Making Honkai Impact lll In A World Where Kallen Exists [Continuation]

A pure radiance descended like warm sunlight.

The Herrscher of Dominance, despite being a collection of human malice, felt a warmth in her heart. The pitch-black filth within her was illuminated and penetrated deeper than ever before.

She found it astonishing, the spread of disbelief coloring her thoughts.

As the embodiment of humanity's malice, was it truly possible for her to feel warmth and kindness?

Yet, even as one of the divine envoys standing against Honkai, this world's "God," she couldn't entirely sever her humanity.

Even the Herrscher of Dominance, under immense pressure, knew when to submit to the times. Much like the cataclysmic Void Herrscher, who, in the end, was just a little girl yearning for her mother's embrace.

(TL/C: Told you Herrscher. That's your Mother)

At this moment, Elysia radiated warmth and sanctity. Her presence carried no oppressive force but captured everyone's attention.

Her form now was something even Kevin had only witnessed once.

Perhaps in the final moments of the previous civilization, a handful of others had also glimpsed her fall, and her Herrscher form. But now, this brilliance no longer needed to shy away. It could bloom without reservation.

"A Herrscher... Yes, but what kind of Herrscher power is this? Why is this happening?"

The Herrscher of Dominance's expression twisted. Shock and terror painted her face as she failed to comprehend.

By all accounts, even the Herrscher of Sentience's powers couldn't directly change another Herrscher's heart.

Sure, the Herrscher of Sentience could create illusions, distort minds, and reveal hidden truths.

But this power wasn't the same. It was subtler, sturdier, and more attuned to the vitality of life itself.

It was like a seed planted deep within her, subtly altering everything while seemingly changing nothing. But the seed was there now, rooting deeply, giving her the choice to be free of overwhelming malice and to act on her own.

She now possessed a delicate, sensitive human heart capable of distinguishing between good and evil.

"..." Kevin didn't stop Elysia . His gaze, however, grew solemn.

He had always known Elysia held secrets, though he never delved deeply into what they were.

But for her decision, he silently set his greatsword aside.

"So beautiful... Sister Elysia, is she the Thirteenth Herrscher?"

Behind Bronya, Seele peeked out curiously, her eyes sparkling with fascination.

At the same time, the crystal orb she was holding gradually lost its effect. Though it emitted a warm, white glow, the energy it released was quite different from the mysterious aura radiating from Elysia. Seele's power carried the vitality of healing, whereas Elysia's felt far more enigmatic.

Even Seele couldn't fully comprehend it, yet she could feel her spirit being enriched, even yearning to get closer to Elysia.

"Elysia's Herrscher power... it has never been fully revealed in the game," Seele remarked,

"Much like her origins, her combat strength, and even the records of her associated Honkai Beast, Mahākāla. None of these ever manifested clearly in her character development."

Bronya's rational eyes shimmered with analytical symbols as a blue glow gathered within them. Unable to resist, she attempted to analyze and decode the radiant energy emanating from Elysia.

"Urgh…"

She let out a muffled groan, pain flashing across her face. Clearly, her efforts were fruitless.

Bronya could perceive the essence of human civilization within the energy, but whether it truly belonged to humanity remained an enigma.

Kevin and Su approached slowly from the rear, neither rushing nor speaking. The two Kevins, one from the past and one from the present, stood face-to-face, their icy blue gazes meeting in silence. Despite the coldness in their eyes, a subtle warmth seemed to linger between them.

After a thousand years apart, they could only meet again in moments of conflict against a Herrscher.

Su opened his eyes slightly, glancing at the pair before falling into silence. He seemed to have much to say, but their shared gaze had already communicated everything.

Meanwhile, Luo Mo was oblivious to their reunion, his attention focused solely on the "battlefield." A mix of anticipation and anxiety filled his heart.

Elysia had no absolute confidence in her actions earlier, as the power she currently wielded was derived solely from her Stigmata. Her original Herrscher powers had been fully dedicated to her hopes for the next civilization.

Now, she simply watched Su Lu with soft eyes, sensing everything within her.

After a moment, she let out a small sigh of relief, her bright smile directed toward Luo Mo. She hadn't let him down.

Her powers could indeed bring out the humanity within a Herrscher, but the results weren't exactly as anticipated.

The rest was now up to Luo Mo.

Honestly, the energy expenditure had caught her off guard.

She had thought that gifting humanity to the Herrschers of the next civilization—thus disrupting the threads of destiny for the entire world, would be far more taxing than dealing with just one Herrscher. Yet the reality proved otherwise.

The energy from her Stigmata had nearly been depleted, leaving her on the verge of collapsing into slumber.

Looking into Su Lu's dark eyes, which now flickered with confusion, Elysia's lips curled into a gentle smile. She spoke softly, "Since you've surrendered, I'll grant you the opportunity to experience humanity. Have you ever truly felt what it's like to be whole, free from malice?"

"However... working under Luo Mo might turn out to be unexpectedly exhausting. Oh, I heard him say the Herrscher of Dominance is his best employee."

Su Lu's face turned pale with fright, as though she were about to faint.

Suddenly, she felt that being locked in a small, dark room might have been preferable—at least she wouldn't have to suffer the hardships of work.

It wasn't her fault she had become the Herrscher of Dominance, but could her boss really say he bore no responsibility for it?

She pouted slightly, sneaking a glance at Luo Mo's face before quickly averting her eyes, fearing he would notice.

Still... had Elysia really died? Something so beautiful shattered right before her eyes, leaving her struggling to deny the truth. The papers fluttering in the air bore irrefutable evidence: the so-called Elysian Realm had been proven wrong.

The ground was littered with papers proclaiming Elysia's death.

Every time she thought about it, her heart tightened.

"Has the Herrscher of Dominance inside... been dealt with?"

Su Lu blinked, looking at the flower-like girl before her. Truth be told, she had always thought Elysia was one of those people oddly interested in girls.

After all, in the company, Elysia was always surrounded by cheerful women, her lively presence lighting up the room.

But now... Elysia was breathtakingly beautiful, a pure white radiance almost too perfect to bear.

Su Lu's gaze lingered, unable to tear herself away from the approaching Elysia. Her eyes reflected a faint daze.

Kevin, however, had not yet lowered his massive sword. He stood calmly, his gaze fixed on Elysia as he spoke with cold precision, "You have two choices. Either you hand over control of the Theater of Domination to me, or you transfer its anchor points to Fu Hua."

"I think I understand your powers now, Elysia," Kevin continued, "but the Herrscher of Domination still requires further containment. At least for now."

Kevin's reasoning for not entrusting the Theater to Elysia was simple, her current unique form left vulnerabilities, while Fu Hua, fully restored, carried no such risks.

"Hey, hey, don't just dump everything on the old Timer!" the Herrscher of Sentience interrupted with her usual playful tone. "How about... you stab your sword into the Theater and leave it to the old relic afterward?"

"Seriously, Elysia might have pacified the Herrscher, but the puppets inside are clearly still in control. Let Su Lu take charge! She's... easy to bully—uh, I mean, she's been through a lot these past few days, hasn't she?"

The Herrscher of Sentience's teasing words carried a hint of genuine concern. Her animosity toward the puppets was obvious, but if Su Lu were in control, it might be a tolerable compromise.

Kevin's cold eyes scanned the scene. Despite the Herrscher of Sentience's jesting tone, her suggestion held merit.

He glanced at Su Lu, pondering the possibility. Should he deliver a decisive blow to the Theater?

"N-no, that's not necessary! We can let Su Lu take charge, or transfer the Theater's anchor points to someone else. But with your strength..."

'Su Luo' hastily glanced at the lowered greatsword in Kevin's hands, her words spilling out rapidly.

She had already surrendered, why did he still want to harm her?!

Blinking her confused eyes, she tried her best to appear pitiful.

The overall direction was already set. Fu Hua opened her mouth, her expression a mix of surprise and helplessness, but she had no grounds to refute and reluctantly accepted the task at hand.

In truth, she was worried about this matter as well, so it might be better for it to be under her control.

Kevin's decision also carried another layer of meaning. Judging by the look of the Herrscher of Sentience, she would definitely frequent the Theater of Domination to "play." If she got tied up there, she wouldn't have the time or energy to scheme.

--

And then, Kevin left.

He left quietly, just as he had come quietly, waving his hand and taking no clouds with him.

Except he took with him a Herrscher of Dominance minds, once filled with malice, and left behind endless intimidation and fear.

When Elysia tried to ask him to stay, he paused briefly. The beautiful reunion she spoke of was already a memory long buried in his heart, a memory he had wielded against loneliness.

But in the end, he declined her, forcing a faint smile that made Kiana and the others step back repeatedly. His refusal dimmed the light in Elysia's eyes.

"Perhaps, you'll see two familiar faces of a sort in the future, ones that haven't appeared in the story yet—another world's Prometheus and Feathered Rabbit…"

Ultimately, he left behind only this sentence.

Under his watchful gaze, or rather, under the direct threat of Kevin's immense power—the Herrscher of Dominance obediently followed through on the suggestion, transferring the Theater of Domination's anchor point to Fu Hua. The Herrscher of Sentience, grinning mischievously, dashed into the Theater to "play happily" with it.

As for making Su Lu the host, the Herrscher insisted that the thousand consciousnesses were independent individuals and couldn't be unified under one directive.

In the end, Elysia activated the Discipline left behind by Aponia to modify its binding nature, steering it toward a more harmless and Su Lu-friendly direction.

As for why Elysia possessed such an ability, even she found it strange. The source of Aponia's power was identical to her own. Aponia, lacking a Stigmata herself, must have unconsciously imbued Elysia's energy into it during their contact. Although she didn't quite understand why, with Su's guidance, the modification was successfully completed.

Su Lu now essentially controlled everything about the Herrscher of Dominance, though its various consciousnesses continued to chatter incessantly in her mind.

Having this new, legitimate identity made her far more curious about this world. However, the ceaseless noise in her ears was a bit grating. On the bright side, her perspective was no longer as dark as before.

For example, her thoughts about Luo Mo:

Before: Why does he have so many weird tools and so many Herrschers under his control? Why not just collect them all and throw them into the Theater of Domination?

Now: This capitalist needs to be strung up on a lamppost one day!

She had finally realized just how much insane work she'd accomplished over those days, work no normal person, or even a normal Herrscher, could have done.

If not for the various puppets taking shifts to carry the load, she might have collapsed from exhaustion!

---

"After all that noise, we finally have a moment of peace… Elysia, seeing you so worn out, why not rest for now?" Luo Mo suggested earnestly.

He genuinely meant it. Seeing her frail, swaying form, he couldn't help but feel a tinge of sorrow.

"..."

Elysia stood quietly, staring in the direction Kevin had left, seemingly lost in thought. It wasn't until Luo Mo spoke that she seemed to snap back to reality.

"You're right..." she murmured. With a gentle wave of her hand, the attire of the Herrscher of Humanity faded, her white ceremonial robes vanishing to reveal her uniquely human aura.

At that moment, she was so stunningly beautiful she seemed otherworldly. Even Kiana found herself dazed, her hostility visibly diminishing.

"Alright, Fu Hua, I'll leave the rest to you. As for Su Lu..." Elysia gave a faint smile. "I never expected it to be you who became the Herrscher of Dominance. If not for Aponia suddenly mentioning it, I wouldn't have noticed at all… Moreover, most of the puppets were dormant within you, without even causing trouble..."

Halfway through her sentence, a realization dawned on her.

"No wonder Vill-V and Mobius couldn't figure it out either. Even in the Previous Era, the Herrscher of Dominance shouldn't have had such a low energy level. I suppose it's a case of mixed blessings? Cough, cough—"

She winced slightly, her brow furrowing as she coughed twice.

Looking up, her expression grew somber as she murmured, "Luo Mo, I probably won't be able to cheat like this anymore. While Honkai energy can recover, my authority… doesn't seem to show any signs of returning."

Luo Mo said nothing, merely glancing at Su Lu. Shrugging, he replied, "Then there's nothing we can do about it. At least it proves that even beautiful girls aren't omnipotent. Alright, you should rest. We can deal with the Herrscher of Dominance later—"

Pausing, he offered her a comforting smile and added, "Besides, I'll make sure to send you over to St. Freya's. This feels like yet another step toward collecting all the Herrschers!"

He clenched his fist, regaining his confidence.

Surely Theresa would be moved to tears, proud of her academy becoming the undisputed number one.

Elysia, however, seemed to grow concerned.

"Although it's quite strange, the plan did succeed. But in her body, I only planted a seed. Even with multiple chains binding her, I hope you won't be too harsh on her..." she said, her tone carrying a hint of unease.

She felt that Su Lu's perspective on the world wasn't the healthiest. If all she saw were its negative aspects, wouldn't that make things worse?

But with Luo Mo by her side, she was better protected.

"Hopefully, it's just my imagination," Elysia murmured softly.

At her words, Luo Mo's expression turned unusually serious, more serious than when Su Lu first became a Herrscher.

Cautiously, he asked, "What… do you mean by harsh?"

Elysia pursed her lips, giving him a strange look, momentarily at a loss for words.