"Noisy fellow... disturbing my sweet dreams."
The figure was woken up by Stigmata Kiana's yelling and shot her an angry glare.
[Mmmph! Mmmph!]
Just as Kiana was about to lecture this unknown person, she found her mouth sealed by the figure's single glance. No matter how hard she tried, she could only make small muffled sounds.
"From now on, in this Stigmata Space, I'm the boss, you're number two!"
[Mmmph! Mmmph!]
"I won't take no for an answer! Whatever I, Lord Tianqi, say, goes." Tianqi beckoned to Stigmata Kiana, pulling her directly into her embrace.
"A cute little kitten like you was born to be eaten by me, Tianqi!"
[Mmmph...]
Kiana was crushed in a tight bear hug by Tianqi, whose two massive evils pressed against her so hard she couldn't breathe.
———————————————
After absorbing the Authority, his body's energy returned to calm, and his hair color reverted to reddish-purple. Ryn, now in the Sea of Quanta, pondered for a moment, then directly chopped off his own left hand.
One, two... In less than two seconds, the left hand regenerated completely.
"This regeneration speed is decent. I can try to see if my brain can regenerate after being blown up sometime in the future." Ryn moved his newly grown left arm. It was no different from the original, and there was no feeling of unfamiliarity in using it.
Just then, space rippled, and a ferocious-looking space-time giant turtle emerged from the void.
The giant turtle glanced at Ryn, then opened its cavernous mouth and swallowed the left arm Ryn had just severed.
"Holy cow, what the hell are you!"
Ryn yelled and reached out, trying to grab the giant turtle. But space rippled again, and the turtle turned from solid to ethereal and vanished.
"???"
What's with this turtle? Spatial transport?! It just eats my severed limb and runs?
Ryn suddenly had a theory. To test it, he cut himself again, severing his left hand once more.
As the hand was regenerating at super speed, space rippled again, and just as expected, the giant turtle reappeared.
The moment the turtle's head emerged, Ryn smirked and conjured a pseudo-black hole, preparing to teach it a good lesson once it fully materialized. Eating a part of his body and running off—there's no such thing as a free lunch!
However, once the giant turtle had fully manifested, Ryn dismissed the pseudo-black hole and stood respectfully to the side, even gesturing with his hands for the turtle to come forward.
There was no particular reason, other than the fact that this turtle was not the same one as before... Not only was this one larger, but it also had numerous dark cannon barrels on its back.
Although Ryn couldn't identify the weapons, the dangerous aura they emitted was a constant reminder that one shot from this thing, and he would probably be toast...
The giant turtle, just like the previous one, swallowed Ryn's severed limb in one gulp and then, without any further action, vanished into thin air.
After confirming the turtle was gone, Ryn tried to find any residual power left in the space, but he couldn't sense anything at all, as if it had never existed...
"How strange... This power doesn't belong to the Honkai, nor to the Imaginary. It seems to have some connection to the Sea of Quanta. But for it to dissipate so completely... leaving nothing behind..."
While Ryn was lost in thought, the voice of the Sea echoed in his mind.
「It is called the Guixu Divine Turtle, a wondrous divine creature responsible for dealing with the aftermath.」
"The aftermath? As in, dealing with things like my severed limbs?"
「Yes.」
"Are you interested in giving me some Authority... just a tiny bit!" Ryn asked the Sea tentatively. After all, opportunities to encounter the Sea were rare and precious.
「To use your human phrase, don't bite off more than you can chew. Authority is not about quantity, but about how much you can master. Once you can handle the power of Tianqi, then come find me.」
The gaze of the great will vanished, and the Sea departed.
"Tianqi... what's that?"
Ryn pondered the meaning of the Sea's words, but before he could think too much, he heard another voice...
It was Stigmata Kiana's cry for help...
[Ryn, help! If you don't come soon, your cute and charming Stigmata Consciousness is going to be killed by breasts!]
"???"
Ryn quickly entered the Stigmata Space to see what was happening, only to find a blurry figure, who, judging by her shape, was a buxom older-sister type, currently hugging Stigmata Kiana and snuggling with her fiercely.
"Let her go! Let me do it!!"
"Wait... who are you..." Ryn raised his left hand, looking at Tianqi warily, ready to conjure a pseudo-black hole at any moment.
"Tsk, the main man has arrived..." Tianqi pulled Stigmata Kiana out of her embrace, tossed her onto the bed, and then slowly walked towards Ryn.
Facing Ryn's raised left hand, Tianqi raised her right hand, and their fingers intertwined with Ryn's left.
Unconsciously, they both raised their other hands, the right and the left, and brought them together again, fingers intertwined.
"......"
Tianqi's left hand wore a long black glove, upon which was a conspicuous Cross of Finality. And on Ryn's right hand... there was also a Cross of Finality...
Ryn's hand transformed into black energy, and Tianqi's right hand followed suit, turning into searing red molten lava...
"Do you understand now?"
Tianqi gave a charmingly evil smile, and at that moment, the blurry figure became perfectly clear. Tianqi's appearance... was practically a gender-bent version of Ryn.
Ryn's Cross of Finality was on his right hand, while Tianqi's was on her left. Ryn's left hand had turned into energy, and Tianqi's right hand had turned into energy... Tianqi was like Ryn's reflection in a mirror, her appearance a mirror image of his...
Ryn paused for a moment before speaking slowly, "You... are my mirror image..."
"Correct, but not entirely..."
Tianqi forcefully pulled Ryn towards her, and their heads collided with a heavy thud.
With their foreheads pressed together, Tianqi and Ryn were only a few fingers' breadths apart.
"I am your shadow, I am your opposite, I am you... If you, Ryn, represent the hope that saves the world, then I, Tianqi... represent the despair that destroys everything."
"Ugh, you spit in my mouth... disgusting." Ryn pushed Tianqi away with a look of disgust.
"???"
Tianqi was momentarily stunned by Ryn's reaction, then she pouted and threw a punch, landing it squarely on Ryn's head.