The tale of the past seemed to have concluded, and the Illusionary Realm plunged into darkness.
In that darkness, the Hermit reappeared, striding through the void. The fiery glow from her sword became the sole source of light, guiding Kiana forward.
The girl sprinted ahead, chasing the light. She still had so many questions to ask the Hermit ahead, so many lingering doubts to resolve.
Yet in the darkness, the path beneath her feet seemed to stretch endlessly, no matter how hard she ran, she could never catch up to the striding figure.
"Who are you? Why are you chasing her shadow?" a young man's voice asked from the darkness.
"I'm Kiana Kaslana, and I... I still have so many questions I want to ask her!"
"Oh, very well... Miss Kiana, do you still remember your oath?"
After a brief pause, the voice continued.
"Uh... my oath? What was my oath?! Why can't I suddenly remember it—?!"
Kiana, panicked and confused, stopped chasing the light.
Having witnessed the story's conclusion, having heard Cecilia's "Ich liebe dich," and having endured the throbbing headache that seemed to bleed through even her dreams, she had forgotten so much.
"If you can't remember your oath... you'll never catch up to her. She never lingers for those who are lost."
The voice spoke again, offering a friendly reminder. In Kiana's vision, the Hermit was receding further and further away, the once-bright sun now reduced to a dim ember.
"What was my vow, damn it! I need to remember!"
Kiana frantically clawed at her hair, her once neatly combed locks now a tangled mess.
"Look at the sword... Sister Kiana, didn't you make a vow before that sword?"
A girl's anxious, concerned voice rang out beside her. Kiana recognized it—it was Little Sirin, whom she had only met once before.
"Look at the sword...? The Great Sword burning with flames... The Great Sword that banished the darkness... The Great Sword that illuminated the path ahead..."
At the girl's reminder, a glimmer of clarity flashed through Kiana's mind.
"Thank you... Little Sirin! I will transform this imperfect world into the world I yearn for! That is my vow and my conviction!"
Kiana declared loudly and strode forward once more, chasing after the distant flames.
"What a kind child... Very well, I'll consider you to have passed this question."
The young man's voice rang out, his tone filled with exasperation toward the purple-haired girl who had given Kiana the hint.
"So, Miss Kiana... if—if your surname were no longer Kaslana... would you still uphold this oath?"
The young man's voice rang out again. At that moment, the girl seemed to have forgotten her surname, forgetting the ancestral compulsion that flowed through her veins.
"...I would!" The simple, resolute answer, delivered without a trace of hesitation, momentarily startled Su, who stood beneath the sakura tree in the World Bubble. He began to doubt whether his own abilities had malfunctioned.
"Even if the name Kiana Kaslana is false, and has never truly been you, are you still willing to uphold this oath?"
In the darkness, the youth's voice echoed... This time, the girl had forgotten her name, forgotten her identity... becoming just a wisp among the myriad of souls.
Yet she would never forget the suffering she had witnessed in the dream—the reality of the past, the tribulations humanity yearned to change, the eternal wounds of civilization.
"...Even if this name is false to me! Even if this identity is false to me—the suffering those people have endured and are enduring will always be real!"
"I will uphold my oath! No matter what identity I take on!"
"Even if you become battered and scarred?"
"Even if I become battered and scarred!"
"Even if you endure a thousand torments?"
"Even if I endure a thousand torments!"
In a nameless World Bubble within the Sea of Quanta, the white-haired and silver-haired youths listened to the girl's reply, a faint smile of satisfaction curving their lips as they nodded.
"Is that so... Then allow me to lend you a hand."
An invisible force soothed the girl's aching muscles from her relentless running through the dark space, banishing her fatigue and drowsiness.
"Big Sister, Sirin's here to help you too!"
The sweet voice rang out immediately after the youths' words, and the invisible force swiftly closed the distance between Kiana and the Hermit.
"Step forward, my descendant. I have witnessed your conviction, your vows... Now—step forward and face your final trial."
The youth's cold, solemn voice resonated in the White-Haired Knight's ears, bolstering her resolve.
The three voices converged into a single, resounding declaration:
"Overcome adversity, fortify your resolve, and prepare for your final test!"
Three hands settled on Kiana's shoulders—large and small, cold and warm, strong and gentle. They gently propelled her forward, pushing her toward the Hermit she had desperately sought.
...Silence, a long silence.
"They have already bestowed upon you their blessings and encouragement..."
The Hermit spoke, her hood having slipped off unnoticed. Long, pale golden hair cascaded over her shoulders, yet the face hidden beneath her mask remained an enigma to Kiana.
"Born of flame, you have received every blessing..."
"Then I shall draw the curtain on the previous tragedy and unveil the opening act of another that is about to unfold—a tragedy born from your own story..."
As the Hermit finished speaking, a massive gate radiating white light materialized before them, awaiting her passage.
"Come... step forward, and step into that boundless light... witness your own rebirth."
The Hermit turned and strode through the luminous gate, vanishing from sight. Without hesitation, Kiana followed suit.
White light engulfed Kiana's vision as the Hermit's voice echoed in her ears, narrating the final chapter of the Second Eruption.
"Years later, Welt, who had witnessed a human heart wielding the Herrscher's Authority, beheld the legendary salvific power of the Kaslana bloodline and the great might of the Second Herrscher..."
"Otto Apocalypse, the Overseer of Schicksal, conceived a mad yet feasible plan..."
"He fused the genes of Kiana Kaslana—the child born from the union of the Kaslana and Schariac families as part of Schicksal's ultimate warrior project—"
"—with the Second Herrscher's DNA and Core, creating you—"
"The true you, was born."