Mei, I Can't Tell Them Apart! / Gem of Desire

Theresa frowned at the alcohol reeking off Himeko. "Himeko, you should drink less. After all, your body..."

"Enough, stop saying such disappointing things."

"Oh no, there's a knife!"

"If you know there's a knife, why not dodge it? Because I'm not afraid! Why am I not afraid? Because I'm just not!"

"I don't believe it. If you've got what it takes, make me cry with another knife. Anyway, I heard Welt isn't the screenwriter for this movie~"

The hint was obvious. Even a Brainless Idiot could see it.

"Stinky Uncle, you're not going to write Himeko to death, are you?" Kiana scratched her head.

"There is a strong possibility," Bronya agreed.

"Wait, if Himeko gets written out, won't there be no one in the story to force me to study?" Kiana's eyes brimmed with wisdom.

"Kiana, what are you thinking?!" Himeko, sitting one row ahead of them, turned around like a robot, her neck jerking stiffly as red light flickered in her eyes.

"Himeko, I was wrong!"

Ignoring Kiana's antics, everyone turned their attention back to the screen.

Late at night, Kiana, dressed in nothing but light sleepwear, lay down on the soft bed once more. But the next second, she heard Mei calling out to her. When she opened her eyes, Mei stood before her in Valkyrie armor.

What drew the most attention, however, was that Mei's pupils were golden, and her voice was exactly the same as Sirin's.

"Who are you?!" Kiana asked.

"I am the ghost of your past, the nightmare you cannot escape."

Kiana watched as Mei, Himeko, and Theresa appeared one after another. Half of what they said was true and half was false, but all of it was vicious. Notably, they all spoke in Sirin's voice.

Kiana did not believe that the people closest to her would say such things to her.

Sirin's voice continued to tempt her. As long as she submitted, she could gain everyone's recognition and become an S-Rank Valkyrie... No, that kind of power was far too insignificant. She would grant her strength beyond imagination.

"Shut up! You liar!"

Soon, dawn broke.

"I would never say something like that to Kiana." Seeing her own body say such vicious words to Kiana on-screen, even gentle Raiden Mei was somewhat angry.

"Although I don't know what I was truly thinking in the story, I don't believe my concern for Kiana, Mei, and Bronya was fake," Himeko said, shaking her head. She did not believe that everything she did in the story had been an act.

"I know that. Mei would definitely never say something like that to me. And although Himeko is pretty strict with me, she definitely wasn't spying on me." Kiana took the opportunity to burrow into Mei's arms and rub against her.

"Kiana..." Mei blushed slightly. After all, this was a public place, completely different from being in their dorm room.

"Based on the timeline, Cecilia became pregnant in 1998, while Kiana's birthday is December 7. She entered the battlefield on February 15, 2000, and there must have been at least a year of recovery in between. Combined with an S-Rank Valkyrie's physique, Sirin's claim that Cecilia's combat strength declined because she gave birth to Kiana is unlikely," Bronya deduced.

In the row behind them, Pardo poked Kalpas and whispered, "Brother Kalpas, they're watching so seriously. Why can't I figure anything out?"

"Hmph." Kalpas merely gave a cool snort.

Pardo was disappointed. It seemed talking to Kalpas had been the wrong choice.

Mei, I Can't Tell!

The next day was the Valkyrie exam. Kiana changed into her White Comet combat suit, but after suffering nightmares for several nights in a row, she looked terrible.

Once the exam began, Kiana unexpectedly defeated Bronya. She even managed to hold her own against Fu Hua, then sparred with Rita, who had come to the Far East for an inspection.

During the final stage of the exam, the simulated Honkai Beast synchronization immersion device suffered a systemic error in its virtual combat trial program. As a result, Kiana had no choice but to fight Ganesha, an Emperor-class Honkai Beast far beyond the testing standards.

After a difficult battle, the exam finally came to an end. Kiana, sore and weak all over, yawned as she followed behind Mei and Bronya.

The image flickered several times. Mei and Bronya vanished, and the warm Valkyrie academy surroundings transformed into a laboratory-like place that seemed familiar—it was the interior of the Tower of Babylon.

"Kiana is only a B-Rank Valkyrie, yet she defeated an Emperor-class Honkai Beast. That's amazing!" Little Void exclaimed in surprise.

"Still not as impressive as Boss Kevin's entrance. What do you think, Adam?" Lyle nudged Adam with his elbow.

"I think they each have their own strengths. Kiana is only a B-Rank Valkyrie, so she definitely can't be compared with Uncle Kevin," Adam said, maintaining a fair and balanced stance.

"Good children shouldn't put one down to praise another, Lyle." Aponia gently stroked Lyle's head.

Lyle's body stiffened.

"Cute little girl, you truly are surprising. You even defeated that Ganesha~☆"

"You should know that this Honkai Beast, which appeared in India in 2012, caused the deaths of two A-Rank Valkyries and seriously injured twelve more..."

"I thought it would be an insurmountable obstacle for a B-Rank Valkyrie like you?"

That somewhat teasing voice from Kiana's dream rang out once again in the empty space.

"What a joke. My title may be B-Rank, but I actually possess the strength of an S-Rank Valkyrie." Kiana crossed her arms, disdaining even to look at the indistinct shadow.

"Hehe, you really love talking big. Although you are fairly strong, you are still far, far below an S-Rank Valkyrie~☆"

The teasing female voice dropped another bombshell. Fourteen years ago, she had personally experienced the strength of an S-Rank Valkyrie.

"Fourteen years ago? Experienced it?" Without Mei acting as her external brain, Kiana's mind started turning. She latched onto the fourteen-year mark and said, "Could you be... the Second Herrscher?"

Kiana could not understand why the Second Herrscher, who should have been destroyed fourteen years ago, would appear in her dreams.

"Aww, even your slow reaction is so cute. It makes me want to swallow you whole~"

"Hmph, even if this is only a dream... you won't leave here alive today, you... murderer who killed my mother!" Kiana angrily assumed a fighting stance.

"I never planned to leave. This is your dream, but it is also mine. I am you, and you are me. The one who should leave... should be you, Kiana!"

"Shut up!"

The screen abruptly shifted to the control panel beside Kiana. Written clearly on its display were: Tower of Babylon, Experimental Group Code SR-56455, Test Subject K-423.

"It's confirmed! It really is Queen!"

"Queen has descended once more, and a new Honkai is about to be born!"

"By the way, is no one really paying attention to what Queen meant? Why can't I understand a single word?"

"Who cares? As long as we know it's Queen, that's enough."

"What the hell is that stupid Sirin talking about?! What does she mean, she's me and I'm her? I'm me, Kiana Kaslana!" Kiana did not understand what "Sirin" was saying, but she would not allow anyone to take her place.

"Kiana..." Mei wanted to say something, but did not speak again. Combining the post-credit scene from the previous movie with the blatant hints on-screen, Mei had already roughly guessed the truth.

In the back row, Mei looked past Kevin and Yaqing with an amused smile at Dr. Mobius, whose expression had stiffened somewhat. "Dr. Mobius..."

"Hmph. The story has not explicitly confirmed it, so I haven't lost. Besides, what we bet on was whether the Herrscher of the Void's core was inside Kiana, not whether Kiana was related to the Herrscher of the Void." Mobius remained stubborn.

Mei gazed gently at the tsundere Mobius.

Alarm bells suddenly rang in Kevin's mind. He had guarded against Elysia, but not Mobius, because he knew Mobius was straight. But now... he was starting to feel that his girlfriend might not be straight after all.

Kevin hurriedly leaned back, blocking Mei's line of sight toward Mobius.

Mei looked confused. She had just been wondering how to dig another pit for Mobius, but her boyfriend had suddenly blocked her view.

Kiana chased the indistinct shadow all the way to the top of the Tower of Babylon.

The screen suddenly went black.

Then scarlet words appeared against the pitch-black screen.

"You think... this will be our last meeting?"

"From now on, throughout your life, I will appear again and again in your deepest nightmares."

"Until one day, you no longer have the strength... to resist..."

The image lit up again. Kiana opened her eyes in a daze and saw Mei, Fu Hua, and Theresa looking at her with concern, while Rita stood elegantly to one side and explained, "...This battleship's engine is truly bizarre."

Rita gave everyone a graceful bow, then prepared to leave and return to headquarters to make her report.

"Mei... I'm hungry!" Mei helped Kiana up, and Kiana's first reaction was to act spoiled toward her.

"Then let's go back! I'll cook for you!" Mei giggled, her tone full of affection and doting love.

That warm scene did not last long before Rita's voice sounded from off-screen.

"Observation Report, No. 105-K423. Compared with the past, the subject's physical abilities and combat strength have shown obvious growth. However, the specific state of personality recurrence still requires further observation."

Rita had not left. She stood some distance away, watching Kiana and Mei interact.

"The Bishop's plan is about to enter its executable stage."

As the camera zoomed in, her gaze toward Kiana became sinister.

"Everything... is within his grasp."

Kiana was not stupid; she was simply too lazy to think. Now that such obvious answers had been placed in front of her, she naturally understood, but she had also become completely confused. Her eyes turned into swirling spirals.

"The character I voiced wasn't me, it was Sirin. But her name is the same as mine, and Sirin said she's me..."

Kiana was dumbfounded.

After her brain spun at high speed, she reached a conclusion.

Kiana = K423

K423 = Sirin

Therefore, in theory, Kiana = Sirin. The theory held. Approved!

Kiana suddenly hugged Mei and said dejectedly, "Mei, I can't tell. I really can't tell!"

Mei lightly patted Kiana's back and comforted her gently. "Kiana, no matter who you are or what your identity is, the feelings between us have never changed. That includes Bronya, Himeko, and the others."

Bronya said, "Of course. I also wouldn't be able to find another Brainless Idiot with your intelligence."

In the row ahead, Shub laughed. "Bad woman, Rita, you really are a bad woman. Suddenly, I feel like you won't be written out so quickly. After all, the righteous side never lives long, while villains endure for a thousand years."

Rita smiled. "Not at all. We simply stand on different sides. I am loyal to Schicksal, and loyal to the Bishop."

Rita's tone was very serious, but Salome still felt that it sounded fake.

Gem of Hopes

The Valkyrie exam had completely concluded. According to the message left by the Moonlight Throne's central system, their first destination was the Oceania Branch in New Zealand. A day earlier, New Zealand had suffered a large-scale Honkai outbreak, during which the Gem of Hopes had gone missing.

Kiana and the others' first mission upon arriving at the Oceania Branch was to retrieve the Gem of Hopes. Using the detection locator aboard the Hyperion battleship, they headed toward the gem's location.

On the way there, Theresa contacted them. From the conversation between Theresa and Kiana, it could be learned that the Moonlight Throne had not been fully activated. To activate it completely required the energy of at least four Herrschers, corresponding to four keys.

The scene shifted to the Hyperion battleship, where Himeko and Theresa discussed the Second Honkai Eruption from fourteen years ago. Much of it conflicted with the truth.

According to Theresa, Otto had given the order to fire the Honkai energy fission bomb, and she had fired it personally. She had also only met Anti-Entropy for the first time after the Second Honkai Eruption came to an end.

Anti-Entropy had snatched the Second Herrscher's corpse and the Gem of Conquest, which controlled lightning, from Schicksal after it had lost its basic combat strength.

The Third Honkai Eruption had been caused by the Herrscher of Thunder, but there was something neither Himeko nor Theresa could understand.

Since Anti-Entropy had already been researching Herrschers, why had they allowed Mei, the Third Herrscher, to get away? And why did Mei know nothing at all about Anti-Entropy?

"So Theresa's memories really were altered." Su recalled the ending of the previous movie, where Otto used the Feather of the Wind to hypnotize Theresa.

"So the four gems are basically equipment Sirin dropped?" Kitty caught the key point.

"Lightning represents conquest, wind represents desire, and the next two are flame representing plague and death representing serenity. What is this, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse?" Ling complained.

"Hmph, Anti-Entropy isn't so righteous either. They secretly conduct human experiments. How are they any different from Schicksal?" Kalpas wore sunglasses and a black mask that completely covered his face.

Far away in North America, on the top floor of Anti-Entropy's headquarters, Tesla, Einstein, Joyce, Welt Yang, and Raiden Ryoma were all gathered in Joyce's executive office, projecting the movie onto a white screen.

"How could Anti-Entropy possibly conduct such experiments?!" Tesla was furious. Whenever Anti-Entropy's experiments were mentioned, her first thought was of herself and Einstein.