Although the matter had been preliminarily resolved, Kiana was not in a hurry to leave. Instead, she stayed behind for a while to keep Acheron company.
She remained until everything had been more or less settled. Acheron received news from the Ark, and the Astral Express had also concluded this Trailblazing journey and departed from Jarilo.
After bidding farewell to Jyahnar, Kiana finally returned to the space station.
During her time in Belobog, Ruan Mei had not sent her any messages. The puppet Herta had placed in Belobog's Underworld was still in standby mode.
Presumably, their attention was still focused on Araya.
And just as she had expected, upon returning to the exact spot she had left, Kiana immediately saw Araya, along with Ruan Mei and Herta's puppet beside her. The familiar scene made it seem as though she had only stepped away for a brief moment.
It left her somewhat surprised.
She glanced around. There were other people nearby, yet no one found her sudden appearance strange.
They were probably used to it by now.
"Have you discovered anything?"
Kiana did not linger where she stood. Smiling, she walked toward Araya. The girl's cold, delicate face lit up with joy at Kiana's arrival—like someone seeing a savior.
"Mother."
She called her softly by that name she used for Kiana. Even though Kiana had already tacitly accepted this unusual form of address, her steps still paused instinctively.
I really can't get used to being called that.
"You've worked hard, Araya."
"Mother, may I go back?" Araya asked expectantly, as though she did not wish to remain here a second longer.
"Of course. If you're tired, go back and rest. It's fine." Kiana would never refuse her coldly. Araya was unquestionably a being with self-awareness.
Not to mention she called her "Mother."
Araya seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. After nodding lightly, her figure transformed into a quantum state and vanished from sight.
Kiana was not surprised.
From the very moment Araya was born, Kiana had already understood the details of her existence.
"It seems you frightened that child."
After seeing Araya off, Kiana turned back to greet the two of them, curious about what they had done over the past few days to make the girl so eager to leave.
"You've stepped into the role of 'mother' rather quickly, haven't you?" Herta remarked.
"Yes. After all, I'm her creator." Kiana did not deny it and nodded. "Besides, it was obvious Araya was asking me for help."
"Creator..." Ruan Mei murmured thoughtfully. "We only conducted some basic examinations. Please rest assured—we didn't force her to do anything she was unwilling to do."
Then it must be that Araya was simply uncomfortable remaining here in that form. Leaving her here right after her birth had probably made her uneasy.
"It seems she's a bit shy and doesn't like staying outside," Kiana said. "If you need her, you can contact Araya through the Stigmata Terminal. She shouldn't refuse to communicate with you."
"Have you finished what you needed to do?"
"Yes. Jarilo's matters have indeed come to a temporary conclusion. Mei and the Astral Express have both left that world." After explaining, Kiana glanced at Herta, who had left a puppet there, and added, "Since I didn't know whether you had other plans, I didn't bring your puppet back with me."
"Besides that, something unexpected happened while we were away. Belobog's Supreme Guardian—or rather, the former Supreme Guardian, Cocolia Rand—became a Herrscher due to certain circumstances."
Cocolia had stepped down, and Bronya had taken her place. That was one of the events that had occurred during this time.
Since it did not concern her directly, and she had her own matters to attend to, Kiana had not paid much attention to it.
"Who?"
Herta frowned. She did not have a deep impression of that woman from Belobog. Upon hearing the name, she instinctively thought of the madwoman from the trial.
"Cocolia Rand, Belobog's Supreme Guardian." Kiana briefly introduced her, then paused as she recalled what had happened in the trial space. "She looks a bit similar, but she's not the woman from the trial world."
"Oh." Herta seemed to lose interest. "I do have some other ideas regarding that pla. I'll handle the puppet myself."
"Alright. If you need assistance, you can ask Araya or Jyahnar for help," Kiana reminded her. "Before Jyahnar leaves, she should be able to assist you."
Herta did not ask further questions. She glanced at Ruan Mei, then at Kiana. "I'll be waiting in my office. Come find me after you're done talking."
With that, she disconnected from the puppet. Without Herta's control, the puppet entered standby mode on the spot.
No wonder she placed puppets here and there. Being able to inhabit them and converse at any time was indeed convenient.
It saved a great deal of unnecessary trouble.
"Regarding the research on Araya..."
"Let's talk somewhere else."
Ruan Mei knew what she was about to say. There were too many people around here—it was not suitable for such discussions.
She led Kiana to a lounge.
No one would disturb them there. After entering, Ruan Mei gestured for Kiana to sit, then took a seat opposite her.
"The Stigmata Terminal, Araya—her structure largely aligns with our previous expectations," Ruan Mei began. "As for the remaining aspects, we might as well attribute them to 'the omnipotence of the Honkai.'"
At that, even Ruan Mei herself let out a small laugh. Hearing such words come from her own mouth was admittedly amusing.
"Araya's birth is inseparable from me," Kiana said. "You could say she's a creation born from fantasy becoming reality."
"Yes. I noticed that as well. Honkai energy does seem to possess a conceptual trait of 'turning fantasy into reality,'" Ruan Mei replied. "The abilities of those Herrschers also carry faint traces of it."
"Such power is rare, but not nonexistent in the universe. The most common example would be the so-called 'wish-granting' Stellarons."
Kiana did not pursue that topic further. Instead, she asked, "So, Ruan, do you intend to continue researching the Honkai next, or...?"
"This is not the ultimate destination I seek." Ruan Mei shook her head. She would not abandon the Honkai, but she was clear about what she truly wanted. "Do you remember? I briefly mentioned before that I formed a partnership with a traveling merchant."
"Luocha?"
The moment Kiana said that name, she frowned. No matter how one looked at it, that man was definitely not someone to be taken lightly.
But Ruan Mei was not someone who could be manipulated at will either. If she was willing to cooperate with him, she must already have a complete plan in mind.
"His counterparts are extremely troublesome people," Kiana said as she extended her hand and placed it in front of Ruan Mei. "I think I mentioned this before, but if you're going to work with him, you should still be extra cautious."
Ruan Mei took her hand.
Through their contact, images surfaced before her eyes. A torrent of memories flooded in at once, yet they all revolved around a single figure.
A blond man.
Among them, she also saw several familiar faces—for example, the Nameless from the Astral Express.
"The Imaginary Tree..."
However, after viewing Kiana's memories, Ruan Mei's focus was not on the blond man at all. Compared to him, she was far more interested in the other elements mentioned within those memories.
The Imaginary Tree and the Sea of Quanta.
And parallel worlds.
Especially parallel worlds. Such a concept did not exist in this universe, so the impact it had on her upon seeing it could hardly be understated.
"That's an old acquaintance of Mr. Yang. It's something that happened in his homeland."
Kiana withdrew her hand. Seeing how invested Ruan Mei seemed, she felt a bit regretful. Perhaps she should not have revealed everything at once.
A genius' curiosity was never ordinary.
"By the way, Ruan, what are you planning to do next? Do you need my help?"
Ruan Mei shook her head. "Go construct the Stigmata world. I don't need your assistance for the time being."
"You're sure?" Kiana raised a brow slightly.
"I can handle it."
Since she had put it that way, Kiana could not very well insist. It was not as if she could wish for something to go wrong just so Ruan Mei would need her help.
"I plan to visit Penacony first," Kiana said honestly. "Robin invited me to attend the Charmony Festival some time ago. Something happened on her end, and I need to go help."
If she had not been concerned about Jarilo-VI—worried that a world assimilated by the Honkai might bring catastrophic disaster upon Belobog—she would have already gone to Penacony as promised.
It had been a long time since she last saw Robin. She still cared deeply about that friend.
Robin was someone she had met before fully recovering her memories. After regaining them, she had even traveled alongside her for a time, accompanying her to Izumo.
Later, she had also asked Robin for help in finding someone. They had debuted together for a while, traveling across many worlds.
"The Pla of Festivities?" Ruan Mei looked at her. "Penacony will soon become the focal point of the universe. But with your abilities, as long as you don't deliberately step into those whirlpools, you shouldn't run into any trouble."
"I've heard a bit about the situation there."
Kiana was not particularly concerned. She still remembered parts of Penacony's storyline. "After things conclude there, if nothing unexpected happens, I'll return to Izumo."
"A good arrangement," Ruan Mei said. "Follow your own plans. There's no need to consider me. I won't be going back for the time being—I have my own agenda."
"No problem."
Kiana nodded. After settling their next steps with Ruan Mei, she suddenly fell silent.
She had already cleared things with Acheron.
But what about Ruan Mei?
How should she bring it up? What should she say?
Herta's attitude was still unclear. Since returning, she had not taken the initiative to create a chance to be alone with Herta. But regardless of what Herta's stance might be, she ought to lay everything out first.
After all, she was the one who had crossed the line.
There was no disputing that.
"Hmm?" Seeing Kiana suddenly go quiet, Ruan Mei looked at her in confusion. "Aren't you going to see Herta?"
"There's something else I wanted to say."
"About Herta?" Ruan Mei tilted her head slightly. "I believe I already told you—this is between the two of you. I won't interfere."
"Ruan?"
"Will this matter change your attitude toward me?" Ruan Mei countered calmly.
"Of course not!" Kiana blurted out. "As long as you need me, no matter when, I'll come to your side immediately."
"Although I don't know exactly what happened between you and her, if it's Herta, I have no objections."
Kiana: "..."
It was going far too smoothly. Whether with Acheron or now with Ruan Mei, everything was proceeding almost too easily.
None of the scenarios she had feared had come to pass.
It made her question her entire sense of reality.
"Is there anything else?"
Hearing such an obvious dismissal, Kiana could not help asking, "...If there's nothing else, I can stay here and keep you company, right?"
Ruan Mei nodded. "Your willingness to stay by my side is a good thing. But Herta is still waiting for you. If you leave her waiting too long, she'll become rather difficult to deal with."
For Kiana's safety, and as someone who understood Herta's temperament relatively well as her collaborator, Ruan Mei hoped Kiana would meet her as soon as possible.
Better to avoid unnecessary trouble.
Kiana's lips parted slightly. After a moment of hesitation, she stood up. "Alright. I'll go find her now. Once everything is settled, I'll come back to you."
"Mm."
Ruan Mei responded softly and watched as Kiana turned to leave.
After she was gone, the calmness in her eyes deepened into something obscure.
Kiana might not have noticed that this time, Ruan Mei had not even asked about the Honkai. Even the discussion surrounding Araya had been only superficial.
With the experience from this trial, most of the puzzle regarding the Honkai had already been completed in her mind. The final missing pieces lay with Kiana.
Yet instead of questioning her as before or seeking answers from her, Ruan Mei had shifted her focus back to her original objectives.
It was not that she had lost interest in the Honkai.
She simply needed to wait.
"I hope everything proceeds smoothly."
Lowering her gaze, Ruan Mei prepared to shift her focus next toward Propagation. Replicating the offspring of Propagation—perhaps it was time to put that matter on the agenda.
Kiana left the area.
She was on her way to the Master Control Zone.
She could not shake the feeling that Ruan Mei was hiding something—especially after her trip to Jarilo and her joint decision with Herta to conduct the Stigmata Terminal experiment.
Forget it. What I'm meant to know, I'll know eventually.
Kiana sighed. With Ruan Mei's capabilities, it would not be easy for her to suffer a loss. As for other unexpected situations, Kiana believed she could handle most of them.
If that was the case, there was no need to worry excessively. Ruan Mei was not a reckless person.
For now, she should seriously think about how to handle her relationship with Herta next.
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