-"So, why did you call us so urgently? Don't tell me it's another Herrscher."-Vill-V sat on my chair and asked.
-"Bingo. But that's only half. The reason you are here is because of who the Herrscher will be: Rin."
-"Shit."-Vill-V couldn't help but curse.-"So how do we deal with it?"
-"From the observation of Honkai concentration, we still have at least two days before Eruption can occur. Eno hopes to find a way to save Rin during this time."-Mei explained.
-"Naive."-Mobius looked at me.-"But at least you didn't try to solve it by yourself."
-"You gave us quite a challenge."-Vill-V stopped acting around and turned serious.-"But only a challenge of this level is something deserving to test my genius."
-"Then let's do what we can."
With our experience of the 6th, 7th, and 10th Herrschers, we had quite a bit of research to build upon, especially during the 10th Herrscher, Mobius made many tests to see if one can avoid becoming the host. While her research didn't lead to any real results, we at least had a solid foundation laid for us.
For one to become a Herrscher, three prerequisites needed to be satisfied: high enough Honkai Resistance; exposure to a great amount of Honkai; trigger, usually an emotional fluctuation. If any of the three cannot be satisfied, then a Herrscher wouldn't be born.
First, we looked at Honkai Resistance. As far as we know, there is no way to change a person's Honkai Resistance, and Fire-Moth had almost endless amounts of research done in this aspect. So we ruled this path out instantly.
The second requirement, the Honkai-rich environment, was also practically impossible to eliminate, as the earth is now practically covered by Honkai, not to mention that Honkai can just appear from nowhere during an Eruption.
The last possibility was eliminating the trigger. At first glance, it was the easiest approach, but that's underestimating the importance and unpredictability of emotions for humans. Even though Rin lives a rather happy life, a simple act of bullying or unrequited love can be a possible trigger. The only way to stop that from happening would be to put Rin into a deep coma, but that carries some risks in itself.
After discussing this issue all afternoon, we settled on the best possible approach. A combination of eliminating the second and third conditions. First, I'll use my blood to create a zone devoid of Honkai and accompany Rin the whole time. When she falls asleep, Mobius will administer a potent sleeping agent, putting her in a coma comparable to suspended animation. Secured that way, Rin should be safe from the risk of becoming a Herrscher host.
-"You know that it's beyond irresponsible."-Vill-V stopped me as I was to leave the lab.-"With knowledge of where the Herrscher will be, we can prepare and defeat it with minimal casualties."
-"Sacrifice Rin for the greater good?"-I shook my head.-"Is there even that greater good worth it? Let's assume that sacrificing her would prevent all people from dying, while not sacrificing her would kill half that remained; tell me, will that make a difference in three years when the Honkai concentration will rise enough to kill more than 80% of the people living now?"
Three of them were silent, but I could see that they were worried about my state. I took a deep breath to calm myself before speaking again.
-"This decision, I've made it. It's not the responsibility of you three. The mistakes and sins that arise from it, I'll bear them alone."
-"No."-Mei grabbed my hand.-"It might have been your call, but we all agreed and assisted. We will share whatever comes."
Mobius and Vill-V nodded, neither concerned about their reputation.
Their support touched me, but I will still make sure nothing can be traced back to them.
The next day, I once again visited Sakura's home, playing with Rin while I quietly dispersed my blood around.
-"Brother-in-law."-Rin called out to me.
-"What's up?"
-"Why do the other children always say that you and my sisters are failures and not heroes?"-She asked after staring at the game's menu for a while.
-"That's hard to answer. To be honest, I don't consider myself a hero either, and I believe Sakura didn't consider herself one. We are just scientists and warriors, not some heroes. As for being failures, many say that because they need something to blame."
-"Blame?"-She looked at me and tilted her head.
-"Yes, blame. Many people can't deal with things beyond their control; some would blame god, while some people would blame those they believe should have saved or helped them."
-"Then how can I make them stop calling you that?"
-"You don't have to. For me, it's enough that you still think that I'm a good person."-I smiled and ruffled her hair.
-"You'll always be my hero, Brother-in-law."-She hugged me.
I continued ruffling her hair for a while.
I ate dinner and stayed with Sakura and Rin for longer, watching a movie Rin suggested. Sakura seemed to enjoy this, sitting next to me and resting her head on my shoulder as a battle between hero and villain happened on the screen. At some point, I felt Rin's head rest on my legs, and soon, her even breathing signaled that she had fallen asleep. Signaling Sakura to turn off the TV, I took out a syringe and carefully injected Rin.
-"What's that?"
-"I'll explain in a moment. Believe me, I won't harm you and Rin."
-"I know."-She nodded, still not understanding what was going on.
A minute later, Mobius and Mei entered the house, carrying some equipment with them. They quickly put Rin into a coma, letting her lie on a bed. When they confirmed that Rin was safe, I explained everything to Sakura, causing her to panic and despair. She collapsed into my arms, crying her tears out.
-"Eno, please, save her! I'll do everything, I'll take her place, just please…"
-"Calm down."-I embraced her back and slowly caressed her shaking back.-"We already prepared everything; Rin will be safe."
-"Really?"-She looked at me with hope, her face covered with tears.
-"Mhmm."-I assured her again.
I once again told her how we plan to keep her safe, explaining the details clearly.
-"As long as Rin stays unconscious and in the vicinity of my blood, she won't become Herrscher. We only need to wait until someone else becomes the host; then she can return to her daily life."
-"Thank you."-She hugged me even stronger, now that she knew what we did and why.-"From now on, my life is yours."
-"I didn't do it for your gratitude; I did it because Rin calls me Brother-in-law, because I consider you both my family."
-"Family?"-She mumbled before raising her head from my chest.-"You are even more than family to me."
She gathered her courage and kissed my lips lightly before once again hiding her face in my chest, even her pink ears turning red moments later. I held her like that for almost half an hour before she fell asleep from relaxing after all that stress. I took her to her room and laid her carefully on her bed.
After she was tucked in, I returned to the living room where Mei and Mobius were waiting.
-"Took you some time."-Mobius complained, but whether it was due to the wait or just being jealous is unknown.
-"So how's the situation?"
-"Good, almost perfect."-Mei assured me.-"We only need to transport Rin, and only waiting will be left."
-"Has Vill-V finished everything back in my lab?"
-"Yes, she sent me a message five minutes ago."
-"Then let's get going."
Three of us easily took the sleeping Rin and the needed equipment back to my lab, where one room was prepared to keep her safe and sedated. We settled her in a special cryo-pod, something developed for Project Ark by utilizing the 5th Divine Key. Watching her small body frozen solid made me feel a complicated mix of relief, pity, and guilt.
After observing her for most of the night, I returned to Sakura's home, waiting for her to wake up. Sitting by her bed, I started to think about what consequences will my decision would bring. As I was deep in my thoughts, I didn't notice that Sakura had woken up, watching me quietly without moving. It was only when she touched my cheek that I noticed.
-"Sorry, I got lost in thought."-I put my own hand on hers, holding it to my face.
-"Mhmm, I don't mind."-She smiled and let me hold her.-"Eno, I love you."
-"Where did that come from?"-I asked, genuinely surprised by the sudden confession.-"But I also hold you dear."
-"I just wanted to say it, to make it clear."-She explained, her face slightly flushed with shyness.-"Can you tell me about your past? I hear that you knew Mobius for a long time, but what about before?"
-"This…"-I showed a troubled expression.-"Sorry, but I can't do that yet. Some things can't be explained right now."
-"I see. I'll wait for you then, don't worry."-She seemed to understand my troubles and reassured me.-"Can you tell me what will happen now with the 12th Herrscher?"
-"It will most likely choose another host, at least that's what we hope. From now on, all observation stations will be put on high alert, looking for even the slightest anomaly."
-"Allow me to be one leading this hunt."-Sakura spoke up with a serious expression.-"For Rin and me, you took such a great risk; I can't stand by and do nothing."
-"I'll be counting on you then."
-"Leave it to me. How about I make some breakfast?"
-"Hua is already in the kitchen, so breakfast should wait for us when we go down."
-"Then let's go. As host, it's already impolite that I made the guest cook, let alone if they had to wait for me."
Sakura quickly changed clothes, and we walked down to the kitchen where Hua was finishing preparing the food. After eating, we all returned to my lab where we got to work on searching for the Herrscher.
For three weeks, the whole Fire-Moth was in a state of emergency, but nothing was found, causing many to be annoyed and tired. And then, it happened. Without any warning, the Eruption occurred in one of our secondary bases, causing great casualties among the remaining MANTIS. Sakura led the first unit, arriving in place hour after the eruption, and engaging the Herrscher immediately after.
She and Kevin pushed the opponent back, managing to deal a lot of damage in a quick manner, but that soon proved to be a trap. The Herrscher they were fighting was indeed true, but it was there to buy time. To her shock and horror, Mei noticed that all nuclear weapons spread around the globe had been armed and launched, targeting all the remaining human settlements and bases.
The only safe place was the Fire-Moth headquarters that was specifically not placed on any map outside the base's internal network, making it hidden from Herrscher. With almost all MANTIS deployed outside, not to mention the civilians, this attack was truly vicious. Everyone could only watch how the destruction of humanity occurred, all done by the same weapons they created.
The Herrscher also died in the blast, taking with it all but a few MANTIS. Luckily, the Flame-Chasers avoided most of the damage due to their strength and location, with only Sakura seriously wounded and Kevin with major injuries. Two of them were quickly and safely evacuated and brought back to heal. It took four days for Kevin to be discharged, but Sakura needed more than two months to return to health.
But she didn't care about her state; what mattered to her was that Rin was unfrozen two days after the 12th Herrscher's demise, waking confused but healthy. After hearing everything that happened, she ran to Sakura's hospital room and cried in the arms of her sister, apologizing nonstop. She blamed herself for everything that happened, but I told her that I made the decision to freeze her, so I was one responsible.
This, of course, didn't make her stop instantly, but she seemed to understand that blaming herself won't change anything, so instead she used it to fuel her motivation, asking Su to teach her medicine so that she could help take care of Sakura. Su, having nothing better to do now that humanity was basically no more, agreed and started to instruct her seriously, making her something akin to his disciple.
On the subject, the day after the fight, Mei confirmed the current state of mankind: 31,023 people survived. Among them, there were around ~9,000 military personnel with ~450 MANTIS, and close to 1,500 research personnel, and ~11,000 classified as logistical, medical, or maintenance personnel. The rest were the family members living on the base.
At first, many rejoiced that they survived; after all, this was the 12th Herrscher, the lost one. But that happiness didn't last, as the earth was now unhabitable and the Honkai concentration continued to rise. To prevent panic, Mei decided to accelerate Project ARC and cryo-freeze all but the minimum required personnel, leaving about ~6,000 people to operate the base.
Those who remained were mostly scientists, their families, soldiers that agreed to undergo the MANTIS surgery, and the people necessary for base operation and food production. Everyone else was safely put in the Deepest Place, now converted from a prison to a hearth of Project ARC.
Those who remained were informed of the existence of the Final Herrscher, and after some dissatisfaction at being kept in the dark, they accepted our explanations and agreed to use what time we had left to pave the way for the next era. The existence of all but the Project TRUE-PROMETHEUS was also made public, with many people volunteering to assist where they could.
Mei and Prometheus made a prediction that the Final Herrscher would appear only after about four years, as the Honkai Energy needed for it to manifest was so enormous that current Earth was still far from having enough. This meant that, timewise, I was only halfway done with this 'Dream', as I arrived here shortly before the 3rd Eruption that occurred four years ago.
With so much time, I relaxed somewhat, still spending most of my days in the lab, but I also found time to spend with others around me. People like Mobius, Eden, Mei, and Sakura, who had a physical or confirmed relationship with me, were the ones I spent the most time with, but others such as Hua, Elysia, little Griseo, Misteln, and Rin also often sought me out.
This made my days much more lively, allowing me to relax and enjoy my time here. Only now did I see how much I was stressed before, continuously keeping myself high-strung due to various pressures. Even prior to this 'Dream', in Laterano I was Enoch the Holy Son, their god; in Britain I was Justiciar, the King's Consort; in the Land's Between I was Princess Knight, the Champion of Caria; in Azeroth I was Nar'va, the beloved of Night and Moon; only here I was truly just Eno.
I might have my responsibilities, and many respected me, but all that was earned with my actions, not gained with title. And while I wouldn't give up any of the identities I gained in those words, I also find that I desire such simplicity: a journey not for glory and dominion, but a pursuit of family and adventure. So I've decided that after settling all the pressing matters, I would go for a trip; and while the main destination would be to revisit Azeroth, I would also visit all the places in between.