After Bronya returned to St. Freya Academy, she underwent a full physical examination.
It was confirmed that it was caused by the overflowing Honkai Energy from the Moonlight Throne.
Autumn had arrived.
Red maple trees were planted along both sides of the roads in St. Freya Academy, swaying in the clear breeze, the ground covered with fallen leaves, cloaked in red splendor.
Walking on the path to the teaching building, one could smell the scent of autumn.
At the same time, the annual Valkyrie Examination was fast approaching.
The atmosphere in the classrooms became tense.
Even Kiana reduced her truancy, and the daily combat training was constantly intensified.
To pass this exam, the entire Academy was immersed in busyness. In the past, many couples could still be seen secretly kissing and hugging on the grass, but now they had almost vanished.
Of course, the couples here were both girls.
"Kiana, if you fail the exam, you'll be demoted to a D-Rank Valkyrie, and you'll only be responsible for logistics then," Mei sighed in the dormitory after school.
"Logistics... the convenience store? Mei, I already have the strength of an A-Rank Valkyrie, and you still want me to do logistics?"
Kiana said with her hands on her hips, her face full of defiance.
Ever since she learned about what happened in the future, her playful habits had changed quite a bit.
At least, in terms of studying, Kiana had made a lot of progress compared to her previous habit of just skipping classes.
Aside from subjects like math that she truly couldn't wrap her head around, her grades in her usual history classes now had a chance of passing, though they were still somewhat unstable.
"But I've already asked the Class Monitor to tutor me, so I'll work hard too!"
Hearing Kiana's motivated declaration, Yunduo, who was sitting nearby watching TV, let out a yawn and said, "Then you'd better keep it up. I'm going to take a shower first. Kiana, are you still going to be reading tonight?"
"Reading! I'm going to read all night!"
Kiana was full of confidence, swearing she would study properly.
Not long after, as she lay on the bed reading, she felt her eyelids grow heavy, almost unable to stay open.
It was as if sleep bugs had quietly crawled into her ears, and a thick wave of drowsiness swept over her.
Kiana entered a dream... a boundless darkness.
Her head throbbed with an inexplicable pain.
It felt as though she had entered a vortex of memories, unable to breathe, gradually sinking down.
When Kiana tiredly opened her eyes again, Shuhu discovered she was standing in front of the gates of St. Freya Academy.
The sky was shrouded in a red glow, exuding an eerie and ominous aura.
This was not the normal world; instead, it was like a nightmare.
Kiana suddenly heard a burst of strange, mocking laughter.
"Who's there?!" Kiana was startled and whipped her head around toward the source of the sound.
"Lost little girl, welcome home..."
There was no one in sight. The voice came from all directions, carrying a sense of drowsiness as if it had just awakened.
"Where is this? Why am I here?"
Kiana's consciousness was not yet clear as she muttered to herself.
Hearing this, the voice spoke with immense pressure:
"I have truly slept for far, far too long. But now, the gears of fate have begun to turn once again."
"Welcome home, Kiana Kaslana."
Hearing this voice, a flash of insight struck Kiana's mind!
If she remembered correctly, she seemed to have just fallen asleep, and pinching herself secretly also brought a sensation of pain.
If this wasn't a dream, then it must be an artificially constructed space.
For example, a Herrscher space! Who else could the person speaking now be, other than the Herrscher of the Void?
She probably didn't know that Kiana already knew the whole truth!
Thus, Kiana feigned ignorance and terror, asking, "Home? No! This isn't... Who are you? How do you know my name?"
Meanwhile, the Herrscher of the Void, unaware she was exposed, saw Kiana's frightened little rabbit act. With a look of arrogance on her face, she said faintly, "That is truly a long story. Do you like this world I've constructed for you?"
The Herrscher of the Void had awakened twice before this.
Each time was very brief, but she had unexpectedly discovered some secrets.
In the Sinners Song instance, she saw the death of Bella. Before she could vent the rage in her heart, her soul grew weary, and she fell into a deep sleep.
When she woke up again, it was during the Final Lesson. She saw her own crushing defeat, beaten by that red-haired woman.
The Herrscher of the Void had many doubts; she didn't know what these images actually represented.
She didn't think toward the future world, but instead thought humans had intentionally created them to disgust her.
"Let me out quickly, or I'll make you taste the power of Kiana Kaslana!"
Seeing Kiana panic-stricken as expected, the Herrscher of the Void laughed.
Just like that, step by step, she was walking into the trap!
Step by step, she was taking strides toward despair!
As long as she made Kiana despair and destroyed her will, she could take control of the body.
"Kaslana? Hahahaha! It seems you are completely ignorant of the ill fate you carry."
"You are merely an orphan abandoned by your father, who has never even seen what your mother looks like."
"Aren't you curious why you haven't had your mother's company since birth, and why your father had to leave you?"
The Herrscher of the Void's ethereal voice echoed at the gates of the constructed St. Freya Academy.
Dim shadows, empty stairs, and a cold, desolate path.
The red maples that were originally in full bloom had all withered, turning into lifeless branches.
This was a bizarre nightmare.
Here, let alone having one's inner pain provoked, just standing still would bring a shadow of terror. One would subconsciously want to flee, to escape this cold and gloomy world.
The Herrscher of the Void believed that, paired with the words she had thought about for a long time to lure Kiana, she would definitely succeed.
Now, she just waited for Kiana's terrified yet curious words... She waited, watching Kiana.
She saw Kiana, alone in the nightmare, knit her delicate brows. Drops of cold sweat formed on her forehead. It seemed fear had already taken root and sprouted in her heart; she wanted to run, to escape this dream!
The Herrscher of the Void knew what had happened to Kiana in the past.
The Second Honkai caused Himeko's Valkyrie squad to be wiped out and severed one of her father Siegfried's arms.
Although it wasn't the girl herself, but K-423.
However, she could still lure Kiana into the trap, making her mistakenly believe she was the real Kiana and that her birth had caused her mother's death.
It's useless!
Everything is useless!
This is a grand game of chess!
No matter what, you cannot escape the hands of the player!
Then, Kiana's next sentence caused the Herrscher of the Void's expression to change drastically.
Kiana was silent for a moment, then gave a cold "Oh." "Not curious. Anything else?"
Herrscher of the Void: "???"
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