Strong winds howled, dark clouds rolled, and ink-black clouds came surging in.
Lightning flashed and thunder roared; bolts of lightning like fire snakes tumbled in the sky, and the red-purple thunderlight was thick with violence.
On the empty rooftop, only a loud 'boom' was heard!
In the scene, the already weak Kiana was grabbed by the neck by Mei and pinned against the chain-link fence.
She let out a faint, powerless cry, the sound from her throat like a mournful wail.
"Give up."
Raiden Mei did not look at her, perhaps because she didn't dare, or perhaps because she was resolute.
Finally, Kiana was tossed aside by Mei, her entire body slamming heavily onto the ground.
On Mei's hand, there were still faint sounds of thunder, as purple lightning struck with a roar.
"I... will not let you go!"
Kiana held her breath, squeezing out a sentence through her teeth even though she was already covered in wounds.
She crawled along the wire mesh and once again threw herself at Mei without hesitation.
In a flash, the two fought on the rooftop. Each time, Kiana would step forward to attack, and then Mei would easily break free.
Logically, they were clearly two Herrschers, yet neither used their full strength.
Every swing was a self-inflicted trampling of the soul.
Time after time of resistance, time after time of starting over.
Kiana never gave up, even though her body was bleeding and her spirit was exhausted.
Every time, it was Raiden Mei's fists or leg sweeps that mercilessly struck her body.
The sounds of fists meeting flesh echoed across the rooftop.
"I will not give up..."
Finally, after hearing Kiana's words, Mei delivered a hand-blade strike, flickering with thunder, hitting Kiana.
Dust flew as the pain-riddled Kiana fell powerlessly to the ground.
In truth, Mei only wanted to quickly knock Kiana unconscious so they could part ways.
Suddenly, a golden light sliced through the lightning. Transformed into the Herrscher of the Void, Kiana walked step by step from where she had fallen.
She covered her golden eyes, not wanting Mei to see.
The Spear of the Void was suddenly held in her hand, pinning Raiden Mei's body and preventing her from moving a single step.
Even though Kiana was now on the verge of losing control of her body, even though she was about to be eroded to death by the Honkai.
She would not retreat a single step!
Facing such a Kiana, the Mei who had remained silent all along finally erupted.
"Kiana, you're always like this!"
"You're always like this, clearly covered in wounds, yet you still force yourself to smile."
"You saved me, you saved everyone, yet you want to bear all the pain alone, even giving up your life."
Mei's tone was filled with pain and anger.
It was anger at Kiana for not cherishing herself for so long, and pain for her being covered in wounds.
"Mei..." Hearing this, Kiana lowered her head and sobbed, "This is... my mission."
Outside the space, everyone's emotions were complex.
Kiana, in particular, looked at the dazed Mei, her heart filled with guilt.
If not for the Challenge Space, such a scene would likely have happened between them in the future, perhaps even leading to them becoming enemies.
"Kiana, I feel there's no need for you to always be thinking about 'mission' this and 'mission' that. You, me, and everyone else are just ordinary Valkyries. You saved us, but we also think of you. If you bear all that pain alone, that's just too selfish."
Theresa sighed; she knew her niece's character all too well. She loved to act tough and enjoyed saving others, yet completely disregarded her own pain.
"That's right.'Sharing both joys and sorrows' is an old saying from Shenzhou. There's nothing wrong with you liking to save others, but the pain buried in your heart needs to be vented as well." Fu Hua agreed.
"I... I understand," Kiana said weakly, even though she didn't feel she was in that much pain.
Just as they were discussing and criticizing Kiana, the Raiden Mei in the image moved.
The lightning used its dazzling white light to slice through the pitch-black night sky, illuminating the purple light raging in the storm, and illuminating the Queen of Thunder facing the Spear of the Void in the heavy rain.
"I understand those grand principles about saving the world too!"
"But, how do you expect me to endure all of this—"
Mei growled low, the Spear of the Void in her hand. The sharp tip of the spear grazed her fair neck, and blood slowly trickled down.
Seeing this, Kiana pleaded in pain, "Mei, don't!"
"All I know is that in my heart, compared to this world—"
Thunder broke the dawn, and surging emotions shattered the gloomy night sky.
In an instant, purple light illuminated the teardrops falling from the girl's eyes.
With a loud bang, the indestructible Spear of the Void was crushed by Mei's bare hands.
"You are more important!"
A bolt of lightning destroyed the barrier and the chasm between the two.
Emotions with nowhere to go finally turned into the most straightforward confession.
Lightning flashed and thunder roared as raindrops fell crisply. Mei's words surfaced in the rain, echoing like thunder, slowly piercing into Kiana's heart.
Thunder tore through the night sky!
At this moment, Mei completely transformed into the Herrscher of Thunder, the tears at the corners of her eyes having run dry.
With a flash of a blade, Kiana was no match for her, drifting down from ten thousand meters in the air like a piece of paper.
In the end, it was still Mei who caught Kiana's hand in mid-air.
"That day, you reached out your hand to me."
"From the moment you grabbed me, my fate was changed by you."
"You are the most important person in my life."
The Thunder Empress's voice drifted softly, carrying untold silence and pain.
The lightning faded, leaving the sky clear as a wash. Brilliant sunlight filtered through the gaps in the dense cherry blossoms, forming beams of light that represented hope, illuminating the tree-lined path floating with gauze-like mist.
Kiana closed her eyes and fell unconscious.
Before her, the Thunder Empress looked up with determination and spoke.
"If saving you is a sin, then let me be the sinner."
"Goodbye, Kiana."
Before her voice even faded, lightning flashed and thunder roared. She turned into a bolt of lightning and flew toward the high heavens... "Ding! Challenge complete, 'Herrscher of Thunder' Character Card unlocked!"
"Congratulations on obtaining Book of Fuxi fragments (13)!"
"Congratulations on obtaining item: Bella Doll!"
Yunduo opened her eyes; the challenge was complete.
The mechanical voice of the space appeared in her mind.
The same rewards: Herrscher of Thunder, items gifted to others, and some fragments.
With a flash of white light, the group appeared before her.
For some reason, Raiden Mei's cheeks were a bit flushed, while Kiana scratched her head awkwardly.
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