"What is this…?"
Kiana looked up, bewildered, greeted by a kaleidoscope of black and white, a galaxy woven with starlight.
It felt like sinking into a gentle yet vast ocean, soft currents soothing her soul, granting peace and serenity.
One moment, she was in the shattering Imaginary Space battlefield; the next, she was in this calming, mysterious space.
"Sirin! Is this you? What are you up to!?"
Kiana instinctively clenched her fists, vigilance at its peak, shouting into the bizarre, silent void.
Sirin frowned, scanning the surroundings. When her gaze landed on a fair figure nearby, her golden eyes flashed with surprise.
Only then did she notice Kiana was completely bare.
Sirin glanced down, seeing her own snow-white upper half, her lower half clad in the black lace of her Herrscher skirt.
She sighed in relief. "Stop shouting. This isn't my power."
"Sirin!" A layered voice rang out behind her. Kiana spun around, meeting Sirin's skeptical, disdainful stare.
"I didn't know you had an exhibitionist streak."
"What are you—!!!" At Sirin's remark, Kiana realized her state, letting out a sharp squeal. "Eek!"
Instinctively covering her chest and lower body, her face flushed with shame.
Biting her lip, Kiana snapped, "Sirin, what do you want!?"
"I told you, this isn't my power. Can't you understand plain speech☆~?" Identical in appearance, save for those golden eyes.
Sirin rubbed her forehead in exasperation. "Never thought 'I' could be this dumb."
"You!!" Kiana clenched her fists, seething.
Her feelings toward Sirin were complex. As essentially Hakuto, she couldn't hate another self.
Kiana knew Sirin tried to avoid hurting her during revival, but she still couldn't condone her actions!
Biting her lip, Kiana thought the proud Herrscher of the Void wouldn't stoop to such juvenile antics.
"So, what's this place? Where are my clothes?" Kiana shrank her shoulders.
"Who knows☆~!" Sirin's melodious voice rang out, gazing down at Kiana with a smug smile.
"Sirin, get me back now!" Kiana stepped forward, her face urgent.
She had to save Teacher Himeko!
Every second delayed put Himeko in greater danger!
Sirin snorted, unimpressed. "I can't."
Outwardly calm, Sirin was inwardly shocked—her spatial authority couldn't touch this space, like an ant shaking a tree!
Her attention shifted to the dark-haired figure nearby, who seemed to notice them. After brief hesitation, perhaps seeing Kiana's bare state, she approached cautiously.
Kiana also spotted her, her eyes lighting up.
The girl's raven-black hair spilled freely down her back, not wild but tame and graceful.
Her violet eyes, clear as amethysts, paired with snow-white skin, exuded elegance and poise, her every move radiating Yamato Nadeshiko charm.
Especially in her current bare state.
Kiana's admiration flickered briefly—now wasn't the time to ogle beautiful girls!
"Moshi moshi, hello~!"
Her gentle voice, like a warm summer breeze rustling flower buds, carried a soothing magic.
"Um, may I ask, where are we? Why are we…?"
Her Mei-like gentle aura sent Kiana's favorability soaring!
"…"
Sirin glanced at the dark-haired girl, sensing she was ordinary, devoid of Honkai energy.
Clearly clueless about their situation—utterly useless!
"Sorry, we don't know either. We just appeared here," Kiana said, her face troubled.
"I see…" The girl's cheeks flushed a delicate pink, embarrassed to be bare before strangers, even women.
She'd been sleeping, then suddenly awoke here.
Without sensing any demonic presence, and with the space and these two giving her a natural affinity, she'd have thought this was an Upper Rank's Blood Demon Art.
"Seems we're all caught up in this. No danger sensed… shall we work together to figure it out?" the dark-haired girl suggested.
"Sure, of course!" Kiana nodded. In this murky situation, cooperation was best.
She needed to leave this weird place fast!
"I'm Kiana Kaslana, just call me Kiana. This is Sirin."
Worried for Himeko, Kiana couldn't muster her usual carefree vibe.
"Kiana, Sirin? Western names, huh," the dark-haired girl murmured, then bowed slightly in perfect Japanese etiquette. "My name is Kanae Kocho."
"Kanae… Kocho."
Kiana blinked. Someone from Mei's homeland!
By the way, she blinked because Kanae's bow amplified certain gravitational waves.
"Why's only Sirin got clothes?" Kiana suddenly realized, raising a fist at Sirin. "You saying this place has nothing to do with you? Explain!"
Sirin couldn't dodge that one—no, couldn't explain.
Glancing at her Herrscher skirt, she was mostly relieved not to be streaking like Kiana.
"Tch, how should I know!" Sirin glanced at Kiana's chest.
Gotta say, she was just a *tad* more endowed than Sirin's original form.
"You…!" Before Kiana could retort, two figures appeared on the horizon, silencing her.
"More people?"
Wait! Something's off!
A man!?
…
A collar adorned with black feathers, armor with sharp, skirt-like edges at the waist-hip joint, revealing fair thighs clad in black thigh-high stockings.
Such a distinctive look instantly confirmed her identity to Hakuto, the interdimensional janitor: the Herrscher of the Void—Sirin!
The pufferfish is actually me!?
As for the other two figures… sorry, without clothes, Hakuto couldn't tell.
Just kidding~
Snow-white hair, twin blue eyes, an identical face—though loose and unbound, with Sirin as a reference, Hakuto easily recognized her as the paramecium!
The paramecium is also me!?
It made sense. Sirin and Kiana were two personas of the same soul, so where Sirin was, Kiana would be too.
The last figure? Hakuto genuinely couldn't place her.
While 3D and 2D appearances were highly similar, especially with unique hair and eye colors, you could usually tell at a glance.
But this black-haired, violet-eyed beauty, bare as she was, stumped him. She probably wasn't a "story" protagonist.
Protagonist or not, identity aside, what baffled Hakuto most was: why are they all girls!?
By a 50-50 gender probability, including Reverie, that's three halves—1/8 odds!
Coincidence?
Suppressing his doubts, Hakuto's face softened into a rare gentle expression, his gaze openly scanning the three beauties.
His eyes roamed their fair forms unabashedly. They're all him—what's to hide?
"Two newcomers? Or three?"
"Who are you? Did you bring us here?"
Kiana ducked behind Sirin, using her as a shield. "Pervert! Give us our clothes back!"
Kanae Kocho didn't dare use Sirin as cover—her domineering queen aura seemed unapproachable.
She turned, letting her black, butterfly-wing-like hair shield her front from this strange man.
Kiana and Kanae's faces flushed, but all three, including Sirin, glared at Hakuto with icy, blade-like stares.
To them, Hakuto, fully clothed, was clearly the culprit behind their current state.
But when they saw his face, their icy glares melted.
Such a familiar face!
Huh?
What's going on?
Hakuto frowned.
Reverie lacking his memories made sense as a soul fragment, but why didn't these "selves" recognize him?
The car accident didn't disfigure him, and these girls seemed… entirely female?
While matter shapes consciousness, and long-term female embodiment could feminize a personality, turning *him* feminine would take centuries.
Unless… their memories were damaged!
"Shake my hand, and you'll know everything."
After a moment's thought, Hakuto extended both hands.
He'd know everything too!
"As for your clothes, this space only allows souls. Physical objects can't enter."
"But you can manifest them with 'cognition.' It takes a bit of skill, but you'll learn after shaking my hand."
Hakuto explained in a relaxed, gentle tone.
His warm demeanor and the natural affinity they felt suggested he wasn't an enemy.
Just a handshake seemed fine, but in their current state, how could Kiana or Kanae move freely?
"Hmph, lowly insect, I grant you the honor of touching this divine body."
The Herrscher of the Void, perched in the air, uncrossed her long legs and strode toward Hakuto with regal authority.
Sirin wanted answers too.
She sensed no Honkai energy from Hakuto—zero threat.
What swayed her was that odd familiarity, even stronger than with Kiana.
Her imperious queen vibe and chuunibyou lines made Hakuto's expression twitch.
How to put it?
Sirin's antics reminded him of his childhood, wielding a stick like a legendary sword, slicing through foes.
The moment her soft hand met his, Sirin and Kiana froze, eyes widening in shock.