"Hmph. My other half."
It was that familiar space again. Kiana tilted her head up, looking at the figure floating in the air.
"Your actions displease me greatly."
The face, identical to Kiana's, was completely devoid of expression. Piercing golden eyes looked down on her, and a voice filled with authority echoed throughout the space.
"You again!?" Kiana exclaimed, bewildered.
She pressed a hand to her head. She remembered passing out right after her birthday party ended. So how did she end up in this godforsaken place again after opening her eyes?
Was this some new kind of prank?
"Who the hell are you?" Kiana demanded.
She felt that this imperious, queen-like person before her was herself, yet not herself.
She had asked once before.
But she had dismissed it as just a dream.
"Hmph. Kiana Kaslana, I am your eternal nightmare, the one you can never escape."
"Speak plainly," Kiana shot back.
She hated people who talked in riddles. If you have something to say, just say it. What was the point of all this beating around the bush?
Seeing the other's arrogant and disdainful expression, Kiana really wanted to punch her. Even when crying, this lady's face must still look pretty, right?
"Hmph."
A cold snort.
"I am you, yet I am not you. We are two diametrically opposed sides of the same coin."
"However, I shall permit you to call me… the Queen of the Void."
"Or… Sirin."
The Queen stared at Kiana. She was Kiana's Herrscher personality.
But unlike the Herrscher of Thunder personality, who doted on Mei, the Queen of the Void was the amalgamation of the original Herrscher of the Void, Sirin's, malice. She contained all of her ill will, and her sole purpose was to seize Kiana's body and make the world suffer!
"Sirin?"
Kiana was confused. The name felt incredibly familiar, yet she was sure she had never heard it before.
Not yet an official Valkyrie, Kiana knew little about the Honkai and had no idea what the name Sirin signified.
"Then why are you here? Why do you look exactly like me?" Kiana questioned again. Staring at her own doppelgänger for too long was starting to give her the creeps.
"Because your body is my body, Kiana."
"I am merely suppressed for the time being. When I awaken fully, I will seize control of this body."
The Queen revealed her purpose, convinced that her awakening was inevitable.
Kiana could not escape her. Could she possibly eliminate her?
Impossible!
In this space of consciousness, she was invincible!
The pufferfish began to inflate once more.
Kiana frowned. After a moment of thought, she said, "A split personality? You're the secondary consciousness trying to take over the body from me, the primary one?"
Kiana, having survived on her own for so long, was no fool. Besides, she had seen this kind of thing in movies and manga.
But to think this lady has a split personality!?
The idea was absurd and gave her a headache.
What if I marry Otto in the future, and this second personality strangles him in his sleep while he's holding me?
Kiana clearly remembered the undisguised malice the Queen had shown toward Otto last time.
"No, no, no, Kiana."
But the Queen shook her head.
"Our relationship is far more complex than you can imagine."
"But you need not worry. The day I have been waiting for will soon arrive."
"Your resistance against me is about to end."
The Queen of the Void felt her awakening was imminent.
Her golden eyes narrowed. She had been watching the outside world from here the entire time. She had seen everything that happened between Kiana and that golden-haired mongrel.
At first, she was furious.
She felt that the golden-haired mongrel was desecrating the lips of a god. Humans were not even worthy of kissing her toes. When she awakened, she would torture him with the cruelest punishments in the world.
But gradually, the Queen's mindset had changed.
Because she was getting an incredible rush!
Otto's body was constantly absorbing Honkai energy, storing it within him. When Kiana came into contact with Otto, she was inevitably exposed to this pure Honkai energy.
The Honkai energy nourished the Queen of the Void.
If Kiana and that golden-haired mongrel repeated their actions from tonight another hundred times, she could awaken completely!
And then!
All humans would be annihilated by her!
Three years! Three long years I have waited for this day!
Three years ago, she had already awakened, but that damned Siegfried and Schicksal's Valkyrie troops had suppressed her once more.
But now, her claws were sharp again. Last time, she had only managed to sever one of Siegfried's arms. This time, he was dead!
"What do you want to do with my body?"
Kiana felt a bone-deep chill. The malice was so thick it was almost tangible. She realized the gravity of the situation.
Where did this antisocial personality of mine come from?
Kiana still thought of the Queen of the Void as another personality that had split off from her own.
"Hmph. To exterminate the filthy human race, of course."
"And that day is not far off."
"You had best enjoy what little time you have left."
"Hahahaha!"
The Queen laughed boisterously.
Go on, get closer to him. Touch him.
The more contact you have, the sooner I will awaken!
The malice was a suffocating wave. Kiana, who had yet to be beaten down by the harsh realities of the world, was no match for the Queen. Her body trembled, the sheer ill will threatening to consume her.
She felt her consciousness begin to detach.
The Queen of the Void looked down at her and said slowly, "You cannot escape."
"This is your inescapable destiny."
---o---
Kiana shot up in bed, gasping for breath. Her right hand clutched the collar of her shirt, her clothes almost completely soaked in a cold sweat.
Was that just a dream?
Kiana shook her head, but the lingering terror from the dream remained.
She might need to see a psychiatrist.
Hugging her blanket, Kiana checked the time. It was already midnight. She hadn't been asleep for long.
But she was wide awake now.
She was afraid that if she closed her eyes again, the Queen of the Void might take control of her body.
It was better to be safe than sorry.
She looked around. The empty room was silent.
Unlike the lively atmosphere of the birthday party, all that remained was a chilling quiet.
The cold seeped into Kiana's bones, making her wonder if everything that happened tonight—the reunion with Otto—was just a fantasy.
I want to see Otto.
For some reason, the thought surfaced in her mind.
Wearing only her thin pajamas, she swung her bare feet onto the floor. Clutching her pillow, Kiana made a decision.
Tonight, she wanted to be with Otto.