LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 236: Drawing the Curtain
The ruined theater was filled with debris.
The Taixuan Sword Qi, amplified by Ren, had destroyed most of the Theater of Dominance. But the results were satisfactory. Not only had it eliminated the Will of Honkai's surveillance, as planned, but it had also increased his resistance to mental attacks.
Though he had seemingly fought Kevin on equal footing and even bargained with the Will of Honkai, this situation was the culmination of Ren's meticulous planning, starting from his scheme to approach Kiana.
The Herrscher of the Thousand's emotional amplification was more effective than he had anticipated. Upon realizing this, Ren began to cultivate his affection for Kiana, leading to his current plan of dividing himself.
Just as Ren had told [Kiana], if he couldn't even fool himself, how could he fool the Will of Honkai? So, he deliberately used his puppets' emotional amplification to manipulate his own feelings for Kiana, convincing himself that he was truly in love with her, successfully deceiving the Will of Honkai.
This tactic was called Deception.
Then, using his emotionally compromised self as bait, he faked his apathy, attracting the Will of Honkai's attention. A striking employee would definitely draw the boss's attention. He then guided the Will of Honkai to possess him, using his amplified emotions to trap it.
This was called The Honey Trap.
Using his deal with Otto, he sought the backdoor connection between Kevin and Prometheus 17, temporarily blocking the collective's awareness of its subset, severing the connection, and eliminating potential complications.
This was Closing the Net.
But Kiana alone wasn't enough to destroy the Will of Honkai. So, he exploited MOTH's attachment to her daughter to reveal the Herrscher of the Void's whereabouts.
He used Raiden Mei to attract Kevin's attention, and took the children from Raven, heightening Kevin's alertness towards Nagazora, ultimately leading to Kevin's confrontation with him.
This was Borrowing a Knife.
He deliberately revealed his control over the Herrscher of Flames' power, reinforcing his identity as the Herrscher of Flames to Kiana and Kevin.
This was a form of Swapping the Pillars.
Of course, a Herrscher alone couldn't defeat Kevin. Ren used his defeat to draw out the Will of Honkai, using its Tonatiuh form to cause chaos.
This was Muddy Waters.
Next was his self-sacrificing ploy of absorbing Nihilus (Star Eater). After using the Will of Honkai's power to trap Kevin, the Will of Honkai's control over Ren was essentially lifted.
The final confrontation with Kiana was another instance of borrowing a knife, utilizing Taixuan Sword God to completely eradicate the Will of Honkai's influence.
With all plans completed, he Fake his death and escaped, a perfect ending.
The completion of the plan meant Ren was finally free, no longer needing to worry about the Will of Honkai's control. He was now directly under the Imaginary Tree, on par with the Will of Honkai, created by the Previous Era using 17, in a sense.
Of course, it was only in terms of rank. His power wasn't overwhelmingly strong. Even with all his puppets' enhancements, he was only equal to Kevin in his normal state, still far from Kevin in his Judgment of Shamash form.
Ren's only concern was his lifespan. From the beginning, it had been a Damocles sword hanging over his head. Even becoming a Herrscher couldn't lift this curse.
During the latter stages of his plan, his lifespan had indeed decreased, finally running out during the final battle. He should have died.
But now, after his lifespan went from 1 to 0, he hadn't died. Instead, his lifespan was now -1.
Had he triggered some strange world bug?
He wasn't sure if this was good or bad. With his knowledge of the Honkai's story, he had a decent understanding of controlling it. But an abnormal lifespan meant uncertainty, which worried him, as he preferred to have everything under control.
"Could it be that the Imaginary Tree is deducting my lifespan instead? Like, one day, my lifespan will reach its negative limit, and the Imaginary Tree will wither?"
He dismissed this absurd idea instantly. The Imaginary Tree was the origin of the world. It would be too terrifying if even the Imaginary Tree could be affected by his curse.
[In an unknown space, the ethereal forms of the white lamb and the black wolf howled faintly, seemingly responding to something.]
In any case, his role as the Herrscher of Flames was over, and his entanglement with Kiana had finally ended. Kiana, now carrying the flame of hope, should be on her own path. He would soon be forgotten.
Things were back on track, and Ren could happily continue his schemes as the Herrscher of Dominance. Excellent.
Now, there were only some loose ends to tie up and some used tools to destroy, lest World Serpent discovered them. For now, most of his actions relied on his foreknowledge of events. Significant changes could cause problems.
For instance, Fu Hua's sacrifice to help Kiana grasp the Taixuan Sword God. If Fu Hua truly died, not to mention what would happen to the Herrscher of Sentience, Kevin would definitely become even more extreme. Moreover, she held many secrets that even Ren didn't know. She couldn't just die so easily.
The original Fenghuang Down, having unleashed the Taixuan Sword God, could no longer hold Fu Hua's consciousness. But Ren had the other Fenghuang Down he'd gotten from Bronya. It wouldn't be difficult to preserve her consciousness with his power. He could even try to invade and control her mind.
But thinking of the rather simple-minded Senti in the original timeline, Ren decided against it. All the Herrschers of Sentience shared one mind. He didn't want only a thousandth of her intelligence.
As for Himeko, she wasn't of much use to him now. He might as well release her to distract Kiana.
And [Kiana], she was still in World Serpent's hands. After completing Ren's task, she had readily accepted death, frozen into an ice sculpture by Kevin. But Ren had promised her that as long as he lived, she would live. She was merely in a state of suspended animation.
The troublemaking MOTH puppet had been destroyed. To avoid further complications, Griseo's puppet would remain inactive as well. The now-repaired puppets of Kalpas and Kosma could be useful, but he had other options.
Taxue, his cat, whom he hadn't seen in a while, obediently landed in his hands. He gently stroked its head, a comfortable expression on his face. This was the advantage of having puppets—he could pet himself.
As Ren gently stroked it, Taxue's black and white fur seemed to fade, gradually turning into a light brown, fluffy cat.
"Alright, now let's give you a new name. How about...[Can]?"