a suicide switch.
Theresa knew that better than anyone.
But she also knew:
If she didn't act — the girls would die before they ever reached the ship.
The stream exploded — split into two armies:
Theresa dies.
Theresa lives.
One side argued:
Otto's not going to kill his granddaughter — not now, not after everything. He's already on his suicide arc.
The other side pointed out:
The only ones who could intervene — Fu Hua, Li Sushang, or World Serpent — were gone, unconscious, or off-screen.
And with MiHoYo's habits…
"If your favorite character is smiling… they're about to die."
Then the kicker:
A flashback.
Soft piano.
From before Cecilia's death — back when she and Theresa dreamed of founding a school for girls with bright futures.
St. Freya Academy.
The chat imploded.
"FLASHBACK?!?!"
"THIS IS BAD THIS IS SO BAD"
"NOT AGAIN NOT AGAIN NOT AGAIN"
"MIHOYO PUT DOWN THE KNIFE"
"THERESA NOOOO"
Theresa looked at the girls — now stronger, braver, more reckless than ever.
"Just like you said, Cecilia…"
"The students of St. Freya have grown beyond anything we imagined."
"They can choose their fate. Choose what they want to protect."
"Even worlds apart — they will still walk toward tomorrow."
She smiled, soft and proud:
"And that is the future we are meant to protect."
The music shifted — from soft piano to tragic female vocals.
The same one that played when Himeko died.
The entire stream started SCREAMING.
Eden's heart clenched. She wasn't even a big fan of Theresa — but that music alone triggered grief.
Theresa raised Judas.
"My old friend — you have always been unstoppable. So, for one last time…"
"Fight with me."
The vocals cut to soaring electronic battle anthem — heroic and fatal at the same time.
Theresa's eyes sharpened.
"Judas' Oath — Zero Output Power."
"God's Grace Barrier — directional activation!"
A stunning CG portrait flashed — golden light bursting outward, chains of divine authority lashing skyward. They pierced the Imaginary Seed — and the expanding gears shattered in a blinding cascade of light.
The world went quiet.
And a cold narrator whispered:
"Theresa paid the price she expected —
and achieved the victory she sought."
For a heartbeat, no one spoke.
Then—
The chat detonated:
"THERESA IS DEAD?!?!?!"
"NOOOOOOOOOOOO"
"MIHOYO I SWEAR TO GOD"
"OTTO YOU BASTARD"
"WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY"
"THERESA NO THIS IS NOT FAIR"
"FUUUCKKKKKKKKKKKKKK"
People weren't typing — they were HOWLING.
Even the usually reserved Eden clutched her chest, eyes wide.
Theresa wasn't a flashy heroine.
She wasn't monstrous, or tragic, or godlike.
She was the one who held everything together.
And now she'd given her life — without hesitation.
To protect a future worth choosing.
And somewhere, in the real world, countless players whispered:
"MiHoYo boss…
you'd better sleep with one eye open tonight."
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