Kiana had no idea how much time had passed before she finally listened seriously to the end of a story she was unfamiliar with.
“…Even though I don’t understand a lot of the concepts—it’s my first time hearing most of them, so I can’t tell whether the story you told is true or false. But if everything you said is real… isn’t this basically bringing it on yourself?”
“If you people hadn’t gone around plundering like bandits, how would you have brought a death sentence upon yourselves?”
It gave a bitter smile.
“It seems you still don’t get it. The universe has always been this way—if you don’t eat others, you’ll be eaten. If you don’t display your strength through violence and slaughter and plunder, other races will come to snatch your resources.”
“What’s more, the Path cannot be defied. When the Huyu clan walked upon the Paths of [Gluttony] and [Abundance], there was already no turning back. Our collapse was never some self-inflicted consequence—we simply ran into an unexpected situation. That someone from an enemy faction would become an Aeon at a critical moment—apart from the [Final King] and the Emanators of Finality, no one could possibly have foreseen it.”
“And in the universe, there are far too many accidents like that. Leaving aside those beings with prophetic abilities, who would have thought that the last insect of the Coleoptera clan would, out of sheer loneliness, directly ascend to become the Aeon of [Propagation], triggering the Swarm Disaster that swept across most of the universe? Who would have thought that an organic lifeform unable to gaze upon the Erudition Aeon would achieve [sudden enlightenment] upon the tomb of Emperor Rupert and launch the Second Emperor’s War, massacring other organic lifeforms?”
“Who knows—perhaps in the future, the Sleeping Formless One who never glances at anyone will also have Emanators of His own; perhaps the dragon descendants, whose Path has been torn to pieces, will recreate [Immortality].”
Kiana stared at it blankly, like a player who only plays Honkai Impact 3rd but not Honkai: Star Rail, suddenly flooded with a massive amount of information related to the Star Rail world.
“…I knew it. You know nothing about these well-known examples… Then let’s use Earth as an example. Based on the available information, the Previous Civilization—whether in terms of technological advancement or determination to fight the Honkai—was no less than the Current Civilization, yet it still met its destruction in the end.”
“Kiana, having coexisted with you for so long, I can clearly sense that deep in your heart, a hero’s dream is burning. Even before you knew about your origins, you longed to become a hero who saves the world, just like the people in countless comics and novels.”
“But do you know? The so-called [Hero’s Journey] is nothing but a die cast casually by Them. Enoxia told you that you were born into this world to end the Honkai and save the world. You think she was giving you encouragement—I only find you all the more pitiful.”
“Wasn’t she essentially saying that what you should do with your life was predestined from the very start? Is saving the world something only you can do? Can the Honkai not be ended without you? How could that be possible? Some things—if you don’t do them, someone else will. Who knows, maybe one day the Honkai will end itself by accident. For example, some Aeon gets a whim and tosses a few Emanators over here.”
“So, rather than carrying out some [mission bestowed upon you at birth], it’d be better to rely on your own strength and do the things you actually want to do.”
“As for [with great power comes great responsibility]—that’s just moral kidnapping by the weak. The strong simply don’t take responsibility; they do as they please. The weak, apart from hiding in some corner and cursing in secret like the Thousand Herrs, can’t do a thing.”
“Don’t rush—I bet you’re going to say that wanting to be a hero is something you find meaningful and want to do. But look at the Thousand Herrs, then look at Enoxia. From their abilities, you should be able to understand that what a person [currently believes they want to do] ≠ [what they truly want to do]. Because even they themselves don’t know whether what they call [what they want to do] has been induced by someone else.”
“Apply what I just said to yourself—is your [desire to become a hero] really your own? If you had lived like an ordinary person from birth until now, never meeting Schicksal, never meeting Anti-Entropy, never meeting Raiden Mei, never meeting Bronya, never meeting Fu Hua, never meeting Enoxia, never meeting Murata Himeko—would you… still have developed the thought [I want to become a hero]?”
“Why do some birds fly? Because some people want to see them fly!”
Kiana furrowed her brows. She vaguely sensed that there seemed to be a problem with what the Herrscher of Ice was saying, but the flood of unknown information pouring into her brain had nearly crashed it. She wanted to say something, but didn’t know where to begin.
“So, Kiana, before you make a decision, you need to know yourself first. Since you were born a Herrscher, why not try to accept this power? Fuse completely with the Herrscher core, and not only will you become a complete Herrscher of Ice, but by gaining my power, you’ll become the only Pathstrider in the entire solar system.”
“By then, if you want to conquer all directions, the stars across the sky will become your pasture; if you want to settle in a corner, no Herrscher could possibly be your match. This was already proven in the Second Honkai War, when it took three Herrschers working together to eliminate me. And if you still want to be a hero, of course you can go on saving everyone who needs saving.”
“Even setting aside grand ideals and just talking about the current predicament—you’ve seen it yourself. Both being Herrschers, Enoxia had direct contact with the puppet and nothing happened, yet earlier Bronya directly lost the ability to use her Herrscher authority. The biggest difference between them is clearly their degree of control over the Herrscher core.”
“Judging from the puppet’s fear of Enoxia, the Herrscher of Domination’s so-called seizure of Herrscher authority is probably nothing more than bullying the weak. As long as you’re stronger than it, you naturally won’t need to worry about your authority being taken—and that way, you can leave the Theater of Domination safely, right?”
“If something happened to you here, what would your companions, your family, think? So don’t hesitate. Go accept—all of yourself!”
With her mind not entirely clear, Kiana watched as it extended a hand toward her. Her arm lifted slightly.
“Ah… and here I was thinking you’d have more to say. That was quick—showing your true colors so soon… you defeated loser.”
