Honkai Impact 3rd: Catching the Herrscher of Sentience at the Start

Seeing Kiana cry so sadly, Fu Lin wanted to comfort her, but the time was up, and his body slowly became transparent, returning to his original world.

In the final second before he vanished, Fu Lin felt as though he saw Kiana, lifting her head and stopping her tears, her bright shining eyes containing some other meaning. He quickly shook his head, convinced he must have seen it wrong.

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Exhausted from returning from the task world, Fu Lin lay back on the sofa, reflecting on Kiana's words.

The Herrscher of Sentience popped up curiously, observing Fu Lin and asked "Why are you back so soon?"

"How long has it been?" Fu Lin, not wanting to get up, looked at the cute Herrscher of Sentience, wanting to know how much time had passed during this mission.

The Herrscher of Sentience raised one finger and wiggled it in front of Fu Lin.

"One minute?" The Herrscher shook her head.

"Ten minutes?" Again, she shook her head.

"An hour?" Seeing that Fu Lin finally got it right, the Herrscher nodded.

"It seems the flow of time is different between the two worlds, but not by much." While they were talking, neither of them noticed a mark on Fu Lin's back, which glowed for a moment, but it quickly disappeared.

Meanwhile, in another world, Kiana lay on a medical bed, wearing a strange smile. "I've found you, Fu Lin. Wait for me to finish things, and I'll come for you. Be good and wait for my arrival~"

(Oh ho ho! This is so exciting, a yandere paramecium!)

"What was the task world this time? Tell me quickly!" The Herrscher of Sentience protested internally about not being able to accompany Fu Lin.

"It's what happened after the old antique scammed you. Kiana transformed into the Herrscher of Flame; you should know about it." Fu Lin shrugged, indicating there wasn't much to say.

"By the way, I haven't claimed the task rewards yet." Fu Lin opened the system screen, checking the task list which showed it was completed.

[Help Kiana Kaslana defeat the powered-up Herrscher of Domination, limited time five minutes! Completed.]

[Reward: Choose one of the following Herrscher cores.]

[Herrscher of Reason Core, Herrscher of Void Core, Herrscher of Flame Core, Herrscher of Sentience Core, Herrscher of Domination Core x1000.]

"Which one to choose~" Fu Lin's choice paralysis kicked in again.

"The Core of the Herrscher of Reason is perfect in terms of upper limits and showing off."

"But I want the ability of the Herrscher of Void too!"

"Wait, the Herrscher powers are unique. If I choose the Core of the Herrscher of Reason or the Core of the Herrscher of Void, will it replace the Herrscher gems in Welt Yang and Kiana's bodies?"

"Just like in 'Song of the Sinner', Mei transforms into the Herrscher of Thunder to reclaim the gem from Kiana's body back to her own."

"The Herrscher of Sentience has become the Herrscher of this world." Fu Lin rubbed his chin, recalling the identity of the Herrscher of Sentience in this world.

[Reminder: The Herrscher cores given to the host will not conflict with this world, just as the God Key made from Herrscher cores previous era does not conflict with those from this era.]

"...." Fu Lin silently looked at the system prompt, realizing that these Herrscher cores were "dead."

"Fu Lin, choose the Core of the Herrscher of Sentience! I feel it will be very useful for me!"

The Herrscher of Sentience looked at the core on the screen, sensing that absorbing it would allow her to better control her Herrscher powers.

"Huh?" Fu Lin was surprised at the Herrscher of Sentience. If she got stronger, wouldn't that mean she would no longer fear anyone except for finality?

And the Herrscher of Sentience's abilities are equivalent to mine, so I wouldn't fear anyone either!

Alright, I'll choose this one!

He selected the red Core of the Herrscher of Sentience on the system screen and tossed it to the Herrscher of Sentience.

The moment the Herrscher touched the core, she stood still, ignoring Fu Lin no matter how much he called her.

If it weren't for the fact that Fu Lin felt the Herrscher gem within him was also gradually becoming stronger while the Herrscher absorbed the core, he would have thought something was wrong.

"Done." The core in the Herrscher's hands had disappeared, and she stretched her body in satisfaction.

"So fast? Didn't you feel like you wanted to sleep?" Fu Lin pointed at the Herrscher of Sentience in disbelief. Usually, doesn't evolution take a long time?

"I'm not a caterpillar, why would I want to sleep?!"

"Such a big Herrscher core, and you didn't feel any changes? That's too disrespectful to the Herrscher core." Fu Lin looked at the Herrscher's chest, which was still unremarkable.

The Herrscher of Sentience puffed out her chest, hands on her hips, confidently saying, "No way! My power has increased by thirty percent!"

"So compared to Kevin, what are the odds? Probably a 60-40 split? I'm six, he's four."

"That can't be right; using this core to create the God Key would have a bigger effect than just absorbing it!"

"....Right! But I've already absorbed it, what should I do now?"

Fu Lin slumped back on the sofa, realizing he had suffered a huge loss this time and wasted a powerful attack on the Herrscher of Domination.

"No big deal! I can use my powers to create a mundane challenge just like your memory." The Herrscher of Sentience whispered while squeezing Fu Lin's shoulder.

At that moment, Kiana, Mei, and Bronya were walking side by side along a leisurely path on their first day at St. Freya Academy, marveling at the grand beauty of the academy.

Until they bumped into Fu Hua, who had dark clouds floating above her head. Kiana excitedly wrapped her arm around Fu Hua's shoulder, and Mei also smiled at Fu Hua.

"Fu Lin! I knew you were still alive; I'm so glad you're okay!"

"This student, you might have mistaken me for someone else." Fu Hua looked at Kiana's hand on her shoulder and slowly adjusted her glasses.

"....Are you Fu Shi?" Kiana thought of the sister she met at Fu Lin's house when Fu Hua denied it.

"....I'm sorry, I'm not the person you're talking about."

"Also, I'm not in a good mood right now." Fu Hua warned Kiana, her tone slightly threatening as Kiana didn't let go.

"Kiana, you might really have the wrong person." Mei couldn't stand it anymore and pulled Kiana's arm to walk away.

"I'm sorry! How can there be someone who looks exactly like you in the world? It's impossible, Mei!" Kiana clung tightly to Mei's arm like a little kitten.

"Wait! You say someone looks like me!" Fu Hua gripped Kiana's shoulder tightly, her face contorted as she leaned closer, breathing heavily as she asked.

"Ah!" Kiana was startled by Fu Hua's sudden approach and her terrifying expression. She tried to pull Mei and Bronya to run but was pinned in place.

"Can you tell me what the person you mentioned looks like?" Fu Hua asked, genuinely curious.

Kiana swallowed hard, looking at Fu Hua, feeling that if she didn't say something, she wouldn't leave alive.

"His name is Fu Lin, male, 18 years old, looks just like you, is my class monitor at Chiba Academy in Nagazora City, and has an older sister named Fu Shi who also looks just like you. That's all I know, and by the way, the probability is high that he's... gone after the Third Honkai Eruption."

Kiana quickly shared everything she knew about Fu Lin in one breath, and seeing Fu Hua relax, she immediately pulled Mei and Bronya to flee.

"Third Honkai Eruption, male, likely gone? Then it shouldn't be him in the surveillance, but his sister Fu Shi..." Fu Hua watched the three retreat, quietly organizing her thoughts.

"Fu Shi? I hope I don't catch you!" Fu Hua's eyes began to glow red as she thought.

Meanwhile, the Herrscher of Sentience in the hotel was unaware that she had taken on a huge burden for Fu Lin.