"Now for the main event... Kiana will follow Theresa into the secret database hidden beneath St. Freya Academy's Cathedral. Then, within the illusory projections of the Second Eruption, the Second Herrscher's personality will fully awaken."
Snow paused significantly at this point, her lip curling again.
"How did she even sneak in? There are at least five layers of verification... and massive physical barriers!"
Hearing Snow's complaint, Su stroked his chin and proposed a possibility:
"Snow, do you think... could Headmaster Theresa have simply forgotten to close the door?"
Silence hung in the air until the golden-haired girl spoke again.
"First, let me clarify something. Although this lady's full name is Theresa Apocalypse, she has no actual blood relation to the Apocalypse family..."
Kevin Kaslana's warrior instinct sensed something was amiss.
"—Headmaster Theresa's actual lineage consists of Honkai Beast genes combined with the Kaslana family bloodline... She has absolutely nothing to do with the 'Sage'!"
Kevin Kaslana's fists clenched.
"Ahem... I don't think Kevin should take the blame. Back in school, his grades weren't top-tier, but he was definitely among the top students."
Su glanced at his best friend's hardening fist, squinted his eyes, and frantically gestured at the girl behind Kevin's back.
"Oh, I see! Then it must have been the Honkai Beast's fault!"
Taking Su's cue, Snow decisively shifted the blame, pinning it on the Emperor-class Honkai Beast "Vishnu."
"Hmm, it must be that Honkai Beast," Su agreed, nodding in agreement.
"Honkai, you're guilty of the most heinous crimes!"
-
In the Highest Heaven, the Faceless being, playing chess alone, suddenly trembled, a flicker of doubt crossing its form.
-
"Ahem, speaking of the Snowfield and the Honkai... hmm, I need to step away for a moment, Lord Su. Would you mind overseeing things here in my absence?"
Snow watched Kiana exploring the Snowfield, as if suddenly remembering something. She turned to Su, clearly intending to temporarily leave this white space.
"Very well. But Miss Snow, what urgent matter requires your attention at this moment?" Su replied with a hint of confusion.
"The Second Herrscher's familiar, the Judgment-class Honkai Beast Benares. I completely forgot about the little one until just now..."
"I see... Leave it to me, then."
Su nodded, and Snow's figure gradually faded into the white space.
-
In the frozen lake of the Siberian Snowfield, the White Dragon slumbered, awaiting her Monarch's return to awaken her. She patiently awaited that day.
The dragon slept peacefully beneath the icy surface until a flaming Magic Sword pierced the ice, melting the frozen lake.
A golden-haired girl wearing a black mask floated above the lake. At a Schicksal Checkpoint on the distant shore, a Valkyrie seemed lost in thought, ignoring the mysterious woman drifting on the water.
"Benares..." The slumbering dragon stirred as if sensing someone calling her true name.
"Benares... it's time to wake up." The White Dragon's sluggish thoughts and body began to stir. Though she had lost her emotions in her human form, she retained her final vestiges of reason.
"Bella, if you don't return... Your Queen will be heartbroken—!"
It was a long, drawn-out sigh, the words like an incantation, completely awakening the restored form of the slumbering dragon.
The White Giant Dragon erupted from the lake, its wings beating powerfully as it roared, proclaiming its rebirth and startling the creatures of the snowfield into flight. Then, the dragon lowered its proud head before the girl standing before it.
She was a god who had set foot in the mortal realm, a living embodiment of Divine Authority walking upon the earth.
"Come closer, child, and receive my gift," the golden-haired girl said, extending her hand to beckon the reverent White Giant Dragon.
The dragon obediently leaned forward, nuzzling its head against her palm with a soft whimper.
The girl placed her hand on Benares's head, golden light gathering in her palm to form a Nihilius Seed before dissolving into the dragon's body.
-
[ Your past mission has come to an end. Newborn Dragon, go forth and protect her—protect her true self, and prevent her from repeating the tragedies of the past. ]
The Supreme Being's divine decree echoed in Benares's mind as she reverted to her human form.
"Your Grace, you..." The dragon girl with long, gray-blue hair gazed at the young woman before her, her sky-blue eyes filled with reverence.
"Come with me... 'Bella'? Since she named you that, I have no intention of changing it."
The girl shook her head.
"As for me, you may call me 'Othinus'... Now, come walk with me."
Holding the Golden Spear, the girl seemed to recall something and flashed a playful smile at the dragon girl.
-
"Dragon, this is the only question I leave for you. It will determine your future destiny, and the destiny of 'her'..."
The God strolled across the snowfield, the Dragon Girl following respectfully behind her.
"Your Grace?" Benares' eyes held a hint of confusion.
"In her final moments, her consciousness split into black and white..."
"—The white will fight to save this world in the future, facing countless trials and tribulations."
"And you will walk beside her as her guardian, through ice and snow, through wind and frost, until eternity."
"—The black will become the queen you know best, destined to burn this world anew."
"And you will accompany her, standing by her side at some moment of tyranny and wickedness, guarding her as they face fate's final end together."
The God turned to the Dragon Girl beside her.
"Dragon, if you could only choose one—black or white—what would your answer be?"
"Perhaps unfamiliar, yet eternal? Or perhaps familiar, but only for a fleeting moment?"
"..." The gray-blue Dragon Girl fell silent, having never faced such a choice before. In the past, she had only two thoughts: to protect Sirin and to destroy all humans. But the Supreme Being before her had personally relieved her of the mission to destroy humanity... leaving only the mission to protect Sirin.
"Two Queens..."
The Dragon Girl pondered, torn between her choices.
"Your Grace?" Benares cautiously watched the God, who was awaiting her answer.
"What is it? Have you reached a conclusion...?"
"Your Grace, I want... all of them." Bella clenched her fist as she spoke.
"Because they're all Sirin? And you were born for them, you can't reject Sirin nor abandon Sirin. Any choice between the two would mean rejecting and abandoning the other Sirin?"
The Dragon Girl nodded earnestly.
"The queen and her guardian knight, the knight and the knight who guards her... Dragon, you are the answer to this question."
"—You have passed."
The God took the Dragon Girl's hand, and they vanished into the Snowfield, leaving behind only the briefly bewildered Schicksal Checkpoint.