—Why have you come here?
In the silent space, that towering pupil exuded a crushing pressure. Its voice once again flooded into Kiana's mind. She knew now exactly who was speaking to her.
"Is this… asking for the reason? Or perhaps… my wish?"
Kiana hesitated slightly, but her smile remained as she continued:
"My wish now… is to bring this imperfect story just a little closer to perfection."
"Just like long ago, when people fought beasts for ripe food, when they learned to make fire—so now, in order to break through the crisis before us, to make our wish a reality, I have come before you."
She tried to give an answer—even if in the past she had never liked such knowledge, always dozing off in class.
But over time she had gained so much—light and warmth in the darkness. It was both her treasure and her unending drive forward.
An answer found only after walking this path.
"If time is stretched long enough…"
"Whether it's fire or the power of lightning, they will eventually become an ordinary part of people's lives, something found everywhere. And human life… will take another step toward the future."
She paused, the determination and hope in her eyes clear.
"That is why I have come—to become a bolt of lightning striking the great tree."
"And what humanity can create from the spark left on the withered wood…"
"Let's wait and see."
A fire-seed is also a seed—who knows what form it will take when it grows?
—Why do you want to do this?
Kiana frowned slightly, not quite understanding the full meaning of the question. But she still gave the explanation from the bottom of her heart.
"To be honest, when it comes to this question, every human being wouldn't spend too much time thinking about it," she said. "Because the answer has always been right within reach—right there before our eyes."
"Because it was this world that raised me."
Countless faces flashed through her mind—figures of seniors who had struggled before her. Some she knew, others she had never met. Some existed only in the pages of textbooks, others shone brilliantly in her memories. Some, out of their beautiful beliefs, had used their actions to educate and inspire those who came after…
"Because before me, there were people who kept moving forward—for the sake of making the world a better place, and for making those who helped them happier."
Like Saint Kallen, Mother Cecilia, Senior Ragnar, Teacher Tesla… and so on.
"They taught me perseverance and determination."
"They gave me the courage to move forward."
"They told me what love is, what beauty is."
"And it was them who accompanied me all the way to today."
"Even if, most of the time, we didn't know each other, never met."
"But who could say they've never been helped by them?"
As Kiana thought of the people who had moved and empowered her, ripples stirred in her heart. It was precisely their existence that made her believe the world still held beauty worth protecting. And she would pass on that belief to farther places.
Goodness was something one had to believe in, but it was also like a faint light in the vast darkness—once someone raised it high, there would always be others who followed.
"So even if the one standing before you today isn't me, there will definitely be someone else who appears for their sake."
"And that person will undoubtedly show the same will as I do at this moment—"
She let out a light breath, speaking her answer word by word.
"This world gave us life—"
"But only by burning it can we find our own worth."
A new flame… If it came to it, she was willing to inherit humanity's new flame, to let that beauty burn on, generation after generation.
Then, it asked one last question.
"..."
"..."
"..."
That question had no sound, but standing before him, Kiana somehow knew it came from her own intuition.
"Do you even need to ask?"
Dimples appeared on her cheeks. Her warm, beautiful smile shone with a spark of hope in her eyes—she had always believed in the good things of the world.
That answer… had been taught to her long ago by her teacher.
"Of course I'm willing…"
"To fight for all the beauty in the world!"
She stepped forward, smiling faintly without replying.
Kiana suddenly felt something pour into her body, resonating with her spirit. An indescribable, mysterious feeling spread through her, and even the air seemed fresher—the world revealed another side of itself.
Before her, the silken cocoon of the Herrscher's core dissipated. She knew it hadn't vanished—it had simply entrusted its power to her… or perhaps, to all three of them.
"As I thought, you're just a mirror," Kiana's eyes lit up with understanding.
"Or maybe… you are me."
"To face your truest self… Is this what it means to inherit the Herrscher's authority?"
The three of them stood shoulder to shoulder, breathing out in unison. At least for now, a large part of their plan had succeeded. Everyone had expectations, everyone was making an effort, and these girls who bore the fate of humanity had now reached the next stage of their journey.
"The End is a kind of ending," Mei said, raising her blade and standing beside Kiana. In this moment of grandeur, she remembered that pink-haired girl. Using her End as a conclusion, Mei would let her witness the next steps of the journey.
"The End is also a kind of beginning." She, too, carried the weight of inheritance.
"Even truth itself can't last forever—" Bronya, also standing beside Kiana, thought of the Herrscher of Reason's wings. "That's why the pursuit of truth is an endless journey."
"This is all of humanity's rebellion against fate," Kiana said with a smile, drawing her conclusion.
"Inheriting the past…"
"All the way to the future!"
At this moment, she finally stood on the same path as Kevin. Between her and him—who could better represent the choice of human civilization? It was like a long tug-of-war, each standing at one end, deciding how the Herrscher's trial would be overcome.
Except, this was a game where neither side could back out halfway.
The victor would, with near-divine authority, decide the shape of this world.
----
In the recording studio.
"Seriously, did I really give answers like that? It feels kind of chuunibyou." Kiana couldn't help covering her face. If it had been just her alone, facing those unknown questions, she felt she'd answered pretty well. But from a third-person perspective, with her talking to herself the whole time, it really did feel strange.
"If it's part of the necessary process to save the world, the only question is—would you go or not?" Luo Mo glanced at her with a teasing look.
"Hmph. Of course I'd go… But still, it's weird. No fight scene at all?"
"And where's my sword? I'm not used to this," Kiana blinked suspiciously.
"Don't tell me… it just ends here?"
Luo Mo gave her a doubtful look, wondering if the girl had gotten rusty in the head. Then he suddenly understood her confusion.
Because of the rush to finish, the final chapter indeed hadn't been fully voiced by them yet. Since the Stigma set had already been acquired, the girls would naturally take over training for it themselves. So Kiana had assumed the atmosphere was already at its climax and the story was over.
"Aren't I already a Herrscher now?" Kiana looked up, her big eyes filled with curiosity.
"But you're not the only one with Herrscher powers, are you?"
"Ah, don't tell me I have to fight Mei and Bronya too…"
Kiana was utterly astonished, but if it came down to the Honkai 3rd, it did seem… somewhat reasonable.
After all, this game loved nothing more than making people fight each other.
Just as she was savoring the thought of pummeling Bronya and then letting Mei have her turn, Mei gently patted her head and said helplessly:
"We haven't beaten Kevin yet. He said before—if he wants to save the world in his own way, we must first get past him."
"I'm already the Herrscher of Finality, so isn't that super easy?" Kiana declared boldly.
People always said the Herrscher of Finality was invincible, the greatest enemy, super powerful…
Even though Kevin was also a type of invincible existence, he should still be beatable, right?
After all, she was the Herrscher of Finality!
"Mm… mm?"
Luo Mo dragged out the sound, unable to help raising his eyebrows.
He gave Kiana a strange look.
He didn't really want to crush her confidence, but… was she maybe being a little overconfident?
----
In the game.
On the moon, upon a lonely throne.
The white-haired man was awaiting what would be his final moment.
He sat alone high upon the throne—though it was only an ordinary stone chair, because he was upon it, it took on meaning.
When everything was over, he could not even find someone to share the joy of victory with.
Nor did he feel like celebrating.
At this moment, it was as if he had not yet experienced that time when sinking a basketball had once made him so happy.
Long ago, in the days of basketball, he had understood his own pursuit.
Basketball was a skill-based sport, not something won purely by brute force.
Although he had been famous and eye-catching on the court, the deciding point of victory often didn't come from him, whose technique was clumsy.
Su had advised him to consider other sports—running, weightlifting…
Anything that depended solely on physical ability, he could excel at and achieve astonishing results.
But he still remembered the answer he gave at the time:
[ What I care about is victory and that fleeting moment of triumph. ]
[ I want the kind of victory that has no past, no future—it exists only in that instant, and that's enough. ]
[ I don't care what I have to pay beforehand, and I care even less about what that victory can bring me. ]
His arrogance and recklessness were purely his own, disregarding others' opinions.
When he finally learned the skill and made that shot, he remembered that thumping heartbeat.
The whole world went silent, and victory beckoned to him.
The excitement in his chest made him feel as if every cell in his body was trembling.
"Hector knew the kingdom would fall. Achilles also knew he was walking toward death.
But both still stepped onto the battlefield without hesitation."
That basketball was now about to fall to the ground.
"They were not unreasonably stubborn; they simply knew that defeat is just another name for victory."
Kevin spoke slowly, lowering his eyes, merely waiting for humanity's final answer.
Only when someone stood before him would everything come to an end.
---
In the Golden Courtyard.
"Kevin… he still remembers that conversation from back then," Su said with some surprise.
"Well, Kevin is the kind of person who really remembers his old friends ♪"
But in truth, Elysia didn't wish for him to be like that—because that would mean he had endured fifty thousand years of solitude, and willingly at that.
How cruel must that be?
Unfortunately, even though she had only met Kevin a few brief times, she still had to accept that cruel fact.
"…Defeat will always have meaning—it lays the foundation for others' success," Kosma said coldly.
"If I had known, I would've made him some toys, so he could carry more memory-laden things," Vill-V said.
Looking at it that way, Kevin really was a bit pitiful.
"..."
Kevin said nothing.
In the end, he had just understood the thoughts of another "him" and knew clearly the feelings of his current companions…
But this was not something that could move him.
He had not lived through that solitude and thus did not feel he should say anything.
"Ah, so the Herrscher of Finality still isn't enough? But he's never tried to…" Mobius couldn't help but say.
Otherwise, maybe they could have persuaded him to simply run away.
As for this so-called "loyalty to old friends," well, that sounded nice…
But in reality, he was someone who lived entirely in the past.
He didn't just miss his old friends—he longed for death.
Otherwise, he would not have stayed away from them all along.
He didn't want a beautiful future forged with new bonds—only to erect the last tombstone for the past.
"Don't say that, Mobius. When the Finality 's realm appears, if you're ready to run away, you might get to see Kevin," Elysia said with a playful smile.
---