Although the matter had been preliminarily resolved, Kiana was not in a hurry to leave. Instead, she stayed behind for a while to keep Acheron company.
She remained until everything had been more or less settled. Acheron received news from the Ark, and the Astral Express had also concluded this Trailblazing journey and departed from Jarilo.
After bidding farewell to Jyahnar, Kiana finally returned to the space station.
During her ti in Belobog, Ruan i had not sent her any ssages. The puppet Herta had placed in Belobog's Underworld was still in standby mode.
Presumably, their attention was still focused on Araya.
And just as she had expected, upon returning to the exact spot she had left, Kiana imdiately saw Araya, along with Ruan i and Herta's puppet beside her. The familiar scene made it seem as though she had only stepped away for a brief mont.
It left her sowhat surprised.
She glanced around. There were other people nearby, yet no one found her sudden appearance strange.
They were probably used to it by now.
"Have you discovered anything?"
Kiana did not linger where she stood. Smiling, she walked toward Araya. The girl's cold, delicate face lit up with joy at Kiana's arrival—like soone seeing a savior.
"Mother."
She called her softly by that na she used for Kiana. Even though Kiana had already tacitly accepted this unusual form of address, her steps still paused instinctively.
I really can't get used to being called that.
"You've worked hard, Araya."
"Mother, may I go back?" Araya asked expectantly, as though she did not wish to remain here a second longer.
"Of course. If you're tired, go back and rest. It's fine." Kiana would never refuse her coldly. Araya was unquestionably a being with self-awareness.
Not to ntion she called her "Mother."
Araya seed to breathe a sigh of relief. After nodding lightly, her figure transford into a quantum state and vanished from sight.
Kiana was not surprised.
From the very mont Araya was born, Kiana had already understood the details of her existence.
"It seems you frightened that child."
After seeing Araya off, Kiana turned back to greet the two of them, curious about what they had done over the past few days to make the girl so eager to leave.
"You've stepped into the role of 'mother' rather quickly, haven't you?" Herta remarked.
"Yes. After all, I'm her creator." Kiana did not deny it and nodded. "Besides, it was obvious Araya was asking for help."
"Creator..." Ruan i murmured thoughtfully. "We only conducted so basic examinations. Please rest assured—we didn't force her to do anything she was unwilling to do."
Then it must be that Araya was simply uncomfortable remaining here in that form. Leaving her here right after her birth had probably made her uneasy.
"It seems she's a bit shy and doesn't like staying outside," Kiana said. "If you need her, you can contact Araya through the Stigmata Terminal. She shouldn't refuse to communicate with you."
"Have you finished what you needed to do?"
"Yes. Jarilo's matters have indeed co to a temporary conclusion. i and the Astral Express have both left that world." After explaining, Kiana glanced at Herta, who had left a puppet there, and added, "Since I didn't know whether you had other plans, I didn't bring your puppet back with ."
"Besides that, sothing unexpected happened while we were away. Belobog's Supre Guardian—or rather, the forr Supre Guardian, Cocolia Rand—beca a Herrscher due to certain circumstances."
Cocolia had stepped down, and Bronya had taken her place. That was one of the events that had occurred during this ti.
Since it did not concern her directly, and she had her own matters to attend to, Kiana had not paid much attention to it.
"Who?"
Herta frowned. She did not have a deep impression of that woman from Belobog. Upon hearing the na, she instinctively thought of the madwoman from the trial.
"Cocolia Rand, Belobog's Supre Guardian." Kiana briefly introduced her, then paused as she recalled what had happened in the trial space. "She looks a bit similar, but she's not the woman from the trial world."
"Oh." Herta seed to lose interest. "I do have so other ideas regarding that planet. I'll handle the puppet myself."
"Alright. If you need assistance, you can ask Araya or Jyahnar for help," Kiana reminded her. "Before Jyahnar leaves, she should be able to assist you."
Herta did not ask further questions. She glanced at Ruan i, then at Kiana. "I'll be waiting in my office. Co find after you're done talking."
With that, she disconnected from the puppet. Without Herta's control, the puppet entered standby mode on the spot.
No wonder she placed puppets here and there. Being able to inhabit them and converse at any ti was indeed convenient.
It saved a great deal of unnecessary trouble.
"Regarding the research on Araya..."
"Let's talk sowhere else."
Ruan i knew what she was about to say. There were too many people around here—it was not suitable for such discussions.
She led Kiana to a lounge.
No one would disturb them there. After entering, Ruan i gestured for Kiana to sit, then took a seat opposite her.
"The Stigmata Terminal, Araya—her structure largely aligns with our previous expectations," Ruan i began. "As for the remaining aspects, we might as well attribute them to 'the omnipotence of the Honkai.'"
At that, even Ruan i herself let out a small laugh. Hearing such words co from her own mouth was admittedly amusing.
"Araya's birth is inseparable from ," Kiana said. "You could say she's a creation born from fantasy becoming reality."
"Yes. I noticed that as well. Honkai energy does seem to possess a conceptual trait of 'turning fantasy into reality,'" Ruan i replied. "The abilities of those Herrschers also carry faint traces of it."
"Such power is rare, but not nonexistent in the universe. The most common example would be the so-called 'wish-granting' Stellarons."
Kiana did not pursue that topic further. Instead, she asked, "So, Ruan, do you intend to continue researching the Honkai next, or...?"
"This is not the ultimate destination I seek." Ruan i shook her head. She would not abandon the Honkai, but she was clear about what she truly wanted. "Do you rember? I briefly ntioned before that I ford a partnership with a traveling rchant."
"Luocha?"
The mont Kiana said that na, she frowned. No matter how one looked at it, that man was definitely not soone to be taken lightly.
But Ruan i was not soone who could be manipulated at will either. If she was willing to cooperate with him, she must already have a complete plan in mind.
"His counterparts are extrely troubleso people," Kiana said as she extended her hand and placed it in front of Ruan i. "I think I ntioned this before, but if you're going to work with him, you should still be extra cautious."
Ruan i took her hand.
Through their contact, images surfaced before her eyes. A torrent of mories flooded in at once, yet they all revolved around a single figure.
A blond man.
Among them, she also saw several familiar faces—for example, the Naless from the Astral Express.
"The Imaginary Tree..."
However, after viewing Kiana's mories, Ruan i's focus was not on the blond man at all. Compared to him, she was far more interested in the other elents ntioned within those mories.
The Imaginary Tree and the Sea of Quanta.
And parallel worlds.
Especially parallel worlds. Such a concept did not exist in this universe, so the impact it had on her upon seeing it could hardly be understated.
"That's an old acquaintance of Mr. Yang. It's sothing that happened in his holand."
Kiana withdrew her hand. Seeing how invested Ruan i seed, she felt a bit regretful. Perhaps she should not have revealed everything at once.
A genius' curiosity was never ordinary.
"By the way, Ruan, what are you planning to do next? Do you need my help?"
Ruan i shook her head. "Go construct the Stigmata world. I don't need your assistance for the ti being."
"You're sure?" Kiana raised a brow slightly.
"I can handle it."
Since she had put it that way, Kiana could not very well insist. It was not as if she could wish for sothing to go wrong just so Ruan i would need her help.
"I plan to visit Penacony first," Kiana said honestly. "Robin invited to attend the Charmony Festival so ti ago. Sothing happened on her end, and I need to go help."
If she had not been concerned about Jarilo-VI—worried that a world assimilated by the Honkai might bring catastrophic disaster upon Belobog—she would have already gone to Penacony as promised.
It had been a long ti since she last saw Robin. She still cared deeply about that friend.
Robin was soone she had t before fully recovering her mories. After regaining them, she had even traveled alongside her for a ti, accompanying her to Izumo.
Later, she had also asked Robin for help in finding soone. They had debuted together for a while, traveling across many worlds.
"The Planet of Festivities?" Ruan i looked at her. "Penacony will soon beco the focal point of the universe. But with your abilities, as long as you don't deliberately step into those whirlpools, you shouldn't run into any trouble."
"I've heard a bit about the situation there."
Kiana was not particularly concerned. She still rembered parts of Penacony's storyline. "After things conclude there, if nothing unexpected happens, I'll return to Izumo."
"A good arrangent," Ruan i said. "Follow your own plans. There's no need to consider . I won't be going back for the ti being—I have my own agenda."
"No problem."
Kiana nodded. After settling their next steps with Ruan i, she suddenly fell silent.
She had already cleared things with Acheron.
But what about Ruan i?
How should she bring it up? What should she say?
Herta's attitude was still unclear. Since returning, she had not taken the initiative to create a chance to be alone with Herta. But regardless of what Herta's stance might be, she ought to lay everything out first.
After all, she was the one who had crossed the line.
There was no disputing that.
"Hmm?" Seeing Kiana suddenly go quiet, Ruan i looked at her in confusion. "Aren't you going to see Herta?"
"There's sothing else I wanted to say."
"About Herta?" Ruan i tilted her head slightly. "I believe I already told you—this is between the two of you. I won't interfere."
"Ruan?"
"Will this matter change your attitude toward ?" Ruan i countered calmly.
"Of course not!" Kiana blurted out. "As long as you need , no matter when, I'll co to your side imdiately."
"Although I don't know exactly what happened between you and her, if it's Herta, I have no objections."
Kiana: "..."
It was going far too smoothly. Whether with Acheron or now with Ruan i, everything was proceeding almost too easily.
None of the scenarios she had feared had co to pass.
It made her question her entire sense of reality.
"Is there anything else?"
Hearing such an obvious dismissal, Kiana could not help asking, "...If there's nothing else, I can stay here and keep you company, right?"
Ruan i nodded. "Your willingness to stay by my side is a good thing. But Herta is still waiting for you. If you leave her waiting too long, she'll beco rather difficult to deal with."
For Kiana's safety, and as soone who understood Herta's temperant relatively well as her collaborator, Ruan i hoped Kiana would et her as soon as possible.
Better to avoid unnecessary trouble.
Kiana's lips parted slightly. After a mont of hesitation, she stood up. "Alright. I'll go find her now. Once everything is settled, I'll co back to you."
"Mm."
Ruan i responded softly and watched as Kiana turned to leave.
After she was gone, the calmness in her eyes deepened into sothing obscure.
Kiana might not have noticed that this ti, Ruan i had not even asked about the Honkai. Even the discussion surrounding Araya had been only superficial.
With the experience from this trial, most of the puzzle regarding the Honkai had already been completed in her mind. The final missing pieces lay with Kiana.
Yet instead of questioning her as before or seeking answers from her, Ruan i had shifted her focus back to her original objectives.
It was not that she had lost interest in the Honkai.
She simply needed to wait.
"I hope everything proceeds smoothly."
Lowering her gaze, Ruan i prepared to shift her focus next toward Propagation. Replicating the offspring of Propagation—perhaps it was ti to put that matter on the agenda.
Kiana left the area.
She was on her way to the Master Control Zone.
She could not shake the feeling that Ruan i was hiding sothing—especially after her trip to Jarilo and her joint decision with Herta to conduct the Stigmata Terminal experint.
Forget it. What I'm ant to know, I'll know eventually.
Kiana sighed. With Ruan i's capabilities, it would not be easy for her to suffer a loss. As for other unexpected situations, Kiana believed she could handle most of them.
If that was the case, there was no need to worry excessively. Ruan i was not a reckless person.
For now, she should seriously think about how to handle her relationship with Herta next.
—
—
32 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon:
Patreon/DaoOfHeaven
User Comments
0 comments from readers