They didn't even know why they were running.
But in a situation this dangerous, it was never wrong to err on the side of caution and get away first.
"No one's following us. It's safe here for now."
Kiana glanced behind them warily, watching for a long while. When no one appeared in pursuit, she exhaled softly in relief.
Now that they were momentarily safe, she finally had time to share her thoughts. "Those people showed up too conveniently. They must've been rebels, right? But something's off—why would they immediately raise their guns at us without a word?"
Could they have mistaken them for enemies?
But all those IPC trucks were parked right there!
And the IPC uniforms were impossible to miss. As recipients of the Interastral Peace Corporation's aid, there was no way the rebels didn't know the convoy was coming today.
No matter what the truth was, their timing was too precise—it reeked of suspicion.
Even if it was all a misunderstanding, they were armed and close enough to kill them in seconds. If they really were the masterminds behind the ambush, Kiana and Robin might not even have time to react.
What bothered her even more was that, after seeing they weren't hostile, those men had still sent a group to chase them down. No matter how she looked at it, their intentions didn't seem good.
"Their timing really is strange," Robin agreed quietly. "With the war going on, being cautious is the only right choice."
Everything had happened so suddenly. Yet when you thought about it carefully, there were too many inconsistencies. They couldn't afford to gamble their lives on the hope that it was all a coincidence.
"What do you think we should do next?"
What was their next move?
Kiana turned toward Robin, who was crouched beside her at the corner. Only now, at such close range, did she realize Robin's ear feathers weren't just decoration.
"...Let's head back first."
If she were alone, Kiana might have tried to investigate the situation herself, maybe even head to the refugee camp to see things firsthand.
But she wasn't alone anymore.
After what had just happened, Robin decided she needed to act more cautiously. She couldn't risk dragging Kiana into more danger.
"Go back?"
That wasn't the answer Kiana had expected. She glanced again down the street behind them and said, as if reading Robin's thoughts, "You don't have to worry about me slowing you down. I'm pretty sure I can handle myself just fine."
"That's not it—I don't think you've held me back," Robin said quickly. "Quite the opposite. During the attack, you were the one who protected me. If not for you..."
She lowered her head, her expression dim. The thought of what might have happened made her chest tighten.
"Your singing was beautiful," Kiana said suddenly.
"My... singing?"
"That's your belief, isn't it? Using your voice to share what's in your heart—to spread your message to more people."
"...You must think it's naive, right? They even dared attack IPC staff. My ideals must sound childish to you."
Could a song really stop a war?
Could a voice truly bring peace?
Robin was uncertain, lost in doubt—but she wasn't someone who gave up because of it. Even without answers, she would act, and seek them through her own steps.
"If it's something you want to do, then do it. You don't need a reason."
Kiana met her eyes seriously. "And no—I don't think your ideals are childish."
"...Really?"
Robin blinked, her uncertain heart suddenly stirred. Being understood—it lit a faint spark in her gaze.
"Of course! Most people don't even dare dream about changing the world, let alone act on it," Kiana said earnestly. "But changing the world isn't something that happens overnight—or with just one or two people. Maybe your song can't stop a war, but it can awaken something in others. Maybe Kasbelina just needs that—a spiritual anchor, a seed of hope."
Robin froze, her lips parting slightly as she murmured, "A seed of hope...?"
"Yeah! A seed of hope!"
Seeing that her words had reached her, Kiana smiled brightly. "Have you ever heard the saying, 'Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime'?"
Robin shook her head. "That sounds like something a Xianzhou person would say."
"Xianzhou people? I don't really know. That phrase just popped into my head all of a sudden. Anyway, that's not important—the meaning is what matters. What I'm trying to say is, outside help is always limited. Others can lend a hand for a time, but never for a lifetime. Whether it's people or civilizations, if they rely too much on others without making their own effort, they'll never go far."
Kiana spoke without realizing she'd begun sharing such a long string of reasoning. She felt... different somehow, though she couldn't quite tell what had changed.
After the balance between Nihility and Honkai broke, it was as if the shackles binding her had shattered as well.
And strangely enough—her body no longer felt unwell.
"You mean you think they should solve their own problems?" Robin asked softly.
"How should I put it... We're not people of this world, after all. We can't stay here forever. What we can do is limited."
As she said this, Kiana met Robin's gaze with quiet seriousness. "If I were you, I'd use my song to plant the seeds of peace and hope in their hearts."
"Seeds take root, they sprout, and one day they grow into trees. When everyone yearns for peace together, peace will surely come. Isn't that what you believe too, Robin?"
She smiled—a radiant, brilliant smile.
Her thoughts might have sounded idealistic, but they were sincere.
Listening to her words, watching that dazzling smile, Robin couldn't help but be momentarily dazed. The reasoning sank into her heart—and so did the person speaking it.
Her smile was beautiful.
When Robin didn't respond, Kiana waved a hand in front of her face, puzzled.
"Robin?"
"Ah—sorry."
Robin blinked back to herself, a faint blush coloring her cheeks. "I think... what you said makes a lot of sense."
"Really?"
Kiana leaned closer, eyes bright with disbelief, studying her flawless face for signs of hesitation. "Don't force yourself, okay? You know I've got amnesia—I don't even know why I said all that nonsense."
Even up close, her beauty didn't diminish at all. In fact, her eyes were even more captivating from this distance.
"It's true," Robin said earnestly. "If my singing can really bring people hope, I think... that's a wonderful thing."
"No need for 'if.'"
Kiana smiled again. "Your singing is already full of charm—and you're a follower of the Path of Harmony. If even you can't do something like that, then no one else possibly could."
She did know a little about Aeons and Pathstriders—everything she'd learned from Ruan.
"Oh right," Kiana suddenly remembered. "Didn't we exchange contacts with that guy Kerr earlier? Let's tell him what happened here—have the IPC investigate what's really going on. As for us... let's stick to our original plan and head for the survivor camp. What do you think?"
"I have no objections," Robin said with a nod.
...
The city was vast, and separated from the others, they couldn't find the right path. All they could do was move cautiously through streets where danger could lurk behind any corner, searching for the correct route.
"Not a single person around."
The desolate streets held no one they could ask for directions. After walking for half an hour, even the local soldiers were nowhere to be seen.
"This battle must have been going on for a long time."
Destroyed apartment blocks lined the way, with traces of fierce fighting still visible.
Everything suggested that brutal clashes had once taken place here.
Dark stains—dried blood—still marked the ground.
The signs of bombardment, the blood on the pavement—everything about this place made one's chest tighten.
"Kiana, someone's approaching."
Robin's ear-feathers twitched as she tensed, calling out to Kiana, who had been walking ahead and scanning the area.
"Someone's coming?"
Hearing her warning, Kiana turned toward the road on the right. Only a few seconds later, a rebel soldier appeared in her line of sight—panic-stricken, stumbling as he fled.
He almost collapsed from exhaustion, but upon spotting someone ahead, his face lit up with desperate hope. "Help... help!"
What was chasing him?
That kind of fear—it wasn't from being hunted by other people.
"Be careful."
Kiana took two wary steps forward, placing herself between Robin and the source of the noise, ready to find out what was happening.
"Help me... please..."
The man sprinted toward them, trembling and pale. Kiana watched him closely—but even more closely, she watched the direction he had come from, wondering what could have terrified him so deeply.
Wait—!
In mere seconds, the man had covered more than ten meters toward her. Just as he was about to reach Kiana, she suddenly felt a faint pulse of Honkai energy coming from his body.
Her eyes widened.
No—not his body. His shadow!
The thought had barely formed when a pale, humanoid figure emerged from the shadow behind him, wielding a massive scythe. Without hesitation, the blade sliced cleanly through the man's neck.
His head fell, his body stumbling forward a few more steps before collapsing to the ground, blood gushing out to stain the street red.
Am I... dead?
No answer came. The thought faded into darkness as his consciousness vanished.
The being that had appeared and struck him down stood motionless, gripping its enormous scythe. Its skin was ghostly white—so pale it was almost colorless—and its presence was unmistakably unnatural.
"What... are you?"
Kiana's voice carried both surprise and curiosity, though wariness edged her tone.
She wasn't mistaken—the creature emanated faint traces of Honkai energy.
"Kiana, watch out!"
The monster ignored her words. As Kiana paused to question it, it vanished in a flicker of movement and reappeared right before her, scythe raised for a merciless strike.
Kiana reacted instantly, dodging the blow. The surprise in her eyes hardened into cold hostility. "So you're an enemy."
She'd capture it first—and then find out what this thing and its Honkai energy were.
With that thought, Kiana moved swiftly—three precise motions, and the creature was subdued beneath her boot.
It thrashed wildly, trying to break free, but Kiana's grip was immovable—like a mountain pressing down.
Bending down, she grabbed at the creature's face and pulled. The texture beneath her fingers wasn't flesh.
"What the hell is this thing?"
Robin hurried to her side, covering her mouth in shock at the sight. "It's not like the Denizens or the Legion's soldiers..."
"I don't know what it is either."
Kiana pulled out her phone, snapping a few photos of the creature. Ruan would probably find something like this interesting.
"Something else is coming!"
Robin's eyes widened as she looked down the street they'd just come from. Strange noises echoed closer.
Kiana's expression darkened. She crouched low and delivered a hard punch to the monster's head, knocking it unconscious. Then, grabbing it by the collar, she motioned for Robin to follow as she quickly left the area.
She didn't know if this thing was the only one of its kind. If it was, then it might be worth studying—so she decided to take it along for now.
However, not long after, as they continued down the road, Kiana and Robin encountered more creatures identical to the one she'd injured earlier.
Good grief—they looked completely cloned. From their clothes to their faces, there wasn't a single difference.
They were like copy-and-paste duplicates.
Once she realized the one she carried wasn't unique, Kiana casually finished it off. To her surprise, the creature's body turned to ash upon death—leaving behind not a single trace or object.
As they continued, the number of monsters on the streets grew. Their forms were strange, grotesque, and increasingly varied.
They hadn't seen a single living human since. Every few hundred meters, they'd encounter another new kind of creature.
Kiana collected as much data as she could along the way. By nightfall, she and Robin decided to rest in an abandoned residential building nearby.
"All the supplies have been looted—no water, no food," Kiana reported after a quick search, returning to the doorway in mild disappointment.
"We'll have to endure it for now," Robin said, clearly unsettled by everything that had happened. "Tomorrow morning, let's regroup with the IPC team."
Something was seriously wrong here. She suspected this world had caught the attention of something—or someone—terribly unnatural.
The monsters were already rampant during the day. At night, things would only get worse.
All afternoon, the distant sound of gunfire and explosions had never ceased, though it was far from where they hid.
"You should rest too," Kiana said absentmindedly.
She wasn't hungry. Her mind was filled with thoughts of the strange Honkai creatures they'd encountered.
Picking up her phone, she organized all the photos she'd taken of the monsters throughout the afternoon and sent them to Ruan.
Kiana: [Image.JPG]
Ruan Mei: What's this?
Kiana: Something you'll definitely find interesting.
Ruan Mei: A lifeform I've never seen before. A gift, perhaps?
Kiana: They're Honkai creatures I found on Kasbelina-VIII! I've confirmed they emit Honkai energy—but I don't know what connection they have to me...
Ruan Mei: Honkai creatures?... You're still on that planet, aren't you?
Kiana: Ruan, are you coming here yourself?
Ruan Mei: I'm curious. Wait for me—I'll arrive tomorrow.
Kiana: Tomorrow?! All right, I'll behave and wait for you here.
On a distant, unnamed planet, a gentle, refined scholar closed the terminal before her. Reflecting on the message she'd just received, a faint expression of puzzlement crossed her face.
"Kasbelina-VIII... does that world hold some hidden peculiarity?"
"Or... was my initial research into Kiana's nature mistaken from the start?"