I've heard about the idea that honkai's theme is centered around the love for others. I can agree, which also got me thinking that there may be another central theme at play:
Our identity and how we react when it is challenged.
Keep in mind this is just something I thought of randomly and I'm not completely up to date with all the chapters, I'll catch up eventually. I also didn't replay older chapters, so some things might be a bit off. Feel free to correct me.
Kiana starts off the story being very confident in herself. She's open to risk and has a very stable sense of self. Himeko and the rise of the HoV within herself challenges that. She's left broken and lost, and her sense of self gone with it. Throughout the rest of the story we see her fear for lack of ability to control herself and the HoV. This leads to her making much more self destructive choices that could cause her to be injured or even something worse. Her reaction is to fight back against what challenges her identity, even when it may not be good for her.
Mei reacts quite differently. After being offered the ability to save those whom she hold dear, she allows herself to succumb to her new herrscher identity. It hurts her, but she's able to cope with it due to the knowledge that she's able to protect them.
Bronya states somewhere in chapter 24 that she does not rely on her herrscher power. She can use it, but it is not a major part of her. Instead of fighting back or letting it consume her, she instead forms a relatively healthy relationship with it.
And Fu Hua (which was why I thought of this in the first place) is rather interesting. Instead of Fu Hua's identity being challenged, it is rather the herrscher's identity. Senti is constantly reiterating how she is the better Fu Hua, and in the same breath claiming to be the same as her. Instead of trying to enforce her identity on her host, it is rather she is trying to convince herself that she is her host. When this is challenged she becomes increasingly aggressive, even going so far as to squash Phoenix's power and nearly annihilate Kiana. She is unstable, and fickle, because deep down no matter how much she wishes to be Fu Hua, she knows she is not.
I actually find it surprising when Fu Hua talked about how she wished to look for Senti, which kinda shows that she wants to help her find an identity of her own that she can fit into, without the need to take someone else's in order to fit in and be loved.
Either way whether or not this was intended it's still something interesting to think about. Especially when the story takes place in an era where honkai, and herrschers, seem to be rapidly changing.
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