Chapter Ninety-Four: New Gains. / Chapter Ninety-Five: Compatibility.

"Experiment."

Kiana breathed a sigh of relief at the predictable answer; it was exactly what she had thought.

94

Chapter Ninety-Four: New Gains

"ARuan didn't mean anything by it. I stayed to better cooperate with her."

Upon receiving the answer, Kiana quickly turned to Yomi, who looked displeased, and explained that it was best to clarify things clearly to avoid misunderstandings and trouble.

"... You're using her as a test subject?"

Connecting the dots, Yomi finally understood what was going on, and at the same time, a fire ignited in his heart.

She stared at Ruan Mei, her expression growing even more hostile, and questioned, "You're researching Kiana, aren't you?"

Kiana is special. Yomi understood this when she was in Izumo and has been carefully trying to prevent such a thing from happening.

You're right.

Ruan Mei did not deny it, and remained calm in the face of Yomi's somewhat unfriendly gaze.

"This is a deal between me and her."

"Trade?"

The thought that the other party might be taking advantage of a favor, which flashed through my mind after noticing Kiana's special qualities, crossed my mind.

Kiana seemed to trust her a lot.

Therefore, it must have been Kiana's own choice; Kiana trusted her, and she didn't harm Kiana.

"I actually know very little about the Honkai, ARuan is just helping me."

Kiana tugged at her, signaling her not to misunderstand Ruan Mei and to think the worst of things.

"... Feel sorry."

After thinking it over for a while, Yomi apologized to Ruan Mei for his attitude.

Ruan Mei didn't seem to care much, and simply said, "If you'd like, I can help you with a checkup."

She had never seen Self-Annihilator who had traveled so far on a path of nothingness yet still managed to maintain their sense of self.

That's quite special.

"I regret to decline."

Yomi refused Ruan Mei's request without hesitation. She was well aware of her own situation and did not think she needed Ruan Mei's help.

And if she examines herself, Kiana will definitely be curious.

She didn't want Kiana to know her current situation, so that Kiana, who had gone to so much trouble to find her, would continue to worry.

"Okay, you can contact me anytime if you change your mind."

Being rejected didn't surprise her.

Having it would be a bonus, but not having it wouldn't be a big deal. Let's focus our attention on Kiana instead.

"Kiana, I heard that you've been traveling with that Miss the Nightingale to many worlds ravaged by war these past few days."

How did Ruan Mei know that I and the Nightingale had gone to many parts of the world to help?

Kiana was slightly taken aback. Not many people should know about these things, and the news hadn't spread very far.

"That's true, but ARuan, weren't you busy discussing the construction of the Simulated Universe with Herta and the others?"

"You and the Nightingale went to many war-torn worlds to help?"

Yomi had reunited with Kiana several days ago and also had a brief encounter with Miss the Nightingale, but he was completely unaware of this.

"Ah, yes, the Nightingale wants to spread the ideals and voice of Harmony to more parts of the world. I also think it's a meaningful thing, plus I still owe her a favor; she's my friend..."

This situation wasn't dangerous for her; it was much safer than she had previously thought.

You should know that she initially planned to go it alone and cause trouble for the Buli and the Antimatter Legion.

"If you need to do this kind of thing again, I'll go with you."

It's unlikely that a stronger force will provide assistance to a weaker one for the time being.

Kiana didn't speak, she just nodded, as if she had something on her mind.

"Did you find anything?"

Yomi had already expressed her concern, and she wasn't good at saying such things, so she directly asked what she wanted to know.

"Gains? In what areas did you gain?"

Kiana didn't quite understand what she was referring to, and said, "Harmony? I certainly can't resonate with Harmony, but there are still some other gains from acting with the Nightingale."

"Honkai. Have you gained anything new? Or any new abilities or ideas?"

Harmony?

Ruan Mei wants to study the power of the Aeon, but she won't do so on Kiana.

She even had to find a way to eradicate the indelible void within Kiana.

"This...?"

Kiana hesitated slightly, recalling her conversation with Ruan Mei, in which Ruan Mei expressed her desire to become the master of Honkai and said she would help Ruan Mei complete this path.

"It seems so."

Ruan Mei was quite surprised, and even noticed. "Not only do you have ideas, but you also have new ones."

Kiana's expression stiffened when her thoughts were read. She hadn't actually decided whether to speak or not, but Ruan Mei had already seen through her.

"You were planning to keep it from me?"

"... How could that be? I... I just haven't decided yet."

Kiana's voice lacked confidence when she spoke, because Ruan Mei could tell whether someone was lying to her.

This was a simple matter for her.

They have a very good relationship, and he knows Kiana very well. He speaks frankly and directly, without any unnecessary words.

Yomi couldn't help but wonder if Kiana and Ruan Mei's relationship could really be summed up simply as 'friends'.

"Haven't thought it through? That's okay, you can tell me if you haven't. What new ideas have you had on your journey of practicing Harmony others?"

"It has little to do with this trip."

Ruan Mei responded with a sound of agreement and asked, "So?"

So?

Kiana looked away with some embarrassment, only to unexpectedly meet Yomi's gaze again.

"I'm sorry, ARuan, there's something I haven't been able to explain to you."

"I actually have a guess as to why I can't fully control Honkai energy and why it can get out of control due to accidents."

Do you have the answer in your heart?

These words piqued Ruan Mei's interest; she wanted to hear what insights Kiana could offer.

What Yomi was more concerned about was the word 'out of control,' which reminded her of Izumo after that incident.

"I have said that I am the Herrscher of Finality, but my Herrscherization is not 100% complete, but only 50% complete."

"I can forcibly increase my power and Herrscherization, but this will cause my own condition to become unstable, and after the battle ends, I will continue to fall back to the original state."

"Whether it's out of control or those other things, most of them... are related to this process."

Why is it only 50%?

Ruan Mei was good at grasping the key points; she didn't ask anything else, only concerned with why the progress was only fifty percent.

Kiana was silent for a moment, then lowered her head and said, "Perhaps it's because I didn't follow the rules and forced myself to become Herrscherization."

"Regulations? So, in other words, before this, you had ways to steadily improve this process, right?"

Kiana looked at Yomi, a hint of unease in her voice, and said, "I suppose so."

Why didn't you say so before?

Kiana's words made Ruan Mei grasp the key point: she had told Kiana before that she was currently on the path to godhood.

Now I am even more convinced of this.

Moreover, Kiana not only walked on it, but had already completed half of it, things that Kiana had never mentioned to her before.

"This is clearly very important."

95

Chapter Ninety-Five: Compatibility.

Kiana wanted to say that she had always resisted the Honkai. Although she had regained her Remembrance at that time, she only wanted to find Mei and was in a state of confusion because she lost control.

But none of these are excuses.

"Feel sorry."

She lowered her head even further.

She really should have told Ruan Mei about this sooner. Just as Ruan Mei said, it's very important.

"Because of Izumo?"

Hearing their conversation, Yomi immediately realized the reason why Kiana had forcibly Herrscherization.

"Did that incident leave any hidden dangers?"

"No... uh... ah..."

Kiana's expression changed several times, but under the gazes of the two men, she finally gave up struggling.

Let me tell you the truth.

She took a deep breath, stopped talking to herself, and looked at Mei, saying, "Mei, do you remember the first time we met?"

At Narukami Shrine.

That day was unremarkable, but Yomi Remembrance because it was the first time they met.

She never mentioned it to Kiana.

But in fact, she was attracted to Kiana the first time she saw her, but the shackles on her body prevented her from putting down her duties as a priestess and taking the initiative to talk to her.

Fortunately, Kiana felt the same way.

He often came to see her after that.

"I had only been in Izumo for a short time then. I came to Izumo from outside the world, remember? That's how I've always explained it to you."

"Um."

Yomi looked slightly puzzled. There was no doubt that Kiana didn't belong to Izumo, so why was she bringing it up again?

They continued in the same tone and attitude.

Kiana is completely out of place in Izumo, and Izumo can't find any trace of Kiana's past. Kiana could only have come to Izumo from outside the world.

"I do not belong to Izumo, but I also do not belong to any world in this universe."

"Just like I told ARuan before, my body exists because of the Honkai. The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was Izumo."

"At the same time, I know that as long as I accept the Honkai and bind myself to Izumo, I can bring the Honkai to this world."

"I fear its power, and I don't want anyone to sacrifice themselves because of the Honkai. Its power is terrifying. So I ignored it and wanted to integrate into that world as an ordinary person, until I met you Mei."

"I only just realized that this world was within the influence of nothingness, and was about to be swallowed by nothingness, disappearing completely from the universe."

"This was a doomed situation. I had no choice but to accept the Honkai. So I bound myself to this world and accepted the Honkai."

"My Herrscherization process will increase the Honkai energy of the entire world. When I am fully Herrscherization, Honkai will completely rewrite the rules of Izumo."

"This is a gradual process, but time is too tight, and the Honkai has affected those Kishin. We can only eliminate them and prepare for the final outcome."