Honkai Star Rail: Make Honkai Great Again Chapter 136: You and Ruan Mei Get Along Quite Well

Kiana paused mid-step.

The sudden command froze her in place. Turning around, she stared at Ruan i in confusion and pointed at herself. "?"

Under normal circumstances, such words wouldn't have startled her. In fact, she might even have been thrilled.

But not now.

Sothing about this felt different—off, even. Her heart raced with inexplicable unease.

"Why?"

"I just want to talk to you," Ruan i said softly.

"Can't we talk now?"

"I'm free right now," Kiana said hurriedly, nervousness creeping into her tone.

Ruan i shook her head. "Rember to co."

There was no room for discussion, nor refusal.

Kiana's expression fell. She wanted to say sothing—anything—to ease the tension, but Ruan i had already turned her attention back to her tea, clearly done with the conversation.

Left with no choice, Kiana sighed and turned to leave.

Ruan i wasn't one to make casual remarks. If she wanted to talk later, it was most likely about the Honkai.

At least, that was what Kiana told herself.

Still... the words Ruan i had spoken just now made her question her own assumption.

Was it really about that?

As she walked toward the laboratory sector, Kiana scratched her head irritably. "Forget it—let's just assu it is."

Now ca the real problem.

Should she tell i?

And how?

This dilemma felt far more perilous than whatever Ruan i wanted to discuss later.

If she kept quiet and acted like nothing had happened, i would find out sooner or later. The chances of getting caught were one hundred percent.

And if i found out on her own, the consequences would be far, far worse.

But if she ca clean herself... well, that might not end much better either.

It was a choice between dying early or dying late—painfully or more painfully.

Kiana trudged back the way she ca, worry clouding her face.

She thought she was headed for the Stigmata space to et Acheron, but when she arrived, Acheron had already finished catching up with Yae Sakura.

Acheron stood with one hand under her chin, her brows furrowed slightly.

She didn't look happy.

The door had just opened when Kiana caught sight of her. Instantly, every instinct scread for her to retreat.

Maybe she should co back later?

"Done talking already?"

Acheron's voice stopped her in her tracks. She had noticed Kiana's presence the mont the door opened. Her expression, however, remained unreadable.

Crap.

Judging from that look, Acheron's bad mood probably had sothing to do with her. Otherwise, she would've smiled the mont she saw her.

"i..."

Kiana forced an awkward smile and stepped inside, her eyes darting to the stigmata container. She decided to start with small talk about Yae Sakura—to change the subject.

But Acheron closed the distance between them in a few steps, gently taking Kiana by the wrist and leading her out of the lab, leaving Sakura's Stigmata behind.

Outside, in the rest area, Acheron's eyes swept over the surroundings.

And then she said casually, perhaps unintentionally, "You and Ruan i get along quite well."

Having just done sothing that would make i furious if she knew, Kiana felt her blood turn to ice.

"O-of course our relationship's... good."

Her gaze wandered in the sa direction Acheron had been looking—and there it was: a white cat sticker plastered on the wall, completely out of place with the rest of the decor.

"Let's have a proper talk."

Kiana's heart leapt into her throat. She looked up at Acheron and t her unyielding eyes.

This wasn't a request.

It was an order.

Things were not looking good.

Kiana swallowed hard and nodded. "Let's, uh... talk in my room."

Acheron and Ruan i really did share one trait in common—they both had godlike awareness. Whatever mischief Kiana tried, they always found out imdiately.

No escape, no excuses.

With a heavy heart, Kiana led Acheron back to her quarters.

The mont they entered, Acheron's gaze fell on the wall lined with photos. Familiar faces filled them, and her eyes softened for a mont as she stepped closer.

"These were all taken back in Izumo," Kiana explained when she noticed Acheron's interest. "I brought them with ."

Acheron reached out and brushed her fingers against one of the photos, a faint look of nostalgia flickering in her eyes.

"These were all taken that day, weren't they?"

"Most of them, yeah."

"If there had been no Kami... no influence of Nihility..."

Acheron withdrew her hand and turned to Kiana. "Maybe we'd still be in Nagazora City."

"Nagazora..." Kiana fell silent for a mont, recalling the people she'd t back in Izumo. Their traces in her life were faint, yet undeniable.

"You're right," she said softly. "If none of this had happened, we'd probably still be living peacefully in Nagazora."

"Yae Sakura said you want to turn illusion into reality—to reverse the Stigmata world and bring it into the real one?"

"Huh—she told you that?" Kiana froze.

Acheron didn't reply imdiately. Her gaze locked onto Kiana's, calm but unreadable. "Is it true?"

She was angry.

Had Kiana not ntioned this to i before?

Kiana let out a nervous laugh, feeling the pressure rise. "I... might've thought about it."

Her voice ca out small, uncertain, completely devoid of confidence.

"She also said you reject the power of the Honkai—you resist it from the depths of your heart. You don't trust it."

Instead of lashing out, Acheron continued evenly, "After leaving Izumo, you were caught in another war. And because of the Honkai, you nearly lost control of your body again, didn't you?"

"...She told you that too?"

Why did she tell her everything?!

Why now, of all tis?!

Kiana felt her stomach twist in frustration. It wasn't just the embarrassnt—there was also sothing else she'd been hiding from Acheron, sothing that could truly break their relationship if it ca to light.

If all this ca crashing down together...

She didn't even want to imagine it.

"Yes."

Acheron's eyes hardened as she spoke, each word sharp and deliberate. "If you don't trust this power, then why keep forcing yourself to use it—to master it?"

Kiana instinctively stepped back, but Acheron followed, closing the distance again. Kiana's back hit the wall as she stamred, "...Because I owe Izumo."

"If you're talking about the Final Eruption," Acheron said, "then hear this—Izumo would've fallen into Nihility regardless. Even if you hadn't caused the Final Eruption, it would have been consud. Because you did, at least the city still exists—part of it, sowhere, still endures."

"I know." Kiana shook her head, her voice quiet but steady. "But I could've done better. So many people died because of ... I can't forget that."

"Doing better isn't an excuse to trap yourself in this cage." Acheron's tone softened, though her eyes remained firm. "Yae Sakura said you made a deal with Ruan i—that she'll help you accomplish this impossible goal?"

"...Yes."

Acheron looked at her with a complex expression. "Don't push yourself too hard, Kiana."

"You've got it wrong!"

Kiana took a few steps back, her words tumbling out faster than usual as nerves crept up on her. "I'm not working toward that goal—not anymore, at least."

She admitted that the thought of realizing such an idea had been reckless—insane, even. And Ruan i, who believed it might actually be possible, wasn't much better.

To soone like Ruan i, almost nothing was impossible. If she believed sothing could be done, then she would pursue it, no matter how far-fetched it seed.

It was that quiet confidence of hers that had given Kiana a little faith of her own.

"To achieve that, do you intend to beco a god?"

Beco... a god?

Kiana froze. Had Yae Sakura and Acheron ntioned that too?

That wasn't even sothing she'd seriously considered yet.

Right now, the only thing she could see ahead—the only thing she could beco—was the true Herrscher of Finality.

Her first instinct was to deny it.

But the words Ruan i had spoken earlier echoed in her mind, and before she knew it, her thoughts had wandered off track.

"An Aeon... is that what you're striving toward?"

"No!" Kiana snapped back to her senses, shaking her head quickly. "That's not it. I don't think I'm working toward becoming sothing like that. And even if I were, that so-called 'god'—it would never be an Aeon!"

She rubbed her temples, exhaling. "Sakura told you everything about , didn't she?"

Acheron remained silent.

"i, my case doesn't have any precedents to draw from," Kiana continued. "Right now, the only thing I want—the only thing I can do—is to beco a true Herrscher of Finality. To fully control this power, so that I'll never lose myself again."

Acheron's expression softened slightly.

If Kiana's goal had truly been to ascend as an Aeon, she would have questioned whether it was really her will—or soone else's influence.

She could accept Kiana's decision if it was born of her own will—but not if it was the result of manipulation.

"I'll help you accomplish it," Acheron said quietly.

"I should've told you all this sooner," Kiana admitted. "I'm sorry, i. You shouldn't have had to hear it from soone else."

The tension in her chest eased, if only a little.

Acheron reached out, gently ruffling her hair.

When she'd heard all this from Yae Sakura, her heart had sunk in an instant.

These were all things Kiana had never told her—secrets that made her wonder if Kiana was deliberately keeping her in the dark.

And for Acheron, Kiana hiding things from her was sothing she could hardly tolerate.

The last ti Kiana had done so, she'd tricked her into boarding the Ark—then gone back to Izumo alone.

That wound still lingered.

How could she not care?

"Whatever it is," Acheron said softly, "good or bad, I want you to tell first."

"..."

Kiana, who had just managed to calm down after dealing with Ruan i, froze at those words.

Good or bad—tell her everything.

Otherwise...

The way Acheron's words landed in her ears twisted their aning completely. Still torn about whether to tell her the truth, Kiana's expression gave her away almost instantly.

Acheron didn't miss it.

"Kiana," she said evenly, "is there sothing you want to tell ?"

She was giving her an out—a chance to speak.

"I, I..." Kiana's forced smile faltered. Her eyes darted nervously to the side.

It seed there was no avoiding this.

"Go on, Kiana," Acheron urged calmly. "Whether it's good or bad, I can take it."

As long as Kiana was willing to tell her in advance—that alone was good enough.

But when she saw Kiana hesitating, pulling away slightly and glancing at the photos on the wall before finally speaking, Acheron's heart began to fill with suspicion.

"Ruan... Ruan just now, she..."

Her voice trailed off.

What about Ruan i?

Acheron didn't interrupt her, listening intently to what Kiana had to say.

Kiana took a deep breath.

Her heart pounded with anxious dread, but there was no avoiding it. She braced herself and spoke quickly, almost blurting it all out in one breath: "I don't want to hide it from you. Just now... I kissed Ruan."

Don't want to hide it... kissed... Ruan i?

Acheron blinked. The short sentence took several repetitions in her mind before she fully grasped what Kiana had said.

And as Kiana had expected, Acheron's expression instantly darkened.

Should she praise Kiana for being honest?

Or call her reckless?

How could she say sothing like that—to her—so directly?

With her face hardening, Acheron stepped forward, pressing Kiana against the wall. Her eyes locked onto Kiana's nervous expression as she reached out and brushed her thumb across her lips.

"She kissed you?"

Ruan i's special care for Kiana... was that the sa kind of affection Kiana shared with her?

Acheron's mood plumted.

Kiana stiffly nodded. What ca next would only make things worse—she wasn't even sure if Acheron could accept it.

"Why?"

It took all of Acheron's willpower to restrain her emotions.

She drew in a slow, controlled breath. What she wanted to know most wasn't why Ruan i had done it—but how Kiana had responded, and how she felt now.

Given how Kiana viewed Ruan i...

Acheron's heart began to sink.

Kiana was special to Ruan i—and the reverse was undoubtedly true as well.

During the ti she hadn't been by Kiana's side, the ti when Kiana had lost her mories—Ruan i had always been there with her.

The weight Ruan i held in her heart...

Acheron didn't dare imagine it.

"...i, do you want the truth?"

Acheron's heart sank completely. She didn't want to hear it—but she had to. Whatever Kiana said next would be sothing she couldn't ignore.

Her voice was steady, though her chest burned. "Say it."

"I couldn't refuse her," Kiana said softly. "Ruan ans a lot to ."

Acheron's gaze darkened, her eyes drilling into Kiana's. "You couldn't refuse... is that all?"

"...No."

Kiana looked away, her voice small. "I've always liked her—ever since the first ti I t her."

Always liked her? From... the very first mont?

Acheron's grip on Kiana's shoulder tightened until it hurt. Her breath ca heavier, her voice trembling with a dangerous edge. "So you're telling this because you've realized... you like her more than ?!"

Kiana... liked soone else?

Soone else?

Acheron's mind rejected the thought entirely.

She had nothing left—nothing but Kiana. In the world that had already lost its color, Kiana was the only one still vivid, the only treasure she had once lost and finally regained.

There was no way she could let go.

Pain flared where Acheron's fingers dug into her shoulder. Kiana winced, trying to explain quickly through the pain, "That's not it! i, listen to —you're the one who's most special to ! You're the most important person in my life!"