'Genghis Khan's' pursuit abruptly halted.
He turned his horse around, speaking in an incredibly grim tone: "Brat, if you don't know how to speak, keep your mouth shut."
Under that hawk-eyed, wolf-like gaze that seemed capable of killing, Fuli spread his hands righteously. "See? I only mentioned the word 'counterfeit', and you immediately gave up on Cousin and Mr. Siegfried—who pose a fatal threat to you—to hiss at me. Doesn't this prove that deep down, you also have a vague premonition about this?"
"The self-awareness born from the body after Genghis Khan's death, or rather—the Divine Authority: Eternal Heaven (Tengri)."
A wind carrying sparks blew across the apocalyptic, scorched earth. The man remained silent, and the tall horse beneath him stamped its hooves uneasily.
A moment later, He sneered again. "Brat, don't think spewing random nonsense can shake my mindset and create favorable conditions for you to escape."
"I won't say you're being stubborn like a dead duck. If I were 'born' with my brain filled with another person's experiences and memories, and my physique, appearance, and abilities were identical to theirs, I probably wouldn't doubt who I was either." Fuli shook his head. "But fake is fake, after all. No matter what, it cannot become real."
The reason he suspected 'Genghis Khan's' identity was based on a past conversation with Prometheus about the Celestial of Empyrea's main body not being dead (Volume · Chapter 14).
In that conversation, Fuli had pointed out that although the Celestial of Empyrea hadn't appeared for many years, many people in East Asia and Southeast Asia still worshipped her, firmly believing she hadn't perished. Why?
Because the Divine Authority: Empyrea (Chiyuan) had not yet been born. This indicated that the incense offered by people still had a destination.
Once the Celestial truly died, the massive faith accumulated over five thousand years would immediately take over, quickly condensing a new consciousness within her corpse to take control of that immensely powerful force.
At that time, this remark was merely an example to help Prometheus and Dr. Mei better understand Divine Authorities, a unique life form that didn't exist in the Pre-Civilization.
But after arriving at the Kanas scenic area in Xinjiang and fighting the Lake Saints—suspected guardians of Genghis Khan's tomb—in the mist, a similar thought naturally occurred to Fuli:
Is the Genghis Khan in the mausoleum really the man himself revived?
Even as the Generation's Proud Son, under the Shamash Unsheathed unleashed by the Kaslana Patriarch at the cost of his life back then, how likely was it for him to recover from severe injuries?
At the time, such a thought was fleeting.
There was too little relevant intelligence; it could only serve as an unreliable conjecture.
However, as the saying goes: Bold hypothesis, careful verification.
Thus, before Siegfried set off, Fuli secretly gave him the Famed Gun: Abe-Slayer Tetsuya, one of the verification elements.
He himself then entered the Mausoleum World Bubble with the girls later, searching for clues that could verify his guess.
First was the great migration of the Lake Saints, spanning over two thousand kilometers and covering countless water systems.
Regarding this, Bronya's argument was: To prevent Genghis Khan's corpse from rotting in the air, the fastest method had to be used to transport the remains.
So what if the person involved was the Awakener of the Stigmata of Death? After death, he could no longer provide Honkai energy to the Stigmata, so it was reasonable for the remains to gradually decay.
But the problem was, if Bronya's point stood, then who was the 'Genghis Khan' fighting endlessly with Siegfried?
So, upon reaching the underground palace, Fuli went to the rear hall where the monarch's coffin was placed and pried open the lid with his sword.
There was something inside.
Bleached bones.
With scorch marks from the Judgment of Shamash.
Jizo Mitama had no reaction to it.
The Key of Corruption possessed the ability to copy Natural Stigmata. The Lake Saints and other entities proved that the Stigmata of Death undoubtedly existed within the mausoleum.
The scorch marks from Shamash proved that these were indeed Genghis Khan's bones; the great Generation's Proud Son truly slept here forever.
Fuli pointed his sword tip obliquely at the ground, his clear voice echoing between heaven and earth. "I heard from Bronya (of the previous loop) that her little sister, who also awakened the Stigmata of Death, suffered from dissociative identity disorder. Specifically, based on the host's spirit and memories, the Natural Stigmata extended a brand-new self."
"Look familiar, doesn't it? The same Stigmata of Death, the same distinct personalities." His tone was calm. "Theoretically speaking, as an Imaginary gene bank used to record data, a Natural Stigmata without a carrier and energy source cannot exist as an independent individual."
"Who would have thought that to consolidate the Mongol Empire more effectively, Borjigin Temüjin and his descendants not only standardized and popularized the belief system of the Eternal Heaven to legitimize the Golden Family's rule, but he himself constantly claimed to be the 'Incarnation of the Eternal Heaven'."
Thus, the massive power of faith found a destination.
Fuli's eyes flashed with a strange light. "With the Stigmata of Death as the core, combined with the ancient belief in the Supreme God held by the nomadic peoples of the Eurasian continent, what was born as a crystallization was you—the God of the Sky, Mongke Tangri."
"You are not the Generation's Proud Son who conquered the Eurasian continent and established the largest contiguous land empire in history. You are merely the Eternal Heaven!"
This was why the outside Shuhu called 'Genghis Khan' a compatriot; they were of the same kind.
The reason the Famed Gun: Abe-Slayer Tetsuya failed lay here. This gun could only target those with higher status than the wielder, but no one ever said a God was inherently nobler than a human.
Especially a fledging Divine Authority who had usurped a nest and achieved no great deeds.
Meanwhile, as the boy unraveled the truth, the Key of Corruption also glowed:
[Name: Stigmata of Death]
[Rank: A]
[Classification: Passive/Constant]
[Effect: Grants immunity to 80% of effects that interfere with the body, such as poison, aging, injury, disease, instant death, etc. Any attack has an extremely low probability of triggering Instant Death on the target.]
[Note ①: Naturally, the higher the target's combat power, the lower the probability of triggering Instant Death, but it will never be zero.]
[Note ②: The gun is the king of weapons, and the automatic rifle is the king of kings. How to use it, you understand~]
Holding a machine gun and spraying to increase the Instant Death trigger rate, is it?
Fuli's face darkened. He decided to only do this occasionally.
Improving one's own strength was the hard truth. Relying on such unconventional tricks was just courting death.
After the Stigmata copying was complete, he raised his crimson eyes and looked back at the Divine Authority, who had lowered his head in silence.
Talking so much to the enemy in one breath was partly to buy time for Jizo Mitama to copy the Stigmata, and partly to delay for Fu Hua and the others.
See? The opponent had completely forgotten about the Celestial of Empyrea and locked his gaze firmly on Fuli.
That's right, the Celestial of Empyrea.
Fuli wasn't deaf. Those two yelled so loudly earlier; how could he not hear a thing?
Fu Hua = Immortal Celestial (Empyrea). The incongruities he felt in the past could now be easily explained.
He was a little surprised, but other than that, he had no other thoughts.
Cousin Hua is Cousin Hua. She doted on him super hard in the last loop, and it seems she dotes on him even more in this one?
Recalling the girl's hug before leaving and the line "occasionally being a l-lover isn't out of the question," the corners of the boy's mouth curled up.
Of course, he knew Fu Hua was just overwhelmed with emotion seeing him revived, not that she genuinely thought he was someone she could entrust her life to.
But some things can't be rushed, right?
Cousin has lived for fifty-five thousand years... even more excited now!
Pfft, no, I mean, no rush. Just play along with her!
Fuli was in a great mood, but opposite him, the fake Genghis Khan—the true Eternal Heaven—was trembling violently because his self-identity had been shaken.
"NO—! Fake! It's all fake! You're lying to me! I am Borjigin Temüjin himself! Always have been! Always will be!"
His eyes bulged with rage, and a torrent of Creation and Decay swept uncontrollably across a radius of several miles.
Grass and trees sprouted only to crumble into ash; life was born only to wither into dust. All phenomena wailed, disintegrated, and reorganized in this eternal cycle of life and death, never ceasing.
Despite casually displaying power that would make jaws drop, seeing His frantic appearance, Fuli could only associate it with the word "hysterical."
Perhaps the boy's words had merely hooked out the doubt the God had been suppressing deep within His heart.
Thinking about it, so many treasures in the underground palace, including the Holy Sword Joyeuse, were still sitting there properly.
Was it that the Eternal Heaven didn't want them? Didn't want to arm Himself with these divine weapons?
Obviously not.
He simply instinctively rejected the coffin of Genghis Khan, which could shake the very foundation of His existence. He didn't want to shatter His self-identity.
Thus, despite having the authority to move freely through multiple spaces, He had never gone there from start to finish.
Facing the Divine Authority who had completely lost His demeanor, the boy, adhering to the philosophy of "killing the heart," decided to shatter His final illusion.
With a wave of his hand, he took out a pure white feather that gave a sense of sharpness.
"Screech—!"
Space rippled, and a magnificent divine eagle soared out, landing affectionately on his shoulder.
The Eternal Gyrfalcon. A byproduct obtained when rescuing Asta and Arlan from the Kheshig Army and Yama-Raja (Yan shiluo).
It couldn't exactly be called "obtained." Officially, the Hyperion and the little guy had reached a cooperation agreement.
The Gyrfalcon possessed the ability to move long distances via coordinates using its feathers. Although it had a considerable cooldown, it could carry multiple people and run all over the map.
And now, Fuli summoned this little guy through their contract.
"Meet a friend, buddy." He raised his chin, gesturing for the Gyrfalcon to look at the enemy on the verge of going berserk. "That guy claims to be Genghis Khan."
The white Gyrfalcon seizes the sun and moon, flying to land in my hand.
As the closest partner of the Great Mongol Khan, the Gyrfalcon had always interacted with the Golden Family.
Yama-Raja had used this point to seal the little guy in Asta's dimensional outfit, thereby attracting the Kheshig to the cruise ship for rescue.
"Coo?"
Perhaps because it wasn't yet an adult, the Gyrfalcon's voice upon receiving Fuli's instruction was very cute.
It tilted its head to look forward. The moment it saw the Eternal Heaven, it flapped its white feathers in surprise.
"Haha! I—"
Before 'Genghis Khan' could finish his excited words, the excitement in the little guy's eyes turned into doubt and confusion.
The information engraved in its bloodline told the Gyrfalcon that the appearance and aura of the person opposite were indeed identical to the King of eight hundred years ago.
Regrettably, it did not sense the existence of that great contract between them.
Even so, the little guy still felt close to the Eternal Heaven and wanted to fly over to land on His shoulder and peck His cheek.
The Gyrfalcon is the God of All Eagles and the darling of the Mongol Supreme God, the Eternal Heaven.
Even meeting for the first time, it was understandable to feel a sense of kinship.
The only flaw was that the Eternal Heaven didn't want this innate kinship.
"NO—NO!"
Like the last straw that broke the camel's back, 'Genghis Khan', who had maintained a human form, let out a deafening roar, and his figure vanished without a trace in the blink of an eye.
Fuli didn't dare be careless and retreated far away. In the next moment, a giant that blotted out the sky rose from the ground. The brilliance of the sun and moon shone upon Him, and the stars guided Him.
The mighty force of nature converged in the hands of a single individual. At this moment, He was this world itself.
——— The Eternal Heaven is the guardian god of the Mongols. It dominates everything. The earth nurtures all things, the sun gives warmth, the moon gives light, and the Big Dipper indicates direction.
Recalling the relevant mythological data, Fuli's eyelid twitched.
The northern nomadic peoples, who had a love-hate relationship with Huaxia for thousands of years, held the Eternal Heaven as their supreme belief. Essentially, it was similar to what the Han people called "Old Lord Heaven" (God/Heaven).
They did not refer to a specific individual, but rather the laws of nature's operation itself.
From the sun rising in the east and setting in the west, to the birth and death of the universe.
Naturally, the personified manifestation of the Eternal Heaven couldn't possibly wield such vast power.
Even so, He brought the World Bubble He resided in under His control in the blink of an eye.
Wind condensed into the outlines of mountain ranges between His fingers; thunder surged like rivers with His breath.
When He stepped, the crust under His feet churned into new land; when He breathed, the atmospheric circulation reconstructed the four seasons between His lips and teeth.
It was somewhat similar to Duranda inverting a World Bubble into her body via the Holy Sword Armament. The difference was that even after developing the Dea Anchora armor which drew on the power of stars, the stellar power Bianca could unleash was quite limited.
As for the Eternal Heaven, compared to the planet-sized World Bubble inside Bianca, the world He controlled was at most the size of several prefecture-level cities.
However, because of this, He could display His power perfectly.
Don't think it's small. The algorithm for World Bubbles is planned according to the area of provinces, cities, and counties in Shenzhou. These so-called "several prefecture-level cities" added up to nearly a quarter of the Extreme East's (Japan's) territory.
With such augmentation, coupled with the creative power of the Stigmata of Death, He recovered to His peak in the blink of an eye despite the heavy damage from the Edge of Taixuan.
Even if He hadn't reached the level of an S-Rank Outlier (world-breaking level), He was definitely not someone the current Fuli and the others could mess with.
Not to mention this was His home turf. Mobilizing the rule power of all phenomena, He could almost be called the Spokesperson of the Heavenly Dao, a mini-Honkai Hongjun.
...