Chapter 15: Kiana Kaslana.
When you face a higher-dimensional being, what will be your reaction? Would you be calm and converse with him/her casually? Would you ask for salvation and forgiveness? Would you ask for a second chance in life?
Huo Yuhao is currently facing that situation. He is using [Great Sage]'s [Thought Acceleration] to the absolute limit, trying to make sense of the situation he is in right now.
A Herrscher. It translates to lawmaker or ruler. They are calamities, given human form. An absolute being that holds authority over powers that go beyond common sense.
A Herrscher would usually have authority over a certain power. It can be authority over an element like wind or ice. They can also hold authority over fundamental forces like electromagnetism. Some of them have authority over abstract concepts like death.
But no Herrscher can compare to the being in front of Yuhao right now. The final Herrscher, the Herrscher of Finality. A being that is released at the end to end human civilization. An absolute power that can achieve and do absolutely anything without any limit or condition to her abilities.
Yuhao recognized the girl in front of him. She was the main character of a game that he stopped playing before reincarnating due to its complex plot, but he kept in touch with the news. He stared at the girl who introduced herself as Kiana Kaslana.
'Well, I didn't even start my journey, and here I am meeting the final boss.' Yuhao wanted to cry but had no tears. He was ready to use Ellie's powers to get out of this situation as soon as possible.
Kiana Kaslana is an accurate definition of a hero/protagonist. She is well known for her unbroken will and determination to fight for 'all the beauty of the world' and battled the Honkai, an entity that goes beyond common sense, to save that beauty. He is wary of her presence.
'Does this mean this world is targeted by the Honkai? Otherwise, why would she be here in this world?' he wondered as he stared at the girl.
'Did Ellie do this?' he asked in his mind. Ellie had already brought him the legacy of the [White Dragon of Nihility], so he thought that she also brought him into this space.
Unfortunately for Yuhao, Ellie 'denied' doing such a thing when he contacted her in his mind.
"Relax, will you? You look like I will steal your food or something," Kiana said in a joking tone. She enjoyed watching the changes in his facial expressions.
Hearing her joke, Yuhao started relaxing a bit.
'Focus, this is our favorite tuna that made us cry like a little girl when we played the game,' he reasoned to himself as he canceled [Thought Acceleration].
"Hello, Kiana. You already know my name, but still, you can call me Yuhao," replied Yuhao as he awaited her response.
"Hmm, very well," she answered and nodded to him.
"First of all, I have been waiting to introduce myself for a while. But your situation was a bit sensitive. I waited till you escaped and reached a safe place to contact you, little Yuhao," Kiana said as she made her way to the train and looked back at him.
"Get in, we have a lot to discuss," she instructed as she entered the train.
Yuhao steeled his heart and followed behind her. He entered the train and followed her as they went from one carriage to another until they reached a carriage that had a luxurious seating area in it.
"Here." She pointed at one couch as she sat on the couch opposite to it and made herself comfortable. Yuhao followed and sat on the couch and made himself comfortable.
"You may have a lot of questions, and I will answer what I can," she said as plates of cake, cans of soda, and a lot of snacks appeared in front of them.
"Where are we, exactly?" he asked as he cut himself a piece of cake and started eating it.
Kiana stared at him for a bit and said, "We are in my stigma space. Think of it as an area outside of time and space."
Yuhao tilted his head and said, "And what is a stigma?"
He already knew what it was, but he still asked. He can't just say, 'I know you, Kiana, you were a game character in my past life,' right? His reincarnation is a secret that he would take to the grave, and he did not want to sound like a creep when he knew everything about her from the get-go.
"A stigma is a mark or a crest that would appear on the body. It acts like a key for a person to access the stigma space. A stigma space differs from one stigma to another, but they have a main function, and that is to carry knowledge from previous human civilizations. Think of it as a book full of books that have knowledge about everything of the past," she answered.
"Okay, and why am I here exactly?" Yuhao asked the girl as she finished her third piece of cake and started to devour another.
"My stigma appeared on your body when it followed a trace of origin power that integrated itself into your soul," she spoke in a serious tone this time.
'A trace of origin power? Origin power in Honkai universe is the power to grant wishes, how is it …' he paused.
'That is Ellie. Ellie is a crystallization of hopes, dreams, desires, and miracles. She can grant wishes as long as there is enough power. Are you telling me that when Ellie appeared and merged in my soul, Kiana's stigma merged with me?' Yuhao wondered as Kiana continued.
"At first, I was confused. In my era, everything was wiped out. I stored everything that could be saved inside my stigma space and sealed myself inside it. After all, I didn't want to stay awake in a world with no one in it." She spoke with a heavy tone and her gaze carried sadness and sorrow.
"I don't know how much time has passed since then, but out of nowhere, a trail of golden light blazed into my universe and was going to break out to another universe. My stigma followed right behind it to escape and get out from my dead universe."
"It kept following the golden light until the golden light suddenly entered your soul. When the stigma saw that, it implemented itself in your soul. It followed right behind and linked itself to your body, and when the connection was established, I was awakened." She finished as she chugged a can of soda and finished it in one go.
"So, were you following me since the very beginning?" Yuhao asked, as from her story, she was basically with him at the beginning of his reincarnation.
Kiana simply nodded to him.
"So, what is your goal? Are you planning on using this origin power to revive your universe?" Yuhao asked the Herrscher as he couldn't find a reason why she would link her stigma to his body for no reason.
Kiana stayed silent for a bit and simply sighed.
"Yuhao, a dead universe can't be revived no matter what. In my universe, I am the strongest, and I carry the Authority of Time. If I wanted, I could rewind it to a point where life existed, but that would solve nothing at all," she spoke as she opened a new can of soda.
"You already know about the [Prime] and the [Routes] from that big dragon, right?" she asked as she took a sip of soda.
'Hmm, so she was also there when I was taking the Alarion's trial,' Yuhao noted and nodded to her.
"My universe is a failed [Route]. It was destined to be a dead universe no matter what. I kept rewinding time till I finally gave up. Witnessing people that you love perish countless times can wear down even the toughest of hearts." Her tone carried helplessness and sorrow.
"In the end, I chose to preserve these memories and keep them safe till my universe perishes and I finally can rest." Kiana spoke in a soft tone as she stared at Yuhao.
"At first, I was confused. Waking up and finding myself in a new universe and a new world was quite shocking. I thought that I would perish when my universe ends. I then started observing you and how you used the origin power in your soul to gain more power."
"At one point, you even attempted artificial ascension (she is talking about class ascension, not Herrscher ascension) that nearly ended your life with that origin power. I injected two bloodlines into your body to help you finish the process smoothly. After all, I can't let you die when I just woke up. You are my anchor in this reality."
"The [Kaslana] blood would give you a stronger body (I know there is that Mantis transformation, but now is not the introduction of it) and [Schariac] blood would give you better control over the energy in general. That was the first time I helped you," Kiana said while devouring a bag of chips.
Yuhao, still immersed in her story, thought for a moment.
'So, currently I have four bloodlines in my body? Talk about a freak of nature. Thank God I have a slime physique; otherwise, I would either lose control or die prematurely,' he shivered at the thought of exploding or dying because of the multiple bloodlines opposing each other.
"I also watched your trial with that big dragon. When you were absorbing his blood, I tried helping you again, but that stupid dragon stopped me. Something about fairness and whatnot. Whatever. You passed in the end, and that is what is important."
"I have a request. Can you please stop your suicidal tendencies? I don't want to wake up every time when you are near death's door, okay?" She narrowed her eyes at Yuhao and pointed her index finger at him.
Yuhao blushed in embarrassment and nodded his head. Seeing his answer, she nodded and continued eating chips.
"I did not know why you kept pushing yourself that hard. I mean, I don't think that the woman who tormented you and your mother (the duchess) can threaten you anymore."
"So, seeing you desperate for power so much so that you plan to use the origin power in your soul to get out of this plane was idiotic even for me. That was until it finally occurred to me. This universe is a [Route], am I right?" Kiana asked him in a serious tone.
Hearing her question, Yuhao's facial expression hardened for a bit and finally nodded his head. Indeed, the universe that he is living in is a [Route] from the [Prime].
His existence as a reincarnated soul already deviated this world from the [Prime]. However, it is not known yet the fate of this [Route]. Is it a [Route] where he finally breaks free from the control of that freak in the divine realm or a [Route] where he failed and was brainwashed to be the slave for that freak?
This [Route] can also lead to other different possible endings. That is why Yuhao is trying not to depend too much on the novel's knowledge. Sure, he will still use it for key components like the Ice and Fire Spring, Skydream Ice Silkworm, etc. He would be stupid if he gave up on his meta-knowledge after all.
Seeing his answer, Kiana's expression hardened for a bit, and then she sighed.
"Well, at least it is not destined to be a dead universe as of now. That is good," she said as she sat upright on the couch and clapped her hands together to remove the seasoning of the chips from her fingers and looked at Yuhao seriously.
"And you are planning on going to other worlds that are in a failed [Route], right? You said that you want to use their resources while also helping them escape their doom?" She asked, her tone full of seriousness and her mighty pressure locked onto Yuhao.
Yuhao, seeing her like this, finally remembered. Under all the cheerfulness, cuteness, and silliness lies a lawmaker that can level this universe quite easily. He withstood her pressure with great difficulty and nodded his head while also maintaining eye contact with her.
She stared at him for a bit. His eyes resembled hers and his hair was similar to hers. She felt like she was gazing at a mirror for a moment and finally sighed. She released the pressure on him and continued sitting comfortably and resumed devouring her bag of chips.
"Okay, Yuhao. I will help you. I don't want to see other universes die out because they are not [Prime] timelines. I failed to save mine, and that stupid dragon also failed to save his, but now you have both our help and the power of origin in your soul. We can save this world." She told Yuhao in a serious tone, but her lips were curled up in a cute silly smile.
Yuhao stared at her for a bit and nodded.
'Truly, a heroine that 'fought for what's beautiful in the world,' Yuhao thought as he admired her spirit.
'Yes, I have Ellie and Mom with me. I have Alarion's inheritance and my class with me, and now I gained the companionship of one of the strongest beings to ever exist. Failure is not an option at this point,' he hyped himself up like a Shonen protagonist. The silly tuna is already rubbing off on him.
"On a more serious note, though," Kiana spoke in a very serious tone and interlocked her fingers together with her face wearing a serious expression like the famous pose of Shinji's dad.
"How did you cook delicious grilled fish when you have [Kaslana] blood in you? Answer me seriously. Did you use the origin power in your soul for it? If not, how?" she desperately asked.
It was known that all who bore the name of House [Kaslana] are cursed to make inedible 'food' that can act as biological weapons. So how did Yuhao, someone who has [Kaslana] blood in him, cook very well?
Yuhao, who was expecting a serious question from Kiana, froze in his place and stared at Kiana with a 'Are you serious' look and smiled.
'No matter what happens to her, she is still our silly adorable tuna,' Yuhao thought.
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An:
Phew, this chapter is 2.4k words without the author's note. It took longer than expected. By the time this chapter is out, we would have reached 100k views and nearly 500 collections, thank you for your support.
I spent a lot of time watching clips of Kiana to try and grasp her character, so that she doesn't appear as an NPC in the story.
Also, keep in mind: This version of Kiana has lost everything: friends, family, lovers, etc., and to top it all off, her universe was destined to perish in the end.
So, she can't be cheerful and silly all the time; she matured quite a lot. She repeated the cycle of rewinding time with her authority as the Herrscher of Finality, but it has proven to be useless as whatever she did would be balanced by the Honkai, and she would be defeated in the end or she would win but after losing everything.
Let me know your thoughts on their interactions, okay?
Don't forget to comment on memes, share your thoughts, and most importantly, post waifu pics.
That's all for now.
Bye.