"Ah, spotted."
Xia Qi took a silent step back on the rooftop. The Herrscher of Thunder hadn't truly seen her—rather, as a fellow Herrscher, she had sensed Xia Qi's presence. Perhaps she had even caught a flicker of something unnervingly familiar.
The Herrscher of Thunder. Another side of Mei. A side I've only glimpsed a handful of times… yet one that still loves Kiana.
To avoid provoking an attack, Xia Qi allowed her presence to gradually fade from the building, like a dying ember. Only a few strands of her silver ponytail shimmered faintly in the moonlight before vanishing completely.
"..."
Sensing that strange pressure dissipate, the Herrscher of Thunder's eyes, glowing with cold amethyst light, remained indifferent. But she lowered her head, looking at the unconscious Kiana in her arms, and fell into a heavy silence.
Certain lines from the original script went unspoken, altered by Xia Qi's interference. And in the sky above, the Hyperion had arrived, its massive, pristine hull blotting out the stars above them.
"The Hyperion…"
Looking at the battleship, Xia Qi concealed herself completely, her gaze trembling with barely restrained emotion.
Himeko. Teacher Himeko is on board.
I want to… I want to rush up there and hug her so badly…
Even if she wasn't the real Kiana, the longing was a physical ache in her chest.
"One annoying insect after another. Who gave you permission to look down upon me?"
A shadow of irritation passed through Raiden Mei's eyes. With a casual flick of her wrist, a torrent of lightning serpents surged forth, obliterating the hordes of Honkai beasts gathering below and lashing out toward both the Hyperion above and the space where Xia Qi had been.
"..."
Xia Qi silently leaped away, putting more distance between them, and watched the events unfold from a new vantage point.
The Hyperion, however, was instantly critically damaged, raging fires illuminating the night sky like a second, terrible dawn.
"It seems the school's budget is going to take another hit," Xia Qi murmured, a faint, wry smile touching her lips.
Next, she saw Himeko appear on the ship's scorched deck, clad in her Valkyrie Triumph armor, raising her greatsword in a defiant challenge toward the lofty Herrscher of Thunder.
She was always like this. As if she never feared anything.
Xia Qi's vision blurred for a moment, overlaying the scene with the ghost of the final lesson Himeko had given her. That day had been like this, too…
But since she was standing here now…
She would absolutely not let that tragedy repeat itself!
A fierce resolve ignited in Xia Qi's eyes. She pressed her lips into a firm line, watching intently as the Herrscher of Thunder and Himeko clashed. She saw the pillar of light that pierced the heavens, the shockwave from their battle tearing the thick clouds asunder to reveal a sky full of cold, distant stars.
Himeko was no match for the Herrscher of Thunder.
Xia Qi knew this. Every muscle in her body tensed, her gaze locked on Kiana, still held in Mei's arms. She was prepared to rush in the moment it seemed Kiana would fail to wake in time.
But…Fortunately, Kiana stirred. Her hand shot up, grabbing the Herrscher wing. Then, to the Herrscher's shock—her voice was one of fury.
"Fake! Give my Mei back to me!"
The girl's clear, furious shout echoed through the night air.
Hearing those words, a complex swirl of emotions—nostalgia, pain, a flicker of pride—passed through Xia Qi's eyes. She watched as Raiden Mei, falling from the sky with Kiana, reverted to her normal self in an instant. Xia Qi's lips pressed together tightly.
It seems… I'll need to properly apologize to the Herrscher of Thunder later.
---
"Who… are you?"
At that moment, a young, uncertain voice rang out from behind Xia Qi, causing her to freeze for a second before she slowly turned her head.
"..."
Bronya stood there, body tense, watching her with sharp wariness. The massive form of Project Bunny loomed behind her, its spear held high and ready to strike at any moment.
"Bronya, you might not know this, but the Kaslana family has a special amnesia technique, passed down through generations."
Looking at the youthful Bronya before her, a faint, almost fond smile played on Xia Qi's lips. Then, without hesitation, she clenched her fist.
Thwack!
...
"Captain! There's an unconscious girl on the bridge! We don't know how she got on the ship!"
...
"Ugh… Where am I?"
Kiana groggily opened her eyes, looking around.
She saw a landscape of utter desolation. As far as the eye could see, the earth was scorched black, littered with the charred and twisted remains of Honkai beasts and humans alike. The wreckage of mechs, some still glowing with molten heat, was strewn among the ruins of the shattered city. With every breath, she inhaled searing air thick with ash and drifting sparks.
It all snapped her to instant, horrified wakefulness.
"Where is this?!"
She sprang to her feet, her guard instantly up, heart hammering against her ribs.
"Mei! Bronya! Where are you?!"
"This is your dream, Kiana."
Xia Qi's cold, familiar voice sounded right beside Kiana's ear. Kiana whirled around to face her.
"You again!"
Seeing the same formidable figure from her previous dream, Kiana gritted her teeth, her face a mask of anger and confusion.
"Just who are you?"
"I am Kiana. Kiana Kaslana."
Looking at the furious girl, Xia Qi crossed her arms, leaning casually against a broken, half-melted wall behind her as she spoke with unnerving calm.
"Impossible! I'm Kiana Kaslana! You're the fake!"
Kiana shouted at Xia Qi, pointing an accusing finger. "You! You ambushed me last time!"
"Ambushed?"
"That's right!"
"But I attacked you from the front."
Xia Qi's flat, logical response made Kiana falter for a second, but her resolve quickly hardened again, and she clenched her fists, falling into a combat stance.
"Well, this time, I won't be taken down so easily, you nameless impostor! I'll beat you up first, then ask who you are!"
"Then give it a try."
Seeing Kiana's sharp, combative stance now—a direct improvement over the previous dream's panicked charge—Xia Qi finally felt a sliver of grim satisfaction.
Kiana immediately became a blur of motion, launching a fierce, whipping kick toward Xia Qi's abdomen with speed impossible for an ordinary person to follow.
But her foot only shattered the already broken wall where Xia Qi had been leaning a moment before.
"Is that all, Kiana?"
Xia Qi now stood with her arms crossed beside Kiana, her voice utterly disappointed.
"What?!"
Kiana looked back in disbelief. She had thought her first defeat was just carelessness, being caught off guard. But just now, Xia Qi had moved with speed her eyes couldn't even track, vanishing and reappearing beside her as if teleporting!
Thud!
Xia Qi lifted her leg in a swift, economical side kick, the impact solid and precise. Kiana was sent flying to crash onto the ash-covered ground, the breath knocked from her lungs. "There's no time for daydreaming on the battlefield. That is my first piece of advice for you."
"Cough! Hack!"
Kiana struggled to her knees, clutching her burning stomach as she glared up furiously at Xia Qi.
"Battlefield? What do you mean? Who are you really? Where is this? Am I still dreaming? Where are Mei and the others?!"
-------
A/n: New content and Story posted on my patreon go check it out!
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