Beneath the shade of a tree outside the clubroom window, Vill-V leaned back against the trunk. With one hand, she snapped a thick book shut and turned toward her visitor.
Over the past few days, Su had been coming to see Vill-V more frequently. Kevin and Mei were in the heat of their romance, leaving Su with more time on his own.
Under Magician Vill-V's persistent coaxing, Su had begun to develop an interest in the future. Thus, in his spare time, he would wander over for a visit.
Su glanced at the book in Vill-V's hand. It was a science fiction novel that had been quite popular in recent years, telling various stories set during humanity's apocalypse. Yet Vill-V was reading it while wearing a VR headset.
Su had long since grown accustomed to Vill-V's incomprehensible "performance art."
"Miss Magician, are you particularly interested in the end of the world?"
Vill-V set the book aside.
"Of course. I lived through the end of human civilization for a long time. And in this era, humanity's apocalypse is approaching as well. Perhaps reading this book will grant me some inspiration."
Su neither agreed nor disagreed.
"Then, Hero from the Future, this [Honkai] you speak of—how exactly does it destroy human civilization?"
Vill-V explained,
"You can think of [Honkai] as a disaster that arises alongside the development of civilization. The higher humanity's technological level becomes, the more intense the [Honkai] that emerges. It is a form of natural law, and its purpose is to eradicate humanity."
"It manifests in many ways. Subtly, it may appear as so-called natural disasters such as [plague], [war], [earthquake], or even [technology] itself."
"For example, among the war criminals of the Second World War, quite a few were later found to carry Honkai energy."
"Overtly, it takes the form of monsters represented by [Honkai Beasts] running rampant."
"And among those monsters, the highest order are the [Herrschers]. Each time one is born, it brings large-scale catastrophe. At the same time, the [Herrscher] possesses distorted rule-altering [Authority]."
Su nodded and continued,
"So the future civilization you came from was also destroyed by this disaster? What exactly is this thing called [Honkai]?"
"That is a long story. I can speak of its surface aspects, but in truth, I know very little about Honkai myself."
"What I'm about to say may mislead your understanding. Still, I'll attempt to explain."
Vill-V pulled her VR headset down around her neck and stood up, steadying herself against the tree.
"First, we must speak of civilization. Imagine it like this. This tree here is called the Imaginary Tree. Each trunk upon it represents time—also the form in which a civilization exists. And the leaves are the present and past of that civilization. That is the world we inhabit."
Su nodded, indicating he was following.
"If the branches grow wildly, a gardener will prune them. Or nature itself will prune them. That is a shallow interpretation of [Honkai]."
Su picked up her thread.
"So [Honkai] prunes human civilization so that the 'tree' may grow healthily? It selects suitable civilizations for the tree?"
"No. In truth, [Honkai] will destroy all civilizations. Human civilization merely parasitizes the leaves."
"Destruction and rebirth—that is the power of Honkai. It annihilates civilizations that have developed to a certain point, then shapes new ones, just as a leaf sprouts and withers."
Su crossed his hands beneath his chin in thought. He seemed to grasp the surface meaning of Vill-V's words, though not their deeper implications.
"Why would Honkai do this? If it exists for the sake of the Imaginary Tree, wouldn't it suffice to let the leaves remain and keep the tree evergreen? Or does it intend to raise and harvest the leaves—meaning humanity?"
Vill-V was slightly surprised that Su could keep up.
"No. According to a certain pink elf lady who wishes to remain unnamed, this is Honkai's embrace of all humanity—a chrysalis trial to force mankind out of its cradle."
"And if the trial fails? What happens to human civilization?"
Hearing the question, Vill-V rose on her toes, attempting to pluck a few leaves from the tree. It was slightly too tall, and even jumping didn't help. A flicker of annoyance crossed her face. If she still had her height from two lifetimes ago, it would have been easy.
There was no way she would ask Su to pick them for her. That would ruin the dignity of the Hero.
Instead, she crouched down and picked up a broken fallen leaf from the ground.
"This is what remains of a world. It is also called a bubble world. When a world is destroyed, or when it loses the nourishment of the Tree, it becomes like this."
"It will soon self-destruct. In a certain sense, that too is Honkai. But in this case, everything returns to nothingness. There will be no rebirth."
Vill-V did not elaborate further on the theories of the Imaginary Tree and bubble worlds. The canon material was notoriously inconsistent, and she herself had not truly studied Imaginary Space or the Sea of Quanta. Even if she spoke of the concepts in her mind, Su would not understand.
Since deeper discussion had stalled, Su returned to an earlier point.
"The 'Herrscher' you mentioned earlier—are they agents of the will of Honkai? And you—are you one of the strong individuals in the future who stood against them?"
"Exactly. The [Herrscher] is the manifestation of humanity's self-directed [Honkai] once civilization reaches a certain level—like how tribal wars only arise after tribes exist."
"That is why Herrschers only appear once human civilization has developed sufficiently. Before that, even the 'tribe' capable of producing a Herrscher did not exist. Only when human connections grow dense enough does the first Herrscher emerge."
"As for me—hmph~"
Vill-V placed her hands on her hips and puffed out her chest proudly.
"The Fifth of the Flame-Chasers, the genius who bears the Signet of [Helix]—Vill-V herself. At your service."
Su examined her from head to toe. He could not see how this slender girl could possibly contend with the world-destroying beings she described.
"May I ask—your seven-minute time for the eight-hundred-meter run in P.E. class. Was that serious?"
"Ah... well... everyone has something they're bad at. Not everyone can be like Kevin."
Su nodded in acknowledgment.
"True enough. Humanity's greatest weapon is still intelligence. Humans rely on rational thought to solve problems."
"Your science fiction setting is quite fascinating. I look forward to the day you publish this book."
Clearly, Su had not believed a single word from beginning to end.
At this point in time, Honkai had not yet fully revealed its grotesque face. Those directly affected by it were but a tiny minority. For most people, daily life was no different from Earth in her previous life. If one were to suddenly tell an ordinary student or office worker that the apocalypse was coming—who would believe it?
Living in the information age, Su had seen countless things. Concepts similar to [Honkai] did circulate online, but they were usually tied to pyramid schemes or cult organizations. Scandals were frequently exposed. Naturally, most people dismissed such claims.
So of course Su did not believe Vill-V's explanation.
"Huh? Is it because there's no giant fat chicken to demonstrate it, so you don't believe me? How annoying!"