Kiana was still a bit dazed when she received the news that she was about to ascend to the throne.
She had no idea when Noldrei had finished dealing with Kevin's situation, and now all she had to do was enter the Cocoon of Finality and eat her fill. That was it.
Kiana suddenly felt like her life was on easy mode.
Her actual fighting seemed to have been limited to that time she went out pretending to be Raiden Mei and beat up a couple of bullies.
Thinking about this, Kiana couldn't help but start wondering about her other selves from different worlds.
In the Sea of Quanta, Kiana had once seen another version of herself who possessed the power of Finality.
The thought of that girl fighting her way up from being a homeless wanderer, carving out an empire with her own two fists, made Kiana feel a little sorry for her other self.
Meanwhile, the Kiana of this world was saddled with a different kind of trouble.
She had to use the power of the Cocoon of Finality to re-delegate the distribution of Honkai Energy, while also using it to further help humanity control the power of the new generation born from the Honkai factor.
This also included the future work of cultivating new humans with Stigma battlesuits, as well as dealing with the Stigma-fused humans from factions that would challenge her in the future.
Kiana nervously gripped Noldrei's shoulders and asked, her voice trembling, "I... I'm becoming an empress just like that? Won't it feel like it was all... rigged?"
"The leader of the Previous Era, the leaders of the Current Era, and the heads of various organizations have all researched this and reached a unanimous decision," Noldrei soothed her. "History has chosen you, Kiana! You have to believe in your power!"
Kiana was intimidated. "But I don't believe in my IQ!" she said, a hint of fear in her voice.
'You say that as if I believe in your IQ either,' Noldrei thought. 'You've learned so much, yet all you can produce is some mind-bogglingly dumb "wisdom." What more do you want me to do?'
Noldrei felt a twinge of regret. He had originally approached things with an egalitarian mindset. He just happened to notice the fluctuations of a Herrscher Core fragment within Kiana's body, and that was why he chose her.
If he had known then what he knew now, he might have been better off using that one and only transformation on Raiden Mei instead.
But it was too late for regrets. Noldrei had already done his utmost to cultivate Kiana.
As it turned out, the girl's combat aptitude was quite good, but when it came to political thinking, she had a tendency to just slack off.
She clearly worked hard and produced good results, even showing considerable organizational ability. Yet somehow, she managed to give off the impression of, 'This is all thanks to my foster father. I just need to lie back and inherit the throne.'
Never mind that she already controlled the power of the entire Kaslana Stigma Space, and that in the future, two hundred million new, Venus-edition Kaslana royals would be born every year.
Could Noldrei really just replace her on a whim? If he did that, forget Proliferationism not being stabilized and regressing to a primitive state—he wouldn't even see a glimmer of hope for a future counter-Proliferationism.
Noldrei put on a serious face. "Kiana, you have to believe in the me who believes in you! Would I choose the wrong person? You are definitely the most suitable candidate for the position of Emperor of Finality."
Kiana was still nervous. "I'm fine with you asking me to fight Finality," she said. "But asking me to manage the future of billions of people... I'm worried I might manage them all to death one day. Don't you think I know my own limits?"
"You're far more capable than those people at the United Nations! You can even use the power of the Stigma to delve into the depths of every person's consciousness. Are you still worried that someone could deceive you? Why do you think you're getting the power of the Cocoon of Finality? Do you think it's so you can serve humanity?"
Noldrei's words stunned Kiana.
She wasn't a complete idiot. She knew very well that the essence of the Cocoon of Finality was similar to that of the Stigma. Her current system of rule was, in fact, a method of use stripped from the Honkai itself.
"The power of Finality is meant to help you better control this Stigma-based class society! Only by becoming the Emperor of Finality can you more easily manage the work you have now, and at the same time, use the ability to create Herrschers to construct a new balancing class."
"By constructing Imaginary Singularities, you will complete the re-enfeoffment of Finality's authority!"
"It's like I'm asking you to carve a piece of meat. You can use the Herrschers to study how and where to make the cuts. Then, you use the Stigma organizations to execute the cutting method—how much force to use, whether a horizontal cut is simpler or a diagonal one. Do you understand what you need to do now?"
Kiana understood now. On one hand, she had to use the power of the Herrschers to keep the Stigma wielders from getting out of line, and on the other, she had to use the aptitude of the Stigma wielders to cultivate new Herrschers to keep the other Herrschers in check.
Her face immediately lit up with a grin.
Her foster father was the best! He had even designed the future balancing framework for her. All she had to do was learn to execute it.
As it turned out, learning from Sirin was the right move. All she had to do was put on a show of weakness, and her foster father would lovingly hand her the answer key!
Noldrei had no idea Kiana was capable of such a shameless tactic. He just thought the girl was slacking off again like she used to.
The hunter becomes the hunted!
Bronya had originally come just to be part of the crowd and rack up some achievements.
In the future, she could proudly tell others that she was there when they fought Finality.
Who would have thought that Bronya would witness such a scene?
Kiana was truly worthy of being the heir Noldrei had so carefully educated. In just a short moment, she had completely wrapped her foster father around her finger. Who knows, maybe one day she would develop skills far exceeding Noldrei's.
"Noldrei, I knew you wouldn't abandon me. See, I don't know anything! Just treat this as a field test. You can help me patch up my mistakes while letting me adapt bit by bit. How about it?"
Kiana pressed her advantage, hoping to get Noldrei to help her with more of her work.
She had figured it out. Once she grasped the authority of Finality, she would, in theory, also grasp the very soil from which this new civilization's counter-Proliferationism would be born.
Noldrei would definitely be very concerned about this!
Since Noldrei could use others' needs to get them to do things for him, Kiana thought, why couldn't she use Noldrei's own needs to get him to do things for her?
The white-haired dango's world-shaking wisdom kicked in. This was an excellent idea.
'Bro, you can't fall for this seductress's trap! Bro!'
Bronya wanted to expose Kiana's wicked deeds, but she didn't dare speak up at such a critical moment.
What if she caused a problem, and Kiana suddenly threw a tantrum and refused to do her part? Wouldn't that make Bronya Zaychik a sinner against the new civilization?
Kiana was enlightened. It was time for her to start exercising her own authority!