Su Yu let out a sigh. He knew exactly what Murata Himeko meant to Kiana at this stage.
So there were some "bad guy" things that had to be done by him.
Bimiko looked like Murata Himeko, sure—but at the end of the day, she wasn't the same person.
Even if this world truly had someone named "Murata Himeko"…
…it still wouldn't be the "Himeko" from Kiana's memories.
That was the damned reality of parallel worlds—this godforsaken "variant" design.
"Actually, she…" Su Yu started.
"I know." Kiana cut in first.
"…I know."
She did know. How could she not?
That woman wasn't Teacher Himeko.
But that warmth—the feeling of safety when she was held, and that… awkward helplessness, yet still forcing out a scrap of gentleness…
…was exactly the same.
She carried the same warmth Teacher Himeko had.
"Tell me her name," Kiana said.
"Bimiko." Su Yu sat down on the chair beside her. "My landlady. And my neighbor across the hall."
Kiana paused. "Is she… a teacher too?"
"Yeah. A university professor." Su Yu smiled and began telling the story of their not-at-all-serious first meeting. "The first time I met her, she almost treated me like a blind date and 'handled' me."
"Huh?"
"I'd just moved in. Ran into her in the hallway, drunk as a skunk. Before I could say anything she pinned me to the wall, muttering something like, 'This one's not bad…' Later I found out she'd been single too long. Her family kept pushing her to get married. She finally saw a man she liked and decided to strike first."
Su Yu shrugged. Thinking back to that absurd encounter, the corner of his mouth lifted.
"After we got familiar, she'd keep abusing her landlord powers to strong-arm me into drinking with her. Every time she got wasted she'd start complaining—students are impossible, the school leadership has mush for brains, and the dean of discipline is a balding Mediterranean…"
As Kiana listened—
That complaining tone. That hatred of hassle. That boldness after a few drinks…
It was like looking into a mirror.
"So similar…" she murmured. "Exactly like Teacher Himeko."
"Maybe it's because she's Teacher Himeko's counterpart," Su Yu said. "Different world, different life—but some souls don't change at the core. Like two flowers blooming in different gardens: different names, but both red roses."
"Counterpart…" Kiana repeated the unfamiliar word.
"You have one too." Su Yu looked at her. "The 'Kiana' of this world is living here as well. If there's a chance, I can take you to see him."
Kiana's body jolted.
This world also had a Kiana?
A Kiana who'd never suffered Honkai, never lost family, never carried sin…
A clean Kiana?
A crushing inferiority surged up like a tide, drowning the faint warmth from moments ago.
She lowered her head and buried her face in her knees.
"I don't deserve it…"
That voice echoed in her mind again.
See? You're just a counterfeit.
A monster stained with filth.
In a beautiful world like this, even your breathing is pollution.
"You saw it too…" Kiana's voice trembled. "Just now… I only bring disaster. If you stay with me, you'll only be miserable. It's better if I disappear…"
Teacher Himeko of this world…
She's called Bimiko, right?
Kiana understood it clearly.
As long as she was alive—so long as she existed—
Bimiko would be hurt because of her.
As long as the demon inside her still remained, she would always be a walking bomb.
She spoke as she started to get up, heading for the door.
Just one meter.
Just leaving this one and only anchor.
Then she could be cleaned up like trash, and the world would finally be quiet again.
Watching Kiana—once again trying to retreat into her own shell, trying to destroy herself—
Snap.
A hand clamped down hard on her wrist.
The grip was shockingly strong—so strong it even hurt her bones.
"Let go…" Kiana struggled.
"Look at me!"
Su Yu's voice was no longer lazy and joking. It was harsh—harder than she'd ever heard.
Kiana lifted her head on reflex.
She slammed straight into a pair of deep eyes.
In those black pupils churned an emotion she couldn't fully understand—like anger, and like the heavy weight of someone who'd walked through life and death.
As someone who had died once, Su Yu understood the weight of life better than anyone.
"Murata Himeko traded her one and only life for your rebirth," Su Yu said, each word hammered into the air like a nail. "Do you think she did that so you could go kill yourself in some empty corner? Do you think this is the ending she wanted?!"
Kiana was shaken by his gaze.
"You think dying will make this world better? That it'll atone for your sins?" Su Yu's voice rose. "Don't make me laugh!"
This man—who looked soft, who couldn't even split a solid wood table—was now radiating a pressure so intense she couldn't meet his eyes.
"I—I…" Kiana tried to argue.
But she couldn't.
If she wanted, she could snap this thin arm like a twig.
And yet…
She realized she couldn't break free of his hand.
"Listen, Kiana." Su Yu took a deep breath, his tone easing.
"I've never endured pain like yours. I know I don't have the right to tell you what choice to make."
"What I said just now… was simply what a normal person wants to say to a suicidal girl."
"I know that no matter what I say, no matter how I try to persuade you, you probably won't stop hating yourself."
"So—"
"If you can't find a reason to live for now…"
Su Yu inhaled sharply and pulled a crumpled sheet of paper from his pocket.
It was the "project proposal" the system had shoved onto him last night.
"Then I'll give you one."
Smack!
He slapped the paper down on the wrecked coffee table.
"Be my inspiration—my muse. Be the protagonist of my game. Be my partner!"
Su Yu stared straight into Kiana's eyes.
"You can't go back—true. But in this world, there are still things you can do. Things that only Kiana Kaslana can do!"
"As long as you haven't forgotten Himeko, haven't forgotten the people of that world, haven't forgotten every name on the Hyperion—then their story isn't over!"
"This is how you fight in this world."
"Come with me. Let's make that world's story into a game."
"Tell everyone here: there once was a group of people who fought in despair, who burned in darkness! They lived so vividly—so fiercely!!"
"Kiana Kaslana, I need you. This story needs you. So—"
Su Yu extended his hand.
"Put your life in my hands."
Kiana stared at him blankly, then at the paper filled with unfamiliar words.
In that instant, Teacher Himeko's voice seemed to pierce the walls between worlds and echo beside her ear again.
[Kiana, lift your head.]
[Go make this imperfect story into the shape you hoped for!]
Her heart began to pound violently.
Carry the story forward… let them be remembered…
Was that really something she could do?
Could someone like her—someone who only brought disaster—really have the right to sing the praises of them… of the heroes of that world?
But…
"Put your life in my hands."
That look in the man's eyes made Kiana feel as if she'd crossed time and returned to the Valkyrie training grounds years ago.
"Private Big-Head Kiana! What's your goal?"
"Yes, Teacher Himeko! My goal is to become the strongest Valkyrie!"
Back then she'd been just as stubborn, just as unyielding. She'd truly believed that if she tried hard enough, if she fought hard enough, she could change everything.
What a naive look.
This world was so peaceful—he must not have seen the demon she'd become, to say something so matter-of-fact.
And yet…
Kiana looked at Su Yu—this ordinary man with no power at all, desperately trying to keep a walking disaster like her from leaving.
Wasn't he afraid?
Afraid of her, afraid of—
Kiana's pupils tightened.
She stared at the hand he'd offered.
That hand—barely, subtly, but unmistakably—
It was trembling.
Ah…
So that's how it was.
After everything that had just happened, how could Su Yu not realize the gulf between their strength?
Even so. Even then.
He still chose to reach out to her.
Just like…
Teacher Himeko once did.
Knowing she would die.
Knowing what waited ahead, and still—
Choosing to raise the sword in her hand.
["This is… the last lesson…"]
Back then, she hadn't been able to grasp Teacher Himeko's hand.
She could only watch her slip from the shattered platform—falling into the endless abyss.
Even someone as wretched as her…
…could still have someone willing to reach out a hand?
In a world that didn't need Valkyries, without Honkai…
Did she really have the right to live?
"I'm a monster," Kiana said hoarsely.
"I know," he replied.
"I'll hurt you." Her nails dug into her palm.
"I don't care," he said.
"I—I…" She scrambled for excuses. "I… I eat a lot! Three bowls of rice a meal! Meat every time! And I snack, too!"
"Food and lodging included," Su Yu said flatly. "All you can eat."
"I…"
Kiana had nothing left to say.
Looking at Su Yu's face—practically screaming Just rely on me already—that impulse to run actually faded by half, like a miracle.
…They'd known each other for less than a day.
So why could this person accept her so naturally?
What an idiot…
But something inside her loosened.
It was faint, tiny—but she could feel it.
Seeing her still wavering, Su Yu took a deep breath.
"One last thing."
He played his final trump card.
"As long as you sign this contract, I can unlock a new system item."
He pointed to the glowing interface above his head that no one else could see.
"'Absolute Free-Time Trial Card.' Thirty minutes a day."
Kiana blinked. "What… is that?"
"It means every day, you get thirty minutes where you can ignore the one-meter distance restriction. Even if you run to the other side of the Earth, you won't disappear."
Su Yu pitched it with a dead-serious salesman face.
"Think about what that means."
Kiana froze.
It meant… what?
It meant she could go to the bathroom alone?
She could shower alone?
She wouldn't have to endure this man reciting The Memorial to My Troops outside the door while she handled basic bodily needs?!
It meant…
"Since this system can anchor your existence," Su Yu said, "maybe it's not impossible."
"Impossible…?" Kiana asked.
"The possibility of finding a way home."
"!!!"
Kiana didn't know what this "system" was. A higher-dimensional being? Some unknown organization?
But as long as there was still hope—so long as there was even a possibility of finding the way back—
Then she…
The dimness in her eyes ignited into flame. It was only a small flame—
But for the first time, Su Yu saw the will to live on her.
"Fine. I'll sign."
Kiana snatched the paper. She didn't even read the terms—just nodded hard.
"Give me a pen."
No more hesitation. She wrote her name.
[Congratulations! You have successfully bound with high-quality Valkyrie "Kiana Kaslana"][]
[Absolute Free-Time Trial Card (30 minutes) credited! Distance-based time consumption starts automatically; returning stops consumption; refreshes daily at 24:00.]
[Main Quest Released: Host, please work together with the high-quality Valkyrie to make the Honkai IP flourish in this world!]
[System Notice: Binding gift pack delivered! Contains Honkai Impact 3rd source code, advanced programming knowledge…]
The notification sound wouldn't stop—like it was venting years of resentment at Su Yu's laid-back lifestyle.
[Main Quest I: Begin early-stage preparations for "Honkai Impact 3rd" as soon as possible, including but not limited to: plot outline, character settings, art style…]
[Friendly Reminder: Your current account balance is 0. Suggest producing content ASAP to obtain "Emotion Value" currency~]
[Note: Five years! Five years! Do you know how I've lived these five years?! You dog host—if you don't start dropping emotional knives soon, I'm gonna stab you, nya!!]
Holy—
Wait, what.
There's even "Calabi-Yau" in here?!
-------
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