"You can see her?"
"Um."
Kiana is not in the right mental state to face Sirin. I am not in the right state, either.
The changes happened too suddenly. The atmosphere from before was broken by it.
"I haven't checked on her much. Everything she said was bad." Kiana shook her head. "But it's different this time. I can feel it… her despair."
"She's breaking down?"
"Um."
Sirin…
When it comes to right and wrong, nothing is absolute. Everyone has their own compass telling right from wrong.
In my eyes, she is definitely a demon.
She killed more than fifty million people from the moon fragments she sent down to Earth. No amount of justification in my eyes will suffice for that act. Everyone suffered.
However, it is her existence that brought the Tuna and the evil Sirin.
Kiana is already burdened with patrolling the entire world on a daily basis. She singlehandedly cut down more than half of the casualties from the honkai eruptions worldwide. That was how huge her sense of responsibility had become.
If she is willing to give Sirin another chance…
I will support her.
"Let me do it."
"Thanks."
I walked in front of her. My fingertip glowed with multicolored lights as I touched her forehead.
Hum-!
A connection was established within the permanent sword light barrier I established. It is worthy of something I spent twenty years of lifespan. It is weaker than I first established it, but it is enough to suppress Sirin inside the Herrscher Core.
I thought for a while and decided to bait her out.
A small gap was opened within the barrier.
I saw a young girl with bright purple hair. She hugged both of her knees as her sobbing continued.
Just then…
Our gazes met.
*****
Sirin went crazy.
It would have been fine if she never got to see these good things, yet she did.
She did not face the same dilemma as within the game. The moment Kiana steeled her resolve and became the Herrscher of Flamescion, the last bit of her remnants disappeared. Kiana became the sole wielder of the Second Herrscher Core.
The one-sided synchronization made her see the better side of the world. Sirin doubted herself during the past year. Kiana's resolve and attachment to her friends was the first one to send her crumbling down.
By the time she experienced the so-called love and was accepted, Sirin could no longer bear it. She broke down completely.
'If I was her…'
'If that Otto bastard did not take my life…'
'If everyone is still alive…'
'If she had not died…'
'If I get to experience it too…'
…
Her frustration went nowhere. She could not vent it. She is powerless.
Sirin became angry at the world, Otto Apocalypse, humanity, and to herself. Her beliefs in the so-called Honkai God vanished the moment she was placed in this helpless situation.
Worst of all, she could not die. She is forced to see the person she could have been.
Her will broke down.
That was when she saw someone.
In this dark world enclosed with multi-colored lights, one man's gaze received hers.
Sirin's mind turned blank. His similarly golden pupils caught her attention.
It was the same eyes that looked at her coldly a year ago. Yet, it looked vastly different this time.
'It is… beautiful.'
Her eyes went to his lips. It is the very same lips Kiana tasted dozens of times today.
Finally, she noticed the small gap within the multi-colored barrier.
Sirin made her choice.
Sou-!
A soul's weight is nigh zero. Her movements are akin to the speed of light. She closed the distance and left that bleak space.
In an instant, her image descended upon the imaginary space. She came out of Kiana's body.
Shi Tian's [Encompassing Eyes] reacted at that very instant.
{Sirin}
Grade: None
Status: Temporary soul materialization; shattering of the soul's structure…
…
His fingertip acted first. He readied himself for an attack… only for it to end in vain.
Sirin did not harm him.
Her soul materialized within the physical level. A surge of honkai energy came from her, but that was it.
Sirin's face reached in front of his. Her body floated akin to a ghost. She closed her eyes and…
'..!'
…stole a kiss from Shi Tian.
The physical sensation he felt made his eyes widened. The sword light present in his fingertip did not touch her.
What's more incredulous was she did not stop on the lips. She used her tongue to pry his mouth open. Her awkward tongue movements only served to increase his confusion.
Shi Tian could not react.
'What am I doing? No, what is she doing to me?!'
It wasn't just him that stood dumbfounded.
"Ah…"
Kiana lost all words.
The moment Sirin came out of her, she was ready for a fight. Instead, Sirin stole Shi Tian's kiss!
She was in utter disbelief that she did not know how to react. The reason behind Sirin's actions is as unpredictable as it gets.
Shi Tian finally reacted after three seconds. He saw Sirin's weightless body dissipate into specks of white light.
'Her soul's dissipating!'
Sou-!
A second later, the [Heavenly Official Soul Tablet] flew to his hands. He left the two Ji Xuanyuans inside this spirit vein to recover.
He swiftly used the spiritual artifact's power to draw Sirin's soul in. When he saw her soul's size was halved and is on the verge of collapse even within this artifact, he sent a command to the spiritual artifact.
Aside from its function as the physical body's substitute, it can also nurture heavily injured souls. Its passive effects are enough for the two Ji Xuanyuans to recover.
Things are different with Sirin.
She used the Honkai's influence to materialize her soul. It is an attribute belonging to the Nascent Soul Realm. The price to pay is her death. Her already damaged soul could not last ten seconds of existence.
Shi Tian acted fast and barely saved her. Even so, her situation's deteriorating extremely quickly.
The late third grade spiritual artifact could not deal with it. Only fourth grade spiritual artifacts have a stronger effect on souls.
Its current effect slowed down her soul's collapse by ten times. Seven seconds turned to seventy seconds.
'No. No. There's nothing..!'
He looked at Kiana.
"I need your Global Time Fracture."
"Ah?!"
"Make this artifact's time pass slower."
"Okay!"
She realized the severity of the matter. Kiana is unwilling to see her disappear like that. She wanted to have a talk with her—to resolve everything between them all at once.
Moreover, they still have a score to settle when it comes to Shi Tian's stolen kiss.
Sirin knew Kiana's thoughts about using her tongue. She went ahead and did it first!
Creak-!
Like a vacuum in space, sounds stopped travelling within their radius. The ancestral tablet turned gray. Only Kiana and Shi Tian are spared from it.
"How long can you keep it up?"
"Ten minutes. I feel like my head's becoming slightly heavier."
Her Herrscher Power's consumption depends on her target. The late third grade spiritual artifact is a complex target. If it wasn't for it, she could have slowed down its time for as long as she wants.
"Okay."
He immediately found a way to solve Sirin's predicament.
Shi Tian would have left her to die back then. His strength isn't enough. That was the most viable option.
Things are different now. He is strong enough to have more choices. Handling Sirin now and allowing her recovery…
He can do both.
'Quantum zero point energy. The realm of Nascent Soul cultivators.'
Fuzz-!
The entire radius of Kiana's Global Time Fracture is turned into a frozen wasteland.