Honkai: Man(Sludge) From Future

Sirin needed to find a suitable candidate for the next Herrscher.

But from her perspective, becoming a Herrscher required a moment of mental collapse, a moment when the Will of the Honkai could exploit a weakness.

As the only known being in the world to have been transformed into a Herrscher by the Will of the Honkai, the Herrscher of the Void retained all of Sirin's memories. This meant that the current Sirin was, in effect, a continuation of the original.

However, as we all know, genetic material doesn't typically possess the ability to pass down memories.

This was something else, an antibody formed by the Honkai factors, or perhaps a power akin to a Stigma, which caused the memories to descend upon K-423.

This resulted in the Kiana and Sirin of today.

Noldrei seemed to be particularly "fond" of her as a Herrscher. He didn't show the slightest displeasure at her desire to destroy humanity. In fact, it was that woman, Tesla, who seemed to dislike her more often than not.

Sirin might not have had the best education, but that didn't mean she lacked emotional perception. She wasn't an idiot; she knew who was wary of her and who let their guard down.

Clearly, Noldrei, with his overwhelming power, could afford to be completely unguarded.

Even the current Tesla was no match for him. Not even the SELENE's cannon could kill him. Exiling him to the Sea of Quanta wouldn't necessarily finish him off either. Could the Sea of Quanta be more powerful than Noldrei, who had traversed time and space?

Sirin couldn't come up with a solution, and if Tesla couldn't, then Sirin certainly couldn't.

She felt like a petulant child being led by the nose.

Sirin was slightly shorter than Kiana, which made her feel even more at a disadvantage when standing next to Noldrei.

I should've chosen a taller body...

Noldrei bought her a lot of tasty treats, making up for the miserable time she'd spent as a disembodied head, unable to taste a thing. Although she had a mouth, it was useless for anything other than speaking and rapidly digesting food.

Forget savoring delicacies; she couldn't even taste the blood she drank.

Fortunately, Noldrei himself had no... interest in the humans of this era. The only thing that seemed to pique his interest was whipping Tesla.

No one wanted to feel the sting of Noldrei's whip. Besides Tesla, only Kiana had experienced it a few times.

"Why are you buying me all this stuff? You think this will make me like you even a little?"

'.........'

Sirin put on a tsundere act, declaring that her affection meter wouldn't go up, then immediately snatched the snacks Noldrei bought for her and started eating.

Ice cream... delicious...

She felt so pathetic. Not only could she not beat him, but she'd even lost her gems. The only thing she had left was her own piece of Stigma, with just enough Herrscher power to give her a small taste of what she'd lost.

"Do you want to become a pony? I think a sparkly pony would suit you."

"No way! I should at least be Princess Luna!" Sirin blurted out instinctively, then immediately felt like she'd said something wrong.

"At best, you'd be Nightmare Moon. Princess Luna is reserved for Kiana. Unfortunately, I modified her body too early, so I can't turn her into a pony now," Noldrei said with a sigh, seeming genuinely regretful that he couldn't transform Kiana.

"?! Why?! Why does she get to be Princess Luna, and I'm the freakish Nightmare Moon?" Sirin felt she was a much better fit for Princess Luna than Kiana.

Wait, why am I discussing ponies again?

It wasn't that she wanted to, but since she'd been with Noldrei, the show they watched most at home was My Little Pony.

Sirin knew every detail of the plot, yet Noldrei had assigned her such a trash-tier role.

"Look, Nightmare Moon got her five gems and was taken down. Didn't you also have five gems and get taken down? So obviously, Kiana is Princess Luna, and you're that useless Nightmare Moon!"

Noldrei's argument was sound, and he even managed to bring up Sirin's dark past.

The ice cream in Sirin's hand suddenly lost its flavor.

How can such a sleazy, despicable person exist? He knows I can't beat him, so he deliberately says things to tick me off.

Back when she was just a disembodied head with no presence, she always felt like she was being raised as some strange pet. Now that she was human again, things were slightly better, but not by much.

She had become the target of Noldrei's "venomous tongue," and he'd attack her dark history whenever he felt like it.

"Am I really Nightmare Moon?"

Sirin thought about the unfortunate Nightmare Moon. She had just appeared when she was defeated by the Princess of the Cosmos's student and a group of little ponies, all shouting something about friendship.

And her?

Wasn't her story... pretty much the same?

Sirin didn't dare to think too deeply about it.

Is My Little Pony actually a prophecy?

The magic of friendship was truly terrifying.

"Oh? There's someone we know up ahead. Let's go take a look."

Noldrei led Sirin forward and saw a woman adorned in red.

Murata Himeko. An intelligent, mature beauty, an excellent and upright teacher, and an unlucky soul who had been single for years, with her dates constantly falling through.

And apparently, that was still the case...

Are all the former Valkyries this idle now that they're out of a job?

"I'm sorry, but this event is for couples only."

The staff member at the shop seemed troubled, unsure how to explain the situation to the woman before her.

Murata Himeko pointed inside and demanded, "What kind of 'couples' are those? You tell me, what's with all the male-male and female-female pairs in there? Is it that hard to be a heterosexual these days?"

The staff member was in a difficult position. The main issue wasn't that Himeko couldn't participate, but that Himeko didn't have a partner at all.

"I think there's a problem with your event! If you keep stopping me like this, how am I supposed to continue my blind date? Listen up! It's already ruined! Do you understand? Fu Hua, why aren't you saying something to back me up?"

Fu Hua nodded earnestly and said, "My friend, I am a woman. You really did mistake me for someone else just now. While my features may be sharp and defined, that's from years of martial arts training. Alright, Himeko, they require couples to prove it with a kiss. I can't bring myself to do something like that."

Noldrei pulled Sirin aside with him to watch the spectacle.

"How unlucky. Has she always been this unlucky?" Sirin asked curiously.

Noldrei shook his head. "I don't know. She's a bit too honest and easily tricked, I guess. Just like you, she has a certain one-track-minded charm. Now they can't even run their business..."