"It seems that thing is the source of the active true qi"
Cheng Lingshuang's expression was somewhat solemn.
"Furthermore, the nature of this true energy seems to be different from ordinary true energy..."
"Specific?"
"I can't explain it"
When Otto asked her, Cheng Lingshuang shook her head.
"You could ask me instead of her"
Void Archive asked, feeling extremely disgusted.
She felt as if she had been looked down upon lately... well, in truth, she hadn't done anything lately.
"Do you know?"
Otto immediately released Void Archive.
"Nonsense, this thing is obviously a relic left by a previous civilization"
Void Archive transformed into a miniature girl outside and pouted.
I really hope this girl still remembers that she once swore to become a girl with no money, no status, and no job.
"But, what is it exactly...?"
"A formless Divine Key"
Tian Shi sighed.
"The one with the core of the twelfth"
"From the twelfth Herrscher?"
Void Archive stroked her chin.
"Ah, it seems it does exist, but I'm missing some records... It must be a matter of time"
"..."
Otto looked at the box in front of her and her expression began to change.
Tian Shi, Void Archive, and even Hua gave her a brief explanation of what a Herrscher is.
The agents of the Honkai, the powerful ones, can easily destroy the continent.
Their Divine Key, passed down from generation to generation, was created from a Herrscher core.
"Excuse me, what does 'formless' mean for her?"
Otto had a question in mind.
"Is it simply that it's one step away, or can it not take form due to some other reason?"
The pre-civilization era is 50,000 years old! Schicksal has been established for 2,000 years!
Is this thing not even finished yet?
Are you the one who is poisonous or am I the one who is sick?
"How should I know? After all these years, it might have already taken form long ago, it's just a matter of opening this box," Void Archive said uncertainly.
"Can you open it?" Otto always thought Void Archive's idea was a bit reckless...
Well, Otto admitted that she also felt a bit tempted.
How can the journey of exploration be complete without the element of courting death?
"What are you thinking? I am not a master key," the miniature girl said with disdain.
"But if I can't open it, can't... can't Dad open it?"
Void Archive pointed to the air beside her.
"So you're using me as a universal key, eh?"
Tian Shi sighed, although after further reflection, he really was an authentic master key.
"Alright, let me see what's going on inside"
Tian Shi immediately possessed the black box.
Even if there were a Scarlet Prisoner or Scarlet Jade inside... after possessing it, he has all the advantages of time and location.
As long as you remain part of the Black Box, even if you are still a Herrscher, Tian Shi is not afraid of it.
Upon entering the black box, Tian Shi's vision turned completely black.
Yes, an authentic black smudge.
"Is nobody turning on the lights?"
Tian Shi complained subconsciously.
But in that deep, silent, abyssal, and lightless space, Tian Shi could vaguely feel a path extending outward.
"What the hell?"
Tian Shi hesitated for a moment, then decided to test the permissions he had obtained after possessing the body.
He said: "Let there be light!"
"..."
It was still very dark.
"So this isn't the black box? No, if this thing and the black box were independent, I wouldn't be able to enter this space by possessing someone"
Tian Shi stroked his chin, lost in thought.
He was sure he had taken full control of the black box.
"Hmm... It's part of the black box, but it's not under my control..."
Tian Shi already had a vague guess in his mind: what was it that was not under his control after possessing the body?
Living creatures!
This space is definitely part of the living.
And if we speculate in that direction... is this the Herrscher of Corruption, that is, Rin's consciousness?
But perhaps she should be called Higokumaru now?
After reflecting on this, Tian Shi sighed.
If things really turned out that way, he would have no choice but to follow that path.
After all, there was no way he could choose to open the box directly.
Trusting his intuition, Tian Shi walked cautiously and carefully in the darkness.
That being said, Tian Shi felt that this darkness didn't seem like a friendly place, but he felt no danger.
It's quite a strange feeling.
Tian Shi didn't know how long he had walked, but finally, he saw a misty white light in front of him.
This made Tian Shi raise an eyebrow and he walked quickly toward the light.
That ball of white light really piqued Tian Shi's curiosity; after all, given the environment and Rin's mental state, even if it were light, it should at least be a ghostly light, even if it weren't a blood-red light.
They can even add special effects like a killing aura.
Then Tian Shi realized something was wrong.
However, that nebulous white light emitting a sense of sanctity...
Tian Shi walked toward the outer edge of the white light and finally saw the scene inside: a girl with cherry-colored hair was resting her head on the long and beautiful legs of a brown-haired nun, apparently having a sweet dream.
This atmosphere really doesn't fit in this space.
Tian Shi looked at the nun in front of him, but the nun lowered her head and gently stroked the girl resting on her lap.
"Welcome, person of the future"
The nun's voice was ethereal and had a purifying effect on the mind and body.
"Future?"
Tian Shi smiled while looking at the nun in front of him.
"For me, it must be said that it has been a long time since we last met"
However, Tian Shi also knew that the Aponia who appeared before him was, at most, a preset phantom, like an NPC in a game.
After all, the characteristics of the Herrscher of Corruption are a kind of restriction for most beings.
However, upon hearing Tian Shi's words, the normally serene Aponia showed a hint of surprise and looked up.
"Lord God?"
"Are you not part of the pre-programmed sequence?"
Tian Shi was also surprised by Aponia's reaction, even though she should have been a phantom.
"The pre-programmed plan for this girl could not have lasted until now"
Aponia's expression calmed down.
"I am the Divine Voice, the Divine Voice formed from a portion of Aponia's spirit, and only in this way can I resist the girl's unconscious erosion"
"Then she..."
Tian Shi looked at Rin resting on Aponia's lap.
"What is her mental state? Does she go crazy when you no longer control her?"
If that's the case, then the problem becomes quite complicated.
"I don't know"
Aponia, or rather, the Divine Voice, replied.
"..."
What Tian Shi hated most was this kind of response.
However, considering that the other party was a Divine Voice left by Aponia, Tian Shi couldn't say anything.
"Then, tell me about her, she shouldn't be a complete Divine Key, right?"
"That's right, back then, Dr. MEI and SAKURA reached an agreement to seal Rin and use special technology to create a Divine Key that preserves her own consciousness"
"This sounds a bit unsettling"
Tian Shi's lips twitched.
"Did SAKURA agree?"
"Yes," the Divine Voice nodded.
"Dr. MEI's other option was to kill Rin directly and then use the core to create the Divine Key normally"
"..."
Well, with these two options together, SAKURA, as the older sister, knew exactly which one to choose.
Furthermore, Rin had already lost control once, causing great losses to all of Fire Moth.
Many people wanted to kill Rin out of fear, and SAKURA's acceptance was a futile action.
Suddenly, Tian Shi felt something was wrong, Rin goes crazy?
Shouldn't Rin's power fully awaken and go crazy only after she is killed by lower-ranking personnel without authorization?
Hmm...
The butterfly effect that I caused myself?
After all, apart from SAKURA, it seems everyone involved in this matter has some connection to him.
"Is she alive?"
"She was alive before the renovation"
The Divine Voice nodded.
"..."
Tian Shi's feelings were a bit complex.
"What happened then? Could you tell me in detail?"
"I apologize, my lord, I am only a small part of Aponia's spiritual power, I know these things because Aponia had a deep impression of them when she released the Divine Voice"
The Divine Voice directed an apologetic look at the man in front of her.
She is the Divine Voice, which transmits the voice of God.
She was able to recognize the other party because Aponia had a strong impression of it.
"Aponia..."
Tian Shi repeated the name, then shook his head and looked at the sleeping girl.
"Can you wake her up?"
"Wake her up..."
The Divine Voice hesitated for a moment.
"If we wake Rin up, this space might worsen even further, originally, this space was not like this, it was only eroded by Rin's subconscious for 50,000 years..."
Hearing this, Tian Shi looked subconsciously toward the deep space behind him.
No wonder he felt something was wrong; it turned out to be the power of the Herrscher of Corruption.
As for why it doesn't affect him at all... one can only say that Tian Shi has not yet seen anything that can directly interfere with him.
At most, Feng Huang Down could only observe him.
"MEI will have a backup plan"
Tian Shi looked around.
"As long as it's something made by MEI, she will definitely have a Plan B: she won't take a risk unless she has no other choice"
Yae Sakura opened the box.
In the 500-year history of the Stigma Space and the Reincarnation of the Scarlet Prison Maru, the box's conversion program could still be used.
Even if it had changed now, Tian Shi didn't believe it could fail!
"I see"
The Divine Voice bowed her head to Tian Shi like the most devout nun.
"Then, I will leave the rest to you, my lord"
The Divine Voice disappeared.
"Waaah..."
Without her head supported, the girl made direct contact with the ground.
The Divine Voice...
Although the other party only wore Aponia's face, Tian Shi still felt a bit lost seeing the other party disappear before his eyes.
However, the faint white light remained in place, allowing Tian Shi to continue seeing Rin clearly.
"Waaah... Is it morning already?"
The girl on the ground covered her head, stood up slowly, but still seemed sleepy.
"Where is this?"
Rin rubbed her eyes, looking around in confusion, before finally fixing her gaze on the only being she seemed able to communicate with.
"Who are you? No... who am I?"
Eh?
Does this girl have no memory?
Have you forgotten your name?
Tian Shi revealed a soft smile.
"I..."
The girl, who had lost her memory, put her hand to her head, with a hint of fear on her face.
"I... only remember that I think I did something wrong, the rest... names... sob..."
"Ah, I see... In that case, how about I give you a name? After all, I can't call you 'hey' all the time."
"Naming...?"
The girl hesitated for a moment after looking at Tian Shi, then nodded.
Leaving aside the fact that this older brother looks like a good person, just as he said, she really needs a name right now.
"Hmm... how about we call you Higokumaru?"
Although the girl in front of him was not a greedy little fox, Tian Shi chose this as her new name.
After all, amnesia is not necessarily a bad thing for a girl.
Even the other party's amnesia might be part of MEI's plan.
Rin represents the past of the Herrscher of Corruption, an experience that must be cut off.
Wait, was it cut off?
Suddenly, Tian Shi thought of something.
If so, is the transformation process actually reduced to the final step?
Her memories as Rin and as the Herrscher of Corruption will be completely buried.
At the same time, the newborn will be a weapon with Herrscher powers, but with a mind as pure as a blank slate, impassive to the Honkai...?
If the instincts provoked by the Honkai are blocked, who can control her abnormally?
Just kidding, the cruelest and most evil virus is the one that erodes the Herrscher, okay?
Could this, in a way, be considered a form of mechanical ascension?
Tian Shi, understanding MEI's line of thought, had a strange expression.
This approach actually considers creating a purified Herrscher, doesn't it?
Cut off the Herrscher's past and its connection to the Honkai, and then the Herrscher, now a blank slate, becomes one of our own.
Alright, then Tian Shi realized the problem.
It is impossible to capture a Herrscher alive.
The black box is not a foolproof magic vessel; Rin's situation was purely accidental...
As for the space behind him, it's probably just the overflow of Herrscher power, which is a normal phenomenon.
Hmm... if we think about it this way, all responsibilities should be assigned as follows:
Higokumaru: The subject of the transformation.
Divine Voice: A suppressor or safety device to prevent accidents that might occur en route.
The box itself contains a sealing device, a Divine Key converter, and can also perform a censorship function.
This makes it clear immediately.
The box in the original timeline shouldn't have a Divine Voice, and the conversion function of the box itself should also be different.
"Higokumaru...?"
Higokumaru repeated the name to herself.
"Yes! Higokumaru likes it very much! Thank you, big brother!"
A smile appeared on Higokumaru's face.
"But, big brother... where is this? It's so dark outside that it feels a bit strange..."
"Does this seem a bit strange to you?"
Tian Shi nodded; it really was quite strange.
"Higokumaru, do you want to go out?"
"Go out..."
When Tian Shi mentioned this, Higokumaru hesitated again.
Although the place was strange, it still felt quite cozy to her.
The outside world... always feels strangely terrifying.
Tian Shi looked at Higokumaru's expression and understood immediately.
This girl really has been whitewashed.
"Can I?"
"Of course you can, but before that, Higokumaru, you have to listen to your big brother."
It's time to take the final step in the entire transformation process.
...
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