127. Everyone's Plans and Kiana's Choice
The headquarters of Schicksal.
Otto looked at the file uploaded by Durandal, remaining silent.
The plan had failed.
But it was within his expectations, though the white-haired man before him was unexpected.
"Have you ever seen someone manipulate such a massive amount of Honkai energy with a mere wave of their hand and transform it into a special kind of energy? Void Archive."
"...Never seen it. Even in that civilization, I've never seen such power." Void Archive, the First Divine Key, a Divine Key with consciousness, answered Otto's question with absolute certainty.
"Unknown...Things are getting complicated." Otto's fingers tapped lightly on the table. He hadn't expected these people to appear alongside the Herrscher of the Void in such a short time: a person resembling the World Serpent Lord, a powerful man willing to stand in the Herrscher of the Void's way, and the other two in the photos were likely no ordinary individuals either. The plan to capture the Herrscher of the Void might be stalled, but he needed her power to complete the experiment.
Otto took a deep breath, reclining in his seat, and began to consider his next move.
Meanwhile,
"Theresa, are you alright?" Dr. Einstein contacted Theresa through the Anti-Entropy communication device.
"We're fine, Doctor."
"That's good!" Lieserl visibly relaxed.
They had all seen the sphere above the amusement park that had been filled with a terrifying amount of Honkai energy. After the sphere disappeared, Theresa's whereabouts also vanished, and she seemed to have moved elsewhere. She had assumed she might have been arrested by Schicksal, but thankfully, they had made contact now, and the situation couldn't be too bad.
"How are things on your end?"
"Ummm..." Theresa looked at the scene in the room and could only reply softly.
"We're alright. We were rescued by the people in the photo."
Lieserl frowned, resting her hand on her chin. The people who were with Kiana in the photo were rescued, and although she was somewhat puzzled, she had another question. So she asked, "Did you find Kiana?"
"We found her, but Kiana is still...sleeping. Those people said they can only let us take her away after Kiana wakes up."
"Why?"
"Because they want to know if Kiana wants to come with us." Theresa thought these people were nice; it showed they respected Kiana. But for Kiana's friends, it was a bit unnecessary; Kiana would definitely go with them.
However, unlike the confident Theresa, Lieserl had a different opinion: Kiana might not want to leave with Theresa. Of course, this was just her opinion; hopefully, things wouldn't get too bad.
"Theresa, is it okay to keep the communicator on like this?"
"It should be fine." After all, she had used the communicator in front of these people, and they hadn't stopped her at all, or rather, they didn't seem to care. The four people in front of them were currently discussing another issue.
"Speaking of which, I hope she doesn't make a scene when she wakes up, thinking we lied to her or something?" Xiling asked seriously, stroking his chin.
"Probably not?" Kevin's voice was uncertain.
"I don't think we lied to her about anything."
"Anyway, I definitely didn't. I answered whatever she asked," the Tarnished assured himself, patting his chest, then looked at someone else.
"But Xiling, don't you often lie to Sirin? If there's a problem, she'll come to you."
"Huh?" Xiling looked confused.
"Oh, I know that too. He always talks about how good he is in games, but then he drags others down the ranks." Kevin began to criticize Xiling.
"Heh." Xiling awkwardly looked away, laughing guiltily.
"Alright, Sirin hasn't even gotten up yet, so don't worry too much." Lemuen took a sip of tea, put down her cup, and looked at Kevin.
"Kevin, how are things going on your end?"
Kevin didn't mince words, speaking directly to Theresa and the others.
"Well, he is still in the Sea of Quanta. Since he hasn't come out yet, I'm planning to release him proactively. What do you think?"
"I have no objection." Xiling gave Kevin a thumbs-up.
The Tarnished: "It's up to you."
"Tell me your plan," Lemuen said with a smile.
Theresa, Raiden Mei, and Bronya initially didn't understand what they were talking about, but Lieserl's expression changed on the communicator; she seemed to have guessed something.
Sure enough, what Kevin said next was almost exactly what she expected.
"I went to ask that Gray Serpent guy. He said to release him, we need to activate the Eye of the Deep, have the Anti-Entropy people break through a certain barrier, and then use the energy of the Herrscher Gem to construct a coordinate system absolutely accurate to the real world."
"So, what are you planning to do?" Xiling looked at Kevin with a smile.
"Go find that organization and discuss it with them. Hopefully, they can assist us." This was Kevin's idea, but the speaker meant nothing by it, but the listener took it to heart.
On the other end of the communicator, Lieserl frowned, pondering the meaning of Kevin's words. Was he telling her to obediently cooperate with their actions? Activate the Eye of the Deep to release someone, someone... The Serpent!
They're going to release The Serpent! Do they know what they're trying to do? That man is extremely dangerous!
Thinking this, Lieserl spoke urgently, "Theresa, turn on the communicator's projection. I have something to say to these people."
Theresa didn't understand why Dr. Einstein's voice sounded so urgent, but she quickly turned on the communicator's sound as well.
Soon, Lieserl's voice filled the room.
"Hello, everyone."
"I am Lieserl Albert Einstein, one of the executors of Anti-Entropy."
Everyone looked at the communication device in Theresa's hand, but remained silent, waiting for her to continue.
After a moment of silence, Lisser spoke again.
"I understand what you just said. I want to know if you know what you are doing?"
"For the entire civilization, that man is extremely dangerous. Are you aware of this?"
Lieserl's tone was very serious, making Theresa, Raiden Mei, and Bronya sense something unusual. She was clearly very anxious.
"We know what you know and what you are worried about, and we know it more comprehensively. But this is our choice. As for what threat he will bring to this world, that's none of your concern," Kevin's voice was calm and earnest.
Lieserl took a deep breath.
"...Can I understand that once he does something, you'll stop him?"
"That's to be expected."
Kevin knew what would happen to the world if they released him, but even if they did nothing, his return was inevitable unless they intervened, which they wouldn't.
"I'm sorry, but I can't trust you. Anti-Entropy will not agree to open the Eye of the Deep."
Lieserl's words left Theresa feeling a bit awkward about being so direct. She, Raiden Mei, and Bronya looked nervously at the four people in the room, but their expressions remained unchanged.
Just then, Xiling spoke up.
"It doesn't matter, I'll intervene anyway."
Lieserl assumed Xiling was going to threaten Anti-Entropy with force or something, and her voice was serious.
"No matter what methods you use, Anti-Entropy will not agree to open the Eye of the Deep."
Xiling shook his head, somewhat amused.
"If you're not going to help, then don't. It makes us look like bad guys. If you don't want to help, we can just go to Deep City and activate the Eye of the Deep directly. If I remember correctly, the Eye of the Deep is a relic of a previous era, so I shouldn't need your permission to use it."
"...It seems you're right, you know more than we do." After a moment of silence, Lieserl said this.
The other party was implying that, regardless of whether Anti-Entropy helped or not, they had a way to open the Eye of the Deep; telling them was just a polite formality.
"We only know what we should know. By the way, your leader is also inside, it's Welt Yang." Xiling blinked and told the other party that Mr. Yang was still alive.
Lieserl was somewhat incredulous.
"Are you telling the truth!?"
Their research on the Eye of the Deep went wrong, leading them into the Sea of Quanta. There they encountered that man, that terrifying man. Welt Yang, to prevent him from returning to reality, sent himself back and fought him. She thought he was dead, but she never expected to receive the news that he was alive today.
"Why would I lie to you..." Xiling wanted to say something more, but paused, his gaze turning towards Kiana's room. Seeing her movement, everyone else seemed to realize something and looked towards the room as well.
—
Inside the room, the girl opened her eyes. The familiar room came into view. Kiana slowly sat up, feeling that her body was perfectly fine. Her previous injuries had all disappeared, as if what had happened before was just a nightmare, but... she knew it wasn't.
"Fu Hua," Kiana called softly.
Soon, Fu Hua appeared before her, her expression somewhat conflicted. She knew why Kiana had called her, but she didn't know how to express it.
"Tell me what happened." Kiana's voice was very calm.
Fu Hua was silent for a moment before speaking.
"It was Xiling who saved you, right in front of Durandal."
An ordinary person, as they thought, was able to take her away unharmed right under the noses of Schicksal's strongest Valkyrie.
Kiana took a deep breath.
"Where are they now? And… are Theresa and the others alright?"
"…They're all outside."
"…That's good." Kiana threw back the covers, looked down at the shoes neatly arranged under the bed, put them on after a moment of silence, and then walked towards the door.
Standing at the door, Kiana took a deep breath, her hand slowly resting on the doorknob.
Under the gaze of Theresa, Raiden Mei, and Bronya, the door slowly opened, and the girl they had been worrying about slowly walked out. Raiden Mei immediately stood up, a happy smile on her face, and ran quickly towards Kiana.
"Kiana, how are you feeling? Are you alright?"
Raiden Mei wanted to pull the girl into her arms, but... just as she approached, Kiana took a step back, her movement freezing Raiden Mei in place.
Kiana let out a deep breath, lifting her head and forcing a smile.
But the girl's smile lacked the joy of a reunion; it was forced.
"Long time no see, Mei. I'm fine," Kiana said softly.
After responding to Raiden Mei, her gaze swept across the living room. In the kitchen, something seemed to be fading into the distance; Kevin was reading a book backwards; Lemuen was drinking coffee with her eyes closed; and Xiling was looking at his phone with his back to her. All four seemed extremely busy, none of them directly addressing Kiana. Kiana's gaze finally settled on Xiling, who was looking at his phone with his back to her.
She stepped past Raiden Mei, who stood frozen in place, and walked behind Xiling. She said nothing, simply staring directly at Xiling.
The gaze from behind felt like piercing needles. Xiling turned around with an awkward smile.
"Oh, you're awake."
"Yeah." Kiana nodded softly in response, her gaze unchanged, fixed on Xiling.
Xiling coughed lightly.
"If there's anything wrong, why don't you go find Kevin?"
Kevin's body trembled slightly.
But Kiana didn't speak.
Xiling's face immediately fell.
"Why did you only come to me? Let me make this clear! There's nothing between us that's been deceiving you or anything. Don't say anything as we lied to you about anything."
Kiana nodded slightly, but her expression remained unchanged, making it impossible to guess what she was thinking.
Just as Xiling was about to give in to Kiana's gaze, unable to bear it any longer, Kiana softly spoke, asking a question she had asked before.
"So... why are you all so kind to me?" A slight tremor appeared in Kiana's usually calm gaze after asking the question.
"Is it because you know I'm the Herrscher of the Void and want something from me?"
Under Kiana's gaze, Xiling swallowed hard, his tone uncertain.
"I'll tell you something, but please don't get angry."
Kiana nodded; she was now indifferent to joy and sorrow.
Then, under everyone's watchful eyes, Xiling spoke.
"What you're saying might be precious to others, but to us, it's probably just so-so."
"As for why you think we're so kind to you—to give a powerful and beautiful girl the right guidance to prevent her from turning evil and causing harm to the world—what do you think of that reason?" Xiling gave Kiana a thumbs-up.
Kiana stared into Xiling's eyes, as if trying to discern the truth in her words, but the emotions reflected in Xiling's pupils were no different from usual.
Looking into those eyes, Kiana suddenly felt that the questions she wanted to ask had become less important. Just as she had told the Herrscher of the Void, she...didn't care, but there was one question she wanted to ask.
"Who...are you people?"
Kiana's question made Theresa and the other two, as well as Lieserl, who was communicating via telecom, listen intently, afraid of missing any details.
"We're not from this world," Xiling stated nonchalantly.
The others stared wide-eyed, as if they couldn't believe Xiling's words.
Xiling didn't let the conversation continue. He smiled and asked Kiana, "Anything else you want to ask? I can answer you anything."
"...No."
"Then you're not angry with us, are you?" Xiling stood up, clasped his hands together, and winked at Kiana.
"No," Kiana gently turned her head away, avoiding looking at Xiling's face. In fact, she hadn't been angry with them from the start; though she still harbored some resentment, that resentment had dissipated after she left the room and saw them awkwardly trying to find something to do, unable to face her.
Just then, Theresa's voice rang out, recovering from her shock.
"Kiana."
Kiana turned to look at the familiar figure.
For some reason, a bad premonition welled up in Theresa's heart. She forced a smile and reached out her hand to Kiana.
"Kiana, we've finally found you. Come back with us, okay?"
Seeing Theresa's expectant gaze, Mei's undisguised joy, and Bronya's expressionless face, Kiana slowly shook her head.
"I'm sorry, I won't leave with you."
"Why? Kiana!" Mei's smile instantly froze, replaced by immense confusion and unease. She instinctively took a large step forward, her voice filled with confused urgency, "Everyone's waiting for you! We finally managed to..."
Kiana lowered her head and backed away until she was behind Xiling. She said nothing, just silently lowered her head.
The atmosphere suddenly became awkward.
Kiana's silence, Theresa and the other two's confusion and urgency.
"Ahem," Xiling, acting as a safe haven, cleared his throat at the oppressive silence.
"Everyone, you all remember the consensus we reached earlier, right?" His gaze swept over Theresa's hesitant face.
"Since she doesn't want to go back, please don't make things difficult for us, okay? Respect her wishes."
"But...this..." Theresa opened her mouth, a thousand words stuck in her chest. What could she say? Force Kiana away? She simply couldn't do that.
But just letting her go? She couldn't accept that either.
Xiling smiled at that moment.
"You all know she's alright, isn't that enough? It's the same whether she's at your house or ours, right? You can just call a few more times, right?"
As soon as Xiling finished speaking, she felt a hand grip her waist tightly.
"Ouch, my kidney! Who told you not to go back? They called you a couple more times, so what? Let go!"
After Xiling's sacrifice, the farewell, which should have been somewhat sorrowful, took on a strange hue.
—
Theresa, Raiden Mei, and Bronya arrived outside the house. Seeing the man waving at them from the doorway, clutching his kidney, they silently waved back and left.
Just then, Kiana peeked out from behind Xiling, watching her companions' departing figures, muttering to herself, "I'm too dangerous right now. I'm afraid I won't be able to control myself...and I'll hurt them."
"You're afraid of hurting them? Aren't you afraid of hurting us?!" Xiling looked heartbroken.
Hearing Xiling's words, Kiana turned around and rolled her eyes.
—
T/N:
Yesterday I was working overtime, and after finishing writing, I accidentally fell asleep when I was about to schedule the post to be published. When I woke up this morning, I was wondering why it hadn't been published.