Inside the cold, mechanical pod lay a woman who looked almost identical to Cecilia...
Kiana pressed her face against the pod's screen, looking at her for a long time.
*CRACK—*
Kiana shattered the pod's glass with a single punch and reached in to lift up the sleeping figure of the Cecilia clone.
Kiana knew the person in her arms wasn't the real Cecilia, but seeing the face she had longed for in her dreams made it hard for her to control herself.
Gently caressing the Cecilia clone's face, Kiana's eyes were filled with endless tenderness and longing.
How she wished the sleeping beauty in her arms would wake up, call her name, and say that fairytale-like spell to her once more...
Theresa stood beside Kiana, quietly watching her hold the Cecilia clone.
"These are all failed clones... They have no self-awareness, no life... They rely entirely on the special liquid inside the pods to maintain their bodily functions. But in essence, they are just humanoid flesh with an appearance similar to ours..."
"Mmm... I know."
Kiana gave the Cecilia clone one last reluctant look, then placed her back in the pod and stood up again.
"The real Mother Cecilia is still waiting for me. I won't be held back by these soulless, lifeless clones."
"Good, that's good... Kiana has grown up too." Theresa nodded in satisfaction, then her eyes widened. "The real Cecilia? Cecilia is still alive?!"
"Mhm..."
Kiana nodded and ran towards the next pod that contained something, not giving Theresa a chance to ask more questions.
"Kallen's clone..." Kiana stood and looked for a moment, then turned and ran to the next one.
"Still Kallen's clone... no, wait..."
"Huh? This is Durandal's clone? Why is there a clone of Durandal here? No, why shouldn't there be a clone of Durandal here?"
"No, no, this is all wrong..."
Kiana was getting anxious now. Whether it was Kallen's clone or the inexplicably present Durandal clone, none of them were what she wanted to see.
She was anxiously trying to confirm what she was thinking, even though she already had a rough idea of why Theresa had brought her here.
Perhaps Theresa would explain everything soon, but right now, Kiana had only one thought in her mind: to find that place and confirm everything for herself.
After searching everywhere, she finally found it at the end of the warehouse...
She found her own clone...
And near her clone...
Her own pod...
Kiana fell to her knees, trembling. She caressed the broken pod with its shattered glass and silently read the serial number marked on its side, along with the information recorded on it.
"K... 423... Fusion of Kiana Kaslana and Sirin... clone..."
Most creatures will regard the first living being they see upon opening their eyes as their family, as the one they trust the most...
The first time Kiana opened her eyes, she saw a very cute, smiling little loli with white twin-tails, and her cheap old dad, Siegfried.
Kiana had already lost her memory and impression of that girl's appearance and voice. But as the first being she had ever seen, Kiana held a great deal of affection for her...
She didn't know her name before, but now Kiana understood. She was the "Kiana Kaslana" who had passed away, the older sister who had lost her life to save her.
Kiana leaned against the K-423 pod, looking at her birthplace, silent for a long time.
"Theresa, you were too hasty..."
Ryn grabbed Theresa by the collar of her shirt and lifted her over to Kiana's side.
Theresa: "I'm sorry... but this is something Kiana had to know sooner or later."
After sensing that Kiana and Theresa's auras had met, Ryn had been keeping an eye on their movements. When he realized they had entered the underground restricted area, he quickly finished his business with Mei and rushed over.
"But this wasn't urgent. We could have waited until Kiana was ready to tell her everything."
"Mmm... actually, I was going to talk about something else..." Theresa fidgeted, at a loss.
Actually, Theresa had originally intended to tell Kiana about her relationship with Sirin, not about her birth...
This was just a place they were passing through, and Theresa had already dealt with most of it. Theresa had thought that as long as she didn't say anything, Kiana probably wouldn't pay too much attention to the surrounding pods... but she didn't expect that the moment Kiana saw this place, it was as if she remembered something, and she suddenly became more familiar with the layout than Theresa herself... Theresa couldn't even catch up to her...
Hearing Ryn's voice, Kiana forced a smile and looked up, pointing at the pod in front of her and joking to Ryn and Theresa, "Look, this is where I was born. Isn't it unique..."
Ryn let go of Theresa, tossing her aside, and took a few steps forward to pull Kiana into his arms.
"I'm sorry, I hid this from you, I didn't tell you... and I shouldn't have let you face this alone."
"It's okay..."
Kiana shook her head, wrapped her arms around Ryn, and buried her head in his chest, not letting Ryn and Theresa see her expression.
"I'm very brave and very strong..."
This was the truth of Kiana's birth, a fact that Kiana had to accept and couldn't deny... but how much of a blow would this be to Kiana...
Ryn: "If you want to cry, just cry. You don't have to hold it in... No matter what, you will always be the goofy girl we love."
"I don't want to cry..." Kiana sniffled, blinking hard to hold back the tears welling up in her eyes. But her grip on Ryn didn't loosen at all; in fact, she held him even tighter.
"I knew about this... I've always known... If you guys think this will break me, then you're going to be disappointed!"
Kiana wiped her nose and gave Ryn and Theresa a carefree smile.
But her eyes were a little red...
Was she suppressing her sorrow, forcing a smile so as not to worry everyone?
"Kiana..."
"The image of Dad and her shattering the glass together and lifting me out of the pod... that's one of my most precious memories. It's deeply etched in my mind.
So I knew... I knew I wasn't Siegfried and Cecilia's biological daughter...
It's just... it's just..."
Kiana stammered, unable to continue. Her hands tightened their grip on Ryn, as if only by doing so could she get a sense of reality, to help her accept that all of this was real.
Ryn gently stroked Kiana's long hair, patting her back. Ryn knew what Kiana wanted to say...
Kiana knew she might not be a normally born life form, but what she didn't expect was... she was actually a clone created from the fusion of the real Kiana and Sirin...