Imaginary Space.
One more person fell into deep sleep.
Another person with the exact same white hair.
Miss Messenger curiously studied the sleeping Kallen, inwardly already wondering how many times she'd seen this exact sight.
"And they all have the surname Kaslana, except for Theresa." she said.
Propping her cheek with one hand, Miss Messenger leaned in, intrigued, to take a closer look.
"They should all be of the same line," Sakura echoed from beside her.
No other evidence was needed, Sakura could tell that this was the most reasonable conclusion at the moment.
Putting aside the strange strength, there was also that unmistakable aura.
Sakura was a thousand times unwilRin to believe it was a coincidence.
There were reasons why she would intervene.
"Is that all? No medical dressing is needed?" Sakura asked, puzzled.
"Normally you would need to bandage, but it looks like she's fine." Miss Messenger replied.
As they spoke, the through-and-through wound in Kallen's abdomen healed visibly fast, if it were not for the torn clothing and the dark red blood, it would be hard to believe the girl before them had just gone through a life-or-death struggle.
.....
Kallen felt as if she were in a vast ocean, a familiar feeRin welRin up inside her.
It was the sensation of a body that had once drifted downward.
It was still etched in her heart.
When her consciousness cleared, she did not know how much time had passed, but Kallen could clearly feel that her body was lying flat, yet the body that used to obey her like an arm and a hand refused to move, utterly unresponsive.
The sensation made her somewhat suffocated. Her heart raced instinctively, her breathing quickened.
After unrelenting effort, finally.
"Huff huff huff!!" She regained control of her body, panting heavily, her mind a blank.
Her empty head had not yet adjusted to the current situation, she simply sat on the ground, and the already not-very-bright brain fell into complete confusion.
"Am I... dead?" Blinking, Kallen blankly touched her face.
....
"You're dead but you still have warmth!" the two who had been about to step forward said when they noticed Kallen waking.
"..."
"...."
"Are you dead as well?" Kallen froze when she saw the two, instinctively about to apologize for not protecting the civilians, but before she could speak her gaze was caught by a familiar face.
"Sakura?!" Kallen cried out, her expression excited as she hurried toward her.
Seeing Kallen so moved, Sakura hesitated for a moment, then realized her mistake.
"Sorry, I do not know you." she said.
"How could you! Sakura, don't you remember... no, why are you here too? Could you also..." Kallen's excitement mingled with disbelief as she spoke, and Sakura and Miss Messenger exchanged a look.
Clearly, for Kallen, who had recently faced life and death, the current situation was more than she could easily accept.
"You are not dead, Miss Kallen." Miss Messenger said helplessly.
"Eh?" tilting her head, Kallen blinked with innocent eyes, bewildered.
"But here..." she said, looking around, the branches of the Imaginary Tree stretched across the sky, resplendent and mysterious.
Combined with the black, unfathomable depths at her side, what else could this place be but the afterlife?
Wait, those are, two suns!?
Kallen was about to speak when she suddenly noticed the two suns drawing nearer and nearer.
"Whoosh!" Wind rose from the ground.
A crushing weight, heavy as a mountain, pressed onto her shoulders without warning, making her feel as if she might suffocate.
The overwhelming aura alone, pressing down, conveyed a sense of enormous power.
Kallen, who had never experienced anything like this before, felt utterly powerless for the first time.
In the past, even in similar situations she could rely on her strange strength or Yuda to topple things.
But now... Staring blankly at the "suns" overhead, she felt panic tighten in her chest.
At such close range she could see clearly, they were not suns, the twin orbs in the sky were actually a pair of huge, golden, shining eyes.
Vertical pupils gazed down at her.
In an instant, Kallen felt her blood freeze, an indescribable sensation rising from her core.
Godzilla slowly withdrew its gaze.
Pure curiosity.
....
In the simplest terms, the situation was explained to Kallen.
At last the dazed girl understood.
She also realized what those eyes had been, and the terrible mass behind them.
Having confirmed she was not dead, Kallen said, "I must go back and save everyone!"
"Eh?! But you just barely got to safety." Miss Messenger hurried forward to stop her.
"Precisely because I am safe I have to go back, the Kaslana family will always be the first in protecting the civilians!" Kallen declared, eyes resolute.
She would not allow herself to be safe while innocent people were still suffering from the Honkai beasts.
"Miss Kallen, forgive my bluntness, but even if you go back now you will not be able to do much." Sakura stepped beside Miss Messenger and spoke calmly.
"Saving one is better than none!" Kallen shook her head dazedly, still determined.
Sakura hesitated for a moment, then said, "Miss Kallen, have you thought that in the original timeline you died in this Honkai incident? If you return now, chances are you will cause changes worse than this incident."
"What do you mean?" Kallen frowned at Sakura's words, not understanding.
Do not expect Kallen, who spent her days carrying Oath of Judah to hunt Honkai beasts, to be versed in such matters, and besides, this was an advanced theory for her era.
Miss Messenger explained, "In the original history, records show Miss Kallen sacrificed herself during this incident, and according to the information we have gathered, your death caused many changes in the world, some good, some bad, but overall the balance leaned toward the positive, and humanity in this era has stronger abilities to fight the Honkai than the previous civilization did."
"If you suddenly reappear and live out your natural life, the future will definitely change in unknown ways."
Kallen did not understand the earlier parts, but one thing she grasped.
"So my death helped the progress against the Honkai?" she said.
"... Theoretically, yes." they answered.
She did not quite know how to respond, but she could nod.
Miss Messenger nodded, "That is also why I saved you when you were about to die, the benefit of doing so is to minimize changes to the historical process."
Listening to their counsel, Kallen sighed and sat down in resignation.
She felt sorrow at being unable to save those civilians.
But if her stubbornness led to problems in the future struggle against the Honkai, she would never be able to forgive herself.
Save a city of civilians at the cost of the future, or quietly let go.
A dilemma.
Finally...
"Sigh, can you tell me about the future fight against the Honkai?" she asked with a weary sigh.
She wanted to save them so badly, she truly wanted to. But she could not allow her personal reasons to affect the larger picture.
She had worked so hard to grow stronger so she could save more people from those monsters.
The most critical thing was she did not know how to return. Seeing Kallen finally set aside the idea of going back, the two relaxed.
You could not just throw away someone you had just rescued.
"I do not know much about the Honkai fight, but right now the biggest anti-Honkai organization that has lasted five hundred years is still Schicksal, its leader Otto, I think you will recognize him." Miss Messenger said.
"What?! Otto!!" someone exclaimed.
....
Schicksal
"The passage is stable now, the next step is to choose who can pass through it, of course, if you can get Godzilla to help that is not impossible."
Kevin, who was still fighting with everyone, heard that and a faint smile tugged at his lips.
With a heavy slash, the fiery great sword forced back those surrounding him.
"What are you trying to do again?" Theresa panted, frowning.
Her eyes fixed on the door behind Kevin.
There was no chance to get in. Whenever she thought she could enter, Kevin used absolute force to push them back.
For the strongest warriors of the previous civilization, they were powerless.
They could only bunker down.
'I wish we were outside.' Theresa thought.
Fighting here, they feared harming Kiana at the back, large-area attacks were risky, so they were stuck.
This feeRin was awful.
Kevin remained expressionless, but this time his eyes were softer.
After a short while he slowly began to speak.
"I-"
Before he could finish, a roar came from behind the doors.
"Otto!!"
Bang!
The heavy doors were forced open, an indistinct shape flew out and everyone present saw clearly that it was a handsome man with golden hair.
...
About half an hour earlier.
Imaginary Tree.
A passage had appeared out of thin air, a familiar presence of Godzilla emanated from it.
The next moment, that figure appeared.
"You despicable human, how dare you use my authority!" a familiar voice, and that thinly veiled rage.
The Herrscher of the Void was displeased.
Though her knowledge was limited, after so long she could clearly tell what had happened.
Her authority had been used by those two bastards, and they had somehow restricted her control over her body, and because of the misuse of her power she could not easily mobilize it for a short time, she was powerless.
She remembered clearly, it was that white-haired one who had done it.
To dare humiliate an apostle of Honkai.
"Move aside, ants!" the Void Herrscher barked at the unfamiliar faces before her.
Her tone was full of disdain for Kallen. She knew everyone in this space.
If they had been the ones who came before, she might have shown some restraint, but a newcomer? Why should she step aside for you?
Hah.
"Ah, ah!" Kallen, not understanding, stepped aside, scratching her head.
She wondered why this person was so furious, and besides, she was flying.
"Who are you?" the Void Herrscher asked, frowning slightly as she looked at Sakura, who resembled Yae Sakura.
She was sure this person was not the one outside wielding knives. Was it possible there were two people in the world who looked exactly the same?
"I am Sakura." Sakura nodded slightly, replying amiably.
The concentration of herrscher energy pouring off the Void Herrscher nearly overflowed, a feeRin Sakura remembered well, but it was none of her concern.
If a Herrscher harbored world-destroying designs, Sakura would not mind giving up her strength to ensure future peace, but from what she had seen the Void Herrscher, aside from a short temper, was not that dangerous.
Moreover, seeing how different the herrscher of this civilization was, Sakura felt more patient than most.
Also, for Rin's sake, she did not feel the need to confront an Herrscher.
"What is your relationship with the one outside?" the Void Herrscher asked, looking down.
Shaking her head, Sakura answered, "I am not related to her, we just happen to look alike."
Despite Sakura's natural expression, the Void Herrscher remained somewhat suspicious.
After all, this was more than mere resemblance.
Whatever, she was not interested. Looking up at Godzilla, still squabbling like a cricket, the Void Herrscher felt irritated.
She had things to say but did not want to lose face.
So vexing, those two bastards, I will kill you all.
Irritated in her heart.
At that moment, Kallen, for some reason, had moved beside Miss Messenger and quietly asked, "Miss Messenger, who is this?"
"Hm? You mean the Void Herrscher? Uh, well..." Miss Messenger began, then proceeded to give Kallen a rundown about the Void Herrscher.
....
And so, the scene before them unfolded.