How could she increase the permanent Finality Progress?
That was the most pressing question right now. In the past, all rewards were tied to Izumo—but Izumo was already maxed out.
At present, Izumo was practically a dead planet.
There was no way she could earn any more rewards there, nor could she obtain secondary rewards from Sirin or the others.
To improve her progress, she had to rely on Izumo.
But Izumo was currently bugged—entangled with Nihility and unable to stop.
Essentially, it was ruined.
A bitter consequence of forcibly triggering the descent of Finality.
"To change Izumo's condition, I must become stronger. But like Ruan said, if I want to advance further, I have to first fill up the progress bar..."
That too seemed completely stuck.
Kiana frowned, biting her finger in frustration. There was no way forward.
Over the past half-year, she had secretly tried many methods—but every time, the result was the same. The permanent progress bar didn't move at all.
"No, there must be another way... Kiana, come on, think—think!"
She closed her eyes, recalling everything that had happened so far. After a long while, she finally remembered something from long ago.
"Izumo was the world that got bound when I activated the system... but the system never said I could only bind one world, right?"
"...But that's odd. I've traveled through so many worlds, and the system never popped up to say I could bind a new one."
Scratching her head irritably, Kiana rolled over, stood up, took a few steps, and flopped face-first onto the soft hotel bed.
"Is there only one slot?"
"Or... is there some hidden rule I don't know about?"
After burying her head in the blanket for a while, Kiana suddenly slapped the bed and lifted her head. "Maybe I should go see Jyahnar."
Last time, she had said she would go back—but nearly a year had passed. If not for being unable to find an answer, she might have already forgotten that Jyahnar was still waiting for her in Izumo.
Rolling over to face the ceiling, Kiana stared at it blankly. If she never went back, and one day Jyahnar couldn't stand the loneliness...
Kiana shivered and sat up abruptly.
That joke could get out of hand!
Whether or not Jyahnar had found a way to become human, she still needed to go back and calm her down.
Having made up her mind to stop going down this dead-end path and return to Izumo, the terminal on her wrist suddenly pinged with a new message.
Kiana raised an eyebrow and opened it.
Just one glance—and her calm completely shattered. She stared wide-eyed at the message, rereading it over and over, her mouth opening soundlessly.
The message was from the IPC.
Specifically, from the bounty department.
The long, detailed text could be summarized in one sentence:
They had found the person she'd been looking for.
"F-found her?"
The long-awaited news appeared before her without warning, leaving Kiana frozen for a long moment.
They'd found her?
They'd found Mei?
...Was this real? Could it be that she'd just been thinking about Mei too much and dreamt this message?
After searching for Mei for so long...
Was she really found—just like that?
It wasn't just a clue—it was real. They had found Mei, truly found her. They could even arrange a meeting time.
"...Really found her?"
Kiana swallowed hard, trembling as she read the message again from the beginning, analyzing every word.
In a distant border planetary system, a company employee transporting supplies for the Xianzhou had encountered...
It all checked out.
"Acheron..."
Seeing that name, Kiana's mind went blank. She clenched her hand, then deliberately loosened it.
"Mei... Yes, a meeting—I have to meet her now!"
Panicking, she hurriedly replied to the message, requesting an immediate meeting.
The location?
She quickly discussed the details with the company staff, settling everything in a rush. They agreed that she would be able to meet Mei here—in three days.
"Mei... Mei..."
Kiana took a deep breath. She hadn't even seen her yet, but she wanted to calm herself down a little.
"Finally found you!"
But she couldn't calm down at all!
She leapt off the bed and began pacing back and forth across the spacious room. No matter what she did, she couldn't stay composed. Her mind was overflowing with excitement and anticipation.
When she had reunited with Sirin, she had been happy, yes—but never like this. Never so restless, so distracted.
Her entire being felt like it was on fire.
Just the thought that she would soon see Mei again—that she would stand before her once more—made her unable to contain the joy that kept rising in her heart.
Even the corners of her mouth refused to stay down.
Though her life had changed, and she had met many others since leaving Izumo, Raiden Mei would always be different.
The first one can never be replaced.
What should she say when she saw Mei again?
Would Mei be excited too?
How much would she remember?
Countless thoughts swirled through her mind—some filling her with hope, others with anxiety.
After all... Mei had been deceived by her.
Together with Sirin, she had tricked Mei. Kiana had promised to leave with her—but in truth, she had done it to conceal the truth, to protect her.
Because if everything had been explained clearly...
Raiden Mei would never have left.
And if she hadn't left...
Without a miracle, the current fate of Yae Sakura—who had become a stigma—would have been her own.
Kiana didn't regret keeping the truth from Mei back then, but she couldn't deny the guilt and dread that came with it.
Sirin had told her more than once that her relationship with Mei was strained—and the root cause was precisely that incident.
Mei cared about it deeply.
After reuniting, would Mei bring up the past again? Would she demand an explanation?
And what about all these years that had gone by?
They said Mei had walked further and further down the Path of Nihility. If she truly sought to use Nihility to return to Izumo, how much did she still remember?
And how much of her own existence had she already lost?
One serious question after another loomed before her. Amid her excitement, Kiana had to face a very important issue:
How should she explain herself to Mei?
Back then, she had lied to her.
She had left her alone on the Ark.
If she couldn't give Mei a satisfactory answer, then perhaps...
"'I did it for your own good?'"
Kiana scowled and lightly smacked her own head. Saying something like that to Mei as an excuse—did she think Mei's temper was too gentle to flare up?
"What can I possibly do to make Mei forgive me... to make her not bring up the past?"
Growing increasingly anxious, Kiana began circling the room again like an ant on a hot pan. Unless she could think of a proper solution, she didn't dare let herself relax.
Unable to think of any good solution no matter how hard she tried, Kiana eventually called Robin out to meet her.
Sirin was not an option.
After all, Sirin had been her accomplice in deceiving Mei, helping her return to Izumo in secret. Because of that, Sirin had been dragged into the mess, and her relationship with Mei had grown terribly strained.
If she went to Sirin for advice again now...
Thinking about it from Mei's perspective—if Mei ever found out that Kiana had once again gone behind her back with Sirin's help—she would probably explode with anger.
So, under no circumstances could she ask Sirin for help!
She still had enough emotional intelligence to understand that much.
She couldn't turn to Sirin, Yae Sakura wasn't around, and Ruan was busy researching the Simulated Universe with Herta and the others...
The only person she could ask for help was Robin.
And Kiana considered their relationship close enough—practically best friends. Asking Robin for advice on emotional matters didn't embarrass her in the slightest.
After all, who could resist being friends with a sweet-talking, high-EQ, gentle, and empathetic girl like Robin?
Just like now.
When Kiana told her that she had found her long-lost friend and probably wouldn't be performing together anymore, Robin didn't get upset.
Instead, upon hearing the news, she smiled sincerely, genuinely happy for Kiana. No matter what, finding a friend after being separated for so long was something to be celebrated.
"Don't worry," Robin said softly. "We agreed from the start—this was always about helping you find her, wasn't it?"
"I'm so glad you understand!"
Kiana finally felt her heart relax a little. Robin's calm and supportive response made her completely at ease.
Even though she had been planning to leave eventually, she hadn't known how to bring it up to Robin.
These past six months had been some of the happiest times of her life, so parting words didn't come easily. She didn't want to see disappointment in Robin's eyes.
"This is what we agreed on from the beginning," Robin said with a faint smile. "I know you were never going to stay here forever."
Lowering her gaze, she added softly, "And I know that even if you hadn't gotten news about her, you were already planning to leave."
She had noticed Kiana's unusual behavior lately—and after thinking it over, it wasn't hard to figure out what was on her mind.
Of course, saying she wasn't disappointed would be a lie.
Traveling with Kiana over these past six months had been joyful. If she could, she would have wanted things to stay that way forever.
But she was clear-headed.
She knew from the very start that Kiana had stayed for a reason—for her reputation, for her goal of finding someone.
Sooner or later, they would part ways.
She had just never expected the day to come so soon.
"After all... finding her isn't my only goal. There are other things I need to do."
Kiana averted her eyes, unable to meet Robin's. She hadn't said it outright, but her words carried hints—and Robin had easily picked up on them.
"I understand," Robin said gently. "So, Kiana, did you call me out today to say goodbye?"
"No, no," Kiana quickly denied. "I already arranged to meet her here, so I'll still be around for a few more days."
She wasn't planning to leave yet.
The IPC hadn't given her Mei's direct contact information—instead, they were acting as an intermediary.
Probably to prevent bounty-related issues.
Kiana didn't mind. The network wasn't the right place to talk about such things anyway. If possible, she wanted to have that conversation face to face.
Just two more days.
She could wait!
"So your friend—the one you've been looking for all this time—she'll be here in two days?"
Robin's interest was piqued.
That meant she might have the chance to meet the person who had been on Kiana's mind all this time.
"Mm-hmm! Two days from now—we agreed to meet here!"
"She should already be on her way," Kiana said with a bright smile.
Robin nodded, then tilted her head curiously. "So, Kiana, what did you want my help with today?"
"Help me!"
"Huh? You need my help?" Robin blinked. "I see! You want me to help decorate the place, right? Of course—reunions are special occasions, it's only right to prepare the setting properly."
Decorate the place?
Kiana hadn't even thought that far, but Robin was right—it was something she should take seriously.
She hadn't seen Mei in so long!
She should definitely make it special—if she set the scene right, maybe Mei would be touched and a little less angry.
"You really get me! Yes, exactly—I should take it seriously, decorate a little. But actually, that's not the only reason I asked you out today. I also wanted your advice."
"My advice?" Robin's curiosity was immediately piqued. "What kind of advice?"
"It starts back in Izumo. I told you the story before, remember? But there were some details I never fully explained."
Kiana lowered her head awkwardly, stirring her coffee. In a small, guilty voice, she said, "Mei was tricked by me."
"Izumo being swallowed by Nihility was practically inevitable. I couldn't accept that, so I wanted to make one last attempt to save it. It didn't go well—I failed. Izumo became what it is now, and I was corrupted by Nihility, losing both my consciousness and my memories."
"Before that attempt, I lied to Mei. I told her I'd given up on the idea, and used that excuse to convince her to leave Izumo with me. But Sirin and I had conspired to deceive her."
"After boarding the Ark, I sneaked back to Izumo when she wasn't looking... and carried out my final attempt."
Kiana took a deep breath and carefully looked up at Robin. "You know the rest. Because of that, Mei's relationship with Sirin became tense. Sirin told me that ever since then, Mei has stayed close to Nihility—walking further and further along its Path, trying to find a way to return to Izumo."
"When we meet again, she'll definitely bring up the past... but I don't know how to explain it in a way that won't make her angry."
"Kiana... you really are..."
Robin gave her a look that was hard to describe—half speechless, half exasperated—and silently felt relieved that all the worlds she had taken Kiana to were peaceful ones.
Kiana clasped her hands together pleadingly. "Please, please, help me think of something! I really know I was wrong!"
Robin sighed softly. "You already know, don't you? When something like this happens, the first thing you should do when you see her is apologize."
But still... a Pathstrider of Nihility...
Kiana's friend had walked so far down the Path of Nihility—would she even still remember their shared memories? Would she still have those same emotions?
Kiana, however, was full of hope.
If they met again, and she realized her friend...
"I know, I'll definitely apologize," Kiana said quickly. "But after that—after apologizing, what should I say to make Mei let it go? To make her not mad at me anymore?"
She wanted to move past it—to put this behind them.
"...Maybe prepare a gift as an apology?" Robin suggested, thinking hard. She had never dealt with something like this either. "As long as she can see how sincerely you regret it, she probably won't stay angry."