Such coincidences did exist, after all.
Because this version of the Honkai most likely originated from Honkai Impact 2, it didn't share the same cosmology as theirs at all.
Kiana silently grumbled in her heart.
"Mr. Welt, what exactly are you trying to say?"
Acheron was more inclined to trust Kiana's explanation.
"...Miss Sirin mentioned that what you faced wasn't just the Honkai—but also the Aeon of Nihility."
"She told you that too?"
This time, Kiana was genuinely surprised. Everything Welt had said before had still been within her expectations.
But she hadn't expected that.
Sirin had actually told Welt something like this?
Did she not resent this Welt?
That wasn't Sirin's style at all. No icy attitude, no biting words?
"She did mention it."
After returning from that encounter, Welt had reflected many times on what Sirin had told him. There was one part that still puzzled him deeply.
"If your world had already been affected by the Aeon of Nihility, then why did the Honkai still appear?"
Could the Honkai be connected to an Aeon?
Did it appear before or after the influence of Nihility took hold of their world?
If their star system had already been touched by an Aeon, that meant it hadn't been sealed off. So when exactly did the Honkai manifest?
And what had caused it?
These were the questions Welt wanted answers to.
"That has nothing to do with you."
Of course, Acheron wasn't going to tell Welt that Izumo's Honkai had been brought by Kiana—that it had appeared as a means of resisting the Aeon.
Suppressing the urge to glance toward Kiana, she fell silent for a moment, pondering Welt's words.
"My homeworld has already overcome the Honkai crisis. Perhaps I could offer you some advice."
"That won't be necessary."
Acheron said flatly, "Our affairs are none of your concern. The Honkai... we'll deal with it ourselves."
Welt frowned. Her attitude felt somewhat off, so he turned his gaze to Kiana.
"If I'm not mistaken... you've already become the Herrscher of Finality, haven't you?"
"Herrscher of Finality, huh?"
Kiana touched her chin and denied it. "Not exactly—not a true one, anyway."
"My homeworld also has people similar to you. They share your names as well—one is the Herrscher of Finality, and the other, the Herrscher of Origin."
"Our lives may have some similarities," Acheron said, "but if you look deeper, they're entirely different."
"What we fought with everything we had wasn't the Honkai—it was the Oni called Kami, and the black sun that hung above them."
"So do you understand now, Mr. Welt? Trying to interpret our world through your own perspective is meaningless."
Welt was silent for a few seconds.
"You're right. I was being too hasty."
Indeed, he should have asked about what had happened in their world first—whether their 'Honkai' was truly the same as the one he knew.
"Then... could you give me the coordinates of your homeworld?"
Welt wanted to see it with his own eyes.
"No."
The refusal came from an unexpected source—Kiana herself.
Her expression turned solemn.
"Mr. Welt, I understand your intentions, but I strongly advise against it... you'd be walking to your death."
"Even setting aside Nihility's influence, Izumo right now is a true deadland. Even if you managed to find it, you wouldn't be able to land on the planet. It's already become the battleground between the Honkai and Nihility."
A battle between the Honkai and Nihility?
Those words only deepened Welt's curiosity.
"I don't think you should seek out Izumo."
"My strength isn't lacking, and I'm an adult. I know what I'm doing."
Kiana watched him for a moment. Her refusal stemmed from the memory of someone she had left behind in Izumo—Jyahnar.
But from the look in Welt's eyes, even if she refused, he'd still find a way to search for it—to travel to Euphorion and seek out the lost Izumo.
"Mr. Welt, are you truly prepared for what you'll find there?"
Letting Welt go might not be a bad idea after all. Jyahnar rarely attacked humans—she usually just drove them away.
And Kiana herself had long wondered whether the Honkai here was really the same as the Honkai of the third era.
Welt's determination made her pause.
"Give me the coordinates."
"You've got guts."
Kiana opened her terminal and said, "I'll send you the coordinates, Mr. Welt. Please, don't overdo it."
Welt had come from the world of Honkai Impact 3rd.
If there were any differences between the Honkai she had brought and the one from his world, Welt would surely be able to sense them.
In truth, Kiana intended to let him act as a test subject.
As long as Welt didn't push himself too far or do anything reckless, there shouldn't be any... major problems.
After transmitting the coordinates to Welt, Kiana suddenly remembered his nickname back in the real world. Her eyelid twitched slightly as she glanced at him.
He wasn't the Herrscher of Reason anymore.
So... he shouldn't be that unlucky anymore, right?
Probably?
He no longer had the Herrscher's powers, and if he died again this time, there wouldn't be any miraculous recovery.
Surely, he'd act with a little more caution.
After all, this was the post-Honkai Welt—the one with a wife and child.
Kiana wasn't entirely sure, but since she'd already given him the coordinates, any further warnings might just go unheard.
"You knew him?"
After leaving the Astral Express, Acheron walked alongside her for a few steps before suddenly asking an unexpected question.
"You came to the Express specifically to meet him, didn't you? That's why you sought out Miss Himeko in the first place."
Kiana's expression shifted slightly before she sighed helplessly. "You saw through me that easily, huh? I guess I made my intentions a little too obvious."
"He doesn't know you, which means you're not from the same world. But Kiana—you knew Mr. Welt, and you came here specifically for him..."
Acheron tried to piece together the truth.
"You could say I know him... though it's more one-sided. I just wanted to see him for myself. He was once the Herrscher of Reason from Earth."
"No, that's not it."
Acheron shook her head. "You weren't just here to see him—you wanted him to go to Izumo, didn't you?"
Kiana blinked. "Huh? Why would you think that? Though... you're not wrong. I did think of that—but it just came to me on the spot."
Acheron looked at her quietly for a while, then sighed. "He's a Nameless. After hearing what he did from Sirin, it's only a matter of time before he goes looking for Izumo himself."
"The word 'Honkai' alone is probably enough to give him trauma."
Kiana chuckled as a memory surfaced. "Not to mention the name Otto."
"What exactly do you want him to verify for you?"
"Mei, you really... don't miss a thing, do you?"
Kiana lowered her hands, smiling awkwardly. "You're too sharp for your own good."
"Perhaps being sharp is the only way to avoid repeating the same mistakes."
"..."
Kiana hesitated, then rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. "It's nothing serious. Like he said, I just want to know whether the Honkai in our two worlds are actually the same—or if they're fundamentally different."
"You don't know either?"
Kiana shook her head. "How could I possibly know? I've never been to his homeworld."
Just then, Ruan Mei—who hadn't been able to reach her earlier—finally sent a message.
[Ruan Mei: At the platform?]
[Ruan Mei: Wait a moment, I'm on my way there now.]
It seemed Ruan Mei didn't plan to stay at the space station any longer. She intended to find Kiana and then leave immediately.
She was in quite a hurry.
After replying to her, Kiana felt a bit puzzled. Could it be that Ruan Mei had come up with a new idea that required her cooperation? That seemed rather likely.
"Let's stop talking about Welt and the Honkai for now."
Turning her head toward Acheron, Kiana said, "Ruan just replied. She's on her way to the platform now—we'll wait for her here."
Ruan Mei, huh?
Acheron's understanding of that woman came solely from Kiana's descriptions and public reputation.
Her reputation was... divisive, to say the least.
The Ruan Mei that Kiana described sounded very different from what Acheron had heard from others—but everyone had multiple sides, and that was only natural.
Seeing Acheron's silence, Kiana mistook it for nervousness. She gently grasped her hand and whispered, "Don't worry, Ruan's really easy to talk to."
Ruan Mei certainly wouldn't refuse.
Kiana was quite confident of that—after all, Acheron had also encountered both the Honkai and Nihility.
Feeling the warmth in Kiana's palm, Acheron responded quietly, without a hint of tension. "Mm."
They didn't have to wait long. While chatting idly, Kiana soon spotted the person they were waiting for.
An elegant woman approached, dressed in a short qipao that accentuated the full length of her legs—a cool and composed beauty with a serene, almost ethereal air.
Her poise carried both chill and grace.
A true beauty.
But...
As Acheron observed Ruan Mei, she felt an odd discomfort.
Because in Ruan Mei's eyes, there was only Kiana.
It was the kind of gaze that treated someone as an irreplaceable possession—subtle yet impossible to miss.
So this was the Ruan Mei that Kiana had spoken of?
"Ruan!"
It had been so long since they last met that Kiana couldn't hold back her excitement. She rushed a few steps forward to greet her. "It's been ages! I really missed you."
Ever since she had set out for Euphorion to search for her past, the two had been seeing each other less and less—this time, they had been apart for over half a year.
In the adult world, partings were normal—but longing was not something one could simply suppress.
Even while thinking about Mei, Kiana often wondered what Ruan Mei was doing, and how far the Simulated Universe project had progressed.
Stopped by Kiana's sudden enthusiasm, Ruan Mei paused and looked at her. Her gaze softened slightly, though she said nothing. Instead, she lifted Kiana's chin with a gloved hand and studied her expression carefully.
A few paces away, Acheron blinked in surprise before frowning slightly. Ruan Mei's behavior seemed... a bit forward.
Regardless of their relationship, who greeted someone by touching their face and staring at them so intently, as if no one else existed?
In silence, Acheron couldn't help but wonder—was this really how Kiana and Ruan Mei usually interacted?
"Your condition looks stable."
Joy, excitement, relief, affection...
All the emotions reflected in Kiana's expression were positive ones.
As Ruan Mei quietly checked her vital signs, she paid special attention to Kiana's emotional reactions upon seeing her.
Satisfied.
Those emotions calmed Ruan Mei's own heart.
She withdrew her hand as abruptly as she had raised it.
"I told you, I've been performing with Robin to raise awareness of the project—of course I'm doing fine."
Kiana hadn't used her Honkai powers much these past months, so her body was in excellent condition.
After giving that brief explanation, she turned and quickly pulled Acheron over to her side, introducing her eagerly. "This is Raiden Mei—Ruan, you remember, right? The friend I absolutely had to find!"
On the way here, she had already told Acheron plenty about Ruan Mei, so now she only needed to introduce her to Ruan Mei.
Raiden Mei.
Only now did Ruan Mei shift her gaze to the woman beside Kiana. She didn't need Acheron to display her power—the aura of Nihility surrounding her was something Ruan Mei was already familiar with, thanks to Kiana.
This woman was a Self-Annihilator.
But unlike Kiana.
Without even touching her, just by looking, Ruan Mei had already gleaned much from Acheron.
"I'm Ruan Mei. When you say my name, don't forget the pause between the two words."
"Ruan... Mei? Alright."
Acheron nodded slightly. She didn't ask why the pause mattered and said calmly, "Miss Ruan Mei, thank you for taking care of Kiana for such a long time."
At first glance, there was nothing wrong with those words.
Ruan Mei lifted her gaze and met Acheron's eyes. Within them, she saw both gratitude—and something else.
She frowned slightly, her tone calm and even. "You're thanking me on Kiana's behalf? That's unnecessary. And more importantly, it has nothing to do with you."
Between her and Kiana, everything had been an exchange.
She didn't think Kiana owed her thanks—nor did she feel she owed Kiana any in return.
It was simply a transaction.
Her words were plain, but Kiana couldn't shake the strange feeling that their conversation carried a faint trace of hostility.
Was it just her imagination?
...Probably.
"Ruan, I'd like to bring Mei back with us—would that be alright?"
She quickly broke the tension, smiling brightly. "I just found her a few days ago."
Ruan Mei didn't seem surprised. After glancing at Acheron once more, she nodded. "That's fine."
She had no reason to refuse.
Though she disliked others stepping into her secluded domain, Kiana's companion held a certain value as well.
And besides—it was Kiana's request.
That alone made it worth considering.
"Yes!"
Even though she hadn't really expected Ruan Mei to refuse, hearing her agreement still lifted a weight off Kiana's chest.
After all, one could never be too sure.
"Let's go. It's time to head back."
Ruan Mei withdrew her gaze from Kiana and Acheron, taking the lead. She didn't intend to linger here any longer.
Kiana pulled Acheron along as they followed, chatting as they walked. "By the way, Ruan—how did you know we were at the platform?"
"I asked Herta."
Ruan Mei's tone was patient as she explained, "She told me you left with the Nameless from the Astral Express."
"Ah, so it was Miss Herta..."
Didn't Herta say she wouldn't play messenger?
Kiana shook her head, glancing back at the Herta Space Station before continuing, "How long until your Simulated Universe project is completed?"
She wanted to confirm when the Antimatter Legion would invade the station.
Ruan Mei thought for a moment before replying, "The construction work is Herta's responsibility. As for the parts involving life and the Aeons, I've already finished them."
Kiana hesitated. "So... it's more than halfway done?"
"Which means I can temporarily step away from the project for now," Ruan Mei said.