Chapter 8: Savior

"Well, I think we found what we're looking for."

"Is now really the time to be a smart ass?"

"Yeap."

"Fair."

Himeko gave way to Hisashi's smarmy comment as they beheld the massive beam of light shooting up from the city in their sights. The Hyperion wasn't far out from Nagazora now. It was just as they were showing up that a sudden spike in Honaki Energy followed into the explosion they were viewing.

"Captain, we still have time to retreat!"

"And miss a chance like this? Not at all." Hisashi adjusted his hat as he stepped forward to the bridge's head position throwing an arm out as the light began to die down. "We're going right into the fire! Move to the location of the energy spike, set Hyperion to level one alert! We just may have a Herrscher on our hands. Major?"

"Oh, I'll be ready." Himeko said, giving a thumbs-up, a confident smile on her face.

As Hyperion closed in, the operators chattering off various readings and other things all the while. And when they were above the impact zone, the sensors began catching the readings. The image view showing the swarms of Honkai Beasts on the streets, all heading to the same point. And soon enough, what they were looking for came into view, the Herrscher looking up as the ship arrived.

"She's just a kid." Hisashi muttered.

"Yeah, it's cruel and all. But that's what we get from a Herrscher?" Himeko said, looking unimpressed. "I was hoping for something… freakier! You know, like with tentacles or spikes and stuff. A monster! Not some girl looking at us like we're scum."

"You have a really active imagination, don't you?" Hisashi sighed, his eyes going wide when he also spotted the girl in the Herrscher's arms. "What the… why is she holding a person? Operators, scan around and see if anyone else is in the area! And while you're at it, arm all the turrets and lay some fire down on those Beasts!"

"That's not good."

Soleil started to edge back as the Hyperion's gun bays opened. Each one, from rotary cannons to rail guns, took aim at the zone around Mei. She was glaring at the ship with nothing but disdain in her eyes.

"Annoying insects… who dare look down on me from above!" With a yell, Mei let loose lightning from all around her, Soleil diving into the closest alleyway as it turned into a wave of power that swept away anything in its path.

"Disappear!" Mei lifted a hand, focusing all the awash energy and letting it loose at once as a gathered stream.

It slammed right into the Hyperion's hull. It stopped for a moment as the raised shields held, but only for a moment. The blast carried right through and burst through the top of the ship, arcing into the air. When it faded, while the massive ship was intact and still in the air, a massive hole had been blown through its hull, left scorched and burning while sparks of electricity arced through it.

"Warning! Warning! External armor damage critical! Output down 40%! Please return immediately!"

"Not happening, Ai! Seal bulkheads and contain any spreading damage! Suppress those fires!" Hisashi yelled above the blaring sirens started by the onboard ship AI, clicking his tongue. "Well, that's just great… we won't be able to take another hit like that."

"Doesn't that kid know how much it's gonna cost to repair this ship!?" Himeko muttered, then turning around. "Captain, I'm heading out! All of you, open nuclear furnaces five and six. Maintain the output and keep Hyperion's power in backup mode. Lower Hyperion to the Herrscher's height in two minutes. I'm heading out!"

"Hold on there! You're planning on using that aren't you?" Hisashi followed after Himeko as she left the bridge, the man giving a wave to the lieutenant to give her to go ahead to take command. "You know the Nexus System still isn't stable."

"Well, we don't have much of a way out, do we?" Himeko said, already hitting the switches on the elevator.

"I'm just saying there are other methods."

"After a hit like that? Better to just go out swinging with our best then wait for her to hit us like that again, I'd say."

"You're not wrong. Just stupid." Hisashi also checked an opened holo window as his wrist device went off. "Plus, we just got orders from home base. They want the Herrscher alive. A full blast from the Nexus System won't really leave much if it hits right."

"Too late for that. Unless the heads back home thought of some way to contain the thing…"

"The other problem is that the Headmaster's daughter is the girl we saw. That was just confirmed too."

"… shit. It was her?" Himeko let out a mutter as the elevator opened, striding out into the equipment-strewn bay before them, then giving a chuckle as she pulled off her jacket. "Well, now I just wanna get out there more. That little brat was a pain in my ass before her old man took her on that 'trip.' Besides, I'm a woman who sees things through, you know that. And now, on top of dealing with a Herrscher, I've gotta save somebody."

"You're really using it?" Hisashi lowered his hat to shield his vision as Himeko kept pulling off more clothes, then giving a chuckle. "Well, not like I can stop you. Just don't go too hard out of the gate."

"Oh, don't worry, it'll be fine. Oh, and hold onto these. They're my luck set." Himeko snickered as she tossed the rather risqué panties she'd had to Hisashi, the man groaning as she sneered at him. "You better get me something good once we're back home!"

"Yeah yeah! Just get out there already! If you take too long, then I'll be going out myself!"

Hisashi went back to the elevator. The alert began sounding for Hyperion to go into standby mode as it started lowering, Hisashi giving a two-fingered salute as the door shut. Himeko returned the gesture as she strode further down the path, machinery already moving as she stopped on a sectioned panel.

Operating quickly, the extending arms and binders got to work, arming Himeko up in a red undersuit and armor to match it. The armor's bulk kept to her upper areas, the arms and chest being totally covered while the rest of the body was less so. A visor covered Himeko's eyes and starting to run with information as things locked into place. A chord connecting to the armor, and another arm pulled out a massive mechanical sword. Himeko gripped it tightly as the hatch above her opened, revealing the night sky above.

"Alright, Herrscher girl, let the Ace of Hyperion show you what she's got."

"Shit shit shit! I can't get up here now! That ship lowered, and Mei went above it, now I can't see a damn thing!" Soleil growled as he looked out from his hiding place. He could already see the arcs of energy starting to fly from above the Hyperion past any reach.

"What the hell can I do?!"

"If you want, there is a way to help out with that."

"Sozo?!"

Soleil gasped as the world came to a halt around him again. When he turned, he saw the being sitting atop some of the rubble around him, though the person the deity had taken the shape of someone unfamiliar. A young girl with a startling resemblance to him, aside from Sozo's usual features changing anything aside from the face, yet he started feeling a familiarity to those features.

"Seele…" Soleil muttered the name and caught himself, a confused look coming to his features.

"Ah, so that's who I look like now, hmm?" Sozo mused, rolling the fingers of a hand. "I'm never really quite sure how I appear to those who I visit. It always seems to change at times. I'm sure you want to know who Seele is, but don't worry, Soleil, the time will come when you two meet… well, technically, you already have. But, let's keep our eyes on the now, why don't we?"

"Yeah… tell me then, what can I do?" Soleil said, Sozo striding over and then grabbing his pendant.

"This right here. It's called the Key of Possibility after all."

"I haven't been able to make it respond since that fight." Soleil firmly said, pulling the item off.

"Well, of course not. As you are now, the Key will only respond when you need it. Its power is too great for you to use for long right now… but, there is a power sleeping within you that it can help you use, if only for a little bit." Sozo turned again, Soleil staring at the pendant as the being looked up to the frozen battle above them.

"Another power? What do you mean?"

"Just as I said. As Honkai has their Herrschers, I to have my chosen agents." When Sozo turned again, their form changed, now appearing as Kiana. "But it is a power that will allow you to prevent things from getting worse in the now. It won't be for long, but it will be the kind of boost you need. Besides, you've already tapped into it before now."

"Then I don't need to hear anything else. What do I need to do?" As he asked that, Soleil saw the pendant glow in his hand. When he opened his fingers, he saw that the shape had changed. While the crown of fire remained, it had become smaller. Extending from it was the shaft and prongs of a key in the form of a blade. "Getting kind of literal with the "key" thing here, are we?"

"I will warn you though." Sozo put a hand to Soleil's as he gripped the key. "This will open the door to you remembering more about the world before this one. The minor flashes you've seen won't quite be so uncommon. And with it, you'll also likely remember all the pain of that time as well."

"So? I can deal with that much. I said I'd protect them. I'll do just that, no matter what." Soleil said, Sozo giving a nod.

"Not that I expected anything less. Alright then. Use that, and take the first step into awakening, Soleil Empyrean… rise up, remaining the human you are… become a Heiland!"

Sozo faded away, and as time began to resume its motions, Soleil held the changed pendant out. Swirls of sky blue began rising around him, a center of it at his chest. Steeling his gaze, Soleil turned the key around and drove it into the gleaming circle, flinching as he felt a sudden heat wash over him.

And as that heat washed over him, the world resumed. A blast of pure, brilliant blue rose from where Soleil was, right up past the combat above on the Hyperion.

"Captain, a new reading just appeared on the radar!"

"What?!" Hisashi leaned on the rail in front of him, everyone flinching as the blast from Mei collided with Himeko. The cameras on the deck almost losing vision of what happened as her sword stopped it. Simultaneously, power was running so hotly it made the cable connected to her armor go white.

The beam of power from Mei split off at the contact point, washing out across the area and blasting through the tops of any buildings in the way of it. And then a bolt of blue shot up from the ground, crashing into the beam of energy, stopping it dead before completely dispersing it.

"What in the… get the sensors back online! What was that?!" Hisashi growled as the cameras went down. The crew was already trying to get things booted back up. "Come on… Himeko, you better be okay out there…"

"Visuals coming back online now, Captain. Wait… that new reading… why is it negative?!"

"It's the same kind of signature that was detected several days ago! But it's even stronger!"

"Is it because of the Herrscher?" Hisashi narrowed his eyes as the cameras came back online, letting out a sigh of relief when he saw Himeko still standing amid the smoke. And then he caught sight of the blue glow amid the smoke. "What the… who's that kid?!"

Himeko grit her teeth as the blast faded from the sudden impact of something new. What the hell was that?! The woman cracked her eyes open. Before her was Soleil, surrounded by a blue aura and holding the sword form of his Key. At his back, the aura ebbed out, taking form into a burning wing.

"What in the… who the hell are you?!"

Himeko was just as surprised as the Hyperion crew at Soleil's appearance, the boy letting out a breath as he turned. Within his eyes was a glow that shifted in the iris almost like a flame, while his pupils had become small crosses.

"Sorry about that. You're a Valkyrie, yeah?" Soleil got a nod, then turning back to Mei. "Those girls up there are my friends. So, if you don't mind, wanna help me knock some sense into one of them?"

"The Lynchpin… and look at you! Drawing out some more of that disgusting light to fight me." Mei let out a huff but also looking a bit annoyed. "A Heiland… ones like you rarely appear. But, if you are to fight me, I'd quite like to kill you like this! Once I'm done with you, I can tend to Kiana's wounds so I can kill her properly."

"Okay, I don't know what this whole Heiland thing is or who you are, but you're obviously not with her… sort of." Himeko took a stance with her sword, Soleil taking his own. "But sure, kid, I'll help you out. Besides, I've got orders to save that silver-haired girl. And like that, your friend there clearly isn't in the mood to play nice."

"Yeah, she's a bit of a handful when she gets like this." Soleil said, a bitter tone to the sarcastic remark.

"Now, turn to ash!" Mei gathered lightning again and let it loose, aiming for Soleil with the blast.

Soleil swung his sword in response, the wave of energy that followed clashing with the lightning, catching it and dispersing the blast. Soleil shot forward when the opening was made, shooting into the air and right for Mei. As his sword came down, the Herrscher formed a blade of lightning to respond. The weapons clashed, but Mei's hold on Kiana meant that she was somewhat out of luck if she would try to use more nuanced moves. Soleil swatted the blade aside, reaching out with his free hand, the Herrscher avoiding it.

"Don't think I'll let you touch me! In that state, I know exactly what you'll do!" Mei's wing lashed as Soleil went past, batting him and sending him flying backward.

"You're open!" Himeko reared her sword around as energy charged along it, the woman giving a yell as she swung, a blast following the swing and rushing at Mei. The latter countered it with her own shot as a result.

"Warning, warning! Fusion reactor overheated! 10 seconds before forced shutdown!"

"Do not shut down!" Himeko shouted. "Where'd the kid get sent to anyway?!"

"Right here!" Soleil then came back down, dropping from a circle that formed in the air. Mei growled as she raised a hand, Soleil's sword slamming into the lightning barrier, streams of blue flames mixing with the lightning and lashing across the rest of the area. Himeko moved out of the way as some lashed the deck.

"Careful kid, this ship is expensive, so don't wreck it more!"

"Trying not to! I just need an opening!" Soleil said, getting knocked away, his own wing moving and acting like a shield when Mei blasted him.

"I've got a few seconds left, so I'll make you one!" Himeko shifted her stance, raising her sword again. "Sorry, Hisashi, but this is gonna be big! I'm relying on this kid to make up for me being reckless!"

Himeko's blade's energy charging caused the edge to open up and make the energy burst out of it. As Mei was fending off Soleil again, attacking from a range with his own blasts of energy, Himeko swung as hard as she could. The burst that followed loosed in a wave, not on the same level as the blast Himeko had stopped, but enough.

Mei turned to the rushing wave and pulled her hand up, stopping it dead with a barrier and then casting it away… and it made the exact opening that Soleil needed. He appeared from another circle once more, Mei looking up as he came down at her, too close to quickly be blocked. He went past, slamming his open hand down onto Mei's wing, sparks flying from his arm as threads of light passed from the contact point.

"Hah! What did you think that would do?! You may have the power of a Heiland with you now, but you're obviously still weak! You can't hope to break a Wing of God on your own!" Mei said. Her look shifted when Soleil smirked.

"Well then, good thing I'm not."

"Give… her… back." Kiana weakly spoke as she managed to grab Mei's left arm, the Herrscher looking annoyed as Kiana put her hand to the wing as well.

"Oh, please. The Heiland, I understand, but you? You're just a human. What could you possibly…" But, the Herrscher's smug aura ceased when she saw cracks beginning to form in the wing, Kiana's hand bleeding a bit as she gripped down. "What?!"

"Just shut up and go back to sleep for a bit, will you?!" Soleil snapped, swiping his hand, shearing away part of the wing. "You're giving her back right now, got it?!"

"Give us back… our Mei! You darn faker!" Kiana mustered all the strength she could and pulled herself, the rest of the wing scattering with her motion.

"D-Dammit! Twice! I've lost to you two twice! Don't… expect me to be forgiving… when I come back!"

But, Mei's consciousness was already slipping as the Herrscher finally faded back down. Soleil hooked his sword to his hip, grabbing both girls and floating down onto the deck of the ship, giving a sigh of relief as he set them down.

"Well? How are they?" Himeko moved her visor up, setting her sword tip down and leaning on it. Damn, this hurts already.

"Well… a mixed bag." Soleil said. "Kiana took a hit from a Honkai Beast and needs care. Mei will probably wake up soon… Bronya, shit, I need to find her."

"There's another one with you? Sheesh, the hell did you kids get up to?"

"It's uh, a long story." Soleil said, the aura around him and his wing fading, and he stumbled as he tried to move, his sword also reverting back to the pendant, though it remained a key. "Ah, you've gotta be kidding me. Just my… rotten luck."

"Hey, kid!" As Himeko stepped forward, Soleil had already fallen back first onto the deck. The heavier parts of Himeko's arm shed off as she rushed over, even as she was wincing from her own body-wide pain. "Oh, good, he just passed out too."

"Himeko! Everything alright out there?" Hisashi's voice buzzed over the comm, Himeko chuckling as she stood up.

"Everything's fine. Now, get out here and help me haul these kids inside. One of them is wounded, and two are passed out, and I ain't carrying them all on my own!"

"Yeah yeah. We'll get the medical crew out there to get them in here. What about the Herrscher kid? We putting her in the brig to be safe?"

"I dunno, I don't think she'll wake up. But, sure, just to be safe. And the boy? He did some pretty wild stuff back there."

"We'll leave him in the infirmary… with some cuffs to be safe. Whatever he was doing, all of our Honkai scanners were tripping negative… I don't know who he is, but whatever he can do… well, freaky is the best word I've got for it."

"A power that makes energy readings go negative, huh?" Himeko looked down at Soleil and gave a hum, thinking of how the powers he'd displayed affected the Herrscher and even her attacks as well. "You're right, pretty freaky… but crazy useful to have. Well, let's hope there's something about this kid in the public records."

Soleil let out a groan as he finally felt himself coming back to consciousness. Only to have his drowsiness immediately snap away as he saw where he was. Sitting upright, he was clearly in an infirmary room. Sterling white with various medical instruments around. A bench to one wall likely where visitors could sit, another chair at the end of the surprisingly comfortable bed. And the window to his right definitely looked out somewhere, but at this angle, he couldn't see where exactly that was.

He was still in his clothes, but any of the gear he'd had for combat was gone with no sign of its presence anywhere… though at least his pendant was back around his neck where it belonged, and he could feel that his switchblade was still in his pocket.

"Okay… first things first. Find out where I am, then find the others." But as he moved his arm to shift the blanket, a clank drew his eye. Attached to his wrist and then to the bed was a pair of handcuffs, the wire connector going a bit taut as he yanked it forward. "The shit?"

And then he remembered the battle at Nagazora and the arrival of that Schicksal battleship. As he realized the situation, Soleil gave a sigh and flopped down onto the bed, putting an arm over his eyes.

"I get it now. After I passed out, that Valkyrie lady probably got her crew to collect us… which means now we're all under Schicksal's custody, no doubt." Soleil sighed as he shifted his arm, closing his eyes and thinking. "I wonder what dad is up to… probably better off than I am right now."

Figuring that it was no time to lay around since he had no idea what would be done to Mei since she was a Herrscher, and Kiana was at least safe since she was a Valkyrie trainee. He got off the bed and ducked to its side. He started jimmying with the handcuffs, grumbling when he saw they were electronically locked. So that put out potentially just breaking their locks.

"If I can find a way to break the wire…"

Beep.

But when they suddenly went undone, clattering to the floor, Soleil stopped for a moment. Shrugging it off, Soleil got up but stopped dead the moment he got across the room, the air around him rapidly moving as a fist stopped dead in front of his nose. In the same instant, he'd whipped out his switchblade and gotten it near the neck of whoever had thrown the punch.

"Wow, you've got good instincts, kid. I didn't even hint at anything, but you stopped even before I pulled my punch. Then again, I wouldn't expect anything less from the Dragonslayer's kid." Hisashi lowered his arm as Soleil narrowed his eyes at him, the man putting his arms up. "Relax, Empyrean. I'm not gonna hurt you. Well, okay, that was more me just testing you. You can put the knife away."

"Where am I?" Soleil got right to the point as he pulled the knife back, Hisashi chuckling at the sheer bluntness in the statement.

"Not even gonna get to introductions, eh? At least sit down and quit looking so suspicious." Hisashi sighed as Soleil didn't comply with that, shrugging then going to the window, gesturing for Soleil to follow. "As for where you are, you're at St. Freya Academy, the home base of Schicksal's Far East Branch. Considering one of ours was with you, I'm sure you at least have an idea of what this place is."

"A school for training Valkyries." Soleil said, going to the window and looking out.

The stretch before him had to be most of the school grounds. The building they were likely in gave a surprisingly direct view, Soleil opening the window and taking a better look. All in all, grounds set up that was near identical to your high-end campus district. Patches of green with decorative trees were strewn among sterling white walkways, arches, and other ornamental structures. The various academic buildings were situated off at different ends of the campus the paths led to. And dominating it all, a central building consisting of multiple spires and of its own grand white. It looked just like a church but likely served a much different purpose in its presence.

"And if I'm at St. Freya, then that also means I'm at Soukai City… shit, the last place I wanted to be." Soleil stepped back from the window and clicked his tongue, Hisashi giving a chuckle.

"Well, I guess fourteen years abroad avoiding any contact with Schicksal would make you feel that way." Soleil shot the man a glare, Hisashi paying it no mind as he shut the window. "As for your friends, they're fine. Kaslana was in critical condition when we got her, but her bloodline makes her sturdy, thankfully for her. She's still sleeping right now, but she'll probably be up and moving like nothing happened in a couple more days. As for the Raiden girl, I wouldn't be so worried. Hime… ahem, Major Murata had a chat with her. She's fine, hell, even agreed to start attending this school."

"There was another one." Soleil flatly said.

"Ah yeah, the little Russian girl. She's fine too. Found her stowed away on our ship after we got back. She's probably with Raiden. Now, as for you." Hisashi then sat down on the bed, pulling up a data chip and opening it, showing that the image on it was a file of data on Soleil himself, the boy flinching a bit. "Before that, though, allow me to introduce myself. I'm Kobayashi Hisashi, a Captain here at Schicksal who heads the Hyperion battleship, the one that picked you up at Nagazora. A pleasure to meet you, Soleil Empyrean."

"I can't exactly say it's a mutual feeling right now." Soleil said, folding his arms. "So what's the likely invasive personal file about, hmm?"

"Just data that's we've been gathering about the incident and those directly involved. We don't need to for Kaslana much, but as for you and the Raiden girl, well… let me just rattle off what we have in our own database." Hisashi cleared his throat, and Soleil just kept giving him that suspicious eye. "Soleil Empyrean, born on February 3rd of 2002, father is Sigurd Empyrean, and your mother… that's actually unknown."

"Her name was Mayne Vollerei. She wasn't with Schicksal." Soleil said, an eye shut. "She died during the Second Impact. I never knew her."

"Ah, well, I am sorry about that." Hisashi cleared his throat again. "As far as Schicksal's records go, you were under our care with your father up until the age of three… right when the Second Impact happened in 2005. After that, your father left Schicksal and took you with him. That's where the official records end, and where the speculation based on gathered data over the past fourteen years begins."

"I doubt any of it's accurate." Soleil said, giving a huff. "We used aliases when traveling around."

"True… but it's hard to ignore stories about a man and boy going around fighting monsters. Just follow the pattern, and it all comes together." Hisashi said, Soleil clicking his tongue. "The first occurrence we have was in 2014. At the time, the assumed alias was Soleil Halburton, attending school at an unknown elementary in Britain. Said to have been absent often due to business with his father. The second is 2016, alias Soleil Crossroad, attending middle school in Los Angeles, also absent due to business at times. And the newest and most accurate one, starting from last year in 2018. Alias, Soleil Seiei, attending Senba Boy's Highschool in Nagazora's Campus District, living independently with no sign of a parent around while living off-campus. Mysteriously involved in an incident with a strange animal that appeared on campus and injured multiple students. The security cameras were oddly out, yet the student was found having somehow dealt with the strange animal. And due to a lack of known relatives, the authorities let the case slide."

"Ngh." Soleil's mutter more than confirmed that despite the information itself showing low accuracy ratings for confirmation, aside from the Senba case, that the data was right on the mark.

"I assume that when the outbreak happened, and things went south, you dropped the alias as there wasn't a need for it." Hiashi shut the data chip and stowed it in his jacket. "At the least, you can say you and your old man were a lot more cautious than Kaslana and her dad. Those two didn't even bother with aliases, so keeping track of them was relatively easy. But on topic, aside from this, there's also everything you did back in Nagazora. Records do say the Empyreans have a unique power against Honkai Energy, but this is the first time I've seen any hint of it for myself."

"That's complex." Solei said, giving a sigh. "So, what do you want with me then, huh? Gonna ask me to join you guys too?"

"Pretty much, yeah." Hisashi stood up, Soleil flinching again. "Again, Kaslana is one of ours anyway, and your other friend agreed to join us so we could help her as well. And I can only assume the Zaychik girl will as well. Which just leaves you. I suppose there are a few ways I can see it going. You have only known them for a few days, so I wouldn't be surprised if you're not that attached… but after what you went through with those girls, I highly doubt that's the case."

"And what would I get out of joining Schicksal, huh? My dad left you guys because he doesn't trust the Overseer. I don't know why but I sure as hell trust him more than someone who works under that guy. They're my friends, yes… and I promised I'd protect them, but you can't seriously just expect me to turn over and become a lapdog for Schicksal, do you?!"

"I think you're not getting how we work here." Hisashi said, maintaining a level gaze even as the teenager glared at him. "This academy was established fourteen years ago by Cecilia Schariac and Theresa Apocalypse to create a place to train Valkyries and the rare Knights in a place away from Schicksal's core branches. It's true that at the end of the day we answer to the Overseer, but the operations we undertake are also under our purview. It's only our A Rankers who get missions from High Command. If you stay here, I can guarantee you're safety, even if the Overseer decides to have his people poke around… besides, I think he'd have reason not to."

"And what reason would that be?"

"You're useful." Hisashi bluntly stated. "An Empyrean with your weird as hell powers fighting alongside a Valkyrie squad? There'd be no reason to treat that weirdly. And if you're honest about having no clue where your father has ended up, then there's nothing to hide isn't there?" Hisashi let out a hum when he saw Soleil didn't look like he was going to relent. "I'm not gonna pressure you about what to choose. I'll wait to hear your answer for after Kaslana wakes up. But I may try to convince you. You're free to wander around if you want to, just try and stay low during class hours though. There's not a lot of guys here, so some of the girls get antsy when a new one shows up."

"Funny." Soleil sighed as Hisashi left while laughing. He went back to the window and looked at the sprawl of St. Freya once more, giving another sigh. "It may be for the best… I'll wait until Kiana is awake before I decide though."