"When this kind of power is rejected by the blade, it condenses into a pitch-black crystal like this."
Mei kindly explained, but what caught Sirin's attention wasn't the explanation itself—it was how she had done it.
"Because you can completely control Howl?"
Sirin had never heard of anyone capable of rejecting the fusion of Kami power. If such a thing were possible, then many who had been corrupted by Kami energy and fallen into madness would have been spared their fate.
"I think… it's because of the Honkai," Mei replied, handing the crystal to Kiana.
When she had slain her first Kami, she could only feel the strange energy but couldn't stop it. During her second kill—using the blade Kiana had given her—she had managed to use the sword's power to prevent that disturbing force from merging into it.
The issue was undoubtedly tied to power.
The first time she killed a Kami, she was an ordinary human. The second time, she could already harness the power Kiana called Honkai.
"…Honkai?" Sirin repeated, frowning slightly. "What a strange name."
Hadn't Kiana said she would explain what this 'Honkai' was? And that Almighty Thunder's strange state had something to do with it?
She hadn't remembered wrong.
"Honkai Energy… it's a type of power unlike the Kami that invaded from Takamagahara or the so-called Path," Kiana began to explain.
In truth, she suspected the Kami's power—what they called the Divine Power—was a kind of Path under a certain Aeon.
As for which one…
The most likely was Nihility.
But that was just her guess. Whether the Kami's strength came from the Path of Nihility didn't matter much.
The Honkai Energy she brought with her was a force entirely separate from the Aeons—it didn't belong to the Imaginary Tree system at all.
"Path? What's that?" Sirin frowned again. "Why are there more and more of these new terms?"
Her confusion wasn't fading—it was growing.
"Wait… you don't know?" Kiana blinked. Izumo existed within the world of Star Rail, right? With an Aeon close by, there was no way they didn't know about Paths.
"Should I know?" Sirin asked, genuinely puzzled. She had never heard of anything called a Path, nor did she understand what Kiana was talking about.
"What about Aeons, then?" Kiana pressed.
"I don't know. At least, I've never heard of them," Sirin shook her head, adding bitterly, "I didn't even finish my schooling before they dragged me into godslaying duty."
"If you want knowledge, ask Welt. If he knows something, that means it's recorded somewhere. If he doesn't, then it means Izumo never had any record of it."
Speaking of which—was Welt even still alive?
Sirin suddenly thought of the missing man, but only briefly. Their relationship had never been good—in fact, it was rather hostile.
"Before the Kami invasion, did you ever have contact with other worlds?" Kiana asked after a pause.
"Takamagahara?"
"There are no records of that," Mei shook her head. She knew Kiana wasn't from this world.
No interaction with other worlds. No use of credits. No knowledge of the Aeons…
The situation reminded Kiana of Honkai Impact 3rd's Earth, but in this case, the reason seemed clear—it was IX.
If she remembered correctly, both Takamagahara and Izumo were under Shadow of IX, orbiting around his influence.
Ordinary beings would never willingly come here.
Could it be that because Izumo was subconsciously enveloped by IX's darkness, even the Aeons avoided looking this way?
It was only a wild guess—but it felt disturbingly plausible.
"…Let's set that aside for now," Kiana finally said after thinking for a while. "Aeons and Paths have little to do with Izumo's current situation anyway."
She scratched her head, deciding to drop the topic entirely. She didn't know enough to explain without misleading them.
If they ever escaped the Shadow of Nihility, they could learn these things properly—perhaps even reconnect with other worlds.
If not…
Then there was nothing more to say.
"Honkai Energy… if you want me to define its nature, I can't say for sure," Kiana continued quietly. "It's a dangerous kind of energy… and maybe, before long, you'll feel firsthand just what the Honkai truly is."
How many will die before that happens?
Kiana briefly lost herself in thought, avoiding the question entirely. Once she had opened Pandora's Box, there was no turning back.
"But those with resistance to Honkai Energy can use its power—like me, and Mei…"
Mei nodded lightly. "The power I used earlier to block the Kami's corruption—that was it."
"Those without resistance will be eroded by the Honkai and transformed into Honkai creatures. Take Almighty Thunder, for example—it may have intentionally come into contact with Honkai Energy. Over half its power was consumed by erosion, throwing its balance into chaos. That's why it didn't seem too dangerous at first. But had it completed its transformation, becoming a full Honkai creature, the disaster would've been unimaginable. The mere Honkai surge caused by its metamorphosis could have turned 99% of Nagazora City's population into the dead within moments."
"It's incredibly dangerous—more so than any Kami—but if used properly, it might become a force to save Izumo."
"The healing potions I've given you, and even the equipment I use—they're all manifestations of Honkai power. If I had to describe it…" Kiana smiled proudly. "The Honkai Energy can do anything."
After rambling at length, she nodded to herself, deeply agreeing with her own statement.
If she could summon weapons straight out of Houkai Gakuen, then truly—Honkai Energy could do anything.
Sirin listened silently, but the only part she really remembered was that last line: "Honkai Energy can do anything."
She wanted to scoff—but Kiana had said the healing potion she used on her came from this same power.
Sirin shook her head, brushing away the confusion clouding her mind. She couldn't be bothered to think too deeply about it. Everyone had their expertise—this was something better left to the scholars who studied the Kami.
"The Kami and the Honkai aren't the same thing, right?"
Kiana hesitated, her expression turning awkward. Her eyes darted aside guiltily. "…At least not yet."
Sirin was about to ask why, if they weren't the same, she still needed Kami power in her cursed blades—but then froze mid-thought.
"What do you mean, 'not yet'?"
Having been exposed to the Honkai longer, Mei understood what Kiana meant. She lifted Howl slightly to show Sirin. "Because Honkai Energy can corrupt Kami."
Both the spider and Almighty Thunder had existed in that same liminal state—half-transformed, half-corrupted.
When Kiana spoke of Honkai creatures, Mei felt an uneasy weight in her chest. Yet she was not standing still.
Whether it was the evolution of her Stigmata after slaying Almighty Thunder, or this new blade that allowed her to wield the Kami's own power—both were immense leaps forward.
Sirin fell silent.
For as long as she could remember, it had always been the Kami's curse that eroded humans, turning them into Oni. Every blade except the Edict Edges carried severe side effects. Humanity had no choice—if they wanted to slay the Kami, they had to borrow the very corruption that doomed them.
To kill the Kami, humans had to pay the price of their future sanity—exchanging it for fleeting strength.