Kiana closed her eyes as she savoured the breakfast Mei had made for her. She would never tire of the food from Mei's homeland, especially if they were made by her.

She heard water running from the adjoined shower. She considered joining her, but she had already showered as Mei prepared breakfast for her. Then the sight of an onigiri, the same thing Mei had offered her the day she forgot to bring her lunch to Senba, encaptivated her again. She devoured it with a few mouthfuls and then several more.

The door to the shower opened, and Mei walked out, wearing casual clothing and with her hair flowing down her back. The sweet scent of shampoo accompanied her, finally taking Kiana's mind away from her breakfast.

"Good morning, Mei," she said, standing up to hug her and giving her a light kiss.

Mei hugged her back and happily returned the kiss. "Good morning. I see you've already eaten half the breakfast I made for both of us."

"Mei, you know I can never control myself when it comes to your cooking…"

Mei laughed. "It's alright. You always ate more than I did, anyway." She sat down. Together, they enjoyed the perfection of Mei's handiwork before clearing the table.

"Kiana, you've been working yourself very hard lately. Are you sure you don't need a rest today?" Mei asked as they cleaned the dishes and utensils at the sink.

It took more than a single defeat to stop Kiana for good. For each day after, Kiana spent hours in the laboratory, focusing so hard on her goal that she drained most of her energy and quickly fell asleep after returning to her room. Mei was not overly worried for her. She knew it was her determination that drove her this hard, but even so, she knew that even a Herrscher had limits.

Kiana finished cleaning and turned to her. "I'll be fine. You don't need to worry about me. It helps that Theresa and Bianka are finally coming back today after dealing with those who opposed Theresa as the new Overseer. I've been talking a lot with them. They've had a lot of success getting people to support Theresa and getting rid of the people who didn't. She also talked about moving to Schicksal's headquarters now that she's Overseer, so she'll also need to speed up the repairs. She asked me for help with that, after I finish up here of course."

"I'm glad. I should speak with them more, too." Mei had been looking forward to seeing her headmistress again. "Theresa's coronation ceremony is coming up soon."

"It is. We'll be heading back to Kolosten. Again. Let's hope Otto doesn't ambush us this time," Kiana said, only half joking.

"Kiana, he - "

Kiana touched Mei's nose. "It was only a joke. Anyway, I need to head to the lab now. I'll see you soon." Kiana gave her a final kiss before she walked out of their room and made her way to the laboratory where Tesla, Einstein, and Nagamitsu awaited her.

"Good morning, Kiana," said Nagamitsu. "I know you feel that you haven't made much progress since that day, but I've been pouring over my research and think you're just looking in the wrong places. Remember what we said about you not recognizing any fifteenth-century architecture?"

"We suspect that time flows faster in the other branch," said Einstein. "It's possible that decades or even centuries have passed in that world in only a month of ours."

Kiana remembered. She did not like the implications. "It means that I shouldn't look for a world with old technology since they've already advanced past that."

"It's only a theory," clarified Tesla. "We won't know for certain until you find it again."

Kiana stood in position and opened a portal, reaching into the unfathomable expanse of the Imaginary Tree. Hours passed with nothing to show for them. She found countless worlds, some better than theirs, some worse, some nearly the same. She found alternate versions of herself and those she knew, including one where she was "rescued" by Bianka and the Abyss Flower after saving Arc City from the bomb. She found worlds she wished she had never found and worlds she wished her own world could match.

Fu Hua had joined them, helping Kiana as best as she could. She heard the scientists mention that Theresa and Bianka had arrived at the base. She heard Mei enter the room and quietly watch her.

Hours more passed with nothing to show for them. Her reserves of energy depleted at a steady rate. She could sustain this for another two hours at most. Then one. Then less.

Despite her previous confidence, she grew fearful. Fearful of failure. Fearful that all their efforts were for naught. She knew they could not continue this forever. She knew they had only a limited amount of time they could spare for this goal before more pressing matters forced them to stop. They could search through the infinite depths of the Imaginary Tree for the rest of their entire lives, for millennia and more, and not find that world. No words and no amount of determination could make the impossible possible. The realization crushed her.

No. I'm not giving up. I'm a Kaslana. Kaslanas do not give up. Kallen never gave up on protecting the people even when they had condemned her to die. Theresa never gives up no matter what she faces. Dad did not give up on me. He only did what he thought was best for me. Even Kevin never gave up after facing the end of his world. I did not give up on Mei. I will not give up on him.

She searched for him, for his warmth and strength and steadfast determination that matched her own. She searched for the world he once came from, the world Otto Apocalypse and his cousin loathed so much and longed to destroy. She saw a world filled with Honkai that made ceaseless assaults on the people, a world with one supreme protector holding back the forces of annihilation.

"Mei…"

Mei walked over. She was alarmed to see her crying.

"Kiana, what's wrong?" she asked, alarmed.

"Mei…I found him. I found him again. He's safe, and so is his world because of him." Kiana wore a beautiful, joyful smile. Her tears continued to fall as she wept with joy and relief.

"That's…that's wonderful…" Mei gasped, overjoyed.

Fu Hua looked up. "You found him? I'll begin preparing the device immediately."

"Thank you, Fu Hua. Mei, contact everyone. I want them all to be here."

Mei called the others. In mere minutes, the laboratory filled with people. First to enter was Theresa, looking tired after her long journey across Schicksal but also invigorated, now an Overseer in full. Bronya and Seele were next, holding hands as they entered the room, closely followed by Rozaliya and Liliya. Then Bianka and Rita. Rita had become a cold, emotionless shell of herself after the battle against Otto and was utterly devoid of mercy for the few captured spies she had uncovered, but now she looked as if she were regaining some of her former life. Welt Yang stepped into the room, adjusted his glasses, and gave a grateful nod to Kiana. Last to arrive was Li Sushang, an old friend of Fu Hua. She had quickly acquainted or befriended Kiana and the rest and became a valuable member of their team.

Kiana felt Mei's warm hand take hold of hers. She relaxed and turned her head to her.

"Thank you for always being at my side, Mei. You're the light that guided me through my darkness, and now, we will be the light that guides him home to us."

Mei returned her smile and looked forward into the portal that would soon connect their world to the other. "We will be the light shining through the darkness for those who have lost their way. We will never be apart. And as long as we're together, our light will never go out."

...

A/N: The future looks bright for all of them.

Fun trivia: Mei was originally going to reunite with Kiana by sending an electronic message to her using her powers asking to meet with her again, but this wasn't personal enough.