Honkai: It’s broken, I have become the Herrscher of Corrosion?

After Mei entered the next node, Enosia returned to the paradise of the past. Under the cherry tree, Ling looked up into the distance alone, wondering what she was thinking.

"Sister Aino, you are here."

Seeing Enosiya suddenly appear, Ling had an expected expression and made a gesture of invitation.

Enosia sat down next to Ling:

"I just gave you a few words before, and you were able to guess most of it. Ling, you are really smart. If you were born a few years earlier in the previous civilization, you might have become the 14th Hero."

Ling smiled lightly and shook her head:

"How can I compare to my elder sister, and Sister Airi and the others? If I wasn't the one involved in the twelfth collapse, and if Sister Aino hadn't let me know the whole story, even if I could survive to the end and not cause trouble to my elder sisters, I'm afraid it would be great."

"But... now, I seem to be able to do a lot of things that even they can't do."

Ling stood up and picked up a cherry blossom branch.

"It's clearly an independent data space. The sunlight and wind speed here change from time to time. It is said that the difference is not very big from the real Far East. I don't know how the ancient civilization created such a huge and realistic system."

"After all, the erosion rules of the previous civilization will not help humans."

Ling held the branch with her right hand and stroked the top of the branch with her left hand. Cherry blossom buds immediately grew on the originally bare branch.

"Ling, this is... what you can do now?"

"Well, I can still make flowers grow on dead branches and help others repair things. After all, everything here is essentially data. And I... to some extent, I am also a [Corrosion Herrscher], but compared to you, Sister Ino, I am completely a layman."

"If we follow the current classification standards, I'm afraid that my ability... can't even be considered a pseudo-corrosive hermit."

Enosia's eyes fell on the branch where cherry blossoms grew out of thin air:

"I didn't expect that my initial concerns would now seem to have more advantages than disadvantages. From the perspective of the soul, when I found Jizo's soul in the holy scar space underground in the far east, your soul and Jizo's soul had already been intertwined after 5 years of sedimentation."

"I had three goals at the time: to save you, to render the Herrscher of the previous civilization harmless, and to obtain the right to use the Jizo Soul. But in the situation at the time, to ensure my survival, to use an inappropriate analogy, was to separate the egg white and yolk within a limited time without any tools..."

"So the final result is that you, as a memory, also retain some of the power of the Herrscher..."

"So, for the Paradise of the Past, a space made up of data, I have always been a hidden danger. It's just that you, Sister Ino, have been watching over me, so I have no chance of causing a disaster. So..."

"What Sister Ino thought before is indeed possible in theory. As long as there is a theoretical basis, it is not a problem for Sister Mei, who knows very little about the previous civilization and the erosion of the power of the Herrscher, to believe it."

"What stage has Mei-sister reached now?"

"The previous civilization collapsed for the third time. Now I am interacting with the immature Hua at that time. Then I am in Canghai City, observing the battle between the Fire Chasing Moth and Shesha..."

"That's it..."

"Under my deliberate guidance, Mei should have understood that the life of the previous civilization is essentially the same as the current civilization in all aspects, whether good or bad..."

"Then... we can start preparing for the real plan. Sister Ino should also understand that letting Sister Mei experience the events of the previous civilization in person, while adding many restrictions, may not necessarily achieve the results that Sister Ino wants. No matter what happened in the previous civilization, for Sister Mei, it is probably just watching a movie."

"Although the Thirteen Heroes here are essentially just memories, after such a long time of getting along with them, for Mei, there is probably no difference between them and real humans in reality. In addition, she knows that Sister Aino once brought her back from the brink of death by turning people into memories, so psychologically, she can more quickly come to the realization that [there is actually no difference between data life and real life]."

“So… if we want the people of the current civilization to be touched by the stories of the previous civilization, we have to let Mei-nee-san feel more personally involved.”

Enosia smiled bitterly:

"Ling, you asked me before if I had any psychological trauma. Now it seems... you are no worse than me..."

"No, I just feel that I finally have such an opportunity. An opportunity that can help Sister Ino and allow me to play a role, an opportunity... barely a chance to atone for my sins..."

Enosia's expression changed immediately.

"As expected, failing to completely separate you from the Corrosion Ruler initially would lead to...trouble like this."

"I don't think this is a problem. Since it is true that Ling became the Herrscher of Corrosion and caused terrible disasters to the previous civilization, I can't use the excuse of ignorance to avoid taking any responsibility. Those who caused the twelfth collapse either died from the erosion virus or were killed by Uncle Qianjie. Only I haven't..."

"But fortunately, I still have a connection with the Corrosion Herrscher, so I still have that opportunity."

"Sister Aino, you don't need to explain it specifically. I have already explained everything to you. You know, you are not such a fragile person."

"Sakura...what did you tell her?"

"Sister said that she is willing to cooperate, but if the worst happens and she can't control herself, she hopes that Sister Ino will not hesitate to take action in time and delete her... or even change the cognition of all memories."

"After all, Sister Ino, you said that as long as everything goes well here, this generation of humans will have a chance to... transcend the end. Everyone believes this, both rationally and emotionally."

"And... everyone knows that another meaning of this sentence is that if something unexpected happens, when the end comes, the current civilization will repeat the mistakes of 5 years ago..."

"Ling, that's not the case. In reality, the real Kevin has already started to implement the Stigmata Plan. Even if the best result doesn't come, the ending of this era...can't be worse than the previous civilization."

"The Stigma Project? It seems... I heard Grandma Mebius mention it. Aunt May asked her to modify the 15th version?"

Enosia nodded, and at the same time imagined Mobius's frustrated expression, and couldn't help laughing.

"Although I don't quite understand it, since it was formulated by so many predecessors from the previous civilization, it must be very powerful."

"It's not that hard to understand actually. It's just a way of making everyone dream all the time to avoid the harm of the end."

"Dreaming... It's better to hope that what everyone wants to do can be accomplished in reality."

"I hope that children of my age in this era can live more ignorantly than I did, and don't need to think about what to do in the future when faced with irresistible disasters."

"Sister Aino probably thinks so too, otherwise she wouldn't have come to me again and again to discuss something like this that might lead to bad consequences."

“Although for my sister and the others, as long as the Paradise of the Past can play its intended role, even if the Paradise itself ceases to exist, it is not a [bad] ending.”

"And in Sister Ino's plan, even in the worst-case scenario, that kind of outcome won't happen. After all, you've got everything covered."

"But it is precisely because Mei-sister also has such thoughts that, according to the current method, I am afraid that the result may not be what you want; and it is precisely because you know this yourself, Aino-sister, that you are even more reluctant to do something that may hurt everyone."

Enosia also stood up:

“Yes, it’s because I can do so many things that I want everything, and in the end I become indecisive.

"Of course I understand that Mei's exploration of the paradise of the past is a one-way street. If she fails to achieve that result, then it will be a failure for me, for the real Kevin, and even for her sister."

Enosia took a deep breath and her expression became much more serious:

"So... Ling, I'm going to ask you one last time, have you really... thought it through?"

Ling smiled from the bottom of her heart:

"Of course, this is my decision. Sister Ino, you have done enough. Next, you and Sister Ai Li should have a good rest. Until that moment comes, I hope you can rest assured and leave this place... to me."

"I will use the most efficient method to make the Land of the Past... fulfill its purpose."

"...Huh, I understand...If something doesn't even begin, then I won't even have the qualifications to regret it..."

Enosia took out the Jizo Soul and stretched it forward.

Ling took over the Jizo Soul without any hesitation. The moment Enosiya let go, she felt that she was merging with the Key of God bit by bit...

Enosia turned around and looked behind the cherry tree:

"You've been watching there for so long, aren't you going to say anything?"

A figure that seemed to blend into the scattered cherry blossoms appeared before her eyes.

"Sure enough, in the data space, even in the hidden figure, nothing can hide from you."

Sakura's long ears moved, and she looked at Ling who was merging with Jizo's soul, with a complicated expression.

"I hope Ling is still the naughty child she used to be, but I know that she has always been very sensible."

"When I was still working at Poison Pupa, she was curious but never asked about my specific work. Whenever I went home, I could eat dinner cooked by her."

"After that experience, she has indeed changed a lot, but... that is Ling."

"Ling once died in the most painful way because of me."

"She finally has something she believes can realize her self-worth. No matter what, I will cooperate with her to the end."

"Ying, have you ever thought about where you and Ling will go to play after the collapse? Just like normal sisters."

Sakura shook her head.

"I may have thought about it before, but... I won't do that anymore. If a person has trouble surviving, he won't think about other things."

"Well, after this matter is over, you can start thinking about it. In the future... you will definitely have such an opportunity."

Sakura was stunned for a second, then reacted. But at this time, Enosia was nowhere to be seen.

In Alicia's room.

"Aino, it's rare to see you look so uneasy. Is there anything I can do to help you?"

Seeing Alicia, Enosiya's nerves suddenly relaxed. He immediately pressed his whole body against her, hugged her waist with both hands, and rested his head on her shoulder.

"Sister, feed me~"

Alicia looked in the direction she was looking and saw a plate of cookies on the bedside table.

"Is that... the one that Velvet did last time?"

Enosia blinked and opened her mouth, but no sound came out.

Alicia looked at her expression and instantly got the answer. She grabbed one of the pieces and put it into Enosia's mouth.

Sure enough, the food made by Weiwei Baiwei, whether it was a main course or a dessert, could always satisfy her taste buds no matter how many times she ate it.

Therefore, after tasting the cookies she baked last time, Enosia directly used the power of erosion to completely copy the data. She could eat as much as she wanted, anytime, anywhere.

Of course, now she just wanted Alicia to feed her.

After taking three cookies, Enosia closed her eyes and rubbed them against Alicia's body.

"It seems like you've been under a lot of mental pressure lately. You have to help Mei achieve her expected goals while also taking care of our feelings. Aino, thank you for your hard work."

"Sister, to be honest, I now understand why Hua has been able to remain so calm. There are so many things she doesn't know, so she doesn't have so many worries."

"If I couldn't come here anytime, I would have used the power of erosion to throw away some of the things stored in my head."

Alicia's finger gently stroked Enosia's face:

"But Aino doesn't want to lose those precious memories with us, even though... it's not happy."

"So, with me here, you don't have to make a difficult decision. If you feel tired for any reason, just come here and act like a spoiled child."

"Even if...I will have to put my sister in a difficult position for a long time?"

Alicia placed her hand on Enosia's and interlocked their fingers:

"Feeling wronged? How could that be? It's obviously a very happy thing to be able to spend time alone with Ino."