Time turned back to March 22, 2017. Durandal was returning to Schicksal Headquarters from the Celestial City. The moment her spacecraft approached, she could already see the floating island covered in smoke and debris—a complete mess everywhere.
“Has there been any new communication from headquarters?”
Alvitr carefully checked the logs:
“Lady Durandal, ever since Lady Amber sent that message about returning to Schicksal, there hasn’t been a single new transmission. And none of the messages we’ve sent have received any response either. I believe the headquarters’ communication system has been damaged and hasn’t been repaired yet.”
Durandal pondered for a moment, then turned to the others:
“The situation at headquarters is still unclear right now, so let’s not move the ship any closer for the time being. I’ll go ahead alone to scope things out first. Once I’ve confirmed it’s safe, I’ll let everyone else enter the headquarters. If any unexpected situations arise, the rest of you will follow Rita’s orders and act according to the circumstances.”
“Understood!”
The hatch opened, and Durandal boarded a small aircraft, flying to about twenty meters above the floating island. After spotting a suitable landing point, she leaped from the aircraft.
She hadn’t even taken a few steps when a familiar yet unfamiliar voice rang out from a loudspeaker.
“Testing, testing, one two three. Testing, testing, one two three. Can you hear me?”
Durandal furrowed her brow, her right hand gripping Black Abyss White Flower tightly as she searched for the source of the voice.
“Durandal, you can clearly hear me but you’re ignoring me. Isn’t that a bit… impolite?”
In Durandal’s field of vision, a figure appeared from seemingly nowhere and was closing in fast. Durandal anticipated her movement, raised Black Abyss White Flower, and thrust forward with her lance.
But what greeted her was a long spear. The Herrscher of Sentience had used “Speak with a Straight Spear”—a high-speed spinning spear that, upon being thrown, pulled Durandal toward her direction. The tips of the two spears clashed, and the resulting shockwave sent both of them flying backward.
Durandal dragged Black Abyss White Flower across the ground, carving a scar dozens of meters long before she finally managed to steady herself.
Crack~
Crack~
BOOM!
With a deafening roar, the ten-meter-tall reaction tower beside them was struck by the residual shockwaves from their clash and came crumbling down. Fortunately, there was no high-concentration Honkai energy stored nearby—otherwise, it would have triggered a small-scale Honkai eruption.
As the dust settled, Durandal got a clear look at the shadowy figure’s face. She was startled at first, then immediately pointed Black Abyss White Flower at her chest:
“Who are you!?”
Hearing this, the Herrscher of Sentience revealed a disdainful smirk:
“Ha! Looks like Schicksal’s strongest Valkyrie doesn’t have the best memory, huh… Then again, aside from that bastard Otto, there aren’t many people in all of Schicksal who actually know who I am.”
After muttering to herself with her head lowered for a moment, the Herrscher of Sentience regained her previous swagger. She stretched out her right hand and pointed her thumb at herself:
“Remember this—my name is Fu Hua! When it comes to actual combat ability, I am Schicksal’s strongest Valkyrie!”
Durandal didn’t answer. Like the Herrscher of Sentience, she seemed to be muttering to herself with her head lowered.
“Ich bin das Schwarz auch das Weiss, Vor dem Beginn und zwar nach der Ende.”
(I am the black that devours all; I am the white that gives birth to all. Born before creation, existing beyond annihilation.)
Along with her whispers, Black Abyss White Flower began to emit an increasingly brilliant glow.
“Black Abyss White Flower, First Rated Power—Holy Lance: Bloom!”
Taking advantage of the Herrscher of Sentience’s visibly wandering attention, Durandal launched her attack. The dazzling light immediately engulfed this newborn little comrade.
“Hey, I haven’t even gotten serious yet, and you’re already using your Rated Power? That’s just unsportsmanlike!”
Hearing the lively yelping from within the light, Durandal’s heart sank. She remembered that even a Judgement-class Honkai Beast, if caught off guard and hit head-on by Black Abyss White Flower’s First Rated Power, would be either dead or barely clinging to life. But this person before her still sounded full of energy—her identity was clear as day.
She was a Herrscher. And she was deeply connected to Fu Hua.
Durandal recalled the knowledge Otto had taught her. Using the Previous Era as reference, the Herrschers that had yet to appear were the Herrscher of Sentience, the Herrscher of Binding, and the Herrscher of Subjugation—three in total. But clearly, the ability she had just used didn’t belong to any of those three Herrschers’ authorities.
Just then, the light faded, and a single black feather dissipated in the air.
“Hmph! I knew it—every single one of you Schicksal folks loves pulling dirty tricks. Good thing I kept a move in reserve. But come to think of it, it’s one thing when Otto and that girl Rita do it, but even you… Well, I guess it’s no surprise, since Otto raised you. No wonder when the Herrscher of Ice caused that big ruckus at Schicksal Headquarters, you actually listened to that bastard Otto and stayed put, fighting half-heartedly. Birds of a feather flock together!”
Before the Herrscher of Sentience could even finish her sentence, she charged forward again. Durandal countered with her lance—the tip of Black Abyss White Flower was just about to hit its mark. But the very moment the spear point struck her body, Durandal felt a wave of mental haze wash over her. Though it lasted only a split second, it caused her attack to miss completely.
Durandal struck again, and the same thing happened once more. This time, however, a sharp pain shot through her waist—the Herrscher of Sentience, wearing a carefree grin, had sent her flying with a single punch.
Durandal had barely gotten back on her feet when the Herrscher of Sentience used “Yin-Yang Strange Artifact.” Several black chains burst out from the ground around her. She quickly tapped the ground lightly with Black Abyss White Flower, and before the chains could bind her, a massive vine erupted from the earth, lifting her into the sky.
“Ooh, not bad at all! Looks like that ‘strongest Valkyrie in Schicksal’s five hundred years’ title isn’t entirely undeserved.”
“Too bad for you, though—the one standing before you is a MANTIS who’s lived for over fifty thousand years.”
The Herrscher of Sentience’s chains coiled around the vine several times. With a sharp tug, the enormous plant came crashing down. Durandal wanted to keep fighting, but the increasingly frequent bouts of mental fog caused her to miss her chance. By the time she landed, the Herrscher of Sentience followed up with “Too Many Words Brings Doom.” Several flying swords shot out—they didn’t strike her body, but pinned her precisely in place.
“Considering you’ve actually made some remarkable contributions in the fight against Honkai, it’d be a shame to just kill you here. So I’ll be magnanimous and let you off this once. Remember this—Otto is no good. Don’t keep following him around from now on. You need to think more, reflect more, got it?”
The Herrscher of Sentience returned her sword to its sheath and vanished from Durandal’s sight.
Some time later, Durandal’s mind finally cleared. She plopped down onto the ground, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and dialed her communicator.
“Lady Durandal, what’s the situation on your end?”
“Rita, do not come near headquarters under any circumstances. The one behind all this is the newly born Herrscher of Sentience. In my fight with her just now… I lost.”
