“Hmm… that’s not right…”
Mei noticed something off. She scooped up a handful of dirt from the ground and examined it carefully.
Lunar soil—especially the surface layer—is essentially debris left behind by meteorite impacts on the moon. Its granular texture and various other properties are completely different from the soil and sand found on Earth.
And the ground within Raiden Mei’s field of vision looked exactly like the lunar surface she’d seen on television programs. But the moment she picked up that “soil” and held it in her hand, she realized it wasn’t lunar soil at all.
“If I remember correctly, the Doctor once said that the closer a World Bubble is to the real world, the more similar it becomes to the real world. Since the ground beneath my feet isn’t lunar soil, that means I haven’t entered a World Bubble near the moon. What’s in front of me is more likely something like an illusion, or maybe some kind of residual information…”
As that thought crossed her mind, Mei noticed with surprise that the “lunar soil” in her hand had instantly dissolved into countless tiny particles and vanished into thin air.
“Looks like I was right. Whether I wandered in here by accident or was manipulated into coming, if I want to leave this place, I have no choice but to keep moving forward…”
After walking another ten kilometers, a strangely shaped stone statue came into view. Though it seemed to be missing some parts, it was clearly the head of a young girl.
And ahead of her, the desolate scenery gave way to what looked like a base.
“A lunar… base…”
Before Mei could even begin exploring this unfamiliar place, a familiar figure immediately caught her attention.
“Kiana?! But why is she…”
Mei wasn’t actually all that surprised to see Kiana. After all, this could very well be an illusion—if someone wanted to break through her psychological defenses, they’d most likely use Kiana, the most important person in her life.
What puzzled her was that the Valkyrie battlesuit Kiana was wearing was one she had never seen before.
At this moment, Kiana seemed to be enveloped in white and purple. Her hairstyle had changed from twin tails to a single ponytail, and the ends of her once-pure-white hair appeared to have been dyed a deep purple. Floating on either side of her body were two wing-shaped objects—white on the front and purple on the back.
Scattered across her waist and back were several purple flowers in slightly varying shades. The tips of her arms, like her hair, were tinged with purple, with white lines running across them like arrowheads. And those eyes, which had once been as clear as a blue sky, now held a trace of violet as well.
“This Valkyrie battlesuit… why does it look so… strange?”
That’s not a Valkyrie battlesuit. I can sense it—her body radiates the same Herrscher energy as mine.
At that moment, her second personality, which had been silent all this time, took the initiative to communicate with her.
“Herrscher? But when we were at Schicksal HQ, we also saw what Kiana looked like after the Herrscher within her awakened. And this…”
I don’t know. But there are two things I can say for certain: First, she’s completely lucid in this state—she’s not being controlled by anyone. What I’m sensing is the presence of ‘Kiana,’ not the ‘Herrscher of Ice.’ That means Kiana right now is probably like Elysia—a Herrscher who has fully mastered her own authority.
“That makes sense.”
Though she didn’t know what the Kiana ahead was doing just standing there, judging by that adorably goofy expression, Mei was certain that—even though she seemed more mature than the Kiana of the real world—she was still, at her core, the same silly Kiana she knew.
Second, in this state, she’s definitely not the Herrscher of Ice. Although from our perspective, the Kiana before us might just be a piece of data or an illusion woven by someone, I can clearly feel the aura emanating from her… How should I put this? If we were to visualize it, her ‘numerical value’ wouldn’t be higher than ours, but her ‘level’ surpasses ours.
“What does that mean? Are there different tiers among Herrschers?”
I know it sounds absurd, but that’s what my intuition is telling me.
Just then, the Kiana who had been standing still began to move. Mei quickly followed, noticing that Kiana was heading toward lower ground, as if making her way underground.
After some time, Kiana reached her destination—a vast, open platform. In the enormous space, aside from the two of them, there was only a single figure floating in midair… a human.
Though he appeared to be an adult male with white hair and blue eyes just like Kiana, the pair of massive black wings on his back and the horn-like protrusions on his head were hardly things a human should possess.
During the time she’d followed Kiana, Mei had tried countless methods, but none had made Kiana aware of her presence. Even when she tried to touch her, her hand passed right through. Though Mei had no idea what was about to happen, one thing was certain—whatever came next, she could only be a bystander.
“You’re here…”
The man in the sky flapped his wings and landed gently on the ground. He slowly raised the greatsword in his hand, pointing it at Kiana.
“That’s right, Kevin. I’m here.”
Kiana, too, drew her twin guns.
“He’s… Kevin of World Serpent?!”
After arriving at the Deep Sea City, Raiden Mei had gained access to more information, and naturally learned about the past conflicts between Anti-Entropy and World Serpent.
Though she hadn’t gone to New Zealand with Kiana during the Fourth Eruption for various reasons, even from the snippets she’d heard afterward, she could tell that Kevin was undeniably a terrifyingly powerful individual.
Just as Mei was still trying to make sense of the situation, Kevin lowered the Judgment of Shamash once more.
“Herrscher… do you still dream? Do you dream of those you failed to save? Of those who died because of you?”
“Yes. I still dream of them.”
“But I no longer do…”
Kevin seemed to sink into contemplation and memory for a moment. Then, he raised the Judgment of Shamash again.
“If you want to do something only you can do, you must bear a burden only you can bear. If you wish to end the Stigma Project, then you must fly to heights greater than mine!”
Kevin and Kiana moved almost simultaneously. Violet light clashed with blazing flames, unleashing a deafening roar. Just as Mei was trying to figure out what kind of Herrscher authority this version of Kiana possessed, Kiana was sent flying like a cannonball, slamming into the wall with a heavy thud.
Mei’s eyes widened. She hadn’t expected the fight to be decided so quickly.
“It seems you lack the power to transcend the Finality.”
Kevin had no intention of delivering a finishing blow. He flapped his wings and left without looking back.
