Honkai Impact 3rd experience, starting with a thousand Herrschers

Are new gods appearing above humanity now?

Cheng Xing wanted to end the catastrophe of collapse. He didn't want to see the people and creatures of a city, with their countless questions, reappear before him.

He wasn't trying to save others out of some sense of responsibility or inner justice; he simply felt that if he didn't do it, the bottom line of humanity would be broken, and he would lose his most important compassion and empathy. He thought that something truly terrifying would happen then.

As he stood at the scene of the disaster, looking at the streets that were once bustling with people, at the school where students once sang aloud, and at the library that once housed humanity's precious knowledge.

All traces of civilization's existence, all proof of humanity's strength, were utterly rendered powerless in the face of collapse, swept away like dust.

They are so fragile and insignificant.

"...I want to defeat the Honkai."

Cheng Xing expressed his demands. After absorbing the resentment and anger of that city, he strengthened his resolve.

"Humanity will surely defeat the Honkai."

Mei and Möbius discussed various aspects of professional knowledge. Möbius was constantly learning about Mei's talent and secretly marveled at her genius... Perhaps he could recommend her to the Fire Moth to become a doctor, so that humanity would have a new assistant on the road to fighting the Honkai.

"Dr. Möbius, I want to know what's going on with that person?"

Mei was very curious about Cheng Xing. She really wanted to know how humans could possess such strange and special abilities. Although Kevin did find out that the person was his friend after asking around, he couldn't get any more information out of him.

Kevin sat in the chair, looking lost and bewildered. It was the first time he had experienced such a terrifying disaster. He had survived by sheer luck with the help of his friend, and he was secretly celebrating. Sue had gone out for some reason and was not in Changkong City.

Yet, the inexplicable sense of relief in his heart also made Kevin feel extremely ashamed, as he thought of the others who had died in the disaster.

Mei ultimately couldn't get any more information from Mebius, especially since the person in question was already drunk and unconscious on the bed.

Mebius arranged for the two to be sent directly to the Firemoth's main base, recommending Mei to become the new Doctor, and explaining that she was very talented and hoped to attract the attention of the higher-ups.

On the plane, Kevin looked at the desolate city in the distance, the ruins devoid of any sign of life, and for some reason clenched his fists.

He wanted to say something from the bottom of his heart, but the words inexplicably got stuck in his throat.

When Cheng Xing woke up, the two people were already gone. After learning about their whereabouts from Mebius, he sighed silently. To be honest, he didn't know how to face his friends now.

“Cheng Xing, the Honkai Beast corpse you brought back is very special. It has a special body structure that can regenerate continuously, so I plan to implant its cells into my body and try to fuse with the Honkai Beast’s genes… I’m also quite curious, how exactly did you manage to make them seem like they’ve lost their souls and are just empty bodies.”

Mebius revealed his insane plan: to fuse the genes of Honkai Beasts into his own body. To outsiders, this was utterly incomprehensible—that someone would be willing to transform themselves into a monster that was neither human nor ghost. It was simply too crazy.

What's more, there's no guarantee that the experiment will be successful, yet she's already thinking of doing it. She's simply insane!

"…Doctor, what do you see as the root cause of fighting against collapse?"

"Why are you suddenly asking this? My reason is simply that I think I can gain an opportunity to seek infinity from it. As for the life and death of humanity, I don't really care. Once I reach that level, wouldn't it be great if I could transform most people into beings who can fully adapt to the Honkai and have infinite lifespans?"

"And perhaps it's the anger of a human being killed so contemptuously, with no chance of resistance."

The last sentence was spoken to Mebius in his mind.

Cheng Xing knew from looking into the doctor's eyes that she wasn't lying, and she could also sense that there was no reluctance in her heart.

"...Doctor, I want to defeat the Honkai because I don't want families and innocent people to die under that illogical natural disaster...I just want to satisfy my own compassion."

"It seems we're pursuing different things."

"Yup."

"...So you're telling me this now to indicate that you're leaving?"

"After successfully completing this experiment... I will try to find the cause of the collapse."

Cheng Xing didn't want to be a firefighter, waiting until things happened before trying to salvage the situation; he wanted to take the initiative.

"...Sigh, I thought you would be a fellow traveler on my path."

"…Doctor, your path is destined to be lonely."

Cheng Xing walked past Mebius, and their backs separated at that moment, their paths diverging.

Once the experiment is over, let's start our new life.

The two will eventually go their separate ways; their paths just happen to be adjacent, and a crossroads has appeared ahead of them, but they are waiting for the final green light to come on.

After that, they went their separate ways.

Chapter 85: An Audience with the Gods

The experiment was a success. Cheng Xing personally participated in the entire process, revealing a terrifying technique. Many golden threads appeared in his hands and pierced through Mebius's body, promoting the fusion of her genes with the Honkai Beasts.

After the experiment ended, Cheng Xing gave a lot of Honkai energy to Mebius. Looking at Mebius, who had opened his eyes and was staring at him with a kind of indifferent gaze, he said.

"Don't you know what kind of world is most terrifying to me?"

"That is, a world where we have become accustomed to the death of life."

“Cheng Xing, you can actually wait a little longer. With your talent, as long as we join forces and try our best, there will definitely be a better solution. You don’t need to do this.”

Mebius had a premonition that this parting might mean they would never see each other again in the distant future.

"...Doctor, the person in front of you is a young man who is not even 20 years old. I am naive, and I have been criticized by many people for this. I have a certain ideal and desire, but it is very difficult to achieve and may even ruin many people."

Cheng Xing looked at his friends, with whom he had spent several months, and saw relaxed smiles on their faces.

"I know that in my current position I should do my best to fulfill my duties, be a qualified researcher, and continuously analyze the power of Honkai to create a better future."

"But... I can't wait any longer. Three Honkai events, just three Honkai events, how many people have already died? How many more are coming? Will they all erupt at once? Or will a massive Honkai energy reaction occur simultaneously all over the world? Once that happens, will we really still have the chance to sit quietly in the laboratory and wait for people outside to die in exchange for our success?"

"Doctor, what you are pursuing is the ultimate point of life, the infinite individual... Your ideal is very powerful, because it is the other shore that every life wants to reach, not to mention that you have the ability to realize it, but I am different."

Cheng Xing unbuttoned his white coat from the middle, draping it over himself like a trench coat, and said, "I want to respond to the resentment and roar in those guys' hearts."

Cheng Xing, with his back to everyone, came to the door of the research lab and pushed it open. After hesitating for a second, he walked out. The people inside the lab looked at that back figure and, in a daze, they saw many people standing behind him, following him.

Some people held black umbrellas, their expressions solemn, as if attending a funeral. Others held candles, their eyes closed, chanting as if making a devout prayer.

Without exception, all of them were wearing white lab coats, but the original pure white parts of those coats were no longer visible, leaving only patches of mottled bloodstains.

Möbius stepped off the lab table, feeling the abundant energy in her body and the seemingly inexhaustible stamina. She felt little joy, only watching the receding figure in front of her.

The corridor lights came on.

That figure and those people were gone too.

"...Klein, integrate the plans for the Super Transformation Surgery with the design data for the Chimera Surgery left by Cheng Xing... and prepare to head to the First Base."

Mebius's golden eyes seemed to be glowing slightly as she gazed at the corridor where the lights had been turned off and said in a deep voice, "That kid has already embarked on his own path. Although I don't want to admit it, he has already gone much further than me. Now is the time for me to catch up."

At the crossroads of life, everyone will happen to meet at the same intersection, and then perhaps they will only look at each other or exchange a few words in a hurry.

Perhaps some of us have walked together for a long time and have deep memories of each other.

However, at the crossroads, they will choose their own direction and continue walking, and when will they meet again with the people they once had pleasant conversations with?

Perhaps this parting will be forever. If you meet again many years later, you will find that the other person has already experienced countless crossroads and changed directions countless times. They are no longer the companion who once walked the same road with you and saw the same scenery.

You who once walked together have long since parted ways.

He died.

After parting ways, Cheng Xing arrived at the center of the largest desert in the world. There were virtually no living creatures left there. Even the insects that could survive in the desert had disappeared. All that remained was dry sand.

“Cheng Xing, you can face that kind of being a little later. We can still handle it. You don’t need to do it on purpose. Wait a while longer, and wait for more Herrschers to die. Your chances will actually be greater.”

The supervisor tried to dissuade him.

"Supervisor, just as I said before, I don't want to just sit quietly and wait for others to sacrifice in exchange for results."

Cheng Xing felt the sand being whipped up by the wind and slapping against his face, and he felt an unprecedented sense of ease and comfort.

"You're still the same as before."

"Well, after all, some people choose to perish in silence, while I choose to erupt."

"It seems you've remembered something?"

"No, just some vague impressions, which just made me realize what I should do."

"Alright, you've had your fill of conversation. Now it's time to go and meet that supreme being."

After Gerald stopped the two from continuing their conversation, he exhaled the smoke from his mouth onto the ground, and then a great many people appeared on the boundless wilderness.

There are men and women, old and young.

There are disabled people, pregnant women, patients with injuries and bandages, elderly people who should be lying in bed waiting to die, energetic students who should be living their youth on campus, and robust adults who should be enjoying a wonderful life.

But at this moment, they are all standing here in an illusory way; they are all dead people.

Everyone opened their mouths slightly and looked up at the heavens, whispering in a tone that sounded like prayer or chanting scriptures.

"God gave me a puppet, regardless of the number of forms, a thousand people, a thousand faces, the king of illusion."

Cheng Xing sensed a hazy world that opened a door to him. He didn't know what changes he had undergone, how many cracks and spaces he had passed through, until he arrived at a pure white world where a white humanoid figure was waiting for him.

"Hello, God of Collapse."

Cheng Xing first greeted them politely, then a scythe appeared in his hand, and he said, "I come to see the gods, carrying the resentment and hatred of tens of millions of people, draped in the obsession of fear! God! Please tell me!"

Are you afraid?

Chapter 86: Offering

Cheng Xing swung his scythe at the pure white humanoid figure in front of him, but unexpectedly encountered no resistance. The leader's instruction seemed to pass through the pure white humanoid figure like a phantom, and then there was no reaction. It was as ethereal as cutting the moon's reflection in water or a flower in the mist.

The pure white humanoid figure did not make any attack, but simply stood quietly in place, seemingly watching Cheng Xing's reaction and actions.

Cheng Xing once again activated the simulated First Herrscher's power, creating countless simulated black holes around the pure white humanoid figure, forming a massive gravitational field. However, this action did not bring about any change; He remained standing quietly in place, without making any move.

Cheng Xing, extremely unwilling, activated countless Honkai energies. The Honkai energy in the entire space was moved by this, turning into white spears that tried to pierce the pure white humanoid figure into a hedgehog.

However, the spears disappeared after passing through the pure white humanoid body. The attacks hit Him like a stone thrown into the sea, creating only a visual ripple without any real change.

Cheng Xing controlled countless bolts of lightning, transforming this pure white space into an endless domain of lightning, intending to annihilate all living beings within it.

However, nothing has changed.

The Honkai energy within Cheng Xing's body seemed inexhaustible in this pure white space. The other party didn't care what kind of attack or reaction Cheng Xing had, and even after Cheng Xing ran out of energy, it still generously gave him the missing energy.

How incredibly generous!

Several golden thorns appeared around Cheng Xing, completely enveloping the pure white figure. The special power tried to erode his body, but no matter what, Cheng Xing only felt as if he was bound by a ball of air, with nothing inside and nothing to be perceived.

"Since the power of Honkai cannot defeat you, then let's try the power from outside this world!"