Just as the two of them passed through the device,
the screen was swallowed by pure white light.
Another mory seed to surface.
And this ti—
what appeared was a scene Durandal knew all too well.
The roar of engines gradually faded away.
In the girl's mories, the razor-sharp air at high altitude stimulated the sensitive nerves inside her nose..
(So this is the floating island… the central hub of Schicksal Headquarters.)
(Alright—Valkyrie Entrance Exam. I'm ready. You can do this, Bianka!)
Lost in thought, Bianka nearly collided with soone.
"Hey! Watch where you're going!"
Ahead of her,
Rita turned around and apologized with a gentle smile.
"Oh—my apologies. May I ask, do you need directions?"
"Directions? Well… yeah, I guess that's right. I need to report to Area A51. Do you know how to get there?"
"You're here for the Valkyrie entrance exam, correct? Turn right ahead, then walk straight down that corridor. You'll find Area A51 on either side."
"…Thanks!"
"You're welco."
Rita smiled—but quickly called out again.
"Wait. That side is left… right is the other way. You've got them mixed up."
"Uh—I know which way is right! I was just… looking around!"
"Pfft. If you don't mind, how about I walk with you to A51? I just rembered I have sothing to handle in A52—it's right next door."
"Hmph… since you're going that way anyway, I'm not going to deliberately chase you off~"
Bianka lifted her chin stubbornly.
Rita chuckled softly.
"Still, you seem very calm. Two years ago, when I took the Valkyrie entrance exam, I was so nervous I could barely speak properly."
"Really? It's just an exam!"
"I was afraid of disappointing my family. They closed their shop in England just to accompany here."
"…Well, if you put it like that, maybe I'm lucky in a strange way. After all, ever since I can rember, I've always been alone."
"I'm sorry… I didn't an to take the conversation in that direction."
"It's fine! I can take care of myself. Living in this world isn't a problem for at all—so why should I envy others?"
[Rita: This is… when Lady Durandal first arrived at Schicksal HQ!]
[Ningguang: So Miss Bianka was already this independent as a child…]
[Jean: Sigh… such a mature child.]
[Amber: Indeed… Lady Durandal has always had this mindset, ever since she was young.]
[Silver Wolf: Tsundere and strong.]
[Keqing: Rita is so gentle too, I'm crying…]
[March 7th: This pairing is way too good—stay together forever!!]
[Paimon: Rita and Durandal really do suit each other~]
[Durandal: Cough… what are you… saying…]
In reality,
Durandal glanced at the chat, her cheeks faintly flushed.
Not because of the praise—but because of those very strange comnts.
Rita had indeed been her partner for many years… even her closest friend.
But "a couple" and things like that—
those words were way too weird!!
More importantly—
Rita could see them too!!
On screen,
Durandal herself watched the mory unfold.
As she revisited these fragnts, deeper emotions surfaced.
"This was… our first eting."
"Even though we didn't know each other back then… fate still brought us together through that Sea of Quanta mission."
"After that, we both beca S-rank Valkyries, and together ford the Immortal Blades."
"Looking back… without realizing it, we've co so far."
Beside her,
the doll asked:
"So later on, she beca a very close friend of yours?"
"Yes. That was the beginning of my Valkyrie career. It was chaotic at first—but in hindsight, it's very precious."
Durandal smiled softly.
Then she suddenly realized sothing was wrong.
"Wait… why does your voice sound different?"
She turned her head—
The once single, white giant doll
had beco several dolls instead.
"Idiot, of course it's because we're not the sa one from before!"
"He was different from us—he was a residual shadow directly left behind by soone's consciousness…"
"During his imprisonnt, that person constantly longed for his family. We are the manifestation of that longing."
"He's been eroded too severely—so much so that he doesn't even realize that his existence in this space differs from yours."
"But unconsciously, he sent us here. Perhaps he hoped we could take his place… and accompany you on the rest of this journey."
After hearing the explanations from the dolls—each a different color—
Durandal ca to a realization.
"So… you, and him… simply put, you're all fragnts of soone's mories?"
"Yes. This is the seam where Imaginary Space intertwines—a shadow left behind by soone who challenged himself countless tis, only to fail again and again."
"Of course, because of your presence, your own elents have also been mixed in. For example—this sanatorium."
Durandal frowned slightly.
"So you're saying… there was already a connection between and him?"
"Exactly. The illusion you just left was originally his final remaining mory—the recreation of that ho."
"But then you barged in, and your consciousness altered it into the sanatorium."
Durandal fell silent in thought.
"Imaginary Space… creations of consciousness… changing with mory?"
"So where I am now—is this actually soone's Stigmata space?"
"Yes—and no. It should belong to a cursed family, a mark left behind by that bloodline at its very origin."
"That's why we suggest you continue searching for the lost mory fragnts. The more you find, the more we can rember."
"Thank you."
Durandal nodded solemnly.
Throughout her life so far,
she had always tried to do everything in her own way—perfectly.
She knew her innate flaws:
hot-tempered, reckless, straightforward, easily carried away by pride.
So she constantly tempered herself, forcing herself to beco calr, steadier, more rational—
until she turned into soone others found difficult to approach.
And yet, she still often felt
that she was far from becoming the strongest warrior.
"Let's move. We should hurry and continue looking for a breakthrough."
Durandal shook her head, cutting off her wandering thoughts.
If you go too long without contacting mory carriers in this space, you will gradually lose yourself.
With the warning appearing,
Durandal quickly resud her exploration across Schicksal's vast sky harbor.
What tightened her chest was this—
Several mory fragnts she touched next
had already beco blurred, unreadable.
Fortunately, each fragnt dispelled so of the surrounding fog, buying her more ti.
After finding a mory fragnt related to Theresa,
the multi-colored dolls seed to recall sothing—
But further exploration was still needed.
Then—
The next fragnt they discovered
made everyone's hearts jolt.
"Clap—clap—clap—clap—"
A familiar sound of applause echoed.
And the one who always made such an entrance—
could only be that man.
Then ca Otto's voice.
"You really did co back."
"That's good. etings like this help clear misunderstandings between us."
"Oh? Have I rendered you speechless? My apologies—that would be my fault."
"How about this—let's skip the pleasantries and discuss the most important matter directly, shall we?"
"First, I'd like to express my deepest regret regarding Cecilia. We both know… under those circumstances, Schicksal had no choice."
After a brief silence—
as if the other party had spoken—
Otto continued.
"I know, I know. Even so, I still want to apologize to you."
"Now then, let's get to the heart of the matter. I must admit—I once wanted to kill you."
In an instant—
even Durandal was stunned.
All viewers were shaken by Otto's blunt confession.
"Oh my, you seem surprised."
"Is it my murderous intent from yesterday that surprises you… or my honesty today?"
"But none of that matters anymore. Your daughter—Kiana—will beco Schicksal's strongest warrior in the future."
"And I don't wish for her to lose both parents at such a young age."
"Besides, you seem to be controlling that power within you quite well lately. Should I praise your astonishing willpower…"
"Or is it because you're now living together with your daughter?"
"Ah… you could say that. After all, I wouldn't want you to accidentally kill your own biological daughter."
"You know—this wouldn't just be a family tragedy."
"It would be a loss for all of Schicksal… and for all of humanity."
Finally—
The furious man slamd the table and rose!
"That is NOT for you to decide!!"
With that roar,
everyone finally heard his voice clearly.
A voice all too familiar.
Siegfried Kaslana.
Kiana's father.
Cecilia's husband.
"Oh my, my apologies, truly. I was only discussing matters objectively—didn't consider your feelings."
"You—!"
Siegfried breathed heavily, seething.
Otto, though apologizing in words, remained frivolous in tone.
"Calm down, calm down, my dear Siegfried. Siegfried Kaslana."
"Kiana is your flesh and blood—and also Schicksal's most precious asset."
"In this regard, our interests are perfectly aligned!"
"As long as she grows up healthy, we can continue cooperating in mutual trust… can't we?"
With Otto's mocking, playful voice,
the mory fragnt ended.
Durandal rested her chin on her hand.
"This was the Overseer… and Kiana's father. Soti after the Second Honkai, I presu?"
"That blond man is awful! How can soone be so self-centered?!"
"Such people may not be rare… but I agree with you."
"Overseer Otto… regardless of rit or fault, he is an extrely cruel man."
"And yes—he is the one who cast into Imaginary Space, trapping here."
Durandal didn't refute the dolls' evaluation.
On Otto,
they were in full agreent.
"I'm ntally prepared to keep fighting him—until he can no longer destroy the world."
"But… he never does anything aningless."
"There must be a deeper need driving him—why he keeps provoking and others today, even personally taking action."
One of the dolls blurted out:
"Hey! You just said he hurt you—and you're still speaking for him?!"
"I'm rely stating facts."
Durandal's expression remained calm.
"He openly declares his intent to destroy the world, uses force to evade questioning, even turns against his own Valkyries rather than reveal the truth… there must be another reason behind it."
"I'm angry and confused as well—but stopping him from committing irreversible evil against the world matters more."
"That man is exactly this kind of person… and from past experience, he has also shown favor and guidance."
"Let's go. Whatever mories lie ahead… we must face them all."
Just as Durandal and the dolls felt—
The chat, too, was flooded with renewed hatred toward Otto.
This man—
every ti he appeared,
he precisely stabbed everyone's deepest wounds.
Openly admitting murderous intent toward Siegfried was bad enough—
But threatening him with Kiana's future?!
And yet Otto never intended to let Kiana grow up by Siegfried's side to begin with!
[Tesla: Damn it… Otto is unbearable every ti he shows up!!]
[Honkai · Hiko: Using Kiana's ntal well-being to threaten Siegfried…!]
[Raiden i: Despicable.]
[Kiana: ]
[March 7th: The mont I heard that clapping, I knew sothing was wrong!!]
[March 7th: That kind of flashy, disgusting entrance—only Otto would do that!!]
[Otto: Tsk tsk, am I really that unpopular?]
[Otto: Still… what Bianka said was genuinely heartwarming.]
[Durandal: I was only stating facts.]
[Rita: Lady Durandal has always been like that.]
[Furina: How heartbreaking it must be for Siegfried… facing his wife's killer, unable to take revenge, forced to think of his daughter's safety…]
[Bailu: Durandal is just too nice!]
[Jing Yuan: No—she is simply… extrely rational.]
[Tesla: The more I watch, the more I'm convinced Otto isn't human!!]
[Silver Wolf: 1]
[Beidou: Agreed!]
[Hu Tao: Definitely not human!!]
[Paimon: He's a Hilichurl!!]
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