The Honkai descended.
It fused with this world—completely and irreversibly.
Everything on the planet changed at that moment.
All creatures instantly transformed into Honkai Beasts.
At the same time, Takumi's body also began changing.
He was slowly becoming a Herrscher.
Simultaneously, he began absorbing the remnants of this now-extinct civilization.
Knowledge began to flood his mind.
Streams of power awakened within him.
First: Authority of Reason With the absorption of an entire civilization's knowledge, he could now manifest anything he understood.
Second: Authority of the Void He could manipulate imaginary space for teleportation and attacks.
Third: Authority of Thunder He now had total control over electromagnetic fields.
Fourth: Authority of Wind He could create ideal fluids from nothing.
Fifth: Authority of Ice He could generate temperatures below absolute zero, affecting molecular movement.
Sixth: Authority of Flames He could control high-temperature flames and molecular movement. Combined with the fifth authority, he gained full control over molecular behavior.
Seventh: Authority of Consciousness He could manipulate minds and create illusions.
Eighth: Authority of Earth He could control the land, gravity, and even generate black holes.
Ninth: Authority of Domination He could create clones that inherited part of his power.
Tenth: Authority of Restraint He could suppress all 'special' abilities.
Eleventh: Authority of Corruption He could erode both creatures and machines to bring them under his control.
Twelfth: Authority over Life and Death He mastered the forces of creation and decay.
And finally—the Power of End itself.
He now controlled time and could even restart civilization.
As the Cocoon of the End fully integrated with him, Takumi gained all thirteen authorities.
Feeling the power surge within him, Takumi clicked his tongue.
"Even though there are no more humans in this world..." "Just the remnants were enough to make me this strong." "Ridiculous."
The Cocoon of the End had bound Takumi to this world.
Or rather, to the legacy of the civilization on this planet.
But there were no humans left.
Takumi was now the last human being in this world.
Even if he was a foreigner, he was still human.
Therefore, he was the rightful inheritor of everything this world had left behind.
Humanity here had completely perished.
He was the last human, the last hope of humanity.
Thus, all of this world belonged to him.
Because of that, once he merged with the Cocoon, he was automatically recognized as part of this civilization.
Its entire legacy made him leap to unimaginable heights of power.
"Destroying an entire continent would be no problem now." "Even wiping out a planet would be simple."
Feeling the power surging within him, Takumi gave this assessment.
Clearly, this world's legacy was quite impressive.
The moment he fused with the Cocoon of the End, Takumi obtained all of this planet's knowledge.
He now knew the planet had already begun plans to build a spaceship.
But!
It was ultimately useless.
The project never reached completion.
Just as the blueprints were being drawn, those scientists had already perished.
Until the very end, humanity never escaped this planet.
The last remaining survivors died long ago.
Sorting through the knowledge in his mind, Takumi sighed.
Feeling the power within him, Takumi raised his hand and condensed Honkai energy.
In the next instant, a mirror appeared in his hand.
The power of the Herrscher of Reason: Understanding and Manifestation.
With the knowledge of an entire planet, creating a mirror was trivial.
Takumi looked at his reflection and fell into thought.
His eyes had turned into golden crosses, not star pupils.
His hair color had changed, though his clothes remained the same.
No Herrscher outfit had appeared.
Or maybe, if he wanted one, he could design it himself?
Staring at his reflection, Takumi clicked his tongue.
"Handsome!!"
Touching his strikingly handsome face, he couldn't be more pleased.
Strength aside, being good-looking was mandatory.
And he had become white-haired.
In the real world, this would be the kind of hair your mom would beat you over.
Shaking his head, Takumi let the thought go.
He casually tossed the mirror, and it dissolved into Honkai energy.
Without his intent, the mirror couldn't persist.
If he needed it again, he could simply remanifest it.
At that moment, Takumi began to think seriously.
He was now bound to this planet.
If he wanted to become stronger in the future, there was only one path:
Develop civilization!
His power was tied to civilization. The more advanced it became, the stronger he'd grow.
Though this civilization was destroyed, it had left behind many relics.
For example, tools for awakening superpowers.
These powers weren't pseudoscientific "magic-as-science" tricks, but genuine bodily evolution.
No calculations needed— Once awakened, they became as natural as using your limbs.
In addition, there was the vast knowledge and technology left behind.
Using this, could Takumi rebuild civilization?
He fell deep into thought.
To develop a civilization, you need people!
Without people, what was the point?
Make mechanical lifeforms?
Or use the Honkai-mutated magical beasts?
Takumi was lost in thought.
"No people... so it's a dead loop?" "If I can't cross into other worlds, I'll be stuck here forever!"
A very serious problem.
If he remained the only person here, civilization couldn't develop.
Unless—he created a mechanical civilization?
Or developed a civilization of Honkai Beasts?
Either way, the absence of humans was a huge disadvantage.
After some thought, Takumi relaxed.
He still had the chat group.
Maybe he could cross into other worlds someday.
Maybe some people from other worlds would want to immigrate.
Could he persuade them to come?
With that thought, his eyes lit up.
As long as this world had humans, as long as civilization could grow,
Takumi would continue to grow stronger.
He could even acquire knowledge of other civilizations via the chat group, and incorporate them into his own,
using them as fuel to grow his own civilization and strength.
Now that he'd thought it through, Takumi was very pleased.
"Before that, I should clean up the place." "Can't let the Honkai Beasts wreck the world too much."
He sensed the activity outside,
and made up his mind.
If he wanted to attract immigrants in the future,
he needed to maintain safety and hygiene.
Who would want to move to a dangerous world?
Even if he had become the embodiment of Honkai—
He was still a good guy!
So, time to clean up.
First, he needed to deal with this world's situation.