"Alright, let's release the relevant news tomorrow," Selene ordered calmly.
"Yes, yes!" The two scribes, fully aware of the absolute authority before them, quickly bowed and left. Selene was confident they would make the correct choice. After all, to her, replacing them was trivial, but for them, their very lives and those of their families were at stake.
As her gaze shifted from the retreating scribes to Mine, she spoke with a meaningful tone, "Now, it's time to deal with you."
Coughing up blood, Mine, having seemingly accepted her fate, asked, "You've won... but tell me, Selene, if you were to take control of the Empire, would you rule justly or follow Honest's path?"
Mine came from the Empire's western borderlands, where she had been discriminated against for being of mixed race. One of her driving forces in fighting was to prevent others like her from suffering the same injustice.
"Justly? Of course," Selene replied, a smile playing on her lips. "You don't have to believe me. Time will prove everything."
"And what about the foreign tribes beyond the Empire's borders? Why are you so cruel to them?" Mine continued to press, her voice trembling with pain as her injuries worsened.
"Cruel? Foreign tribes?" Selene chuckled softly. "Cruelty is a matter of perspective."
"In a good mood today, I'll humor you for a moment."
"Your idealistic and naïve views, like Najenda's, are laughable. Foreign tribes respect power, not kindness. You've only seen me slaughter and enslave countless foreign peoples, but you've ignored the atrocities they committed when they invaded the Empire's borders and massacred our civilians!"
"How many lives have I saved? To the people living on the Empire's borders, I'm far better than traitors like you. You all are simply on the wrong side."
"Sure, the foreign tribes want more land, and there's nothing wrong with that. But the people of the Empire want to keep the lands they've lived on for generations, to preserve their power. That's not wrong either."
"As for my massacres and enslavements? That's just because I'm stronger."
In the chaotic final years of the Empire, or any era of turmoil, Selene thought, it's always the common people who suffer the most. They are at the mercy of internal factions vying for power and external invaders. Unable to control their destinies, they are swept along by the whims of the powerful.
"In the end, it's all about perspective. And you think you can have both? Peace and equality? There's no such thing. Temporary compromises may suppress conflict, but what happens when the spoils are all divided?"
"Human desire is like a boulder rolling down a mountain—it never stops once it's set in motion. The only way to stop it is if the boulder was already at the bottom of the valley."
Although Selene wasn't originally from this world, she had chosen to align with the Empire and its people, making her allegiance clear. From commanding the Imperial Guard to governing the Empire's southwestern provinces, Selene had made a name for herself by delivering stability and order. Her influence was unquestionable, even exceeding Honest's, who couldn't command a single soldier without her approval.
Mine was left speechless by Selene's ruthless logic, unable to counter her harsh worldview. Despite being an elite assassin, Mine was still only a 15-year-old girl at heart, unprepared for such a cold reality.
"Enough talking," Selene said coldly, placing her hand on Mine's forehead. "Reflect on this in another world."
"Wait, what other world—?" Before Mine could finish, a surge of violet-red energy flowed from Selene's hand, and Mine lost consciousness, her body limp as her mind went blank.
"Memory extraction, modification, and inscription!" Selene whispered, absorbing Mine's mind into her palm. This process had been in the works for a long time.
She was planning to use the Type-Moon universe's concept of Heroic Spirits, where legendary figures from history are elevated to mythical status after death. Their legends and achievements are recorded, turning them into eternal spirits in the Throne of Heroes.
Selene rewrote parts of Mine's memory, inscribing her deeds as recorded in history. With the help of tomorrow's newspaper reports and official records, Mine's legacy would begin to take shape.
"Now it's time to send her to the Type-Moon universe. With the legends attached to her, as a fictional Heroic Spirit from a parallel world, the Throne of Heroes should accept her," Selene murmured to herself.
Mine would serve as the test. Selene had hidden any traces of Honkai or powers too foreign to the Type-Moon world. All that remained were her associations with the Empire, the victories of a conquering general, and her status as one of the two Great Generals.
Through Mine, Selene intended to establish a connection between the two worlds. Once the Throne of Heroes recorded her, the link between worlds would be set. Next time, when Selene herself answered a Holy Grail War summon, the Throne would have a precedent for allowing her to manifest, even if her power far exceeded the usual limits.
As these thoughts raced through her mind, she noticed that Mine's body had been completely enveloped in violet-red Honkai particles.
"Sebas, take care of everything here. I have an important matter to attend to," Selene instructed before picking up Pumpkin. With a flash, she disappeared, taking Mine's body into the Imaginary Space.
"Void Gate!"
At Selene's command, a massive space-time vortex began to form in the violet expanse of the Imaginary Space, a swirling maelstrom hundreds of meters wide.
Selene smirked. "The Throne of Heroes prefers passive summons over active ones, doesn't it?"
She held up the Shambhala Teigu, letting it glow with a soft purple light. "Lucky for you, Mine."
She rewrote the memory of how Mine had acquired Shambhala, creating a background for her eventual ascension. In this narrative, Shambhala had fallen into Mine's hands during the chaos of the battle with Budo, and after a desperate final confrontation, Mine had attempted to escape using the Teigu's power.
In her dying moments, as her life force dwindled, she activated Shambhala at its maximum capacity and was pulled into the Type-Moon universe by the Holy Grail's summoning mechanism.
It was a story woven perfectly, not only glorifying Mine but also planting the seeds for Selene's future entry into the Type-Moon universe.
[Legend inscribed, coordinates locked, world connected, charging complete—transmission!]
With the world's coordinates and Mine's legend now intricately tied together, the legend would continue to spread into the Type-Moon world, reaching the Throne of Heroes.
With her work complete, Selene watched as the energy surrounding Mine reached its peak, forming a glowing cocoon. With a final surge of power, the light carried Mine's body into the vortex, disappearing beyond the void.
"Phew... All this effort. Let's hope it pays off. Now to promote the 'glorious' deeds of Mine," Selene mused as she turned away, vanishing into the shadows of the Imaginary Space.