"Oh, this... This is the camp everyone uses to escape the summer heat. Because the power supply is unstable, everyone in the Nest likes to come here to cool off during the summer."
Little Sora turned her head away, feeling a bit embarrassed.
"These drink bottles and empty cans were left behind during a heatwave a few days ago... Also, there's something very special about this place... The ordinary Zombies and Honkai Beasts wandering outside never come near here."
"Therefore, everyone sometimes uses this place as a temporary shelter when they go out scavenging."
Little Sora explained to Kiana the origin of these bottles and cans...
"So, Little Sora saw a Zombie Big Sister actually manage to run in here, and when she touched that sword... I was curious for a moment and followed her."
"I see... Is that why you won't let me take this sword?"
Kiana nodded thoughtfully.
"Hmm... That's just one of the reasons. Little Sora doesn't remember anything from before the Great Catastrophe... When Teacher found me, she said I was wandering near this long sword..."
"So Little Sora thinks the owner of this blade must have been someone very important to her; at least someone who left a deep impression."
"Hmm... If that's the case, this sword did protect you once..."
Kiana thought for a moment and spoke to the pink-purple haired girl.
"Ah... That's true. Big Sister, you seem to know the owner of this long sword, right...? Kiana Big Sister, you seemed very familiar with this sword just now?"
After finishing her explanation, it was the girl's turn to ask questions. Her tone carried a hint of longing and impatience.
"Ah... That's right. The owner of this sword is a companion who fought alongside me two years ago to resolve a much larger disaster in this city."
"Really?! Then can Little Sora meet your friend, Big Sister?"
The girl, who had long been troubled by her memory loss, now seemed to have grasped a lifeline, urgently pressing Kiana for the whereabouts of the Ice Blade's owner.
"Please, Kiana Big Sister, this is really important to me. Perhaps I could even remember some things from my past..."
"Uh... Well, it's not that I don't want to help you. That guy's movements are always so mysterious, and I don't know where she has gone now..."
"Eh... Is that so..."
The girl lowered her head, looking a bit despondent... The white-haired knight felt a pang of sympathy, reached out to ruffle the girl's pink-purple short hair, and spoke comfortingly:
"Don't be too disappointed. Big Sister promises you, if I ever run into that friend again, I'll bring her straight over to you, okay?"
"Really?"
The girl lifted her head in pleasant surprise, looking expectantly at the white-haired knight in front of her.
"Of course, I'm a Knight of the Kaslana family. We keep our promises!"
Kiana patted her chest as she made the promise to the little girl.
"Thank you, Kiana Big Sister!"
"No, don't thank me so hastily... Little Sora, you need to know that the memories you've lost are from the period of the Third Great Honkai Eruption..."
"I don't know if your teacher ever truly explained to you about the Great Disaster that made this city look this way..."
"This is the most destructive and most severe disaster faced by human civilization... the Great Honkai Eruption."
Kiana's expression grew serious as she stared intently at the little girl.
"For all the survivors who lived through the disaster, their memories of the Great Honkai Eruption are far from pleasant, and there are countless people like you, Little Sora, who have also lost their memories..."
"They often suffered psychological trauma far more severe than an average person, causing their brains to undergo selective amnesia... In other words, Little Sora, it's not that you can't remember, but that your mind is in a self-protective state and refuses to let you recall them."
"To put it in terms you can understand... these memories of the past may not be suitable for the present you to recall, and this is a decision your body made instinctively..."
After hearing Kiana's explanation, the girl fell into a brief silence...
"Little Sora, I don't mean you shouldn't try to recover your past memories... Every single memory is precious, I understand this very well. What I mean is..."
"Perhaps you should grow a bit older, become a bit more mature, before you face those memories again. After all, they are bound to be nothing beautiful."
Kiana quickly explained, seemingly afraid the child in front of her would misunderstand something.
"Yes, Little Sora understands what you mean, Big Sister Kiana... Perhaps that's also why Teacher never tells me what actually happened to this city in the past, and that's also why your friend, Big Sister Kiana, won't appear before me..."
After a long silence, the young girl raised her head, her eyes filled with a certain determination that made Kiana breathe a slight sigh of relief.
"But Little Sora will not give up the idea of recovering her memories. Just as you, Big Sister Kiana, said, memories are a person's most precious treasure. Whether they are sweet or bitter, they will always be an important part of who I am."
"Of course... since Big Sister Kiana has said so much, I will put this plan off until after Little Sora grows up. After all, there really are children in The Nest like the ones you mentioned, Big Sister... Even after all this time, they still wake up from nightmares at night..."
"As a pillar of strength for the children in The Nest, Little Sora can't end up like that."
The girl clenched her fist, seeming to cheer herself up.
"Mm, I'm glad you understand..."
Kiana nodded, and as if something occurred to her, she asked the girl a follow-up question.
"Speaking of which, since this blade can bring you all so much help and also holds a special significance for you... why don't you take it back to the place called The Nest? That should be your home, right?"
"...Well, Big Sister Kiana, don't you think this blade is already so cold it's a bit creepy... Teacher tried to bring that long sword back to The Nest..."
Little Sora looked at Kiana, who was holding the Ice Blade without any discomfort, her gaze filled with admiration.
"But it was really just too cold... Not long after Teacher pulled the blade out, she was frozen, so she had to thrust it back into the ground. And... Teacher also seemed unable to turn off the... um, energy switch on this blade?"
"Teacher said this blade has some kind of Schicksal's highest-level weapon lock on it, and she couldn't unlock it... In the end, she had to plant it back into the ground."
"A highest-level weapon lock...? If it's from them, that kind of thing doesn't sound strange... Do you need me to help you take the blade back?"
"Mm, then I'll leave it to you, Big Sister Kiana... This blade might make everyone's Nest a bit more secure."
"Then let's head out!"