The two who suggested taking a walk to unwind didn't go far. Instead, they climbed onto the roof of the apartment building. The buildings in the suburbs were mostly low-rise, and the rooftop of Ren's building was enough to overlook the entire district.
The cool night breeze caressed the girl's hair, carrying away the fatigue accumulated over months. The bright moonlight pierced through the mist-like clouds, casting two silhouettes on the rooftop in silver light.
"It's been a long time since I've looked at the night view of this city so leisurely."
By the rooftop railing, the two leaned casually against the railing, watching the village paths lit by dim yellow streetlights. Kiana sighed softly.
"After all, you've been constantly, relentlessly running forward." Resting his hand on the rooftop railing, Ren subconsciously glanced at Kiana who was admiring the scenery. "Sometimes, just slowing down your pace a little, you'll find that the scenery around you is enough to touch your heart."
"Mmm~" Kiana stretched contentedly, her graceful figure fully revealed in the moonlight.
"You're right, being able to relax like this occasionally is needed to sort out your feelings and continue moving forward."
After stretching, Kiana turned her head, her gaze meeting Ren's. An imperceptible shyness flashed in her eyes, quickly returning to normal.
She turned her back, lightly pushed off with her toes, and simply sat on the railing, facing Ren who was standing on the ground.
"But Ren, before you talk about me, don't you think you're the one who needs to rest more?"
"Why do you say that?"
"Because eyes don't lie."
Sitting on the railing, Kiana suddenly lost her balance, leaning forward unexpectedly. Ren subconsciously reached out to catch her, but just as they were about to make contact, Kiana's falling motion suddenly stopped.
Their faces were less than five centimeters apart, close enough to feel each other's breath. They gazed into each other's eyes, able to clearly see any change in the other's pupils.
Kiana's feet were firmly hooked onto the railing's horizontal bar. Her leaning motion just now was merely a deliberate test.
In that brief moment, at such close proximity, the nervousness and panic in Ren's eyes had been completely seen by her. A smile appeared on her face, while Ren, realizing he had been teased, could only awkwardly avert his gaze.
"Eyes don't lie," Kiana continued, as if successfully verifying her statement. "Before Coral Island, I didn't notice these details, but when you brought me out of the consciousness space, I consciously started paying attention to your eyes."
"Your eyes often carry a weariness I don't understand. I originally thought you were worried about the power of the Herrscher of Ice, but even after the Herrscher of Flame awakened, this weariness only lessened, it didn't disappear."
"I know, you still have many things you haven't told me. They might be secrets you don't want to reveal, or unforgettable pasts, but…"
Kiana leaned in closer. "I want to understand you more, I want to help you. We're partners, friends, people who will… walk together."
The moonlight tonight was beautiful, so beautiful that it made Ren feel a little flustered.
Whether it was his imagination or not, ever since Kiana emerged from the consciousness space and successfully awakened the Herrscher of Flame, her attitude was becoming more and more proactive. Ren, who should have been in a dominant position, was gradually losing his ability to control his emotions.
Just as Ren was considering how to handle the current situation – whether to continue to hide everything or to reveal some of his information appropriately – Kiana suddenly retracted her movements, breaking into a mischievous, successful prank-like smile.
"Just kidding, everyone has their own secrets, and some secrets are impossible to tell others no matter what, I understand that very well, so I won't really pry into your secrets." The girl sat on the railing, swinging her legs.
"I also have my own secrets, and many things I've never told you. Everyone has their own story, but…"
She stopped swinging her legs and reached out to tuck a strand of hair, scattered by the wind, behind her ear. "Wanting to understand you more, that's not a joke."
"..."
The bright moon was clear and luminous, reflected in Ren's eyes, was Kiana's figure.
The night breeze brushed past the silver moonlight, embracing the two figures drawn closer in the quiet night.
Kiana sitting on the railing turned her body back to face forward, her gaze passing over Ren and looking into the darkness behind him. "You know what? Before coming to ARC City, I also had a very happy time. Back then, I was studying at a high school called St. Freya Academy, and I had a group of very good friends."
"The clever and calm Bronya, the quiet and serious class monitor Fu Hua, the cold-outside-but-warm-inside Ms. Himeko, the busy and responsible Headmistress Theresa, and… my best friend, Mei."
"They were all once close to me, but because of the Herrscher of Void's power within me, they all had to leave the school and become enemies of Schicksal."
"Bronya and Headmistress are being hunted by Schicksal and can only stay with Anti-Entropy. Fu Hua sacrificed her physical body to help me and only her consciousness remains, and she's fallen into a slumber."
"Ms. Himeko almost died in the Imaginary Space. If you hadn't saved her, I might never have seen her again."
"Finally, there's Mei. To alleviate the pressure of the Herrscher core in my body, she didn't hesitate to join The Obsidian Concord and become the Herrscher of Thunder."
"It seems everyone who gets close to me becomes unhappy. So sometimes I worry, will you also choose to leave one day, just like before."
Kiana's gaze returned to Ren again. She lowered her eyes, the moonlight illuminating her profile, making her face look a little pale.
"I have a premonition, if you disappear again, I might never be able to find your trace."
"So I want to understand you a little more, so that if you disappear one day, I can follow your footprints little by little and find you again."
Like being choked by a solidified ice crystal, the words Ren had prepared were stuck in his throat.
Grey eyes reflected each other, making him unable to utter any more lies.
"Kiana, do you know… the Imaginary Tree?"
A silent night breeze blew a fallen leaf from somewhere, quietly landing in Ren's hand. In the dim night, a faint golden glow slowly lit up in Ren's eyes.
The lush and intricate inverse tree pattern was imprinted in Ren's eyes. The power from the Imaginary origin was shown to Kiana for the first time. This was the power that belonged to [Ren], not the Herrscher of Dominance.
"This is?"
"The Imaginary Tree, the origin of Honkai, and also the birthplace of worlds. It's located deep within the Imaginary Space, and it's the measure of time and space dimensions." Ren held Kiana's right hand and gently placed the leaf in his palm.
In an instant, Kiana's consciousness felt like it had traversed endless space, arriving at a red sand sea. And in the center of the sand sea, a golden tree that obscured the sky and the earth emitted a dazzling golden glow.
The vast and majestic Imaginary Tree left Kiana in a brief state of shock, unable to recover for a long time. And when she finally shifted her gaze away from the Imaginary Tree, she discovered that in the boundless red sand, a familiar grey-haired boy was advancing step by step towards the giant tree like an ascetic.
"Ren?"
The scene of the Imaginary Tree only appeared for a moment, and Kiana's consciousness returned to her body again. However, the shock in her eyes lingered. What confused her even more was the solitary figure in the red sand.
"That boy is…"
"That's right, it's me," Ren didn't deny it. "You can think of it as my projection, or as my consciousness, anything is fine."
"In other words, your ultimate destination is that tree?"
"Yes and no." Ren became enigmatic. "My goal is indeed the Imaginary Tree, but the Imaginary Tree is just a concept. It itself is not a physical tree, which means I may never reach it."
The leaf in his hand disappeared. Taking advantage of the moment before Ren could retract his hand, Kiana tightly grasped his hand. "No matter what, if you disappear, as long as I go to find that tree, I can find you again, right?"
"..."
"The Imaginary Space is boundless and dangerous, you can't possibly…" Even Ren himself couldn't guarantee that he wouldn't be swallowed by the Imaginary Space. He told Kiana this just as a precaution, not to let her put herself in danger.
"I don't want to hear that, just tell me the answer."
The golden Herrscher of Void power erupted, and Kiana flew up from the railing, her whole body almost pressing onto Ren. She stared intently into Ren's eyes, even going so far as to use her Herrscher power to sense any changes in his eyes.
Under this pressure, Ren finally gave in.
"Yes."
"The Imaginary Tree is the measure of time. The [Time-telling sand] I gave you is a part of the Imaginary power. It doesn't belong to Honkai. If you get lost in the Imaginary Space, you can rely on it to return to the world."
Apart from the Herrscher of Flame powers, this was the most important gift Ren had prepared for Kiana. Time and space were originally one. For Kiana, who controlled the Herrscher of Void power, this was undoubtedly a crucial life-saving charm.
"You actually came into contact with the Imaginary Tree a long time ago? Then your ability…"
"Establishing a connection with the Imaginary Space, drawing power from the Honkai, and controlling it." Ren wasn't lying, but he cleverly placed the word 'controlling' last. "I can open the Imaginary Space, and I can also use some of the Herrscher core's abilities."
He took out the cores of the Herrscher of Ice and Herrscher of Earth. The blue and ochre cores floated in his hand, and a nebula of ice frost appeared in the surrounding air. This was a sign of two powers manifesting simultaneously.
"So that's why you pretended to be the Herrscher of Flame." Kiana suddenly understood.
"I need Honkai to heal myself, Herrscher cores are a very effective way." Ren, who had come to this world, still hadn't escaped the entanglement of the curse. Even if he became the Herrscher of Dominance, he would still face the fate of death.
It was precisely because of the threat of death that he initially formulated the plan to lure Kiana. Now, the price of lifespan was paid by the Imaginary Tree, but the curse had not disappeared.
Fortunately, the Spirit of the Sheep's life force and the Herrscher cores could alleviate the lifespan problem, at least the current Ren didn't need to worry.
"Then, are these two cores enough? I can give you my…"
Looking at Kiana who had become a little nervous, Ren smiled and refused, "Don't worry, my body problem has long been solved, and the current me is not weak at all."
"Putting it another way, even if something happens to me, aren't you always by my side?"
"Then you're not allowed to leave me in the future." Kiana looked at him seriously.
"Mm…"
Having shared each other's secrets, their relationship became a bit closer. They found a clean spot to sit down and chatted about some past events.
Kiana talked about the fun things at St. Freya, about her friends, and even told Ren about every detail of her interactions with Mei. Ren acted as a quiet listener, remembering every word Kiana said in his heart.
"Kiana, the rooms are cleaned up, are you two going to stay in one room tonight or…?"
Teacher Himeko, who had just finished washing the dishes, walked onto the rooftop and saw only the two figures sitting shoulder to shoulder.
She paused for a moment, then quickly revealed a knowing smile, no longer bothering them, and silently closed the door and returned to the house.
…
"Ren, back in ARC City, we weren't really familiar, why did you choose to help me?"
"Probably because…"
「Before this, I have encountered you thousands of times.」
In the vast red sand, Ren's main body looked up at the boundless Imaginary Tree, at a withered and decaying branch, and murmured so.