Previous story: "An Argent Allure"

The headquarters to Schicksal was home to a great number of curiosities, but Kiana Kaslana's favourite place to visit was by far the hot bath. The heart of the vast, airborne island held a large residential complex, and one of the largest buildings there housed a hot bath the size of an Olympic swimming pool. It was popular among the residents of the island, and visitors could be found relaxing in its waters nearly any time of the day.

Kiana, covered by a white towel, sighed as she immersed herself in the steaming water and closed her eyes. Her day was long and tiring. Theresa insisted that they all must be prepared to fight a battle at any given moment. Their enemies were not complacent, so neither should they be. Kiana exerted herself in her training every day, but she had a limit to her endurance, and even the Herrscher of Flamescion with mastery over heat and flame could still appreciate being submerged in a hot bath like this one. The bathhouse was a symbol of Schicksal's commitment to its people. Those privileged enough to have a place in its capital city were rewarded in ways such as this. The water was constantly kept warm day and night, and partitions could even be raised from beneath the flooring of the pool for privacy. At the moment, Kiana needed none. All she could do was close her eyes and let her thoughts slowly drift through her mind like the way her silvery hair drifted through the water.

So much had happened in only a matter of months. Theresa had become the Overseer of Schicksal after Otto's death. Mei had fled from her before they were finally reunited. Her captain had left their world, then he came back because of her. After weeks of trials and failure, Kiana brought him home to her at last, but he was a man changed and no longer the same person she remembered. His heart belonged elsewhere. To another world, to another family.

To Theresa.

As difficult as Kiana still found it to believe that her aunt and her captain had fallen for each other, neither was she surprised. The two had always been closer colleagues than most. Kiana was happy for them both. What she wanted was for him to also look at her the way he used to, the way he had when he loved her. Since the day he returned to this world, she had waited for him. She was not waiting alone.

Kiana opened an eye and peeked at the woman resting in the bath beside her. Raiden Mei relaxed in the warm waters in the same way with her back leaning against the side of the pool and her dark hair slowly drifting in the water. Her face was calm, and so was her breathing. Kiana watched her in a peaceful rest. It reminded her of the day shortly after they first met Bronya.

We fought off a group of Honkai beasts, then Bronya's Project Bunny accidentally made a crater in the ground deep enough to use as a hot spring. Mei and I had a good time in it. That's when I wanted to tell her the truth…but I couldn't.

It was a moment much like this one. The water was warm. They were relaxed and alone save for each other. Kiana was peeking at Mei and feeling warmth not only from the water around her. She had come so close to telling Mei the truth then, but she was fearful of failure, of rejection. Now, she knew there had been nothing to fear all along. Mei had already felt the same for her. She, too, had simply lacked the courage to confess the truth.

That's all in the past now. What matters is the future.

The future, though, seemed uncertain. Kiana's thoughts drifted to Theresa's recent coronation ceremony in Kolosten, where her role as the Overseer of Schicksal officially began. It was an eventful ceremony if not a smooth one. Theresa, encouraged by Kiana and the others, had divulged the truth of Otto's many crimes for all the world to hear. It was something that had to be done, but the fallout was intense. For many years, Otto had cultivated an image of himself that he presented to Schicksal and the rest of the world, one of a benevolent and compassionate leader. In many ways, he had been, which only made the truth harder to accept for those he lied to. There were many who would never accept it and Theresa as their leader, but this did not matter. Kiana was proud of her aunt for her steadfast courage and iron will. Theresa let nothing stop her from doing what was right, not even the entire world. She was never alone. Kiana, Mei, and all their friends would always support her. And so did he.

Kiana closed her eyes and allowed the warmth around her to lull her into a much-needed nap. She was at peace. And then her dreams were born.

—-

In the beginning, there was only darkness. Endless black void was all she knew. There was nothing. Nothing besides herself, alone in the dark, alone with her final wish. When that wish was granted, only then was there light. Only then could her eyes open and take in the new world she was reborn into.

She was curled up with her arms crossed over her knees. Her silver hair billowed in the fluid she was suspended in. Green lighting illuminated her world as the bubbles in the fluid rose from below and caressed her skin. For a fleeting moment, her panic returned when she saw the laboratory equipment that surrounded her. Laboratories meant pain. They were death. But the panic was forgotten, lost like she had never known it. She had never known any laboratory save for this one. She knew nothing and no one, not even herself and certainly not the tall man with blonde hair staring at her in astonishment and then triumph.

From that day onward, her name was K-423.

—-

K-423 did not live alone in the laboratory. There was another girl much like her. Was she her sister? K-423 never learned the answer. All she knew was that they were alike in ways neither fully understood, and the blonde man who looked after them was not their father.

Did she have a father? Or a mother? Were they looking for her? Had they abandoned her? If so, why? Had she upset them? Had she made them angry or disappointed? Had she run away from them only to forget why? What was she doing here in this laboratory and not exploring the greater world outside its walls she knew must have been there? Her sister, if she was her sister, also knew little of her own past. The blonde man never gave them any answers. He gave them food, water, and whatever else they needed to live and even enough to pretend they were happy, but no more. She was alone aside from her sister, who was certain she had a mother and father once but could hardly remember them.

The day the man who called himself her father arrived was the day her life changed forever.

—-

The man who claimed to be her father had silver hair like her own and blue eyes like her own. He had arrived in a torrent of destruction. He was the living embodiment of determination and rage, and in his hands were two firearms that unleashed lances of flame.

She and her sister had been together when they heard a loud noise that was quickly followed by another. The floor beneath them shook with the force of gunfire and more explosions. They held each other tightly before K-423 said she was going to investigate. Her sister told her that it was dangerous and she was coming with her, but then the man burst into their room.

His eyes were filled with relief and joy before they gave way to confusion. He said a name. Her name. She did not know what the name meant, but she somehow knew it was hers.

Before the man could move, the blonde man was there behind him with the same firearm to his back. The blonde man who was not K-423's father told the intruder that his services were no longer required as of seven years ago. The man who gave her her name whirled around and began battle with him.

What happened next, she could not remember. There were only sensations and fragmented feelings of panic and fear. She was being lifted and carried as the man with silver hair ran. She remembered her feeble voice calling for her sister in vain. The airship waiting for them outside. The rush as it ascended high into the sky. The impact as it was fired upon. The pit in her stomach as they fell back to the cold, unyielding earth. The man who claimed to be her father promised her in a voice filled with desperation and hope that she would be safe. And then nothing.

—-

Her father was not her father. She was not his daughter. He cared for her like she were his own, but he did not love her as she wanted him to. He would speak of a girl with that name and his failure to save her when he had every chance to. He would vow that he would find and rescue her and that he would not fail her next time. He did his best to keep her happy, but he was never happy himself. He would call her his daughter, but she knew it was a lie to them both.

The day she fought to protect him with her own life was the day he gave her her name.

The day he left her was the day her life changed forever.

—-

Dreams had an ethereal, trancelike quality that kept dreamers within them until they had no choice but to leave them behind. She did not want to leave. She wanted to stay with him for longer. She wanted to hear him say her name again. She only felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. She mumbled something incoherent before she heard Mei speaking into her ear.

"Kiana, wake up. It's time for us to go. Leave the bath for others."

Kiana did not open her eyes. "Just a few more minutes…"

Mei made a sound of understanding. "That would be nice, but I need to finish dinner. And then we have things to talk about with Theresa. We can always come back another day."

"Alright…let's go, then." Kiana carefully followed Mei out of the bath. They dressed and left the building, talking about what they wanted to have for dinner. Her dream was forgotten, and so was her pain, replaced by the safety of being with someone she cherished so dearly.

After they left, another woman entered the bath. She stepped into the warm water and thought of the sister she lost.