Well sweet Paimon, did this take long to write. This is by far the longest chapter to date. I sincerely hope it lives up to the hype because admittedly this is also an exposition dump so be warned. Well, regardless I hope you enjoy it.
"Do I even want to know?" Cecilia questioned as she looked at the two Herrschers. Sirin and Kiana watched curiously at the state of the older girls. Sirin and Cecilia for the most part had understood Honkai could grant and bestow supernatural abilities on individuals. However, both of them had underestimated just how random some of those abilities could have been.
Kiana reached out to touch the fuzzy tail only for Void to quickly move it out of her reach. Her ears and whiskers twitched in annoyance as Kiana tried to reach her once more. If it was anyone else, she would have considered scratching them with her new claws.
"Ask the chicken." The Void Herrscher grumbled before turning to Kiana. "Why don't you touch her feathers instead?" She gestured to Thunder. "Don't you think they look prettier?"
Kiana turned to Thunder who was now sweating nervously. Even if she wasn't her Kiana, Mei couldn't say no to that face. That being said the Herrscher of Thunder was well aware of how painful this might be if Kiana plucked from the wrong place. However, she wouldn't let Void pin this all on her just yet.
"You're the one who started it," Thunder argued.
"I'm not the one who used a power they didn't matter. We've fought tons of times before for less and you never resorted to this."
"I was annoyed and exhausted, and you were irritating. I figured I could shut you up with it."
"If you don't change us back right now, I'll rip the core out and do it myself."
"That's enough! Both of you!" Cecilia yelled. "I don't care who's fault it is. Just change yourselves back." She scolded them. Neither Herrschers didn't respond too intimidated to speak back. They were both shorter than her now due to Thunder's misuse of the Senti core, which only added to the motherly terror Cecilia invoked in them.
"YES MA'AM!"
Elsewhere within the cores….
"Hahaha. That's what you, cheaters get." Senti laughed. She may have been reduced to a small cameo in the chapter, but she still got the last laugh Void and Thunder.
"You do realize when they sort this out, either Thunder or Void or both of them are going to come after you." Owl informed as he relaxed in his chair. Unlike the Sentience Herrscher, he was content just kicking back within the cores. It was peaceful and he had some good company beyond Senti.
"Chen is right," Ana added. Her cousin wasn't known for being able to keep her temper. Otto, World Serpent, and Anti-Entropy had all learned that the hard way.
"Hehe. Like I care what they do. Thunder claimed she didn't need my power and then had the audacity to use it."
"Well don't say we didn't warn you." Ana sighed.
"Just because you two are cowards doesn't mean I- hey why are you backing away?" Those were the last words she spoke before a giant purple hand came down and flattened the Herrscher of Sentience.
"Ya-tta." She muttered as she was dazed from the strike.
"Okay. I have human hands, human legs, not fur or whiskers." Void noted as she looked herself over. She stretched out her fingers and noticed a lack of claws on them as well. "That should do-me-ouch!" She exclaimed as she turned around.
She noticed Kiana holding a white tail that was still very much attached to her. Void merely rolled her eyes. It wasn't the worse side effect to have but she was going to beat Senti to pulp the next time she found her. Void sighed as she felt her ears twitch, not on the sides of her head mind you, but on the top of her head.
"I have cat ears. Don't I?"
"Don't even start." Thunder coughed up several feathers. Void wasn't even going to question how she had feathers inside her body when the feathers had appeared outside. Even worse, Thunder still had quite a few feathers in other areas of her body. Void assumed there were in places where the sun doesn't shine.
"Well, I suppose this is workable then." Void admitted. She could pull off the kitten look better than Thunder could pull off the chicken, she knew that for sure at least. "Let's head back and meet the others."
"Here," Siegfied offered a glass of melon juice to Bella. The dragon had only recently woken up from her slumber. Suffice to say, she was still depressed about the incident that happened earlier with Sirin.
Even though Sirin had returned to base, Bella hadn't made a move to greet her as she had done with Void. It seemed like she was wary of upsetting the youngest Herrscher even more. Teri was currently trying to console her, but it didn't seem like she was having any effect.
It was admittedly nerve-wracking now that they were all waiting here. Cecilia had contacted him and explained how she had found both Sirin and Kiana. He was relieved that the Herrscher had been pacified around his daughter, but he was worried if she might relapse once she saw him or Bella.
His thoughts were interrupted when he saw the door open. It wasn't Cecilia and their daughter much to his relief. It was instead the two Anti-Entropy Doctors. Einstein and Tesla were both eyeing the dragon with confused looks till he explained the situation to them.
"Huh, so we're finally getting this over with," Tesla noted. "That's a relief, we can finally get back to work soon." Now that Welt was out of commission, she and Einstein were left in charge of AE. The Second Eruption might be over, but they still needed to work on cleaning up the mess left behind.
"It would be best if we withdraw ourselves from public eyes for now," Einstein noted. With Welt out of action, AE's morale isn't the highest right now, nor is the public standings in any favorable position. It would be best for them to regroup, plan, and prepare their next move, given the Herrschers and Honkai Beast in their possession.
"Fine by me. I didn't like public speaking anyway."
"What about you two?" Einstein questioned Teri and Siggy. "Are you going to return to Schiskal?"
"We're waiting to hear out Void and Thunder before making a decision," Teri informed. She was curious to learn just what they had to say. She doubted it was anything good, but it would be informative, nonetheless. The two Herrschers seemed to be grounded individuals.
"You're nervous right?"
Sirin looked up at her older self or was it her new sister more appropriate. The older girl had a soft smile on her face as she glanced back. The older Herrscher of the Void was walking beside Cecilia, Thunder, and Kiana walked ahead. Kiana was practically dragging her mother with her as they made their way back.
"Wouldn't you?" Sirin responded.
"Got me there." The Herrscher chuckled lightly. "Right now, I'm panicking like crazy. My mind is running through a hundred situations of how this can go wrong, and I am using all my willpower not to just warp to space and scream."
"I would have never guessed." Sirin glanced at Void from top to bottom. She wasn't looking nervous. Her body looked as poised and confident as ever.
"I can hold it up while in front of others, but on the inside, I'm a wreck. You should have seen me a few days ago. I had to go by an emotional support dog. You should meet him sometime."
"That doesn't sound reassuring."
"Admittedly a huge portion of that stress is based on your reaction to everyone else and how they will react when they learn the full story."
"That sounds even less reassuring."
"I'm sealing your powers to avoid any unnecessary freakouts like last time." Void deadpanned.
"Oh right. You can do that. That's why my powers weren't working before. You messed with them." Sirin realized.
"I can only mess with yours since it's well literally my own. The Cores and gems recognized me as you, so they obey me just as well." Void explained.
"Shouldn't that go both ways?" If it listened to one, shouldn't it listen to the other?
"It can…but your will and your desires must match and surpass mine. Perhaps when you're older they might, but right now, my resolve far exceeds yours. Not to mention I also have regular experience pulling the cores and gems out of other Herrschers and having my own pulled out. Just ask Thunder if you don't believe me.
Sirin eyed Thunder ahead of them before glancing back at Void. The experience of having the cores and gems ripped out of her was not pleasant. She would go as far as to say it was on par with the lab experiments if she was comparing the painfulness of it. She couldn't imagine doing it more regularly.
"So, you can rip my core and gems out right now?" It was a frightening thought. Had Void or Thunder been more hostile towards her…she shuddered to think of that outcome.
"I'd rather I didn't have to. Though rip out might have been the wrong choice of words. With other Herrschers, I rip them out, with you it's as easy as one two three." Void whispered as she held out her hand. Sirin watched as a core and gem appeared.
It was the Void core and the Serenity Gem. That's when Sirin's eyes widened at the sudden hollowness within her body. Those were HER Void core and Serenity Gem. Void clenched the core and gem in her grasp once more and Sirin felt the unironic Void disappear from within her chest.
"With you, I can just warp them out. Most Herrschers…or well me and Thunder can warp out our own gems and cores. Helpful when you want to use them as power sources for other things. Since your gems and core listen to me as well, I can warp yours out as well."
"Don't worry. I have no intentions of leaving you without them permanently. Well unless you want to permanently remove them. Other than that, I'm only going to seal them to avoid any accidents with your powers."
"I speak from experience when I say I know the few times I freaked out by accident, I unintentionally launched spears that thankfully only ever impaled Thunder. I would recommend avoiding that when you have our family present. Kiana may be bold enough to pull my tail, but she can't take a lance to the face."
"I don't think any normal person could take a lance to the face."
"You know what I mean."
"Fine. I'll let you seal my powers, but you unseal it the moment this is over, okay."
"I'll tell you right now, I will make no such promise. I will unseal it once I'm sure you can handle it. Do we have a deal?"
Sirin glanced at Void who merely smiled back. The power discrepancy was still present. Sirin tried to stare down her older self, but the white-haired Herrscher kept her gaze and responded with one more intense.
"Fine. Deal."
"We're back." Kiana cheered as she rushed into the room, Thunder trailing behind her. Teri looked up to see her niece jump on the dragoness, pulling her into a hug. "Did you miss me, Bella?" Kiana asked innocently. Bella returned a sad smile at the child assuring her she did.
"Leave it to a little kid." Teri mused to herself. Kiana was like a puppy. Her cuteness could raise anyone's mood. Or perhaps that was just the nature of kids in general. So long as they weren't yours, babies had a near-universal ability to make people smile.
Teri glanced at Cecilia noticing her still by the door. She had motioned for Siegfied and the two scientists to sit down while she talked to someone outside. It took her one guess as to who was present.
"Alright, so I want everyone to take a deep breath and just sit back and relax." Cecilia told them. "There is someone I want you all to meet." She told them. Cecilia soon entered with Void and Sirin. The latter daughter holding the older daughter's arm.
"This is Sirin." She announced as if Sirin was just another random individual. Despite her best attempts, Teri could feel the tension rising in the air. She could see Siegfied tense up considerably, and could faintly hear Einstein and Tesla murmuring something to each other but couldn't make out what they were saying. At the very least they were attempting to hide it.
Teri's own heart was racing at the thought of being in the room with Sirin. She had been open to the idea of trusting her but that still didn't mean she wasn't worried about a potential relapse. She trusted Void and Thunder's ability to protect them but the lingering feelings she had from her encounters with the young Herrscher were still fresh in her mind.
After the introduction, there was an awkward moment of silence in the room as no one had any idea what to say or do next. This was ironically one of the better outcomes Void had hoped for. It meant she could do this next part without any major issues.
Clearing her throat, Void grabbed everyone's attention. "Okay. So now that everyone's here, I suppose it's time for my long overdue explanation and introduction." She spoke. This should give Sirin and the others plenty of time to process and ease up with each other.
"Wait."
Void turned to Thunder with an annoyed look. "What is it bird brain?"
"I need to go and make some popcorn." Thunder chided. This was going to be comedy gold. Of course, she needed to get snacks to watch it. Void glared at Thunder, but decided it best to satisfy Thunder as quickly as possible instead of arguing and dragging the situation out more than needed. Once Thunder was back, she sat down and offered some to the others before turning to Void. "Proceed."
"Okay, so I was saying it's explanation time. I am sure you all have questions, and I will most likely try my best to answer them. I should warn you, that you might not like all the answers you get. So, without further ado let's begin."
"Why are you two here?"
Everyone turned to Tesla. She was the first one who had spoken up and it was already straight to the point. She wasn't one to beat around the bush. The fact that they were time travelers was already a major point of interest but while the how of the matter was not up for discussion, surely the why was.
"Did something happen in the future?"
Time travel was something that would be very risky to do. One wrong move could have catastrophic consequences. If they were here, then surely it meant something severe had happened.
"Going with that one I see." Void noted. She paused for a moment, taking time to properly gather her thoughts and choose her words. "I came here for the simple reason of saving Mom, Sirin, Bella, and Kiana. It took a lot of effort but when I was presented with this chance, I knew I had to take it."
"I came to keep an eye on her," Thunder added as she gestured to Void.
"As for the question about whether anything happened or not. The short answer is yes, many things did happen. The world progressed, the fighting with the Honkai continued, among many other things." Void told them. "We didn't come here because all was lost if that's what you're thinking. The world was still surviving when we left."
"That's good to know." Teri sighed. "But still why did you come…surely it's difficult for you to go back home now that you have time traveled. Right?" She had read about this in a lot of manga before. Once you travel backward you can't return to the future since you alter the past.
"That's easy enough to answer." Void muttered. "Simply put, there isn't anything left for me in there."
She took a deep breath as she composed herself knowing fully well all the questions they would have and already having the answers ready. "In my timeline, many of those I was close with are long gone. Mom, Sirin, Kiana, Dad, and Bella, are all dead in my timeline and Aunt Teri, might as well be."
"I don't really have anyone back home. Whatever friends I made, were terrified of me because of my Herrscher nature. Then there were those who didn't get along with me for another reason." Void continued.
"I spent a good deal of my life, running and fighting. I've been chased to the ends of the Earth by four different armies. I have been driven by desires for revenge against both mankind and the Honkai."
"Yet in the end, I felt exhausted. The constant cycle of fighting and running. I always meet new people, I always befriend them, then lose them for various reasons. When applicable I go on a war path for revenge, but even then, the desire for vengeance started to fade. I just wanted to come back to a time where I wasn't so alone, and where I knew it had people who would accept me." Void lamented.
"Void."
"I'd stop you right there, mom. The whole tragic backstory bit isn't even past the prologue." Void chuckled. She glanced at Cecilia and Siegfied who were both looking at her worriedly.
"I hope you both aren't disappointed that I didn't keep to the Kaslana's Oath. The idea of protecting mankind… makes me sick to my stomach now. I protect and fight for those around me, those I know or those I get involved with, nothing more and nothing less. The memories I have of the greater good for humanity in Babylon make it very difficult to entertain those ideas."
"Just how long have you been like this?" Cecilia questioned. For someone to just let their whole world fade away like that, how much would they have endured reaching that point? She left knowing full well she wouldn't return. "And what about you Thunder?"
"For me, many of the people I loved passed away, either due to the Honkai or other individuals. All those losses allowed me to be consumed by my own grief and delusions, and I started threading a path of self-destruction. On that same path, I pushed away what little I had left." She and Bronya had never made up after their fight.
"In short, we have nothing to lose in our timeline and everything to gain here. We have a chance to start over in a new world." Void continued. "One could call it cowardice, or escapism, but at this point. I don't care."
"So, you both just left your world unprotected?" Siegfied questioned.
"Unprotected…not by a long shot," Thunder interjected. "They are very capable of handling themselves."
"They have the tech to drain Herrschers of their Honkai energy. They have Valks who can go toe to toe and impale Herrschers. They have resources, both technical and personal from the previous Era to help them. I can safely they are well equipped because I experienced it previously from all three fronts."
"Void's been impaled at least several times by the current strongest Valk, Durandal. Despite all your power, you never did beat her in a one-on-one, right." Mei chided.
"Bianka cheated me several times out of those wins. I was this close several times and either it was AE, Schicksal, World Serpent, or the Honkai that got in my way." Void grumbled.
"Bianka sounds like a meanie," Kiana shouted.
"Yes, she is Kiana. I hope you never meet her or her maid ever."
"So, the four armies that chased you were them," Teri noted. "Schicksal and Anti Entropy have gone after you."
"Eh…I mean I understand why they did it. At the time I wasn't exactly in the best frame of mind." Void laughed nervously.
"You did mention how both you and Thunder had quite the history causing destruction."
"And we are both still very sorry about that," Mei assured Cecilia. Granted a lot of the damage had been unintentional on her part but there had still been instances where she did obliterate more than she ought to.
"I'll apologize for some of it but there are some things I don't regret destroying or killing." Void chuckled lightly. There was a special kind of hell for the sickos who tried touching kids in her present. She'd definitely allow herself to fall back into her role as a herald of destruction if it meant oblivion for those who hurt kids.
"I sincerely hope you both mean that." She told them. Sirin noticed she cast a glance in her direction with a softer expression. The younger Herrscher knew Cecilia had similar expectations for her but wouldn't outright say it in front of the others.
"We do…but I still want to kill Otto." Void deadpanned.
"What!" Teri exclaimed. "Why do you want to kill Grandpa?" She knew he did some questionable things but did they have to resort to murder.
"I have many reasons." Void opened a portal and took out a glowing orb. Cecilia recognized it as the orb she had seen Void holding when they first met after the nukes were about to hit them. "The most notable one being this."
"He launched a nuke to cover up his mistakes and crimes. He seeks the power to raise the dead. A power he believes lies within the Honkai. To accomplish this, he has committed many atrocities over the centuries."
"He prolongs the fight with the Honkai, not because he can't outright beat it, or doesn't have the resources. The Void Archives is quite a large reserve of information and knowledge that humanity could use. He prolongs the fight because he seeks the power of the Herrscher of Death. He wants to gain that power." Void explained.
"So, he's afraid of dying?" Siegfied questioned.
"Not exactly. Otto doesn't care if he dies or not. In fact, if given the opportunity he might very sacrifice himself in a heartbeat. What he wants more than anything else is to revive none other than Kallen Kaslana."
"Kallen Kaslana?"
"Yes, the same Kallen Kaslana from the stories of old. The one who is used to model the character from Kallen Fantasy. One of the more infamous Kaslana's from the past." Void explained.
"Otto believes that Kallen was robbed of her life by an 'unjustly execution' and seeks to revive her by any means." Mei lamented. "As you can tell, when we say any means…we mean it."
"So…this whole time, he's been prolonging the fight with the Honkai, for Kallen?" Cecilia muttered. "He did all of this…for love?"
"That's the kicker. Kallen doesn't love him, nor does she approve of this." Void answered. "This is all purely based on his delusion for her."
"Kallen herself would be appalled by his reaction and he knows it as well." Mei added. Kiana would have a similar sentiment if Mei tried to do something similar.
"If it's you or the world then I'll sacrifice the World." Thunder had witnessed another version of herself, telling a Kiana from another timeline this phrase. Kiana's responses and actions after though.
"Then that sacrifice is vain because I can't live without this world." The alternate Kiana responded before she turned her gun to face her.
"Kallen has no desire to be revived. The whole crusade is merely his belief that her death was…unjust." Mei added.
"This is all old news though." Tesla pointed out. The very reason AE was conceived and why they acted independently was because they had learned about Otto's ambitions long ago.
"This is news to us, though." Cecilia interrupted. She had known about the Overseer her whole life. Given the nature of her bloodline, she had been isolated a lot from most of the world. It wasn't until recently had she started going out more. She had once thought Overseer Otto had been noble, if over dedicated, in the war against the Honkai.
"It's not exactly something you'd go around advertising to people." Einstein pointed out. She sincerely doubted anyone would follow the man if he announced his true intentions. His decision was both illogical and completely mad beyond all reason. He'd be willing to sacrifice countless lives just for a single person.
It was a cruel irony that the one at the head of Humanity's army against the Honkai had no disregard for Humanity itself. Meanwhile, it was more ironic that a Herrscher, a herald for the Honkai, a seeker of humanity's destruction, would be the Sovereign of Anti-Entropy, the organization devoted to using technology so no human life would be risked. Yet in the eyes of the world, they were painted as being the villains, due to Otto's hold on the masses.
"I knew Otto was a-" Siegfied trailed off only to be interrupted by his wife.
"Ehem," Cecilia coughed as she made a passing glance at Kiana who was staring quietly at them. It was a reminder from his lovely wife that he should not swear in front of their innocent little girl.
"I knew Otto was a bad guy." Siegfried corrected. "Never really trusted him. He always kind of creeped me out honestly."
"Otto is a madman who can't be predicted. He can be a friend if he wants to be, so long as you aren't a risk or a threat to his goals. Yet if he finds that he can use you, that you can be made a pawn in some way to him. He won't hesitate to end your life. He will use and discard you because you are as if you are nothing and no one is exempt for that." Mei informed.
Theresa stayed quiet the whole time. It's not like she didn't want to defend her grandpa, of course, she did. She loved him. However, she couldn't deny that there had always been something off in him and his views of others. She had always known deep down he was not what he appeared. The kind caring grandfather she viewed him as he had asked her to kill her own sister as a means of proving she deserved to exist. Sure the other clones were not like her, but that didn't change how she felt about them and Otto had only taken interest in her once he saw something different in her.
She glanced at Sirin noticing the young Herrscher who was also quiet. Sirin and those other kids had all been to Babylon. They had been experimented on in Babylon and there was no way her grandfather was unaware of it. "Were you ever a good man?" Teri wondered. Was any of his kindness genuine?
"You're right about. It is old news because after the Second Eruption, and in the future, he learns of an alternative path." Void explained. "Rather than use the powers of the Herrschers, he ended up seeking the aid of a higher being, the Will of Honkai as a means of starting and recreating the timeline. The Second Divine Key which would be unearthed over a decade from now would have provided him with this information on the imaginary tree and time."
"So, he's basically doing what you two did," Einstein questioned. "Not satisfied with his current timeline he chose to pursue another. How is he acting differently to you two then?"
"For starters, Otto sought the Will of the Honkai as his means of accomplishing his goal. He made a deal with the devil essentially." Void answered. "In order to accomplish his goal, one of two things would need to happen. Either Otto alters the past or he creates a new branching timeline where Kallen lives."
"Either outcome would save Kallen, but there would be a consequence. Regardless of what happened, there would be an influx of raw Honkai into the World." Mei informed. "Such an influx, well, let's just say the Second Eruption would be child's play compared to what hell that unleashes."
"If you want to mess with time, Will of Honkai is not who you should seek to do it." Paimon though was definitely the more viable and morally superior choice. Morality is subjective at its best with her though but still better than the Honkai. "Besides, we didn't sacrifice others for our goals. We earned our right to time travel." Mei finished.
"Our morality aside with regards to time travel, Otto still has his conviction and his sins. Imprisoning him will do nothing. He won't stop until he either succeeds or dies." Void explained. "And for all the crimes he's committed, he doesn't deserve success." She growled as she stared at the orb.
"In my timeline, Sirin and mom die due to the nuke he launched. Sirin was an attempt gone wrong to him, while mom was just at the wrong place at the wrong time." Void admitted. Her eyes then turned to Siegfied.
"His real target had been you, dad. He realized with the power you had, you were too strong and too unpredictable. You were a loose end, a threat to him, one that needed to be wiped out alongside Sirin."
"Wait a minute." All eyes turned to face Sirin who had finally spoken for the first time. "You keep referring to me as if I'm someone else. Aren't you, my future self? She asked in confusion.
"Huh. Void is your future self?" Cecilia questioned before turning to the Herrscher. "What does she mean by that?
"Ooh. It's finally getting good." Thunder said as she continued munching her popcorn.
"That's another one of Otto's crimes. It's also going to be very difficult and very complicated to explain so please bear with me." Void warned them. "On second thought I might need a chart for this." She mused.
"It can't be that bad." Teri tried to assure.
"Well let's start with the basics." Void said as she took a deep breath trying her best to assess how rational and sane she could sound.
"Void is Sirin and Kiana's daughter, not Siegfied and Cecilia." Thunder chimed in.
"WHAT!" Was the only response anyone gave the Thunder Herrscher. Did they hear right?
"I'm dismembering you for this Thunder." Void growled as Mei laughed in her face. Payback was a dish best served cold and Mei had the Core of Ice for a reason.
"You were taking too long. I didn't want us to wait for another five chapters… er weeks for you to gain courage." Mei admitted.
"Wait a minute…hold up…" Sirin questioned. "Did you just say Void is my daughter?"
"Wait…am I also Void's momma?" Kiana questioned.
"Thunder, I swear I'll get you back for this in some way, somehow." She grumbled.
"So, it was a joke, right? You aren't actually our granddaughter." Kiana wasn't even two years and they were already hearing they might have a technical granddaughter was not something any parent would want to hear.
"Oh no, Thunder is right. I could technically be categorized as that given my nature." Void deadpanned. "I just wished someone would have let me explain it in a much more rational and reasonable way than that."
"I assume this is due to you being a clone," Teri interjected. Classifying clones in relation to family is something often left for debate. Are clones the children of the cloned individual or their siblings in a sense? Teri was made by splicing Kallen's DNA with a Honkai Beast. So, was Teri's father a Honkai Beast by that logic and Kallen her mother?
"Hehe…pretty much. I am mainly a clone of Kiana with Sirin's DNA spliced in. In a sense, I'm made to be the perfect host for a Herrscher core having both bloodlines tolerance to the Honkai while also having the DNA of the previous Herrscher." Void admitted.
"So, you aren't me, but rather my daughter in a sense." Sirin rationalized. Void was a clone of her and Kiana then.
"Biologically yes…mentally and emotionally…. that's more complicated. You see Sirin when a Herrscher makes a core, they imprint memories, emotions, feeling,s and personalities, etc, onto said core. This means that the Herrscher's mind can still survive even if the body is destroyed."
"Cloning is a difficult process that takes a lot of resources and effort to perform. You could technically clone someone and make an exact body duplicate of them, but the chances of them gaining sentience are slim. In other words, the clone is just a hollow brain-dead body." Void explained.
"The cloning theory of souls," Teri interjected. "It's been a long-standing debate on if cloning can create a soul. Are clones capable of gaining their own soul, do they have a copy of their original's soul, or are clones just soulless husks who mimic sentience?" Teri repeated. It was a topic she looked into on her own. She had heard her Grandpa's musings at times about the topic wondering if Teri had inherited Kallen's soul. Theresa, herself often questioned it at times when she felt the compulsive feelings and voices telling her to help others.
"Exactly. Many of the K series clones were brain-dead copies. However, unlike my predecessors, I was given the Void core during my creation. So, the question then becomes, what do you get when you insert a core with consciousness or at the very least copy of consciousness into a blank slate of a body." Void explained.
"Sirin's mind inside Kiana's body. I have everything you left in the core. For all intents and purposes, I'm what's left of the Sirin in my timeline in regard to her consciousness. Am I Sirin reborn, Sirin's daughter, or Sirin herself with amnesia?" Void questioned. "I've had to ask myself this question countless times. Never once have I found any satisfactory answer."
"Okay, now I'm starting to see why you said it was complicated." Siegfied pondered.
"And you didn't even try to make it easier." Void deadpanned. "You actually made my identity issues even worse, old man."
"Ehe…I did?" Siegfied stuttered.
"Oh, did you ever." Void snapped.
"Okay, I'm going to go and make dinner." Thunder excused herself. She was bringing up that topic. The reactions earlier had been worthwhile, but this one Thunder didn't need.
"Yeah, whatever." Void told her. She waited for Thunder to leave and be out of earshot before she resumed the story.
"During the cloning project, AE helped Dad infiltrate the base. It was there that he rescued Kiana and at her insistence, they also rescued me as well. But…" Void lied.
Kiana was never captured; the clones had merely been made without her and Siegfied's consent. They didn't need to know this little detail though. Sure, it was a little white lie she was telling for Siegfied's sake, but it didn't really matter now did it. It was still Otto's fault for making clones of Kiana and sure her father was a fool for bringing her, but after losing everyone else, was it really wrong for him not to trust her with anyone else but himself.
"But…" Siegfied repeated.
"Not all of us made it out." Void explained. Siegfied froze at that statement. His mind is already putting two and two together. Void said he raised her. There were three people in that rescue. He lived, Void lived, that meant. He turned to Kiana.
Oh no.
"Unfortunately, only my dad and I survived the crash." Void finished. Cecilia and Teri visibly stiffened as they both realized the implications soon after. Much like Siegfied they too turned to a small child in Bella's arms who wouldn't even understand the implications of their discussion.
"Siggy,"
Kiana had died in an attempt of fleeing from Otto. Siegfied clenched his fist in anger. First his wife and then his daughter; even if they were from another timeline, Otto had taken them away from him. Sirin may have been the one to follow through with the Second Eruption but she was a byproduct of Otto and his schemes.
"Dad,"
If he hadn't gone experimenting on those kids in Babylon, Sirin wouldn't be a Herrscher. If Sirin wasn't a Herrscher, he and Cecilia wouldn't have had to fight her. There would have been no need to drop those nukes or for Cecilia to drain her blood to prevent the outbreak in Honkai. Even if part of the responsibility for losing Cecilia could be attributed to Sirin, far more could be attributed to Otto.
"Papa,"
Now he was hearing that he lost his baby only family he would have left. All because that bastard, couldn't let go of a woman who never loved him. It made his blood boil. It made him want TO TEAR HIM TO PIECES!
"SIEGFIED!" Cecilia shouted snapping him from his thoughts.
"Huh," He looked up to find everyone watching him warily. They were staring at him, no, at his arm. He glanced down, eyes widening at the sight of the dark blue claw that had replaced his hand. He almost leaped back in horror at the realization of what it was.
"Ease their dad." Void told him as she took a syringe out from one of her portals. She approached him. Siegfied could feel the Honkai from them overwhelming his senses but he managed to keep calm. Void held his arm and pressed the syringe in it and inject whatever was in it. Almost instantaneously his arm returned to its human state.
"I should have known this would happen," Void admitted. She had witnessed his rage beforehand. The Siegfied from their time had gone to save her when she had been captured. Despite being outclassed and with a single arm he had fought through everything to rescue his daughter. The rage of a parent when their child is endangered is a frightening thing. Even more so when said parent had the potential to transform into one of the strongest monsters on the planet and wielded one of the deadliest weapons in the world.
Void glanced around taking note of the others. Kiana was looking at her dad anxiously, not in fear but in worry about what was happening to him.
"Is papa alright?" She asked Bella quietly. Bella who had knowledge firsthand from Void's experiences assured the kid that her daddy was just a little sick and how Void had applied medicine for him to feel better.
Sirin was looking a little more shaken but Cecilia held her hand. It was obvious the sight of even a part of Dad's Honkai Beast form made her uncomfortable. Still, she did seem to hold it together. Hopefully, it was because of her trust in Void, and Cecilia.
Teri and the scientists were watching warily. They were obviously concerned about what had happened but upon seeing everything under control they relaxed. If memory served it was AE who had given Siegfied the activators after discovering them from the moon trip. Likewise, Teri herself probably had experience with her own Honkai beast cells acting up, maybe not to this extent but still.
"Do you all want me to stop?" Void questioned. She had hit the most sensitive part of the story. It wasn't farfetched to say they might want her to stop, given she just told two parents and an aunt that their daughter/niece died.
"No," Siegfried answered stubbornly. "Keep going." He told her.
"Siggy." Cecilia whispered.
"It's alright." He assured her. "I'm feeling much better now. Whatever it is they gave me, it worked like a charm." He told her. "Trust me. I'm okay."
"Are you sure, daddy?" Kiana asked worriedly.
"Yes, baby girl. I'm fine." He told her. "Do you want to know why?" He asked his daughter.
"Why?"
"Because you're here." He told her. "You're here." He repeated. Kiana merely giggled at his statement.
"Hey, Kiana. Why don't you leave Bella and go by daddy for the time?" Void instructed the child. "I'm sure he'll feel a lot better with you there."
"Aw…okay." Kiana smiled as Bella put her down. The small child ran happily to her father who took her into his arm.
"I can keep going," Sirin answered before glancing at Cecilia. The young Herrscher could tell Cecilia might stop for her sake, but Sirin couldn't allow that. She could already see the wariness on Void. Sirin knew this was something the older Herrscher wanted to get over with and she was starting to see why, so she wouldn't hold her back. If Cecilia wanted to stop though that would be up to her.
"What about you, Mom?" Void questioned. "Do you want to keep going?"
Cecilia looked up at the Herrscher with some uncertainty. Glancing at her husband and her daughter, she felt some level of solace in that they were still here. Perhaps it was the fact her other self had died, that allowed her to let go of some of the guilt. She still hated the fact that she wasn't there. She hated that she hadn't been alive to help them. However she had died, and there was no way of knowing if it would have made a difference. Perhaps she was trying her best to assume it wouldn't and that this was but another failure she would have to live with.
Now was different though. She couldn't let her die in life hold her back. She was here now and she had not just one but five daughters to look after. She had five chances to do what her previous life failed twice, be a mother that was there. "No, I'm good as well."
"Anyone else?" Void questioned. No one else answered.
"So what happened next?" Siegfied asked solemnly. "What did I do next? What did we do next?
"Whether it was due to the trauma from Sirin's past, or the impact of the crash, I'm not entirely sure. I think maybe it was a part of me subconsciously seeing the opportunity to start anew because, after the crash, I suffered from amnesia." Void explained. "I didn't remember at the time who I was or anything from my life as Sirin. The only person around me at the time was you, Dad."
"In the end, you took me to live as your daughter. That's all you ever told me for the time. I didn't even have a name. You just called me your daughter for a few years. That's all I had been."
"On Kiana's birthday, you would shower me with gifts before leaving to go to town. You'd come back drunk, go in your room and cry, apologizing to mom and Kiana." She explained. The vision of it was still clear in her mind. "You called me your daughter, but, I lived with you like a stranger. Understandable of course given the situation"
"Then one day, we had a talk. You came back injured fighting Honkai Beasts. I was worried and questioned you on it. Your response was that…it was because you were a Kaslana. The next time you came back injured, I decided to follow in your footsteps and took your gun and went after the Honkai Beast. It is probably among my top stupidest ideas to date." She laughed lightly.
"Of course, you would come and save your little girl in her most dire time, you always do somehow." Even when she regained her Herrscher powers and tamed the destructive desire, she still needed Siegfied to bail out a few times.
"You asked me why I did it. I told you it was because I wanted to protect you. That's when everything changed." Void smiled.
"You gave me the name Kiana and raised me for the next couple of years as if nothing had happened. You taught me how to fight, how to survive, how to cook."
"That one might be debatable." Teri deadpanned. Void ignored her.
"How to drink and flirt."
"You did what?" Cecilia almost screamed.
"It was my alternate future self."
"In essence, I spent most of my existence living under the assumption that I was the one and only Kiana Kaslana." Void admitted.
"So is Void actually bigger me?" Kiana questioned.
"I think I'm actually getting a headache now," Sirin noted.
"You're not the only one," Einstein told her. "So, in other words, you are Sirin's core, Kiana's body, Sirin's mind, Kiana's upbringing."
"Oh, wait but there is one more complication to make this even fuzzier than ever." Void chuckled nervously.
"How much more complicated can this be?" Tesla questioned.
"Last one. I promise." Void told them before turning to Sirin and Cecilia. "This time it's your fault Mom."
"My fault?" Cecilia questioned.
"Yes, because you just had to be so loveable." Void chuckled.
"You see when Sirin…uh died in your arms. She left with two very different regrets in her life."
"One regret was that…she wanted a second chance at life, being your daughter. She wanted to start over and have a normal life with a happy family." The very regret Void was trying to fulfill right now.
"What was the other one?" Teri questioned.
"The other regret was the destruction of mankind for her all the trauma." Void explained. "Those two desires came into conflict with each other and well there were some repercussions because of that."
"What kind of repercussions?" Sirin questioned. She had been feeling those thoughts before they awoke her. So, what exactly did Void suffer from, due to it?
"The kind that results in split personalities." Void answered. "You see your two regrets were used as the base for two very different personalities in my being."
"The first personality was your desire for a family. You can say it was the kindness that still existed within you. The humanity and light with your heart."
"The second personality was your desire for revenge and destruction. The manifestation of your trauma and hatred. The Herrscher nature and darkness in your heart."
"These personalities…hehe…they also took up names to identify themselves as well. You see the human persona was the side that woke up first. She was the one who was raised by Siegfied and she was named Kiana. The Herrscher persona woke up after, and when she did, she took the name Sirin, because she remembered and inherited those memories. She recalled the pain, the suffering, the trauma, the anger, the hate."
"So technically, my body is Sirin and Kiana in DNA. My memories are a mix of Sirin and Kiana and then my personalities are also split between Sirin and Kiana." Void laughed hysterically.
"So, wait a minute…which personality are we talking to now?" Teri questioned. "Are you Sirin or Kiana?"
"I am neither and I am both." Void answered. "I am the result of the two personalities merging back once more into an individual. However, because both sides were able to develop and grow as individuals, when I was put back together you could say it ended up with me being a radically different persona to the other two. While Sirin's psyche fractured to make two personas, those two personas when put back together didn't remake Sirin, instead they made me."
"I no longer care as much for saving humanity as Kiana did, Sirin's trauma and my own experiences have shown me it's not worth pushing myself to death for them. Yet I no longer desire humanity's destruction like Sirin did, Kiana's experiences of humanity's kindness have made me realize that not all humans are bad. I'll fight not for humanity but for myself, my friends, and my family. It's as simple as that."
"How did you keep sane with such identity issues?" Teri inquired nervously. Suddenly Void's peculiar behavior made sense. Teri was forever grateful she didn't have to deal with such mental issues with her own sentience and could just remain short and adorable.
"Hehe….I managed to deal with it in various therapy sessions. Once with a giant blue ice wolf and the other with a rather broke but wise gentleman. There are others but those two were among the most notable."
"That wasn't the answer I was expecting but good for you," Teri answered. She was trying to imagine Void seeing a therapist. The idea of the Herrscher laying down on a couch as she explained herself to someone else seemed comedic. The fantasy in her head played out with the therapists quitting altogether once Void explained her lineage. Still, it was good Void actually got professional help.
"So, wait, if your human side was technically called Kiana then what does it mean for Thunder." Cecilia noted. From what they had learned, Thunder, while on peaceful terms with Void, still held some animosity. The frequent references to Void's human side often made it clear she didn't like the Herrscher but now that they knew Void's human side was 'Kiana' so to speak, a lot of things were now being recontextualized.
"Mei was very close friends with my Kiana side. As a matter of fact, 'Kiana' was well…she was someone who was very dear to Mei and vice versa. Kiana was the one who saved Mei when she lost control of her Herrscher side in the beginning and had always been there for her."
"When I was 'born' it resulted in the 'death' of the 'Kiana' and 'Sirin' personas. While my Herrscher side didn't exactly have the best reputation. 'Kiana' had many friends who loved her. Of course, that love doesn't quite extend to me."
"So, her friends hated you?" Teri questioned. The context of knowing someone who suffers from identity issues like that was new to her. However, she still would wonder how such persona shifts would be viewed. Surely it was understandable that Void was still Kiana, right?
"Hate is a strong word. They disliked me, but I wouldn't say they outright hated me. Well, everyone except for Thunder that is. At the time, the general impression they had of me was that I was simply the malevolent Herrscher personality that took over sweet, innocent Kiana."
"Prior to my inception, the Herrscher personality had been out rampaging. Once the two merged I was left at a loss. I was stuck trying to figure out who I was and what I wanted to do, they didn't know that. The memories of them fighting with the Herrscher persona didn't let me trust them so easily either. It didn't help that made various attempts to subdue or combat me, many of them painful at times which only made me dislike them more."
"So, it was a communication issue," Einstein noted.
"Well, considering the Herrscher side's reputation. I wouldn't say it was unwarranted. The Herrscher's first awakening left dad with only one arm as well as killing a squadron of Valks. The second awakening basically took Kiana, hostage, ripped out Thunder's core at the time, and also killed Kiana's mentor in a fight."
"Is this why you are wary of me keeping my powers?" Sirin questioned. The Herrscher side manifested from her trauma, hatred, and anger. It had lashed out at the family and friends her human side had made.
"You can call it paranoia, but prior to the merging, the Herrscher persona was nothing more than anger and hatred. It didn't matter what others did, it couldn't see beyond its pain or be reasoned with. It was too consumed by vengeance. It was only after merging did it manage to mellow out thanks to passive kindness and empathy influencing it. I have no reason to believe you won't suffer a similar split. I'd rather not take any risks right now given how much more we have to lose."
Sirin looked at her and could see the pleading look on Void's face. Glancing at Cecilia and then Bella who was holding Kiana, Sirin couldn't help but agree that she might still need time. She had already almost hurt Cecilia and Bella by accident. If she suffered a sanity break as Void did, she really hoped any malevolent persona she might develop wouldn't go after them or have such power.
The mere fact that it was possible terrified her. She already was afraid of doing it by accident, but having control of her body stripped from her, and then watching while someone else, a manifestation of her anger and hate, hurt those close to her. It was a terrifying thought. If such a case occurred, she doubted she'd be able to forgive herself.
"So, you ended up being chased by Kiana's allies and Mei under the assumption you were an enemy," Einstein noted.
"Yup and when they learned she was gone, well, let's just say it got hectic. Mei became obsessed with beating me to try and free Kiana. An act that took her a long time to realize was futile. Her 'Kiana' was gone, she was never coming back. I was still registered as a threat, so I was to be hunted in an attempt to either capture or strip me of my powers by AE. The methods involved attaching me to a machine that would drain me of the Honkai power within me, literally burning me inside out or submerging me in the anti-Honkai serum with hopes of it neutralizing all the Honkai in my system."
"Hehe…I don't suppose we designed any of those." Tesla laughed nervously.
"You perfected the serum that depowered me, the same serum that I injected into dad. It has quite a few uses other than subduing Herrschers thankfully. Mophead made the machine that drained me. I'm happy to inform you that both of you were almost successful but you failed, because I'm stronger than what you thought." Void wouldn't tell them just how lucky she had been with her genetics and her skill set. Being a descendant of Cecilia allowed her body to produce antibodies for the Serum with the Gem of Serenity's aid even if it took a while. Meanwhile, her powers of the Void allowed her to connect with external Honkai reactors and channel far more power than the machines could handle. If it wasn't for that, she'd be done for sure, not that she would tell them that.
"That should be it for now." Void admitted. "That's everything you need to know about me and about Thunder, I guess. I'm a clone of your daughters from the future who became a Herrscher. I had a hard life and now I decided to come back here with the hope of finally living with my family. If you still doubt my intentions, then I honestly don't know what else to do." Void told them as she got up.
"I think I can leave you all for now to process all this. My throat's starting to feel parched so I'm going for some water and maybe something to eat. Does anyone want anything?"
Considering this chapter was so important I had to rewrite or omit some scenes. So I'm going to post those omits and the original version down below for some of you to see because I don't want to leave those just there. Sorry to whoever decided to skip it lol.
Draft 1
"So, they just ran off?" Cecilia sighed at the random and otherwise reckless behavior between the two. She'll admit it was confusing how despite being allies the two were always quick to insult and pick fights with another, especially Void. She understood they had their own issues. She didn't understand why they would pick now of all times to deal with it.
"Yep. Void just chased after Mei with a club." Sirin recounted. Admittedly she was starting to worry for herself. Did something happen to cause Void's sanity to slip? She was starting to see many signs of her older self not being alright in the head.
"I hope this doesn't become the norm." Cecilia mused. She could already see them getting into scuffles on a regular basis and wrecking the house. If they didn't go all out with there powers, then maybe the family would keep a roof over their heads. On the bright side at least Sirin will have two teachers for her powers. Wait a second.
"Sirin. Can you open a portal to where they might be?" Cecilia questioned as she looked at the younger Herrscher. Sirin and Void shared the same core so perhaps Sirin could sense them. Cecilia knew Void and Thunder could do it so why not Sirin.
"Um, I can try." Sirin answered. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She focused on the core and gem within herself, linking them to Void's. She recalled how her older self, had managed to shut down her powers prior, a scary feat, if she was being honest. Still, she was able to trace the connection, no doubt because they were supposedly the same being.
"Okay, I think I got it." Sirin announced as she opened a portal. Cecilia and Kiana stared at the portal expecting the two Herrschers to emerge. They would soon learn that there was no such thing as too insane with those two.
There eyes widened as they heard a cluck and a hiss from beyond the portal. No sooner did two non-human creatures emerge from the portal, one chasing the other. The first was a large purple chicken with red, black, and white accents on the feathers. The second was a white calico house cat carrying a large club in its mouth.
To say the scene was straight out of a cartoon was understatement as the cat chased the chicken straight up the wall and across the roof. It was very much determined to have its club connect to the chicken in the hastiest way possible. All the while Kiana could just laugh at the scene while her mother and new sister just stared on in confusion.
"Is that-"
"Yup,"
"How did they even?"
"I have no clue."
"Why would they even?"
"I think its better if we don't know who, what, why or how they did this." Cecilia finished. Sirin had to agree with her mother on that.
"YATTA"
"Did you hear something?" Sirin asked her adopted mother. Cecilia merely shook her head. Elsewhere a red eyed and grey haired girl was fuming at being reduced to a cameo in another chapter.
"And this is why I avoided you in your pulls." Yatta grumbled at the author.
Of course, they didn't have long to wait until Cecilia and her daughters arrived soon after. Being as enthusiastic ever, Kiana was quick to go to her father, especially with the new ball of feathers in her little hands.
"Papa look," she told Siegfied as she showed him the chicken she was holding. Siegfied glanced at the chicken and almost doubled over as did the rest of the room. One question racing through there mind, where on earth did they get a chicken from.
"Hi, Mr. Kaslana," The chicken greeted.
"Mei," Teri said in shock. "How did, why did?" The world's number one cutie stuttered to get her words out.
"Let's not." Another voice interrupted. Everyone turned to look at a ball of fluff in Cecilia's arms. The black, orange, and white color scheme made it very clear who it was, the Herrscher of the Void, now in the form of a cat. "This ironically isn't the worse thing that's happened to me."
"Can I pet?" Teri questioned innocently.
Void shot her a glare for the moment. "Fine," She huffed.
Draft 2
"What!" Teri exclaimed. "Why do you want to kill Grandpa?" She knew he did some questionable things, but did they have to resort to murder.
"I have many reasons." Void opened a portal and took out a glowing orb. Cecilia recognized it as the orb she had seen Void holding when they first met after the nukes were about to hit them. "The most notable one being this."
"HE LAUNCHED A NUKE AT MY FAMILY WITH INTENTIONS TO KILL BOTH DAD AND SIRIN WITH IT. HE ENDED UP MISSING DAD AND KILLING MOM AND SIRIN INSTEAD. HE THEN MANIPULATED YOUR MEMORIES. LIED TO YOU ABOUT THE NUKE INCIDENT SAYING IT WAS MOM'S REQUEST. HE THEN WENT ON TO KIDNAP KIANA AND TRY TO CLONE HER. WHEN DAD BUSTED KIANA OUT AND TRIED TO ESCAPE WITH US, HE SHOT DOWN THE PLANE AND KIANA WAS LOST." Void said in a single breath her eyes glowing ominously as her Herrscher voice returned to emphasize the severity of the situation.
To say the others didn't get caught off guard by Void's big girl voice would be an understatement. Teri and Kiana were both visibly shaken but for different reasons. For Kiana it was the first time Void had used the Herrscher Voice in such a loud and scary manner. Teri meanwhile was trying to process everything she had been told about her Grandpa.
She wanted to call it out as being a lie, but she knew her Grandpa unfortunately. Thersea was by nature a clone made Otto. In fact, one of her first tasks given by him was to kill another clone similar to her.
He may have acted doting on her now but any man she knew he had another side to him. However, the mere notion that he would go this far; she glanced at Kiana who was just shy of two years, wasn't hard to swallow. Yet her eyes fell to Sirin who was also kidnapped and experimented on in the labs of Babylon. Kidnapping and using children for their 'research' in those labs, definitely made it a possibility for him.
Yet the idea of killing him and resorting to murder. She didn't like it. Perhaps it's the love she still had for her grandpa, a hope of him being a redeemable man, that wanted her to let him be imprisoned instead. He needed to pay right, maybe death would have been too easy a punishment for him. Let him live with his sins and suffer instead.
"There is also the other reason." Void added as she spoke in a calmer tone after taking a few breaths.
"What kind of reason?"
"He's a simp."
"A simp?"
"It's a term in our time. It means someone who does a lot and shows a lot of affection and sympathy for someone who has no interest in them. It is commonly used to refer to people who are nice and courteous to those who they like even if the person the like doesn't even acknowledge their existence…like Thunder."
"I am not a simp."
"Simp is also a term used to refer to a silly or foolish person. It fits either way." Void chided.
"So basically like Dr. Tesla to Welt." Einstein noted.
"What did you say mophead?" Tesla screamed horror.
"Nothing."
"Dr. Tesla isn't a simp. She's married to Welt in future, and the have a son." Thunder admitted.
"Wait I'm married to who." Tesla shrieked in disbelief. She married Welt in the future. This was a lie. Surely, they were pulling her leg and if not…how many years till then. Wait, did telling change her future? Was knowing about it now going to ruin her chances?
"Let's move on. We'll discuss this another time since it's irrelevant to Otto's crimes. Besides…it looks like her brain his about to fry." Mei chuckled. has seemingly stopped working if her lack of speech and frozen shocked facial expression is anything to go by.
And done, well those were the drafts. Had to leave them out because they definitely felt padding and affected the tone, still hoped you all enjoyed them.