In The Honkai World: Transforming Into An IF-Route Valkyrie

"Well, that just proves how sharp my eye is." Little Senti gave a prompt nod. "But Irene, your talent really is something else — almost unnaturally gifted. Could it have something to do with Su's imprint on you?"

It wasn't exactly hard to notice — the imprint Su had left on Irene was plain enough to sense at a glance. But could Su's imprint actually help someone train faster?

Irene's rate of improvement was even more alarming than that Cheng Lingshuang kid back in the day. It was like she'd been born to learn Taixuan Sword Qi.

And back then, Cheng Lingshuang and the others had even received her careful, personal guidance. Though, if she was being honest with herself, that "guidance" might as well have been fed to the dogs. Still, when she really thought about it... wasn't it understandable? Why they'd done what they did?

Well, to sum it up: her head must have been absolutely poisoned back then. She'd bulldozed through everything the hard way, when better solutions had been right in front of her — and somehow managed to end every situation with nobody happy.

She really hadn't been thinking at all back in those days. All she'd had in her head was corrupt, kill, corrupt, kill — as if she couldn't have just dealt with it herself. She had so many tools and techniques at her disposal; would it really have been that hard to fix a little Honkai corruption?

And if worst came to worst, she could've told her disciples. If they still didn't understand, she could've let them handle it themselves — and if things went wrong after that, it wouldn't have fallen on her head.

No matter how she looked at it, she'd been missing a few screws back then.

"Master, what's wrong? What are you thinking about?" Irene's voice drifted into Little Senti's ear, and she snapped back to attention.

"Nothing, nothing — just marveling at how gifted you are. A credit to me, really." Little Senti planted her hands on her hips with a satisfied air. Irene's talent was Irene's talent, sure — but the Taixuan Sword Qi was still something she had taught. So she could at least take credit for recognizing the talent, right? And besides, Irene...

Little Senti looked at her. "Speaking of which — have Nuwa and Fuxi woken up yet? They're not still sleeping, are they? I wasn't in great shape before, so I couldn't help, but I'm in top form now."

As she spoke, she flexed an arm, radiating confidence. She was feeling great these days — even Fenghuang Down was fully usable again.

She refused to believe that in her current condition, she couldn't sort out whatever little coma those two were stuck in. If all else failed, she'd shove a feather up each of their noses and see if that didn't wake them right up.

And she wanted to see Lixue, too. Outside of Irene, Lixue was her most devoted disciple.

And while she was at it — another complaint about her past self: she'd really been dense. Ridiculously dense.

She'd had such wonderful disciples and hadn't given them a single kind look. How had she even called herself a master?

"They've already woken up." Irene looked at Little Senti and smiled with a nod. "Why don't we find a proper place to meet? It's a rare reunion — might as well make it a little ceremonial."

"A little ceremonial, huh." Little Senti mulled it over and found she agreed. Everyone had been apart for so long — or rather, it had simply never occurred to her before that those two might still be alive.

She was Fu Hua, after all. Their dear old friend. And if they were going to meet, wouldn't a little ceremony make it all the better?

"Then it's settled — Taixuan Mountain." Clever Little Senti quickly surfaced an answer from her memories: Taixuan Mountain.

They'd all lived there for a long stretch of their lives. It was a place woven through with their shared memories. If anywhere was right for a reunion, it was there.

Irene smiled watching Little Senti light up with the idea. She knew how Little Senti had gotten here, of course — but she still wanted to hear the story in Little Senti's own words: how exactly she'd gone and punched Otto around.

After all, most of the time Otto knew perfectly well he was about to be outmaneuvered — sometimes he even engineered it himself. A genuinely clean sucker-punch landing on him was a rare thing indeed.

"By the way, Master — how did you actually get away from Otto?"

"Ah, that." The moment Irene asked, Little Senti immediately struck a boastful pose, raising her hand and squeezing it into a fist to show off in front of her.

"You were right before — that Otto really didn't have good intentions."

She kept talking as she raised a hand and made a finger-gun gesture at her own temple. "But that bastard actually ambushed me — shot me right in the head. Still, you know what your master is made of, right? The heavens protect the virtuous. Even with my head blown off, I came right back."

"Oh, Master is so impressive." Irene wore a bright smile and gave a little round of applause. "And then what happened?"

"Then I woke up in one of Schicksal's medical pods, and I smashed the thing to pieces with one slap." As he went on, Little Senti grew more and more animated, waving her arms and acting it all out as though she wanted to reenact the whole scene right then and there.

[For some reason, I find this deeply embarrassing.] Fu Hua quietly groused inside Irene's mind. Honestly, after all this time, Fu Hua had assumed she'd burned away every last shred of her capacity for embarrassment.

But watching that Herrscher — in her own body — striking these poses... it was inexplicably mortifying.

[I actually find this quite charming~] Nuwa, listening from nearby, seemed thoroughly entertained, her voice brimming with delight. [I've never seen you this cheerful before.]

[That's true — you never used to joke around like this.] Fuxi joined the chorus, piling on with the teasing. [Seeing you like this is honestly quite a novelty.]

Irene, listening to the voices in her head, added her own contribution: [And Master, don't forget — Mr. Kevin is right there watching too~]

[...] Irene heard a long, heavy sigh from Fu Hua inside her mind. [I have been doing my utmost not to think about that, Irene.]

"And after that, that bastard Otto had the nerve to appeal to our friendship. Hmph!" Little Senti, oblivious to the little drama unfolding inside Irene's head, pressed on. "After what he pulled — how could we ever still be friends? That guy just loves using everyone."

"So I taught him a lesson." She raised her hand and mimed it as she spoke. "Slammed him against the wall and gave him a proper beating. Collected a little interest while I was at it — tore up a few other parts of Schicksal along the way."

Then she seemed to catch herself, and hastily added: "But don't worry, disciple — I absolutely did not hurt anyone other than Otto."

"Oh, is that so?" Irene simply smiled at Little Senti's suddenly shifty eyes, and didn't press the point — she made no move to out the fact that Little Senti had, in fact, also given Durandal a good thrashing.

"W-Well, of course." Little Senti's eyes darted away guiltily. She had no desire for her disciple to find out she'd roughed someone else up too. She wanted to be a good master — a clean break from her old self.

She couldn't repeat the same mistakes. She'd be a good teacher, a good master. She would be a better Fu Hua than she had ever been.

"I believe you, Master, of course." Irene gave her a warm smile, making no attempt to hide her trust. Little Senti was a good kid — she just needed a little guidance and a little faith.

Feeling the trust Irene was sending his way, the wariness in Little Senti's eyes eased more and more, and a deep satisfaction toward her disciple bloomed in her chest — she was getting thoroughly, perhaps dangerously, lost in the role of master.

"Although — that mysterious attacker who apparently raided Schicksal HQ a while back, that does seem to have an explanation now." A flicker of amusement danced in Irene's eyes.

"The report also mentioned that the same mysterious attacker, while tearing up the HQ, apparently took the time to beat up Durandal as well. I wonder if Master has any thoughts on that?"

"Hmm, well, about that..." Little Senti's triumphant posturing froze instantly, and an awkward expression crept across her face. "It's like, you know how it is..."

"Well — look, I did break into their base, so obviously someone was going to come out to stop me. It's not like I went looking for trouble."

"Is there not some possibility," Irene said with a smile, "that you were, in fact, looking for trouble by doing exactly that?" She didn't press the matter further, though, and shifted the subject again.

"But why, Master, did you go find Kevin first after leaving Schicksal instead of coming to us?"

"Oh, speaking of that —" Little Senti, clearly relieved to have a new thread to pull, immediately threw an arm around Irene and steered them both toward Kevin.

"Hey, from what you said earlier, you must already know Kevin — so no introductions needed. But how did the two of you actually meet?"

"We crossed paths in the Sea of Quanta before." Kevin stood with his arms folded, eyes on Irene. He had already sensed it — on Irene, the unmistakable aura of the true Fu Hua.

But to avoid tipping his hand, he let his gaze linger only a moment before pulling it away. "Your... disciple is a fine warrior."

"Huh, you don't hand out compliments often." Little Senti looked at Kevin in mild surprise, then gave a nod. "Guess after all this time, even you've changed a bit, huh?"

"Good. That's how it should be — we've all changed after this long. In honor of that, I'll let it slide that you may have bullied my disciple."

"Mm." Kevin gave a single nod. Given how things had shaped up, luring the Herrscher of Sentience into the Elysian Realm was clearly off the table now. Nothing to do but let it go.

Though it didn't really matter — Irene would bring Little Senti along eventually. No need to rush.

"Understood. Now that you know, are you leaving?"

"Naturally — I have no intention of lingering in your World Serpent." Little Senti nodded without hesitation, then dangled Irene beside her like a prized possession on display.

"See, I have my disciple. Taking care of a disciple beats whatever this World Serpent has to offer."

"Then go." Kevin gave a nod and left without looking back.

Little Senti, sensing there was nothing more to be had here, just shrugged and looked to Irene.

"Ah, don't mind him — Kevin's just like that." Little Senti pulled Irene along. "Come on, let's go. Past-me really dropped the ball — how did I never show you just how great your master is?"

It had come back to her now: when she'd first taken Irene on as a disciple — or rather, when she'd framed it — she'd described herself as Irene's predecessor, her lineage.

Looking back on it, Little Senti found that logic utterly pointless. She wasn't someone who needed to hide in the shadows — she should have proudly let Irene know from the start that her master was a great and magnificent Celestial.

But it wasn't too late now. She needed to head back to Taixuan Mountain anyway — perfect chance to give Irene a proper demonstration of her greatness.

And after that, she'd have to properly, earnestly guide Irene. Such a gifted disciple — if something happened to her like what had happened to Cheng Lixue, she really would die of grief.

Speaking of Lixue — Irene apparently had a Lixue of her own in her mind, one that seemed to come from the Sea of Quanta. Not the real Cheng Lixue from before, but Little Senti decided she'd look after her a little anyway. She was Lixue, when all was said and done.

"Yes, yes, Master is the best." Irene smiled and let herself be pulled along, while quietly continuing to needle Fu Hua in her mind.

[So, Master — don't you have something to say? If you don't, I might genuinely have to find myself a new school.]

Fu Hua listened to Irene's teasing in silence for a long moment, then could only heave a deep sigh: […Fine.]

And just as the three of them were about to leave, Raven came running out of the base, planting both hands on her hips as she fixed her gaze on Irene. "Irene! Didn't expect to run into you here. Have you forgotten something?"

"Ah." Irene looked at Raven in mild confusion. She genuinely hadn't expected Raven to be here — wasn't this supposed to be Jackal's territory?

"'Ah'? What do you mean, 'ah'? Don't tell me you just... forgot?" Raven stood with her hands on her hips, staring Irene down. She had every right to be indignant — Irene was the one in the wrong here, and they both knew it.

"I haven't forgotten." Irene shook her head. She wasn't that forgetful — she wasn't some Fu Hua with senile dementia. "I just didn't expect you to be here."

"What do you want with my disciple?" Little Senti sized Raven up, thought about it, and figured she was here to make trouble for her student — as the master, she ought to step up.

"Ah, it's nothing — I promised Raven I'd take care of something." Irene reached out and gently held Little Senti back. "But then things got a bit hectic, heh, and I never got around to it."

"Oh, I see." Little Senti nodded, relieved it wasn't a confrontation. "Is it going to be a lot of trouble?"

"Not too much trouble, no." Irene shook her head. It was just a semi-awakening — and while that might be genuinely complicated for an ordinary person or anyone else, she was the Herrscher of Death. The Authority of Creation was tailor-made for resolving exactly these kinds of physical complications.

Irene looked to Raven. "Raven, go ahead and bring the children out. After this, they won't need to live in a high-concentration Honkai energy environment anymore."

"Alright, good — those little brats can stop suffering through that." Raven gave a nod, her tone brusque, but something in her visibly relaxed.

After all, those children were the reason she pushed herself so hard. If the biggest problem they were facing could actually be solved — that was genuinely wonderful. No more waiting on that useless slowpoke Jackal to drag his feet and cobble together some targeted treatment drug.

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