ARK City, in a district far from the theme park.
A bar on the corner of the street had hung up its "Closed" sign early.
Inside, a man and a woman sat at the bar.
The man was in his late teens, quiet and handsome.
The woman was no older than eleven or twelve, with white hair and blue eyes, like a little white furball.
It was Luo Li and Ghost.
Several hours had passed since Luo Li had rescued her from the Shicksal Entertainment theme park.
Kiana seemed very interested in the game. Since her identity wasn't a problem for the time being, playing in the game world might help her mental state recover.
So Luo Li just confirmed she was safe and then let Kiana continue to wander around in the game.
Luo Li's identity, however, had been exposed. Staying on Shicksal Entertainment's turf could pose unpredictable risks.
Coincidentally, this new teammate he had rescued, who called herself Ghost, said she also had a few safe houses that hadn't been exposed. So Luo Li decided to go back to her safe house with her.
It was a good opportunity. He had many questions for her.
But Luo Li was a little curious.
She looked to be only eleven or twelve, yet she was already being sent out on missions by Schicksal.
Luo Li suspected Schicksal of employing child labor.
Soon, after the girl had busied herself behind the counter on a stool, a drink was placed in front of Luo Li.
"Uh," looking at the drink with its three-colored gradient, Luo Li politely declined, "Sorry, I don't really drink."
This wasn't an excuse. He was extremely sensitive to alcohol, basically getting drunk at the first drop.
And from his memories, this world's version of himself was no exception. He often had splitting headaches from being forced to drink by his teammates, and over time, he had completely sworn off alcohol.
"Don't worry, it's not an alcoholic beverage," the girl said, looking at Luo Li strangely. "You're still a few months away from being an adult. How could I let you drink? Though I don't remember Shenzhou having that rule."
Then she went back to the counter, and after a bit of work, she mixed another drink with a slightly thicker consistency.
She placed it opposite Luo Li and sat down.
Luo Li smelled a strong scent of alcohol.
"Can you... really drink?" Luo Li looked at her height and appearance, feeling doubtful.
"Pfft!" Luo Li's words made her laugh.
She puffed out her flat chest, rested her hands on the table, and said in a teasing tone, "Little brother, I'm a bit older than you think!"
Then, she pushed aside the straw in her cup and took a big gulp.
"Ha!" Ghost looked satisfied. "Anyway, thanks, little Luo Li."
Seeing her call him "little" in the form of a little girl, Luo Li couldn't help but frown.
But he didn't show much of a reaction.
From the maturity she exuded in her words and actions, he could deduce that this person's age was definitely more than her current appearance suggested.
Similar situations weren't rare in this world with the unscientific energy of Honkai. Compared to that, he had more important things to ask her.
"Miss Ghost, you know me?"
"Of course!" Her face showed a look of 'of course'. "I'm pretty good friends with your captain."
"Of course, as one of the few male Valkyries, you're quite famous yourself."
"Captain..." Luo Li thought of the spider monster that had been torn apart by Sirin and couldn't help but sigh. "She's gone."
"Is that so..." Her face showed no surprise, but her small face still drooped.
"I want to know what happened here," Luo Li looked at her.
"Of course," Ghost nodded. "But before that, I need to confirm some things with you."
Luo Li replied directly, "Go ahead."
"I want to know how much power the organization has left in ARK City, whether HQ knows about our situation here, and how long it will take for reinforcements to arrive."
Hearing Ghost's question, Luo Li's heart sank completely. A certain expectation in his heart was completely shattered.
His voice was low, showing no emotion.
"Including you, there are only two of us left."
Hearing Luo Li's words, Ghost's face stiffened, the expectation on her face gradually disappearing.
"You mean, of all the forces Schicksal deployed here, only the two of us are still alive?"
"To be precise, there's one more, that Miss Kiana from the Kaslana family."
As the words left his mouth, Luo Li saw a look of distress on the girl's face.
She held her head in her hands, looking like she was about to give up completely.
"Great, let's just wait to die!"
Seeing her self-deprecating look, Luo Li asked, "Is there really no way?"
Hearing Luo Li's question, she looked up at him.
"Your physical fitness should only be at B-rank, but your ability is indeed powerful. You were able to get me away from that Dodo Bird."
"Plus me, a subpar A-rank Valkyrie from the Central Intelligence Division."
"Oh, and that Kaslana girl. Her combat skills are a mess, but she can at least be considered a B-rank."
"With our current setup, we might even die fighting a few Death Weavers. If we run into that Dodo Bird head-on, we won't even have a chance to run."
At this point, she threw up her hands and said helplessly, "With the little power we have now, we might as well just go to sleep!"
"Is there really no chance?"
Ghost covered her face. "You have no idea what we're up against."
"I really don't."
"Ugh..."
"Fine!" she sighed, sat up straight, her face becoming serious.
"The enemy we're facing is a mysterious organization that can be traced back to the very beginning of human civilization."
"Their origins are even older than Schicksal's. Their roots spread throughout the world, as secretive as the shadow of human civilization."
"For the past few centuries, they've begun to surface to complete a vision known as the 'Stigmata Project'."
"They call themselves: World Serpent."
"World Serpent?" Luo Li pondered Ghost's words. "Such a huge organization couldn't possibly leave no trace. Does Schicksal really not know of their existence?"
"Who knows?" Ghost shook her head. "Maybe the higher-ups in Schicksal know, but this is the first I've heard of it."
"To be able to dig up information that Schicksal hasn't been able to grasp for centuries... you really are a Valkyrie specialized in intelligence," Luo Li expressed his sincere admiration.
"No, the enemy told me themselves."
"?"
Luo Li expressed his confusion.
"It's true, the enemy told me themselves. At first, I thought it was a smokescreen she was putting up, but later I realized I had really overestimated her."
Although Luo Li was curious about who the "she" she was talking about was, there were more important things to understand right now.
"I heard the term 'Stigmata Project'?"
"Yes," Ghost nodded. "What they're doing now is called the 'Stigmata Project Verification Test Version 2'."
Luo Li's face turned cold.
"You mean, everything that's happening here, including the lives of the tens of millions of people in ARK City, is just an experiment for them?"
"To be precise, it's the price of the experiment."
"Because according to their predictions, even if it succeeds, there won't be a single person left alive in ARK City."
"What are they trying to do?"
"You've probably seen that 'Eden' game from Shicksal Entertainment, right?" Ghost stirred her drink with a straw, creating ripples in the cup. "That's their goal."
"To create a world without Honkai, without sin, where anyone's wish can be fulfilled."
"Sounds pretty good," Luo Li tapped the table. "So, what's the catch?"
"The catch is all the people in ARK City."
"What?" Luo Li suddenly didn't understand what she was saying.
Fortunately, Ghost quickly explained.
"If we use the game 'Eden' as an analogy, it's like everyone enters the game and becomes an NPC, while the protagonists of the game, Adam and Eve, descend into reality and become the 'people' who control the NPCs."
"What's the point of them doing this?"
"There is a point. The new humans composed of Adam and Eve will not be bound by the Honkai."
After hearing Ghost's explanation, Luo Li had only one thought.
"These guys, what do they think life is?"
Luo Li found it completely unreasonable, as absurd as cutting off one's head to cure a headache.
"So, you were trying to stop them?"
"To be precise, we were."
At this question, a look of sadness crossed Ghost's face.
"Shicksal Pharmaceuticals is one of World Serpent's tentacles in Shenzhou. Using the reputation they've built up over the years, they turned the genes of psychic Honkai Beasts into a vaccine, planning to implant it throughout the city."
"Then, by triggering a major Honkai eruption in ARK City, they would activate the Honkai Beast genes within the vaccine."
"These psychic Honkai Beast genes, modified by World Serpent, will spontaneously form a collective dream when activated and be projected into a special dimension they call the Stigmata Space."
"In the Stigmata Space, there are creatures that are not considered enemies by the Honkai. They use some method to swap the creatures in the Stigmata Space with the residents of ARK City in the real world."
"At that time, Stigmata creatures will walk the real world in place of humans, while humans will become the dreams of the Stigmata creatures, stored in the Stigmata Space, to live out their lives."
"So, the so-called world where all dreams can be fulfilled means you can have anything in a dream?" Luo Li couldn't help but complain.
"But that's the purpose of their experiment."
And at the information Ghost provided, Luo Li's only thought at this moment was.
"I think this World Serpent is a bit too extreme."
Ghost didn't comment on Luo Li's words, just continued, "Alita and I worked together and blew up the vaccine stockpile they had prepared for the plan."
"At least for a short time, the method of creating a dream through vaccine injection is no longer feasible."
At Ghost's words, Luo Li had more thoughts. "Obviously, World Serpent doesn't plan to give up so easily. Is the Shicksal Entertainment theme park their other plan?"
Ghost thought of the two dreamlike infants she had seen in the mainframe area. She nodded.
"And their plan is already at the final stage. Perhaps... this is their real plan. Injecting the vaccine to trigger a major Honkai eruption might have been the backup plan."
Luo Li picked up his straw and took a sip of the drink Ghost had mixed.
It was cool with a hint of softness, and the sweetness was just right.
Then Luo Li continued, "It's pointless to study the primary and secondary plans now. We have to stop them."
Hearing Luo Li's words, Ghost sighed.
"But I'd rather you stay out of this. With your ability, you have a high chance of leaving ARK City."
But Luo Li shook his head. "It's useless. Even if we can get out, it will take a lot of time for reinforcements to arrive. World Serpent won't give us that much time."
But Ghost looked at him with a serious expression.
"No, I mean, escape, and don't look back."
Hearing this, Luo Li looked up at her.
"Listen, I have an idea." Ghost got up and came to Luo Li's side, looking at him seriously.
"This plan doesn't require too many people. I'm enough. More people will only expose us."
"But I'm not sure about the success rate, so I hope at least someone can escape and pass on the information about World Serpent to HQ."
"Their plan is too crazy. We absolutely can't let them continue!"
But after she finished speaking, Ghost found Luo Li looking at her with a strange expression.
This made Ghost a little confused.
She touched her face and asked uncertainly, "Is there something on my face?"
Luo Li shook his head gently.
Without dwelling on the change in Luo Li's expression, Ghost moved behind him.
"Forget it, I'll tell you why I'm staying."
As Ghost spoke, she closed her eyes.
In her mind, the image of the woman with the jackal mask was gradually sketched out.
At the same time, a layer of mist gradually appeared around her body, and her body changed rapidly in the mist.
Finally, when the mist dissipated...
Cleo's figure appeared in the bar.
"See! This is my... my..."
Ghost's voice suddenly stopped. She looked at the figure in front of her, her pupils shrinking.
Then she couldn't help but step back again and again, until she hit the counter behind her.
Even her body erupted in a mist, her figure constantly changing, finally turning into a white-haired, blue-eyed little girl.
Her face was filled with undisguised shock.
"You... you you, why are you here!"
At some point, in Luo Li's original position, a woman in a black cloak and a dodo bird costume had appeared.
Ghost was all too familiar with this.
It was Raven.
But to her surprise, this Raven seemed a little different from the one she had seen.
She ignored Ghost's panic and looked at the blood-red nails on her hand, which were like blades.
Then she pinched her own face.
"So realistic."
As she spoke, a mist similar to the one Ghost had just produced appeared around her body.
Soon, Raven's figure dissipated, and in her place was a white-haired, blue-eyed girl. It was Kiana.
"You're a fake."
"And the power you have is not something you're qualified to possess."
Her voice was ethereal, as if it came from the heavens, yet it carried an undeniable majesty.
Kiana looked at the figure before her. It was a woman with long, flowing white hair, her face identical to her own.
The only difference was the pair of golden, cross-shaped pupils that gazed at her with indifference, as if looking at an insignificant bug.
"I..." Kiana wanted to say something, but she couldn't.
She knew the woman before her was right.
She was just K-423, a clone created by Otto using the genes of the real Kiana and Sirin, the Second Herrscher.
A failed experiment, a vessel.
Her very existence was a mistake.
The power that should belong to the Herrscher of the Void, the name that should belong to Kiana Kaslana—she was just a thief who had stolen it all.
A wave of despair washed over her.
But just as she was about to be swallowed by the darkness...
Then, knight-miss, will you join me in saving the world?
The man's voice echoed in her mind.
No... I'm not a knight... I'm just a fake...
Kiana looked at her hands, a bitter smile on her face.
A fake like her... what right did she have to save the world?
She just wanted to find a place to die quietly, without causing trouble for anyone.
"You've finally realized your own insignificance, haven't you, fake?"
The woman's voice was filled with mockery.
"Since you've realized it, then give up your meaningless resistance and give me back what is rightfully mine."
As she spoke, the world around Kiana began to shatter.
But Kiana didn't care.
Because...
"Even if I'm a fake, even if I'm a thief..."
Kiana looked at the woman before her, her eyes regaining their light.
"I still want to be a hero who saves the world!"
"What did you say?" The woman's face was filled with disbelief.
"My dad once told me that the Kaslana family exists to protect humanity."
Kiana clenched her fists.
"I am Kiana Kaslana!"
"Even if I'm a fake, I will carry the name of Kaslana and fight for all that is beautiful in the world!"
"So... I won't lose to you!"
"I won't lose to anyone!"
"And I absolutely... will not run away!"
At that moment, the world around Kiana shattered completely.
But what greeted her was not darkness, but a blinding light.
When she opened her eyes again, she was back in the game world of 'Eden'.
The players she had beaten to a pulp were still lying on the ground.
And at the same time, she felt a change in her body.
It was as if some shackles had been broken, and a power that had been sleeping deep within her was beginning to awaken.
"Is this... the power of a Kaslana?"