When Ren finally saw Kiana, he thought he'd have a thousand questions to ask. Instead, they all dissolved into a silent sigh.
He pulled out the snow globe and walked to her side.
Looking at her profile and those golden eyes, Ren remained silent.
Honkai energy radiated from her body without restraint, answering every unspoken question.
The snow globe's melody was barely audible in the blizzard, its cheerful "Merry Christmas" growing faint and weak, yet that tiny sound rang crystal clear in both their hearts.
Kiana sat on the railing while Ren leaned beside her—so close, yet feeling worlds apart.
"Merry Christ—" The protective barrier Kiana had placed on the snow globe finally failed. The glass sphere, its battery long since corrupted by Honkai energy, couldn't even finish its final blessing before falling dark.
The clock's pendulum ticked forward relentlessly, its gears meshing together to fill the void of silence.
The midnight bell had yet to toll.
"Don't you have anything to ask me?" Kiana finally broke, turning her head to look at the snow globe in Ren's hands.
"Isn't the answer already clear?" Ren met her gaze, his deep eyes searching hers as if trying to pierce through to her very soul.
Kiana turned away, unable to hold his gaze. She jumped down from the railing and drew her gun.
"Then why dare show yourself before me?" Her voice turned cold, desperately trying to play the villain. She pressed the barrel against Ren's head, her finger on the trigger.
"I just wanted closure with the past." Ren's expression remained unchanged as he calmly drew his own pistol from its holster. "So, should I call you Kiana, or the First Herrscher?"
"Whatever you prefer." Kiana paused before adding, "You're just a dead man walking—my name means nothing. I'm merely a shadow born from the core, playing the role of someone you once knew."
"...I understand." Ren fell silent.
Click.
The pendulum swung.
In the next instant, they launched at each other almost simultaneously. Strangely, though both held guns, not a single shot rang out across the clock tower.
Thud.
A dull impact resonated through Ren's arm as he blocked Kiana's punch with his left hand. Her strength was overwhelming—his entire arm went numb.
Using the blocking position to his advantage, Ren pivoted, his right hand transforming from fist to palm as he struck upward toward Kiana's stomach.
But he had underestimated her resolve. Golden light flashed in her eyes as she took his strike head-on. Instead of retreating, she grabbed his blocking arm in an iron grip and hurled him through the air.
The clock tower platform was narrow—being thrown meant certain death. Ren barely managed to hook his foot on the railing to prevent his fall.
His human body was no match for Kiana's, let alone a Kiana empowered by Honkai energy. He was being completely dominated.
The moment he stopped his fall, her kick came whistling past his face.
BOOM!
The railing twisted and warped as if hit by a truck.
She's serious.
Using the mangled railing as leverage, Ren grabbed the maintenance ladder and pulled himself back onto the platform.
The wind howled behind his head—a kick powerful enough to split the storm itself.
Ren had anticipated it, dodging sideways. The clock tower's support pillar exploded, sending stone shrapnel raking across his face, drawing blood.
At this rate, Ren had no chance of victory.
Neither fighter wasted breath on words—only the howling blizzard cheered their deadly dance.
The storm grew fiercer, until Ren could barely keep his eyes open. But with each exchange, each clash, Kiana's attack patterns began crystallizing in his mind.
Before her punch could even disturb the air, Ren knew exactly how she would move.
He raised his right hand, deflecting her fist at the perfect angle. In that moment of surprise reflected in her eyes, he exploded forward, crashing into her guard.
His entire body's strength detonated at once. Even with her Honkai-enhanced body, Kiana went flying, slamming into a pillar.
Watching Ren's sudden increase in power, a flash of joy flickered in the depths of Kiana's eyes, nearly imperceptible. She attacked again with even greater force.
But clearly, the current Ren knew Kiana's movements better than she knew herself. He could predict most of her techniques, either dodging or enduring what he couldn't avoid. Using the Kaslana Gun Kata and Void Sword arts, he continued neutralizing her attacks.
The towering clock tower stood defiantly in the storm as the two fighters performed what looked like a deadly waltz at its peak, each movement perfectly synchronized with their partner.
As Kiana's remaining Honkai energy rapidly depleted, her stamina began to fail. Without realizing it, she found herself being pushed back by Ren.
Finally seizing his chance, Ren executed a perfect throw, slamming Kiana into the snow-covered ground.
Using his momentum, he pinned her beneath him.
Severely drained, Kiana tried to rise but found herself completely trapped. Her eyes flashed—a Lance of Longinus materialized behind Ren's back.
After hours of combat, Ren didn't notice at all.
...
The newly-formed lance dissolved into particles of light as Kiana's eyes dimmed.
It's enough.
The blizzard, seeming to read the mood, gradually died down.
Only Ren's weight pinning Kiana and their heavy breathing remained on the tower top. The clock continued its relentless ticking as Christmas lights still burned in the distance.
"Ugh... kill me."
Having planned this ending from the start, Kiana closed her eyes. If Ren killed her, her remaining Honkai energy could sustain the illusion. This way, even if Ren became a Herrscher, the trial wouldn't fail.
Joyce's plans would be thwarted, and Ren could survive safely—the perfect ending.
All it would cost was Kiana's early exit.
But Ren did nothing, simply keeping her pinned with his hands on her shoulders.
"..." Since Ren wouldn't act, Kiana had to force his hand. She grabbed his discarded gun from the ground and pressed it against his head.
But the moment she pulled the trigger, the barrel mysteriously shifted away from its target.
Click.
No gunshot rang out—Ren's gun had been empty all along.
Between the two of them and three guns, they couldn't scrape together a single bullet.
As Kiana opened her mouth to speak again, she felt a sudden weight. Ren had collapsed onto her, unconscious.
"So you were already completely exhausted..."
...
Kiana stared up at the clock in silence for a long while.
Slowly, she wrapped her arms around Ren's collapsed form, holding him close.
The bells began to toll midnight...
Christmas of 1951 ended with the two of them in each other's embrace.