"Hiss-"
The bitter cold wind, mixed with the ice and snow that blocked the view, howled in the snowfield in the dark night.
Kiana sat slumped in the snow, looking at her hands that had shrunk to the size of a child due to the time travel. After a long moment, she let out a sob of extreme sorrow.
"Zeke... What should I do?"
She clutched her head tightly.
The backlash from traversing dimensions above time to reach reality was too immense even for the Final Herrscher to bear fully—and Kiana wasn't truly the Final Herrscher yet.
Deep within Kiana's soul, the icy will originating from the God of Honkai stirred restlessly.
The interference of Finality, the backlash from manipulating time, and the final image of countless blades tearing through Zeke—all these factors combined into an excruciating agony that felt like it would tear her apart.
"Ahhh!"
Kiana let out a frenzied scream filled with intense despair.
Instantly, the swirling blizzard froze mid-air, as if everything had come to a standstill.
With hollow golden eyes, she gazed at the overcast sky, mouth agape but unable to utter a sound.
Zeke, Zeke, Zeke... She obsessively repeated his name, longing to see him, to embrace him—nothing else mattered anymore.
Then, from afar, a familiar voice transcended the distance and reached Kiana's ears.
"Oops!"
"Splash!"
In the dim expanse of snow-covered land, a dirty little white ball of fluff tumbled headfirst into the thick drifts. She then sat up, tilting her head back to stare wide-eyed at the motionless flakes suspended in the sky.
"How strange, snow just hanging there? What kind of freak weather is this? That stinky old man never taught me about anything like it. Well, whatever—better hurry and get moving... But which way?! I lost my map anyway, not that it would help with everything covered in snow! Am I really gonna starve to death in this godforsaken place?!
"No wayyyyy!" The white-haired girl clutched her head and wailed miserably, tears streaming down her adorable, youthful face with those endearing blue eyes.
Clearly terrified, she was just a child, after all—a lone figure lost amidst the boundless blizzard, feeling helpless and frightened being perfectly normal.
Suddenly, the little white ball of fluff sniffled, staring blankly ahead as she rubbed her eyes adorably, almost checking if she were truly awake.
In her teary eyes, a flawless figure clad in purest white approached through the snow, bringing with it gentle golden light and comforting warmth.
"Who...who...who are you?" Little Kiana sniffled, her voice filled with profound bewilderment—this felt too much like a dream! The blizzard halted mid-air as a glowing, identical figure emerged from within. Could such an event truly happen in reality?
Standing beside her younger self, Kia's gaze trembled, just as her outstretched hand did. As she gently touched the child's face, tears streamed down her cheeks, and a smile blossomed on her lips, as if instantly finding redemption.
"Are you lost?"
"Uh...(huh)? I guess so, but who exactly are you? A relative maybe? Is this one of Dad's pranks? Oh right, do you know Siegfried? Do you know where he is?" Little Kiana rapidly fired off questions. In truth, she shouldn't have been so unguarded, but instinctively, she sensed closeness and kindness emanating from Kiana.
Kiana's smile grew brighter, but the sorrow deep within her eyes intensified. Instead of answering Little Kiana's questions, she pointed in a certain direction.
"Go that way," she said. "Everything you seek lies there."
Little Kiana looked toward where Kiana was pointing, but the dark night obscured everything; she couldn't see anything at all.
Then, golden light flickered in Little Kiana's eyes.
"I...I must go...go there..."
In a daze, Little Kiana stood up and began walking step by step into the distance.
Soon, the wind howled once more, blanketing the earth with snow.
After Little Kiana had been gone for quite some time, she suddenly scratched her head and glanced back.
Puzzled yet contemplative, she muttered to herself,
"Did I forget something... Oh well, it's freezing out here! Hopefully, I can find food and shelter ahead, or else I'll really freeze to death!"
Little Kiana's figure gradually receded, disappearing into the blizzard.
Far behind her, the other version of herself remained motionless amidst the snow, tears streaming down her cheeks as she wore a dreamy smile:
"Go find him, embrace him, and give him warmth... This is something only you can do."
Kiana remained frozen for what felt like an eternity.
She watched as little Kiana met young Zeke, their acquaintance unfolding almost identically to her memories. Then she observed them venturing deeper into the snow-capped mountains, disappearing beyond her sight.
Snowflakes continuously fell on her, gradually piling up into a small icy mound. Like other frozen objects around her, she stood cold and silent.
Yet amidst this icy stillness, Kiana experienced no tranquility whatsoever.
The will of Finality, that restless monster, relentlessly invaded her rationality.
This was a war destined for failure; from their very core, they existed on fundamentally different levels.
Nevertheless, Kiana had to resist until the end. She told herself firmly that her presence here held significance—she must protect Zeke at all costs, even if it meant sacrificing her own soul!
'Taixuan... Sword Goddess!'
Wielding the soul-stirring Sword of Consciousness, Kiana delved deep within her mind, embarking on a prolonged battle against that monstrous entity.
Winter gave way to spring.
The warming weather had little effect deep within the glacier; everything remained frozen, as if trapped in an unchanging realm of ice and snow.
"Crack!"
One day, fissures appeared on this small icy mound, eventually shattering it entirely.
A silver-haired, golden-eyed girl emerged from the broken ice. She gazed at Mondstadt, far off in the distance, for a long moment before turning and disappearing amidst the frost.
Her first task was to find Otto. Kiana needed a secure environment to suppress Finality's awakening, one distant from Zeke's life while keeping a close watch on this dangerous man, ensuring he posed no threat to Zeke.
"Hm? My dear... Miss, what brings you here unexpectedly?"
Kiana effortlessly located Otto but had no interest in idle conversation. Instead, she raised her hand, causing a golden glow to appear in Otto's eyes—the calm facade couldn't last long; she urgently required his assistance now.
"A completely quiet place with Honkai Energy suppression? Of course, my darling...Miss Kaslana!" Otto smiled graciously, making his commitment with elegance.
And so, the wheels of time began rolling forward once again.
Time slowly passed as Kiana remained in her slumber.
She missed the calamity at Yordle City, having taken custody of Little Vera from Otto to ensure no tampering with her occurred.
Kiana interfered with Theresa and Siegfried's memories, guaranteeing they wouldn't prematurely clash with Otto before Zeke could mature.
She even intervened in the Major Honkai Eruption in the Far East, forcibly bringing Zeke back from the moon to disrupt his attempts to contact the God of Honkai through information manipulation.
Everything was part of a cycle, just as Zeke had told her in their final moments together.
But Kiana would not let this cycle continue.
"Zeke... Come kill me... End it all; don't do such things for my sake anymore..."
Until the very last moment, Kiana gave everything she had, even pouring her past memories into the Void Sword God, striving to suppress the Finality for just a few more fleeting seconds.
A person's life is an unceasing battle against the monster within themselves. Kiana embodied this truth fully, ensuring that this timeline reached its peaceful conclusion.
Finally, she sacrificed every aspect of her being as Kiana. At the onset of the War of End, filled with immense regret for never seeing Zeke again, her selfhood was overtaken by the will of the Finality.
"Scrape... scrape... scrape..."
The sound of her body being dragged across the ground roused Kiana's consciousness.
Struggling to lift her head, she peered through blurred vision and saw the person pulling her along.
It was a hunched silhouette against the light, dragging her by the collar with its remaining hand, staggering and stooped but moving steadily through an unknown domain.
Kiana had no strength left; she couldn't even muster a sound.
Time seemed to stretch endlessly.
Eventually, Kiana felt herself leaving that mysterious place, sensing the texture of grass beneath her and smelling the salty breeze from the sea.
Then, the bent figure collapsed.
Without speaking, Kiana summoned all her strength to reach out slowly, grasping the misshapen hand with intertwined fingers.
Leaning against his torso, she closed her eyes, a profoundly content smile gracing her lips.