Disclaimer: 'Honkai impact 3rd' is the property of Hoyoverse, Singapore. I do not own any characters in this story except the minor OCs here and there.

Extra- 7: Memoirs of the prodigal girl

Siberia – 2010(Current Era)

It was an eerily still night in the snowy wastelands that were once the site of the worst disaster that mankind had faced. Millions of people dead and an entire superpower was reduced to a begging country. And while the land reclamation was going at a good pace (Courtesy of the Fourth Divine Key), the scars of that disaster still littered the lands.

The most evident indication of this was the absence of big or small animals nearby. Thus, it was just her in this lonesome partially healed forest. Still, the girl didn't fear the cold or the all-encompassing stillness and marched on. Her breaths came out in small puffs indicating the freezing temperatures of her surroundings.

'Must keep moving. That old man told me that if I stop then I will freeze to death.' The girl reminded herself of the words that her supposed father had told her. The same supposed father that had left her in the middle of nowhere, with strange and unknown persons and had disappeared off to god knows where.

"That… huff… huff… old man… huff… huff… once I find him…" the girl said between breaths as her teeth chattered due to the extreme cold.

'It's so silent, I don't like it.' She thought to herself frowning. The stillness of this tundra forest reminded her of the time before she opened her eyes. It was similarly silent except for a weird taste in her mouth and the flashing lights she encountered a few times. In those blurry memories, she only remembered someone with golden hair looking at her. Another thing she remembers from those memories is the phrase that she herself didn't know anything about.

Ich liebe dich.

Whenever she would ask her stupid old man what those words meant, he would make a solemn face and dodge the topic. After trying a few more times she stopped asking about the meaning of that phrase. Maybe she will meet someone along the way who will tell her the meaning of it. The only thing she knows now is that saying that phrase brings an odd warm feeling inside her heart, and makes her feel good.

As the girl put one foot after another, she kept thinking about her decision to leave the place where she woke up and go out on a journey for her father. The last thing she remembers before waking up was having dinner with her old man, and then some people in weird uniforms showed up. They demanded her father come out and give them something. Her father and the leader of those weird people argued for some while, and then she saw her father taking out his pistols.

She doesn't remember clearly what happened after that. The only things she remembered were the loud sounds, the smell of smoke that choked her lungs, screams, sounds of something soft tearing, and at the end of it all a bright orangish light.

She then found herself being embraced by her father while he spoke to her softly:

"Kiana… promised right…never let her win… No matter what… please come back to me…"

That was the first time she had heard him speak with such a tone. It was as if he was afraid that if he did something wrong, she will leave him forever.

"What a stupid man. If that were the case, then why am I walking through this stupid snowy forest? It's so dark and so cold. I'm going to give him a piece of my mind once I find him. That stupid man, leaving his own daughter alone and going off to nowhere. Wait until I find you…grrr…"

As she gritted her teeth, suddenly her foot slipped on the loose snow on a gentle hill.

"Waaa!" she exclaimed as she went face down first on the freshly fallen slow. Her backpack which weighed tens of kilos slipped from her back and fell on the ground. She herself fell on the snow and drifted backwards on the slope until she was quite further away from her backpack. After stopping, she didn't move and stayed there still. However, if one listened closely, they could hear her sobbing sounds. The girl muttered in broken sentences.

"Papa… where are you… it's so cold…"

However, no one answered her calls. This made the girl just more despondent as she began to sob loudly. As she lay there, she wondered what she did wrong for her father to leave her all alone.

Suddenly, she heard a crunching sound behind her. But there shouldn't be anyone around these parts. She has never seen anyone else apart from those strange persons all this time that they both have stayed here. There shouldn't even be animals this late at night as her father had to venture far to get food for both of them. thinking this, she slowly raised her head and turned back as far as her neck allowed.

A pinkish shining eye stared back at her. The creature had a bee-like body with a pair of wing-like organs behind its back. It let out a screeching sound, and soon the field was filled with various types of creatures. They ranged from huge bear-like beasts to small ones around her size. She had seen these creatures only a few times when her father took her on his so-called cleaning missions. At those times, just one flaming shot from her father's pistols was enough to kill them, but now her father was not there to protect her.

Still, she wasn't going to give up. She was the daughter of Siegfried Kaslana and a proud Kaslana too. She will keep the promise that her father taught her when he taught her the basics of Gun-Kata.

"Purge the Honkai. Burn the Vile gods." she said to herself as a sort of morale booster. As she scanned her surroundings, she found her backpack lying halfway up the slope. Her eyes quickly landed on the small baseball bat hanging off one side of the backpack. Even though her father had taught her to fight with a gun, her talent with a baseball bat was far more natural. Even her father had commented that her skills with the bat are better than his.

'Okay, I will dart at the count of three, take the baseball bat and bonk the biggest one. Once I get him down, the others should get scared and that will give me enough time to take care of them.' the girl formed a plan in her head and closed her eyes to focus all of her energy to run for her backpack.

'Alright. Let's do this. One… two…'

"ROAAAR." however a loud roar from the first beast suddenly disrupted her. At once, all the beasts were about to pound on her. The girl forgot all of the plans she had conjured up and ran for the backpack as fear ran through her body. These beasts were too strong for her, she won't be able to beat them, they will devour her.

'No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No.' she repeated to herself as she ran frantically to her backpack. Suddenly she felt the ground beneath herself shaking and her footing stumbled again as she fell onto the snow-covered ground. Again.

"Waaaa!" this was the second time she fell on this slope, and at the worst possible moment possible. The monsters were onto her not a moment later. As she covered her head in fear, she wondered if this was it. She still had so much to do. She had to find her father. She wanted to eat all the delicious food her father had told her about. She wanted to visit so many places that she only heard her father's stories. She wanted the so-called 'sea' where there is water everywhere you looked. She wanted to have so many friends.

She wanted her papa.

She wanted a home.

Tears pooled in her eyes as she realized that none of her wishes were going to come true. That was when she remembered something her father had once said.

Flashback

"Kiana. Before I teach you gun-kata, I want you to know something."

"What is it?"

"What I'm about to teach you is something that we Kaslanas have used since the time we have existed to protect the people no matter the cost. So, use it to protect others, not just yourself."

"I don't understand?"

"You will in time, babydoll. Just remember that if you love the world with your whole heart, the world will also love you back the same way."

Current time

'I loved the world; then why didn't it love me back?' the girl thought as the beast nearest to her lunged at her. At this, she closed her eyes as a lone wish escaped from her little mouth:

"Please save me…"

WOOOOOOOSHHHHHHHHHH.

A loud sound permeated the surroundings and the temperature rose suddenly even though it was freezing cold just a moment before. The girl opened her eyes slowly as she saw the sight before her in shock.

Those beasts were being burned away by orange-red almost crimson flames. The remaining beasts were either howling in pain or trying to run away but were stopped by a cold voice proclaiming:

"Honkai beasts have no reason to continue to exist. Burn to ashes and scatter away foul creatures."

The next moment the girl's whole world was filled with crimson light as the flames burned the remaining beasts away. She scrunched her face in an attempt to see better who saved her; that was when she finally saw who saved her.

A black coat billowed in the wind as the crimson flames produced by the sword the person was holding raged wildly, yet still contained around the blade. Looking closely at that person, it appeared to be a boy just slightly older than her. Looking at him, she deduced the boy to be just one or two years older than her. But what attracted her attention the most was the sword the boy was holding.

The blade of the sword was orange with a hollow in the middle of the blade in which a short section extending from the guard of the sword resided. The portion of this extension within the hollow had some characters in it in a language that was unfamiliar to her. The guard of the sword was very familiar to her for some reason but she couldn't remember why. The handle of the sword extended back to end in a pointy manner and there was a halo at the end of the handle. Upon closer inspection of the guard of the sword allowed her to see a glowing gem in the middle of the joining of the two portions of the guard.

The girl wracked her brain as she tried to remember where she had seen the sword before when she realised something.

The guard of the sword looked exactly like the handles of the pistols that her father had. She knew instinctively.

This was the Judgement of Shamash.

But how? Why? Didn't her father have it with him before they parted? Why was it with him? What happened to her father? Why did she feel afraid of the sword? Who was this boy?

What? How? When? Where? Who…

She clutched her head as it started pounding. Unknown to her, one of her eyes started to glow golden as purplish veins started to crawl on her face. The girl started to feel odd.

She wanted to defeat him. Destroy him. Kill him.

As these thoughts raged in her mind, she heard footsteps crunching away near her. Soon she was met with cold eyes boring down on her. As she looked back at him, the boy suddenly spoke to her:

"Go back to sleep. He************id."

And placed his hand on her face. The flames surrounded them once again, but instead of feeling afraid, the girl felt warm for some reason. Her eyes dropped and she felt herself being carried away to the realm of dreams. The last thing she heard before drifting off was the boy saying:

"You are safe now, Kiana."

…

The next time she woke up, she felt something sturdy. Opening her eyes fully, she saw herself being carried piggyback by the same boy that had saved her from those beasts earlier. He was carrying her backpack like a grocery bag with one hand as he slowly navigated across the frozen landscape. She was amazed at the fact that he made carrying her and the backpack look like nothing. The boy barely lost any breath as he carried her and the backpack which at least weighed tens of kilos. As the girl unconsciously nuzzled deeper into his chest, the boy finally noticed that she had woken up.

"How are you feeling? Are you hurt anywhere?" the boy's voice was cold, yet there was a sincerity to it that made the girl feel safe. Odd, she had only felt this safe when she was with her old man. Thus, at the boy's question, she shook her head gently and spoke in a small voice:

"Thank you."

"It's nothing. I was just fulfilling my promise to him."

"Him?" she asked in a quiet voice.

"Yes, him. Your father, Siegfried Kaslana."

At hearing her father's name, the girl's ears perked up. She then remembered what she saw before she fell unconscious.

"Shamash. How do you have it?" the girl said pointing to the now familiar dual pistols in their holsters around the boy's waist.

"You know its name?" the boy asked in an even tone. However, the girl could pick up a hint of curiosity in it.

"Of course. Every single Kaslana knows about the great weapon that our ancestors have used to protect people from those beasts!" the girl said with pride filling her chest.

"Is that so?" the boy replied stopping suddenly. At this, the girl asked:

"Why did you stop?"

"You can walk now." the boy stated simply and let her down. She initially resisted but he with a steady motion put her on her feet. The girl protested this action:

"Why did you do that?" she whined as she stomped her little foot on the snow.

"He said you will be like this." the boy replied.

"He…" the girl repeated after him and her eyes widened. She then approached the boy and grabbed his coat while barraging him with questions.

"Where is that stupid old man? Is he okay? Is he hurt? Is he eating properly? Is he…" she was not aware that she was now banging her hands on the boy's chest. As she continued speaking, tears again started to fall from her eyes.

"Why did he leave me? What did I do wrong? Does he not love me anymore? Am I not his daughter anymore? Am I all alone…"

She suddenly felt something soft on her head. Raising her head, she saw the boy's hand gently patting her head. He then spoke:

"He didn't leave you because he hates you. He left you because he loves you. He told me to tell you that he will be proud of you no matter what path you take. Because…"

"Because?"

"… because you are his princess. His cute babydoll."

At this, the girl couldn't hold it in anymore and broke down crying. As the boy watched the little girl cry her heart out, he extended a hand towards her and said:

"Let's go, Kiana."

"Go… sob… where…"

"Home." the boy said without hesitation. At this, the girl smiled through the tears and replied:

"Mmm."

HYPERION (SOME DISTANCE AWAY FROM THE MOON) – 2018 (current era)

Kiana Kaslana smiled to herself as she recalled the memory closest to her heart. That day in the coldness of Siberia, the girl who neither had a past nor a home got both of them at once. She still remembers of the times spent with her Nii-san through the years, the times spent training, wandering to new places, him showing her how to fight the Honkai beasts properly, him repeatedly making instant noodles because he didn't know making anything better. All those memories remain vivid and gave her the strength to move on despite the dark times she had faced.

All this made her wonder how much stronger than her was the man she called her big brother. He carried thousand times the sadness that she did, spanning two eras, two different lives. Though the times have numbed him to an ice-cold statue from the outside, he had remained the same from the inside. And she couldn't be prouder of that if she could.

However, the same kindness had turned him stubborn to a fault, walking on a lonely path of self-destruction. She now could fully see where the Kaslanas get their self-sacrificial nature from, but she had to admit that he was on another level.

As she thought this, she saw the lift finally arriving at its intended place. Stepping out of it, she was greeted by the long bridge of the ship that she had many memories of. Looking around, she noticed that the bridge of the ship was modified, probably Bronya's work. That girl was getting more creative after awakening to her true powers as the Herrscher of Reason. Kiana then stepped out of the elevator as its door opened and started walking towards the six other people present there. As she neared them, she could hear them discussing.

"So we will begin our invasion from the lowermost floors."

"Is that even necessary, Principal Theresa? The fortress is probably the manifestation of the power of Finality."

"The Bronya agrees with Mei-neesama's assessment. I sense the structure of the fortress similar to my constructs."

"It may be so, but we also cannot forget that there are higher powers at play here. I have seen it with my own eyes. His power is from the same place where the finality comes from."

"What do you mean by that Over- I mean Aunt Theresa?"

"sigh… when I tried to enter into the Kaslana stigmata space, I was instead transported to a far more dangerous place. And what I saw there was truly horrifying. Do not underestimate him, girls, his true power is much more than anyone of us can handle, even with your power-ups."

"I agree with Principal Theresa's assessment. While our power may be great, it is still derived from the cocoon. However, his is from the same level of being who created the cocoon itself."

"Umm… so you mean to say that Master Dragon is blessed by true gods, Master Phoenix?"

"Yes, it indeed may be the case."

"That will be a big problem. It took all of our efforts just to snatch the power of finality. And if you say that his powers exceed even that, then this may be it."

"R-Rita!?"

"I'm just stating the obvious Master Durandal."

"Are you all going to give up?" Kiana's voice rang out in the air. At her voice, all of them turned their head and looked at her. She saw the faces of her comrades, her friends, her family looking at her with tensed faces. However, instead of fear or nervousness, her eyes shone with determination.

"Are you all done, Kiana?" Theresa was the first one to ask.

"Yes, Aunt Teri. Now all that is left is to go there, beat some sense into that stupid brother of mine and bring him back with us."

"Kiana-chan…" Mei called out her name softly.

"Mei-Senpai, are you going to give up on him?" Kiana asked Mei looking straight into her eyes.

"E-Eh?"

"You know, at first I found it very strange how did he find me in that snowy forest? Why did he take care of me when he knew what I was? Why did he teach me the proper Kaslana gun-kata? Why did he not give up on me even though the only memories he had of Herrschers were horrible ones? Why did he still call me Kiana when I was not even the real thing; just a cheap imitation of the real one?"

"Kiana…" Durandal said softly

"But now, I realize that it doesn't matter anymore. He picked me up from the snow, protected me from the Honkai beasts, taught me the most authentic gun-kata one ever could learn, gave me a home, accepted me for what I was. and for me, that is enough."

She then looked at everyone and said with a firm tone:

"I don't care if he is the leader of some super organization, or the strongest warrior of both eras, or a chosen hero. To me, he is my big brother whom I love very very much, my mentor, my ideal… and my hero."

She continued "He had always fought on alone to give this story the happiest ending possible, even before I was born. And the only thing he received in the end was pain and heartache."

"…" everyone was silent at this.

"But not anymore. I'm not the little girl who needs to be protected any longer. Now he doesn't need to fight this battle with those so-called gods all alone. I will make him realise that he now has comrades that could stand with him like in the past. But most of all…" Kiana placed a hand on her chest as her voice grew low and soft

"… I will make him realise that he also has a home now to return to. That he is no longer alone. That his little sister is waiting for him." her eyes and tone were determined again "And I'm going to do just that, with or without all of you."

"…" everybody looked at her in shock at this proclamation.

"This power that I have now is to save everyone that I care about, and I am going to start with him. I have already lost too many people precious to me. I'm not going to lose him too, no matter what."

As she finished her impromptu speech, Kiana exhaled and closed her eyes in a show of acceptance of whatever the outcome may be, she will not deter from this path. There was silence for a while before the entire surroundings burst out in laughter.

"hehe… Kiana-chan…" Mei giggled as she wiped tears of laughter from the corner of her eyes.

"Kiana is really an idiotka." Bronya commented nonchalantly.

"Really, you took a lot after your stupid father." Theresa held her head and sighed.

"Eh. Eh. What? What?" Kiana was confused. Why were they laughing? She had poured all of her feelings into those words dammit.

"No, no Kiana-chan. We don't mean to make fun of you. It's just that…"

"Just what?" Kiana hmphed and turned her head away pouting.

"Nobody was saying here that we are going to give up on Master Kevin, Kiana-san." Rita completed the sentence.

"Huh?" Kiana was flabbergasted.

"Kiana, we were talking about how to infiltrate that fortress, not how to give up. Like you, we too have many things to convey to him." Durandal said glancing at Mei and Hua "some more than others. And it wouldn't be Valkyrie thing to do if we don't try to save our comrade and our leader, right?"

"Yeah…" Kiana said unsure of what his elder sister was trying to say.

"She is right, Kiana-chan. We too have many things to tell him. Especially me. I have to convey the feelings of a pristine human, a golden singer, a kind-hearted ascetic, a chaser of infinity, and… well, the unyielding Vicissitude can tell her own feelings to him by herself." Mei said looking at Hua who looked back at her questioningly.

"And more than anything else. I owe it to the past and present me to convey our feelings to that idiot."

"Yes." Kiana said smiling.

"So, Mei Senpai, are you ready?"

"Yes, Kiana-chan. Let's bring a beautiful end to this story. To his story. Let's go and save our sun." Mei said in the same determined voice as Kiana's earlier.

"Yeah, Let's go." Kiana said looking at the giant structure where she was sure he was waiting for them.

A brother, a leader, a martyr. But most of all… a warrior.

FORTRESS OF THE NIGHT (MOON) – 2018 (Current era) (Sometime later)

He was sitting on a self-made throne of ice inside the fortress. If he had control over Finality, then maybe he would have the power to reshape this place as he wished, but unfortunately, that was not possible. Not like he needed the power of Finality for what was about to come. The power of ꞨⴙᶕოᶕꞨⴙ was enough.

'Heh. You are getting more comfortable with using my powers, aren't you boy?'

The voice inside his head mocked.

"Is that not what you wanted?" he replied out loud.

'Can't say I didn't. And I'm fully sure that you will perform your duty. Because that is the only way to get what you desire.'

"I know."

'They will try to stop you.'

"I know."

'They have their powers and authorities with them.'

"I know."

'You seem to be unfazed by those facts?'

"Because they cannot defeat me."

'Hahahahahaha...' the voice bellowed out loud 'True that. Don't disappoint me in your true fight against the true opponent here… Kaiser.'

"…" he remained silent. The voice went silent as he got up from his throne and went to the edge of the castle. He could see the small silhouette of Hyperion making its way to him.

They were coming. And he was ready. The time drew near. He knew that both he and his sister of this era were too stubborn to back down on their ideals.

When two iron wills confronted, it became a contest of strength. One that he was sure he wasn't going to lose.

He will fulfil his promises to them. At the end of it, the evil Honkai would be gone forever. The path to a bright future will be opened after he burns out the rotting past.

He looked at his sword plunged nearby him, and clenched his hand again.

'Aneki, Seele, aniki, General, everyone. Please lend me your strength one last time.'

As if answering his call, the gem of the Seventh Divine Key shone a little. He closed his eyes and took in a long and slow breath. When he opened them again, they were now shining Sky-blue just like in the past. He glanced ahead again. The Hyperion had come extremely near to the fortress. He could see all of them standing on the bridge. He gripped his hand tighter.

The time had come.

Hello everyone, welcome back to 'A Warrior's destiny'.

I'm sure you were expecting the next main chapter of the story, but I HAD to write this small piece of scenario in light of the latest chapter. Not much to say here, except that all the big events are going to remain the same, but with my own twist to them.

As always if you enjoy the story please leave a follow, favourite and/or review.

Thank you for reading, until next time.