Honkai: Star Rail — Kamen Rider!

Golden brilliance erupted from within the planet, surging upward into the sky.

Even from space, one could see the dazzling glow illuminating the planet's surface.

The golden radiance condensed into tangible threads, weaving slowly around Titania's still figure.

Yet Titania herself remained expressionless.

She neither appeared surprised nor fearful of the power engulfing her.

The sudden eruption of energy from the planet's depths generated an overwhelming pressure, violently knocking both Sora and Hotaru backward.

Once they stabilized themselves, confusion overtook them.

"What's going on here?"

Hotaru felt a viscous resistance around her body—clearly, Sora's [Global Freeze] field remained active.

But shouldn't everything inside the freeze field be completely immobilized?

The freezing wasn't limited to physical objects—even energy-based attacks, particle collisions, and high-energy beams like those Serus had fired earlier, which could pierce starships effortlessly, were frozen mid-flight.

Those deadly beams had only continued their trajectories after Sora had canceled his power.

Having personally experienced it, Hotaru was utterly astonished by the current anomaly.

An energy capable of resisting Sora's [Global Freeze] was actively protecting Titania.

What exactly was happening here?

Not far away, Sora gazed at the turbulent column of golden light.

While surprised by its sudden appearance, what truly unsettled him was the transformation occurring all around them.

Previously, Sora had carried Titania far from the city, into a lush countryside with grass and trees. Yet now, everything was rapidly changing under the golden glow.

Grass and trees bathed in the golden brilliance underwent unsettling mutations.

Their growth accelerated dramatically. Grass blades, breaking through genetic limits, quickly rose to human height. Their once-green surfaces developed a strange texture, similar to human skin, softly reflecting light.

The tree trunks reshaped themselves; rough bark smoothed into muscle and skin, and their rings transformed into pulsing veins.

Witnessing this twisted metamorphosis was deeply disturbing, eliciting instinctive revulsion.

And it wasn't merely visual.

Every blade of grass, now eerily skin-like, vibrated softly, releasing faint pulses like whispers calling to some ancient deity.

Sora and Hotaru watched in stunned silence.

Both instantly grasped the gravity of what was happening.

This wasn't just environmental manipulation—Titania's power was rewriting the very rules governing life on this planet!

She was gradually transforming every organic being nearby into replicas of herself.

It was precisely what she'd nearly done to Sora earlier, though now, direct contact wasn't even necessary—merely being within range was enough.

Titania had become a massive converter, synchronizing everything around her into herself, the epicenter of this terrifying phenomenon.

"Sora," Hotaru warned urgently, "we might be safe for now, but don't let Titania touch you under any circumstances."

Even armored, a direct touch from her might still overwrite Sora's genes entirely.

Sora nodded solemnly in acknowledgment.

Seeing this horrifying spectacle reminded Hotaru of an insect she'd once faced—a devastating Swarm Mother whose mere presence on a planet allowed it to spawn endless insect armies.

Titania was now akin to that monstrous queen—but instead of insects, she was producing beings nearly identical to Hotaru herself.

"Sora, this woman…" Hotaru's voice trembled slightly, "she's fundamentally altering the nature of life itself and constantly multiplying."

"I know," Sora replied gravely. "This power… it's unmistakably Propagation."

More precisely, it approached the unbounded Propagation power of the Aeon Tayzzyronth.

Tayzzyronth—the Aeon of Propagation, renowned across the universe as the "Imperator Insectorum," the last surviving beetle on a remote, barren world.

Hunted relentlessly until it remained alone amid mountains of its kin's corpses, it had felt unbearable loneliness. This desire ignited its Path, transforming it into a being of limitless replication, a relentless tide of expansion.

Its most terrifying feat had been the ability to multiply endlessly, violating even energy conservation laws.

When it lived, insect swarms ravaged two-thirds of the universe.

"But wasn't this boundless power supposed to have vanished completely after Tayzzyronth's death?"

After the Aeon of Propagation fell at the hands of other Aeons, the Swarm had lost their ability to replicate through rewriting reality's rules.

Yet Titania had inexplicably manifested this power once more…

Before they could ponder further, a breeze carrying golden particles brushed gently past, murmuring mysterious verses into their minds.

[Around me stands no one. Endless solitude wraps around me.]

[Companions were flames, gathering strength to banish loneliness.]

Images flashed vividly—a vast empire stretching countless light-years, filled with innumerable Iron Cavalry Suits.

[I love us all.]

[Thus, commands are sent to the stars; thus, we halt to gaze upon the heavens.]

In the core of a shattered planet, countless Iron Cavalry Knights now resembled silver insects, devoid of individuality, blindly executing their queen's will.

[Loneliness persists. Thus, I will ascend, mobilizing all to cradle the stars as companions.]

Two figures appeared before Titania's eyes, but Sora's image slowly faded, leaving only a bleak emptiness.

[I shall ascend the throne and become our sovereign.]

Then the planet itself would serve as her cradle, nurturing her companions.

[My name is Titanironia.]

Larva of Propagation: Titanironia

A powerful wave burst from Titania's position, engulfing the entire planet instantly.

Her voice resonated clearly across the Path of Propagation.

All Swarms migrating through the galaxy shrieked simultaneously, celebrating her rebirth.

Despite the planet remaining within Sora's frozen field, a vast white curtain unfurled, immune to his power, sealing the entire planet from space. From afar, the planet resembled an embryo nurturing new life.

[I will convert all that exists, past and present, into companions, so solitude never again exists in this universe.]

She would transform everything—whether swarms, planets, or inorganic machines—into herself. Then, throughout the galaxy, loneliness would cease forever.

Her purpose crystallized fully in this instant.

[My (Our) image shall fill every corner, annihilating all solitude in this galaxy.]

Golden beams broke through the surface, gently arriving before Titania. From beneath emerged countless humanoid creations cultivated by Serus, initially male-featured but rapidly shifting into Titania's visage upon exposure to her aura.

They knelt respectfully, clearing a path.

Ahead lay a radiant, golden object drifting gently toward her—the Stellaron, shining brighter than a star.

Titania needed only to absorb it, transforming this planet and completing her ascension.

She extended her hand; white tendrils of golden energy reached eagerly forward to grasp the Stellaron.

"Not a chance!"

But at that very moment, a golden silhouette rushed between Titanironia and the Stellaron.

Golden tendrils erupted from his back, violently shredding Titania's reaching tendrils. The figure firmly placed himself between Titania and her target.

It was Sora!

He knew all too well that victory was most vulnerable just before its realization. If he could steal the Stellaron now, her ascension would fail completely.

Because he couldn't directly harm Titania, he chose to act against the Stellaron instead.

He lunged forward—but when his tendrils grasped the Stellaron, he instantly felt a crushing torrent of energy slam into him, flattening him like paper.

Agony ripped through every cell in his body, consciousness flickering on the verge of collapse. Sparks flew, armor fracturing instantly.

As his mind dissolved into nothingness, a voice suddenly whispered in his ear:

"At a time like this, someone as fragile as you shouldn't overreach."

A powerful force pushed Sora clear from his shattered armor.

Turning weakly, he saw a figure cloaked in crimson flames absorbing the fragments of his armor.

"So that's it... This was my true nature all along," Hotaru murmured softly, voice fading like the wind.

Golden veins etched themselves across her massive armor. In the next moment, a tangible force erupted around her, freezing everything within its radius.

Though limited in range, it utterly halted all motion—as if time itself had ceased to exist.

All fell silent.