NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 430: Fu Hua and Little Senti
"It's over."
The falling Fenghuang Down bloomed with brilliant light. Amidst the explosion of color, the figure reflected in Kiana's eyes slowly faded.
Fu Hua chose to embrace the Herrscher, sacrificing herself for Kiana's safety, just like her comrades from the Previous Era, walking towards a predetermined end.
But for her, this was less a sacrifice and more a release.
She was so tired of living.
Nuwa, Fuxi… Her last two friends in the Previous Era, lost because of her misjudgment, while she could only watch helplessly. The Seven Disciples of Taixu… When their blades pierced her body, Fu Hua hadn't felt pain, only endless sorrow.
Tens of thousands of years was too long a time, especially for someone with a near-perfect memory thanks to the MANTIS genes. She had lost her closest friends and made countless irreparable mistakes.
Memories had become a heavy burden, forcing her to burn them away with the Fenghuang Down to alleviate her near-shattered psyche.
For a long time, she had harbored a desire for self-destruction, yearning for the day she could lay down her burdens and die in peace.
But she couldn't.
She had promised Dr. MEI she would ensure the continuation of Project Ember.
The project carried the hopes of two civilizations, but this responsibility was far too heavy for a seventeen-year-old girl who had just arrived from her village.
Tens of thousands of years of waiting, culminating in the vibrant flames burning within the girl before her. The flame of the Flamescion in Kiana's hand was still small, but it was the ember Fu Hua wanted to pass on.
So, she didn't hesitate to ignite herself, burning away the last vestiges of value within her broken body, becoming a light to illuminate Kiana's path forward.
"I'm sorry, Kiana…" A look of apology crossed her face. She knew her death was an escape. Entrusting Kiana with the continuation of Project Ember essentially meant making Kiana into the next Fu Hua.
"Goodbye." With a final glance at Kiana, Fu Hua closed her eyes and leaped into the flames surrounding Senti.
She would use her own existence as the price, invading the Herrscher of Sentience's consciousness. By destroying the mindscape, she could drag both the Herrscher and herself into the abyss of the Honkai…
"Oh? Is that what you think?" But when Fu Hua successfully invaded Senti's consciousness, she wasn't met with chaotic destruction or burning flames, but with a mocking laugh.
The moment the voice echoed, even Fu Hua, with her millennia of experience, felt a chilling dread, as if plunged into an icy abyss. The flames around her had vanished. She slowly raised her head and saw the girl before her, identical to herself.
The Herrscher of Sentience.
"No… Impossible!" Fu Hua's eyes widened in disbelief.
"What's impossible?" Senti's face was filled with confusion, then twisted into a mocking smile. "Are you talking about invading my consciousness? Or interrupting my Taixu Sword God? Or perhaps…"
"Thinking that Kiana could escape this space safely?"
Senti's face was full of derision. She hadn't expected anyone to willingly walk into her trap, especially not Fu Hua, just as she was forced to unleash her ultimate attack.
"The Taixu Sword God was interrupted. You should have been consumed by the backlash, and the mindscape itself…"
Facing Fu Hua's questions, Senti's expression turned to one of realization.
"Oh, so that's why I felt someone stealing my authority. It was you."
"I admit, I didn't notice your little tricks. But did you forget? I'm the master of this body now. I'm Fu Hua. And you? You're just an intruder!"
Seeing Fu Hua's shock, Senti felt an indescribable surge of satisfaction. Even the red glow in her eyes dimmed.
All she wanted now was to stand before that imposter pretending to be Kiana, head held high, and declare: See? Even if I'm not Fu Hua, I'm a thousand times stronger than her!
"No, you're not Fu Hua. You're just a Herrscher."
Those words struck a raw nerve. Senti's expression darkened.
"Who do you think you are? You're nothing but a failure. What right do you have to question my existence? I'm strong, confident. I can do everything you couldn't, face everything you chose to run from. I should be the new you, the stronger Fu Hua. What right do you have to deny me? What right do any of you have to deny me?!"
"Any of us? It seems someone has already exposed your charade before me." Fu Hua, perceptive as always, noticed the tremor beneath Senti's anger.
"Shut up! You failure!" Senti's hand shot out, gripping Fu Hua's throat, her eyes blazing with fury. "Even if she doesn't acknowledge me, it's not your place to speak!"
She flung Fu Hua to the ground.
The impact nearly shattered Fu Hua's consciousness, but she knew she had been right. The Herrscher of Sentience had definitely been triggered; otherwise, her reaction wouldn't have been so violent.
"You call me a failure? But in your current state, how are you any different? You say you're the new Fu Hua, but have you ever considered that if you fail, you'll become just like me?"
Fu Hua knew exactly where to strike. Her words chipped away at Senti's already fragile composure. Her goal was simple: the more agitated the Herrscher became, the more vulnerabilities she would expose, creating opportunities for Kiana.
However, when she tried to goad Senti further, she was met with a long silence.
"Heh… She's right. I'm not Fu Hua." Senti's voice, when she finally spoke, was eerily calm. Fu Hua could hear a hint of resignation, a death wish. This self-destructive tone was all too familiar to her. It was the sound of someone's last remaining belief shattering, accepting their fate with chilling tranquility.
There was no telling what someone consumed by despair might do, especially a powerful Herrscher. Fu Hua hadn't intended to break Senti's last shred of sanity; she had only been looking for weaknesses.
"I'm a Herrscher. If everyone thinks I'm a Herrscher, then it's only natural for me to do what a Herrscher does, right?" Senti suddenly laughed, a hollow, empty sound.
Sharing Senti's perspective, Fu Hua saw Kiana charging towards them, and the Taixu Sword God, fully formed and hidden behind Senti, ready to be unleashed.
"Kiana, run!"