The Void Archives' prediction was spot on. Less than a minute after Amber suited up and stood ready, Kiana slowly opened her eyes within the life-support pod.
Though, to be more precise, it was Sirin who opened her eyes.
"Kiana, how are you feeling?"
"All normal, Sis Sirin… just feeling a bit dizzy."
Inside the core, Kiana let out a yawn.
"Relax, dizziness is normal. It'll pass soon. You're not a natural-born Herrscher, after all. Adapting to Honkai energy requires a gradual process."
"Plus, when spatial abilities get a massive boost in a short time, it's easy to feel disoriented from misreading multidimensional space…"
Sirin glanced down at her own chest. Nestled within her body was a remnant of what Otto had implanted—a "Pseudo-Death Herrscher Core" meant to stimulate her original core.
But inside Kiana, this thing functioned exactly like the bomb in Mei's heart—purely a shackle to restrain her.
Still, for the Herrscher of the Void, such restraints were… laughable, really.
With a casual flick, she tossed the unwanted object into the imaginary space via teleportation.
By then, Kiana seemed to have recovered a bit and asked with curiosity, "It really does go away after a while… How did you know, Sis Sirin?"
"It's in the teaching materials Herta left. Don't get too curious. Once you finish theoretical physics, you'll be moving right on to Herta's textbook."
"Ugh… maybe let's just skip that…"
Poking Kiana's mental avatar sharply within the core, Sirin shifted her focus back to the outside world.
After that massive infusion of Honkai energy, Kiana's body was nothing like the one she was used to.
If they continued sharing control like before, it might actually lower their combat effectiveness. Better to let Sirin handle it alone for now.
And… honestly, not having to manage Kiana's "struggle account," where every drop of Honkai energy had to be meticulously budgeted, felt liberating. Feeling the power coursing through her, Sirin was feeling a little… full of herself.
"Looks like… Otto's prepared a little welcome party for me."
Noticing Amber standing guard outside, Sirin allowed a faint smile to grace her lips.
"I'm only after Otto. So… step aside now, and no one gets hurt. Otherwise, you'll die."
"My apologies. This is the Bishop's order. Besides, life… isn't that important to me."
Amber raised her hand slightly, and a strange, low hum began to emanate from around her.
"Just following orders, huh… Fine, I don't blame you. In that case, I'll just see myself out."
Sirin shrugged and snapped her fingers lightly. A portal instantly swirled into existence before her.
"Leave? I'm sorry, Miss Sirin, but you might be… oversimplifying things a bit."
Watching Sirin step toward the portal, Amber made no move to stop her. She simply watched as Sirin disappeared into it.
Then, less than a second later, Sirin reappeared in the same spot, a frown etched on her face.
"A… train?"
Sirin warily scanned her surroundings. Though nothing seemed out of the ordinary visually, she could feel it—the space in the entire area was somehow "anchored" by a faint, shimmering image of a train.
If she tried to force her way through…
She looked down at her chest again.
While Kiana's build was certainly more developed than her own former fourteen-year-old body, Sirin doubted that even this… improved frontal armor could withstand a train's 'We're all struggling to live' level of impact.
"The Second Divine Key, the Cosmic Juggernaut."
Amber's voice remained calm and detached, seemingly unaffected by the strain of operating both the Gnius and the Cosmic Juggernaut.
"Let me give you worse news. I actually have another one of these trains in my possession."
"Based on the designed output limits of a Divine Key, a single maximum-power activation can rival a Herrscher's full-strength strike."
"Disregarding my own physical condition, this floating island currently has 23% of its Honkai energy reserves remaining, while the adjacent island has 58%."
"This means that before my body completely fails, with the support of the Valkyrie armor's life-support systems, I can maintain a continuous maximum output from both Divine Keys. I can sustain a spatial isolation at nearly twice your authority level for over an hour."
"More unfortunately, Schicksal's strongest Valkyrie, Durandal, is currently joining Bishop Otto in besieging Lynelle."
"If you wish to avoid a repeat of the tragedy from the Second Honkai Eruption, where you watched Lynelle die, I assume you won't choose to be delayed here for an hour."
"And if I choose to break your blockade, I'd have to overcome a spatial isolation nearly twice my maximum output, right after just reactivating my core?"
Sirin's brow furrowed slightly. "I might not have much schooling, but don't take me for a fool. Whether Otto wants me and Lynelle dead or captured, he wouldn't use such an inefficient method."
"What you're doing now feels less like stopping me from saving Lynelle, and more like… administering a test. You didn't think I'd notice, did you?"
Though Amber's face remained an impassive mask, Sirin could almost see question marks popping up above her head.
Seriously? She really did think I was an idiot!
"Don't take it to heart, Sis Sirin. Everyone always treats me like an idiot too," Kiana's cheerful voice chimed in, having overheard Sirin's thoughts.
Before Kiana could say more, Sirin grabbed her by the scruff of her metaphysical neck and yanked her back into full control of their shared body.
"Huh? Wha–?" The sudden shift in control left Kiana disoriented.
"Sis Sirin, I thought you said you were taking over? Why are we back to dual-control mode?"
"'Huh' nothing, we're short on time. Listen up," Sirin shot back, casting a glance at the still-motionless Amber before casually erecting a soundproof barrier around them.
She lowered her voice. "If she's not lying, with our body's current condition, breaking through a dual isolation from two Divine Keys is impossible."
"Luckily, the girl controlling them isn't some prodigy. You can tell her handling of the Divine Keys is rigid and clumsy."
"I learned a lot from Madam Herta's materials. I was planning to teach you later, slowly, but it seems we'll have to cram now. Later, I'll pretend to try and break the barrier. You need to quickly learn what I transmit to you during that time. Then, we'll cooperate to activate the core's maximum potential."
"But…" Kiana sounded confused. "If the core's output is fixed, wouldn't one person controlling it be the same as two? What's the difference?"
"There is a difference, especially in spatial domains," Sirin refuted without hesitation.
"The calculation precision and speed of one person can't compare to two kindred spirits computing simultaneously. Besides, a Herrscher core doesn't operate according to physical laws the way you think. In fact, its operation is quite… idealistic."
"Especially for our dual-threaded core usage scenario—it's a hotbed for defying natural laws."
"Theoretically, our output can exceed 100%, even making the power meter spin backwards. Lynelle already proved this with the Reason Core, which is also a discrete-type core."
"So… to keep Lynelle from suffering, Kiana, you must remember every single thing I tell you next."
"I'm going to teach you a special technique designed specifically to break this kind of spatial isolation. The prototype for this technique came from Herta's textbooks. I then modified it, localizing it for the spatial properties of our native world. The result is a remarkable skill."
"It didn't have a name at first. Lynelle learned about it later and gave it one. However, the execution difficulty is so high that even my own success rate is less than 20%."
"So… what is this technique?" Kiana's curiosity was thoroughly piqued.
"Lynelle calls this technique…" Sirin paused for a moment. "'Imaginary Space Renormalization.'"
--+--
So, while Sirin and Kiana were busy with their academic studies, was Lynelle actually suffering as they imagined?
The answer was… no.
While it was true that Lynelle, on the central floating island, had already experienced several dozen different versions of a "defeat CG," in none of these scenes was she the one being defeated.
The role of the defeated party was naturally played by our esteemed Bishop, wielder of the Herrscher of Death core—and these CGs even tended toward the gruesome side.
After all, relying on the Herrscher of Death's regenerative abilities, Otto could indeed ensure he kept Lynelle pinned down indefinitely.
However, that regeneration only guaranteed he'd survive, not that he'd win.
Lynelle had already experienced the sensation of crunching his Soulium face more than a dozen times—a feeling reminiscent of little Senti's exploits.
Let's just say, pounding Otto into paste was indeed deeply satisfying.
The only off-putting thing was Otto's look of pure enjoyment… If Lynelle didn't know he was actually just reveling in successfully stalling for time, she might have wondered if her attacks were actually pleasurable for this pervert.
"Hmm? My dear Miss Lynelle, why have you stopped your assault?"
Once again using the Death Herrscher's authority to fully repair his Soulium body, Otto let out a soft chuckle.
"If you pay closer attention, you should sense it, no? The space around the weapons lab has been completely sealed. Your dear little angel, Sirin, should be fighting within that barrier right now?"
"Oh, that? I actually did notice." Lynelle stored the now-dim Space-Time Prism back into her system space.
During their fight, the theatrically-inclined Otto had already explained the whole situation to her. Lynelle now fully understood the circumstances.
As for why she stopped… it was mainly because her transformation time was up. The Space-Time Prism's amplification had ended.
Without the prism's boost, Lynelle's power would quickly drop to a level even lower than Otto's current state, as Otto now undoubtedly possessed strength on par with a Herrscher.
So… it was time to change cards.
"But, Otto, haven't you realized? Even though I've completely fallen into your scheme this time, I'm not the least bit anxious."
"Of course, Miss Lynelle is always so confident…" Otto gave a slight bow.
"However, since I've already laid my entire plan bare before you, perhaps you could enlighten this poor soul in return?"
"I can clear things up, but no spoilers. It's best to reveal trump cards at the very end. Otto, you are indeed clever, but ultimately, you're still somewhat arrogant."
A card materialized in Lynelle's hand. "Your regard for Sirin is always based on her being the Herrscher of the Void. If you stripped away her abilities, she'd probably just be a pitiable girl in your eyes… That is your greatest limitation."
"You've overlooked Sirin's own subjective initiative. In your plan, both Sirin and Kiana's breakthroughs rely on their bond with me."
"So, is it possible, just maybe, that even setting aside her powers, Sirin herself possesses a terrifying learning aptitude and intuition?"
"Or, to put it more plainly, could it be that Sirin… is actually a top student, rather than the illiterate you seem to imagine, needing to attend literacy classes?"
"Oh?" Otto's face showed a flicker of interest.
"Taught by Welt? Or the doctors of Anti-Entropy? Or perhaps… a predecessor from the Previous Era?"
"None of the above. Strictly speaking, her mentor should be considered an existence from beyond the stars." Lynelle crushed the card in her hand.
"But for now, Your Excellency the Bishop, you should worry about yourself."
As she spoke, accompanied by streams of black and white light, Lynelle's figure and appearance underwent changes under Otto's surprised gaze.
Saying "changes" was an understatement. Lynelle's current form was one that would make both factions currently at odds within Schicksal Headquarters do a double-take.
Because… the golden-haired young woman before him, now with a noticeably more ample bust… was the absolute spitting image of a female version of Otto.
"Since you wish to drag this out, Your Excellency, we shall remain locked in this stalemate. Let's see whose allies break through first."
Lynelle raised her hand, a pendant with a rather familiar pattern dangling from her fingers.
"It just so happens that I, too, know a thing or two about restorative abilities. I can keep you company here, dragging this out until the end of time."
"White Bloom—"
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.