"Wait, Reina!?" Kiana shouted in a hurry after catching Yuna who suddenly floated toward her from inside the gateway.
But the gate closed before Kiana finished her sentence leaving her with Yuna in her arms.
"[She seems to be in a hurry there]" Sora said.
Kiana nodded then looked down at Yuna she was carrying.
"Yuna? Why is she suddenly here?" Kiana muttered before turning and walking to the sofa to lay Yuna down gently.
After making sure Yuna was comfortable Kiana checked her condition. From the outside Yuna had no visible wounds just unconscious.
But something felt different. Kiana sensed a familiar energy the same kind she often felt from herself and Mei.
"Don't tell me..."
"[You already noticed it. I can sense the same thing you feel from Yuna. It's not much but the quality of Honkai energy inside her is obvious]"
"She's becoming a Herrscher?"
"[Yuna already became a Herrscher]" Kiana and Sora said at the same time.
"But how? What happened to her? Didn't she say she went shopping with her mother?" Kiana asked, looking at the unconscious Yuna with worry.
This was the third Herrscher she'd seen in this town, not counting herself. Just what was going on here?
"Is this why Reina wanted us to move here..."
"[Don't know, but it's really interesting when you think about it. Four of the fourteen Herrschers awakened in the same place, and they're all people we know]" Sora replied.
Kiana nodded slowly. After making sure Yuna was fine, she turned toward Mei, who was still sleeping soundly.
"Oh right, I forgot about Bronya."
She spun around and spotted Bronya still sitting on her robot hand by the window, staring out since Reina left.
"Bronya, come here! Why are you still there?" Kiana called loudly so she could hear.
But Bronya stayed silent. Kiana's voice drifted past her ears like background noise. She couldn't look away from the window.
Everything had happened so fast. Reina's true form emerged, her body wrapped in dark purple flames, six wings blazing behind her. One clean swing of her sword. Half the city ahead simply vanished, no explosion, no rubble, just empty air where buildings once stood.
Three giant Honkai beasts rose next. Hundreds of smaller flying ones swarmed above. Bronya's eyes followed every move without blinking. Reina ended it in seconds. A black ball appeared among the flyers and they were gone. Beams of light struck the giants from within, blowing them apart in clean bursts.
Yuna that already transformed into a Herrscher surrounded by vines and poison clouds. But Reina easily stepped forward and touched her chest and spoke one word making Yuna dropped unconscious.
Then the city began to heal. Crumbled walls rebuilt themselves brick by brick. Cracked streets smoothed out. Zombies shed their rot and become people again. Even the dead stood up, breathing, alive. All within minutes.
Bronya's mind raced. This wasn't Honkai power. Nothing in her data matched it. The energy didn't obey rules; it rewrote them.
Her fingers tightened on the window frame. Power like that didn't belong here.
Kiana's voice came closer. "Bronya?"
She turned slowly, voice low. "What is that..."
Seeing Bronya's pale and shocked face, like she'd just seen a ghost, Kiana looked outside to see what she'd been staring at.
But all she saw was the buildings and a lot of people collapsed on the ground.
"Hmm, looks like Reina's already done," Kiana said, not surprised at all.
She'd seen Reina make stuff appear just by waving her hand so many times so this wasn't shocking for her anymore.
"Let's go, Bronya. It's almost time for this dimension to collapse," Kiana said with a smile, pulling Bronya's hand.
Bronya just let Kiana drag her without saying anything, still lost in thought about what she'd just seen.
"Maybe Subject Reina can help Seele..." she murmured to herself.
Not long after Kiana dragged Bronya to the sofa, Reina suddenly appeared behind Kiana that sitting on the sofa.
She hugged Kiana from behind and rested her head on her shoulder. "Kiana, I'm so tired... so much stuff I had to do."
"Eh, Reina?" Kiana jolted in surprise at the sudden hug, but seeing Reina's tired face on her shoulder, she decided to just let her be.
"Good work, Reina," was all she said.
"You too, Kiana. Thanks to you and Mei, the plan worked."
Reina then turned her attention to Mei that still sleeping. "She's still out, huh. I was planning to tell you two what we should do next."
"What do you mean?"
Reina stopped hugging her and sat down beside her. She glanced at Bronya, who seemed deep in thought. "What happened to her?"
"I don't know. She's been like that since earlier," Kiana said with a shrug. She really didn't know why.
Reina glanced at Bronya again, saw her still lost in her head, and decided to leave her alone for now.
She turned to Kiana and started explaining the fallout from everything that just happened.
A disaster this big would definitely catch the eye of major groups like Schicksal and Anti-Entropy.
They'd come sniffing around Nagazora, digging into the Honkai spike and the city that got destroyed then magically fixed.
Staying here wasn't an option anymore. Reina's power was still unstable, and pushing her true form had made it even messier.
If those organizations traced the energy, they'd find them quick. They needed to pack up and move somewhere quiet, off the radar.
"Leaving?? But what about Mei and Yuna??" Kiana asked in a rush.
"For Mei, she has her father. He's a big deal, so he can protect her no problem. But Yuna can probably come with us. Her mom can't keep her safe alone. That's up to Yuna if she wants to," Reina explained.
"But Mei..." Kiana said, glancing at her. "We can't just leave her. She's our friend."
"I know, Kiana."
Mei's dad doted on her, so Reina wasn't sure he'd let them take her. She'd been thinking about this plan, but it looked like there was only one way to keep everyone together.
If her power wasn't so unstable, she wouldn't have to deal with any of this.
"You're leaving?"
Their talk got cut off by Mei's voice.
Both turned toward her. Mei was opening her eyes and sitting up.
"You're... you're the Herrscher of Thunder, right?" Reina said, noticing her purple glowing eyes.
Mei rose slowly, purple eyes burning into Reina like she could see straight through her.
Every word about leaving had landed like a slap.
Reina had spent months chipping away at the walls around her heart, coaxing smiles and trust she never thought she'd give again.
And now?
Now Reina wanted to vanish and leave her behind?
The Herrscher of Thunder felt everything that Mei felt the ache, the fear, the desperate need to keep Reina close.
Mei started walking, each step deliberate, closing the space between them.
Kiana tried to cut in. "Wait, Mei! Nothing's decided yet!"
Mei didn't even glance her way.
She stopped right in front of the sofa, towering over Reina.
Then she moved fast.
Hands shot out, grabbing Reina's shoulders, pushing her back into the cushions.
In one smooth motion, Mei swung a leg over and straddled Reina's lap, knees pinning her thighs.
Her fingers locked around Reina's wrists, pressing them down beside her head.
Purple lightning crackled between their skin, warm but threatening.
"You spent all that time pulling us out of our shell," Mei said, voice low and trembling with something dark. "You made us believe we could trust you. You made us want you around."
She leaned closer, forehead almost touching Reina's.
"You don't get to take that back. You don't get to walk out and leave us holding pieces you broke open. You're staying. With us. Always."
Her grip tightened, sparks dancing across Reina's skin.
"You're ours now, Reina. Try to leave, and we'll drag you back every single time."
Reina's eyes widened a little, caught off guard by this Mei.
She knew Herrscher forms changed their hosts personality, but Mei's shift was wild.
The girl who used to give shy smiles and gentle touches now hovered over her, every part of her screaming mine.
Mei's thighs squeezed tight around Reina's hips, strong muscles flexing under smooth skin, holding her down on the sofa.
Their chests pressed together hard, so close Reina could feel Mei's heartbeat thumping fast against her own.
Every breath Mei took lifted and dropped, warm air brushing Reina's collarbone, while her shoulders shook slightly from the power she held back.
Mei's fingers gripped Reina's wrists like steel, thumbs pressing into her pulse, sending tiny sparks of purple lightning that tingled without hurting.
Even Kiana was so shocked her mouth hung wide open along with her eyes because she'd never seen Mei like this before. Usually when someone tried to flirt with Reina she'd deal with them so fast that before they realized it they'd already been punched in the face by her, but this time she was so stunned she couldn't do anything except stand there frozen.
"Can I hear your answer?" Mei said in a low sultry voice.
But Reina just stared back at her looking straight into her deep purple eyes that glowed brightly while staring right back.
"Fufufu." With a giggle she easily overpowered Mei and in one smooth move they switched positions so now Mei was the one on the bottom while Reina sat on top of her thighs.
Putting both hands on Mei's waist she held her down firmly while tracing the curve with her fingers. "Mei you don't need to worry, like Kiana said this is just discussion, I have other plans so we're not separated," Reina said softly.
Mei didn't react right away, but Reina caught the deep red blush spreading across her cheeks, clear proof it worked.
"Fine then, but if you lied you better be prepared," she answered.
"Of course." Reina's face drifted closer, lips almost brushing, when Kiana suddenly screamed "Ahhh enough!!!" and yanked Reina back by the collar, shoving her behind her own back. "Now's not the time, this dimension's about to collapse!" she snapped, voice rushed.
"Oh right," Reina said, turning to Bronya who had been watching silently. "Bronya, right? If you've got nowhere to go, come with us later. Just follow me, I'll handle everything and make sure we all stay together."
Bronya hesitated at first, still a little scared of Reina, but after thinking about Seele and the chance to save her she nodded.
"Alright, can you wake Mei up?" Reina asked the Herrscher of Thunder, who gave a small nod.
The Herrscher closed her eyes, switching places with Mei. Reina turned back to Kiana. "After this we're probably moving to another school. We need to head back to the apartment, grab our clothes and everything else."
"Move schools? But we'll still be together with everyone, right?"
"Of course, I'll make sure of it."
Bright light started swallowing the dimension. Furniture faded, walls dissolved, until the whole pocket world vanished in a flash of white.