The final enemy.
How could it be Kiana?
Acheron had never imagined such an outcome. She stared, disbelief shaking her very reason.
The being before her—there was no doubt—it could only be her next opponent.
The "Kiana" standing there…
She was in her Herrscher form, a long spear piercing her body, nailing her to the devastated earth.
After all her searching through this final trial, this was the only person Acheron had found.
This had to be the last enemy.
Kiana…
Acheron's expression darkened, a mix of refusal to accept this cruel revelation and fury at the sight of Kiana impaled.
She knew that everything within the Stigmata trial was false—yet she couldn't help but imagine, What if this scene were real?
"What is this… supposed to mean?"
So this ruined land was destroyed by the Kiana before her?
Could this be the Final Eruption?
Her emotions were far from calm. She thought of the final Honkai Eruption she had never witnessed herself.
At first, she had believed this trial to be a glimpse into the Stigmata's hidden memories—but upon seeing Kiana's figure, she began to suspect this reflected Izumo's final collapse instead.
Heart heavy, she stepped closer to the figure. When she was within a hundred meters, it was as if she had triggered something. The dead silence shattered, and the space around her shifted as though time itself had frozen.
The unmoving figure twitched. The spear that pinned her shattered into golden fragments, which then reformed in her hand.
Slowly, she descended to the ground and opened her eyes. Those brilliant golden irises were devoid of any emotion—not cold, but utterly mechanical, like those of a puppet.
Anger flared briefly within Acheron's eyes.
Her expression hardened as she drew her long blade, which had not left its sheath for some time. The moment the blade was unsheathed, everything within her vision—including herself—was drained of color under the influence of Nihility.
But Kiana was different.
Whether projection or puppet, this Kiana retained her colors—untouched by the gray decay of this world.
As if receiving an unseen command, she raised her spear and aimed it at Acheron.
"Enemy… eliminate…"
To use Kiana's image for such an act—it was… unforgivable!
In the colorless world, Acheron's blood-red slash surged with lightning fury, cleaving toward the Herrscher with apocalyptic force.
But the Herrscher was unfazed, meeting her strike head-on.
The scarlet storm of lightning clashed against radiant golden energy, and Acheron could almost hear space itself scream.
A colossal explosion erupted at the point of collision. The deafening roar obliterated everything in sight, leveling the landscape in an instant.
Acheron moved through the smoke, blade in hand, charging once more to engage the false Herrscher.
Their battle raged from ground to sky, every clash unleashing devastating shockwaves.
A single misplaced strike could annihilate all around them, leaving permanent scars upon the planet's surface.
The final trial stage—
It was an entire world.
Acheron and the Herrscher soared high above, glimpsing the shattered remains of the planet below.
This was not Izumo.
Though Acheron had never fought in the Final Eruption, she had seen Izumo's ruin aboard the Ark afterward.
It had not looked like this.
She had just seen Kiana in her Herrscher form earlier—this puppet's movements were eerily similar.
This world… this imitation…
The Herrscher could not communicate.
Perhaps this was what Kiana once mentioned—something that had happened in another world.
"It's time to end this."
Acheron held nothing back. She unleashed her full strength, the power of her Path erupting from her blade.
A scarlet wave of destruction surged forth, swallowing both her enemy and the planet in an instant.
And in that fleeting moment—
She glimpsed a fragment of a past that was not her own.
Before Acheron could react, the scene dissolved around her. The shattered tower vanished, replaced by a vast expanse of pure white.
A single deep violet crystal floated before her, suspended in the still air—waiting for her to reach out and touch it.
But Acheron paid it little mind.
Her brows furrowed as she lingered on the vision she had just witnessed.
It was a fragment of a war's aftermath—perhaps what had occurred before that Herrscher had impaled herself upon the earth.
Right… Sakura had mentioned that after Kiana left Izumo, she had shown signs of losing control. Was that… the same as what Acheron had just seen?
There was no joy in having completed the trial.
She could not imagine Kiana in such a state—nor could she bear the thought of it.
Her gaze darkened, and she silently resolved to confront Kiana about what she had seen. Only then did she turn her attention back to the mysterious violet crystal before her.
"The reward is… a Herrscher Core?"
The reward caught her off guard. She hadn't expected that clearing the final trial would yield something like this.
That was…
She frowned in thought but ultimately extended her hand to grasp the crystal.
[An important figure of this world has utilized the Herrscher Core, becoming the Herrscher of Thunder. The Honkai Energy concentration of World (Izumo) has been permanently raised to 100%.]
[A new 'Rule' has been branded into this universe. Progress toward Finality: 100%.]
[You have exited the beginner phase.]
At that exact moment, Kiana—who had just finished restoring the shrine and was idly waiting for Acheron to return—was struck dumb by the sudden flood of notifications.
The ominous mixture of Honkai and Nihility that had long suffused Izumo abruptly vanished.
The oppressive aura of Nihility that had blanketed the planet was gone in an instant.
The heavy clouds, the ceaseless rain, the lingering sense of dread—
Nihility, Honkai, and the wandering Honkai Beasts that had roamed the land—all were erased from existence.
Unseen by any human eye, Izumo underwent a quiet, cataclysmic transformation.
The planet that had once been trapped under Nihility's pull, unable to escape its decay—was suddenly freed.
She could feel it. She could see it.
Kiana looked up at the sky. The oppressive clouds had completely dispersed, and the black sun was gone.
Her eyes were wide, unfocused. The barrier she had maintained to separate herself from the dense Honkai energy dissolved.
Now fully exposed to Izumo's air, she waited for the familiar sting of erosion—but it never came.
Not because she was in Herrscher form.
But because…
"The Honkai energy… it's gone?"
No—not gone.
Kiana stared down at her hand in bewilderment.
It had all been absorbed.
This world…
A strange, indescribable sensation welled within Kiana—as though, if she willed it, she could do anything.
To test that feeling, she used the newfound power that had suddenly awakened within her, letting life return to the barren wasteland.
Seeds sprouted, shoots emerged—the planet itself began to breathe again.
But from the depths of her soul, a heavy drowsiness crept forth, wrapping around her consciousness. Kiana shook her head weakly, struggling to stay awake amid this sudden change.
She still hadn't asked Mei what had happened.
How had simply climbing a tower led to her obtaining a Herrscher Core—and becoming the Herrscher of Thunder?
"What… is happening…?"
She couldn't resist the pull toward sleep any longer.
It felt as though an unseen force was tugging at her consciousness, luring her toward another dimension entirely.
"Kiana?"
Acheron awoke from her trial, her eyes blinking open to the familiar surroundings—and to Kiana, who was clutching her head, her face pale and strained with pain.
Kiana looked terrible.
Without thinking, Acheron rushed forward to steady her, but Kiana grabbed her sleeve tightly instead.
Her eyes seemed heavy, on the verge of closing. She was forcing herself to remain conscious—but the moment she saw Acheron, the pain in her face softened into relief.
What had happened?
There was no time to ask.
In that instant, clarity struck Kiana. Fighting against the haze of oncoming sleep, she spoke quickly, her words tumbling out in fragments.
"I've… completed the final process. I'm going to fall asleep for a while. Don't worry… I'm fine. I just need to… rest…"
Having said what mattered most—and reassured by Acheron's safe return—Kiana could hold on no longer. Still clutching Acheron's sleeve, she closed her eyes and surrendered to slumber.
"Kiana? Kiana?!"
Holding her beloved's hand tighter, Acheron called out her name in panic, but Kiana gave no reply.
Why had Kiana suddenly fallen into slumber?
Because she had completed the final process?
But Kiana had tried countless times before to complete it, without success.
What had changed?
Holding Kiana in her arms, Acheron's thoughts were a whirl of confusion. Though rationally, she understood that this sleep might be a good thing—Kiana had long sought to finish that final process.
If her theory was correct, once she awoke, she would no longer risk losing control.
The state Acheron had witnessed during her trial would never happen again.
The shrine had been restored to its former beauty.
The powers of Nihility and Honkai had vanished entirely, yet Acheron couldn't comprehend how.
Questions piled endlessly within her, but the only person who could answer them now lay peacefully asleep in her arms.
Still… all of this seemed like a blessing.
In silence, Acheron lifted Kiana and carried her into the shrine.
She had assumed that everything inside had already rotted away, but the restoration extended beyond the courtyard—the entire interior had been renewed.
Was this all… Kiana's doing?
Seeing the familiar arrangement of rooms left Acheron momentarily stunned. Regaining her composure, she gently laid Kiana down in what had once been her own bedroom.
Kiana's mention of "sleep" clearly didn't mean an ordinary rest. Acheron remembered what had happened after the Final Eruption—how Kiana had fallen into slumber then as well.
"This time… I won't leave. I'll stay by your side, always."
She gripped Kiana's hand tightly, her gaze steady and resolute upon the woman lying before her.
Acheron had never truly forgiven Kiana for deceiving her into leaving Izumo, having Sirin send her away.
Meanwhile, outside Izumo, the change had not gone unnoticed.
What could be felt from the surface was nothing compared to what those in orbit saw.
The two intertwined forces had suddenly vanished. The gloom that had long blanketed the planet was gone, almost unnaturally.
The Nameless on the Astral Express witnessed it firsthand—the transformation of a dying world back to life.
"Himeko, Dan Heng—look!"
March 7th nearly pressed her face against the glass, pointing excitedly toward the planet below. "It—it's alive again!"
"This…"
The Astral Express had traveled to many worlds, yet even Dan Heng, who spent much of his time buried in the archives, was left speechless as he gazed at Izumo.
He had never seen anything like this.
The power blanketing that planet had been Nihility itself. For it to be devoured, for energy that could consume Nihility to appear—that was shocking enough. But this… this went beyond anything he had imagined.
"It must have been Miss Kiana and the others, right?"
March 7th immediately connected the dots, her excitement barely contained as she clenched her fists.
"All those awful, suffocating energies are gone! Does that mean we can finally land on the planet?"
"It's not normal," Dan Heng said flatly.
Putting aside the question of Nihility—what about that other energy, the so-called Honkai?
That same energy had been capable of eroding even Nihility itself. Their readings showed that the planet had been a breeding ground for it, trapped within a shell of its own creation.
So how could it have vanished all at once?
The fluctuations were now impossible to detect.
A breeding ground within a shell…
Could it be that the Honkai energy on this planet hadn't been growing aimlessly—but was instead incubating something?
If that were true, then this world…
The planet's ecosystem was reviving at a staggering rate. Amid the deep blues of the atmosphere, green began to bloom once more.
No… something was off. Very off.
There was no trace of the power of Abundance here.
"This isn't normal! We've got to find Uncle Yang—he's still down there!"
March 7th didn't seem to think there was any danger. Watching the rapidly healing planet, she pulled out her phone. "Let's see if I can get in touch with him."
This wasn't the doing of any Aeon he knew.
Dan Heng fell silent, deep in thought.
Could it be…?
"March is right," Himeko said after a pause. "Dan Heng, you're in charge of the Express. I'll go down there with her."
"…Alright."
Dan Heng nodded. Strange as the situation was, there didn't appear to be any immediate threat. No sign of any Emanator-level presences either.
Meanwhile—
Sensing that the Honkai energy had almost completely vanished, Welt immediately connected it to Kiana.
He didn't hesitate. Without wasting another second, he set off toward the direction the two women had gone.
The scene felt eerily familiar.
Following the faint traces left behind, Welt soon arrived at the shrine.
He found Acheron there.
"You're here," she said calmly, unsurprised. After all, Welt's deep concern for the Honkai made his arrival inevitable. And the disturbance earlier had been too great to ignore.
The Honkai energy was gone.
Of course he would come.
"Miss Kiana gathered all the Honkai energy on this planet, didn't she?" Welt asked bluntly.
Acheron was silent for a moment before replying, "Perhaps."
She wasn't sure herself.
Welt frowned. "You don't know for certain?"
"Not really." She met his eyes briefly but didn't share the full story. "Do you know what's happening, Mr. Welt?"
She remembered that Welt came from a world where Honkai existed—a world not unlike Izumo.
Though he had confirmed that the two forms of Honkai energy weren't identical.
Welt frowned deeper, thinking for a long moment before recounting what had happened after the catastrophe ended in his own world.