BOOM!!!!!!
An ultimate brilliance flashed across the starry sky.
The body of the Herrscher of Finality was completely annihilated within the pillar of light condensed from Honkai energy.
What remained in its place, its Herrscher aura yet to dissipate, was a single, flowing sphere from which countless golden runes spilled forth: the Herrscher Core.
The Authority of Finality, copied by the Authority of Origin, had erased thirty percent of the Herrscher of Finality's Authorities. This thirty percent was not a 30% reduction in each ability, but the direct and complete erasure of three of her most important Authorities!
Authority of Death, Authority of the Void, Authority of Binding.
That's right. The Authorities erased from the Herrscher of Finality were all targeted at her potential for "regeneration." The disappearance of the Authority of Death made core reconstruction impossible. The loss of the Authority of the Void deprived Finality of her most effective means of recovery. And without the Authority of Binding, Finality lost her most effective means of countering the "Honkai Cannon."
Thus, victory was already—
Whoosh!
Free-roaming Honkai energy gathered like a tide. In the blink of an eye, all the energy within a radius of dozens of kilometers had surged into Finality's Herrscher Core.
Although her aura was weakened to less than a quarter of what it was, she had, at the very least, survived.
"..."
The Monarch, who had been watching all this quietly, was not surprised.
What Finality had just done was simple. The electromagnetic cannon that had blown away more than half of her body, enchanted with the Authority of Death, had also been touched by Finality's Authority of Domination at the moment of impact, allowing her to steal an extremely small amount of the "power of creation."
Relying on this power now stored within her Authority of Domination, Finality was able to re-form her body.
Although her energy reserves were only a quarter of what they had been moments ago, or just 2.5% of her peak, Finality showed no signs of panic.
This was because the "Honkai Cannon" just now had genuinely consumed every last bit of the Monarch's energy reserves. He had fired it off along with the massive amount of Honkai energy collected from Haxxor Bunny, which was the only way to achieve such terrifying destructive power.
"The advantage is mine."
If one were to simply describe Finality's thoughts at this moment, those four words would be the most accurate reflection of reality.
However...
"?"
"!?"
Finality's brow furrowed once again, and a very clear look of confusion appeared in her golden pupils.
"Finality."
"You can't control your own body, can you?"
---o---
The Monarch disarmed his cannon form, reverting to his giant state.
Without the support of the Authority of the Void, recovering his spent Honkai energy would take who knows how long.
But he was not panicked in the slightest.
"What I shot into you earlier..."
"Wasn't just the Authority of Death."
Although they both possessed the same twelve Authorities, the emblems of power displayed by Finality and the Monarch were polar opposites in color: one bright, the other dark.
At this very moment, the brilliantly lit runes on Finality's body turned a deep, dark gold, like steel.
Authority of Erosion.
The Authority of Death had merely been a diversion. The true purpose of that cannon blast was the Authority of Erosion hidden within.
The Authority of Finality was immensely powerful.
But the reason the Monarch's "Origin" was said to have copied thirty percent of the Authority of Finality's power was because the power of the final "zero-point-six Authorities" ... was used to sustain this corrosive force!
As long as Finality remained Finality, the Authority of Erosion had no effect on her. However, for a Finality who had been completely revived from scratch—
"Your body can be created directly from Imaginary space without any template."
The Herrscher of Finality still couldn't move an inch.
"A pity."
"The 'Gods' have always been very interested in the 'human form'."
Whether in stature or appearance, the Herrscher of Finality's looks were a perfect match for "the deified 'Na'"...
Where did this appearance come from?
"I knew where you would be born."
"Because the attraction of 'this thing' to you—no, to be precise, in this entire civilization, 'her' attraction to you is the greatest."
An empty "test tube," which could only be described as minuscule compared to the Monarch's body, appeared in Lu Xing's hand.
That's right.
This was the Monarch's plan, and also the reason for Mei's hesitation.
Dr. Mei had successfully completed the fusion warrior surgery. What this test tube had originally contained was the product of the union of two "Children of Civilization" who had used the Monarch's Factor: the first "fertilized egg" born through natural reproduction in the new civilization.
It was also... the Monarch's clone.
---o---
When Finality's shell, born from Imaginary space, was completely annihilated, and when she attempted to create a new body from scratch, the hidden Authority of Erosion would take effect, activating the clone's consciousness that had invaded her core—a feat that could only be accomplished by the combined action of two Authorities of Erosion.
At this very moment.
"Finality."
"My child..."
Lu Xing now understood Mei's hesitation back then.
So this was what the words "Child of Civilization" could mean, Lu Xing thought to himself.
But!
As a guardian, he would never doubt his own decisions.
There was only one thing left to do!
"Return—"
"To the embrace of civilization!!"
DING!!!
The Herrscher of Finality transformed into an iridescent stream of light.
Like a brilliant and fleeting firework, in a split second, her existence had completely merged with the Monarch!
Ding!
A crisp sound rang out from the Honkai Crystal.
An endless ocean of knowledge, along with the system's notification sound, surged madly into Lu Xing's mental world!
He had no time to process it, no chance to even sense the changes in his body.
In an instant, his consciousness was pulled by an invisible force erupting from the Honkai Crystal into a space as magnificent as a sea of stars.
It was a power he had never encountered before, yet there was no need to fear it. This power originated from himself, or rather, from the Honkai Crystal that went by the name "System."
He didn't have to wait long.
The vast sea of stars, in its slow rotation, gradually arranged itself into the shape of a blurry human face.
"My child."
The words were identical to those the Monarch had spoken to Finality.
"To have arrived here..."
"Was no easy task."
A voice filled with affection and kindness, its gender and age indistinguishable, rang out clearly in his mental world.
"..."
"You may have had many guesses about me, but at this moment, they are all unnecessary."
"I have had many names."
"Heavenly Principles, Adjudicator, Honkai Consciousness, Lord of Order... these are not important."
"..."
"You need only know."
"I am the Gardener of the Tree—"
"The dead Astral God, 'Gardener'."