For Li Xuan, possessing the Gate of Vows was his greatest secret. The reason was simple: the Gate of Vows could give him the strength and hope to survive in this Honkai-infested world... so if possible, he absolutely did not want it to be exposed.
"Li Xuan? What are you doing here?!" Raiden Mei asked in astonishment. This was the place where the golden pillar of light had appeared. Could the appearance of the golden pillar be related to Li Xuan?!
"Uh..." Should I tell them or not?! Li Xuan lowered his head, his slightly long bangs obscuring his eyes. He hesitated. He didn't know how to tell Raiden Mei. The Gate of Vows and his origins were his biggest secrets. If he told them and the information accidentally got out, who knew what would happen?!
After all, people are selfish. Even Li Xuan was no exception, so...
"Can I really trust you all?!" Li Xuan's smile suddenly vanished, his chiseled face becoming as expressionless as a block of ice. He asked in a serious tone that the girls had never heard from him before.
"...Yes, you can." Under Li Xuan's hawk-like gaze, even Kiana subconsciously avoided his eyes. But only Raiden Mei did not flinch, instead meeting his gaze with a sincere look, not backing down at all.
"...Alright." Li Xuan's serious expression suddenly broke into a smile. "...Then I'll tell you some things about me. I hope you can keep it a secret for me, can you?!" Li Xuan was smiling, but his tone carried a sense of undeniable authority.
"..." The three members of the Honkai yuri trio exchanged glances. In the end, they couldn't overcome their own curiosity and nodded slightly.
"Very well then..." Li Xuan said as if in relief. He raised his right hand. "Weren't you all curious why my right hand is always wrapped in bandages?!" Li Xuan looked at them and said.
Yes, in fact, Kiana, Raiden Mei, and Bronya Zaychik had long noticed that Li Xuan's right hand was always bandaged. But since it was a personal matter, and it could have been that his right hand was injured due to the Honkai, leaving some kind of scar that he covered with bandages, they were too polite to ask... After all, it would be rude to accidentally bring up someone's sad past...
"Now, I'll tell you..." Li Xuan smiled faintly, reached out with his left hand, grabbed the bandage on his right hand, and then pulled hard...
The next moment, the white bandage fragments fluttered down like snowflakes. Li Xuan showed the back of his right hand to everyone, revealing its true appearance. On the back of a long, slender, fair hand was a red mark...
The red mark was as vibrant as fresh blood. It was a pattern Kiana had never seen before—a circle, a circle composed of two magatama with circles at their heads. In the ancient Eastern country, it had a name: the two opposing yin-yang fish, one yin and one yang, forming the Taiji.
"Stigmata!" Raiden Mei and Kiana seemed to lose control of their emotions at the same time, involuntarily saying the name of the red mark.
As the heir to a family that inherited Stigmata, Kiana Kaslana knew more than others... Stigmata. In every Honkai Eruption, a Herrscher whose mission is to destroy the world is born along with the Honkai. At the same time, due to the Honkai, a group of people who are immune to or can control Honkai energy may appear. These people usually have special marks, which are also called 'Stigmata'.
However, the probability of 'Stigmata' appearing was extremely low, even more difficult than winning the lottery. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that it was a blessing accumulated over ten lifetimes.
"No wonder... Li Xuan didn't turn into a Honkai Zombie in the Nagazora City Honkai outbreak, and he also possesses incredible power..." Kiana said, pinching her chin as if recalling something. They had always thought it was because of the magical clothes Li Xuan wore.
"Also... I have the ability to create real Divine Weapons," Li Xuan continued, glancing at the astonished expressions on the three's faces. "So... that golden light was actually from when I created a Divine Weapon."
"..." Kiana's brain short-circuited as she froze. The Kaslana family had, since ancient times, passed down a secret art that could use Honkai energy Crystals to warp reality and create weapons with effects similar to Divine Weapons. However, creating a weapon not only required a huge amount of Honkai energy Crystals, but after creating one, they had to stop for several months before they could create another. And if the creator died, the created weapon would disappear along with them...
And Li Xuan had already shown two or three Divine Weapons in just one month. This meant... "Ahhhhh!!!" Kiana suddenly screamed. The ability the Kaslana family was so proud of had been completely crushed by Li Xuan...
(End of Chapter)