Three weeks laters

Almost a month has passed since the defeat of the Herrscher of Light Stars, still, the chaos caused by it didn't seem to dissipate. AE and Schicksal kept working hard on solving the after-war issues, each on their own. On the other hand, the World Serpent didn't take any action in this situation, almost as if they completely disappeared from the scene. Which gave the opportunity to Schicksal to claim the victory for themselves.

The Herrscher of Void, Kiana Schariac, finally woke up from her coma. She was disconcerted, she felt like she was still in the fight, but seeing the place reminded her of a previous situacion she was in.

"Again in a hospital…"

After pronouncing those words for herself, she slightly laughed.

"I always end up this way after using my herrscher powers… How weak I am."

Even though her words would've sounded cruel if heard by someone else, in her mind, they were a relief. From her experience, being in a safe place after a lethal battle could only mean one thing: "victory". Just like what happened back then in Arc City.

Kiana wanted to wake up, and look for somebody to talk to be put into context, unfortunately for her. She still hasn't recovered enough strength to do so. She ended up giving up, she turned her head to the side and quickly fell asleep.

Not so long after, the sound of the sliding door opening woke her up, she turned her eyes to it, and she saw the figure of a small girl in black dress.

– Kiana? Are you awake?...

In reply, Kiana sat down on the bed, looking at her aunt with a smile.

– Ohayo, auntie Teri!

Theresa approached her to give her a hug, to which Kiana corresponded immediately.

– Oh Kiana, your presence was missed a lot! I'm so glad you're finally up.

– Hehe! You say it because you're carrying on with my duties, aren't you?

– Oh, you'll make up for that, don't worry. –After Theresa spoke, Kiana sighed– … Oh, come one, I was just kidding! Don't trouble yourself just yet. You just wake up, I assume.

– Yes. I'll confess that I'm still tired, it wasn't a pleasant sleep the one I had during these…. Uhm… How long did I sleep?

– Three weeks...

– Uwah! That is a lot…! It sure happens a lot I'm missing. How is the situation with Light Star?

– You'll be glad to hear the good news…. Want to go for a walk in the garden?

Kiana nodded enthusiastically. Theresa helped her to stand and dress up. Shortly after, they went outside.

They headed away from the base, on the way, Theresa kept speaking to Kiana.

– The herrscher of Light Stars was taken down three weeks ago, and the cooperation between World Serpent and AE led to an alliance.

– Does that mean…!

– Yes, your effort wasn't in vain.

– World Serpent our allies… no more faction wars?

– At least not for now…

– What about Ana-onee-chan?.. How is she?

– I met her three weeks ago, after the defeat of the HoLS. She went back to WS.

Kiana lowered her gaze, disappointed. Theresa noticed immediately, but before she could say something, Kiana won her word.

– I assume Fu Hua did the same, right?

Theresa kept quiet, the silence worried Kiana for a while, leaving her intrigued.

– Auntie…. You haven't seen Fu Hua?

Theresa sighed in reply, then turned to see Kiana, and with a neutral tone, spoke to her.

– Follow me, you'll find the answers by yourself….

Anxious, Kiana hurried her steps, she knew where Theresa was heading, the conclusions didn't late to come, but still didn't want to believe in her assumptions, since they didn't mean anything good.

Theresa stopped her steps, Kiana stood next to her and appreciated Bronya at the distance, holding something in her hands.

– Go with her...

Kiana runned towards Bronya, calling her name. She immediately turned around, surprised to hear her voice.

– Kiana?

– Bronya! How are… –Kiana suddenly stopped her speech after realizing what Bronya was holding– Hold one… What are those flowers for…?

– The Bronya is sorry, these flowers aren't for subject Kiana, the Bronya wasn't conscient about her recovery…

Bronya turned around, letting Kiana see what was beyond her; two tombstones were on the ground. At that moment, Kiana realized her expectations weren't wrong. And even though she was already expecting it, seeing it as a reality caused her a shock reaction.

Bronya kept looking at Kiana, having an inevitable depressed expression on her face. She just took a breath and left the flowers on the tombstones. Which msde Kiana react.

– How… How did this happen?... –With a broken voice, Kiana whispered softly.

– The Bronya isn't sure about the class monitor, but one thing is sure… The Serpents were the ones who caused Seele's death. –She spoke with the same tone as Kiana, however, a lot of hate could be felt on her words.–

– Fu Hua… –Kiana closed her eyes, trying not to cry, but the tears couldn't be retained for any longer as her memories kept invading her head.

– WS should've ended this war, but the Bronya will never accept them as her allies, not after the negative consequences they caused.

Kiana didn't find a reply, her mind was to focused on assimilating the situation.

– The Bronya is glad that at least subject Kiana awoke. Is good to have her back. –She spoke as she placed her hand on Kiana's shoulder. Trying to cheer her up–

– Thanks you…

Bronya left shortly after, as she assumed Kiana wanted to spend time alone with Fu Hua.

– Fu Hua… How could have you ended like this? –Kiana said as she knelt in front of her tombstone– You are going to come back, like you've always done…. Right?... Or maybe this time… –She suddenly stopped speaking as she didn't find the strength to continue–

Kiana's mind went blank, she closed her eyes and heard nothing other than the sound of the wind. The memories about her last meeting with Fu Hua started to invade her mind.

– You said you wanted to win this war because you loved me… And you ended up doing it. –Even still with tears wildly running through her face, she managed to laugh slightly– ...I wish I could've told you that I loved you too… Or probably you already did, I hope so….

With no other thing left on her mind, Kiana kept repeating in loop her memories with Fu Hua. She wanted to meet her again, but she knew it wasn't possible anymore, all she had left of her were those memories infected in nostalgia. But the most impactful one was the one taking place the most of the time. Their last meeting was still something that Kiana still didn't manage to swallow, as the depression caught her at the very first moment to reproduce that success, making her unable to see clearly.

Kiana then tried to repeat Fu Huas words, trying to find them a meaning, something she failed to do during this entire time, but still, she didn't give up on that, even though it caused her so much pain, she knew the only way to get out of that riddle was to understand the reason behind of Fu Hua's decisions.

"Open your eyes, Kiana. We are in a war, sometimes you'll have no option but to cooperate with your rivals in order to gain more power, because in these situations, there is never enough power to defeat your enemies"

– WS are our allies now, this is what it costs, Fu Hua…?

Kiana finally got to a conclusion, and even though she wasn't sure if she was correct, she decided to accept it, because it was reality what she was facing after all.

Kiana stood, after whipping her last fallen tears.

– Thank you, Fu Hua.

Kiana left the place. On the way back to her room, she crossed with Bronya again, she hurried to catch her.

– Bronya, I have something I want to tell you.

– The Bronya wishes to hear it.

– You said you will never forget WS for what they did to Seele, but what do we actually know about that? The Serpents are our allies now, we must trust them at least once. I'll ask Ana about the truth of Seele's death next time I see her.

– And, does subject Kiana thinks that Ana-nee-sama will tell her the truth?

– Yes, she must.

– Even still, the Bronya refuses to take explanations from them. Seele won't come back either way.

– I understand your point… But we need them as allies and It will be best if we cooperate with them, because in war, one will never have enough power to defeat the true enemies.

– What is the war subject Kiana is talking about? The Bronya wants to remind that the Herrscher of Light Stars has been taken down already.

– I'm not talking about Light Stars, I'm talking about the war against honkai.

– The Bronya hates to admit it, but the subject Kiana's got a point…The Bronya promises to ponder about her words, but she can't promise to get to the same conclusion…

– It's ok, I understand…

– The Bronya has to go, a training session awaits for her. The Kiana should get a rest to recover and be able to come with Bronya next time.

– Understood. Good luck, Bronya.

Bronya smiled at Kiana and left shortly after. Kiana walked to her dorm.

Kiana kept repeating in her mind the conversation she had with Bronya. Every answer she gave to Bronya, were they genuine or she was just lying to herself just to honor Fu Hua's memory? Kiana was sure that before she spoke to Bronya, her mind was clear about her idea, but after expressing herself, and even listening to Bronya's replies, she wasn't sure anymore. The doubt started to fill her mind once more, even when she was trying so hard to keep her ideal standing.

Kiana got to her dormitory, she closed the door and went straight to her bed to lay down, closed her eyes and tried to sleep. She obviously failed, her mind was too charged with thoughts to let her rest. Kiana just turned to the side, hoping the position would be more comfortable, she then saw something on her table, something that seemed to be left there recently. She hurried on taking it, it seemed to be a letter.

Kiana nervously opened the envelopment, and got the content out, a folded sheet. She tried to read it, but her hands were shaking so much that she couldn't focus. She put the sheet on the bed and lowered her head to reach the letters written.

"Dear Kiana:

If you are reading this, that means you are finally in safe conditions. So, first, you must know that the war is over.

I really hope you are alright, the effort you made in the fight was immeasurable. But I must thank you for it, without you, we wouldn't have been able to defeat the Herrscher of Light Stars.

All this war made me understand something, I can't just keep you away from taking your own choices. You are also a warrior, and you have chosen on your own to fight as well. I apologize for my past mistakes, and I promise I won't try to keep you away from forging your own path. As your older sister, I respect you, and your decisions, and I'll support them no matter what.

You must know that I'll keep working on the World Serpent. I finally found my ideal path here, but you must not worry, I assume you are now conscient of the alliance signed between World Serpent and Anti-entropy. So we will still be fighting together, even on different sides.

Our roads will cross again soon, dear sister, so do not be sad. I will never abandon you, no matter where I am or which side we belong to. I will never take my eyes away from you, I promise I'll be there to help you at any time you need.

– With love, your sister. Ana Schariac."

…..

Kiana kept looking at the sheet, even after reading the letter many times, she kept doing it over and over, the words written by her sister seemed to have reached her heart. She took the paper with both of her hands and held it on her chest, close to her heart.

– Ana… Thank you. –She whispered with a soft voice, just like if she was replying to her.–

Kiana was finally able to clear her mind, as she realized that at least she still somebody to thrust, even in the side that used to be their enemies.

– You were right, Fu Hua… I am able to understand it all now. Thank you… For the love we had for each other, I'll keep fighting to honor your memory, and make Ana proud of it...

With all her doubts and bad thoughts being released, Kiana was finally able to close her eyes to fall asleep with a pleasant smile on her face.

The End