Alright guys decided to try my best to post this chapter as soon as possible considering that I would now be hitting that 100k milestone. I wanted to have this out in exactly two weeks but I guess sixteen days isn't too much of a loss. All things considered reaching 100k words may not seem like much to most people but it's a bit of an achievement for me considering that none I've never had as much commitment with my other stories as I do with this one. Feel free to check my profile, I'm pretty sure others aren't even at 50k yet.

That however does not mean I will not be writing the other fanfics, I was just making an observation.

However I am committed to seeing this story and it's sequels all the way through, I will try my best to update atleast twice a month, if possible even more.

So please like, fav and review, your support is well appreciated and taken note of. I've already reached over a 100 likes and favorites, and especially look forward to the day that I reach a 100 comments.

But no pressure(yes pressure)...

Anyways onto the next Chapter.


Chapter 10: The Aftermath

St.Freya/ August 13th 2015/ 11.09 am

The weeks following the attack by Anti-Entropy had been uneventful for Kiana. Classes resumed as soon as Himeko recovered, but Mei and Fu Hua had to take an extra week in order to fully recover from the ordeal. Himeko hadn't taken kindly to not being able to protect her students during such an attack, but after talking with the principal she managed to overlook the matter seeing as nobody had been permanently injured.

Kiana had kept her new and somewhat odd friendship with the herrscher of thunder, otherwise known as Empress, a secret from everyone else. It's not that she didn't trust them, far from it, but she knew they wouldn't take kindly to the matter. They would most likely assume that Empress was trying to manipulate Kiana in one manner or another. Not that Kiana would let herself be fooled in such a manner.

While she was open to the idea of getting to know the herrscher of thunder, the Kaslana was not going to let her guard down around her. She was not naive to the nature of Herrscher, but she was also curious about Empress as an individual. Perhaps there was more to Herrscher than beings he'll bent on destroying humanity. Otherwise Empress would not have bothered with protecting Fu Hua and Bronya during that attack.

That aside Kiana had noticed something strange about the principal ever since that attack. More so her behaviour towards the young Kaslana than anything else. At first the Kaslana found it to be a bit odd when the Aunt Teri would fail to meet her gaze during conversations, and whenever their eyes did meet the principals eyes seemed to hold a brief amount of guilt and grief before they flashed back to their usual bright sapphire eyes.

Kiana was aware that something had happened the night of the attack with the principal, something that once more involved her considering that she only ever noticed these expressions when Theresa was looking at her. However the young Kaslana never bothered to ask the principal what it was. Partly because she didn't want to press and potentially offend the principal, but mainly because a part of her was afraid of the answer she would get. The principals behaviour reminded Kiana of the time when her father had been distant from her, the time when she didn't even know what her own name was. And considering what happened with her father at the end, the young Kaslana feared a repeat.

As it stood it was a bright Saturday afternoon and the young Kaslana found herself in one of the many training ground to the West of St.Freya seated on the grass with her legs crossed and her hands held together in meditation.

It was something that Kallen had taught Kiana as a means of strengthening her mind as well as simply teaching her patience, a concept that Kiana struggled with when they first began their lessons.

'Remember, the mind and body have to work together in synch for one to be able to properly channel honkai energy. In doing so you sharpen your control and technique. It's like a Yin-Yang relationship. This goes even more so for those with stigma, especially in your case with two. If you're not careful the power drawn from your stigma could overwhelm you. Try meditating, it helps to clear your mind, making it easier to focus. Not to mention it teaches you patience

Done correctly meditation can help channel your inner strength too, increasing your physical abilities. Honkai energy has no part in this, but rather it is the release of your own potential.

So remember this Kiana, meditation is the key to body and soul, and through it you'll not only grow stronger but may even grow to understand yourself even more than you already do.'

The words of her teacher were crystal clear in her mind, and ever since then she had made it a point to dedicate at least three days of the week to an hour of meditation. The only difficult problem about said task was finding the place to do such a thing.

Fortunately she also knew another person who already liked meditation, the class monitor. Having asked her, Fu Hua was more than happy to point out a few spots that she herself use for meditation on the St.Freya campus, and even gave Kiana a few pointers in how to achieve results from meditating. Something that the Kaslana was grateful for as she accepted any other perspective in order to broaden her horizon.

Breath in...

...And out

The Kaslana practiced as she slowly inhaled and then exhaled. Her mind was clear and she could feel the gentle breeze of the wind blowing from her left. The scent of flowers being carried by it filled he nostrils. But she didn't allow herself to dwell on these things, as today she was trying to achieve something else through her meditation.

"Stretch your range as far as you can, clear you vision as much as possible. Test the depths of your perception and see what you find." The Kaslana said to herself as she continued to focus. The Kaslana had been told by Kallen, and later Fu Hua, that meditation helped strengthen the body and mind. Something she knew to be true, but she had also discovered something a few weeks after she started meditating.

She'd discovered that whenever she focused her sensory abilities while meditating, she able to not only increase the range drastically but the visions she saw were more clear but still got more blurry the further away her targets were from her. So she'd taken to using meditation to further perfect her sensory abilities such as she was doing right now.

If Kiana had to guess the furthest that that he senses stretched to at least a three block radius at most, but the depth and clearance of her vision lessened more and more after about a one block radius. It was a major improvement from when she first arrived at St.Freya and Kiana wanted to maintain that momentum. If she could master this particular skill to a sufficient degree it could prove to be invaluable. Perhaps she may even be able to teach it to others in time.

Eyes closed, and once more breathing and then out, she focused on sensing only a block radius around her. The mental images that flooded her mind were instantaneous, to her left was the St.Freya academy. They weren't that many Honkai signatures she could pick up, only a few students and staff roaming around. But she could feel the large amount of Honkai energy the circulated through the buildings. In some rooms more than others, she assumed those were the training facilities that held simulations and the likes.

She could feel Honkai energy in the very atmosphere that surrounded St.Freya, though given it was a school filled with valkyrie and technology powered by Honkai that much was a given.

It was amazing from her point of view, as much as Honkai was out to destroy humanity it had managed to enter into all facets of human life and the World itself. She could even feel honkai coursing through the tree life around her, it was miniscule nut it was there none the less.

Kiana could also sense the three familiar signatures that were approaching her from the school just entering the clearing she was meditating in. She did not need this right now. She didn't know what Layla and her teammates, if one could call them that they were more like lackeys from the Kaslana's perspective, wanted from her but what ever it was didn't warrant disturbing her training.

Kiana did not move and instead opted to continue meditating, praying to whatever gods were above the arrogant Schariac would just walk past her. But she knew that was wishful thing on her part.

And the Kaslana was proven right when the three speed walked towards her before Layla stood directly in front of the still meditating Kiana. The Kaslana didn't move from her seated position, her eyes still closed calmly as she refused to break her meditation.

"You can stop ignoring me. I know saw me coming from a mile away." Layla suddenly spoke up, sounding as entitled as ever, knowledge of her sensory abilities was pretty common in her class by now. Kiana didn't bother moving , and with her eyes still closed she responded.

"Hello Layla, how are you this fine afternoon?" Kiana asked evenly, "As you can see I'm currently in the middle of training. So what do you want?"

"Apologies for the disturbance then. But my squad and I were hoping to use this particular field for some training." Layla said, and in that moment Kiana knew there would be no peaceful way to resolve this. Layla was the type of person that was used to getting what she wanted. Something that was a bi-product of her upbringing and the fame that came with lineage.

"Well as you can see I'm in the middle of my own training." Kiana said as she opened her eyes and looked up at the Schariac. There was no point in continuing to meditate seeing as she had been brought out of her focus.

"Looks more like you're just seated in thought though." One of her teammates spoke from her left. Shorio, was his name if Kiana remembered well. He was a tanned boy with moss green hair and yellow eyes. Slightly taller than Kiana and with a rather alone but muscular build. He was one of five males that were in their class of out the forty-two students.

"It's called meditating." Kiana said with a deadpan as she stood up straight before facing Layla with a frown, "And I'm sure they are plenty of other training grounds that you can use. Cause as you can see this one is occupied." The Kaslana said firmly, she'd barely been here for more than an hour as it was, she still had another two and a half hours before she had to meet up with Theresa and head over to the majors for lunch.

"This one happens to be the most convenient for our squad. We come here when we wish to have privacy during our training." Layla pressed, it was clear to Kiana that the Schariac would not let this go. Kiana had two options, be the bigger girl and let it go or continue this pointless argument.

Layla crossed her arms with a frown on her face, her neon pink eyes boring into Kiana's sky blue. She thought the Kaslana was going to continue arguing hut was surprised when Kiana sighed and dusted herself.

"Fine you can have it." Kiana said as she turned her back on Layla and moved towards her bag with was towards the edge of the training field.

"What?" The Schariac asked with slight shock thinking that she had misheard the Kaslana. Said Kaslana was more than happy to repeat herself.

"I said you can use the field." Kiana said as she picked up her bag and pulled out a bottle of water, "I doubt I'll be able to continue meditating after this anyway, you pretty much killed the vibe I was in. I'm better off going for a more physical workout now, I'll probably head for the simulation chambers." The Kaslana replied as she strapped the bag to her shoulder.

Part of her had thought of going for the Memorial Arena simulation instead but after the encounter with the digital form of her farther the young Kaslana was more than a bit nervous to try that again. She had proved her growth to him that night, but that didn't mean the doubts and fears deep within her had gone, she didn't think they would truly leave until she spoke with her real father. And if what Aunt Teri said about MA Simulations was true then her father would continue to appear until she was no longer afraid of him.

"So you're just going to leave like that? I thought you had more spine in you than that Kaslana." Layla taunted as Kiana began to walk away, causing Kiana to stop in her tacks.

She was growing tired of Layla's antics. This had been the ways things were between them from the day she first started attending St.Freya. The Schariac had had it out for the Kaslana. At first Kiana had assumed it was because she was also born from one of the three houses that founded Schicksal, and if what her friends had told was true then the strongest of the three as well. But she later vegan to suspect that Layla's problem with her ran far deeper than just that. That led to the Kaslana doing a bit of research on Schariac.

"Okay if you have a problem with me then just come out and say it." Kiana spat out as she turned to Layla with a more than frustrated look on her face, "You've been out for me since day one and I want to know why." The Kaslana demanded. She had been tolerant of Layla's taunts since day one, and to this day nothing extreme had happened aside from a few arguments.

However Kiana was aware that there had also been a few instances where she had almost resorted to physical violence outside of spars just to teach the Layla a lesson. All she wanted to know was why the girl had it out for her the moment she had started attending St.Freya.

She didn't want to resort to violence when dealing with the girl before her. Mainly because Kiana was positive that Layla had connections and more influence outside the school than she let on, her last name was more than enough to guarantee it. She also had the support and influence of the rest of her family backing her up, and while Kiana was positive that Aunt Teri would back her up the young Kaslana didn't want to involve her in such personal affairs.

"Nothing more other than the fact that you can't be trusted." Layla said with a small frown of her own.

Now that caused Kiana to raise an eyebrow, "And what exactly is that supposed to mean?" The Kaslana questioned as she placed her hands on her hips, she tried not to be offended but the words didn't make her comfortable, especially coming from someone like Layla.

"It's simple really, you came here possessing way too much skill for a Kaslana born out of Schicksal, I di-"

"Who said I was born out of Schicksal?" Kiana suddenly asked, that was a strange thing for someone to just go ahead and assume without a proper background check.

"What?" Layla asked a little irritated at the interruption but the Kaslana's question threw her off a little.

"You said I wasn't born into Schicksal, I'm just asking who told you that." Kiana stated with a minor glare.

"Schicksal wouldn't let go of a potential warrior with Kaslana blood." Layla stated as a matter of fact as she crossed her arms. "The only explanation available is that you're a bastard child. It's not surprising considering that your farther, Siegfried Kaslana was known as womanizer." The shock on Kiana's face would have been priceless for the Schariac were it not for the unbridled rage that followed after it.

Layla watched as Kiana's expression turned stone cold and her eyes cast a glare that would have frozen he'll ten times over. The Kaslana's hands clenched into fists at her side, cracking the plastic bottle she had been holding in her left hand as the contents began to leak out.

"I'm going to turn around and walk away, and for your sake am going to pretend we didn't have this conversation. Next time get your facts right before jumping to conclusions." Kiana said coldly, the tone of her voice sending chills down her three classmates.

Without another word the Kaslana did just as she said, Layla's squad doing nothing to stop the Kaslana. While Kiana could be playful, easily irritate and sometimes serious, she'd never shown the level of anger and coldness as she had today. They made the wise decision of not provoking her more than they already had.

Kiana couldn't help but scoff as she walked of the training ground. She tried not to let Layla's words get to her, but the insult to her father was what had really pissed her off more than the implication that Kiana was some one off child. While her father was indeed one of the biggest flirts in the planet, Kiana knew that he had not been intimate with another woman since the passing of her mother.

Kiana knew of the love her father held for her mother just from the way his tone shifted back when he would tell her tales of her deed as a valkyrie, and even Aunt Teri had reinforced that belief when she acknowledged that as perverse as her Siegfried was he had truly loved Cecilia with all his heart.

However Kiana still found herself angered by Layla's comment. Perhaps it also had to do with her mother.

Speaking of her mother, if Layla was able to find out who her farther was then did that mean she knew that he was married to Cecilia. Probably not given the absurd conclusion that she had reached, and even if she had she probably would have denied it just so she could deny having any relation to Kiana.

The Kaslana certainly wouldn't be mentioning that anytime soon...

~~~

12.51 pm /Indoor private training room:

Himeko often forgot just how much stronger than her Theresa actually was. The principal might be small, and sometimes immature when it came to her Homu manga collection, but she was by means no pushover, she had earned that S-rank position.

And right now the redhead was being reminded how as she ducked her head under another swing from the black spear that had been aimed for her head, her opponent none other than her boss, and principal of the school, Theresa herself. The major herself held a white great sword with her left hand.

The two of them were using practise weapons as they sparred against one another, it had been Himeko who had made the request to spar with the principal. The period in which she had been bedridden, due to almost being corrupted by honkai, had left her feeling a bit stiff and she was in dire need of a workout to get back into shape.

"Come on Himeko you gotta keep up!!" Theresa shouted with a small grin as thrust the spear in her left forward. Himeko felt the principal was enjoying this a tad bit too much.

Focusing on the fight the major leaned to the right to avoid the attack, preferring to attack on the side that didn't have Theresa's other spear. Dragging her blade with her she was quick to swing toward the principal, allowing the large swords weight and momentum to carry through the rest of the way. Unfortunately Theresa saw the attack coming and twisted her body to counter the redheads attack with her other spear, her unnatural strength allowing her to stop the larger blade right in its tracks.

"Nice try, attacking from the side without a secondary weapon." Theresa taunted as she pushed her spear upwards, thus pushing the giant blade away from her and causing Himeko to stumble backwards a few steps.

"You know, your cocky expression can get very annoying sometimes." Himeko said as she lifted her blade in time to block yet another strike fro Theresa who had jumped towards the redhead and swung one of her spears. It appears the principal was not going to give the major any breathing room.

"Hey, you're the one who asked for some training so you have no room to complain when I step up my game." Theresa said as she twisted her body mid air and struck the raised blade again with her other spear, the impact pushing the major back leaving a trail in the ground.

"Hey, you're happy I came in when I did. This beats whatever paperwork you were doing in your office." The major retorted as the dashed forward keep on striking her opponent while she was still in mid air. Leaping above the principal, Himeko swung her blade down on Theresa. The principal quickly brought her weapons in front of her and crossed them defensively in front of her while facing upwards.

She blocked the attack but, with no means to ground herself the force of the attack shot her to the ground resulting in a decently painful impact with the ground. Himeko was not done however as she defended after Theresa while spiralling her blade to build up momentum, Theresa only had a second to process all of this before she swiftly leapt out of the way. The blade struck the ground she had recently been standing on, the loud impact vibrating through the entire arena they were sparring in.

"How was that?" Himeko asked as she wiped a head of sweat with her left hand, while her right remained on the blade that we implanted into the ground right next to her.

"That was good. I'd say your overall performance is still at peak Himeko." Theresa said with a thumbs up as she relaxed her posture, Himeko took that as a sign that they were done for the time being, they had been going at it for a little over forty minutes now.

Himeko certainly felt tired from it all, with a few aching muscles and some cuts from Theresa. She was glad she had at least managed to get a few hits in on the principal, but her healing abilities made them vanish almost as quickly as they were inflicted considering they weren't severe.

"Yeah, I still feel a bit stiff in some spots but that's nothing a nice hot bath can't fix tonight, and probably those bruises too." Himeko added with a mock glare at the Theresa who could only giggle as she walked to the side.

"Well not all of us can be lucky enough to have regenerative abilities." Theresa said as she put away the practice spear that she had been using, Himeko followed suit and did the same thing with the great sword.

The two of them then went into the bathroom for a shower having worked up quite the sweat from their training. As they did so a thought suddenly came to the major, or rather it was something that had been on her mind since Theresa filled her in on the matter. The principal had told the major of the events that had transpired under the Cathedral of St.Freya, including what had been revealed to her by the enforcers of Anti-Entropy as well as Einstein's proposal. They hadn't truly discussed the topic in detail as the major had needed a bit of time to come to terms with the information, not to mention the emotional blow that it dealt to Theresa.

"Hey Theresa, how are you handling...that issue." Himeko wasn't really sure what else to address the matter as, and since it was sensitive for the principal she knew she had to be delicate with the matter. The major heard Theresa sigh from the shower on the other side of the wall.

"To be honest I have no idea. I try not to think about it, but every time I look at her I just can't help it." Theresa admitted with a frown, one filled with guilt and self resentment.

"You can't look at Kiana differently because of this, it just isn't fair to the girl." Himeko said as she slowly shook her head sideways. Kiana wasn't aware of the burden that she carried, of the trials that would surely await her in the coming future and the hardships she would face as time went on. The girl had already suffered enough as it was, but it seems fate still wanted to add on to the list of emotional scars.

The revelation that the Kiana with them was a genetic clone with the core of the second Herrscher within her had shook Theresa mother than the principal was willing to admit. She had believed that she found Cecilia's daughter, and had vowed to protect and nurture her best friends child, her niece. But after finding out the truth everything had changed for Theresa, she couldn't view the young Kaslana with them on the same light as she did Cecilia's daughter.

"I don't know if I can look at her the same way without thinking of the real Kiana." Theresa admitted, she knew that she was being unfair, but she couldn't help how she felt at the moment.

"I don't know what to tell ya Theresa, she may not be Cecilia's daughter but Siegfried still took her in as his daughter and raised her. In a way that still makes her your niece, even if it not the one you expected." Himeko said as she gave her own two cents on the matter. Unlike Theresa she couldn't see Kiana differently because of the fact that she didn't know Cecilia's daughter, unlike Theresa who had reasonably mistaken one for the other.

"Yeah, I'll try. I don't want to see Kiana any different than I have been, regardless of her origins she's still someone important to me." Theresa confessed. Clone or not, the Kiana present was still her niece, she was still family, and the principle would make sure she would protect her. Even if it was from her own grandfather. "While we're on the subject, what do you think about the offer from AE." The principal asked hoping to get another perspective on the matter.

"To be honest Kiana is already a target, sooner or later the Overseer will come for her. Alone there's nothing the two of us could do, even with the backing of Mei, Bronya and Fu Hua. While I don't like asking for help from AE of all people, we may not have a choice when the day comes." Himeko said grimly. The Overseer of Schicksal had an entire army of valkyrie at his command. Two of which were S-rank valkyrie, without the backing of Anti-Entropy they wouldn't stand much of a chance in protecting or rescuing Kiana.

"Agreed." Theresa said as her train of thought was head the same direction as Himeko's. "To be honest I don't want to find out what plans my grandfather has for Kiana, most if not all experiments he conducts can be seen as unethical." Theresa admitted with a frown.

"I'm worried about Cocolia though, she seems pretty insistent on getting Mei, or rather the gem of Conquest, with her now being aware of Kiana as well who's to say she won't go after her as well?" Himeko spoke up.

"There's nothing much we can do if she does, other than fighting and protecting them of course, but having both targets on the same tram might be a bit troublesome." Theresa thought out loud, she was tempted to have one of them swap teams but immediately crossed the idea out. The three of them already had such great chemistry as a team that trying to get them to part ways would most likely cause more harm than good in the long run. "But changing their teams isn't worth it. They are well balanced and work well together." Theresa added.

"That's true, and Kiana's level of growth has also inspired Mei and Bronya to work harder." Himeko added with a light hearted laugh, one that Theresa joined in.

"It's a good thing for them." Theresa agreed, "But that's another thing that worries me. Kiana's growth is bound to be noticeable. When she came to St.Freya she was already as physically strong as most A-rank valkyrie. The only places she truly lacked were educational knowledge on the Honkai, her ability to work well with others and her predictable techniques."

"All of which at areas she has made great progress in thus far. She's given her all in our remedial lessons at the beginning of the year and even went on to have study sessions with Hua, and the results for all that are showing. And while at first she struggled to work properly with Mei and Bronya due to being used to fighting on her own, she eventually managed to pace herself to work together with them. But above all her technique has improved drastically compared to that of the beginning of the year, at first we assumed it was because she took advantage of the various techniques in the school library, but..." Himeko trailed.

"...But the techniques she used while fighting the simulated version of her father along with those she used against the Herrscher clone of Anti-Entropy where different to those that she uses everyday." Theresa said, she and the major had gone over the security footage of the battle that had taken place near the majors apartment.

Theresa had noticed during Kiana's fight with the simulated Siegfried that the girls sword techniques were different to those that she normally used in class or during training sessions. They also seemed very familiar to the principal though she wasn't able to place her hand on it. It wasn't until she had received the footage on the battle near the majors place that she was able to identify the fighting style. It was undoubtedly the Kaslana sword kata. While her form had been slightly sloppy and had room for improvement that wasn't the issue.

"That was undoubtedly the Kaslana Sword Kata." Theresa said with a frown.

"She said her father taught her the basics of the Kaslana gun-kata, wouldn't it make sense for her to learn the sword techniques too?" Himeko asked as she saw no flaw.

"I thought the same thing, but I was there the night Kiana fought the emperor class beast Ganesha in Chita, and after all she went through she had no reason to hold back. She displayed no such skill." Theresa said with a frown, "Not to mention that the techniques still looked a rigid, as if recently learned and she was still going by the book. Most warriors tend to implement techniques into their fighting styles." The principal added as she closed the shower and started to dry herself up.

"What are you saying? That these techniques were recently learned?" Himeko asked, when Theresa didn't answer the major knew that was exactly where the principals train of thought was heading, "Okay say they were, who would have taught her the Kaslana-kata of all things? She's the only Kaslana to ever attend St.Freya, and our library doesn't have knowledge on their techniques. None of the staff would be capable of teaching her cause as far as I know none of them know the Kaslana techniques." Himeko reasoned.

"If I knew I would be telling you. But it's clear Kiana is hiding something." Theresa said with a frown, she didn't like the fact that Kiana was keeping such secrets from them. She shook her head before speaking, "Anyways we got a bit side tracked, the point was Kiana's growth in strength and skill will eventually catch the attention of Grandpa, if he doesn't already know she's here, which is less than likely."

"If the Overseer knows then why not just have her relocated to HQ?" Himeko asked, it was well within the Overseer power to do that.

"He's waiting for something, or preparing for something. Either way I don't like it." Theresa said, she knew how cunning her grandfather could be when he put his mind to it. "What's more concerning ate the valkyrie trial examinations that are coming up in a few months." Theresa added as a look of realization quickly came up on the majors face as she realized the potential problem at hand.

"Right, HQ always sends a representative to watch over the exams to pick out students who show promise." Himeko pointed out with a frown, with Kiana's potential would no doubt be easily spotted during such a test, and asking her to restrict herself would "Who do you think they'll send this year?" The major asked with a frown.

"I don't know, but I'd rather not think about it now. All of this is just too much of a headache for me." Theresa said as she rubbed her temples, she knew the revelation of Kiana's situation would eventually come with a whole new set of problems.

Problems that would not only change their lives but potentially affect the entire future of St.Freya and the Far East Branch as a whole. But the principal was prepare to fight, even if it looked like a losing battle. She had already lost a lot as a result of the Second Honkai War and was not willing to lose more. Even if the Kiana that was present was not Cecilia's daughter, she was still Theresa's niece, and the two of them were related by blood. She would protect her and guide her as much as she could. That was her job as both Kiana's principal and Aunt.

~~~

The day went by faster than everybody had thought, and as they did on most days, Theresa, Kiana and Fu Hua dined at the majors place that night. The main reason for that though was because tonight they were having a group study session. It had been Mei's idea for Kiana and Fu Hua to join them since the valkyrie exams would be within six weeks. The two of them saw no reason to refuse seeing as they were going to have their own tutoring session after dinner.

And so the assault squad valkyrie found themselves seated behind three desks as Fu Hua stood in front of them next a white board with a rule in hand as she explained some equations in maths that both Mei and Kiana had been struggling with, with Bronya pitching in here and there seeing as her knowledge on the subject great.

"Kiana." Fu Hua called out as she paused her explanation seeing as Kiana's focus was no longer within the discussion, the Kaslana's thoughts were quickly pulled back to reality as she quickly shook her head sideways. "Try to pay a bit more attention, you're the one who requested an explanation on this particular topic." Fu Hua chided lightly.

"You're right, sorry. It's just mathematics isn't the most interesting of subjects for me. Probably has something to do with the fact that I suck at it." Kiana explained as she rubbed the ask of her head with embarrassment. It was true that of almost her classes maths was get least favourite. But with Fu Hua and Bronya putting in the effort to help her and Mei catch up the least the Kaslana could do was put in more effort.

"Regardless it's still one of the subjects in the written portion of the valkyrie trial exams, unless you want to fail I suggest at least trying to pay more attention." Fu Hua said with a sigh as she pushed her glasses up her nose with the index finger if her right hand.

"Yeah yeah I hear ya." Kiana admitted with a sigh, whilst she made sure that she was always part of the top ten within their class, the Kaslana still felt that academics were not her strong suit. Especially subjects such as physics. "What are the valkyrie trial exams like anyway? You know, aside from the written portion of course." Kiana asked having heard and seen a fair share of students around campus talking about, studying and training for these exams.

She had a basic understanding of what went down during the trials. She was aware of the fact that they were a total of four stages, the first being the written section, followed by the field test, the simulation tests and lastly the tournament. And while she could probably guess what all of those stages entailed she wanted to confirm her suspicions.

"Well you must already know of the four stages that take place in the exams." Mei spoke up to which Kiana nodded her head.

"Yeah, but I haven't really had a chance to go over what they entail in detail." Kiana said with a sheepish grin as she rubbed the back of her head. To be honest once she had heard about the valkyrie trial exams she had begun training and studying more in order to prepare, and in doing so forgot to do in depth research on the exams themselves. But she still had plenty of time, three months at least, so there wasn't much to hurry for.

"The Bronya suggests Kiana-san not immerse herself too much on it her training." Bronya suggested, it was a worry that both her and Mei had brought forward to the Kaslana several times, and while it seemed as though she took their advice for a short time it didn't take long for her to go back to overworking herself. It soon became clear to her teammates that as long as Kiana felt that she could improve she would not stop aiming to better herself.

"The valkyrie exams are coming up, I can't let up my momentum now." Kiana argued with passion and determination as Bronya merely stated at the Kaslana for a few seconds before shaking her head sideways in resignation. Kiana then turned to Mei who was giggling behind her.

"I think Bronya just meant to say you shouldn't push yourself too hard. You'll want to conserve your strength for the exams." Mei added on, trying to get Kiana to stop training was not the way to go about things. But if overworking herself would result in stunted performance in one or two other areas of her life the Kaslana would be quick to balance that scale.

"If you wish to be at optimal strength by the time the exams arrive both your mind and body must be in prime condition, thus the need for rest." Fu Hua explained with wisdom that went beyond her age, or at least it felt that way to the other girls present. The class monitor just had that kind of vibe to her.

"Okay okay I get it. You don't hbe to gang up on me to get the point across. I'll lay off a bit with my training." Kiana resigned with a chuckle, she knew her friends were just trying to look out for her. They had no way of knowing the true extent of her limits, not to mention the long hours off training she underwent within the stigma realm with Aunt Kallen. "Regardless I think we got a bit side tracked there, you guys were explaining to me the different stages of the valkyrie exams." The Kaslana prompted wanting to get back on topic.

"Right, as I was saying the four stages of the exam are the Written, Field, Simulation and Tournament. The first of which is obvious as you'll be writing a test for most of your subjects which will contribute to your overall exam mark." Fu Hua said with a pointed look towards Kiana that made the Kaslana sigh in exasperation as she slumped onto her desk causing Mei to giggle once more at the Kaslana's antics.

"I'm sure you'll do fine Kiana, your grades are already pretty good as they are." Mei encouraged as she rubbed the Kaslana's back supportively, earning a small smile from the Kaslana.

"Thanks Mei but that's not what worries me, I know I'll pass at the very least but I want to excel." Kiana admitted, she was confident she could at least make top ten within the written portion of the exam if she studied enough, but she wanted to do better than that. She wanted to strive for top three or at the very least top five, "But don't worry about that for now, keep going Fu Hua."

"Right, the next portion is the field test. This is mainly an open world simulation in which you will be tested on how you react in a certain situation. Honkai eruption. Rescue missions. Defensive operations. Cargo transport. Numerous natural environments such as jungle, urban, desert or even frozen landscapes. It's why we're trained to fight in various environments." Fu Hua explained as Kiana thought this over.

If made sense that they would test valkyrie in their ability to adapt to various environments and to see how well they adapted to various kinds of missions. There was no way of telling what Branch one would be transferred to once they completed their training here at St.Freya, that is for those that would be leaving the Far East Branch anyway. Even if one wasn't transferred, there was simply no telling where missions would take you.

"In other words this test is one that keeps you on your toes since you never really know what to expect." Kiana deduced as she thought over all Fu Hua had explained, "It's pretty much like going on a mission if I'm reading this correctly." Kiana added giving her own personal option on the matter.

"Da, the Bronya came to the same conclusion. Unknown variables such as terrain and mission requirements increase the risk of failing the exam if one is not prepared." Bronya added as Fu Hua nodded her head in agreement to both Kiana and Bronya's assessment.

"I remember once hearing the upper class students talking about a hidden objective within the exam. I didn't manage to hear much if other than the fact that it would truly prove ones merit as a valkyrie." Mei added on catching the attention of everyone. Bronya and Kiana seemed to be curious more than anything whilst Fu Hua seemed to be contemplating the words of the former heiress, something that Kiana was quick to notice.

"Do you know something about that Fu Hua?" Kiana asked.

"I'm not sure, I'd have to look into it some more." Fu Hua said as her hand was under her chin whilst she was in thought, she then shook her head sideways as she decided to reflect on the matter another time. "Regardless we should move on. The next that would follow is the Simulation Tests. Basically this is when valkyrie a placed within the Simulation chambers and given the task of defeating various simulated honkai beasts. Sometimes they can allow you to take the test as a squad, or you have to take it as an individual so I advise you to practise your teamwork as well as your individual skill." Fu Hua explained.

"It sounds like a lot of thought comes into these exams." Mei commented, the whole thing sounded a bit more complex than she had originally thought.

"It makes sense that it would be though. I mean think about it, our ranks reflect our individual strength and skill. They also determine the difficulty of missions that we can take which also have higher levels of risk. It's necessary to make sure that we're really ready for the position." Kiana thought out loud, it did make sense for such a large amount of thought to be put into training the warriors that would go on to defend humanity from the honkai.

"That's precisely the reason. We valkyrie are all that stands between the honkai and the rest of humanity. Therefore it's important for Schicksal to spend it's resources in ensuring that we are well equipped and well trained to combat this foe." Fu Hua said in agreement, unknowingly voicing the last of Kiana's thoughts.

"I guess it makes a lot more sense when you look at it from that point of view." Mei agreed with a nod.

"Right onto the last stage, which is the tournament. This should be pretty straight forward, it's obviously a series of one on one battles where each individual shows their merit. Win or lose there is still a chance you may get promoted if you show talent, skill and potential. The tricky part however is that only twelve students take part in the final stage, and these twelve are usually decided by their performance in the previous tests." Fu Hua stated.

"All of them?" Kiana asked.

"Da, the tournaments take place a week after the third stage examination to allow staff to gather the results of the previous exams as well as give participants some time to relax." Bronya explained as Kiana nodded her head in understanding. It seems that the Kaslana would have to score well in all other exams if she wanted to take part in the tournament round.

The concept of fighting her classmates and even valkyrie from other classes in a tournament excited Kiana greatly.

"Wait..." Kiana suddenly said as a thought suddenly came to her, she then turned to the class monitor, "Th Hua will you be taking part in the exams as well? You're already an A-talk valkyrie right?" Kiana questioned as both Mei and Bronya also turned to the martial artist with curious gazes.

I won't be participating in the exams with the rest of you if that's what you're asking, but I will be involved in the final stage. Unfortunately I can't say what in what manner I will be participating." Fu Hua responded with a small smile on her face, "If you really want to find out then you'll have to make it to the final round of the exam." The class monitor prompted with a challenging smile.

"Oh you don't have to worry about that, I'm sure we'll all make it." Kiana said as she turned towards her teammates her eyes shining with nothing but determination in them.

"I'll do my best." Mei said with a smile, she would do her best to get stronger, to try and keep up with Kiana and not hold her team down.

She had been useless when AE invaded and had been taken out quite easily. Bronya and Fu Hua had gotten heavily injured while protecting her, she had given the herrscher persona within her the opportunity to take over and when that wasn't enough she had to wait for Kiana to save her. She didn't want to be the one depending on others any more, she wanted to be strong enough for both Bronya and Kiana to count on her as well.

"Da." Bronya agreed with a curt nod. She knew that the exam would not be easy but they still had three months to prepare, and Kiana would no doubt be pushing for them to train more within that time frame.

The grey haired valkyrie welcomed those training sessions, she had her own reasons for wanting to grow stronger. She had failed to protect Mei even after promising to do so time and time again. Not to mention she had another promise to keep. If she ever wanted to find her within the deep, and take her to see the sea, then she had to become a lot stronger.

Fu Hua couldn't help the smile that made it's way onto her face. The three girls in front of her each had their own reasons for wanting to grow stronger, and because of that they would. They would need that strength in the future, for the trials and hardships that would no doubt lie ahead should they continue to walk on this path. A part of her felt guilt for the part she would play in those hardships but she too had promises to keep and a deal to honour. As long as her terms were met she would do whatever it took, she just hoped when the time came her friends would be able to one day forgive her, even though she herself knew she would not deserve that forgiveness.


Authors Note:

Well that marks the end of that chapter. It was more relaxing to right something like this after having to write something as action packed as the AE Invasion. It actually makes me dread the more action packed scenes that will be coming out within the next few chapters.

I think I was a bit obvious about the valkyrie trial exams, but that won't be for another few chapters so worry not my dear viewers. I hope you didn't think I would do an entire three months timeskip. I know I've been doing a lot of timeskip but I've tried to limit that to three weeks to a month at most.

The other part I felt the need to really get out there was the conversation between Theresa and Himeko in regards to them knowing about Kiana and her herrscher status, it's no plot secret to anyone anymore and I felt I had that right.

Anyways there were no questions in the last chapter so no Q and A today.

Though I do have a question myself. I've heard that there's been a reveal for the 13th herrscher. If any of you know what that is can you please PM that to me, I want to avoid spoilers in my review section.

And second question does anyone know when the next honkai update will be. If you do please post that in the review section. Am thinking of getting back in the game but I want to do it after the update since it's been more than six weeks since the Anniversary Update.
See you all next time!! Please Like, Fav and Review!!!