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

BOOM!

A shockwave tore across the ocean surface, sending a towering wave crashing towards the shore.

Red streaks, the remnants of pulverized fish, stained the water. The wall of water rushed towards the beach, unstoppable.

"Wah! I'm sorry! I'll give it back! Make the Honkai beast go away!" Rozaliya, terrified, clung to her sister, trying to throw the seashell at Ren.

But Ren was confused. Tonatiuh should be in World Serpent's possession.

In the original timeline, it had been hidden in the Helios Pharmaceutical labs by Jackal and defeated by Rita.

Its sudden appearance in the Pacific, and its power, far exceeding what Rita could handle, was alarming.

He closed his eyes, extending his invisible threads, sensing the chaotic energy.

The dense, disordered aura was unmistakably the Sea of Quanta. But within Tonatiuh, there was another, familiar energy signature… connected to him?

Could it be a side effect from Griseo triggering that underground lab in the Previous Era bubble universe?

Unlike the panicking twins, Bronya remained calm, summoning Yamabuki Armor and deploying a translucent shield around them.

"You…" Bronya hesitated, looking at Ren, lost in thought, but then extended the shield to cover him as well.

The wave crashed, sand and debris pelting the shield like bullets.

Despite the shield, the impact separated them.

But the real threat wasn't the water, but the energy waves that followed.

The shoreline's rocks and sand were sliced through like butter. Bronya's shield shattered instantly. As an energy wave hurtled towards her, Ren dispersed it.

"Its attacks have quantum properties. Normal defenses won't work."

"Bronya-nee-chan, she's right." Seele, scythe in hand, watched the ocean warily. As another wave approached, she swung her scythe, a crimson energy blast neutralizing it.

More Honkai beasts emerged, drawn by the Honkai energy released from the wrecked transport ship.

The four girls began clearing the beasts, but a loud roar echoed from the distance.

The Hyperion's main cannons had fired.

No, Tonatiuh isn't after me. As Ren realized this, he saw Older Kiana being blasted from the Hyperion, falling towards the ocean.

The sea churned. An energy wave shot towards her.

Tonatiuh was targeting Older Kiana.

Older Kiana realized this too. Her threads wrapped around the Hyperion's hull, arresting her fall. But before she could recover, Tonatiuh vanished from the ocean, reappearing before her.

Whum!

Space itself tore open. Older Kiana raised her arm to block the attack. Tonatiuh's lobster-like claw tore through her arm, spraying blood.

"Doesn't hurt?"

"Of course not. You're not the one being hurt." Ren, having forcibly taken control of the Puppet, its entire arm severed, pulled Older Kiana back. Tonatiuh attacked again, swift and relentless.

He shielded Older Kiana with his body, taking the blow. His threads lashed out, momentarily restraining Tonatiuh.

"Ren!" Covered in his blood, Older Kiana reached for him, her eyes wide with shock.

But Ren's eyes were closed, his breathing shallow. His heart stopped.

He died in her arms.

Her mind went blank. She trembled, holding his lifeless body. A dark feeling began to fester within her.

She looked at Tonatiuh, golden light igniting in her eyes, but before she could act, she lost control of the Puppet.

"Huh?"

"What's with the 'huh'? You're just a Puppet. You almost let the Theater of Domination consume you. You know what happens when you lose control." Ren's voice was sharp.

If he hadn't intervened, they would have been in serious trouble. "And Tonatiuh's attacks have quantum properties. You're a consciousness from the Sea of Quanta. You're vulnerable, even in that form."

Older Kiana, back in her consciousness form, wasn't ashamed. She stared at Ren, a strange expression on her face, a goofy smile playing on her lips.

"..." She seems… less intelligent. Did I accidentally retrieve the Idiot Tuna I left behind?

Ignoring Older Kiana's spaced-out expression, Ren recalled the damaged Puppet, his silver hair swirling as he hovered in the air.

He wasn't fully amplified in this borrowed body. He was far weaker than his true form.

Tonatiuh reappeared, targeting Older Kiana, even in her incorporeal state.

"It can see consciousnesses? Or is something attracting it?"

He raised a hand, compressing quantum energy. It collided with Tonatiuh's claw, a burst of energy erupting, then vanishing.

The battle raged beneath the Hyperion, pulling the ship off course. Ren deliberately guided the ship, slamming it into Tonatiuh.

The miniature black hole created by the collapsing energy vanished, leaving Tonatiuh slightly weaker, a layer of its quantum superposition stripped away.

Sensing a formidable opponent, Tonatiuh retreated into the ocean to regenerate. Ren finally had a moment to assess the situation.

"Tonatiuh, Eclipse's Shadow, Devourer of Worlds… what's attracting it to you?"

Older Kiana looked bewildered. She had no idea. Besides, she was just a consciousness. What could she possibly be carrying?

Ren couldn't sense anything specific either. He extended his consciousness, enveloping Older Kiana, searching for something she herself wasn't aware of.

"Wait… is that a… Star Core?"