Hua said: "I won't destroy Anti-Entropy... I don't trust it. It has gathered many highly risky individuals: Kiana, Bronya, Raiden Mei, and Seele. The first three have already become Herrschers."
"Can you deny this? Aren't Theresa and Seele also highly potential Herrscher vessels? All of this is very likely part of Otto's plan."
"I refuse to become Otto's pawn—no, that's beside the point."
"You accuse me of being a Herrscher, but your evidence has no weight at all. You want to say I'm a threat, yet you can't provide a reasonable explanation."
"Let me ask you this: Are you absolutely certain that you're right?"
"You say the voice in your head is Honkai's consciousness tempting you—doesn't that make you even more suspicious? You're an existence without a physical body. Your medium is a Herrscher core from the Previous Era."
"If one of us is a traitor on Honkai's side, clearly you're far more suitable than I am!"
Fu Hua stated with absolute certainty: "That is definitely not me."
Hua snorted lightly: "I can say the exact same thing! What meaning do such words have!"
She suddenly raised her voice, then said in a conciliatory tone: "Look—there are only the two of us here. I could destroy you without lifting a finger, but I haven't done so. Why?!"
"Because you're my friend! You're another me. I like you! I won't kill you just because you offended me—that's ironclad proof that I possess humanity, isn't it?"
She looked at Fu Hua expectantly, like a student craving praise from her teacher.
Fu Hua, however, said: "...This is merely proof that you don't know who you are. You kept me around not because you like me, but simply because you need someone else to affirm you, to support you."
Hua was about to explode from anger: "Ah!!!!!! Seriously!!!! There's just no communicating with you at all!"
The audience watching this scene was filled with frustration and disappointment.
Everyone was posting in the official chat group.
"Aaaaaaaaah, she literally said she likes you—how can this blockhead not understand?"
"It's killing me. Can't you just praise her a little? I don't believe she's a Herrscher at all."
"Exactly. Which Herrscher's appearance hasn't caused a massive catastrophe? Whether it was Joyce, Mei, or Kiana, they all triggered Great Honkai Eruptions. How does this Hua resemble a Herrscher in any way?"
"This Fu Hua is really... I'm about to die from anger. Hua understands our thoughts so well and says everything we want to hear. If she's a Herrscher, then we're all Herrschers."
"It's driving me insane. Fu Hua has no idea how to comfort a child. Even if she is a Herrscher, just pamper her a bit—she could still help fight Honkai."
"It's unbelievable. She's way too rigid. Who cares if she's a Herrscher or not—as long as she's cute and wholeheartedly for humanity, she's a comrade."
"Exactly, exactly. I really like Hua. All this time, she's been absolutely adorable!"
"..."
The group was flooded with anxious messages.
Fire Moth Interstellar Entertainment Company.
In the lounge.
Elysia was also extremely anxious: "How can this Fu Hua be like this? She hasn't learned a single thing from my skills at coaxing girls! Iron-clad straight woman! Blockhead! Can't she just go along with a girl, be a little gentler?"
The more she spoke, the more worked up she got.
She directly said to Fu Hua, who was watching the TV: "Starting today, besides filming, you're going to stick close to me and learn properly. You're so cute—if you don't know how to coax girls, that just won't do!"
Upon hearing this, Fu Hua was secretly overjoyed.
Last week, she had envied Mei and Kiana for being close to Elysia, which was why she had considered following Mobius's suggestion to seduce Hessian.
Unexpectedly... Hessian casually wrote a script, causing her popularity to skyrocket, and now she could even stay by Elysia's side.
Her wish had actually come true just like that.
She nodded happily: "Okay. Ellie, you have to teach me a lot."
Elysia said: "Don't worry. In a bit, I'll take you for some real practice. I met a super cute little kitty—I'll teach you how to coax her into joining our company."
"Great!" Fu Hua began looking forward to the TV broadcast ending.
Elysia was determined to teach Fu Hua how to coax girls.
Meanwhile, on the TV.
Hua's attention was also drawn to the battleship in the sky.
"That's... Kiana and Bronya!"
Fu Hua immediately panicked: "Don't drag them into this."
Hua chuckled: "Who said anything about dragging them in? Relax. I just want them to help out a bit. The two of us are at an impasse—besides annoying each other, it's utterly meaningless. A bystander sees most clearly. Who's right, who's the Fu Hua that should exist—of course, that's not for the two of us to decide."
"Now it's perfect—look!" Hua pointed at the sky: "The referee has arrived!"
The TV perspective switched.
Kiana and Bronya descended from the battleship.
"...We've arrived."
Bronya looked at Taixu Mountain: "This is...the place where the squad leader once lived?"
Kiana said: "To be precise, it's the place where, a very long time ago, she lived when the people of Shenzhou called her the Phoenix Immortal."
"The squad leader once showed me this place in a dream... It seems that was its appearance from a very long time ago. Many things have changed."
The two walked upward along the mountain path.
The higher they went, the more Bronya grew doubtful: "Is what you're looking for really here? Searching for martial arts secrets in the mountains sounds like something that only happens in games."(afdi)
"And the squad leader hasn't lived here for a very long time, right? Even if she left treasures behind, they've probably been taken by someone else long ago."
Kiana said: "Maybe just like you said... But some of the treasures the squad leader left aren't visible to ordinary people."
Her eyes gleamed with light.
Both of them thought of the same possibility—Fenghuang Down!
Sure enough!
By following the aura of Fenghuang Down, they could indeed detect its faint presence.
Kiana immediately picked up the Fenghuang Down, closed her eyes, and, following the mental technique Fu Hua had taught her, allowed the longing within the feather to flow into her sea of consciousness...
"It didn't work... I failed."
"It's probably sealed somehow. After the feather made contact with my consciousness, it bounced away..."
As she spoke, Honkai Beasts suddenly appeared around them.
Bronya pulled Kiana back and began fending off the Honkai Beasts.
But at that moment, a sword light flashed past, clearing out all the Honkai Beasts.
A long-haired woman in ancient attire appeared: "Are you two alright?"
"Ah... No..." Kiana was momentarily speechless.
The mysterious woman's technique shocked her.
Though it was just an ordinary sword strike, its elegance overlapped almost perfectly with the squad leader in her memories.
She immediately asked: "May I ask who you are...?"
"I am Lin Chaoyu, the caretaker of this Taixu Mountain, I suppose. The true qi here is abundant, and demonic beasts often cause trouble. The immortal has thus set up a barrier once more to prevent outsiders from wandering in by mistake."
"...Why have the two of you come here?"
Hearing this, Kiana hurriedly said: "The immortal you mentioned—is that the Phoenix? We know her. We're her friends."
Lin Chaoyu was stunned, somewhat surprised.
"...Friends."
She softly savored those two words, a faint smile appearing at the corners of her mouth: "In that case, please follow me, both of you."
The two followed her upward into the mountain.
Along the way, they learned that the technique Lin Chaoyu used was precisely the Taixu Sword Qi taught by Fu Hua.
After reaching a spot midway up the mountain, Lin Chaoyu helped them break the seal on the Fenghuang Down, allowing them to view its memories.
The first piece of Fenghuang Down showed the beginning of Fu Hua—her father hospitalized after being attacked by a Dead Soldier, while she herself was about to attend a unfamiliar school. She felt lost and bewildered about everything in her future.
"This is...the squad leader's memory?" Kiana was somewhat surprised.
Bronya also said: "Bronya feels it's very unfamiliar..."
Kiana nodded: "Lost... When immersing in this memory, I felt a suffocating sense of bewilderment, and fear. Like...like a butterfly caught in a storm, not knowing what would happen to it in the next second... Is this really our squad leader?"
"The squad leader...she's always so resolute, unwavering—she always makes the people around her feel at ease. But that girl just now..."
Bronya guessed: "Perhaps this is how she was before coming to St. Freya?"
Kiana denied it: "No. The squad leader had already lived a very long time before entering St. Freya, but...why doesn't the timeline match? I don't know, I really don't know... Though she looks the same, I've never seen a squad leader like this."
Lin Chaoyu interjected: "That is the Phoenix. What you just saw is the one true immortal Phoenix—it is the heart imprint she left behind. Master Phoenix is immortal, so her memories are like overflowing seawater, eroding the continent known as consciousness."
"To suppress the growth of memories and maintain clarity of consciousness, the immortal had no choice but to filter them... The portion separated out is the heart imprint you just witnessed."
"How was it? Did you find what you were looking for?"
"...No." Kiana shook her head.
Lin Chaoyu said: "There's no need to be discouraged. The immortal has resided on Taixu Mountain for a long time. The heart imprints left on this mountain number in the thousands. The answer you seek is among them—this cannot be wrong."
"I'll rest once more. If you find any sealed feathers, bring them to me, and I'll help break the seal for you."
"This mountain has undergone many changes. The curse power on some heart imprints has faded, and others are even damaged and incomplete. You may interpret them on your own."
Kiana and Bronya exchanged a glance.
Though they didn't know why the other was helping them, there was no other option now.
They began searching for the scattered Fenghuang Down.
Soon, they found another one. The memory in this Fenghuang Down was of Fu Hua during her school days, where she was almost always alone, unable to get close to others.
After viewing this Fenghuang Down.
Kiana took a deep breath: "...So that's how it was. That bewilderment and panic... She knew she had to integrate into a new environment, yet she feared change."
Bronya said: "But she tried. She gathered her courage to approach others..."
"But..." Kiana felt somewhat sad: "No one responded to her... I understand this feeling—having no one to call a friend to rely on, only drifting outside one group after another, all alone..."
"...Even now, she's like that."
"Kiana..." Bronya asked: "Why did the squad leader leave these feathers? They're all very sad memories."
Kiana said as if guessing: "They're memories we didn't know about, as if...it wants us to understand the squad leader better."
"I never imagined the squad leader had a period like this."
Bronya also sighed: "Though if you think about it carefully, it makes sense, but it was still a bit shocking at the time. The squad leader wasn't born that way."
Kiana scratched her head: "But subconsciously, I just assumed she would...be more like she was at St. Freya."
A sudden silence enveloped the two.
After a long while.
Kiana broke the silence: "...Back then, the squad leader was also...sent to stay by our side on orders, right? Was that really her true self?"
"..."
Bronya couldn't answer either and could only say: "Idiot Kiana, when she comes back, just ask her directly!"
The two continued searching for Fenghuang Down.
However, the one they found next was sealed.
They had no choice but to seek Lin Chaoyu's help to break the seal.
And this memory was presented to them and all the audience.
In the memory.
Standing before Hua was Kevin.
He spoke: "MEI plans to transfer you to the Far East. Did you know?"
Hua said coldly: "No. I don't care."
Kevin said patiently: "It can't be helped. The intervals between Herrscher births are getting shorter, and our troops are severely insufficient."
"For strategic reasons, we'll be split up and sent to different cities. The MANTIS unit is being disbanded. This is the doctor's decision. Hua, I hope you understand."
Hua said: "I will obey."
"Hua..." Kevin's tone was unusually sad.
Hua said directly: "It makes no difference—here, the Far East, or Salt Lake City. It's all fighting Honkai. Honkai will always come. With us in those three cities, perhaps there won't be so many casualties, perhaps we won't have to sacrifice so many ordinary soldiers."
Kevin said: "You're still dwelling on it."
"Yes." Hua didn't deny it: "You always expect me to understand Dr. MEI. What's the point? Whether I understand or not doesn't affect the big picture. Would Dr. MEI change her plan because I don't understand? Would she?"
"No... Just like how I didn't understand why we had to execute the Captain—did Dr. MEI spare her? No. She was my benefactor, your comrade..."
"At that time, she could still recognize me. She smiled and spoke to me—her tone and voice were exactly her own. Would a Herrscher do that? Yet you still killed her."
Kevin said: "She had become a Herrscher, Hua. You know that in your heart. I had no choice."
Hua said: "It was the doctor's order. I know. So I obey, but I don't understand. At least that right belongs to me, Kevin. Don't tie the doctor and yourself together. You don't need to demand my understanding on her behalf. She doesn't need it either."
"More than me, she should ask those warriors who died on the operating table, those twisted by the hyper-mutation factor, those who died wielding the Tenth Divine Key..."
"Whether they understand her."
"..."
The two continued walking in silence for a time.
He didn't know how to speak, and she felt she had already said too much.
"I'll stay at headquarters."
Kevin spoke anyway.
Hua still said coldly: "Of course."
Kevin explained: "Hua, I'm not doing this for her. I ask for your understanding because you're my comrade. We should share the same will."
"Human civilization is now on its last legs. Only three cities in the world still function normally. And Honkai's assaults are growing fiercer."
"The Eleventh Herrscher has only just died, and the Twelfth Herrscher has already been born. She's under our control for now, but no one knows what changes tomorrow might bring."
"We MANTIS are destined to fight forever. Failure is something we cannot afford—only victory, we must achieve victory."
"Hua, I hope you understand us—truly understand us. The fate of all humanity rests on our shoulders..."
The two reached a fork in the path. Kevin nodded to Hua: "I need to go find SAKURA—this way... Goodbye."
"Goodbye!"
Hua watched Kevin's figure disappear into the distance at the end of the path. She shook her head.
At the same time, the alarm sounded three times in succession, meaning a Herrscher had appeared.
"Fine. I will obey."
The memory ended there.
Bronya immediately recognized the face: "...It's Kevin—Kevin Kaslana from World Serpent!"
Kiana nodded: "Yeah. The squad leader did say they knew each other."
Bronya frowned slightly: "But...the Eleventh Herrscher, the Tenth Divine Key, MANTIS... Everything they mentioned... If it's all true, then...this must be a memory from the Previous Era!"
Kiana was somewhat shocked: "Could it be...that not only as Shenzhou's guardian, but starting from the Previous Era, the squad leader has already been fighting Honkai?"
"The squad leader... She never told us about any of this. Why does she always bear it alone?"
Bronya guessed: "There's one more possibility, Kiana... These fragments might be ones even she herself no longer remembers."
There were too many mysteries now.
The two decided to continue searching for Fenghuang Down.
And quite coincidentally, the next Fenghuang Down they found contained a memory that was precisely the continuation of this one.