"Don't worry, not much time has passed," Kiana said reassuringly, glancing back. "Almighty Thunder only descended today—the sky darkened just a little while ago."
"…Today?"
Sirin remembered her last moments vividly. To be honest, she hadn't expected to survive at all. She had used the last of her strength to ensure the blade Sky didn't remain in the Imaginary Space.
That kind of wound—and it was still today?
Shock flickered across her face, though she quickly composed herself. The girl before her had no reason to lie.
"So… what's the deal with this Almighty Thunder?" Kiana asked, curiosity sparking. "Yae Sakura didn't tell me much—only that taking the Narukami blade was to slay Almighty Thunder."
They'd retrieved the blade just yesterday, and by today the battle had already begun. Even to Kiana, that seemed far too rushed.
"…Almighty Thunder was far stronger than we anticipated," Sirin replied quietly. "It descended earlier than expected."
Her eyes closed for a moment, pain flashing across her expression. As the Sentinel of the Sky blade, she had been responsible for monitoring the nearby dimensional states—but she had failed to detect Almighty Thunder's anomaly in time, leaving everyone completely unprepared.
That was why she'd risked her life—to buy time and test its limits.
But Almighty Thunder had exceeded even her expectations.
How had those people, all those years ago, managed to defeat Eternal Zenith and forge it into the blade Sky?
"…Earlier?" Kiana blinked. "When was Almighty Thunder supposed to descend?"
The question made Sirin hesitate. Her first instinct was to say it no longer mattered—but when she met Kiana's serious eyes, and remembered that this girl had saved her life, she swallowed the words.
"…Half a month later."
"So things are going badly, huh?" Kiana guessed.
Sirin fell silent.
Almighty Thunder had caught everyone off guard. Her attempt to delay it in the Imaginary Space had worked—but at a heavy cost. The weapon meant to counter it had been destroyed before it could even activate.
She had managed to stall its advance… but her own body had been left on the brink of collapse.
She tried to clench her hand, but her fingers wouldn't obey, trembling weakly instead.
"It's… bad," she finally admitted.
"I see." Kiana didn't press further. "I only pulled you back from the edge. You're still not fully recovered."
She stood and gestured for Mei to follow. "Get some rest. The more you recover, the faster your body will heal."
Pulling gently on Mei's sleeve, she added in a low voice, "Let's give Sirin some time to rest."
"…Alright." Raiden Mei rose to her feet, giving the violet-haired girl one last glance. "If you need anything, just call for me."
"…Thank you."
Sirin listened to the distant rumble of thunder outside. Her mind, however, was no longer here—it was back on the battlefield.
Almighty Thunder had always been powerful, but now the strike team was missing its wielder of the Sky blade.
The situation was dire.
A chilling thought crossed her mind—had her failure set off a chain of disasters?
Kiana closed the door behind her, still looking troubled. She didn't release Mei's hand until they reached the living room.
"Mei," she said finally, "do you think Almighty Thunder's sudden descent might have something to do with the Honkai?"
It had arrived a full half-month ahead of schedule.
Kiana couldn't believe that was due to some calculation error.
A day or two, sure. But half a month? Impossible.
Unless there was a third-party force at play.
The Honkai's descent fit that role perfectly.
And she had seen it firsthand—the spider Kami had been infected by Honkai Energy without dying. It had even become stronger from it.
And that was with barely ten percent contamination.
…
If Almighty Thunder had also been influenced by Honkai Energy—if its power had shifted even slightly—it could easily have thrown everyone's plans into chaos.
"Why do you say that?" Mei stopped walking, her expression complicated as she looked at Kiana. "You're not trying to blame yourself for all this, are you?"
"Not exactly."
Kiana shook her head. "Before making that decision, I hesitated a lot—because I knew what kind of danger it might bring. But I made my choice yesterday, and once a decision is made, I won't waste time dwelling on it."
"I expected something like this to happen."
Kiana looked up at Mei, her tone tinged with frustration. "But I didn't expect the butterfly effect to come so soon—or so violently."
Before taking action, she'd felt immense pressure, thinking through countless scenarios, trying to reason herself into restraint with all kinds of excuses not to use the Honkai's power.
But once the choice was made, regret was meaningless. The only thing left was to move forward—resolute and unflinching.
To make sure this path, no matter how dangerous, still led to hope.
The butterfly effect… caused by Honkai, huh?
Raiden Mei, having experienced firsthand the power amplification her Stigmata brought, only understood the Honkai to that limited extent.
If Almighty Thunder had gained a similar form of enhancement—then it wasn't good news for anyone.
"Almighty Thunder has definitely been tainted by Honkai Energy," Mei said suddenly.
Kiana's eyes widened. "Mei, you—?"
"When that explosion happened, I felt it. You said that girl resonated weakly with your subspace, and that's how you found her—well, I think… I might have a faint resonance of my own with Almighty Thunder."
"I can feel it—its power isn't pure anymore."
Mei met Kiana's gaze. "It's faint, but I can sense it clearly."
Kiana blinked, dumbfounded. Mei… shared a resonance with Almighty Thunder?
And she'd realized it since that thunderous blast? Then why hadn't she mentioned it sooner?
She stared blankly into Mei's violet eyes for a moment.
…Was she worried I'd overthink it?
After a silent exchange, Kiana dropped her gaze and started walking again, muttering, "Just my luck, huh…"
Her mind, ever the mess of thoughts, drifted to an oddly irrelevant one—Mei's eyes really were beautiful.
"Why would you say that?" Mei asked softly.
"This Honkai power-up doesn't even benefit me as much as it buffs the enemy!" Kiana huffed, frustration bubbling over as she pulled up her status screen. "I mean, come on—do I look like the Herrscher of Finality right now?"
Her system claimed she was one—but which Herrscher of Finality only hit things with physical attacks?!
She grumbled under her breath for a while, until her gaze froze on the information before her.
Name: Kiana
Faction: Honkai
Talent: Authority of Finality
Skill: Phase Shuttle (Void)
Finality Progress: 9% (↓)
Honkai Energy Concentration (Izumo): 12.911% (↓)
Summary: Your existence will bring about unknown change. As you begin your journey, remember to monitor the world's Honkai Energy Concentration at all times.
"This is…"