"What do you mean, 'teasingly social'?"
The Bug blinked, her tone dripping with disdain. "Do you think I'm a three-year-old? You think I don't get what that means?"
"Then please, enlighten me. What does it mean?"
"It means—"
Kiana stopped short, suddenly realizing the trap. She stamped her foot in frustration. "You bastard! You're trying to trick me into saying something dirty!"
"Oh, Kiana, you..."
Ye Feng wore a look of sorrow, hesitating as if he didn't know what to say. The expression almost made the Bug blush.
What right does this guy have to make a face like that!
I'm the one who should feel violated! Don't tell me you've suddenly become some pure and kind person?
But Kiana was quick on the uptake. Her eyes darted back and forth.
"Alright, if you're so dedicated to helping others, then I have a problem. Can you help me solve it?"
"What's the problem?"
"The Herrscher of the Void."
Kiana enunciated each syllable clearly.
The truth was, the Herrscher had always been dormant inside her own body.
She couldn't be certain, but she could vaguely "sense" something.
After Ye Feng had pointed it out directly a week ago, Kiana had actually been terrified.
That was why she had immersed herself in his pleasures, as a brief escape from the nightmare.
But she couldn't keep sinking forever.
Sooner or later, she would have to confront the problem of "herself."
Instead of living in fear of when "she" might awaken, it was better to take the initiative.
"Oh, you mean her."
Ye Feng had thought Kiana was going to ask for help getting Rita out of Mobius's pure white purgatory.
He had completely forgotten about the Bug's own issues.
"Does Kiana have a plan?"
"The first step, of course, is to figure out what she's thinking."
"Her thoughts?"
Kiana nodded, her blue pupils fixed on Ye Feng.
"The Herrscher of the Void... how does she see this world now? How does she see humanity?... And," Kiana's voice dropped, becoming more somber, "is there any room for reconciliation?"
She understood that the Herrscher of the Void lurking within her held an immense malice toward mankind.
"Very well."
Ye Feng closed the book and stood up.
"I'll take you to her."
"Now? We're just going to go like that?"
"Why not? Do you need to mentally prepare yourself?"
"...Fine, okay."
Kiana took a deep breath and clenched her fists, her eyes filled with determination.
---o---
The Second Herrscher, the Herrscher of the Void, Sirin, had prayed for a new beginning with her dying breath, wishing for a chance to start over.
Kiana was the embodiment of that wish, the "second chance" Sirin had craved.
But Kiana was not the only consciousness born from that wish.
She and the Herrscher of the Void were two souls born from the same desire, two branches growing from the same tree, reaching in different directions.
St. Freya Academy was immersed in a dim light. A crimson moon hung in the night sky, quietly gazing down upon the earth.
The Herrscher of the Void slowly "opened" her brilliant golden eyes.
She floated in mid-air, a cascade of snow-white hair falling to her heels. Her fair, delicate toes pointed toward the ground, her cherry-pink nails reflecting a pearly luster.
"Where... is this?"
The Herrscher of the Void's voice seemed to carry an echo, imbued with a divine cadence.
If a voice like that were moaning during sex, one could only imagine how exquisite it would sound.
The Herrscher of the Void scanned her surroundings as memories flooded her mind.
She shared "Sirin's" memories, inheriting her all-consuming hatred for humanity.
"...This is not the Eigen Space."
The Herrscher of the Void possessed an instinctive, sharp perception of space.
In a mere instant, she recognized that something was wrong with this dimension.
"Hello there!~(＾◇^)/"
A gentle voice called out from behind her.
The Herrscher of the Void glanced over her shoulder to see a human waving at her.
The mere sight of a human was enough to make a cold, murderous intent churn within her indifferent golden eyes.
She could never forget what had happened in that frozen tower.
Her friends had died, one after another, leaving her to struggle through each day in agony.
The writhing black shadows under the blinding halogen lights of the operating table had solidified into a single concept: "human."
The flames of vengeance burned in her heart, demanding she reduce this entire civilization to ash.
BZZZT—
Three void lances materialized behind the Herrscher of the Void, their tips spinning like drills.
She let out a cold snort. With a wave of her hand, the lances shot forward, impaling the human's body.
From start to finish, the queenly Herrscher never bothered to give him a direct look.
It was as casual as crushing an ant.
With her hands behind her back, the Herrscher of the Void coolly turned around, only to find the man she had just pierced standing before her once more.
"?"
The Herrscher frowned and raised a hand toward him, her palm encompassing the space where he stood, locking it in place.
With a crisp snap of her fingers, she activated her ability.
[Time-Space Quake]
The locked target should have exploded.
"Hmm?"
The Herrscher of the Void glanced to her side. The figure had reappeared there. Her pupils constricted as she immediately initiated a [Phase Shift] to the rooftop. Yet, when she looked up again, that damn, persistent ghost of a man was standing right in front of her.
---o---
"What is she doing?" Kiana asked, watching the Herrscher of the Void fruitlessly attack the air before fleeing to the rooftop in a panic.
"She's caught in my Sharingan."
"My what?"
"To put it simply, she's hypnotized."
Ye Feng continued, "Attacking me with void lances out of nowhere. Three of them, too! So long and thick...
That was far too rough. Isn't she worried she might break me? I'll definitely have to stab her back later."
Kiana gave Ye Feng a dead-eyed stare. "Let's be real, you just want to fuck her, don't you? No need to make up excuses."
"It wouldn't be the first time. The feeling... isn't as good as Da Yaya's."
"Huh??"
Da Yaya again! It's always Da Yaya!
Why don't you just go drown with your precious Da Yaya!
Kiana was fuming.
Even if she and the Herrscher were separate entities in this world, their bodies were fundamentally the same.
If the Herrscher "wasn't as good as Da Yaya," didn't that mean she wasn't as good either?
"Who asked for your review?! Don't you think it's incredibly rude to casually critique a girl's body?"
"But you're different, Kiana. Your charm doesn't lie in your body."
Kiana pouted. "...You don't have to say that just to spare my feelings."
"You know I don't lie."
"..."
"Anyway," Ye Feng said, changing the subject, "it doesn't look like the Herrscher of the Void is in any condition to talk right now. Should we... remove her armor first?"
"So in the end, you really do just want to lewd her!"
"Not entirely. There's research, you know. It proves that removing one's armor helps them open their heart."
"What??"