Mei furrowed her brows and opened her eyes. She had been in this place for nearly a month now, yet she still hadn't found a way out. Moreover, she had made zero progress regarding the truth she sought.
"Don't let your heart be troubled. Think of this place as the 'Mind Palace' of Shenzhou. Haven't you noticed that your mindset is changing as you live here?" The woman's voice echoed in her ears. Mei sighed silently.
What use was that? Was she really supposed to practice immortality like the Squad Leader?
"That idiot just wants you to face yourself. He's a man so pedantic about 'legacy' it's nauseating—stiff and stinky as turtle dung in a pond."
The woman truly used a different insult every time she spoke of Lin.
"Speaking of which, how is Lin doing now? You said before he was dying..."
"Don't worry about him. He's quite 'lively' right now."
"..."
What was that supposed to mean?
"He really doesn't lack for company, dead or alive..." The woman's cold chuckles made Mei skin crawl.
Elysia still found it hard to believe that Lin—who hadn't even left a corpse behind—had suddenly returned. But she could never mistake the silver-haired man currently working with a composed face in the kitchen.
When the news of Lin and Ato's deaths arrived, Elysia hadn't wanted to believe it either, but she had to accept it. She had watched their names be carved into the cemetery, becoming two unremarkable words among thousands.
"Lin, where have you been this past half-year? Can you tell me?"
"..."
Lin fingers stiffened. At this moment, he didn't really want Elysia to know the story of the years he spent in the Sea of Quanta. Primarily... it was hard to voice.
How could he tell Elysia? That he had become partners with a version of her from another world, almost got married, and then almost got abducted by people from fifty thousand years in the future?
In the past, he didn't understand these things and didn't care to. Now, after three years of "interrogation" by Elysia, his wooden brain was at least a bit more flexible.
But at the very least, at the moment he reunited with Elysia, he truly felt joy from the bottom of his heart.
"A lot happened." Lin transferred the noodles into a bowl, sprinkled green onions, and walked out carrying two steaming bowls. He placed one in front of Elysia. "Let's talk about the current situation first. The Tenth Herrscher."
True to form, he went straight to the point.
Through Bianca's descriptions, Lin already knew that the Tenth Herrscher of this era manifested as a Herrscher of Domination. The final method to defeat them was MEI luring them to P-21 using their desire for Divine Keys and Cores, then wiping them out with the Key of Blankness.
However, listening to Bianca's descriptions of large-scale Honkai eruptions and Herrscher authorities from fifty thousand years later, he knew that Honkai and Herrscher powers could change. It wouldn't necessarily happen exactly as she said. Furthermore, future records of the era fifty thousand years prior were not very clear; most were held by a man named Otto Apocalypse—a mysterious and ambitious figure.
Lin didn't know how his body would change next, or how this world and the Honkai would evolve. His priority was to understand the current state of affairs from Elysia before deciding his next move.
He had many promises and oaths to keep. As long as he could survive while protecting humanity, he would live on. No matter how long it took, someone was waiting for him. Whether in another world, or fifty thousand years in the future...
Elysia account of the Tenth Herrscher matched what Lin knew for the most part. He listened carefully while eating, but one detail struck him as odd.
"Only nearly three hundred Herrschers have been discovered so far?"
Lin chopsticks paused. A deep, thoughtful light flashed in his dark-green pupils.
The records from fifty thousand years later were most detailed regarding the Tenth Herrscher, perhaps because it was the most unique. Bianca remembered many details: for instance, the number of Tenth Herrschers surged to over four hundred in a month, and the rest were wiped out at P-21.
Yet it had been nearly three months since the Tenth Herrscher erupted, and only three hundred had been found.
Something is wrong...
Lin heart hammered. A hazy hypothesis began to brew.
The Tenth Herrscher could not only communicate via special means but could also launch organized attacks and even... incite humanity.
Incite humanity...
Why could some Tenth Herrschers hide in human society without being found? If they weren't hunted down through subtle clues, it was impossible to confirm they were Herrschers at all.
Because their behavior was indistinguishable from humans, and indistinguishable from how they acted before becoming the Tenth Herrscher. This couldn't be simple mimicry.
"Lin, when are you returning to headquarters?"
"No... I won't go back yet. Elysia, don't tell anyone I'm back."
Lin set down his chopsticks and stood up solemnly, pulling his cloak around him. He spoke coldly: "I need to do something."
"Leaving now?" Elysia noticed the change in his tone. She rose with a smile and said, "Do you need my help?"
"No. I must do this myself."
Currently, anyone inside Fire Moth could be a Tenth Herrscher. Only Elysia knew of his return; he was effectively a ghost, which made him the perfect person for what came next. Moreover... Lin didn't want them to...
"Do you want to take Abyss Flower? I don't like its look~"
"...Keep it for now."
Lin couldn't use Abyss Flower; that Divine Key would be recognized instantly.
Lin reached the door. Before he could take a step, the fresh fragrance of the girl brushed against him from behind.
"Lin, this time... you will come back, won't you?"
"...Yes. I will definitely return."
Lin stepped into the night without hesitation, vanishing into the shadows without looking back.
Elysia stretched lazily, a bright smile gracing her face.
"Well then, it's time for me to get moving too."
Lin tried to contact the Pseudo-Herrscher Core inside him. He knew that Herrschers sometimes had a mysterious resonance. Though dangerous, the best way to confirm the presence of the Tenth Herrscher nearby was through the Pseudo-Core.
However, the moment he contacted those iridescent eyes, his brain felt as if it had been shocked. An indescribable feeling came from nearby.
Immediately after, an old man who had been begging on the ground suddenly stood up. The sagging skin on his face and his vacant eyes made him look like a living corpse.