"One who had nothing left but revenge — Sirin used the power bestowed upon her by the gods to bathe that hell in blood, delivering the judgment those demons so richly deserved."
"There were also innocent people in that tower, but Sirin no longer cared. She unreservedly inflicted her own pain onto another, because she no longer wished to have anything to do with humanity."
Kiana could not refute the Herrscher of the Void's words.
She didn't need to refute them — she only needed to state the truth:
"But even at that time, there were people who wanted to save her."
The Herrscher of the Void said: "You mean Theresa? She only knows how to speak pretty words, completely unrealistic, and never truly cared about how Sirin really felt."
"Or perhaps Siegfried? A coward, indecisive, hesitating until the very end, accomplishing nothing. Yes, he shouldn't even be counted."
"As for Cecilia…"
At the mention of this name, the Herrscher of the Void paused for a long time.
Only then did she continue: "She may have harbored some unusual feelings toward Sirin, but love is far too pale and powerless in the face of hatred. The world would not allow her to do so, and in the end, she could only raise her weapon against Sirin."
"They killed her together — that's what you call salvation. The kindness and understanding you speak of is the deepest mockery of Sirin's fate."
Kiana said: "No matter how you look at it, their figures remained in Sirin's heart."
"…" The Herrscher of the Void fell silent. Even she could not refute this.
Kiana continued: "In the boundless darkness, Sirin dreamed recurring dreams. The warmth you despise was, in those dreams, the most precious treasure she longed for."
"She longed to start over, to live as an ordinary person, to have friends, to have an ordinary and happy family."
"She longed for her parents' love, to hear her mother's voice once more, to feel the warmth of an embrace again."
"All of this was engraved into the core memories, transcending time, sending her final prayer at the end of her life into the future, giving birth to a new consciousness."
"…That is me."
"This is the second chance Sirin longed for. You see everything as binary opposition, but the human heart has never been such a simple thing."
"We are two souls born from Sirin's wish, two branches growing from the same tree, reaching in different directions."
"We share her emotions and memories, yet we have walked completely different paths."
"I don't know what influenced you — the pain of the experiments, the seduction of Honkai, or perhaps the same hatred imprinted deep in the core?"
"Those fragmented memories are warm dreams to me; to you, they are a scorching, unbearable curse."
The Herrscher of the Void said: "…Even the same memory appears as different scenery in different eyes. I don't know, and I don't care what you are. The meaning of my existence in this world is to destroy everything, to bring annihilation to this world."
"Humans created Sirin's suffering, took everything from her; now they shall bear her wrath and pay the price they deserve. No one can escape this vortex."
Kiana said: "The chain of hatred will never end. You are only creating new pain in the exact same way as the humans you despise most."
The Herrscher of the Void smiled: "But you cannot stop me. Count them — family, teachers, friends… How many people have been dragged into this by you so far, caught in this never-ending nightmare?"
"They wander homeless, displaced, even lose their lives. And you can only watch it all happen, powerless."
"Oh, right — there's also that little one."
As the words fell, Benares appeared in this theater constructed within the mental space.
"Don't tell me you forgot it — it died because of you—!"
"Even if you are also Sirin, so what?"
"You don't even have an obsession strong enough to rival mine. Look — the core still chose me!"
Kiana had no time to answer right now.
Ever since Benares appeared, it had been relentlessly attacking her.
This made Kiana feel very strange. The real Benares would never hurt its friends…
At this moment,
Kiana understood.
She immediately counterattacked, stripping away Benares' ability to act.
Seeing this, the Herrscher of the Void asked: "Why didn't you finish it off? You already killed it once — doing it again should be second nature, no?"
Kiana exposed: "It's just an illusion you created! It seems this really isn't the Theater of Domination, but our shared mental space."
"If that's the case, then I can do the same thing."
The Herrscher of the Void slightly furrowed her brows: "What trick are you trying to play now?"
Kiana said: "All this time, it wasn't the Herrscher core rejecting me — it was me rejecting them… I was afraid of those echoes of the past, afraid to accept the fact that you and I are one and the same."
"I thought I had already resolved to face it, but deep down I was still unconsciously running away."
"But that cowardice ends today."
"I will face all the past I didn't want to face — those sealed memories, the life intertwined with you."
"I will cross over them, and accept — the real me."
After realizing this was a mental space, Kiana understood one thing very clearly: to defeat the Herrscher of the Void, it wasn't about who had greater power, but whose [conviction] was stronger!
She would accept every part of the past, fully embrace her true self, so that her conviction would have no more flaws, and would never waver again.
Under her will,
Everything around them began to change.
They arrived at her very beginning — the cultivation pod, designation K-423…
"Here… is my origin. Our origin."
"Sirin, at the very end of her life, prayed to start over, prayed to have a different beginning."
"It was that very wish that gave birth to us."
The Herrscher of the Void said: "Birth? You really know how to romanticize it. Have you forgotten? This was that man's filthy crime!"
"Poor Sirin — even in death she found no peace. Humans took her corpse, divided her core, turned the traces of her existence into numbers on a data table."
"And he created you and me purely for his own selfish desire. To achieve his goal, he manipulated and toyed with everyone around you."
Kiana said: "But there were also people who tried to stop it all. People who wanted to halt this absurd plan, to prevent the tragedy from repeating."
"It was their choices that brought the first change."
To prove this,
Kiana brought forth the part of her memory that had always been hidden.
She was inside the cultivation pod.
Outside came the voices of a man and a girl:
"Dad, she looks exactly like me!"
The man whispered: "Shh — keep your voice down, don't let the guards hear."
The girl asked: "After we rescue her, where will she go?"
The man answered: "Anti-Entropy will take her in."
The girl pressed: "Can she come with us?"
The man hesitated: "…You can visit her."
The girl asked innocently: "Then what should I call her? Does she have a name? She looks so much like me — can she be my little sister?"
"…I don't know." Siegfried didn't know how to answer either.
The Herrscher of the Void sneered: "Siegfried again — this man, just to save you, this fake, he lost his real daughter."
"How ironic. He once had a perfect family, a happy life — and both Sirin and you took away the two most important people in his life."
Kiana said: "I felt guilty, I didn't want to face this memory. My weakness gave you an opening. But the kindness they showed me — I should not, and I do not want to, forget it."
"I am K-423, a Herrscher experimental subject created by Schicksal. Back then I was like a blank sheet of paper, knowing nothing of this world."
"But the choice they made — risking everything to save me — was what first allowed me to become a recognized human being."
"This is the origin of everything."
"Pathetic." The Herrscher of the Void waved her hand: "Since you mentioned birth, then let me show you what came after."
The scene changed again — everywhere was a sea of fire and ash.
"Ah, what a nostalgic sight. Remember this place? Eastern Siberia, 2010 — the day I first awakened and took control of this body."
"After that man lost his daughter, he refused to hand you over, and hid with you here for a very long time."
"Anti-Entropy was searching for you, Schicksal was searching for you. They sent some kind of strike team. Unfortunately, you were discovered. What happened next… you'll never forget it, right?"
Kiana said: "You lurked inside me, feeding on my loneliness and fear. At my weakest moment, you seized the opportunity and took my body."
The Herrscher of the Void said calmly: "I killed them all. Those annoying Valkyries irritated me, so I killed them."
"Their squad leader — she had a chance to hurt me, but hesitated the moment she realized you were just a child. And of course, she lost her life for it."
"And your dear father — that man was responsible for Bella and Sirin's deaths, so I chopped off one of his arms without hesitation, and let him be devoured by his own flames."
"He clearly could have killed us both with that sword, but he didn't. He couldn't. Because he saw you as the phantom of his daughter."
"This is all your fault. Don't you feel ashamed? Ordinary life? Happiness? Love? You don't deserve any of it — your very existence only brings tragedy."
"Just like what once happened on this snowy plain!"
"Start over? How can you have such a naive fantasy?"
"The world will only show you malice, because your existence itself is a threat to the world."
Listening to the Herrscher of the Void's words,
The audience at this moment gradually began to understand why Kiana cried so much while filming this episode, why she came so close to depression.
In the chat group, the viewers were all sighing deeply.
"If it were me, I would have already been crushed beyond endurance by the Herrscher of the Void. Poor Kiana."
"Has Kiana been this tragic ever since she was born? Where's the healthy and happy part? This is supposed to be the healthy happy plot? I'm about to get depressed watching this."
"It's really hard to imagine what kind of pressure Kiana has been carrying all this time… even the actress is getting depressed."
"Damn it, the first half was all misdirection. After watching Seele and Dark Seele's relationship, seeing Kiana and the Herrscher of the Void hurts even more, cuts even deeper."
"They're both two consciousnesses, so why does Kiana have to suffer so much? The people who love her get hurt, and the people she loves are put in danger because of her."
"I can't… I'm really about to fall into depression."
"Idiot! Kiana is still holding on strong, she hasn't given up — what are you guys getting depressed for? Pull yourselves together and keep watching! Can't you learn something from Kiana?!"
"Guy above is right — we should learn from Kiana and toughen up!"
"…"
The drama continued.
Kiana silently accepted it all, facing it all.
She walked toward the Judgment of Shamash lying nearby, and the memories belonging to her appeared before the two of them.
Just after regaining consciousness, she was tightly embraced by Siegfried. She noticed his arm:
"Dad… you're hurt… you're hurt! Your left hand is gone! What happened? Who did this? Who?!"
Siegfried gently comforted her: "It's okay, Kiana. I'm fine."
Kiana was on the verge of tears: "But you're bleeding so much! The wound… if we don't treat the wound quickly—!"
Siegfried stroked her head with his remaining right hand: "Kiana, it's okay. Listen to me. I'm sorry… maybe Dad won't be able to keep his promise to always stay by your side. But you must remember — Dad will always love you."
Kiana didn't understand at all: "Dad, what are you saying…?"
Siegfried said: "Don't worry about me. Dad will be fine. I'm doing this to protect you. Forgive me, Kiana…"
Kiana clung tightly to his clothes: "Where are you going… No… I don't want you to go!"
"Kiana." Siegfried solemnly told her: "We made a promise, didn't we? A Kaslana warrior will do anything to protect others. I believe you can definitely do better than me. You will absolutely never lose to her. Absolutely never."
"Because — you are my daughter."
The scene faded.
Kiana took a deep breath.
She spoke to the Herrscher of the Void once more:
"…From beginning to end, Dad treated me as his daughter. He clearly knew of your existence, yet he still gave me a name, taught me how to fight, and told me to use my own power to protect the people I love most."
"Even when he left me, it was to protect me — he knew you hated him to the bone, and realized he would become the trigger for your awakening."
"So he entrusted me to his friends and protected me quietly from the shadows. Thinking back now, during those early days of wandering, Dad must have taken care of me a lot."
"After that, I met Mei and Bronya, came to St. Freya, met Auntie, the Class Monitor, Teacher Himeko, and made the vow to fight for all the beauty in this world."
"Without Dad, there would be no me today."
"I still have my promise with him — I will not lose to you!"
"St. Freya?" The Herrscher of the Void laughed. "And who was it that destroyed all of that? Yes… it's about time we got to this part. Your most painful memory. The truth you cannot accept."
Everything around them transformed into the deck of the Hyperion, where a crimson figure stood motionless.
"Remember this place? Oh, you won't forget it."
"0.2 seconds later… in ten minutes, she will die."
At this moment, Kiana truly fell silent.
The Herrscher of the Void continued: "You've always avoided talking about this. You did it in front of the puppet, and you're doing it now. But you've always known — that time, I really did kill her."
"Ah, I suddenly have an idea. If I injure her here, she won't be able to go to the front line, and she won't have to sacrifice herself. That way you'll be happy, right?"
"?!" Kiana's eyes widened. She couldn't comprehend the Herrscher of the Void's actions.
But seeing her charge toward that figure, Kiana immediately moved to stop her: "I won't let you succeed!"
The Herrscher of the Void showed a triumphant smile: "Sigh, it's just a memory — you can't change reality anyway, so why take it so seriously? As you wish — she will once again step onto that battlefield, give everything she has, and die meaninglessly, becoming nothing but a failure."
Kiana's emotions could no longer remain calm: "Teacher Himeko… is not a failure!"
The Herrscher of the Void asked: "Then tell me — what did she save? After her death, St. Freya completely fell apart. The school was deserted, existing in name only."
"Raiden Mei has already betrayed you. Bronya will also drift further and further away."
Kiana shook her head: "No. They saved me. Teacher Himeko… saved me."
The Herrscher of the Void sneered: "She cursed you. You once had the chance to end it all, didn't you?"
"That day, you knelt in the sea of fire in Arc City, raised your gun, wanting to end both me and your own life together."
"You could have pulled the trigger, but you didn't."
"Because you wanted to live. Because that woman made you live — carrying the guilt and remorse that would haunt you for the rest of your life!"
"That is the reason you can never truly escape me."
"She saved you, yet left an eternal curse in your heart — a wound that can never be healed, a regret that can never be resolved."