Kiana blinked at her and asked with a smile, "Doesn't it look good?"
"I remember saying it was very pretty."
Kiana's new outfit was indeed beautiful—refreshing and striking at first glance. It suited her perfectly.
"I think this feels more comfortable."
The hand Acheron had been using to stroke her smooth hair stiffened for a brief moment. She asked with concern, "Is something wrong with your body? Why don't you go see Ruan? I can handle things here."
"Hey, hey, don't get so nervous." Kiana quickly reassured her. "I'm perfectly fine. I just felt like changing up my style once in a while. That's not a problem, right?"
"I know, but..." Acheron pressed her lips together. Thinking about everything they had gone through together, her voice lowered slightly. "I worry about you."
"If you keep dwelling on heavy topics like that, you'll become heavy too!"
Kiana pulled her away and decisively changed the subject. "By the way, how's the Ark doing now? Didn't they say they wanted you stationed there before?"
Some of the people had returned to Izumo for a visit.
But none of them had moved back.
Although Izumo was once again suitable for habitation, the world they were familiar with was gone. It had become ruins.
And after such a long voyage, most people had grown accustomed to drifting between the stars, trading with countless worlds.
"The Ark? There's no rush," Acheron replied. "The cooperation between the Ark and the Luofu has already been finalized. It's currently docked at the Xianzhou Luofu for technical exchange."
If it were merely a shallow trade agreement, it wouldn't have lasted this long.
The Luofu was clearly showing goodwill.
As for deeper diplomatic ties, those would require careful consideration. At the very least, both sides needed a better understanding of one another. Given the nature of long-lived species, without an unexpected catalyst, this ambiguous state could easily last decades—or even centuries.
"So the Ark will be staying at the Xianzhou for quite a while?" Kiana asked curiously.
"That's roughly the idea."
Acheron kept an eye on matters concerning the Ark. Although she was no longer as forgetful as before, in other people's eyes she had walked too far down the Path of Nihility.
Only particularly important matters were discussed with her in detail. Everything else was summarized briefly.
They assumed that if they said too much, she might forget.
Acheron herself had never been interested in management. Sirin was doing an excellent job, and everyone else's capabilities were evident to all.
She was content to maintain the current situation.
After all, when her intervention was needed, Sirin would never hesitate to call on her.
"After things settle down here, should we go back to the Ark and see everyone?"
"...We'll talk about it then."
The revival of the Ambrosial Arbor seemed to be happening around this time. The Luofu would not remain peaceful in the coming period.
However, if they wanted to deepen their connection with the Luofu, this would indeed be an opportunity.
Others' minds surely turned faster than hers. They would know better what should and shouldn't be done.
"Forget it. Let's think about how to integrate the badge into the Stigmata system instead."
"...Why not ask Ruan?" Acheron suggested.
"Ruan?"
Kiana hesitated for a moment. Ruan seemed very busy lately. Her replies had been sparse. After realizing how occupied she was, Kiana had reduced how often she contacted her.
Ruan had said she would reach out when she was free, so Kiana hadn't taken it too much to heart.
She knew Ruan was busy.
"What's wrong?" Acheron noticed the hesitation in her expression and was surprised. "Did you two have an argument?"
Though the possibility was small, it was the first thought that crossed her mind.
"No, no. It just feels like she's been really busy lately." Kiana scratched her cheek, slightly embarrassed. "Asking her for help over something this minor makes me feel kind of useless."
Propagation, Abundance, Honkai—and the Simulated Universe developed in cooperation with Herta and the others—Ruan already had more than enough on her plate.
"How do you know she'd be unwilling if you haven't asked?" Acheron was momentarily taken aback.
"Ruan would never refuse me. I know that as long as I bring it up, she'd definitely help." Kiana shook her head. "But I don't want to waste her time on things like this."
She was well aware of how many matters Ruan was handling.
If her workload weren't so heavy, she most likely would have come to Jarilo-VI with her. There was no way she wouldn't be curious about what was happening here.
"Why do you think it's wasting her time?" Acheron couldn't help asking.
"Because she really is busy right now." Afraid Acheron wouldn't believe her, Kiana even began listing everything Ruan currently had to do.
Acheron listened thoughtfully from the side.
"So I'll try to figure something out myself first. If I really can't find any direction..." Kiana's voice grew softer and softer. If only she had skill points to invest in scientific research instead.
"If I want to connect two completely unrelated things, I'll have to rely on myself."
The last time, the teleportation ability had appeared so mysteriously. Kiana had a feeling that to incorporate the badge into the Stigmata system, she would need to use that golden crystal again.
Which meant returning to the mental world.
"How about asking Miss Herta?" Acheron suggested.
"Who?"
"Herta." Acheron said, "She's very curious about you. She most likely wouldn't refuse your request."
When they were at the space station not long ago, Herta had shown no attempt to conceal her desire to study her.
Although she had been rejected.
But if they asked her for help, she would probably agree—because she had already developed some curiosity toward Honkai.
Part of the reason she responded to the Astral Express's request this time was due to the Honkai phenomenon on Jarilo-VI.
So asking her for help would be perfectly reasonable.
Besides, Herta had managed to construct something like the Simulated Universe. Adding new elements into an existing "system" might earn them valuable suggestions from her.
Ruan's primary focus was life sciences.
Herta was different.
Strictly speaking, when it came to exploring the true nature of something like Honkai, Herta was the better candidate.
"Herta? Ahaha... I've rejected her so many times. It'd feel so awkward to ask her for help now."
Every time she met Herta, she seemed to be firmly turning her down. The first time they met was when Herta came to Ruan's reclusive planet looking for her.
Back then, Herta had directly proposed studying her.
Kiana had refused without hesitation.
The next time was when she brought Acheron to the space station to see Ruan. Herta once again requested to study her.
Rejected again.
And then there was just recently.
Herta's frequency of asking had clearly increased—almost to the point where every time she saw her, she would bring it up.
Even after being refused, she showed no particular reaction.
She would simply ask again after a while.
Herta's line of "Let me study you" had practically become her daily greeting.
"If she really cared, she wouldn't keep repeating that line after you've rejected her so many times," Acheron said dismissively.
Although they hadn't interacted much, Herta and Ruan were somewhat similar in certain respects.
Most people, after being rejected—let alone twice—would never persist.
But Herta clearly didn't mind.
Asking cost her nothing, after all.
"That may be true..." Kiana still felt awkward. She knew very well what kind of personality Miss Herta had.
She was the sort of person who could casually accept a "Then beg me" without batting an eye. In her world, there were probably only things she personally found interesting.
"I'll try to figure it out myself first."
After thinking it over, Kiana decided to give it another shot on her own. This time, she wouldn't focus on how to force the badge into the Stigmata system.
She was going to enter the mental world again.
Once she had an idea, she acted on it.
Although she still didn't know what that place truly was—or how to return to that state—if she kept trying, she would eventually find a way.
With that thought in mind,
Kiana began searching for a method to reappear in the mental world and see that golden crystal once more.
Several days passed in the process.
Finally, after yet another attempt, Kiana felt her body become incomparably light, as if she had shed a heavy shell.
Human emotions were left behind along with that discarded weight. Her appearance did not change.
This time, when she entered the mental world, she was not in the form of the Herrscher of Finality, but dressed in Soulbound Lovebirds.
Because of that, she retained a gap for thought.
And felt more deeply.
A warmth and purity.
Like returning to the womb that nurtures life.
Unlike the pitch-black silence of her first visit, this place was a vast expanse of pure white. With her arrival, drifting colors began to scatter through the space.
That resplendent golden crystal was there.
As if shackles had been undone, sensations and memories from her time in slumber flooded into her mind. Even more knowledge gathered along the hem of her dress.
Kiana's expression remained indifferent. There was no shock, no confusion.
She simply walked slowly toward the golden crystal.
This was the root of everything.
And also...
She raised her right hand. The white-gloved fingertips stopped less than a palm's breadth from the crystal.
Streams of golden radiance flowed out from it.
They traced along her fingertips and converged toward her chest. Even Kiana's azure eyes seemed dyed by that power.
It was as though she were continuing something left unfinished before. But unlike last time, she was not blank-eyed, acting purely on instinct.
There seemed to be no concept of time here.
And she seemed to be only one final step away.
When the golden crystal vanished from before her eyes, they had already been completely suffused with brilliant gold. From her chest bloomed a light identical to the crystal's radiance.
It was complete.
In a daze, her body felt as though it were falling from the sky. Like a drop of rain descending from the heavens, she silently plunged back into the heavy shell of her body and merged with it.
She opened her eyes as if waking from a great dream.
Kiana clutched her chest, her breathing uneven. The memory receded just like the fading gold in her eyes.
Until it completely drained away.
"That was..."
She rose with lingering unease. She vaguely remembered doing something very important just now—but she couldn't recall what it was.
She had fused that golden crystal into her body.
That was all she remembered.
What was it?
Why had she done that?
She could no longer remember.
Her memories melted away like snow into water.
She tried to recall them, but nothing surfaced, as though a thick barrier blocked her sight.
Considering the heaviness in her body, she felt as if she understood something. Pressing her lips together, she chose not to pursue it further.
"I went in for the Stigmata system, and ended up doing nothing at all."
After checking the system and finding that nothing had changed, Kiana sighed and got out of bed.
Acheron was nowhere to be seen.
She wasn't in the house.
Jyahnar was still next door. Kiana thought about asking her, but decided against it. Most likely, she wouldn't know either.
Jyahnar seemed to know more than her only because of the information carried within Honkai. As a Planet-class Honkai Beast, she could decipher the meaning behind those messages.
"The root...?"
Pressing her right hand against her chest, Kiana murmured the word. Aside from her own actions, it was the only thing she still remembered.
Forget it.
She would check what was happening outside first.
Just as she was about to leave, she picked up her phone and realized Acheron had left her a message.
It had been sent several hours ago.
Which meant Acheron had already been gone for quite some time.
The message said she had seen Kiana asleep and hadn't wanted to disturb her, so she left a text instead.
As for why she left—
Welt had messaged her not long ago, mentioning that Herta had arrived in this world and asking if she wanted to meet her.
Acheron had likely remembered their previous conversation and gone to the Overworld to see Herta.
"Herta..."
After reading the message, Kiana was no longer in a hurry. She sat down, thought for a moment, then sent a new message asking where she was.
She had intended to use the crystal to achieve what she wanted.
Instead, after entering the mental world...
The crystal had fused with her.
If she wanted to study what it was and learn how to use its power, she would need to explore it alone for some time.
So asking Herta for help seemed like the optimal solution.
Soon, her phone chimed.
[Acheron: Everwinter Hill]
[Acheron: Use Phase Shuttle to come to me.]
"Why did they go there?" Kiana muttered in confusion.
After replying "Okay," she put her phone away and used Phase Shuttle to arrive at Everwinter Hill.
A blast of frigid wind and snow greeted her.
Then Acheron reached out and took her hand, pulling her to her side. This was once the place where the Stellaron had been located.
"Yo~ Long time no see." A familiar voice came from ahead. A Herta puppet entered her sight. The doll planted its hands on its hips. "How about letting me study you?"
Kiana sighed helplessly. "How about no?"
Not seeing anyone else, she looked at Acheron in confusion. "Where's Welt? And the people from the Astral Express?"
"You came too late. I've already finished talking with them," Herta said, completely used to being rejected. However, a hint of confusion appeared on the puppet's face. "Why do I feel like something about you has changed?"
"I changed clothes." Kiana answered confidently, without the slightest hint of guilt. "Isn't that obvious?"
"Changed clothes? Tch. Whatever. It's not like you're going to let me study you anyway."
Herta had originally wanted to continue, but remembering that Kiana would refuse regardless, she had no way of finding out the reason.
After all, Kiana wouldn't cooperate.
Honestly.
It wasn't like she was going to do anything excessive.
Was it really that necessary?