Kiana, her thoughts in chaos, chose the latter option without a second thought.
The Thunder Soul Imprint concerned Raiden Mei, so this was a single-choice question. Even if it were a seven-star weapon, she would give it up without hesitation.
Chapter Nineteen: Humanity Has Its Limits
"What are you talking about, Kiana?"
Raiden Mei reached out and touched her forehead. She was genuinely starting to suspect that Kiana had been affected by the Cursed Sword.
Otherwise, why had she kept saying things no one could understand?
"...Nothing."
Feeling the presence of the Thunder Soul Imprint, Kiana, whose mind was still buzzing from the explosive news, managed to calm down.
No, no, that wasn't how she should calculate it.
Although this was the Honkai of Honkai Gakuen, this wasn't Honkai Gakuen. It wasn't even Earth, but Izumo, located in Honkai: Star Rail.
In other words, there was no Cocoon and no trial.
Besides, she was the Herrscher of Finality. The system hadn't said that she would lose control and play a little world-ending song for the entire world once the progress reached one hundred percent.
As long as she didn't lose control.
Honkai wasn't that frightening.
That was what Kiana thought as she slowly calmed down. One major reason humanity couldn't overcome Honkai was that it couldn't defeat Finality.
Honkai would only show its strength in the late game.
How many people would still be left in Izumo by the late game?
It was time to face the shadow of the Black General head-on.
Once her thoughts took that turn, Kiana strangely calmed down. The equipment from Honkai 2 that the system had given her clearly brought her more benefits than drawbacks.
Besides, weren't there still the Aeons?
If she really couldn't deal with Honkai later, she could simply abandon the planet and leave Izumo, leaving all the Honkai on the planet for the Black General to deal with.
"Mei, do you want to become stronger?"
She had specifically obtained the Thunder Soul Imprint for Raiden Mei. Since Mei was right in front of her, she didn't intend to keep it in her hands.
Raiden Mei looked at Kiana hesitantly. She frowned, and Kiana failed to notice the suspicion and worry that flashed through her eyes.
Kiana had just said something strange.
Before that, she had shattered the Cursed Sword.
"I just sacrificed the Cursed Sword and obtained a Stigma that suits you perfectly—the Thunder Soul Imprint!"
As she spoke, she spread out her right hand. The purple phantom of the Thunder Soul Imprint projected above her palm.
"Humanity has its limits, but Stigmata are different!"
Kiana recalled the powerful Stigma wielders in Honkai 2 and said with certainty, "As long as a Stigma is developed to its utmost potential, its wielder definitely won't be inferior to those so-called gods."
Raiden Mei's hand instinctively moved toward her waist, but found nothing, because she had just handed the sword to Kiana.
She remained composed. "What is a Stigma?"
"A Stigma is, of course... well..."
The projection in her hand vanished, and Kiana's mind suddenly jammed. A Stigma was, of course, a Stigma!
"A symbol of resistance to Honkai energy?" Kiana, whose thoughts had short-circuited, scratched her hair. She really didn't know how to describe it.
"It's a kind of imprint!"
Kiana simply stopped overthinking it and repeated the description given by the system. "It can enhance weapons and allow people to wield the power of lightning."
"I see." Mei nodded, becoming even more convinced that Kiana had been caught off guard and corrupted by the Cursed Sword. "So how do you give it to me?"
"It's easy!" Kiana's tone became more cheerful. "Mei, sit down and take off your clothes!"
She only needed to stick the Stigma onto her body like a tattoo. It was incredibly convenient!
Mei, who was racking her brain to stall for time, find an opening, and help Kiana escape the unknown corruption, froze.
Her voice was full of doubt and uncertainty. "Take off my clothes?"
Although they were very close friends, taking off her clothes in front of her...
Believing that Kiana had been corrupted by the Cursed Sword and had begun acting strangely, Raiden Mei still blushed at the thought of undressing in front of Kiana.
"Yeah, I'll put it on your back."
Was that what Kiana herself had been thinking, or was it the influence of the Cursed Sword corrupting her?
"The Stigma you mentioned can bring the power of lightning?" This wasn't a suitable place to make a move, so Raiden Mei suggested, "Why don't we do it after we return to the shrine?"
"Go to the shrine?"
Kiana hesitated.
It was already dark outside, and it was about time for dinner. If she went to the shrine with Mei now, having to come all the way back later would be troublesome.
But it wasn't impossible. She could treat it as taking Mei home, and they could even have dinner together on the way.
"Yes." Seeing her hesitation, Mei softened her voice. "Bring your things and stay at the shrine tonight. We can also discuss Takemikazuchi after we return to the shrine."
"Sure!"
She could spend the night at the shrine?
That made things even better, so Kiana readily accepted Mei's invitation.
This was a chance to get close to Mei!
She had no idea that Mei suspected she had been corrupted and was acting abnormally. Mei intended to beat her up and see whether it would wake her up.
"Let's leave once we're ready."
"Wait for me. I'll be quick!"
Kiana ran back to her room. After she left, the smile faded from Mei's face, and she frowned once again.
"There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with her."
Had Kiana returned to normal?
Raiden Mei shook her head. Whatever the case, she would take Kiana back to the shrine first.
There weren't many things in the living room. Besides, Kiana didn't seem to spend much time at home, and many of the things there appeared to be mere decorations.
"Mei, I'm ready! Let's go!"
Kiana moved quickly. Before long, she opened the door with a backpack on her back and a bright smile on her face.
"Mm, let's go."
Without that Octopus Demon, Raiden Mei wouldn't have revealed herself by appearing in front of Kiana and letting her know she had been following behind.
Although she had secretly followed Kiana out of concern for her safety after she was injured, "stalking" sounded terrible.
Kiana didn't dwell on the issue. She didn't seem bothered by Mei's actions and instead expressed her understanding.
That allowed Mei to breathe a sigh of relief.
But that Cursed Sword...
And the words Kiana had suddenly blurted out—humanity has its limits.
Both things made it impossible for her not to stay vigilant.
"Why are you looking at me like that, Mei?"
"No, it's nothing. I was wondering if you wanted to eat something on the way."
"I am pretty hungry..." Rubbing her hungry stomach, she remembered that she had only eaten a little at the food street while shopping with Mei.
After that, she had chased Yae Sakura, been beaten down by Yae Sakura, taught some thugs a lesson, fought the Kishin, and beaten the Kishin down.
After fighting for so long, she had been starving for ages.
"Would ramen be okay?"
"Sure!"
She wasn't picky. As long as there was food, anything was fine.
As for pestering Mei to cook?
She was tired, and Mei would only be more tired. Kiana didn't want to trouble Mei by making her cook at a time like this.
But this Mei knew how to cook.
That was because she was the only one in the enormous shrine.
When Kiana went to the shrine to learn swordsmanship from Mei, she sometimes ate lunch there with her.
Mei, however, was thinking:
Had the corruption in Kiana disappeared? Had she returned to normal?
When she noticed a familiar place ahead, she said, "Turn right up ahead, and there's a ramen shop with a good taste. I used to come here often when I was little."
"Is it your favorite ramen, Mei? Great, I'll definitely give it a proper try!"
"It probably won't disappoint you." Her eyes softened again, and she smiled helplessly.
Chapter Twenty: Thunder Soul Imprint
After dinner, they returned to the shrine.
Kiana had never forgotten about the Stigma. Once everything had been put away and she saw that Mei had nothing else to do, she couldn't hold herself back any longer.
"Mei, Mei, the Stigma!"
She couldn't wait to install the Stigma on Raiden Mei.
Although the current Honkai Energy Concentration in this world was still very low—insignificant compared with the invasion between the Void and Takama-ga-hara—it was better to install the Stigma sooner and feel reassured sooner.
"Stigma?"
"Mm-hmm!" Hearing the hesitation in Mei's question, Kiana projected the image of the Thunder Soul Imprint again. "It's this 'Thunder Soul Imprint.' It suits you perfectly!"
Kiana thought for a moment, then sighed. "I wonder if sacrificing other things in the future will let me get a 'Wings of Oath' for myself!"
"Wings of Oath?"
"Wings of Oath is the family Stigma passed down through the Kaslana family for generations." Kiana said, "Do you remember the question I asked earlier? Anyway... because of my existence, this world is about to face a disaster called 'Honkai.'"
"If the Honkai Energy Concentration becomes too high while humanity has no resistance to Honkai energy, people will be infected by Honkai energy and eventually turn into Honkai creatures."
"People with powerful resistance to Honkai energy will develop Stigmata. Conversely, Stigmata can also grant people adaptability to Honkai energy, allowing humans to harness Honkai's power for themselves."
Her explanation was clear, and her behavior appeared normal.
Could it be that Kiana hadn't been infected by the Cursed Sword, and this Stigma really existed?
...There was only one way to find out.
"What is Honkai?"
"...It's difficult to explain its essence. It can trigger all kinds of disasters. Earthquakes, tsunamis, plagues, and even wars are all manifestations of it. If the concentration becomes too high, it will directly corrupt all humans without resistance to Honkai energy and give birth to terrifying creatures called 'Herrschers.' I've never seen Takemikazuchi's power, but I estimate that the strength of Herrschers should be roughly comparable to theirs."
Kiana spoke uncertainly.
She had no idea how the Honkai brought by the system would perform in Honkai: Star Rail. If it could give birth to Herrschers, she also had no idea how strong those Herrschers would be.
But the Herrschers of Honkai 2 seemed to have no upper limit as long as the Honkai energy remained that high, unlike Honkai Impact 3rd, which had only fourteen...
"Why..."
"Take off your clothes, Mei!"
Kiana interrupted Raiden Mei. She didn't know how to tell Raiden Mei that she was the Herrscher of Finality, and that this thing grew stronger along with her own strength.
Before you continue