After firmly rejecting Systema's proposal to sell her body, and watching the simulation enter its cooldown phase once again, Lunelle began pondering her next steps—how she might avoid a fatal end and being hunted down by the Fire Moth in this new round.
"Last time… it seemed my downfall began the moment I awakened as a Herrscher. My killing intent spiraled out of control and everything unraveled from there. Maybe this time… I should try not to kill anyone at all?"
If the Herrscher personality never gets the chance to manifest, then perhaps she might truly be able to change the fates of the characters deemed 'conquerable' in the simulation.
"Tch. If this path gives me a shot at success… then I'll hold back from starting trouble with these beasts of burden."
After weighing her options, Lunelle reluctantly settled on the decision to restrain herself—just this once—and see how far she could go without shedding blood.
That said, she wasn't holding out much hope. After everything she'd read in Seele's diary… it was hard to believe she'd have the patience.
From what she recalled, just reading her wife's descriptions of how the powerful treated the weak was enough to stir up rage—and now she would have to live through it herself. It would take only the slightest trigger to ignite that same murderous intent again.
"I just hope they don't push me too far. My tolerance for people messing with me is… very limited."
At that moment, with the temporary room restocked with fresh ingredients and a working stove, Mei—already awake—headed straight to the kitchen to resume her role as cook.
Meanwhile, Bronya gently tugged the obedient and docile Lunelle to the living room sofa.
Since the simulation only took a brief moment in real-world time, Lunelle didn't want to waste it. She connected to Systema through her consciousness.
"Systema, begin the simulation."
[Command received. Simulation initiated.]
As the simulation launched, the flow of time in reality came to an instant halt. Lunelle's consciousness was drawn once again into the simulation space—her next attempt at rewriting fate.
Her awareness slipped into the body of Seele, from the Previous Era.
And since the opening sequence of this simulation had already been played out once before, there was no need to dwell on the details.
Soon, Lunelle resumed the familiar plotline. Blessed with both the Cocoon of Finality and the Sea of Quanta's consciousness, she became a special Herrscher—a vessel of both Creation and Destruction.
Once again, she arrived at the critical point of the final Honkai. But this time, Lunelle had a rough understanding of what led to her previous failure.
Her memories were hazy, but one thing was clear—she had no intention of reading that diary again.
Some memories were better left buried. Especially if she truly wished to avoid the death awaiting her at the simulation's end.
And her efforts to change course clearly weren't in vain.
[You have become a somewhat special Herrscher.]
[Due to your conscious suppression of killing intent, the birth of the Herrscher personality tied to the Authority of Destruction has been greatly delayed. However, your destructive powers can no longer be fully utilized.]
Seeing that no key events had triggered the Herrscher awakening in the simulator's log, Lunelle let out a quiet breath of relief.
Suppressing the Herrscher within—at least for now—was possible.
But even as she took comfort in that, a strange urge welled up inside her.
It felt like muscle memory—like her body was reacting on instinct, urging her to complete some long-ingrained task.
Following that subtle pull, Lunelle soon found herself standing before a pile of manuscript paper and a worn feather pen.
A peculiar sense of familiarity washed over her.
She recalled Seele mentioning in her diary that she wrote novels to help support herself.
"…Seriously? I came all this way, and you still want me to be a code monkey?"
The confusion passed quickly. Lunelle realized what this was—her body remembered what it meant to live as Seele.
Before time-traveling, Lunelle had been a struggling writer—barely scraping by, always hustling just to make ends meet.
That creeping urgency, that fear of going hungry if she failed to meet deadlines… she knew it well.
But unlike her, Seele had been successful. From the diary's descriptions, Lunelle gathered that her wife had become a rising star in the literary world of the Previous Era.
Seele's delicate prose had earned her a solid reputation. And if someone had capitalized on her image as a "beautiful young novelist," she probably would've gone viral overnight.
After all, wasn't her wife just unbearably cute and utterly undefeated? (ˉ﹃ˉ)
Unfortunately, Seele didn't seem like the type to chase fame. She'd always kept to herself, relying only on her talent and hard work to survive in the ruthless publishing world.
Even after becoming self-sufficient, she still donated most of her earnings to the orphanage that raised her—leaving only the bare minimum for herself.
Wuwuwu TAT… truly, she is my wife Seele. Beautiful in heart and soul.
Lost in that tender thought, Lunelle reached out and picked up the worn feather pen.
She'd never used such a thing before. Yet, the moment it touched her hand, something shifted.
As if she were truly Seele now, her body naturally fell into rhythm.
Looking at the half-finished manuscript on the desk, Lunelle's mind lit up with dazzling ideas—concepts she never could have come up with on her own.
These vivid, high-level ideas weren't hers. She knew that much.
It was as if Seele's consciousness… was lingering in her own.
Living within her.
Wait.
Living inside… her own… consciousness?
...