---o---
Amidst the endless starry expanse, aboard the Hyperion's spacious bridge, sat a few peculiar items.
A fleshy orb with tentacles, a suit of red power armor with a white pauldron bearing a black raven emblem, and a colossal, blocky machine of the same color scheme.
"A gene-seed… what Mark is it? And this Dreadnought has no wetware inside; it's purely AI-controlled. So that massive warship I just passed… was that a Blood Ravens Battle Barge? Which means…"
Staring at the three objects, Zhou Ye turned to the green-haired cabbage head beside him, his hand trembling. "I was promised a trip to the Honkai universe with the Herrscher of Finality's template! Why, why did I end up in this Warhammer shithole?!"
"Didn't you say you wanted to go to the galaxy? Besides, you are the Herrscher of Finality right now…"
"Screw you! I wanted girls! Kiana! Raiden Mei! Hell, I'd even take Himeko or March 7th! I'd rather be the Trailblazer than be stuck in this massive cesspool! And if my senses are correct, you don't even have a Gellar Field! How are we supposed to play this game?!"
At this point, Zhou Ye couldn't stop himself from cursing. The Honkai universe could be cruel, yes, but compared to this purgatorial galaxy, it seemed downright beautiful and harmless.
The Hyperion was by no means small, but next to the colossal Battle Barge that had just passed, it was a mere speck of dust.
As the two ships slid past each other, Zhou Ye had watched in astonishment as a squad of small figures in red armor and white pauldrons somehow boarded his ship. He hadn't even raised his energy shields, yet they just appeared. It was far too bizarre.
Of course, Zhou Ye hadn't been idle during this exchange. He used the Herrscher of the Void's ability to perform a spatial jump of his own, right onto their warship…
The end result, after the two vessels had passed and gone their separate ways…
Zhou Ye had lost his toaster and his coffee machine. The Blood Ravens had lost a gene-seed, a suit of power armor, and an AI-controlled Dreadnought.
"Well, at least you're somewhat useful. You actually managed to write a proper identification code so a fight didn't break out. And for all their thieving tendencies, those Blood Ravens surprisingly didn't touch my fuel or food reserves."
Looking at the green-haired cabbage head, Zhou Ye couldn't help but grumble.
To be honest, his current situation wasn't great.
The Authorities of the Herrschers were his own, and as the Herrscher of Finality, he possessed nearly all the preceding ones. But having the Authorities wasn't enough; he needed an ample supply of Honkai Energy. The Herrscher of Finality drew its power directly from the Imaginary Space, but herein lay the problem: this universe had no Imaginary Space.
There was only the Warp, a place filled with all sorts of filth. Although he possessed a terrifyingly vast reserve of Imaginary Energy within him, he was like a duckweed without roots.
He could still feel his connection to that source, but if Kiana's access to Honkai Energy was like the flow of the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, his was like a single capillary.
Forget comparing himself to the Herrscher of Finality; he couldn't even match up to the newly ascended Herrschers who had just shed their mortal forms.
"The good news is, Herrscher abilities are primarily physical phenomena. So, in essence, they're fundamentally different from the stuff of the Warp and are more akin to this world's Star Gods. Furthermore, my soul is strongly bound to the Imaginary Space, so I shouldn't have any reflection in the Warp. That's why I'm not hearing any whispers or turning into a Chaos Spawn…"
Assessing his condition, Zhou Ye rapidly analyzed his situation.
"Of course, my current energy is a finite resource; use a little, lose a little. Once it's all gone, I'm done for. Unless I do what other Psykers do and draw power directly from the Warp. But that might create a reflection of me or cause ripples, and I can't say what would happen then."
"But this can't go on forever. I have to find a way to replenish my energy and see if there's a way back to the Honkai universe."
Feeling the changes within his body, Zhou Ye began to strategize.
His connection to the Imaginary Space was like a beacon. If he could accumulate enough energy, a return trip was theoretically possible.
But it had to be Imaginary Energy, not Honkai Energy…
"The first Herrscher of Reason could instantly analyze and construct technology upon contact. The second needed to learn and master it herself. But the Herrscher of Truth… her power is basically 'I thinks, therefore it is.'"
"If that's the case…"
A strange expression crossed Zhou Ye's face as he stared at the gene-seed. He had already extracted its information and had Ai-chan store it. He wasn't sure if this particular seed belonged to the Blood Ravens or if they had… acquired it from somewhere else, but he had roughly confirmed its origin: it was likely from the Ultramarines.
With the Authorities of the Herrscher of Reason and the Herrscher of Death within him, he could literally craft a gene-seed from scratch.
In that case…
"I'm thinkin' that this world has a law of conservation of energy. So, I'm also thinkin' that other things can be converted into Imaginary Energy. But I'd need a device for that… a machine that can contain, digest, and convert that energy. So…"
Thump!
With a dull thud, Zhou Ye manifested a conversion device out of thin air. A flicker of delighted surprise lit up his face. It had actually worked.
"Excellent. Now, let's see how well it works."
Although it was merely a temporary creation manifested by his Authority, he could build a proper one later, provided he had the resources.
Without hesitation, Zhou Ye grabbed the gene-seed and tossed it into the device.
Vwoom…
With a simple hum, he felt a unique surge of energy flow into him.
"It really worked?"
Feeling the state of his inner reserves, Zhou Ye's face beamed with joy. Fantastic. It seemed he wouldn't have to dine on the shit that was the Warp after all.
But…
Gazing out at the infinite, star-dusted void, he was once again lost.
"Did you install a Gellar Field?"
He looked at Ai-chan beside him. She, or rather, the entire Hyperion, was in a similar state to him. Strictly speaking, they were creations of the Imaginary, so they didn't have to worry about corruption, but that presented its own set of problems.
"What's that…"
"Then where are we going next? As I recall, you can't travel faster than light, and we can't use the Warp."
"All passengers, please be seated. The jump is about to commence. The Trailblaze begins here."
"Wait, aren't you the Hyperion?! Why are you acting like the Astral Express?!"
"I thinks I am, so I am…"
Vwoom.
The next thing Zhou Ye knew, his vision was filled with flashing light. The dark expanse of space vanished, replaced by a kaleidoscope of brilliant colors. The light quickly faded, and when he came to his senses, he found a planet floating right before his eyes.