A Person in Izumo, Making the Collapse Great Again Chapter 5

Kiana sighed. For the third time since arriving in this world, she opened the system she still hadn't activated.

A Pandora's Box.

Name: Kiana

Faction: [Honkai]

Talent: Power of the End

Skills: None

Finality Process: 0%

Honkai Energy Concentration (World): 0%

Summary: Your existence will trigger some unknown change. As you begin your journey, don't forget to keep an eye on the Honkai Energy Concentration.

System Status—Pending Activation

Kiana stared at the translucent panel before her with complicated eyes, her gaze fixed mainly on that line: 'Honkai Energy Concentration (World).'

It wasn't hard to understand.

The 'World' tag after Honkai Energy Concentration meant she would affect at least an entire planet.

If she activated the system, she would likely develop toward becoming a full-fledged Herrscher of Finality. But in the process of becoming the End, she would also bring a calamity called Honkai to this world.

Kiana had been reluctant to activate her system precisely because this was a decision that could affect the entire world.

Honkai didn't just impact individuals.

Kiana closed her eyes, thinking of Honkai Impact 3rd's Previous Era, thinking of the long strings of death tolls from every Honkai war.

She let out a bitter laugh and closed the system.

"I still can't make up my mind."

She had played Honkai: Star Rail and finished Penacony's story. She knew Izumo's final fate.

But...

Honkai was hardly any better than the Eight Million Gods invading from Takama-ga-hara, or Nihility.

She'd wait and see.

No longer looking at the system tempting her with cheats, Kiana dismissed the panel and dragged her aching arm as she turned back.

She needed to discuss Yae Sakura's matter with Mei. She didn't care what anyone else thought—she only knew that Raiden Mei wanted to see Raiden Ryoma.

She wouldn't let this become Mei's regret.

Mei would inevitably walk the path of slaying gods, because the Resonating Blade would surely fall into her hands. Without Kiana, she would become Izumo's sole survivor.

As a Self-Annihilator.

"Raiden Senka Guardian Mei... Senka Guardian... Yomi..."

With a complicated expression, she started back.

She had chased Yae Sakura a long way. Walking slowly, it would take at least half an hour to reach the shrine.

As she trudged back, she pondered how she could save Izumo, save this world fated to be swallowed by Nihility.

Without Honkai's power, without the system's power, she was just an ordinary person.

She had no strength to fight an Aeon.

But could Honkai really overcome Nihility?

Thinking of Honkai Impact 3rd's Cocoon of Finality, Kiana's heart was filled with uncertainty.

She walked with her head down, halfway there, still some distance from the shrine, when she unexpectedly saw Mei walking toward her on the path.

Kiana's eyes lit up. She instinctively wanted to raise her hand and greet Mei, but the moment she moved her arm, a piercing pain shot through it, making her wince.

"Kiana? What happened?"

Because Kiana hadn't returned for so long, Mei, having calmed her emotions, had followed the small path searching for her.

But she hadn't found Kiana the whole way, and her heart was full of worry. She regretted not coming with Kiana.

The deeper she went, the more worried she became—until she finally saw Kiana, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

It wasn't good to say this...

But she only had Kiana left.

"Nothing, I just took a fall."

Kiana smiled sheepishly as Mei ran up to her.

"Took a fall?"

Mei's voice was full of disbelief. She looked at Kiana's limp hands and, without thinking about whether it was polite—just as Kiana never asked for her opinion before leaning in—she reached out and grabbed Kiana's hands.

The moment Mei squeezed her left hand, the pain doubled. Kiana couldn't hold back. The agony exceeded her tolerance threshold, making her suck in a sharp breath, and her eyes instantly reddened.

Pain, pain, pain, pain!

Damn fox, she really didn't hold back!

She regretted it—she shouldn't have been nice to Yae Sakura, let alone agreed to be friends with her.

Who treats a friend this harshly?!

Kiana conveniently ignored that she'd been the one pushing for the sword, and that back then Yae Sakura hadn't meant to be her friend at all.

The worry on Raiden Mei's face darkened into something else when she touched Kiana's arm and saw her wince with red-rimmed eyes from the pain.

An uncontrollable surge rose from deep within her, and she struggled to rein in her anger: "Who was it?"

She heard her own voice—she'd never imagined such an icy tone could come from her lips.

"Who did you fight just now?"

She recognized this kind of torment technique and knew exactly what it was.

Izumo had a strong martial tradition; swordsmanship and combat arts flourished on this planet. Even just in Changkong City, there were no fewer than eighteen dojos.

Because martial arts thrived, all sorts of techniques emerged from sparring—including this one that quickly disabled an enemy without causing lasting injury.

She'd once participated in a martial arts tournament.

She'd seen someone use this technique on a stage to strip an opponent of their fighting ability, watched that opponent writhe and scream in agony.

"A woman named Yae Sakura."

Kiana broke out in another cold sweat from the pain. Since she'd been found out, she didn't bother hiding it, her words tumbling out fast from the ache.

"Yae Sakura..."

Mei etched that name into her memory. This kind of pain couldn't be eased with medicine or techniques—it just had to be waited out.

She gently released her grip on Kiana's left hand and said in a tone that brooked no refusal: "We're going back."

She didn't ask where that woman had gone, nor whether Kiana had seen 'Narukami.'

Even though she was a shrine maiden, in her eyes right now, Kiana mattered more than 'Narukami.'

Besides, 'Narukami' had been taken by her father—that was beyond doubt. That cold letter had already killed any desire she had to investigate further.

Chapter 8: In My Heart, You Matter More Than Narukami

"Ow..."

When Mei tugged her right hand, Kiana winced and yelped again—Yae Sakura had also smacked her shoulder.

Raiden Mei stopped in silence, her face darkening another shade, though not at Kiana.

She ran her hand carefully over Kiana's arm but found no fractures or wounds. Her right hand hadn't been damaged by that subtle technique like her left.

Seeing this, Kiana quietly reminded her: "My shoulder hurts."

Mei took a deep breath to steady herself, then slowly let go of Kiana.

Her aura dropped even lower: "Let's go back to the shrine first. I'll apply medicine for you when we get there."

Yae Sakura...

She'd remember that name.

"Mm-hmm."

Kiana obediently stayed close to Mei's side. After a few steps, unable to keep a secret, she spoke up to distract herself.

"Sorry, Mei. I couldn't get Narukami back for you."

"That blade doesn't matter."

Mei kept her head down as she walked, her voice unnervingly calm: "If it's lost, it's lost. You're more important than that sword."

Kiana's eyes went wide.

"R-really?!"

She couldn't believe what she'd just heard. After shamelessly flirting with Mei for three months, was she actually saying something like this already?

Have I already won her over?

Can I call her my Wife now?!

Kiana was dizzy with the surprise, her mind even conjuring up a grand wedding scene with Mei.

"Yeah."

Mei didn't look up. She thought of 'Narukami,' the blade her family had enshrined in the shrine for generations, of her father's harsh, distant strictness when he taught her swordsmanship during their rare time together, of that cold letter.

Then she thought of Kiana, who had burst into her life like a beam of light, and all the little moments they'd shared over these three months.

She turned to look at Kiana's face—pale and bloodless from the pain, even paler than usual.

Her voice rang with certainty: "In my heart, you matter more than Narukami."

Kiana's brain automatically translated Mei's words into a confession. Her cheeks flushed: "I—I feel the same. No, I mean..."

Her mind blanked, and she blurted out loudly, "You matter more than this whole world!"

Mei stood frozen, stunned.

Kiana's feelings had been received, but this metaphor... why did it feel a bit strange?

After shouting Raiden Mei's lines at the top of her lungs, Kiana's face reddened another shade. If both her hands weren't injured—hurting so badly that moving them was agony—she would definitely be covering her face right now.

Kiana, Kiana, what are you doing, Kiana?

"Ahem, I mean, I mean..."

Kiana quickly changed the subject, bringing up what she had originally wanted to say to escape the cringe-worthy scene that made her want to dig a hole and hide.

"I found out about your dad!"

Hearing Kiana mention her father, the expression on Mei's face swiftly turned cold. Her reaction was flat: "You saw him, didn't you? He took Narukami. I know."

How did Mei know?

No, no, that wasn't the point.

Kiana shook her head repeatedly: "Yae Sakura took Narukami, though she said it was at the request of your father, Raiden Ryoma."

A flicker of emotion passed through Mei's eyes, but it quickly settled back into calm.

Even taking the blade meant asking someone else to do it. Even worse.

"Is that so? It seems he plans to use Narukami to do something big."

"Right! They're going to use Narukami to hunt down Takemikazuchi, and forge Narukami into a true Edict Blade with Takemikazuchi's power."

Takemikazuchi?

That woman Kiana had chased down, that woman named Yae Sakura, had told Kiana everything she was searching for?

Raiden Mei was silent for a few seconds.

"Let's talk about this back at the Shrine?"

"Mm-hmm, whatever Mei says!"