Honkai: Fire Moth Herrschers-Chapter 227: It Has Awakened

What exactly is consciousness?

Even before the era of the Honkai, this question deeply troubled humanity.

If viewed from a materialistic perspective, treating consciousness as a tangible "substance," then the signal changes in the human brain and the transformations of brain tissue could be considered manifestations of consciousness.

But is consciousness truly a tangible "substance"?

Ironically, humanity hadn't found the answer before gaining the ability to control it.

"Three steps to the left..."

"Seven steps forward, turn left..."

In the blood-red desert, Elysia and Sakura walked blindfolded under Aponia's guidance.

Sakura held the koiguchi (mouth) of her scabbard in her left hand, warily scanning for potential enemies. Her thumb rested on the tsuba (guard), pushing the ice blade slightly out of the scabbard. Traces of foreign bloodstains, wiped off when she last sheathed her blade, remained on her fingertips and the web of her thumb—clear evidence this consciousness space wasn't safe.

Elysia, however, was empty-handed. She stared intently at the red sand beneath her feet and suddenly asked, "My dear Aponia, this so-called consciousness space... how should I put it..."

Aponia had anticipated her question. Her soft laughter flowed into Elysia's ears from the surrounding void. "It's just as you thought, yet slightly different. This place does bear similarities to the Imaginary Space and Sea of Quanta described in Michael's reports—it lacks the dimensions defined by humans in the real number world. For instance, the tangible world you see now, my earlier guidance... take three steps back, then turn left... these are all materializations of human thought."

"But the difference is, according to Michael, the sights within the Imaginary Space and Sea of Quanta are completed by an individual's own imagination, whereas here, it's shaped by..."

The moment Elysia and Sakura turned left, Aponia's voice abruptly cut off.

Sakura stopped cautiously, lowering her stance slightly, her right hand gripping the hilt of her blade.

Elysia moved to her side, standing back-to-back with her.

"My dear Aponia? Aponia?"

She called out tentatively, but received no reply.

"It's like the signal dropped... Elysia, what should we do?"

"Without Aponia's guidance, we can't act rashly. Let's stay put and remain vigilant for now."

Without Aponia, the third party controlling spiritual power, guiding them, wandering randomly here could very likely cause their consciousnesses to become lost.

However, they stood in the red sand for a long time, yet nothing happened.

"Sakura, I have a theory."

"What is it?"

"Could it be that Aponia has already imprinted us into the space where the so-called [Stigmata] resides?"

"But according to Mobius, the Stigmata is also a form of Seele's existence. How could it..."

How could it show hostility?

"Oh dear, who knows? Based on my usual impression of dear Mobius, maybe, perhaps, possibly... her supposedly foolproof experiment has once again completely spun out of her control?"

Sakura almost wanted to laugh, but couldn't.

Without Aponia, they could do nothing but wait here helplessly.

Their survival depended entirely on the unreliable Stigmata... and even the Stigmata was just their own guess.

"Elysia!"

The pressure behind her suddenly vanished. Sakura spun around sharply, her ice blade half-drawn, but unexpectedly, Elysia had simply plopped down onto the sand.

Luring the snake out of its hole—Sakura understood instantly. She drew both swords from her waist, held them in her arms, and slowly sat down as well.

"Don't be so stiff, Sakura!"

"Ah... Sorry, I just... don't know what I should be doing right now..."

Elysia suddenly gave Sakura's cheek a light, bold caress, her tone half-pitying, half-teasing. "Speaking of which, Sakura, according to the rules Michael and Mei set previously, Anti-Entropy has had very few missions in the past twenty months or so. Why are you always away from the base? Rin is about the same age as Pardofelis, right? Sigh, you really haven't seen how Hua worries over them like she's raising kids, even though they're around the same age."

Sakura shifted her knees, putting an arm's length between herself and Elysia, looking exasperated but amused. She hugged the blue and purple Katana tightly (see Author's Note below), lowered her head, and pondered how to answer Elysia's question.

"Right! Where did your old sword from the Poisonous Cocoon days go? Carrying a Soulium weapon and a Divine Key must mean the missions you undertake now are even more dangerous than back in Poisonous Cocoon, right?"

"That sword... I've sealed it away. Just like the name 'Poisonous Cocoon,' it's long become history. As for the missions I carry out..."

Sakura narrowed her eyes, staring at the sand before her, and said coldly, "They aren't overly dangerous tasks. It's just for Rin and... just simple sword-swinging."

Suddenly, the special organs atop her head felt warm. She looked up at Elysia, who, seeing her gaze, gave an awkward yet polite smile. She then gently rubbed Sakura's long ears before reluctantly letting go.

"Ahem! Michael really doesn't know how to cherish beauty. How can he let a girl run around outside all year long? Not only does she face risks, but the chaotic schedule affects her skin too!"

"Ah—"

Sakura silently tightened her grip on the Third Divine Key, her other hand instinctively touching her cheek.

She then found herself defending someone, though unsure who exactly: "Those missions weren't assigned to me. He originally intended to go himself... That kind of work has to be done by someone, but I felt that compared to him, those tasks were more suited for me. After all..."

She trailed off, realizing she'd said too much, pursing her lips and abruptly ending the topic.

"So, does that mean your so-called 'clean-up' missions earlier were also..."

"Yes."

Elysia wrinkled her nose, leaned back, and slowly lay down in the red sand.

Sakura's missions weren't hard to guess, especially since she'd revealed so much—it was simply continuing her former duties from Poisonous Cocoon, wielding her blade against the dregs of humanity. This also explained why, over the past year or so, relations between Fire Moth and the United Government had nearly hit rock bottom, yet funding had never been an issue.

But it must be extremely dangerous work. The United Government and powerful figures worldwide were undoubtedly hunting for someone like her. They surely knew this was Fire Moth's retaliation for the riots back then, a Damocles sword Fire Moth had presumptuously hung over their heads.

Only by seizing this sword could they have a chance to manipulate Fire Moth again. And if they accidentally destroyed it, Fire Moth would have no recourse, just as those targeted by Sakura had no recourse.

This also explained why, when distributing the Third Divine Key, Michael had forcefully designated it as Sakura's exclusive weapon—a Divine Key that theoretically could yield greater benefits on the battlefield. This directly foiled Vill-V's meticulously designed "lottery system"... It was all to ensure Sakura was equipped to face various perilous situations.

"Seemingly simple, brutal, and reckless actions, yet actually considerate of others... That's truly Michael's way of caring..."

Elysia rolled over, blew sharply, clearing the sand from her lips. With that breath, some of the pent-up feelings from the past few days left her chest.

"Sigh, we've waited so long, why hasn't..."

"Elysia, silence!"

Sakura straightened up, her thumb once again pushing the ice blade from its sheath.

"Rustle— Rustle—"

The red sand on all sides began to shift and rise—they were surrounded.

"Finally! They're finally here!"

Elysia sprang up with a carp flip, hands on her hips.

She even had the leisure to stretch and yawn. "Awwawaaah, I wonder how Dystopia and Kevin are doing over there. That replicated Seele personality should be easier to handle than this malfunctioning Stigmata, right?"

"Hey! Separated for a year and a half, practically parted by death for almost a week, and now that we finally meet again, this is the wary look you give me?"

"Seele" sat with crossed legs on a luxurious sofa, arm resting on the armrest, chin propped on her hand, a mocking smile playing on her lips as she looked at Kevin before her.

"While I'd like to treat you as Seele, you... don't seem to have any connection to her at all, do you?"

"Sigh, your attitudes are really... quite consistent."

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"Your?"

Kevin tilted his head, unsure where her plural "your" came from.

On the surface, he sparred verbally with "Seele," but inwardly he desperately called out to Dystopia. Clearly, all his efforts were like a clay ox entering the sea—disappearing without a trace.

Damn it! What's going on? Is it this strange Seele in front of me?

"Tsk, can you stop looking at me like that?" "Seele" spread her hands. "Does unfamiliarity necessarily mean hostility? Besides, judging by appearance alone, I shouldn't be unfamiliar to you, right?"

"From psychological and sociological perspectives, unfamiliarity does imply hostility—whether humanity's ancestors were social or solitary animals, rejecting strangers is the most instinctive behavior because strangers represent the unknown."

"And for humans, over the past fifty thousand years, we overcame the fear of sharp objects because we could forge armor to block them and develop medicine to heal wounds; we overcame the fear of fire because we learned to extinguish it with water and even control its power; we overcame the fear of darkness because we realized darkness is merely an optical phenomenon, lighting up the night with our own hands..."

"Seele's" mouth twitched slightly. She suddenly cut Kevin off: "What else did Mei say?"

"Huh?"

Kevin scratched his head and recited fluently: "After that, she also said, [Sorry, the last point was expressed somewhat incorrectly, because from both philosophical and scientific perspectives, light must exist within darkness]... Wait! Why am I telling you this!"

"Seele" sighed looking at the slow-on-the-uptake Kevin. "How should I know? You just started reciting a bunch of dizzying stuff at me. No matter how you look at it, only Mei could say something like that, right? If you could say things like that, then Brother Michael..."

Her words abruptly stopped. She clicked her tongue heavily, "Tsk," looking irritated, as if that last phrase had provoked her.

Kevin, however, became uncertain.

He had previously thought this abruptly appearing "Seele," who had seemingly severed his connection with Dystopia, was the materialization of the beast's [Instinct] that Mobius spoke of. But based on the information from their brief exchange, she seemed to genuinely possess Seele's memories.

She knew Mei, knew him, could identify his recitation of Mei's words by the style, and the slip-up at the end... her way of addressing Michael...

Could she really be Seele? But this personality... is completely different! Rather than Seele, she reminds me more of the Sixth Herrscher...

Kevin was somewhat at a loss. Usually, in situations like this, he just needed to follow Mei's instructions: swing the sword or don't swing the sword.

But this time, his connection to the outside world was completely cut off. He had to think for himself, judge for himself, decide for himself... and take responsibility.

Friend or foe...

He took a deep breath, his right hand by his waist tightening slightly into a sword-gripping gesture. Although he appeared empty-handed now, in this consciousness space, he could summon the Surtr—completely destroyed in reality—at will.

But then he relaxed his hand again.

"Alright, I'm willing to believe you're Seele—just... maybe, perhaps, something went wrong?"

"Seele's" eyebrow raised slightly.

"Since you are Seele, I'm willing to trust you harbor no ill will—you should know why we're here, right?—to rescue Michael's consciousness. I won't waste words. Seele, we need your help. We need you to show us where Michael's consciousness is within this body."

"Seele" bit her lip, her gaze fixed blankly on Kevin's face. She neither spoke nor moved, leaving Kevin confused about what she was thinking.

He thought he hadn't explained clearly enough, slapped his forehead, and elaborated: "Of course, relying solely on your connection isn't enough. Elysia and Sakura went to find... uh, another entity. Aponia will sense the convergence point where you connect, allowing us to find the relatively accurate location of Michael's consciousness..."

His voice trailed off as "Seele" stared at him with a "Why didn't you say so earlier?" look.

She waved her hand dismissively. The ornate sofa spun in place, turning its back to Kevin, then instantly spun back.

She nodded repeatedly, muttering things like "Okay, okay," then said:

"Actually, it doesn't need to be that complicated. My power alone is enough to pinpoint Michael's consciousness for you. I can even take you there right now..."

"That's great! Take me there quickly... I mean, no, we still need..."

"Are you an idiot!"

Seele interrupted him again. She tried to speak calmly: "I can help you, but... I need you to answer two questions."

"Uh... what questions?"

She silently closed her eyes, motionless, making Kevin wonder if she was only now thinking up the "two questions."

"Kevin..."

She grunted, her voice fading as if swallowing words back.

"Forget it. Lucky you, the two questions are reduced to one—Kevin, what... what kind of person do you think Michael is?"

Seeing the girl's expression grow serious, Kevin couldn't help but feel troubled.

"Uh... your question came out of nowhere... and besides..."

Besides, when it came to understanding Michael, I don't think I know him better than Seele...

"Stop dawdling! Just say whatever comes to mind!"

"Is that so..."

Kevin stroked his chin, thinking for a long time.

But he wasn't thinking about how to evaluate Michael; that question didn't require deep thought for him.

He was thinking about the "Seele" before him.

[She] is definitely not Seele, not the target I came here to find—judging by her surface personality, she has almost nothing in common with Seele. And a so-called replicated personality, if I understand correctly... The result of CTRL+C and CTRL+V shouldn't be this drastically different, right?

But the girl before me is definitely not my enemy either. She showed no hostility, and in a way, seems rather clueless...

That leaves only one possibility, at least in my mind—Could this be the Stigmata? But that doesn't seem right either. Wouldn't that be backwards? Or maybe Mobius's research on Stigmata is only at the level of [imagination]?

The more he thought, the more confused he got, the muscles in his cheeks twitching involuntarily.

He decided to stop thinking about it. Anyway, according to the girl, once he answered her question, she would probably take them straight to Michael...

"..."

Kevin opened his mouth but made no sound, closing it again after a few seconds.

Evaluating a senior/comrade/friend he had known for so long didn't require much thought, but humans are contradictory creatures. When it came time to speak, all sorts of fitting words and sentences flooded his mind, making it hard to choose.

He could just start talking randomly, disjointedly, like a stream of consciousness, piecing together fragmented words, which wouldn't contradict the girl's request.

But Kevin understood that the answer she truly wanted to hear wasn't a superficial one.

What did she really want to hear?

Kevin decided to take a gamble. He spoke seriously—

"He's a hero."

The scene went cold for two or three seconds, then Seele suddenly scoffed: "Kevin, do you know what you're saying? Do you really understand the meaning of a hero?"

"Of course!"

Speaking of this, Kevin fluently began: "A so-called hero is someone who solves problems after they arise, bears suffering after it strikes. There is no other way. All heroes are accidents, never the result of proactive action..."

"Enough! What else did Mei tell you?"

"Um! She also said... uh... you..."

The familiar question, the familiar embarrassment, the familiar head-scratching.

The girl stared at the red sand beneath her feet and muttered, "He couldn't even protect his own sister. What kind of hero is he..."

"..."

"When you needed him most, he was selfishly lost, evasive. What kind of hero is he..."

"..."

"Isn't that just as you said? He can neither solve problems when they arise nor bear suffering when it strikes. What kind of hero is he?"

Kevin looked at the increasingly hysterical girl before him, feeling pity but also slight relief—it seemed his gamble had paid off.

"Perhaps... The definition of a hero varies from person to person. Maybe for you... but for us, he resolved the Second, Third, Fourth, and Sixth Honkai Eruptions, saved many lives, including mine. He is a hero."

"As for the second point, I can't make any judgment. I can only say, it's precisely because he always hoped for a perfect outcome that he suffers when faced with choosing the lesser of two evils. But at least for me, I am grateful to him. He spared me, Mei, and Elysia from having to face such decisions ourselves. From our perspective, he did indeed bear a certain kind of suffering for us."

The girl's emotions calmed slightly.

"...Do you know? He wasn't the one who killed the Sixth Herrscher. At that time, he could only watch helplessly as his sister used her last shred of consciousness to save thousands of people, and... killed herself."

"So... isn't that why I admire him even more? At least I can't say that if I had experienced all that, I could have overcome the grief in just a few days and defeated the Seventh Herrscher... I possess neither his strength nor his resolve to become something non-human without hesitation!"

"Perhaps. There are just some stories you don't know."

The girl's emotions completely stabilized. "It's quite ironic, isn't it? He thinks so poorly of himself, yet you all keep praising him."

"Just stating the facts."

"Perhaps. Alright, I'll relay this to him. Since you've answered my question, come with me. I'll take you to him."

Kevin rejoiced inwardly, but quickly added: "Um... could you restore the mental link you cut off earlier? We don't just need to find Michael's consciousness; we also need to handle the Stigmata side..."

"So annoying! The Stigmata side, I..."

Seele pouted, then froze.

"Wait, what did you just say I cut off?"

"Huh? Wasn't the mental link cut off by you..."

"...Kevin!"

A familiar voice flooded Kevin's ears from all directions.

"Aponia! Where's Dystopia? Weren't you handling Elysia and Sakura's side?"

"Never mind that for now, Kevin. We must hurry. The connection breaking just now was simply because our mental intrusion has, in a practical sense, broken the balance. That's right—it has awakened."

"MOOOO—"

---||---

Note: In the game, only Tachi weapons exist. Based on this setting, Ice Epiphyllum, Frozen Naraka, and Seven Thunders of Retribution should all be classified as Tachi rather than Katana. However, judging from Mei's and Sakura's combat styles, their sword techniques, and the way the three versions of Yae Sakura wear their swords, it is easy to conclude that they actually use Katana, not Tachi.

Tachi generally have a greater reverse curvature, with longer blades and handles. In contrast, Katana, which are used in ground-based combat, match the blade curvature and length of Seven Thunders of Retribution and Frozen Naraka.

Moreover, in all three Yae Sakura models, the weapons are worn with the blade facing upward—this is clearly the way to wear a Katana. Only the sword modeled on "Flame Sakitama" seems to be worn blade-down, but even that is not a Katana—its length is closer to a Wakizashi.

This is likely an oversight in the early weapon models of Honkai Impact 3rd. In Genshin Impact, however, the distinction between Tachi and Katana is much clearer.

For example, many people assume that Musou Isshin and Mistsplitter Reforged are both Katana, but that's actually incorrect. While Musou Isshin doesn't have an extreme curvature, its blade and handle are significantly longer. Meanwhile, Mistsplitter Reforged is noticeably smaller. This aligns with their official classification—Musou Isshin is a Tachi, while Mistsplitter Reforged is a Katana. Looking at how the Kamisato siblings and Kazuha draw their swords, it's clear that their weapons should also be classified as Katana.

As for the Shogunate Samurai, their weapon placement makes the distinction even clearer. If a sword is worn horizontally at the waist with the blade facing downward, and it is longer, then it is a Tachi—like the one carried by the guard patrolling outside the Kamisato Estate. On the other hand, if the sword is worn with the blade facing upward and slanted downward at the waist, it is a Katana.

This distinction isn't just a matter of preference—the way they are worn is fundamentally different.