New World.
In the vast cosmic sea, a figure stood silently in the void.
Mobius lifted her slender hand and made a grasping motion toward the star of a distant star system.
The entire star visibly shrank at a speed discernible to the naked eye, ultimately compressing into a football-sized sphere radiating molten-gold brilliance, obediently hovering above her palm.
She casually extended this "star" toward the figure beside her, her tone calm and indifferent. "Take it."
Misfortune reached out and accepted it without even glancing down, pressing it directly against her chest.
The moment the sphere touched her skin, it transformed into a dazzling stream of light and merged into her body.
In the next instant, a faint halo shimmered around Misfortune. She stretched lazily, a comfortable sigh escaping her lips as she clearly felt a vast yet gentle energy surging through her limbs and bones. The power slumbering within her was slowly awakening.
Saintess Prayer.
Everyone watched this scene unfold.
This is a Herrscher under the Will of Ruler?
A whole star, plucked as casually as picking fruit?
Behind Saint Kallen, Kevin stood with his arms crossed.
He had once heard Melin mention the Herrscher system on the Will of Ruler's side—ranked from low to high as Stigmata User, Pseudo-Herrscher, Complete Herrscher, Transcendent Herrscher, Fallen Herrscher, and Final Herrscher. Beyond those, there seemed to be even greater existences.
This was completely different from the Herrschers he knew.
In his understanding, the Herrscher Authorities of the Honkai world were the ultimate manifestations of physical laws, powered by Herrscher cores.
But the Herrschers under the Will of Ruler awakened different Authorities through Honkai energy and their own will. They could autonomously rewrite physical laws, causal logic, and spacetime structure.
In other words, a power of pure idealism—capable of altering time, space, and even dimensions.
Kevin fell into thought.
The physical rules of the Honkai world already failed to align with more than half the parameters of ordinary universes.
Whether something was considered scientific or not hardly mattered anymore—
After all, in the infinite multiverse, idealistic power undeniably existed.
Perhaps Mobius truly could help him save the Previous Era... and Mei.
"That felt amazing..." Misfortune stretched, satisfaction evident in her tone. She suddenly narrowed her eyes and looked toward a distant corner of the universe. "Grandma, I see something. There's a planet over there with countless corpses drifting along its orbit, forming a ring."
"We'll talk when we return." Mobius glanced in that direction. The region lay eight million light-years away.
As her words fell, the two vanished from the void, reappearing on the Saintess Prayer bridge.
Skynet floated over to Misfortune and circled her twice, curiosity written all over her face. "At your level, shouldn't there be more efficient energy sources? Why use an entire star?"
"Because she's still a child," Mobius explained calmly. "Stellar energy is like breast milk or formula for a human infant—gentle and rich in nutrients. It's the most suitable nourishment for her body."
Skynet nodded as if half-understanding.
Hua, standing nearby, felt her eyelids twitch.
Still a child? Stellar energy is gentle and nutritious food?
Dr. Mobius, what species is your granddaughter exactly?
Or are all the Herrschers on your side like this?
In another corner of the bridge, Melin narrowed her eyes, quietly observing Misfortune.
After swallowing a star, the girl's appearance had barely changed. Only her right arm below the elbow had briefly glowed like heated glass, then vanished in an instant.
Mobius... at the very least, Academy Level Three—Complete Herrscher.
As for her granddaughter Misfortune, she was probably around Academy Level Two—Pseudo-Herrscher.
"What do you think of this universe?" Red Queen's voice sounded beside Mobius' ear as she transmitted the intelligence gathered by the fleet.
"Viltrumites." A playful curve lifted Mobius' lips. "The warrior race of this universe? Interesting. Though... relying purely on numerical stats for close-quarters combat is rather barbaric."
She turned to Hua with a faint smile. "You, on the other hand, are quite suited for fighting here."
Hua looked blank. "?"
"Grandma, I feel like I could do close combat now too." Misfortune raised her hand excitedly.
"You have a bug-level mechanism. There's no need to compete in raw numbers with those muscle-brained fools." Mobius reached out and patted her head, a trace of indulgence in her voice. "Be an elegant lady, like me."
Hua: "..."
I strongly suspect that was aimed at me.
"But Grandma, when you fight, don't you raise your stats and resistance by getting hit? How is that elegant?" Misfortune tilted her head.
Mobius lightly tapped her forehead in mock annoyance. "That's my combat style. Don't question it."
"Oh." Misfortune responded meekly, then turned to Hua, giving her a once-over before shaking her head and muttering softly, "Stats too low."
Not again.
A vein twitched at Hua's temple. So in your eyes, only punching apart a planet counts as having stats?
"Grandma, should we go take a look?" Misfortune pointed in a direction—the location of Planet Viltrum.
Mobius glanced at Red Queen and raised a brow. "Together?"
"Acceptable." Red Queen nodded. Under normal circumstances, Earth of the Solar System was the primary objective. Only in its absence would other human-inhabited planets be considered.
"We're going there?" Saint Kallen looked at the coordinates displayed on the main star map.
"Planet Viltrum, eight million light-years away," Red Queen replied calmly. "It houses the strongest race in this universe."
"How did you detect activity eight million light-years away?" Su couldn't help asking.
"Observing lower dimensions from a higher one is merely a minor trick," Mobius replied casually, casting him a glance. "If I recall correctly, in your future, you'll be pulled into the higher dimension of the Honkai world and become an observer.
"However, the dimension you'll encounter is at most a worldview ascension—quite ordinary. There's also another type that breaks the fourth wall.
"Of course, no matter how high you ascend, there will always be something higher still."
Su: "..."
In the next second, dazzling white light illuminated the hulls of the entire fleet simultaneously. The flash vanished as quickly as it appeared, and the fleet disappeared from its original position, entering hyperspace.
Planet Viltrum.
Outer space.
The Red Queen fleet had just emerged from hyperspace when it found itself surrounded by figures clad in white skintight battle suits.
Viltrumites.
They floated in the cold vacuum, arms crossed, eyes icy, exuding the arrogance of conquerors.
At their forefront stood a towering figure in red-and-white battle armor—Thragg, Regent of the Viltrumite Empire.
Thragg's expression was darker than space itself.
Under Viltrumite rule, resistance forces were nothing new. Those vermin usually hid in the shadows, scurrying like rats in the gutter.
But he had never expected them to grow so brazen—to strike directly above the Empire's homeworld.
Thragg wasted no words. His arms snapped straight, and he shot forward like a cannon shell, carrying world-shattering momentum as he slammed toward the nearest ship.
With a Viltrumite's physical strength, ordinary spacecraft were no more than tissue paper.
Yet the anticipated impact never came. His body passed straight through the ship's hull, as if colliding with nothing more than a holographic projection.
Thragg's brow furrowed. Behind him, other Viltrumites followed suit, charging at different vessels—only to find the same result.
All illusions?
Just as Thragg's suspicion deepened, one ship within the fleet suddenly glowed red, releasing a crimson beam.
Two half-blood Viltrumites, slightly slower to react, were struck instantly.
They didn't even have time to scream before their bodies disintegrated particle by particle within the beam, completely annihilated into the void.
Seeing this, Thragg and the surviving Viltrumites' expressions changed drastically.
This fleet possessed weapons capable of instantly killing Viltrumites.