Star Rail, Starting as Kiana

But Ms. Kiana did want to follow the Express crew to see the various planets, and she also wanted to see the expression on a certain someone from the Express crew when they saw her.

"Mm, then I'll head to the platform and wait for a bit."

For some reason, Kiana felt like something was about to happen.

But she couldn't remember what it was. After a month of lazing around, many memories of her original world had gradually faded, only resurfacing when she saw something that triggered them.

"Hey! Wait, Herta's new collection, the Express crew's arrival—it can't be that much of a coincidence."

Kiana suddenly recalled the beginning of it all, so she changed course and decided to head to the Interastral Peace Corporation first to take a look.

But just as she was halfway there, she heard alarms blaring all around her. Every siren rang out simultaneously, signaling that something was about to happen.

A number of Voidrangers barged straight into the Herta Space Station, confirming the timeline for Kiana.

In truth, for safety's sake, what Kiana should have done now was return to the main control section or find a safe area to wait for things to end.

But the bloodline of the Kaslana family made it impossible for Kiana to ignore everything around her. She saw that some researchers nearby hadn't evacuated yet, and the Voidrangers had already descended.

Kiana's choice was to fight.

With a gunshot, the Voidrangers also noticed that besides the few researchers ahead of them, there was a white-haired person behind them.

Bang bang bang!

After several consecutive gunshots, the Voidrangers fell to the ground, becoming the first casualties.

The researchers were about to say something, but Kiana cut them off.

"You all, leave here first. Go contact the Security Department and regroup with them."

"Ms. Kiana, are you sure you'll be fine alone?"

"Don't worry, they're just Voidrangers. Even if it were—"

Before Kiana could finish, she was interrupted.

"Don't jinx it. We believe in your strength, just as long as you say it'll be fine."

Kiana didn't say anything more, just shot them a glare.

She thought to herself: What, am I supposed to say the Great Lord of Destruction is coming and it actually shows up? In the end, it's just a Doomsday Beast. If it were anything worse, it wouldn't be me panicking—it'd be the Stellaron Hunters.

Kiana planned to clear out the nearby Voidrangers first, then wait for March 7th and the others to arrive before making her next move.

But just as she took the elevator down to the first floor, she turned a corner and ran into two familiar figures.

"Hey!"

Chapter 3: Ouyang: Is Otto dead?

Kiana's "hey" hadn't even left her mouth before she vanished from the spot.

Kafka glanced at Silver Wolf beside her, then looked at the spot where Kiana had just appeared in front of them.

She found Kiana's identity information in her mind.

Though it was already too late, she still gave Silver Wolf a brief reminder.

"Don't be so hasty next time. But where did you teleport her? If that little one gets hurt, Herta might not care, but the station master here will definitely lose it."

Silver Wolf blew a bubble with her gum, then ran her pink tongue around her lips to pull the gum back into her mouth before answering Kafka's question.

"Relax, I just moved her to the platform. There's no danger there, and the Express crew is around."

With that, the two of them ignored the identity verification at the door and walked straight into the Interastral Peace Corporation. Inside Herta's vault, they found their target for this trip.

The Stellaron.

As for Kiana, she only felt the scene shift instantly. In the blink of an eye, she was on the platform.

A train was parked there.

"Tch, what a shame. Even if I weren't a fully realized Herrscher of the Void, with just a single core, I shouldn't have been teleported that easily."

Kiana grumbled as she walked toward the train.

Going back now was out of the question. By the time she returned, the flowers would have wilted. It was better to just board the train and find Himeko and Ouyang.

Kiana sent a message about what had just happened to Asta on her phone as she walked toward the train's location.

Thinking she was late, Kiana realized she might have been too anxious—she might have arrived early.

Because just as Kiana approached the train's door, it opened.

A pink-haired girl jumped straight out of the train.

"Whew, we finally made it!"

She thought no one was around.

But then March 7th tilted her head and noticed a white-haired girl in researcher attire staring at her.

Because of that, March 7th got distracted. When she landed, she lost her footing and nearly fell.

March 7th had already closed her eyes, bracing for the cold ground.

But instead of pain, she felt an unusual warmth.

March 7th opened her eyes and realized she had been held in the arms of the researcher from before, the warmth coming from the other person.

"Are you alright?"

Kiana looked at March 7th in her arms. She didn't understand why, despite possessing the power of a Path, she had chosen to close her eyes when falling, and even after opening them, she just stared blankly without getting up.

If March 7th's appearance weren't so striking, Kiana would have wondered if some young lady from a noble family had come sightseeing.

"Ah! Sorry, sorry!"

Hearing Kiana's words, March 7th quickly got up, apologizing while sizing Kiana up.

There were many researchers here, and March 7th didn't recognize most of them, but the rank of this uniform was clearly not low. It wasn't standard issue; instead, it looked like an expensive custom piece.

Worn on Kiana, it didn't diminish her charm at all. In fact, it tempered her naturally heroic aura, adding a touch of gentle, scholarly refinement.

Asta: Hmph!

If it were someone like this, there was no way March 7th wouldn't remember them.

Just as March 7th was racking her brain, trying to recall Kiana's identity...

Himeko, who had gotten off the train behind her, immediately recognized Kiana.

"Oh, it's you. Asta told me about your situation. But let's set that aside for now. It seems something's happened at the space station. Can you tell us about it?"

Kiana briefly explained the current situation, and Himeko contacted Asta at the same time, though the signal seemed to be interfered with, making the connection choppy.

"Alright, I understand. She's here with me. Mm, no problem. She's safe."

Himeko finished her conversation with Asta and ended the call, but the look she gave Kiana carried a hint of strangeness.

After all, in Asta's description, Kiana was nothing more than an immature child, a playful little wildcat.

Himeko had originally planned to restock supplies and then evaluate Kiana. If she really was as Asta had said, she would have found an excuse to politely decline.

But now, it seemed Asta's behavior was like that of an overprotective mother.

Always thinking her own child was lacking in some way.

After this meeting, however, Himeko felt that Kiana had already met her expectations in both mind and ability.

Dan Heng got off the train without saying much, simply drawing his weapon and standing guard.

And when Ouyang, the last to appear, saw Kiana, he furrowed his brow, his grip on his cane tightening.

Others might not recognize Kiana, but he did.

Right now, he was thinking to himself.

"How did she end up here? Got tired of being the Earth God and walked through a Stargate like me, planning to journey through the universe?"

But looking at Kiana's slightly youthful face, it was vastly different from the final form he had last seen on the moon. Instead, she seemed like she was still in her school days.

So Uncle Yang tentatively asked, "Kiana?"

"Mm."

"Is Otto dead?"

Kiana: ?

Not just Kiana, but the others also stopped in their tracks, turning to stare at Uncle Yang in unison.

After all, what kind of devilish question was that? Asking if someone was dead right off the bat—what kind of grudge was this?

And Kiana understood Uncle Yang's thinking perfectly. If he wanted to determine her timeline, this question was the simplest.

If it were early in her school days, or even earlier, mentioning Otto wouldn't ring a bell for the original Kiana. At most, she'd feel like she'd heard the name somewhere.

If it were after the "Final Lesson" but before Otto's death, Kiana would definitely have angrily said no.

"I don't know."

"Oh."

The others were curious about their exchange but didn't press further, because everyone on the train had their own secrets.

If someone didn't speak, they wouldn't actively ask.

This applied not only to the veteran of the train, Uncle Yang.

But also to this young woman who might one day become their companion, Kiana.

"Aren't you all going yet, Pom? With the strength of the Security Department, will the space station really be fine, Pom?"

It wasn't until Pom-Pom came out to complain that the group stopped chatting and began moving while talking.

But walking together was too inefficient, so Himeko had March 7th head to the Interastral Peace Corporation with Kiana first, while Dan Heng went to find Arlan from the Security Department, and Uncle Yang stayed on the train on standby.

As for Himeko herself, she advanced toward the main control deck while clearing out the Voidrangers along the way.

No one objected to Himeko's assignment, as it was the optimal choice.

But after walking for a while, Kiana suddenly remembered a problem.

It seemed because of her, the Express crew had learned about the Voidrangers' arrival in advance. Still, she had an access card, so she didn't need to go find Asta first.

Perhaps Himeko's arrangement took this into account as well.

Chapter 4: Dominating Moon Sea Fish Fish Cat: Herta, you wouldn't want to lose a capable assistant, would you?

"Eh, so you've only been here a short while, Kiana? And you were always holed up in the lab before—no wonder I've never seen you."

Along the way, March 7th kept asking questions without a trace of worry.

After all, they were just Voidrangers—to her, no pressure at all.

And with Himeko speeding ahead, there wasn't a single Voidranger in sight, let alone another person.

"Yeah. But didn't Himeko mention it to you?"

Since Asta and Himeko kept in touch, and Herta did too.

Himeko should have told the others about this.

Hearing Kiana's words, March 7th couldn't help recalling last week's events.

It seemed... maybe... probably... Himeko had said something, but no one paid attention.

Seeing March 7th's reaction, Kiana guessed the gist of it.

"Forget it. Let's go. Watch out—there might be an ambush around the corner."

"How could that—"

And then March 7th found that the previously empty corner suddenly had several Voidrangers appear.

Meeting March 7th's gaze, Kiana felt a bit awkward.

Her ability—when it came to saying nice things, it was hit or miss, but as a jinx, it never missed.

Fortunately, the numbers weren't too large. She and March 7th could handle it easily.

But after the fight, March 7th looked at Kiana's weapon with some confusion.

"A pistol? But Kiana, why do you fight so close to the enemy? Shouldn't you keep your distance with a gun?"