A few days after the miracle in Nagazora, Reina, Kiana, Mei, Yuna, and even Bronya moved to St. Freya Academy in Soukai City, far to the east.
Theresa told them that they could live with Himeko, as her place was quite large and had multiple rooms where they could stay.
Of course, there was another reason for this arrangement-so Himeko could keep an eye on them, especially Reina.
After what happened in Nagazora, both Theresa and Himeko had become far more cautious toward her.
Even though Reina said she meant no harm to humanity, she also made it clear that if anything happened to Kiana and the others, she would not hesitate to retaliate.
Kiana and the others were also allowed to join the academy, but they still needed to go through the required entrance tests.
Mei's situation was a little different. Her father, Raiden Ryoma, personally gave his permission for her to join St. Freya Academy, especially after learning that Mei had already become a Herrscher. With his long-standing connection and cooperative relationship with Schicksal, he believed that the academy was the safest place for her.
Yuna's mother also came with them, as she was the only family Yuna had left. However, instead of living inside the academy, she chose to settle in Soukai City, in an area close enough to stay near Yuna.
They passed the written test without much trouble, leaving only the physical test.
After all, to become a Valkyrie, intelligence alone was not enough-they also needed strength.
They still hadn't taken the physical test yet, not because they not strong enough, but because Yuna still couldn't control her power. It kept going out of control at random, making it too dangerous for her to participate.
If not for Reina being there to suppress it, Schicksal would have likely been forced to take extreme measures-just like what happened to Mei in the original timeline, including planting a bomb inside her body.
"Ughh... my head..." Himeko muttered as she finally arrived, clearly still half-asleep after being dragged out of bed by Reina for breakfast.
She dropped herself onto a chair, rubbing her temple.
"Why did you even drink so much alcohol in the first place?" Reina said calmly as she sat down across from her, already fully awake.
"Well sorry about that, Angel of Nagazora," Himeko replied with a tired groan. "Alcohol is the only coping method I have to deal with everything that's happened in just a few days!"
Angel of Nagazora-that was what people started calling Reina after that day. Himeko used it sometimes, usually when she was annoyed, and especially when her hangover was acting up.
Reina tilted her head slightly. "Do you want me to make you forget your love for alcohol? I can do that, you know. Then you'll stop drinking that stuff."
As she said that, she raised both arms and wiggled her fingers exaggeratedly, clearly not being serious.
"Nooooooo!" Himeko immediately protested. "You devil, don't take away my reason to live every day!!"
"Didn't you call me an angel before? Why am I a devil now~" Reina said playfully. "As an angel, I just want to help you get rid of your addiction, so let this angel help you."
She put both of her hands together in front of her chest, fingers interlocked like she was praying, her expression completely serious despite the words.
Somehow, Reina and Himeko immediately started bickering with each other, their voices overlapping as neither wanted to back down. The sudden shift left the others sitting there in silence, unsure how the conversation had derailed this badly over alcohol.
Fortunately, Mei clapped her hands together to stop them before it went any further. "Can we eat first? The food has been here for twenty minutes already."
Reina glanced at the table, then casually used her magic to reverse the state of the food back to before it went cold. In an instant, everything looked fresh again, as if it had just finished cooking.
Unfortunately, that kind of time reversal only worked on objects. Even then, she couldn't rewind more than thirty minutes.
Unless she used the Primal Beast Akasha.
With Akasha, she could rewrite the past, present, and future entirely-but she didn't possess it. Akasha is belong to her original.
"By the way," Mei said after taking a bite, "do you want to come with us to visit Yuna later?"
Everyone except Himeko was planning to go. Yuna was still in the hospital, after all.
Reina thought for a moment before answering. "I'll visit her later. There's still something I need to do first."
Then she turned toward Himeko. "Oh right, Himeko. Has Theresa decided what she wants from me yet?"
It was about the agreement they made that day.
"No. The principal hasn't said anything to me," Himeko replied while eating. "She's probably still thinking it through."
"Alright," Reina said calmly. "Just tell me if she comes up with something. And don't forget about the restrictions I mentioned."
After that, they finished breakfast peacefully and went their separate ways before planning to visit Yuna in the afternoon.
Kiana went back to sleep.
Mei sat down to read a magazine.
Bronya turned on the TV.
Himeko left as she has something to do, even though it was Saturday.
Reina sat beside Bronya and watched the TV with her, which was currently playing a Homu cartoon.
She glanced at the stacked discs nearby. "Where did you get this many Blu-ray discs of Homu?"
"The Bronya bought it herself."
Reina glanced at the stack of Blu-ray discs beside the TV, her eyes lingering on the number of volumes.
"Isn't this expensive? Blu-ray discs like these, and with so many volumes too."
"The Bronya can earn her own money," Bronya replied calmly, her eyes still on the screen. "By trading stocks, the Bronya already has sufficient funds."
Reina shifted slightly closer, sitting beside her. Reina remembered that Bronya had been accidentally dragged into Kiana's pocket dimension that day, and then from Kiana and Mei story it seems Bronya also saved them when Mei was poisoned and Kiana ran out of energy.
She knew Bronya was tied to Cocolia. Still, Reina never blamed her for it.
In the game, Bronya had chosen Kiana and Mei over Cocolia. That decision had cost her dearly. Cocolia activated the control chip implanted in her brain, stripping away her freedom and forcing her into obedience.
Reina's fingers curled slightly at the memory.
Unfortunately, her own power still hadn't fully recovered. Using her true form, then pushing further into the Supreme Primarch form, had drained nearly everything she had.
Borrowing energy from Sora and Herrscher of Thunder helped, but Herrscher energy without an active Honkai outbreak was limited-barely a fraction of what it was during a full eruption.
"Maybe I need to return to the Sky Realm and recover my energy there..." Reina murmured, almost absentmindedly, as Bronya continued explaining stock movements.
"Reina nee-san, did you say something?" Bronya asked, turning her head and tilting it slightly.
"Nope~" Reina replied easily, smiling. "I'm just happy you're talking so much today~"
Usually, Reina had to start every conversation herself.
Maybe after a few days of trying, Bronya had finally begun opening up on her own.
"The Bronya likes talking with Reina nee-san and Mei nee-san, but Kiana nee-san is too loud..." Bronya said, still watching the screen.
"Fufu, Kiana just has too much energy," Reina said. "Don't be too mean to her, alright?" She reached out and gently patted Bronya's head, and Bronya let her.
They kept watching TV together until it was finally time to visit Yuna.
Kiana, Mei, and Bronya gathered at the front door, getting ready to leave. Reina stayed inside, waving at them from where she stood.
"Tell Yuna I'll come later, alright?" Reina said.
After they left, the dorm became quiet. Reina didn't stay there long and went straight back to her room.
Reina planned to spend around two hours continuing her experiment before calling it a day. After that, she intended to make some snacks for Yuna and the others before visiting them later.
After the previous failure of becoming a Herrscher, she needed an alternative path. Until her body became stable enough to properly fuse with a Herrscher core, forcing it again was out of the question.
Inside the Zero Dimension, she pulled Yamato back into her space - the katana she had borrowed from Mei. Borrowed, mostly because Yamato seemed to like being wielded by Mei more, so Reina just let her keep it for now.
It's not like Reina actually used it much anyway.
Definitely not because she liked Yamato a little too much just because it was a really cool katana... to the point she made it float around her dimension just so she could admire it.
Either way, today's plan was clear. She was going to try fusing Yamato with the Herrscher of Void core.
Yamato was already capable of cutting through the fabric of space, dimensions, even reality itself. But what if she enhanced it further by adding the Void core?
What Reina wanted was not to make it sharper, but to let it command space the same way the Herrscher of Void did-bending distance, folding locations, and tearing open paths wherever the blade pointed.
With the Void core, Yamato would no longer be limited to a physical swing. Space itself could be sliced open in advance, allowing its cuts to emerge from rifts, strike from impossible angles, or reach targets far beyond her immediate range, as if distance had simply stopped mattering.
Reina stared at the floating katana with her eyes narrowing slightly.
"Let's see how far we can take this..."
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The place fell into silence as Reina adjusted her plan in her mind. Two hours. That was all she had before she needed to leave for Yuna. There was no luxury of time, no room for slow experimentation.
She placed Yamato before her, the blade resting horizontally, its surface reflecting faint light. The Herrscher of Void core hovered nearby, suspended by her control, space around it subtly warping as if it refused to fully exist in one place.
The first attempt failed almost immediately.
Void energy poured into Yamato, but the blade reacted violently. Space twisted along its edge, then snapped back, rejecting the intrusion. Reina was forced to pull the energy away before the sword destabilized further.
She tried again, this time slowing the flow.
The Void core resonated-too strongly. The surrounding space fractured into thin, glass-like distortions, but Yamato's own spatial authority clashed with it. The energies overlapped without synchronizing, tearing at each other instead of merging. Reina shut it down before the feedback could worsen.
Minutes passed. Then more.
Several attempts ended the same way-either Yamato's spatial cuts overpowering the Void's authority, or the Void core attempting to overwrite the blade's structure entirely. Neither would yield. Neither would submit.
Reina exhaled slowly and changed her approach.
Instead of forcing the Void into Yamato, she allowed the blade to lead.
Yamato's edge carved an invisible incision-not through matter, but through space itself. Reina guided the Void core toward that opening, letting its authority flow along the cut rather than against it.
This time, the reaction was different.
The Void energy did not resist.
It followed the spatial incision naturally, slipping into the framework Yamato created. The distortion around the blade stabilized, no longer chaotic but precise-clean, controlled.
Reina maintained the balance, adjusting the flow again and again as sweat formed along her brow. The margin for error was thin. One mistake and both the sword and the core could collapse.
Then, finally, the resonance settled.
Yamato's appearance shifted.
Faint violet fissures formed along the blade, like frozen spatial rifts embedded into the steel. Near the grip, where the guard met the handle, the Herrscher of Void core crystallized into a compact, gem-like form-partially exposed, as if anchored there by Yamato's authority rather than sealed within it.
Space around the sword bent subtly, reacting even when it remained still.
Reina loosened her grip and stepped back, watching as the distortions slowly calmed.
Seeing Yamato after it had finally changed, Reina felt a small sense of pride. At the very least, this time it hadn't taken too long.
She checked her watch. There was still half an hour left before she needed to go to Yuna, which meant she had already been working on this for an hour and a half.
Still, there was one more thing she needed to do. Mei would be the one using this weapon, so Reina had to be absolutely sure it was safe—and that its power could be released properly without any issues.
"Alright then, test number one." She wrapped her fingers around Yamato's grip, and the moment she did, power surged through the blade, flowing straight into her body.
Reina didn't want to waste any more time. Her hand tightened around Yamato's grip as she began to draw out the power within it.
The void core reacted almost instantly. A dim glow appeared inside it, growing brighter as more power was released and poured into the blade. Yamato hummed softly, the air around it growing heavier as the energy continued to build.
She didn't rush it. Reina let the power settle on its own, waiting until it reached a stable state. When it was ready, a dark void aura spread across the blade, wrapping around it like a quiet shadow.
Without changing her expression, Reina made a simple horizontal swing to the side. No technique. No special movement. Just a basic slash.
As the blade passed through the air, a thin line appeared behind it, marking the path of the cut. The line remained suspended in space, sharp and unnatural, as if reality itself had been sliced open.
Normally, that line would begin to spread. It would widen, tear open further, and form a portal.
But this time, it didn't.
The line stayed thin, perfectly straight, showing no sign of expanding at all. It just lingered there.
Reina paused, watching it closely.
This wasn't how it was supposed to work.
"Weird… I'm pretty sure everything went perfectly," Reina murmured as she stared at the line that refused to open.
She could clearly feel it. The slice had been successful, and the energy had been released properly without any issues.
"Did I miss something when I combined these two?"
Her gaze dropped to Yamato as she began to consider separating them and trying the process again from the start.
But while she was focused on that thought, she failed to notice the thin line beside her beginning to tremble slightly. The space around it distorted, drawing her attention just as it started to lose control.
"What the hell!?"
Reina immediately tried to stabilize the line, but before she could do anything, it suddenly split open, forming a portal.
A violent rush of wind burst out from it, pulling everything nearby toward the opening. Standing so close to it, Reina was caught completely off guard.
Before she could react, her body was dragged in, swallowed by the portal as it continued to pull her inside.