Faced with the sudden, point-blank manifestation of [Wish], Shu, utterly bewildered, was unceremoniously swatted directly into the ocean by Bianka's subconscious activation.
Simultaneously, Bianka opened her eyes, a look of excitement on her face.
"I did it!... Huh?"
The space in front of her was completely empty. Bianka's eyes widened. She craned her neck, looking around in confusion, until she saw Shu slowly rising from beneath the surface of the water, his hands clasped behind his back, drifting silently back to his original position.
Bianka's face instantly went pale.
She might be a bit dense, but she wasn't an idiot. How could she not figure out why Shu had suddenly vanished?
The [Wish] she had instinctively triggered was an effective attack meant for an imaginary enemy. And Bianka distinctly remembered feeling the physical feedback of the attack connecting.
So... did I just slap Senior Shu into the ocean?
Yes. That was exactly what happened.
Fortunately, Bianka was aware that she was in a class and lacked genuine killing intent. Therefore, the [Wish] had only manifested as a forceful shove, failing to trigger Shu's automatic, absolute defense mechanism.
If it had, the one sent flying wouldn't have been Shu, but the one who dared to launch a sneak attack: Bianka.
Scratching her head guiltily, Bianka offered the soaking wet Shu an awkward, apologetic smile. She lowered her head and rubbed her hands together, looking incredibly meek and cautious.
Shu raised an eyebrow. Unfazed, he casually gathered the seawater clinging to his clothes and hair into a small, floating orb of water, then tossed it back into the ocean.
The kid just couldn't control it properly. What did she do wrong?
He would absolutely spoil her.
"Hmm. I think I understand what the problem is." Shu's tone hadn't changed in the slightest. He genuinely didn't care about the mishap.
"For me, the Authority is centralized. Much like my heart, it acts as an independent organ alongside my Herrscher Core.
"Because of that, a significant portion of the Authority resides within the Core itself. But it's not entirely isolated there; a portion of it is also distributed throughout my body. This distributed Authority is likely anchored to my fundamental genetic structure. Therefore, your sensation of having 'reactions' everywhere wasn't wrong."
This wasn't entirely unprecedented. There were traceable examples of this phenomenon.
In the original Honkai Impact 3rd manga, the Joyce clones—the "Watt" series—demonstrated the ability to imprint a Herrscher's Authority into genetics. Even as mere genetic clones, they could utilize the Star of Eden's gravity manipulation simply because Welt Joyce had engraved it into his DNA.
They also had Sirin as a living example. Despite no longer being a true Herrscher, she still retained a fraction of the Authority of the Dream.
Even Azhar, who wasn't an original Herrscher, demonstrated a residual affinity with the Authority of Bonds yesterday. These were all concrete examples right in front of them.
This meant that the Authority within Bianka was currently scattered throughout her entire body, much like the Watt clones. When she merely mobilized a single wisp of Honkai Energy, she naturally couldn't trigger the full, systemic Authority.
"Bianka, this time, try mobilizing all the Honkai Energy in your body and circulate it simultaneously," Shu instructed, deciding to run another test. "You must get the Honkai Energy flowing everywhere at once."
All of it?
Bianka had considered this possibility earlier. Without any hesitation, she tapped into the feeling of controlling Honkai Energy and, just as Shu commanded, forced the energy within her into a full-body circulation.
The next moment, Bianka's spirit jolted, and an intense wave of freezing air involuntarily erupted from her body.
Holy crap, ice!
Mobilizing all her Honkai Energy had visibly triggered Bianka's MANTIS genes. Then, beneath the chilling aura, just as they had hypothesized, the Authority of [Wish] successfully activated.
Most of the circulating Honkai Energy transformed into frost and explosive physical power, but a subtle portion of it was seized by the Authority, converted, and placed on standby.
Without needing Shu's instruction, Bianka instinctively proceeded to the next step of using [Wish]—she isolated the specific [Wish] Shu had pre-sculpted for her.
With a clear target established, the converted Honkai Energy naturally fused with the [Wish] without Bianka needing to actively direct it.
The next second, Bianka looked down at her right hand in absolute shock.
A razor-sharp, chilling aura—identical to the sword intent Shu had manifested earlier—coated her hand. It felt piercingly cold, impossibly thin, and capable of severing anything in its path.
"I... Wait, huh?!"
Bianka, thrilled by her success, was about to cheer, but was violently interrupted by a sudden anomaly.
To her utter shock, she found her body moving completely on its own. It lunged toward the metal block Shu had left floating nearby. Her hand raised, fell, and the razor-sharp aura cleaved the cube cleanly in two.
Having forcibly completed the prescribed action, the sword aura vanished without a trace, so abruptly it felt as though it had never been there at all.
Bianka didn't dare move.
The sensation of her body moving against her will was terrifying. Even though control had fully returned to her, she was still too afraid to make any sudden movements.
"Success." Shu confirmed the result for her. "It's safe now. Do you have any questions?"
With Shu's confirmation, Bianka took a deep breath. Still trembling slightly, she poured out all her lingering fears.
"I don't know why I lost control of my body at the end. Did I do something wrong?"
"No, you did perfectly. Far better than I did when I first started," Shu shook his head, offering a reassuring smile.
"The issue lies within the [Wish] itself. The [Wish] you just used was ultimately born from my thoughts. It provided you with power, but it also rigidly restricted the scope of your actions.
"[Wish]... At its core, this ability is the manifestation of what others desire you to do. Honestly, it could easily go by another name used in myths.
"Faith. The incense offerings of believers."
Bianka gasped.
"The power of Faith... is toxic?" she asked tentatively.
"Yes. Highly toxic," Shu confirmed. "Using unrefined, unfiltered [Wish] results in exactly what you just experienced: the compulsory execution of the believer's desire. Anything outside the scope of that specific [Wish] becomes entirely inaccessible.
"But don't worry, it's not a major issue. Your Honkai Energy manipulation is excellent, and your talent is off the charts. This problem won't bother you for long...
"In fact... by the end of today, you probably won't ever have to worry about it again."
Shu smiled, offering her some comfort. Then, he raised his head, looking silently toward the distant Arc City.
After a long pause, Shu broke the silence.
"Besides... I don't believe this is a toxin."
"Why not?" Bianka asked, confused. "Isn't this a fatal limitation of [Wish]? If no one provides you with a suitable [Wish], doesn't that mean the ability is..."
"Ah... It is certainly a limitation. But when those novels say 'Faith is toxic,' they aren't referring to mechanical limitations." Bianka's confusion brought a genuine, proud smile to Shu's face.
"The toxicity of Faith lies in the crushing weight of expectation. It means that the power derived from worship forces the user to act against their own will, eventually twisting their very ego and behavior until they become nothing more than a puppet molded by the expectations of the masses."
Bianka nodded, slowly beginning to understand.
"And the reason I don't consider those expectations toxic is because...
"Fulfilling the prayers and expectations placed upon me... is exactly what I want to do."