A Person in Izumo, Making the Collapse Great Again

Kiana, her mind in turmoil, chose the latter without a second thought in the binary decision.

The Thunder Soul Imprint was tied to Raiden Mei—this was a single-choice question. Even if it were a seven-star weapon, she would abandon it without hesitation.

Chapter 18: Humanity Has Its Limits

"What are you talking about, Kiana?"

Raiden Mei reached out and touched her forehead, now genuinely suspecting she was under the influence of the cursed blade.

Otherwise, why would she keep saying things that made no sense?

"...Nothing."

Sensing the presence of the Thunder Soul Imprint, Kiana, whose head was buzzing from the explosive news, barely managed to calm herself down.

No, no, that's not how it adds up.

Although this was the Honkai of Honkai Gakuen, this wasn't Honkai Gakuen—it wasn't even Earth. This was Izumo, located in Honkai: Star Rail.

That meant no cocoon, no trials.

Besides, she was the Herrscher of Finality herself, and the system hadn't said that reaching one hundred percent progress would make her lose control and play a world-ending tune for everyone.

As long as she didn't lose control.

Honkai wasn't that terrifying.

Thinking this, Kiana gradually steadied herself. A big reason humanity couldn't overcome Honkai's trials was that they couldn't beat the Finality.

Honkai only really flexed its muscles in the late game.

How many people would be left in Izumo by the late game?

By then, they'd be facing the shadow of the Black General.

Once her thoughts started sliding, Kiana calmed down in a strange way. The system was also giving her Honkai 2 equipment, which was clearly more helpful than harmful.

Besides, weren't there Aeons?

If things got too out of hand with Honkai later, she could just abandon the planet and leave Izumo, handing all the Honkai on the planet over to the Black General to deal with.

"Mei, do you want to become stronger?"

The Thunder Soul Imprint was something she had specifically secured for Raiden Mei, and since Mei was right in front of her, she didn't plan to keep it in her hands.

Raiden Mei looked at Kiana as if she wanted to say something, then frowned. Kiana didn't notice the flicker of suspicion and worry in her eyes.

Kiana had just said some strange things.

And before that, she had shattered the cursed blade.

"I just sacrificed the cursed blade and got a Stigma that's perfect for you—the Thunder Soul Imprint!"

As she spoke, she spread open her right hand, and a purple projection of the Thunder Soul Imprint hovered above her palm.

"Humanity has its limits, but with a Stigma, it's different!"

Kiana recalled the powerful Stigma bearers from Honkai 2 and said with certainty, "As long as you develop the Stigma to its peak, you'll definitely be no worse than any of those so-called gods."

Raiden Mei's hand instinctively reached for her waist, but found nothing—her blade had just been handed to Kiana.

She remained composed. "What is a Stigma?"

"A Stigma is just... just..."

The projection in her hand vanished, and Kiana's mind suddenly went blank. A Stigma was just a Stigma!

"Is it a symbol of Honkai energy resistance?" Kiana scratched her head, her brain short-circuiting. She really didn't know how to describe it.

"It's just a kind of imprint!"

Kiana decided not to overthink it and simply repeated the system's description: "It can amplify weapons and let people use the power of lightning."

"I see." Mei nodded, growing more convinced that Kiana had been caught off guard and eroded by the cursed blade. "And how do I receive it?"

"Easy!" Kiana's tone brightened. "Mei, sit down and take off your clothes!"

It was as simple as sticking a tattoo—just press the Stigma onto the body. Very convenient!

Mei, whose mind was fully occupied with stalling for time, finding a weakness, and helping Kiana shake off the unknown erosion, was taken aback.

Her voice was full of doubt and uncertainty. "Take off my clothes?"

Al—although they were very close friends, taking off clothes right in front of each other...

She felt that Kiana had been eroded by the cursed blade and was acting abnormally, but the thought of undressing in front of Kiana still made Raiden Mei blush.

"Yeah, I'll put it on your back."

Was this Kiana's own thought, or the influence of the cursed blade that had eroded her?

"This Stigma you mentioned—it can bring the power of lightning?" This wasn't a good place to fight, so Raiden Mei suggested, "How about we go back to the Shrine to do it?"

"Go to the Shrine?"

Kiana hesitated.

It was already dark outside, about time for dinner. If she went to the Shrine with Mei now, coming back later would be such a hassle.

But it's not like it's a bad idea—it's basically just taking Mei home, and I can even grab dinner with her on the way.

"Right." Sensing her hesitation, Mei's voice softened a little. "Grab your things. Let's stay at the shrine tonight. We can also discuss Takemikazuchi further once we're back there."

"Sure!"

An overnight stay at the shrine?

That made it even better. Kiana happily agreed to Mei's invitation.

This was a chance to get close to Mei!

She never once considered that Mei suspected she'd been corrupted and wasn't acting normal, planning to knock some sense into her with a fight.

"Once you're packed, we'll head out."

"Wait for me, I'll be quick!"

Kiana ran back to her room. Once she was gone, the smile faded from Mei's face, and her brow furrowed again.

"At a glance, there's nothing wrong."

Was Kiana back to normal?

Raiden Mei shook her head. Regardless, she'd bring the girl back to the shrine first.

There wasn't much in the living room, and Kiana seemed to rarely be home—most of the furniture looked like mere decoration.

"I'm ready, Mei! Let's go!"

Kiana was fast. In no time, she pushed open her door with a backpack slung over her shoulder, beaming.

"Yeah, let's go."

If not for that Octopus Demon, Raiden Mei wouldn't have revealed herself in front of Kiana, letting her know she'd been following.

Even though she'd only tailed her out of concern for Kiana's safety after she got hurt, "stalking" still sounded awful.

Kiana hadn't pressed the issue, nor did she seem bothered by Mei's actions—instead, she showed understanding.

That was a relief.

But that demon blade...

And the words that had slipped from Kiana's mouth—"Humanity has its limits."

Both made it impossible for her to let her guard down.

"Why are you staring at me like that, Mei?"

"No, it's nothing. I was just asking if you wanted to grab something to eat on the way."

"I am really hungry..." Rubbing her growling stomach, she'd only had a few bites from the food stalls when she was shopping with Mei earlier.

Then came chasing Yae Sakura, getting knocked down by Yae Sakura, teaching some thugs a lesson, fighting the demon, and beating the demon into the ground.

After all that fighting, she was starving.

"Is ramen okay?"

"Sure!"

She wasn't picky—anything to eat was fine.

As for whining to get Mei to cook?

She was tired, but Mei would only be more exhausted. She didn't want to trouble Mei with cooking right now.

But this Mei did know how to cook.

After all, she lived alone in that big shrine.

When Kiana came to learn swordsmanship from Mei, sometimes they'd have lunch together at the shrine.

Mei, however, was lost in thought.

Had the corruption effect on Kiana worn off? Was she back to normal?

Spotting a familiar area ahead, she said, "There's a good ramen shop around the next right turn. I used to go there a lot as a kid."

"Is it Mei's favorite ramen? Awesome, I've gotta try it!"

"It shouldn't disappoint you." Her eyes softened again, and she gave a helpless smile.

Chapter 19: Thunder Soul Imprint

After dinner, they returned to the shrine.

Kiana hadn't forgotten about the Stigma. Once everything was put away and Mei seemed to have nothing else to do, she couldn't hold back anymore.

"Mei, Mei! The Stigma!"

She couldn't wait to install the Stigma on Raiden Mei.

Even though the Honkai Energy Concentration in this world was still very low—negligible compared to the scale of the Void and Takama-ga-hara's invasion—getting the Stigma on sooner meant peace of mind sooner.

"Mm-hmm!" Hearing the hesitation in Mei's question, Kiana projected the pattern of the Thunder Soul Imprint again and said, "It's this 'Thunder Soul Imprint'—it suits you perfectly!"

Kiana thought for a moment, then added with a sigh, "I wonder if sacrificing other things later could get me a 'Wings of Oath' of my own!"

"Wings of Oath?"

"The Wings of Oath is a family Stigma passed down through the Kaslana bloodline." Kiana said. "Remember my earlier question? Anyway... because of my existence, a disaster called 'Honkai' is about to erupt in this world."

"If the Honkai Energy Concentration gets too high, and humans have no resistance to it, they'll be infected by Honkai Energy and eventually turn into Honkai beasts."

"People with strong Honkai resistance develop Stigmata. Conversely, Stigmata can grant Honkai adaptability, allowing humans to harness the power of Honkai for their own use."

Clear logic, normal demeanor.

Could it be that Kiana wasn't infected by the demon sword, but that this Stigma really does exist?

...I'll find out by testing it.

"And what is Honkai?"

"...It's hard for me to explain its essence. It can trigger all kinds of disasters—earthquakes, tsunamis, plagues, even wars are all forms of its manifestation. If the concentration gets too high, it directly corrodes every human without Honkai resistance, birthing terrifying beings called 'Herrschers.' I've never seen Takemikazuchi's power, but I'd guess a Herrscher's strength is about the same."

Kiana said uncertainly.

She had no way to be sure how the Honkai brought by the system would manifest in Honkai: Star Rail, or how strong the Herrschers it spawned would be.

But in Honkai Impact 2nd, as long as the Honkai Energy stayed high enough, Herrschers seemed to have no upper limit—unlike Honkai Impact 3rd, which only had fourteen...

"Why—"

"Take off your clothes, Mei!"

Kiana cut off Raiden Mei's words. She didn't know how to tell Raiden Mei that she was the Herrscher of Finality, and that this thing grew stronger in step with her own power.