Herrscher of Dominance in Honkai, starting with the abduction of Kiana

"What's this?"

On a speeding train, passengers admired the scenery passing by, unaware that three figures were perched on the roof above them.

Ren, in Kiana's form, sat on the edge of the train car, long hair billowing like flowing clouds in the wind. Eyes closed, he recalled last night's battle with Raiden Mei.

Little Senti leaned over, her head curiously nudging Ren's, gray hair slapping his face. As she spoke, she reached out, trying to grab the mechanical crystal in his hand.

His train of thought interrupted by the child, Ren pressed his forehead wearily, pushing Little Senti's face away with one hand.

"It's not good to touch other people's things, Little Senti."

"I, I didn't touch it! I was just curious." Little Senti took two steps back guiltily, explaining, "This thing in your hand feels strange to me. It gives me a very familiar feeling, but I can't quite place it."

"It's just tainted with some Herrscher aura through certain methods. Class Monitor, you probably don't know this yet, but besides me, Mei has also awakened as a Herrscher."

"Ah?" Little Senti was clearly unaware of this. After a brief moment of surprise, she couldn't help but complain, "You became a Herrscher, Mei became a Herrscher, and Bronya… Come to think of it, besides me, it seems like everyone has sided with Honkai."

"No, rather than saying we joined Honkai, it's more like Honkai joined humanity. Whether it's me or Mei, we've all retained our self-awareness. Including you, we are currently, temporarily, on humanity's side."

"What do you mean, 'including me'? I'm not a Herrscher!" Little Senti retorted urgently.

Ren just smiled, not responding further.

In fact, during the previous battle, Senti should have already sensed her own difference. After all, as the Herrscher of Sentience, when she used her authority, even a fool would realize something was wrong.

The reason she refused to admit it was simply because she was afraid of losing her existence.

Whether Fu Hua or Little Senti, the name represented not just a title, but proof of being human.

Just like when he and Kiana exchanged true names, they had essentially imprinted each other onto their existences.

Of course, now wasn't the time to think about these things. He had many things to deal with, not just the impending encounter with World Serpent, but also his main body, which was currently heading to Mount Taixu with Kiana.

Now, as the key point of contact with World Serpent, Raiden Mei had gained initial trust. What he needed to do was add fuel to the fire, thereby fully unfolding the subsequent plan.

[Elysian Realm].

This was Ren's last memory before coming to this world. He didn't know what secrets were hidden within the Elysian Realm. The existences he knew were limited to Elysia and Eden, the first characters to appear. As for the subsequent story, he knew nothing.

But he had a feeling that the truth hidden within the Elysian Realm was strongly related to the goal he was pursuing.

A pink crystal flower appeared in Ren's mind.

This was an item he found during the experiment of [Cosmic Juggernaut Portal] with Otto in Nagazora City. It sat alone in front of the Imaginary Tree, as if deliberately left behind by someone.

It pointed directly towards the Imaginary Tree. Part of the reason Ren was able to move in the right direction was thanks to it.

He didn't believe it was mere decoration. Anything that could connect to the Imaginary Tree couldn't be simple.

And in his memory, the only one who matched the color of this crystal flower was that fleeting girl—Elysia.

Ever since arriving in this world, Ren's main body had been moving towards the Imaginary Tree. What he was pursuing was not only the truth of Honkai, but also his own past.

Now, he wasn't far from the Imaginary Tree, and had even glimpsed parts of his past. But at this point, taking another step forward was as difficult as ascending to heaven.

It was like some unknown force obstructing his progress, or perhaps some higher-dimensional being cutting off his path of recollection.

For a long time to come, he might gain nothing. To break through this barrier, he needed to know more information, and this information was very likely hidden within the mysterious Elysian Realm.

This was the main reason he was setting things up for Mei.

Of course, there was another reason.

Within the Elysian Realm, there was another girl waiting for him.

[Kiana].

A counterpart of Kiana from the bubble universe created by Welt, the girl who betrayed the world. When she came to find Ren regardless of the consequences, she had already staked everything.

As Ren's most trusted subordinate, during the Nagazora City incident, in order to execute his plan, she took on the role of the Herrscher of Dominance, thereby giving Ren the opportunity to escape the Will of Honkai's surveillance.

And in the final battle with the Will of Honkai, she unhesitatingly helped Ren deliver all the plan's information to Kevin. Ultimately, her puppet body collapsed, frozen by Kevin and falling into a deep sleep.

The reason she could so resolutely execute Ren's orders was because Ren had promised her that he would definitely bring her back, just like in the Sea of Quanta.

Since she could trust him so much, Ren naturally wouldn't break his promise.

[Kiana] was a part of Ren. As long as he didn't die, she naturally wouldn't perish.

Not long ago, a secondary power of the Dominance authority had shown faint signs of awakening, leading Ren to speculate that [Kiana] should have already awakened.

However, her puppet body was too damaged to bear her soul. If his guess was right, her consciousness had most likely entered the Elysian Realm.

Therefore, whether for his own purposes or for the expectations of others, he needed to access the Elysian Realm.

But the Elysian Realm was World Serpent's core secret. Kevin would absolutely not easily let someone as dangerous as Ren access it. He had to plan more carefully, ensuring nothing went wrong.

"Say, we can all fly, why don't we just fly there directly?" Little Senti, standing on the train's roof, sounded a bit bored.

"Because a Herrscher's Honkai energy fluctuations are too obvious. World Serpent would definitely detect us before we even got close," Bronya explained calmly, sitting on her hovering robot. She didn't look back, her gaze still fixed on the train tracks.

"Oh~ I see. By the way, Bronya, you've been spacing out for so long, are you thinking about how to fight World Serpent's people?"

"No, I was just thinking about whether my Project Bunny or this high-speed train is faster, running on the tracks."

"Uh…" Little Senti was momentarily speechless.

She glanced at Ren, who was deep in thought, not daring to disturb him. Then she looked at Bronya, feeling somewhat bored.

Patting her head, her eyes suddenly lit up.

"Right! Since World Serpent was founded by that Kevin guy, we definitely won't be able to find him just by searching randomly. But I know a place where we can definitely find him. Why don't we go directly there?"

Ren nodded. This was precisely what he had been waiting for.

As Little Senti, inheriting Fu Hua's memories, she was the perfect guide.