In the white void, Kiana opened her eyes and gazed once more at the Hermit. She posed a question:
"There's another Second Herrscher's consciousness within me, isn't there?"
"You are a benevolent offshoot, while she is a continuation of malice. Your branches intertwine, and your roots are entwined as well..." The Hermit leaned against the frame of the Black Gate, humming fragments of poetry.
"What about Little Sirin? You know who I mean... She seems completely unrelated to either me or her. Why would a child like that be within me?" The girl persisted, firing off a second question.
The Hermit fell silent, scrutinizing the girl. Even through her mask, Kiana could feel the Hermit's piercing gaze, making her acutely uncomfortable.
"Wh-what is it?"
Growing increasingly uncomfortable under the Hermit's intense gaze, Kiana shifted nervously and ventured a hesitant question.
"Sometimes, hearing someone's story—learning about a child's wishes—can become a heavy burden for others."
"Do you truly want to know, Kiana Kaslana? To learn something that isn't your responsibility to bear?" the Hermit asked the girl after a long silence.
"Warriors carry the hopes and suffering of the masses on their shoulders, etching the prayers and dreams of the people into their hearts... You said that yourself, Hermit!"
"Hmph... you learn quickly. Very well, then listen—listen to this grand undertaking, one that could only be achieved through the divine power of a god or within the realm of dreams."
The Hermit sighed deeply, and a girl's voice echoed through the white space:
"If I had magic to change the world, then Sirin wishes that in this world—"
"There would be no sorrow, no pain, no despair..."
"No insurmountable loneliness."
"When I open my eyes again, all my wishes will surely come true, right?"
The girl's voice carried her pure and innocent desires.
Listening to this wish, the white-haired girl knew in her heart just how impossibly distant achieving such a grand feat truly was.
"She is the Eternal Purple Star, granting your soul clarity and nourishment."
"She is the grace bestowed by the Heavenly Father, granting you an immortal and pure body."
"She is an apostle from another world, divine favor granted by the Supreme Holy Lord."
"...She was also Sirin, the Herrscher of the Void."
"Unlike you, this child was born into darkness and chaos. Fate's cruel jest left her congenitally blind, never allowing her to see the true colors of the world."
"Her devoted mother wove beautiful worlds for her through words, just as you've heard..."
"—A world without sorrow, pain, despair, or the gnawing emptiness of solitude."
"However, it's not merely so-called 'negative emotions' that trigger Herrscher transformation..."
"As the girl listened to her mother's descriptions of this perfect world, she thought, 'If only I could open my eyes and see the world you describe, Mother.'"
"That burning desire resonated, and divine power converged within her... The Honkai erupted—"
"When the girl finally opened her eyes, she didn't see the beautiful world her mother had painted in the darkness. Instead, she beheld a desolate, ravaged wasteland—a post-apocalyptic landscape ravaged by the Honkai."
"And there was her mother, now a snarling, clawing Zombie, lunging toward her..."
The Hermit turned to Kiana, pausing the girl's story. In the white space, unnoticed until now, the protagonist of the tale stood behind Kiana, clutching her doll.
"Long time no see, Little Sirin," the Hermit greeted the girl who had suddenly appeared. Kiana froze for a moment before turning around.
"Sirin? What are you doing here! Did you hear—"
"It's okay, Sister Kiana..." Sirin smiled, a pure, innocent smile of a child protecting her treasure. "Even though my wish didn't come true in the end... at least I protected Cecilia Mama... protected everyone."
"Cecilia Mama?" Kiana asked, confusion evident in her voice.
"Ah, in the Second Eruption of another world, there was also someone named Cecilia Schariac. Just like your mother, she made the same choice at the story's end—"
"She embraced the child, watching the Honkai fission bomb fall, giving the girl her final tenderness in her last moments."
"But the difference was that the girl reciprocated that warmth. The child overused her Herrscher Power... The Herrscher of the Void's authority barely managed to swallow the fission warhead into imaginary space."
"As the price for overextending her power... she fell into eternal slumber in Cecilia's arms."
-
"It's time for you to go... Kiana," Hermit said, watching Kiana hug Sirin. The purple-haired girl returned the embrace.
"It's okay, Big Sister Kiana. Sirin is doing just fine now. No need to worry... You have important things to do, don't you? Don't delay..." Little Sirin patted Kiana's back gently and slipped out of her arms.
"Hermit..." Kiana looked at the Hermit before her.
"I know what you want to ask... Kiana Kaslana."
"At some point, this child will return to reality. Your task now is to break the chains that bind her... or rather, the chains that bind yourself."
"My... own chains?"
"Did you really think Siegfried's Shamash alone could suppress the Herrscher Evil Aspect's derivative personality for so long...?"
"And the original host hadn't even realized—or perhaps avoided acknowledging—this personality's existence before this?" Hermit shook her head in resignation.
"That child, in her unconscious slumber, helped you suppress part of that Evil Aspect of your personality. As the dominant personality, as long as you avoid massive amounts of Honkai energy, you won't be so easily replaced by her."
Not to mention she got her ass kicked by another "God" of her own kind in Singapore... She's probably still questioning her entire existence.
"Uh... then I think I should start right now!" Kiana puffed out her chest confidently, ready to say something more, but the woman before her cut her off.
"It's not about what you think, little Kiana. Right now, you're nothing more than a newly forged sword—blank, not even properly sharpened yet."
Hermit's tone carried a hint of annoyance.
"Learn whatever you want, but lay off that other you's inflated ego. She's already been deflated—do you want to get punctured like her every time you step outside?"
Kiana thought back to the Second Herrscher's miserable fate—her past self being chased and slashed by her Dad—and shook her head decisively.
"Hmph... The brief time you spent with your father, and the Kaslana Spirit he and your sister passed down to you, have purged the impurities from your raw iron."
"The lessons you've learned in the Dream World at night have forged your basic form..."
"But a true sword... must ultimately be honed by your own hand, little by little, Kiana."
The Hermit shook her head, her gaze drifting toward the Black Gate.
"That is a future destined to come to pass. If you do not grow here... all the tragedies will become irreversible."
"Prepare yourself, and step through."