The Will of Honkai isn't a singular entity, but a collective consciousness formed from multiple parallel worlds. Highly unified, yet capable of independent operation, like subsets of a server, each monitoring a different world.
The Will of Honkai of the current world was no exception. However, it had once noticed Ren, subjecting him to intense scrutiny, even attempting to mimic his behavioral logic.
Aware of this, Ren orchestrated his "death," using Kiana's Void powers to sever its connection to the collective, ultimately obliterating it in the Pacific with the Taixu Sword God.
But the Honkai doesn't die. Nor does its will vanish. Detecting the subset's demise, the collective immediately rebooted, replicating a new Will of Honkai – the one currently descended upon Coral Island.
Indistinguishable from its predecessors, this new iteration was unaware of Ren. During his "disconnect," leveraging his simulated death, Ren had purged his Herrscher data from the Honkai's "server," escaping its surveillance.
The Will of Honkai possessed immense computational power and strategic thinking, but it operated based on pre-defined rules and logic, devoid of human emotion.
Thus, even though Ren felt "off," even with detectable Herrscher energy, his absence from the collective's records classified him as a "wild" Herrscher.
Otto, however, had always been under its surveillance. His goals, his actions, meticulously documented in its database.
Otto sought to communicate with the Will of Honkai. He created Rimestar, even offered his Soulium body as a vessel.
Within the Will of Honkai's logic, this was a valid transaction.
But the moment it descended, inhabiting Otto's body, its emerald eyes met Ren's golden gaze, marked by the inverted World Tree.
Before it could process Ren's data, a crushing force gripped its throat.
Crack.
Following the Soulium's fracture, Ren's fingers sank into flesh, tightening around the Will of Honkai's neck. He inhaled deeply, his left fist coiling, then striking the Soulium body's chest with a resounding boom.
"Cun Jin: Kai Tian! [Inch Force: Sky Splitter]"
The force ripped through Otto's body, the shockwave radiating outwards, the air itself compressing into a sonic boom.
Seizing the moment before the Will of Honkai could react, Ren's golden eyes flashed. The surrounding space froze, then shattered like glass, collapsing inward, dragging both Ren and the Will of Honkai into the Imaginary Space.
With three exceptionally powerful Herrschers present, Coral Island couldn't withstand their clash. Ren had to relocate the battle.
…
Within the Imaginary Space, the moment they appeared, Void Seedlings swarmed towards them. But before these minor entities could materialize, the sheer energy radiating from Ren and the Will of Honkai vaporized them.
Two figures plummeted, their descent halted only by a pile of debris, remnants of some unknown structure.
The Imaginary Space was the Honkai's domain, but also Ren's. Besides his Dominance Theatre's amplification, his connection to the Imaginary Tree neutralized the Will of Honkai's suppression of Herrschers.
Ren's attack had embedded the Will of Honkai deep within a seemingly endless expanse of stone bricks, fissures radiating outwards for nearly a kilometer. Otto's Soulium body, mangled beyond recognition, lay like a discarded rag doll within the crater.
Unblinking, Ren pressed his advantage, unwilling to give the Will of Honkai a chance to recover.
With a flick of his wrist, countless transparent threads extended, ensnaring the broken body within a web, intricate as the veins of a leaf.
The threads, capable of absorbing Honkai energy and suppressing regeneration, formed an inescapable prison. Even Kiana at her peak couldn't break free.
But even this wasn't enough. A spear, mimicking the Divine Key Black Abyss White Flower, materialized, impaling the Will of Honkai.
With a snap of his fingers, the spear disintegrated within the Soulium body, transforming into countless razor-sharp threads, shredding the Will of Honkai from the inside out.
Ren gazed at the mangled remains, his expression unreadable.
This was his first unrestrained display of power. Within the Imaginary Space, he needn't worry about collateral damage, nor conceal his true strength.
And he knew his opponent wasn't easily defeated.
As expected, the pulverized Soulium began to melt, reverting to its liquid form.
The Dominance threads, embedded within, were expelled. The web tried to contain the liquid metal, but it simply flowed through the gaps, reforming beyond its reach.
The Will of Honkai, regaining its form, still resembled Otto, albeit now a monochrome gray.
It tilted its head, seemingly confused by Ren's attack.
Before it could react, Ren's fist pulverized its head, scattering Soulium droplets across the turquoise stone bricks. The headless body remained standing, eerily still.
But the scattered droplets quickly coalesced, reforming the head.
Soulium had its limits. Otto could solidify it into his form, but reforming scattered droplets was beyond his capabilities.
"So, through concentrated Honkai energy interference, you've transformed Soulium into a pseudo-Honkai liquid metal." Slightly annoyed, Ren raised his arm, noticing fine Honkai cracks on his skin where he'd struck the Will of Honkai.
Not only could it regenerate, but it also possessed potent anti-Honkai properties.
As he watched the Will of Honkai heal, Ren retrieved a golden crucifix from his pocket – the one Otto had worn.
Otto had mentioned the implanted bomb, but not its trigger, likely to avoid detection by the Will of Honkai. But Ren, observant and astute, had noticed the crucifix positioned over Otto's heart. The implication was clear.
He'd retrieved it during the fight.
Snapping the crucifix's base, a faint beep echoed, followed by a blinding flash that pierced the Imaginary Space's darkness.
The 50,000-ton micro-nuclear device detonated within the Will of Honkai, its healing interrupted mid-process.
BOOM!
The turquoise stone floor cracked, fissures spreading for hundreds of meters. Liquid Soulium sprayed outwards, coating the platform for over a kilometer.
Ren sighed. "Just as I thought."
Within the nuclear blast's dust cloud, a figure slowly rose.