Herta's Space Station.
After persuading Acheron that day, Kiana, carrying her lingering worry, boarded the Xianzhou's Starskiff bound for the Space Station.
Of course, she didn't spend the trip idly.
She poured all her focus into developing her teleportation ability—researching, learning, and experimenting along the way.
She hoped to complete this crucial skill as soon as possible, to save all the time she kept wasting on travel.
Ruan Mei had told her not to come.
But Kiana couldn't rest easy—so she came anyway. She waited until the day before arrival to send Ruan Mei a message letting her know she was on her way.
A classic case of acting first, explaining later.
Ruan Mei never replied.
Kiana didn't know whether she hadn't seen it, or whether she had seen it and was displeased by Kiana's lack of trust.
When Kiana arrived and saw the Space Station still intact, she braced herself for the possibility of having to wait a while before seeing Ruan Mei.
But to her surprise, the moment she stepped off the platform, she spotted that familiar figure she'd been thinking about day and night.
There was no mistaking it—Ruan Mei.
And right now… was she waiting for her?
Kiana's eyes lit up. After greeting the people who had escorted her, she hurried toward Ruan Mei.
It wasn't anxiety over the Propagation issue that drove her—it was pure joy at seeing Ruan Mei again.
When she was only a few meters away, she finally called out, her voice brimming with happiness: "Ruan!"
Ruan Mei had already sensed her approach and wasn't surprised by her call. She simply turned slowly, gazing at the girl she hadn't seen for some time.
It hadn't been long, but Kiana looked exactly the same as when she'd left—unchanged in the slightest.
Ruan Mei didn't speak. Instead, she extended her hand toward Kiana, as if signaling something.
What was this about?
Kiana blinked in confusion, then hesitantly placed her own hand in Ruan Mei's elegant one.
Ruan Mei's fingers closed around hers.
Kiana's mind was filled mostly with confusion, though beneath it all was a current of joy at seeing her again.
Holding Kiana's hand, Ruan Mei finally spoke her first words since they met again. "I'll keep my promise to you. You really didn't have to worry."
"Even if it wasn't about that, I should still come see you! I missed you!"
Sweet words came naturally to Kiana. Their joined hands shifted slightly until her fingers slipped between Ruan Mei's, lacing together tightly.
"Ruan, didn't you miss me too?"
Her expression was pitifully soft. She was worried Ruan Mei might do something reckless behind her back—but she wasn't lying.
Ruan Mei was hers, after all.
She missed Ruan Mei, so she came to see her. Was that so wrong?
Of course not!
Ruan Mei glanced down at their interlocked fingers. Kiana's grip was firm—as if afraid she'd slip away.
She knew that wasn't the main reason.
She could tell.
Still…
"Let's talk somewhere quieter."
Ruan Mei didn't want to stand here too long. She could make others overlook them if she wished—but there were still too many people passing by.
Too distracting.
"Anything you say~"
Kiana followed her, side by side, into the elevator. They took several winding routes, moving deeper into the Space Station.
The number of people they saw dwindled rapidly.
Eventually, there was no one else in sight.
"Herta temporarily granted me control over this section. No one will disturb us here."
Ruan Mei led her into a lab in the restricted sector. Kiana found it oddly familiar—then realized it resembled the background she'd seen in their last call.
"You must've been really busy lately, huh?"
Kiana glanced briefly around the lab, but her gaze soon returned to Ruan Mei. She reached out and gently brushed her cheek, concern soft in her voice. "I came on my own… I didn't cause you any trouble, did I?"
"No trouble."
Ruan Mei caught her hand, meeting her gaze. "I'm just a little unhappy."
"Because… I didn't listen to you?"
"You don't trust me."
Ruan Mei lowered her gaze, tightening her hold on Kiana's hand. "I understand why you didn't trust me," she said softly, "but that doesn't make it feel any better."
Kiana instantly felt awkward, fumbling for an excuse. "It's not that I don't trust you. It's just… I couldn't rest easy without coming to see for myself."
"That is a lack of trust."
There was no arguing with that. Any explanation would sound hollow. Kiana bit her lip, her voice small as she lowered her head. "I'm sorry."
She really had doubted her, at least a little.
After all, Ruan Mei was a genius.
"When I make a promise to you, I'll always keep it."
Ruan Mei gently lifted Kiana's chin, leaning forward slightly so their eyes met. "If there's something you don't want me to do, we can talk about it."
"Between us, honesty and understanding should always go both ways."
A faint warmth flickered in her blue eyes.
Her fingers brushed across Kiana's cheek, the gentle touch soothing the unrest in her heart.
"I do still have some ideas," she murmured.
"About Propagation."
Kiana whispered, "I know."
The distance between them was dangerously small now. Ever since Ruan Mei started speaking, she'd been steadily moving closer.
Now, Kiana found herself backed against the edge of the lab bench, trapped in a corner with nowhere left to retreat.
"I know your greatest passion has always been the life sciences," Kiana said quietly. "To reach the peak of that field, you'd inevitably need to study the Aeons—especially Abundance and Propagation."
Ruan Mei's eyes rippled faintly, reflecting Kiana's thoughts. After a moment of silence, she replied, "You're right. Honkai energy and my field of study differ greatly. But the reason I became interested in the Honkai…"
She paused there, as if hesitating—or perhaps deliberately teasing her, letting curiosity build.
"What is it?"
Kiana couldn't hide her anxiety. Her eyes were full of worry, tension, and curiosity all at once.
"It's you."
Kiana froze, her breath caught. She had expected some complicated revelation—something she didn't know.
But that answer left her completely dumbfounded.
"...Me? Are you joking, Ruan?"
Ruan Mei's interest in Honkai energy was because of her? That didn't sound right at all.
She remembered clearly—
Ruan Mei had decided to study Honkai energy first. That was why she'd taken in Kiana, who'd lost her memory, and made that promise with her.
She'd always thought Ruan Mei had kept her around for her Honkai research. But now Ruan Mei was saying she'd become interested in Honkai because of her…
That was completely backward!
So was Ruan Mei saying this just to charm her?
When Ruan Mei sensed that thought in her mind, she blinked in mild surprise, then corrected her calmly. "No, that's not what I meant."
Kiana: "..."
Kiana's mood flipped completely in an instant, embarrassment flooding her entire body until her face burned hot.
Mortified, she tried to pull her hand free from Ruan Mei's grasp, desperate to end this soul-exposing conversation.
This was social death!
Why didn't she ever learn her lesson?!
Ruan Mei's grip only tightened, especially after sensing Kiana's urge to escape.
"Our conversation isn't over yet."
"...Mm."
Damn it, damn it—this was serious talk! Her brain needed to stop running wild right now!
She forced her face blank, willing her thoughts to clear.
She couldn't go through that kind of embarrassment again.
"I think this way, our conversation is more efficient. Don't you agree?"
Kiana gave an awkward laugh.
Efficient, sure—but it left no privacy at all.
Her innermost thoughts, every mortifying idea she'd ever tried to bury—Ruan Mei could see them all!
"I don't mind," Ruan Mei said simply.
You don't mind, but I do!
She was the one dying of embarrassment here…
That thought barely formed before Kiana cut it off, too flustered to even look Ruan Mei in the eyes. "Let's just… get back to the main topic."
She didn't dare think about anything else—especially when Ruan Mei's expression grew more serious by the second.
"Why… because of me?"
Ruan Mei had said she didn't mean it that way, so this was the truth. But what did she mean exactly?
Kiana had no recollection of any such reason.
She remembered their first meeting clearly—Ruan Mei in her secluded laboratory, absorbed in research. Everything else from that time was a blur.
"The reason…"
Ruan Mei paused, her eyes softening with memory. "It was beautiful."
Beau—what?
That didn't sound like an explanation at all!
Kiana stared, bewildered. Both of Ruan Mei's last statements sounded strange. Just as she was about to ask what she meant, the surroundings suddenly shifted.
She was now seeing through someone else's eyes—standing in an unfamiliar place, looking down at a sleeping figure.
Herself.
Her fully Herrscher form—divine, transcendent, and silent.
"There's no doubt—you were extraordinary. The first moment I saw you, I was captivated."
Each word sounded like a confession.
But Kiana didn't misunderstand this time. She could tell that wasn't Ruan Mei's intent.
The vision faded quickly, and the lab returned to normal. What she had just witnessed must have been Ruan Mei's memory from that day.
"Do you know what I saw?" Ruan Mei asked.
"W-What?"
Kiana couldn't guess. All she'd seen was her unconscious Herrscher self.
But clearly, that wasn't what Ruan Mei meant.
"Perfection—and truth."
"When I saw you, it was as if I'd witnessed a miracle."
Ruan Mei's voice trembled slightly with emotion. "It's strange, isn't it? Even when I stood before the Erudition, I never had such a thought. But when I saw you, my mind went utterly blank except for that one word—"
"'Miracle.'"
"That's why I became so fascinated by you—by the Honkai energy within you."
"I was desperate to understand why—why I felt that way at first sight. I wanted to uncover your secret, to unravel the mysteries of the Honkai itself."
Curiosity was the best teacher of any genius.
At first, Ruan Mei had believed that what was special was the Honkai—that Kiana was merely a unique Self-Annihilator, her divine presence the result of Honkai's influence.
But over time, as she spent more days with Kiana, she realized she'd been wrong.
The miracle she had seen wasn't the Honkai.
It was Kiana.
During those two years caring for her, she had never expected that she would be changed—unwittingly influenced by Kiana, rediscovering emotions she'd long dismissed as unnecessary.
The memory faded.
Ruan Mei, seeing Kiana's dazed expression, kindly said nothing more. She slowly released the hand she'd been holding so tightly.
"Miracle? Me? So it's because you saw a miracle in me that you became interested in the Honkai?"
Kiana tried to calm herself and make sense of it all. This was something she had never heard before—no one had ever said such a thing to her.
To her, Honkai had always meant disaster.
But now Ruan Mei was saying that she had seen a miracle in the Herrscher of Finality.
Kiana's thoughts tangled in confusion.
She was certain she hadn't been conscious at the time—Ruan Mei's memory of her came from a moment she herself couldn't recall.
"This is really…"
Kiana scratched her head, unsure what to say. She could only follow Ruan Mei's reasoning. "So… did you discover anything from your research?"
At her question, Ruan Mei's faint smile dimmed slightly as she shook her head. "No."
"Honkai and miracles… I really can't connect those two. Ruan, have you ever thought that maybe… it was just an illusion?"
Kiana hadn't fully grasped what Ruan Mei meant. The miracle she spoke of wasn't the Honkai energy she'd observed back then.
It was the Herrscher of Finality—it was Kiana herself.
During the time they lived together afterward, Kiana's influence on her had become unmistakable.
But Ruan Mei still hadn't figured it out completely—whether it was because of that so-called miracle, or because Kiana herself possessed some inexplicable charm.
No… whether it was the former or the latter—
It was still a kind of miracle.
With a faint sigh, she said, "To me, Honkai energy is a miracle. No matter what field it touches, it always brings about unexpected results."
That, Kiana understood.
"So that's why you wanted to combine Honkai energy with the power of Propagation?"
"Mhm."
Kiana groaned inwardly, her head aching. She had never once thought of Honkai energy as anything miraculous, and even now the idea didn't quite sit right with her.
But that was actually Ruan Mei's reason.
For a moment, Kiana didn't know how to respond.
"If it worries you, I won't conduct the experiment," Ruan Mei said softly, the conversation finally circling back to its beginning. "If the power of Propagation were to spiral out of control, it would indeed be troublesome."
"Exactly!"
Kiana nodded quickly, deciding to set aside everything else she couldn't make sense of. All she wanted was for Ruan Mei to completely abandon this idea.
"If Propagation's power runs wild, countless people could be affected!"
She added eagerly, "Even if you're really curious, we can start with something else—maybe another Aeon's creation, like… the Antimatter Legion!"
Her eyes suddenly lit up as she remembered the still-dormant Antimatter creatures on Jarilo.
Wouldn't that make perfect test material?
And it wouldn't even take much effort!
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