Imaginary Space...
"The Herrscher of Binding... I didn't expect him to have become a Herrscher."
Without a source, her power was like a rootless waterweed. After Durandal was exiled into the Imaginary Space, it dissipated completely, restoring the Valkyrie to her own strength.
Golden armor enveloped the Valkyrie's athletic body, radiating an unparalleled, powerful aura; her blonde hair was tied into a high ponytail for ease of movement, giving Durandal an air of decisiveness and competence.
The girl's azure eyes were filled with vigilance as she cautiously observed the crimson wasteland beneath her feet.
Although she knew that the Imaginary Space was full of endless mysteries, this was the first time she had seen such a sight.
Desolate, vast, mysterious...
The ground beneath her feet was like a battlefield where every inch of soil had been dyed red with blood, filled with a murderous aura.
If it were just that, it wouldn't have made Durandal so uneasy.
The key was...
"There are no directions, no landmarks. Where on earth did that guy Otto banish me to?"
Unable to find her bearings, Durandal could only pick a random direction and charge headfirst into it.
Along the way, Imaginary monsters were smashed to pieces by the Valkyrie's fists. Even powerful Imaginary Godsbane were no match for Durandal.
But she still hadn't found any landmarks that could guide her or tell her where she was.
An unknown amount of time passed again...
The Valkyrie finally discovered an anomaly on this blood-red wasteland.
"What is this?"
A black, unidentified substance pierced through the blood-red earth, twisting into a strange bouquet of flowers in front of the Valkyrie.
This bouquet had only a single straight stem and a bud, with no branches or leaves.
And judging by its structure...
"An artificial object?"
This structure bore no resemblance to those Imaginary monsters.
The uniform thickness was also completely different from natural growth, making it highly likely to be man-made.
Durandal hesitated.
The Imaginary Space was fraught with danger, but if she didn't return to the Real World quickly, the rampaging Otto would bring great harm to the Earth.
No matter how much danger this bouquet represented, she had to take the risk!
She reached out her hand.
Contact!
In an instant, the blood-red earth vanished, and a familiar scene from her memory appeared before the Valkyrie's eyes.
"This is... the sanatorium?"
Durandal was naturally very familiar with the place where she had lived for several years.
But she knew even better that such a place couldn't possibly appear in the Imaginary Space; it was highly likely she was hallucinating.
Suddenly...
"Don't worry, this isn't your hallucination."
A detestable male voice came from her side. Young Brian appeared at the end of the corridor with a white-haired girl.
"It's you."
"That's right, it's me."
A punch.
*Bang—!*
The strong gust of wind lifted Kiana's snowy hair, leaving the white-haired fluffball, who was sizing up her new sister, utterly bewildered.
"Why are you two fighting the moment you meet?"
And they were going all out, too! Was she hallucinating, or had she walked onto the wrong set?
Durandal calmly retracted her fist. "To be able to take a punch from me means this guy is at least strong, and most likely the real deal."
Kiana found the key. "Most likely? So you still don't completely trust him."
"That's right!"
Second punch!
The Valkyrie pressed her advantage, just to verify whether her rash contact earlier had caused her to fall into the trap of some Imaginary monster.
Brian was strong, but there were also many strong monsters in the Imaginary Space.
But this guy had one particularly unique ability that the monsters in the Imaginary Space couldn't replicate.
Hand of God!
In an instant, the valiant Valkyrie's eyes went vacant. Her once nimble and powerful legs pressed together involuntarily, and even her delicate face was tinged with an uncontrollable, gorgeous blush.
"I... I believe you're the real deal now."
Kiana: "..."
So, is this some weird kind of play?
Feeling like she had stumbled onto some strange set, Kiana sighed and rested a hand on her forehead, feeling as if the whole world was out of sorts.
She was told she had a sister, and it turned out to be Durandal; fine, it's Durandal, but this single-minded woman immediately sought out the man beside her to get wet on the spot.
"Even if you're thirsty, you're not *that* thirsty..."
Kiana mumbled, causing the sharp-eared Durandal to turn her head away in embarrassment.
But she couldn't help it; this was the fastest way she could think of to confirm his identity.
Knowing that her current situation was a bit shameful, Durandal wisely didn't dwell on these boring topics.
She asked, "Where is this place? And how did you find me?"
"This is the outer area of the Kaslana family's Stigma Space. I had Kiana open a path here to bring you back to the Real World."
The latter half of the sentence didn't require much attention.
But the first half...
"The Kaslana... Stigma Space?"
"That's right."
Upon receiving confirmation, the Valkyrie felt something reawakening in her mind.
Distant, familiar, hazy...
But she just couldn't remember.
An arm snaked its way around the Valkyrie's waist, while another hand soothed Durandal's somewhat bewildered expression.
"Don't think about it. We just need to keep walking, and you'll get all the answers you want. Your entire life story is here."
Coming back to her senses, Durandal stopped digging into the long-lost past.
One must always look forward, and there were more important tasks awaiting her.
"I understand. Thank you."
But!
"You bastard, can you get your hand off my ass!"
Durandal gritted her teeth, almost punching this lecherous Herrscher in the face.
His intention of lusting after her body was never hidden, and he took every opportunity to brazenly take liberties with her.
Truly hateful!
She had no idea what that girl Rita saw in this lecherous scoundrel.
"Of course, of course." With a sheepish grin, the Inner World Protagonist's hands left Durandal's body.
He had to admit, Durandal's touch was a completely different experience.
Li Sushang, who had one of the best figures, felt like a marshmallow; a handful felt like it was about to overflow.
Durandal's body felt like tough rubber, full of elasticity.
As expected of a Valkyrie who frequently spars with training equipment in the gym.
"Hmph!" She shot him a harsh glare. "If you dare to misbehave again, I'll cripple your abilities!"
With a toss of her head, her golden hair brushed across the man's face.
The valiant Valkyrie strode ahead, and her displeased expression made Kiana chuckle.
"Got shot down, serves you right!"
Seeing the goddamn blondie from the Inner World get utterly rejected was the greatest news for her!
It was just a pity that his rejection came after she had received a huge shock, so even his misfortune didn't do much for her.
*Smack—!*
A slap landed mercilessly on Kiana's perky little bottom, making the girl who was just laughing jump up, clutching her behind.
Brian's expression showed no disappointment, only the desire to conquer a challenge.
"Hurry up and follow your sister. I'm waiting for you two to get all lovey-dovey."
"..."
Is this 'lovey-dovey' of yours wholesome?
Whatever, Durandal had already been messed with several times. It seemed there were no other options besides this guy.
One after another, the three began to explore the sanatorium.
Scattered Imaginary monsters were easily dispatched by the trio, and the building that held Durandal's childhood memories was soon thoroughly explored.
There was nothing unusual here, and no living creatures.
Except for...
"A HOMU doll?"
A giant HOMU doll was leaning against a corner of the main hall, sleeping soundly, its snores echoing throughout the area.
"What's a HOMU doll doing here?"
Durandal was puzzled. Kiana looked at the man beside her.
Brian: "It's obvious. This HOMU doll is also a member of the Kaslana family."
"It's just that this guy seems to have had too much of his intellect worn down by this place, unable to fully recognize his own identity and existence, so he turned into the thing he remembers most vividly."
"Then who is he?"
As everyone knows, the Stigma Space is not a place just anyone can enter.
Ordinary Stigma awakeners are already one-in-a-billion lucky individuals among humans, and it's even more difficult for the special Kaslana family to awaken their Stigma.
At least in Durandal's knowledge, there was no such existence in the current Kaslana family.
Brian: "My father-in-law."
A punch!
Caught!
"Don't try to claim connections you don't have!" Durandal couldn't take it anymore.
"But I'm talking about my relationship with Kiana," the Inner World Protagonist said with an innocent expression.
Durandal: "..."
Alright, she had indeed been overthinking it.
"Sorry."
Realizing her mistake, the brave and responsible Durandal immediately apologized.
The white-haired girl in her line of sight grinned, giving Durandal a look that said not to worry about it.
Giving the Inner World Protagonist a little workout was a good thing. If she weren't afraid of being punished by Mei, she would have wanted to do the same.
Why else did that guy pull her into a split last night?
The small interlude between the three ended, and Brian walked up to the ridiculous giant yellow rabbit. "Siegfried, wake up. I brought your daughter, Kiana, to see you."
"Kiana..."
One word, and the yellow HOMU opened its eyes.
"Kiana... who is that?"
His appearance of having forgotten everything immediately worried Kiana.
"Brian, my stinky old dad will be okay, right?"
"He's fine. He's just been trapped in this place for too long. You can think of it as him being groggy from sleep. We just need to find a chance to get him out."
"That's good."
The two sisters relaxed.
And the ridiculous yellow HOMU doll, from the moment it saw Kiana, couldn't take its eyes off her.
"Kiana..."
"Kiana?"
"Kiana!"
The comical appearance changed slightly. This being was beginning to recognize its identity—Siegfried Kaslana!
"You are my daughter!"
The yellow HOMU doll, the scruffy middle-aged man...
Two completely unrelated images flickered back and forth amidst the confusion and establishment of self-awareness, giving the impression that he might explode at any moment.
Seeing this, Kiana's face tensed up. "What's wrong with my stinky old dad?"
"It's nothing. He's probably just a bit mentally confused after being trapped for so long without seeing his daughter."
"Then can we..."
"Not for now."
Siegfried was trapped in the deepest part of the Stigma Space by his Kaslana family ancestor.
This place is one of the keys to the Stigma Project; ordinary Herrschers don't even have the right to approach it.
To rescue Siegfried from there, they could only wait for Kevin to begin his Stigma Project and take the vast power stored in the Kaslana Stigma Space. Only then would there be a chance to rescue Siegfried.
"What's here is just a phantom created by his will and spirit combined with the power of the Stigma Space."
"In short, he is dreaming right now."
Not being able to rescue her stinky old dad was frustrating, but knowing that her stinky old dad was safe and sound, Kiana couldn't help but feel relieved.
"As long as he's alive, that's what matters. If he's alive, there's a chance to rescue him."
The constantly shifting HOMU doll seemed to hear this, and its entire image stabilized into the form the three had first found him in.
Siegfried patted Kiana's shoulder. "You girl, don't underestimate your old dad's strength!"
The yellow HOMU doll bent its arm, seemingly wanting to show off its biceps.
But the ridiculous feeling about this guy lingered, and it also made Durandal and Kiana feel a sense of bitterness.
"Alright, alright, we know you're strong, stinky old dad."
A scene of fatherly love and filial piety.
The yellow HOMU finally noticed the other two.
"Kiana, they are..."
Looking at Durandal's face, the yellow HOMU felt a sense of great familiarity.
"This guy is my boyfriend, and the other one is my sister."
Before Siegfried could react, the black-haired youth stepped forward and grabbed the yellow HOMU's arm with unusual enthusiasm.
"Hello, Father-in-law."
"I am the boyfriend of both your daughters. I look forward to your guidance in the future."
The wind from a punch whistled past.
The near-miss attack almost sent the poor old father tumbling. Kiana turned her head to see Durandal with a look of shame and anger, seething with rage.
"You bastard, don't go around claiming relationships in front of me!"
Her full chest heaved with her heavy breathing, her right hand clenched into a fist that could almost crush Soulium.
Such a terrifying Durandal made Kiana instinctively shrink back.
When there's danger, her big sister is the safest harbor; when there's no danger, her big sister is the biggest danger.
The yellow HOMU was also startled, but what caught his attention more was the key phrase in what Brian had just said.
"Two daughters? You've got to be kidding me, kid."
The yellow HOMU scratched its head, allowing one to imagine a middle-aged man scratching his head and laughing foolishly.
It wasn't that he didn't want to believe it, but it was just too bizarre.
You see, back when he believed Anti-Entropy's nonsense and defected, he watched with his own eyes as his daughter was shot in the head during an explosion and fell from a height of eight thousand meters.
At that height, forget a human body of flesh and blood, even steel would shatter upon impact.
Because of that, he held no hope for his daughter's survival, which was why he let Kiana inherit her name.
"Ahahaha, I must be dreaming!"
Faced with skepticism, the black-haired youth just smiled lightly, dodged Durandal's relentless attacks, and seized the opportunity to hug the Valkyrie's waist from behind.
"Durandal, you wouldn't want your father to..."
Durandal: "..."
Her fists were clenched!
Brian turned his head again. "Of course it's not a joke. She just lost her memory after receiving treatment from Otto. Now she's standing right in front of you."
Fear, surprise, terror, and finally, silence.
"I must be dreaming!"
How could it be possible for his daughter to come back from the dead and bring him a son-in-law?
Absolutely impossible!
"That's right, you are dreaming right now!"
The moment of waking.
Within the deep blue ice, a white-haired man with a world-weary look in his eyes suddenly opened them, looking at the unchanging, cold prison before him with a sigh of relief.
"Luckily, it was just a dream."