Seeing Senti about to tamper with her memories, Serena immediately tried to resist.
But in her weakened state, she stood no chance.
A flood of memories surged into her mind—her childhood, Sirin being taken by Schicksal, everything up to now.
Silence.
Serena looked at Sirin, then at Senti.
"So? How was the memory package? Fun, right?"
Senti grinned, eager for feedback from her first "customer."
"You... all of you... Sigh. Forget it. That life is over. I've already died once. I don't care about any of that anymore. But one thing—this Benares is mine. No one takes her."
Clutching the now-humanoid Benares protectively, Serena glared at Sirin.
She knew Sirin already had two Benares—one born human, one transformed from the dragon.
She wasn't about to let Sirin's apparent collection habit claim hers too.
"Relax, I won't take your Benares. But... do you want to come see Mother with me?"
"...Fine."
Once assured Sirin wasn't tricking her, Serena finally released Benares.
"But calling you 'Herrscher of the Void' feels off. And 'Sirin' is already taken. Hold on, let me check the script."
Sirin pulled out a book from nowhere and flipped through it.
In a special chapter, she found what she was looking for.
"Found it! A parallel-world version of you—the Spring Spirit. So from now on, you're Serena."
Indeed, Chang Yuan had written in parallel-world storylines. After all, those bubble universes held their own tragedies.
As the Captain, he was devoted to his late wife Elysia—but that didn't mean he'd ignore suffering in other worlds.
This time, there was no Ferryman to save them. So he wrote them in, planning to rescue them all once everything was settled.
He was sure Kallen wouldn't mind two more daughters. Though he'd have to watch out for blondes—but given Kallen's genes, they'd probably end up gay anyway.
"Serena... Acceptable."
"Then come with me, Serena. Let's go see our mother."
Taking Serena's hand, Sirin led her away.
As expected, their mother adored Serena.
Seeing her alive, Serena trembled slightly.
Noticing this, the woman opened her arms and embraced her.
"Serena, dear, don't cry. From now on, you're my daughter too. Ich liebe dich."
"I-I'm not crying... Mom."
The once-proud Queen of the Void shed her arrogance, weeping in her mother's arms like any ordinary girl.
The once-proud Queen of the Void shed her arrogance, weeping in her mother's arms like any ordinary girl.
"Say what you will, but Chang Yuan's really good at writing happy endings."
"Well, we do owe him. Honestly, the current me, sigh..."
"You're back, Raiden Mei? This time, we won't let you escape!"
"Then let's see how well you wield the power you stole from me."
Drawing her blade, Mei gazed down at the puppets with regal disdain.
Crackling purple-red lightning announced her presence.
The Thousand Herrschers fought while trying to steal more of her power—
—only to realize too late that they'd miscalculated.
Even with her authority, they couldn't defeat her.
"How?! Why?! We took your power—!"
"Stolen goods will never surpass the original."
"Then let's show you our strength!"
The battlefield shifted—a floating platform where dozens of puppets surrounded Mei, all wielding her stolen lightning.
"Is that all? Then this game ends here."
In an instant, Mei pushed her Core to its limit, nearly exhausting all her Honkai energy.
A storm of thunder purged the void.
Every puppet was obliterated.
New ones emerged, furious.
"How dare you?! Do you even care if you can't escape now?!"
"Not your concern. At the very least, I've stalled you."
Panting heavily, Mei watched as the thieves, now equally drained, struggled to stand.
They shared the same authority—if she exhausted it, so did they.
"Grrr! Hate hate hate hate! We hate you!"
"Hey, hey, can you hear me? Over. Over."
"Tch. Once is enough. What is it? I just started my vacation. I just put on my swimsuit."
At the resort, Himeko had just finished dealing with a few Honkai incidents and was ready to relax.
But the moment she changed into her swimsuit, ready to enjoy the private beach—her phone rang.
"Time to use that feather I gave you. I'll link your consciousness to Kiana's. We're at the 'Passing the Torch' scene."
"Huh? Already? Wait, let me—"
"No time! Kiana's waking up! Hurry!"
No chance to prepare. Himeko hastily equipped Vermilion Knight: Eclipse over her swimsuit.
The next second, she collapsed.
At least the battlesuit covered her up decently.
Arriving in Kiana's mental space, Himeko quickly tried to straighten herself out before Kiana noticed.
But—
"Teacher Himeko... Is it really you?"
"Ah—oh! Yes, yes, it's me! Kiana, wait, just give me a sec—"
Still adjusting her outfit, Himeko frantically tried to hide any swimsuit traces.
Kiana stopped, tilting her head in confusion.