The collapse started when Kiana came to the door

"That's right." Raiden Mei [Herser of Thunder] nodded, "And then?"

"Is it strange for a part of the Hyperion to like its own captain?" Misterine [Zhi Yu Meng Jing] answered in a matter-of-fact tone.

After hearing this, everyone present fell silent.

Chapter 4 The Approaching Target (k)

The intrinsic world.

January 2014, 1, 14: a.m. Far Eastern Time.

The sky was cloudless and a biting wind blew across the icy dome. The Thousand Worlds and One Vehicle was hidden in the imaginary space under the airspace of St. Freya's College. As the supercomputer of its main control system ran at full power under the control of Weiwei, hundreds of millions of spatial coordinates turned into a series of long numbers and were displayed on the console of the Second Key of God.

"Still not working?" Right behind Velvi, Kiana [Hersher of the End], whose entire body surface was emitting a faint fluorescent light, frowned and stared at the screen on the console without missing a single detail, and spoke in a calm and solemn tone.

"It's not that simple. Even if we use the Second God's Key to speed up the continuous observation of different spatial coordinates, it's not as easy as you think to lock the position of the [Cocoon] in a short time." Wei Wei said indifferently with no emotion, "Moreover, the [Cocoon] we need to lock must be the one that controls the [End] of this world... or this planet. Even if we find the [Cocoon] of other worlds, it will still be useless in solving the collapse of this world."

"So in your opinion, how long will it take us to find it?" asked Kiana [Herrser of the End].

"Who knows? It could take tens of thousands of hours at least, or hundreds of years at most. If you're lucky, it could take just the next second." As she spoke, Wei Wei suddenly stopped her fingers from clacking on the operating table. She turned her head slightly, and her eyes, which were as complex as those of a precision machine, showed a hint of dissatisfaction. "Do you have any other questions?"

"Uh..." Perhaps because she could read the undisguised disdain in the other person's eyes, Kiana [Hersher of the End]'s expression became a little awkward. She scratched her silver hair, hesitated for a moment, and carefully asked a question that even she herself felt was stupid, "Um... I just want to ask, can... can... I search faster?"

After asking, Kiana [Hersher of the End] couldn't help but let out a guilty laugh.

However, Wei Wei's answer was beyond her expectations. This expert with a sharp and vigorous style rolled his eyes in a funny way and said in a calm tone as always: "Sure."

"So it's possible?!" Kiana [Hersher of the End] was shocked.

"Yeah, you think so." Wei Wei sneered, "Don't you think about who designed this Second God Key? Of course it also has basic functions like one-click overclocking."

"That……"

"Of course, as for whether it will self-destruct after overclocking..." Wei Wei shrugged, "That's not something I can guarantee."

"Uh..." Kiana [Hersher of the End] instantly shrank her neck, "Actually, it's not that I can't wait a little longer."

"Then shut up and continue injecting your Honkai energy into the Thousand Worlds One." Weiwei said calmly.

Kiana [Hersher of the End] was speechless.

Before finding the Hyperion again, Kiana [Hersher of the End] had maintained parallel world observations on the moon for about three years, so she knew that high-speed searches of different spaces were a tedious and time-consuming task.

Even with the assistance of the supercomputer built into Qianjie Yicheng, it is very difficult to accurately find the coordinates of the [Cocoon] corresponding to the Eigenworld hidden in the imaginary space.

… First of all, there are far more than just one [cocoon].

Each different parallel world has its corresponding [Cocoon of the End]. Their abilities, forms of expression, ways of conveying their will, and even appearance... are quite different.

After all, the so-called [End], from a broad perspective, does not originally refer to the Herrscher of [Serial Number 14], but to the Herrscher who can destroy civilization. Although the Herrscher directly linked to the [Cocoon] has an output power and energy scale far exceeding that of ordinary sequence Herrschers, a direct link with the [Cocoon] is not a necessary condition to become the Herrscher of the End.

The form of [cocoon] is not fixed.

The way the End embraces the world is the way [Cocoon] embraces the world.

Therefore, at the moment when different Herrschers of the End destroy the world, the nature of the [Cocoon] will also change drastically.

On the other hand, before the Herrscher of the End of a world actually descends, even with the technology of previous civilizations and the high-speed observation capabilities of the Thousand Worlds One, they cannot accurately confirm what form the [Cocoon] of this world will take.

This is also the biggest reason why Kiana, who has already become the [Hersher of the End], was unable to lock onto the [Cocoon] of this world in the first place.

Even though she had connected with the [Cocoon] of her original world, which had lost its self-awareness and was easily controlled by her, Kiana [Hersher of the End] still could not confirm the current state of the [Cocoon] of this world.

Therefore, while conducting high-speed searches in different parallel worlds, Qianjie Yicheng must also ensure the accuracy of the searches at all times under the surveillance of Weiwei. She must carefully grasp the specific properties of each different [cocoon] and compare them. Ultimately, from the vast number of [cocoons], find the one whose properties are closest to and most consistent with the current state of the intrinsic world.

"It would be nice if Prometheus was here at a time like this." Thinking of the tedious work she would have to face next, Wei Wei couldn't help but sigh in frustration, "It would be better if it was No. 17 who was put into the other side of the imaginary number... Oh, what a pity, why did I forget to wake her up in advance when I set up the backdoor? If it was her, I think she would have been quite close to the [Cocoon] by now."

"Prometheus?" Kiana [Herrser of the End] hesitated for a moment, "Are you talking about the artificial intelligence from the last civilization era?"

"Yes." Perhaps because it was a kind of entertainment to have someone to talk to during the boring work, this time, Velvet did not show disgust and dissatisfaction with Kiana [Hershers of the End]'s question, but answered her question quite straightforwardly, "According to the program preset by Dr. MEI, No. 17 will replicate countless parallel wills on the road between this planet and the imaginary space. They can divert the natural disaster of collapse to the artificially set track. Therefore, in your era, starting with the Herrshers of Reason, the nature of all Herrschers and the laws of their appearance are extremely similar to our era that was defeated by the End."

"...Is there such a thing?" Kiana [Hersher of the End] was shocked. "This is the first time I've heard of this. There's no way to call back No. 17?"

"Don't even think about it. It's useless even if we really call her back." Weiwei shrugged. "When Dr. MEI set the invasion route for No. 17, he didn't plan to let her return to the real world from the beginning. Even if it is an artificial intelligence life form, the moment it enters the imaginary number and touches the Honkai, Honkai will certainly be put under the shackles of her will, but correspondingly, her way of thinking will completely change to the way of thinking of Honkai. If No. 17 can completely control the Honkai will, the Herrschers of your civilized era should not have an uncontrolled desire to destroy human civilization from the beginning, right?"

"So, if we bring her to the real world, what we will end up with is just a will that tries to destroy human civilization?" asked Kiana [Hersher of the End].

Wei Wei nodded gently, her clear eyes reflecting the constantly flashing data stream on the screen on the console, looking cold and ruthless: "That's what happened."

"What if we cut off the connection between her and Honkai?" Kiana [Hersher of the End] asked again, "In the second Honkai... and another Herrscher incident that I experienced, the squad leader should have used similar methods to cut off the connection between human will and Honkai, right? If we can reproduce that scene... can we turn Seventeen's will back?"

"There's no need to recreate it. I've already mentioned that Dr. Mei had a way to bring her back to consciousness." Velvet glanced at Kiana [Hershersman of the End] calmly, "But her situation is completely different from the Second Herrscher of your era. The moment she was thrown into the imaginary number, Seventeen had already merged with the Honkai and was inseparable. Even if you recreate the scene during the second Honkai when Hua used Yu Duchen to cut off the Second Herrscher and the Honkai will, the final result is that all of Seventeen's efforts have been in vain, and her will will disappear immediately."

"After all, the so-called Stigmata Plan was originally to allow Kevin, who could withstand the End, to usurp the power of the End from No. 17 through her sacrifice, and completely take over the position of the Herrscher of the End."

“……” Kiana [Hersher of the End] couldn’t help but fall into silence.

After taking over the power of the Cocoon of the End, she was of course very clear about how wild and uncontrollable the so-called power of the End was.

If the captain had not forcibly deprived [Cocoon] of all its ability to think and act actively, it would have been impossible for him, who could not even fully control the power of the Herrscher of the Void, to completely control [Cocoon]'s vision.

Although she had already realized how powerful these heroes were when she was in the paradise of the past, when Kiana [Hersher of the End] once again stepped onto the battlefield to face the collapse with them, she finally understood how much blood, sweat and effort the heroes of the previous civilization era, Dr. MEI, and those who only had [records] left... and those sacrifices who didn't even have records left, had paid in order to leave a trace of fire and hope in this civilization era, and how much thinking that exceeded the limits and even exceeded human intelligence.

Compared to the era of despair 50,000 years ago, they have been standing on the shoulders of giants from the very beginning... and on top of that, they have also obtained the [Captain], so they are undoubtedly happy.

"Is there really no way out?" Kiana [Hersher of the End] murmured in a low voice.

"Are you referring to the matter concerning Number 17, or the matter of searching for [Cocoon]?" Weiwei said calmly.

"...Don't you feel sorry for No. 17 at all?" Kiana [Hersher of the End] lowered her head slightly, "Although it's just an artificial intelligence, but..."

"but what?"

Sudden.

A voice that resembled Bronya, but with a completely different tone and way of speaking, echoed in this enclosed space.

Hearing the voice with a hint of milk and a mechanical reverberation, Velvet and Kiana [Hersher of the End] were both stunned and turned their heads away quickly.

"Bronya?! Why are you here?" After seeing the girl suddenly appear behind them and floating quietly in the air, Kiana [Hersher of the End] recognized her as Bronya at first sight and asked almost instinctively.

"Huh? That's not right." Just after asking this question, Tikiana [Hersher of the End] suddenly realized that something was wrong.

Although the girl's facial features and voice are quite similar to Bronya's, her body, whether it is the torso, joints, feet, or five fingers, can easily be seen to be not of a human style.

Kiana [Hersher of the End] couldn't help but feel a little confused. She carefully looked at the mechanical girl from head to toe, hesitated for a moment, and asked tentatively: "Um, are you Bronya?"

Although the Bronya she knew was not a mechanical girl, but... even herself who was in the World Bubble could become a Spring Spirit born from a spring, so Kiana [Hersher of the End] could not be sure whether this girl who looked like Bronya and had the same voice and tone of voice as Bronya was another existence similar to the Spring Spirit.

"Unfortunately, although the Valkyrie named Bronya has a similar appearance and way of thinking to me, my name is not Bronya." The girl spoke slowly and without any emotion, "My name is Prometheus. Relatively speaking, it is more accurate to call me No. 17."

"Long time no see, No. 17." Wei Erwei's eyes flashed with joy, "I didn't expect you to appear in front of us in good health."

"Although it doesn't sound like a blessing, I'll still accept your kindness, Engineer Weiwei." Prometheus said in an inorganic voice, "Ai Yi told me that you might need my help. I seemed to have heard you talking about me just now, so - can you upload a copy of the current specific situation to me? I need to know your work progress and use it as a basis to formulate the next battle plan."

Chapter 4: Breaking the Cocoon Plan, Begins (k)

"Wait, before I upload your work progress, I think you should share your current situation with us first." Weiwei said, "Why are you here? And why are you and Ai Yi - I think the one called Λ, why are you two staying together?"

"So she is Prometheus?" At this time, Kiana [Hersher of the End] spoke as if she had just woken up from a dream, "Why does she look like Bronya..."

Prometheus folded his hands, his puppet-like palms gently grasping his upper arms on both sides, and his silver-gray eyes, which showed no emotion at all, closed slightly.

Although she didn't say anything and her facial expression showed no emotion, Kiana [Hersher of the End] could clearly see a hint of impatience in Prometheus's actions.

"Well……"

A low sigh.

Prometheus closed his eyes and mouth, then sighed softly through his nose.

"Let me give you a brief overview."

"To put it bluntly, it was Ai who stripped my data from the collapse of the imaginary other side. She copied my data and uploaded it to her data carrier... which is the Hyperion."

Weiwei raised her eyebrows. "Is that possible? Logically speaking, after Dr. MEI hacked you into the imaginary number, your existence should not be just simple data, but the [Honkai Will] that has merged with the Honkai, right? Let's not talk about how she helped you escape the control of the Honkai. Although we also have the technology to transform consciousness back into data, if you are just a piece of simple data, it should be impossible for you to appear in front of us."

"This body of yours - its appearance is no different from before, but if I'm not mistaken, it shouldn't be the robot that Dr. MEI made for you, but a concrete manifestation of [self] like Ai Yi?"

Although her tone was questioning, looking at Weiwei's extremely determined eyes, it was obvious that she was quite confident in the conclusion she had drawn.

"You didn't touch it directly, but you still noticed the change in the material?" Prometheus didn't answer Weiwei's question directly, but continued to speak word by word in her inorganic voice, "Your vision is still as sharp as ever."

"I'll take that as a compliment." Weiwei shrugged. "Anyway, since you were indeed No. 17 who was thrown into the imaginary space by Dr. MEI, then... during the time you hacked into the imaginary space, you should have also stood from the perspective of the [Honkai Will] and measured the entire process from [Origin] to [End], right? Did Ai bring out that data?"

"If not, I wouldn't have appeared in front of you two." Prometheus said calmly, "As you know, the moment I hacked into the imaginary number, my consciousness was also swallowed up by the Honkai. So, even if Ai Yi activated the backdoor that Dr. MEI set for me in advance, what she could see at that time was just a [Honkai Will] that accepted an incomplete [Cocoon] and briefly returned to self-consciousness."

"But... what we need now is exactly that [incomplete cocoon], right?" Velvet smiled gently. "I have read the history and future of this civilization era in the database of the Hyperion. Before the Herrscher of Ice and Stars came, from 2014 to 2017... these three years are exactly the gap between the Herrscher's coming."

Kiana [Hersher of the End] suddenly realized: "That is to say, during these three years, even though it is still in an incomplete state, the nature of the [Cocoon] has not changed at all due to the advent of the Herrscher!"

"So, as long as we use the data brought back by No. 17, we can quickly lock the position of this world's [Cocoon] in the imaginary number in a short time." Weiwei licked her lips and tongue, she turned her head and restarted the operating system of the Second God Key, then waved her hand to Kiana [Hersher of the End], "Kiana, go and call those researchers from this civilization era and Mobius to me. The Second God Key does not need you to continue to supply energy. No. 17, quickly send me the data of that [Cocoon]. If nothing unexpected happens - in an hour, it will be time for us to decide the outcome with Honkai."

after an hour--

"It is now January 2014, 1, 14: AM Far Eastern Time. The Hyperion is in the airspace of St. Freya College. The environment is good and the equipment is functioning normally."

Under the clear, cloudless sky, Yulandel [Tianyuan Knight]'s expression was more serious than ever before. She looked around at all the people standing on the deck, then turned on her communicator. A virtual screen stretched out in front of everyone's eyes, showing Theresa [Twilight Knight] standing on the deck, her young face filled with unprecedented calmness and majesty.

Youlandel [Tianyuan Cavalry] raised her head and looked at the virtual screen floating in the air. She nodded seriously and spoke in a serious tone like a competent soldier: "All front-line combat personnel have completed their work in place. Commander Theresa, please give us the final instructions."

"Okay, then I declare that [Breaking the Cocoon Plan] has officially begun. This is our first battle, and I hope it will be our last battle, but we have far more chances than this one. So, if you find anything wrong, you must report it immediately. Everyone has the right to terminate this mission immediately if they realize that they or their companions are in danger!" Theresa [Twilight Knight] said very quickly, "Unlike us fighting on our own in different worlds, Captain Li Shubai has helped us integrate the forces of different parallel worlds and different timelines. We even have Kiana who has fully mastered the power of the end. Even if we face the end again, we are not without the ability to fight. Any difficulties do not pose a real threat to us."

"But because of this, you must remember that all frontline personnel must protect their own safety as the first goal! Never underestimate the goal just because you have a stronger force than before. Our goal is to succeed without casualties... Kiana, do you have something to say?"

"Um..." Kiana [Hersher of the End] couldn't help but raise her hand, "Are the conditions of this mission a little too lenient?"

With their own safety as the first priority, everyone is allowed to terminate the mission immediately if they or their companions are in danger. If it were a normal military mission, a commander who said these two sentences in public would probably be immediately dismissed for slacking off.

At least as far as Kiana [Hersher of the End] knows, even when she was a student at St. Freya's Academy, before she awakened the power and memory of the Herrscher, Theresa never gave such instructions to the Valkyrie.

"Humph, don't I know your personalities?" Theresa [Twilight Knight] snorted coldly, her expression grim. "I am now the acting captain of the Hyperion, not the Valkyrie of Destiny, nor the commander-in-chief of the Far East Branch. All my instructions to you are aimed at ensuring the interests of the Hyperion as the first goal. If I don't care about you, it will be fine if it's just a minor bump, but if you really encounter any danger - how do you want me to explain to the captain?"

"You are all stronger than me now. If you really want to force yourself to do something, I can't control you, so I can only ask all of you to restrain each other. And, as I said, after obtaining the coordinates of this world's [Cocoon], our chance is far more than this one. Before the destined moment really arrives, we have countless opportunities to overcome the difficulties we will face - of course, it would be best if we don't use those opportunities."

Theresa [Twilight Knight] glanced at the time on the console and no longer responded to Kiana [Hersher of the End]'s questions. Instead, she gave precise instructions: "Now repeat the team list for each task. Kiana, Yulandel, and Alicia. The three of you have experience and ability to operate in the imaginary space, so the three of you will be responsible for the main task of attacking the enemy. If necessary, you can release the power of [Origin] and [End] at any time. Yulandel will be in charge of leading the team - you must keep a good eye on your sister and Alicia, and don't let them do anything beyond my orders!"

"Got it!" Yulandel [Tianyuan Qiying] nodded seriously.

"Hey! Is it necessary to make me sound so disobedient?" Kiana [Hersher of the End] shouted dissatisfiedly.

"Alisa got it!" Alisa [Herrser] winked playfully, "A beautiful girl's heart can do anything! Don't worry, cute little Theresa, we will definitely complete this mission."

"Let's get along well from now on, dear Kiana and Yulandel."

"..." Theresa [Twilight Knight]'s eyelids twitched. She desperately told herself not to lose her temper... She couldn't lose her dignity as the acting captain. After a lot of effort, she finally ignored the two funny people, but her tone became a little stiff: "Einstein, Tesla, Mobius, Velvet, please ask the four of you to return to the Second God Key and provide tactical and technical support to Kiana and the others at any time. Bronya, Rita, and Walter, you go to assist these four doctors. During this period, Walter, if time and circumstances permit, please learn about Bronya's power of the Ruler of Reason to the best of your ability. If this operation fails, it is best to bring Bronya with you in the next assault team... Whether it is logistics or the assault team, the power of the Ruler of Reason is a valuable force."

"I understand." Walter Yang nodded, and then looked at Bronya [Herrser of Reason] who was looking back at him with a complicated and sighing look, "I never thought that after me, there would be another successor who could inherit his will and power. I will do my best to guide you on how to control the power of the power of reason, Bronya, let us complete the next cooperation together."

"You're too kind, Mr. Walter." Bronya [Hersher of Reason] nodded expressionlessly, "Bronya also hopes that she can control the full power of the Herrsher of Reason as soon as possible."

"Seele, and... uh, can I call you Black Seele?" Theresa [Twilight Knight] looked in the direction of the two Seeles, one black and one white. "While Kiana and the others are invading imaginary numbers and trying to overthrow Honkai, the Quantum Sea, as the opposite of imaginary numbers, should also produce unpredictable fluctuations. In order to ensure that Kiana and Dr. Einstein are not affected by the abnormal fluctuations of the Quantum Sea, I need you to monitor the quantum fluctuations at all times. Of course, if the Quantum Sea produces monsters, you only need to report the enemy coordinates you observed to me, and I will let the Hyperion and other Hyperion Valkyries provide support at any time."

"I...I know!" Xier [The Twins of the Other Shore] held her hands in front of her chest, clenched her fingers, as if to cheer herself up, "Xier will definitely complete the task!"

“Yes, yes, yes… there’s really nothing you can do about it.” Xier [Nightmare Star Abyss] put on a helpless expression and shrugged, “Don’t worry, with me and her here, we won’t let those monsters have a chance to stop us with just Quantum Shadow.”

"Very good, that's the momentum." Theresa [Twilight Knight] nodded, "But as I said before, we don't have to wait for this chance only, so you must not force yourself. If you encounter a problem that you can't solve, you must ask Hyperion for help as soon as possible."

After finishing speaking, Theresa [Twilight Knight] turned her gaze towards Kevin and Su who were standing behind the Valkyrie team: "You two are from the Yingjie of 50,000 years ago. You shouldn't ignore your juniors who are in danger, right?"

"Of course." Su opened his eyes, his charming pupils full of seriousness, "Even if we are forerunners, we are human beings just like you. When we encounter danger, we will naturally not ignore it. If you need it, I can also connect my consciousness with you and provide help to the best of my ability when necessary."

Kevin crossed his arms across his chest. Although he didn't say anything, an indescribable chill emanated from his entire body, as if freezing the air nearby.

Chapter 4: Escape [Cocoon], Alysia's Proposal (k)

Imaginary number space.

For ordinary humans, it is impossible to fully understand this area that is completely different from ordinary space.

The eye loses its light here.

The ears lose their sound here.

The skin loses its touch here.

Even the body itself will gradually lose itself in this twisted nothingness.

If it were an ordinary person without any special precautions, they probably wouldn't even be able to maintain their [existence] normally.