Gwen directly cut Kiana off, not letting her continue. There was no end to running away—
"Since you know that if she takes your body, she'll kill people and harm those you love, why did you let her out?"
His words carried a faint force of intimidation. The moment they reached Kiana's ears, the thoughts swirling through her mind were scattered, leaving her head completely blank.
"...
I..."
After a long silence, Kiana finally spoke again in a low voice.
"I can't take it back from her..."
The agitation Kiana had shown earlier under the stimulation of panic and unease was gone. Instead, she seemed extraordinarily fragile, like a homeless stray cat curled up and trembling in the cold.
"Then make yourself stronger. Strong enough that she can't take it from you."
Gwen's words were as simple and direct as before.
"But... but... but I..."
Though she desperately wanted to agree, the moment she remembered how her body had been taken from her in an instant that night, Kiana felt as if someone had seized her by the throat. A horrifying sense of suffocation swallowed her whole, stripping away every bit of courage she had.
"You can't do it?"
Gwen spoke the three words for Kiana. The girl gave an almost imperceptible nod and looked at him pitifully, like a kitten yearning for the food in a passerby's hand.
Kiana Was Still a Coward
"I can help you."
Gwen's expression softened as he looked into the girl's dim eyes.
"But all I can do is help you."
"The demon in your heart is something only you can defeat."
"I..."
She instinctively wanted to agree, but that suffocating feeling of having everything taken from her surfaced in her heart once more. The words caught in Kiana's throat, and she could not say anything.
"If you remember that night, then you should remember that Mei, like you, is also a Herrscher."
Although Mei's second consciousness was nowhere near comparable to the Herrscher consciousness inside Kiana's body, that did not stop Gwen from using it to encourage Kiana.
"But with my help, Mei did it. She awakened her powers steadily and did not have her body taken over by the Herrscher consciousness."
So why couldn't you do it?
"It's different..."
Though she did not know that the Herrscher consciousness inside her was practically the only truly villainous second personality in the Honkai world, Kiana still instinctively wanted to argue.
"Perhaps it is different."
Not giving Kiana another chance to bury her head in the sand, Gwen directly interrupted her in a calm voice.
"Or perhaps it isn't..."
"But if you don't even dare to try, then whether it is different or not makes no difference at all."
"Or is it..."
The softness that had just appeared on his face vanished, returning to its previous calm.
"When facing the one who took everything from you, you don't even have the courage to resist? You don't even have the courage to avenge Siegfried?"
"I..."
Kiana opened her mouth, her gaze flickering as she did not dare look at Siegfried. Lowering her head, she asked quietly:
"Gwen, you... will help me, right?"
"Heaven saves those who save themselves, and helps those who help themselves. Those who abandon themselves will be abandoned by heaven..."
"I can only help Kiana if she is willing to resist. No one can help a coward waiting to die."
Gwen tightened his grip slightly around Kiana's small hand and answered immediately.
"Then... please help me, okay?"
She raised her head, her trembling eyes meeting Gwen's. She was still somewhat timid, but she no longer looked away.
"I... I don't want to hurt anyone else anymore."
"As long as you don't give up, I'll always stand by your side."
Covering Kiana's little hand, Gwen spoke warmly.
A gentle light quietly entered Kiana's body, soothing her heart alongside his words.
"Mm, I'll try..."
At last, a little life returned to Kiana's hoarse voice, and Gwen finally let out a sigh of relief.
"Phew... Looks like it's a happy ending after all."
Seeing that Gwen had resolved the problem, Alicia, who had been worried sick, finally relaxed as well.
"I didn't expect you to be such a good talker, Gwen."
"I was just a support who used a few underhanded tricks. The one who truly made the choice was Kiana herself."
Gwen did not simply accept Alicia's praise.
At least, in Gwen's own opinion, his skill at persuading people was only average.
"Hey, you can't put it that way."
"Although Kiana was the one who made the decision, you were the one who got her to make it, you know~?"
The weight in her heart finally lifted, and Alicia's voice regained its usual liveliness and ease.
"Hehe, then I'll have to trouble you to remember that credit for me, Aili..."
While chatting with Aili in his mind, Gwen also said to Kiana:
"Since you've made your choice, get some proper rest first."
"With how weak you are right now, you can't undergo my training."
"Mm, I'll rest properly and try to get discharged soon."
Kiana nodded, trying hard to force out a smile, but ultimately failing.
"Hehe, alright. Don't force yourself."
With a soft laugh, Gwen put Kiana's warmed little hand back beneath the blanket and asked:
"Do you want something else to eat?"
"Mm... can you give me that half apple from earlier?"
"I want to finish it."
"Alright."
Gwen nodded, picked up the half-eaten apple that had been set aside, and asked with a smile:
"Do you need me to feed you?"
"I'm not disabled. Why would I need you to feed me?"
Rolling her eyes at Gwen, Kiana pulled her hand back out from beneath the blanket and took the apple she had gnawed into an uneven mess earlier. She examined it carefully before slowly eating it.
Compared to her earlier dazed state, Kiana was still not eating quickly, but she was eating carefully.
Soon, only half the apple core remained.
"I want to rest for a while..."
Kiana gently tossed the half-eaten core into the trash can and spoke softly.
"Mm, sleep. I'll watch over you while you sleep."
Gwen nodded.
"...I can't sleep with you watching me."
Kiana blinked, not expecting that answer from Gwen, then continued.
"I'm afraid some coward will kill herself after I leave."
Gwen's answer froze Kiana's expression. Then her little face reddened, and she avoided looking at him as she muttered:
"I'm not a coward."
"I didn't name anyone. Certain people shouldn't be so quick to assume I meant them."
Gwen looked at Kiana with a soft laugh, making her face redden even more. She directly laid down her pillow, turned away, and curled up beneath the covers without looking at him.
"Hehe..."
Gwen said nothing, merely chuckled, but that made the girl bury her head beneath the blanket in a huff.
With a smile and a shake of his head, Gwen quietly left the room, leaving the space to Kiana.
Though it seemed that he had persuaded her, perhaps the girl still needed a little private space to have a good cry...
"How did it go?"
Raiden Mei, who had been watching the situation in the ward through the window, hurriedly asked when Gwen came out.
"For now, I managed to persuade Kiana."
Gwen sighed softly.
"But as I said before, Kiana's problem is much more complicated than yours."
"It will still take a long time before she can truly move on."
"That's good..."
A look of relief appeared on Raiden Mei's pretty face, and she let out a breath before saying:
"Oh, right, Gwen. Bishop Otto came earlier. He's in the lounge over there right now and said he wanted you to go see him once you came out."
"Alright, I'll go see him. Mei, go get some rest over there first."
Although he had just racked his brains trying to persuade Kiana, Gwen could not refuse to meet Otto now that he had come.
With that, Gwen walked toward the lounge nearby.
The layout was the same as the lounge from when Gwen had first come here. Otto, seated at the table in the center, smiled and greeted him when he entered.
"Looks like you succeeded, my friend."
Schicksal Headquarters (×) TPC Far East Base (√)
"I wouldn't call it a success. I only barely pulled her back from suicidal tendencies."
Gwen shook his head and sighed as he sat across from Otto.
"She still has a long way to go before reaching the level of a human Herrscher."
"Did something happen? You couldn't even wait for me to come find you and came here to wait instead."
"Nothing important has happened recently."
Otto shook his head.
"I came only to answer some of your questions—"
"After all, many matters are not suitable for the internet. It is better to discuss them face-to-face."
"I assume K... Kiana still remembers what happened before?"
"According to her, she has remembered everything—"
Meeting Otto's emerald eyes, Gwen said slowly:
"From waking up in that shattered incubation chamber to the accident that had been overlooked before, she remembered it all."
"Oh?"
Otto raised a brow, a hint of surprise appearing on his face.
"It seems that Miss Herrscher gave all those memories back to her."
"As for whether she remembered them herself under the stimulation of the Herrscher consciousness, or whether the Herrscher gave them to her to make her behave, we have no way of knowing."
Before you continue