Bathed in white light, the two figures walked on. The young woman listened silently to the Hermit's tale, her face betraying no emotion.
"...This is why you can't recall any memories from before the age of eight... because they never existed. It's also why hearing Cecilia's words, 'Ich liebe dich,' causes you such excruciating pain..."
"You are the last remaining vestige of Sirin's kindness, the Second Herrscher's last sliver of humanity, awakened from a clone by your yearning for Cecilia's warmth..."
Amidst the radiant white light, they approached a massive black gate.
"We've arrived. From here, you must walk your own path. We've told you of your past and origins... and what you're about to see..."
"...is the future He once saw, the future that is destined to come to pass."
The Hermit stepped aside, clearing the path to the Black Gate, and turned to face the White-Haired Knight.
"I have a few questions..." Kiana said, meeting the Hermit's masked gaze.
"Ask."
"The real Kiana Kaslana... where is she? Why did I inherit her name? And why have I lived with my Father... all these years?"
"She's still alive. Due to an accident, she also lost her memories. Someone gave her a new name—Bianca Ataegina."
"In other words, the strongest Valkyrie in Schicksal today—Durandal."
"As for why you received her name... Recall your past. You should now have the courage to remember... the story of your life after your birth."
"The story of my life... after my birth?"
The girl closed her eyes and sank into her memories—
-
In the endless darkness, I dreamt false dreams.
In my dreams, I longed for the woman who wasn't my mother.
I yearned for the warmth she once gave me... a warmth that brought me peace.
I've thought this countless times: if I could become an ordinary person again...
Could I live happily with her?
If... I were given another chance...
I want to hear her voice again.
-
Kiana opened her eyes to find herself submerged in emerald-green nutrient fluid, encased within a life support pod. Outside the pod, a blond man stared at her in astonishment.
This is me... at the moment of my creation. The blond man before me is Otto Apocalypse, the Overseer of Schicksal, the girl thought.
The man's astonishment transformed into manic elation. He lunged at the laboratory's control panel, manipulating and reading data invisible to the girl.
I remained here for a long time... until they arrived...
Time shifted. The blond man was no longer in the laboratory. Piercing intruder alarms blared from everywhere outside the door.
Siegfried... no, Dad frantically barged in with her...
The girl's gaze met the eyes of the father and daughter. With a pistol, the man shattered the cultivation pod.
She took my hand and said, "From now on, I'll be your sister... I'll protect you."
Kiana grasped the arm of "Kiana," following Siegfried as they fled through the Schicksal Floating Island, heading—
I remember her hands had calluses, likely from years of practice... but they were still so warm.
The man, accompanied by two mischievous children, wreaked havoc across Schicksal's facilities. They smashed an unknown laboratory, blasted apart the guards' mechs, and knocked out the guards and Valkyries who tried to stop them.
Looking back now... how did we have time to run amok in Schicksal's headquarters while escaping? Dad must have really gotten lost back then...
After much wandering, the trio finally found Schicksal's hangar and hastily boarded a fighter jet.
Hmm, I remember Dad saying he wanted to take us to Anti-Entropy... He had many friends there, probably those two Doctors and Teacher Yang.
The fighter jet streaked across the sky, pursued relentlessly by Schicksal's pursuers.
I remember this scene... My sister solemnly told me in the plane that I had to protect and take good care of Dad from now on. Then, grabbing a parachute pack, she opened the hatch, intending to draw the pursuers away...
A missile struck the plane carrying the three, temporarily maintaining its stability and structural integrity. However, the impact caused True Kiana, who had already opened the hatch and unfastened her seatbelt, to be thrown out.
Back then, Father's voice was filled with heart-wrenching agony. He screamed Sister's name, desperate to save her, but couldn't turn back.
Looking back now, we hardly descended at all after departing from Schicksal Floating Island. How Sister survived falling from such a height... truly, we must thank our ancestors for their protection.
In a wooden hut in a small village, a man gulped down cheap, high-proof liquor. A little girl draped a blanket over her father, who lay sprawled on the floor, dead drunk. The man mumbled two familiar names:
Kiana, Cecilia.
It's my birthday... or rather, my sister's birthday. On this day, he always drinks himself into a stupor, probably missing Sister and Mom. After all, in Father's mind, they've both left us completely.
He never told me his name... until I turned eleven.
The girl gazed at her father, who lay asleep on the bed after being wounded in battle and receiving a hasty bandage. The Honkai Beast alert on his phone blared again.
That's when I grabbed my father's gun and turned to face the Honkai Beast.
It was a Templar-class Honkai Beast... even now, I couldn't defeat it easily. And back then, I didn't even know how to use my father's weapon.
The man seized the Honkai Beast's spear and crushed it, then roared at the monster before beating it into submission.
At that moment, I told my father I just didn't want to see him get hurt anymore. I wanted to protect her too... I thought he'd scold me for that.
In the memory, the man held the girl close and told her his name. Or perhaps, in her face, he saw the reflection of his daughter, who should have passed away long ago.
And so, I gained a name... or rather, I inherited my sister's name... until that day arrived...
Another me... or rather, the Herrscher Persona of the true Second Herrscher... has awakened.
My father, having unleashed the Judgement of Shamash, lost an arm... and was forced to leave me behind.