"Mom, I really missed you so much!"
Kiana's sudden pounce left everyone in the room utterly stunned.
The group, who had all been braced for battle just moments before, slowly lowered their weapons in confusion.
None of them had expected this girl—who looked every bit like a final boss—to turn out to be the daughter Cecilia had only just mentioned.
Now that they looked closely, though, it did make sense.
The only reason they had missed the resemblance at first was because the oppressive aura of Destruction she carried had been far too terrifying, overwhelming everyone's senses.
But now, with mother and daughter wrapped in each other's arms...
Yes, they really did look alike.
Though rather than mother and daughter, they looked more like sisters.
Still, on the Xianzhou—where immortality was commonplace and all manner of supernatural phenomena existed—such things were hardly surprising.
"Kiana, Mommy missed you too," Cecilia replied, doing her best to play along.
As a seasoned actor of fabricated histories, her performance was flawless.
Her expressions, her tone, every little detail was perfect.
To anyone watching, Cecilia and Kiana looked exactly like a mother and daughter reunited after a long separation.
The warmth of the scene was so moving that the others almost forgot about the cold, dreadful Destruction aura from just moments ago.
But in truth, both Cecilia and Kiana felt more than a little awkward.
After all, despite inhabiting two different bodies, they were fundamentally the same consciousness.
In that sense, the setup was eerily similar to the Herrscher of Sentience.
Hugging herself. Telling herself she missed herself...
No matter how she thought about it, the whole thing was incredibly strange.
But since the act had already gone this far, she could hardly stop halfway.
Cecilia took a steadying breath and resolved to carry this mother-daughter reunion scene through to the end.
She reached up and gently ruffled Kiana's hair, her gaze soft enough to melt stone.
"Let me see our little Kiana. Have you gotten thinner?"
Kiana lifted her head cooperatively, her eyes slightly red.
"No. I just missed you."
Cecilia let out a soft sigh and pulled her closer.
At the side, March 7th was already tearing up. Tugging on Stelle's sleeve, she whispered, "Waaah, this is so moving... Miss Cecilia reuniting with her daughter is even more emotional than one of those evening dramas..."
Stelle expressionlessly tugged her sleeve back, clearly unable to sympathize. "Why are you crying?"
"Because I'm moved!"
"Moved by what?"
"I... I don't know! But I'm moved, okay?!"
Dan Heng silently looked away, deciding not to involve himself with those two fools.
Welt's reaction, however, was far more complicated.
Watching the mother and daughter embrace, old memories surfaced unbidden in his mind.
In his original world, there had also been a Cecilia. And a Kiana.
But the Kiana of his world had never been the real Kiana, and she had never even had the chance to meet Cecilia.
The story there had never been this warm.
The same names. The same relationship. Yet completely different endings.
He wondered, not for the first time, whether this Kiana before him corresponded more to the strongest Valkyrie of Schicksal... or to the God of Earth.
Still, none of that mattered now.
At the very least, he did not dislike what he was seeing.
Perhaps this, too, was part of what it meant to Trailblaze.
Standing behind Cecilia, Jingliu silently studied the girl who had just appeared.
That aura of Destruction... and so overwhelmingly dense.
In Jingliu's original plan, she had intended to rely on the tools Luocha had prepared and ascend into a Lord Ravager herself.
Because of that, she understood a little about the Path of Destruction.
And as someone who had only recently received Cecilia's blessing, she could perceive even more clearly than the others what kind of power this girl contained.
It was beyond even her newly empowered self.
No—not merely beyond her.
It was beyond everyone present.
Jingliu narrowed her eyes slightly.
She had lived for centuries. She had seen countless strong people. She had faced beings at the Emanator level.
Yet the feeling this girl gave her was unlike any of them.
Her power absolutely surpassed Phantylia's.
And yet, despite being so terrifying, she was currently nestled in Cecilia's arms like a little cat, acting spoiled.
Because of Cecilia's blessing, Jingliu could also see something else more clearly now.
Within this Kiana was a Abundance blessing so profound that it was hard to describe.
And compared to both Jingliu and Cecilia, that blessing was even more intimate.
Then Kiana, as though suddenly noticing something fascinating, looked toward Welt with wide eyes.
"Huh? Isn't that Old Prison Yang?"
"Old Prison Yang, did you win another comeback fight?"
Welt: ???
That single phrase—Old Prison Yang—left Welt frozen in place.
Not just him. The rest of the crew was stunned too.
From Cecilia's earlier conversation with Welt, they had already learned a little about the world he came from.
But now this newly arrived Miss Kiana was calling him Old Prison Yang?
They did not really understand what that nickname meant, but the "prison" part sounded suspiciously prison-like.
"O-Old Prison Yang?"
Welt's mouth twitched slightly, his expression behind his lenses growing complicated.
"Miss Kiana... why exactly are you calling me that?"
Of course, he knew that the "Yang" she was referring to was not actually him.
But after meeting alternate versions of Himeko and Cecilia, he already had a rough understanding of how these similar yet different existences worked.
Not the same person—but often similar in personality or capability.
Still... Old Prison Yang?
What kind of outrageous nickname was that?
He, Welt Yang, had once stood as the Second Herrscher of Reason, the Sovereign of Anti-Entropy, a major power in his own world.
And now, after coming to this universe of Paths, he was still the strongest man aboard the Express.
So what exactly had happened in this world for the local equivalent of him to end up with a nickname like Old Prison Yang?
Kiana tilted her head, as if only now realizing the truth.
"Ohhh, so you're not Old Prison Yang."
I am definitely not that!
Welt almost felt his blood pressure spike, but as a mature adult, he managed to compose himself.
"...Of course I'm not."
"I am merely... a similar existence to the person you are speaking of."
"Ohhh." Kiana drew out the sound, her expression turning meaningful.
"So you really aren't Old Prison Yang?"
"...No, I am not."
"Then what kind of powers do you have? Can you create things out of thin air?"
Welt hesitated. "...I could, once."
"So now you mostly just use the cane?"
"...Yes."
"And can you still make black holes?"
"...Yes."
Kiana nodded with an I see now look on her face.
"Then that's basically Old Prison Yang."
Welt: "..."
He felt his blood pressure climbing at a visible rate.
Welt had weathered all manner of storms in his life, and had always prided himself on his calm rationality.
But now, faced with this grinning white-haired girl, he was for the first time experiencing what it meant to be rendered completely speechless.
"Kiana," Cecilia finally cut in, sounding helpless, "stop teasing Mr. Yang."
"I'm not teasing him," Kiana said innocently. "I'm just confirming facts."
Then she turned back to Welt and said earnestly,
"Mr. Yang, don't worry. Even if you are Old Prison Yang, you're different from that Old Prison Yang in my heart."
"..."
"In that world, Old Prison Yang gets bullied by the scriptwriter all the time. He's always taking losses. But you're different."
She paused, as if carefully choosing her words.
"You look... at least a little more elegant."
Welt: "..."
He decided to abandon this topic entirely.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Kiana. As for everything you just said... I shall take it as praise."
Beside him, Stelle leaned toward March and whispered, "Why do I feel like Mr. Yang is forcing himself to stay composed?"
March answered instantly, "No need to feel it—he absolutely is!"
Then, just as the atmosphere was finally starting to relax, Jingliu—who had been silent all this time—suddenly spoke.
"Cecilia. Is your daughter... a Lord Ravager?"
The entire teahouse froze.
Lord Ravager.
Everyone present knew exactly how much weight those words carried.
Not long ago, they had all fought one in a desperate battle.
That suffocating pressure was still fresh in everyone's memory.
And now this girl—who had just been snuggling up in Cecilia's arms like a kitten—was being identified as another Lord Ravager?
After all, based on the aura she had just displayed, she really did seem stronger than Phantylia.
At that, Kiana finally turned to look at Jingliu.
What was this supposed to mean?
Her brand-new carefully set-up persona was being sabotaged already?
Heh. Fine. Kiana could not do much to Jingliu right now.
But that was all right. Once she swapped accounts later, she could always discipline her through the deeply unfair master-servant agreement.
Though that was what Kiana was thinking internally, on the surface she answered calmly.
"A Lord Ravager? Of course not."
That blatant lie left everyone momentarily stunned.
Everyone at the table was a high-level Pathstrider. With how little Kiana was bothering to conceal her aura, how could they possibly fail to tell whether she was Emanator-level or not?
Yet Kiana acted as though she had noticed nothing.
She straightened up, put on a serious expression, and declared:
"I, Kiana Kaslana, am an Emanator of Destruction... but also an ambassador of peace!"
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 138)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter160)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter98)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter175)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 163
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 150
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 100
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 170
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 145
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 125
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 69
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 90
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 66
Uma Musume: From Beginner 100
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 70
Uma Musume: I Want All 90
I Can Copy Unique Skills 65
Summoning an Evil God, but the 52
Supernatural Multiverse 65
My Harem Is Indescribable 55
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 55
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 66
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 55
Still playing traditional Honk 35
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 35
What Should I Do After Switchi 24
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 35
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 27
Transmigrated as Sukuna 27
Checking In in Demon Slayer 32
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