"Her obsession lies right here."
Flames burned, condensing into a vivid crimson gem.
The Herrscher of the Void held the gem and said: "I think it's time to put an end to this. The Gem of Haste… such a nostalgic sensation."
"Sirin originally had six gems, and now only half remain. But no matter — I will take them all back."
Kiana drew her weapon: "I will stop you."
The Herrscher of the Void laughed: "You can't. Let me tell you something. Do you remember the captain of that strike team I killed in the memory we just saw?"
"??" Kiana looked at her in confusion.
The Herrscher of the Void continued: "Her name was Ragna — a Schicksal Valkyrie instructor… and Murata Himeko's teacher."
"What…!" It was the first time Kiana had ever heard this.
The Herrscher of the Void went on: "You caused her death. You destroyed the entire strike team. Only Himeko, who happened to be absent by sheer luck, survived. But she lost her place, lost her teacher and comrades, became a wanderer with nowhere to go, and had no choice but to leave headquarters and go to the distant Far East."
"But there… she met you again."
Kiana refused to believe it: "We don't have any memory like that. You couldn't possibly know these things."
The Herrscher of the Void raised the Gem of Haste in her hand: "But it knows. Her confusion, her pain, her struggle — at the very end of her life, they flashed before her like a revolving lantern, and the Gem of Haste recorded every single detail without omission."
"Hahaha… hahahahaha! Look — her fate was completely toyed with by you! You changed the course of her life, and then you brought her death. What a farce!"
"Murata Himeko — isn't she the perfect proof? The hero in your heart, the ideal martyr… she burned herself out, forcing so-called 'hope' onto you…"
"…and turned you into a walking corpse born only to atone."
Kiana forced herself to stay calm: "You're just hating her."
The Herrscher of the Void shook her head: "No, Kiana. Over these past six months, I've watched through your eyes — every move you made, everything you experienced — loss, parting, failure after failure."
"You gave everything to save people who had nothing to do with you. You bet your life, pushed your friends away, and in the end, the very people you saved became afraid of you, distanced themselves from you, pointed fingers at you."
"They never accepted you. They only feared your power. So they banded together to ostracize you, driving you into self-blame and guilt — so that they could then accept your protection with a clear conscience."
"The people you saved would still be crushed by endless malice, and in the end, they would even blame their own misfortunes on you."
"And those who praised you as a hero? Beneath their hypocritical smiles, they only wanted to use you, get close to you, and destroy you."
"And don't forget that stranger who once showed you kindness — the staff member at the Salt Lake base? She was one of the puppets too — it was she who leaked Anti-Entropy's intelligence, allowing the Herrschers to invade the Salt Lake base twice with ease."
"…" Kiana had already roughly guessed that the staff member was the same puppet who had resented her before.
The Herrscher of the Void continued: "This is the result Murata Himeko traded her life for."
"You will never be able to save them… because they do not wish to be saved."
"Everyone in this theater is like that."
"And the world outside this theater is the same — it has never changed."
"Theresa, Siegfried, Cecilia — every single one of them."
"Their kindness was trampled by another malice. Their lifelong efforts were destroyed in a single night. The beliefs they held dear were worthless in the eyes of others."
"Facing a world like this, can you still shamelessly declare that you will fight for all the beauty in the world?"
Kiana answered: "I am willing to believe!"
The Herrscher of the Void became furious: "Sanctimonious hypocrite."
Kiana said: "I've been having all kinds of dreams. The lingering consciousness fragments and memory shards left in the Herrscher cores — their lives, their joys and sorrows — I can feel them all."
"Everyone has painful memories. Everyone has felt despair in difficult situations. But after that, they still grit their teeth, stand up again, and keep living, even covered in wounds."
"Good and evil are like you and me — they exist in every person's heart. They are two sides of the same coin, inseparable light and shadow."
"You're right. The world is not beautiful."
"That's exactly why beauty is what people long for in their hearts."
"That! Is my reason."
"Precisely because good and evil coexist, I must work even harder to create a tomorrow that can surpass tragedy."
"I believe every person has their own chance to make this world a little more beautiful. People with kind hearts keep appearing, generation after generation, passing it on."
"Even if their own ending isn't beautiful, they lived a life without shame, upright and true."
"I've seen many people like that around me."
"…It is precisely because of her, because of the choices they made, that I am able to stand here today."
"That's why I am willing to believe — to believe in her ideals, to believe in what they protected."
"As long as I still stand here, her flame, their flame, will burn on forever."
The Herrscher of the Void said: "Good is something people need. Evil is not."
Kiana nodded: "Exactly. And that's precisely why you — and the Herrscher of Domination — both underestimated the power of conviction."
"…"
"..."
The Herrscher of the Void said: "It seems everything is clear now."
Kiana also nodded. The two spoke at the same time:
"There is no space between us in which we can coexist, and there is no possibility of mutual understanding."
The Herrscher of the Void gave a light laugh: "How rare. This might be the only topic we can ever agree on. There's no need to continue talking. Between you and me, only one can remain."
Kiana refused to back down: "Bring it on! I'm not afraid of you."
The Herrscher of the Void snorted coldly: "Hmph. Give it everything you've got. Struggle in vain. The moment of judgment has come."
Neither held back any longer.
In an instant, countless Void lances appeared throughout the theater, bombarding toward each other.
Space twisted, structures collided violently.
The theater itself nearly shattered from the spatial shockwaves.
But…
The two were of the same origin, and this was still within the mental space. A battle of this level could not defeat the other.
The Herrscher of the Void waved her hand.
The vanished Benares reappeared once more.
"What a pity. If you had finished it off earlier, you'd have one less enemy to deal with now."
Hm?
The Herrscher of the Void looked at the reappeared Benares in surprise.
In the past, it would surely have helped her against Kiana. If that happened, the scales of victory would tilt, and her triumph would be assured.
But why…
"What's wrong, Benares? Why aren't you attacking?"
Kiana looked at her coldly: "You still don't understand?"
The Herrscher of the Void shifted her gaze from Benares to Kiana: "What?"
Kiana said: "Benares… Bella was Sirin's friend. She held nothing but pure kindness toward Sirin. She always hoped Sirin could find happiness."
"We are both Sirin — consciousnesses born from her wish, different possibilities of Sirin."
"But we chose different paths."
"You only desire to destroy this world. I want to protect the things I believe in."
"In Bella's eyes… which one of us is closer to the Sirin she wanted to see?"
The Herrscher of the Void refused to accept it: "Are you saying Benares chose you?"
Kiana shook her head: "She doesn't want us to fight. She wants to save you too. She hopes you can let go of your hatred and find happiness."
"What she chose… is the Sirin she hoped to see!"
The Herrscher of the Void roared in fury: "What a joke… This is my stage! Anything that doesn't obey me has no right to exist!"
"Disappear, traitor!"
In the next instant, countless Void lances pierced through Benares' body.
Amid its mournful cry, it gradually dissipated into the space.
"Heh heh heh…" The Herrscher of the Void sneered coldly: "You didn't really think recruiting one traitor meant victory, did you?"
"It seems you've forgotten where the power you're using right now came from…"
"Don't get cocky, insect…"
"The power you stole — it's time to return it."
As her words fell, all the Void lances around Kiana vanished… and the Herrscher of the Void's power covering her body flowed entirely toward the other side…
Now she had become the original Kiana once more — completely unable to use Herrscher powers.
The Herrscher of the Void continued: "The authority of the Herrscher of the Void was always mine. You were merely borrowing it. Did you get so used to it that you thought it was your own power?"
"Now then… let's have a fair and just duel."
A so-called "fair and just" duel…
…against the overwhelming power that the current Kiana could not possibly resist…
Spatial compression, spatial freeze, spatial transfer, barrages of Void lances…
Yet every time she was knocked down, Kiana stood up again!
This was the space of consciousness. Her conviction would not allow her to fall like this!
"Tch~" The Herrscher of the Void was extremely displeased: "How unsightly. There's a limit to being so stubbornly persistent! Rather than being miserably crushed to dust, why not honestly accept your defeat?"
"If you do, perhaps I'll be merciful and grant you a painless death."
Kiana struggled to her feet once more: "No… no, I won't… I will never lose to you!"
The Herrscher of the Void laughed: "How ridiculous. Where do you even find the courage to say such things to me? Your companions are still busy playing house with the puppets. No one is coming to save you."
"The core's authority is entirely in my hands. The range you can influence in this mental space is shrinking. It won't be long before everything belongs completely to me."
"Open your eyes and see — you have nothing left! What's the point of struggling?"
Kiana still refused to give up: "Maybe… you're right. Right now I have no power. I'm just wasting effort. Forget fighting you — even maintaining this standing posture is incredibly difficult for me."
"But… whenever I fall to the ground, whenever the pain makes me want to give up, I inexplicably remember so many things."
"Burnt toast pizza, non-spicy sweet pepper curry, a triple parfait, a feather glowing with light, the gates of St. Freya… and her final lesson…"
"Every single person who ever helped me, guided me forward, showed me kindness."
"Their smiles, their gratitude, their hopes for the future… the hands they reached out to me… the light they shone upon me…"
"Just thinking about them… I can never bring myself to say the word 'give up'."
"Along this journey, I have received so much. Courage, blessings, hope… All my most beautiful memories are right here — heavy, precious, always warming me."
"So—"
"I am not empty-handed!!"
"What?!?" The Herrscher of the Void couldn't believe it. Power was continuously flowing into Kiana's body…
Kiana declared firmly: "I will pass on everything I've received so far!"
The Herrscher of the Void could no longer comprehend the situation: "The Herrscher of the Void core… should be completely under my control…! No, wait — this is… the power of the Gem of Haste?"
As the power of the Gem of Haste continued surging into Kiana's body, her voice grew ever more resolute: "I will bring them to even more people. I will not fall here!"
"I will carry her ideals — their ideals — and keep walking forward!"
The power of the Gem of Haste finally converged into a greatsword in Kiana's hands, granting her the strength to fight back.
The Herrscher of the Void was incredulous: "Why did the Gem of Haste acknowledge you? Just because that woman once used it?"
"You're wrong!" Kiana said. "It never belonged to you!"
At this moment,
The Herrscher of the Void finally understood.
All the gems had never belonged to her — they had always belonged to that woman… to Sirin!
She refused to accept it: "They're just fragments of lingering consciousness in the gems! Why resist? She's already dead — why are they still getting in my way?!"
Kiana continued pouring power into the greatsword: "Her life was never without struggle. This is her flame — her color!"
The Herrscher of the Void could feel the core's power shifting entirely toward Kiana.
She refused to accept it.
She could not understand.
"Why? Why do you think you can defeat me? Just because you're the good Sirin and I'm the evil Sirin??"
Kiana answered: "That kind of thing never existed. I chose good. You chose evil!"
All the power converged into a single strike.
The flaming greatsword fell.
The theater shattered. The mental space collapsed…
Everything was over.
"…"
"…"
Kiana: "It's over."
The Herrscher of the Void's voice grew weary: "…Yes. It's over. The gems' power is flowing to you. They abandoned me and chose you. It seems… your conviction was stronger."
Kiana said: "I will use these powers well."
The Herrscher of the Void: "Do whatever you want. Without me, things will probably be a lot easier for you anyway."
Kiana continued: "I will bear the sins you committed. That is my responsibility."
The Herrscher of the Void said: "That's your own business. No need to tell me. You could have lived in blissful ignorance, or simply died as an innocent test subject. But you chose this path."
"The blood on Sirin's hands, her sorrow, her despair, the contradiction of good and evil that all humans must face — you will carry that weight for the rest of your life."
Kiana said: "I will do my best so that there will never be another Sirin in this world."
The Herrscher of the Void could barely stand it: "Enough. Stop. I don't need your pity. Winner remains, loser disappears — that's the rule. I have no objections."
"…"
"…Goodbye, Herrscher of the Void."
"Goodbye… the other… Sirin."
Those words reached the fading Herrscher of the Void and actually moved her slightly: "I will never acknowledge your ideals… but since you won… walk your path."
"Do your very best. Struggle until the very end… Kiana."
The consciousness of the Herrscher of the Void completely dissipated…
The fragment of soul that symbolized her quietly vanished as well — like a light feather falling in a windless clear sky, leaving no trace in the pristine blue expanse.
But she knew that feather had truly, undeniably existed in this world.
Her longing, her despair, her sins — they had all truly existed.
Kiana gently closed her eyes, listening to this silent finale.
And at this moment,
If anyone was paying attention to online messages,
If anyone was watching the official group chat,
They would see that — whether it was the furious viewers from before, the grieving viewers, or those whose blood pressure had skyrocketed —
Everyone was posting the same thing:
"Farewell to Her Majesty the Queen!"
"Farewell to Her Majesty the Queen!"
"Farewell to Her Majesty the Queen!"
"Farewell to Her Majesty the Queen!"
"Farewell to Her Majesty the Queen!"
"Farewell to Her Majesty the Queen!"
"…"
Even Kalpas, who had been consumed by rage, stood stunned in the break room. He quietly took out his phone and sent one message in his fan group:
"Farewell to Her Majesty the Queen!"
But no one knew yet that the plot truly capable of depressing everyone… was just about to begin.