"Hmm… Where is this?"
When she opened her eyes, the warm light of the fireplace shone on her cold face.
Above her head, a rough, broad hand gently caressed her white hair.
"Who are you?"
The voice echoing in the cold room was clear and pleasant, yet full of emptiness.
When he noticed the girl had woken up, the man's distant mind returned immediately.
"Do you still remember me?" Siegfried pointed at his haggard face.
The white-haired girl, with a bandage over her right eye, weakly shook her head. "No, I don't remember."
Those words of denial were like a sharp blade cutting through the air, and the hand caressing the girl's head stiffened. Siegfried's throat became unbearably dry.
An endless pain rose from every direction.
"Your last name is Kaslana, and I am your father. Your mother passed away when you were two years old."
"Mother?" the white-haired girl asked curiously.
Siegfried closed his eyes in pain and gave no answer.
In the end, Siegfried only gently stroked the girl's head. "You don't need to know. You only need to know that I am your father, and your last name is Kaslana. That's all."
"Hmm…" The Kaslana girl nodded.
The fire in the fireplace crackled, burning fiercely.
---
Days went by.
Since yesterday, the snow outside hadn't stopped. After all, it was still December.
Ever since she woke up and heard that legendary conversation, she had been lost in thought.
That man… Siegfried?
Then who am I? A… soul tied to Kiana?
Seriously, how is that even possible?!
At that moment, two memories surfaced in her mind: fragments of an 18-year-old boy's memory, a veteran in the eyes of an otaku, and the complete memory of a 9-year-old white-haired girl.
According to the boy's memories, this was a legendary scene from a game.
Honkai Impact 3rd.
A game set in a modern world where all humans strive to survive the challenges of the "almighty god Honkai."
[…Are you serious?]
"Wh-who!?"
The white-haired girl looked around. Aside from the lit fireplace, there was no one else in the room.
[I'm in your mind.]
"M-my mind? Who are you?"
[Hmm, good question…]
At this point, neither of them had a name.
One doubted her own existence and identity, while the other didn't even have a name.
Kiana Kaslana, one of the three main characters in many of the game's stories, was not the real Kiana.
She was only a clone created by Otto using the original Kiana's and Sirin's DNA, with a Herrscher core added as the foundation.
According to the girl's memories, seven years had passed since Siegfried rescued her from Schicksal HQ.
Siegfried had originally wanted to rescue the real Kiana from the Destiny Headquarters, freeing her from Otto's evil grasp.
However, due to an accident, the real Kiana fell from thousands of meters up, and he only managed to save this clone, whose face was almost identical to his daughter's.
Every time he came home and saw a girl with a face nearly identical to his daughter's, Siegfried was reminded of the child he failed to save. His despair grew heavier each time.
Siegfried did not properly care for the girl who looked exactly like his daughter; instead, an accidental impact caused her to lose her memory.
She—the girl speaking to her right now—was like a baby, innocent and pure.
[Forget it. Since you don't remember your past, call me K-423, the other you that you forgot when you were 9.]
"…What do you mean?" the girl asked in confusion.
[…Just call me 'my other self.' I'm too lazy to explain to someone who doesn't understand.]
"Then… my other self! Do you know what Dad is doing right now?"
[…Why do you care so much about him?]
"Every time Dad comes home, he's always bleeding… I… I just want to know!"
K-423 suddenly remembered something.
If she remembered correctly, Siegfried was still fighting Honkai beasts roaming the nearby houses and villages.
Since his body was still recovering from the Second Eruption, Siegfried's body was extremely weakened and had not returned to its peak.
When he fought against Honkai beasts to remove threats, injuries were, of course, inevitable.
That was why Siegfried always returned home gravely wounded.
Perhaps… Siegfried no longer cared about his own body.
After losing his wife and daughter, his soul was nearly dead.
[Don't worry too much. If you don't know, how would I? Maybe he's fighting monsters or something. Just stay here and wait for him to come back.]
"But…"
[Don't be so curious.]
"…"
K-423 sighed.
In truth, she didn't want the white-haired girl to know the truth.
After that incident, the Kaslana girl lost her memories, and Siegfried became a good man. He even brought her many toys from the outside world to play with.
Perhaps this was his way of showing guilt.
However, according to the story of this white-haired girl, she would learn the Kaslana family style from Siegfried and receive her true name at the age of eleven.
Until then, K-423 could only wait.
Besides, at that time, the girl's body was still in poor condition; the hardware couldn't handle the extreme conditions of the outside world, and the software was always in a state of confusion.
[…Ugh… What's wrong with me,… why am I so dizzy…]
After one final struggle, K-423 fell into a deep sleep once again.