Kiana and Acheron soon arrived at the designated coordinates and once again saw the Ark they had long been apart from.
"Kiana!"
From afar, Sirin was already waiting outside the Ark. When she spotted them, she waved excitedly.
Sirin…
Acheron watched her calmly. There was no joy in seeing an old acquaintance, nor any resentment for the past.
Those things were long behind her.
Then she saw Sirin rush straight toward Kiana—and hug her warmly right in front of her.
"Kiana, it's been so long!"
"What do you think you're doing?"
Acheron's cold voice cut through the air. She wasted no time pulling Sirin away from Kiana, stepping between them protectively as she glared sharply at Sirin.
Facing her old acquaintance, Acheron could immediately read Sirin's intentions. Her eyes narrowed dangerously.
"...I was about to ask you the same thing. I'm just catching up with Kiana—what's your problem?"
Sirin huffed, clearly irritated at being interrupted. Sure enough, even after all this time, she and Raiden Mei could never seem to get along.
No—that wasn't right.
Even back in Izumo, their relationship had never been that good. It was only the illusion of harmony for Kiana's sake.
"Come on, don't start fighting the second you see each other!"
Kiana, caught between them, didn't even know how things had escalated so quickly. She quickly pulled the two apart. "You've known each other for years! Can't we just talk like normal people? What happened before was my fault—if you're still angry, take it out on me!"
"This isn't my fault, Kiana! You saw it—I hadn't even said a word to her before she started picking a fight!"
Sirin defended herself, exasperated.
She really was innocent this time.
Sure, she had her grievances with Acheron, but it was normal for friends to have friction. After all, they were among the last few survivors of Izumo.
Acheron didn't respond. She simply stared at Sirin with a piercing, warning gaze.
"Kiana is mine."
Sirin froze for a second, then smirked faintly. "You two aren't married yet, are you?"
Of course she knew that.
A long time ago, Kiana had told her that the person she loved most was Raiden Mei.
"Kiana already belongs to me."
Acheron's eyes flickered briefly, but her expression remained stern as she warned, "You'd better make sure your friendship doesn't turn out like Yae Sakura's."
She didn't hold back.
And she said it right in front of Kiana.
Without a doubt, this was both a warning to Sirin and a reminder to Kiana—not to go around getting entangled with others.
Ruan Mei she could accept.
After all, during Kiana's period of amnesia, she hadn't been there for her. She hadn't been by her side when Kiana needed her most.
But anyone else…
That was absolutely out of the question.
Of course, she would also make sure to keep an eye on Kiana—no opportunities for "accidents."
Sirin's face darkened instantly.
What did she mean by don't let it turn into something else?
Raiden Mei was just as irritating as ever—no, even worse than before. Back then, she'd only shown disapproval through her attitude. Now she went straight to open warnings.
Kiana's mind went blank.
"...Huh? Sakura?"
"What does Sakura have to do with this?"
"That woman's feelings for you have changed. If I'm not mistaken, she likes you too."
Acheron didn't bother holding back. The Sirin before her was likely the same type as Yae Sakura, so she had to make herself absolutely clear.
To cut off any potential problems before they began.
"That's impossible."
Kiana's eyes widened in disbelief. She had never treated Sakura in any special way.
And the last time she saw her, Sakura hadn't shown any such signs either!
"When I talked to her about you, her tone and gaze—it was obvious."
Acheron hadn't brought it up before because Ruan Mei's situation was already complicated enough. Bringing up Yae Sakura at that time would have only made things worse.
But now, there was no such concern.
This was the perfect opportunity to drive the point home—and see how Kiana reacted.
If Kiana really went around falling for everyone she met, Acheron would make sure to personally teach her a serious lesson about what a proper relationship was supposed to be.
"That woman?"
Sirin clicked her tongue dismissively, speaking with no restraint. "I've known for ages that she had feelings for you—it wasn't exactly subtle. I just didn't expect her to bottle it up for so long. For a while, I even thought I might've been wrong."
"Now she's dead and then she realizes what love is? What an idiot. How long did it take her to figure that out?"
She spoke with clear frustration.
If Yae Sakura had liked Kiana back in Izumo, she should've shown it more openly back then. If she had taken the initiative, Sirin could've joined in the teasing herself!
But now? It was far too late.
The train had long since left the station, and only now she wanted to get on?
Acheron wasn't distracted by Sirin's mocking words. She simply stood there, hand resting on her blade, quietly watching Sirin speak.
"Really...? I didn't do anything to her. How could she possibly..."
Kiana wracked her brain, trying to recall if she had ever done something to make Sakura feel that way.
But no matter how hard she thought, nothing came to mind.
Wait—except for that one time...
Kiana frowned, her thoughts drifting back to their encounter in the Stigmata World, and suddenly she fell silent.
"I think... maybe she'd been trapped in that cycle for too long. So when I appeared, she probably projected her hopes onto me instead."
Scratching her head, she muttered under her breath, "That doesn't necessarily mean she likes me, right?"
"Not necessarily? Kiana, I can tell you with at least eighty percent certainty—she likes you."
Kiana: "..."
Acheron shifted her gaze away from Sirin and back to Kiana, her tone softening slightly. "And what about you? How do you feel about it?"
What did she mean, how do I feel about it?
I don't know!
Kiana rubbed the back of her neck nervously and blurted, "I don't feel that way about Sakura. She's my friend. The people I like are Mei and Ruan."
Sirin, standing nearby, quietly muttered, "I knew it."
But the moment she heard the last part of Kiana's sentence, her eyes widened in shock.
"What? Kiana, you like someone else besides Raiden Mei? Ruan... as in Ruan Mei?"
Of course she knew who that was.
Even though she hadn't personally interacted much with her, Kiana often mentioned "Ruan" this and "Ruan" that. And as a member of the Genius Society, Ruan Mei wasn't exactly obscure.
"Yes."
Kiana forced a polite, embarrassed smile—being caught admitting she was two-timing by her own friend wasn't exactly ideal.
"Raiden Mei, what are you doing?"
Sirin paused for a moment, then turned her glare toward Acheron. She genuinely hadn't expected that the kind of fleeting thought she once had back in Penacony—that maybe it was possible for someone to steal Kiana's heart—had actually become reality.
She had always thought she could never come between those two... so she'd resigned herself to just being Kiana's friend.
Now, seeing that someone had actually managed to pull it off—Sirin felt as if the ground beneath her had split open.
"This is all my fault!"
Kiana couldn't handle the tension anymore. Why did every reunion have to turn into a conversation about her love life? Was that really necessary?
No—it wasn't reasonable or appropriate!
"I like Mei. I like Ruan. That's just how it is."
Sirin still looked unsatisfied, wanting to argue further, but when she saw Kiana's clear expression of we're not talking about this anymore, she reluctantly swallowed her words.
"I'm just surprised, that's all. I didn't expect... Raiden Mei to not react at all."
"...Are you going to the Xianzhou next?"
Kiana abruptly changed the subject. She really didn't want to continue down this line of conversation. It had taken her so much effort to get Acheron to fully accept her feelings about Ruan Mei.
If she and Sirin kept talking about it now, what if Acheron started having second thoughts or new doubts about Ruan Mei again?
How would she even fix that?
Better to stop here.
End of discussion!
Sirin glanced meaningfully at Acheron, took a deep breath, and smiled. "Yes, our next destination is the Luofu Xianzhou. It's perfect timing that you two arrived—you can come with us."
"Going to Luofu for business? Like what you did at Herta's Space Station?"
"No, this is different."
As they walked toward the Ark, Sirin explained, "This time, our goal is to trade for Luofu's Delve Construction technology."
Kiana stopped in her tracks. "Delve Construction?"
That kind of technology wasn't something the Xianzhou would share lightly. And if they were talking about spatial technology, Herta's Space Station would be a much easier source.
"Yes. For the future of the Ark, after discussions among the Council of Three, we've finally formed a clear plan."
As she spoke, Sirin's gaze fell on Acheron. "Raiden Mei, Kiana's returned. This time, you have no reason to run from your responsibility, do you?"
Kiana blinked, looking between them, then asked Sirin, "What responsibility?"
"The Ark, of course."
Sirin was much gentler when speaking to Kiana—nothing like the cool detachment she used with Acheron.
"We're the last surviving spark of Izumo. It's our duty to ensure that civilization continues."
"We've piloted the Ark through countless stars, visited many worlds, and met countless civilizations."
"Some even proposed that we settle on a planet, buy a world of our own, and rebuild a peaceful life like the one we lost."
"But every one of those proposals was rejected."
"For the future, we had too many ideas—so many that it wasn't until recently that we finally decided what our next step should be."
Kiana froze mid-step.
"Endless voyage? Like the Xianzhou?"
"Yes. We've decided to transform the Ark into a new Izumo."
Kiana's mind blanked for a moment. From that perspective... she had never considered such a possibility before.
"...You want to build a new Izumo?"
"We all escaped from Their shadow. We lost our home. We lost everything."
Sirin's tone grew heavy. "You left cleanly, Kiana. But do you know what we had to endure? The price we paid just to erase the stigma of being 'Self-Annihilators' in others' eyes?"
Acheron fell silent.
What Sirin said was true—she hadn't stayed aboard the Ark for long. Once things stabilized, she left.
Returned to the domain of Nihility.
They had chosen different paths. The Ark fought desperately to purge the taint of Nihility from their existence, while Acheron walked deeper into the Path of Nihility in her quest to return to Izumo.
Until now, when she had become something far different—an Emanator.
"I—"
"Kiana!"
Seeing the look on Kiana's face, Sirin immediately realized what she was about to say.
This time, unlike before, she didn't hesitate. She stopped Kiana firmly, her expression serious.
"Don't even think about it. Not just me—none of us want you to do that again. You've already done more than enough for Izumo. We're still alive because of you. Without you, we never would've escaped Their domain."
"We've come to terms with the past. Please... accept that failure too."
This meeting wasn't like their last one—no longer the emotional reunion of old friends overwhelmed by nostalgia. Sirin was calm, rational, and composed.
As for Kiana's promise from before…
Sirin still couldn't accept it.
"Death is also a kind of rebirth. We've already decided to walk our own path—to search for a future that truly belongs to us, to Izumo."
"..."
Was that really how it was?
Kiana found herself dazed. It turned out she was the only one still trapped—unable to move on, unable to accept failure.
Acheron reached out and pulled her close, then looked at Sirin. "What do you need me to do?"
"Obviously, to sit aboard the Ark."
Sirin replied curtly, sounding slightly exasperated. She didn't actually expect much help from Acheron—after all, with how deeply Nihility had already eroded her, there wasn't much she could contribute.
Acheron frowned in confusion. She had been to many places, but since she never cared much about things unrelated to herself, she didn't quite understand what Sirin meant by "sit aboard the Ark."
"To have Mei stationed on the Ark? That makes sense. Most major powers have an Emanator or someone of similar strength as a deterrent."
So that was what Sirin meant.
She had already found Kiana. Izumo... that place no longer held any obligation for her.
Sirin was right.
As someone who had once walked out of Izumo—who had once been the Sentinel of Howl—she bore the duty to protect the last surviving spark.
"You're planning to approach the Luofu under a new faction's banner?"
There was no doubt—if Sirin's plan succeeded, it would draw enormous attention.
After all, this was Nihility they were talking about.
If Sirin truly managed to pull this off, it would make history. Before now, not only had Nihility never formed a coherent organization—no Emanator had ever appeared under its Path.
After all, Nihility did not gaze upon anyone.
"Something like that. When we arrive, we'll have to make our situation clear to them."
The Xianzhou Alliance.
One of the greatest powers in the cosmos.
And behind it stood a true Aeon.
"I have no objections," Acheron said. "But there's still something I must finish."
Using her strength to deter opportunists was no issue—Sirin's words left her no room to refuse. Still, another matter tugged at her mind.
"You already found Kiana, didn't you?"
She had indeed.
But she had also made another promise.
"...I'm searching for a Galaxy Ranger."
"Galaxy Ranger?!"
Sirin's expression shifted, her tone laced with surprise. "Even though the Galaxy Rangers and the Xianzhou share the same Hunt path, the Rangers have been missing for ages."
What was with this woman? Always either looking for someone—or on her way to look for someone?
"I know."
"...No. Let's focus on building the Ark first. The matter of finding the Rangers can wait."
After thinking it over, Acheron decided to postpone her search for now. Wandering the stars aimlessly wasn't efficient.
Right now, the Ark came first.