---
In the Golden Courtyard.
The strange squeaky sounds of Mobius squeezing Elysia's body pillow gradually came to a stop. Her expression turned sour as she looked at the hologram of Vill·V.
It wasn't hard to guess that the images from the Fire Moth era of the Previous Era would more or less be connected to the thirteen Flame-Chasers.
This wasn't surprising at all. However...
"Not exactly pleasant memories... and judging by the timeline, this must be what happened after my part in it. Facing off against the Herrscher of Finality… Pardofelis was really brave, huh."
A touch of melancholy surfaced on Elysia's face. Her fingers absentmindedly caressed her chin, her gaze drifting out of focus. She had never once regretted anything from the Previous Era, but if she had to say there was something left unfinished in her life—it was that she never got the chance to truly fight side-by-side with everyone.
Besides a few battles involving Herrschers, the Flame-Chasers usually fought alone. She had missed her chance to experience the kind of camaraderie that came from battling shoulder to shoulder. That, she did regret a little.
At the height of the crisis on the Moon, she had been forced to be absent.
"Hehe~ Looks like I didn't embarrass myself after all~" Pardofelis giggled from the side, puffing out her small chest.
She was a bit proud, but also vaguely confused and sorrowful. Why was she sad...? Was it because she hadn't been lucky enough to survive into the next era?
But she had been fortunate enough to help everyone open that critical gate.
"I... really didn't let anyone down, did I?" (Sad face)
"...Ah, I remember this conversation. You did great," Vill·V said, narrowing her eyes with a grin. Sitting on the sofa with her legs elegantly crossed, she looked like she was scanning the room for someone to tease. Eventually, her gaze landed on Pardofelis.
Due to the way memory syncing worked with time echoes, these memory projections could only sync with the last memory backup of their original bodies. Clearly, they had learned about this sequence from the simulation's story script. After all, there was no way they could reconstruct every detail of a decisive battle from pure memory.
"Eheh, Vill·V sis..." Pardofelis scratched her head, clearly flustered by the sudden praise.
She wasn't used to being complimented—usually, only kind-hearted Elysia would praise her. The others were generally much more reserved with their words.
"Pardo's amazing! Clap clap~" Elysia clapped gently, flashing a sweet smile at the shy and flattered cat girl. Even teasing the cat a little could count as a source of joy.
"More importantly," Mobius interrupted, "I'm more curious about that last figure—the one who looked like a temporal crystal manifestation. She wasn't in anyone's plan, was she?"
Mobius frowned as she fixated on the final image of the mysterious green-clad woman. That person had been incredibly secretive, never revealing anything during their time together. Even when they had contact, she never disclosed her true identity. And strangely enough, she never stayed in the same room as Luo Mo either.
Honestly, could she even be considered a real crew member aboard Luo Mo's ship?
None of the major storylines mentioned her. And yet... that mysterious figure seemed to play a crucial role.
The snake doctor sank into deep thought.
"Apparently she's from the future," Vill·V remarked casually. "Kind of similar to how we are now… She's not too different from you, really. But hey—if the future's already set in stone, then what's the point of it all? Don't you think, Doctor?"
As she spoke, Vill·V pulled her pointed hat down over her face, half-hiding under its shadow, her tone laced with teasing sarcasm.
"Hmph. That's not a good thing…" Mobius grunted.
But she didn't meet Vill·V's eyes. From beginning to end, neither of them looked at each other directly.
(T/C: I would call her Follower of Finality)
----
In-game
While Durandal, in her uniform, and Seele waited for the awakening of the Stigmata Awakened, widely regarded as the greatest variable of this era—the Herrscher Squad—Kevin naturally would not overlook it.
Herrschers who now fought for humanity—there was no doubt they represented a powerful and decisive force, vastly different from what existed in the Previous Era. The original Stigmata Plan probably never even considered such a possibility.
But Kevin had never expected the Stigmata Plan alone to resolve every threat. If that truly had been the case, it would only prove how disappointing this era was—having nothing beyond the Stigmata Plan to rely on.
He wanted to be challenged, to be defeated, to have someone bring a better path and place it before him—a definitive answer to all the civilizations that had come before.
To prove that the Stigmata Plan had been a mistake.
He wanted that more than anyone.
...
From within that mysterious world unlocked by the temporal crystal, someone slumbered like a sleeping beauty.
"Kiana~ Time to wake up~ Kiana!"
The girl lay peacefully amidst a sea of flowers, her long snow-white hair gently swaying with the floral breeze. In her dream, she slept soundly, until a soft voice began to rouse her.
She was a warrior—she had fought until now.
She had long grown accustomed to hardship but still clung to her ideals.
She had overcome countless trials, continuing to fight for the beauty she believed existed in humanity.
After triumphing over that last nightmare, she rarely dreamed anymore.
Since mastering her Herrscher powers, her nights had become calm and restful. She would fall into a deep sleep after each exhausting day of training.
At most, she'd sometimes gaze at the night sky, thinking of the one who had stood alone behind enemy lines for her.
"Where... am I? What is this place?"
Kiana quickly shook off her drowsiness. Her awareness returned in a haze of color. Yet, faced with the bizarre and surreal scene before her, she couldn't help but wonder if she were still dreaming.
Which wouldn't have been strange, because the scene laid out before her was brimming with incomprehensible, ineffable sensations. It didn't feel like part of the real world.
Though her companions had once described the Sea of Quantum to her, words alone were pale and powerless to capture such a place. The moment you tried to explain it, you felt the futility of language.
The dreamlike visuals seemed to overlap perfectly with the surreal atmosphere, reinforcing the idea that this wasn't reality.
Then, when a character—one that couldn't be physically touched—appeared before her, it seemed to confirm the illusion even more.
"Ahahaha… hahaha!"
"Kevin—friend or foe? Pick one!"
That wild and unrestrained laugh echoed through the air. The voice was unmistakable to Kiana—it was the Herrscher of Sentience.
At the same time, the figure appeared before her, a hologram-like image.
But… why had she dreamed of her?
Could it be… this wasn't a dream?
The comfort in her heart gave way to tension. Kiana furrowed her brow.
Something—or someone—had pulled her silently into this illusion. The implications were unsettling.
The space around her twisted further, turning upside down, disorienting her even more. A thought began to form in her mind—this place couldn't exist in reality, but at the same time, it shouldn't exist in dreams either. Dreams were reflections of reality. They shouldn't be this chaotic.
Trusting her instincts, she moved across a series of floating platforms, sensing that her Herrscher powers were being heavily suppressed.
Then she felt an inexplicable pull, a strong intuitive sense that told her where she needed to go. That's when she saw Bronya standing on a platform ahead.
"You idiot, Kiana. You finally woke up."
The petite, expressionless girl let out a small sigh of relief. Clearly, it had been her calling out earlier.
Bronya, too, seemed to have lost the majority of her Herrscher powers, barely able to maintain her physical form.
They quickly began discussing how to escape this strange place.
Not far from them was a spatial rift, surrounded by a cluster of Quantum Shadows. Without hesitation, the two of them chose that as their escape route. Bronya began to lay down suppressing fire to cover their breakthrough.
"You… don't have your Herrscher of the Void powers anymore, right?" Bronya suddenly smirked slyly. "Then, do you still remember how to land properly from midair?"
Before Kiana could figure out what she meant, Bronya shoved her into the rift. At the same time, Bronya herself charged ahead to draw away the mass of Quantum Shadows, leaving just enough of a gap for Kiana to slip through with a single move.
As Kiana passed into the spatial crack, she felt a wave of compression ripple around her. Her body registered the sensation of falling, and the rapid motion made her physically uncomfortable.
"This is…"
Kiana was stunned.
Sure enough—just as Bronya had predicted—even without the power of the Herrscher of the Void, Kiana still possessed plenty of techniques to ensure a safe landing.
At worst, it would hurt a little. But it wasn't enough to make her scream.
As she fell, hundreds of Quantum Shadows—already in collapse mode—floated upward in the opposite direction, like spirits ascending in ritual.
In that moment, Kiana sensed a familiar aura—or perhaps it was a scent, or just a presence—something she'd grown used to after spending so much time together.
And then, in that instant, she had a vague but undeniable intuition:
She was here.
Almost as a reflex, Kiana's body and mind relaxed at that very moment.
She no longer needed to consider if a powerful enemy might appear, or even how to land gently.
As her descent came to a halt, the cold fabric brushing against her skin unexpectedly brought warmth — a familiar embrace and that gentle look in her eyes caused her heart to let go.
Kiana had once told her: "Next time, it'll be face to face."
Now, that promise had finally been fulfilled.
"Ah."
The purple-haired girl smiled helplessly, somewhat joyful and surprised.
She had imagined countless scenarios of meeting Kiana again, but none of them compared to how sudden this one was.
"I thought that after making a meaningless sacrifice, after stopping everything... something would happen to make it impossible for me to continue existing."
"In the end… what made me truly powerless was…"
"Mei… it really is you!"
The calm blue eyes lit up with joy.
At that moment, the warrior-like air around Kiana faded. Mei smiled gently, just like sunlight in spring that never fades.
Kiana was so overwhelmed that she wanted to hold her tightly — with all her strength — to keep her from ever leaving again.
She missed Mei so much.
"Mhm. Kiana... it's been a long time," Mei replied softly, as the two of them embraced.
After countless days and nights of yearning in separate, distant lands, they had finally reunited.
They had overcome their former selves, taken different paths, and now... they stood together again.
Like that old saying: Separation is for a better reunion.
Only in this moment of reunion does that saying reveal its deepest meaning.
Since their parting in Nagazora City, they had each walked their own paths —
Kiana saved the class monitor, fought Otto and the Domination...
Mei, too, had embraced ice and fire, experiencing both peace and destruction.
They had intersected a few times before, but now, at the end of the story, they met again — face to face.
There was no need for words. Their trust was mutual.
Though both had changed greatly, the moment their eyes met, they couldn't help but smile.
Time had not built a wall between their hearts.
They were still the same as before.
Kiana lowered her head and said:
"I thought… at this moment, I'd be rambling on and on, saying everything I wanted to say."
"But in the end... it's like we just went to different schools, and you were only gone for one day."
"Haha... well then — I'm back, Kiana." Mei's lips curled slightly as she whispered.
Her scent in the breeze made Kiana's nose itch.
She took a deep breath and smiled brightly — like the days back at school.
"Mhm. Mei… Welcome back."
Those soft words echoed over many days and nights they had longed for.
They had never doubted they would meet again — only counting the days on their fingers, wishing time would pass just a little faster… so they could be together again.
---
In Voice-Over Room.
Many in the studio smiled knowingly.
The expressions on the cast aligned almost too well with the story's emotional climax.
Even Fu Hua couldn't help but glance over to assess the situation.
The little Senti girl had sparkling eyes.
"Roar~ Kiana, I'm back~"
The Herrscher of Sentience imitated the line in an exaggerated tone, completely off-key and overly excited, even throwing in a wink.
"Our two protagonists finally meet again~ Honkai's most iconic scene at Anti-Entropy reaches its conclusion… How touching~"
Luo Mo clapped enthusiastically, stirring the mood.
"So heartwarming… But wait, weren't there three protagonists? Where's Bronya, the real MVP of the Honkai universe?"
Someone teased, subtly glancing at Bronya.
Bronya quietly responded in her usual tone, though her lips curled up slightly.
Clearly, the teasing was having an effect.
"Ugh... so awkward! Why are you two looking at me and Mei like that?" Kiana panicked, fumbling her words.
"It's just — just friends reuniting! Nothing weird, okay?!"
Her blushing face betrayed her.
(T/C: Rolling my eyes)
She hadn't expected the emotional music and backdrop to make the scene feel so touching — and obvious.
Mei tried her best to maintain her calm, lowering her head slightly.
Even as Kiana continued to flail in embarrassment, she couldn't form a proper sentence under all the teasing.
She could only press her lips and endure it.
"Let's… move on with the story," Fu Hua pushed up nonexistent glasses and intervened, restoring order to the chaos.
Then, without looking back, she muttered thoughtfully: "Kiana and Mei should be together and take care of each other from now on."
"W-What?! Aaaa—" Kiana's mind completely short-circuited.
"Wait... in this world, girls can be with girls?"
Kiana murmured from the side, not joining the teasing crowd.
"Well, it depends. Under the wise leadership of Principal Theresa—" Luo Mo began to explain, trying to hold back laughter.
"Don't slander her! She'd cry if she heard that!"
Kiana cut him off sharply.
Smart as she was, she already knew most of the rumors… and where they came from.