The chat was going wild.
Eden, however, had knit her brows after that cutscene. The sudden news about "Real Kiana" had shocked her too. But since Theresa and Kiana were still talking, she pushed the thought aside and kept watching.
"...We have plenty of accounts to settle with that man. But for now, putting a real end to the Herrscher of Dominance incident is what matters most."
Theresa clearly didn't want to linger on the subject and steered the conversation back to business.
Kiana steadied herself quickly and nodded. "Mm. I understand, Headmistress. It's just… over the past few months I've seen so many fragments of the past inside the Core… When there's a chance like this, I want to talk to someone who knows. Please forgive my immaturity, Headmistress."
Theresa shook her head, meeting Kiana's eyes with rare gravity. "No. This is your progress, Kiana. Compared to the old you—who hid sorrow behind cheer and wouldn't truly open up—being willing to let companions share your burdens is a huge step. If you lay your heart bare, we won't have to worry."
It was true. After "Everlasting Flames" and that farewell to Himeko, Kiana's wounds had healed a great deal; she had kept Himeko's words etched deep in her heart.
After that, Theresa and Kiana didn't touch "Real Kiana" again. It felt as if they'd quietly accepted her death.
Eden and Elysia were both a little regretful—yet a thread of suspense remained. Strictly speaking, this was still just Theresa and Kiana's inference, not hard proof. Like that chat line had said: who knows—maybe the story would bring Real Kiana back later… just to twist the knife again.
A thought flashed in Eden's mind. Why bring up Real Kiana here at all? Could it be… the story would mention her again soon? Wait—
The Eleventh Herrscher… could it be Real Kiana?
From her perspective, it made a chilling kind of sense. Your father gives the name "Kiana" to the clone K-423 and never comes back for his real daughter; even your aunt Theresa has never visited you… A ten-year-old's heart is sensitive. Easy prey for the Honkai's whispers.
Would the next arc be Real Kiana awakening as the Eleventh Herrscher—and then "cutting" someone from the main cast? Theresa, for example…
That would hurt too much…!
While Eden was quietly worrying, Elysia was thinking about something else entirely—namely, how slow Theresa's little legs were.
"Aww… Theresa runs so slooow~ And I swear Boss Mo did this on purpose; there's zero sprint on her moveset…"
Eden couldn't help a laugh. She'd noticed it too: no matter which battlesuit Theresa wore, none of them had a real burst of speed. Compared to other characters, she was a tortoise.
The chat cackled along:
[Hahaha] [Wanna get flattened by Judah?! (angry)]
In-game, Theresa finally trotted over to Fu Hua.
"White Tiger listens to the wind… Azure Dragon parts the waters… Vermilion Bird treads on clouds… Yellow Dragon shatters the sky… Hah!"
Class Monitor being Class Monitor—training whenever she had a free moment.
Theresa chatted with Fu Hua. Nothing crucial—mostly daily life. The one surprise was news about Mei's father: according to Theresa, he'd already been released and Welt had recalled him to Anti-Entropy HQ.
They moved on to talk about Mei herself.
"Miss Raiden must have grown a lot in her new environment," Fu Hua said softly. "To choose to strike out so decisively… she's truly strong."
The chat instantly ran with it:
[Right, right—Mei's busy digging up you and Kevin's black history over at World Serpent~]
After Fu Hua, Theresa scampered toward Dr. Tesla. The scroll was laughing before the dialogue even began—unlike Shibao's crassness, Tesla's salty mouth was… weirdly adorable.
"Good afternoon, Dr. Einstein, Dr. Tesla~"
Twin ponytails, sharp little face, compact frame—Tesla was unmistakable.
"Morning—pfft, curse this jet lag… Afternoon! Dr. Tesla's raring to go. Plan is to thump a few knots into that pig-headed Otto!"
Two lines in and Elysia was already giggling. Every character in Honkai 3rd had their own flavor, and even a Stigmata like Dr. Tesla had legions of fans.
The chat went brr:
[I'm already laughing]
[She opens her mouth and it's all spice lmao]
[Tesla is adorable too]
[Fun fact: Otto's body is made of just steel]
[I'm a mature onee-san enjoyer, but if you badmouth Otto, we're friends]
[Can't wait for Dr. Tesla to bonk Dog-Thief Otto (slides)]
"…Sorry. I got carried away," Tesla added after venting. "Even if I hate that guy… he's still your family, right? My bad…"
"No… no need to apologize," Theresa said, shaking her head. "Grandpa did do many things that wronged Anti-Entropy."
After a quick training drill with Seele, Bronya, and the Arlene sisters, the Hyperion finally arrived.
The next stage opened with a sweeping, theatrical landing sequence.
"Kolosten… Schicksal's HQ before the floating isles," Theresa murmured, the architecture tugging at her memory.
So it wasn't medieval Europe from 500 years ago—just Schicksal's old site from decades past. The players had gotten excited for nothing.
Waiting to greet them was… Durandal.
"Captain of Immortal Blades, Durandal, under orders from Archbishop Otto Apocalypse, welcomes Lady Theresa Apocalypse of the Far East Branch."
"No need for formalities, Durandal. Let's get to the point," Theresa said in that soft, milky voice of hers that always sounded slightly at odds with serious talk—funny in its own way. "What arrangements has the Archbishop made? And where are the leads on the Herrscher core?"
Durandal brought them up to speed. Otto had used the remnants of the Theater of Domination together with the Second Divine Key to contact the Imaginary Tree—and even reconnected the world bubble inside Durandal back to it.
Dr. Einstein was floored. World bubbles fall from the Tree; reconnecting one was like… grafting a ripe apple back onto the branch.
Ever since then, spacetime around Kolosten had gone wrong. Hence Otto's "hunch" that clues to the core were here.
"Spacetime projection," Durandal called it—signals from a past era, cast into the present.
That, in turn, stunned Einstein and Tesla for a different reason. Einstein had studied spacetime projection; she knew exactly how hard it was.
"If what you're describing is real, then the worst-case scenario is…" Einstein's tone turned grave. "Kolosten could soon face another Imaginary Invasion, like Changkong City."
"But Schicksal hasn't detected a concrete Imaginary singularity like last time," Durandal frowned. "Can that really happen?"
Tesla launched into a very serious explanation.
Which left players blinking in unison.
[Singularity? What singularity?]
[A strange point?]
[MiHoYo, speak mortal language please…]
[I get it!! A "singular" point is… a weird point!]
[One talk with you > reading one talk]
In short: Kolosten was the calm before a storm. If something snapped, things would go south fast.
"Since everyone's so concerned, let's use the time we have to scout the anomalous zones," Durandal proposed.
Theresa agreed at once—and volunteered to accompany Durandal personally.
Tesla didn't like it. She didn't trust Schicksal, period.
Bronya, though, understood Tesla's worries—and Durandal's response helped. She assigned some Immortal Blades staffers to Anti-Entropy as liaisons—both to keep lines open and, frankly, as hostages of goodwill.
Einstein was pleasantly surprised. "If Durandal is showing sincerity, then we should do our part properly as well… Theresa isn't a tech specialist. For efficiency, why don't you take Dr. Tesla along on-site?"
Tesla: "…"
She grumbled a few choice words about Chicken-Coop Hair, then agreed to go.
Control returned to the player.
Elysia rotated the camera, poked around—and blinked. This stage… felt a lot like Genshin's open-world. No puzzles or gathering, and the map was smaller, but the feel was there.
"Waa~ Honkai 3rd is doing exploration like this now?"
"It does make the immersion deeper," Eden murmured.
Guided by mission markers, Elysia happily roamed—roaming mechs, chests to pop (no Primogems, alas, but looting is its own joy), and plenty of Tesla banter to flavor the walk.
They beat a mini-boss.
A blond man stepped into view.
The chat exploded:
[OTTO!!]
[Dog-thief, draw your blade!!]
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