Because Sirin had already disappeared, naturally, no one came to the back of the moon again.
The massive Stigmata terminal was calculating in a complex way that Chen Ran could hardly comprehend at present. In fact, even now, he found it hard to believe that such a Stigmata terminal was actually created by his future self.
"Even if it's not the first time meeting, it still feels incredible."
In front of the enormous lunar relic structure, Chen Ran found the holy sword named Durandal.
"Bia, I think you should be able to sense my intentions, right? I need your help. It's very urgent."
The method of observing the Herrscher through observing the process of rule aberration was interrupted, but that didn't make Chen Ran give up.
Or rather, he found a better way.
If the only difference between Stigmata holders and Herrschers was on a conscious level, then he could completely Stigmata within the Stigmata terminal to evolve the process of Herrscher formation.
If the reason for Stigmata formation was the Honkai gene at work.
Then was there a corresponding gene for the formation of Herrschers?
This was something Chen Ran needed Bia's help with.
Bia: "Of course I know what you're trying to do, but if you change the way the terminal works, wouldn't your efforts be in vain?"
That's right, Chen Ran didn't plan to extract Bia; instead, he wanted her to continue working with the Stigmata terminal.
In other words, he still couldn't give Bia freedom.
The boy said apologetically, "After fifty thousand years of calculations without satisfactory results, adding more calculation time would be futile as well. I don't know what my future self thinks, but the current me probably doesn't have the patience to wait."
"After all, Bia, you should also know that the real me hasn't appeared in the future."
Bia fell silent.
The commands executed by the Stigmata terminal were threefold: the first was to project Stigmata life onto a precise future time, ensuring it wouldn't disappear in the torrent of time.
The second was to maintain calculations using the energy overflow from Finality, seeking possibilities to combat Honkai.
Human civilization could not be negotiated or intervened by the Stigmata terminal; what the terminal could do was collect all information to find various possibilities and then provide suggestions to humans.
And the third command... this was not left by Chen Ran.
This was a command Bia had issued to herself: to find Chen Ran.
After the battle of Finality, Chen Ran disappeared.
Fire Moth judged that Chen Ran had died in battle, but Bia didn't think so, because if it were just death in battle, she could still search for his traces.
But disappearance was disappearance; whether it was a body or any traces left behind, they were completely gone.
However, she searched for a long time, and although she could find traces of Chen Ran in this era, what she found was actually the Chen Ran before Finality.
Even with Bia's computational ability, she couldn't calculate how a person could traverse to the future and exist in the past.
But she could roughly guess that whether it was the Stigmata terminal or something else, it was built by the Chen Ran who had traveled to the future.
Wasn't this becoming a Möbius strip?
"I'm sorry, I've tried many ways to find you, but I couldn't."
"It's fine; rather, I should apologize for restricting your freedom." Chen Ran paused and said, "In any case, from now on, matters regarding observing the Herrscher and Stigmata holders will still be entrusted to you."
"Our world may be observed by some high-dimensional existence, and even Honkai itself is a high-dimensional existence. I'm not referring to the Imaginary Tree outside of four-dimensional space; you should understand."
Bia nodded, "Of course I understand, or rather, in Fire Moth, high-dimensional existence is no longer a secret."
"Isn't it a secret?" Chen Ran couldn't help but frown.
...
After bidding farewell to Bia, he returned once again to Saint Freya.
Due to the changes in the world, Raiden Mei and Wendy were currently special Herrscher students within Saint Freya.
Himeko had not died; she was still a teacher.
Chen Ran still held the position of biology teacher, and because he often assigned many tedious biology assignments, he had become one of the 'most unpopular teachers.'
This time, he took a long leave from Saint Freya for 'personal matters.'
Although he wouldn't be fired, it was predictable that Chen Ran's salary would be reduced this month.
"Um, there's a question."
He touched the God-slaying spear in his pocket, "If Kiana isn't at Saint Freya, then who paid me twenty thousand dollars?"
Chen Ran fell into thought.
He relied on his memory to walk into the office, but just as he sat down, he was astonished to find that the teacher beside him was actually Yae Sakura.
Yae Sakura, introduced by Wendy, had also become a special instructor at Saint Freya.
Generally speaking, when Himeko was too busy, she would teach in Himeko's place.
Of course, the current situation was that Himeko was mostly busy because she was drinking.
Speaking of which, the God-slaying spear made from Schariac serum was actually quite effective for Himeko, right?
At least it could prevent her from being corrupted by artificial Stigmata, but the price was that she couldn't go to the battlefield.
"Mr. Chen Ran, could you please teach me what all of this is?"
Yae Sakura took out a modern smartphone and asked him.
She was a person from five hundred years ago, but now she had to adapt to these tools.
This was also a helpless move; after all, it was always people adapting to society, not society accommodating people.
"Um, sure."
Chen Ran found his communication with Yae Sakura unexpectedly pleasant.
Her gentle personality was one thing, but on another note...
Although the Stigmata consciousness had not been born, Kallen's Stigmata seemed to be influencing his will.
Chen Ran set aside his distractions and patiently taught Yae Sakura.
Until Himeko came over again.
"Sakura, I need your help with something."
Yae Sakura blinked and smiled, "Teacher Himeko, are you going to drink again? I can brew some cherry blossom wine; it's quite good. I can let Teacher Himeko try it when you have time."
Chen Ran noticed Himeko's throat visibly moved.
"Well, that's something to discuss later. The main issue is that we've been interrupted this time."
"Interrupted?" Yae Sakura asked, confused.
"A transfer student from Shenzhou has come; she's an A-rank Valkyrie." Himeko said with slight distress, "I sparred with her in the training ground, but unfortunately, the result was not good."
It was clear that Himeko had lost.
"But if the teacher can't beat the student, the upcoming teaching will be very difficult, so I can only rely on you. After all, Theresa's Judah doesn't discriminate when it comes to hitting people."
From Himeko's words, Chen Ran could discern the reason.
Fu Hua had come to Saint Freya.
Yae Sakura was hurriedly pulled out by Himeko, and Chen Ran pondered thoughtfully.
In the plot, Fu Hua was obviously in the extreme east to monitor Kiana.
And the current situation...
At that moment, he saw a scene through the window, and his expression became quite interesting.
He saw Theresa looking around in the fountain square outside, seemingly waiting for something.
Until a mother and daughter appeared, she joyfully ran over.
It was Cecilia and Kiana, who had come to Saint Freya.
"Alright, case solved."
Chen Ran rubbed his head, "Tsk, fate really loves to play tricks on people; it seems nothing has changed after all."
"However, it should still have changed a bit."
"After all, without Kiana's clone, Cecilia is still alive, and there's also Shigure Kira..."
"Damn, it's Honkai Academy!"
…
Saint Freya Academy.
Classroom.
Raiden Mei's eyes were lost in thought, seemingly pondering something else.
Ever since becoming the Herrscher, she actually didn't want to stay at Saint Freya anymore.
The reason was simple; she realized that she was of no use at Saint Freya.
The issues regarding Kiana remained unresolved, and the many mysteries of the previous civilization era were even more impossible to unravel.
Honkai would continue to send one Herrscher after another, and these Herrschers would only grow stronger.
Could humanity really defeat Honkai?
Raiden Mei had not experienced much hardship, so at this moment, confusion was more evident in her eyes.
Too many things remained unsolved, yet she could only stay here and waste time. This feeling made Raiden Mei very uncomfortable.
However, even when she asked Wendy what to do next, Wendy looked troubled.
At present, unless they waited for news from Otto or went to the Elysian Realm, they could only remain at Saint Freya.
Just as Mei was thinking this, a figure caught her attention, causing her to momentarily lose focus.
It was Theresa, who had entered the classroom, bringing with her a wave of murmurs from the students.
She cleared her throat slightly, trying to adopt the demeanor of a Principal:
"This is our new student, Kiana. Please say hello to everyone."
The white-haired girl with a simple ponytail spoke softly.
"Hello everyone, I am Kiana Kaslana."
"I will become the strongest Valkyrie."
Unlike the Kiana she knew, the Kiana before her seemed more mature and composed.
Yet, in both her voice and her eyes, Raiden Mei could find shadows of that person.
To be precise, their genes were almost identical; it should be natural for them to look the same. Although even with the same face, the two Kianas could be easily distinguished.
She looked at Kiana, her gaze somewhat dazed.
Until Kiana walked over to her.
"Do you mind if I sit here, Raiden Mei?"
There was an empty desk next to Raiden Mei, and only she knew that it was the original Kiana's spot.
"If possible, I would prefer you to find another seat." She rarely expressed a refusal.
"Is it because of my Little Sister?"
At the sudden mention of this, Mei's pupils involuntarily contracted.
Kiana directly sat in the spot next to her: "Let's chat alone later; I have many questions too."
"Oh right, I remember Wendy is also at Saint Freya. Isn't she in this class?"
Raiden Mei's expression remained unchanged: "She has already graduated as an A-rank Valkyrie and is now serving as a teaching assistant."
…
…
The new transfer student did not create much of a stir in the class, but what surprised Raiden Mei was that besides Kiana coming to Saint Freya, another person had also arrived.
Fu Hua.
She was not familiar with Fu Hua, whether in the original 2014 or in the Elysian Realm.
However, she could sense the surging power within Fu Hua's body.
Raiden Mei did not pay much attention to this.
She whispered to the Kiana beside her: "Next is biology class, and the biology teacher is Chen Ran."
Kiana nodded: "I know, the warrior from the previous civilization era, the one who can jump through time."
As the two were conversing, Chen Ran entered the classroom.
His gaze swept across the room, noticing several familiar faces among the students.
Fu Hua, who had just arrived at Saint Freya, looked at Chen Ran, seemingly lost in thought.
It seemed she had seen Chen Ran somewhere before.
But she couldn't quite remember.
Was it because Fenghuang Down burned her memories?
Chen Ran naturally paid no mind to the students' complex emotions; his eyes slightly narrowed: "I remember there was another student, where is Bronya?"
Raiden Mei sighed: "Sorry, Bronya is not feeling well."
"Oh, then I will take your word for it. Let's start the class."
In Saint Freya, biology was not a major course.
The reason was simple; the corruption of biology by Honkai was so strong that biology had no practical use in the face of Honkai.
But Chen Ran was different.
His brain was filled with biological knowledge, and based on the history of Fire Moth during this time, he could be considered a master in the field of biology and Honkai.
"According to the teaching plan, I originally intended to discuss basic genetics, but considering that this topic has no practical use beyond exams, I will delve deeper in this class."
"The entangled relationship between Honkai and genetics."
Chen Ran's gaze swept across the room and said: "Before we begin, I want to ask how many of you have Stigmata, including artificial Stigmata."
Only a few students raised their hands.
Chen Ran's gaze swept across the room again and said: "I won't discuss the origins of Stigmata for now; those who are interested can look it up. This is not the important content."
"What I want to emphasize is how Stigmata is transmitted through genetics, and I will gradually reveal the relationship between Honkai, Stigmata, and genetics. To be precise, this should be the closest explanation to Honkai."
As he elaborated, the conclusions that "Honkai is a mutated consciousness" and "consciousness is a special form of Honkai" were summarized.
It is the chaotic information difference of entropy, as well as the medium transformation between imaginary energy and real energy.
But all evidence pointed to one point: the power known as Honkai comes from a world beyond this world.
Many students began to feel confused, but some were diligently taking notes.
They had a premonition that Chen Ran's explanation of the relationship between Honkai, consciousness, and genetics would be very important.
"Mutated consciousness, huh?"
As a Herrscher, Raiden Mei had the clearest perception of what Chen Ran was saying.
However, since Herrscher is a mutation of Honkai's rules, why was she able to retain her consciousness?
"Can we say that this is the foundation of the previous civilization?" Kiana beside her also said: "To understand Honkai so deeply, I can't imagine how that era was destroyed."
"Is there a possibility," Mei whispered, "that this is a conclusion he reached after multiple observations?"
"Oh, then this explanation makes a lot more sense."
Raiden Mei glanced at Kiana and found her seriously taking notes.
This was something that would never happen with the other Kiana; for some reason, there was an unusual beauty in Kiana's focused writing.
"Hey, don't you want to?" Kiana suddenly spoke.
Mei asked: "Want what?"
"To bring my Little Sister back." She spoke openly about the other Kiana: "Although I haven't interacted with her, I can feel she is very important. Right now, she should be fifty thousand years ago."
"Compared to that, I'm curious how you know this?" Raiden Mei furrowed her brows: "Even Bronya has forgotten her."
"Oh, because Aunt Sirin also disappeared like that."
Her tone was as calm as ever as she said: "It was then that I began to understand part of the truth."
"Or perhaps, I am also being favored by some special existence."
Raiden Mei pressed her lips together: "Is it Bianka?"
"As expected, you guessed it." Kiana smiled slightly: "Can you tell me about the original me... or rather, the me called Bianka, what she was like?"
"I don't have much interaction with her." Raiden Mei said seriously: "But I have heard of her reputation; you might not know, but Wendy has always aimed to catch up with Bianka."
"After all, she is the youngest S-rank Valkyrie in history, the user of Abyss Flower, the chief of Schicksal..." Kiana said expressionlessly about Bianka's achievements: "How could she and I be the same person?"
The current Kiana was also a B-rank Valkyrie.
If she hadn't noticed the changes in the world line, she would never have thought that she had another different life.
"But I think, if fate had followed its normal course, that Valkyrie named Bianka would still know her original name." Raiden Mei pondered.
"The deviations of fate and the special accidents it brings will eventually return to their original positions."
"And under such circumstances, the disappearance of the other Kiana seems to be a predetermined outcome, just that the time has been moved up."
She lowered her head, trying hard not to let Kiana notice the tears welling in her eyes.
"But a predetermined outcome can still change, can't it?" Kiana's serious voice made Raiden Mei pause.
The girl continued to take notes with her head down, yet her mouth spoke solemnly: "My mother, Aunt Kira, many of the seniors from Squad Snowwolf, they are all still alive."
"Fate has already been changed once, but it came at a cost."
"Then I believe we will change it again."
"After all, someone has proven that time can be adjusted; we can definitely do it too."
Just as Kiana's tone grew more rapid, she suddenly felt a chill around her neck.
"You two."
Chen Ran sighed: "You've been whispering for a long time; do you want me to give you a private space to finish your conversation outside before coming back?"
Kiana & Raiden Mei: "Sorry, Teacher Chen Ran!"
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