"With the current civilization's technological level, even spacecraft cannot land on the far side of the Moon. It is impossible to build artificial structures of this scale. So what exactly is this…"
Besides that, Sirin also sensed an extremely high concentration of Honkai energy here, far higher than on Earth by an unknown amount.
When Sirin looked at the far side of the Moon from outer space before landing, she discovered that the entire far side was purple.
"Could it be that Earth once gave birth to a Previous Era that was more advanced than the current civilization, like in science fiction novels?" Sirin could only guess this way. Otherwise, she could not explain why such massive artificial structures existed on the far side of the Moon.
Moreover… Sirin used the glove that came with her Herrscher outfit to wipe the seemingly stone pillar beside her, brushing away several centimeters of dust that had accumulated over tens of thousands of years and revealing the true material of the structure beneath.
"Metal?" No… it was not that simple. A material capable of autonomously absorbing Honkai energy could not be any natural element found on Earth.
The texture was very hard… Sirin tried to bend it with force but found she could not leave any marks. She then unleashed a spatial slash that cut the pillar in half.
Afterward, she saw golden liquid flowing at the smooth cut surface. Before long, the stone pillar restored itself and returned to the untouched appearance it had before Sirin touched it.
"It seems I have discovered some incredible secret…" Having guessed the origin of this building, Sirin felt greatly pleased and continued walking deeper inside.
As she walked further, Sirin saw a golden irregular cube emitting massive Honkai energy fluctuations floating above what appeared to be an altar.
"Is this the existence that has been calling me?" Sirin noticed that the closer she got to it, the stronger the calling voice in her heart became.
Sirin walked toward it and placed her hand on it. The moment her fingers touched the golden cube, a white light flashed. Sirin instinctively raised her hand to shield her eyes. When the light faded, she found herself in a place where nothing but white could be seen.
At that moment, Sirin's hair suddenly stood on end. She sharply turned her head and looked behind her. "Who's there?"
Then, she saw God… or more accurately, a featureless white humanoid figure. As Sirin approached, the image of God changed and became identical to Sirin herself.
But Sirin only felt her skin crawl. She tried to speak: "You… are the voice that has been calling me in my head?"
"Child, I shall grant you power…" God did not open its mouth to speak, yet the voice clearly reached Sirin's mind.
"Grant me power? Why?" Sirin was about to ask. She was not a child who would accept anything given to her. Every gift from fate had already been secretly priced. She would not accept it until she knew what this so-called God wanted.
But God clearly had no intention of letting Sirin refuse. With a point of its finger, the Authorities representing Thunder, Wind, Death, and Flame Herrschers were driven into Sirin's body.
Feeling four new Authorities inside her that were on par with her own Authority of the Void, Sirin could no longer put on a bad face toward this so-called God.
"Speak. What do you want me to do?"
God's voice came again. "Child, I do not wish to force you to do anything. Regarding the responsibilities of a Herrscher, you will eventually find the answer one day. If it weren't for that lowly human tampering with you, I could have contacted you much earlier, and you would not have had to suffer so much."
For "God," or rather the Cocoon, after fusing with the consciousness of a certain artificial intelligence from the Previous Era, It had become somewhat different.
The most obvious change was that It had become more concerned about the Apostles It had once casually created. Unfortunately, the first Apostle had relied on the will of 300,000 people to break through a certain someone's backdoor and escape Its control.
Now, the second Apostle had finally arrived. Although her initial attitude toward It was not very good, It believed It could definitely influence her. It must achieve the goal of "embrace."
However, the development of events seemed to exceed Its expectations. An outcome It had never imagined appeared.
"Lowly human? Who are you talking about!" Sirin reacted as if her reverse scale had been touched. Like an angry kitten with fur bristling, she glared furiously at the God before her.
Sirin knew about Shun's special nature. If there was anyone around her who could tamper with her, it could only be Shun.
"I don't care if you're a god or whatever! How dare you insult my family? Unforgivable!" Sirin did not even glance at this so-called God. Using the newly acquired Authority of the Thunder Herrscher, she created an electromagnetic barrier that severed the only connection between her and God.
Although this God seemed to have given her four Authorities for free, as soon as it involved Mom and little Shun, she could not be blamed for turning hostile.
Sirin left, leaving behind the God who had returned to being a featureless figure, sitting alone on a white stone chair.
One proactive move resulted in a lifetime of introversion… It felt that It would never smile again.
The first time It proactively extended an "embrace" invitation to a being It could communicate with, finally feeling moved once, yet It lost so thoroughly…
Sirin returned to the real world and glanced indifferently at the golden polyhedron behind her, which had already lost its energy and was dissipating.
Hmph, what the hell was that? Daring to command her and even slandering her family in front of her?
She herself wasn't even willing to scold little Shun. What right did it have to scold him? It even called him a "lowly human"? Did it really think it was a god?
After a very long journey, Shun finally arrived in Moscow, which had already become a city of the dead.
He didn't know if he could find Sirin here. To be honest, Shun himself wasn't confident, but he couldn't just stop moving forward.
Avoiding Honkai beasts and Dead Soldiers along the way, Shun reached Moscow's famous Red Square. He planned to use this place as the center to search for Sirin or to create some big commotion.
Suddenly, specks of light appeared in the distant sky, trailing long tails of smoke as they rose into the air and flew "slowly" toward this direction. However, the real speed of these light points exceeded Mach 10.
The same light points appeared by the thousands, as if tens of thousands of stars had emerged at once—beautiful in a dangerous, unique way.
"Damn you and your precious Otto, Theresa!" Shun raised his middle finger toward the sky. Who else but that bastard would drop Honkai energy fission bombs on a city that had just suffered a major eruption?
"This time I really failed before even succeeding…" Shun collapsed onto the Red Square, watching the meteors fall.
The light of explosions first appeared in the distance, followed by the trembling and roaring of the earth. This seemed to be a signal. Distant flames bloomed one after another across the ground like flowers of death, getting closer and closer to Shun. The shockwaves made him unsteady on his feet, and the air carried a hint of scorching heat.
Shun slowly closed his eyes, hoping that when he was vaporized later, it would be quick. Although he could endure it, he was still somewhat afraid of pain.
"Sorry, Sirin… I really can't do anything this time…"
Time seemed to stretch infinitely. Scenes from after Shun arrived in this world flashed through his mind. The last image that appeared was the scene of their parting.
Sorry, I couldn't truly protect you…
The next moment, the seemingly stretched time returned to normal. A sharp whistling sound approached rapidly, and Shun felt as if his eardrums were about to burst.
In the darkness, while waiting for death with his eyes closed, Shun suddenly felt himself pulled into a warm embrace. Before he could open his eyes, a gentle voice sounded beside his ear.
"Abyss Flower, protect us."
The next moment, "Abyss Flower" bloomed across the land, isolating light and heat.