Mei's POV
They said it was stress.
They said her father was just "under investigation."
They said it would all pass.
But Raiden Mei knew better.
The moment they dragged her father out of their home—his wrists bound, his name smeared across the front page of every news outlet—something in her had begun to crack.
The whispers followed her into the halls.
The classmates who once idolized her now glanced sideways.
Smiles became silence.
Respect turned to fear.
And then... the voices began.
At first, they were small. Faint echoes at the edge of her thoughts. A cruel whisper in the middle of an exam: "They think you're just like him."
Or during lunch, sitting alone: "They're relieved you're alone now. You were never one of them."
Mei tried to ignore them. To focus on her studies. On the rooftop lunches with Aiden and Kiana. On the calm voice of Aiden reading from his book. On Kiana's noisy laughter, her ridiculous declarations about marrying her for her cooking.
But the whispers persisted. Louder each day. Sharper
"Weak."
"Betrayed."
"You were never meant to be human."
She started feeling… heavy. Like something inside her was pressing outward. Like her body was a container—too fragile for what was waking up beneath her ribs.
Then came the pain.
At first, it was headaches. Then sudden pulses of lightning under her skin. She'd grip her desk so hard her knuckles turned white. Kiana and Aiden noticed. They asked.
She smiled. Lied. "Just tired."
But last night, alone in her room, she'd blacked out. And when she opened her eyes… she wasn't alone in her mind anymore.
A voice—not hers, but hers—spoke from the dark:
"You are not broken. You are evolving."
Then came the storm.
Aiden's POV
Aiden's eyes snapped open.
He sat up, heartbeat already racing.
He was late.
He scrambled out of bed, grabbed his uniform jacket, slung his wooden katana across his back, and vaulted down the fire escape.
A pulse.
Not from the city.
Not from the wind.
Something electric thrummed through the atmosphere. His Six Eyes flared to life without permission. Even in the morning sun, he saw it: the sky was wrong.
Cracks in the flow. Thunder bleeding between clouds. Violet sparks riding the wind like embers.
Kiana was already waiting at the gate when he arrived, her face pale.
"You felt that too?" she asked.
Aiden nodded once. "It's her."
They ran.
What they found inside the school chilled Aiden to the core.
The courtyard was scorched. Students lay unconscious or worse. Some moaned. Some didn't move at all.
Their teacher—Ms. Asuka—was slumped over a desk, blood pooling beneath her chair.
Aiden's heart didn't skip. He felt... nothing.
Only one thought consumed him now: Where's Mei?
The Rooftop
The sky above the rooftop had turned purple, veins of lightning webbing out like cracks in a mirror. Mei stood at the center, her hair loose and whipping in the storm, eyes glowing like twin storms.
But it wasn't Mei. Not fully.
Her voice echoed unnaturally. "So… you came."
Kiana flinched. "Mei…?"
Aiden stepped forward. His wooden katana in hand.
"Let her go," he said.
The Herrscher tilted her head. "Let her go? I am her. I am what she's always hidden — what you both ignored while she broke inside."
"No," Kiana said, stepping up beside him. "That's not true. She's strong. She's kind. She—she made me lunch every day!"
The Herrscher chuckled. "Is that what you think defines strength? A bento box?"
Then, without warning—she attacked.
A surge of force hurled both of them backward, but Aiden flipped in the air, landed clean, and dashed forward. He didn't draw power. Didn't use Infinity.
Just him.
Just the wooden katana.
In fused with some both curse and Honkai energy
Why not use infinity and other powerful attack?
He don't want to hurt her
He and Kiana rushed together — perfectly synchronized without needing words.
Mei moved like lightning. Elegant, untouchable. But something about her strikes was… held back. Like a dancer going through motions without killing intent.
The Herrscher was toying with them.
Still, Aiden was faster.
He ducked under an arc of electricity and slammed the flat of his blade against her side. She barely reacted, but her eyes flicked toward him—interested.
"Even now," she murmured, "you're not using your full power. Why?"
Aiden didn't answer. He moved.
Footwork flawless. Movements fluid. He forced her back with relentless pressure, not with strength—but with control. Every feint, every pivot, every shift in weight was surgical.
Kiana followed his rhythm, jabbing in when he opened a gap. Their teamwork felt natural — like a memory they hadn't lived.
But Mei didn't fall.
"You fight like someone afraid of what they are," the Herrscher said.
Aiden's eyes narrowed. "I fight like someone who believes in her."
Their blades clashed again—wooden against lightning.
The rooftop shook.
Then Aiden saw it: a tremble. Just for a second.
In her fingers.
In her lip.
Mei.
"Stop it!" Kiana shouted. "We don't care what you are! You're Mei! You're our friend!"
"I…" The Herrscher's glow flickered.
Mei regain control over her body and made a decision.
Then Mei turned, stepped toward the edge of the roof—and leapt.
"MEI!!"
Aiden and Kiana dove forward—each grabbing a hand.
The lightning died instantly.
Mei dangled between them, eyes wide, confused.
Aiden gritted his teeth. "You idiot—if you think jumping ends this, you don't know us at all."
Kiana's voice cracked. "You made me smile when I didn't even know how. I won't let you disappear. Ever."
"so please Don't go!" Kiana cried.
"You're not alone!" Aiden yelled, holding her hand tight.
"We like being with you!"
"You're important to us!"
"We'll protect you, Mei—"
"With everything beautiful in this world."
For a moment, time stood still.
The storm faded.
Mei stared at them. Tears welled in her eyes—hers—not the Herrscher's.
Their hands pulled her up.
Mei collapsed into them, body trembling.
Then… she laughed.
Exhausted, shaken—but real.
Kiana giggled, breathless. "You're heavy, you know?"
Aiden smirked. "You ate her lunch again, didn't you?"
Mei wiped her tears. "You both are the worst."
And they sat there, the three of them—laughing under the fading storm.