Herrscher of Dominance in Honkai, starting with the abduction of Kiana

Sensing the faint feeling of gratitude emanating from within, Ren didn't make much of a show of it. It wasn't that he was cold-hearted – tragedies like Pardofelis's happened every day in every corner of the world.

Still, Pardo was lucky enough that the Herrscher of Dominance had answered her prayers.

After taking some time to adjust to the new puppet's height and perspective, Ren walked through the chaotic streets like any ordinary girl. A chubby cat tin sat atop her head, while her hands carried two bags of scavenged materials.

Passersby cast suspicious glances her way – after all, a young girl like Pardofelis with no background or family history made for a perfect trafficking target.

It couldn't be helped. This was the Twilight District, a place steeped in violence and chaos. Every day, criminals and desperate people from all over the world blended into its shadows. Some vanished without a trace, while others thrived in the darkness.

However, everyone knew quite well that for a little girl like Pardofelis to survive here for so long, she must have her own talents. Thus, most people only observed from afar rather than taking direct action.

Passing through the chaotic streets, Ren turned into a small alley. A few thugs who didn't know better followed her in, but by the time she rounded the second corner, they had vanished without a trace.

Finally, she stopped in front of a wooden door, taking out a key and gently turning the lock.

With a creak, the dust-covered wooden door slowly opened. The room was silent, but just as she was about to step inside, a sharp blade suddenly flashed toward her, stopping mere inches from her face.

The cat tin on her head seemed startled, raising its paws with a "meow," but Ren acted as if nothing had happened, greeting cheerfully.

"Mei-nee, you're awake!"

Raiden Mei, who was holding the katana, let out a breath and apologetically sheathed her blade.

"Oh, it's you, Pardo."

"Are you feeling better?" Carrying her large bags, Pardo (Ren) wobbled into the house. This was Pardo's property in the Twilight District, the place where she had made her home with the help of the Herrscher of Dominance.

Half a month ago, Kiana had used all her strength to perform an ultra-long-distance teleportation, safely sending Mei thousands of kilometers away from Nagazora City to South Asia.

However, Kevin's power was simply too overwhelming. Despite resisting with all her might, Mei had still sustained serious injuries, leaving her consciousness in a prolonged state of unconsciousness. Combined with the death of Kurikara, which placed an immense burden on her as its master, Mei had fallen into an almost complete slumber after ending up in the Twilight District.

Of course, being a Herrscher meant there was no possibility of her being captured by ordinary people. The greater risk was that the Herrscher of Thunder's Honkai energy might instinctively spread while Mei was unconscious, turning the entire city into a dead zone.

Fortunately, during that time, Pardo's puppet had just been born, and Ren took the opportunity to have her rescue Raiden Mei. However, until now, Mei clearly remained wary of Pardo's mysterious origins.

"I'm fine." After days of recovery, the chaotic Honkai energy within her body gradually settled. In about another day, Mei would be able to attempt summoning Kurikara again and leave this place.

Looking at Pardo, who appeared to be only thirteen or fourteen years old, Mei found it hard to imagine that she had been cared for by such a young child.

During these days, she hadn't been completely unaware of the outside world. She knew exactly what kind of place this was. And precisely because of this, a little girl who feared neither Herrschers nor criminals couldn't possibly be normal.

Ren didn't mind her suspicions. To him, Raiden Mei was merely a tool to protect Kiana. As long as she continued according to Ren's plans, he wouldn't interfere with her too much.

"Pardo, I'm curious – what exactly is your goal?" Looking at the innocent and adorable Pardo, Mei felt an inexplicable sense of disconnect. She no longer hid her doubts and asked directly.

"Goal? You mean like a dream?" Pardo lounged on the worn-out sofa, lazily stretching. Can Tin jumped onto her belly and curled up into a ball.

She stared at the dilapidated ceiling, complex emotions flowing through her eyes.

Mei noticed the change in her emotions and set down her katana, sitting beside her.

"Ever since I can remember, I lived in a poor and chaotic family. Every day was filled with nothing but conflict and arguments. Back then, my biggest desire was just to have enough to eat. I didn't understand why my parents fought until later when I realized that poverty was the root of everything.

So my dream is simple – to earn enough money, enough for Can Tin and me to live on. If I have sufficient funds, I'll buy my own shop in the Twilight District, and just make a living selling things every day."

"But from what I know, most of the things you bring back seem to be stolen?"

Pardo pouted dissatisfied, complaining: "What do you mean stolen? This is called procurement! I risk my life every day getting supplies from vendors. Besides, everything you've eaten and drunk these past few days came from my savings!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it that way." Realizing her words were inappropriate, Mei quickly apologized in a gentle voice.

"It's okay. Heroes have their way of life, and ordinary people have theirs. This is the path I've chosen." Pardo lay on the sofa, murmuring softly, as if speaking to both Mei and herself. "Besides, when that door opened that day, everything had its answer."

Looking at the downcast Pardo, Mei remained silent. She thought of the day when the Herrscher of the Void descended – hadn't her and Kiana's lives changed just as dramatically? Their hopes were suddenly shattered, leaving only wounds that were difficult to heal, aching constantly.

But life must go on. Pardo quickly gathered her emotions and enthusiastically said, "Mei-nee, why don't you invest in my business after you recover? Once my shop is up and running, you'll be the biggest shareholder!"

"Then I'll advertise my shop on social media! The ID will be 'AAA Cat Hero Shopping Service' – I'll help people source goods through special channels." 

"I have a really good eye for these things! Looking at how Mei-nee dresses and carries a sword, you're definitely not an ordinary person – you must be super strong!"

"If I ever get caught, Mei-nee can come save me! I'll definitely give you a nine– no, an eight percent discount!"

Unable to keep up with Pardo's scattered thoughts, Mei could only laugh awkwardly, not agreeing to the girl's request.

Setting aside the fact that she had her own matters to attend to and couldn't stay here, just considering how many days she'd been silent – the outside world must have changed dramatically.

Although she hadn't joined the Obsidian Concord organization from the beginning, after receiving help from people like Kalpas and Liuli, Mei had gradually come to accept her identity as a member.

Now with Liuli missing and the organization completely silent, she couldn't waste any more time.

"No way?" Without securing an investor, Pardo's ears drooped dejectedly, and Can Tin appropriately lowered his voice too.

Seeing the adorable pair of girl and cat, Mei couldn't help but smile. She patted Pardo's head and consoled her, "I just don't have time right now. Once everything is settled, I'll definitely invest in your business. Not just a shop in the Twilight District – I'll help you open one wherever you want. I can even bring lots of friends to patronize your shop. They'll definitely buy out your entire inventory without caring about the price."

Thinking of Kiana, Bronya, and the others, a faint smile appeared on Mei's face, though she quickly concealed it.

"Then it's a promise! Mei-nee, you can't go back on your word now!"

Like she suddenly remembered something, Pardo jumped up. The startled Can Tin tumbled off her belly and rolled onto the floor, letting out disgruntled meows.

A moment later, Pardo returned to the sofa carrying a tin cookie box. She struggled to open the container, which was filled with various odds and ends.

Paint-stained brushes, a broken pocket watch, what looked like an expensive wine glass... all sorts of unrelated items were crammed into the box. Pardo dug through it and pulled out an arcade token.

The token had a cat design engraved on one side and a paw print on the other. Who knows where she'd picked it up from.

Then again, with the Twilight District being such a melting pot, finding strange items wasn't particularly surprising.

"As proof of our promise, I'm entrusting this coin to you, Mei-nee! Don't forget you promised to invest in my business!" Pardo placed the coin in Mei's hand with utmost seriousness, looking like she was afraid her investor might run away.

However, more than the coin, Mei was interested in Pardo's cookie tin. Her attention was drawn to a crystal flower inside. Though broken, the flower still retained most of its dazzling appearance. For some reason, Mei felt an unusual attraction to it.

"Pardo, what's this?"

"Oh, this? I traded for it from some stranger," Pardo said, taking out the crystal flower and reminiscing about how she'd obtained it. "You know how it is – all sorts of unusual characters pass through the Twilight District every day."

"He was badly injured, just like you were, Mei-nee. Though his condition was much worse. I was actually planning to... um, help organize his belongings after he passed..."

Speaking about looting corpses as if it were perfectly normal, Pardo continued with a hint of lingering fear: "Who knew he wasn't dead? And he caught me too! I had no choice but to pretend I was trying to help him and treated his wounds."

"Surprisingly, he actually survived, though his injuries were so severe he probably only had days left. He told me he was from an organization called Obsidian Concord, and even invited me to join them."

"Obsidian Concord?" Mei perked up, eagerly asking: "Do you remember what he looked like? Or any distinctive marks?"

Pardo shook her head regretfully. "Not really. At the time, I figured I was just a normal person – no way I could join some mysterious organization, so I turned him down right away. Why? Mei-nee, do you know about this group?"

"You could say that..." Without elaborating further, Mei's thoughts raced. If Obsidian Concord members existed months ago, it meant the organization was far more complex than she'd imagined. Perhaps even her rescue by Pardo had been orchestrated by Obsidian Concord.

"Anyway, he was just a weird guy. He didn't even get mad when I refused. Instead, he spent his last moments telling me a story." Pardo looked at the crystal flower, her expression complicated.

"Even though he was about to die, he kept smiling. He told me that many people in Obsidian Concord were searching for a place called the 'Eternal Paradise' – he was too. In that paradise, everything was a perfect utopia. They say even the dead might meet again there."

"They carried on the will of that paradise, inheriting the spirit of its people. But over time, everyone forgot what it looked like. So he started searching for it, and this crystal flower was one of the clues."

"Even the dead can meet again?" Mei furrowed her brow. Such tales of resurrection seemed too fantastical to believe. But suddenly, she remembered Kalpas's final moments. Even knowing he would die, he still sacrificed himself without hesitation.

Until now, Mei still couldn't understand what drove Obsidian Concord members to make such sacrifices. If this Eternal Paradise really existed...

She pulled out her phone. After the Pacific battle, Liuli had vanished completely, and The Obsidian Concord's forum had gone silent since then. Mei could only rely on old forum posts for clues, and surprisingly, she found a thread mentioning the Eternal Paradise in ancient records.

Unfortunately, the post's content had been wiped clean, leaving only comments. But seeing both Kalpas's and Liuli's IDs in the discussion suggested this Paradise might actually exist.

Yet as Pardofelis had said, countless people had searched for Paradise without finding a single trace. Her own chances of locating it seemed impossibly slim.

"Mei-nee, did you figure something out?" Pardofelis watched her curiously.

"No." Mei massaged her temples. Finally getting a lead on The Obsidian Concord, yet still coming up empty-handed.

Suddenly, a spark of inspiration hit her. Before their final parting, Liuli had declared that Mei would become The Obsidian Concord's Lightning Queen. In theory, that should grant her the highest access level. Yet she could only browse the forum – clearly some permissions remained dormant.

She gripped her phone and closed her eyes. Gentle electrical currents gathered in her hand, flowing into the device. Strangely, instead of shorting out, the phone absorbed her energy like some kind of Honkai-tech, gradually reaching saturation.

"As I thought – this thing incorporates Honkai technology."

The phone, now infused with the Herrscher of Thunder's power, unlocked new content (though in reality, Ren had added this feature right in front of her). With elevated permissions, previously hidden information surfaced.

"Liuli: Died transmitting information for The Obsidian Concord. Currently in World Serpent leader Kevin's possession, consciousness sleeping within the Realm of Past Lives."

"Liuli is... dead?"

No – the data specified her consciousness was sleeping. But what was this "Realm of Past Lives"? How did it differ from the Eternal Paradise?

Countless questions swirled in Mei's mind as arcs of electricity crackled along her hair, nearly making Can [her cat] bristle in fear.

"Mei-nee!"

Pardofelis's voice snapped her back to reality. Noticing the scorched sofa, Mei gave an apologetic smile.

Whatever the case, she needed to find this Realm of Past Lives next. If she could bring Liuli back, many questions might finally be answered. But the Realm was with World Serpent, and joining them wouldn't be simple.

Remembering how Kevin had casually summoned that blizzard, Mei felt a twinge of unease.