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"Alright, feel free to ask any questions!" Ana leaned her head on one arm, squinting as if she were about to drift off.
Kiana and Raiden i exchanged glances, reaching a mutual understanding without words.
"I'll go first." Raiden i stood up and approached the desk.
"As far as I know, there are two ways to beco the Herrscher of Finality. One involves using Elysia's backdoor thod, then seizing authority through Project Stigma. The second is by accumulating Herrscher Authorities, achieving transcendence—this was Kevin and Kiana's path."
Raiden i paused montarily before continuing, "So, how did you achieve it?"
"That's a good question," Ana replied gently.
"Before we proceed, have you interacted with the Virtual God Remains? Concepts like Nihilism, Existentialism, and such?"
"Yes." Raiden i nodded, well-acquainted with the Virtual God Remains; each encounter felt fresh in her mory, easily recalled even now.
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"The Virtual God Remains serve as a self-defense chanism for the Imaginary Tree, acting as the upper entrance to Cocoon of Finality. Within these remains lies Rationalism, possessing divine attributes."
"I accessed the Imaginary Tree by defeating Rationalism and subsequently inherited Cocoon of Finality," Ana explained with a smile.
Indeed, this was her true path.
Cocoon of Finality originated from beyond our solar system, but fundantally, it still relied on harnessing and utilizing the Imaginary Tree's virtual energy. This energy would then be converted into Honkai Energy, leading to the creation of chaos.
The Virtual God Remains served as the Imaginary Tree's protective chanism. By killing the most unique form of Rationalism, Ana elevated her own rationality, coupled with possessing a Herrscher Core already. With access points at both ends, she beca the first to seize the opportunity, successfully bypassing conventional ans to beco the Herrscher of Finality.
One could argue it was all a series of coincidences, or alternatively, that it was destined from the start. From His current perspective, these events were ticulously scripted, culminating in an inevitable outco.
In simpler terms, whether her appearance on this world line or any other factors, including the System itself, there likely exists a guiding force operating at a higher level behind the scenes. As for whether it is the familiar entity known within the galaxy, only Ana knows for sure.
Regardless, for her, there was no choice but to forge ahead with determination.
"I see."
Raiden i nodded, finding this explanation quite novel. She had believed she understood much from the World Serpent, but now it seed like just the tip of the iceberg.
Then, Raiden i glanced at Bronya behind her.
Sensing Raiden i's gaze, Bronya sighed and rubbed her forehead helplessly.
"Big Sister i, matters like these fall outside the Herrscher of Reason's realm of understanding and rational analysis."
"That is indeed true."
Yes, absolutely true. After all, the Herrscher of Reason's Authority also originates from Cocoon of Finality, regardless of any human-centric perspectives. This fact cannot be altered.
The Herrscher of Reason is Protheus, the stealer of fire; before that, even the Herrscher of Origin held a similar role. In essence, their power stems from Cocoon of Finality. Attempting to analyze sothing related to the Cocoon through rational discourse seems rather absurd.
"So, about Him..." Raiden i trailed off, sensing as soon as the thought crossed her mind, soone or sothing was watching her, sending chills down her spine.
"From the process, it was rely one of my small experints. As for the outco, it was an inevitable consequence," Ana remarked lightly. Explaining too much about Him could strengthen her connection to Him, thereby shortening the ti needed to uncover answers.
Of course, even if shortened, this tifra might still span several millennia or even tens of thousands of years—a considerable duration due to their vastly different scales.
"I don't quite understand."
"Hmm, all you need to know is that based on my nature, I did sothing consistent with who I am. This action had been anticipated by certain extraordinary beings long ago, making it an inevitable trap specifically designed for .
"As long as I exist here, He will undoubtedly appear. What consequences He brings, however, is difficult to predict. After all, one cannot foresee their own destiny."
Ana explained as neutrally as possible, minimizing causal entanglent. It's indeed challenging at such a level, where re ntion can provoke imdiate repercussions.
If certain entities take notice, the outcos could be dire.
She wished to obtain her desired answers through her own will, striving for the best possible outco for herself. She did not want any other entities interfering and causing unforeseen complications.
"..."
Raiden i wanted to continue questioning, but Bronya gently tugged at her sleeve and shook her head.
"Ana-sensei has already shared everything she can with us. The rest may not be beneficial for our understanding," Bronya said earnestly.
Her words held truth; ultimately, it ca down to their differing levels of comprehension. They were rely Herrschers, still bound within Cocoon of Finality's confines, while He had transcended its limitations.
This represented a gap spanning two distinct stages, making them fundantally incompatible, akin to asking an infant to manage humanity's fate—simply unfeasible.
Aside from whether the infant could make accurate judgnts, knowing too much would only hasten their demise. While targeting influential figures might be challenging, harming a child remains relatively effortless.
"All right, all right, since that's settled, it's my turn now."
Kiana stood up, noticing that Raiden i seed to be fixating on this point. Fortunately, Bronya intervened; otherwise, Kiana couldn't predict what might have happened. She could sense they would lose their chance to uncover the truth.
"I want to know, back then, you..."
Kiana trailed off without finishing her sentence.
But Ana understood her intent—it was about Tianqiong City, questioning why Ana changed her stance and what exactly she had sacrificed at that ti.
"For this generation, the fate of Herrschers has been predetermined from the start, including both their Authorities and chosen individuals."
"In other words, Kiana—or rather, Sirin, becoming the Second Herrscher was inevitable. I was aware of this long ago, even knowing that I myself would beco the Herrscher of Ice."
"Initially, I didn't intend to interfere much with your path, but...I believe as your teacher and part of your family, it's my responsibility."
Ana paused montarily, revealing a gentle smile, her eyes shimring with sincerity.
"It can also be seen as reflecting on your past experiences."
"Theresa and Hiko were also well aware of your identity as the Second Herrscher from the beginning; it was part of Theresa's collaboration with Anti-Entropy."
"So, leaving aside any attempts to sway the Second Herrscher, as a teacher facing her student—her family—if I had the ability to save you and alleviate your suffering yet chose not to act, that would be irresponsible.
"I don't consider myself a perfect teacher, but I believe there should at least be sothing I can do for you. After all, even old Fu Hua made a bold move by risking herself."
"As for the cost..." Ana's eyes shifted thoughtfully. "Perhaps embarking on my current path stemd directly from that decision back then."
"I expended the resources and strength ant for self-defense against Honkai corruption on you. Although I managed to gather so more later, it was far insufficient."
"In other words, the challenges you faced and the judgnts you made initially were correct."
As Ana spoke, she glanced towards Raiden i.
Raiden i nodded, understanding that Ana was referring to the events at Coral Island.
"Furthermore, given the circumstances back then, I should have completely forgotten about you all. It was only due to exceptional circumstances that my mories were preserved."
"You've likely seen Fu Hua's Fenghuang Down burning feathers before. At that ti, I incinerated quite a few, essentially erasing Sirin's personality entirely."
"..."
Kiana, i, and Theresa felt their hearts tremble. Burning nurous feathers and annihilating an entire personality—what kind of determination must it have taken? How much pain did Ana endure?
They had so understanding of Fenghuang Down.
Even when Fu Hua used it, she could at most burn specific mories, but this didn't significantly affect her because, with her vast lifeti, she possessed an imnse wealth of recollections.
In a battle of mory attrition against others, Fu Hua would invariably erge victorious.
However, young Ana, around Kiana's age, faced Sirin—the Second Herrscher, who held mories from her previous existence. In other words, in terms of mory breadth, Sirin surpassed Ana. For Ana to nearly extinguish Sirin's personality ant she must have been burning not just mories but also her own consciousness.
Exhausting mories would result in amnesia at most, but burning consciousness could leave one permanently comatose.
This was the price Ana paid to save Kiana—a sacrifice akin to Teacher Hiko's final lesson.
"So, what happened with Teacher Hiko..."
"That's right; everything that has befallen Hiko is due to . And her decision not to tell you stems from my intentions as well."
"While she was still with Schicksal, I tried dissuading her from rescuing you, but she went ahead anyway."
"How could I let such a foolish colleague suffer? So, I stole Unnad Locomotive from Otto, saved Hiko, and then brought her to the World Serpent."
"If we had arrived slightly earlier in Nagazora City, perhaps you might have seen her there."
"So, the other teacher Little Sora ntioned was actually..." Raiden i couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
"Mm-hmm—"
Kiana's eyes sparkled, seemingly realizing sothing. "Back then, when I was experiencing those issues, it must have been because of you, Teacher. You..."
Kiana found herself at a loss for words. She recalled that around that ti, the Herrscher of Ice was nearing her awakening. To alleviate Kiana's pain from Honkai's corruption, perhaps...
"I used my own blood," Ana said softly.
"As a priestess of the House of Schariac, my veins flow with holy blood similar to your mother's, even more potent than hers."
"For Honkai Energy, my blood serves as its greatest nesis."
In truth, the Schariac bloodline erged as a minor unintended consequence during The Cocoon of Finality's transformation of imaginary energy, creating an extre counterbalance to Honkai Energy.
Of course, this unexpected outco stemd from Project Stigma's peculiarities. In any case, it resulted in a bug that i fortuitously discovered, becoming the foundation upon which both the House of Schariac and Project Stigma were built.
"Back then, maintaining my own strength was already challenging, yet I still managed to give you so of my blood," Ana continued.
"That explains why you looked so pale at the ti." Raiden i reflected inwardly, regretting how she had been solely focused on Kiana back then, completely missing these signs.
"After that, Bai Zhi and Jeanne..."
Kiana paused briefly as another thought crossed her mind.
"Can't say much about those avatars, right?"
Ana frowned slightly. Although her situation was sowhat different, honestly, having multiple bodies wasn't unusual. On the simpler side, there was Gray Serpent's Gray Snake Network; on the more complex end—
"You've all encountered the Herrscher of Domination before, so isn't it reasonable for to have multiple forms?" Ana asked, spreading her hands defensively.
"..."
The trio fell silent once again. While Kiana posed the question, they were genuinely curious as well, but none expected such an answer.
It indeed made sense, yet...why hadn't they considered this possibility?
"Alright, truthfully, my circumstances differ slightly from those of the Herrscher of Domination."
"!!!" The girls' eyes widened in surprise.
"For details, you can ask Fu Hua upon your return. My true situation is akin to how the Herrscher of Sentience erged when Fu Hua assisted you in breaking through enemy lines."
"The specifics beyond that involve Him, and it wouldn't be appropriate for to disclose them."
"As for Authorities and such, should there be any issue with that?"
"I've distributed all these Authorities myself; giving myself a slight advantage isn't problematic, is it? Seems quite reasonable, right?"
"... ..."
The trio fell silent once again.
Reasonable? Absolutely! It was indeed hard to argue against. As the Herrscher of Finality, granting herself so privileges wasn't akin to maintaining unwavering impartiality—it's not like she needed to uphold such strict standards.
"Anyway, that's just how things are," Ana said matter-of-factly. Truth be told, she initially intended to bestow additional Authorities beyond the standard set upon her avatar. After all, The Cocoon of Finality encapsulated various laws, and there were more than just the thirteen Herrschers' Authorities in existence—nurous others existed as well.
In another universe, the types of Herrschers...
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