The collapse started when Kiana came to the door

But at the moment the communication was connected, deafening explosions mixed with the sound of weapons tearing through the air suddenly rang out from the communication.

"Hello, hello? Kiana? Why are you calling me all of a sudden?" Immediately following, there was a burst of impatient complaints, "If there's nothing else, don't bother me!"

"Uh..." [Herser of the Fire] Kiana was at a loss for words, "Xiao Shi, what are you doing?"

"Don't call me Xiaozhi! And! Can't you listen yourself?!"

The sounds of explosions and weapons breaking through the air became increasingly intense. In addition to these two sounds, [Herrserker of Fire] Kiana also heard the sound of flames burning through the air and the man's unruly roar.

"I'm fighting with Qianjie's memory!!"

"Uh..." [Hersher of the Fire] Kiana raised her head and looked at the confused Fu Hua. She couldn't help but feel embarrassed, "Why did you want to fight with him?"

"Huh? Do you need a reason to fight?" the voice on the other end of the communicator said, "He doesn't like me! I don't like him either! So we started fighting! It's that simple... Oh my god! I'm still on the phone with someone! You lunatic with no martial ethics! Shut up!"

Hahahaha! Come! Come again! Herrscher! Let’s see who will be the first to do it! Burn everything to ashes!!!

"Come on if you want! Do you think I'm afraid of you?! Grand Void Grip——!!!

"——I'm going to hang up now if there's nothing else!!"

“Wait!” [Hersher of the Fire] Kiana said very quickly, “After you finish the fight, please come to my place when you have time!”

"Ah? You want me to come all the way to see you?!" the voice on the other end of the communicator said angrily, "You have too many things to do!"

"No, no, no, you misunderstood. It's not you I want to see." [Hersher of Fire] Kiana said hurriedly, "It's the monitor of this time. She doesn't believe that the Herrsher of Knowledge is Fu Hua, so if there is a chance, can you come here to help me prove your true identity?"

"Prove that I am Fu Hua?" There was a pause in the voice on the other end of the communicator, and then the person smacked his lips in an extremely impatient tone.

But just when Fu Hua thought the other party would refuse, the voice on the other end of the communicator agreed without hesitation.

"You really have too much free time. This is just one time and it won't happen again! I'll contact you after I've dealt with this bastard! I'm hanging up now!"

"Pah!" After a series of hang-up sounds, a busy tone came from the communicator.

"Uh..." [Hershers of Fire] Kiana laughed awkwardly and scratched her silver hair. "Xiao Shi... No, Herrshers of Shi is a little busy, but she agreed to come over right after she solves the problem at hand. Are you satisfied with this?"

Walter Yang and Theresa turned their heads and stared at the expressionless Fu Hua with strange expressions.

"No... no need." After a long silence, Fu Hua shook her head with some difficulty, "...I'm not so dull that I can't even recognize my own voice, but... you should let me be quiet for a while..."

"Does it feel very impactful?" [Hersher of the Fire] Kiana said with a smile.

"...Indeed, I didn't expect that after becoming a Herrscher, I would be so..." Fu Hua said with some difficulty, "...full of personality."

"But I... am not right, and she... is not right either."

"Anyway, judging from the tone of your conversation with her... that Herrscher of Knowledge should be the same as you, and did not become an apostle of Honkai, right?"

"Of course!" Kiana, the Herrscher of the Fire, put her hands on her hips and said arrogantly, "Xiao Shike has always been a Herrscher on the side of humans! This has never changed!"

"...Why do you always call her Xiaoshi?" Fu Hua asked.

"Don't you think this sounds more intimate, squad leader?" [Hersher of the Fire] Kiana said with a smile.

"...Okay." Fu Hua let out a long breath and nodded weakly, "So... the lady next to you is also Mei from the future, just like you?"

"Yes." Before [Herser of Fire] Kiana answered Fu Hua's question, the black-haired young woman holding the boy spoke herself, "Herser of Lightning, Raiden Mei."

"The feeling I had just now was indeed correct..." Walter Yang said with some palpitations, "I really didn't expect that two complete Herrschers would suddenly appear in a small lounge. To be honest, if I hadn't talked to you and confirmed that neither of you had any hostility towards the humans in this world, I would have even felt that... the civilization of this world might soon suffer an unbearable disaster."

"Since you are Kiana from the future, and she is Mei Raiden from the future..." Theresa touched her chin, and a strange emotion suddenly flashed in her eyes, "That boy... could it be Bronya from the future?"

"Puff——" [Hersker of Fire] Kiana and [Hersker of Lightning] Mei Raiden covered their mouths at the same time. The boy who was held in the arms of [Hersker of Lightning] Mei Raiden had a frozen expression on his face. He turned his stiff neck like a long-lost puppet, and looked at Theresa with an incomprehensible look of astonishment.

"How did you know I was Bronya?"

"Huh? Isn't it?" Theresa said in surprise.

"Nonsense! Of course not! I'm from Shenzhou! Bronya is a Russian! I'm a man and she's a woman! How blind must you be to think I'm Bronya!"

"Who are you?" Theresa said with a curious look on her face. "Based on the examples of Kiana and Raiden Mei, are you also someone we know?"

"I... Um--Um--" The boy was about to answer, but two white hands suddenly stretched out from the left and right and covered his mouth tightly.

Kiana, the Herrscher of Fire, and Mei, the Herrscher of Lightning, who had covered the boy's mouth, turned their heads at the same time, glared at him with a warning look, and then gave Theresa a somewhat embarrassed smile.

“Oh, Auntie, stop guessing.” [Hersher of the Fire] Kiana stretched out her other free hand and waved it, “He is just an ordinary boy. Apart from his appearance, ability, personality, and conduct, there is absolutely nothing attractive about him! There is nothing that should make you curious! It is even more impossible for him to—hiss…it hurts!”

The sound of gasping.

However, the [Herser of Thunder] Mei Raiden, whose face was as black as the bottom of a pot, couldn't help but reach out and knock [Herser of Fire] Kiana on the back of the head.

After using physical means to force [Hersher of Fire] Kiana to shut up, [Hersher of Lightning] Raiden Mei's face once again put on a gentle, polite and distant smile.

"I'm sorry, Dean, but, as Kiana said, this child is just a stranger who has nothing to do with you. After today, his life will not have any intersection with yours, and you don't need to get to the bottom of this child's identity."

"..." Theresa looked blankly at [Herser of Thunder] Mei Raiden, then at [Herser of Fire] Kiana, and after pondering for a moment, she suddenly widened her eyes, "Could it be that both of you are interested in him?"

The sudden and direct question caught the [Herser of Lightning] Mei Raiden and [Herser of Fire] Kiana off guard and their faces turned red at the same time.

Seeing the two Herrscher ladies who possessed the power to destroy the world looking as shy as young girls in love, Theresa was dumbfounded, and so were Walter Yang and Fu Hua.

“Hey, hey, hey! Are you kidding me? He looks like a kid! He’s older than me and hasn’t even stopped growing yet!” Theresa’s eyebrows twitched wildly. She stared at the two blushing ladies with a look of anger on her face. “I… Himeko and I didn’t teach you to be this kind of people, did we? Why would you two…! You… You two are breaking the law, do you know that!!!”

Halfway through her speech, Theresa suddenly shouted with an angry look on her face:

"Let go of my hands!"

After all, Theresa is the teacher and elder of [Hersher of Thunder] Mei Raiden and [Hersher of Fire] Kiana. Seeing her young face showing such a serious and angry expression, the two Herrsers who stand at the top of the world's combat power couldn't help but loosen their hands with a guilty conscience.

“Puff…Hoo…Hoo…”

As soon as his hands that were covering his mouth were released, the boy let out a series of rapid gasps as if he was liberated. He rolled his eyes while panting, with a look of despair on his face.

"Um, hello."

Before the boy could even complain, Theresa gently held his shoulders.

"I am their elder, and I was Mei and Kiana's direct superior for a period of time."

In a voice full of love and comfort, Theresa said to the boy earnestly, "So, if you were forced by these two, don't be afraid or have any reservations. Tell me all the difficulties you encountered and the unfair treatment you suffered! I will seek justice for you!"

As she spoke, Theresa glared fiercely at [Herser of Thunder] Mei Raiden and [Herser of Fire] Kiana. Their small and tender bodies, at this moment, burst out with a momentum that was even sharper and more breathtaking than when she was active on the front line of the battlefield.

"Don't worry! Even if they are my relatives and students, I will never protect them just because of the relationship between me and them! Anyone who makes a mistake must be punished! Even the Herrscher is no exception!"

Chapter 4: Kiana Returns (k)

Near noon, the Chain Bridge under the bright sun silently spanned the two banks of the Danube, and the dark green river water flowed quietly on both sides of the bridge piers.

Kiana sat on the concrete embankment beside the river, her arms around her knees. Her eyes reflected in the river looked dull and empty. The edge of her dark cloak was spread casually on the uneven shore like a mop. Her two feet resting on the shore were suspended high above the dark green water, and the soles of her knight boots were covered with fine sand.

"..." She buried her face in her arms around her knees and sighed softly.

Although her IQ has never been well-reputed in St. Freya's Academy, and Kiana is aware that her test scores are not satisfactory, she is actually a very smart person. Therefore, even though her other self [Herrser of the Fire] did not point out what she had done not long ago, Kiana still more or less realized that there was something wrong with her.

Rather, even before today, Kiana had already… no, it should be from the very beginning that she realized her abnormality, but she desperately wanted to distance herself, escape, and pretend that she didn't notice those strange memories and the images that flashed through her mind from time to time.

For example... who was the person who took away my stinky dad's arm?

For example... six years ago, when her stinky father took her to escape from her destiny, who was it that lost his life in order to protect her?

All along, Kiana has been subconsciously avoiding all of this, and subconsciously distancing herself from those memories. If nothing happened today, perhaps... until the day when she is forced to face all of this, she will not take the initiative to touch those "facts" hidden deep in her memory.

But... the appearance of Siegfried, and the subsequent loss of control of another consciousness in her body, forced Kiana to face the abnormality that she had been avoiding in advance.

She was a murderer who had taken countless lives with her own hands. She was cruel, violent, and malicious. She was also a despicable person who betrayed her faith. When faced with her father who was unable to kill "her", she took advantage of his momentary hesitation and killed him without mercy, almost causing her own father to die in her hands.

After being forced to face all of this, the self-loathing that kept rising in her chest almost swallowed Kiana's consciousness in a dark ocean.

Just as Kiana continued to torture herself in the suffocating feeling of disgust, two footsteps of varying speeds approached her from afar.

"I finally found you, Kiana."

What entered his ears was the usual gentle and soothing voice of his favorite senior, Raiden Mei.

"Why did you run away?" Raiden Mei stood beside Kiana, squatted down, and moved her face to the same height as Kiana's ears. "Just now, did Miss Shaniat do anything bad to you?"

"No, she didn't do anything bad to me." Kiana shook her head. She could hear the rustling sound of her face rubbing against her sleeves from her arms around her knees. "Rather, I have to thank her... If it weren't for her..."

Halfway through her speech, Kiana suddenly stopped.

Mei Raiden turned her face slightly, looked at Bronya who had no expression on her face, and then asked patiently: "What would have happened if it wasn't for her?"

Kiana did not answer Raiden Mei's question immediately, but asked in a low voice: "Mei, and Bronya... Tell me, am I a very annoying person?"

"of course not……"

"Stupid Kiana, have you finally realized that you have always been annoying?"

Sudden.

Bronya's voice, as emotionless as ever, interrupted the words that Raiden Mei had just spoken.

Kiana and Raiden Mei were both stunned.

But before the two could react, Bronya immediately pursued Kiana who had not yet reacted.

"Kiana has always been a fool. No matter how much Bronya and Mei help you with your studies, it is still difficult for Kiana to pass the exams. Kiana has also always been a lazy person. She often skips classes. Even if she goes to class for the first time in a long time, she will fall asleep under the teacher's nose, causing countless troubles to Teacher Himeko and the dean. Kiana is also a person who refuses to admit defeat. Even if she loses to Bronya a thousand times, she still refuses to face the fact that her chance of winning is less than 1%."

"Hey! Do you really think I'm that harsh?" Kiana suddenly raised her head and stared at the expressionless Bronya with her eyes wide open.

Bronya narrowed her eyes. Although her facial muscles had become unable to make expressions that could express her emotions because the emotional modules in her brain had been burned, Kiana could still see a hint of sarcasm and ridicule in her grey eyes that she didn't even bother to hide.

"If Kiana wants to get comfort and praise from Bronya, Bronya advises Kiana to put away such stupid ideas." Bronya said calmly, "Bronya is not good at lying."

"Do you want to start a war?!" Kiana stood up straight and walked to Bronya in two steps. Then she put her hands on her hips, lowered her head like a bull angered by a red cloth, and looked at Bronya at a distance of about a fist.

Bronya's expression did not change at all because of Kiana's action: "According to the system's calculation, Bronya's chance of winning is 99.99%. Stupid Kiana, the possibility of winning the fight with Bronya is very small."

"Nonsense! My winning rate is clearly 100%!" Kiana snorted disdainfully, "The accuracy of your crappy system is simply unreliable!"

"But the record of Stupid Kiana against Bronya seems to be 0 to 1,346." Bronya said calmly, "Compared to Bronya's system, Kiana's brain and computing ability are obviously more unreliable. Stupid Kiana's accusation cannot be established."

"That's just me giving in to you! If I really get serious, a mere Bronya would be no problem at all!" Kiana raised her head and put on a proud expression as if she had won a victory.

Bronya couldn't help but roll her eyes... It's hard to imagine how speechless Bronya must have been to make such an expression that could be called a medical miracle, given her physical condition with her emotional module burned out: "So, when facing Bronya, stupid Kiana could ignore the objective gap between Kiana and Bronya no matter how badly she failed. Why did she admit defeat so completely when facing the consciousness with golden pupils?"

"I—" Kiana's words were stuck for a moment, and then she collapsed like a deflated ball, "You...you don't understand..."

"Bronya really doesn't understand what that is, but Bronya thinks she knows the stupid Kiana well enough." Bronya's tone was as cold and calm as ever. "Although Kiana is an arrogant, lazy, and willful idiot, Bronya must admit that in terms of not admitting defeat, even Bronya can only be compared to Kiana."

Kiana couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed: "You... didn't you say you wouldn't praise or comfort me?"

"Bronya didn't seem to praise the stupid Kiana." Bronya crossed her arms and glanced at Kiana calmly. "After all, there are probably only people like stupid Kiana in this world who are so unwilling to admit defeat that they can equate each other with each other."

"Hey! Give me back my feelings!"

Watching Kiana gradually regain her vitality under Bronya's stimulation, Mei Raiden breathed a sigh of relief. After a long silence, she finally found the opportunity to interrupt the conversation: "Um... Kiana, what does the golden pupil consciousness that Bronya just mentioned mean?"

"..." Kiana's voice suddenly stopped, and then, the energy she had just recovered, visibly dropped again under Raiden Mei's questioning, "It's... that..."

"If Bronya is not mistaken, it should be the consciousness of the Third Herrscher in Mei-san's body that is similar to... some kind of independent personality different from Kiana's." Bronya said lightly, "From what that Shaniat just did to Kiana, Bronya speculated that the consciousness in Kiana's body suddenly lost control when it saw Siegfried, and took away Kiana's body in a short period of time. And that Miss Shaniat... Although Bronya did not see what she did specifically, from the final result, the consciousness that had originally controlled the body of the stupid Kiana was forced to shrink back into Kiana's body under the nose of Miss Shaniat."

"What?" Raiden Mei's pupils shrank slightly, and she quickly turned her gaze to Kiana, "Kiana, is what Bronya said true?"

"..." Kiana nodded silently.

"Then why did you run away?" Raiden Mei held Kiana's hand, "Since you encountered difficulties, why didn't you explain it to everyone?"

"Bronya can't understand it either." Bronya looked at Kiana, who looked a little depressed. "That Miss Shaniyate has clearly controlled the other consciousness in Kiana's body. Even if Kiana thinks she has been defeated by that consciousness, the most rational choice should be to ask Miss Shaniyate for help, rather than choosing to escape alone."

"I……"

"Kiana, you still don't consider us as your companions?" Raiden Mei was rarely angry. "We all survived together when Changkong City was in such a difficult time. Why are you unwilling to face the difficulties you encountered with us when everyone is safe?"

Kiana quickly shook her head: "No, I didn't! I just don't want to -! Don't want to..."

"We don't want that consciousness that controls the body of stupid Kiana to hurt us..." Bronya calmly continued what Kiana couldn't say, "But... stupid Kiana doesn't seem to have hurt Bronya and Mei-nee."

"...Kiana, let's go find Miss Shaniyate together." With Bronya's reminder, Raiden Mei, who had grasped the key point of the matter, stared seriously into Kiana's eyes, "If your anxiety is because you are afraid that you will hurt us, then let's work together to solve this problem for you. At least from what happened just now, Miss Shaniyate seems to know everything about your situation and how to solve the problem of the consciousness in your body. Since we have discovered this problem, let's work together to find a way to solve it, okay?"

Halfway through her words, Mei Raiden paused for a moment: "...Just like you helped me regain my consciousness when I became the Herrscher of Thunder."

Kiana was silent for a moment, closed her eyes slightly, and took a long, deep breath.

"Huh... Indeed, you are right. Even if I continue to avoid it, the problems I encounter will not disappear on their own."

After saying that, she scratched her silver hair and blushed with embarrassment.

"I'm sorry for making you worry about me to this extent."

"You really should apologize to us." Raiden Mei's face turned serious. "It seems that Bronya is not unreasonable to be dissatisfied with you."

"Um..." Kiana covered her chest as if she was hurt. "I've already apologized to you. Can you please stop slandering me?"