The blade sank to its hilt, but Lin felt no feedback of striking solid matter.
The alternation between illusion and reality had been completed in less than the time it took to draw a single breath. By the time Lin reacted and tried to dodge, it was too late.
Squelch!
Flesh was pierced. The crimson spray of erupting blood dripped into the ocean, only to be neutralized by the deep blue and vanish.
Bloodlust filled the Eighth Herrscher's eyes as her smile widened. Her left hand plunged deep into Lin neck, seizing him, while her right hand stabbed into his back, stripping away his mobility and life force.
"Errors and lies—this is all humanity has taught me."
Her fingers tightened, crushing the bones in Lin neck. All nerves and skeletal structures ceased their function, turning him into a dangling ragdoll in her hands. Her right hand reached toward the Herrscher Core within Lin body.
"And now, I am returning it to humanity—"
She yanked her right hand out violently!
However, out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of her own right hand and froze in realization.
Her palm was empty, as if foreshadowing something.
Not from behind, nor from the side—at the moment that cold, stern figure flashed before her eyes, he stole all the light from the world.
That single strike that sliced through the radiance—
...
Splash...
"So, this bionic body can actually float on the sea too."
The Eighth Herrscher was immersed peacefully in the seawater. Her body, rising and falling with the waves, bumped into a shard of a Titan. With a metallic clank, another electronic component fell out of her body, which was now severed from the waist down.
"Using the Sixth Herrscher to lure me into attacking, then using your authority to construct a bionic body to make me lower my guard by catching it... Uncovering a lie doesn't necessarily reveal the truth; instead, it might lead to another lie... Is this your way of applying what you've learned?"
Using Prometheus appearance, the Eighth Herrscher looked up and smiled at Lin, who was hovering above her.
"You win this time, Lin."
Her body—Prometheus main core—had been pierced and destroyed by Godslayer. As she ceased maintaining the conscious space, the distant sky she gazed upon was stained with a shattering darkness.
"...I have questions I want to ask you." Lin looked down at the Eighth Herrscher calmly. The corrosion of the vessel-like lines had already spread to his face. He removed his head-mounted display, which vanished into azure particles. His iridescent pupils remained dazzlingly bright under the sunlight.
"No problem. This is the right of the victor. I will tell you everything I know." The Eighth Herrscher seemed entirely unconcerned. She leaned against the debris, meeting Lin gaze with a smile.
"What exactly are you... Herrschers?"
"..."
"Why do some of you exist as automatic programs, while others, like you, possess a high degree of self-awareness? Why do Herrschers wish to destroy humanity, and why... are there still Herrschers willing to help humanity?"
Even after becoming a Herrscher, Lin had retained his self—the real "Lin." Had he been completely eroded, he might have been a Herrscher through and through. Because of this, he found it even harder to understand why Herrschers like the Eighth and Sixth, born with human memories and self-awareness, still harbored such immense hostility toward mankind.
If Herrschers were destined to have the instinct to destroy humanity etched into them, then what was the meaning of the Previous Era's Herrscher of Reason—that girl who exhausted herself to protect humanity?
He had never had such an opportunity to communicate with a highly self-aware Herrscher for a sufficient amount of time, so he wanted the answer from the Eighth Herrscher's mouth.
"Is it because, in your eyes, humans are all insignificant insects?"
"Have some confidence, Human."
However, the Eighth Herrscher spoke with utter indifference. Lin stared at her half-dead form; her composure was unlike that of a Herrscher.
"Humans have already subjugated seven Herrschers and dealt with seven Great Eruptions. Including me, a total of eight Herrschers have now lost to humanity. That is enough to prove that humans are not insignificant insects."
"I respect humans. They taught me lies. They struggle at the brink of death under the oppression of the Honkai. There are countless people like you who, even in death, walk toward their destiny with heads held high."
"You, who can defeat a Herrscher, can be proud of your identity as a human."
The clouds parted, and the light following the scattered thunderclouds fell upon the Eighth Herrscher's face. She was solemn and serious, as if making a proclamation, as if reciting a poem.
"As for those 'whys' you asked... Hehe, didn't you already say it? I have no humanity. How could I understand why a Herrscher would betray their kind?"
She spoke lightly: "Time is almost up. After the conscious space collapses, I will sleep for a while. You, on the other hand, will lose the memory of this experience. Of course, some subconsciousness will remain, so there's no need to be nervous. Our future battles will simply be a different game entirely."
"Next time, I will kill you with the utmost respect and wipe out humanity. I look forward to our..."
"Next clash."
A wave crashed over them, drowning the Eighth Herrscher's eerie smile.
...
Is it over?
It should be.
This nightmare of reincarnation—a dream ending in illusion, lies, and slaughter—would be known by no one. The memories of fictional people would not be transmitted to the real ones. They would not know what Lin had experienced in the conscious space.
Lin flew slowly toward the bifurcated Fire Moth headquarters. The collapse in the distance was accelerating, drawing closer. It seemed he would return to reality in a few minutes.
Kevin, Vil-V, Mobius, Erwin...
Faces flashed through his mind one by one.
And...
Lin landed on the wreckage of the base. The armor on his body dissipated into particles, replaced by his usual uniform. After landing, he walked toward a figure standing at the edge of the debris.
Chiaki raised her smooth chin and fumbled in her pocket, pulling out a piece of chewing gum.
"Here, want some?"
Lin took a deep breath and accepted the gum.
"Thank you."
"Oh, so you can say thank you," Chiaki remarked.
Next, he should chew the gum and wait quietly for this dream to end.
However, some questions remained unanswered.
"If it weren't for you, I might have collapsed during the second cycle. It was your role as the 'accomplice of the villain' that maintained my mental state."
"..."
"After the second recursion ended, I thought about it for a long time. I could never understand some of your actions and words... until I received confirmation from Vil-V that Prometheus was the mastermind. Only then did I understand what was going on with your 'abnormality' earlier."
"You knew the truth of the conscious space from the very beginning."
His disc-like iridescent pupils stared at the leisurely smiling hacker girl.