I Am Honkai

"Shifting stars and turning constellations."

A delicate smile curled at the corners of Selene's lips as a single thought reverberated through her mind. With her at its center, the entire Earth-Moon system, the Solar System, and even the entire Oort Cloud seemed to tremble.

If an observer could view this moment from a omniscient perspective, they would see a remarkable phenomenon. The boundary of reality enclosing the outermost edges of the Oort Cloud suddenly began to disintegrate, cascading down like a veil of stars.

Crack—crack!

A low, oppressive sound echoed. Strangely, despite the vacuum of space where sound cannot naturally propagate, this reverberation manifested directly within the mind, as if summoned by the sheer authority of a creator's power.

"Severance!"

At that moment, a resounding fracture echoed through the cosmos. Every corner of space quaked with the sound of breaking glass.

Space itself seemed to twist and writhe. Countless particles of Honkai energy pierced through the barrier of reality and flooded into the physical realm. Like the tides of Dirac sea, they surged and rippled freely among the stars.

The already dim starlight of the cosmos grew even murkier. Even the once-pristine beams of sunlight faltered, their brilliance sullied by the pervasive energy.

Honkai energy, in essence, is the internal energy of the imaginary space, stemming from the imaginary space's reserves.

The imaginary space encompasses every dimension beyond the four-dimensional physical space we inhabit. It contains potentially infinite layers.

Among the shared fundamental powers of Herrschers lies the ability to summon and command Honkai Beasts and zombies. However, the most critical and foundational aspect of a Herrscher's power is the formation of a Herrscher Core—a concentration of Honkai energy within the body.

Without the formation of a Herrscher Core, no matter how many gemstones one possesses, how much individual power is harnessed, or how strong one becomes, such entities remain at best pseudo-Herrschers.

The Herrscher Core serves as the key—a bridge connecting Herrschers to the imaginary space. Through the Herrscher's conversion and release of internal energy, it becomes possible for the physical universe to generate Honkai energy at a highly efficient rate.

Simultaneously, the Core functions as a relay station. Only those who possess a Herrscher Core can tap into an endless reservoir of Honkai energy.

While each Herrscher's ability to wield their powers depends on the quality of their host, in the pure energy release of Honkai power, the Herrscher of the Void is indisputably dominant—aside from the Herrscher of Finality.

The Herrscher of the Void governs spatial manipulation. This power enables the creation of imaginary spaces superimposed onto reality, which can be wielded both offensively and defensively. Additionally, it grants unparalleled mastery over Honkai energy.

This power acts as a bridge, linking the imaginary and physical realms.

Beyond surface-level applications, such as projecting elements from the imaginary space into the physical realm, the Herrscher of the Void's true potential lies in forging an even deeper connection with the imaginary space.

Compared to other Herrschers, such as the Herrscher of Flamescion who excels in pure destructive power, the Herrscher of the Void surpasses them all in terms of the threshold for converting imaginary energy, the speed of enhancement, and the efficiency of conversion.

As someone who rose to become the Herrscher of Finality by mastering the Herrscher of the Void's authority, Selene had unparalleled command over spatial manipulation and imaginary space.

It was as though she had transformed into the god of the cosmos itself. The entirety of the Oort Cloud lay in the palm of her hand, her consciousness entwining with the universe and wrapping it gently as though she held a simple ball.

Beneath her feet, the faint image of an endless ancient continent flickered into view, spanning the entirety of the Oort Cloud. It seemed boundless, vast enough to make the entire Oort Cloud appear like a drop in the ocean.

Upon closer inspection, the immense continent's central region glimmered faintly with specks of light.

This was none other than the projection of Selene's world, the Honkai Dimension's Eonvalis Continent.

From the moment she established the Honkai Dimension, Selene had continuously expanded its reach. She disassembled discarded planets from forsaken worlds, using them to fill the continent, and employed her creator's authority to endlessly extend the Honkai Dimension and its central continent, Eonvalis.

Currently, even when accounting for the entirety of the Sacred Selene Empire's homeland and its utilized territory, it only occupied a small portion of the Eonvalis Continent's central region.

The reason was simple—there were too few people.

As of now, the Empire's homeland population barely reached one hundred billion—an uncharacteristically low figure for the central territory of a vast interstellar empire.

But this was no accident. Selene had decreed strict elite policies that forbade the mass migration of populations from conquered worlds into the Empire's homeland.

Only those with military or war merit titles could earn the right to settle there.

By contrast, native residents of the Empire—those who had been citizens even before Selene's ascension—were automatically granted homeland status when Selene took the throne.

From the recruitment of new Astartes Legion warriors, the promotion of auxiliary army officers, to the selection of civil servants for the Empire's administrative departments, most of these positions were allocated to homeland residents. Only a small fraction were given to individuals from conquered worlds.

This system ensured that, despite the Honkai Dimension's constant expansion, Selene never had to fear the collapse of the military meritocratic structure.

With the existence of transdimensional webways, frequent wars ensured that everyone had opportunities to earn military merit.

Selene's policies of strengthening the core and suppressing the periphery involved granting select auxiliary and vassal forces access to the homeland as a reward for outstanding service, while simultaneously draining talent from conquered worlds. By dividing loyalties and providing differing levels of privileges across classes, she ensured that no group outside the Empire's official apparatus could consolidate power.

This was the foundation of the Sacred Selene Empire's massive war machine—a machine that thrived not solely on Selene's authority and strength, but on systems designed for long-term stability and controlled growth.

Selene refused to choose between actively fostering loyalty and exploiting dependence—she demanded both.

...

The massive motion of the shift could not go unnoticed. On Earth, the remaining survivors lifted their heads to the heavens.

Across the globe, it was as though the world collectively fell silent in awe.

"Is that the power of God?"

Thud.

"Oh Lord, please forgive your humble flock!"

Though distant and indistinct, the sight of the entire planet trembling, paired with the twin crimson stars and a face formed by cosmic patterns, became a searing image etched into the hearts of humanity.

The Imperial troops and administrative officials stationed on Earth naturally understood whose will this was. While they showed reverence, they did not prostrate themselves like ordinary people.

Their responsibility was to maintain order, restore production, and establish effective direct control for the Empire. Carrying out the tasks assigned by the Empire was the highest form of loyalty they could offer.

"Transfer!"

Selene lightly pointed toward Earth's position in the solar system. In the next instant, everyone felt a sudden darkness envelop them, as though an immense shadow blotted out the sky, completely swallowing the light of the sun.

When their vision returned, the violet-red glow of an ethereal aurora filled the heavens, replacing all else. The grand figure in the cosmos had vanished.

Some observers using telescopes noted that the sun was still present, along with Venus, Jupiter, Mercury, Mars, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. But beyond the eight planets of the solar system, the starry expanse was gone...

It was as though the entire solar system had been relocated.

And it was indeed so. Gazing at the lifeless void that had lost its sun and the eight planets of the solar system, Selene let out a deep breath and nodded in satisfaction.

"This counts as fulfilling my promise."

Indeed, she had kept her promise.

See, Selene not only eradicated the remnants of the previous era's civilization—an existence the Will of Honkai, the "caretaker," loathed the most—but she also dutifully performed her role as an "examiner."

Perhaps her punishment was a bit harsh.

Having declared the current era's civilization a "failure," she erased the entire star system along with it.

Once this was done, the Will of Honkai promptly connected with Selene, expressing its "approval" of her actions.

"Of course, I know. Don't worry—I wouldn't leave things without a cleanup plan."

Detecting the caretaker's dissatisfaction and its intent to sever this "leaf" completely, Selene halted its actions, assuring it that she had everything under control.

She then allowed her mind to drift, her consciousness breaking through constraints as it ascended via the extended super-spatial webway she had constructed.

At the network's ever-expanding end, Selene began sifting through potential replacements.

"Hmm, the 13th Legion's Ultramarines' expansion path... a cyberpunk civilization? No, next."

"The 8th Legion's Night Lords' expansion path... vampires? Werewolves? A magical medieval civilization? Not suitable, next."

"The 3rd Legion's Black Templars' expansion path... an interstellar civilization? Humans, insects, xenomorphs? No, next."

...

Finally: "The 18th Legion's Salamanders' expansion path... a prehistoric civilization with saber-toothed tigers and mammoths... Hmm? Signs of faint supernatural powers? Alright, this will do."

Following the same method as before, Selene replicated her actions. With precision and ease, she relocated the prehistoric world's solar system in its entirety.

"See? I told you—I'll handle everything," she muttered.

Looking at the seemingly restored star system, now more pristine than before, Selene exhaled deeply and half-closed her eyes in exhaustion.

Shuttling back and forth, relocating two star systems—what a taxing task. Selene chuckled at the thought. From the start, she had no intention of helping the current civilization cheat its way to success.

Sensing the "caretaker's" momentary pause—its process briefly stalling—Selene smirked slyly.

"Haha… Bet you've never seen this kind of move before."

"I have cleared all traces of Honkai energy from the planet and eliminated any remnants of previous civilizations. Everything will start anew. The next generation of civilization will be clean, pure—untainted 'test candidates.' Isn't this exactly what you needed?" Selene said.

By directly replacing the old with the new, wasn't this effectively a 'grand cleanup'? Others might want this opportunity, but she wouldn't give it away so easily.

"Now, it's time for me to 'sleep,'" she added, transmitting this thought to the Will of Honkai. "Feel free to leave the final exam for the next generation of civilization to me as well."

And with that, the Honkai Will—after bundling and throwing the remaining core energies from previous civilizations (those of the Flame-Chasers and the earlier Herrscher eras) to Selene—disappeared without hesitation.

As Selene absorbed the kindred energies, she gazed at the pristine Earth below and exhaled deeply. "A world for high-caliber recruitment."

The statement was meant both for the Earth in the Honkai Dimension and for the Earth she had relocated there.

Although she couldn't yet determine the precise genetic adaptations humanity had developed to survive the pervasive Honkai energy, Selene was confident they were distinct from humans of other worlds.

In other words—resistance to Honkai energy.

After all, they had coexisted with Honkai energy for two generations, resisting it for tens of thousands of years. Their endurance must far surpass that of humans who had never encountered Honkai energy.

Greater endurance meant a higher capacity for enhancement—wasn't this essentially an upgraded recruitment world?

"What name should I give them? Krieg? No, that doesn't suit their temperament…." Selene mused as she stretched lazily and yawned, exhaustion creeping over her.

"Forget it. I'm too tired to think. I just want to sleep… time to head back and get some rest." It had been years since Selene last felt this kind of fatigue.

Though the effects were limited to tiredness and a sense of sleepiness, it reminded her of the monumental effort she had just expended.

While it seemed like a simple act of relocation, the operation involved preserving the solar system intact rather than destroying it, which was far more exhausting.

Moreover, the process was deceptively intricate. It required precise control over micro-particles and the four fundamental forces of the universe.

Maintaining the correct distances between the sun and the planets, stabilizing interplanetary orbits to prevent gravitational disturbances, and averting any collapse of the star were all tasks demanding meticulous precision and immense focus.

With a gentle rip, Selene tore open a spatial rift and, moving with a languid gait, vanished into it.

...

Super-Space Webway, Imperial Navy Flagship

Thud! Thud!

Along the interwoven passageways, a line of towering figures marched forward. Each wore the golden, red-crested helmets of the Imperial Guard. Wherever they passed, the golden light reflecting off their armor seemed to banish every shadow.

Meanwhile, in the ship's training grounds, the sounds of sparring had finally ceased.

"How long have those two been at it since boarding?" the lead Imperial Guard asked with a faint smile.

In the training grounds, Li Sushang and Cornelia stood at opposite edges of the arena, leaning on their knees, drenched in sweat, and panting heavily.

"I admit, I underestimated you. For that, I apologize, Miss Li Sushang," Cornelia said.

"Phew… no worries. We wouldn't have gotten to know each other without a good fight," Li Sushang replied, straightening her posture and taking a deep breath.

In this match, Li Sushang had the upper hand.

Knock, knock, knock!

Someone rapped on the training room's door.

"Wave?" Cornelia turned her gaze toward the entrance, puzzled, where a man with dark blue, tousled hair stood.

"Cornelia, Miss Li Sushang, the boss wants you. The capital is near—get ready."

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