217 Her ideal can save the world, but it cannot save herself.
Raven waited in a shadowy corner of Nagazora City, anticipating Raiden Mei's arrival.
As she had ominously promised, Kevin, the leader of World Serpent, had been waiting for this encounter.
What Mei doesn't know is that after this time, her relationship with Kiana will be rewritten again.
Opening the door, the raven exclaimed, "Not long ago, I thought she was an innocent, simple, and good child, but after just a few days, her eyes were completely different."
"In just two days, she had already completed a transformation."
---
"Kevin, you always insist you're not interested in Mei. So, why this secret meeting with her? This is not good. This is not good." Elysia teased, a mischievous glint in her eye as she poked at Kevin's ice Cube face.
Maybe it was because 'someone' always liked to tease him with Dr. Mei, so she also got into this bad habit.
"Sigh." Kevin glanced at her, looking at Elysia a little confused.
"Elysia, I've explained this before. This Mei might have a resemblance to Dr. MEI, but I won't confuse them. This is different." Kevin spoke lightly.
While there's an element of mystery to why he seeks this other person in-game, Kevin has his own theories.
He's someone who holds the promises of his allies with the utmost importance.
Since this companion expressed a desire to witness future generations of Herrschers fighting for humanity, Kevin feels compelled to do everything in his power to help Her see that vision become a reality.
Suddenly, he felt something shaking in front of his eyes.
"Hey now, Kevin! Can't be daydreaming all the time. Take a closer look – it might be fascinating to see a different version of yourself in another world."
Elysia's hand withdrew, a playful smile dancing around her eyes. "Well, I suppose you've gotten your glimpse. Promise fulfilled!"
Kevin's mind wandered, a fleeting image surfacing – springtime in Japan, the delicate flutter of cherry blossoms on the breeze...
---
Mei stepped through the door, and a wave of icy air washed over her seconds later, followed by the echo of footsteps.
The room felt like a forgotten icebox, the air heavy with an unspoken tension.
"Kevin Kaslana, leader of the World Serpent." His introduction lingered in the cold air.
Mei looked into those eyes and seemed to see two holes.
a kind of sadness in that hole.
A sadness that cannot be erased by time, a sadness that seems never to be healed.
"Raiden Mei, there is someone you want to save, but neither Schicksal nor the Anti-Entropy will be able to fulfill your wish."
"I promise you, the World Serpent can save this girl." The man's voice was steady, his words short, yet they carried an undeniable weight.
His promise felt unbreakable, as solid and unyielding as laws carved into ancient stone.
And the price of that, "You!" is short and powerful.
However, under that cold face, no one thought wrongly.
The World Serpent's leader made his promise, and the cost was laid bare in Front of her.
It was a promise Mei desperately needed, a lifeline she couldn't refuse.
But the path offered was chilling...
"You must become the Herrscher of Thunder once more."
It's jaw-dropping, but it's reasonable.
---
[Wait, what's the point of this? If Mei becomes the Herrscher of Thunder again, wouldn't things get worse?]
[Seriously, the Herrschers are humanity's enemies, puppets of the Honkai!]
[Honkai God: "You All are the absolute WORST Herrschers I've ever seen! Seriously! Only Sirin is my beloved child"]
"Uh, well, if this method is given, we really can't explain it clearly." Tesla was helpless.
From the perspective of that time, the only Herrscher on the human side of the game was the leader of the Anti-Entropy Alliance. Kiana was also prone to losing control. No one could guarantee what Mei would be like after becoming a Herrscher.
Therefore, it is normal for the judgment made by anti-entropy to be conservative.
BUT Before, she would've scoffed at such a crazy plan. But now? With Herrschers popping up at St. Freya Academy like it's nothing, the idea didn't seem so bad.
Especially after that one time she accidentally walked into Himeko's "Herrscher physics" class. Standing at the front, she looked out at those students, and every single one of them looked...off.
Some had empty, black-and-white eyes. Others had crackling lightning flashing in theirs. She could practically feel the storm brewing in those blue eyes, and those golden ones with the diamond-shaped crosses...
Looking at the list: Kiana, Sirin, Mei, Wendy, Seele, Bronya...
She wanted to find Principal Theresa and ask, "Is this really how you run a Valkyrie school? Why not just change your slogan to 'Herrschers Save the World' and be done with it?"
Okay, Kiana technically isn't a Herrscher anymore, but this whole situation has her freaked out.
In short, she forgot how she finished that section. She managed to muddle through a few of Wendy's questions about fluids theory, then practically ran for the hills.
No matter how much Himeko begs, she's not taking over that class again. And don't even get her started on the idea of a field trip to Anti-Entropy HQ! Nope.
"Bad memory" is her excuse, and she's sticking to it.
Just one lab explosion is bad enough, but imagine if Himeko's whole class showed up? The entire Anti-Entropy base would be on high alert!
Tesla used to think Himeko was cool – laid-back, friendly, and they clicked right away thanks to all those in-game interactions.
She's learned a harsh lesson: never judge a book by its cover. Tesla sighed, shaking her head at the memory.
"It's weird. With how he keeps pushing this idea, it's actually starting to sound...good?" Tesla sighed, concerned that her perspective on Herrschers was shifting too fast.
"Normally, if you see different Herrschers walking around in front of you every day, everyone will think so."
Einstein said calmly that since they agreed to do the dubbing, their observation diary about the Herrscher has surpassed all the records in the previous decades, and they don't even want to copy it.
---
Suddenly, everything Kevin said clicked for Mei.
The problem wasn't just the Void core, it was Kiana's body struggling to handle three cores at once. Stripping away the Void core would be risky, but what if they could simply reduce the number of cores in Kiana's body? Down to two, or even one?
As for storage, aren't she just the container?
If becoming a Herrscher again could save Kiana, there was no reason to hesitate.
"Three years ago, it was she who took me out of the darkness. Without Kiana, I would not be where I am now. For her, I am happy to return to that darkness."
But then, a flicker of doubt crossed her face. She didn't want to hurt Kiana again, not if the Honkai took control.
"If I lose myself again... I hope..." She started, but Kevin cut her off, his voice firm.
"That won't happen. The real question is what comes after you become a Herrscher again."
Kevin's voice was steady. "You might save Kiana this time, but she'll always be in danger. She'll keep using that Void power, pushing herself to the brink for the people she loves, for the world."
He paused, his tone heavy. "As long as the Honkai exists, as long as Herrschers are born, she won't back down…"
"She'll fight until she has nothing left to give."
Mei didn't argue. She knew Kiana too well – there was no changing her mind.
"I've met countless people like her."
"They face fear, face death, and never waver from what they believe is right. They walk a path with no return."
"They left, and no one came back."
The truth pierced Mei's heart like an icy blade. She understood. She knew. It terrified her, but she knew it was true.
She couldn't change it, no matter how much she sacrificed. That was the harsh reality.
Kiana wants to be a hero, and the world seems to be urging her to become a hero.
But what's the price? And what was the price she paid?
That was the sight no one who loved Kiana wanted to see.
---
"Kevin..." Elysia started, then fell silent. This wasn't the cold, distant Kevin from the game. His heart might be frozen, but there was a tremor beneath the surface.
The playful teasing she'd planned suddenly felt out of place.
"Himeko... Ato...there are too many names," Kevin's voice was quiet. The air shifted, the warmth draining away as it always did when this subject arose.
The rest of the Flame-Chasers held back, wanting to discuss it, yet wary of crossing a line.
"Like the hymn played by life, they are also worthy of the name of heroes," Eden raised her glass, a soft smile on her face.
"Fire MOTH wasn't all bad. There were some damn good warriors there." Mobius scoffed, a rare flicker of something like respect in her snake-like eyes.
There's also Dystopia, And the guy who kidnapped her excellent assistant.
Hua's eyes lowered, a shadow of grief crossing her face. Sakura said nothing, just reached out to touch the recovered Rin, her hand resting near the knife at her waist.
Kalpas remained silent, the flames in his eyes burning hot. Pardofelis gave a nervous laugh, hugging her can close. She knew she had nothing to add to this conversation.
The thirteen of them are the best warriors that Kevin refers to.
...
"Typical Kiana, always has to be the hero." Bronya didn't wait for Kiana to argue, just launched into a critique.
Bronya had her own problems to deal with, but after everything she'd seen Kiana pull – in the game and out – a pattern was obvious.
Kiana liked to shoulder the biggest burdens alone. Maybe there was a bit of Himeko's influence in there, but Kiana had definitely honed that tendency to a dangerous degree.
"Hey, hey, hey, you can eat blindly. Little dwarf, you won't grow taller at all, but you can't talk nonsense. I'm not in a hurry to die. If anything happens, I will definitely call you the eldest sister." Kiana rolled her eyes.
Sure, she looked cool pulling those risky stunts in the game, but with so many people she cared about, she wasn't about to put her life on the line needlessly (or risk Mei breaking her legs).
"But why don't you go and take over Nagazora City yourself?" Bronya thought for a moment. She originally didn't intend to continue to cause trouble, but she also planned to take over.
You call me can't grow taller?! Bronya is still young and has great potential!
Also, it's normal for hairy girls to be like this!
"How can I still meet you if I don't go? Really, besides... isn't it because I'm so close and right there?"
Kiana muttered, with an angry look on her face. Why is Bronya so angry?
What about their tacit understanding of cooperation in the game? (Kiana thinks to herself.)
"Okay, okay, let's see. I will probably feel sorry for Kiana next and agree to her request."
Mei poked Kiana's bulging cheeks with her index finger and then heard a breath coming from the corner of Kiana's mouth. It was quite cute, making Mei smile.
"Mei——, don't you feel guilty? You agreed to other people's conditions, and so on."
"Uh-huh?"
"I don't care; you have to make it up to me."
...
Mei felt helpless, but Kevin had an answer: join the World Serpent.
By working with them, Mei could get rid the Honkai crisis in Nagazora and retrieve the Herrscher cores.
This made joining the World Serpent even more appealing to Mei. Where else could she go?
She'd just rebelled against Schicksal, and Anti-Entropy wouldn't be any better – they'd react as soon as Kiana did. Smaller organizations wouldn't even be on the radar.
How ironic! Only by leaving Kiana's side can we truly protect her from danger.
But if she wants to save Kiana, the only option left seems to be this one...
At this time, the sky not far away cracked, purple beams of light emerged from above, the portal of imaginary numbers had opened, and the attack of Honkai had arrived.
According to Kevin, during this period, Mei can become the Herrscher of Thunder at any time.
Kevin watched the chaos unfold, his voice quiet. "Raiden Mei, I don't need to convince you. You understand this better than I do."
"Her ideals might save the world, but she can't save herself."
"Believe me, or believe the World Serpent – take your time to decide. But know this, Raiden Mei: Kiana's fate rests in your hands."
Kevin's message was clear: becoming a Herrscher could only ease Kiana's suffering temporarily.
Solving the Honkai crisis was the only way to truly save her.
Then, strong winds poured down, tall buildings shook, and the whole world seemed to change before our eyes.
Mei was surprised to find that the water level in the city dropped and the buildings in the entire city gathered in the sky!
Roars, roars, loud crashes, and the screams of the crowd all blended into one.
Then came the light, the intense illumination, dyeing the eyes until it was completely clear.
Shards of glass defied gravity, swirling upwards and reflecting strange, otherworldly scenes. It was like glimpses of another reality, bleeding into their own, they were reflected in the present in a time-space displacement.
In the distance, a purple cross pulsed against the sky. Buildings crumbled, whipped by hurricane-force winds, and blinding flashes of lightning painted the world in stark flashes of light.
A storm was brewing, a storm that promised to change everything.
...
[So sad... " Her ideals might save the world, but she can't save herself." That's the hard truth.]
[Kiana saved everyone, but no one can save her. She fights on, even though she has friends, teachers, family, love...it's just so cruel.]
[I originally thought that there was no way Mei could leave Kiana; they clearly care about each other so much, but damn it, what they're saying makes sense.]
[Their bond is their greatest strength, but now that love is forcing them apart since they both care more about the other than themselves.]
"Before, maybe Mei could become a Herrscher without joining the World Serpent. But now..." Bronya sighed, staring at the fantastical world on the screen.
A flicker of excitement passed through her eyes – she'd love to make a game like that someday.
"It feels like there's no other choice." Bronya looked away, her voice heavy with regret.
Kiana said nothing, just looked at Mei.
Their eyes met, locking in a silent exchange. Eyes are the windows to the soul, and theirs overflowed with a mix of shock, pain, and a sadness that threatened to spill over in tears.
Kiana took a deep breath, her voice trembling slightly. "Mei, if you try to leave, I won't let you. I'll fight you if I have to!"
She raised her fist and showed the ugliest smile, as if she were about to cry in the next second.
"I told you!" Kiana's voice rose.
If you are strong enough, the other party will probably not leave you. If you force her to stay, you must keep her by your side!
"Fine. If you can." Mei looked at Kiana, her voice low and serious.
"We... I won't let you go. No matter how many times it takes, I'll wake you back with my bare hands! Just like I did before!"
