K424 of the Collapse World

"Did your attacks hit her even once?"

"..."

Looking at the silver-haired girl who was wilting, Shirley smiled helplessly. At this time, Mei, who was standing next to her, suddenly looked at her. She suddenly remembered the conversation between Kiana and herself before she left...

"I thought you could understand me..."

"Why would you try to escape from this child when you were saved by her?"

"Um, Miss Hillis..."

As Mei's voice suddenly came, Shirley and Diana turned their heads at the same time. The black-haired girl raised her hand as if she wanted to say something, and looked at the two people in front of her with a complicated expression, her eyes flickering slightly, as if she was brewing something to say.

"What's wrong, Mei? Did you remember anything?"

Facing Shirley's serious questioning, the black-haired girl slowly regained her thoughts. But in the end, Mei still couldn't figure out the clues, so she could only shake her head apologetically and simply repeat the previous conversation.

"...I'm sorry, Lady Shilis, I don't know how to describe it, but Miss Kiana seems to be a little helpless, as if she is carrying something alone... But it may just be my illusion..."

"It's okay. This is valuable information. Thank you, Mei."

Shirley said softly, waving her hand nonchalantly. In front of the familiar people, she did not have the cold attitude she had at the medical base, as if she was still the gentle and considerate girl at the beginning, without any change.

"Come to think of it, you fled from Diana because you were worried that your energy would get out of control again and you were afraid of hurting the important people around you. Is that right?"

"That's right..."

"If that's what she really meant, then the situation is very clear. She also had an abnormal condition similar to energy runaway, which forced her to choose to leave us."

As she spoke, Shirley glanced at Mei, who seemed a little distracted, and her eyes became meaningful.

"However, judging from your expression, you don't seem to completely agree with this guess, right?"

"Well... although Ms. Kiana's words are very simple, I always feel that things are not that simple. Moreover... when she is fighting, her energy manipulation is more precise than usual, and there is no sign of losing control at all."

Touching her wrist, Mei bit her lip gently. Although her defeat was due to Kiana's sneak attack, at that moment, when she was enveloped by two extremely sharp blade lights, she thought she would be cut in two, but in the end, only the Herrscher's Seal and the tendons of her right hand were accurately cut off, and there was no additional damage...

808 Interlaced >>

Mei herself might be able to reproduce such swordsmanship when she concentrates fully. But Kiana... I always thought she was only good at guns and close combat, but I didn't expect that she also had such attainments in swordsmanship?

"I'm really sorry. I didn't contribute much in the previous battle, but I'm still here..."

"I've already told you not to take it to heart. Kiana is not so easy to get rid of. When we fought seriously, even I wasn't absolutely sure I could beat her. Now, if she is determined to leave, she will naturally find ways to win..."

Gently comforting Mei who was inexplicably depressed, Shirley's eyes began to show an unconcealable dark cloud.

She remained calm on the surface, but in fact, the sudden incident caused by Kiana had already stirred up huge waves in her heart.

She was willing to leave even if it meant hurting her friends...why would she do that?

Shirley knew very well that although Kiana had just turned 18 this year, she had already possessed the mature thinking of an adult long before that. What on earth was the reason that prompted the girl to make such a puzzling decision?

"Mei, Kiana was in a normal mental state at that time, right?"

"It should be normal, right? Her attitude towards us is no different than usual, and she seems to be mentally clear."

"I see... Humph, one problem after another. Before the final Herrscher arrived, a lot of troubles cropped up on our side..."

Shiris frowned, looking at the clouds passing by rapidly outside the battleship's window, her eyes gradually becoming dazed.

From the mental attack of the Herrscher of the End, Lan Feng's disappearance again, to Kiana's escape now... Under the influence of instinct, these three seemingly unrelated things happened one after another, gradually forming a triangular relationship chain in Shiris' mind...

(What if Lan Feng’s disappearance was not because the Herrscher of the End had returned, but because he had some method of transfer...)

Thinking of this, the girl slowly tightened her fist, and the guardrail held in her palm made a slight squeezing sound.

(You...are you not my enemy?)

At the same time, on an archipelago in the southern Pacific Ocean, a silver-haired girl from afar walked slowly in the forest outside a village, listening to the voice in her mind...

"By the way, where were we just now?"

"..."

"Ms. Kiana?"

"Ah, sorry... I'm just a little surprised that the soul really exists..."

Shaking her heavy head, Kiana looked at the overgrown mountain road, walked to the side of the road, and sat down against a tree next to it.

"We shouldn't be discovered here... Sister Shilis's perception is indeed very strong, but she can't cover the entire planet with her consciousness..."

Kiana spoke to herself. She knew that the being who had secretly entered her sea of ​​consciousness could also hear her voice at this moment.

"By the way...did you also stay by Sister Shilis's side in this soul state for the past seven years?"

"I was with her for less than two years. The souls of mortals cannot withstand the rejection reaction of Honkai energy. If they are slightly affected, their consciousness will be separated... As I said just now, the original me has disappeared at the end of time and space. The current me is just an individual in a different time and space copied by the ability of the Herrscher of Time."

The voice in her mind replied, it was a strange male voice that the girl had never heard before. But now, they should get to know each other soon...

"Even so, I'm sure you know Sister Shilis's situation very well, right?"

"That's not the case. As I said earlier, I only know what happened in her first two years. The rest is just the memory left by the visual pheromones..."

"I know...but that's not what I'm asking."

The silver-haired girl stretched. This time, her voice went straight through the sea of ​​consciousness into the mental world, and it was obvious that she had mastered the trick of spiritual communication.

"Besides the reason why Sister Shilis is mentally abnormal and your previous relationship, there are probably many things you haven't told me yet, right?"

Kiana opened her eyes again, and an extremely sharp light flowed in her clear blue pupils.

"Now, let's talk...Mr. Lan Feng."

809 Special Alliance

The reason why Kiana had always revered Shirley was not only because the girl was her only relative and saved her from endless suffering. In addition, there were many other factors...

Among them, what Kiana admired most was nothing more than the early deeds of Shirley. From Tesla, Noni and other people who knew Shirley the earliest, she learned how Shirley, who was originally the experimental subject K424, escaped the pursuit of the Valkyrie Corps and defeated the plans of the Destiny Organization several times by herself.

To be fair, Kiana thought she couldn't do what Cialis had done, even though she had been trained by Otto. It was hard to imagine why a subject who had just been born with consciousness could have such a strong desire to survive and willpower. Although she knew that Cialis had inherited the memory of her mother Cecilia and had done all that with the thinking and fighting style of an S-level Valkyrie. But as Cecilia's biological daughter, Kiana relied on the vague fragments left in her memory to judge that the girl's personality and behavior were fundamentally different from her mother's in her memory...

Moreover, Cecilia, who had lost her memory and regained her life in the recent experiment of the power of creation, was indeed more in line with Kiana's impression of her mother than Cialis. But what secrets Cialis had and what supported her will remained unknown.

But now, as I communicate with Lan Feng, I gradually discover the deepest secrets of Shilis, and these remaining mysteries begin to be answered...

"Mr. Lan Feng, I really don't know... should I admire you or Sister Xi Lisi now."

"Oh? Why do you think so?"

"Because... when she first became conscious as the experimental subject K424, she thought of herself as you, right? With your memory and thinking habits, she was able to accomplish the series of feats that followed. And it was also because of your compassion for me in your memory... that she saved me and took me in..."

Through Lan Feng's unreserved narration, Kiana already knew that her world and all her experiences were just a story made up by people in the parallel world that had not collapsed.

However, this kind of thing is not surprising to Kiana. After all, in the infinite parallel universe, the weak connection between different worlds can indeed extend countless possibilities. The historical events of a certain world become fictional stories in another world, which can indeed be regarded as a possibility...

"Mercy? No, it may sound strange, but what I really think is..."

"Apart from pity, I can't think of any other strange emotions that a normal person would have when seeing a little girl being tortured. You shouldn't be that kind of person, right, Mr. Lan Feng?"

Kiana didn't know, nor did she want to know what Lan Feng, one of the spectators in the parallel world, thought of herself in the story. Thinking of her own experience, she naturally attributed this feeling to "pity" and interrupted the other party's explanation.

"Moreover, Sister Shilis's extraordinary action and willpower...Mr. Lan Feng, are you really an ordinary person in your own world?"

"So, it's just that Shiris's memory has influenced her to think of me as herself. In fact, it's still her own consciousness that makes the final decision. My memory is only a partial influencing factor. Whether it's willpower or something else, it's all her own thing. If it really was me... hehe, I'm afraid I would be scared and at a loss at the beginning."

"Does this mean that when Sister Shilis helped me, it was also because of your memory?"

"No, she will choose to help you, perhaps because of a deeper connection between you..."

"..."

Hearing this, Kiana fell silent.

Although she had guessed it before, through the conversation with Lan Feng at this moment, she was sure that the energy that was constantly trying to erode her came from the Herrscher of the End in the last collapse. But she didn't expect that the so-called "Herscher of the End" was her sister Shiris...

The essence of Shirley is the second consciousness of the Herrscher of the End, which she just learned. But why is the spiritual channel extending from Shirley's mental space to her own sea of ​​consciousness connected?

Her train of thought seemed to have reached a dead end. Kiana shook her head vigorously and hid the thought deep in her heart.

"Okay, let's end this topic here."

809 Special Alliance >>

Shirley's past secrets are indeed touching, but that is all in the past... and Kiana only cares about the present Shirley.

"Let's get back to the point. You said that Sister Shilis's spirit will go through the process of spiritual transformation again as time goes back. And this time, as the Honkai energy in her body is unprecedentedly strong, it will cause an unstoppable change. Is that right?"

"That's right. She is much stronger than last time. Even if I sacrifice myself, it will probably be useless. Moreover, Shirley's mental cognitive deviation is becoming more and more serious. Before she becomes ruthless, I must leave her side and find a way to solve this problem."

"So the Herrscher of the End left that passage so that you can find me..."

Kiana smiled helplessly. It was a bit ironic that her biggest enemy had become her helper at this moment. But now, the girl was just glad that no matter how unbelievable the truth was, she still had a chance to redeem herself.

"Well... Then I moved to your spiritual sea through that channel. To be honest, if I hadn't been desperate, I wouldn't have chosen to drag others into the sea..."

"It doesn't matter. I don't want Sister Shilis to lose her sense of self and become a complete stranger. If this is to help her, our goals are the same."

Kiana spoke slowly, her gentle tone carrying an unquestionable firmness.

"Anyway, in order to avoid being eroded by the energy of the Herrscher of the End, I must stay away from her.

......"

"Stay away... Humph. You know, in order to prevent her from becoming a Herrscher, we have to do more than just escape from her. We may even have to become her enemy or even hurt her... Can you really do that?"

"It doesn't matter, as long as it can really save her... Just like the protective desire she once imposed on us, if necessary, I will ignore her will and do what I think is more beneficial to her."

As she spoke, Kiana once again grasped the necklace around her neck, hesitated for a long time, and finally took off the half-moon crystalline pendant and gently hung it on a branch passing by her, thus extinguishing the only possibility for Shirley to track her down.

"This is something very important, right? If I leave it in a place like this, will I be able to find it later?"

"..."

Ignoring Lan Feng's teasing, Kiana remained silent for a moment and then spoke again in her normal tone.

“How exactly should we do this?”

Hearing Kiana's calm voice return, Lan Feng simply gave up on chatting to lighten the atmosphere and continued with the girl's question to get to the point.

"Theoretically speaking, as her mind gradually becomes that of a Herrscher, her paranoid personality traits will be infinitely magnified. So, even if she still retains her clear thinking ability, it is impossible to reason with her directly. Based on her thinking, she probably won't think that there is something wrong with her, but will think that I joined the Honkai side and then persuaded you to betray me, and then she will attack directly, right?"

"Well, from what I know about Sister Shilis, she does think so..."

"So, if you want to try to persuade her, you have to find a way to make her listen to us carefully, and it would be best if it can give her a strong enough mental impact. And the easiest way... you know, just do it like you did when you first met."

"By force..."

Hearing this, Kiana looked at her palm and shook her head slightly.

"But, regardless of whether I can defeat Sister Shilis, I am still unable to overcome the influence of the energy of the end. Let alone a head-on battle, I am afraid I can't even get close to her, right?"

"So, we need to find some additional assistance..."

"assistance?"

"Yes, after all, our current target is only Shirley who is affected by Honkai. You can still trust the other people in the Far East Branch. Except for Shirley's crazy fans, if they can understand the current situation, they will definitely be willing to lend a hand, right?"

"..."

After hearing this, Kiana seemed to realize something and slowly opened her eyes.

"you mean......?"

"If Shiris believes that she is the strongest when she is alone, then if we use the collective strength to defeat her and frustrate the belief she has always held, would that be a strong enough shock?"

810 Rift

Regarding the plan proposed by Lan Feng, Kiana remained silent for a long time before taking another step.

"That is to say, when I met Diana and Mei just now, maybe I shouldn't have fought with them directly..."

"No, there is nothing wrong with your decision on this matter. Although those two girls know how to think independently, they are not the type that can be persuaded with just a few words."

"That's it..."

"If you had chosen to negotiate with them just now, you would have been asked a lot of questions and wasted a lot of time. I'm afraid that before you could explain it to them clearly, Shiris would have arrived at the scene. If it had come to this, we would have been a complete failure."

As Lan Feng's whispers echoed in her mind, Kiana officially took action. Fairy-like wings of light spread out behind her, turning the huge energy into propulsion, and flew into the sky again with the girl...

"Sister Shilis must have returned to the Far East Branch by now. If I want to find someone else to explain the situation, I definitely can't choose to go back at this time."

Kiana didn't know the maximum range of Shirley's perception ability before, and she couldn't confirm it now. Even if she wanted to find a partner who could cooperate with her in the branch, she had no idea where to start now.

"By the way, besides the Far East Branch, is there anyone else you can trust?"

"..."