The morning was cool and quiet. A light breeze slipped through the open window, carrying the fresh smell of wet grass after last night's rain. Thin fog still hung outside, making everything look soft and blurry.
Sunlight poured in through the glass, spilling warm gold across the bed and lighting up the room.
Kiana lay sprawled on her stomach, face buried in the pillow. Her white hair stuck out in every direction. One arm hung off the edge, the other hugged the pillow tight.
A small wet spot of drool darkened the pillowcase under her cheek.
She mumbled in her sleep, voice soft and sleepy. "Reina..."
Then she smiled a little, nuzzling deeper into the pillow, completely out.
Kiana seemed to be enjoying her sleep, but soon the morning sun crept across the room and landed right on her face.
She grumbled and pulled the blanket over her head, trying to hide from the light and go back to sleep.
The bedroom door opened quietly. Someone stepped in and walked to the bed.
A gentle hand shook her shoulder. "Kiana, wake up. It's already morning," the voice said softly.
"Ahhh... five more hours," Kiana mumbled, burying deeper under the blanket.
"Come on, Kiana. I know you're still tired, but that's why you need to wake up and eat breakfast. It'll give you energy back." The hand carefully pulled the blanket away, revealing Kiana's sleepy face.
"Fufufu, cute."
A hand slipped under Kiana's head, helping her sit up slowly.
"Ahhh... let me sleep, I'm tireddd..."
"If you're still tired after eating, you can go back to sleep. But now you need breakfast. Everyone's already waiting."
Kiana rubbed her eyes, trying to wake up at least a little.
She slowly opened them and looked at the person. "Can we just eat here, Reina?"
"Nope. It's bad manners to eat in the bedroom. Also, it's more fun if we eat together, right?"
"Fineeee..."
Reina helped her stand and led her to the bathroom to wash her face.
After seeing Kiana splash water on her face, Reina left her and went downstairs.
There she found Bronya watching TV while waiting for Kiana.
"Bronya, did you already wash your face?" Reina asked, patting her head gently.
"Ja, the Bronya already did that," she answered, eyes still glued to the TV where a Homu cartoon was playing.
"Good girl. Then I'm gonna check if Mei needs help. When everything's ready, come to the dining table, yes?" Reina said, giving Bronya's head one last pat before turning toward the kitchen.
Bronya nodded, eyes still glued to the TV.
Reina walked into the kitchen and saw Mei moving smoothly around the stove. She was flipping bread, frying sausages, scrambling eggs, and crisping bacon. The smell filled the room, warm and inviting.
"Do you need my help, Mei?" Reina asked, leaning sideways against the wall with her arms crossed, a small smile on her face.
"No, I'm fine. It's almost done," Mei answered, glancing over her shoulder with a quick smile. "Is Kiana awake?"
"Yeah, she's washing her face right now," Reina said, pushing off the wall and stepping closer. "Then I'll help you bring these to the table."
"That's fine. Thank you," Mei replied, turning back to the stove to flip the last piece of bacon.
The morning felt really peaceful for them after everything that happened in Nagazora city a few days ago.
After everything was ready, Bronya joined them at the dining table. Kiana finally appeared, still rubbing her eyes as she walked in and looked at the breakfast spread.
"This smells delicious. Is Mei the one who cooked today?" Kiana asked, sniffing the air happily.
"Yeah, today Mei wanted to make breakfast for us, so she's the one who made all of this," Reina said, pointing at Mei with a small smile as Kiana plopped down in her chair.
Mei's cooking was easy to spot. She kept things simple on the plate-just food arranged neatly, nothing fancy. Reina's dishes were always decorated, making them look as good as they tasted, the kind that made your appetite grow just from looking.
Now they were all sitting at the table: Reina, Kiana, Mei, and Bronya. But none of them had touched their food yet. One chair remained empty, waiting for someone.
Few minutes later Kiana finally ran out of patience.
"Where the hell is she! The breakfast is gonna get cold if she takes this long," Kiana said, tapping her foot under the table.
"Maybe she's still asleep? Reina, did you check on her?" Mei asked, turning toward Reina.
"Well I didn't check on her... Not gonna lie her room smells really bad," Reina said.
"Smells really bad?" Bronya tilted her head, curious about what Reina meant.
"Well... whatever. I'm gonna check on her. It's better if it's me instead of any of you," Reina said as she stood up and left the room, heading upstairs again.
Upstairs she walked toward the room at the end of the hallway and stopped in front of it. She immediately started knocking.
After the knock she waited a moment, then knocked again since there was no response from inside. In the end she decided to just open the door with the intention to get in.
"Ughhh!" But the moment she opened it, the sharp smell of alcohol immediately hit her, especially since the room was dark because the curtains were closed.
Using magic she covered her entire body so she didn't have to smell it and then stepped inside the room.
The first thing she did was open the curtains and window to let the sunlight get in and the alcohol smell disappear.
Light brightened the room, making her able to see a woman sleeping on the bed along with multiple scattered empty bottles.
Her red hair spilled everywhere-long and messy, strands sticking to her sweaty face and tangled across the pillow like she'd been tossing all night.
She wasn't wearing proper pajamas, just a thin white shirt that had ridden up during sleep. The fabric bunched around her waist, leaving her toned stomach completely exposed. The shirt's neckline had slipped low too, barely covering her chest as she lay sprawled on her back with one arm thrown over her head and the other dangling off the bed.
Empty bottles rolled on the floor beside her, some tipped over, a few still half-full.
She looked tired even in her sleep-dark circles under her eyes, lips slightly parted, breathing heavy.
Reina sighed quietly.
This was Himeko the woman in the game story that was gonna become Kiana and the other teacher and in the end being killed by Kiana.
And currently, Reina and the others were already at St. Freya Academy, especially at Himeko's dorm where Theresa told them to live.
This is where Kiana, Mei, Bronya, and Yuna would continue their education for the next 2 to 3 years until the main story started.
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All of this began a few days ago after Kiana's dimension disappeared and they all appeared back in the real world.
But the moment they arrived, they could see a giant airship in the sky with so many mechs and Valkyries around the town.
Reina of course knew who they were-St. Freya Academy and the mechs from Anti-Entropy.
Both organizations weren't enemies like in the game because Mei's father wasn't in the prison and in the game Cocolia was the one who made them fight each other.
So now they were working together to check the city situation. But because Kiana already brought all the Honkai energy to her dimension, there was none left in the city anymore except for the remaining destruction and many injured people.
They didn't know what happened. They could feel a huge spike of Honkai energy in this city half an hour ago, but when they arrived the reading turned back to normal like it never happened-if not for the ruined buildings and people saying what went down.
"Are they the same ones from that time?" Kiana asked, remembering the accident when they were still in another country.
"Yes, Schicksal and the new one is from Anti-Entropy. It seems they're investigating what happened," Reina answered before she turned toward everyone including Bronya.
"Now Kiana, I want you to return to our home and start preparing our stuff. Can you do that?" Hearing that, Kiana nodded, making Reina turn to Mei who was already awake. "Mei, you should call your father to tell him you're fine." Mei nodded too.
"Bronya, you follow Kiana while I'm gonna bring Yuna to her mother. After that I'm gonna make sure we all stay together after this." Reina then spread her two wings. At this point it was useless to hide them.
With three Herrschers already here and many people already seeing Honkai beasts, people wouldn't be surprised to see a girl with wings.
Reina flew high into the sky, looking down at the entire city, trying to find Yuna's mother.
Doesn't take long for Reina to spot Yuna's mom. She's running around the street, calling for her daughter in panic after Yuna suddenly disappeared.
Reina dives down fast and scoops her up in a gentle carry.
"Kyaaa!" the woman screams, startled as she's lifted into the air.
"Good afternoon, aunty. Sorry for grabbing you like this," Reina says with a calm smile.
The familiar voice makes the woman stop screaming. She looks up and blinks. "Reina!?"
She knows Reina from the few times Yuna brought her friends home. But when she sees Yuna unconscious in Reina's arms, panic floods back. "Yuna! What happened to my daughter? Why is she unconscious??" Her voice shakes with worry, not even caring that they're flying or that Reina has two wings on her back.
"Yuna is fine, aunty. I'm gonna tell you everything. I just need to bring you to a safe place," Reina says gently.
Not long after, they arrive at the apartment. Reina doesn't use the lobby door on the first floor. Instead, she chants a short spell. Their bodies glow softly, and they pass straight through the wall into their room on the upper floor.
The electricity is off because of the missiles, but Reina just waves her hand. Magic circles light up around the building, supplying power instantly. The entire room brightens up, lights turning on, everything working normally. Even if someone sent a nuke, the whole building wouldn't fall-Reina had already put strong protection on it.
"Welcome to my home, aunty. You never came here before, right? Don't be too formal-just use anything you need," Reina says, gently setting Yuna's mom down before placing Yuna on the sofa.
Yuna's mom looks around, still shocked. "What is this... What's going on here, Reina? Why do you have wings? And why did missiles suddenly attack us? And those monsters-what happened? My daughter too..."
She starts asking question after question, voice trembling. Just an hour ago, she and Yuna were having fun shopping, buying lots of ingredients, laughing together. Then came the bright light, explosions, and monsters everywhere. Everything changed in minutes.
Reina took a deep breath and started explaining everything as clearly as she could, even though it was hard to keep it short.
She began with Honkai energy—how it was a dangerous force that the government tried to hide from normal people. Then she talked about Honkai beasts, the monsters that came from that energy, and how they attacked people and turned some into zombies. She explained what was in the missiles that hit the city, why they exploded, and how the Honkai spread so fast that many people became zombies or died.
She told her about Herrschers—people who gained huge power from Honkai—and finally she reached Yuna.
"Yuna… she became a Herrscher," Reina said softly.
Yuna's mother's eyes filled with tears the more Reina spoke. When Reina mentioned Yuna becoming a Herrscher, the tears started falling faster. Her hands shook, her face went pale, and she looked like she might collapse from the shock.
Reina quickly stepped forward and held both of her shoulders firmly, stopping her from falling.
"I can't say I understand what you're feeling right now, aunty. I never had a child of my own," Reina said, her voice gentle but steady, well except that one time when their daughter from the future accidentally came to the past because they were bored and met her original—but that wasn't the point right now.
"But I can promise you that nothing will happen to Yuna. I'm gonna make sure not just her, but all the others are safe from Honkai," Reina said with a serious face.
The moment those words left her mouth, more tears flowed from Yuna's mother's eyes as she looked at Reina.
"Reina… thank you so much," she whispered, her voice shaking.
She felt confused about everything that happened, but Reina telling her it was going to be fine, even promising her, started to calm her chaotic heart. The panic slowly disappeared from her face, replaced by a quiet, grateful trust.
Reina's blue eyes met Yuna's mother's gaze, steady and serious, full of quiet promise.
She didn't blink, didn't look away and the way she stared-calm, deep, completely focused-made her heart skip a beat.
Her cheeks warmed. A soft flush crept up her face, faint pink against her skin.
Reina's expression was so earnest, so dependable, like she'd carry the whole world if it meant keeping Yuna safe.
Yuna's mother felt her pulse quicken. Her breath caught for a second.
She quickly shook her head, trying to push the feeling down.
This is her daughter's friend and they're both girls especially how much younger Reina are to her without realizing that Reina already way older than her because of her Astral and Primarch blood.
How could she even think like that? She swallowed and looked down at her hands, cheeks still burning.
Reina tilted her head slightly, not noticing the flush at all, her voice gentle.
"Aunty... you okay?"
"I'm fine thank you once again Reina" she said after composing herself but her face still red blush.
"I see then for now you should wait here Kiana will come and you can ask her more if you have questions" Reina let go of her shoulder before walking away toward the wall where they previously come.
"Where are you going Reina? You want to go out again?"
"Of course there is another stuff i need to do, so take care of Yuna I'm gonna be back soon" Reina said with a smile before she fly through the wall again leaving Yuna mother and the unconscious Yuna.
"Is young people nowadays always so dependable like that?" Yuna mother said touching her chest where heart still racing.
She didn't realize it yet, but Reina had accidentally charmed her without even trying-just like her original, who always had that effortless way of making people feel safe and drawn in. Reina's serious promise, the gentle touch on her shoulders, the calm confidence in her eyes... it all came straight from that same natural charisma she inherited.