Honkai: Oh No, I’ve Become the Herrscher of Corruption?! - Chapter 96

Sirin knew that with her current ability to lie, she wouldn’t be able to keep up the deception for long. So she decided to be honest—no matter what K423 asked, her answer remained the same three words: “I don’t know.”

“So… what exactly happened?”

“Well… let me start from the beginning. Though I don’t know much myself.” K423 sat down on the grass.

“Our world is called Atlantis. It’s said that this name comes from the fact that our world is actually floating on the Quantum Sea…”

“Wait, hold on—you know your world is a bubble world within the Quantum Sea?”

K423 paused, then suddenly looked enlightened.

“No wonder you’re so powerful. You’re a Herrscher from the Honkai Impact World—that explains everything.”

“Atlantis is a flat world with boundaries in every direction. At the edge of the world lies the Wall of Atlantis, beyond which is the Quantum Sea.”

“Many years ago, the Herrscher of Corruption was born—her name was Enoxia.”

Hearing the familiar name, Sirin’s expression flickered, but she quickly composed herself. This Enoxia must be the bubble world’s version of her, she thought. The timeline doesn’t match up otherwise.

“She was the one who spread knowledge about the Quantum Sea, the Honkai Impact World, and Herrschers to Atlantis.”

Sirin scratched her head, feeling something was off. The Enoxia she knew had once told her that much of her knowledge came from a fragment of an otherworlder’s soul within her. But this bubble world’s Enoxia…

The more Sirin thought about it, the more confused she became. Soon, her brain overheated, and she gave up trying to make sense of it.

“Three years ago, the second Herrscher was born. I don’t know the details, but… a lot of people died. Kiana was one of them. The entire social order of Atlantis collapsed for a time…”

K423 suddenly stopped speaking, her face twisting in pain as fragmented images flashed through her mind:

A little girl with white hair and blue eyes sat blankly in a lavish living room, surrounded by corpses.

“If it’s painful, you don’t have to keep talking,” Sirin said gently, crouching beside her.

“I’m fine. It’s just… memories that aren’t mine. Probably Kiana’s. I don’t even know how I was created…” She took a shaky breath. “After months of chaos, the factions suddenly stopped fighting for some reason. A new government was formed, and Atlantis gradually regained peace and order.”

“The year before last and last year, the Herrscher of Wind and the Herrscher of Ice were born. But compared to the destruction caused by the second Herrscher, they were insignificant—both were eliminated within an hour, and their cores were taken for research…” K423 glanced at her own body. “As you saw earlier, the Herrscher of Ice’s core is now inside me.”

She suddenly stood up, her gaze fixed into the distance. Sirin followed her line of sight—despite the darkness, she could vaguely make out a swirling black mist speeding toward them.

“More pursuers? Let’s get out of—”

Just as Sirin prepared to activate her authority, K423 shook her head.

“No. Not pursuers. I owe my escape from the lab to her.”

Despite her words, there was no joy in K423’s expression. Instead, as the black mist drew closer, her face grew cold and distant.

The mist halted less than ten meters away, its form shifting and solidifying.

Long blue hair, amber-red eyes, and pointed elf-like ears—a face Sirin had spent countless days with, one she could never forget.

“S-Sirin?! I never thought the other Herrscher would be you! Ah—wait, no, I mean—this form—you know me—wait, no—”

The flustered, stammering figure before her confirmed one thing: This was not the Enoxia she knew.

“The Enoxia from my world is my most important friend. We were separated after being pulled into a vortex in the Quantum Sea. Since you’re also the Herrscher of Corruption… have you seen any trace of her?”

[Enoxia] timidly shook her head. “N-No… First of all, if you’re searching the Quantum Sea, the Herrscher of Void or Reason would be much better suited than Corruption. And second… I-I’m not entirely her from this bubble world, so I don’t have the full authority of Corruption…”

Sirin’s mind filled with question marks.

[Enoxia] noticed Sirin’s confused stare and turned to K423 instead—only for the girl to immediately look away.

[Enoxia’s] breathing quickened. She pulled her arms close to her chest, fidgeting in place, but no words came out.

Now even more baffled, Sirin took a step forward. [Enoxia] instinctively retreated, lost her balance, and fell onto the grass.

“U-Um, Sirin… Did the me from your world… take you to the Elysian Realm?”

Sirin nodded.

[Enoxia’s] anxious expression instantly brightened, and she clapped her hands in delight.

“Th-That’s great! Then… you must’ve met Griseo and Vill-V, right? Vill-V splits her consciousness into different personas, and Griseo expresses emotions through colors… Well, the me in this world used a similar method—she transferred some of her emotions to her avatars. And I’m one of them… D-Did I explain that… clearly?”

Sirin leaned in closer, her face now inches from [Enoxia’s], who immediately shrank back, covering her eyes as her cheeks flushed red.

“So… you’re a fragment of [Enoxia], carrying a portion of her emotions. Which means I should call you… The Timid and Shy Enoxia?”

“Y-You can call me that… The other mes call me that too… Oh, but one thing—it’s not inherited, it’s transferred. If emotions were like computer files, the original me didn’t copy them—she moved them entirely. My existence here means… the original me no longer has any shyness or timidity left in her.”

Timid Enoxia glanced at K423 again.

“Kiana… I-I mean, K423… please come back with us. If it weren’t for Sirin, Oberon and the others would’ve captured you today.”