"Sister Acheron."
"Mm-hmm?"
"You must have known my identity for a long time, right?" Kiana leaned against the balcony railing, looking out at the busy Nagazora City in the distance. "Since that first night we met."
"You only just realized?" Xia Yu leaned against the railing beside her in the same posture. "I've been waiting for you to ask me."
"Seriously, even though you dropped so many hints in your words, I was still stupid enough to think I was hiding it well," Kiana sighed.
"No, it's just that your heart was unwilling to be candid," Xia Yu spoke softly.
"Then you must know why my stinky old man is hiding from me," Kiana said, her tone turning dejected.
After all, a girl of only ten or so years had woken up to find her father—the only person she depended on—gone without a trace, leaving her to search for him bit by bit in this unfamiliar world.
Truly, it was a credit to Kiana that she managed to persist.
"It's for you, Kiana," Xia Yu comforted her gently. "Siegfried... he feels he lost everything in the Second Great Honkai Eruption, and you are his only remaining concern."
"What other reason could there be to make him leave you?"
"...So, can I ask why?" Kiana hesitated for two seconds before speaking.
"No, Kiana," Xia Yu shook her head. "I can't tell you too much."
"So, my identity is really even more of a hassle than Mei's?" Kiana forced a smile upon hearing this. "Mei is a Herrscher-candidate, that brat Bronya has a sister lost in that whatever sea, and her mother isn't exactly a saint either."
"And as for me... I can't possibly be more of a..."
At this point, Kiana looked at Xia Yu, only to find a look of affirmation in her eyes.
"I'm actually more of a hassle than them..."
"Just a little bit more," Xia Yu smiled slightly and tapped her forehead gently. "Don't worry, you'll be able to cross that hurdle."
"And you aren't alone. I have a friend who really has a lot to say to you. Let's see if it's her turn next time."
"Mhm, I'll definitely meet this friend," Kiana seemed to regain her usual optimism. "As for my stinky old man... since it's for my sake, I'll stop looking for him for now."
"Right. Live well at St. Freya Academy," Xia Yu gently pulled her into an embrace. "Once that problem is resolved, your family of three will naturally be reunited."
"Mhm, our family of three will definitely... uh, family of three?" Kiana looked up at Xia Yu, her eyes full of confusion. "Where did the third person come from?"
"Actually, you have an older sister," Xia Yu said. Thinking about what Siegfried was doing right now, she couldn't help but want to smile, which she forcibly suppressed.
"But why have I never heard my stinky old man mention her?" Kiana was stunned.
"Because Siegfried thought she died long ago," Xia Yu gently stroked Kiana's head. Ah, the feeling of Kiana's silvery-white long hair was so good—silky!
"It was precisely because of the blow of losing his wife and daughter in succession that he was so despondent when you were little," Xia Yu said, enjoying the soft body of the Kiana in her arms. "But he never knew that his eldest daughter was actually still alive."
"By the way, Siegfried was in Nagazora City yesterday, not far from ME Corp. He was very worried about you and wanted to come over, but I made a deal with him."
"I told him the whereabouts of his eldest daughter, and he helped me intercept someone."
"Will you blame me, Kiana?"
Xia Yu buried her face in her hair. "I prevented you father and daughter from meeting, and I revealed this matter, dividing the love he has for you."
Blaming her was absolutely impossible; after all, she was the super invincible cute Kiana. Xia Yu just wanted to tease her.
"How could I, Sister Acheron?" Kiana's eyes lit up instantly.
"A sister? I actually have a sister?" Kiana, who yearned for family, was incredibly excited. "Sister Acheron, has my sister been doing well all these years?"
"In terms of environment, she hasn't been mistreated," Xia Yu said softly. "I've seen her too. She is a very, very outstanding person."
"I hope my stinky old man finds her quickly," Kiana said with joy in her heart. "When the time comes and I've resolved the problem with my body, the three of us can live happily ever after!"
"Sister Acheron—"
Her voice suddenly turned syrupy as she hugged Xia Yu's arm and acted spoiled. "Can you really not tell me what the problem in my body is? Just like with Mei, help me solve it with a 'whoosh,' okay?"
"I really can't," Xia Yu shook her head. Once she left, not many people could suppress Sirin.
Sigh, she still lacked means. Acheron was strong, but facing this situation, she really had no way to resolve Sirin's issue without harming Kiana.
Perhaps Acheron herself had a way to do it, but Xia Yu had only inherited this power. As for developing its potential, she was still far off.
She dared to say that even with the exact same equipment as Acheron, if the two fought, she would definitely die!
Among her three current bodies, Furina's body... had essentially no developed skills, a total blank slate. The Tarnished's body was the most familiar, with various combat skills coming as easily as if they were carved into her bones.
And Acheron's body... only had beautiful stats.
The stats were too beautiful, so strong she could barely withstand them... a One-Hit Wonder, wasn't she?
"Let me think then," Kiana started speculating wildly. "Do I also have some kind of second personality? From what you said, Bronya's sister is like that, and so is Mei. Honestly, that haughty look she gets occasionally is really..."
At this point, she swallowed hard.
She liked the gentle, Yamato Nadeshiko-like Mei, but she also really liked that Queen Mei who looked down on everything with pride and confidence!
And it was the latter who would act weak and spoiled in her arms!
The original Mei would occasionally get very shy over intimate actions, hehe.
"You," Xia Yu saw what she was thinking. You lewd Kiana!
"It's more or less like that, but your situation is different from Mei's. Her path isn't suitable for you."
The Herrscher of Thunder was Mei's Stigmata personality, and Stigmata were born from the soul. To say they were essentially the same person was not wrong at all.
But the relationship between Sirin and Kiana was much more complex.
"I see," Kiana sighed. "By the way, Sister Acheron, is that St. Freya Academy... really as good as you say?"
"And that whatever aunt... she's so short, about the same as Bronya. Is she really a higher generation than me?"
"You should at least show Theresa some respect," Xia Yu said helplessly. "She is indeed your aunt. If you're talking about the people in the world who care about you most, she's definitely one of them."
"If she hadn't been unaware that Siegfried wasn't taking care of you but was letting you wander the world, she would have been cursing Siegfried while rushing to pick you up long ago."
Actually, Siegfried could have asked someone else to take care of her, such as Theresa.
But who told her to participate in the Second Herrscher crusade? He himself would stimulate Sirin, so there was no guarantee Theresa wouldn't.
And besides Theresa, who else did he know?
Old friends? They were all Schicksal people, so he didn't trust them.
Anti-Entropy? Forget it. While Welt was recovering, Anti-Entropy lacked its absolute martial backbone; it was a total mess.
So he could only watch his daughter wander alone from the shadows.
That day on the Snowfield of Siberia, one wonders if his heart was being cut by a knife as he watched a tiny Kiana, wearing a chameleon backpack, stepping into deep snow only to slip and struggle to stand back up.
Xia Yu didn't know if he felt that way, but she herself had been so heartbroken she almost cried when she saw it.
"Kiana," thinking of this, Xia Yu suddenly took her hand. "You deserve a better tomorrow."
"Huh? Me?" Caught off guard, Kiana was clearly dazed.
Just as she wanted to ask something, she found Mei... no, the Herrscher of Thunder was standing behind them with her blade at some point.
"Kiana," her voice still carried a chilling pride. "I have some things I want to talk to Aunt about."
"Oh, I'm done asking anyway," Kiana said, seeing her burning gaze. She awkwardly let go of Sister Acheron's hand. "You guys chat."
"Aunt!" Hearing this, the Herrscher of Thunder looked at Xia Yu, her eyes full of battle intent.
"Not convinced?" Seeing the fire in her eyes, Xia Yu looked at the sky.
With one step, the Herrscher of Thunder turned into a bolt of deep purple lightning and soared into the sky.
Xia Yu followed closely behind.
"Aunt," high in the air, the Herrscher of Thunder drew her blade. "I don't want you to go."
"Mhm, I know," Xia Yu's hand slowly manifested Naught, but she did not draw it.
"She always says I'm too willful," the Herrscher of Thunder said, her face full of displeasure. "But not wanting you to leave is simply not wanting you to leave!"
"I know that too," Xia Yu nodded.
"If I win, you stay and be with us," the Herrscher of Thunder pointed her lightning-flecked long blade at Xia Yu.
"Win against me first," Xia Yu hooked the corner of her mouth slightly and reached out toward her.
"I'm coming!"
The Herrscher of Thunder shouted, and her body turned into a streak of deep purple lightning, sweeping toward Xia Yu with endless thunder.
Boom!
"Is it thundering?" The workers in Nagazora City looked at the sky, which had been clear just a moment ago but was now suddenly covered in dark clouds.
"The weather forecast didn't say it would rain today."
As for why they were workers... it was because food from all over the world was currently gathering here.
This group was responsible for transporting local food reserves. The Far East's local food didn't need spaceships; land and water transport were enough to complete the task within three days.
Among them, Rita dared not be careless at all.
After all, this was 'thundering.'
"Detecting a sharp activation of the Herrscher of Thunder's Honkai Energy, Lord Rita," at that moment, a Valkyrie from St. Freya rushed over and reported, "It's right above our heads!"
"Report it to headquarters," Rita sighed. "Anyway... there's nothing we can do."
"But with the satellites, headquarters should know before us, right?" the Valkyrie asked, clearly confused.
Rita's confusion was no less than hers. She turned her head to carefully study the Valkyrie before her.
"Lord Rita?" The Valkyrie's entire face stiffened. So strong—is this the aura of an S-Rank Valkyrie?
"Have you... graduated?" Rita asked, seeing her youthful appearance.
"No, I still have a year before I graduate," the Valkyrie answered instinctively.
"No wonder," Rita shook her head. It seemed manpower was truly tight. Theresa Senpai had even pulled undergraduate students to work.
"Things like this must be reported. No matter how small the Honkai incident, it is a major matter. And in your work, you cannot expect others to notice every problem, even the obvious ones. Keeping a record is very important."
"You will learn this later."
"Is that so?" The Valkyrie nodded understandingly. "Then I'll go report it now!"
She then ran off with a patter of footsteps.
Watching her back, Rita shook her head.
Then she looked back at the sky.
I hope nothing major happens.
In the sky, the Herrscher of Thunder watched as her full-power attack was easily blocked again. Not discouraged, she regrouped and prepared to attack once more.
'Don't be so willful,' Mei was still incessantly trying to persuade her in her heart. 'Aunt has important things to do, we can't trouble her...'
'Shut up!' The Herrscher of Thunder finally couldn't take it anymore. 'Do you really think I can win?'
What a laugh. She didn't even dare to think so herself.
Mei didn't know how strong their Aunt had been that day, but did she not know? Anyone who faced that strike would have to kneel.
Plus, the moment she had manifested in The Living World, she had been suppressed to death by her Aunt. The Herrscher of Thunder never expected she could win.
It was just... just... she was a bit unconvinced and acting out of spite.
She wasn't like Mei, who silently endured every grievance in her heart; she preferred to vent.
And how could she vent while cooped up in the consciousness space? Even if she could come out at any time, looking at her Aunt's impending departure would only make her angrier the more she thought about it.
So she might as well have a good fight.
Venting would make everything better.
The Herrscher of Thunder thought this way and acted accordingly.
She put her full strength into every move. Amidst the head-on clashes with her Aunt, the displeasure and resentment in her heart were vanishing bit by bit.
Just as she regrouped and prepared to swing her blade at her Aunt with all her might once more, a strange surge of ripples instantly blocked her path.
"Herrscher of Thunder," a strange man rushed over at high speed, intercepting between the two.
"Is this... out of control?" Welt's face was full of gravity.
"You're a Herrscher too?" Feeling that unique ripple belonging to a Herrscher, the Herrscher of Thunder frowned. "Move!"
"No, Third Herrscher, I am—"
Welt wanted to say more, but the irritable Herrscher of Thunder had no ears for it and simply swung her blade at him.
Wait, this youngster—does she have no martial ethics at all? At least let me finish!