At Schicksal Headquarters, in a corner of the floating island, many Valkyries were charging forward, completely unaware that the Herrscher of Sentience was right beside them.
“Heh heh… this thing… is really handy.”
She toyed with a crimson feather in her hands, wearing a carefree smile. This feather was something she had taken from Otto’s dead body.
“I actually left something like this for Otto back in the day… I just can’t understand why.”
The Herrscher of Sentience tried to sift through the vast ocean of memories to find the reason, but she quickly gave up.
“…No, there are just too many memories… I’ll set aside little details like this for now. When I have the time, I’ll slowly digest them… all fifty thousand years of the past…”
The Herrscher of Sentience lifted her head and gazed at her handiwork. In the distance, fire and black smoke intertwined as they rose into the sky. About half of Schicksal Headquarters had already been reduced to ruins.
“Hmm… as far as results go, that’s pretty impressive. Ever since this floating island was built, no one has ever inflicted this much damage. Truly, only I could pull this off!”
The Herrscher of Sentience turned around confidently, casting a glance at the almost completely intact buildings on the other side. She felt a slight pang of regret.
“This Schicksal Headquarters is really huge. I’ve been wrecking things without harming any Valkyries, and after an entire day, I’ve only taken down half of it…”
In reality, every time the Herrscher of Sentience came across something unfamiliar, she would excitedly rummage through her memories out of curiosity. Only when she grew impatient or bored would she smash it to pieces. Otherwise, the floating island might have already crashed by now.
“Honestly, if it weren’t for Schicksal and Otto, so many things wouldn’t have turned out so badly. The world could have been a little more peaceful.”
The Herrscher of Sentience recalled Otto’s so-called “glorious track record,” and the more she thought about it, the angrier she became.
“And Otto has the nerve to claim that Schicksal is an organization dedicated to eliminating Honkai. Back in 2000, during the Second Honkai Eruption, if it weren’t for Otto, the Herrscher of the Void would have been wiped out long ago. If it weren’t for Otto, the Herrscher of Ice wouldn’t have been reborn. Murata Himeko wouldn’t have died, and I… I wouldn’t have given him the chance to put a bullet in my head.”
Thinking back to the Valkyries running around in panic earlier, the Herrscher of Sentience found it both amusing and pitiful.
“Ah, when you think about it, those Valkyries are pretty pitiful too. Each of them joined Schicksal with noble ideals, but in the end, they probably never even realized… that they were nothing more than pawns being manipulated by Otto.”
“The world is vast, and now I can go anywhere I please. Honkai hasn’t been eliminated yet, and from here on out, there won’t be many peaceful days ahead. I need to make the most of it and enjoy myself while I can. Where should I go next… Ah, I’ll think about it slowly after I leave here… Hmm?”
Two patrolling robots passed by the Herrscher of Sentience, and their alarm systems immediately started beeping.
“Dammit, Fenghuang Down doesn’t work on these things!”
The piercing alarm blared into the Herrscher of Sentience’s ears, and a wave of irritation surged through her. She raised her right hand and gave the robots two solid punches. The machines fell to the ground, now emitting only faint crackles of electrical current.
“Ah, much quieter now. They’re just machines—break ’em, build ’em back later… Whether they’re Valkyries or not, I let all the people go… Hmm, I’m so merciful.”
“Ah, my old friend. I do hope you’ll come to possess that mercy soon enough.”
A familiar voice reached her ears. The Herrscher of Sentience looked ahead toward the bridge, and there stood Otto Apocalypse—the handsome Overseer of Schicksal.
The Herrscher of Sentience had never expected to run into him here, and she was taken aback for a moment. But she quickly regained her composure.
“Right. Of course—someone like you wouldn’t die that easily.”
Otto struck an exaggerated pose:
“No, no, no—you did kill me once, it’s just that… fortunately, I don’t keep all my spare bodies in one place.”
He gestured with his chin toward the distant flames. Buried beneath that rubble was his life-support chamber, containing hundreds of spare bodies for his use.
The Herrscher of Sentience responded in a lighthearted tone:
“Well then, since destroying half of Schicksal isn’t enough to take you out, I’ll just destroy the entire headquarters.”
Seeing that she was ready to throw hands without another word, Otto quickly spoke up:
“From what I’ve seen of your actions just now, you’re a good person.”
The Herrscher of Sentience shot him a disdainful look:
“Tch, as if that needs saying?”
“Since you’re a good person, that means we can reason with each other…”
“What reason is there to have with someone like you?”
Though she said that, the movements of her hands noticeably slowed down.
“The order to put a bullet in your head was indeed mine. That’s my crime, no doubt about it. That’s why you just tried to get revenge, and I didn’t resist—a life for a life. We’re even now.”
“Even? Do you think I’m that easy to fool? I only destroyed one of your bodies. You’re still standing right in front of me, speaking so brazenly. Only when I’ve destroyed every single one of your bodies and you can never resurrect again—then we’ll be truly even!”
Otto smiled and shook his head:
“My old friend, that’s where you’re being unreasonable. Aren’t you also standing right here, alive and well, in front of me? Because of me, you died once—but you also killed me once. Because of me, you came back to life. If I hadn’t put you into that life-support pod, you certainly wouldn’t have woken up so soon, would you? My friend, if we’re counting this way, then we have no grudge between us now—in fact, I’ve even saved your life.”
“You…! I…”
The Herrscher of Sentience opened her mouth, wanting to say something. But she scratched her head, thought for a long time, and still couldn’t come up with a rebuttal.
“You’ve just had your fun wreaking havoc at Schicksal—that should be enough. Not everyone here is a villain like me. Durandal, whom you just fought, and all the other Valkyries who are devoted to fighting Honkai—they don’t deserve more sacrifice and suffering.”
If the Herrscher of Sentience had read Otto’s mind at that moment, she would have discovered that his biggest thought was: Just leave already—if you keep this up, Schicksal is going to go bankrupt…
But she didn’t do that. This five-hundred-year-old geezer had successfully gotten a handle on a child who was barely a day old. The Herrscher of Sentience’s face shifted through various shades of color, as if she wanted to say something but couldn’t bring herself to speak. Finally, she spat contemptuously at Otto’s feet and turned to leave.
“Wait—where are you going?”
Otto’s voice came again. Though his tone remained calm, the Herrscher of Sentience found it unbearably grating.
“None of your business!”
“…I’d like to offer you a piece of advice.”
“You? What good advice could you possibly have!”
Otto’s voice grew even gentler and more patient, yet there was a hint of theatrical affectation in it:
“My old friend… old friend~ After all, we’ve known each other for over five hundred years. In this world, I’m one of the people who knows you best.”
“I can see that you’re confused… You’ve just awakened, and you still can’t fully understand who you are yet. You haven’t yet adjusted to your identity and your place in this world. You need someone who’s familiar with you; someone who knows you; someone who understands you. You need her to help calibrate your direction and find your anchor point.”
The Herrscher of Sentience’s eyes widened:
“Hey… you’re not… thinking of coming with me, are you? I don’t know what’s going on in that head of yours, but I sure as hell don’t want some annoying tag-along trailing behind me.”
“No, no, no—I may have known you for five hundred years, but when it comes to truly understanding you… who could possibly know you better than the you of the past?”
“Before you died, you left behind a single Fenghuang Down feather as a contingency. Its behavior, habits, and worldview are completely identical to yours before death. And I know exactly where it is right now.”
Otto Apocalypse flashed a friendly smile.
“It’s currently inside Kiana Kaslana’s body, helping her suppress the Herrscher consciousness within her.”
“Where is Kiana now?”
“I don’t know. But I do know that there’s one place they’re bound to go in the future.”
“Mount Taixu.”
The Herrscher of Sentience departed from Schicksal Headquarters. Otto let out a sigh of relief, then turned around and gazed at the still-burning flames and the countless damaged buildings. The smile on his face instantly vanished.
Without a doubt, the destruction caused by the Herrscher of Sentience had completely wrecked countless world-class facilities, and an enormous amount of experimental data had been lost. If these data and equipment were to be valued, each individual unit would probably be worth billions, and together they would amount to an astronomical sum. And Schicksal would clearly have to bear that loss all on its own.
Just as Otto was pondering how much of this year’s research budget would need to be cut, Durandal approached his side.
“Overseer, the Herrscher of Sentience has left.”
“Oh, Durandal… I know. I sent her to Mount Taixu.”
Durandal, who had no idea what was going on, wore a puzzled expression:
“Mount Taixu in Shenzhou? And what exactly are we going to do about this Herrscher?”
Otto’s lips curled upward once more:
“Durandal, you have more important missions ahead of you. Since the Herrscher of Sentience is going to Mount Taixu, naturally… we’ll leave her to someone who’s familiar with that place. Don’t you agree, Lixue?”
Durandal followed Otto’s gaze, and Cheng Lixue slowly emerged from a room not far away.
“Durandal, the Overseer is right. Mount Taixu is where I grew up. Leave the Herrscher of Sentience to me.”
Durandal wanted to say something, but seeing Otto’s confident expression, she swallowed her words. Together with Rita, who had just arrived at headquarters, and the rest of the Immortal Blades, she joined the other Valkyries in rescue operations.
After Durandal left, the Schicksal airfield felt even more empty with only the two of them remaining. Otto had already given his orders, but Cheng Lixue remained standing there, looking at him with a complicated expression.
“Overseer, I hope… you can answer one question for me.”
