Acheron did not find Ruan i's arrival in Izumo surprising. If anything, she felt that Ruan i had arrived a bit late.
After all, several months had already passed since the incident.
Ruan i briefly checked Kiana's current condition, then turned back to glance at Acheron. "She only left behind this one sentence?"
"She only had ti to say this much."
Acheron watched from the side. She had to admit that faced with Kiana's condition, there was nothing she could do. But Ruan i was different.
Ruan i silently looked at Kiana lying on the bed, her gaze deep as she withdrew her hand. "This is not good. What's lying here now is only a shell. Her consciousness is not in her body."
Acheron, who had been relatively calm, changed expression instantly. She stared hard at Ruan i. "What do you an by that?"
"It's completely different from the first ti I t her. Her consciousness is no longer within her body."
Ruan i looked at Acheron. "Can you tell what exactly happened that day?"
"...That day, after we found Welt, we..."
Acheron's mind was entirely affected by Ruan i's words from earlier. She told her everything that had happened that day, without omitting a single detail.
After listening to Acheron's account, Ruan i imdiately understood what the current situation was.
"Ascension..."
It had co so quickly.
And without her noticing it at all.
Having missed such a major event left Ruan i feeling sowhat frustrated. If she had known this would happen, she should have insisted on coming along that day.
"What are you talking about?"
Acheron hadn't clearly heard what she had just muttered.
"I've always believed that Kiana is walking a path toward becoming an existence like an Aeon."
Acheron fell silent. She knew of Ruan i's way of thinking. Back on the planet Jarilo-VI, Ruan i had made no attempt to hide it.
But Honkai Energy...
No, it was Kiana's choice that ca first. Only after that did Honkai Energy appear in this world.
Thinking of this, Acheron, who had not really agreed with Ruan i's idea before, found her conviction wavering.
"If my guess is correct, she has now formally stepped onto that path."
"...In other words, when she wakes up, she will be... an Aeon? How is that possible?"
"No. I think you've misunderstood . It's an existence similar to an Aeon, not necessarily one of the Aeons we are familiar with."
Ruan i corrected her misunderstanding and continued, "Additionally, I believe this process cannot possibly be completed in a single step."
With that explanation, Acheron understood.
"Then where did Kiana's consciousness go? And when will she wake up?"
"I don't know."
Ruan i shook her head. "It could be decades, or it could be hundreds of years. If my guess is correct, her consciousness should now be in an extrely special state, unable to perceive the passage of ti, just like when I found her back then."
"Hundreds of years?"
"I can't be certain. If her consciousness were still within her body, I would have a way to wake her."
Ruan i sighed. "Unfortunately..."
She didn't know where Kiana's consciousness had gone. What lay here now was only her body.
Without even knowing where the consciousness was.
How could one talk about waking her?
"Mr. Welt once said that in his world, all Herrscher powers originate from an existence called the Cocoon of Finality."
Acheron suddenly recalled the information Welt had shared earlier and said, "You believe Kiana has an extrely strong connection to Honkai. Then tracing it back to the source, is that sothing you can do?"
"...I can try."
Ruan i fell silent for a mont. She actually had no certainty. This kind of situation was also the first ti she had encountered it.
But she could try the conventional thods first.
There would always be a way.
"After the final trial of the Stigmata, I obtained a Herrscher Core. I can feel that this core is different from other Herrscher cores."
Acheron closed her eyes for a mont. When she opened them again, the dullness brought by the influence of Nihility vanished from her. In an instant, the power of Nihility around her was replaced by another sharp, overwhelming force.
It was as if she had suddenly beco a different person.
She had switched her own state.
Seeing this, Ruan i's eyes lit up. With keen interest, she asked, "Is this a state similar to Kiana's? In this state, can you use the Path power of Nihility?"
"No."
Acheron shook her head and explained, "The power of a Path cannot be stacked with a Herrscher state, but the powers can be converted into one another."
"Interesting."
Hearing this, Ruan i's interest grew greatly. This was different from what she had previously observed.
Even Kiana had once been eroded by Nihility, resulting in a long period of mory loss.
"In this state, I believe I am closer to Kiana. The Stigmata was a gift from Kiana. If we use this Herrscher of Thunder core as a link, can we trace it back to the source?"
"We can try."
"Good."
Ruan i's voice carried more confidence than before. Acheron had no other options. No matter the consideration, she believed that Ruan i's desire to find Kiana was just as strong as her own.
...
Ruan i moved her laboratory here.
With Acheron's cooperation, and after a period of unremitting effort, several months later she successfully guided Kiana's consciousness back into her body.
After guiding the consciousness back, waking Kiana was no longer a problem.
She did not need Acheron's help. She could accomplish it alone. She had done this once before in the past.
"It's ti to wake up."
Holding a golden gemstone in her hands, Kiana, whose eyes were devoid of color, vaguely seed to hear a familiar voice.
Originally without conscious reaction and imrsed in the world before her, a ripple appeared in her vacant eyes.
Whose... voice was it?
The sound that suddenly intruded into her inner world was like a key. The various colors scattered throughout the pure white space began to gather toward her.
As these colors poured in, her vacant eyes gained a bit of light, and emotion returned to her body.
"It's Ruan's voice."
Realizing the source of the voice after the fact, everything that had happened earlier returned to her mind.
"Why did Ruan co to Izumo..."
The gemstone had no physical form. Kiana closed her hand that was holding the gem, and the golden light was grasped by her and then vanished.
At the sa ti, at the position of her chest, an extrely faint trace of gold flashed and disappeared.
Having heard Ruan i's voice and co back to her senses, Kiana no longer had any desire to remain here. With a single thought, she withdrew from her inner world.
She wanted to return to reality and see what had happened. It should have only been a few days. Why would Ruan have co to Izumo?
Carrying her doubts,
Kiana opened her eyes.
Clearly she had returned to her own body, yet there was a feeling of being bound, sowhat uncomfortable.
That was how Kiana felt when she woke up.
"How do you feel?"
"Ruan? Is it really you?"
Kiana ca back to her senses a mont later, propping herself up and seeing both Ruan i and Acheron. Surprise showed on her face. "i..."
It wasn't an illusion. The voice she had heard earlier really had been Ruan i's, pulling her back from that state.
"Are you alright?"
Acheron sat beside her, looking at her with concern as she had just awakened, her face still carrying a trace of confusion.
"I'm fine."
Kiana shook her head lightly, then looked toward Ruan i, who she did not know why had appeared in Izumo, and asked with concern, "When did Ruan co over?"
"It's been a while, because I couldn't get in touch with you at all."
Ruan i reached out and touched her face. Beneath the soft, warm sensation, the emotions she could perceive were rather faint. She frowned. "Your body is a bit uncoordinated."
"Uncoordinated?"
"There is a little."
Kiana sighed, then smiled. "But it's not a big problem."
Ruan i didn't speak. She simply placed her hand on Kiana's forehead. In no ti at all, Kiana felt much better.
"I can only manage this much."
Withdrawing her hand, Ruan i was sowhat dissatisfied with the result.
"That's already really good!"
Kiana did not hold back her praise. "I feel a lot better. Good thing Ruan is here!"
"And i too!"
Kiana made sure to be fair and didn't neglect Acheron sitting beside her. She reached out, took Acheron's hand, and smiled. "i stayed with the whole ti. You must have been really worried, right?"
"Ruan i said that sothing went wrong with your consciousness, that it left your body."
Acheron hadn't been too worried at first. Kiana had explained things fairly clearly. She only needed to wait for Kiana to wake up.
Just waiting wasn't too hard to endure.
But then Ruan i ca.
She examined Kiana's condition and gave her bad news. Kiana wasn't simply asleep. Her soul had left her body, and no one knew where it had gone.
Acheron could hardly describe the emotions hidden beneath her calm exterior. Fortunately, they had still found Kiana and successfully awakened her.
"Left my body?"
Kiana scratched her head. "I didn't really feel anything. It was just like sleeping for a bit."
"In the dream I didn't go anywhere either. I was just staying in my own inner world."
"...It's good that you're back."
As long as she confird Kiana was fine, Acheron was already satisfied.
In her heart, nothing was more important right now than Kiana's safety.
"It seems you still rember what happened while you were unconscious."
Ruan i spoke up.
"I rember so of it."
Kiana recalled that indescribable sensation from back then. She fell silent for a mont and lowered her hand.
"It's hard to describe that feeling. If I had to say, I should count as having completed one stage now."
Hearing this, Ruan i's eyes lit up slightly. If she could carry out a detailed examination on Kiana now, she might discover so new and interesting things.
"Do you need to cooperate with a full-body examination?"
Noticing her curiosity, Kiana offered proactively.
Unexpectedly, although Ruan i was tempted, she shook her head. "There's no rush for that. You just woke up. You should rest properly."
She was being put first?
Kiana was slightly stunned, then pressed her lips together and smiled. "Alright. If Ruan wants to cooperate with an examination, I can do so anyti."
"Relax and get so good rest."
Now that Kiana had awakened, Ruan i felt she should stay with her for a while. But Acheron was currently occupying the spot by Kiana's side.
After thinking it over, she decided to take care of what she had on hand first, then co back to keep Kiana company.
Ruan i turned and went to attend to other matters.
Acheron, however, had no intention of leaving even half a step. She stayed there the entire ti, never once departing.
With one person gone, the pressure on Kiana lessened quite a bit. She looked at Acheron and wanted to apologize. "i..."
The mont her na left her lips, a soft, warm touch blocked whatever she wanted to say next.
Each unspoken word was chewed over and swallowed.
Not spoken aloud, yet conveyed straight into her heart.
Her body was tightly embraced by Acheron. She used this way to pass on the feelings she hadn't managed to say.
After quite a while, Kiana felt her tongue had gone a bit numb before Acheron finally stopped, pausing her actions for the mont.
"Kiana."
Acheron gently stroked her white hair. The emotions in her heart were laid bare through the windows of the soul, visible at a glance in her eyes.
Being looked at so directly made Kiana feel the heat rush to her face. "I made i worry again, didn't I?"
She wasn't afraid of waiting.
What she feared was waiting only to receive nothing in return.
"We agreed, didn't we? Kiana will always stay with and won't leave , right?"
Those deep violet eyes gazed intently at Kiana, Acheron's voice sounding heavy.
"Of course!"
There was no way Kiana could give any other answer to that. She excitedly reached out and hugged Acheron.
"I like i. i is a very, very important person to . As long as I'm still alive, there's no way I'd ever let i be left alone!"
Acheron heard what she wanted to hear. The emotions in her heart were soothed for the mont. Looking at Kiana, she leaned in and kissed her again.
Any words were far too pale.
Right now, she only wanted to feel Kiana's presence, and even more, let Kiana feel how deeply she had missed her.
"Mm... i, don't..."
"Wait, this isn't okay here. Ruan, she..."
There seed to be no need to think of explanations or words of comfort. Acheron also didn't seem inclined to listen to them.
Compared to listening to pale explanations and reassurances,
Acheron preferred using a simple and direct thod to soothe the unease in her heart.
"What are you doing?"
Hearing another familiar voice at a mont when her mind was already overheating, Kiana opened her mouth but couldn't say a single word. Her mind went completely blank.
This was exactly what she had been worried about.
That was why she had wanted to refuse.
Why did Ruan co back so quickly?
The door wasn't even closed. How could i do this at a ti like this...
"Isn't it obvious?"
Even Acheron's voice carried a hint of warmth at this mont. "Or are you trying to say... you've never done this kind of thing before?"
"No, that's not it. I have."
It was a perfectly normal exchange, if one could ignore what Acheron was doing right now, as well as Ruan i's gaze resting on her, a gaze impossible to ignore.
Kiana felt like her whole body was about to catch fire. She really wished she hadn't woken up right now.
"Want to go together?"
Kiana, who had shut her eyes trying to escape reality, snapped them open wide and stared at Acheron. "!!!"
i, i just now said what?!
Hearing sothing like that co out of i's mouth, was that even reasonable? Their relationship had been so cold before. During the ti she was unconscious, what on earth had happened between them?
What kind of stimulation did i go through?!
Ruan would definitely refuse, right?
She would definitely refuse, right?
Seeing the look Kiana cast her way, Ruan i's lips curved into a faint smile. "Alright."
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