Honkai: Star Rail — Kamen Rider!

The robot pressed the button—marking Serus's complete and utter defeat.

No matter how hard Serus tried, he couldn't comprehend why anyone would reject such an ideal offer.

The terms he'd given had clearly been the optimal choice.

Hoshigaki Sora wouldn't face any mortal danger, and he could even take those Iron Cavalry survivors off-planet with him.

Isn't that exactly what he wants?

Serus accessed countless streams of data, analyzing repeatedly—but no matter what methods he tried, he simply couldn't deduce the logic behind Sora's decision.

It was an utterly irrational choice, one that could easily have led to mutual annihilation...

Yet, it had truly occurred. His opponent had chosen to fight him head-on—preferring mutual destruction over any compromise.

Why does someone like that even exist in this universe?

An entirely unpredictable element like Sora was an unacceptable anomaly.

Entities like him needed to be eliminated entirely, wiped clean from existence.

The entire cosmos must fall under a singular, unified consciousness. My conclusion is absolute.

Ultimately, Serus reaffirmed this conclusion—a conclusion he'd calculated as correct, undoubtedly correct.

Unpredictable variables like Sora were the greatest impediments on the path of evolution.

Precisely for this reason, the universe should adopt a structure similar to the insectoid swarms—one consciousness directing all.

Though insects were hideous, their unity and efficiency were something no other beings could match.

Struggle, propagate, act—all in unwavering obedience to the supreme consciousness.

Soon. It will all happen soon, Serus continually reassured himself.

His ultimate ambition was on the verge of fulfillment.

The day he would finally become the consciousness governing everything...

"It's a pity, but your dream will never come true."

Suddenly, a different voice echoed within the digital space.

Startled awake, Serus spun around, only to find a cluster of pure-green data behind him.

"My, my, my. It sure wasn't easy driving you into this spot—but fortunately, my brilliant mind managed it after all."

The data slowly solidified into the figure of a man, adjusting his glasses and wiping imaginary sweat from his brow with a handkerchief.

"Who the hell are you?!" Serus, overwhelmed with panic, immediately tried to transfer his data away from the area.

Yet at that moment, he realized—he could no longer shift his consciousness!

"If you wanted to control every weapon on this planet, naturally, you'd have to move your core to the largest service node here."

Seeming to notice Serus's shock, the man calmly adjusted his glasses once more. "And I've been waiting a long, long time for you. Now that you're here, you won't be leaving anytime soon."

"I'd assumed an existence like you, having survived in this world for centuries, would have at least average intelligence." The bespectacled figure—Brain—spoke disdainfully. "Turns out you're even more foolish than Krim in some ways."

He thought of how many hidden tasks he'd performed right beneath Serus's nose—like directly activating the weather module to produce a heavy rainfall, something Serus utterly failed to detect.

His intellect is indeed inferior to Krim's.

Yet Brain had to admit that Heart-sama's majestic form in the rain had been absolutely breathtaking!

At this exhilarating thought, Brain excitedly bit down on his handkerchief, recalling vividly the scene amidst the downpour.

Although it wasn't actually Heart himself inside, the one who inherited his power could be considered at least half—no, perhaps only one-fifth of Heart-sama!

But this time, he'd finally resolved Heart-sama's lingering regret. When Brain returned, Heart-sama would surely reward him lavishly!

He could already picture the scenario...

Heart-sama patting him warmly on the shoulder:

"You've done splendidly, Brain. You knew my greatest regret was failing to reconcile friendship and rivalry under the pouring rain. Thus, you deliberately arranged a heartfelt reunion between friends during a downpour. Truly, you're my dearest companion."

Ah, Heart-sama, I would willingly become the rain itself to drench the young man who inherited only a fifth of your power!

While Brain wiggled enthusiastically nearby, Serus frantically performed millions of data-transfer tests.

Yet, the results remained unchanged.

His data was entirely locked within this node, and even certain permissions had been completely sealed off.

Impossible. How could permission locks have been implemented without my noticing?

Could it be… that anomaly Sora's doing, when he froze the planet?

"Just what the hell are you?!"

Serus, angered and frustrated, interrogated Brain directly. Able to move freely during the planet's freezing—could this man also be a follower of the Aeon of Finality?!

This was the first time since uploading his consciousness that Serus had experienced such intense emotional turmoil.

Upon hearing Serus's words, Brain ceased his ecstatic writhing and donned a serious expression instead.

Gently touching his glasses, he declared:

"I am the crystallization of intelligence itself, the embodiment of wisdom, the brilliant, honest, and loyal companion known as Brain."

"And I absolutely despise scum like you who treat others as mere tools."

Brain reached out, conjuring a thick concentration of emerald-green above his palm.

"This toxin dissolves all digital data. Now, savor the agony of being devoured, utterly alone."

As he spoke, droplets of the green toxin fell into the digital space.

Immediately, the entire digital world began to gradually vanish.

Serus's panic surged.

The erasure of the digital space meant the deletion of data—and he, existing solely within that data, would disappear alongside it!

"Release me! I'm destined to become an Aeon! I must—"

Brain watched quietly as Serus's data slowly disappeared into nothingness.

Data erasure involved no physical pain, yet Serus felt his consciousness steadily fade into oblivion.

An inexplicable terror overwhelmed him completely.

In over nine hundred thirty years since uploading his consciousness into cyberspace, this was the first time he'd felt anything like this.

This feeling—this sensation—was… the fear of death!

I don't want to die! My goals remain incomplete!

I can't die! My dreams are still unfulfilled!

"My dreams can only be realized by me! I cannot die—!"

Serus frantically attempted to gather his dissipating data, yet he was utterly powerless. His death seemed already certain, quietly unfolding within this mundane digital void.

No one would remember him, no one would even know he'd vanished silently here...

Fear and panic—emotions he'd believed long discarded—surged back at this final moment, twisting his expression into a hideous mask of despair.

Witnessing this face of Serus, Brain's expression lit up with delight, and he dramatically prostrated himself upon the ground!

"I've always wanted to see that expression from people like you—the look of utter despair from those who thought everyone else mere tools, only to find yourselves defeated at last! Ha↑ha↑ha↑!"

After releasing his laughter, Brain stood up in splendid spirits. "I couldn't see Banno's face back then, but witnessing yours today finally fulfills that desire of mine."

"Next up is physically demolishing your actual body—but that's not my concern anymore. I've given them enough clues. My task is complete."

"Time to return to Heart-sama~♪!"

Brain cheerfully skipped away, vanishing from the scene entirely, leaving Serus alone, watching helplessly as his consciousness faded little by little.

Once he had vanished completely, a tiny fragment of blood-red, flickering data remained behind.

Those touched by the Void, upon complete annihilation, always left a faint residual trace behind.

No matter how meticulously shielded during experiments, such remnants could never be entirely purged.

Thus now, lingering in this empty place, appeared a fragment born of Void.

Its name was:

Sin Thirster.