"A favor? The only mission I bear is destruction..."
Herrscher of Finality Kiana stood there numbly, her eyes filled with confusion. The world was destroyed, her mission was complete, yet she felt pain and suffering in her heart.
"Is your mission destruction? No, no, no, Kiana, do you remember why you accepted the mission to destroy everything in the first place?
You wanted to break this predetermined fate, to free living beings from the control of the Honkai and the Stigmata Terminal. Destruction was never your mission! It was your way of saving the world!"
"Heh, it doesn't matter anymore. Destruction or salvation, in the end, I failed... I couldn't control this power and messed everything up, even killing the person I loved most."
Kiana gently caressed the Thunder Soul Greatsword, a bright purple light sliding along its blade. As the light faded, the Thunder Soul Greatsword transformed back into Raiden Mei.
"In the end, I couldn't even destroy the Stigmata Terminal. My physical body was annihilated by Janna, and I became a remnant soul wandering through various Stigmata Spaces..."
Though her dull eyes still showed sorrow, there was now a hint of human warmth in them.
"Whether in the past or now, I can't do anything... How can someone like me be of any help to you...?"
"If even you can't do anything, then the rest of us are even more helpless."
Ryn chuckled and shook his head, then extended his hand to Kiana.
"This world was created by the combined power of Penglaiji Ryn, Sirin, and you, Kiana. To save this world, the power of any of you three is indispensable."
"...Salvation? The ultimate fate of this world is still destruction. Whether Penglaiji Ryn dies, or she awakens and leaves this world, the final result is the direct annihilation and disappearance of this world.
It's even more likely that due to the Stigmata's protective mechanism, Penglaiji Ryn won't even have any memory of all this after she awakens..."
Kiana wanted to reach out, but she held back, as if afraid of something.
But Ryn directly grabbed her outstretched hand, pulling her closer and looking directly into her eyes.
"So you wanted to end it all prematurely, to prevent yourself and everyone else from suffering more. I understand, Kiana... everyone understands.
But the flame of hope still burns, so the Fire Moth will always fight on. Since you all feel the outcome cannot be changed, then... I will overturn this unfavorable process and outcome!"
Mei, who had just woken up beside them, was about to say to Kiana, "I'm tired, I'm leaving first." But when she saw Ryn holding Kiana's hands, the two of them gazing at each other tenderly, Mei suddenly felt that she wasn't tired anymore, that she didn't want to die, and that she could fight for another few hundred years.
Being stared at by Mei's resentful glare, Ryn felt a chill run down his spine and shivered.
Just then, Penglaiji Ryn arrived before the three of them with Sin Mal.
Penglaiji Ryn didn't have the mind to chat about other things and got straight to the point.
"Ryn, if you have any other tricks up your sleeve, use them now! I feel like my body and Sin Mal's are about to give out..."
Ryn and Kiana looked at each other and nodded.
Then Ryn let go of Kiana's hand, grabbed Sin Mal who was beside Penglaiji Ryn, and the two of them bid farewell to the others and headed for the center of the black hole.
"Come, Penglaiji Ryn, give me your hand. You need my power..."
"Are you... helping us?"
Penglaiji Ryn hesitated, unsure if she should extend her hand or what Kiana was planning to do.
"Yes. This world was destroyed by me and created by you. Our Stigmata have long been closely connected... We are both opposites and symbiotic, there was never a distinction between friend and foe from the beginning.
I once tried to awaken your Stigmata, but your power was too weak at the time to fight against the Honkai. But now is different. You have become incredibly strong, strong enough to overcome your own destiny..."
Kiana took Penglaiji Ryn's hand and transferred her power to her through their Stigmata.
Feeling Kiana's Stigmata, Penglaiji Ryn could intimately sense Kiana's true emotions and will through it.
"So this is Kiana's Stigmata... Just as I thought, it's so warm... Even though it's filled with sorrow and regret, it still firmly believes in its ideals and moves towards the future..."
"Hehe... thank you... Ryn didn't tell me he would do this, but I choose to believe in you all. I'll leave the rest to you. Go and create the future that we cannot see!"
"Okay!"
Penglaiji Ryn accepted Kiana's Stigmata. After receiving Kiana's power, Penglaiji Ryn's own Stigmata fully awakened.
Certified by Sirin, certified by Kiana, and certified by Penglaiji Ryn herself, the powers of the three finally reached a balance. Stigmata Implosion: Soul Burn was born at this moment!
Penglaiji Ryn could now clearly feel the souls trapped in her Stigmata Space.
This was one of the reasons why Ryn wasn't too concerned about destroying the Earth and killing everyone... because even if they died, their souls would remain here...
Penglaiji Ryn raised her arm: "This is my Stigmata, and everything in the Stigmata Space should be under my control! Femirins! Permission granted! Separate this world from the Stigmata Space!"
Femirins: "Roger, roger~ Leave the rest to Femirins!"
——————————————
At the center of the black hole, Ryn was helping Sin Mal suppress the Honkai energy corrosion in her body while reaching out towards the black hole.
The stellar-mass black hole gradually stopped spinning and quickly shrank back to its original volleyball size, landing back in Ryn's hand.
It is known that the world exists in the dimensions of height, length, width, and time, but for a black hole that subverts all laws, this doesn't seem to apply...
The next moment, a smaller, multicolored chaotic ball split off from the sphere. This was the solar system, only its space had been compressed to the size of a ping-pong ball.
Ryn released another black hole to capture himself and Sin Mal. A time stop within a time slow, so there's no fear of running out of time~
"Sin, you can begin now. It's all up to you. You have to hold on."
"Hah... you bastard, you sure know how to order people around! After this is over, remember to boast about my heroic deeds in front of Seele!"
Sin Mal clutched her arm, forcing herself to raise her hand and cast a time stop on Ryn and the world in his hands. As she activated her own Stigmata—the Chaotic Clock—a giant clock appeared behind her.
"Pfft..."
The clock instantly shattered. Sin Mal covered her mouth and knelt down, blood flowing uncontrollably from between her fingers. She was still too weak...
Because the ball in Ryn's hand was the entire solar system. Although Ryn had compressed it into a small ball, it still contained the space of the entire solar system. Stopping time for the entire solar system was too much of a burden for the current Sin Mal.
"I sense a fluctuation in time..." Kiana, Penglaiji Ryn, and Mei appeared beside Sin Mal.
"Although I don't know what you're planning, let me help you... By the Mark of Finality, I grant you the authority to reverse time and grant all things eternity."
Kiana placed her hand on Sin Mal's left shoulder, lending her the power of Finality.
"Time is endless and ever-forward, space is boundless and ever-present. Time and space are inextricably linked. By the Mark of Space, I grant you the foundation to transform space and grant all things eternity."
Penglaiji Ryn placed her hand on Sin Mal's right shoulder, transferring the power of the Herrscher of the Void to her.
When Sin Mal opened her eyes and stood up again, her eyes were one yellow and one red, with time and space echoing within them.
Giant clocks floated around Sin Mal, ticking away...
At the instant the hour, minute, and second hands overlapped...
*Weng—*
Time stopped.
Sin Mal couldn't bear the power of Kiana and Penglaiji Ryn for long, so Ryn quickly seized the opportunity to activate his ability.
Whether it's data or dream illusions, as long as Ryn considers it illusory, he can rewrite it into reality!
Existence is Reason: Virtual-to-Real Conversion. This was the ability of his symbiotic creature, Cortana, but if his symbiote could do it, there was no reason Ryn couldn't!
"Zeroth Power—Virtual-to-Real Conversion, fully unleashed!"