The Star of Eden wasn't the Herrscher of Reason's strongest technique, but it was undoubtedly the one Bronya's lineage of Reason Herrschers mastered most skillfully and used most effectively. Just as the previous two generations, Joyce and Welt, favored opening with the Star of Eden, Bronya inherited this tradition.
After all, it was genuinely useful. It could significantly pressure opponents, restrict their movements, and even if it didn't win the fight outright, it increased the hit rate of subsequent attacks.
But this usually infallible move... seemed to have failed this time.
Chen Tianwu looked at her with a strange expression. "You... are using a Divine Key made from the Previous Era's Herrscher of Rock core against me, the Herrscher of Rock?"
"...Is there a problem?!" Bronya retorted defensively.
"No, no problem at all. In fact, I should thank you."
"If it weren't for you, I might have needed to spend much more time preparing, but now..."
'Crack!'
A harsh sound echoed through the air. Bronya and Kiana, who had been able to move within this area thanks to the Star of Eden, first froze, then were slammed to the ground by a terrifying gravitational force.
The earth crumbled. Viewed from above, the entire continent covered by this region trembled and disintegrated. Even the air itself was affected by this tangible gravity, plummeting downwards, creating a vacuum-like gravity hell.
Bones felt like they were creaking—
Simultaneously, centered on this region, this force began acting on deeper subterranean layers, propagating through the mantle to affect other areas.
"What did you do?!" Kiana yelled.
"Hm? Since you're curious, I don't mind telling you."
"Why do you think I created an area like this?"
As a Herrscher who hated humanity, everything should be aimed at 'more efficiently destroying humans'. But Chen Tianwu didn't sink the Mu continent like the Previous Era's Herrscher of Rock. Instead, he chose to create this extreme gravity zone, clearly for a specific purpose.
"While I would have liked to take a simpler, cruder approach, newly born Herrschers are limited by various factors. Causing massive destruction immediately is unrealistic, especially with people like you and Schicksal's Valkyries around. If I went about destroying things normally, I'd probably be dealt with quickly, right?"
"Of course, I wouldn't be satisfied with such an ending."
"So..."
"I chose to slowly release my power like this, creating this special zone."
"The gradually expanding gravity will tear this land apart, but that's not the main goal—the imbalanced gravity will disrupt the planet's gravitational system, leading to holes in the atmosphere. Simultaneously, this force will spread to the mantle and even the crust, causing them to gradually fracture... Centered here, dormant volcanoes will reawaken, creating an 'unprecedented' 'grand firework'."
"Just one 'bang', and the result will be very interesting."
"Additionally, earthquakes and the resulting tsunamis will also create spectacular sights—those happy people sitting at home, enjoying life with their families, only to show faces contorted in terror the next moment as destruction descends..."
"Schicksal Valkyries, just like you saved me, go save them! If you can save them all... haha."
"And you," he gestured towards Bronya, "you accelerated this process. Undoubtedly, you are also my accomplices... But don't worry, no need to be沮丧 (jusang - dejected/depressed), after all, we are all Herrschers." Chen Tianwu casually picked up the replica Star of Eden that had rolled onto the ground, smiling.
"You merely did what Herrschers are supposed to do. Be happy about it."
"..." Feeling her bones creak, Bronya's face twisted. Damn it, how did using the Star of Eden end up buffing this guy? This isn't how the script goes! Shouldn't Bronya be wielding the Star of Eden, ignoring his gravity, then crushing him and claiming the spoils of victory?
—This was undoubtedly a misconception.
While Divine Keys weren't necessarily weaker than the Herrschers themselves—after all, a Divine Key's zeroth power equaled a Herrscher's full-power strike—as weapons, most Divine Keys had relatively limited functions. Like gravity, the Star of Eden could basically only create gravity fields.
The Herrscher themselves, however, with their living Authority, could achieve all sorts of things. Among them, the Star of Eden actually had one of the worst matchups against its corresponding Herrscher. Because they were both gravity-based.
When a simple gravity-field weapon like the Star of Eden encountered the original owner, it was easy for a blunder like 'trying to steal a chicken only to lose the rice' to occur.
Just like now, Bronya's all-out attack not only failed but was turned against them by Chen Tianwu, leaving both her and Kiana unable to resist. In this super-amplified gravity environment, even just lying prone became incredibly difficult, let alone fighting back.
"What a pity. Now you can only watch me act, while you... can do nothing."
"Those affected by this disaster, you share the blame."
"Admit it, you're no different from us."
"You... are just Herrschers too."
"Die—!" Kiana, head bowed, suddenly snapped her head up, roaring.
The next moment—six Lances of the Void shot through the air towards Chen Tianwu. However, they were easily deflected. Clearly, he had been prepared.
Compared to the useless Herrscher of Reason, Bronya, Kiana, the Herrscher of the Void, was actually the biggest threat to him. Because Imaginary constructs lacked gravity and physical form before solidifying, they were unaffected by real-space interference. This meant gravity had little hold over the Herrscher of the Void's abilities.
But as a Herrscher, being prepared meant they had countermeasures, unlike a certain short individual who got one-shotted by a Lance of the Void on first encounter.
Chen Tianwu wasn't angry; instead, he laughed, pointing at Kiana. "Look at yourself now. How are you any different from us?"
Her azure eyes were tainted with gold, a color Kiana deeply rejected.
"I'm... nothing like you!"
"Hm, what does it matter? Once she comes out, nothing will be different."
"But as for you... you and the two traitors before you definitely need proper punishment."
Hearing this, the already furious Miss Bronya grew even angrier. What's that supposed to mean? Does Bronya get the super-sized punishment here?
Project Bunny, go! Teach him a lesson for Bronya!
She summoned Bunny—Bunny promptly got pinned to the ground by gravity.
"..." Project Bunny struggled briefly, looked at its master, feeling rather complicated. Going is no problem, but with you setting things up like this... how am I supposed to go? Please, Bronya, can you be a little more reliable?
The next moment— The color faded from Project Bunny too.
Miss Bronya, already stressed, felt even more stressed—no, terrified. What the? Where did Bronya's Herrscher Authority go? Why is it gone AGAIN?!
This dreadful sensation instantly reminded Bronya of the unpleasant encounter with the Staff of Underworld in London. But this time, it didn't feel blocked; it felt more like... stolen?!
Project Bunny wore a serene expression. Oh, my useless master, you're invincible now. Not only had she failed to get stronger, but even the layer of Reason Authority coating Project Bunny itself had vanished. Without the Herrscher's power for protection, the significantly weakened Project Bunny had only one thought: GG.
This Bunny... probably can't hold on. In this extreme gravity, Project Bunny could already foresee being crushed into a metal pancake and reporting back to the Sea of Quanta.
Terrifying gravity gathered. And Bronya and Kiana could do nothing. Kiana had even become somewhat withdrawn due to Bronya's failure.
Meanwhile, the tightly bound Herrscher of the Void inside Kiana practically laughed out loud. You did good, you did good, Chen Tianwu!
Originally, trapped so thoroughly by that bastard Jiang Qiao, the Herrscher of the Void thought she'd never get out. But now Kiana herself was starting to have problems.
With her self-doubt growing and becoming fragile, Kiana, who had taken shortcuts to use the Herrscher Authority, began losing her grip on it.
"Hmph, no matter how much you help this replacement, what good does it do? Not only can she not master the Herrscher Authority, she'll even suffer backlash from it..." Sensing Kiana's retreat, the Herrscher of the Void couldn't help but mock Jiang Qiao inwardly. If Jiang Qiao were still here, she wouldn't even bother struggling. Compared to competing with that bastard, I choose death! But against Kiana—it's a guaranteed win, bro!
Even better, that guy isn't even here now. Here's my chance!
Just then, however, something happened outside.
"Swish—"
A terrifying blade arc slashed towards Chen Tianwu. He was startled but reacted instantly, dodging the attack. This also created distance between him and Bronya and Kiana.
"...Seele?!" Seeing the indigo-haired girl descend from the sky, wielding a scythe, dressed in a blue and white dress, Bronya and Kiana, both incredibly familiar with her, gasped in surprise. Bronya added worriedly, "Seele, it's dangerous here, get out quickly!"
However, the girl landed lightly, touching down gently on the ground. This made Chen Tianwu's expression turn serious. In this extreme gravity, just landing should have cracked the ground, yet this girl... seemed completely unaffected...
"Thud—"
[Seele] raised a hand and threw something out. With a heavy thud and the sound of cracking, they could see it seemed to be... a doll.
"Your companion. Returning her to you," [Seele] said calmly.
"...Failed?!" Chen Tianwu didn't show much emotion, just glanced at the rather battered-looking doll, split in two, then looked at the girl before him with surprise. "Well, this is... how did you figure it out?"
"I took some time to look through recent reports, then thought about your strange actions. Besides you rats crawling in the sewers, who else would do something like this?" Seele's youthful voice held an unfamiliar coldness. 'She' casually raised her scythe, the blade pointing directly at the man before her. Her confident words reached Chen Tianwu, Bronya, and Kiana's ears:
"Correct? Chen Tianwu... No, Herrscher of Dominance."
"Wait... isn't he the Herrscher of Rock?" Bronya was confused.
Chen Tianwu, however, started laughing. His voice turned eerie, unsettling. "You... found out~ Oh dear, honestly, I thought you idiots wouldn't figure it out until you were dead."
"Can't be helped. Your kind's methods are just too obvious," [Seele] sighed, a hint of helplessness on her young, pretty face. "I come back and find a bunch of rats stirring up trouble. It's quite bothersome."
No one ever decreed that Herrschers had to appear in order—at least not in this era. Just like in the original timeline, the Fifth and Ninth Herrschers could appear together, while the Third, Fourth, Sixth, and Seventh were directly snatched by Sirin. The Cocoon was quite flexible in that regard.
Thus—the Herrscher of Dominance, the Herrscher of Legion, was born. Because individual instances were weak, this type of Herrscher excelled at covert sabotage, dismantling human society through various actions.
But... that was only assuming the Herrscher of Dominance wasn't strong initially. If the Herrscher of Legion possessed sufficient strength from the start, they could achieve much more. Like now.
"Inciting the power of the Herrscher of Rock, attempting to use that power to create global natural disasters, exposing the existence of the Honkai while using apocalyptic events to plunge the humans of this era into panic..."
"Culling humanity while creating the most suitable environment for your own activities... using your brains for such things, that's not good, you know." The indigo-haired girl analyzed calmly, sighing with some regret.
Undoubtedly, she was correct. The Herrscher of Dominance was most destructive not when society was intact, but when it faced a major crisis.
Just like in the Previous Era; if the Herrscher of Dominance had appeared at the dawn of civilization, it likely wouldn't have been such a threat.
People back then lived well, held infinite hope for the future, making it harder to trigger the conversion condition—succumbing to the fear of the Honkai.
The Previous Era's Herrscher of Reason met its end precisely because it never fully utilized its power in such an environment.
No suitable environment? Then create one.
Coincidentally, Chen Tianwu was a perfect candidate. He lost his family in the Manila Eruption, later joined an underground organization like the Thousand Fists Association, witnessing the darkness of society.
Such a person was undoubtedly ideal to become the Herrscher of Legion. And coincidentally, he possessed the potential to become the Herrscher of Rock.
Guided by the Herrscher of Legion's power, the birth of the Herrscher of Rock was induced, leading to the current situation.
'Chen Tianwu'—the Herrscher of Legion—was clearly annoyed. Due to their hive-mind nature, they were easily provoked by minor setbacks. But the next moment, it laughed aloud:
"Hehe, so what if you found out?"
"You're merely a mortal! Can you possibly resist me, who wields the power of multiple Herrschers?!"
The power of the Herrscher of Rock was fully charged. Plus the power of the Herrscher of Reason stolen from Bronya. And their own power of the Herrscher of Dominance. Right now, they possessed the power of three Herrschers.
And on '[Seele]'s' side? Bronya, without her Herrscher power, was useless. Kiana... haha, that self-deceiving girl couldn't truly control the Herrscher's power; if she dared use it, facing the Authority of Dominance, she was just handing it over!
And the remaining 'coward'? Based on their observations, she posed... no threat whatsoever!
This round, the advantage is mine!