Hua laughed loudly: "Haha, it's really interesting. Just looking at his eyes, you know he absolutely didn't expect to die here."
Fu Hua mercilessly exposed: "He just changed to another body."
Hua said: "Yeah, that can also be considered dead."
Hua, who was strolling through the forest, suddenly stopped.
Looking at Fu Hua beside her, she said seriously: "I've been escaping, delaying time, but what's coming will always come. It's time to sort out my own mood."
"How many Fenghuang Down have I found on this mountain? Ten pieces?"
Fu Hua answered: "...More than that."
Hua said: "Every piece of Fenghuang Down is my clone. They returned my power and memories. The more I retrieve, the harder it is to remain indifferent to this world. The time to rest is over. I must...become Fu Hua."
She stretched out her hand: "Are you ready?"
Fu Hua understood: "You like me returning my power to you?"
Hua didn't like this phrasing. She corrected: "I hope you become a part of me."
Fu Hua gently shook her head: "...That's impossible."
Hua expressed understanding: "I get it. I'm sorry too. You're a great companion. Sometimes I even feel like you're like a big sister..."
Fu Hua directly interrupted her sentimentality: "It's not what you think. Come, give it a try—I won't resist at all. Try absorbing me."
Hua didn't mind her interruption: "Hey, as long as I don't agree, you can't resist even if you want to—huh?"
She probed that piece of Fenghuang Down, touching it with an invisible hand.
As the phantom said, she felt no resistance, yet the Fenghuang Down slipped away.
She tried again and again, but the result was the same.
This feather and her—they were like two liquids with opposite polarities. Even if mixed tightly together, they still couldn't merge.
"...Why?"
Seeing her doubt, Fu Hua answered: "Because we are two different souls."
The voice of Fenghuang Down revealed sadness, but Hua heard a different emotion from it: pity.
She hated pity.
"Different souls?...You represent the past, I represent the present. That's all. It's not such a stupid reason, right? The real reason is that you think you're purer than me—you think you're a Fu Hua more worthy than me."
Hua hesitated for a moment, ultimately deciding to say what she considered the cruelest words: "...Even if you're just a single feather."
Fu Hua still said calmly: "You should already know this is the truth."
Hua was somewhat angry: "Truth? The truth is that all Fenghuang Down except you bow their heads and submit the moment they see me! The truth is that only you have a problem with your brain, thinking everything you say is right!"
"...You're too stubborn. The one who can't see the truth is you. I...you're still living in the past, understand? You still see yourself as Dr. MEI's tool!"
"The era has changed! We don't have to play the role of MANTIS, or Valkyrie, or St. Freya's student! We can be ourselves, the real ourselves!"
"Look!"
With a sharp shout, the scenery in front of her twisted and deformed, becoming another scene...
This was Hua's starting point.
It was the place where her father was injured. From the current perspective, it was undoubtedly a Dead Soldier.
And her first time facing a Dead Soldier was to save a girl. At that time, Hua chose to face herself and chose to uphold justice.
"The current us doesn't take threats of this level seriously at all. Mere rabble— no matter how many come, it's no problem."
She casually eliminated these Dead Soldiers.
Fu Hua then asked: "What does this prove?"
Hua said: "It proves we possess power. We're no longer weak, no longer at the mercy of others, no longer at anyone's beck and call. Right...no longer at anyone's beck and call..."
Hua waved her hand casually, and the scene changed again, showing a red-haired woman.
"Do you remember her?"
Fu Hua looked at this person and nodded: "I've never forgotten."
Hua said: "Then you should also remember how she died, right? She became a Herrscher in the Australia branch... We tried every way to save her. We finally reached her. She didn't attack me, she remembered me, she called my name, smiled at me..."
"—Then Dr. MEI ordered Kevin to kill her."
"It's so ironic. Every time I think of Kiana, I always think of the Captain—"
"It's so ironic. At that time, if someone had been willing to listen to me, if Dr. MEI had given me a chance..."
"But we were just tools. We had no say. If the top brass thought the Herrscher was beyond saving, we could do nothing."
The anger in her tone surprised the phantom of Fenghuang Down.
Fu Hua asked: "Are you resentful?"
Hua retorted: "Resent who? Dr. MEI is dead. Only a few from the previous generation remain. I have no one to resent."
"Only regret... The more memories I pick up, the deeper my regret for myself becomes."
"Why was I always so timid, always indecisive, always leaving choices to others."
"...Why didn't I fight as I pleased?"
The surrounding environment changed again, going back thousands of years.
Hua continued: "When Fuxi and Nuwa proposed accelerating civilization development, I clearly knew it would produce incalculable variables, clearly knew it could lead to terrible tragedies, but I didn't refuse their request."
Fu Hua was also somewhat sad: "We can't predict the future..."
Hua said: "We can't predict, but we can avoid it. Their duty was to assist me, wasn't it? Of course I had the right to veto Fuxi's proposal. Even if it seemed inhumane, at least those monsters wouldn't have been created."
In the illusion, the powerful Honkai Beasts born from accelerating civilization were destroying everything.
"...At that time, it was also Nuwa who volunteered to personally make up for her mistake. I could have forcibly made her stay until I returned, but I didn't."
Fu Hua said: "The rampaging Chiyou nearly destroyed half of the South China Sea, and many people died because of it."
Hua argued: "I don't understand. In war, there are sacrifices. Why should I value the lives of those civilians more than my important friends, more than my capable assistant?"
"Why didn't I drop everything else, rush over at the fastest speed to eliminate Chiyou, and save my friend?"
Fu Hua lowered her head: "...I must put the welfare of all humanity first."
Hua directly scolded: "Nonsense! Must? Who decided that? Dr. MEI? Why should I listen to her? So many years have passed—where is this so-called welfare of all humanity?"
"...By the time I arrived, Chiyou had already been sealed. All that was left here were these small fries."
Facing this matter.
Even Fu Hua herself couldn't refute it and could only follow her heart: "I...have also deeply regretted this all along."
Hua said: "Because you are me. You must be able to empathize with my pain. See, we're not unable to understand each other. Don't regret it. Think about it...In this life, how many mistakes have I made beyond this one?"
The illusion shifted and changed.
Fu Hua recognized it at a glance: "This is...the Khanate Grasslands?"
Hua nodded: "Yeah, five hundred years ago, Schicksal's expeditionary force reached here."
The phantom of Fenghuang Down looked around.
Hua understood her thoughts at once: "Don't look for them. I didn't conjure those little rascals. They're insignificant on this battlefield—no need to bother myself."
Fu Hua said: "I thought the mistake you were talking about was them."
Hua said: "They count too, of course. But without them, there wouldn't be the current me. Besides, they're all dead...I don't remember a few. Is Ling Shuang dead?"
Fu Hua answered: "She was from five hundred years ago."
Hua sighed: "Sigh...What a pity. That kid was the real monster. You didn't tell Kevin about her, right?"
"He knows." Fu Hua answered simply.
Hua instantly realized: "Oh, no wonder he's so confident in the Stigmata Project this time he emerged. A living perfect example right in front of him. Hey, leaving that aside, look at this battlefield."
At this moment, the surroundings turned into a battlefield, with countless corpses piled like mountains, blood flowing into rivers...
Hua continued: "This is real war, real hell. Compared to the disaster Chiyou caused and the war between two countries, what does it amount to? But if Schicksal hadn't used the Divine Key, you and I wouldn't have gotten involved at all."
"What kind of logic is this? Whether more or fewer people die doesn't matter—what matters is whether there's Honkai. At this time, Dr. MEI doesn't mention the welfare of all humanity?"
Fu Hua answered: "War is an indispensable part of civilization's development; it's one of the laws of nature. We fight Honkai because it defies nature."
Hua waved her hand: "Fine, you're right no matter what."
Then she looked at the most conspicuous figure on the battlefield—a girl wearing a nun's habit.
"You know what? This guy is the root cause of everything."
"Kallen Kaslana...?" Fu Hua was somewhat puzzled, not understanding her relation to the root cause.
Hua said: "I spared her life here and even gave her some pointers. After she returned to Europe, she betrayed Schicksal, took the box sealing the Twelfth Herrscher and fled, and was executed."
"Because of her death, Otto Apocalypse decided to live a few more centuries. This guy seized Schicksal, messed up Europe, came to Shenzhou to stir trouble, and finally became the great dictator."
"The progression of Honkai in this era can be said to be all orchestrated by Otto single-handedly. You and I are so miserable now—he's the one who should be held most responsible."
"And the key turning point that turned him from a pure young boy five hundred years ago into the cunning scum he is now is this day."
"If on that day we had directly killed Kallen and Otto blocking her way, everything would have been rewritten."
The audience heard this and looked at the frail Otto blocking in front of Kallen.
All of them had strange expressions...
The chat group also livened up: "So...Otto becoming like this is ultimately because Hua gave Kallen pointers?"
"6666666 This causal theory is awesome, but I'm more curious—Otto was a pure young boy?"
"It's outrageous. Just because of this incident, he decides to live a few more centuries? Otto really doesn't know what a Sigma male is!"
"Real or fake? To turn a man into a great dictator, you just need to nudge a little here?"
"The truth is out—all the truth. The one who turned Otto into Dog Otto is actually Hua?"
"Everyone stop hyping it up. It shouldn't be that simple. Who can just decide to live a few more centuries and actually do it?"
"For some reason, I always feel like Dog Otto has more plot ahead."
"Hua is right. They should have killed Dog Otto right here back then. It really would have reduced a lot of tragedies!"
"I think Hua is really interesting. First exposing Otto's past, then revealing Himeko, and now laying bare her own past—hahaha, too fun."
"..."
Everyone was discussing.
And Fu Hua said: "...You shouldn't use later events to overturn prior ones."
Hua snorted lightly: "`~Since we're not talking about the future, only then...Schicksal took Fire Moth's Divine Key for their own use and launched multiple aggressive wars for selfish gain."
"They even attacked Shenzhou, which you and I swore to protect, causing its people to suffer—why leave such an organization?"
"We should eliminate Schicksal again, thoroughly destroy this expeditionary force, reclaim our Divine Key, and crush their evil ambitions."
Hua stretched out her hand, and Otto blocking in front of Kallen turned to dust.
She laughed maniacally: "Hahahaha...See! You can do it!"
Next was Kallen. Her body, like a weathered piece of scrap paper, was blown away by the wind and dissipated.
Fu Hua immediately stopped her: "Stop!"
Hua said discontentedly: "What? You know this is fake. Just satisfying a craving—this is our illusion. I can do whatever I want."
Fu Hua looked at her seriously: "Don't you understand yet? Look at what you've done—don't you understand yet?"
"Understand what?"
She gave Fu Hua a cold smile: "I understand what kind of power I possess. I understand the responsibility I shoulder! I even more understand how to achieve all this!"
"Not relying on Dr. MEI, not on Otto, not on Kevin and his World Serpent! Me, Fu Hua! I will save humanity my way. I will defeat Honkai!"
Fu Hua stopped her: "No...I can't let you do this. Haven't you noticed yet?...You are not the person you claim to be."
Hua sighed helplessly: "Here we go again. Seeing how persistent you are, I almost can't bear to point it out: Hey, you're just a feather. You have to accept this reality. Stop deceiving yourself."
Fu Hua said seriously: "Listen, you are not the master of this body. You are completely different from her. There are many inexplicable doubts..."
"Think carefully. Fenghuang Down is destroyed. You're just clones from a few feathers—why can you control consciousness and memories, create illusions?"
Hua answered subconsciously: "I was with Fenghuang Down day and night. The body retained muscle memory."
Fu Hua shook her head: "No, that wouldn't allow you to exert such strong power."
"Enough!" Hua interrupted her.
Fu Hua still said forcefully: "You've finally noticed."
Hua scolded: "Noticed what? I haven't noticed anything. You're just too annoying. A mere feather—don't point fingers at me..."
Fu Hua continued: "Your awakening has a reason. A body without a soul can't generate consciousness out of thin air."
"Shut up!!" Hua tried to interrupt her again.
But Fu Hua said in one breath: "You are not fighting Honkai. Think carefully: All your actions—destroying Schicksal, attacking World Serpent—are actually carrying out Honkai's will..."
"No matter how righteous the reasons you use to deceive yourself, actions don't lie. You only do one thing: destroy."
"..."
"Because you are a Herrscher."
"..."
Hua lowered her head and stared at the ground, as if seriously pondering the accusation from Fenghuang Down—
But the Fu Hua within the feather knew very well: This was just her usual way of escaping.
"..."
Hua was pondering. She was searching for a direction to cover up Fu Hua's accusations against her.
That way, she wouldn't be the one at fault.
She always had to dominate every conversation.
However, Fu Hua was still waiting, still hoping she could wake up suddenly—
After spending this time together, Fu Hua knew this Herrscher had a special power.
Hua spoke: "You say I'm a Herrscher. But my belief has always been to fight Honkai, hasn't it? Would Honkai allow such an apostle to exist? Taking Its power while raising the sword of rebellion against It."
Fu Hua directly shattered her illusion: "This era's Honkai and Herrschers are different from before. There are examples you want: Joyce, Welt, Kiana—all fought Honkai as Herrschers."
Hua shouted directly: "...But in that case, what does it matter if I'm a Herrscher? As long as I stand on humanity's side, isn't that enough?"
Fu Hua said: "What matters isn't your thoughts, but your actions—In my view, though you think you're fighting for humanity, everything you do benefits Honkai."
"You destroyed Schicksal and World Serpent, and they are the staunchest anti-Honkai forces in the current world."
"From your attitude, given the chance, you'd do the same to Anti-Entropy."