"Hm?"
After several sleepless days, Kiana rubbed her eyes and looked at Ruan Mei, who seemed perfectly fine as always. After a brief hesitation, she nodded.
From her observations, Ruan Mei wouldn't have time to pay attention to her for a while anyway. If Kiana stayed, she might actually end up being a distraction.
And besides—she was truly exhausted.
If she stayed by Ruan Mei's side any longer, she might just fall asleep watching her analyze the Stigmata, slumped over the table.
"I'll go get some sleep then. Ruan, if you need anything, call me."
"Alright."
Yawning, Kiana left the lab. She couldn't help but wonder if all geniuses were like this—working for days on end without sleep, then collapsing for an entire day and night once everything was done.
Even after spending more than a year by Ruan Mei's side, Kiana still couldn't match that kind of dedication.
Overcome with fatigue, she returned to her room, collapsed onto her bed, and the moment she touched the soft sheets, her consciousness sank into darkness.
Out like a light.
She didn't know how long she slept.
When Kiana groggily woke up, she rolled over and slowly felt her mind clear.
She got up and took a shower.
Afterward, she returned to bed again—but this time, she picked up her phone, which she hadn't touched in days. Since entering the lab, she hadn't checked it once.
Sirin should have replied by now.
She was probably getting impatient.
Just as she suspected, when she unlocked the screen, countless unread messages popped up—not only from Sirin, but also from Robin, who should have returned to Pinocony by now.
Sirin's messages were numerous, but since Kiana's earlier excitement had already worn off, she decided to reply to Robin first.
She told Robin that she had returned home safely and that her health had fully recovered.
Robin didn't respond right away, so Kiana switched over to Sirin's chat and began scrolling up.
Sirin's first message, sent days ago, asked whether she really was Kiana.
After ten or so minutes, more messages followed—all asking the same thing, whether it was truly her.
Then, several hours later, Sirin sent some brief intel on Mei. Not much, just a few casual remarks and a vague lead.
After that, it was a few messages each day—
Asking why Kiana wasn't responding.
Asking where she was.
The most recent message, sent just an hour ago, said that she was planning to leave the Herta Space Station within the next two days.
Kiana sat up straight, immediately typing a reply.
Kiana: Is that you, Sirin?
Kiana: Sorry, I've been stuck in the lab these past few days—didn't have time to check my phone.
Kiana: Where are you heading next?
Kiana: I'm planning to visit the Herta Space Station soon to find you.
Kiana: Also... do you know where Mei is right now? Is she with you?
Sirin: Kiana?!
The reply came fast—so fast that Kiana couldn't help but marvel at the connection speed. But she didn't waste the opportunity to keep the conversation going.
Kiana: It's me.
Sirin: Where are you right now? When did you leave Izumo?
Kiana: I left Izumo over a year ago. I met Ruan Mei in Euphorion, and I'm staying with her now.
Kiana: What about Mei?
Kiana: Is she with you?
On the Herta Space Station, after waiting days for a reply, Sirin's expression darkened.
The anticipation she'd once felt about finding Kiana had long since worn thin. And now, seeing Kiana mention Mei over and over, whatever joy she had left completely evaporated.
She was exactly the same as before.
Suppressing her irritation, Sirin typed back:
Sirin: Honestly... I don't know where she is now.
Kiana: ??!
Sirin: These past few years, she's refused to leave Izumo. She's been staying nearby while I've been traveling with others, trading and moving between worlds.
Sirin: It's always been like that—but a few months ago, when I returned to Izumo, Raiden Mei was gone.
Kiana: ...No news at all?
Sirin: She hasn't contacted us. I don't even know if she still has a way to reach us. That incident hit her hard. She...
Kiana: What happened to her?
Sirin: She went far down the Path of Nihility searching for a way back to Izumo to find you. I can't say for sure what her situation is now.
Sirin: But she'll be fine.
Sirin: Maybe she'll return next year—so don't worry too much.
Kiana: ...
She's drifting farther and farther down the Path of Nihility?
Kiana's fingers curled into a fist. It felt like nothing had changed after all.
Sirin: What about you, Kiana? Are you okay?
Sirin: What exactly happened back then?
No—some things had changed.
At least more people had survived.
Some had even managed to preserve their consciousness in the form of Stigmata Crystals.
Letting out a slow breath, Kiana began typing again.
Kiana: It's a long story. I'll tell you everything once we meet in person, okay?
Kiana: Oh, and Sakura's consciousness still exists too. If we get the chance in the future, you might even see her again.
Sirin: Yae Sakura?!
Sirin: That woman's still alive? And she's with you right now?!
Shock. Delight. Then awkwardness.
She had long believed Yae Sakura and the others were dead. Kiana surviving could be chalked up to sheer luck—but the others…
For her and everyone else, it had been an unspoken truth that they'd all perished in that catastrophe.
She had even mourned Sakura for a long time.
And now, not only was Sakura still around—she might have been by Kiana's side this whole time.
This… this…
Kiana: ...You can't really call it living.
Kiana: I'll explain everything when we meet, okay?
Sirin: Where are you right now?
Kiana: I'm with Ruan Mei. If you want to come, you can travel with Herta.
Kiana: Herta contacted Ruan Mei recently—said she plans to come here herself for a discussion.
Sirin: I'll go ask her!
—Your friend has gone offline.—
Staring at the notification, Kiana couldn't help but smile faintly. Setting her phone aside, she looked up at the photo wall across from her.
Not finding Mei was disappointing.
But knowing that Sirin and Project Ark were still alive—that lifted a great weight from her heart.
"I wonder how Ruan's analysis is going."
She set her phone down carefully this time, instead of tossing it into her storage space.
"Maybe I'll go for a walk."
Rolling out of bed, Kiana decided to stretch her legs a bit. As for the lab—she didn't want to disturb Ruan Mei while she was working.
If only her cooking skills weren't so terrible—
She would've liked to make some pastries, to treat Ruan Mei with something sweet once the experiment was over.
Tsk. Speaking of cooking—back then, her food might have been bad, but at least it wasn't deadly. Now, though... it was as if she'd been cursed. Everything she made turned out disastrous.
Better not poison the kitchen—or Ruan Mei.
That was one of her few hobbies. If she traumatized herself out of it completely, that would really be a tragedy.
...
Herta Space Station.
After spending quite some time here with little progress, Sirin, who was preparing to leave in the next few days, went to look for Herta.
Herta had countless of her own puppets stationed throughout the facility, so finding one of them wasn't difficult.
"You're also looking for Ruan Mei? Got that news from that Kiana girl, didn't you? What a shame—you're too late. I left two days ago."
Sirin: "..."
Seeing the look on Sirin's face, Herta suddenly got an idea. Hands on her hips, she tilted her head slightly and said, "If you want to see her, that's easy. Just convince them to come back here with me to the Space Station."
"...She said she'll come to the Space Station to find me in a while."
Sirin sighed. She decided to let her caravan depart first while she stayed on the station for a bit longer.
"Oh? Really?"
Herta's tone carried genuine surprise.
After all, her last attempt at contacting Ruan Mei had gone nowhere—Ruan Mei hadn't shown the slightest intention of agreeing to anything.
Sirin sounded a little irritated. "Of course it's true! Why would I lie to you? She just told me herself."
Herta nodded. "Excellent!"
"What's 'excellent' supposed to mean?"
But Herta didn't bother explaining. The moment she heard that news, she left Sirin where she stood, disconnected from that puppet, and began making preparations personally.
...
"I see."
In Ruan Mei's laboratory—
She lowered her gaze thoughtfully, jotting down the latest information she'd received. By now, she had mostly understood the structure of the Stigmata.
If she wished, she could now create new ones herself. She couldn't say what abilities they would possess, but their resistance to Honkai energy—that she could replicate perfectly.
And the Honkai energy itself was exactly as she'd suspected.
A power that distorted reality.
How fascinating.
"Thank you for the reminder," Ruan Mei said, looking at the Stigmata suspended within the containment device.
She had just finished conversing with the consciousness within it—the woman Kiana had referred to as Yae Sakura.
It was the other party who had initiated the contact.
They spoke for a while, and Ruan Mei learned quite a few things that Kiana herself had never mentioned.
To create a body that matched that consciousness would have been simple for her—but that wasn't what Kiana wanted.
What she truly desired was to bring the illusory world of the Stigmata into reality.
After analyzing the Stigmata, Ruan Mei confirmed that only the reality-distorting power of the Honkai could make that possible.
Massaging her tired brow, Ruan Mei finally concluded her research on the Stigmata.
Now that the analysis was complete, the rest would be much easier—she no longer needed to stay and monitor it personally.
A break would do her good.
Leaving the cleanup to the robots, Ruan Mei turned and exited the lab.
Kiana had been gone for quite some time now, hadn't she?
Having spent so long immersed in her experiments, Ruan Mei had lost her sense of time. It was only upon finishing that she realized how much had passed.
She...
"Kiana?"
Just a few steps outside the lab, she encountered the very person she had been thinking about.
"Going to rest?"
Seeing her, Kiana quickly got up and hurried over. "Yeah, you've been in there for days without sleeping."
"Mhm. I was planning to relax my mind a little."
"Then would you rather rest first—or have some tea and snacks?"
Kiana turned toward the pastries she'd brought along, smiling as she asked.
A hint of weariness flickered across Ruan Mei's eyes. After a brief pause, she took Kiana's hand and led her a few steps away to sit down, deciding to have some of the pastries first.
They had been made by the meal-preparation robots. Kiana had visited the lab several times but never interrupted Ruan Mei while she was focused.
Since she didn't know when Ruan Mei would finally take a break, she had gotten into the habit of sitting outside the lab each day, having the little robots prepare snacks to leave nearby.
And since her own appetite was quite good, she could always finish them herself if needed.
Ruan Mei quietly ate the pastries, pairing them with tea. The tension in her features visibly softened.
"Herta should be arriving soon."
Kiana, propping her chin on her hand, blinked in surprise at the mention. "Herta?"
"Mhm."
Ruan Mei took a small sip of tea and said, "It's been about half a month since our last communication, hasn't it?"
Kiana hadn't really noticed how much time had passed, but when she glanced at the clock, she realized Ruan Mei was right.
"It's been about ten days."
Ruan Mei nodded lightly. "Then it should be within the next two."
Kiana blinked in surprise. "So you stopped your experiment because Lady Herta's coming to visit?"
"I finished it."
Ruan Mei wouldn't halt her research just to entertain Herta—she would never waste precious time on something like that.
"Already finished?"
It had barely been two weeks!
"So fast?"
Kiana's eyes widened slightly. She hadn't expected the Stigmata research to be completed so soon—it hadn't even lasted a full month.
"I've never stopped working on the project to counter Honkai corrosion since the day I met you," Ruan Mei explained gently. "The Stigmata simply filled in the last missing piece."
"As expected of Ruan," Kiana said with sincere admiration. "You solved such a difficult problem in just a short time."
After all, Kiana had cooperated with her fully.
Most of Ruan Mei's data had been derived directly from Kiana herself.
"What about the Stigmata World...?"
"It isn't impossible," Ruan Mei replied calmly. "But as for how to realize it—I haven't found a concrete method yet."
She glanced briefly at Kiana but didn't share her full thoughts just yet.
After finishing the plate of perfectly made pastries, Ruan Mei's whole demeanor softened. A quiet contentment settled over her as she leaned back slightly, eyes half-closed in satisfaction.
Kiana didn't press further. Knowing that the Stigmata World wasn't just an unreachable dream—that it could one day be achieved—was enough for her.
No matter how long it took.
As long as there was a chance, she would make it happen.
"Are you sleepy?"
"Mhm."
"Do you want to nap here, or should I take you back to your room?"
Kiana reached out and gently brushed away a few pastry crumbs from the corner of Ruan Mei's lips, asking softly.
With her curiosity satisfied and her mind finally at ease, Ruan Mei leaned lightly against Kiana and murmured, "Let's rest here for a while."
Kiana thought for a moment, then helped her settle. "Then rest on me—I'll stay here with you."
Ruan Mei lifted her gaze to meet Kiana's eyes. She didn't refuse—just gave a soft hum of agreement before lying down and resting her head on Kiana's lap.
Her familiar scent brought peace.
Kiana leaned back against the sofa, looking down at Ruan Mei's sleeping face. When her breathing grew steady, Kiana simply stayed as she was—motionless, content to remain like this.
The research on the Stigmata had come to a close. There would be no more sleepless nights of endless testing, at least for a while.
But with Herta's visit, Ruan Mei would most likely agree to her invitation.
And Kiana would use that opportunity to meet Sirin at the Space Station.
If Ruan Mei joined the Simulated Universe Project—
Then, just like in the story, she probably wouldn't have time to continue her Honkai research again before the official events began.