Takatsuki spoke of Sirin's origins: becoming an experimental subject, becoming a Herrscher, triggering the Honkai, meeting Cecilia, and her dying wish.
Sirin's story was a tragedy, and tragedies always resonate with others. The involvement of Cecilia further elevated this tragedy. The end of a tragedy is not necessarily tragic; this saint, who always treated others with kindness, finally touched the Second Herrscher in the end, and also left hope for this world.
"So... Sirin and Cecilia both died...?"
Mei, who had finished listening to the story, was in tears. Takatsuki wanted to pull out some tissues but found that the hotel hadn't prepared any, so he could only take out a handkerchief to wipe her tears.
"They both died, killed by the Honkai Energy fission bomb launched by Otto. At the same time, she also used the Divine Key black abyss white flower, combined with her own holy blood, to save nearly 100,000 people from Honkai Energy erosion."
"Then Cecilia is Kiana's mother? And Mr. Siegfried is the father Kiana always talks about, right?"
Takatsuki shook his head: "Kiana can be said to be, and also not to be. Death is not the end, but a new beginning."
"Herrschers are special because of the existence of the Herrscher Core. Even if they die, fragments of their consciousness may remain within their core. And Otto, for his plan, needed the power of the Herrscher of the Void."
"So, in order to revive the Herrscher of the Void, or rather, to obtain the power of the Herrscher of the Void, Otto retrieved Sirin's Herrscher Core and created clones, attempting to place this Herrscher Core into the clones' bodies to create a Herrscher of the Void."
"Clones of ordinary people would certainly not be able to withstand the power of the Herrscher Core, so Otto chose a special person, someone with the bloodline of the two great Kaslana families, and even Cecilia's holy blood; that is, Kiana Kaslana!"
Mei blinked, apparently thinking that the Kiana Takatsuki was referring to was the Kiana she knew.
Takatsuki didn't explain and continued: "But how could a Herrscher Core be so easily controlled? Controlling Honkai relies not only on bloodline but also on the power of the mind. Almost every clone without a mind died."
"Only the 423rd experimental subject survived, which is K423, a vessel that contained the Herrscher of the Void Core."
"And the success of K423 was not reproducible, because this was not a consciousness derived from the body itself, but from Sirin's soul within the Herrscher Core. Sirin had made a wish before her death to truly become Cecilia's daughter, and Otto's experiment made this wish come true. So, two consciousnesses were born within K423's body: one was the Herrscher personality that inherited all of Sirin's past memories, and the other was a completely blank personality with hopes for a beautiful future."
As Takatsuki spoke, Mei's expression began to change. She started to realize that Takatsuki had been talking about Kiana all along, because she had already felt the power of the Herrscher of the Void.
"Siegfried and Kiana Kaslana, after learning about Otto's experiment, coupled with Otto's betrayal leading to Cecilia's death, made several people dissatisfied with him. So the two contacted Theresa, Otto's granddaughter, and together they infiltrated the laboratory, abducted K423, and escaped from Schicksal."
"During their escape, although Theresa attracted firepower and delayed them, their aircraft was still hit, and Kiana Kaslana was hit in the head and fell."
At this point, Mei gasped: "Then..."
She didn't know what to call her, but still referred to her as Kiana: "Did that Kiana die?"
Takatsuki shook his head: "She's still alive, but that's another story. Siegfried thought she was dead."
"Guilt over his deceased wife, and remorse for having caused his daughter's death, left Siegfried dejected. K423 also lost her memory in that incident, only believing Siegfried was her father. You can hear the specifics from Kiana later, but in short, K423 eventually gained Siegfried's approval. However, that idiot, despite knowing that K423 and his daughter were two different people, and not treating her as a substitute for his daughter, still gave K423 the name Kiana Kaslana, which is the current Kiana."
"Kiana's body contained Sirin's Herrscher personality, and Siegfried was the person who left a huge psychological shadow on Sirin during the Second Eruption. So, when interacting with Siegfried, the Herrscher personality was extremely restless, until one day it completely erupted."
"Siegfried sacrificed an arm to repel the Herrscher personality, and he also realized that as long as he was by Kiana's side, Kiana would be in an unstable state. And the nascent personality was naturally no match for the Herrscher personality, which was filled with negative emotions. So he bid farewell to Kiana, letting Kiana live alone, while he always followed behind Kiana, protecting her from afar."
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...
"So Mr. Siegfried, whom Kiana has been looking for, is in Changkong City!?"
Mei instantly realized this, and seeing Takatsuki nod, she fell into a state of speechlessness. She didn't know how to evaluate Siegfried's actions. If you say he loved Kiana, he abandoned Kiana alone without saying anything, letting Kiana embark on a fruitless search for her father.
If you say he didn't love her, he sacrificed an arm for Kiana and followed Kiana for years of wandering.
However, after learning about Kiana's background, Mei also felt a bit more at ease about Kiana's situation. She had originally thought Takatsuki only had a partial understanding, but she never expected Takatsuki to know so much, and Takatsuki was completely unconcerned about it, looking very confident, as if he had a plan all along.
It was just not the right time yet.
However...
"Takatsuki, actually, I've wanted to ask before... you seem to know a lot of things. Are you really from the future?"
This was a doubt that had always lingered in Mei's mind, and now, using Kiana's situation, she finally asked it.
Looking at Mei's eyes, Takatsuki's breath hitched.
How should he answer?
This was a trick question!
Deceive? Or be honest?
Lies, in the end, would only lead to more lies; one lie would require more lies to cover it up.
Taking a deep breath, Takatsuki finally made a decision.
"To people in the present, I suppose I could be considered someone who returned from the future."
"In the original future, I was not a participant in any of these events; I could only be considered a helpless bystander."
"I don't know why I came here, but since fate has given me this opportunity, I want to change everything."
He didn't directly reveal everything, but chose an ambiguous approach.
However, Mei didn't press for details, but instead asked: "Then, in the future that Takatsuki knows... was it a tragedy?"
Is it a tragedy? I don't know!
When Takatsuki transmigrated, Honkai Impact 3rd had not yet ended, and he was not a lore expert, so he hadn't delved into the plot of Honkai Impact 3rd. However, he had heard that the ending of Honkai Impact 2nd was a world reset, and many speculated that Honkai Impact 3rd would have a similar ending.
Plus all the constant emotional damage...
"I don't know too much."
The plot skipped, the ending hasn't come out yet.
"Although everyone encountered many sad things along the way and said goodbye to many people."
miHoYo constantly delivers emotional damage.
"But everyone has always held onto their beliefs, wanting to turn this imperfect story into the way we hope it will be."
"And that is why I am here."
Every word Takatsuki spoke was sincere, without the slightest lie. Although survival was his primary goal, after gaining power, he truly wanted to change this story that was destined to be a tragedy.
After saying all this, Takatsuki was very conflicted; he didn't know how Mei would view him.
He knew what he had been doing all along: taking advantage of her vulnerability to gain her trust, and also changing his own original destiny.
Although he never harmed them, his initial purpose was merely to complete a task, which also meant he had exploited others' trust.
"Thank you, Takatsuki…"
Takatsuki had prepared himself for a scolding, but unexpectedly, what he received was Mei's gratitude.
"Why are you thanking me?"
Mei didn't answer Takatsuki's question but instead asked, "In the future that Takatsuki knows, what is our relationship?"
How many times have I said it! Don't answer a question with another question!
However, despite thinking this, Takatsuki still spoke with some emotion, "I know you, but you don't know me. You are the famous Herrscher of Thunder and Herrscher of the Void. Everyone who knows about Honkai knows you. Even after becoming Herrschers, you were heroes who constantly fought against Honkai for humanity."
In an instant, Raiden Mei's mind filled with many imaginings. Originally, Takatsuki only wanted Mei to know that she and Kiana eventually controlled the Herrscher's power, so there was no need to worry. However, Mei took it as a former nobody's reverence for the two of them, someone who, after witnessing countless tragedies, detested his own powerlessness, and after returning to the past and gaining power, his first choice was to come and stop those tragedies, fearlessly coming to her side.
The surrounding classmates isolated her, rejected her, and she had almost lost the motivation to live, like a cherry blossom tree that withered and died from neglect.
It was precisely Takatsuki's appearance that injected vitality into this dying cherry blossom tree, allowing it to bloom again with different flowers.
"You won't fight alone; I'll always be by your side."
Looking at Mei, who was leaning against his chest and hugging him, Takatsuki was completely bewildered.
What's going on?????