SWNOVELXO Chapter 132: The Sea of Quanta
Such an abnormal scene naturally caught everyone's attention. Sensing the energy radiating from Rozaliya, an energy that rivaled an Emperor-class Honkai beast, Gray Serpent's smugness evaporated.
He got a really bad feeling when he looked at her, and he didn't know why.
"No, this is a true Emperor-class… Perhaps this is the serum's true purpose." Instantly disregarding his own safety, Gray Serpent charged, unstoppable.
Cocolia, witnessing this, paled. She maneuvered the tactical mech in front of Rozaliya, abandoning even Theresa. But Ganesha smashed through the heavy shield, plowing a deep trench into the ground.
The pink-haired girl stood her ground, eyes closed.
Plunged into darkness, her connection to her sister intensified. She could see Liliya, still there, waiting for her.
"Lend me your strength, my sister."
Boom!
It was super loud when it hit. There was dust and smoke everywhere, and it was so sudden nobody even had time to yell.
Theresa's heart skipped a beat. She launched her blades at Ganesha.
But before they reached it, a cracking sound echoed. First, Ganesha's armor shattered, then its claws, then its arms.
Finally, cracks spread across its entire body. The pale, hardened carapace crumbled away.
"Liliya." Before the dust settled, two flashes of red and blue crossed Ganesha's form. Rozaliya, who should have been crushed, was now standing behind it.
Both great swords, forged from Honkai beast shells, shouldn't have been so sharp. But empowered by the Herrscher's strength, they could cut through anything.
Beside her, Ganesha froze. Two fissures appeared on its body, and it began to slide apart like a cleaved ice block. Within its bisected form, still coated in viscous fluid, Liliya was revealed, falling into Rozaliya's arms.
"Liliya! You're okay!" Rozaliya, seeing her sister safe, immediately tried to relinquish control, but Ren stopped her.
Be careful. It's going to self-destruct.
As if on cue, Ganesha's severed halves pulsed with Honkai energy, then exploded. Ren used the great swords as shields, the seashell radiating a protective light, shielding the twins.
Finally, the dust settled. Rozaliya, her expression still blank under Ren's control, carried the unconscious Liliya towards the living quarters.
"Rozaliya! You're alright!" Cocolia struggled to her feet, reaching for the twins.
But Rozaliya sidestepped her embrace. She hadn't forgotten Cocolia's willingness to sacrifice Liliya. The girl might be too young to understand the implications, but Ren wouldn't give Cocolia an inch.
Rozaliya walked away without a word, leaving Cocolia pale and devastated.
"Your actions have probably broken her trust completely," a voice said. Cocolia looked up at Theresa.
Theresa shook her head, retracting her cross and moving on to assist elsewhere.
Only the rubble and destruction remained. Cocolia looked around, desolation filling her heart.
Seele was gone. Bronya was gone. Even Liliya and Rozaliya had lost faith in her. What had it all been for? All those innocent lives, all those children…
She used to tell herself it was all for the children. Now, abandoned and alone, her last shred of self-deception was torn away.
Your actions were meaningless. Your life is a tragedy. Your so-called motherly love was a lie. Cocolia, from the moment you made your choice, you were destined for a path of error.
In the void, the final stroke of the Obsidian Concord mark was drawn. With the click of puppet joints, a new doll emerged from the darkness. When Cocolia looked up again, a faint golden light flickered in her eyes.
[Puppet: Cocolia]
Ren hadn't killed her. In her current state, Cocolia was completely bound by his threads, with no chance of escape. He had fundamentally broken her spirit. A woman who made only wrong choices had finally surrendered the ability to choose. She would be controlled. Her life would be a vessel for the Herrscher of Dominance.
She retained her self-awareness, but she didn't have Himeko's freedom. Unless he forced her to kill her own children, there would be little resistance to his control.
Having created the new Puppet, Ren released his hold on Rozaliya, allowing the twins to reunite. He left Cocolia to her own devices, granting Rozaliya a final moment of comfort before their separation.
…
Within the Sea of Quanta, Ren followed close behind Bronya. But before reaching the Sea proper, they had to pass through the barrier erected by Welt, the First Herrscher's trial.
In the depths, there was only the endless descent. Ren, prepared, remained calm. Though the delay in his powers was significant, it was enough for minimal control. He split off a fragment of his consciousness and merged it with Kosma.
This would cause some of his Puppets in the real world to fall dormant. But only Moth of Ink required real-time control; the rest could be left on autopilot. It wouldn't make much difference, and it solved the latency issue in the Sea of Quanta.
He landed on a platform in a chaotic space, a fantastical landscape of floating fragments.
"Reminds me a bit of the Theater of Domination."
A golden shimmer emanated from the surrounding space. Ren walked across the largest platform. After a while, he saw a young boy sitting at the edge of a fragment: [Joachim].
The guardian of the barrier, created by the First Herrscher.
Having just sent Bronya into Welt's bubble universe, Joachim was still sensing the activity within when he heard footsteps behind him. He frowned but didn't turn, expecting to see the girl. Instead, he saw a strange man.
But there should only be one trial-taker.
"Who are you?" the boy asked, taking a defensive stance.
"I… I'm just an ordinary person who fell into the Sea of Quanta. Can you help me?"
Joachim frowned slightly. Ordinary people rarely survived in this space. To have made it this far, the man must be severely corrupted.
"Alright. I'll send you back to reality."
The surrounding platforms shifted, forming an ascending staircase.
"Go. This is no place for humans."
"Thank you." Ren's voice sounded weary, as if his life was flickering like a dying candle. "There's one more thing… Could you help me with one more thing?"
"What?"
Joachim asked, looking at Ren with a puzzled expression.
Ren looked up, golden eyes gleaming. Then, threads formed into a blade, piercing the boy through the chest.
"Could you please die?"