Warning: There are depictions of child abuse in this chapter.
Kiana sat in her room and looked out the window. Her aptly named Snowfried, Snowiana, and Snowcilia stood in a row outside of their house. Cecilia happily played in the snow, throwing snowballs relentlessly at their father. The smile on her face coupled with her father's laughter almost dragged her down once more. The more she thought, the worse her headache became, however, the pain made her mind clearer than ever. Her body was attempting to wake her but her heart resisted.
She let out a sigh and glanced down at her notebook.
"This… is that day. It's today," she said bitterly.
She had come to terms after her experience in the forest with the Garmr, followed by a series of eerie, uncanny dreams. Vivid dreams- no, they were memories. She was living in a memory.
Kiana closed her journal and tightly gripped the arm of her chair. Everything was unfolding the way it did on that day.
"Even if…" she said in denial. "I can still change things. This is a dream. I can change dreams…"
Kiana lifted her hand and clenched her fists.
Yet, she pondered how she was ever going to change things in her tiny body. The her of the awake world would have instantly changed the situation that was about to happen but the her of now was incapable of doing anything.
"I can't use my powers," Kiana said.
"Powers?"
Kiana quickly turned to see Cecilia standing in the doorway with snow on her coat.
"Ceci! Come on!" Kiana rushed toward her and began brushing off the snow. "Don't track snow in the house. How many times have I told you not to make a mess?"
"Er…? Mess? It's just a little snow, Sis," Cecilia said, grabbing a chunk of snow from her sleeve and putting it on her sister's nose.
Kiana blinked and looked at the tip of her nose, feeling the hyper-realistic sensation of the melting snow. She shook her head, shaking it off before looking at her sister.
She's not real… She's not real… Ceci is out there waiting for me but…
Cecilia tilted her head, staring at her with her innocent, big blue eyes. Her heart wavered. Cecilia was always going to be Cecilia. Dream or not. This girl was a 100% perfect replica of the girl she knew outside. And that was only because… these were her memories.
Damn, she cursed.
"What are you even doing in here? Let's go play outside! Dad said the winter storm is coming in two days so let's let out everything!" Cecilia said, grabbing Kiana's hands.
"O- Outside?" Kiana asked.
"In the woods!"
"We just got attacked by a Garmr and you want to go back and play in the woods?" Kiana asked.
"Eh? What Garmr?" Cecilia asked.
Eh?
Kiana blinked. She clearly remembered what happened yesterday. She even had the scars to prove it. Siegfried had panicked when they arrived and saw the blood gushing from her forearm.
"What? We were attacked yesterday by a wolf honkai beast. See look! I even have the scars to prove it!" Kiana pulled back her sleeve and showed the arm that was bitten to her younger sister.
"Sis… are you okay?" Cecilia asked.
"What…? What are you…?"
"There's nothing on your arm, Kiana," Cecilia said, worry filling her eyes.
"Huh?" Kiana looked down at her forearm to find absolutely nothing. There were no blemishes. No wounds. No bandages. Not even a small scratch to signify that she had been attacked. Kiana almost stumbled back but caught herself before she could.
What'... What's going on? We were clearly attacked by a Garmr so where…? Kiana thought as she stared at her arm.
"Sis?"
Kiana blinked and looked at Cecilia.
"Sis? Are you-"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just let me get changed," Kiana said. She turned around to go grab her outdoor coat.
"Eh? Are you sure you're okay? You were really out of it just now. It was as if… you're starting to come out of a dream."
Kiana's breath hitched and she quickly turned to see Cecilia standing behind her.
Her eyes were glowing blue and an oppressive aura radiated from her body. A blank look was on her face and Kiana could sense, no physically feel the fear coursing through her body. Something about Cecilia was triggering every fear response encoded into her DNA.
"You've roused. The dreams of the Chimera were about to devour you yesterday. Once this dream comes to an end, you will finally break through and enter it," Cecilia said. Her voice was mixed with that of a man.
"W- Who are you?" Kiana asked, inching to her desk. Her hand reached behind her to grab the pencil.
"My identity is not important right now, Progeny. Just know… you are one of the first aside from your Sire to ever reach this deep into the Stigmata. I hope that… you will be able to change her views. If not you, then her." Cecilia glanced down at her hands.
"You… leave her alone!" Kiana roared.
"Sis?"
Kiana's eyes widened when she saw Cecilia looking at her oddly. She had her arms crossed and a confused look on her face.
"Aren't you going to put on your coat?" Cecilia asked.
Kiana looked around and noticed that she had not moved, despite feeling and knowing she had made her way to her desk. She was standing in the same spot, holding her winter coat.
"Oh… right, sorry." Kiana wrapped her coat around herself and smiled. "Let's go, Ceci! I hope you're ready to eat pain today because I won't lose this year's snowball fight."
"Pffft! As if! I already beat Dad! I'm going to win this year!" Cecilia said.
However, in the end, things were not meant to be. Kiana had won. Whether it was due to it being a memory or she was just that good, Kiana had won the snowball fight. Cecilia puffed her cheeks and stamped her foot, demanding a rematch, however, Siegfried called it off due to needing to make dinner.
And so, the Kaslana Sisters decided to spend the rest of their day, wandering in the woods behind their house. The lingering threat of the Garmr still existed in the back of her head. Kiana looked down at her hands.
"Oiii! Stop daydreaming and help me find a stick!" Cecilia yelled.
"A stick? What do we need a stick for?" Kiana asked.
"SnowDad is missing his sword. I figured we find a big stick to give SnowDad a Shamash sword… stick," Cecilia said.
"Right. We shouldn't go too far though. Dad's going to get mad at us if we go too deep into the woods," Kiana said.
She eyed her surroundings, deciding to be extra vigilant. Kiana had resolved herself to changing the outcome of this dream. It was her dream therefore, the outcome would be decided by her and her alone. She would not let a repeat of what happened then happen again. Not when she had the knowledge and power to stop it.
"Sis, what about this? It's big. Chunky. It would make for a great Shamash right?" Cecilia asked, waving a rather large stick in the air.
"Eh? Won't that break the arms?" Kiana asked.
"Mmm! Don't be such a worry wart. We'll cut it down to size so it won't break, easy peasy!" Cecilia said, doing a few experimental swings of the stick. "We need some rocks too."
"Rocks? What do we need rocks for?" She took the stick from her sister and gripped it tightly.
"We need the rocks to make that… that thing before the blade. You know that handle thing that looks like a cross. That thing the barrels turn into," Cecilia said.
"You mean the crossguard?" Kiana raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, that thing! Come on! I know a good place we can get some rocks!" Cecilia took off, running deeper into the forest.
"This… kid. Ceci! Ceci, wait!" Kiana ran after her. However, Cecilia was faster for some reason. Perhaps it was her size and the fact that she was running in snow that was the problem. Her sister was always ahead of her no matter what she did.
After a few seconds, Kiana felt something hit her foot and she tripped, falling face first in the snow.
"Ughh…" Kiana groaned as she lifted her head. She was glad she didn't hit anything hard. If it were possible, could she be knocked unconscious inside a dream? She shook her head, knocking the snow off her hair.
Her eyes quickly scanned her surroundings. She was alone. Slowly getting to her feet and patting her legs to remove the snow, she cupped her hands.
"Ceci! Ceci, where are you!?" Kiana called out.
No response.
"Cecilia shouldn't have gotten that far. Why am I not hearing anything?" Kiana wondered to herself.
"Ceci!"
Kiana kept calling her name as she walked deeper into the woods. A sense of familiarity and foreboding began to well up inside her, constricting her chest with each step she took. She began to move faster, calling her name out as loud as she could.
"Cecilia, where are you?" she murmured to herself.
"Looking for someone?"
Kiana froze when she heard it. A voice. The voice of a woman. She slowly turned her head and saw a woman she had never seen before nor remembered. Her hair was platinum blonde and she had green eyes. Her clothing consisted of a white and black uniform and there was a logo on it that she recognized instantly.
S- Schicksal! she thought.
"Mmm? Something wrong, kid?" she asked, taking a step toward her.
Kiana subconsciously took a step back as images assaulted her mind. This woman was… This woman was…
"I… I'm… I'm not looking for anyone," she said firmly.
"Mmm?" The valkyrie raised an eyebrow. "That's strange. I could have sworn I heard you yelling a name. Lying to adults isn't nice you know."
Kiana kept her mouth clamped shut as she continued inching away from her when she spotted another figure coming out from the corner of her eye.
"Rosetta, this area's clear. We should…," the newcomer had brown hair and hazel eyes. She wore the same uniform as the Rosetta woman but she had her weapon drawn. A massive zweihander with a green core.
"I found a kid, Lailah," Rosetta said.
"A kid?" Lailah turned around and her eyes widened slightly. "Holy shit, how lucky are you!"
"Lucky?" Rosetta said.
"That's the kid, we're looking for! See!" Lailah pulled a thin rectangular device. Though it was backwards on her end, Kiana could clearly see that the girl in the photo was none other than her sister. And she didn't need anyone else to tell her what was written on that file.
"So… this is the Herrscher we were looking for? This kid? The mission said we were retrieving a Herrscher but this is it?" Rosetta asked.
Kiana reached for the stick on the ground while the two argued.
"Look, I didn't assign this mission. The Overseer did. If you want to argue about Herrschers, then ask him!" Lailah rebutted.
"Look, I'm just saying it's kind of weird to send us and Captain Ragna just for this… pint-sized brat," Rosetta said.
"Whatever. Just subdue the girl and bring her back to the ship," Lailah said.
"Fine, let's just get this over with."
Kiana's eyes drifted down to her waist, where the woman pulled out a pair of tonfas. She clicked a button on them and electricity began to arc off its metal body.
"Nothing personal, Kid. But we can't have monsters running around out here," Rosetta said with a deadly gleam in her eye.
"She's not a monster…" Kiana muttered.
"What?" Rosetta raised an eyebrow as she got closer.
"I SAID SHE'S NOT A MONSTER!" Kiana yelled. She grabbed the stick and was about to swing when a snowball hit Rosetta in the side of the face.
"Leave my sister alone!"
Kiana and Rosetta both turned to see Cecilia standing a couple of meters away, arm outstretched. She had an angry look on her face.
"Wait… another one?" Lailah said. She raised her pad and aimed it at Cecilia.
[Honkai Energy detected]
As soon as Kiana heard the words come out of the tablet, she rushed forward.
"Ceci, run!" Kiana yelled, grabbing Rosetta's leg before she could move.
"Huh? What the-!? Kid, get off!" Rosetta began shaking her leg in an attempt to get her off.
"But-!"
"GO! GET DAD!" Kiana screamed.
Cecilia trembled in her spot before turning around and sprinting.
"Kid, get off!" Rosetta kicked once more, throwing Kiana off and causing her to land in the snow.
"Rosetta, that's the Herrscher! There's no mistaking it. She might not be radiating it but… the honkai activity we've seen in the past few days… this reading. Her Honkai energy is off the charts!" Lailah said.
"Well, it looks like… this Dad of theirs has some explaining to do," Rosetta said, spitting into the snow. She gripped her tonfa, taking aim at the running Cecilia's back.
Kiana gritted her teeth and grabbed the stick. She ran forward and swung it, striking Rosetta in the back of her knee.
The woman gasped in pain and fell backward, her leg forcefully crumpling.
"What the fu-"
Kiana wasted no time and threw the stick at her partner, causing the other woman to dodge in surprise.
She then turned and ran towards Cecilia at full speed.
"Damn it!" she heard them yell. "Call for reinforcements now!"
Shit, shit, shit! It's happening. It's that day again!
Kiana caught up to Cecilia and grabbed her hand. She dragged her at full speed toward the treeline, all the while hearing the yells and footsteps of valkyries behind them.
The day was ingrained clearly in her head, though the events that took place a few minutes ago were not exactly how it happened. Her words were not the same as it was that day. That day… she did not know what was happening. But now…
Kiana clenched her jaw as she saw the treeline ahead.
A loud thwap resounded through the air as if something had snapped.
Kiana suddenly found herself being launched across the air, metal wires wrapping tightly around her body. She landed in the snow with a painful thud.
A cry of pain alerted her and she saw Cecilia being thrown forward by a bolas shot.
"Ceci!" she squirmed in her restraints, attempting to wiggle her way toward her sister.
"Nice shot."
"Rosetta almost let them get away," Lailah said, coming up to them.
"Good thing, I'm here then," the woman said. She brushed her blonde hair aside and looked down at them with a crooked grin.
"Well, well, well. I always am a good shot if I do say so myself. Caught myself a Herrscher and her little pal," the woman said.
"Knock it off, Lynx. She's just a kid," Lailah said.
"Some kid she was!" Rosetta walked over and delivered a hard kick to Kiana's torso.
Kiana gasped and cried out in pain.
"Kiana! Stop! Don't hurt her!" Cecilia cried out.
"Rosetta, stop. She's just a child," Lailah said.
"This girl? She almost took out my fucking kneecaps!" she delivered another kick, sending Kiana sliding and crashing into the tree behind her.
"KIANA!" Cecilia screamed.
"Ceci…" Kiana rasped out, fighting through the pain. "It's… okay, I'm here."
"KIANA! STOP THIS! PLEASE!" Cecilia cried out, tears streaming down her cheek. "We're not! We're not that thing you're looking for!"
Kiana watched as Cecilia thrashed around, trying to get to her. She blinked a few times when she saw Cecilia's eyes slowly begin to change color, flickering between yellow and blue every few seconds.
"Ceci… no…" she said.
"Ah… ah!" Lynx placed her boot on Cecilia's back, pinning the girl to the ground.
"Let… her go," Kiana said, glaring at them through the pain.
"Rosetta, don't antagonize the child. I'm going to call Commander Ragna and tell her we captured the target," Lailah said, pressing a button on her earpiece.
"I can't believe it was this easy too," Lynx said, twisting the heel of her boot on Cecilia's back.
The little girl cried out in pain.
"What do we do about the kid? And her dad?" Rosetta said, pointing her tonfa toward Kiana.
"Isn't it standard Schicksal protocol for us to do clean-up?" Lynx asked. "Commander Ragna would probably not want to do anything at all. All we got to do is knock the kid out."
"Or we might have to. Hey, Lailah, did HQ say anything on what we have to do if the Herrscher had guardians?" Rosetta asked.
All the while, Kiana was busy lifting herself up as they rambled on. She glanced at Cecilia, who was looking at her with fear in her eyes. This was all happening as she remembered. The assault. Them getting captured. And now, her body was moving against her will. No, rather, Kiana was moving in accordance with her memories and her innate instinct to protect her sister.
Even if I'm going along with the memory, even if this Cecilia is just a figment of my dreams, she's still my… sister… Kiana thought.
Kiana lunged forward and shoved her entire body weight into Lynx, knocking her into the snow. Lynx cried out in shock and dropped her rifle.
Rosetta stumbled back in shock before reacting. She swung her tonfa at Kiana's head.
Kiana ducked under the swing and jumped, headbutting the older woman in the jaw.
Rosetta's mouth snapped shut and she was knocked off her feet. She landed in the snow, groaning in pain.
Kiana quickly ran toward Lailah, who had just pulled her weapon out. A telescopic staff with an electrical armament on both ends.
"Stand down, kid. Don't make us do anything drastic," Lailah said, holding her hand out.
"Cecilia! Get up and run!" Kiana barked.
"But… Sis!"
"No time. Go while they're still getting up!" Kiana ordered.
Her sister's tone left no room for argument. Cecilia struggled to get to her feet and stumbled.
"Where do you think you're going?" Lynx said, getting up. She aimed her rifle at Cecilia, switching her ammo. "I don't think Ragna would care if we killed the Herrscher, right?" her finger rested on her trigger.
Cecilia froze, shaking in fear as the woman aimed the barrel of the rifle directly at her face.
"Oi, Lynx. Don't try anything drastic-"
But it was too late. Lynx fired her gun.
Kiana reacted quickly, running and shoving Cecilia to the side before the bullet could hit her. However, she was not lucky in any aspect. The bullet tore straight through her shoulder, ripping apart muscle and bone. She had no time to cry out as the pain stopped any words or noise from escaping her throat.
She landed roughly on the snow, blood staining the ground in a dark crimson. Her vision was filled with exploding patches of color as she tried desperately to sit herself up. Blood flowed freely down her arm. She couldn't feel anything inside her shoulder so she assumed the bullet went straight through. But then again, she couldn't feel her arm at all.
"Ceci… run!" Kiana rasped.
"Kiana-"
"Stupid brat!" Lynx whirled on her in anger and kicked her square in the jaw.
"Lynx! Stand down!" Lailah yelled, rushing over to her and holding her back.
"And why the hell should I? She's a Herrscher, isn't she? Our job is to-"
"Capture her and bring her back to HQ not murder her family!" Lailah argued.
"Screw this! Screw HQ's Orders! Herrschers are the enemy of humanity! Do you know how many people were killed by the Second?" Lynx spat. "I'm not going to let a Herrscher live peaceful life-"
Kiana slowly inched her way over to Cecilia.
Lynx, having noticed her movement, stamped her foot on Kiana's back. "And let people who house Herrschers get away with housing fucking mass murderers!"
"Lynx-"
"She's right, Lailah," Rosetta said. "We all lost people during the Second Eruption. We can take this Herrscher out now and be done with it. And the girl… well, she's complicit so we have to get rid of people who are enemies of humanity."
Rosetta looked down at Kiana and pulled her tonfa out.
"Do it."
Lynx nodded and pressed the barrel of her gun against Kiana's head.
"KIANA! LET HER GO! LET HER GO!" Cecilia rushed over to her only to have Rosetta's tonfa shoved into her midsection. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she fell down, watching through pained eyes.
"Ki…a…na…" she whispered.
Lailah closed her eyes and looked away.
"Sorry, kid. You're a right pain in the ass and you might have been a good Valk but… people who sympathize with Herrschers no longer deserve to be treated as humans." she clicked her gun.
Kiana closed her eyes, momentarily forgetting this was a memory.
"I'm sorry, Ceci. I…love you," she said, smiling.
She watched Cecilia's eyes widen drastically. "No, Kiana! LET HER GO! STOP THIS! PLEASE!" she thrashed underneath Rosetta's boot.
"Quiet!" Rosetta struck her on the head, finally knocking her unconscious.
Kiana looked up at Lynx, who was hesitating in pulling the trigger.
"Well?" Rosetta asked.
Lynx's finger twitched. In that instant, between her pulling the trigger and her farewell, Kiana heard a wet squelch, followed by a spray of something warm on her face. She looked up and her eyes widened in recognition and horror.
Rosetta's body was impaled by a black and white helical spear. The Valkyrie, who was taken aback by the sudden turn of events, uselessly clawed at the spear before her life gave out and she fell limp.
"Rosetta! Shit!" she quickly turned and aimed her gun at Cecilia, who was slowly rising off the ground. "Lailah! Fire the flare! NOW!" she fired her gun at her.
Lailah hastily pulled the flare out of her bag and fired it.
The bullets halted, striking a blue barrier that appeared in front of her.
Cecilia slowly raised her hand. An invisible telekinetic force shot forth from her body, striking Lynx in the torso. Lynx flew through several trees before landing in the snow unceremoniously.
The Valkyrie twitched and attempted to stand but was lifted into the air by an invisible force.
Without a word, Cecilia snapped her fingers and Kiana watched as the world distorted and warped. Several violet portals opened in the sky and fired lances at the dying woman, skewering her in multiple places.
She dropped to the ground, having been turned into a pincushion.
"L- Lynx! Ro- Rosetta!" Lailah gripped her staff tightly before clenching her jaw and charging at Cecilia.
Cecilia glanced at her emotionlessly. She waved her hand and the lance that impaled Rosetta twisted and warped, transforming into a cord. The cord whipped the air, striking in a horizontal line.
Kiana looked on in horror as Lailah stumbled for a few seconds before the top half of her head slid off and hit the snow with a wet smack.
"C- Ceci…?" Kiana hesitantly said.
Cecilia turned to face Kiana, her lone blue eye slowly turning yellow. A design appeared around her pupil, resembling a crosshair. Cecilia reached up and pulled her bandage off, revealing her second yellow eye.
"Ceci… it's me, Kiana! Ceci!" Kiana yelled.
"Ceci? That weak girl?" Cecilia spoke. Her voice had changed, becoming deeper and more sinister.
"You… Herrscher," Kiana said.
"It's been so long since I've woken up. Humans are still the same no matter what. Murderers. Child abusers." she glanced down at the corpses of the Valkyries.
"Liars."
Her yellow eyes locked with Kiana's.
Kiana's breath hitched when she heard the word. She clenched her jaw and glared at the woman.
"But it doesn't matter," she said. She slowly hovered into the air and raised her hand. Space distorted and reality began to destabilize. The sky turned dark and violet rifts began to open up across the sky as if the world had been torn open at the seams.
Honkai beasts began to fall out of the portals en masse, landing on the ground with thuds and filling the skies.
All of them began to crawl in the direction of the village and she heard the sound of explosions and gunfire in the distance.
Kiana watched the events unfolding with horror in her eyes. She then turned to Cecilia. Her blue eyes locked with Cecilia's now yellow ones.
"Give her back," Kiana growled, ignoring the danger and pain she was in. "Give me my sister back!"
"Your sister? This girl? This girl is nothing more than a copy. A copy of you and you know that… but does she know that? Does she know she's just a copy of you?" the Herrscher said, leaning in close.
Kiana's fierce glare never wavered. "She's not a copy! She's Cecilia and she's my sister, now give her back to me!" Kiana yelled, sending spittle into the Herrscher's face.
The Herrscher smiled. "I'll give her back when I'm done. But until then, I'll be here and when she does wake up, she'll see your dead body right in front of her."
"Cecilia! Wake up! Wake up and fight her!" Kiana said, desperately looking for any trace of her younger sister.
The Herrscher reached toward her, her hand opening and making its way to her throat.
Kiana choked when the Herrscher wrapped her hands around her neck, constricting her throat.
"C- Ceci! Wake… up… fight… her!" Kiana gasped, clawing weakly at the Herrscher's hands.
"She's no longer here. Your sister never existed to begin with," she taunted with a smile on her face. She leaned in closer to Kiana's face.
"It has always just been me," the Herrscher said with a homicidal glee in her eye.
A gunshot rang through the air, ripping through the Herrscher's hair and missing her by a slight margin.
The Herrscher reacted and jumped back, hovering into the air when more flaming shots rang out.
The bullets flew through the air and were blocked by a blue shield that manifested in front of the Herrscher.
"Tsk, pesky human-" her eyes widened when she saw a pair of glowing blue eyes instantly appear before her. A high-speed physical attack slammed into her barrier, shattering it with brute force and sending her back.
Kiana looked up and saw her father standing before her.
"D- Dad!" she said.
"Kiana!" Siegfried knelt before her and tore the metal wire off with his bare hand. He noticed the healing bullet wound in her shoulder but said nothing.
"Dad, Ceci… she's…"
"I know," Siegfried said, standing up. The Judgement of Shamash burned brightly in his hands and transformed into its sword form in a flash.
The Herrscher was still getting to its feet, clearly not used to its new vessel.
"Kiana, I need you to run, now." Siegfried took a step forward.
"But Dad! Ceci, she's-"
"No time to argue! I need you to run now. I'll handle Cecilia. She's not herself right now. That thing. It's taken over her body and she can't recognize us. She won't stop until every human in the area is dead," he said.
"But-"
"Don't argue and listen to your father… please." he looked down at her, begging for her to run. "I promise, I'll be fine."
Her jaw tightened before a whisper too low for Siegfried to hear escaped her lips. "No, you won't…"
Kiana looked him in the eye, the memories of what was going to happen next flashing through her head. She shook her head and gripped her dad's arms, begging for him not to go alone. She could change this. This was a dream. A memory. She was supposed to have full control.
So why…? WHY IS NOTHING CHANGING!? She thought desperately as tears streamed down her face in full.
"Don't go… please… Dad… don't leave us," Kiana begged.
Siegfried smiled sadly and wiped her tears. "I have to go. I'm your Dad. I'm Cecilia's Dad. No matter what happens afterward, just remember that I'll always love you," Siegfried said. "And… if I don't make it back-"
"DON'T SAY THAT! YOU'LL COME BACK! I'LL MAKE SURE OF IT! I'LL CHANGE THIS HORRID DREAM!" Kiana cried.
"I'm sorry, Baby Doll, Daddy has to go save Ceci. So go, Kiana. Run. Run and find somewhere to hide. Run and don't look back," Siegfried said.
"But dad-"
Siegfried reacted quickly, pushing her aside and swinging his sword. A wave of fire was expelled from it, slicing the lance in half.
"Keh, you… filthy cheating human," the Herrscher said, levitating into the air. "No matter… I'll kill you like I will the rest. A filthy human insect is nothing before a Herrscher."
Her eyes glowed brightly as she raised her arms. Several portals appeared behind her and fired a volley of lances.
"Kiana, get behind me now!" Siegfried yelled.
Kiana involuntarily moved behind her father and ducked.
Siegfried raised his palm, erecting a barrier of solid ice. The lances pierced through the ice barrier, stopping mere inches from Siegfried's face.
"Fufufu… Ahahaha!" the Herrscher laughed as she raised her hand, gathering a massive amount of Honkai Energy. She threw the orb at them, tearing up the ground and surrounding trees in the process.
Siegfried hopped over the barrier and rushed toward the ball, meeting it head-on.
Kiana watched as her father plowed right through it, using Shamash's flames to incinerate the Herrscher's attack.
She knew how this battle would end. No matter how strong her Father was. No matter how skilled he was. He would lose. As long as the Herrscher wore her sister's face… even her Father, who she was confident could slay the Herrscher before them, was going to lose.
Siegfried jumped into the air, propelling himself with a pillar of ice, and dove toward the Herrscher, bringing Shamash down.
A thunderous explosion ripped through the area, sending Kiana sliding back. When the dust cleared, Kiana saw her father, pressing Shamash's blade down against the barrier. The surrounding area was beginning to get incinerated and the only reason she survived was because she was behind her father's ice shield at the time.
"You cannot hurt me, can you?"
Kiana bit her lip when she heard the Herrscher speak.
"This girl's face… even though she's just an imitation of your real daughter, you can't hurt her, can you?" the Herrscher said.
The Herrscher released a repulsive blast of energy, blasting Siegfried back.
Siegfried landed on the ground gracefully, immediately recovering from the attack.
"But… I can hurt you. With this girl's body, I can hurt you in ways you cannot fathom, Human," the Herrscher said. She hovered into the air and flicked her wrist.
The ground shook and the trees were ripped out all the way down to their roots. They hovered in the air before the Herrscher made a hand gesture and threw them at Kiana and Siegfried.
Siegfried moved almost blindingly fast. He fiercely swung Shamash at high speeds, leaving trails of light in his wake as he moved.
Kiana could clearly say that she barely saw her father move at all. He appeared and reappeared in multiple spots in a split second and his arms practically vanished from his body when he swung.
In his wake, Siegfried left a trail of charred wooden fragments. His sheer speed caught even the Herrscher off-guard as she had no chance to react to his agility.
Kiana watched as her father let loose a blast of cold wind that knocked the Herrscher out of the sky and to the ground.
"Sorry, Ceci. Dad has to be rough with you for a few seconds to get you to wake up," she heard Siegfried say as he landed.
Her eyes were now glowing blue and his sclera had turned black. Kiana could see the beginnings of claws forming at his fingertips and the dark coloration that appeared on his skin before it was encased by the carapace.
"Kh! Cheating human," the Herrscher said, getting up. "You would strike even your own child?"
"Fire!"
Siegfried and the Herrscher both turned to see a volley of gunfire heading in their direction.
Kiana watched as her father darted toward her, scooping her in his arms and erecting a shield of ice to hide behind.
Kiana could hear the endless amount of gunfire from behind the ice. All of it would fail to land on her sister. She heard the Herrscher let out a sinister chuckle before a loud blast resounded through the area. She peaked out from behind the ice barrier, watching as a rain of spears fell upon the Valkyries. The lead Valkyrie, a woman with brown hair and red eyes, made a beeline toward her younger sister.
"STOP!" Siegfried yelled in an attempt to get them to retreat.
But they ignored him and continued attempting to attack the Herrscher.
The Herrscher flew forward, meeting the woman midway. She dodged the woman's blade before impaling her through the torso with a lance. The woman fell forward, pinned by the spear. She turned her head and swung her greatsword at the Herrscher.
The Herrscher raised her hand and blocked the blade with an energy shield.
Another Valkyrie tried to save her but was ripped apart by an incoming Honkai Beast.
And it was the same with the others as well. Those who tried to save their Captain or slay the Herrscher was instantly ripped and mutilated by the spears the Herrscher summoned.
"Hmph," the Herrscher scoffed. "Is this it?" She looked down at the glaring, pale woman with disdain in her eyes.
"Humanity will stop you-"
Her sentence was cut off due to the Herrscher shoving a spear through her neck.
"You…" Siegfried glared at her.
The snowy forest was filled with blood and entrails. The bloodied corpses of Valkyries littered the field, all impaled in various manner by the spears or ripped apart by the Herrscher's and Honkai Beasts' attacks.
"In the end, they were just filthy humans," the Herrscher said. "And the same will happen to you and your daughter, Huma-"
Her sentence was cut off as Siegfried attacked her. His attack released a shockwave that sliced down every tree within a hundred-foot radius.
But the Herrscher dodged, using her portals to flash to safety. "You…"
"I'm sorry, Cecilia. Just bear with me!" Siegfried's features warped as a curved horn appeared on his head. A tail burst from his back, swinging wildly and kicking up snow. His shoulders and right arm were covered in a black carapace as were his shoulder blades. Spines grew through his clothes and his fangs elongated.
"Is this Dad's…?" Kiana said.
"What are you-"
Kiana watched as the Herrscher had no time to react. She could not even blink as she was thrown into the ground.
The Herrscher recovered quickly, rolling out of the way as Siegfried's boot came down. The impact shattered the ground and sent cracks through the area.
The Herrscher quickly got to her feet and prepared to attack but had no chance as Siegfried swung Shamash. She sidestepped, narrowly avoiding a cutting wave of flames that split the ground open and cut down over a dozen trees.
An inferno was beginning to brew within the woods as Siegfried continued his relentless assault. A trail of violet and orange light was all Kiana could see but even with that, she could tell that her father was overpowering her.
She watched as the Herrscher reappeared, condensing two spheres of Honkai energy before firing them at her father in a massive drill.
A series of orange lines etched themselves into the air and the drill shattered in the next instant.
"Damn! Damn, you! How is a human overpowering me-!?" she was cut off as she was sent into the ground violently.
The Herrscher let out a pained gasp and coughed up some blood. She gave Kiana a pained look and tried to get up but was pinned by Siegfried's boot.
"You're cheating! Curse you, Human!" the Herrscher roared, attempting to break free.
"It's time for you to give me back my daughter, Herrscher," Siegfried said, leveling Shamash at her face. "You've lost."
"Impossible. There's no way I can lose to a cheating, lying human like you!" the Herrscher roared. "If you want your daughter back, if I am to go down, then I won't go down alone!"
The Herrscher turned her head and locked eyes with Kiana. She opened her hand and a portal opened in between them. Noticing this, Siegfried moved immediately. The Herrscher grinned and fired the spear at high speeds.
Kiana raised her hands instinctively in self-defense. But the pain never came. Instead, her heart and soul shattered at the sight before her. Her father had appeared in front of her at the last second. An instant too fast for her to move and try to protect him. In the end, everything had unfolded in the same way.
Siegfried stood before her, his back facing her. The lance had pierced his chest. Blood trickled down the lance in a slow mocking fashion before dripping down to the snow below.
"D- Dad…?" Kiana shakily reached out to touch the spear.
"Heh, crap. Sorry, you had to see that, Baby Doll." Siegfried coughed, spitting a glob of blood out onto the snow.
"Ahaha, you humans are all the same." The Herrscher rose off the ground and into the air, elevating in altitude slowly.
Siegfried fell to one knee, using Shamash as a support to keep himself upright. Kiana could see his wounds slowly attempting to heal the massive hole in her father's chest. Around them, Honkai beasts roared and Kiana could hear gunfire amidst the raging inferno within the forests of the sleepy Siberian Town.
"Judgement Day has come upon you, Humans. I will finish what I started all those years ago. This time, nothing will hold me back. Not even you…" the Herrscher raised her hand into the air.
Dark energy swirled and gathered around her, condensing into a massive dark sphere. Black and violet lightning crackled off the sphere and began to warp the fabric of reality. Clouds and light distorted and the very laws of the world began to break down around them.
Kiana watched helplessly as the Earth around her shook violently, entire chunks of rock and earth being ripped out of the ground and hovering into the air. Winds picked up and lightning began to strike the area. As the sky slowly darkened, Kiana looked to her father, who had been watching the whole thing silently.
"Kiana, listen to me carefully," Siegfried said as he slowly stood. The Judgement of Shamash roared in his hand and flames swirled around her father's body. He looked over his shoulder and gave her a sad but resolute smile.
"Things will be very different after Ceci wakes up. A lot of suffering probably awaits the two of you after this. Life won't be as colorful anymore and you'll feel as if the world has lost all of its color. You'll probably even want to give up but always remember," Siegfried said.
"Dad… no… stop," Kiana begged as she heard those words from her father once more. She clawed and slammed her fist against the snow helplessly.
"Daddy loves both of you very much. You two are the brightest stars in my life. That day we saved Cecilia from Schicksal is one I will never regret. Even if she is just a clone of you, she's still my daughter and your younger sister so please don't blame your little sister. It isn't her fault. Cecilia is carrying a very big burden so please… support her as her older sister. You two will only have each other after this," Siegfried continued.
He turned to face his wayward daughter as she gathered more Honkai energy. He noticed the plant life in the forest, slowly corroding from the powerful Honkai radiation permeating the area.
"Oh, right. Before I go, I have a gift for you, Kiana," Siegfried said. He took one hand off Shamash and reached over to her. His clawed, armored hand was engulfed in blue flames.
Kiana's eyes widened as her father's hand rested on her head.
"Baby Doll, protect your sister. This is Daddy's last gift to you," Siegfried said.
Kiana felt the familiar pain, that familiar surge of power engulfing her body. And now, after facing her aunt, she realized what it was. Her father had used the Stigmata Resonance between them to partially awaken her Stigmata. She fought through the pain and looked her father in the eye, a sad but resolved look on his face.
Ah… Dad… you were ready to load your life into the barrel for us… she thought upon seeing her father's loving eyes.
Through the pain, her tears of despair streamed down her face as she reached and gripped her father's hand.
"Dad… please don't leave us," Kiana whispered as she watched the beginning of the end of the nightmare she had gone through all those years ago.
"Sorry, Baby Doll, but I have to go save your rebellious little sister. I love you, Kiana," Siegfried said, taking his hand off her head.
He took a step forward, erecting a wall of ice between him and Kiana.
Kiana rushed forward and banged against the ice, seeing the back of her father through the ice. Her eyes widened in horror as he raised Shamash into the air, the swirl of fire growing stronger and stronger until she witnessed her father summon the Might of An-Utu. Even in that form, she was barely able to survive it and with her father critically injured, there was no way he would survive.
"DAD-"
The memory and the world was engulfed in a flash of white and orange light, blinding Kiana briefly.
When she came to, Kiana noticed something vastly different about her surroundings. She stood in the middle of a smoldering crater as vast as the eye could see. The trees, plants, and even Honkai beasts and wildlife had been reduced to nothing more than gas, vaporized by the intense heat. Some rocks had melted, reduced to molten slag and Kiana could see that the very crust of the Earth had been scorched to the point that she could see small rivers of lava in the distance.
The ice barrier around her had crumbled to pieces.
"Kiana…"
She turned her head to see her father walking toward them with an unconscious Cecilia in his arms. He gently laid her down on the ground.
"Protect your little sister," Siegfried said.
"Da-"
"Daddy!"
Kiana's eyes widened when she saw her younger self run forward. She looked down at her hand and noticed that she had become nothing more than an invisible, translucent spectator to her own nightmare.
Siegfried just smiled as he reached forward to hug her. The younger version of Kiana jumped into his arms, gripping him tightly.
"I love the two of you with all my life. Please, remember. Protect your little sister, Kiana," Siegfried said.
"Dad…?"
Kiana clenched her fist as her younger self looked up to witness her father slowly crumble to ash. Siegfried's final smile forever etched into her face as the younger her— no, as she watched her father shatter into pieces of charred ash and smoke.
"Dad…? Dad! DAD!" the younger Kiana scrambled to gather the ashes of her father and clump them together into a pile, desperately attempting to rebuild Siegfried as if it would bring him back to life. "DAD! DAD! NO! DAD! PLEASE COME BACK!"
She closed her eyes, not wanting to witness her own desperation and despair play out once more.
"AAAAHHH!" her younger self's wails pierced her heart like a sword.
"S- Sis…?"
Kiana opened her eyes and her younger self turned around to see Cecilia slowly beginning to stir. She witnessed the brief flash of hatred in her younger self's eyes. The younger Kiana turned to see the Judgement of Shamash, still embedded into the ground. The blade's once brilliant orange blade had gone grey, exuding no heat whatsoever.
"No… stop!" Kiana said, attempting to keep her younger self from grabbing the blade.
But she could not hear her, the younger Kiana walked over and lifted the Judgement of Shamash with all her strength and effort. The younger Kiana lifted Shamash over Cecilia's unconscious body, preparing to drive the blade through her chest.
However, when Cecilia's eyes blearily flickered open, the younger Kiana stopped. The tears came back in full and she dropped the blade on the ground with a heavy thud. She grabbed her lethargic younger sister and pulled her in a tight hug, crying into her shoulder.
"Is this what you wanted me to see? DID YOU ENJOY WATCHING ME RUN THROUGH THIS NIGHTMARE!?" Kiana yelled, watching her younger self clinging to Cecilia.
"It was never about watching you run through this nightmare…," the voice responded. "You entered this own memory of your own volition. Using the Kaslana Stigmata has pulled you into the Stigmata Space of your family. A mental space shared through genetic code and filled with the various memories of yourself and those who came before you."
"What do you want?" Kiana said.
"Come. Make your way deeper into the Stigmata if you wish to wake back up."
And with that, the voice faded and the scenery shattered. Kiana's eyes widened as she suddenly found herself hurtling through a black void as various white windows with a myriad of images passed through her.
And so, we've come to the end of one of Kiana's memories of the past. We'll see a few more in the upcoming chapters before we see glimpses of other Kaslana memories. In the next chapter, we'll get back to Ceci and her little journey with her parents. I'm pretty sure you all know how that will end. Though, unlike in canon, I get to play with Siegfried and Cecilia's relationship and show more than what we were shown in the game. Think Second Eruption except I give more insight into their married life and dating era rather than just... you know introducing Cecilia Schariac, making everyone love her, then killing her. Also just a reminder just in case you all get confused, Ceci is K-423 and Cecilia is referring to Cecilia Schariac. Anyway, see you all in the next chapter!