A black-and-white dragon roared, its wings whipping up a hurricane, assaulting the battleship Hyperion. On its deck, Valkyries fought Honkai Beasts.
But whether the dragon or the Valkyries, their focus was on the sky—the true battlefield.
In the dim, cold Imaginary Space, the Herrscher of the Void gazed down with lofty golden eyes at a crimson figure, her expression grim.
Blazing flames burned, their terrifying heat a threat even to her.
Equally golden eyes, not regal but valiant, held a warm gentleness.
"Kiana, when you wake, everything will have changed."
The crimson knight dragged raging flames, her voice impossibly soft. "The world won't be beautiful anymore. Those ordinary days will never return."
Torrential flames incinerated incoming Void Spears in an instant.
"But don't give up—never give up!"
Even the Herrscher of the Void, high on her throne, felt a flicker of fear.
"Stop acting—so smug!"
The Herrscher raised her left hand, wreathed in violent Honkai energy. Dark purple cubes, cloaked in bleak Imaginary power, descended from the void!
She was a Herrscher! The Void Queen! A transmigrator!
How could she lose?
Yet the crimson figure's blaze only intensified.
The scarlet warrior burned everything as fuel, wielding the Godslayer Greatsword, cutting through all obstacles, unyielding despite wounds or exhaustion!
"Kiana! Hold your head high! Keep moving forward!!!"
Ferocious flames coiled around the majestic sword, Honkai energy forming twin wings of sky-scorching embers, as if the world itself burned!
"Turn this imperfect story into the one you desire!"
This was her final aria, her last lesson as a teacher to her student.
"No!"
"Don't!!"
"Teacher Himeko!!!"
Another consciousness within the Herrscher, watching the crimson figure descend with radiant wings, was filled with grief and desperation.
"Damn it! Herrscher of the Void! Sirin! Hakuto! Stop!!!"
The girl fought desperately for control of her body, powerless against the Herrscher's might.
She had many identities: test subject K-423, the Herrscher of the Void's vessel, Siegfried's daughter, Kiana Kaslana.
And a name no one knew: Hakuto.
Yes, Kiana was a transmigrator!
Or rather, "Sirin" was a transmigrator!
But something went wrong during the transmigration. Her soul was intact, but the data it carried was damaged.
If a soul is like a DVD, memories are the data etched onto it.
A heavily scratched disc, when played, glitches and stutters.
Hakuto's 25 years of memories were mostly intact, but Sirin's fragmented remnants totaled roughly 7 or 8 years.
That's still plenty!
How many people vividly recall their early childhood?
Hakuto's situation was similar to Fu Hua's, except his memories were worn by temporal barriers, while hers were burned away for power using Yuduchen.
To clarify, neither Kiana nor Sirin had any memories of Honkai Impact 3rd.
Hakuto encountered the game at 21. Even spending four years with it, he wasn't playing 24/7.
A few hours a week was generous—honestly, he spent more time watching fan videos on Nico Nico than playing.
Memory erosion was completely random. "Sirin" could only vaguely recall a few fan video scenes.
With an adult mindset, the malice Hakuto faced on Earth and the pain Sirin endured in Babylon Tower's Honkai experiments made the Second Eruption far more devastating!
The Herrscher of the Void persona, shaped by Honkai's influence, fused Hakuto's hatred and resentment toward the world.
With adult reasoning, Sirin's mastery of her powers was unimaginable compared to the canon Sirin, making the Second Eruption a true civilization-level crisis!
Wielding six Herrscher cores, Hakuto's Sirin had the power to destroy civilizations!
Yet she failed.
Two reasons.
First, the Herrscher persona, a nexus of negativity, heavily impaired rational thought.
Second, Sirin held back at the critical moment because of Saint Cecilia.
After the Second Eruption, Otto enacted the Sirin Project. Kiana's persona emerged from Sirin's hope, inheriting the last shred of Hakuto's goodwill.
This positive-negative split separated their memories, halving the already sparse Earth memories between Sirin and Kiana.
Negative memories went to Sirin, positive ones to Kiana.
Kiana remembered her name was once Hakuto, her stubborn, traditional Japanese father, and that she was probably, maybe, male.
This last point explained Kiana's unconventional orientation.
Though her gender concept was nearly erased, and she forgot her male appearance, her male-rooted soul made her unable to feel romantic toward men, instead drawn to bonding with beautiful girls.
Otherwise, Kiana's persona, embodying Hakuto's kindness, mirrored the game's Kiana due to similar experiences.
Life at St. Freya Academy brought her the warmth of home, but fate didn't pause for her nostalgia.
Sirin awoke!
Unlike the game, Sirin—still essentially Hakuto—wouldn't harm Kiana, who shared the same soul.
So, instead of breaking Kiana's mind through dreams like in the game, Sirin revived by absorbing massive Honkai energy.
During revival, she only acted against Kiana when forced, suppressing her will deep in their soul, lulling her to sleep.
Perhaps the battle with the Crimson Knight drained Sirin, or maybe the teacher's words, filled with resolve and tenderness, stirred something. At the final moment of the "Last Lesson," Kiana awoke.
She saw her teacher brandishing the flame-wreathed Surtur, diving down!
"Get back!"
The radiant, wide-bladed sword extended into sky-scorching flames, reminding Sirin of that fiery blade.
Kiana's awakening forced Sirin to divert energy to maintain control, giving the Crimson Knight an opening.
Yet the Godslayer Sword only grazed the Herrscher's temple, piercing the earth. The teacher restrained its cataclysmic power to a pinpoint, merely cracking the ground before vanishing into Imaginary Space.
The Herrscher's golden eyes contracted as the Godslaying Spear was injected into her.
At the cost of her life, the teacher gave her student one final lesson.
She fell, plummeting into the endless depths of Imaginary Space.
"No!!!"
Watching her teacher fall, tears streamed from Kiana's restored blue eyes, her soul trembling indescribably.
In that instant, the world stilled.
Time froze eternally.
Kiana's perspective zoomed out, and after an incomprehensible shift, vibrant nebulae filled her vision.