Honkai Impact 3rd: Catching the Herrscher of Sentience at the Start

"This is definitely personal revenge," Fu Lin regretted letting the Herrscher of Sentience hit him, realizing she had her own agenda.

"I did not! You're slandering me, and I'll sue you for defamation!" The Herrscher expertly used her three-step denial tactic.

"Damn it!" Fu Lin felt he should never have let her read his memories, but it was too late to regret it now. He could only silently bear the burden.

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With a sigh of resignation, Fu Lin rubbed his temples, stowing away the excalibur and Q&A live stream's orb into his system's space, glancing at the thin sheet of paper in his hand.

[World Quest Scroll: Use this scroll to travel to any parallel world and complete a designated quest, earning generous rewards. (Only the host, Fu Lin, can go; no children allowed.)]

Seeing the system's message and then looking at Herrscher of Sentience, it was clear the term "child" was referring to her. Fu Lin felt exasperated— even the system thought the Herrscher of Sentience was a child.

"Fu Shi, stay here and don't wander off. Once I finish my task, I'll come back to play with you," Fu Lin instructed as he prepared to use the scroll.

He wasn't worried about the Herrscher of Sentience getting bullied; rather, he feared the Herrscher of Sentience would cause trouble in his absence. After all, who could pick on the Herrscher of Sentience? Emmm…Fu Hua, perhaps!

"Got it, geez. You keep nagging me. I'm not a kid" the Herrscher of Sentience waved dismissively. She felt like she was constantly treated like a kid by him, similar to the old-antique.

Though she grumbled, Fu Lin knew she had listened. With a silent command, he activated the scroll.

A dizzying whirl ensued, and in the blink of an eye, Fu Lin found himself high in the sky.

The system screen automatically displayed the mission.

[Assist Kiana Kaslana in defeating the powered-up Herrscher of Domination. Time limit: five minutes!]

Seeing the mission details, Fu Lin sensed a wave of familiarity. It felt oddly like... the Theatre of Domination battlefield in Honkai Impact 3rd?

Upon understanding the task, Fu Lin retrieved the excalibur in his storage space he'd borrowed and hadn't yet returned from the Herrscher of Sentience, then flew down to the theater below.

Once in the theater, Fu Lin hid in the shadows, quietly observing Kiana fighting.

It seemed Kiana was about to experience her highlight moment.

Seeing her surrounded by puppets, Fu Lin wanted to jump in to help, but hesitated, not wanting to interfere with Kiana's moment of powering up. So, he continued to watch in silence.

In the theater, Kiana struggled fiercely against the encirclement of the Herrscher of Domination, but it was futile. As her struggles weakened, the blue glow in her eyes dimmed.

At the brink of death, a figure from her childhood and a red figure appeared before her eyes.

They were the ones who'd given her hope to hold on; her salvation, her guiding lights!

"They… never gave up!" Kiana's gaze brightened, the red figure transforming into a broken great sword, while the other figure turned into healing light, mending her wounds.

In the shadows, Fu Lin raised an eyebrow at the unexpected words. "Wait, did she just mention another person?"

"Now it's my turn to do what I must!" In Kiana's mind, memories of the one she sought since childhood flashed.

Renewed strength surged through her. She broke free from the Herrscher's threads, igniting them with unwavering resolve as she gripped her great sword tightly!

The space around her shattered like glass, releasing all restraints placed on her.

"Tell everyone their choices… were right!"

Kiana stood up amid the blazing light, and an orange gem appeared on her sword.

"Done with your attack?"

"Now, it's my turn!"

As those familiar words left Kiana's mouth, Fu Lin watched something transform within her.

Like a phoenix reborn from flames, she shone with unparalleled brilliance.

Wielding her sword, her gaze flashed with an indomitable spirit. Leaping high, she struck down onto the puppets below.

In an instant, she defeated a horde of puppets, cutting through the strings and freeing Bronya and Fu Hua.

Smoke billowed, and from somewhere, hooks shot out, binding Kiana and immobilizing her.

Then, a group of puppets jumped at her from behind.

"Boom—!"

A few blue beams shot from behind Kiana, taking down the attacking puppets.

Both Kiana and the Herrscher of Domination looked in surprise toward the source of the beams.

"Kiana… doesn't care about any of that!" As the smoke cleared, Bronya, battered and unable to move, lay on the ground.

Yet, even in that state, she still managed to support Kiana in doing what she had to do.

"Because she's an idiot— idiots never give up!" As Bronya's words faded, blue light converged into Kiana's sword, forming a brilliant blue gem.

"No background music? That cuts down half the immersion!" Fu Lin muttered, a bit disappointed by the silence. He couldn't help but feel it would be better with music

Kiana seemed to understand, her face determined as she slowly extended her hand.

The Herrscher of Reason's power emerged within her, and one of her eyes took on the Herrscher's color. The Keys of Truth hovered over the heads of the puppets.

This was Bronya's strength, now also hers.

Bronya's image even appeared beside her, fighting alongside her.

Her flowing white hair was gently tied back by Bronya's phantom.

"Fire!" Kiana and Bronya shouted in unison as blue flames swept over, erasing all the puppets.

Seeing her puppets falling, the Herrscher of Domination controlled a massive boulder, hurling it toward Kiana.

Unable to dodge, Kiana was buried beneath the rocks. Moments later, a glowing feather fell softly.

"She changed me and many others, and she'll keep changing many more," a gentle voice echoed as Fu Hua leaned peacefully against the wall, her face relaxed.

The Herrscher of Domination looked up, realizing something was amiss.

High above, a cluster of feathers had appeared, releasing dazzling red light as Kiana emerged.

"Fenghuang Down! Should I take one of it's feather with me?" Fu Lin mused, longing for it—not for practical reasons, since he had Herrscher of Sentience with him, but simply because it looked cool.

The Herrscher of Domination had struck only a phantom. The real Kiana, positioned perfectly, held a sword adorned with another gem—representing the power of Fu Hua.

"I want to witness that day, so we won't stop here!" Fu Hua's phantom appeared beside her, adding a hero's armband to her wrist.

Kiana, now wielding the power of both Bronya and Fu Hua, charged toward the Herrscher of Domination like a blazing comet.

"Is it finally ending? What about my task? Do I have to take action for the countdown to start?"

Fu Lin pondered, bewildered as the system's timer still hadn't started, despite the Herrscher of Domination's imminent defeat.