"I'm sorry, but I can't return your feelings."
Kiana decisively rejected Asakura Miyuki. Stringing her along like the protagonist of a light novel would have been disrespectful to her friend.
"Why...?"
"Kiana, didn't you say there was no one you liked?"
Asakura Miyuki's hands clenched slightly. She bit her lower lip. The light of her life had rejected her.
She wanted to cry.
But she did not cry.
Kiana looked at Asakura Miyuki.
"Right now, there isn't anyone I like."
Kiana was telling the truth.
"But... I might have feelings for someone."
"Or maybe they aren't feelings. Maybe I just depend on him. I don't really understand these things, but those feelings do exist."
Otto's face surfaced in her mind.
"If..."
"If this feeling in my heart remains unchanged after a few more years..."
"I'd probably be willing to have his children."
There was once a girl.
She came from a wealthy family, excelled in school, carried herself with grace, and was admired by others.
But everything she had was destroyed. She lost her purity and became a doll for men to toy with as they pleased. Her body was stained with filth, her life shrouded in darkness, and she could not see even a trace of light.
After her parents learned of it, they helped the girl transfer schools. Yet after she transferred to Senba Academy, no one knew how the others had found out about what had happened to her before.
The girl became the target of bullying.
However, amid that bullying, a girl reached out a hand to her.
The girl believed she had fallen in love with her.
But her confession was rejected.
Still, it did not matter. The girl and the person she loved became "one."
The bullying continued, and another girl reached out a hand to her.
Her confession was rejected.
Again and again.
Asakura Miyuki no longer remembered how many girls she had become "one" with. They had rejected her only because they did not understand her, right?
As long as they became one with her, they would understand.
These were all things that had happened in Asakura Miyuki's past.
Then, one day, she met the light of her life.
My wife.JPG
Kiana Kaslana was completely different from everyone else—steadfast, beautiful, and willing to throw a punch to save her.
When Asakura Miyuki saw that dashing figure, she felt something she had never felt before. Unlike the girls from her past, Kiana was the most special one. She was one of a kind.
The Three-Year Cherry had been prepared just for you.
But...
Her confession was rejected again.
In the dim alleyway, shadows fell over Asakura Miyuki. She looked at Kiana, her heart pounding violently.
Kiana looked at Asakura Miyuki, but Otto was on her mind.
She wondered what Otto was doing right now.
If he were here, how would he respond to Asakura?
"This..."
Asakura Miyuki covered her face with both hands, her eyes unfocused.
Kiana gave her second friend a slight bow and spoke with utmost sincerity.
"I'm sorry. I can't return your feelings."
"Why...?" Her voice was a little hoarse. Asakura Miyuki's heart tightened as she looked at Kiana, clutching the Three-Year Cherry tightly in her hand. "I clearly like you so much."
Her thoughts twisted, her limbs turned cold, and Asakura Miyuki only felt as though something was about to burst out from within her body.
"I think love has to be mutual."
Kiana said it plainly.
"It's like getting pregnant. Both sides need to agree and cooperate. One person alone can't make it happen."
Oh no, what kind of example was that?
Hmph, it was definitely because Otto had influenced her. That guy spent all day wanting her belly to grow big.
"But..."
Asakura Miyuki's face twisted.
"I hope... we can still be friends in the future." Kiana spoke softly. Being rejected did not feel good at all, but if she kept stringing her along, they would not even be able to remain friends.
She had very few friends.
She did not want to lose Asakura Miyuki.
However, Asakura Miyuki did not hear Kiana's words. She merely stared blankly at the ground.
Ah.
God.
You gave me suffering, so why would you not give me what I wanted?
But...
It did not matter.
If God would not give it to me, I would take it myself.
Besides... it was not the first time.
White was devoured by pitch-black darkness. Her black eyes became deep and sinister, her pale hands turned into claws, her mouth split open, a long tongue slipped out, and ominous dark-purple patterns emerged across her body.
This was her true appearance.
Given time, Asakura Miyuki would become a Quasi-Herrscher.
"Miyuki, you!?"
Kiana's eyes widened. She could not understand why her friend had suddenly become like this.
Could someone tell me why my friend had become a monster?
And the feeling coming from her seemed somewhat familiar to Kiana.
Suddenly, words Otto had once said to her surfaced in Kiana's mind.
Is this Honkai corruption!?
Before Kiana could think or react, the Honkai-corrupted Asakura Miyuki stared fixedly at her, her expression carrying a trace of infatuation.
Ah, Kiana, this is my true self.
Long before I met you, I had already become a monster.
This appearance must be hideous, right?
"Kiana."
Her voice was hoarse as her claws reached toward Kiana. Asakura Miyuki would not kill the light of her life.
She only wanted to become one with her.
I'm hungry.
Her arms wrapped Kiana in an embrace.
Her movements were gentle, as though she feared accidentally snapping the girl's waist.
"Why did you become like this?"
Kiana's voice remained just as gentle. Asakura Miyuki half-closed her eyes and tenderly held Kiana, restraining the impulse within her.
"I don't know either."
"I don't know anything. Why did this happen to me?"
"But..."
"Ever since I became like this, all I've felt is emptiness and loneliness. Even when someone came close to me, I couldn't feel like I belonged in this world."
"Only... when they entered my shell could this torment be eased."
Asakura Miyuki spoke hoarsely. Before she met Kiana, she had already taken several lives.
Some had deserved it, while others had been innocent.
"Kiana... have I become a monster?"
Her words came to an abrupt halt. Her last shred of reason collapsed, and only one thought remained in Asakura Miyuki's heart: to claim Kiana for herself.
Her mind had long since been corrupted by Honkai.
Kiana's rejection only worsened her mental instability.
Her arms tightened, as though she wanted to stuff Kiana's entire body into herself, yet Kiana did not struggle at all.
"No."
Kiana's slightly sorrowful voice sounded beside her ear.
Ah, Kiana, the light of my life, who made you sad?
I do not want to see you looking so sorrowful. You are only suited to being happy.
"You are my friend."
"I'll set you free."
Kiana understood what she had to do.
She raised her hand.
Asakura Miyuki felt something pressed against the side of her head.
It was cold. So cold.
In her haze, Asakura Miyuki felt as though she were seeing an illusion.
Flowers bloomed all around her. Bright red flowers of the other shore surrounded her, while a majestic god gazed down at her from above, wanting to take her away from Kiana.
I don't want to leave.
Still, I'm truly sorry, Kiana.
For letting you see me in this hideous state.
The Three-Year Cherry she had been clutching all this time slowly fell to the ground.
Blood dripped onto the sachet.
Before you continue