Chat Group : Another Fate From Honkai

On the vast, ever-branching Imaginary Tree, there exists a world known as Teyvat.

In that world, seven Archons rule over the mortal nations—the Seven who preside over the human realm.

And as gods, each of them embodies traits befitting a deity.

The God of Wind? A carefree "hehe" slacker.

The God of Stone? A retired grandpa out bird-watching.

The God of Thunder? A shut-in programmer girl.

Anyone with half a brain can see the pattern—these so-called gods all share one divine quality: slacking off.

"Even a single leaf on the Tree has gods like that. So of course, as the delegated god under one of the two strongest beings in the multiverse, can't afford to be any less than them!"

With arms crossed at her waist, the green-haired girl lifted her chin with pride, her voice fiery enough to put even Boruto's monologues to shame.

"…So what you're saying is, that's why you copied Raiden Ei?"

Nagami gave her a dead-fish stare, resisting the overwhelming urge to roast this so-called divine being.

"How could you call it copying?" 'C.C.' snorted, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"When I came up with this method, not to mention Raiden Ei, even Teyvat itself didn't exist yet! Let's just say that little Archon had a decent head on her shoulders—she ended up inventing the same fishing-for-time method I did."

"…You're not even pretending anymore, huh? At least rebrand it as a 'work method.' Aren't you worried the Imaginary Tree will dock your pay for slacking off?"

Nagami sighed, strolling over to the throne where the so-called Herrscher goddess had been seated.

His eyes widened at the sight scattered around the place—game consoles, novels, and manga everywhere.

Among them, he even spotted an ancient Sega console he used to play in his childhood.

'And she dares claim she hasn't peeked into my memories?!'

'Yeah right.'

'Though… how much had she really seen?'

At least Nagami was certain she hadn't discovered the chat group.

"Pay?" 'C.C.' laughed bitterly, lowering her lashes.

"With my performance this poor, I should be grateful I'm not thrown onto the battlefield myself! That alone is already mercy from the boss."

Her voice dropped heavy with exhaustion, her expression the very picture of tragic despair.

"No rest for entire eras, endless overtime with zero compensation… and low performance? What can I do? I'm desperate too!"

She clutched Nagami's shoulders and shook him violently, her voice rising in a long, drawn-out wail.

"I've already lowered the trial requirements of the Honkai God to the absolute minimum! What else can I doooo—!"

Nagami's head bobbed back and forth from the shaking. And with her leaning this close, this isn't good at all!

'Wait… don't tell me my motion sickness hasn't fully healed?'

"Alright, alright! Stop shaking me, I'm getting dizzy…"

Trying to redirect the topic, Nagami steadied himself. "But wait—you know about Teyvat?"

The Herrscher goddess really did look overworked… like some poor corporate slave tearing her hair out to meet her quarterly quotas.

"Of course," she said matter-of-factly. "Even if I don't personally conduct trials there, before assigning one, I at least skim through the situation of each leaf."

The relationship between the Herrscher consciousness and the Honkai God was indeed similar to Raiden Ei and the Shogun puppet… but the scale was utterly different.

Think of it like this:

If every leaf on the Imaginary Tree were a computer system, then the Honkai God is basically… the 360 SafeGuard antivirus software.

Whenever a civilization on a leaf requires testing, the Herrscher receives a notification.

She then skims through the details of that world, before "installing" the dumbed-down, nerfed Honkai trial into it.

Through his Alpha Stigma Eyes, Nagami could parse this without obstruction—the Herrscher wasn't even trying to hide it.

"That leaf in particular was unusual…" 'C.C.' tilted her head, a slender finger tapping her lips as though lost in thought.

Just as she was about to elaborate, she suddenly froze, then shot him an exaggerated glare—though with her expression, it came across as more adorably fierce than intimidating.

"…What's wrong? Go on, keep talking." Nagami's hexagram eyes rotated slowly as he spread his hands innocently. "I'm curious about that world too."

From the lore snippets he knew, Teyvat seemed less like a normal world and more like… a bubble-world.

In Klee's profile, there was even this line:

'Mom's been busy lately. For the past two years, the borders of Teyvat have been growing weaker and weaker…'

Which, when compared to known settings—that everything in the Sea of Quanta naturally decays into chaos over time—lined up perfectly.

Yet, what clashed with that idea was something else entirely:

Otto himself had claimed to observe parallel worlds through the Imaginary Tree… including one where the "Stormterror Dragon" of Teyvat existed.

The key words here are "Imaginary Tree" and "parallel world."

There's a world of difference between a bubble world and a parallel world.

The former is a broken fragment that's fallen from the Tree, while the latter—even if under trial—is still a complete leaf.

That difference is fundamental.

"If you'd just been honest a moment ago, I wouldn't have minded telling you," 'C.C.' said, folding her arms with a haughty snort.

"But now? Go see for yourself!"

"C'mon, what's the harm in sharing? It's not like you'll lose a piece of yourself," Nagami countered, unable to resist poking fun.

The Herrscher might have been nothing more than a program, but 'C.C.'—the sole divine executor beneath the Imaginary Tree—was undeniably a higher existence.

Parsing her essence was agonizingly slow. Even slower than analyzing Kurumi's time manipulation.

And yet, even this brief window of analysis had already given Nagami invaluable insights.

"All right, all right, don't keep staring at me. Look here instead~" 'C.C.' leaned forward deliberately, pressing her chest toward him, her long lashes trembling as she gave a playful wink.

"This is what truly brings warmth to the world!"

Her pale, pristine face was still flawlessly composed, as though she had no concept of shame.

Of course, as a god, her very nature was fundamentally different from ordinary carbon-based life.

For her, standing bare was already the equivalent of being dressed.

"..."

Nagami blinked dumbly, his gaze wavering, before the corners of his lips curled into a smirk.

"You're so damn shameless."

"If you're going to chase thrills, why not commit all the way?"

With a delicate finger against her lips, 'C.C.' stuck out her tongue and, in slow motion, traced it across her crimson lips—dripping with seduction.

"You still insist you didn't peek into my memories! Then how the hell do you know that meme?" Nagami nearly cursed aloud.

'C.C.' only shrugged.

"You're not the only outsider who's wandered in from another multiverse. You're just one of the rare ones who actually survived. Most of the others die within days of arriving."

Nagami's eyes narrowed, a violet six-pointed star flaring across his pupils.

He poured everything into his Alpha Stigma Eyes, but no matter how hard he tried, he could no longer see the essence of 'C.C.' that had leaked through before.

"So then…" His gaze flicked to the scattered manga and game consoles before returning—deliberately—to her chest. "What's a busy goddess like you doing with me?"

Even when he passed the trial, the true Herrscher never showed herself.

Yet now, she was approaching him willingly…

"It's nothing major. Your time manipulation, your ability to cross worlds on your own—that caught my interest." 'C.C.'s expression softened into something almost reverent.

"And above all, your… groundbreaking move of doing thinds against yourself was just—"

"Stop! Can we not bring that up again?" Nagami cut her off, visibly embarrassed. "If you need something, just say it!"

"All right, all right, no more jokes."

Her eyes glimmered with a strange mix of disappointment and delight.

She clasped both hands firmly onto Nagami's shoulders, staring straight into his star-shaped pupils with solemn gravity.

"Nagami—you must defeat the Herrscher! Go all out. Don't hold back. Even if you have to pin her down so hard she can't get out of bed, it's fine!"

"The future of my performance record this era… rests entirely on you!"

"..."

"Do your best, oh great self-screwing big brother!"

"Y—You… the hell with you! Goodbye! No—never again!"

With those last words echoing in his ears, Nagami's defenses shattered.

In the next instant, he was forcibly ejected from her consciousness.

"Don't forget~ If you help this civilization pass its trial, I'll grant you one request afterward!"

Waving enthusiastically at the spot where he vanished, 'C.C.' wore a faint, knowing smile.

Her green hair swayed gently before her figure dissolved into the void.

Only a whisper lingered in the empty space, soft as a sigh.

"Until we meet again… in the future."