April 4, 2017
“Ahhh~”
The sleeping beauty bug stretched lazily as it awoke from its dreams, gazing toward Mount Taixu, ready to begin a new day’s work.
“Bronya, Senior Cheng Lixue, good morning.”
“Good morning.”
Bronya and Cheng Lixue had risen even earlier. After exchanging simple greetings, the three of them made their way toward the mountaintop.
Over the past two days, they had thoroughly explored the entire Mount Taixu and learned a great deal about matters related to Fu Hua.
Among these were stories from the Previous Era, before the Great Eruption struck, when her father ran a martial arts school; her bewildered experiences after the Great Eruption descended; and her journey as a Fusion Warrior after joining the Fire Moth.
There were also tales from the Current Era—her time carrying out the Project Fire with Cang Xuan and Dan Zhu, her travels with the Cang Xuan Book during the Tang Dynasty, and her feat on the Qipcha Steppe, where she single-handedly defeated the Schicksal expeditionary force and secured a decisive victory for the Ming army.
Meanwhile, news of the Herrscher of Sentience causing havoc at Schicksal headquarters suddenly came to mind for Cheng Lixue, though she wasn’t sure why. Now everyone understood—everything before their eyes was the handiwork of the Herrscher of Sentience.
At this point, only the area near the mountaintop remained unexplored.
“Although what we’re seeing might be an illusion, the Herrscher of Sentience doesn’t have the ability to manipulate electronic devices. Based on the positional data provided by the Hyperion, we are indeed at the real Mount Taixu.”
“Bronya believes the Herrscher of Sentience has embellished the real Mount Taixu, guiding us in the direction she desires. From the perspective of a Herrscher’s authority, this might be the most efficient way to conserve Honkai energy while maintaining a large-scale illusion for an extended period.”
Both Cheng Lixue and Kiana agreed with Bronya’s analysis. Around noon, the three reached the mountaintop. As Cheng Lixue laid eyes on the building before her, excitement overflowed from her expression.
“…Senior, this place… is this where you and the class monitor lived together?”
“Yes… but that was over thirty years ago. This empty house has been left unattended for so many years that the wooden beams and pillars have likely rotted away. It would never look as quaint and elegant as this building before us.”
“It seems the Herrscher of Sentience reconstructed the house from thirty years ago, based on my memories and Master’s. From that perspective, I suppose I ought to thank her.”
Cheng Lixue pushed the door open and stepped inside. Her childhood paintings of Dan Zhu and Cang Xuan were still pasted on the walls. An old wooden table held a guqin, while a nearby table displayed a beautiful set of tea utensils. Cheng Lixue could almost smell the fragrance of tea from her memories.
“The place where the senior and the class monitor lived really has a unique charm of its own… Hm?”
Kiana felt a ripple stir deep within her consciousness—a sensation both startling and delightful. She knew exactly what it meant: Fu Hua was awake.
Before long, Fu Hua appeared beside her in her Ember Bird form, somewhat ethereal yet unmistakably present. Her eyes immediately fell upon the familiar scene and Cheng Lixue, who was overwhelmed with emotion.
“Lixue, you’ve been worrying again. It seems you’ve all grown close during my slumber.”
“No, I haven’t done much of anything. Master, seeing with my own eyes that you’re still safe puts my mind at ease. But… did you wake up suddenly because you saw this scene deep within Kiana’s consciousness?”
“That’s the most likely answer… This place truly brings back fond memories…”
“Yes, this is where you used to hold me in your arms, teaching me to read and write, and how to conduct myself in life. How time flies—over thirty years have passed in the blink of an eye… Kiana, Bronya, what’s with you two?”
Both of them were staring intently at Fu Hua.
“We just never expected the class monitor to have this side to her. When I first entered St. Freya Academy, I thought she was just a by-the-book bookworm…”
“After all, the way we interact with Master is completely different, so the impressions we’ve formed are bound to be worlds apart…”
Cheng Lixue picked up the teapot, wondering if she could brew tea for Fu Hua within the illusion. Only after lifting it did she realize that she had no physical form at this moment.
“Oh, by the way, Master—two days ago, we met… the eldest senior sister here on Mount Taixu.”
“…………You mean… Zhao Yu…”
“That’s right. Even though it wasn’t the real her, the relationship between you and the eldest senior sister is… complicated, isn’t it?”
Fu Hua remained silent, and Cheng Lixue didn’t press further, swiftly changing the subject.
“Now that we’ve finished exploring this place, we should figure out how to break free from the illusion…”
“Since this illusion was created by the Herrscher of Sentience’s authority, and both Bronya and Kiana are Herrschers themselves, perhaps there’s a way to counter her power…”
Before Bronya’s words had fully faded, everyone’s mind briefly wavered. Then… the scene before them shifted. Though the Mount Taixu landscape remained, Cheng Lixue and Fu Hua’s former residence had vanished entirely, replaced before their eyes by a field of crumbling ruins.
Kiana noticed a figure ahead who bore a striking resemblance to Fu Hua—but judging by the rather dim look on her face, Kiana was certain that even if Fu Hua weren’t by her side, she would never mistake this person for her.
“Kiana, have you noticed? That person who looks so much like the class monitor… she’s just like us…”
“She’s the Herrscher of Sentience…”
Upon confirming this, Kiana and Bronya both drew their weapons, and the atmosphere grew tense once more.
“Hey, hey, what’s the big idea? The great Herrscher of Sentience kindly dispelled the illusion for you—don’t bite the hand that feeds you.”
“Bite the hand that feeds you? You were the one who trapped us in that illusion, so there’s no kindness to speak of between us… Creating such a vast illusion, using the image of someone who passed away five hundred years ago to make contact with us, and then dispelling it just when we were at our wit’s end—Herrscher of Sentience… what exactly are you trying to achieve?”
Clearly, the Herrscher of Sentience’s heartfelt words were taken by Bronya as mockery and provocation.
“What! I was the one who let you out of that illusion, and you—you—are you even being reasonable here? And you, you old fossil over there—you don’t actually think you woke up from your slumber because of some emotional trigger, do you…”
Cheng Lixue glanced at Fu Hua and understood something.
“Kiana, Bronya, hold on for a moment. I think we might have misunderstood the Herrscher of Sentience to some degree… I believe… there’s some asymmetrical information here. We need to communicate with each other before making any judgments.”
“Exactly! If people just talked things through more often, there’d be far fewer misunderstandings and hostilities, wouldn’t there?”
Behind the Herrscher of Sentience, the figure of Ainosia slowly emerged into view.
