[In the Video.]
Kiana awoke from a nightmare, her forehead covered in cold sweat. She suddenly sat up, gasping heavily, her heart still beating violently.
In the dream, she had failed to save Sky City, and Raiden Mei had died because of it.
That sense of powerlessness and pain seemed to still remain in her body, making it hard for her to distinguish between dream and reality for a moment.
"So it was a nightmare... That's good." Kiana muttered in a low voice, raised her hand to wipe the sweat off her forehead, and let out a long breath.
———
In the real world, countless netizens watching this scene all expressed their heartache for Kiana.
[Feeling bad for my Kiana-baby]
[Just how desperate must Kiana have been, to be glad it was just a nightmare]
[As expected, giving the task of saving the world to a girl is just too cruel]
[Thankfully this is just a video, our real world hasn't collapsed]
———
[Back to the Video.]
Kiana looked around and found herself lying in an unfamiliar room, the surrounding walls glowing with a cold metallic sheen.
"You're awake?" A calm voice came from beside her.
Kiana turned toward the voice and saw Durandal in her Godslayer armor, sitting at the bedside, holding a book in her hands.
On the cover of the book, faint words could be seen. "Senior" and "Love."
Although the book's title made her a little confused, she couldn't care about that right now. Her thoughts were completely focused on Sky City and Raiden Mei.
"Durandal?" Kiana furrowed her brows and asked warily, "Where is this? Where's Mei? How is she?"
Durandal didn't answer directly. She first hid the book behind her back and said calmly, "This is an experimental base belonging to Schicksal, located in North America. As for Raiden Mei, she's fine, just slightly injured."
Hearing that Mei was safe, Kiana's tense nerves relaxed a little.
Then Kiana continued asking, "And what about Sky City? What happened to Sky City?"
"Sky City is already safe," Durandal replied. "The crisis there has been resolved, no civilians were injured, and the Valkyries of Schicksal are cleaning up the aftermath."
After hearing Durandal's words, Kiana let out a long breath of relief. Reality wasn't like the dream. She hadn't broken her promise to Van.
Once she confirmed that the people and things she cared about were safe, Kiana got straight to the point.
"Durandal, Schicksal brought me here. For what purpose?"
Durandal fell silent for a moment, seemingly choosing her words carefully. After a while, she said, "Otto is very interested in you."
"Otto..." Kiana's frown deepened upon hearing that name.
Because this man was the one behind all of this. If she ever had the chance, she would definitely settle the score with Otto personally.
The room fell into silence.
After a while, Durandal suddenly spoke, "Senior Van... he valued you very much."
Hearing that familiar name, Kiana's body trembled slightly. In her mind, beautiful memories of being with Van surfaced uncontrollably.
Thinking of this, Kiana lowered her head, her voice somewhat hoarse, "Yeah, but... it was my own hands... I was the one who sent Van..."
Looking at Kiana, a trace of complex emotion flashed in Durandal's eyes.
She had originally thought she would hate Kiana, after all, the girl before her was directly responsible for Van's disappearance.
But strangely, when actually facing Kiana, there was not a trace of hatred in her heart. Instead, there was an indescribable feeling.
"Do you plan to escape?" Durandal suddenly asked.
Kiana lifted her head, eyes firm, "If I get the chance, I will."
Durandal wasn't surprised, but she still reminded her, "This lab is 1000 meters underground, so I suggest you abandon the idea of using Herrscher powers."
———
[Is Durandal deliberately saying this? To warn Kiana not to misuse her powers and end up in danger?]
[Of course. Don't be fooled by my silly goose looking all expressionless, deep down she's extremely kind.]
[Durandal, Silly goose? Interesting name, can you explain it properly to me?]
———
[Back to the Video.]
After hearing Durandal's words, Kiana bit her lip but didn't argue back. She knew Durandal was telling the truth, but she didn't intend to give up just like that.
Her past self might have despaired due to a terrible situation. But now, Kiana firmly believed she could solve everything.
Because she had promised him she would turn this imperfect story into the version she wished for.
Elsewhere, after Durandal left the room, she walked to the end of the hallway and activated her communicator.
"She's awake. However, I have a question. Kiana keeps using her Herrscher powers, so why is the Honkai energy in her body not decreasing, but increasing instead?"
Otto chuckled lightly and said with a playful tone, "According to satellite scans, the Honkai energy produced after the engine explosion did not spread, but completely vanished without a trace."
"In simple terms, to save Sky City, K423 absorbed that energy. That action reminds me of a certain someone..."
Durandal fell silent, and Van's image surfaced in her mind. She could clearly recall the scene where Van had absorbed the Honkai energy inside Wendy to save her.
She finally understood why her senior Van valued the students of St. Freya Academy so much.
"I understand," Durandal said quietly.
"Since she's already awake, begin the experiment," Otto's flamboyant voice sounded again, but his tone left no room for rejection.
Durandal ended the call, stood in place and thought for a while, then turned and returned to Kiana's room.
"Get ready. The experiment is about to begin." She opened the door and spoke calmly.
Kiana raised her head, her gaze carrying a hint of defiance, "What if I say no?"
Durandal glanced at her and replied flatly, "You don't have a choice."
The experiment progressed very smoothly. The results made Otto extremely satisfied.
He obtained the data he had dreamed of, and it confirmed the feasibility of his idea. As long as everything went smoothly from here, his centuries-old wish could finally be realized.
However, shortly after the experiment ended, a piercing alarm suddenly rang through the base.
[Alert! Alert! Enemy invasion!]
An urgent voice came through the broadcast. The entire base instantly descended into chaos.
Durandal frowned and quickly exited the room, ready to respond to the emergency.
Meanwhile, Kiana took the opportunity to sneak out and quickly escaped to the surface. But she didn't get far before she saw a tall figure blocking her path.
Feeling the cold aura from the man, Kiana clearly saw his face.
"Kevin Kaslana..."
Faced with the towering man before her, Kiana couldn't move at all, she had even given up struggling.
"Are you here... to kill me?"
Kevin responded with a cold, deep voice, "Kiana Kaslana, come with me."
"To World Serpent? No way!" Kiana rejected firmly.
But the moment she finished speaking, she felt a wave of blazing flames rushing toward her.
A greatsword wreathed in flames aimed directly at her heart, without a trace of hesitation.
At that critical moment, a figure suddenly descended from the sky and blocked between her and Kevin.
Kevin looked at the descending Fu Hua, his words full of familiarity, "Long time no see, Hua..."
"Kevin, stop."
Clad in Shadow Knight armor, Fu Hua stood protectively in front of Kiana, her gaze sharp and voice stern.
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