"Who gave you permission to approach Her Majesty the Queen?"
A massive silver dragon radiating a brilliant blue light blocked Kagura's path, its overwhelming draconic presence shaking the heavens and earth.
Then, a girl's voice echoed with heavy resonance from within the dragon's body.
"Do not disturb Her Majesty. Human, leave now—or die!"
This silver-white dragon brimming with raw Honkai energy was clearly not one to be trifled with.
Still, even in this frozen wasteland, Kagura wasn't surprised to encounter a dragon-type Honkai beast.
After all, the one before her was a name feared and known across the world ravaged by Honkai—
The infamous Judgment-class Honkai beast, companion of the Herrscher of the Void:
The Demon Dragon, Benares.
"Miss Bella," Kagura called her by the affectionate nickname that Sirin once gave her.
"I didn't come here to fight. I simply want to meet with Sirin."
"All humans are liars! Her Majesty will never trust your kind again!"
Benares' eyes glowed with unfiltered hostility. Kagura's words hadn't moved her in the slightest.
"Humans deserve extinction! Compared to us, your kind is filthier than insects!"
"…Maybe so. Honestly, I won't deny your point."
Kagura didn't refute her.
"Humanity might very well be beyond saving—hypocritical and full of deceit.
But even so, I still believe there's something beautiful within us.
Even Miss Sirin… she should be able to believe in that again."
She paused, her voice softening.
"I just… I believe, if Sirin is willing to try trusting humanity once more…
I won't let her down."
Sirin had lost her mother—her only source of warmth.
Then she was betrayed and tormented by Schicksal, used as nothing more than a subject in the Babylon experiments—enduring torture not unlike that inflicted by World Serpent's cruelest methods.
Her hatred for humanity wasn't born out of nothing—it came from a world that stripped her of love and treated her as a tool.
Even after becoming the Herrscher of the Void, Sirin still faced nothing but the worst of human malice.
In the year 2000, deep in Siberia, she was besieged endlessly by every faction imaginable—
Not a single soul cared about who she truly was. They only saw her as a Herrscher to be destroyed.
To the world, Herrschers were walking disasters—threats that must be exterminated.
And to Sirin, humanity had long stopped being kin.
They were simply enemies… the ones who had always hurt her.
But amidst that apocalyptic war…
There was one person who saw her not as a monster, but as a girl.
Only one—who looked at the "Herrscher of the Void" and still saw "Sirin."
Cecilia Schariac.
S-rank Valkyrie of Schicksal.
In battle, she saw through the rage and destruction, glimpsing the vulnerable soul inside.
She saw a little girl desperate for a mother's warmth… desperate for love and acceptance.
She tried—truly tried—to open Sirin's heart.
In that shared dream where they lived together, Sirin experienced the life she had always longed for.
A mother who loved her.
A reason to let go of hatred.
A reason to stop fighting.
And in that brief moment… Sirin chose to believe in humanity again.
She felt the warmth of love once more.
But then…
In the final moments of battle, Otto Apocalypse, Archbishop of Schicksal, rained down a Honkai fission bomb that reduced all of Siberia to ash.
Along with Cecilia… Sirin's last sliver of hope in humanity was incinerated.
Vanished completely.
Now… trying to make her trust again might just be harder than reaching the heavens.
"Such drivel. Humans are selfish, violent creatures—nothing more!"
Benares beat her massive wings, unleashing an icy gale that could freeze the soul. "You're just another liar trying to deceive Her Majesty and hurt her again!"
"…Sigh."
Kagura let out a breath.
"You're probably right. Right now, Sirin might not be able to open her heart to anyone…"
"…But still… even so…"
The silver-haired girl lifted her gaze to the majestic silver dragon before her.
"Sirin must feel terribly alone…
She must be hurting so much…
Without anyone to be there for her… it must be… unbearable, right?"
"The only one Her Majesty needs is me!" Benares snapped. "All your human lies and so-called 'bonds' are meaningless!"
"…You're lying, Benares."
Kagura's golden eyes narrowed.
"If Sirin wasn't lonely… then why are you the one standing here?"
Her voice sharpened like a blade.
"You're lying, Benares. No—let me correct that.
Even if you wear the form of a dragon…
You're not the real Benares… are you?"
She raised her voice, calm yet piercing.
"Which means I should call you by your real name—Sirin!"
'Fwoooosh—!'
In an instant, the blizzard that Benares had summoned came to an abrupt halt.
The dragon froze in place like a statue.
Moments later, its entire body began to crystallize into ice, gradually dissolving into the cold wind like scattered frost.
The real Demon Dragon, Benares, wasn't here.
Or rather—Benares couldn't possibly be here.
Despite how real that silver dragon had seemed—its immense presence, the powerful Honkai energy it radiated, the overwhelming pressure befitting a true Judgment-class beast—Kagura could tell without a doubt:
What she had just faced was nothing more than an illusion, a phantom conjured by Sirin.
Because from that illusion… Kagura had felt a depthless sorrow. An overwhelming loneliness.
The Soul Gem had shown no reflection of a true spirit within the dragon—no independent soul.
Instead, golden threads extended from it, reaching toward a distant someone.
It was a mental and emotional tether—something that only appeared in puppets or projections bound to another will.
The Mind Gem buzzed softly, transmitting the dragon's emotions directly into Kagura's heart.
And in that instant, she saw clearly:
This Benares was not real—it was simply a manifestation of Sirin's psyche.
A part of her very soul.
As the dragon dissolved, the sparkling shards of ice drifted through the air like falling stars, scattering beautifully across the white landscape.
Kagura let out a quiet sigh, then stepped forward.
Her eyes were fixed on the distant cabin, faintly glowing with warm light in the midst of the icy storm.
"Sirin… you've worked so hard."
"To live all alone… to face the whole world as your enemy… it must've been unbearably painful."
"In truth… you've always longed to be loved. You've always wanted to be accepted, to live peacefully as part of a real family, in a real world—together with others, sharing happiness."
Snowflakes swirled gently from the heavens.
On the pure white ground, a single trail of footprints slowly made its way deeper—toward the very heart of Sirin's soul.
"So please… believe in humanity again, Miss Sirin."
"Believe in me. And more importantly—believe in yourself."
"I'll take you back…"
"…Back to the world of the living.
Back to that warm place called home."
———————————————————————
Inside the Cabin
A fire crackled softly in the hearth.
But its faint warmth could do little to dispel the bitter cold.
Dust blanketed the wooden table and chairs—untouched for what seemed like ages.
In the shadowed corner of the room, a girl with long purple hair sat curled up tightly, hugging her knees to her chest.
Her golden eyes stared blankly into the flickering flame, lost in thought.
Soft footsteps approached.
And from somewhere deep within her heart…
A warmth—gentle, unfamiliar—began to flicker to life.