Meeting Theresa this early was really throwing Reina's plans out of order.
At first, she'd planned to meet her after dealing with Cocolia. But encountering her now risked her telling Otto, which would make everything more difficult.
'Should I just erase their memory?' The thought surfaced when she saw Hyperion appear.
But she didn't want to waste energy - especially when Cocolia still didn't start her plan. She needed to preserve her energy for backup plan in case she failed to protect the entire city from that nuclear bomb filled with Honkai energy - the one Cocolia would detonate just to awaken Mei.
In the worst-case scenario, she'd have to ask her original self for help. Not that she wanted to - her original self was too straightforward when dealing with problems.
Now, after disappearing from Theresa, both she and the sleeping Kiana in her arms appeared in the Zero Dimension. In the distance, the small portal connecting to their apartment was visible, along with the three floating cocoons that always hovered nearby.
Without wasting a moment, she walked toward the portal to return home.
The Herrscher of Void core was almost complete. After this, recreating the other cores would be easier and faster. With this foundation complete, she'd understand the basic structure so for the other cores, she'd just need to recreate their origins and power.
"We're home."
"REINA!"
"KIANA!"
The moment she stepped into the apartment, both Mei and Yuna - who had been nervously waiting - immediately stood up and ran toward them.
In an instant, Mei hugged Reina without realizing Kiana was there too. She held on so tightly that Yuna couldn't even find space to join the embrace.
"Reina, you're finally back! I could feel some kind of strong energy earlier - I thought something bad happened to both of you," Mei said, burying her head in Reina's shoulder.
Because Mei was also a Herrscher, she had managed to sense the energy from Kiana's full-powered attack all the way back at the apartment. That's why she'd been so worried about Reina and Kiana.
"We're fine, Mei. I already told you before I left that nothing can hurt me at this point in time," Reina said, trying to comfort her.
"But still..." Mei's voice trailed off, her grip tightening slightly.
Reina shifted slightly, her arms still firmly cradling the sleeping Kiana. She couldn't physically comfort Mei, but her voice softened. "We're really okay, Mei. I promised, Didn't I?"
For Mei, this reassurance should have been enough. Yet the tightness in her chest remained. Reina and Kiana weren't just friends - they were the first people who saw her as herself, not the Raiden name or her family's legacy. The thought of losing them, especially Reina, sent icy fingers gripping at her heart.
She still didn't understand why she felt this strongly about Reina. Was it because Reina had always been so kind to her? Or maybe it was that gentle smile on Reina, or the way she'd paid such close attention to her yesterday...?
Mei nuzzled deeper into Reina's shoulder, inhaling that unique scent - not like Yuna's floral perfume, but something naturally Reina. Something inexplicably comforting that made Mei's chest feel warm.
"Ahem."
Yuna's deliberate cough broke the moment. "Um, Mei? Kiana can't breathe... Both of you squishing her between your... you know..." She gestured awkwardly at their pressed-together chests.
Mei looked down and finally noticed Kiana's face being squished between their chests. She quickly released Reina. "Sorry about that!"
"Fufufu~ I'll put Kiana in our bed. I'll be back soon - I'm sure you two have plenty of questions for me and Kiana," Reina said as she carried the sleeping girl to their bedroom, leaving Mei and Yuna standing frozen in place.
Neither moved an inch, both consumed by nervous anticipation about what revelations awaited them. They'd long suspected Reina and Kiana weren't ordinary humans. Yuna had often seen Reina pull impossibly large objects from her pockets, while both had witnessed Kiana's one-sided conversations with an invisible presence.
Mei had her own guess for that as she has a similar case like Kiana with she also spoke to another self, though she was far more discreet about it compared to Kiana's carefree muttering.
"Huh? Why are you two still standing there? Go sit on the sofa - I'm bringing refreshments," Reina announced upon returning.
"Is this really the time for refreshments...?" Yuna said, but before she could finish, Reina snapped her fingers.
The coffee table glowed briefly before an assortment of drinks materialized - iced tea, fruit juices, even steaming hot beverages. Mei and Yuna stared wide-eyed at the miraculous display.
"Are you two going to stand there like statues? Go on, sit down."
"Ah, right..."
After Mei and Yuna sat, an uneasy silence fell. Neither spoke, their eyes fixed on the magically-appeared drinks without touching them. Reina let the quiet linger for several minutes - until Mei's eyes suddenly snapped shut.
When they reopened, her irises glowed deep purple, the air around her vibrating with purple energy. Her voice echoed unnaturally as she spoke:
"Are you human?"
"Mei...?" Yuna edged away slightly, sensing something fundamentally different about her friend.
Reina chuckled. "Am I human? If I had 1000 yen for every time someone asked me that, I'd have about 4000 yen by now." Her smile faded as she met Mei's glowing gaze directly. "To answer your question - no, I am not human."
"I am not a person from this place or even this dimension. I'm from another dimension called Sky Realm," Reina continued her story.
"It's a place where there is a beautiful blue sky that is decorating the world, and people - humans, Erune, Draph, Harvin, and a lot of other races - live on the islands in harmony."
"Well, not really in harmony as there is often conflict happening, especially something involving Primal Beasts." She suddenly chuckled again, remembering the memories from when she lived there.
Well, not really lived - as she only had the memories and didn't actually experience it herself, being a replica.
She stopped a little and looked toward Mei and Yuna to see their reaction, but they seemed still focused on her story and didn't say anything, like they were waiting for her to continue.
But she could see how they wanted to ask another question, though they seemed to be holding back.
"Besides the races I mentioned, there is also another creature that exists in Sky Realm. It's called Primal Beast."
"Primal Beasts are Myths/Concepts/Abstracts/Faith etc. given life, personality, and sentience by the Astral race."
"And that's where I come from. I'm just a creation of an Astral named Lucilius - or 'Rei' is what he's called now." Closing her eyes, Reina thought about her original.
It had been a while since they talked to each other, and with the time dilation difference between dimensions, she didn't know how long it had been for her original self since they last spoke.
Then, opening her eyes, both Mei and Yuna could see Reina's eyes change drastically. They were no longer red like rubies but now bright blue like the blue sky.
And then, slowly, her long black hair changed to silver.
"I am Reina Zero - Half Astral and Half Archangel. Nice to meet you two." With a smile, she once again greeted both of them, just like the first time she met them.
"Half Astral?"
"Half Archangel?"
Mei and Yuna said at the same time, shocked after Reina told them about her origins.
"Archangel, like in books?" Yuna asked, curious. "But I've never seen you with, you know, archangel stuff, like wings or anything."
In an instant, six dark wings sprouted from Reina's back, making Yuna's eyes widen.
"Now do you believe me?" Reina said, smiling.
Mei was just as surprised, staring at the wings. She knew about the Herrscher inside Kiana, but Reina's power was something new, something she'd never seen before.
"If you're as strong as you say, why did you come to this dimension?" Mei asked, her voice sharp.
Reina just smiled, laughing a little. "Why, huh? Honestly, I don't know."
"What do you mean?" Mei pressed.
"At first, I came to this dimension to find my home," Reina said. "My creator made me to search for our original dimension before we woke up in the Granblue Fantasy world."
"Then why are you staying?" Mei asked again.
"Mei!" Yuna gasped, shocked. "Why would you say that?" She sounded upset, almost angry.
Yuna's words felt like asking Reina when she'd leave and why she stayed. Yuna was scared Reina might go. Thanks to Reina, Yuna finally felt happy, free from bullying, with friends who cared about her.
"That's ENOUGH!" Mei suddenly shouted, her voice loud and sharp, talking to herself.
"I'm sorry, my other self, but I've had enough of you saying things like that!" Mei said. "You know we can feel each other's feelings, so you know how I feel right now!"
"I don't like you accusing Reina like that," Mei went on. "Even if she's as powerful as you think, what can we do? We can't stop her if she wanted to do something to us."
"So far, she's been kind to us," Mei said. "She's always helping people like Yuna and even to me too. So I'm sorry, but I'm taking over!"
Reina and Yuna stared, stunned by Mei's sudden outburst and her talking to herself.
"Don't tell me... she's just like Kiana?" Yuna muttered under her breath.
"[...Fine, if you trust her that much, I'll follow you,]" Mei's other self said, then went quiet.
Mei's other self was worried about her host. Since being born, Mei had treated her like a sister, talking to her like a real person, not like others who feared her and tried to kill her. Because they could feel each other's emotions, Mei's other self knew her host meant every word. She'd grown attached to Mei, and this was the first time she'd been angry at her.
"Thank you, Mei, for trusting me like that," Reina said with a warm smile. "But don't be too hard on your other self. She's just worried about you, so I understand why she said all that."
"For now, let me continue my story," Reina went on.
"After arriving in this world, I did what I always do—research the whole world to find out if it's my home dimension or not."
"But who would've thought this world is infected by a tree from a higher dimension?" Reina giggled, finding it funny because it was true.
She'd thought she'd landed in a normal world, but it was far from that. Of course, she wasn't going to tell them she knew this world from a video game. That didn't matter anyway—everyone she met here was a real person, not just a game character.
"Infected by a tree?" Yuna asked, her voice confused. Every word from Reina made her head spin more.
First Kiana, then Mei, now Reina, another dimension, and now a tree? So much was happening that Yuna couldn't keep up anymore.
"Fufufu, I see, it's all too much for you, Yuna," Reina said, laughing lightly. "Maybe we should stop for now. How about you two stay the night?"
"In the morning, I can teleport you back home so we won't be late for school."
Mei and Yuna looked at each other, then nodded.
"I need to ask my mom for permission first," Yuna said.
"Me too i need to make a call," Mei added.
"Alright, I'll prepare something for us to eat then. It's almost 6 p.m.," Reina said, standing up and walking to the kitchen.
Mei and Yuna called their homes to share their plans to stay the night.
Yuna's mother was worried at first since Yuna had never done this before. But after Yuna assured her that her friends were kind and always helped her, her mother agreed to let her stay.
Mei called her father, who was still at work, so she didn't get a reply right away. In the end, she called home and told her maids and chauffeur about her plans.
After getting permission from their families, Mei and Yuna headed to the kitchen to find Reina.
Yuna offered to help, since she often cooked at home because her mom was always busy. "I can help with cooking," she said. "I'm used to helping around the house."
"I'm sorry, I don't know how to cook, so I'm not much help..." Mei said, feeling a bit down about it.
"Don't worry about it," Reina said with a smile. "Remember, I'm going to teach you how to cook on Sunday~"
"Huh? You're going to teach her how to cook?" Yuna asked, curious.
"Yep," Reina replied.
"For now, Mei, you can help by bringing the plates and other stuff to the table," Reina added.
With the three of them working together, they finished preparing dinner in just half an hour. Yuna and Mei sat at the table while Reina went to the bedroom to wake Kiana.
But Kiana was fast asleep, and no matter what Reina tried, she wouldn't budge. In the end, it was just the three of them eating together, chatting about random things.
"By the way, you said you're an archangel, right?" Yuna asked suddenly. "But the wings you showed us were black. Aren't those more like a fallen angel's?"
"That's true," Mei added. "I've read in mythology books that archangels are supposed to have pure, holy white wings." She sometimes read those books in her free time when she wasn't training kendo.
"Oh, that," Reina said casually. "You two don't need to worry. I have white wings too."
"Huh?" Yuna and Mei said at the same time, surprised.
"Yeah, I use dark wings because they're more convenient and work better with my powers," Reina explained. "The white ones are kind of annoying to use."
"Annoying? What do you mean?" Yuna asked.
"Well..." Reina put down her spoon, stood up from her chair, and stepped back a few paces.
"Lucifer, let me use your power," she murmured to herself.
In an instant, three pairs of pure white wings appeared on her back, radiating so much holy energy that the entire room lit up brightly.
[IMAGE]
"Gyaahhh!" Yuna and Mei shouted, covering their eyes because the light was so intense they could barely see.