I've already said this isn't a life simulator!

Chapter Fifty-Two: Falling Like Petals

Perhaps Alicia's arrival rekindled some of your sense of self as a "human," and in the end, you didn't continue "hunting."

Of course, this doesn't mean the "hunt" is over; it's just been slightly delayed.

However, as I said before, here, right now, all you care about are Alicia and Gretchen... Because of this, you no longer want to be separated from her and from them.

Anyone who comes to dissuade or persuade you will be attacked by you... If Gretsch were not still around, you would "hunt" them; if Alicia were not by your side, she would block your attacks, and they would all die, turning into bubbles in the water without leaving a trace.

[And Moth Chaser doesn't know what to do with you now... To say that you're being judged as a "Herrscher" and attacked wouldn't be accurate, since you haven't actually become a "Herrscher" in the true sense. Your situation is the same as Rin's; you maintain your consciousness as a "human," but you've only been judged as a "suspected Herrscher." Therefore, you should be considered a "high-threat individual."]

[Besides, given the previous situation with the "Twelfth Herrscher," they wouldn't dare to attack you... What if they attacked you and released the real "Herrscher"? Wouldn't that just repeat the Rin incident?]

[But as for imprisoning you... no one has suggested it, because if you imprison you, you would have to send Alicia and Gretchen there as well. Right now, only the two of them can maintain your mental state to some extent. If either of them is missing, your mental state will become unstable.]

As for judging you as an ally rather than a "Herrscher"... most people would disagree. You have shown extremely strong malice and murderous intent towards the Flame Chaser, and even towards humans, and you are constantly wavering on the question of whether you are "human." Therefore, it is not acceptable to regard you as an ally.

[However, one thing is certain: your situation is similar to Rin's... you will inevitably become a "Herrscher".]

[Now, according to the information Mei brought back, only two Herrschers remain before the arrival of the "Final Herrscher." Including you, only one Herrscher remains unknown.]

This is a bittersweet situation... after all, knowing the enemy's intelligence in advance is always beneficial, but it also means the final moment is fast approaching.

However, at this moment, there is bad news—while Mei was reviewing everyone's past records, she noticed something unusual about Alicia and your identities.

Both cases involved sudden appearances, lack of birth certificates and parents, and adoption, but their experiences were diametrically opposed.

Considering Alicia's strange attitude towards you, and the abnormalities you exhibit... Alicia is very likely another "Herrscher".

Further investigation reveals that Alicia's physical examination reports are scarce, and in many cases, they are nonexistent. There are no reports for the "fusion warrior surgery" that Mebius performed on Alicia, and even Mebius's memory of the surgical procedure is not very clear. This further deepens the mystery surrounding Alicia's identity.

On the other hand, you are the complete opposite. You have a lot of physical reports, and none of them have revealed any major problems. Apart from that somewhat strange "abnormality," the data is almost entirely that of a "human." But this "abnormality" seems so glaring now that it could be used as evidence that you were "non-human" from the beginning.

[To this end, May convened a meeting specifically for you and Alicia, and the meeting participants were all the remaining Fusion Warriors besides you, Alicia, and Gretchen.]

Although numerous documents point to your and Alicia's unusual behavior, at the end of the meeting, everyone still believed that Alicia was probably not a "Herrscher," but just had some "little secrets"... After all, she is Alicia, and they are willing to trust her.

As for the conclusion regarding you, it will remain unresolved. After all, regardless of your original situation, your current status as a "suspected Herrscher" is indelible.

[You and Alicia are naturally aware of this meeting, but you don't care about it. After you denied yourself as "human," your mind was already on the verge of collapse, and you could only rely on your attention to Alicia and Gretchen to stay afloat.]

But after Alicia learned of this, she still decided to do something.

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"Eden looks really beautiful now, doesn't she, May?"

Alicia gazed out the window. Under the silver moon and in the drizzling rain, a gigantic aquatic creature, resembling a whale, soared through the sky, surrounded by melodious songs that exuded a reassuring tune.

"What a pity~ I only stayed up there for a short while before coming down... I wanted to listen to Eden's song a little longer and enjoy the night view from up there a little more~"

“In fact, you can do that too, Alicia.”

Mei slowly sorted through Alicia's physical data—all of which had just been obtained from the examination.

"You didn't have to come."

"That won't do~ After all, this is a very important matter~ It's important to everyone~"

Alicia shook her head, smiled, and returned to Mei. She picked up the information about Xiwang that Mei had prepared for her and read it carefully—it was all pieced together by Mei from the fragmented information left behind by [Poisonous Chrysalis].

"And it took me a lot of effort to calm Wang down, so we have to hurry... Gretchen and Eden alone can't hold out for long, we need to hurry!"

"Indeed."

Mei nodded, then reviewed Alicia's physical data again and sighed.

"...But it really is...a born Herrscher."

"You wouldn't believe it, would you? This was a secret I'd kept all this time! Too bad you guys found out in the end!"

"So... Wang, is he the same?"

"...I think so~"

"Why aren't you sure yourself?"

"Because I really didn't expect that someone as unique as me would actually have a [companion]~"

Alicia put down the documents in her hand—she had read them through. Although the documents had taught her more about what Xiwang had experienced, those experiences... were not pleasant at all.

"And Wang is even more special than me. When we first met, I did have a feeling that he was similar to me, but... after we separated, when we met again, I didn't have that feeling anymore."

"Looking back now, I really should have tried harder..."

"...More special than you?"

Mei raised an eyebrow, wanting to move closer to Alicia to discuss the matter further, but her weak body forced her to sit down again after only moving forward a short distance.

"Yes, I only found out about this later."

Seeing this, Alicia took the initiative to sit down in front of Mei and covered Mei with a coat.

"If I consider myself a Herrscher who sees himself as human... then Wang should be considered a Herrscher who has already become human... After all, as you have seen, no matter how you examine his condition, he is just a somewhat special person, while I can immediately discover that I am a Herrscher by simply conducting a physical examination."

"In this respect, Nozomi is even more impressive than me. He trusts humanity so much that he's willing to give up everything about himself as a Herrscher, leaving only a few unique aspects, while I still retain the power of a Herrscher... Of course, these are all just my speculations."

Alicia said with a smile, then glanced at the information she had just received, her eyelids drooping slightly, her mood somewhat downcast.

"Unfortunately, he wasn't as lucky as me... and without his power, he couldn't do anything."

"Speaking of which, Mei, you've seen Wang's information, haven't you? What do you think he resembles?"

"like what?"

"Yes~ For example, me~ I'm a lovely girl as radiant as a falling flower, aren't I? What do you think Wang is like?"

Alicia said with a smile.

"Let me start~ In my eyes, Wang is like a [mirror]~ A magical [mirror] with self-awareness and bias. Whoever he stays next to, he will become like that person. When he stays next to a [human], he will become like a [human]. When he stays next to a [Honkai Beast], he will become like a [Honkai Beast]."

"If that's the case, then he should be more inclined to be a [Herrscher] when he stays by your side."

"That's why I said it's a biased mirror~ If it's willing to insist, it can also resist reflecting what's around it~ And I consider myself a human being~"

"Is that so... As expected of you, Alicia."

Mei smiled helplessly.

"However, your idea... has confirmed something for me."

"Well?"

“Alishia, I don’t think it’s wrong for you to see Wang as a ‘mirror,’ because that explains why Gretsch is so close to him, even after he becomes a fusion warrior. But… in my eyes, he’s more like a ‘book,’ a ‘book’ that’s recording everything he’s experienced.”

Mei spoke slowly.

"His memory is excellent, isn't it? It's like a diary that's been written down. He writes down things that are worth paying attention to, whether good or bad, and briefly skips over things that aren't important, but he still writes them down... Everything he experiences will be recorded by him, and the emotions that arise along the way will also be recorded by him, accumulating little by little, and finally, at a certain moment... it will erupt."

“Alissia, you are a born Herrscher, but correspondingly, this also means that you should be the first Herrscher. The first Herrscher we officially record is actually the second. All subsequent Herrschers should move down one position. So... Nozomi should be the fourteenth Herrscher.”

"In other words, when Wang denies his own existence as a [human], or even aspires to become a [Herrscher], we... have already entered the [countdown]."

Mei looked out the window. The whale-like creature, transformed from Eden, was still swimming in the sky, and the drizzle was still falling.

"Of course, based on what you said earlier, he should only be reclaiming his power and restoring his identity as a [Herrscher] at this time."

"........."

Alicia was speechless for a moment.

“Alishia, do you know that after learning about your situation, I have a hypothesis... Perhaps the Honkai is really a test for our civilization.”

“Starting from the first Great Collapse, every Great Collapse has been a test for us, most notably the eighth and tenth.”

"The Eighth Herrscher forced us to choose between illusory beauty and cruel reality, testing our resolve. But clearly, we were not... The lingering trauma of the Eighth Herrscher continues to affect everyone, and the increasingly tense environment has amplified this trauma, ultimately forcing us to have Aponia use the Commandments to heal it... But this only led to even more tragic consequences."

"The Tenth Herrscher forced us to choose between doubt and trust, testing our beliefs and cohesion... But it's clear that we are now fragmented, with seeds of doubt taking root in everyone's hearts, which further led to the Rin incident."

"And in this process, what are your and Wang's responsibilities?"

Mei withdrew her gaze and leaned back in her chair.

"You, Alicia, as the [First Herrscher], a born [Herrscher], your duty seems simple: to accompany us as we grow, to help us, and to help us through the subsequent [Honkai]. Now that your identity has been exposed to us, we will also face a test—whether we are willing to trust you as a [Herrscher]."

“This is completely different from Rin’s situation. After all, Rin is only a ‘suspected Herrscher.’ As long as she doesn’t die, the ‘Twelfth Herrscher’ will never appear. But you are a born, true ‘Herrscher.’”

"Then... what about Nozomi, who appeared very early on, and can now be identified as the [Final Herrscher]?"

Mei looked at the ceiling and slowly explained her speculations.

"He accompanies us as a human being, experiencing everything among us, recording it all, and imprinting it in our minds until the final moment arrives."

"At this moment, he will, as you said, transform into a mirror, returning to us everything he has recorded and experienced... just like now."

"You two [Herrschers] are like the beginning and the end of a story. You will bring us the initial convenience and provide us with the initial strength to resist the Honkai... while he will decide our [ending] after experiencing everything."

"But looking at it now... our ending probably isn't so good."

Mei sighed.

It was all too late. When Nozomi denied her own existence as a "human" and began to identify with and lean towards the "Herrscher" with murderous intent and resentment towards humanity, the "ending" of this era had already begun to be written.

"...However, now is not the time to give up, is it, Mei?"

Alicia said with a smile, her tone as usual.

"Even Nozomi is like that? He... he actually cherishes his identity as a [human] very much, you know? Otherwise... even I, even Gretsch, probably couldn't have kept him together."

"……Oh, yes."

Mei nodded slightly, acknowledging this.

If Xi Wang truly wanted to completely deny his identity as a "human," he wouldn't have stopped because of Alicia's persuasion... He still maintained his identity as a "human," even if it was very fragile, but he was indeed persisting.

Mei wasn't quite sure why... but she felt it must be thanks to Sakura and Alicia, as well as Rin and Gretchen.

However, Xi Wang's fragile persistence was destined to be short-lived, and the fate of this generation was already sealed.

"But... it's not time to give up yet."

"Yes, that's right~ It's not time to give up yet, we... still have a lot to do~"

Alicia blinked and suggested to Mei.

"Then... Mei, do you think... it would be better if all Herrschers could be like me, like us?"