"Ugh... Mmm... retch!"
Kiana tossed and turned in her bed, letting out a series of pathetic noises—a sigh one mont, a sharp gasp of cold air the next, then a suppressed dry heave.
Her entire day had been a nightmare. First, the class president had forced her to spend most of the day cooped up in the library, where lunch was just bread and water. Then, when it was finally ti for dinner, she was dragged to the training grounds for a sparring session with the sa class president.
After the grueling training finally ended, she returned to the dorm and devoured five bowls of i’s curry rice. And with that, Kiana had finally collected all the debuffs.
ntal exhaustion, physical fatigue, and the nausea that ca from stuffing herself after intense exercise all conspired to rob her of any desire to sleep.
"Aaargh! No! I have to get to sleep! Uncle Michael and i said that with my record in Canghai City and with that Overseer guy watching, I might actually get a special promotion to A-rank Valkyrie! It’ll be a disaster if I screw up because I didn’t get enough sleep!"
But so what if you beco an A-rank Valkyrie? a voice sighed faintly in the back of her mind.
Yeah, so what?
The girl sat up and pulled open the curtains. A perfectly round moon was frad exactly between the two windowpanes, as if it couldn’t move an inch further.
For a rare mont, she fell silent, contemplating when exactly her dream of becoming Schicksal’s strongest Valkyrie had begun.
At first, it was probably just her competitive nature and her love for the spotlight. To beco Schicksal’s strongest, you had to be an S-rank Valkyrie. In that grand sche, A-rank was just a stepping stone.
But she had a bet with Principal Theresa.
Once she beca an A-rank Valkyrie, the principal would tell her where her father was. Perhaps in Theresa’s eyes, A-rank was a benchmark of strength. Only with that power could she do sothing about the truth once she learned it.
The girl’s thoughts had never been so clear. Legend had it that a hero of old had his reason stolen by the moon, only regaining his mories on the night of the full moon. Kiana lightly tapped her head. She didn’t feel any smarter. Clearly, she wasn’t the protagonist of that legend.
"Just an A-rank Valkyrie, Hmph! Watch get it with ease!"
She snapped the curtains shut with a swish and flopped back onto the bed.
"One more day. First step to becoming an A-rank Valkyrie: have a good dream!"
Kiana balled up the blanket and pulled it over her head, shutting out all faint light and sound.
Five minutes later, she shot up in bed, gasping for air.
The comforter wasn’t thick, but if you held it tightly over your face, it could certainly make you feel like you were suffocating.
Kiana slowly got out of bed. The feeling of suffocation had only intensified her nausea, making it impossible to lie back down. Her head, however, was spinning, as if she were about to pass out.
But half a minute later, as fresh air filled her lungs, the drowsiness vanished. In fact, Kiana felt even more awake than before.
Defeated, she opened the curtains again. The round moon was still perfectly frad between the windows, as if it hadn’t moved at all.
"Ugh... so annoying. How am I ever going to fall asleep like this?"
Kiana glared resentfully at the unchanging moon, convinced it was its big, round face that was keeping her awake.
"Huh?"
Kiana blinked. For a second, she thought she saw the moon morph into a familiar face... Was it a trick of the light?
She squeezed her eyes shut, then rubbed them vigorously. When she opened them again, the first thing she saw was a ss of colorful spots and floaters.
Okay, she’d rubbed too hard. Her eyes hurt a little.
She closed them again, gently rubbing them in circles, then opened them without any real expectation.
"Eh? i, what are you doing here?"
She was a bit surprised, as she hadn’t heard a knock on the door.
But when the figure of i standing before her window opened her eyes, Kiana saw a pair of strange pupils.
The irises were a rare, bright yellow, but the pupils were even stranger. A cross-shaped pupil was already unusual, but this one wasn’t a vertical cross like a crucifix; it was slanted, forming an ’X’.
It was the first ti Kiana had ever seen eyes like these, yet she was certain she had... sowhere before...
"Kiana, you’re useless!"
While the girl was still staring, dumbfounded, at the bizarre pupils, "i" spoke first.
"?"
"You’re always the one holding us back. You always cause unnecessary trouble during missions!"
"M-i... What are you talking about all of a sudden? What did I do wrong?"
"Still making excuses!" "i" suddenly grabbed her by the collar of her pajamas. "If you hadn’t disobeyed orders, would we have run into that Emperor-class Honkai Beast? What will it take to make you happy? Do you have to drag everyone down with you to their deaths?"
"No, that’s not it! I... It’s not like that, i, let explain!"
Kiana tried to argue, but her words felt so weak.
"I didn’t do it on purpose, I was just careless..."
"You were deliberately careless! Is this the first ti you’ve caused trouble in a fight? Kiana, you only survive because we protect you every ti. You’re too weak! And for soone so weak, you’re not even as good as Seele. At least she’s always obedient!"
Finally, the girl’s scolding stopped, because a single, silvery tear had fallen at the other girl’s feet.
But then, Kiana defiantly lifted her head.
"No! You’re not i! i would never yell at like that!"
Seeing that the girl before her had finally caught on, a slow smile spread across "i’s" lips.
"So you’re not as dumb as you look. But do you really think what I said was wrong?"
A single wing unfurled behind "i’s" back, and arcs of electricity crackled in her hand.
"Damn it!"
Kiana threw a punch at "i’s" face, but her fist t no resistance. It was like punching through a plu of smoke. As the thought crossed her mind, the "i" before her dissipated like smoke.
"This is..."
Kiana had a feeling she knew what was happening. The next mont, she saw the figure of the "Herrscher of Thunder" appear outside her window, even giving her a brazen wave.
"How dare you ss with ! Don’t you run!"
Kiana crashed through the window and gave chase, hot on the heels of the ethereal figure. She lost count of how many laps she ran around the school grounds. As she rounded a corner, she suddenly found a figure blocking her path.
"Aunt Hiko? What are you doing here?"
"I should be asking you that, Kiana Kaslana. What are you and Raiden i doing?"
"Uh... Aunt Hiko, why are you being so formal... Wait! There’s sothing wrong with that i, she’s..."
Kiana’s words trailed off as she saw Hiko’s eyes.
Bright yellow irises, X-shaped pupils...
"You..."
"Kiana!" "Hiko" spoke first, cutting off Kiana’s bewildered exclamation.
"You wanted to know why I’m here, didn’t you? It’s simple. Because you and Raiden i have always been our primary targets for surveillance. The only reason the academy took you in was to treat you as prisoners."
"Huh... huh? HUH??"
Kiana let out three cries of utter confusion.
Her rational mind told her that this Aunt Hiko, just like the i from before, wasn’t the real deal.
But on second thought, what she said wasn’t entirely wrong. The Third Herrscher slept within i’s body. Although no one else had said it, Michael had told her that there was a micro-bomb implanted in i’s heart. If the Third Herrscher ever completely took over i’s body, the bomb would detonate.
At the ti, she had argued with him, wanting to confront Theresa about it. It took Michael a whole day of persuasion to get her to reluctantly accept it.
She still rembered his words:
"The academy isn’t monitoring i; it’s monitoring the Third Herrscher. We all saw the destruction she caused in Nagazora City. If you think we can just let her take over i’s body whenever she pleases, then go and argue with the Principal. The fact is, this is the only way we can currently threaten the Third Herrscher and keep her dormant inside i."
So, it wasn’t surprising that i was a "primary target for surveillance." But why her...
"Don’t tell I have a Herrscher inside too?"
Of course not. She was Kiana Kaslana. How could she possibly be a Herrscher?
But her consciousness was growing hazy, and her mind involuntarily began to wonder—if she were like i, with a Herrscher inside her, which one would it be...
The First Herrscher?
Kiana quickly ruled that out.
It was a full moon tonight, and Kiana’s mind was unusually clear. Details from classes she’d slept through were now surfacing in her mory. She didn’t know the ti or place of the First Honkai Eruption, but she rembered Michael saying that Welt, the Sovereign of Anti-Entropy, was the current First Herrscher.
So, the Second Herrscher? But the Second Herrscher... wait a minute. The Second Herrscher...
"Second Herrscher... Second Herrscher... Second Herrscher..."
Kiana muttered the na, and a blurry part of her mory began to sharpen...
Human consciousness is a peculiar thing. mory is the sum of all past experiences. It can be misled, it can be blurred, but it can never be completely erased.
Even with "amnesia," seeing certain keywords, returning to key locations, eting key people... these lost mories will co flooding back. I rember now! I rember everything!
Last night, she had a strange dream too. The woman in the dream had ntioned the Second Honkai Eruption, the Second Herrscher!
And that woman’s tone of voice was exactly the sa as this phony who was playing dress-up!
"Hey! Stop pretending! I rember now! You’re the person who appeared in my dream last night, aren’t you!"
"Hmm?"
The "Hiko" before her raised an eyebrow, then frowned slightly.
She pressed her thumb to her brow and then smiled faintly.
"Ah... you’re quite the popular one, aren’t you? A lot of people seem to have their eyes on you."
"Eh? There are others?"
"Hiko" gave her a deep look but said no more.
Then, the world spun, and Kiana found herself on a strange, snowy plain.
The ground beneath her bare feet was definitely snow, and it felt as cold as a knife’s edge. But standing on it, Kiana felt a strange sense of familiarity.
"This place is..."
She felt like she had seen it before, but she couldn’t quite rember when. If her "feeling" wasn’t wrong, it ant she had been here a long, long ti ago.
Was it during her ti wandering through Siberia with her stupid old dad? Probably not. To an outsider, one Siberian snowfield looked much like another, but she was a sentintal person. She would at least recognize the place where she had lived for over a year.
But none of that mattered. What mattered was that both the sky and the snow were stained a suffocating blood-red, as if ti itself had been frozen at a single mont.
"Kiana..."
A voice called out from behind her. Kiana turned and was startled to see Theresa.
"Phew... Principal, what are you doing here too... Wait! You... are you nuts? Why are you still pretending to be soone else!"
Ultimately, it was those strange eyes that gave her away. "Theresa" crossed her arms over her chest, a pose not unlike the one she usually struck.
"Give it up, Kiana. Even if you beco an A-rank Valkyrie, I won’t tell you where Siegfried is."
"That’s not it! Aaargh! Just show your real form, you damn impostor! Stop playing gas!"
"Hehehe!" "Theresa" took two steps back, easily dodging Kiana’s grasping hands as if she had expected it.
"I’m rely borrowing their appearances to say the things they want to say but never dared to tell you. What’s wrong? Is the great Kiana Kaslana so cowardly? You can’t even bear to hear what your loved ones are really thinking? Or perhaps, you already know what they want to say? How pathetic!"
"You’re lying! They would never say things like that!"
"Oh? If you’re so sure that none of this would ever happen, then why are you still so afraid?"
"I... I won’t let you slander them like this!"
Kiana lunged forward again. Just as she was about to touch "Theresa," her vision suddenly went black. A faint wave of dizziness washed over her, and she stumbled back to where she had started.
"But then again, if you let continue, I might ntion Siegfried. Are you sure you don’t want to hear it?"
"Get lost!"
The girl wasted no more words. Realizing she was in a dream, she lowered her head. If this was her dream, then the weapons she imagined could exist here too, right?
Kiana quickly pictured the dual pistols she usually used. But as her hands clenched, perhaps because "Theresa" had ntioned Siegfried, another gun involuntarily popped into her mind.
A gun her stupid old dad had once used to toast pizza.
The next mont, Kiana felt herself grasp sothing, hard and slightly scorching. It was a long-forgotten sensation...
In response, "Theresa’s" expression changed. "No! How is that possible! How could sothing like that appear in your dream!"
But it was too late...
Bang!
The phantom before her finally dissipated.
"Hmph! Just a small fry! How dare you act so arrogant in my dream! Co back next ti if you dare!"
Kiana didn’t believe this thing was truly dead. She also knew that if it appeared in her dreams every single night, it would be a tornt. But she couldn’t resist taunting it.
She had finally won for once. Couldn’t she indulge a little?
Kiana smiled with satisfaction, wishing she could tilt her chin up to the chubby, round moon.
"Oh? Did you really win?"
Kiana’s smile froze.
She truly hadn’t expected this annoying thing to dare show its face again.
But she raised her gun and scanned her surroundings, seeing nothing but blood-red.
"Damn it, damn it, damn it!"
Kiana fired a few random shots into the surroundings, which, of course, did nothing.
"Why hasn’t the dream ended?"
She couldn’t understand. This was her dream. Once a person realized they were dreaming, waking up shouldn’t be far behind.
But she was still dreaming.
"What’s there not to understand? The answer is obvious, isn’t it? This is your dream, but it’s also my dream. Killing , leaving this place... it’s not that simple."
The voice Kiana hated so much ca from all directions, making her fire several more shots into the air in frustration.
But the flas, which could easily kill a Honkai Beast several ters tall, seed to hit water after traveling a few dozen ters from the muzzle. Apart from creating ripples in the empty space, nothing happened.
"Damn it! Why!"
"Why what? Don’t you get it yet, Kiana? You are , and I am you. We are one and the sa. If you don’t understand that, how can you ever leave?"
"Shut up! Who the hell are you!"
Kiana clearly had no patience for a long-winded speech, but she was powerless against her opponent.
She felt helpless, yet this helplessness felt strangely familiar... Wasn’t this how i felt?
Don’t tell ... the thing that keeps disturbing my sleep and spouting nonsense like ’you are , I am you’ is actually a Herrscher?
Impossible.
On a full moon night, Kiana felt her mind was exceptionally clear.
If it were a Herrscher, it should be trying desperately to take control of her body, like the Herrscher of Thunder. Why would it have ti to play hide-and-seek with her in a dream?
"It seems your story about Siegfried was interrupted. How about this? If you beg , I might just tell it to you again."
Unbeknownst to Kiana, a pair of translucent hands gently rested on her shoulders.
"Co on. Just say the words ’I am willing,’ and I will tell you the truth."
"In your dreams! I’d rather never know the truth than give in to you!" Kiana roared, instinctively spinning around.
And then, she saw the phantom standing behind her, its five fingers curled into a claw.
"Ah!"
She quickly raised her gun, but it was too late. The phantom’s claw was already reaching for her forehead.
Swoosh—
A sharp whistling sound flashed by, accompanied by a thin red line, and the translucent figure dissipated once more.
Then, a familiar face appeared before Kiana.
Though her hair had turned snow-white and her calm blue eyes had beco the red of fire and blood, her features and figure were unchanged.
"Class President? What are you doing here too?"
Hua ignored Kiana’s confusion and said coldly, "Don’t think about it. Co with , now!"
With that, she grabbed Kiana’s hand and started running.
"Hahaha! Hahahaha! I can’t believe you’re here too! I can’t believe you’re here too!!"
Hearing the increasingly crazed voice, Kiana’s heart clenched.
But this was the voice of her enemy. When an enemy suffered, Kiana should have felt delighted.
Yet, an inexplicable pain gripped her heart, as if she were the one suffering.
"Hahahaha! Kiana, do you think this is over? And you, do you think you can protect her forever?"
"Kiana, don’t listen to her!" Hua shouted sharply, but it did little to clear Kiana’s head.
"I promise you, this won’t be our last eting. In the days to co, I will appear again and again in your deepest nightmares, until you no longer have the strength to resist..."
"Found it!"
Hua’s roar cut off the voice’s incantation. She held a sword that had appeared from nowhere and slashed a cross in front of her. A light symbolizing the real world instantly flooded the dream.
"Let’s go!"
She pulled Kiana into the light.
But... perhaps sensing sothing, Kiana glanced back at the last mont before the white light engulfed her. And she saw another person who shouldn’t have been there.
"Michael, how could you be..."
Hua seed to hear Kiana’s voice. She squeezed Kiana’s hand tighter, as if trying to pull her back to reality with sheer force, but it was too late.
Kiana saw Michael raise a pistol.
A pistol identical to the one in her own hand.
The man’s face was cold and empty, and he pulled the trigger without hesitation.
Bang!
A familiar flash of fire erupted from the muzzle, but the expected pain never ca.
In the final monts of this phantom dream, Kiana faintly heard the phantom’s voice—
"How could it be... such a familiar feeling. You are..."
"Ah!"
Kiana shot up in bed, her heart pounding. She touched her forehead. It was burning hot, while the rest of her was cold and clammy.
Then, she froze mid-motion. She patted her head again, as if confused by her own bizarre action.
Was it because of the dream?
Kiana tried to recall the dream, but ca up with nothing.
She only rembered that her last mory before opening her eyes was simply closing them.
"Hah! And I thought insomnia was so scary. I must have dozed off without realizing it. It didn’t even give a chance to test my all-nighter skills!"
She got out of bed. The curtains were still open. She glanced out the window at the uninspiring sky. The round moon hung in the southwestern corner, its color so pale it almost blended in with its surroundings.
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