Standing on the floor, K423 relished the long-lost sensation.
Having her feet on solid ground felt much more reassuring.
Her originally azure eyes shifted, becoming as brilliantly multicolored as a rainbow. She raised a hand, and a black ribbon materialized in her grasp, which she used to tie her long white hair up into a ponytail.
Her power wasn't limited to just the Flamescion. However, as a mere stigmata entity now, she couldn't even begin to compare to her peak state.
Otherwise, K423 would have helped Kiana beat Otto to a pulp long ago and led Mei and the others to directly confront the Honkai on the front lines.
Picking up the White Comet armor, she gently stroked the familiar material before putting it back on. Feeling that subtle, nostalgic tightness against her body, a small smile graced K423's lips.
She felt like an old grandmother with one foot in the grave, filled with profound longing and nostalgia for everything from her past.
"I'm heading out now, okay?" K423 asked.
Within the consciousness space, Kiana was sitting cross-legged on the floor, head lowered and arms crossed over her chest. Her brows were tightly knit, clearly agonizing over something important.
Hearing K423's words, she only lifted her head slightly and gave a distracted response.
"Mhm."
With permission granted, K423 finally stepped forward.
She walked out of the infirmary and into the corridor. Looking out the windows, she could see the partially destroyed grounds of St. Freya Academy.
This place was exactly the same as the past she remembered.
She was going to protect this place properly.
Looking at every familiar brick and tile with a fond smile, K423 took a leisurely stroll through the academy grounds. But just then, a gaze landed on her.
"Kiana?"
A red-haired Valkyrie, who had been directing the rubble-clearing efforts, called out loudly.
Hearing that soul-stirring voice, K423's shoulders trembled violently. She turned her head and saw the figure that so often haunted her dreams.
"Teacher... Himeko..."
Her voice trembled, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. The muscles in her cheeks twitched, and her vision was quickly obscured by a layer of mist.
"Kiana, why aren't you resting properly—"
Himeko walked up to K423, but before she could finish her sentence, K423 threw herself into her warm embrace.
"Teacher Himeko..."
There was a thick sob in her voice.
K423 hugged Himeko tightly.
"What's wrong?" Being hugged so suddenly, Himeko didn't push her away, but instead asked with a gentle smile.
She didn't think too much of K423's emotional state. The girl was probably just terrified by tonight's harrowing events. Many Valkyries experienced similar breakdowns the first time they truly stepped onto a battlefield.
Himeko's gaze was soft. In her eyes, even though they had only known each other for a few days, this girl was still her precious junior.
"There, there, it's alright now. We drove the bad guys away."
Himeko smiled, gently patting and rubbing K423's back while the young girl quietly sobbed into her chest.
After a little while, K423 finally managed to rein in her emotions. She pulled back from Himeko's embrace, her gaze now burning with intense, fervent affection as she stared at the older woman.
However, being stared at like that gave Himeko a bit of the creeps. She couldn't shake the feeling that this girl was looking at her as if she were a corpse that had just risen from the dead.
"I still have a lot of work to do here. If you're looking for Theresa, she's in the Principal's office," Himeko said.
She didn't ask K423 to stay and help. They weren't lacking manpower, and if she asked someone highly valued by the Overseer to do manual labor, it might displease Lord Otto.
"Mhm!" K423 nodded vigorously. She knew Aunt Himeko wasn't like her Great Aunt; she didn't slack off and actually took responsibility for handling the aftermath of the Anti-Entropy invasion.
However, she didn't plan on looking for her Great Aunt right now anyway.
Since Kiana had decided to stay at St. Freya Academy, they would be able to see Theresa every single day.
Moreover, compared to her Great Aunt, there were other people K423 desperately wanted to see.
"Teacher Himeko, do you know where Mei and Bronya are right now?"
Where is my Mei?
K423 looked around with a hint of confusion. This was something she had been deeply concerned about. She hadn't seen Class Monitor Fu Hua either.
Instead, she had spotted a figure earlier that completely defied her expectations.
That pink-haired, donkey-eared Valkyrie wearing a nun's habit—that was undeniably Yae Sakura, right?
K423 knew about Yae Sakura's history, but why was she here right now?
Did certain events occur that caused history to change?
She didn't know if this change was for better or for worse, but there was no rush. Once she found Mei, she would have plenty of time to figure it out.
However, Himeko just gave her a baffled look.
"Who are Mei and Bronya?"
K423's expression instantly froze. But then, as if recalling something, Himeko spoke up again.
"Oh, oh, wait, I remember."
Hearing this, K423 let out a sigh of relief. Aunt Himeko, please don't scare me like that.
"By Mei, you mean Raiden Mei, right? The 3rd Herrscher?"
"Mhm, mhm!" K423 nodded frantically.
But... why did Aunt Himeko's tone sound so strange? It was as if she were talking about a completely irrelevant stranger.
"I heard Theresa mention that the 3rd Herrscher, Raiden Mei, was taken back to Schicksal HQ."
Crack.
K423's fists clenched tightly.
Mei... is currently at Schicksal HQ?
She was captured by Otto and taken to Schicksal HQ?!
K423 suddenly remembered what had happened to Wendy, the Herrscher of Wind, when she was captured by Cocolia. Back then, Wendy's Herrscher Core had been brutally ripped out by Cocolia. And Otto was vastly more ruthless than Cocolia. Perhaps he would subject Mei to even more cruel and agonizing experiments!
Her eyes widened in horror. The stigmata on her abdomen pulsed with a brilliant pink luminescence, and fierce flames nearly ignited around her body.
Calm down, calm down, calm down, calm down, calm down!
K423 forced her boiling mind to cool.
Otto was different from Cocolia. Cocolia only wanted the Herrscher Core, but what Otto needed was a living Herrscher. That man wouldn't kill the goose that laid the golden eggs.
Therefore, Mei was still safe.
"What's wrong? Though, regarding this 'Bronya' you mentioned, I really don't know who that is," Himeko asked, noticing that K423's expression was dangerously off.
K423 looked up at her, utterly bewildered. Aunt Himeko actually doesn't know who Bronya is?
Me, Mei, and Bronya were obviously all your students, Teacher Himeko!
"Teacher Himeko, what year and date is it today?"
"It's December 8, 2013. Yesterday was your birthday, did you..."
Himeko was confused. Out of concern, she reached out to check K423's forehead, but she immediately snatched her hand back as if she had been electrocuted. It felt as though she had just touched a red-hot branding iron.
It was burning up.
"Kiana, your head is burning hot! Come on, I'm taking you to the infirmary."
Himeko reached out to grab K423's hand to drag her away, but K423 took two steps back and waved her off.
"Teacher Himeko, I... I just want to calm down by myself for a bit."
Saying that, she turned and ran away.
Running all the way down the familiar paths of the academy, K423 looked up at the moonlight, her eyes filled with profound confusion.
In the original history, at this point in time, she should have been flirting with Mei at Senba Academy!
Then, in the following year, 2014, Mei would awaken as the 3rd Herrscher. After Kiana beat her back to her senses, the three of them—along with Bronya—would enroll in St. Freya Academy together.
But now, history had been severely twisted.
K423 felt an overwhelming sense of unfamiliarity.
Mei, who cooked for her every day, had actually awakened early and had been taken to Schicksal HQ. And there wasn't even a shadow of that little drill-haired silver wolf anywhere.
Why?
Why had the Original Trio turned out like this?
K423's eyes were swimming with questions.
Her running pace gradually slowed to a halt.
She eventually stopped in front of a certain room.
---o---