POV: Kiana

Kiana slowly opened her eyes. Warmth surrounded her. The warmth of the blankets covering her and her own internal flame nearly lulled her back to sleep, but it was the warmth she felt from seeing Mei there with her that made her welcome being awake. The warmth from Mei's body so close to her fuelled Kiana's flames and her drive to carry onward. Kiana smiled and watched Mei's peaceful, sleeping face. She looked so content and her breathing so calm. Kiana wondered if Mei had ever managed to sleep so peacefully when she was at World Serpent and away from all those she cared for.

Kiana reached over and gently ran her hand through Mei's violet hair. Their past pain no longer mattered. Those days were done. Mei was back where she belonged, and she would never leave her again.

Mei stirred slightly. "Mmm…Kiana, is that you?"

Kiana laughed quietly. "Who else could it be?"

Mei opened her eyes and smiled at her. "Good morning."

Kiana loved seeing her beautiful smile. "Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you."

"It's alright. It was about time we got up."

Mei climbed out of bed. Kiana followed her into their room's adjoined bathroom where they prepared for the coming day, taking a warm shower together and brushing and combing each other's hair.

"I'll go prepare breakfast," Mei said when they finished, walking back out. "What would you like to have today?"

Kiana considered it for a second before coming up with the perfect answer. "I'm fine with anything. Make what you want to make today."

"Alright. Give me a few minutes." Mei retrieved some ingredients from the refrigerator in the kitchen area and started preparing them at the stove. Kiana watched her for a while before sitting down at a table. She was glad that Mei did not need to see the expression on her face. Kiana listlessly scrolled through her phone as she waited. It was not long before she smelled the aromatic scent of the food Mei was cooking for her. Mei seemingly finished in no time at all and brought the food over. She carefully set it on the table.

Kiana put her phone away and smiled. "It looks great as always. Let's eat."

Kiana did eat, but Mei must have noticed something different about her.

"Kiana, is breakfast not to your liking?"

Kiana looked at Mei's handiwork again. For breakfast, she had prepared Kiana's favourite foods from a variety of different cultures, not only Mei's own. The precision and care that Mei put into her cooking was something Kiana could feel with every bite. She loved her for that, but she loved her more for caring about her. Kiana looked up from her meal and into Mei's concerned eyes. She gave the love of her life a reassuring smile. "No, it's amazing as always. It's just…"

Mei's look told Kiana that her attempt at a smile resulted in a grimace. She pulled her chair closer to Kiana. "You aren't eating like you usually do. Normally, you would have finished at least half of it by now. Kiana, what's wrong? You can tell me."

Kiana's gaze lowered back down to the food, wishing she could lose herself in it. "I feel lost. I don't know what to do. I want to help, but I can't. I want to help Theresa, but she won't let me. Even she seems lost. Theresa always had a plan. She always knows what we have to do and how to do it. But now…"

Mei rested a hand over Kiana's. "The way I see it is that nothing has fundamentally changed. Our goal has always been defeating the Honkai and now defeating World Serpent. To do this, we need to help Theresa strengthen Schicksal, and to do that, I can think of a number of things we can help with. If we can't focus on one, then we focus on another. Kiana, what do you want to do? How do you think you can personally help?"

Kiana carefully considered Mei's insight and knew she was right. Their goals had not changed, only their situation. They did not have the luxury of being idle. There was always more that needed to be done. In a way, Kiana welcomed this. She was blessed with powers she had never asked for but were beyond any could ever hope for. She had a responsibility to use them for good after they had already been used to inflict so much death and destruction. The time when the Herrscher of the Void could rampage with impunity was past, but Kiana still owed a heavy debt to the world. Nothing she could ever do could begin to make up for the deaths her powers caused, but she had to at least try.

"Thank you, Mei. I know you're right. I just remembered a way I could help. Theresa and I already discussed it a while ago, and I think it's time that I got around to doing it."

"What is it?" Mei asked.

"We can talk about it when we find Theresa. For now, let's eat. We can't waste all this delicious food you made." Kiana immediately started to eat faster, both to save time and because she genuinely began to enjoy it even more.

Mei smiled. "Alright. Let's eat."

Soon, they both finished. They set the used dishes and utensils in the sink to clean when they returned later. They had a more important task in mind. They left their room and went to find Theresa, guided by directions given by those they asked. She was in one of the base's meeting rooms and deep in discussion with Bianka. Neither seemed to take notice of Kiana and Mei as they stepped into the room and quietly waited for them to finish. When they did, they greeted Kiana and Mei warmly.

"Good morning, you two," Bianka said with a bright smile. "Sorry, we didn't notice you there."

Kiana smiled back. "It's alright. We didn't want to interrupt." She was glad Theresa had the help of such a powerful ally. Theresa had made her dislike of Bianka obvious in the past, but times had changed even though Bianka mostly had not. Bianka was still the strongest S-rank valkyrie Kiana had looked up to and the goalpost she once strove to surpass, but for whatever reason, Bianka's behaviour toward Kiana was different ever since Kolosten. She was warmer, closer, and almost familial. Kiana wondered what, if anything, had changed between them to make her act this way, but she was glad for it.

"Good morning," Mei replied.

"Good morning. Mei," Theresa said. "I want to thank you again for the incredible meal you cooked for me yesterday. I really needed it after…"

"You're welcome. Anytime," Mei replied.

"Are you here to see Theresa? We just finished up," said Bianka.

"Kiana told me she doesn't want to stay in the base all day doing nothing," Mei told them. "I can agree with that. We all want to help in any way we can."

Theresa invited them over. "Please sit. Kiana, we were actually just about to call you over."

"You were?" Kiana said after they sat down. "Is it about what I think it is? Mei and I came here to follow up on that discussion we had about Schicksal HQ."

Theresa seemed pleased to hear that. "Perfect. That's exactly what I meant. Now look carefully." She pressed a button on the table, and a holographic image of Schicksal's headquarters was projected above it. It was a real-time recreation of the current state of Schicksal's once-proud capital: the immense floating island that was believed invulnerable until the Herrscher of Sentience had woken on it and used it as target practice for her rampage. The Herrscher of Sentience was fond of boasting. She could boast of being one of Otto's few mistakes that proved costly for him and personally.

"As you can see, Schicksal HQ's anti-gravity drives have finally been stabilized, so there's no worry of it falling out of the sky and causing a disaster," Theresa said as she pointed at the large engines affixed to the underside of the island that held it aloft. "But the rest of the headquarters is still a complete mess and hardly fit for living on. It could take months or even years to fully repair it to its previous operational status, and that won't do if I'm to move in as Schicksal's new Overseer. It was about time I did."

Kiana carefully analyzed the hologram of the immense island. She had visited the floating fortress only a few times in her life, but its sheer scale always amazed her. It was sobering to see something so great reduced to this state of disrepair, and all by the hands of one being. An unbridled Herrscher was a goddess of destruction. Kiana vowed that she would be better, that her powers would never run rampant outside her control ever again. For the world's sake and for all those she loved, she had to be.

"The very act of Theresa performing her role as Overseer from Schicksal HQ would help strengthen her image as its new leader," Bianka explained. "The longer she remains at this base, at Anti-Entropy, Schicksal's enemy for six decades, the more her loyalty to Schicksal will be called into question. She must take her place at Schicksal's seat of power, not AE's nor anyone else's. Otto, for all his faults, knew that being Overseer means being acknowledged as Overseer."

Mei looked at the hologram and then at the two S-rank valkyries. "If my time at World Serpent taught me anything, it's that appearances matter. What people believe matters, whether what they believe is true or not. World Serpent has followers on every continent because they believe in its cause, not Schicksal's or AE's. If people believe Theresa isn't fit to be Overseer, that makes it the truth to them. If enough people believe that, our own organization could become our enemy."

"You're right, Mei." Theresa activated another hologram, this one showing what people were saying about her and how much they approved of her or not. The results were mixed at best and sickening at worst. Kiana flinched as she read what they were saying about her aunt. "We're S-ranks and Herrschers," Theresa continued. "We ultimately don't need to worry about what anyone thinks of us. But if we want a stronger, better Schicksal, we need unity and strength, not division. We need to present an image of that to make it real. Kiana? Are you ready to help?"

"I am, Aunt Teri," Kiana said in a determined voice. "This is what we talked about before you and Bianka came back to the base. I can use my powers to help with the repair process at Schicksal HQ and make it go so much faster. I want to help in any way I can, and I think this is the best way for me to." Kiana inspected the image of the ruined island in closer detail. "It won't be easy, but I can do it."

Theresa looked proud of her. "That's good to hear from you, Kiana. Thank you. I mean it."

"I can leave today. It's not like I was doing much here anyway," Kiana offered.

"Are you sure?" Theresa asked. "You don't need to leave that soon. If you want to stay a few more days here with us and Mei, don't let me stop you."

"It's important to ensure that you're ready for an undertaking before you set out to do it," Bianka advised her.

Kiana looked down. They were right. There was one thing that made her reluctant to leave. Still looking down, she carefully asked, "Aunt Teri…how…how is he doing?"

The identity of the he Kiana referred to was obvious to everyone else in the room. Kiana watched them fall into a silence and started to regret asking the question.

Theresa looked disconcerted as she shook her head. "I can't give you an answer that would satisfy you. I'm sorry."

"Have you seen him? I know that he's refused to see any of us, but…"

"I have."

"How was he?"

"I'm sorry, Kiana. Like I said, he isn't ready to see any of us so soon. Don't worry yourself about him. Focus on what you can help with. That's how you can make a real difference."

Kiana sighed. She remembered the look on his face after she had released him from her embrace. "I know."

"I guess I could try calling the scientists to see if there's anything new." Theresa called Tesla, Einstein, and Nagamitsu and held her phone to her ear. Kiana, Mei, and Bianka waited in tense silence as Theresa asked them about their latest findings, which grew tenser when Theresa narrowed her eyes. "Are you sure? Are you absolutely certain that he did this?"
Kiana nervously glanced at Mei. Mei looked as concerned as Kiana felt, as did Bianka. "What happened?" the three of them asked Theresa.

Theresa did not heed their question, too focused on her call. Her expression only grew sterner as it continued. "Thank you, Tesla, Einstein, Nagamitsu. I'll let them all know." She ended the call and gave the three women an intense look. "Johann's gone missing as of a few minutes ago. He created a portal and vanished through it to leave the base. We don't know where he went."

Kiana's heart fell into a bottomless pit before she gained a surge of energy and determination. She stood up. "I'll go find him." She was about to manifest a portal of her own and exit in the skies above the base when Theresa took hold of her arm.

"Theresa?" Kiana saw how concerned her aunt was, and it worried her.

"No, Kiana. He won't be found if he doesn't want to be found by you."

"But - "

"Kiana. Look at me."

Kiana looked at Theresa's blue eyes. They were as blue as her own, as blue as Bianka's.

"Kiana, out of everyone here, we're the ones he can't bring himself to see the most. You already know why."

Kiana did know. It was their blue eyes, their silver hair, their names, and their blood. All served as painful reminders of what he had lost in another world far away. Knowing that her very existence was inflicting him pain gave Kiana no end to her despair. Kiana stood there, powerless, once again lost and unsure of what she could do, if she even could do anything at all.

Mei's gentle embrace and soothing fragrance surrounded her, giving her the warmth she needed.

"Mei…"

"Kiana, don't worry. We'll find him," Mei promised.

Then Bianka was embracing her in turn. "Kiana, don't despair. We have ways of finding him. He'll be back before you know it. Trust us, please."

"Trust us, Kiana," Theresa reassuringly said. "We'll find a way to bring him back to us."

Kiana trusted them.