(Just a joke, the author messed up the chapter numbers again. There were too many mistakes before, so I got lazy and decided to follow Fanqie's count. This is Chapter 368.)
Hare: "World Serpent will have a big move in the future. Before then, I hope you won't be our enemy. Also... there's a place in World Serpent. I hope that in the future, you can take Raiden Mei and Kiana Kaslana there together."
Ryn: "What's there?"
"The swan songs of some of the deceased, stories that they need to tell you themselves..."
"So, have you been there?"
"I have, and I will never go again."
"Why?"
"The form of existence there conflicts with my own... Also, I'm afraid I won't be able to resist transcribing them."
"Transcribing? As in, reviving them?"
"Mm... something like that. But as for the specifics, you'll understand when you see them yourself in the future..."
Hare pinched Bronya and Kiana's cheeks, then stood up and clapped her hands.
"Alright, that's about all I have to say. My purpose this time has been achieved, so it's time for me to leave. Cecilia's current state cannot be separated from the Slumber of All Things, so it's better to wait until you come to that place in World Serpent in the future to take Cecilia away."
"Hmm...?"
Ryn frowned. Since he could go and bring Cecilia back now, why wait until later?
Ryn was about to argue with Hare, but Hare pointed to the sleeping Kiana, then leaned in close to Ryn's ear and whispered to him: "Are you sure Kiana and Sirin are really ready to be with Cecilia?"
Why would she say that? Ryn was just about to ask Hare what she meant, but Hare directly teleported away.
After Hare left, only Ryn was still awake in the room, while Kiana and Bronya were still immersed in the sweet dreams woven by Hare.
Ryn first carried Bronya back to her bed and tucked her in.
Ryn didn't know what sweet dream Bronya was having, or if it was the same as the dream she had told Hare she wanted. If it was, Ryn was prepared to slap Bronya awake with two smacks.
The Bronya who was the leader of Fire Moth and the current little brat Bronya, there's no harm without comparison...
Ryn, feeling that she was not living up to expectations, reached out and tweaked Bronya's nose.
It's unclear whether it was Ryn's action that startled Bronya or if Bronya's sweet dream was reaching its climax.
The sleeping Bronya suddenly hugged the giant Homu doll next to her and shouted loudly: "All the pretty girls in the orphanage are Bronya's!"
"And here I thought it was some incredible dream... turns out it's just a pipe dream..."
Ryn made a funny face, then took a picture and printed it out on the spot using Honkai energy, sticking it on the Homu doll's face. If Bronya maintained her posture of hugging the Homu doll while sleeping, she would probably see it as soon as she opened her eyes in the morning.
After he was done, Ryn carried Kiana in his arms princess-style and gently left Bronya's room, not wanting to disturb her sleep.
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Placing Kiana on her own bed, Ryn bent down and kissed the sleeping moonlit princess beneath him.
"Good night, sweet dreams~
"The sweet dream is over. The prince has kissed Sleeping Beauty awake~
Kiana opened her eyes with a smile, then threw her arms around Ryn's neck and pulled him into the covers.
"Ryn Ryn Ryn~
Kiana seemed particularly happy and excited now, nuzzling her head against Ryn's chest, looking extremely cheerful.
Ryn asked with a doting smile, "Hehe, little Kiana, what sweet dream did you have that made you so happy~
"Hehe, I dreamed of my stinky old man! And I dreamed of Mom! Ryn, let me tell you, I've never seen my mom... so every time I dreamed of her, her image was a blank... but this time, Mom's appearance was super, super clear! She stayed with me the whole time in the dream~
_Ryn gave an awkward laugh. He couldn't just tell Kiana that the mother she dreamed of was actually Hare... But seeing Kiana so happy, Ryn decided not to care about what was real or fake and went along with her words._
"Kiana's mother? What kind of person is she?"
"Mom... she has the same snow-white long hair as me, she's an ultimate, invincible, beautiful girl just like me~ And she's super, super gentle! She's willing to play with me, fool around with me, and she'll suddenly appear when I'm being bullied and beat up the bad guys who bully me..."
"Kiana's mom must be the best mom in the world, right?"
"Mhm, mhm!" Kiana's eyes sparkled with a happy light as she nodded firmly. "Mom must be the most perfect woman in the world! That damn stinky old man, how is he worthy of such a good mom!"
"Hahaha... then when we find Siegfried in the future, we'll definitely give him a good beating!"
"Yeah! We'll knock out that bastard old man's front teeth! Right, right, and also... let me tell you, Mom, she..."
Ryn lay on his side, watching the excited Kiana in front of him animatedly describing the Cecilia from her dream.
Ryn had never met Cecilia, nor did he know her... but from Kiana's admiring description, he couldn't help but feel a sense of anticipation for her.
"Kiana... if one day Cecilia suddenly appeared in front of you, what would you do?"
Kiana froze for a moment, her smile seeming to vanish for an instant, but it immediately returned to normal.
"If Mom suddenly appeared, I would definitely introduce Ryn to her, let her know that I've found a man who is ten thousand times better than my stinky old man... and then go with Mom to the Sky Tower in the Far East, to witness Nagazora City at night... go to Shenzhou together, to eat every delicacy in Shenzhou... go to the North Pole together, to see the beautiful aurora...
But Mom won't appear... she's dead... a dream is ultimately a dream... after waking up from the dream, we still have to face this real world."
"Not necessarily! Cecilia is still alive."
Kiana looked up and met Ryn's gaze. Ryn nodded seriously.
"Remember the woman you met before you fell asleep? She's the troublesome opponent Misteln I mentioned before, you can also call her Hare. She brought news of Cecilia and made a pact with me to hand Cecilia over to us."
Kiana's expression was a bit stiff. Actually getting the news that Cecilia was alive made her both happy and scared.
She was happy because, during the Second Honkai War, Sirin had used her last bit of strength to throw Cecilia out of the fission bomb's blast range at the very end. Cecilia survived, and she was glad and happy about that...
She was sad because she was Sirin, not Cecilia's real daughter... Even if Siegfried acknowledged her and gave her the name Kiana Kaslana, what if Cecilia didn't accept her...
A dream is a dream because people can achieve in dreams what they cannot in reality... but once a dream is about to come true, how many people can calmly accept the result...