On the TV.
i sensed that Tesla was about to co out.
She imdiately slipped back to the entrance quietly, composed her emotions, wiped away the tear stains from her face, and walked in again.
Tesla said in surprise: "Eh, i, you're back?"
i nodded lightly: "Yes, I just got back. I was worried it would be dangerous in the city, so I escorted Sora part of the way. It took a little ti on the road. Is Kiana still in the infirmary?"
Tesla replied: "Yes, we just did another checkup. The situation… is still the sa as before… Let her rest well. The Hyperion will arrive soon, and we can leave here right away."
i said: "Kiana hasn't eaten anything since waking up. She must be hungry. I'll go to the kitchen and see what I can make."
"i, wait a mont." Tesla called out to her.
"What is it?" i turned back to ask.
Tesla said: "…That chicken-head is too serious. She always states facts and reasons logically. As a researcher, that's a good thing, but in daily life, it can be a bit rigid. Don't take what she said to heart—"
i knew she was worried about her.
So she said: "It's okay, Dr. Tesla. I'm fine. I've been with Anti-Entropy for four months, and I know you're all outstanding scientists who will definitely make the most rational judgnts. I'm very grateful that you're willing to tell the truth."
Tesla comforted her: "I know it's hard for you inside… We will work hard to find a solution."
Afterward, i made a portion of curry and brought it to the infirmary for Kiana.
Upon seeing i, Kiana once again pretended to be relaxed: "i, you're back?"
i nodded: "Yes. I thought you might be hungry, so I made sothing to eat."
Kiana's gaze fell on the curry, and she imdiately got excited: "Oh oh!! It's i's curry!"
i said gently: "Fill your stomach with this first. If there's anything else you want to eat, I'll go prepare it."
Kiana sat up straight, hugged the tray, and devoured it ravenously.
"Ah… so, so good! …How can it be this delicious!"
Watching her eat, i finally showed a faint smile and said indulgently: "Eat slowly. There's plenty of food. Don't choke."
In no ti, the entire plate of curry was swept clean.
Kiana patted her stomach and said: "I'm full!"
i smiled: "In the end, after four months, your appetite and eating manners haven't changed at all."
Kiana said: "Don't say that! During this ti, I haven't eaten properly at all. It's been so long since I've tasted sothing so heartwarming and nostalgic…"
"Whew… This refreshing feeling, this perfectly balanced spiciness—sure enough, i's cooking is still the one that suits best!"
"…"
i's heart trembled, but she quickly reacted and said: "I'm glad you like it. I was worried earlier that it might be a bit too spicy."
Kiana hurriedly said: "No, no! The spiciness is just right. Eating it makes sweat, and it feels really good. I like it a lot."
i poured her a glass of water: "Here, drink so water so it doesn't irritate your throat."
Kiana downed the water in one gulp and lay back contentedly.
i continued: "The doctors said that next, the Hyperion will take you to an Anti-Entropy base for examination. You have to cooperate properly and listen to them. They are all trustworthy people."
Kiana said: "Got it, got it. Don't worry, i. There won't be any problems."
"Yes, Kiana, you'll get better. You will… definitely get better." At this mont, i had already made up her mind.
Worried that Kiana might notice sothing, she picked up the tray and walked out: "I'll go wash the dishes. You rest a bit more."
Leaving the infirmary.
Arriving at the kitchen.
She placed the tray in the sink.
Water flowed over i's fingertips, falling, shattering, disappearing into the small vortex with a low, choked sound.
She dried the tray and prepared to put it back in the cabinet, but accidentally bumped into the wooden bowl beside it.
A few small things fell to the ground—
They were the bell peppers left over from making the curry.
"…"
Drip, drip… The agreed-upon two hours were almost up.
i walked through the kitchen. The corridor was quiet, with no one around, only the light from the infirmary flickering lonely at the end of the hallway.
"…"
"Idiot…"
i turned around and walked toward the direction without light: "Bell pepper curry… How could it possibly be spicy…"
At this mont,
all the audience mbers felt as if they had been struck by lightning.
The sweet scene of eating curry earlier, at this mont, suddenly turned into a knife that stabbed fiercely into their chests.
Everyone felt unbearably distressed, frantically rushing to the official group.
"Fuck your mother, you knifed to death. Even eating curry can knife , fuck your mom."
"Aaaaaah!!! Dog director! I'm going to kill you."
"So Kiana has completely lost her sense of taste and pain. She said it was spicy when she saw the peppers because she didn't want i to worry?"
"I'm really convinced. Even a al can knife , huh?"
"Dog bastard director, you're really inhuman. It hurts! It knifes so much!"
"Pain pain pain!! I'm really going to be knifed to death. It's too hard to bear, too oppressive, it really hurts so much."
"How can this be? My Kiana, my i… They can't even eat curry properly anymore."
"Will I dare to eat curry again in the future? Seeing curry will remind of this. It hurts too much."
The audience was completely stunned by this knife.
No one had expected that sothing as simple as eating a al, eating curry, could hide such a massive knife.
It was painful to the point of being unable to breathe, painful to the point of being unable to sleep, painful to the point of wanting the dog director to feel a million tis the suffering!
Fire Moth Interstellar Entertainnt Company.
Kalpas suddenly rushed into the lounge.
No one noticed when he had left.
They only saw him now holding a bowl of curry in his hands, glaring furiously at Hessian as he charged straight over.
He scooped a spoonful of curry and shoved it into Hessian's mouth: "I fucking make you eat bell pepper curry, make you eat curry! Eat! Eat it for ! Is it spicy or not!!!"
Hessian was completely dumbfounded by Kalpas.
He quickly grabbed at SAKURA, begging her to save him.
She was his bodyguard, after all!
How could she just watch Kalpas charge over and assault him like this?
SAKURA said calmly: "He doesn't intend to kill you. He's just afraid you're hungry and wants you to eat so curry."
Everyone else looked on with schadenfreude.
Of course!
Kalpas didn't go too far either—he was just venting and forced a few mouthfuls into Hessian.
Seeing that no one was helping him,
how could Hessian let himself suffer a loss?
He imdiately swallowed the curry in his mouth and said with a smile: "This refreshing feeling, this perfectly balanced spiciness—sure enough, Kalpas's cooking is still the one that suits best!"
Pfft…
Kalpas was so angry he nearly spat blood.
Even SAKURA was impressed by Hessian's shalessness.
The others hadn't expected that, in a mont like this, he could still say sothing like that—exactly the sa words Kiana used when eating i's curry.
It was like a slap right to the face!!
Kalpas's brows twitched, veins bulging: "You think I don't dare kill you?!"
Sensing his genuine killing intent,
although SAKURA wanted this death-courting man to learn a lesson,
she still stepped in front of him: "Kalpas, if you make a move, don't bla for intervening."
Huff~
Huff~
Huff~~~
Kalpas took deep breaths repeatedly to let so of his anger dissipate.
Then he snorted coldly, took the remaining curry, and sat in the farthest corner.
Hessian still didn't let him off, saying to the others: "This curry really has just the right amount of spice. It's very delicious. Why don't we have Kalpas make so for everyone as a late-night snack?"
"…"
Everyone fell silent, all wishing they could beat him to death.
But they didn't dare.
Kalpas was so furious he nearly smashed the plate.
Make him cook curry for everyone?
He wanted to chop Hessian up and make him into curry!
Even Eden was helpless: "Ellie, your husband… aren't you worried sothing will happen to him?"
Elysia looked at the beautiful girls' expressions and felt a bit helpless for a mont. Her husband was even better at causing trouble than she was.
Hessian also noticed Elysia's expression and said with a smile: "Actually, we could also produce i-brand bell pepper curry. I believe it would sell like crazy! We can have Kiana do a live stream to promote it, and Kalpas handle production."
"…"
Everyone knew he was doing it on purpose—to get revenge for Kalpas forcing curry on him earlier.
So they all chose to remain silent and continued watching the TV.
This ti, Hessian's level of courting death once again refreshed their understanding.
Soon,
the plot on the TV once again drew everyone's attention.
i had already arrived at the location agreed upon with Raven.
"As agreed, I ca alone."
Raven said: "It seems I don't need to ask more. You're already prepared—follow ."
She opened the gate to the nest and led i deeper into the shanty district.
Looking at the surroundings, Raven couldn't help but sigh: "After the children left, this place has beco much quieter. It's almost like the ruins down below—silent, desolate, without a trace of life."
i asked: "What will happen to them afterward?"
Raven replied: "They will receive further treatnt in advanced, safe facilities: artificially regulated Honkai energy environnts, customized programd care, larger and freer living spaces…"
"Whether in material conditions or spiritual experience, it will be worlds apart from life in the nest. When the final treatnt course ends, those children will fully awaken their stigmata. At that ti, they can leave the past behind and start a new life."
i didn't believe it at all: "World Serpent will let them go? These children are all rare stigma awakeners. I don't think your companions would easily let them leave."
Raven affird: "They will, because it is the Lord's command. It is the reward he promised ."
"…Reward?"
Raven smiled and said no more.
After passing through winding alleys, the two finally stopped in front of an iron door.
"We're here. The Lord is behind this door. He wants to see you alone."
"Open it." i no longer hesitated.
Raven was sowhat surprised: "Truly astonishing. When we first t, I thought you were just a naive, innocent good child. But in just a few days, your eyes have beco completely different. In such a short ti, you've undergone a transformation."
"...I hope you get the answers you want. Go on. Good luck."
The iron door slowly opened, leading i into a dimly lit square.
In the shadows, the sound of soone's footsteps seed to be quietly, quietly approaching from the other side—
Cold!
The air turned icy with the man's arrival.
i felt as if she were in an ancient ice cellar.
A sense of oppression rose from deep within her body, making it hard for her to move.
"You are…"
"Kevin Kaslana, leader of World Serpent."
A calm voice sounded, and the oppressive feeling suddenly vanished.
i looked into those eyes, as if seeing two voids.
In those voids, there seed to be… a sorrow, a sorrow that ti could not erase, a sorrow that seed impossible to ever heal.
"…Kaslana?" i was still puzzled by the na, identical to Kiana's.
Kevin then spoke: "Raiden i, you have soone you want to save, but neither Schicksal nor Anti-Entropy can fulfill your wish. I promise you, World Serpent can save that girl."
i imdiately asked: "What is your condition?"
"You."
Kevin's words were calm and brief, yet carried heavy weight, like laws engraved on ancient stone pillars—impossible to alter, impossible to defy.
But i had to face the weight in those words head-on: "…I need to know the specific thod, and watch her escape danger. If you really can do it… then I'll do anything."
Kevin said: "The girl nad Kiana is already in critical condition. The erosion from the cores has exceeded the limit she can bear. To let her survive, the excess cores must be imdiately separated from her body. There is only one thod."
"I will make you beco the Herrscher of Thunder once again."
"What?!" i was shocked.
Kevin continued: "You are a chosen Herrscher. Your body forever retains the gate connected to the Imaginary Tree. When the residual energy from the Third Eruption is absorbed by that gate, you will awaken once more and seize the authority of the Herrscher of Thunder from Kiana."
"A new Herrscher core will condense within you, while the Gem of Conquest will disintegrate and vanish, reducing the number of cores. Her symptoms will then be alleviated."
The cold voice struck i, causing her to recall the strange occurrences of the past few days.
Dr. Tesla's diagnosis, the sudden dizziness, and Raven's abrupt change in attitude.
She suddenly understood everything.
"As long as I beco a Herrscher, Kiana can be saved?"
"Correct."
i imdiately said: "…Then there's nothing to hesitate about. Three years ago, she pulled out of the darkness. Without Kiana, there would be no today. For her, I'm more than willing to return to that darkness. But if, if I am once again controlled by Honkai, I hope you can…"
Kevin said: "You need not worry. That will not happen. What you should truly be concerned about is what cos after becoming a Herrscher."
"???"
i didn't understand what that ant.
Kevin patiently explained: "This ti, you can save Kiana. But the next ti, she will still put herself in danger. She will definitely use the power of the Herrscher of the Void again and again—for the people around her, for this world."
"As long as Honkai exists, as long as Herrschers are born, she will definitely step forward, continually pushing herself to the edge of death—"
"Until… she sacrifices her own life."
"I have seen countless people like her."
"Even in the face of death and fear, they will still resolutely do what they believe is right, walk the path they believe in."
"…They left, and not one returned."
Kevin's words were like ice spikes, piercing deeply into i's heart.
She wanted to refute, but couldn't piece together a single word.
Because that was her deepest pain, because that was a fact she could never change no matter how many sacrifices she made.
"…No… I won't let that happen!"
"You cannot stop her. Otherwise, you wouldn't have co here at all." Kevin rcilessly exposed her: "But you have another choice. You can choose to beco a mber of the Serpent."
"…What are you saying?" i didn't understand.
Kevin continued: "Soon, Herrschers will appear one after another. The war between humanity and Honkai will enter its next stage."
"You can choose to walk with World Serpent, eradicate Honkai, capture Herrschers, seal their authorities… so that the Herrscher of the Void can no longer increase her power."
"Only by leaving Kiana's side can you truly protect her from danger."
"And when the Stigmata Project is complete, you and she will be able to return to being human."
A boom resounded, and a pillar of light shattered the sky, causing it to fall like glass.
Seeing this scene, i exclaid in shock: "What happened!?"
"Ti is up." Kevin said calmly: "The gate has been opened. Soon, the Imaginary Tree will manifest in this city."
"The dormant Honkai energy will be released from the earth veins. Absorb it, and you can beco the Herrscher of Thunder once more, buying her more ti."
"But if you want to truly save her life, there is only one path for you to take."
"Whether to believe , to believe World Serpent—I will give you ti to make your decision."
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