It wasn't a cell, not by any stretch of the imagination. The decor leaned more toward genteel confinement—cozy quarters fit for a high-value detainee. For anyone who wasn't too fussy about details, it would suit just fine.
Cocolia, fresh from her capture, hadn't been thrown straight into the wringer. She'd spent half a day alone in this space, untouched by any soul. Until...
Click~
The door unlocked from outside. A black-haired youth in a tailored black suit stepped in. The instant she laid eyes on him...
"It's you!"
Cocolia recognized him on the spot. No surprise—years later, the impression he'd left still burned deep. What iron will he'd shown... No matter the brutality of the interrogations, even truth serums pumped in vain—he'd yielded zero intel.
Truth be told, back then, Cocolia had started to admire the unassuming nobody with no backing. Later, if not for the cascade of chaos during the Third Eruption, she'd have kept him locked away... She wanted to see just how far she could push until he cracked, until he begged. Where lay the breaking point of his mental walls?
She'd locked horns with him, one-sided. No quitting now. Undoubtedly, that era's her? Victory or bust. She had to win. Prove to all: she was right.
But now...
"Never thought a small fry like me would stick in Lady Cocolia's memory. Truly, an honor."
The black-haired youth—Ling Ke—approached with a smile, his eyes narrowing faintly. Only then did Cocolia notice: his pupils held no focus. He was a hollow shell, stripped of life's spark—a walking corpse.
That realization? It made him even more terrifying.
But even so...
"What do you want?" Cocolia forced calm, her voice steady. "Revenge on me?"
The outcome? No shock. Worst case: death.
"Lady Cocolia, no need to rush."
Ah, Ling Ke and his "no rush" routine. He continued: "Straight talk saves time, effort, brainpower. Yes, I'm here for revenge—my rightful due."
Still smiling, as if the tormented soul back then weren't his own. Yet his next words...
"But the hatred in my heart? It won't quench easy."
Ling Ke raised his right hand, fingers crooking slightly. "So, if during my vengeance you try to check out on your own... I'll be most displeased."
"What do you mean?"
Cocolia furrowed her brow tight.
"Let's set some ground rules!"
Ling Ke chuckled. "Physically, I won't lay on extras... not even a smidge beyond what's due. Back then, Bronya dragged me before you. First few days, no torture—you even patched up my dislocated limbs. Whether genuine care or just play-acting till you vetted my identity... I remember it.
"So, these next few days in the Domination Theater? You'll get our hospitality in kind. And after that..."
Ling Ke's eyes slitted further. "From September 1, 2013, to March 28, 2014... I recall the dates clear: 208 days total. In that half-year-plus hell, everything I endured? You'll get it back, unadulterated. 'Gifted' right to you.
"Last through it? Freedom's yours. But if not..."
Ling Ke clasped his hands behind his back, producing a picture frame. Inside: a snapshot one Domination Puppet had just swiped from Anti-Entropy—a relic of Cocolia's orphanage glory days.
He sidled to her side, holding the photo before her eyes... "A 'mother' like you? Better fight to live—for your daughters' sake. Live to the end. Live to escape. Or else... who's next on the 'gift' list? Want you to pick?"
In that moment...
"!!!"
Cocolia shuddered head to toe. The man beside her? Elegance incarnate. Yet he reeked of demon—skinned in human hide.
And this demon... She'd forged him.
Karma's wheel. They say: harm enough souls, and the cycle turns. Ling Ke had clawed through his round. Now? Her turn.
Cocolia bit her lip raw. She knew: her easy-out-by-death fantasy? He'd seen it coming. She'd watched his sessions once. Her crew? Masters of misery. Torments endless, inventive. Back then? She'd praised them. "Defy me? This is your fate." Her words.
Now, roles reversed...
"Then, looking forward to our reunion in a few days."
Ling Ke left the photo. Even "thoughtful" enough to leave a dagger. Its purpose? Self-evident.
He turned for the door. Finally, with a light laugh, heavy with meaning: "Lady Cocolia... Sweet dreams tonight."
The door clicked shut.
Alone, Cocolia stared at the photo. Then the blade beside it. Soul in turmoil.
Ling Ke spared little focus for Cocolia. For her... occasional check-ins sufficed. Wait for the outcome. Anyway, next few days? Body unscathed, but she'd suffer plenty. The mental crush? His signature opener—a "first course" she had to savor. And that "delicacy"? It'd shadow her from jump—till the finale. Grinding her will relentless. Till she shattered too.
"Put this a few years back—who'd guess I'd turn this rotten? Guess people gotta break out of their shells now and then."
Still sprawled on that towering ornate throne, Ling Ke propped his cheek left-handed, right hand swiping a hovering semi-transparent virtual panel. There, the "Top Player System" points ticked upward nonstop. Implication? Obvious.
But as the "World-Ending Player," Ling Ke wouldn't wallow now—waver, half-ass plans. To him, this world of Honkai 3rd Earth's human civilization? Just a "game" to him. Save for a few key NPCs needing special "treatment"... The rest? Mere numbers.
And in this grind...
[Congratulations, host! Obtained new game character template—Domination Puppet-1379.]
[Congratulations, host! Obtained new game character template—Domination Puppet-1380.]
[Congratulations, host! Obtained new game character template—Mitsuzuri Ayako.]
...
System pings like that popped sporadically. Ling Ke tuned 'em out. He'd learned: draws weren't all powerhouses or freaks. Often? Like grinding MiHoYo blue-light trash—new templates weren't useless, but no not a game-changer. Take the fresh "Domination Puppet-xxxx": cabbage-tier. The sole repeatable template. Effect? One: bump puppet count. Beyond that...