...Huh?" She blinked, confirming she hadn't misread it.
What in the world is going on? Rupert III? Irontomb? Madam Herta?
Was this panel infected with a virus, or did it activate some strange fan filter?
She subconsciously extended a finger and cautiously poked the panel, which was still scrolling through hymns of praise.
"Buzz—"
The panel changed instantly.
The original monotonous welcome interface disappeared, replaced by a more complex information graphic.
On the left was a lifelike three-dimensional image, exactly her current appearance—ash-white long hair, purplish-black eyes without highlights, a face that was exquisite but lacked expression, wearing that iconic black-and-purple witchs hat, dressed in a shoulderless Lolita dress that stopped perfectly at her thighs, paired with gray thigh-high stockings and knee-high high-heeled boots.
The overall color scheme was dark, yet it exuded a strange sense of beauty.
The more she looked at this image, the more familiar it became... "Isn't this... The Herta from Honkai: Star Rail? The corrupted version?"
She muttered to herself, and amidst her shock, a strange sense of déjà vu flooded her mind. "The new version hasn't even launched yet, so how did I become a character? And the Iron Tomb of an 'if' timeline? Wait a minute..."
Her thoughts were abruptly pulled back to the starry sky, and that unmatched silver light.
"So that silver light... was probably Polka's scalpel?"
Thinking of this, she felt somewhat relieved, even adding a sarcastic remark, "It makes sense. Since I've become a final Boss like 'Rupert III,' it wouldn't be Polka's style not to 'operate' on me immediately."
She sighed, her feelings complicated.
So, she had indeed "died" once just now, even if the death was somewhat inexplicable.
She turned her gaze to the data column on the right side of the panel:
Name: Unknown
Gender: Unknown
Identity: The Herta sacrificed herself, using the Iron Tomb as a vessel, transforming into Rupert III, thus reducing her intent to destroy the universe.
Strength: Envoy (?)
"..." Kuromi fell silent again.
The amount of information was overwhelming.
Her attention was ultimately drawn to the stunningly beautiful image on the left.
She had to admit, this "The Herta" exterior was incredible—coldly glamorous yet mysterious, though her eyes were a bit empty, like a delicate doll.
"Name... Unknown?"
It was only then that she realized she seemed to have forgotten her own name.
"Crap, what was my name again?"
She tried hard to recall, but only grasped a haze. "Could it be that I am The Herta herself, just suffering from amnesia?"
But she quickly dismissed this thought. "No, the feeling is wrong. Besides, if I were truly Herta, how would I know the plot of Honkai: Star Rail?"
After thinking for a long time without clarifying anything, she decided to solve the immediate problem.
She reached out and tapped the "Name: Unknown" field.
The panel displayed a prompt:
[Do you wish to name this image?]
"So I have to name myself."
She scratched her head (feeling how nice and soft the ash-white long hair felt). "Call myself 'Iron Tomb'? No, no, that sounds awful, it doesn't suit this pretty face. Call myself 'Herta'? But I'm not her, using someone else's name feels weird..."
Suffering from Naming Difficulty Syndrome, she agonized for a long time, and her gaze inadvertently swept across the frantic praise from the panel's start—"Madam Herta."
"...Black Herta?"
Her mouth twitched almost imperceptibly. "This name... it's a bit ridiculous, but it's unexpectedly appealing? And it matches my dark outfit? Fine, fine, I'll take this one. It's better than Kuromi"
Thus, with a feeling of abandoning caution, she input the two characters "Black Herta."
She hesitated again at the gender field, thinking that her current image and the entity "Iron Tomb" were likely genderless, but... "I'll choose female anyway, it looks better."
Panel data updated:
[Name: Black Herta]
[Gender: Female]
Having settled the basic information, her gaze locked onto the glaring "Envoy (?)" once more.
"Seriously, why the question mark? A Neutered Envoy?" She propped up her right arm, touched her chin with her left hand, adopting a classic thinking pose (to an outsider, a cold and glamorous witch making such a gesture indeed possessed a charming contrast).
"Thinking about it carefully, could it be that the Lord of Silence's broken knife shattered my power?"
"Don't tell me that! I wanted to experience what it feels like to be an Envoy and walk around fearlessly! Now you're telling me I might be a defective product?"
Unwilling to give up, she poked the question mark next to Envoy with her finger.
The panel changed again, displaying options:
[Would you like to activate the Exclusive Service System for you—the esteemed Madam Herta?]
"...Madam Herta Exclusive Service System?"
Black Herta (as she could now officially be called) twitched her mouth again. The name sounded exactly like some suspicious membership club service.
Driven by curiosity, however, she still chose [Yes].
"Whoosh—Bang!"
The imagined sound of fireworks didn't appear; instead, there was a strange noise, like a gas leak mixed with electronic synthesis. The panel instantly switched its theme colors to a background dominated by deep black and dark purple, decorated along the edges with eerie, faintly glowing flower patterns of the same hue.
In the center of the panel, a chibi version of the Herta Puppet's head, whose eyes were equally hollow, popped out and mechanically rotated twice.
Then, a monotone electronic voice sounded: "User confirmation detected. System activating. Praise Madam Herta! Your wisdom is like that of an Aeon, your countenance makes the stars pale..."
"Stop!" Black Herta snapped her fingers with a crisp motion. "shut up. Praise Mode off."
The chibi Herta head paused, its electronic eyes blinking twice: "Instruction received. Praise Mode has been disabled. Awaiting Ms.'s command."
The voice was still inorganic, but it lacked the exaggerated tone of praise.
"That's more like it." Black Herta nodded in satisfaction. "Now, I ask, you answer."
"Understood."
"First question: Where is this?"
"Responding to Ms., this location is the 'System Space,' which is independent of the normal universe and exists in the seam between worlds."
"Second question: Did you turn me into this?"
"Negative. This system is only an Auxiliary and Service Unit, unable to interfere with Ms.'s form of existence. The cause of your current state is unknown; there are no relevant records in the system database."
Black Herta sighed, though she wasn't too disappointed. After all, given such a bizarre situation, expecting a newly met "system" to fully clarify everything was unrealistic.