It turned out that in the world Welt ca from, the Herrscher of Finality had also faced a similar situation.
Acheron knew the reasons were certainly different.
But Welt's words still gave her an extra layer of reassurance.
"Thank you for telling these things."
Acheron said, "This should be a normal phenonon. After the Honkai Eruption, Kiana fell into slumber."
Welt exchanged so information with her.
He wanted to go take a look at Miss Kiana's current condition, but the cautious Acheron politely refused.
Any further details could only be obtained after Kiana woke up.
The disappearance of Nihility and Honkai Energy, and what exactly had happened in that brief mont just now.
These were unanswered mysteries.
Not long after, Hiko and March 7th also completed their landing and arrived on this planet that had once been deathly silent.
Acheron did not have much desire to communicate with others. After exchanging a few simple words with the Naless, she returned to the room to continue keeping watch over Kiana.
She sat by the bedside, looking at Kiana.
Only after a long while did she take out her phone. Seeing that with the disappearance of Honkai Energy and the power of Nihility, Izumo now had a signal capable of contacting the outside world, she finally found Sirin in her contacts and sent over the current situation of Izumo.
On Sirin's side, three question marks were sent back.
Then ca the sound of an incoming call.
"Raiden i, are you serious?"
Sirin's voice carried excitent, along with so disbelief and doubt.
"Although I don't know why, I'm certain that Izumo has now completely broken free from the influence of Nihility. And the Honkai Energy that was everywhere on the planet has also almost entirely disappeared in the recent change."
The breathing on the other end grew heavy. "You an to say that we can return to Izumo?"
"...Yes."
Acheron fell silent for a mont before saying, "When you have ti, you can co back for a visit. I'm not sure whether the Honkai Energy will appear again."
"I understand."
Sirin forced herself to nod calmly. Just as she was about to hang up, she suddenly felt that sothing was off. After thinking for a mont, she abruptly asked, "Wait, where's Kiana?"
Why was Acheron the one telling her about sothing like this?
Shouldn't it be Kiana?
Acheron normally never contacted her.
Why was it her sending the ssage today?
"Kiana..."
Acheron looked to the side at Kiana, who appeared to be asleep. Her gaze dimd slightly as she said, "She's fine."
She was just going to sleep for a very long ti.
"Huh?"
Sirin didn't understand what she ant and wanted to ask more, but the call had already ended.
No matter how one looked at it, sothing was wrong.
"What exactly is she up to?"
Sirin sent Kiana a few ssages asking about the situation, but after waiting for a while, she still didn't receive any reply.
She frowned, sowhat displeased, and put down her phone, secretly thinking that when she returned to Izumo after so ti, she would find out what was really going on.
But...
Since Izumo had already completely broken free from the influence of Nihility, and even that terrifying Honkai Energy had disappeared along with it.
Did they still need to expand Project Ark?
After thinking it over, Sirin still felt it was very necessary. After all, this was now the era of the star sea.
Moreover, Acheron had also said that it was uncertain whether Honkai Energy would continue to increase. If it did, then to transform Izumo into a place suitable for habitation, they would need to think of other thods.
Honkai Energy carried a certain degree of harm.
But Izumo could not simply be abandoned.
In any case, there was no rule saying only one option could be chosen. Sirin's inclination was naturally the choice of wanting it all. Still, this matter would have to be discussed with Bronya and the others to ask for everyone's opinions.
That place was their holand, which they were deeply attached to.
It buried their past.
...
Herta Space Station.
"Ruan i, you're distracted."
Herta crossed her arms, looking at Ruan i with slight dissatisfaction. She had deliberately taken ti to co talk with Ruan i about the next phase of testing for the Simulated Universe.
"Sorry."
Ruan i accepted the fault readily and apologized for her earlier behavior. Suppressing those ill-tid thoughts once more, she smiled and said, "Please continue."
What Herta had just ntioned regarding the portion about the Aeon of Nihility had made her think of her partner, who had not contacted her for several months.
From the day she said she was going back to Izumo to look for the Naless of the Astral Express, she had never sent her a single ssage again, and she could no longer contact Kiana.
It wasn't that she was worried about her safety. She trusted Kiana's abilities.
Moreover, Miss Acheron was by Kiana's side. Even if they were to directly encounter a Lord Ravager, the ones at a disadvantage would certainly not be them.
Ruan i believed that with her strength, the possibility of an accident was infinitely close to zero. The universe was vast, and there were many possible reasons for losing contact.
Euphorion... that place called Izumo was originally a special region. Having no signal there was completely normal.
She was inclined to believe that Kiana had been held up by so trouble, which was why she had suddenly beco unreachable.
Reason had long since analyzed the cause.
Yet Ruan i would still, at certain monts, suddenly think of this matter, and her heart would feel... sowhat empty.
Even knowing the answer, she was still unable to put her mind at ease.
Truly an experience she had never had before.
"We should still switch to a different tester."
As the discussion drew to a close, Herta said while stroking her chin.
"For the simulation involving Akivili's portion, we can find the Naless to substitute."
Ruan i looked at Herta. "You cooperate with the Astral Express. Persuading them to take part in the test shouldn't be difficult."
"I'll ask."
The Naless were indeed a good choice.
Herta acted as soon as the thought occurred to her and began contacting Hiko right in front of Ruan i.
Ruan i responded with a sound of acknowledgnt and looked toward the piled-up materials to the side, thinking to herself that the Astral Express should also be unreachable right now.
They were in the special region of Euphorion.
"She agreed. She'll be here shortly."
Hiko happened to be returning to the space station to resupply, so Herta's invitation ca at just the right ti.
This answer made Ruan i pause. She looked at Herta with a trace of confusion in her eyes. "She'll arrive shortly?"
"You know the Astral Express."
Herta didn't think much of it.
Of course Ruan i knew the Astral Express.
She frowned slightly. Kiana had said that the Naless of the Astral Express had gone to Izumo to carry out Trailblaze, and one person had gone missing.
So she had gone to help.
They had agreed that she would co back once the person was rescued.
"...I'll go with you to et the Naless of the Astral Express."
A vague sense of unease surfaced in her heart.
She didn't believe that Kiana would lie to her.
So what was going on now?
"Do you have a commission to ask of the Naless?"
"A commission... you could say that."
"Your reaction is really interesting. Did you run into so kind of difficult problem?"
Herta finally noticed that sothing was off with her.
"It's not an academic problem. It's a personal matter."
Ruan i said expressionlessly, "I'm going to leave for a while. I won't be participating in the upcoming tests for the ti being."
"No problem."
Herta didn't ask what it was. Ruan i's reaction was completely different from usual. She couldn't even maintain her smile, so she probably had no interest in sharing it with her.
...
"Miss Kiana?"
It wasn't strange to see Ruan i at the space station. Herta's cooperation with the other geniuses was sothing Hiko knew about.
But what she hadn't expected was that this Lady Ruan i would actually ask her about Kiana.
That was truly surprising.
"She told that the Astral Express encountered trouble in Izumo and needed her help."
Ruan i spoke slowly, her face betraying nothing of her thoughts. "After that, I lost contact with her. Miss Hiko, can you tell what exactly happened?"
"So that's how it is."
Telling Ruan i about this ant that Kiana and Ruan i's relationship must be very close.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have co to her of her own accord.
"That's correct. In order to investigate that kind of energy called Honkai Energy, we designated that planet as our next stop and stayed there for a period of ti."
Ruan i nodded lightly and continued to ask, "Where is Kiana now?"
Kiana had gone over to help. Now that the Astral Express had already left Euphorion, Kiana should have left there as well.
Yet she still hadn't replied.
That wasn't like her.
"She's still on that planet."
Hiko answered Ruan i honestly, while also feeling a bit curious. "Miss Ruan i, are you looking for Miss Kiana because there's sothing important?"
If it was about cooperation or sothing similar, Hiko would have to tell Ruan i that since the day Kiana fell into slumber, there had still been no sign of her waking up.
As for how she knew...
March 7th was quite concerned about this matter. After all, Kiana had fallen into slumber because she accepted their invitation.
Even though Acheron said it wasn't a bad thing.
Was there sothing she needed Kiana for?
Ruan i knew what she was thinking. Hiko hadn't hidden her thoughts at all. It was easy to read.
She regarded Kiana as her partner in cooperation, perhaps just like how she now worked with Herta.
"She is my partner."
Ruan i stated the fact in an even tone.
She didn't need a reason to look for Kiana.
"...Partner?"
The mature and steady Hiko froze slightly, looking at the calm Ruan i with astonished disbelief.
Collaborator, friend—Hiko had considered all of those just now. This kind of intimate relationship, however, had never crossed her mind.
After all...
Kiana had always been together with that Miss Acheron. If one were to speak of intimacy, those two seed more like that kind of relationship.
"Why is she still there?"
Ruan i frowned, sowhat puzzled. "I rember her saying that she would co back after helping."
Were they really that kind of relationship?
Hiko suppressed her untily curiosity and probed cautiously. "Miss Ruan i, have you never considered contacting the Miss Acheron who's with her? She's always been with Miss Kiana."
Ruan i fell silent. "..."
Because her interactions with Acheron were not harmonious. Any communication that could be avoided was basically avoided.
The relationship was very complicated and hard to explain.
If she had to describe it, even with Kiana as a connection between them, she and Acheron could only be considered familiar strangers.
This also ant that there was no contact information between them at all. Without contact information, how could she get in touch?
Before today, Ruan i had never thought of finding Kiana through Acheron. She had never imagined that such a day would co.
"I'm not familiar with her."
Needing to find out what exactly had happened from Hiko, Ruan i answered patiently.
"This..."
Hiko was at a loss for words. Acheron and Kiana's relationship didn't seem ordinary at all. If Ruan i and Kiana were partners, how could she not be familiar with Acheron?
That Miss Acheron had always been by Kiana's side. After Kiana fell into slumber, she had stayed with her without leaving her side.
Wait...
Could it be because their relationship was too close?
Hiko speculated inwardly, her expression unchanged. After thinking it over, she ultimately chose to believe Ruan i's explanation.
Since Kiana had even told Ruan i about going to help, even if they weren't partners, they were certainly close friends.
"I wonder how much Miss Ruan i understands about Izumo," Hiko said.
"I haven't truly been to that world. From Kiana's description, it seems to be a... Honkai world," Ruan i replied.
Ruan i had actually wanted to go there to investigate as well. It was just that she had many matters on hand, and there was no urgency to explore it, so she had placed it later on her list.
"Yes, it's a very special and very dangerous world. The Astral Express has been to many worlds and encountered many disasters, but a place like Izumo..."
Hiko paused slightly, recalling the shock of seeing that planet when they first arrived. "Unheard of."
"But all of that is in the past."
Ruan i, who had been listening intently, looked up. "What do you an?"
What did she an by in the past?
"That place has already returned to normal. All the special phenona on the surface have completely disappeared. Whether it was Nihility or Honkai, both have vanished from that planet."
Ruan i's brows knit tightly.
Why did it sound like she couldn't quite understand?
What did it an that everything had disappeared?
Was that normal?
"Miss Kiana fell into slumber because of this. That happened several months ago."
Slumber?
The first thing Ruan i thought of was her first eting with Kiana. When she had t Kiana, she had been in an extrely special state.
No wonder, no wonder she had suddenly disappeared.
Several months had already passed?
In other words, not long after Kiana finished telling her those things, she encountered an accident in Izumo and fell into slumber because of it?
"Miss Acheron said that this was a normal phenonon and that we didn't need to worry about it."
Ruan i subconsciously wrapped her arms around herself and lowered her head to think for a mont. She then nodded to Hiko in thanks. "Thank you for the information. It's very useful to ."
After learning the truth from Hiko, Ruan i felt slightly more at ease, yet also more uneasy.
That Acheron's words could still be trusted, but what was the reason Kiana had fallen into slumber?
Was it the sa as before?
Energy that enveloped an entire world suddenly disappearing all at once. That also looked very wrong.
Izumo was practically a completely Honkai world, occupied by the powers of Honkai and Nihility.
It was an extrely special place.
Both Honkai Energy and the power of Nihility suddenly disappearing, how was that any different from all the moria on Penacony suddenly vanishing?
This was definitely not a trivial matter.
She had to set out imdiately and go to that world to investigate.
To learn the specific cause of everything, she had to go find Acheron and get to the bottom of it.
Clearly, Kiana had also returned to that world last ti. Why had nothing happened then, yet sothing happened this ti?
What was different between the two tis?
Ruan i could not stop the speculation in her mind.
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