Sirin floated within the silent vacuum of the universe. Beneath her lay Earth, shattered into countless fragments of debris. The former azure had become nothing more than cold stone drifting in darkness.
She did not look back. Her gaze rested on a distant star gradually dimming, her voice light as cosmic rays passing through the void. "Aren't you curious, Cecilia?"
Cecilia knelt upon a floating patch of broken snow. An invisible barrier expanded fifty meters around her, shielding her from the universe's freezing cold and radiation.
Her voice was hoarse, nearly breaking, as she slowly raised her head to look at the purple figure with her back turned. Her fingers curled tightly from the strain. "Why... why leave me alive?"
Only then did Sirin turn around. The wreckage of the entire universe was reflected in her eyes, yet not a ripple stirred within them. It was as though the destruction of everything had been nothing more than brushing dust from her shoulder.
"Because you are a woman destined to become my attendant," she said, flying before Cecilia. The hem of her purple dress swayed gently in the dark currents of space. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Sirin—the creator of this universe."
Cecilia's body trembled violently. Her white hair fell forward, concealing the despair in her eyes. Her voice was hollow and fractured. "You really are the creator... Then why create us, only to destroy us with your own hands?"
"Have you ever played a game?" Sirin did not answer directly. Instead, a strange expression crossed her face.
"To you... was this nothing more than a game?" Cecilia's gaze completely lost focus as she stared blankly into the void.
"No." Sirin shook her head, her tone calm, as if stating an unchangeable fact. "I put it that way only so you could understand more easily. To me, this universe is a false simulation. But I never created it for amusement."
She paused, her fingertip brushing through empty space and touching a violet interface panel.
"By restarting the universe again and again, destroying civilizations and erasing Aeons, I stack special advantages and resistances against all things. Now, once I fully descend, every lifeform, civilization, and even Aeon in the universe will be nothing more than ants before me."
For example, the Aeon of Destruction, Nanook.
With a single thought, she could erase both the Aeon and the concept of Nanook itself, eliminate its ideology and existence, leaving behind only pure destruction.
However, that was only theoretical. The actual outcome remained unknown.
"At this point, what meaning is there in saying all this?" Cecilia forced a sorrowful smile. Her voice was so light it seemed ready to dissipate. "Humanity is gone. I have nothing left. Kill me. Let me be the last human to die."
After speaking, she closed her eyes. Her delicate body trembled slightly atop the shattered snow.
Sirin remained silent for a long time before finally uttering two words.
"No."
Taking Cecilia as her companion attendant and bringing her out of the simulated universe had always been part of her plan.
Cecilia's eyes snapped open, confusion filling them. "Why?"
"Because I said no. There is no reason." Sirin crossed her arms, her tone firm and unquestionable. "You do not have the right to refuse."
"I would rather die than become your attendant." Cecilia straightened her back. Even in utter despair, a faint stubbornness still burned in her eyes.
"Tch. Troublesome."
Sirin clicked her tongue impatiently and raised her hand, opening a semi-transparent panel before her. Cecilia's data and image were clearly displayed upon it.
Cecilia instinctively tried to retreat, but an invisible force froze her in place. She could only watch helplessly as Sirin's fingertip slid across the panel.
The setting "Siegfried's Wife" was deleted word by word.
"Race: Human" was changed to "Race: Herrscher." "Core Will: Protect Humanity" was altered to "Core Will: Love Sirin as dearly as a mother loves her child."
The numerical values on the panel skyrocketed. Hundreds of brand-new ability entries continuously emerged. Even the setting "Daughter: Kiana Kaslana" had been erased by Sirin during the earliest modifications.
In this simulated universe, from beginning to end, Kiana Kaslana had never existed.
Adding Kiana would probably get her spanked by Mom.
The instant the modifications were completed, Cecilia's entire body trembled. Her gaze unfocused briefly before quickly sharpening again.
When she looked at Sirin once more, the despair and hatred in her eyes had vanished completely. In their place was gentle affection.
She reached out and softly stroked Sirin's head, her tone intimate, like a mother addressing her daughter. "You child, still so mischievous."
Sirin felt something subtle stir within her.
She had expected Cecilia's submission, but not quite in this style. Then again, considering how drastic the setting changes were, such a reaction made sense.
She coughed lightly and probed, "You don't blame me for destroying human civilization?"
"It was nothing more than a low-level civilization. If it's destroyed, then it's destroyed." Cecilia smiled and shook her head, her fingers gently combing through Sirin's hair. "How could I blame my adorable Sirin over something so trivial?"
If I hadn't changed your settings, you'd be trying to kill yourself every day!
This is better. It'll save me a lot of trouble in the future!
Sirin grumbled inwardly and stopped dwelling on Cecilia's transformation.
With a wave of her hand, she dismissed the panel. Dense Honkai energy began to surge around her.
In the real universe, her true body was burning the matter of other parallel universes, converting it into Honkai energy.
As the torrent of energy gathered, Cecilia's body began to turn translucent. Countless golden particles revolved around her.
Sirin gazed at her. "Get ready. We're leaving this place."
Cecilia nodded with a smile and took Sirin's hand of her own accord.
...
In the Overlord universe.
A super Honkai Eruption broke out.
Sirin discovered that her simulated self could not descend smoothly.
She was stuck between reality and illusion.
It seemed that the real universe could not withstand the descent of her complete form. If she forced it, the universe would shatter like glass.
Cecilia, however, descended without issue.
Was it because her values were too excessively inflated?
There was no helping it.
Sirin could only split a weaker version of herself from her fully descended form and have that smaller self bring the system and descend first.