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

Raiden Mei, still somewhat disoriented from the sprint, finally spoke up. "How did I get to school? Kiana, didn't I just see Fu Lin? What happened?"

"Ahem! Mei, you tapped my shoulder and then just stopped moving," Fu Lin quickly explained, cutting Kiana off before she could answer, leaving out quite a bit of the actual story.

Kiana stared at him, wide-eyed in disbelief. "I can't believe I'm seeing someone with thicker skin than a Kaslana!"

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"Is that so? Maybe I didn't sleep well last night, and then I woke up early today to find Kiana."

Raiden Mei rubbed her temples. The Herrscher consciousness in her mind had become more and more active, making it hard for her to sleep.

"Mei, you're so good to me~ I don't have much to repay you with, so I'll just offer myself to you!" Kiana heard that Mei hadn't slept well but still woke up early to bring her to school, so she hugged Mei and rubbed against her affectionately.

"Kiana, if you don't hurry up, you'll be late." Fu Lin couldn't stand watching the overly affectionate Kiana any longer. Always flirting, this girl! He quickly interrupted her from taking advantage of Mei.

Kiana, who had been pushed away by Mei, gave Fu Lin a resentful look, but he casually whistled and walked towards the classroom, completely unaware of the murderous gaze behind him.

As Fu Lin walked ahead, he recalled Mei's words, remembering that tomorrow was the day the Third Eruption would break out. But all he could do was wait and see.

It was that wonderful time of day again: class time! Let's speed up through this boring part, shall we?

On the school rooftop, after having his fill, Fu Lin thought of the black bird plushie in his system's inventory.

He took out two plushies, handing them to Kiana and Raiden Mei, explaining their origins.

"This is the Black Kite, a divine bird unique to the Taixu Mountain in Shenzhou. Its body is white, and its crown is black mixed with red. It only appears once every hundred years to silently guard Shenzhou. Legend has it that the Black Kite Immortal, like the black kite, will rise to save humanity during times of great crisis." (The author made this up.)

Lying on Fu Lin's bed, the Herrscher of Sentience sneezed, rubbing her nose. "Fu Lin must be thinking about me."

"Wow, that sounds so cool! I'll take this chubby bird plushie then," Kiana said, her eyes lighting up as she took the plush from Fu Lin's hand.

Raiden Mei also picked up the other plushie and held it gently, as if afraid to drop it. After all, this was the first gift she'd received during her tough times that wasn't given to curry favor with her.

"Now that the gifts are given, let's head back to class if there's nothing else," Fu Lin said, cleaning up the trash and preparing for the afternoon lessons.

Returning home after school, Fu Lin saw the Herrscher of Sentience slumped on the couch, looking nothing like a Herrscher. Truly, she was embarrassing for Herrscher's everywhere.

"Fu Shi, cough! I need to discuss something with you," Fu Lin called, gesturing for her to come over.

The Herrscher of Sentience, seeing Fu Lin calling her, jumped up and came to his side.

As Fu Lin leaned closer to her, Fu Shi nervously watched him, mentally debating a hundred times whether to let him kiss her or not.

But soon she was disappointed, as Fu Lin merely whispered in her ear.

"Tomorrow's the day the Third Honkai Eruption. When the time comes, you'll do this... then that... and after that..." Fu Lin laid out his plan for tomorrow, hoping she would cooperate with him.

"Wow~ That sounds like fun! I'm in!" The Herrscher of Sentience understood the plan and excitedly pumped her fist.

"But aren't you going to try to stop the eruption?" she asked, tilting her head curiously.

"I'd like to, but I have no way to stop it. The birth of the Third Herrscher is inevitable. Cocolia has only accelerated the timeline. For now, I just need to protect the people I care about," Fu Lin replied, nodding, then shaking his head.

"I've noticed our thoughts are becoming more alike. If only the old relic had thought this way, Fuxi and Nuwa wouldn't have died," Fu Shi said, her mood dampening as she thought of Fuxi and Nuwa.

"Don't forget we still have the Pouch from the system. If we draw a resurrection item, we can bring Fuxi and Nuwa back," Fu Lin said, patting her head to comfort her.

"You're right! There's still hope!" The Herrscher of Sentience remembered the pouch's power and instantly regained her motivation.

Meanwhile, Raiden Mei returned home, only to be secretly injected with the Herrscher gem by Cocolia, and she soon fell unconscious.

...

After dinner, Kiana returned to her rented room, cleaned off the dirt from the day by taking a bath, and quickly fell asleep.

A new day began with a cheerful awakening.

Kiana, lying in bed, heard someone calling her to wake up. At first, she thought it was a hallucination.

But when she felt someone pushing her, she opened her eyes to see that the person waking her was Fu Lin. She wanted to ask why he was here, but the words that came out were different.

"Good morning, Fu Lin."

"It's time to get up, sleepyhead."

Seeing Fu Lin pinch her nose, Kiana wanted to hit him, but she couldn't control her body. She could only watch herself interact with him.

"What's for breakfast today, Ah Ming?"

"I bought you 'a ton' of buns and soy milk." Fu Lin handed her a bun, then gently helped Kiana fix her hair.

"Alright, let's eat on the way to school," he said, patting her single ponytail, satisfied with the hairstyle.

"Okay~"

Walking side by side with Fu Lin on the way to school, Kiana soon found herself being carried on his back.

As they neared the school gate, Fu Lin nodded at Raiden Mei, who was standing in front, and walked into the school.

Mei, watching Fu Lin carry Kiana, clenched her fists but soon relaxed. She silently followed behind them, never taking her eyes off Fu Lin.

Only when the bell rang for class did she reluctantly return to her own classroom.

Time passed quickly, and soon it was lunchtime. Fu Lin, Kiana, and Mei sat on an empty bench, eating the meal Mei had prepared.

"Mei, your cooking is even better now. Unlike Fu Lin, who still can't cook," Kiana said, chewing her food and praising Mei.

"Yeah, at least I don't blow up the kitchen like a certain someone," Fu Lin teased.

Mei, who had been eating slowly, suddenly started coughing and asked Kiana to go buy a bottle of water.

"I'll go," Fu Lin offered, seeing that Kiana was enjoying her meal and didn't want to be disturbed.

"I'll go." Kiana put down her lunchbox, grabbed some money from Fu Lin's pocket, and headed to the school store to buy water.

Raiden Mei, watching Kiana leave, turned to Fu Lin and seemed to say something.

...

When Kiana returned, holding three bottles of water, she was horrified to see a hand piercing through Fu Lin's chest, his still beating heart clenched in that hand — and the hand belonged to Raiden Mei.

Kiana, not understanding the situation, dropped the water and rushed to Fu Lin's side. Holding his dying body, she broke down in tears, gripping his hand tightly.

Lying in Kiana's arms, Fu Lin tried to say something, but his throat was blocked by blood, making it impossible to speak. His body gradually faded away.

"Fu Lin!!" Kiana tried to catch the glowing particles of Fu Lin's body, but they slipped through her fingers, disappearing before her eyes. All that was left was a black kite plushie on the ground.

Kiana picked up the black kite plushie, holding it close to her chest, tears in her eyes. "I couldn't do anything. Fu Lin still died in my arms, dissolving into light right in front of me."

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Author's Hyperion Command Center:

Another extra chapter for today! Enjoy!