Humans are in chaos, despicable outsiders.

......

"...Even if the name Kiana Kaslana is false, and she has never been the real you, are you still willing to fulfill this vow?"

In the darkness, the young man's voice rang out... and this time, the girl forgot her name, forgot her identity... just like a wisp of smoke among the masses.

—However, she will not forget the suffering she saw in her dreams; it was a reality that happened in the past, an ordeal that people longed to change, and an eternal wound for civilization.

"...Even if this name is a lie to me! Even if this identity is a lie to me—the suffering that people have experienced and are experiencing is always real!"

"I will keep my vow! No matter what role I play!"

Even if you become covered in wounds?

Even if I'm covered in wounds!

Even if one suffers a thousand kinds of pain?

Even amidst a thousand kinds of suffering!

.....

In the Sea of ​​Quanta, within the nameless world bubble, the white-haired and silver-haired youth listened to the girl's answer, a slight smile of satisfaction curving his lips as he nodded.

.....

"Is that so...? Well then, let me lend you a hand..."

An invisible force soothed the girl's aches and pains from running through the dark space, taking away her fatigue and drowsiness.

"Big sister, Sirin is here to help you too!"

A sweet voice rang out immediately after the young man's voice fell, and the distance between Kiana and the hermit was rapidly shortened by an invisible force.

"Step forward, my descendant, I have witnessed your faith, your vows... Now—step forward and face your final trial."

The cold, solemn voice of the young man echoed in the white-haired knight's ears, encouraging her.

The three sounds merged into one, becoming a single sentence—

"Overcome hardships, strengthen your resolve, and face the final test!"

Three hands landed on Kiana's shoulders. They were different sizes, some cold, some warm, some strong, some gentle. They gently pushed the girl forward, leading her to the hermit she had been searching for.

...Silence, a long silence.

"They have bestowed their blessings and encouragement upon you..."

The hermit in front of her spoke. Her hood had been removed at some point, and her long, pale golden hair fell from her shoulders. Only her face, hidden beneath the mask, remained unfathomable to the girl.

"Born of fire, you have received all the blessings..."

"Then, I will close the curtain on the last tragedy for you, and I will unveil the beginning of another tragedy—one that originates from your story..."

As the hermit finished speaking, a large door radiating white light appeared before the two of them, awaiting her entry.

"Come forward... step into the boundless light... and witness your rebirth."

The hermit turned around, stepped into the white portal of light, and disappeared. Kiana, without hesitation, followed him through the portal.

—A white light enveloped the girl's vision, and the Hermit's voice whispered in her ear the final words of the Second Collapse.

"Years later, the Welts, who witnessed the human heart wielding the authority of a Herrscher, saw the legendary savior power of Kaslana and the might of the Second Herrscher..."

"—The Archbishop Otto Apocalypse of Destiny has devised a crazy yet feasible method..."

"He will use the genes of Kiana Kaslana, the child born from the union of the Kaslana and Shaniat families in the Destiny's Plan to Create the Strongest Warrior..."

"It has fused with the DNA and core of the Second Herrscher—"

"The real you has been born."

Chapter 82 Your Sister

In the white light, the two walked, the girl listening silently to the hermit's story, her face expressionless.

"...That's why you can never remember anything before you were eight years old...because it never existed; that's also why you get a splitting headache when you hear Cecilia say 'ich libe dich'..."

"You are the last remaining kind-hearted personality of the Second Herrscher, Sirin, awakened from the clone because of your longing for Cecilia's warmth..."

The two walked in the white light until they reached a large black door.

“We’ve arrived. The rest of the journey is yours to walk—we’ve told you about your past and origins…and what you’re about to see…”

"It is a future that [He] foresaw and that is destined to happen..."

The hermit stepped aside to make way for the black gate and looked at the white-haired knight.

“I have a few questions…” Kiana looked at the hermit’s mask and met his gaze.

"Ask away."

"Where is the real Kiana Kaslana...? Why did I get her name? And why did I live with my father for so many years?"

"She is still alive, but she has forgotten her past due to the accident. Someone gave her a new name—Bianca Atagina."

"That is, the strongest Valkyrie of Destiny right now—[Durandal]."

"As for why you received her name? Think back to the past... You should now have enough courage to recall... the story after your birth."

"What happened after I was born?"

The girl closed her eyes and drifted into memories—

--

In the endless darkness, I am having a false dream.

In my dreams, I long for the woman who isn't my mother.

I cherish the warmth she once gave me... that warmth that made me feel at ease.

I've thought about this more than once: what if I became a normal person again...

Can I live happily ever after with her?

If... I were given another chance...

I want to hear her voice again.

--

Kiana opened her eyes to find herself facing the inner wall of a life support pod, her body submerged in a vibrant green nutrient solution. Outside the pod, a blond man stared at her in astonishment.

[This is me. The blond man before me at the moment of my birth was Otto Apocalypse, the Archbishop of Schicksal.]

As the girl thought this, the man's surprise turned into ecstasy. He pounced on the control panel in the laboratory, manipulating and reading data that the girl couldn't see.

I stayed here for a long time... until they arrived...

As time passed, the blond man was no longer in the laboratory, and the piercing intruder alarm could be heard from all outside the door.

[Siegfried... no, her father, in his panic, dragged her in...]

The girl's gaze met that of the father and daughter, and the man raised his hand and shattered the incubation chamber with a single shot.

She took my hand and said that from now on she would be my older sister... and that she would protect me well.

Kiana grabbed "Kiana's" arm, and led by Siegfried, they once again darted around the Sky Island of Schicksal towards—.

I remember she had some calluses on her hands, probably from practicing since she was little... but they were still very warm.

The man, accompanied by two little devils, wreaked havoc throughout Schicksal, smashing an unknown laboratory, blowing up the guards' mechs, and knocking out the guards and the Valkyries who stood in their way.

Looking back now... how could we, who were running for our lives, have had time to wander around Destiny's headquarters and cause chaos... Old Man Dad must have gotten lost back then...

After much searching, the three finally found the hangar of Destiny and hurriedly boarded the plane.

[Yes, I remember Dad saying he was going to take us to Anti-Entropy... He made a lot of friends there, probably those two PhDs and Professor Yang.]

The fighter jets raced through the sky, while behind them, the pursuers from Destiny were hot on their heels.

I remember this scene... My sister earnestly told me on the plane that she would protect and take good care of Dad from now on, and then she took a parachute, opened the hatch, and tried to lure away the pursuers...

A missile hit, and although the aircraft carrying the three was not immediately affected in terms of overall flight stability and integrity, it threw the real Kiana, who had opened the canopy and unbuckled her seatbelt, out of the plane.

The father's voice was so heart-wrenching; he was calling out his sister's name, but he couldn't turn back to save her.

Looking back now, after setting off from Destiny Sky Island, we hardly descended at all... My sister survived falling from such a height... I'm truly grateful to our ancestors for protecting her.

In a small village cabin, a man was drinking cheap, high-proof liquor in large gulps. A little girl was covering her father, who was sprawled on the floor, completely drunk, with a blanket. The man was muttering the names of two girls that were familiar to him.

Kiana, Cecilia

[This is my birthday... or rather, my sister's birthday. On this day, he would always get completely drunk... presumably to remember my sister and mother, since in his mind at the time, they had already left us forever.]

He never told me his name... until I was eleven years old...

The girl looked at her father, who had been wounded in battle and had fallen into a deep sleep after receiving simple bandages, on the bed. Then, the Honkai Beast alarm on his phone sounded again—

At that moment, I grabbed my father's gun...and turned to face the Honkai Beast.

That was a Temple-level Honkai Beast... Even now, it's not something I can easily defeat... And back then, I wasn't even capable of using my father's weapon.

The man grabbed the Honkai Beast's spear and crushed it, angrily denouncing the monster before him for utterly defeating it.

[At that time, I told my father that I just didn't want to see him get hurt anymore, and that I wanted to protect her... I thought I was going to get a scolding from my dad.]

The man, lost in thought, held the girl and told her her name; or rather, he saw in her a reflection of his deceased daughter.

And so, I received a name... or rather, I inherited a name from my sister... until that day came...

[Another version of myself... or rather, the Herrscher personality of the true Second Herrscher... has awakened.]

My father, who had freed me from the clutches of the Heavenly Fire Judgment, lost an arm... and was also forced to leave me...

Chapter 83 Fly, fly, break free from your shackles, soar to the highest heavens.

In the white space, Kiana opened her eyes and looked at the hermit again, asking a question.

"I have the consciousness of another Second Herrscher within me, right?"

"You are the offspring of goodwill, she is the continuation of malice; you and she are intertwined, your roots entwined..."

The hermit leaned against the frame of the black door, humming verses.