"Mei, has Bronya been acting weird lately? She's been cooped up in her bedroom and won't come out. She hasn't caught the legendary 'depresso,' has she?"
In the student dorms of St. Freya Academy, Kiana and Mei were sitting on the living room sofa. Kiana stared at Bronya's tightly shut door, her voice tinged with concern.
"I know… I haven't seen Bronya in class these past two days either. I tried to call her out yesterday, but she didn't answer me…"
Mei clasped her hands, her beautiful eyes gazing softly at Bronya's room, equally worried.
"Why don't we go take a peek at what she's doing?"
Seeing how concerned Mei was about Bronya, Kiana's eyes lit up as she suddenly proposed an idea.
"But… wouldn't that be wrong to Bronya?" Mei hesitated.
"Come on, Mei! If Bronya is really sick with something, shouldn't we be helping her even more?! If we just sit here and wait, aren't we just letting Bronya suffer in pain?!" Kiana cajoled Mei with a look of utter heartbreak.
"Is… is that right? Then we really should find a way to check on Bronya's condition."
Mei was clearly taken in by Kiana's dramatic act. She lowered her head and thought carefully, realizing that Kiana did have a point.
"I have a plan! Mei! Come here!"
Kiana leaned in close to Mei's ear. The warm breath and the soft, silky words gave Mei the illusion that Kiana was flirting with her, but what she said wasn't wrong…
"...But, is this really okay?" Mei was still a little hesitant.
"Don't worry! We're just going to take a quick look. Besides, I have a key to Bronya's room!" Kiana said, patting her chest confidently.
"Huh? How do you have a key to Bronya's room?" Mei tilted her head, her eyes full of confusion.
Of course, it was because I made a copy when I was getting one for Mei's door!
Without thinking, Kiana blurted out this unspeakable piece of history.
"Kiana…"
Mei's face darkened. Then, as if realizing something, she looked at Kiana, her face flushing red with a hint of disbelief.
"Then all those socks and underwear that I lost before…"
"No, no, no! Mei! I really didn't do it! It was… it was… it was Homu! That's right! Homu the Great Thief stole them!"
Seeing the annoyed look on Mei's face, Kiana quickly bowed, waving her hands frantically while conveniently making Homu the scapegoat to exonerate herself.
"Hmph… Fine. For Bronya's sake, I'll let it slide for now. But I'm going to ask the Principal to change my door lock."
"Aww Why would you do that"
"Hmph…"
Looking at Kiana throwing a tantrum like a child, Mei felt rather helpless. Even if she made her hand over the key, she'd surely have a spare, right? It was probably better to just change the lock entirely…
After some back-and-forth with Kiana, the two of them finally tiptoed to the outside of Bronya's room. Kiana stealthily pulled a key from her clothes and gently unlocked the door.
"..."
Placing a fair index finger to her lips, Kiana gestured for Mei to be quiet, then slowly pushed the door open.
The room was pitch-black. The curtains were drawn so tightly that not a single ray of light could penetrate, even at high noon. The only light source in the entire room was the dim glow of a computer monitor. A figure seemed to be lying on the bed, mumbling something…
"Bronya?" Kiana called out tentatively to the figure on the bed. When there was no response, she furrowed her delicate brows and then simply flipped on the lights in Bronya's room.
"Kiana?" Mei looked at Kiana in confusion. Didn't she say not to make any noise?
"Mei, something's not right with Bronya's condition!" the perceptive Kiana said decisively to Mei. Looking at Bronya, who was bundled up like a ball on the bed, Kiana walked to her side and gently poked the "caterpillar" before her.
"Bronya? Bronya? Wake up!"
She poked her several more times, but the person wrapped in the quilt still showed no reaction.
Kiana instantly panicked.
"Bronya! Don't tell me Bronya suffocated in the blanket! No! Bronya! I'm coming to save you!"
"Wait, Kiana! If you do that…"
Forcefully grabbing Bronya's quilt, Kiana ignored Mei's words from the side and yanked the blanket with all her might!
WHOOSH!
The quilt was violently thrown open by Kiana. A tall figure emerged from within and then fell heavily on top of Kiana.
"Pwuchi~"
A strange sound came from Kiana's face.
"Huh? It's so dark in here. What is this soft thing? And it has a milky scent?"
"......"
"Bro… nya?"
Mei stared in disbelief at the "Big" Bronya who had completely buried Kiana beneath her.
After the update to Honkai: Star Rail Version 1.1, the world of Honkai remained as it was—not good, not bad… No, it was getting worse. The frequency of Honkai eruptions began to increase, though not to an exponential degree.
But, following the 1.1 update, many people felt as if they were being watched by a deity not of this world. They obtained power from "outside the world," the power of the [Paths].
What was perplexing, however, was that some people were granted the gaze of the [Aeons] even though their nature was completely contrary to their Path, or had nothing to do with it at all…
Schicksal
Otto sat on his soft sofa, using the gentle power in his hand to stroke the cat in his lap.
This was Schicksal's newest experiment, which he had temporarily requisitioned. It had pure white fur, and those azure eyes… along with a very mischievous personality, full of vitality, yet sometimes lazy…
He was rather fond of it. Most importantly, he had saved it with his own hands.
"The power of Abundance… it truly lives up to its name. It's just a pity…"
Gently stroking the cat's soft fur, Otto gazed at Luocha on the screen and shook his head slightly.
"A physical shell is but a burden. What I desire is her eternity…"
Otto murmured, his emerald eyes seeming to cross through time and space, returning to five hundred years ago…
He would not become "Luocha." Compared to "hatred"... he would find a new hope!
He was clear-headed and grateful that after obtaining this great power, he could clearly understand the dangers it brought.
A brand-new path was slowly unfolding its door to him…