Some thinking again: now that I have a phone, I can finally look up news about ME Corp and Raiden Ryoma. The articles exposing Raiden Ryoma's misuse of funding, his attempt to create weapons powerful enough to combat the Herrscher of Thunder if the Gem of Conquest ever fully fused with Raiden Mei, were the spark that triggered the Third Eruption. The eruption had been in motion long before the articles were published, but they were the first domino in the chain of events that led to tragedy.
But perhaps not a tragedy that should be prevented. The events of the main game were undeniably sad, but humanity fared remarkably well. By the time Project Stigmata was initiated — and the events that would lead to Kiana taking the power of the project stigmata finality backdoor, becoming the Herrscher of Finality — almost all of humanity was still alive, and even for the most part, unaware of the Honkai. Compare that to the Previous Era, where every single living human died besides a handful who managed to reach the Key of Stagnation while the Herrscher of Finality was stalled on the moon. Their number could not have been more than single digits, given that even if hundreds of Fire Moth personnel were still alive at the time of Finality, almost all chose to stay and die with the era. People like Eden, who decided that her own story was over, even if humanity was to survive, everything she ever loved, and cared about was completely gone. The Pioneers who lived on became something other, immortal and ageless MANTIS warriors, completely cut off from whatever came next. Not a happy ending, but a lonely, tragic one.
Compared to that, the new era was almost sunshine and rainbows, even if Kiana becoming the Herrscher of Finality wasn't the end — like Void Archives hinted — and that it was just delaying the inevitable, it was still surely better than all of humanity being destroyed, or killing the majority to save the minority, as with project Stigmata. That was unacceptable, unless as a last resort. Just like how in the previous era, the third honkai eruption changed everything, reforging the protagonists of the previous era in the form of Kevin and MEI, as well as several other flamechasers. The third eruption of the new era would show Kiana, who lost most of her early memories, just how bad the honkai can be, as well as introducing the honkai to another of the this era's protagonists in the form of Mei, even if the end she didn't really contribute to saving humanity, she surely had great effect on Kiana, influencing their mentality greatly. The third eruption also introduced Bronya to Kiana and Mei, and freed her from the influence of Cocolia, as the future Herrscher of Truth, also known as the Herrscher of 3 losses, another hugely influential figure for Kiana.
If the third eruption were to not happen, if I was to try and stop it, what would become of the future? If I altered it in any way, if it became any less of a tragedy, would it make up less of the foundation of the Herrscher of Finality? Impossible to predict, especially with the limited resources at my disposal. I will not become the cause of the death of an entire world. What Kevin said, while he took it to an illogical extreme, humanity would defeat the honkai, no matter what the cost is. That cost was the second eruption, the creation of K432, the third eruption, the shaping of Kiana, and the rebirth of Mei. Every person who would die to reshape Kiana. A heavy cost, but not an unbalanced one.
The trolley problem is a dilemma everyone knows. Most people hesitate to kill one person to save five, because the personal act of killing an innocent is too great a burden. But when the numbers scale upward, when it becomes a choice of killing millions to save billions, the calculation becomes easier. Their lives become harder to picture. You can imagine five people. You can imagine one. But millions? They become numbers on a page. It's like the quote goes: "The death of one is a tragedy. The death of millions is a statistic."
I looked around the coffee shop and sighed. Almost everyone here would be dead in a few weeks, months, at best, unless they left the city. I could help them, inform whoever would listen to leave, so that the tragedy might be reduced without stopping it. But who knows if any one of them could be so important as to alter the course of history. Anyone I had interacted with might make different choices than they otherwise would have, that was almost guaranteed. But intentionally going out of my way to create an additional butterfly effect, who knows what could happen. Sure I will inevitably interact and change the lives of people far more important to the fate of the world. That was dangerous, but at least I knew their arcs, their likely futures, and I could try to keep them aligned. These strangers? I knew nothing about them.
Sure it was a use of some unsound logic as a coping mechanism. That I wasn't indirectly responsible for their deaths as an ancillary player in the game called the artificial eruption of Nagazora city. There were some holes, but it was sound enough for now. I need to decide what to do next.
As it turned out, there were no articles about Raiden Ryoma on any of the news sites. The only thing I found was a bland announcement about ME Corp's latest product line, written in a completely interesting way. I need to get in contact with Otto or Fu Hua, preferably Hua, as soon as possible, while interfering with the events that would soon occur in Nagazora City as little as possible. I probably shouldn't have taken Kiana up on her offer for a place to stay so quickly, that would place me right in the crosshairs of events to come. However, it was a potential route to Otto, who probably had a dedicated team, (probably consisting of entirely Fu Hua) monitoring 'K432' as much as possible. But I also have to avoid the observation of Cocolia and the Radical faction of AE, who would be monitoring Mei.
And then there was Kiana. The romance values I saw earlier didn't match someone who was already in a relationship. Who develops such a strong romantic attachment to someone they've just met while having a girlfriend? I couldn't risk interfering too much with Kiana's future, nor could I let her attachment to me grow too high. If it became necessary, I could play matchmaker, steering Kiana back toward Mei, and even lower my own romance score to make sure they ended up together.
The door chime jingled, pulling Lee out of her thoughts. She looked up to see Kiana walking into the café, scanning the room before her gaze landed on Lee.
"You look kinda sad," Kiana said as she approached. "Everything okay with your new phone?"
Lee quickly straightened up and gave a small smile. "Yeah, everything's fine," she said, sounding much more cheerful than she felt.
Kiana didn't seem convinced, but let it go. "Alright then. Ready to go?"
Lee nodded, slipping the phone into her pocket as they left the café together.
Outside, the streets were quieter than earlier. After a moment, Kiana broke the silence. "So, where are you from?"
"The United States," Lee answered.
Kiana blinked. "Huh. I've been to a lot of places looking for my stinky dad, but never the United States."
Lee shrugged. "It's not that interesting compared to here."
Kiana grinned. "That's probably only because you're from there."
Lee didn't reply. They walked quietly for a while, just the sound of their footsteps on the pavement between them.
"Have you seen the new Homu movie?" Kiana asked suddenly, glancing at her.
Lee shook her head. "No. I don't really watch movies."
Kiana tilted her head. "What about the latest Kallen Fantasy VI game?"
"I've heard of it," Lee admitted. "Never played it, though."
Kiana stopped walking for a moment, looking at Lee like she had just said she didn't know what air was. "Okay… then what do you do for fun?"
Lee hesitated, then said flatly, "I don't really have any hobbies."
There was a long pause before they started walking again. Lee felt the system ping her with another quiet notification.
[System: Alert! Kiana's feelings toward you decreased by 14 points! Current score: 67.]
Lee paused before asking, "Okay, um… actually, can I use your address as a billing address? For a phone plan, I mean." She hesitated, then added quickly, "Then I can add you as a contact."
Kiana blinked, then smiled. "Yeah, sure. I don't mind."
They kept walking for a few more steps before Kiana tilted her head curiously. "Hey, do we need to go pick up your stuff from somewhere?"
Lee froze for a moment, realizing how that sounded. "…Everything I own is on me right now."
Kiana stopped mid-step and just stared at her. "…That's… kind of depressing."
Lee shrugged helplessly. "It's efficient." It's not like she could explain the real reason.
Kiana just sighed and kept walking, muttering something under her breath about how "mysterious girls are trouble."
[System: Alert! Kiana's feelings toward you increased by 6 points! Current score: 73.]
Lee shot a glare at the glowing panel.
That was worth six points?!
[System: (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧ Of course! Tragic backstories are peak romance fuel!]
Lee dragged a hand down her face.
…I hate this system.
Kiana gave her a strange look, clearly confused why Lee was suddenly facepalming, but Lee quickly shook her head. Definitely not explaining that.
"So… I guess you don't have any clothes or anything?" Kiana asked after a moment.
"Yeah."
Kiana grinned a little. "Well, you can borrow some of mine for now. We're about the same height anyway."
Lee glanced at her. "I'm a little taller."
"Not by much." Kiana held two fingers a short distance apart. "What, two centimeters?"
Lee didn't answer, which Kiana seemed to take as agreement. "Do you have money, at least? You can borrow some if you need it."
"That's the one thing I definitely have," Lee said dryly.
Kiana nodded, satisfied. "Good. When's your first day of school?"
Lee blinked, then asked the system silently.
[System: Tomorrow! (✿◠‿◠)]
"Tomorrow," Lee repeated.
Kiana groaned. "That's way too soon to get you a uniform in time. You can borrow one of mine for tomorrow."
Kiana tilted her head. "Do you know what class you're in?"
Lee shook her head. "No idea."
[System: You're in the same class as Kiana! Isn't that exciting? (≧◡≦)]
Lee frowned internally. How does that even work? Shouldn't there be paperwork, enrollment forms—
[System: This world is more advanced than your old one. Everything is handled digitally. See?]
A panel popped up in front of her, displaying neat rows of digital enrollment forms and approval stamps. Lee grimaced.
Okay, I guess it's all forgery then. Do I have a schedule?
[System: You also have a schedule. Would you like me to display it?]
Sure.
A full class schedule appeared, color-coded and neatly organized. Lee turned slightly toward Kiana, almost ready to share, then caught herself. She had just said she didn't know. Explaining how she magically got that information wasn't an option.
She just nodded and kept walking.
You know, she thought bitterly, you can forge a government ID, fake school records, and give me a schedule in thirty seconds — but somehow finding me a phone store was too hard?
[System: ( •̀ᴗ•́ )ゞ School Life is an essential part of romance!]
Lee pinched the bridge of her nose. I am going to uninstall you.
[System: You can't uninstall me. (˶°ᗜ°˶)]
Lee sighed through her nose and focused on keeping pace with Kiana instead.