Humans are in chaos, despicable outsiders.

"What about little Celine? You know who I'm talking about... She seems to have absolutely nothing to do with me or her, so why is such a child involved with me?"

The girl pressed on with her second question. The hermit fell silent, scrutinizing the girl. Kiana could feel her sharp gaze even through her mask, making her extremely uncomfortable.

"W-what's wrong?"

Kiana, feeling increasingly uncomfortable under his gaze, shuddered and tentatively asked the hermit a question.

"Sometimes, listening to someone's story and knowing a child's wishes can be a heavy burden for the other person."

"Do you really want to know... Kiana Kaslana? To know that this isn't a responsibility you need to bear?"

After a long silence, the hermit asked the girl a question.

"Warriors march forward carrying the hopes and suffering of the people; they keep the prayers and wishes of the people in their hearts... This is what you yourself said, Hermit!"

"Heh... You're learning pretty fast. Now listen—listen to this great feat that can only be accomplished by the power of the gods or in a dream."

The hermit sighed deeply, and a girl's voice echoed in the white space...

"If I possessed the magic to change the world, then Sirin hopes that in this world—"

"No sadness, no pain, no despair..."

"There is no loneliness that cannot be resolved."

"When I open my eyes again, all my wishes will surely come true."

The girl's voice conveyed her pure and innocent wishes.

—And the white-haired girl who listened to this wish knew in her heart just how unattainable it was to achieve this great feat.

...

"She is the eternal purple star, bestowing upon your soul clarity and nourishment."

"She is the grace promised by the Father, who has given you an immortal and pure body."

"She is an apostle from another world, a divine gift bestowed by the Supreme Lord."

"...She is also Sirin, the Herrscher of the Void."

"Unlike you, this child was born in darkness and chaos. Fate's cruel joke left her blind from birth, and she has never seen the true colors of the world."

"Her mother, who depended on her for survival, wove a beautiful world for her with words, just as you've heard..."

"—A world without sorrow, without pain, without despair, and without insurmountable loneliness."

"However, it's not just negative emotions that are essential elements of Herrscher transformation..."

"The girl listened to her mother's description of the wonderful world, and she thought: How wonderful it would be if I could open my eyes and see the world that my mother was talking about."

"A fervent wish was conveyed, and divine power gathered within her... The Honkai erupted—"

"The girl who opened her eyes did not see the beautiful world that her mother had described to her in the darkness... The desolate, ruined, and devastated apocalyptic scene came into her view."

"And then there was that assassin who turned into a vengeful spirit and lunged at her mother..."

The hermit looked at Kiana, stopping the story that belonged to that girl. In the white space, at some point, the protagonist of the story stood behind Kiana, holding a doll.

"...Long time no see, little Sirin."

The hermit greeted the girl who had suddenly arrived, while Kiana paused for a moment before turning around.

"Cirin? What are you doing here! You heard everything..."

“It’s okay, Kiana-neechan… Although Sirin’s wish didn’t come true in the end… at least Sirin protected Cecilia’s mother and everyone else at the end of the story.”

The smile on the girl's face was the innocent smile of a child who had protected his treasure.

"Cecilia's mother?"

Kiana's tone was filled with confusion.

"Ah, in the second collapse of another world, there was also a being named Cecilia Shaniat, who made the same choice as your mother at the end of the story—"

"She held the child in her arms, watching the Honkai Impact Explosion fall, giving the girl her final tenderness in the last moments of her life."

"However, the girl also responded to this warmth. The power of the Herrscher was overused by this child... The power belonging to the Herrscher of the Void swallowed the fission warhead into the imaginary space."

"And as the price for overdrawing her power... she rests in Cecilia's arms forever."

......

"You should leave now... Kiana."

The hermit watched as Kiana embraced Sirin, and the purple-haired girl returned the embrace.

"It's alright, Kiana-neechan. Sirin is doing well, no need to worry... You have things to do, don't let that interfere with your work..."

Little Sirin patted the girl's back and gently broke free from Kiana's embrace.

"The Hermit..."

The white-haired girl looked at the hermit in front of her.

“I know what you want to ask... Kiana Kaslana.”

"This child will return to reality at some point... What you need to do now is to untie the shackles binding her... or rather, your own shackles..."

"My...self-imposed constraints?"

"Do you think that Siegfried's unleashed Skyfire can suppress that Herrscher's evil side's derivative personality for that long...?"

"And the person in question was completely unaware of, or even denied, the existence of this personality before this?" The hermit shook his head helplessly.

"That child suppressed a part of your evil personality while unconsciously asleep, and as the main personality, you will not be so easily replaced by her as long as you do not come into contact with a huge amount of Honkai energy."

Not to mention she got beaten up by another "deity" in Singapore... she's probably still questioning her existence.

"Uh... well, I think I should say something now...!" Kiana puffed out her chest confidently, about to say something, but was interrupted by the woman in front of her.

"Don't think that... Kiana, you're just a rough sword that we've just shaped... it hasn't even been polished yet."

The hermit's tone carried a hint of annoyance.

"Learn whatever you want, just don't learn any of your inflated ego traits. She's already been deflated; do you want to be deflated yourself when you go out?"

Kiana thought about the miserable state of her predecessor, the Second Herrscher, being chased and hacked by her father, and decisively shook her head.

...

"Hmph... Your short life with your father, and the Kaslana spirit that he and your sister passed on to you, have cleansed the impurities from this piece of raw iron."

"And everything you learn in your dreams at night shapes you..."

"But a true sword... must ultimately be honed little by little by oneself, Kiana."

The hermit shook his head and looked at the black gate.

"That's something that's destined to happen in the future. If you don't grow up here... all the tragedies will be irreversible."

"If you're prepared, then step inside."

----------------

Chapter 84 You're embarrassing yourself.jpg

"Sirin and the Hermit, I'm setting off!"

The white-haired knight princess greeted the two as if heading to school, then turned and her expression changed, revealing a look of resignation and heroic sacrifice as she stepped through the black gate...

"While in a sense it would be like sending her to a dangerous place... there's no need to make this face."

As Kiana stepped through the gate, the hermit, whose figure had vanished, removed her black mask, revealing his true face. His azure eyes stared at the gate where the girl had disappeared, his eyes twitching.

"Sister Snow, will Sister Kiana be alright?" Little Sirin looked at the black door with some worry.

"Yes... but no... This is a fictitious heaven constructed of unreality, so she cannot suffer any real harm..."

"But without a firm belief, if she lingers in one place and refuses to leave, her consciousness will never be able to return to her physical body..."

The hermit shook his head.

"Isn't this...too dangerous?"

"Trust her...and let time tell."

--

The girl who stepped through the door was plunged into darkness. Her body plummeted downwards in a state of weightlessness. After a long, agonizing fall, Kiana felt herself touching the ground again, and the darkness before her quickly dissipated...

"Idiot Kiana, you were distracted for three minutes during the mission." Bronya's voice rang out, giving the white-haired girl a sense of unreality, as if everything in front of her was real, and the previous ones were just illusory dreams.

"Kiana... are you alright?" Just as Kiana was in shock, Mei's voice rang out with concern.

"Ah...I...I'm fine..." Kiana scratched her head and looked at Mei beside her.

"Are you really alright?" Mei's hand touched the girl's body, as if she wanted to check if she was injured. The cool touch of Mei's hand and the itching on her skin made the girl forget the unreality.

"It's okay, Mei, stop touching me, it's so itchy..."

"Okay, if you're injured there, please tell me directly." Mei withdrew her hand with some skepticism.

"Then, Team B, continue your mission, pursue Miss Wendy, and bring her back to the Hyperion." Bronya watched the girl, now full of energy, as she headed towards the distant ruins.

.....

“We’ve manipulated her perception, and now her perception is gradually converging with the situation in the illusion—for example, she is currently carrying out a mission related to retrieving the Gem of Desire and the Fourth Herrscher.”

In the white space, a gray-haired youth with squinting eyes appeared with his white-haired companion.

"Theory classes and practical classes... Ha—"

"Forget it, only excruciating pain can give rise to transformative growth..."

Snow shook his head, acknowledging the gray-haired pioneer's approach, while little Sirin made a praying expression, silently mourning Kiana's impending doom.

...The girl and her companions in the scene encounter Wendy, the Fourth Herrscher, once again in a sea of ​​flowers.

.....

"Found you, Wendy!"

Kiana looked at the dark green-haired girl in front of her and assumed a defensive stance.

"What a bunch of persistent bastards!"