"Cough, cough, cough..."
Chen Tianwu coughed up a few more mouthfuls of blood. His entire right arm had already lost all feeling; being crushed under a stone slab for so long had caused it to become completely necrotic.
He didn't know which of his internal organs were ruptured, but breathing now felt like inhaling molten lava, a strong burning sensation.
"It seems... I won't be able to repay this kindness..." Chen Tianwu tremblingly took out a photo from his pocket and handed it to Ryn.
"This is my younger sister... Chen Tianwen.... If you have the chance, I hope benefactor can save her...."
Ryn took the photo and looked at it, then smiled and placed it back in Chen Tianwu's hand.
"If it's the girl in the photo, then she was the first person I rescued. Don't worry, your sister Chen Tianwen has already received treatment. She is safe now."
"For your sister's sake, you must hold on until you receive treatment...."
"Mm... thank you... as long as she's alive...."
Chen Tianwu felt a joy he had never experienced before. The natural disaster was like a nightmare, destroying everything he had. He was prepared to die, and he was prepared to lose Chen Tianwen. But now, they were both saved by his benefactor. He was truly lucky.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
Chen Tianwu coughed up a mouthful of blood. He had been saved, but just as Ryn said, many parts of his body were already necrotic.... Even if he survived, how would he and his sister manage to live on after the disaster....
As Chen Tianwu was feeling lost, an ethereal voice emerged from within his heart.
"Do you desire power? The same power your benefactor possesses... power that will let you live again...."
"Heh... am I so close to death that I'm seeing my life flash before my eyes...."
Chen Tianwu shook his head self-deprecatingly. He knew what kind of small fry he was. How could he be worthy of the same power as his benefactor?
"But even if it's a dream... I really do want to live.... I haven't properly repaid my benefactor, and I haven't seen Chen Tianwen grow up...."
"As you wish."
Instantly, a large amount of Honkai energy began to converge on Chen Tianwu, and an abnormal Herrscher core began to form inside his body.
Ryn sensed the familiar aura, frowned, and glanced at Chen Tianwu. A massive amount of Honkai energy was gathering around Chen Tianwu, and the high concentration of Honkai energy corrosion began to spread from his limbs.
"Honkai energy is gathering towards you, and your injuries are self-repairing... So, are you the Herrscher this time?"
Purple flames erupted from Ryn's body. The red-eyed Ryn stretched a hand towards the sky, and a giant pseudo-black hole swallowed both himself and Chen Tianwu.
Then, the Sword of Stars materialized in Ryn's hand. He raised the sword and pointed it directly at Chen Tianwu.
"Friend or foe, choose!"
Whether it was because the serious, red-eyed Ryn was too frightening, or because of the oppressive feeling of facing a black hole, Chen Tianwu was momentarily at a loss for words. But he knew that if he chose to be an enemy, Ryn's sword would undoubtedly chop off his head without the slightest hesitation.
"I'm on your side! Let's talk this out!"
Chen Tianwu decisively chose to be prudent. Although his life was saved by Ryn, and he wouldn't hesitate to give it back to him, he would definitely not be happy if he was killed by his savior for no reason.
"An unknown voice asked me if I wanted power, said it could heal my injuries, so I agreed... I absolutely do not want to become your enemy, benefactor, you have to believe me!"
The Herrscher transformation healed most of Chen Tianwu's injuries. Feeling his condition improve, he immediately began to explain to Ryn.
"I am not against you becoming a Herrscher, but it shouldn't be now."
Ryn lowered the giant sword in his hand but continued to look at Chen Tianwu with cold eyes.
"The moment a Herrscher descends, a great Honkai Eruption will also break out. The moment your Herrscher core is fully formed, a massive amount of high-concentration Honkai energy will wash over Manila. At that time, the number of survivors in the entire city might not exceed a hundred...."
"Not exceed a hundred?! What about my sister?! No, this can't happen!"
Chen Tianwu was completely panicked. He didn't know what a Herrscher was, nor what the Honkai was, but he knew that his sister could also die in the baptism Ryn spoke of.
Manila had a population of over ten million. The Honkai Eruption had already killed most of them, but there were still several million left.... Chen Tianwu could not accept the outcome of so many people dying because of him, nor did he dare to bet that Chen Tianwen would be among the few hundred survivors.
"Kill me... I beg you, kill me...."
He frantically grabbed Ryn's hand and pressed the Sword of Stars against his own neck.
"No, I will not kill you."
Ryn shook his head and moved the Sword of Stars away from Chen Tianwu's neck.
"Why?"
"Because... you're not a Herrscher yet!"
"Huh?"
"The Imaginary Space has already left an anchor point in your body. You will still become a Herrscher, but it shouldn't be now."
While Chen Tianwu was completely baffled, not understanding why Ryn was saying this, Ryn pierced his chest with one hand and grabbed the Herrscher core inside him.
"Pfft..."
Chen Tianwu spat out a large mouthful of blood, his pale face filled with helplessness. He said he wouldn't kill me, but then he just physically opened a hole in me. It would have been better to just kill me directly.
Chen Tianwu unwillingly grabbed Ryn's hand, determined to speak his last words before he died.
"Benefactor... please take care of my sister... also, next time, remember to aim for the head... it won't be as painful...."
"Sorry, please bear with it for a moment. This was sudden, it's the only way!"
Ryn expressed his deep apologies, then grabbed the Herrscher core inside Chen Tianwu, whose formation had been infinitely slowed by the black hole's time dilation. Then, Ryn activated the Stigmata on the back of his hand and completely devoured the Herrscher core.
"You stay in the black hole for a bit. The flow of time inside is different from the outside. Trust me, I'll be back soon." After saying that, Ryn left the black hole, leaving the chest-bleeding Chen Tianwu alone inside.
Chen Tianwu fell straight back, lying in the void. His life was already flashing before his eyes.
My life has been truly absurd.... Parents died, have a sister, and some inheritance... always dreaming of being like an anime protagonist, but it all came to nothing.
A natural disaster destroyed everything, my benefactor saved me, and then killed me... is he still my benefactor? Forget it... this life was saved by him anyway, so what does it matter if I give it back.
Chen Tianwu gradually closed his eyes.
"I just hope benefactor can take good care of Chen Tianwen...."
"You can take care of your sister yourself."
Less than 20 seconds had passed in the black hole space when the vanished Ryn returned.