The sunlight was still warm.
But the atmosphere in the room had quietly grown heavier.
Su Yu didn't press for more details.
He just silently recorded everything, waiting for Kiana to continue on her own.
"Later, I chased after Mei, all the way to the rooftop of Senba Academy."
Kiana's voice was steady, but her pace had slowed.
"She was standing by the railing, her back to me."
The rooftop.
The rooftop of Senba Academy.
That was the starting point of Honkai Impact 3rd.
It was the beginning of where Kiana and Mei's fates intertwined.
Countless players had shed tears over that scene, and countless fan works revolved around that rooftop.
And now, the person who had experienced it firsthand was sitting right in front of him, personally recounting the events of that day.
"She wanted to jump," Kiana said. "Or rather, she wanted to end everything."
"The Lightning Queen's personality was corroding her, and she was about to lose control. She would rather die than hurt anyone else."
She fell silent for a few seconds, as if re-experiencing the despair of that moment.
"And then?" Su Yu asked softly.
Kiana raised her head, her gaze fixed on a non-existent point on the ceiling.
"The moment Mei jumped, I rushed forward and grabbed her hand."
"She tried to break free, but I wouldn't let go. The Lightning Queen's power burned my palm, but I just wouldn't let go."
Su Yu's fingertips trembled slightly.
He knew this scene.
In the game, in the animation, in countless works of fan fiction, he had seen it innumerable times.
But all of those were images made of pixels and code.
"I told her, I will absolutely, absolutely, never let you die."
"After I pulled Mei up, that insufferably arrogant Lightning Queen appeared."
"Then I headbutted her."
The corners of Kiana's mouth twitched.
"...A headbutt?" Su Yu couldn't help but repeat, his expression becoming rather colorful.
"A headbutt." Kiana nodded in confirmation, even subconsciously touching her forehead. "Right on her forehead. I knocked that arrogant queen's personality right out of her. It really hurt. Both of our foreheads swelled up."
This was so very Kiana.
In a moment of life and death, she didn't use some ultimate move, but the most primitive, clumsy, and also most sincere headbutt.
"After the headbutt, Mei woke up," Kiana continued, a newfound warmth in her voice. "Her eyes returned to their original color. She looked at me, and she cried."
She paused.
"That was the first time I ever saw her cry."
A breeze blew past the window, the leaves rustling. Su Yu didn't interrupt, just listened quietly, taking notes at a rapid pace.
"After that, we started to flee. Nagazora had already become a Honkai nest, filled with Zombies and monsters. We looked for a way out while hiding from them."
"Then we met that shorty... Bronya."
At the mention of Bronya, Kiana's expression grew complicated. It seemed to be a mix of nostalgia, but mostly helplessness.
"Back then, she looked like a scared little kid, just sitting motionless in the ruins."
"Mei and I, being the bleeding hearts we are... we took her with us without a second thought. Who knew that deadpan midget was an assassin sent by Cocolia."
"But well..." She shrugged. "The three of us back then—an idiot, a rich girl who wanted to die, and an emotionless assassin—we just kind of stumbled together."
"Thinking back on it now, that was probably the earliest version of our little three-person squad."
The story continued.
As the Honkai energy density increased, the monsters' levels also rose.
When they encountered a massive Battle-Car Class Honkai Beast, Kiana was injured while protecting Mei.
The blood stimulated the Herrscher personality within Mei's body.
"That was the first time the Lightning Queen completely took over her body."
Kiana recalled, her tone tinged with a hint of admiration.
"She was like a true queen—arrogant, brutal, yet elegant."
"That Honkai Beast that had pushed us into a desperate corner was like a toy in her hands. She tore it apart with her bare hands."
She imitated the voice, lowering her own, tinged with a bit of chuunibyou coolness:
"Go to hell, you scum!—Heh, that was what she said. It sounds embarrassing, but I have to admit, it was really cool."
However, the Herrscher's awakening drew greater attention.
The Schicksal Far East Branch detected the abnormal fluctuations.
"The Hyperion arrived."
As she said this, Kiana's voice trembled noticeably.
That colossal shadow, that red figure, that... person who changed the course of her entire life.
"And..."
She stopped.
The name was like a thorn stuck in her throat, unable to be spoken, unable to be swallowed.
Her body began to tremble uncontrollably, and her breathing, which had been relatively steady, became ragged.
The color drained from her face at a visible rate, turning deathly pale.
The trauma buried deep in her heart was reawakened at this moment.
Su Yu immediately noticed something was wrong.
He stopped what he was doing, turned around, and looked at her with a serious expression.
"Kiana."
He called her name, his tone grave.
"If it's too painful, just stop. We don't have to rush. The game can be made slowly. We can always add the material later."
He didn't need a partner who would drive herself mad just to meet a deadline.
Even less did he want to see her suffer because of her memories again.
Kiana bit her lip hard, until she tasted the metallic tang of blood.
The pain brought her unfocused pupils back into sharp relief.
She shook her head, her heterochromatic eyes flashing with a light that was almost stubborn.
"No... I can do this."
She took a deep breath, as if trying to expel all the coldness and fear from her chest and draw in a bit of courage to continue.
"Teacher Himeko... she taught me not to run away."
"Besides, I want to... one more time, tell her story properly."
She lifted her head again. Though her face was still pale, her gaze had steadied. Beads of cold sweat had even formed on her forehead.
"Back then... I don't remember the details very clearly now."
"It was probably due to the Herrscher's consciousness interfering. Many of the images are fragmented."
"But I remember that red figure."
"She was wearing that red armor... [Fusion Armor: Crimson]."
"All by herself, with that greatsword, she stood before the Herrscher of Thunder."
"They were crossing blades."
Kiana closed her eyes, her brows furrowed tightly, as if once again seeing that image, hearing the deafening roar of the ship-slaying sword clashing with the Herrscher of Thunder's lightning barrier.
"That was truly... a mortal body against the power of a god. Even though the Herrscher of Thunder wasn't at full power then, that sense of oppression..."
"Then... I think I woke up for a moment."
She frowned, trying hard to recall the fuzzy memory.
"I felt a strange power, and I uncontrollably... crushed the Herrscher of Thunder's wings."
"The feeling... it was terrifying, like crushing something alive."
"After that, it was just darkness."
Kiana let out a long breath, as if a great weight had finally been lifted from her shoulders. Her whole body went limp.
"By the time I regained consciousness, I'd been retrieved by the Hyperion. Mei was unconscious, and Bronya was also taken back to St. Freya."
"And just like that... we inexplicably became students at St. Freya Academy."
The story was over.
At this point, the story of the Third Eruption came to a close.
What followed was St. Freya Academy, the beginning of her official life as a Valkyrie, and those brief, warm days she spent with Teacher Himeko.
Kiana didn't continue.
Her gaze fell outside the window. The sun was still warm, pedestrians walked by on the street, and everything was so peaceful.
Su Yu watched her for a long time.
Then he turned back to his computer, typed the last few lines on the keyboard, and saved the document.
He didn't immediately ask about St. Freya.
The sunlight outside had shifted a little more. The patch of light climbed onto the edge of the sofa, landing near Kiana's curled-up feet.
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