They were still sitting there in that forest when KIANA heard more footsteps approaching. The twins felt her tense and looked around.

It was a man with brown hair wearing glasses, looking far plainer than the Pretender.

And yet, as KIANA stared at him, with that sense of familiarity unimpeded by anything, she knew.

This man was the Herrscher of Reason.

He noticed them sitting there, and spoke out.

"Ms. Kaslana? Is that you?" As he neared, he noticed the body lying on the ground, as well as taking a closer look at her, and narrowed his eyes. "Oh, it appears I was mistaken."

"Who are you?" She knew what he was, but not yet who. She had to make sure he wasn't a threat.

"I'm a teacher at this school." School? Was that the fancy building off in the distance? Why were there not one, but two Herrschers at that school?

"That didn't answer my question." She had asked who he was, and he responded with what. He was avoiding her question.

He paused for a moment, before continuing.

"My name is Joachim-" Before he could continue, he was interrupted.

"It's okay, Welt. You don't need to pull the 'teacher card' on her." A familiar voice spoke.

KIANA turned to see a mop of blue hair appearing from the woods.

"Einstein?" What was she doing here? Was she involved with this?

No, that was a stupid question. She's part of an Anti-Honkai organization, and two confirmed Herrschers were in the area. Of course she would be involved.

"Long time no see, KIANA. How have you been?" Einstein at least was a familiar and trustworthy face, and she didn't seem wary of Reason. They seemed to be acquainted.

"Einstein, you know this woman?" The newly named Welt asked. Wait a minute.

KIANA realized she had heard the name Welt before, and very recently at that.

"Why do you have the same name as that Pretender?" Her guard was back up. Were they affiliated in some way?

He looked curious at the nickname she gave the corpse, before letting out a sigh.

"Ah, I suppose you would be rather untrusting after meeting that one." He motioned towards the body. "But you don't need to worry. He and I are not allies. My name is Welt Yang."

"You can trust him, KIANA. The truth is, we were here to deal with him ourselves, but it looks like you beat us to the punch." Einstein spoke. "He's a clone of an old friend, named Welt Joyce. He gave his name to Welt here before he died." She motioned to Reason.

"A clone of a friend? Seems like a great guy." Rozaliya couldn't help chime in sarcastically, alerting the others to the presence of the twins.

"Make no mistake, this clone you met was a bastardized version of Joyce, with a completely different personality. All he had from Joyce was his appearance." Einstein assured.

"And his powers, it looks like." Welt muttered, looking around at the craters in the ground. "How did you manage to defeat him? As wounded as he was, he was still a force to be reckoned with. Even most Valkyries would have struggled to deal with a Herrscher's strength."

The twins looked to KIANA, not having seen the finishing blow themselves.

"I struggled at first, but then I managed to beat him." KIANA explained as vaguely as possible.

"What I meant was how you managed to?" Welt clarified.

"I stabbed him." KIANA lied. She looked at the corpse that had multiple holes in it. "Multiple times." She added.

"I… was more asking how you managed to overpower him, not the specific manner you killed him." Welt said slowly.

KIANA couldn't tell him that she used a Herrscher dress and turned his own authority against him, so she scrambled for an answer.

"It was…" She remembered something the Pretender had said when she donned the Herrscher dress. "The battlesuit." She pointed at her dress. "That's what he called it."

It technically was how she was able to break out of his attack, she wouldn't have been strong enough without it.

"I… see." Welt said, clearly not satisfied, but he saw that she wasn't going to give him a direct answer. He looked at Einstein. "Einstein, are you sure we should be trusting them like this?" He asked.

"It's ok. I've come to a certainty that she's not affiliated with Schicksal. It's better to stay on good terms with her than not. And I happen to know that those two are kids from Cocolia's orphanage." She said pointing at the twins.

"You know Matushka?" Liliya asked.

"Dammit, Cocolia really screwed up this time. What would she have done if her project killed these two?" Welt muttered angrily, but quietly enough so the twins didn't hear.

"What about Thunder?" KIANA asked. She had yet to see any sign of them.

"Hm? What do you mean?" Einstein asked.

"That blackout in the city wasn't caused by the Pretender, the 3rd Herrscher was also involved here. How is their condition?"

"She's currently unconscious, being looked over after the attack." Einstein answered curtly.

"What I meant was 'is she an ally of humanity or a threat?'" KIANA clarified.

"The Herrscher persona is willing to help out if it suits her, while the host is determined to become a Valkyrie that helps people." Herrscher persona? Host? What in the world was Einstein talking about?

"So they're not a threat, then?" She asked just to be sure. Einstein nodded. KIANA sighed. "So the matter is resolved then."

"Correct. I've finished all of my business here, so I'll be heading back." Einstein said. She turned to the twins. "I suppose you two should come with me. Your Matushka has been worried about you."

At KIANA's confused look, Einstein clarified. "I have a device that can warp myself along with others back to base with me. It's a bit quicker than getting them a ride all the way back to Siberia." Ah, so then this was goodbye, then.

She turned back to the twins and laid a hand on each of their shoulders. She took a deep breath.

"You two are gonna go back home now, ok? This is farewell."

"But, we'll see eachother again, right?" Rozaliya looked up at her as she spoke.

"Of course. I didn't get to see much in Siberia, so I'll come visit you, ok?" At that, Rozaliya seemed to perk up.

"Ok! Then we can be your tour guides throughout Siberia!" Rozaliya was already thinking ahead.

Though, KIANA stared at her, a soft smile on her face.

'A pink haired tour guide with energy to spare.' They were rather similar, weren't they? The comparison made her think of something else.

"I think those judges were wrong about you two." At the twins' confused look, she continued. "You don't need to be able to sing and dance to be an idol. You just need to be happy, and make others happy. All you need…" She found herself lost in her thoughts, before she finished.

"All you need is a great love of the world."

The twins leaped up for one last hug before separating and heading to Einstein, who was sitting there with a fond smile.

"All right you two. Just a heads up, we're gonna be appearing in the middle of HQ, so everything around you is gonna be Top Secret stuff, got it? You can keep your eyes closed if you want." She gave a cheeky smirk. "But somehow I don't think you care much for confidentiality, given how you got those tails there." The twins were now laughing sheepishly while looking everywhere but at Einstein.

Einstein got her laughs out before turning to Welt.

"Welt, I'll chat with you soon. Make some time so I can get a proper report of how things went on your end." Welt nodded. Einstein then turned to KIANA. "Safe travels KIANA. Hopefully next time we meet things aren't so hectic." KIANA nodded.

"Be careful. I think she's planning something in secret." Welt spoke up. KIANA figured he was talking about the twins' Matushka. Einstein closed her eyes as the teleportation sequence began.

"Don't worry, we've made a deal with Theresa." Einstein answered. She huffed, looking away. "Always so concerned about the rest of us."

She looked at him and stuck her tongue out at him. "You're making me miss him, you know…" And then she and the twins were gone.

Welt sighed and walked over to the corpse of the Joyce clone.

"It's best not to leave a mess." He muttered to himself, as he held out his hand to it and spoke quietly yet powerfully.

"Star of Eden"

Suddenly a large black hole appeared over the body, completely engulfing it. When the black hole disappeared, so had the corpse.

He let out a cough, spewing some blood onto his hand.

"That wasn't the same power as the Pretender. That was the true power of the 9th Herrscher. And yet you are not the 9th." KIANA spoke up. Welt turned to her. "Was that a Divine Key?" Einstein had been cagey about the details, but KIANA believed she figured it out. She had seen the warriors of the Previous Era, Elysia's friends, use the powers of Herrschers in their weapons during their battle with her.

The fires of the 7th, the feathers of the 8th, and the gravity of the 9th. Those must have been Divine Keys, with the 'Divine' part she had asked Einstein about coming from the godlike Herrschers.

That must mean that the 4th Key Einstein spoke of was a Divine Key correlating to the 4th Herrscher, Wind.

Just now, the power Welt used felt nearly identical to the woman dressed in brown, who had a voice like gold. The 9th Divine Key, the one he called Star of Eden.

"That would be correct." Welt confirmed. "KIANA, was it? Einstein seems to have put some trust in you, so I'd like it if you could avoid telling anyone about my identity or ties to Anti-Entropy."

"Sure, I'm not going to be sticking around here for too much longer anyways. I'll probably just stay here and see the sights for another day." She'd stay for a day to make sure the incident didn't come back as soon as the next day came around. "Are you okay though? I don't think coughing up blood is natural."

"I'll be fine, it's just some old wounds acting up. I should best get going now. It wouldn't do for a teacher to be found near a field of craters like this." He began walking away, and she turned and walked the opposite direction, before she heard him speak again.

"If I may ask a question, though. Have we met before? You seem familiar…" He was looking at her when she turned back to him. She kept her face passive.

"Who knows? Maybe you're mistaking me for that 'Ms. Kaslana' you mentioned earlier." She began walking away again, and Welt turned back to his own path.

He began walking again before he heard a voice from behind him.

"Take care, Reason."

He turned back to her quickly, but she was already gone.

KIANA reappeared on a building's roof in the city, back in her casual clothes, and collapsed as soon as she landed. This was her first time using multiple Shades of Finality in such quick succession.

However, despite her exhaustion, she was happy. She had confirmed that two Herrschers had chosen to side with humanity, even if Thunder was still in a curious situation.

Elysia got what she wanted. Herrschers that retained their humanity.

She thought over her last words to Reason before she left. All things considered, it probably wasn't the smartest move, as he hadn't even shared that he was the 1st Herrscher.

But she couldn't help herself at that moment.

Ever since she got to Earth, she had been seeing different forms of families, from the girl who wanted a picture and her mother, to Rozaliya and Liliya and their chaotic dynamic.

Technically speaking, the closest thing KIANA had to 'family' was the Honkai, and they weren't the most approachable family.

So the next step were her fellow Herrschers.

Welt Yang was the First Herrscher of the Current Era. As she was the Final Herrscher of the Previous Era, that made him her direct successor.

Or, based on her limited understanding of how families worked, that made him her little brother.

She just wanted to at least try to reach out to him in some way, even if he'd just end up confused from the effort.

Because to her, he was the closest thing she had to family.

Before she could fall asleep, she thought she noticed a white figure on the roof with her.

"Who's there?" She asked, ready to materialize her lance in an instant. But she didn't see anyone, nor could she sense anyone near her.

It was just herself on the roof.

She glanced around for a moment longer, then fell back down, uncaring of the hard surface beneath her.

If something wanted to pick another fight, then she'd handle it. For now, she slept, thinking of what it meant to have family.

Welt was feeling tired, which made sense given he had gotten up long before sunrise to ensure the loose end of the Joyce clone was tied up.

However, his day wasn't over yet as he still needed to call Einstein to give her his report.

For a moment, he wondered why she didn't want him to give it to her when they met earlier that day, but he suspected she didn't want the Olenyeva twins and KIANA to hear.

At the thought of KIANA, he furrowed his brow in deep thought. She had managed to identify that he was the Herrscher of Reason, even though he gave no indication of it. Had she been able to tell just from his use of the Star of Eden replica?

He was so deep in his thoughts that he almost missed the computer pinging, telling him that he was receiving a call. Accepting the call revealed Einstein, looking just as tired as he felt.

"Hey, haven't seen you in a couple hours." She jokingly greeted.

"Ha, I suppose you've had a long day too?" He answered.

"Thanks to Rozaliya and Liliya, yeah. After we got back they nearly managed to wreck the R&D department. I can't fathom how KIANA managed to keep an eye on them without going crazy."

At the reminder of KIANA, Welt decided it was best to mention his findings to her.

"About this KIANA…"

"You can thank Tesla for finding out about her, playing princess in Homu Land. We then met her in person during a Honkai Eruption, where she saved our lives. However, even though we're grateful to her, she remains suspicious. And this recent incident only makes her more of a mystery."

"Then why tell her so much? Even revealing my identity to her?" To Welt, Einstein's actions seemed confusing. Why trust so much to someone she was suspicious of?

"It's as I said back then. It's better to stay on good relations with her. She did save Tesla and I's lives. Plus she's currently our best lead on the 4th Key's destruction. It's that old saying, 'keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.' It's just that right now we don't know which one KIANA is."

"What does Tesla think about her?" Welt asked.

"At first, she was the one suspicious of KIANA, while I didn't pay her much mind. However, after we met her, things seemed to swap. If I were to guess, Tesla still has her suspicions about KIANA like I do, but now she's more willing to bury those since KIANA saved us. You know how she is." Welt did know.

She was more prone to act on emotions than Einstein, but Welt couldn't fault her for that. Emotions were what made them human.

Emotions made them better than their enemies.

Einstein spoke up again. "I had planned to keep an eye on her during her time in Siberia, but she got there more quickly than I predicted. Whatever it is she's using to get around, it's fast."

So she was someone able to fight off a horde of Honkai Beasts, kill a Joyce clone, and move around quickly.

"Oh, and she has a never before seen stigma."

Welt was dragged out of his thoughts by Einstein's words, and simply looked at her with an expression that said, 'Explain.'

Einstein laughed to herself a little at the look. "It doesn't match any of the stigmata in our records. I even tried matching it with the 12 known Herrscher Stigmata, but no luck there. I'll send you a picture later. Our current guess is that she's either got a powerful Natural Stigma that has never been seen before, or the stigma of the unknown 13th Herrscher."

Welt thought over the new information and decided now was the best time to mention his earlier discovery.

"She called me Reason before she left."

At that, Einstein's eyes widened for a moment, before she gained a contemplative look.

"Did you reveal any sign of your power after I had left?" She asked.

"Somewhat. I used Star of Eden to get rid of the corpse. However, she was able to immediately tell that it was a Divine Key rather than me being the 9th Herrscher." Upon hearing his words, Einstein began thinking over what they knew already.

"She had also called the clone a 'Pretender' several times. Somehow she knew he wasn't a true Herrscher, and she was able to tell that you were using a Divine Key. But she was also able to determine your true nature?" She thought hard, furrowing her brow.

"It would have made more sense if she saw you both using the same power and name and determined that you were the 9th, but to be able to tell you're the Herrscher of Reason? She continues to grow even more mysterious…"

She leaned back in her chair, staring at the ceiling. "Was she able to tell that your Star of Eden was a replica made from Reason's power? Or was it something else that tipped her off?" She turned back to the screen, facing Welt. "Was there anything else you noticed about her? Anything at all?"

Welt thought over the question, recalling his limited encounter with KIANA.

"She felt oddly familiar to me, though I suspect that has to do with her uncanny resemblance to Kiana Kaslana."

With that, Einstein sighed.

"That's what Tesla thought too. I at first thought that she may be a clone of her from Project Sirin, but I'm now almost certain she has no connection to Schicksal."

"May I ask why you think so?" Welt asked.

"A couple of reasons, but for one, we were right outside of St. Freya. She fought a battle with an enemy on school grounds and never called for backup. I don't think she even knew where she was. Pair that with her lack of the Kaslana stigma, and we have someone unconnected to Schicksal or Project Sirin."

Einstein started to sigh, but it turned into a yawn halfway. "Yet now she seems to have a battlesuit of her own, despite her lack of connection to Schicksal. Ever more mysterious…"

She yawned again, able to tell that this conversation was nearing its end.

"We can talk more about this later, we've both had a long day. I think I could use a good night's sleep."

She reached out to end the call. "See you later, Welt."

"See you later, Einstein." And with that farewell, the call ended.

Welt stood up and got to his bed. Hopefully tomorrow won't be quite so long.

As he began to sleep, he thought again to the girl who was able to kill a Joyce clone.

Even with the realization that she was not Kiana Kaslana, he couldn't help the feeling of familiarity he got. That sense that somehow, in some way, they knew each other.

How did he know her?