"The one who nailed herself to the long spear in the ruins..."
Acheron's words instantly brought that scene flooding into Kiana's mind. The answer slipped out before she could stop herself.
"The Herrscher of Finality."
Acheron nodded and looked into her eyes.
The moment Kiana saw that gaze, she realized Acheron must have misunderstood something. She quickly waved her hands.
"That had nothing to do with me. Just treat it as something that happened in a parallel world."
"...Like the world Mr. Yang came from—Earth?"
"Right. Something like Earth." Kiana scratched her head. "I don't know why those memories are inside the stigmata either. Maybe it's because this stigmata originally came from that world..."
There was a trace of uncertainty in her voice.
She shook her head and stopped dwelling on it.
"Like she said before, maybe evolving from a blank stigmata is the correct path."
"So in other words, you yourself have no direct connection to those memories?"
"Of course not!" Kiana explained. "If there's any connection at all, it's probably just similar Honkai—and similar versions of us."
"Mei, don't take those things to heart. Just look at them and leave it at that. Don't let memories that don't belong to us trouble you."
Even the Honkai itself, Kiana felt, might not be the same Honkai as in that academy world. Even if it were, she couldn't exactly pull game equipment out into reality.
Thinking about all those functions she had treated as decorations and barely used in ages, a thought she had never considered before suddenly surfaced in her mind.
Were the Honkai Cubes used to exchange for weapons, badges, and stigmata... really meant for her to use?
Back when she couldn't wield the Authority of Finality and could only enter partial Herrscher form, those things had helped her transition through the early stages.
She still remembered stacking badges that enhanced her barehanded strength in Izumo, punching like a one-hit hero.
But once she gained control over her Herrscher form, those bonuses had become optional at best.
Especially now.
With the Finality progress reaching one hundred percent and the system declaring she had left the beginner stage, the weapons and equipment that once provided marginal benefits now had no effect on her at all.
Honkai Cubes, equipment, stigmata...
Were they really just there to help her get through the early phase?
Kiana's gaze fell on Acheron. Then she thought of Sirin, and the survivors of Izumo aboard the Ark.
"What are you thinking about?"
Acheron had been watching her the whole time. Seeing her thoughtful expression, she couldn't suppress her curiosity.
"I think I know how to help the people of Belobog grow stronger." Kiana nodded as she spoke, a hint of excitement appearing on her face.
Excitement?
Help Belobog grow stronger?
After knowing Kiana for so long, how could Acheron not guess what she was thinking?
A familiar sense of déjà vu washed over her.
Her heart tightened, and she instinctively objected.
"You're planning to hand those Honkai weapons to them? I don't think that would be good for them!"
She had almost forgotten—Kiana had once come dangerously close to becoming Izumo's biggest arms dealer.
As the situation worsened back then, if the apocalypse hadn't arrived so quickly—if it had been delayed by even a year or two—Kiana might truly have become the largest weapons merchant.
It was during that final period that she lifted the purchase restrictions. Even now, the Ark still stored a considerable number of Honkai weapons she had exchanged.
"Belobog's Supreme Guardian is... a very decisive person," Acheron said carefully, choosing her words about Cocolia. "You may not know this, but Belobog owes the IPC a massive external debt. If you provide them with weapons that have unlimited ammunition right now, it could easily spark conflict—and it would also expose you to certain eyes."
She paused and looked at Kiana.
"I know you want to help. But once some things begin, there's no turning back."
"Mei, you misunderstood. I'm not planning to give them weapons. I don't want to turn this place into wasteland," Kiana said. "I'm thinking of using the power of Finality to add some 'settings' to this world—like Honkai Cubes that can upgrade stigmata levels, and badges."
She rubbed her chin.
"I'll select a portion of low-tier badges and introduce them into this world, so people here can use stigmata and badges to fight the Honkai."
The current Honkai concentration on Jarilo-VI wasn't exactly low. Ever since she had returned, the world's Honkai levels had been steadily rising on her internal panel.
No matter what she thought, half of this world already lay within her grasp. Doing something like this was not impossible.
Fortunately, the people here had all been granted resistance to Honkai. Otherwise, the increase alone would have been enough to cause serious trouble.
"Badges..."
Acheron thought of the few badges Kiana had given her. Their power only provided enhancement in her normal state.
Badges could greatly improve individual strength, but they were far less conspicuous than weapons.
"Herrschers will appear sooner or later. One more badge means one more layer of self-protection," Kiana said after a moment. "I feel like these things were originally prepared for worlds infected by Honkai."
To take hold of more worlds.
She suspected that was the true purpose.
For now, she would try it this way. The fact that badges provided real assistance was undeniable.
The tricky part was making it seem reasonable.
That gave her a headache.
"Badges and stigmata are separate matters. Weapons aren't entirely impossible either, but if they're introduced, it can't be in large quantities," Acheron warned. "A few pieces can be passed off as rare curios. But weapons without quantity limits? That would be a disaster."
"I understand."
Kiana nodded, her mind still racing as she tried to make this cheat look more legitimate.
Giving them away for free was out of the question.
What if she created something like a shop system—let people work for it, earn currency, and purchase badges to configure themselves?
Kiana thought about it, then shook her head.
Maybe she could...
She suddenly thought of the Simulated Universe Herta had been researching. Although she hadn't agreed to participate in testing, and didn't know what the real version was like...
She had played games before.
Fight, then choose one of three?
No, that wouldn't work. A person could only carry three badges at most. Any extras wouldn't activate.
And battles...
What standard would she use?
This was the real world, not a scripted simulation. Was she supposed to scatter powerful enemies across the wilderness, let people hunt them down, and drop equipment?
What would that make her?
A game designer?
Kiana immediately rejected the idea. It did sound interesting—but it didn't fit Belobog at all.
If that wouldn't work, then what method could make the appearance of badges feel natural and justified?
Kiana rubbed her chin and fell into deep thought.
"I know what to do!"
Kiana had been thinking the entire way. Seeing how focused she was, Acheron thoughtfully refrained from disturbing her.
"We link badges to stigmata. Divide stigmata into three stages. Each time a stigmata evolves to a new stage, the user gets one chance to draw a badge!"
"To upgrade a stigmata, they'll need to fight—or consume Honkai Cubes."
When the time came, she would place a badge pool here. Since initial stigmata were influenced by personal experiences and memories, the variety would definitely be vast.
At that point she could create a—
Kiana blinked.
Her smile stiffened for a brief second as hesitation flickered across her face.
What had she just been thinking?
To ensure that the three badge options presented would suit the stigmata bearer, she could create a Stigmata Terminal to manage the process.
Unlike the stigmata crystals left behind in Izumo, she could use those very crystals to craft a Stigmata Terminal and recreate what once existed.
As for Belobog's Stigmata Terminal, it would handle badge generation, distribution, and the drop of Honkai Cubes.
"Can you actually do that? If you can, it sounds like a pretty good idea. But why are you making that face again? Did you think of another problem?"
Kiana shook her head.
"I was thinking I might be able to create a Stigmata Terminal to implement the idea."
But what would serve as the carrier?
Forget everything else for now.
This was the biggest obstacle. She couldn't just pre-exchange a massive stockpile of badges, stash them in some subspace warehouse, then cobble together a program to connect them to stigmata and achieve the desired effect, could she?
That wouldn't be easy either.
She wasn't some omnipotent creator god. And this wasn't Izumo, where the rules had been completely overwritten by Honkai.
"Why not let Jyahnar handle it?"
"...Jyahnar?!"
Kiana froze for a moment. She blinked, her brain creaking into motion as she repeated uncertainly, "Let Jyahnar do it?"
"Isn't she your companion Honkai Beast?" Acheron countered.
Jyahnar was Kiana's companion Honkai Beast. If she wanted to help Kiana, letting her take charge of this task didn't seem unreasonable.
Jyahnar would be helping Kiana, and Kiana's concern would be resolved. Wasn't that a win-win?
Acheron had not forgotten the unpleasantness during her last encounter with Jyahnar. In her view, it would be best if that Honkai Beast didn't constantly cling to Kiana.
Giving her something to do like this seemed perfectly appropriate.
"That may be true..." Kiana hesitated. "Fine. I'll try asking her later."
Something felt slightly off, but since it was Acheron's suggestion, she agreed.
When she saw Jyahnar later, she would see whether it was feasible.
Jyahnar knew more than she did and was, after all, her companion Honkai Beast. Maybe it really could work.
Still, she would have to ask Jyahnar's opinion.
If that didn't work out, she could go find Ruan and see if she had any ideas. And if even Ruan couldn't solve it—
Then she would settle for the next best option.
Build a "warehouse" here. It would be troublesome and carried the risk of being wiped out in one go—but as long as it functioned, that was enough.
Kiana followed Acheron into Belobog. Compared to her last visit, there were no obvious changes.
Only the streets were noticeably more crowded.
And among the pedestrians were people who clearly did not belong to this world.
"Employees of the IPC?" Kiana's eyes landed on the figures in black uniforms, surprise flickering across her face. "Where did they come from?"
Since the IPC wasn't directly relevant to Kiana at the time, Acheron hadn't mentioned them before. That matter had been between the Architects and the IPC.
She had temporarily suppressed it under Ruan's name.
"They want to acquire this world."
"Because the Stellaron was sealed, the IPC picked up Jarilo-VI's signal again?" Kiana's tone carried uncertainty as she observed the employees stationed around the hotel, clearly acting as bodyguards. "Mei, do you know who's here to negotiate the acquisition?"
Acheron thought for a moment.
"I believe her name is Topaz."
"Topaz..."
So the matter had happened earlier than expected—coinciding exactly with the Astral Express's arrival on Jarilo-VI.
"What? Do you know her?"
"I've heard of her. She's part of the IPC's Strategic Investment Department—one of the Ten Stonehearts."
She had dealt with the IPC before. When she had traveled to Euphorion during her period of amnesia, she had taken one of their ships. On the way, they had encountered interstellar pirates. During repairs at a docking world, she had happened to meet Robin there.
She had also relied on the IPC's network while searching for Mei's whereabouts.
"She's determined to acquire this world," Acheron explained briefly. "To avoid unnecessary complications, I invoked Ruan's name. The IPC is usually willing to give geniuses some face."
Kiana nodded. That would indeed reduce trouble. And at the time, the Astral Express had likely been present as well.
While many might not fully understand Acheron, few were unfamiliar with the Genius Society or the Astral Express. Most were willing to extend goodwill.
No one knew when they might need assistance in the future.
Still, Mei bringing Ruan into it so decisively...
That surprised her slightly.
Then again, remembering what Mei had boldly said last time, perhaps it wasn't so strange after all.
"Let's head to the Underworld and see Jyahnar!"
As far as this matter was concerned, you could call the IPC ruthless—but not foolish.
And according to Mr. Yang, they planned to invite Herta to assist. With two geniuses arriving here, if Belobog still failed to seize the opportunity and find a solution, there would be little left for her to say.
Just as she was about to set off, a voice suddenly called out to her.
"Miss Kiana? You're Miss Kiana, right?"
The person who stopped her was an IPC employee in uniform. When Kiana turned toward him with a puzzled look, his expression immediately turned ecstatic.
"Miss Kiana! I'm your fan!"
"...Huh?"
For a split second, Kiana was completely stunned. Her head even buzzed.
A fan?
From back when she had debuted and toured with Robin to build up publicity while searching for Mei?
What were the odds?
"I really am your fan!" The man was so excited upon seeing his idol that he hurriedly pulled out his phone to prove it. The phone case featured a promotional poster from one of Robin and Kiana's past tour performances.
Seeing that he truly was a fan from those days when she had toured to gain fame, Kiana fell into silence.
She had almost forgotten that she had once sung alongside Robin—and spent a brief period as a pop star.