The scene shifted to a warm, familial setting. Siegfried and Cecilia were preparing for their daughter Kiana's birthday, arranging gifts, a cake, and decorating her room.
"Wait, wait, wait! Just a moment ago, we were fighting to the death, and now you're suddenly throwing me a birthday party...? Hermit, isn't this tonal whiplash a bit much?" Kiana protested loudly, pointing at her parents in the scene before turning to Hermit, her face a question mark.
"After Fu Hua's final defeat, a portion of the Eighth Divine Key fell into the Second Herrscher's hands. She captured Siegfried Kaslana and Cecilia Schariac, then cast them into the Fenghuang Down's environment."
"However, the Second Herrscher seemed unaware of the Fenghuang Down's true capabilities. Her original intent was to create a terrifying nightmare for them, but instead, it manifested as what you're seeing now..." Hermit shrugged.
"Consumed by jealousy, resentment, or some longing Sirin herself didn't understand... the Second Herrscher Sirin also plunged her own consciousness into this realm."
"That indefinable longing of hers... was a yearning for love..."
Hermit watched as Sirin, dressed in a black sailor uniform, leaped into the dream and landed before the Kaslana family's door.
-
"For Sirin, the feather she couldn't freely control seemed to respond to her deepest desires in that moment. In the Illusionary Realm, Cecilia treated her like her own daughter, showering her with the tender love of a mother."
"In this dream, she once again tasted the cake her mother used to buy her, its flavor exactly as she remembered it."
"She felt once more the warmth of being held by her mother as she fell asleep at night..."
"Once more, she strolled down the street in the company of her loved ones."
"Once more—she was protected by her mother."
Hermit and Kiana watched as Cecilia embraced Sirin, shielding her from the shards of glass raining down during the mall explosion.
"Your mother, Cecilia Schariac, was never deceived by this Illusionary Realm. Every act of love she showed this child was genuine and heartfelt... She saw Sirin, the Second Herrscher, as another daughter of her own."
"And Sirin once again heard those words spoken to her:"
"—Ich liebe dich (I love you)."
Hermit spoke the words, imbued with an invisible magic.
-
"That phrase sounds so familiar... Ugh! My head hurts so much..."
"Huff... huff... Even dreams can give you a headache? Hermit?"
"Hermit?!"
Kiana gasped for breath, recovering from the splitting headache. She looked up and around, but the woman in the black-and-white combat suit trimmed with red, her face hidden behind a hood and mask, had vanished. Only her voice echoed in the space...
"It's time for the curtain to fall, child—"
"You have witnessed the beginning of it all—"
The scene began to spin rapidly.
As Bella collapsed, Sirin, believing she had been deceived, attacked Siegfried within the dream.
Welt Yang, hidden within the dream, reappeared.
Dr. Einstein, controlling Arahato in an attempt to extract the Gem of Conquest, and a Herrscher Core Fragment belonging to Welt Yang fell into the cockpit.
The imprisoned Siegfried and his wife in the Infinite Corridor...
Theresa, unleashing the Oath of Judah Zero-Power Output... and Siegfried Kaslana, driven into a berserk state.
And finally—the Second Herrscher, stripped of the Gem of Serenity, lost her regenerative abilities and went berserk.
"The Second Herrscher's Honkai energy... has gone berserk?" Kiana stared in disbelief at the towering pillar of Honkai energy before her.
"Having lost the regenerative power of the Gem of Serenity, the Second Herrscher's body, possessing multiple Cores, had reached its limit. The Honkai energy she was releasing would continue to spread, eventually engulfing half of the Asian continent."
The Hermit's voice echoed through the space once more, though now she seemed to be merely narrating the story's conclusion to the girl.
"Pillar-shaped Honkai energy scattered in all directions... some of it crashing toward your parents."
"Welt Yang, reduced to his Core, manipulated Arahato to erect a protective shield around them, while his Core fell into Siegfried's hands..."
"The two men communicated in a shared consciousness space. Welt Yang encouraged your father, reminding him of those he still needed to protect—the people he cherished most."
"Meanwhile, your mother listened to the casualty projections from Headquarters, her resolve hardening..."
"Mom? What's she going to do?!" Kiana asked anxiously, turning to Cecilia.
"The strongest Valkyrie of this generation from the Schariac Family is exceptional. Descendants of the Kaslana Family possess exceptional resistance to Honkai energy, while the Schariac Family wields the ability to manipulate Honkai energy."
"But your mother, through modifications by Schicksal Overseer Otto Apocalypse, gained an even more extraordinary ability."
"Her blood can neutralize Honkai energy, completely eradicating it... But as you've heard, it's her blood, not some other substance."
"Mom—!"
"She unlocked another form of the Sixth Divine Key... at the cost of nearly all her blood..."
"The Second Herrscher's chaotic Honkai energy vanished under the neutralizing effect of Cecilia's Holy Blood. Meanwhile, Siegfried fused Welt's Core with the Judgement of Shamash, unlocking the true power of the Seventh Divine Key."
"The true power... That Great Sword on your back—!"
Kiana watched Siegfried raise the Great Sword and suddenly realized it was the same strange Great Sword the Hermit had carried.
"It is Judgement Of Shamash: Might of An-Utu."
Siegfried shattered the Second Herrscher's Core, and the rampaging Honkai energy completely dissipated.
"Now, as the curtain falls, Cecilia, Schicksal's strongest Valkyrie, pours her final strength into the Black Abyss White Flower, erecting a last barrier for your exhausted father, Siegfried."
"Mom... what is she doing?!" Kiana watched in a panic as the woman left her weapon beside her husband and turned to walk away, disappearing into the distance.
"Heh—" The Hermit let out a mocking yet sorrowful laugh.
"Hermit! What is Mom going to do?!"
She didn't answer the girl's question.
Meanwhile, in the scene, Cecilia caught Sirin as she fell from the sky. Holding Sirin close, she whispered to the girl—words that had once been known only to the purple-haired girl now echoed loudly through the entire space.
"Sirin, you poor child. In the Illusionary Realm, I saw your loneliness and suffering."
"Back then, I truly wanted to become your mother and make up for everything you'd lost... but alas, I was powerless to change anything."
"At least, in the final moments of your life... let you feel warmth."
"Ich liebe dich..."
-
"At that time, the Schicksal Overseer detected lingering life signs from the Second Herrscher and ordered all units to retreat, launching Honkai Energy Fission Bombs at the Herrscher's location."
The Hermit's voice echoed again, jolting Kiana out of her stunned gaze at Cecilia.
"During the Second Eruption, in the final battle against the Second Herrscher, only Siegfried and Welt Yang's Herrscher Core survived... and your mother lies buried here."
"This is the true history... a side completely different from what the Schicksal textbooks teach."