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

The Theater of Dominance was, as always, cold and quiet. The remnants of collapsed pillars littered the outer plaza, and the ruined Infinite Corridors were piled high with debris from the Taixu Sword God's attack. At a glance, it was a desolate ruin.

But linger a while, and you'd notice the empty seats swaying gently on their strings, the occasional creak of puppet joints echoing in the air, adding an unsettling atmosphere to the place.

Click, clack.

Ren walked through the theater, a strange feeling nagging at him. He felt eyes on him, watching from the shadows.

But when he looked around, he saw nothing, only the heavy stage curtain swaying slightly, as if stirred by a breeze.

He wasn't sure where the breeze was coming from, but he dismissed it, kicking a loose stone out of his path.

"Just my imagination."

He turned away, seemingly oblivious to the shadow that flickered behind the curtain, the sinister grin spreading across its face.

"Man, it's been so long, I'm not even sure I remember this place." Talking to himself, Ren walked towards the backstage area.

Classic theaters like this usually had dressing rooms backstage for performers to check their makeup. However, since the Theater of Dominance only staged puppet shows, the dressing tables were cluttered with dismembered puppet limbs and joints.

"Huh? It looks like someone's been here." A puzzled look crossed Ren's face. His voice echoed in the empty room. He walked over to the dressing table, looking down at the mess of joints and sighing.

"Looks like I have some work to do." He sat down and began to reassemble the broken puppets.

As he worked, a figure holding a rope crept closer to him in the dressing table mirror.

"You… Die!"

The figure lunged, throwing the rope around Ren's neck and pulling tight, trying to strangle him in the chair.

Ren, seemingly caught completely off guard, offered no resistance, slumping lifelessly in the chair.

"…Wait, did you actually die?" After a few seconds, with still no sign of struggle, the attacker froze, a sense of dread washing over her.

She quickly released the rope, pulling off the black tablecloth covering her head to reveal long gray hair.

Rushing to Ren's side, Senti crouched down, looking at his bowed head. His face was pale, his eyes wide and bulging.

He looked very, very dead.

"Hey! Don't scare me!" Realizing she might have gone too far, Senti panicked, frantically trying to revive him. But as she shook his shoulder, his head rolled off.

"!!"

Senti's eyes widened, her body stiffening. She wasn't afraid of ghosts, but she had never seen anything so bizarre. She was momentarily stunned.

"Ahem, stop shaking me. It's just a puppet."

Seeing that his prank had worked, Ren dropped the act, grinning as he stepped out from behind the curtain.

Senti's attempt at a surprise attack hadn't fooled him. While she had concealed her presence and aura well, Ren was the true master of the Theater of Dominance. Senti was no match for him, neither in terms of controlling the stage nor in acting ability.

Since she was still trying to prank him for the Mount Taixu incident, he decided to turn the tables.

"You're… not dead? No, you knew I was here all along! You were pretending!"

Looking down, she realized it wasn't Ren in the chair, but a puppet. Even Senti wasn't that oblivious.

Frustrated, she pushed the puppet away, about to punch Ren.

But before she could connect, golden threads wrapped around her limbs, binding her in place.

"Looks like you've recovered well." Ren examined Senti's new body, nodding in satisfaction.

It had been several days since the Mount Taixu incident. He hadn't initially planned to bring Senti to the theater. The Herrscher of Sentience was still a risk to the Hive Mind.

But something had changed between Senti and Fu Hua during their imprisonment in the Honkai space. The two, who should have been at odds, had reconciled. And when the mindscape collapsed, Senti had sacrificed her body, giving Fu Hua the chance to return to Kiana.

But her sacrifice had also given Ren an opportunity. By severing her connection to Fu Hua's body, she had not only made it easier for Fu Hua's consciousness to return but had also separated her own consciousness from the Honkai.

This had allowed Ren to use the lingering connection from the black feather to pull her into the Theater of Dominance and create a new puppet body for her.

As a Herrscher of a Legion puppet, Senti was now under his absolute control. He didn't have to worry about betrayal, and he had gained a powerful Herrscher-class ally.

"Damn it! What did you do to me?!" Senti's eyes widened as she struggled against her restraints.

She had thought she was dead, only to wake up in this strange theater. At first, she had thought it was some kind of underworld, but then she realized she was still alive.

Not only alive, but with a new, functional body.

Before she could fully process her rebirth, Ren had walked in.

She had mixed feelings about him. He had helped her in her two most desperate moments, but the memory of him beating her up on Mount Taixu still stung. That's why she had decided to prank him.

Unfortunately, her prank had backfired spectacularly. Not only had he turned the tables on her, but now he had her tied up.

"Don't worry, it's just a test of your coordination and control. Pulling you out of the Honkai and putting a Herrscher into a puppet body wasn't easy."

"Puppet?" Senti froze. She had assumed her new body was flesh and blood. Now, sensing it more closely, she realized it was different.

"Using the power of the Imaginary Tree, combined with my Herrscher authority, I essentially created a new body for you." Ren replied casually, manipulating the strings to turn her around.

He made it sound simple, but Senti, with Fu Hua's memories, knew that even in the Previous Era, resurrecting a Herrscher was impossible. Creating a body was one thing, but creating one that could perfectly house a Herrscher without the constraints of the Honkai was no small feat.

She wasn't stupid. She knew Ren had gone to great lengths to save her. Understanding this, a wave of complex emotions washed over her. She had been angry about being beaten up, but compared to the gift of life, that anger seemed insignificant.

She hesitated, then mumbled, "Thank you."

Ren shrugged off her change in attitude. "Well, I gave you your name, so I figured I should see it through."

Satisfied with his examination, Ren noted down some adjustments and released her.

Senti rubbed her wrists, flexing her fingers. "So, when you transformed into Kiana, was it this same power?"

"Pretty much. I'm the Herrscher of a Legion. Controlling puppets is my specialty. I wouldn't have crossed paths with you otherwise, but after you woke up, you took one of my Legion cores and turned it into that black Fenghuang Down. I had no choice but to intervene, using Kiana's form."

"Uh, that thing was a Herrscher core? No wonder it felt weird."

"Because you're the Herrscher of Sentience, it seemed like you were controlling the authority of Sentience with the feather, but it was actually just your own power. Now, I've made it the core of your new body. It's yours now."

"But if it's your core, doesn't that mean I'll be under your control forever?" Senti's expression was uneasy.

Ren waved a dismissive hand. "Don't flatter yourself. I have no interest in controlling you. Just do me a few favors, and you can do whatever you want. Travel the world, go back to Mount Taixu, whatever."

Hearing that he wanted favors, Senti felt a sense of relief. After all, Fu Hua had said there was no such thing as a free lunch. Ren had saved her life. Doing nothing in return would have made her uncomfortable.

Her spirits lifted, and she cracked her knuckles.

"So, who do you want me to beat up? Otto? World Serpent? Even Kevin, I can take him down for you."

"…" Ren was speechless. Still a child, after all. "I don't need you to fight anyone, but it is related to World Serpent. I need you to use your Sentience powers to bypass Kevin's surveillance and set a trap."

"No fighting?" Senti looked disappointed.

"Senti, since you have Fu Hua's memories, do you know about the Elysian Realm?"

"I think so?" The Elysian Realm was just a database commemorating the Previous Era. Back then, besides fighting, all Fu Hua did was undergo various treatments and studies. She probably just thought the memory copying process for the Elysian Realm was a routine checkup.

"Just get me in there using your powers. After that, you're free to do whatever you want. I'll contact you when I need you again."