The first to sense that something was wrong was Yae Sakura.
As a pseudo-Herrscher wielding the Key of Thunder, she was, for all intents and purposes, the strongest being at St. Freya Academy.
But Yae Sakura, who had been watching Kiana play with the Titans, suddenly whipped her head around to look at the academy's perimeter wall.
Upon the high wall of St. Freya, a handsome man with a face like polished jade stood.
Joyce stood beneath the crescent moon. He looked up, his smiling gaze fixed on Kiana's distant figure.
He took a deep breath.
Now, he would take his first true step.
Come, let me prove to the world that I am the one, true Walter Joyce.
That Walter Joyce of the past... he was the imposter.
His gaze dark and profound, Joyce leaped down from the wall. As he did, he suddenly sensed a pair of eyes on him.
Before he could react, a flash of lightning erupted before him. Yae Sakura, holding the Seven Thunders of Retribution, had appeared in his path.
Her cherry-blossom pink hair danced in the wind, her violet eyes locked onto Joyce.
This man... he looked very similar to the one she had just defeated.
But the sense of crisis he gave off was on a completely different level.
The moment she saw Joyce, a bone-deep chill spread through Yae Sakura's heart, like discovering a venomous snake hidden in a swamp.
And his gaze was fixed solely on Kiana. This was something Sakura could not allow.
She was afraid this man meant Kiana harm.
Yae Sakura couldn't afford to gamble. If she didn't strike now, she might not get another chance.
Lightning slashed down towards Joyce. Sakura held nothing back. But Joyce simply tilted his eyes upward, looking at the twin flashes of lightning that sought to sever his head.
He shifted his body to the side, blocking the blades of the Seven Thunders with his left shoulder. His left arm was instantly sliced off by Yae Sakura.
Blood sprayed, but he didn't even frown. Instead, he delivered a kick to her abdomen.
Though it looked like a light, effortless kick, Sakura felt as if she had been struck by a sledgehammer.
Her body crashed to the ground like a kite with its string cut, the Seven Thunders of Retribution falling from her grasp. Joyce raised his hand and caught the weapon.
His severed arm reformed in an instant.
For the Herrscher of Reason, a missing limb was never a problem.
Even though the Herrscher Core was still within Welt Yang's body, Joyce now commanded its power.
But then, Joyce looked at the fallen Yae Sakura and actually tossed the Seven Thunders of Retribution back to her.
"To rely solely on physical ability in a fight is such a waste of the power within you."
"But by the looks of it, you are not yet skilled in using Honkai Energy for combat. You don't even know how to stabilize the energy within your own body."
"You're like an undefended vault."
Joyce said with a smile, his tone like that of a senior admonishing a junior.
"However, I'll be borrowing this power for now. After all, in terms of rank, whichever 'me' you're thinking of, I am your senior."
Yae Sakura lay on the ground. She felt as if she had been completely hollowed out. Her body, once brimming with power, could not even move a single finger.
Because Joyce had taken control of the Honkai Energy within her.
"But I won't kill you. If you are willing to join our side, I would welcome you."
"After all, Corrosion is still on our side."
Excluding the portions stolen by Otto, the Honkai's side still possessed Void, Death, Stars, Sentience, Domination, Corrosion, the Thirteenth, and the End.
With that, Joyce did not linger. He turned and walked in Kiana's direction.
Yae Sakura was not part of his plan for the night.
And Joyce did not like to deviate from his plans.
"S-Stop!"
"Your opponent is me."
Sakura struggled, trying to push herself up. She had promised Otto she would protect Kiana. If she fell here, how could she ever face him again?
But Joyce didn't stop. He didn't even glance back.
---o---
On the academy's battlefield, Kiana's long white hair shimmered under the moonlight. She held her dual pistols and landed a kick on a Titan's head.
The Titan stumbled back several steps in an exaggerated fashion, then picked itself up and swung its fist at her.
"Too slow, too slow, too slow!"
Relying on her natural agility, Kiana leaped high into the air, a wild grin on her face as she nimbly dodged the combined attack of several Titans.
A carefree smile spread across her face.
She was brimming with confidence.
However, Kiana felt the Titans' attacks growing faster, though not yet to an unbearable degree. This was Otto, controlling the Titans, going easy on her while periodically increasing the difficulty to prevent her from becoming too complacent.
Otto truly worried himself sick over his little Kiana.
"I'll finish you all in three minutes!" Kiana shouted with a laugh. But suddenly, the Titans surrounding her froze.
"Eh?"
Kiana was confused. Had these big guys run out of power?
No way, this young lady isn't done playing yet!
They're just robots! Even if a dozen more showed up, they'd be no match for me!
Kiana was feeling a little full of herself.
But in the next moment, the hair on her arms stood on end. Joyce had appeared directly in front of her, his speed so great that she had no time to react.
His right hand shot out like lightning, clamping around Kiana's slender neck.
His deep blue eyes curved into crescents. With a smile on his face, Joyce spoke.
"I've come for you, my comrade."
"Herrscher of the Void."
Who is this?
Kiana froze, but Joyce gave her no chance to speak.
Her rosy lips parted in a silent gasp. Her azure eyes constricted as she looked down in disbelief.
Golden threads had pierced through her chest.
Blood gushed from the wound.
Joyce still wore that gentle smile.
"Goodbye," he said, his words utterly cold.
The Honkai had no need for Kiana. The Honkai only needed the Herrscher of the Void.
Golden threads wrapped around the Herrscher Core inside Kiana's body. The Honkai Energy stolen from Yae Sakura was channeled into her. With enough energy and an external catalyst, the Queen of the Void would awaken.
The current Kiana had no way of stopping the Queen's return.
"Ah..."
Held by the throat, Kiana's head was forced back, her body tensing. Her once-warm body turned ice-cold in an instant. The dual pistols fell from her hands.
She couldn't control even a single finger.
Only incoherent sounds could escape her lips.
This is an enemy, too?
Kiana wanted to see his face, but Joyce held her high, her neck feeling as if it were about to be crushed. She couldn't lower her head.
Her body was freezing, but her chest felt like it was on fire.
As if a volcano were hidden inside.
Am I going to die?
The thought crossed Kiana's mind. Her senses began to blur. Pink patterns appeared on her skin—the marks of Honkai corruption.
Joyce was not one for indecision.
Even if the Herrscher of the Void was brought to the brink of death, she would be fully restored upon awakening.
But just then, all the surrounding Titans swung their fists at Joyce.
He didn't even turn his head. He remained where he stood, one hand choking Kiana, but all the attacking Titans disintegrated into pieces.
"Are these the toys Tesla and Einstein came up with?"
"Ah, no, that's not right."
Joyce suddenly exclaimed, a look of annoyance on his face, like a student who realized he'd made a mistake on a test.
"I should have called her Ein."
He said with a smile.
"Are these the toys Tesla and Ein came up with?"
He repeated the line, as if an actor were reshooting a flubbed take.
But Kiana didn't see this chilling scene. Her head was thrown back, staring at the night sky. Having lost control of her body, what could she do?
The warmth began to leave her. A ringing filled her ears, and she could no longer hear anything.
Am I really going to die?
Kiana couldn't help but think it. She had just seen countless golden threads pierce her chest; her heart was probably punctured.
People die when they are killed. So she would die, too.
But this young lady hasn't even had a chance to show off yet.
It was a little frustrating.
But Kiana was surprised to find a sense of nonchalance in the face of death. As if she had died once before and had experience.
But I haven't lived enough yet.
I haven't become an S-rank Valkyrie of Schicksal. I haven't found my useless old dad.
I haven't...
A handsome face appeared in Kiana's mind.
...had little Kianas with that guy yet.
I knew it. I should have just given him everything on my birthday yesterday.
And now, the day after my birthday, I'm going to die.
Maybe in the future, Otto will bring another woman, and the little Ottos that other woman gives him, to visit my grave.
Ugh, no. Just thinking about it makes my stomach hurt.
If that woman started showing off her love for Otto in front of my grave, I might actually come back from the dead.
[I will kill that man.]
A voice echoed in her mind. It was a familiar voice. It was her own.
And that tone...
"My other self?"
Kiana recognized the voice as the other her who had spoken to her in the dream.
The one with the queenly aura.
[Kiana. I am about to awaken. Just like in the past, you can no longer suppress me.]
When Kiana was ten, the Queen of the Void had awakened once before. But that time, Siegfried and a squad of Schicksal Valkyries had suppressed her. Siegfried, believing he was the catalyst for the awakening, had chosen to leave Kiana's side.
But Kiana, having lost those memories, didn't know what the Queen was talking about.
"Are you coming out to substitute for me?" Kiana asked in her mind.
[No. I will take complete control of this body. And you will fade away forever.]
Once Kiana's persona was dead, the Queen of the Void would have no weaknesses.
There was once a famous experiment where a person's five senses were blocked. They were deceived into believing they were bleeding out, with the sound of dripping water mimicking the sound of dripping blood. Over time, the person died.
Because he believed he was dead.
He had sentenced himself to death in his own mind.
This was the reason for Joyce's method.
The Honkai wanted the Kiana personality to die completely.
[After I emerge, I will kill all of these disgusting Valkyries and humans. Then, I will torture that golden-haired mongrel to death.]
The Queen of the Void declared.
And she would keep her word.
"Hmm, so you're saying you'll live on in my place?"
I'm being killed, but my second personality gets to live on in my place. The human body really is amazing.
Kiana didn't truly understand her relationship with the Queen.
"Whatever. It looks like I'm not going to make it. If you can live on, then live a good life for this young lady."
"Hmm, but if you and Otto have a boy in the future, can you name him 'Sieg'?"
"After all, my useless old dad didn't even come to see me one last time before I died."
"Give him that name just to piss him off."
[Hah? Why would I bear a child for a human?]
The Queen of the Void scoffed. But she could sense that the golden-haired man was no proper gentleman. Regardless, whoever he was, he would be crushed under her heel, and his life would be the price for his disrespect towards her body!
"Because you're my other personality, aren't you? I figure, since I like him, you'll probably end up liking him too."
Kiana thought back on everything she had experienced with Otto.
It didn't take long.
Because they hadn't experienced much together yet.
She had wanted to create so many more memories with Otto, memories that belonged only to the two of them. It seemed she wouldn't have the chance now.
[Kiana. You do not understand what I am. I have no love. I am destined to destroy everything.]
The Queen of the Void spoke coldly.
As the amalgamation of all of the Herrscher of the Void Sirin's negative aspects, she was destined to never find salvation.
No, destroying humanity was her path to salvation.
"My second personality is a little tsundere, huh?"
Kiana responded, but the Queen of the Void spoke no more.
Kiana could feel something awakening within her, beginning to take over her body. Is it my other personality?
Well, it seems I didn't get a good look at who killed me. But Otto and my other self will definitely get revenge for me, right?
Everything went black. She could no longer see the twinkling stars or the crescent moon.
Her consciousness grew faint, her body felt as if it were floating.
As if she had returned to her mother's womb.
Kiana closed her eyes, but the blackness in her vision suddenly gave way to a brilliant light. She felt as if she were in a space beyond human comprehension, where everything around her had an illusory quality.
But Kiana looked forward. There, before her, was a presence from which it was impossible to look away.
It was...
A tree?
She could not see its roots, nor could she see its crown. This was no conceptual tree; no tree could be this large, so vast that humanity could spend an eternity trying to find its edge.
But looking at this tree-like existence, Kiana felt a sense of homecoming, a feeling that made her want to drift off to sleep.
I want to sleep.
A voice seemed to whisper in her ear.
Sleep... sleep... sleep...
Return to the embrace of the Imaginary...
In fifty thousand years, you can begin anew.
"KIANA!!!!!!"
But a familiar shout shattered her drowsiness.
It was Otto, calling her name.
Is he here?
The illusory scenery began to shatter. And through the shattering fragments, a stream of light shot towards her.
Like a leaf, yet like a shooting star.
The multicolored meteor entered her body.
Kiana's eyes flew open.
I want to live.
I want to live with Otto.
After I become an S-rank Valkyrie, I'll have lots and lots of children. And besides our first son, Sieg, I'll let Otto name all the others.
Otto's voice had reawakened Kiana's desire to live.
Crr-crack...
Joyce tightened his grip, nearly crushing Kiana's neck. A smile played on his lips, for he could sense the Herrscher of the Void was on the verge of awakening.
But then, slender hands grabbed his arm. Kiana was struggling.
She wanted to live.
Her azure, star-like eyes burned with the will to survive.
"It's useless," Joyce said coolly.
The Herrscher of the Void's awakening was imminent. How could a human personality possibly overcome that of a Herrscher!
"You are not me," Joyce said, speaking words Kiana could not understand.
"Ngh..."
Kiana's face was flushed, but she did not give up. Her strength was fading, however. Not only did she have to resist Joyce's power, but she also had to fight the awakening of the Queen of the Void within her.
No.
I can't give up.
"Kiana!"
The voice was getting closer. She could hear the frantic desperation within it.
Otto was on his way. If she could just hold on, Otto would definitely save her.
Still, it feels a little frustrating.
I wanted Otto to see my cool side, too.
Kiana struggled. Her left eye turned a brilliant gold, and the pink lines of Honkai corruption had already covered half her face.
Ah...
Is this my limit?
[Kiana, give your body to me.]
The Queen of the Void was about to pluck the fruit of victory.
[You cannot stop me.]
No. Even if it's my other self, I can't give in.
Kiana had a feeling that if she allowed this second personality to awaken, she herself would never wake up again.
But her right eye was almost completely stained with gold.
"No! Don't give up!"
But this time, a heroic voice rang out in Kiana's mind.
Huh? Is that my voice?
Kiana was confused. Why was she hearing her own voice again?
Suddenly, she felt a warmth spread from her abdomen, like a fire being kindled.
"Can you entrust your body to me, just for a moment?"
"My flames will go with you."
The voice carried a heroic and mature tone. It was completely different from the current Kiana and the Queen of the Void.
Kiana lowered her head. She saw a flame ignite on her abdomen.
And there, the lines of Honkai energy converged, forming a complex pattern.
It looked like a heart.
And yet, like a endlessly burning pyre.
In an instant, the meaning of the pattern was transmitted to Kiana's mind.
This was a stigmata.
This was,
Stigmata—
[K423].