“Eno, tell me… do you think this counts as… standing by and doing nothing while someone dies?”
High above the ground, hundreds of kilometers away from the headquarters of Schicksal, Sirin—who had just finished watching The Last Lesson like a live broadcast—was sharing her thoughts with Enoxia.
“It does… but it also doesn’t. For Himeko, burning herself out completely like a flame is definitely better than lingering on a sickbed. That’s the ending she chose for herself…”
“So are you going to read all her information before she dies, and then resurrect her the way you brought back Mom?”
Enoxia let out a soft sigh.
“That’s because I have my own selfish reasons. Just like how you looked when you saw that Cecilia was alive. After everything Kiana’s been through, what kind of expression do you think she’ll have when she finds out that Murata Himeko is still alive?”
“I get it. So next, we need to guide Anti-Entropy and Theresa into making contact with World Serpent.”
Right now, Sirin was holding Kiana by the collar. With the combined efforts of everyone involved, the Herrscher of Ice’s consciousness had fallen into slumber. Just before Kiana—who had reverted to White Comet—hit the ground, Sirin, who had been waiting for her, caught her.
“But… if we do this, won’t it be too obvious? Kiana doesn’t have the authority of the Herrscher of the Void. Schicksal HQ is in the sky above the Mediterranean. So if she ends up running all the way to Shenzhou for no reason…”
“I’m not trying to hide it from anyone. If Schicksal knows it was us, that might actually make Otto think twice before doing anything too extreme. You need to have confidence in your own abilities. If others know we’re involved, the first thing they’ll think of is compromise and backing down.”
“Got it.”
Sirin opened a portal and tossed Kiana inside.
“Are you really so sure that World Serpent and Anti-Entropy will get along? I mean, Kevin and that Welt Yang… they’ve got history…”
The corner of Enoxia’s mouth curled up slightly.
“There’s no way they’ll get along. Like you said, Anti-Entropy and World Serpent have major differences in ideology. But… Bronya personally will definitely be able to reach some level of cooperation with World Serpent. Remember what I asked World Serpent to do back when Kevin came out of the Sea of Quanta?”
March 19, 2017. Schicksal Headquarters.
Cheng Lixue recalled what she had witnessed earlier. For a long time, she couldn’t bring herself to say a single word.
That day, after recovering somewhat, she had stepped out of her room. She figured—even if she couldn’t beat a Herrscher—she could still take down other Honkai beasts and save as many B-rank or lower Valkyries as possible. That, at least, she could do.
With that thought in mind, she started from the first airbase, clearing out the Honkai beasts that had invaded Schicksal HQ. Then, she stepped into a monitoring room… and saw that scene.
On the screen, Otto and her master seemed to be arguing. But since there was only video and no audio, she had no idea what was happening. Then, with a burst of static, the equipment seemed to come back to life—and Otto’s voice came through loud and clear.
“Immortal Phoenix, I am not lying.”
Immediately after, the screen showed Fu Hua collapsing to the ground. At the time, Cheng Lixue didn’t have time to think it through before she was drawn in by the battle between the Herrscher of Corruption, the Herrscher of the Void, and the Herrscher of Ice. But now, looking back—those few short minutes of footage contained an overwhelming amount of information.
Ever since Cheng Lixue learned that Fu Hua had actually lived for an extremely long time, she knew her master was far more than just a Schicksal Valkyrie. She had speculated about Fu Hua’s true identity, but she never imagined her master was the very same Immortal Phoenix who had guarded Shenzhou for over a thousand years.
Legend has it that in ancient Shenzhou, the most important thing for an emperor after ascending the throne was to travel to Mount Taixu and pay homage to the Immortal Phoenix. Every emperor, upon taking the throne, had to go there to meet her. Those who saw the Immortal Phoenix would enjoy long life and a prosperous dynasty. Those who failed to meet her would either die young or lose their kingdom. Not one of them had a good end.
Cheng Lixue remembered seeing a painting in a museum called “The True Image of Immortal Phoenix Breaking the Formation.” It depicted an event in the 11th year of the Chenghua era of the Ming Dynasty (1475 AD), when the Ming Empire was at war with the Schicksal expeditionary forces on the Qipchak steppe. The Immortal Phoenix had intervened and defeated Schicksal’s special forces and the saintess Kallen Kaslana.
Now, Cheng Lixue understood: the only reason her master would interfere in a war between nations was certainly because Schicksal had been using Honkai energy weapons on the battlefield.
After the great fire on Mount Taixu in the 12th year of Chenghua, the Immortal Phoenix vanished. From then on, every emperor of Shenzhou who went to Mount Taixu to pay respects never laid eyes on the immortal’s true form.
“I remember that Lord Overseer raised an army and overthrew old Schicksal in 1491. Could it be… that my master had already joined Schicksal by then? And that behind the rise of the new Schicksal… was my master’s influence?”
Cheng Lixue shook her head. Dwell on old history from 500 years ago—that was pointless right now. Three questions mattered far more.
First: why had she seen that footage in the first place? Knowing Otto as she did, if he made up his mind to get rid of someone, he would erase all traces and cover up the truth immediately afterward. Letting someone like her see that kind of footage—that was clearly not a smart move.
“Either someone bypassed the Overseer to show me this footage… the Herrscher of Corruption certainly has that kind of ability. Or the Overseer deliberately let me see it. Either way, the purpose must be the same: someone wants me to oppose the Overseer in certain situations.”
If you asked Cheng Lixue who she would side with if Fu Hua and Otto had a conflict—there was no question. She would side with Fu Hua. As an S-rank Valkyrie, Cheng Lixue was loyal to the organization of Schicksal, but she had never been loyal to Otto personally. In her heart, Otto’s place was far below that of Fu Hua, who had taught her to grow into the person she was.
Still, the situation was far too strange. Cheng Lixue was afraid that her relationship and feelings for Fu Hua might be exploited, and that she might end up as a tool for someone else’s goals. So instead of acting on emotion and confronting Otto right away, she stayed calm and thought carefully about what was happening behind the scenes.
Second: what had actually happened to Fu Hua, and how should she face Otto from now on?
The first part—she had an answer now after a few days of investigation. Fu Hua was currently inside a life support pod at Schicksal, receiving treatment. Cheng Lixue didn’t understand why Otto would first try to kill someone and then save them. But it was clear that Fu Hua was alive. That was a major reason she could remain calm.
As for the second part… she didn’t know. Before this, her attitude toward Otto had been no different from a normal employee toward their boss. Still, as an S-rank Valkyrie, she knew she wasn’t exactly an ordinary employee at Schicksal. Commanding other Valkyries in the fight against Honkai—that she was good at. She’d done that kind of work before the Second Honkai Eruption. But when it came to the internal power struggles within Schicksal—she had zero interest and thought they were incredibly foolish.
Because in Schicksal, no matter what methods you used or how high you climbed, there was always the Overseer above you who could strip it all away with a single word. She truly didn’t understand what the point was of wasting energy on such things. If anyone could actually outmaneuver Otto, then his 500-plus years of life would have been a complete waste.
“Aside from Otto, the people suited to be Overseer of Schicksal… Durandal is barely acceptable. But the best choice… would still be Lady Theresa…”
Finally: why had Otto so decisively tried to kill Fu Hua, only to save her afterward?
“If my master is truly the Immortal Phoenix, and Otto has known her since 500 years ago, then they should—no. I can’t judge the Overseer by normal human standards. With him… as long as something helps him achieve his goals… no matter how many years of feeling are involved… he probably doesn’t care…”
Cheng Lixue had worked at Schicksal for over 20 years, after all. She had some understanding of Otto. Ruthless, cold-hearted—his actions certainly lived up to those labels.
“Whatever. I have too little information right now. Sitting here alone and overthinking won’t get me anywhere. Lady Theresa and the people from Anti-Entropy will probably be looking for Kiana next…”
