Although Elias had already helped Sheele reclaim her ho—
An empty house was nothing but loneliness and silence. In the end, he invited Sheele to move into the Golden Courtyard.
After Sheele moved in, the atmosphere of the Golden Courtyard beca warm and healing. Every day when everyone returned ho, they would be greeted by a gentle, pure, and innocent girl, smiling brightly and saying, "Welco back."
That feeling alone could wash away the fatigue of an entire day.
At first, Elysia and the others thought they had gained a new rival in love, but it turned out the household had gained an angel. They imdiately welcod her with open arms! (Though technically, yes... she was still a rival.)
Even Mobius and Kalpas beca noticeably more polite in front of the soft, timid, and kind Sheele.
But Sheele herself wasn't satisfied with just that.
"Big Brother Elias, I want to join Fire Moth too. Can you teach how to fight?"
One day, she ca to him with that request.
Although she was timid and afraid of violence, she didn't want to simply wait at ho every day for Elias to return.
In both the Current Era and the Previous Era, Sheele was a girl who would summon the courage to take up arms for the sake of soone important.
However, Elias refused her request firmly.
"No, absolutely not. I didn't take you out of that orphanage just to bring you to the battlefield. Besides, girls shouldn't be fighting and killing all day long."
"But Sister Elysia and the others..."
"They're magical girls. That's different."
Given Elias' nature, there was no way he would ever let her fight. In his eyes, the only ti a girl should hold a blade was when she was cooking.
Although Sheele felt disappointed, she was still touched by how much Elias cared for her. So she decided to help in other ways—taking care of chores around the courtyard, cooking als, and offering lap pillows when he was tired.
And honestly, her help wasn't small at all. Among the Fla-Chasers, almost everyone who could cook was also a battle maniac.
Aside from Pardofelis and Griseo, everyone else had missions, work, and Honkai Beasts to deal with. After a long day, who had the energy to make dinner?
So Sheele beca the Courtyard's little caretaker, and before long, everyone had grown used to the soft, healing presence of the gentle girl.
Still, all the Fla-Chasers knew one thing—
Sheele was special.
The Elysian Realm was built beneath the Golden Courtyard itself, which served as the ho of the fifteen Fla-Chasers. Just like Sakura and Kalpas, Elias had a deep attachnt to his concept of "ho."
So, no matter how pitiful Sheele's background was, if she hadn't possessed sothing special about her, Elias wouldn't have gone so far as to let her live in the Golden Courtyard—in their ho.
But no one questioned or speculated about it.
Because of their absolute faith in Elias, they trusted that he must have had his own reasons.
After all, within Fire Moth—and even throughout the entire Previous Era—it was common knowledge that the most foolish thing one could ever do... was to doubt Elias' decisions.
The great Savior had already proven countless tis that his judgnt was infallible.
Even Dr. i, known as the pinnacle of human intellect, would imdiately assu she was wrong whenever her conclusions conflicted with his.
At this point, Elias was more than just a Savior—within Fire Moth, he was regarded as a prophet, a seer.
Because ti and again, he could predict the Herrschers' descents, as well as other supposedly unavoidable Honkai disasters, extinguishing countless potential tragedies before they ever began.
Elias: "Well, it has been ten loops. I rember more than just when the Herrschers appear."
Misteln: "Indeed. Every second of all ten loops remains in your mind, my dear Master. Your mory capacity has already reached its limit."
Elias: "..."
Every ti Misteln thought about it, she couldn't help but sigh—this man was simply too greedy!
Back during the very first cycle, Elias had co up with an idea. Since he was going to rember anyway—why not rember everything?
Not just the tis when each Herrscher appeared.
But every single Honkai-related event.
Of course, that was practically impossible. From the beginning of humanity's war against the Honkai all the way to the Final Battle, there were nearly ten million incidents worldwide related to the Honkai.
To morize every event's ti, place, and details was like trying to draw on the sand—it would inevitably be erased by the wind or washed away by the tide. Human mory was unreliable at best.
But Elias found a way.
As a Chira fusion warrior, he deliberately conducted a fusion surgery with a Honkai Beast—and intentionally made sure the operation almost failed. The result was a peculiar side effect.
That side effect was hyperthysia.
The genetic source ca from the Judgnt-level Honkai Beast, Garuda.
If one couldn't fully control Garuda's hyper-regenerative mutation, its excessive regenerative ability would affect the brain, making the person incapable of forgetting anything.
Using that flaw to his advantage, Elias successfully morized every single Honkai-related event—not just from one cycle, but from all ten of them.
Because each ti he reset the loop, he tried for a better outco. Every attempt caused countless new butterfly effects, creating new Honkai incidents that hadn't existed before.
Elias rembered them all. By the eleventh loop, his accumulated knowledge allowed him to perform godlike, seemingly prophetic command decisions.
Where each Honkai Beast would appear, what kind of casualties would result, how that creature would act...
He rembered everything.
And it wasn't like Aponia's vague fate threads—it was crystal clear, down to every minute and second. Thanks to this, the casualties in the Previous Era had been reduced to an impossibly small number, sothing that even the word miracle couldn't describe.
But this was also the reason Misteln had tried to stop him.
Because there was a price—and it was severe.
On this topic, Elias got scolded rcilessly every ti, with not a shred of dignity as her Master.
Misteln: "Ten full loops' worth of every Honkai-related event... What do you think your brain is, a supercomputer?! I'm honestly amazed you can still think straight, let alone stay conscious!"
Elias: "I—I use Fenghuang Down to delete (forget) redundant data, so actually the number isn't that big... only around, uh, thirty million incidents."
Misteln: "THIRTY! MILLION!"
When she heard that vague number, the [Idea] maiden nearly broke down in anguish. As Elias' Stigma spirit, she shared his mories to so extent.
But unlike Elias, Misteln didn't suffer from hyperthysia—she could forget. In fact, she only rembered about a thousand Honkai events, and not even in full detail.
But Elias couldn't forget at all!
Misteln couldn't imagine it. How could soone still smile, still stay sane, after carrying thirty million tragedies in their mind?
Misteln: "Please, take better care of yourself, you idiot Master!!"
Elias: "Uhh, next ti, I promise."
Misteln: "..."
Elias: "Don't worry, I still have so mory space left. As long as I sleep more often, I should make it to the end. Uh... wait, I didn't say anything."
Misteln: "So that's why you won't let weave you dreams anymore—because there's no mory space left, right?"
Elias had slipped up once, revealing his fragile condition.
As it stood, whenever he was awake, his brain would automatically record everything around him. His mory capacity had already reached the limit of the limit.
That was why sleep had beco his most effective form of relief—because when asleep, his mories stopped accumulating. It was the only ti Elias could escape from the crushing weight of thirty million recollections.
But sleep was allowed—dreaming was not.
Because even dreams would be recorded automatically.
And ti in dreams flowed differently from reality; an hour of sleep could equal an entire lifeti within the dream.
Not long ago, while resting on Sakura's lap, Elias had dread of a peaceful life as an ordinary man—living happily ever after with a shrine maiden. The mory of that dream alone had consud the little space remaining in his already-overloaded mind.
"It's fine. I already asked Aponia for a [Discipline]. From now on, I won't dream anymore."
Elias pointed to his head as he said this.
The essence of [Discipline] was absolute ntal restraint. After Aponia imposed the decree 'Never dream again' upon him, he no longer had to worry about the dangers of dreaming.
That was the first ti Misteln truly understood what it ant to feel both powerless and furious. When she learned what he'd done, she wanted to use Fenghuang Down to wipe his mories clean with one swing.
"You really are... Ugh, forget it! Just hurry and finish this loop. End this journey—this torture—and erase everything already!"
"Actually... I'm really fine. It was hard to get used to at first, but now I've adjusted. At most, I just get headaches sotis. And mories can be useful..." Elias muttered defensively.
Once, during a previous loop, he had burned all his mories with Fenghuang Down to amplify the power of Taixuan Eminence—one swing of his blade had knocked the Herrscher of Finality offline for ten whole days.
Misteln: "I regret it so much. I never should've made those mory backups! I should've just erased you entirely like Fu Hua in the Current Era!"
Elias: "Wouldn't have worked. Even if you didn't back them up, I'd just morize everything again, one by one."
Misteln: "..."
At that mont, Misteln seriously considered telling the others—gathering all the Fla-Chasers to restrain Elias together and using a simulated Fenghuang Down to delete his excessive mories.
Everyone knew that despite being invincible in battle, he never guarded himself from his allies. The plan actually had a high chance of success.
But Elias, who knew his [Idea] spirit too well, instantly saw through her thoughts—and threatened her on the spot.
Elias: "If you break our agreent, then this loop won't be my last. I'll just start it all over again."
That one sentence completely disard her. The maiden of [Idea] realized, helplessly, that she had no power to oppose him. Her beloved Master was a gentle tyrant—
Kind to everyone, but when he decided sothing, no one could change his mind.
"So, keep this a secret, alright?" ( ^▽^ )
"...I understand, Master. But I have a feeling everyone will find out sooner or later."
"Impossible, absolutely impossible~ If you don't say anything and I don't say anything, there won't be a third person in the world who knows."
Elias said with full confidence, believing there was no chance of exposure.
But that was, in truth, a kind of unavoidable arrogance.
After carrying the weight of every tragedy and saving the world eleven tis, Elias had unconsciously developed the illusion that everything in existence was under his control. He never realized that every secret in this world would, eventually, be revealed.
...
Two months after Sheele moved into the Golden Courtyard—
"Ti's almost up..."
That day, Elias stared at an hourglass.
Perhaps as a personal reminder—or as a ritual gesture—he had crafted thirteen hourglasses, each representing the ti of a Herrscher's descent.
Now, the sixth hourglass was almost empty. That ant the Sixth Herrscher was about to appear.
Elias' eyes glead with anticipation as he looked outside, where a girl was sweeping fallen leaves with gentle care.
He thought to himself—it wouldn't be long before he t the other Sheele.
The simulated Abyss Flower and Fenghuang Down were ready, and the new vessel for consciousness had already been constructed. Everything was prepared—only the final mont remained.
Elias' lips curved upward. After double-checking that everything was in order, he called toward the doorway.
"Sheele, co to my room tonight. There's sothing very important I need to tell you."
"!!!"
Clatter.
The broom in Sheele's hands fell to the ground.
Those words instantly reminded the girl of a certain "gift" she'd received from Elysia and the others not long ago—an Elias-thed doujin.
Recalling the "intense" content she had read, Sheele's cheeks turned bright red and her head began to steam.
(A boy inviting a girl to his room at night... In the book, that usually ant... that kind of thing, right? Isn't that too soon for ? But... if Big Brother Elias wants to...)
"Uh... Sheele, are you okay?"
Elias looked on with a perplexed expression.
He saw his little angel holding an imaginary broom, blushing furiously while making sweeping motions in the air.
If Elias ever found out that Sheele was imagining scenes from a doujin about him, he would absolutely demand to know why Griseo insisted on drawing them every loop—and would sternly warn his pink-haired elf not to give such books to pure-hearted girls like Sheele! Otherwise, he'd make her the heroine next ti... as a cream puff.
(Elysia: Wait, did you say... cream puff? Where do I sign up?!)
...
That night—
With a nervous yet expectant heart, the freshly bathed Sheele, dressed in soft pajamas, quietly made her way to the boy's room. But when she entered, what she saw was Elias standing there holding two simulated Divine Keys.
She froze on the spot.
"B-Big Brother Elias... what's this?"
"Sheele, what I'm about to tell you might sound frightening—but please, don't be afraid."
"O-okay."
Seeing the solemn look on his face, Sheele braced herself for sothing serious. Yet no matter how much she prepared, she wasn't ready for what ca next.
"Sheele... you're going to beco the Sixth Herrscher."
"Eh?"
"In five minutes, the Honkai will choose you—you'll awaken as the Sixth Herrscher, the Herrscher of Death."
Elias placed the sixth hourglass before her.
As Sheele watched the grains of sand fall steadily, she felt as though she were watching her own life count down. Her mind went blank.
Although she wasn't a mber of Fire Moth, she had spent ti around Elias and the others. Being surrounded by the fifteen Fla-Chasers who fought on the frontlines against the Honkai, Sheele had learned much about the Herrschers.
And because of that... she despaired.
She didn't want to beco a Herrscher—not at all!
—
—
40 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon:
Patreon/DaoOfHeaven
User Comments
0 comments from readers