In the dark, dim space, Chen Tianwu, who had been walking through this space, felt as if he had forgotten something important.
Not only that, he even vaguely felt that he was afraid of something.
Even though it was pitch black all around, Chen Tianwu found that his body seemed to be instinctively on guard against something.
On guard against something suddenly bursting out of the darkness and smashing him into a pancake on the spot.
And then...
——The thing he feared most appeared after all.
In the darkness, a small, silver-haired girl, expressionlessly riding a motorcycle, charged directly out of the gloom.
Without giving Chen Tianwu any time to react, he was run over by that terrifying-looking motorcycle.
As his mind suffered a violent impact, Chen Tianwu's consciousness instantly returned due to the fear.
And as he gradually recalled what had happened, Chen Tianwu suddenly felt as if he was about to fall back into that dark space again.
Only, he knew very well that although fear still lingered in his heart, this time, the fear wasn't because of the motorcycle.
"Tianwen... Tianwen!"
Chen Tianwu, who had watched his sister die in front of him, roared, clutching his head and shouting his sister's name.
Even though he had been injected with half a tube of HSN serum by Bronya, Chen Tianwu's body, as his heart was once again consumed by despair, began to show Herrscher energy fluctuations that only a Herrscher should possess.
But, just as he felt a sound in his ear, a feeling of weakness suddenly washed over his entire body.
When this weakness hit, the ominous power spreading through his body, as if it were being completely suppressed by something, actively receded back into Chen Tianwu's body.
What surprised Chen Tianwu even more was that his mind, which had been replaying the image of his sister's death, now... after the power was suppressed...
——He didn't feel so desperate anymore.
As a high-level talent who had the potential to become a World Serpent executive and was evaluated by Gray Serpent as a 'useful tool', Chen Tianwu was a smart man to begin with.
If he hadn't suddenly been pulled into the Theater of Domination and had his mind secretly interfered with by the Honkai consciousness, the 'Chen Tianwen' puppet would have been easily seen through by him.
And now, standing before Leo Ash, who had activated the Field of Binding, Chen Tianwu's Herrscher energy was suppressed, and his sharp intellect naturally took over.
*Wait, Tianwen... that wasn't Tianwen at all!*
Although Chen Tianwu had only learned about Honkai-related news through some underground channels, at this moment, he made a judgment with absolute certainty.
*Damn it, the Honkai must be behind all this!*
"Mr. Chen."
Noticing that Chen Tianwu had calmed down, Leo Ash asked him with a calm expression.
"Have you calmed down now?"
"...It seems you know my name, sir."
Chen Tianwu, seeing Leo Ash for the first time, immediately deduced that the young man before him, who looked to be of a similar age, was very likely a person of great importance.
*The fact that he can call me by my surname means he already knows my identity.*
*No, more than that. He's probably already investigated my personal information.*
*I woke up in a hospital bed with no one guarding me. This means either they aren't worried about me causing trouble, or they truly don't see me as an enemy.*
*From this, I can at least infer that the probability of them being hostile towards me is low.*
*That's a relief, at least.*
After analyzing the current situation, Chen Tianwu immediately tried hard to suppress the panic in his heart, forcing a calm demeanor as he spoke to Leo Ash.
"Thank you for saving me, sir. But—I don't know your name."
"As the one who was saved, not knowing my benefactor's name is simply too impolite."
"Mm, relax. You can just call me Leo Ash."
Raising a hand to signal Wendy and Li Sushang behind him to stay quiet, Leo Ash walked over to Chen Tianwu and found a chair to sit on.
"But since you have that awareness, Mr. Chen, I'll be direct with you."
"We are the higher-ups of the anti-Honkai organization [Schicksal]. We currently believe that you can become a force in the fight against the Honkai, so I am personally extending an invitation to you, Mr. Chen."
"If possible, you might consider joining us at Schicksal. It would be beneficial for both of us."
"..."
Although Chen Tianwu still hadn't fully grasped the current situation, it didn't stop him from using this opportunity to state his own request.
*The other party's posture isn't high-handed. At least, in my eyes, he's the 'easy to talk to on the surface' type.*
*In that case, what I need to do now is...*
"Before I consider this, can I see my sister first?"
*An expected answer.*
Hearing Chen Tianwu give the answer he expected, Leo Ash opened an intelligence screen and directly contacted his Schicksal colleagues who were already in action.
"Has the target been found?"
"She has been located, Lord Leo Ash."
"In that case, patch through the video."
In the next second, Chen Tianwu saw his sister, Chen Tianwen, appear in the video feed on the screen.
"Brother?!"
"Tianwen!"
Seeing Chen Tianwen, Chen Tianwu finally felt completely at ease.
Even though images could be faked, Chen Tianwu felt that the man in front of him wouldn't do such a thing.
"Brother, what on earth is going on?"
In the video, Chen Tianwen, who was in Manila, pointed to the man in a black suit standing beside her and asked Chen Tianwu.
"Did you do something bad outside? These gentlemen said they're your friends, but they look a little..."
"About that..."
After thinking for a moment, Chen Tianwu suddenly chuckled and said to Chen Tianwen.
"Haha, don't worry. Brother's friends are just joking with you."
"I already agreed with this buddy last time. I went to his place and pretended to be some mysterious character to help him look cool, so this time it's his turn to help me."
Hearing Chen Tianwu's excuse, the Schicksal member smiled and said.
"Yes, that's exactly how little brother Tianwu helped me back then."
"But you're the one who exposed it this time, so don't blame me for not doing my part."
"Hehe, my bad, my bad. I'll buy you a drink next time—Tianwen, brother's busy over here, I'll contact you again later, okay?"
"Okay, you get back to work, brother."
After confirming his sister was completely fine, Chen Tianwu suddenly felt an overwhelming wave of exhaustion.
He hadn't done anything today, but the unlucky young man, who had been tormented by the Honkai, had been in a state of constant physical and mental tension ever since entering the Theater of Domination.
Now, after confirming that both he and his sister were safe, Chen Tianwu knew it was time for him to pay the price.
However, the now-calm Chen Tianwu still didn't decisively agree to Leo Ash's invitation. Instead, over the next few minutes, he asked Leo Ash for detailed information about the Honkai.
After learning the meanings of 'Honkai phenomenon', 'Honkai Beast', 'Herrscher', 'Schicksal-Anti-Entropy Allied Forces', and so on from Leo Ash, Chen Tianwu finally understood the whole situation.
He was special. Because he had the potential to become a Herrscher, the Honkai had targeted him and given him a Herrscher Core that allowed him to use superpowers.
But great power inevitably comes with risks. After he obtained this core, the Honkai, in order to make him a true apostle of the god of destruction, naturally wanted Chen Tianwu to abandon all his worldly hopes.
The fake Chen Tianwen was the Honkai's handiwork, and the reason Chen Tianwu was able to talk with Leo Ash safely here was that Leo Ash and his companions had successfully thwarted one of the Honkai's plans.
Of course, Chen Tianwu didn't believe all of it, and remained skeptical.
But even believing half of it was enough to give him a headache.
Chen Tianwu just wanted to make money and live a peaceful, affluent life with his sister.
But now, someone had jumped out and told him—Hey buddy, you've been targeted by this thing called the Honkai. You're just going to keep getting screwed over, and your sister's going to be in trouble too.
And the Honkai won't spare humanity. You'll be in danger no matter where you go in this world. Running is useless.
How could he possibly be in a good mood after hearing that?
"So, have you considered an answer?"
Faced with Leo Ash's question, Chen Tianwu already had a decision in his heart.
But before making the decision, the young man asked, still holding on to a sliver of hope.
"If I don't join Schicksal..."
"Ah, then I can only express my regret."
Hearing Chen Tianwu's words, Leo Ash said very calmly.
"In the days to come, we will dispatch personnel to continuously monitor and protect you and your little sister Tianwen."
"Don't blame us for restricting your personal freedom. The main issue is that the Herrscher power you hold is the power of Gravity, which has the greatest destructive potential. If used correctly, it can sink continents."
"Hiss..."
Hearing Leo Ash's explanation, Chen Tianwu looked at the spot near his heart with lingering fear.
"Is this thing really that terrifying?"
"And out of personal preference, I still hope you will consider joining Schicksal, Mr. Chen."
"After all, no one knows if the Honkai will target your most cherished sister in the future to amplify the negative emotions in your heart."
"Rather than us sending people to restrict your freedom from the outside, it would be much easier for us to handle if you and your sister join Schicksal."
"For example?"
"For example—we have a lot of people who can fight. We can absolutely suppress you and inject you with enough 'sedatives' before you can cause any more disasters."
*Wow, this guy was so easy to talk to before, but why is he suddenly emitting an aura that sends chills down my spine?*
*I basically don't even need to think about it. This big brother looks tough, yet he's still speaking to me so politely.*
*If I still refuse to accept his kindness, then... he was able to find Tianwen instantly, which means he can just as easily have his men capture Tianwen, or even...*
"Joining Schicksal isn't a problem, but I personally hope my treatment will be a bit better."
"And..."
Thinking of his status as a Herrscher, Chen Tianwu said with a bitter smile.
"According to your explanation, Herrschers are the Honkai's high-end combat power."
"It's not a problem for me to join Schicksal, but are you sure that a Herrscher like me joining Schicksal won't... agitate the feelings of others within the organization?"
"To be blunt, I don't want to be constantly troubled by people after I join Schicksal."
"Ah, about that..."
Hearing Chen Tianwu's concern, Leo Ash calmly said.
"Don't worry. I am the [Herrscher of Binding] of this era. And within my body, I also have a Domination Core."
*Huh?*
*You're a Herrscher???*
Seeing Chen Tianwu's stunned expression, Leo Ash continued, unperturbed, and pointed to the two who had been silent behind him.
"These two are Wendy and Li Sushang. They are both my comrades."
"Wendy is the Herrscher of Wind. And as for the Herrscher of Domination, which I just explained to you, there are about a thousand of them. Sushang has one of their cores."
*No, wait, they're Herrschers too?*
Chen Tianwu, feeling more and more that something was off, asked Leo Ash in a low, uncertain voice.
"Lin... Boss. Can I ask, exactly how many Herrschers do we have inside Schicksal?"
"Oh, I told you about the Thirteen Herrschers before, right? Let me count..."
"The Herrscher of Reason is my companion. She's currently studying at Anti-Entropy and can't come back for now."
"The Herrschers of Void, Thunder, Death, and Ice are my partners."
*Ah, I feel like I just heard something I shouldn't have.*
"The Herrscher of Sentience is my Master, and the Herrscher of Flame was my former superior and teacher."
"Wendy is my Junior Sister, and Sushang is my Martial Niece."
"As for the rest, we still have several hundred Herrschers of Domination in good condition..."
"—Now that I've said all this, do you still think being a Herrscher is a problem in our organization?"
*No, this is a *very* serious problem.*
*Herrschers are the Honkai's high-level combat power—that's how you introduced them, right?*
*But this lineup right now...*
*——Doesn't this mean that, apart from the Herrscher of Corruption and Herrscher of Finality you mentioned, every other Herrscher, including me, has already joined Schicksal?*
*An anti-Honkai organization is using the Honkai's high-level combat power as its *own* high-level combat power...*
*——Are you sure an organization like this is okay?*
....