"Black Emperor."
"I know you."
A voice, mingling unruliness, madness, depth, and gentleness... emotions of goodwill and malice intertwined, all contained within an incredibly raspy tone.
The hybrid Herrscher blocking Lu Xing's path did not attack, but instead directly uttered this sentence, which was utterly incomprehensible to anyone but the parties involved.
Even Lu Xing.
It was only after observing this "Herrscher's body" for a while that he finally dredged up a nearly forgotten, yet not-so-ancient memory.
"Is that so."
The Emperor's voice was perfectly composed.
"I... no, I believe you should introduce yourself first."
Lu Xing recognized the owner of the body.
It was from his first true "faction battle" after transmigrating, a battle fought simply for survival, with no right or wrong. The human girl who should have died in that battle, and also the first female he had seen after transmigrating, was the hybrid Herrscher before him.
"..."
"My apologies, Black Emperor."
The hybrid Herrscher's voice remained low, but the tormented expression she wore faded somewhat as a smile touched the corners of her lips.
"My name is Tefnut."
"I am currently borrowing my sister's body—Shu, my poor sister, who once 'died' at your hands."
"..."
"Is that so."
The Emperor repeated his answer, identical to the one before.
The two names were unfamiliar, but it was not the first time he had heard them.
Shu, the god of wind in Egyptian mythology, one of the Ennead; Tefnut, the goddess of rain in Egyptian mythology, also one of the Ennead. Both were children of the sun god "Ra," shared a single soul, and after marrying, gave birth to Geb, the god of the earth, and Nut, the goddess of the sky.
Earth, Sky, "Rock," "Void."
Myth and reality...
It was truly hard to say which was a copy of which.
The hybrid Herrscher had two souls.
The one suppressed deep within her mental world, in a state of slumber, was likely Tefnut's sister, "Shu." In the Quantum Sea, it was understandable for a soul awakened by the Imaginary Tree to be in a weakened state. But more than that, it was likely this younger sister named "Tefnut" who had interfered with her sister's will in some way.
"Tefnut."
"What do you want?"
This person was very ambitious, and she possessed the strength to match.
Lu Xing's term for the Herrscher, "hybrid," also represented the two abilities she possessed: the Authority of gravity belonging to the Herrscher of Rock, which was directly manifested by the Imaginary Tree as the most efficient countermeasure on the scene at that time, and which Lu Xing had already seized; and the Authority of gravity given by the Quantum Sea, which allowed her to drive quantum energy, an ability similar to the Herrscher of Rock's but completely opposite in nature.
Simply put.
Tefnut could control both Honkai Beasts and quantum monsters. She could create a black hole to devour a civilization, or she could sink it directly into the Quantum Sea.
Although the "Tree" and the "Sea" had withdrawn their respective powers, the "Authorities" they had bestowed upon Tefnut had not vanished.
As long as she could be supplied with sufficient Honkai energy, this creature born from the "union" of the Tree and Sea had a frontal combat power that far surpassed other Herrschers.
But unfortunately.
Her existence, from the very beginning, was destined to be abandoned—
"If it is possible..."
From Tefnut's chest, a gem shimmering with a purplish-black halo slowly floated out.
"I am willing to pledge my loyalty to you!"
The Herrscher Core.
All of Lu Xing's deductions above were based on the existence of this core.
In reality, however... web-like cracks already permeated every space within and without the Herrscher Core. The Honkai energy and quantum energy, grinding against each other, would have likely shattered this core long ago if their magnitudes had not been reduced to an extremely weak level.
Even now.
The powder flaking off the Herrscher Core, and even the crystal fragments half the size of a pinky nail, were mercilessly revealing Tefnut's current condition. Lu Xing had personally experienced the feeling of his shell shattering countless times, but the pain of a core—the very wellspring of life—disintegrating would only be thousands, tens of thousands of times stronger than what he had endured.
To be able to wear a smile while enduring such agony...
"You believe I can fix this thing?"
"Yes."
"A small matter like this is clearly no challenge for Your Majesty the Emperor."
"..."
Was it because he had taken so many Herrscher Cores and absorbed them all that humanity's understanding of him seemed to have some errors?
Tefnut seemed to have unshakable faith in the Black Emperor's ability to repair the Herrscher Core.
Right, and also wrong.
Lu Xing certainly had no ability to directly repair a Herrscher Core, but he did have a way to help Tefnut recover—by fusing the Herrscher Core into his "Honkai Crystal" and then handing the newly acquired Authority back to Tefnut to wield.
Doing so would ensure she would not dare to rebel, while also allowing him to gain a reliable combatant on top of enhancing his own Authority.
But...
"Why should I help you?"
"This core..."
"Human, give me a reason not to just eat it directly."
The air fell silent for a a moment.
On Tefnut's face, which was bowed low, a smile that had been suppressed by pain quietly bloomed.
"Emperor—"
Squelch!
CRACK!!!
Fresh red splattered before her.
The dilapidated Herrscher Core directly shattered into a pile of dregs on the ground!
From her back to her chest, from her spine to her leg bones, three Subspace Lances completely pulverized all of Tefnut's plans and ideals—
"W...hy?"
A faint voice sounded, stumbling over the words.
"Regrettable."
The Emperor's voice was the same as ever.
"Although humans are unaware, the 'Tree' will not permit your existence, nor will it permit anyone to dabble in this power."
The Herrscher Core scattered with the wind.
Lu Xing didn't even give it a second glance. Sticking to one's side was the key to survival. Even if the Imaginary Tree could tolerate it, dabbling in the power of the Sea was clearly not a good choice... at least not now, and not for a long time to come.
Tefnut's body was also rapidly dissolving into particles of light.
"The Tree...?"
Lu Xing did not answer Tefnut's final question.
"Besides."
"I cannot trust an aberration who would so easily betray her own race."
And also, an aberration who knows my past. Lu Xing did not speak this thought aloud. "Evolving" once and "evolving" infinitely were clearly not the same concept. Even if humanity was at its wit's end, Lu Xing was not prepared to allow for the possibility of any "variables."
What's more...
Shimmer!
All of humanity's ambitions regarding the quantum realm vanished into thin air along with Tefnut's death.
[Detected wielder's first kill of a [Hybrid].]
[Achievement 'Guardian of the Way' completed.]
[You have obtained the item [Quantum Energy Usage License].]