The man with golden blood flowing from his body lowered his eyes, his gaze crossing countless distances to meet hers.
No one knew what had happened.
All the space station detected were extremely abnormal observation readings.
The Doomsday Beast seemed to receive some kind of guidance. After its attack failed, it beat its wings and charged toward the platform.
"It's Nanook!"
Herta's puppet suddenly spoke, looking toward the gradually subsiding flames in the distance—and toward the impossible-to-ignore figure of Kiana.
She realized something.
"Nanook has noticed her."
"…Nanook?"
Acheron's eyes darkened. Ignoring the Doomsday Beast for the moment, she looked toward where Kiana stood. Kiana remained in place, as if confronting something unseen.
The Aeon of Destruction?
"The Destruction Legion causing the gaze of the Aeon of Destruction?"
Herta let out a snort. She was very interested in Aeons, but facing the Aeon of Destruction, Nanook, was no joke.
The Aeon of Destruction was a madman.
"I'm going to her."
Herta had just been about to say something, but seeing the look in Acheron's eyes, the words on her lips changed.
"Take me with you!"
She also wanted to see what kind of reaction would appear in this special individual after being gazed upon by Nanook.
It was a confrontation that felt both long and fleeting.
At some point, Kiana's eyes had been dyed gold by power.
She was the one who severed the crossing gaze first.
A wave of dizziness struck as she lowered her head and pressed a hand to her forehead. It was the discomfort of descending from a higher dimension back into her body.
"Kiana, are you alright?"
She was pulled into a soft, familiar embrace. A warm hand rested gently against her forehead, massaging lightly as if to ease her discomfort.
Acheron.
"You just saw Nanook?"
Just as Kiana was about to bury her face in Acheron's magnificent embrace, another voice cut in.
Turning her head, she saw Herta.
"Why are you here?"
"Don't answer a question with a question. That wastes time. Just answer mine."
Kiana immediately felt speechless.
Herta was way too domineering.
So you can question me, but I can't question you?
Though she grumbled inwardly, she still nodded and answered.
"Yes."
"So have you stepped onto the Path of Destruction? Did anything else happen just now? Did you and Nanook communicate?"
"No."
Herta stared at her. "Nothing at all?"
"Well… He did invite me to join the grand cause of destroying the world. Does that count as communication?"
Kiana scratched her head. It hadn't been spoken words—it was more like a thought that naturally arose in her mind the moment she beheld Him.
Did she really look like she belonged on his side?
Sure, Honkai was a disaster.
Sure, she was the Herrscher of Finality.
Sure…
But she would never do something as extreme as destroying the world!
"A Lord Ravager?" Herta sized Kiana up, muttering that it didn't make sense.
"Anyway, we just exchanged a look," Kiana concluded.
Meanwhile, the Doomsday Beast on the platform was struck and heavily injured, falling off the platform.
Kiana reacted swiftly and added a finishing blow.
"Alright. Crisis resolved."
She had a rough guess about what was happening on the platform. Turning to Herta, she smiled.
"Why don't you go check on Miss Stellaron over there? Haven't you always wanted someone to test your Simulated Universe? I think she'd be a pretty good candidate."
Herta stared at her for a moment, then nodded thoughtfully.
"That works. Ruan Mei is here anyway. Even if you wanted to run, you wouldn't get far."
Kiana: "…"
What did she mean by 'even if you wanted to run?'
That was excessive!
Was she planning to research Stelle first and then move on to researching her?
"Are you really fine?"
Acheron only cared about Kiana's condition.
No matter what, that had been Nanook. Her instincts told her things couldn't possibly be as simple as Kiana made them sound.
She had said they 'exchanged a look.'
Not that she had merely been glanced at.
There was another meaning to exchanging gazes.
Confrontation.
Sensing the concern in Acheron's voice, Kiana thought for a moment, then tilted her head up and kissed her lightly on the cheek before spreading her hands.
"Do I look like someone who's in trouble?"
Herta raised an eyebrow, folding her arms as she watched the scene.
"Oh? So that's your relationship. No wonder she's so worried about you."
"You just realized?"
"I thought you were closer to Ruan Mei," Herta said bluntly, utterly unfamiliar with the concept of tact.
The moment those words left her mouth, Acheron shot her an unmistakably displeased look.
She and Ruan Mei had already fully accepted the situation, but hearing something like that still felt unpleasant.
She had known Kiana longer.
If anyone was to be called closer, it should be her.
This was practically a fatal question.
Kiana laughed awkwardly and scratched her head, activating the skill Playing Dead and pretending she hadn't heard what Herta just said.
"Feelings can be deceptive," Herta continued. "If you ask me, you should still get a full-body examination. The path you're walking is completely new. Who knows whether Nanook left behind some kind of influence?"
"…She has a point," Acheron admitted.
She didn't want to overlook a detail only for it to cause something more serious later.
"We should treat this seriously."
Kiana looked at Herta with a complicated expression.
"Why do I feel like this is just an excuse for you to research me?"
"What? I would never do something so tasteless!" Herta snapped like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. "If you don't trust me, you can go to Ruan Mei. She specializes in biology. You trust Ruan Mei, don't you?"
"…Then I guess I misunderstood you," Kiana quickly apologized when she heard that. "Sorry about that."
"So—let me study you?"
"I must refuse!"
"Boring."
Herta wouldn't force anyone, nor would she use underhanded means. Even if she was interested, she would always obtain consent first.
Why was Kiana so obedient with Ruan Mei, though?
At first, she had assumed it was because their relationship was special. But now that she looked at it, Kiana's relationship with this equally inscrutable Acheron seemed far from ordinary.
Was her own charm inferior to Ruan Mei's?
Impossible.
Herta was very confident in herself.
Maybe she should ask Ruan Mei sometime.
How exactly had Ruan Mei managed to make Kiana so cooperative?
Just from the brief things Ruan Mei had mentioned, Herta had already grown extremely interested in Kiana's uniqueness.
Although the enemies outside had been eliminated, many hidden dangers still lingered within the space station. It likely wouldn't return to normal anytime soon.
Without even going to see the Astral Express crew, Kiana was dragged off by Acheron to find Ruan Mei, who had remained unaffected by the Legion and was currently in the Seclusion Zone.
They wanted Ruan Mei to conduct a full examination.
Ruan Mei wouldn't conceal anything.
She cared about Kiana's physical condition just as much as Acheron did.
So having her do the checkup was the optimal choice.
...
Ruan Mei stared at the data before her with a solemn expression. She didn't speak, but the seriousness on her face made one's heart pound just looking at it.
Why did Ruan look like that?
So grave.
Could it be that Nanook had done something to her just now without her noticing?
And she hadn't even felt it?
Kiana felt completely normal, but Ruan Mei's unusually serious expression was rare.
Instinctively, she trusted Ruan Mei even more.
Doubt crept into her heart. Was Herta right?
Could feelings be deceptive?
Was there something wrong with her that she simply couldn't sense?
It might not be a major issue—if it were, she wouldn't be unable to feel it—but any problem at all would make Mei worry.
"Ruan… don't just stay silent…"
Kiana's heart hung in suspense. She glanced at the incomprehensible data, then tugged lightly at Ruan Mei, nervous.
She hoped for an explanation.
"Hm?"
Ruan Mei turned her head slowly, her serious gaze falling on Kiana.
That reaction only made Kiana's scalp tingle.
Anxiety surged, and she instinctively grabbed Acheron's hand.
Acheron covered Kiana's hand with her own, her brows furrowing as her thoughts also drifted toward darker possibilities.
"What exactly is the problem?"
Ruan Mei shook her head and waved away the data display.
"Everything is normal. The new physical data is no different from the last examination. Very healthy."
Everything was normal?
Wait… normal?
Kiana finally let out a breath, her suspended heart settling back into place. She had nearly been scared to death.
Ruan couldn't possibly have been making that face on purpose, right? No, no—that wasn't like her. She didn't have that kind of mischievous streak.
Kiana hurriedly defended her in her own mind.
But she still couldn't help softly complaining in a slightly spoiled tone, "You scared me, Ruan."
Acheron's frown deepened.
"Everything is normal? But she just faced Nanook directly."
"That's precisely why normal data is the most abnormal thing," Ruan Mei replied.
Because it was normal—that was the problem.
If Kiana had truly encountered Nanook, then no matter what, there should have been some trace of the Path of Destruction left on her.
But there wasn't.
Nothing at all.
She was as clean as she had been during the last checkup. That made Ruan Mei suspect that Kiana was currently in a highly… special state.
Perhaps that was the reason?
Ruan Mei needed time to verify her hypothesis. She couldn't provide a precise answer yet.
"For your safety, we should observe you for a while longer," Ruan Mei said. "Perhaps any changes will only manifest after some time."
"She's right," Acheron agreed. "To be safe, Kiana, you should stay here for the time being."
"But what about Jarilo…"
Stay here longer?
But the Astral Express wouldn't dock at the station for long, would it?
Kiana hesitated. The Stellaron on Jarilo-VI had already been dealt with by her. The Express might not stop there again.
"I'll go."
Acheron answered without hesitation. She knew exactly what Kiana was worried about.
Honkai.
The Legion.
And that Honkai Beast.
She could go check on it for her.
Kiana thought for a moment, then her eyes lit up.
"We could invite the Nameless from the Express to go together. Ask Mr. Welt to help observe Jarilo's condition."
The Express still owed her a favor—from going to Izumo to bring Welt back.
Now seemed like the perfect time to use it.
Ask the Astral Express to make Jarilo its next stop. That way, there'd be no worry about them skipping it.
And it would let Welt—an experienced anti-Honkai veteran—evaluate Jarilo's current situation.
Welt probably wouldn't refuse.
"The Astral Express…" Acheron looked at her thoughtfully. "You seem unusually concerned about the Astral Express—and about that girl named Stelle."
She alone would be enough to handle Jarilo.
If something truly happened, the Express might not even be able to help. Yet Kiana seemed particularly invested in ensuring they went to Jarilo.
Ruan Mei, who had been lost in thought, raised her head.
"Stelle?"
After returning to the space station, she had briefly chatted with Herta before returning to her lab to check on the creations she had previously left behind.
She hadn't paid much attention to what was happening outside.
After all, if the sky fell, Herta would be the first to hold it up.
It was her territory, after all.
"Who is that?"
The name sounded unfamiliar.
Was Kiana interested in her?
"Don't say it like that. She's genuinely interesting," Kiana replied. "You probably don't know yet—Herta's restrained Stellaron was implanted into that girl's body by the Stellaron Hunters."
"A Stellaron? In a human body?"
A flicker of interest passed through Ruan Mei's eyes. She hadn't seen that particular combination before.
But right now, too many things were occupying her time.
She didn't have the energy to divert her focus.
"But that's not the reason you're interested in her, is it?"
"She'll join the Astral Express. If Mei is curious, we can invite the Express to Jarilo. After spending some time together, you'll understand why."
After spending some time together?
Acheron recalled what she had seen earlier.
The girl who had lost all her memories, who remembered nothing, staring straight at Kiana and saying she was really pretty.
Kiana was indeed beautiful.
If someone fell for her at first sight, that would be perfectly normal.
When she herself had first met Kiana, she had felt an inexplicably strong fondness for her.
Putting herself in others' shoes.
It was entirely possible that someone else would be drawn to Kiana at first glance.
Especially since Kiana seemed particularly attentive toward Stelle—even though it was their first meeting.
As she mulled over Kiana's words, Acheron felt that Kiana spoke as if she had known Stelle for a long time.
As if she were very familiar with her.
Already having raised the girl's level of concern by two degrees, Acheron quietly added two more.
"I'll pay close attention to her."
Had Kiana met that memory-lost Stelle before?
That seemed unlikely.
Even if Stelle had lost her memories, Kiana's reaction shouldn't have been like that if they had known each other.
Acheron couldn't quite figure it out.
She decided to slowly search for the answer herself.
Just as Kiana had said, if that girl joined the Astral Express—and if the Express didn't refuse her presence—then their next stop would most likely be Jarilo.
At that time, she would have plenty of opportunity to observe the girl named Stelle.
And to understand why Kiana was so interested in her.