"The cosmos, the power of Paths, the Xianzhou Alliance… Heh~ In this boundless universe we are but specks of dust—yet the possibilities are infinite."
After eavesdropping on the news, Otto gently set down his wineglass, walked to the window, and looked up at the azure sky.
In a trance he seemed to see the girl he longed for smiling at him from the clouds.
A trace of tenderness flashed in his eyes as he pondered… a new possibility.
Years ago, the 'God' had already given him the answer: by ordinary means, resurrecting someone was impossible.
His failed experiments had proven exactly that.
Amber, Theresa—they had awakened self-awareness, but that awareness was never Kallen; it was a brand-new existence.
K-423, the only specimen in the entire K-series to develop a clear sense of self.
She… was by no means the Herrscher born in the Second Eruption.
And every experiment using the core of the Herrscher of Death had ended in failure.
These conclusions taught him one thing.
The world allows a consciousness to find a new vessel, but it forbids a vessel to reclaim a consciousness that has already dissipated.
From the 'hints' given by God and years of experimentation, he deduced:
Perhaps only one method could fulfill his lifelong wish.
Within this fixed future, resurrecting her is impossible.
Only by pruning a new branch in the past—a branch where she never dies.
"But now… maybe I can try a different route to the ending I desire."
"Isn't that because K-423 is slipping out of your control?"
The Void Archives condensed in front of Otto's chest, its golden cube rotating in orderly mockery.
Otto's expression stayed calm; who knew what he was thinking… The next day, Kiana lay in bed, bored, flooding the group chat.
As for Mei and Bronya, they had long since tidied up and left for class.
Theresa told her to rest a few more days; classes would resume after the Xianzhou ceremony.
[Magical Girl: Come on, my side is totally slice-of-life. Is my group name fake or what?]
[Wangshang Funeral Parlor Workhorse: Pfft, you're nothing—my old name was literally 'God', total bluff~]
[Goddess of Moonlight: Speaking of which, the Group Owner's been MIA for a while… hope nothing happened…]
[Kiana: This Young Miss is here~ Did you miss me?]
[Wangshang Funeral Parlor Workhorse: Hey sis, what kept you? Haven't seen you spam for days.]
[Kiana: Was out cold for days, just woke up.]
[Magical Girl: Then skip the chat and go rest!]
"As expected of the Magical Girl version of me—so sweet! Unlike some workhorse always trying to sell me funeral packages."
Kiana pouted in complaint.
[Gojo Kiana: She's probably recovered, or she wouldn't be here showing off.]
[Kiana: What d'you mean 'showing off'? Learn from kind Pretty Cure Na!]
[Magical Girl: (blushing)]
[Wangshang Funeral Parlor Workhorse: Why're you blushing like a bubble teapot!]
[Goddess of Moonlight: Next week's my debut race—so nervous…]
[Wangshang Funeral Parlor Workhorse: Next month is Liyue's Rite of Parting—gonna stream it live so you can see our majestic Rex Lapis!]
[Kiana: @Wangshang Funeral Parlor Workhorse—hey, let's swap bodies then; I wanna tour Liyue!]
[Wangshang Funeral Parlor Workhorse: W-why do I feel like you're planning to do something to me! (covers chest)]
[Kiana: You've got nothing I don't; if I'm gonna perv, I'd pick Goddess of Moonlight—she's an Uma Musume after all!]
[Goddess of Moonlight: Eh?!!]
[Goddess of Moonlight: W-well… if the Group Owner wants to pet… it's not… impossible~ (squirms)]
"Ah, if only we could meet in person…"
Imagining those fluffy ponytail and soft ears, Kiana was already lost in bliss.
[Wangshang Funeral Parlor Workhorse: Don't be strangers! We're all Kiana—when the time comes, let me cop a feel too.]
"Right, I still had two gacha pulls saved up."
Kiana glanced at a second system screen and opened the lottery page.
"All in! Today's bound to be lucky!"
She tapped the draw button; the next instant her consciousness was transported to a roulette wheel.
[Activate rate-up mode?]
[Rate-up boosts chance of drawing group-mates' abilities.]
"Group-mates, huh…"
A Teyvat God, a Magical Girl, a horse-girl, and Gojo's little sister—Kiana mused.
"I choose full-random, thanks."
Her eyes instantly turned dead-fish.
Random is more thrilling—wasting a pull on horse-girl skills would suck!
Magical Girl transformations are too flashy; a future general can't swap into a frilly dress mid-battle—too embarrassing.
No clue what Gojo's skills even do; Six Eyes and Reverse Curse would be nice, though.
As for the Pyro-God, let's wait till she regains her memories—stay cautious.
Besides, body-swapping to help them nets their abilities anyway; rate-up feels like a loss.
[Roulette ready. Please draw.]
Kiana darted to the side and yanked the lever.
The wheel spun wildly, slowing to a stop before her expectant eyes.
A silhouette: long Tail, staff over shoulder, twin-feather crown, battle armor—pitch-black outline.
[Congratulations! Random skill/item from Black-Myth Kiana ×1]
"Black-Myth Wukong version of me… from the outline, that's literally Monkey-Monkey…"
Twitching, she tapped to claim.
A purple-glowing icon appeared.
[Congratulations! Obtained: Lotus Jade Gourd]
A pale-blue gourd, cloud engravings cradling lustrous jade, dropped into her palm.
…
Kiana stuffed it away in disgust.
First pull—total flop.
Still, a gourd that boosts elixirs is useless to her; maybe Baizhu will like it.
She yanked the lever again.
"Please please please—something useful!"
Hands together, she prayed.
[Congratulations! Random skill/item from Type-Moon Kiana ×1]
Eyes closed, she tapped the glowing rainbow.
[Congratulations! Ability gained: Valhalla]
[Valhalla: Form contracts with the dying, welcoming them into Valhalla as Heroic Spirits at their peak, with no class restrictions.]
[Note: Heroic Spirits won't crystallize life deeds into innate skills.]
[Note: contracts can be signed early; target auto-enters upon death.]
"Yay—jackpot!"
No crystallization, but keeping peak battle-power is already awesome.
Imagine signing an Emanator—overkill!