As Kiana's back disappeared around the corner of the stairs, Fuli sat down on the windowsill she had just occupied. Staring at the shining moon in the night sky, he seemed to be talking to himself. "You're back?"
[The moment I return, I find Host fawning over a prematurely white-haired, underage female who acts like a she-gorilla. I feel like my timing couldn't be worse.]
"No, your timing is perfect."
Prometheus, who had appeared in his retina, didn't reply. Her crimson eyes, identical to Fuli's, had 'Utter' written on the left and 'Bullshit' written on the right.
"I think the human pursuit of beauty is an eternal one."
Fuli bantered familiarly with the little AI. "That Kiana girl is a natural-born beauty, hard to hide. Just by standing there looking like a lost kitten, countless people would go through hell and high water for her. Deliberately acting contrary to that would just make me seem hypocritical, like I'm still not over the past. Don't you agree, sweetie?"
Alright, it was mainly the 'white moonlight' bonus. Even though that chapter had closed, the beautiful past would forever flow sweetly in his memories.
[Sweetie? To think you'd extend your demonic claws to an AI program that doesn't even have a physical body. Host's sexual sphere is truly as unfathomably vast as the abyss.]
She's back! My sharp-tongued little girl is back!
Fuli grumbled, "I feel like you disappeared for a bit and came back with a massive power boost."
[Doesn't Host want to ask about the new functions of the updated Finality Coordinator System?]
"Well, I have to show some verbal concern for the missing person first."
Fuli feigned sincerity. "You were offline for so long, I almost forgot you existed."
[But I was only gone for less than two days?]
"You were gone for a full two days!"
Now that's what you call a scumbag's rhetoric (leans back tactically)!
[Oh no. Then Prometheus will have to be a missing person from time to time in the future.]
"What do you mean?"
[After the system update, to conserve the energy required to maintain system operation, the AI will no longer have the privilege of connecting to the Finality Coordinator System at any time.]
"Say it in a way we can all understand."
[Ten minutes online to chat, twenty-four hours on standby.]
The girl floating in mid-air paused, then said: [In short, Host no longer needs to worry about your privacy. Things like wankng, or gettng it on, won't be constantly watched by Prometheus anymore.]
"Then what do I have to do to show off my majestic little bird to my little AI anytime, anywhere, like before? Can I buy a VIP subscription?"
[Due to certain irresistible factors, such a possibility does not exist.]
Seeing him try to make her stay, the corners of Prometheus's mouth lifted by two pixels. [The system's functions will not be affected. Even when the AI is in standby mode, it can still perfectly assist Host.]
I don't see how the functions are perfect at all, Fuli grumbled internally, then asked, "Not even if I pour Honkai energy into it? By the way, sweetie, where's your charging port?"
[Injecting Honkai energy will not extend Prometheus's online time. As for the charging port, it's here.]
The girl provocatively lifted her skirt, revealing a large patch of mosaic underneath.
A real mosaic.
The resolution was worse than Minecraft's, clearly a fortress that could only be taken with strategy, not brute force.
She lowered her skirt. [There are seven minutes and thirty-five seconds until Prometheus goes offline. It is recommended that Host handle the various matters of the system upgrade as soon as possible.]
"Tsk, fine."
Fuli sighed. The little girl's "tool" attribute was getting stronger and stronger, which made him feel a little bad.
He asked, "So, what new functions were added this time?"
[The character panel can now be handwritten.]
"Ooh, ooh, ooh, oh, oh!!!"
Learning of the powerful new function, the boy clapped his hands forcefully. "And then?"
[There's also Targeted Search. From now on, when Host pulls from the gacha, you can specify certain tags, and the prizes you win will partially match the characteristics of those tags—of course, the final interpretation right still belongs to the system.]
"Sounds like a tyrannical clause. What else?"
The little AI retorted: [Why doesn't Host update the character panel first?]
"Good point. I remember you said you were curious about what I could do."
Not wanting to embarrass her, Fuli opened the character panel and started doodling on it.
Jizo Mitama's rating was due to its incompletion. Once it finished incubating, it would definitely rise to the highest level.
After observing the character panel Fuli had written, the little AI summarized: [You're a B.]
The boy glared at her. "Hey, ducky-head, what's with the name-calling!"
[Host, just admit you're B-Rank!]
"Yes, yes, but I'm not a normal B-Rank! I I'm a B-Rank, but a Rule Breaker one!"
[Alright, alright.]
Prometheus leaned over, and her delicate, articulated hand drew another line on the overall evaluation.
Overall Evaluation: SB.
[A broken B-Rank. Super B-Rank. SB. Makes sense.]
She nodded with an air of great seriousness.
"Well, I'll be!"
To dare call her own great and glorious Host an "SB," (stupid idiot) this was something no ordinary bratty AI could pull off. She needed to be disciplined, severely!
His mind filled with curses, Fuli rolled up his sleeves, ready to teach this cyber-brat a lesson in martial ethics.
[Oh!]
The little AI did a cute defensive crouch, covering her head, but her voice was a little too flat.
Fuli, nearly slain by the cuteness, suddenly frowned.
"Wait a minute."
He looked at Prometheus suspiciously. "The concept of 'Super' was first brought up by Kiana. You were supposed to be dormant then, so how did you know about it?"
Realizing she had accidentally exposed herself, the little girl cursed inwardly.
As expected.
"Aha!"
Fuli quickly pinpointed the problem. "No longer having the privilege of connecting to the Host ≠ cannot observe the real world through my perspective, is that it? So if I really believed your little fairy inequality and did something... passionate when no one was around..."
[Whew! Whew! Whew!]
The little AI's gaze darted around, and her attempt to whistle without making a sound was a perfect imitation of Fuli from earlier.
Glancing at that face, which was a carbon copy of Bronya's, and thinking back to the chaotic mess of the trio getting on each other's nerves earlier that night, Fuli's anger flared.
He turned aside and started to erase the extra 'S' from his evaluation.
A small hand reached out from the side again.
"What? You want to scribble some more?"
The little AI said in all sincerity: [No, there's something Host must know.]
As she spoke, she wrote the words "Thunder Stigmata (A)" in the permanent skills section of the character panel.
Then, she floated in front of her Host, leaned down, and reached out to pull down his pants.
"Whoa, what are you doing?!"
Fuli was clearly dazed by this one-two punch. He leaped backward, clutching his pants and staring at Prometheus warily.
Is she that thirsty? Shouldn't she get a body first?
By the way, according to current human definitions, does doing that with an AI count as self-defense?
[Then Host can take them off yourself.]
The little AI didn't add a snarky comment this time, instead , she seriously urged him to take off his pants.
Given that she had played the first prank, regaining his trust was the most important thing.
"...How much? The underwear too?"
Fuli was somewhat reluctant, but he decided to trust her one more time.
Besides, he wasn't the one losing out here.
[Just the pants. Enough to show your inner thigh is fine.]
Fuli did as he was told, then stared at the purple pattern on his skin and fell silent.
His expression was strange. "I'm pretty sure I don't have a bad habit of getting tattoos. And this design... isn't this Mei's Natural Stigmata?"
Natural Stigmata were super Honkai antibodies jointly developed by the scientists of the Previous Era, capable of granting their wielders astonishing Honkai energy adaptability and resistance.
Like the Meta-Morph Factor, this existed within the gene pool of every modern human, and theoretically, could be activated with the right trigger.
Of course, theory was theory, and reality was reality.
If Natural Stigmata were that easy to activate, Schicksal wouldn't have gone to the trouble of developing artificial Stigmata that drastically shortened a Valkyrie's lifespan after transplantation.
And Raiden Mei was one of the few who had awakened a congenital Natural Stigmata.
As for its attribute? For someone who's good at physics and chemistry, it's electromagnetism, one of the four fundamental forces. For a total academic failure, it's just "Left is Zero, Right is Fire, Thunder God help me!" It was a type with both a very high ceiling and a very low floor.
A hundred thousand volts doesn't kill people in Pokémon because it's a children's show and Ash is too damn tough. In reality, it would carbonize a dinosaur!
Prometheus had now finished writing down the effects of the Thunder Stigmata. With a wave of her small hand, the panel appeared before Fuli.
After reading the description, which had already been shown in the last chapter, the boy raised an eyebrow. "This effect... feels quite nerfed compared to Mei's Stigmata."
And what's with that note? Is it hinting that if I collect all the Stigmata, I can transform into a man-made Herrscher of the Finality?
If this were a novel, this would obviously be the start of the main plot.
The little AI corrected him: [Host's Stigmata hasn't been nerfed. It has simply discarded complex applications to thoroughly maximize a single function.]
As the ultimate anti-Honkai measure passed down from the Previous Era, the functions of a Natural Stigmata could be roughly divided into Memory Inheritance, Ability Endowment, and Imaginary Resonance.
Fuli's had clearly discarded Memory Inheritance and Imaginary Resonance, and instead had its Ability Endowment trait boosted! Surged! Magnified! Skyrocketed! It was maxed out! Becoming a drill that would pierce the heavens!
As they say, the fewer the words, the more powerful the effect. An unconditional 80% ignorance of lightning-attribute effects... even against the Herrscher of Thunder born from the Third Eruption, Fuli would still—okay, he'd still get wrecked.
The difference in their base stats was too great. Even ignoring 80%, the remaining 20% would be enough to fry him to a crisp, inside and out.
Assuming the Herrscher of Thunder had the heart to do it.
"So, the question is," Fuli said, excitedly pulling up his pants, "how did this thing get on my leg?"
His tone was no longer so aggressive.
Prometheus blinked. [Host is asking a question you already know the answer to.]
"Alright, alright."
Fuli pulled the Jizo Mitama pendant out from his collar and gave it an affectionate 'Mwah!'. "I thought she was wifey material, but it turns out she's got a payment plan. This fight wasn't for nothing!"
Inside the pendant, the slumbering Miko shivered unexpectedly, muttering a few words—"Pah! You creep!", "What scum, won't even let a Divine Key go!"—before rolling up her little blanket and wrapping herself even tighter.
Seeing Fuli put away the Jizo Mitama, the little AI spoke in a probing tone: [Host... not angry anymore?]
"Not this time."
Having gained an advantage, Fuli couldn't really play the victim anymore. He thought for a moment and admonished, "Next time you see something like this, you have to tell me."
Even though the Thunder Stigmata was always active, whether the wielder knew of its existence could decide the outcome of a battle.
To give the simplest example: an enemy attacks from all directions with wind, lightning, earth, and a combination of ice and fire.
A Fuli who knew about the Stigmata would unhesitatingly charge towards the lightning attack, tanking the damage to break the enemy's guard.
An ignorant Fuli could only randomly pick one of the five, and the probability of taking the full brunt of the damage would not be low.
[I would have told you even if Host hadn't reminded me.]
After saying this, Prometheus noticed Fuli was doodling on the character panel again.
She floated over curiously to watch and saw him, after long consideration, delete the "Instantaneous Slash" from the skill list and then, with a smug look, add "Swordsmanship (A)" to his active skills.
The girl was speechless. [Host...]
"What, what? My swordsmanship skills really are that good!"
Fuli crossed his arms, his face screaming "it's only natural." "Besides, I know so many sword styles, I can't just list them all, can I? Consolidating them under 'Swordsmanship (A)' is much cleaner and clearer."
[Right, right, right.]
The little AI said perfunctorily: [If heaven had not given birth to my Host, the way of the sword would have been an anal fissure for all eternity.]
"No, you must have witnessed my heroic posture when I fought Jizo Mitama and Bronya, right? A-Rank isn't too much for that level of skill, is it?"
[Not at all, not at all, my Host is the bestest! By the way, 'Swordsmanship' alone doesn't sound very impressive. I suggest changing it to 'Super Ultimate Secret Art: Peerless Style Zero—Severing Thought, Phantasmal Karma, Wind God Flash of Two Hundred Yojanas, the Slash of Future Eternity~nya.']
The loli-mom replied in a tone used to coax a small child.
"Whoa, that's so perfunctory!"
Her crimson eyes glanced at the still muttering boy, and the corners of the little AI's mouth curled up. [Host, ten minutes are up.]
"So soon?"
Fuli was taken aback, then seriously reflected on himself. "The time's already up after introducing just two system functions. Looks like I'll have to be quicker next time."
[My dear Host, is it possible that...]
A hint of teasing flashed across her youthful features. Prometheus's thin lips parted slightly. [...the Finality Coordinator System only updated these two functions this time?]
"Huh?"
Fuli was stunned, but the little AI took the opportunity to vanish without a trace.
Before she disappeared, her triumphant little glance seemed to say: Guess why I insisted on having Host try the character panel's writing function first?
"So you were just stalling for time!"
He facepalmed and grumbled, but his gaze towards the night sky outside the window couldn't hide his amusement.
...
Meanwhile, 380,000 kilometers away from Earth in the vacuum of space—
Myriad stars illuminated the eternal cold and desolation of the universe. A pale, vast land stretched to the ends of the world. The sun still emitted its light and heat in the distant sky, yet it could not warm the cold hearts of people.
This was the far side of the moon, regarded as forbidden by the world. At its center, a majestic, pale temple, the same color as the land, stood ethereally.
Bathed in the starlight, Prometheus, who had just bid farewell to Fuli, slowly opened her eyes.
A woman, strolling over, naturally came into view.
The woman was tall and slender, dressed in a white lab coat, with long, dark purple hair cascading over her shoulders. Her entire being was like an exquisitely carved jade statue from Langhuan.
She was undoubtedly a beauty, but as rational as a block of ice that had stood alone for ten thousand years.
If Fuli were here, he would surely blurt out "Mei?!" upon seeing her.
Aside from the small glasses perched on her nose and her abyssally deep, intellectual aura, the only difference between them was their age.
The same natural stunner, the same nation-toppling beauty;
The same graceful charm, the same slender branches bearing bountiful fruit.
"What did you find?"
She smiled faintly.
"Nothing."
Faced with the older Mei's inquiry, Prometheus shook her head. "His guard is still up. Even if he appears calm on the surface, he can still accurately pick up on the clues I intentionally reveal."
"The character panel."
The girl's face was expressionless. "The skills written on the character panel are all ones he has used so far."
At first glance, this seemed like a redundant statement.
However, if one took into account that [Prometheus monitors the Host's condition 24/7] and [the two are not completely honest with each other], Fuli's act of holding back a card became deeply meaningful.
"I see..."
The woman sat on a randomly arranged pile of rocks, her index finger tapping a steady rhythm.
"It's a pity that child didn't agree to let the Finality Coordinator System scan his memory at the beginning. Otherwise, you and I wouldn't have to go through all this trouble."
Divine Keys were ultimately made of matter. Even when bound to the Fuli from the previous timeline who had awakened the Meta-Morph Factor, after being scoured by the river of time and losing its main body, it was impossible for it to appear before him in a nearly complete state right away, let alone exchange for so many good things through ten-pulls.
Memories of the future, the direction of the world situation, the results of Project Stigma, the whereabouts of World Serpent, the state of Schicksal and Anti-Entropy, and those special existences who seemed to be alternate-timeline counterparts of the Flame-Chasers...
All of these things that Fuli had personally experienced were, to the two of them who had been trapped on the moon for over fifty thousand years, immeasurably priceless treasures.
Unfortunately, perhaps realizing he would become worthless once he handed these over, or perhaps simply out of a strong person's intuition and purism, Fuli had almost instinctively refused the Finality Coordinator System's memory scan.
In addition, Prometheus—the Will of the Honkai's—true body was trapped in the Imaginary Space where the Cocoon of Finality resided due to multiple factors, unable to extend its influence to Earth on the real side. Helpless, she could only disguise herself as the AI of the Finality Coordinator System, playing the part of a curious baby to coax information out of Fuli.
Both sides were playing a subtle game of moves and counter-moves.
Dr. Mei tilted her head, a strand of hair falling naturally to the side. "Next time, how about I go and meet him?"
"Mei, what are you scheming now?"
"As a false 'Dr. MEI' born in a Bubble Universe, I yearn to breathe the fresh air that exists only in memory."
The self-proclaimed counterfeit woman smiled. "I wonder if our dear Will of the Honkai will accept this reason?"
"My prototype and your prototype spent many years together."
Prometheus's eyes were half-closed, the subtext being cut the crap and get to the point.
...