The commoner boy, believing he had found an understanding ear, began to rattle off the history he had memorized from his textbooks.
The First Honkai Eruption: the Herrscher of Reason lost control, erupting over New York. Though there were no direct casualties, the entire city was paralyzed.
The Second Honkai Eruption: the Herrscher of the Void lost control, erupting in Siberia. Multiple cities were leveled, leaving behind nothing but a vast, snowy wasteland, burying every trace of what had once existed.
Kiana listened in silence until he finished. She let out a soft sigh and said, "What is recorded in books is not necessarily the truth."
The afterglow of the setting sun looked like molten gold falling from the sky, pooling into her clear, beautiful blue eyes.
After a moment's hesitation, Kiana added, "If I were a Herrscher too, would you be trying to stuff a time bomb into my bag?"
"That's impossible!" the boy cried, shaking his head vehemently. He spoke with frantic agitation. "Study Representative, you're the eldest daughter of the Kaslana family! How could you be a Herrscher—a monster that threatens all of humanity? Herrschers are twisted, wicked people chosen by the Honkai. It could never be you! Your grades are perfect, you follow the rules..."
"I didn't ask for a denial. Reality is often far more cruel than imagination. Who's to say that most Herrschers aren't man-made? You just don't know it, and Schicksal would never allow such news to leak. Compared to the deaths of ordinary people, research into Herrschers may be the key to the survival of human civilization. I don't wish for innocent people to die either, but... when it comes to the continuation of our species, human lives are indeed just cold, hard numbers."
Kiana placed a hand over her chest, feeling the rhythm of the Herrscher core operating within her.
"Do not move against Raiden Mei again. As long as a Herrscher does not actively seek death, even if they are blown to smithereens, their consciousness can be stored in the core to be reborn later."
"Your plan to kill Raiden Mei was flawed from the start. As long as she doesn't wish to die, you cannot kill her. Moreover, do you really think your motives were pure? You didn't report this to Schicksal because you thought a few ordinary humans could take down the Herrscher of Thunder? Preposterous. You simply wanted the Herrscher core for yourselves because its value is too great."
"For every Herrscher artificially implanted with a core, their fate is already sealed. There is no need for ordinary people to interfere. Herrschers will die meaningless deaths once their value has been squeezed dry. The 'Great Eruptions' recorded in your textbooks... how do you know they were the opening salutes of a Herrscher's birth, and not the final, desperate struggle of a doomed soul?"
Kiana turned away, her eyes cold as winter frost as she gazed at the wine-red clouds hanging in the distance—brilliant, yet lonely.
No matter how beautiful or radiant, they would meet their end when night fell, vanishing completely from sight, silent and forgotten...
The light and shadow of dusk converged beneath her, weaving her silhouette into a fleeting, solitary image—lonely, distinct, as if she didn't belong to this campus of sweat and youth.
"Stop being naive. If you know about this, then plenty of people in high places know as well. The fact that they haven't taken action means the current situation is exactly what they want to see."
"So... do not interfere with Raiden Mei's business again. If you don't back down, you won't get another chance to explain. You will die, and everyone involved in this hunt will be purged."
"This is the last piece of advice I can give you as your classmate."
"But the mistakes you've made won't just vanish. I won't allow those who have done wrong to live their lives with a clear conscience; it would be a disrespect to the victims..." Kiana paused. Li Wu's name drifted into her mind, and she had to shake her head forcefully to pull her focus back. "You weren't just stupid; you tried to strike at an innocent person. For that, you must receive your penance. Starting tomorrow, the names of you three nobles will become history in Nagazora City. As for you, the commoner—turn yourself in. Someone has already arranged your sentence: seven years. Pay the price for your attempted murder."
Hearing this, the three nobles could no longer remain still. Their faces turned ashen.
Once their families learned that they were the reason for their house's erasure, their end would be a thousand times more cruel than death!
"Wait, Kiana! We were wrong! We really know we messed up! This has nothing to do with our families! Do whatever you want to us, but it was our idea! Don't involve our families!"
Kiana gave them a freezing look. "Do you think I'm stupid? You think a few ordinary kids would dare meddle in this without backing? What, are you scared now? Why didn't you consider the victim's feelings when you made your move?"
"You can choose to resist. But the price of failure will be far heavier than what I've just stated."
The prosperity and status of their families would collapse because of them. Investors would pull out, betrothals would be canceled, contracts terminated...
It was over. Everything was over.
The three nobles knelt where they stood, looking like corpses. Their bodies shook uncontrollably because they saw a fate worse than death. When their formerly loving siblings heard the news, they would want to tear them apart with their bare hands.
Without another word, Kiana walked into the deepening twilight, indifferent to their reaction. She quickly vanished from their sight.
The commoner boy stood frozen, chanting Kiana's words in his head with lingering fear.
A terrifying truth was slowly surfacing—
The fake history in the textbooks... the hidden hands behind the birth of every Herrscher...
This was absolutely not something ordinary people or minor nobles could touch. Only the world's top powers, the giants controlling the future of humanity, could operate on this level.
Two names instantly flashed in their minds: Schicksal and Anti-Entropy.
No wonder Kiana had warned them to stop. Their actions were disrupting the arrangements of the true masters of the world. If Kiana hadn't stepped in to warn them... what awaited them wouldn't just be prison or exile; it would likely be total annihilation.
Compared to Schicksal and Anti-Entropy, minor nobles were just slightly larger ants. If they felt like it, they could crush them on a whim.
The school bell rang again and again. The lights in the teaching building grew fewer until the final classroom went dark. Only then did Kiana return from the back mountain to the playground.
In the fading light, the sound of basketballs hitting rims, students debating which restaurant to visit for dinner, and the sappy, nauseating murmurs of couples drifted past her.
She didn't walk fast. Her silver-white ponytail swayed rhythmically against her back. Her bag hung off one shoulder. As the surrounding clamor reached her, it felt as though it was filtered through an invisible barrier—the volume dropped sharply, leaving only a blurred, buzzing noise that irritated her mind.
A few ordinary girls her age ran past her, bringing a breeze that smelled faintly of sweat. They left behind a trail of sweet chatter: "Bestie, bestie! You have to come with me to that new dessert shop!"
They only gave Kiana a passing glance before returning to their gossip. To them, she was like a goddess statue on the roadside—perfect, beautiful, but not real.
Under the afterglow of the setting sun, Kiana's slender silhouette was etched clearly against the ground. Her shadow was solitary, stretching longer and longer until it finally broke away.