No wonder she had never been particularly invested in the experiment.
Herta was inclined to believe that Ruan Mei had discovered it long ago. With her abilities, it was unlikely she had failed to figure things out.
Taking advantage of this opportunity,
Herta performed a surgery on Kiana.
Her other abilities had not been stimulated, but the Power of the Saint had indeed grown stronger. At the very least, dealing with artificial Herrschers would no longer be a problem.
Herta sent her off to do rehabilitation training, to familiarize herself with her strengthened abilities, while she herself began tinkering with weapons capable of dimensional-level suppression.
She had never forgotten what she truly wanted to do.
As for the situation outside, it unfolded exactly as Herta had predicted. Less than two hours after they left, an overwhelming barrage of weapons and ammunition rained down upon that city as if resources were limitless.
Those people understood clearly.
If that Herrscher were allowed to complete her transformation, it would spell catastrophe for human civilization.
So they had to seize the only chance they had—and eliminate her before she could fully awaken.
The bombardment lasted an entire night. The city had long since been reduced to charred ruins beneath the relentless explosions. The ground itself had collapsed into a massive crater.
Lingering flames devoured what had once been a bustling, crowded metropolis just a day before. Not only humans, but even Honkai creatures had been annihilated in the bombardment.
It had become a dead zone.
A wasteland where even life itself could not survive.
Kiana knew nothing of what was happening outside. She obediently practiced her new abilities, preparing for the day they would be needed.
That day did not take long to arrive.
After two days without seeing her, Herta finally stepped out of the laboratory. Despite having gone several days without sleep, she looked surprisingly spirited.
She brought with her a combat suit.
"Put it on."
Kiana did as told, changing into the suit. The size fit perfectly. The fabric felt ordinary to the touch. She ran her fingers over it, then examined the small devices attached to her body.
The visor and wristband seemed anything but ordinary.
"The wristband contains spatial transmission technology. The tactical visor can analyze Honkai energy levels and assess enemy strength."
Watching Kiana in the combat suit, Herta nodded in satisfaction. She rather liked her own design style.
Clean. Efficient. Good-looking.
As expected of herself.
"Did you make this specifically for me?"
Kiana beamed. She had barely spoken to Herta over the past two days, and it had nearly driven her crazy. "I didn't rest for even a moment. I've been practicing the Power of the Saint the whole time!"
She did not know what her power was truly called. Herta said it was the Power of the Saint, so that was what it was.
"Very good. Full of motivation." Herta rested one hand on her hip and looked at her smiling face. "You can leave now."
Kiana's smile froze. Her eyes widened in panic.
"Did I do something wrong? I'm sorry—I can change! Please don't make me leave. I don't want to leave you!"
"Why follow me around?"
With the little time remaining and this environment, there was not much else to do. Herta felt a trace of regret. But perhaps it was time for Kiana to go do what she wanted.
Herta believed the answer to the trial lay within that.
The theme of the trial was undoubtedly tied to Honkai—to the apocalypse.
Most likely, it was about saving this world.
After all, she had cared deeply about Jarilo-VI. And even that destroyed world—Izumo—despite its ruin, Kiana had still wanted to recreate it through the Stigmata.
In truth, recreating a world was not impossible. Stigmata consciousness could be treated as memetic life, and constructing such a world would require only memories related to it.
For that, one could consult the Garden of Recollection.
But Kiana only wanted to recreate her Stigmata world.
"I… I…" Kiana wanted to say she would protect Herta. But Herta was already safe. She had watched this security system rise from nothing.
Could she really do better?
She did not have that confidence.
"I want to stay with you."
She spoke softly, lacking conviction. Even she did not know what she could offer Herta. Though she had gained some power, compared to the black technology Herta created effortlessly,
what she could do was painfully limited.
"Go outside and walk around," Herta said as though she had not heard her confession. "Do whatever you want. Explore. Experience this world."
Explore. Experience this world?
That sounded different from what she had feared.
Relieved that Herta was not abandoning her, Kiana nevertheless pondered her words seriously.
"Experience this world?"
"Yes. Explore it. Experience it." Herta looked directly into her eyes. "Then decide its ending."
D-Decide its ending?!
Kiana's eyes widened again. She was to decide the fate of an entire world? Could she really?
Was this connected to the trial?
Or had Herta always intended to save the world, only relinquishing the choice to her because of what had happened?
Or perhaps both?
Kiana's thoughts ran wild.
Seeing this, Herta added calmly, "Also, if you walk around enough, you might run into Ruan Mei."
Run into Ruan Mei?
Though she knew only the name and had no clear image of her, Herta's words stirred intense curiosity.
"What about you?"
"I'll stay here, of course," Herta replied. "Press the wristband and you can teleport back. The communicator signal covers the entire planet. As long as you don't leave it, you can contact me."
This was Kiana's trial. If she did not attempt to clear it herself and simply stayed by Herta's side, what was the point?
Herta also found her somewhat bothersome.
She had long been thinking of kicking her out.
She wondered what expression Kiana would wear after the trial ended and she remembered everything she had said.
Kiana instinctively touched the wristband on her arm. Her earlier unease lightened again. Herta's explanation clearly meant—she was not being driven away.
She could return at any time.
And she could contact Herta whenever she wished, as though she were always by her side.
"Then… where should I go?"
"Anywhere." Herta had no interest in analyzing it for her. She replied lazily, "That's your own question. Go wherever you want."
Explore. Experience this world.
Kiana repeated those words in her heart. Right now, Herta was the most important person to her—more important than anything else.
Yet Herta's words sparked a sliver of curiosity.
If she explored this world from a different perspective, what would she see?
Was it worth saving?
She had not forgotten Herta's words about deciding the world's ending. A weight seemed to settle upon her shoulders.
Herta had entrusted the choice to her.
She could not afford to disappoint her.
Just like that, Kiana was kicked out by Herta.
She walked across this lifeless land, uncertain where she should go, able only to follow her instincts aimlessly.
The world looked just as it had when she first awakened—oppressive and dim, as though it might extinguish at any moment.
Perhaps that was not an illusion.
Fortunately, the wristband's teleportation ability was not limited to returning home. It could also transmit her to designated coordinates in other regions.
Otherwise, she might wander until the world was destroyed and still never reach a human settlement.
For her first stop, Kiana inexplicably thought of the city she and Herta had left behind. Before they departed, the newly born Herrscher had still been there.
Herta had said the Federation would soon bomb the city.
After leaving, Herta had not shown the slightest concern for what happened there. Kiana did not know how things had turned out.
Perhaps she could go back and take a look?
She had no clear destination anyway. The thought of that place stirred an impulse to return.
Herta had told her to follow her heart.
To do whatever she wanted.
So she did not hesitate. Once she decided to go back and see, she followed the map toward the region.
After setting the teleportation coordinates, Kiana transmitted to the outskirts of the city and recorded the location in her wristband.
She was not familiar with the area.
After all, she had been blindfolded and brought here—more precisely, brought to the sanatorium where Herta had once been confined.
She did not know the city itself.
So when she saw no buildings around her, she did not find it strange. She simply assumed the coordinates were slightly off.
No matter.
She could just follow the map forward.
The tactical visor was extremely useful. She did not need to worry about getting lost. All she had to do was follow the guidance.
About ten minutes later,
Kiana stopped.
She stood motionless on the road leading into the city, staring blankly at what lay ahead—a massive crater that looked as though a meteor had slammed into the earth.
The ground was coated in charred black ash. A lingering scent of burning still hung in the air.
The place had been blasted apart.
Beyond lay only ruins. Further still, the enormous pit gouged out by artillery fire. The sight was so shocking that Kiana could almost reconstruct the scene in her mind.
"There shouldn't be any survivors here."
Even as she said it, she walked forward to take a closer look.
Under that kind of firepower, she wondered whether the Herrscher had survived.
Gazing at the crater, Kiana felt the chances were slim—unless she had left the city before the bombardment began.
But if she had left, would the Federation still have bombed the city?
They would not make such a low-level mistake. Humanity did not have much time left.
Walking across the scorched earth, Kiana suddenly wondered—
if her identity as a Herrscher were exposed, would she be treated the same way?
And the Herrscher of Finality.
That title certainly did not sound like it belonged to a good person.
Kiana reached the edge of the crater and looked down. The pit carved by the bombardment appeared to be dozens of meters deep. She could not even imagine how long the attack had lasted.
After circling the edge for a while, she let out a soft sigh.
Destruction was far easier than creation.
Before she left, this had been a highly advanced modern city. Now it was nothing but a gaping hole, no trace of its former existence remaining.
After taking in the devastation, Kiana prepared to leave and visit other human bases to see their situation.
A luminous portal formed before her. Just as she was about to step through it, a bolt of lightning materialized out of thin air—like a violet serpent lunging to bite her.
It happened in an instant.
But the attack struck only empty ground.
By the time the lightning arrived, she was no longer there.
"I almost thought you were going to keep enduring it. I was even wondering how to make you attack first. Did you think I hadn't noticed you spying on me?"
Kiana was no longer the ordinary girl she had once been—someone with little more than heightened Honkai resistance and physical strength.
She had leapt dozens of meters away at some unknown moment, her gaze fixed sharply on a certain point.
"The base was bombed into this state and you're still alive. You've got quite the luck."
At first, Kiana truly believed the Herrscher might have died under the relentless bombardment. The scene before her was too horrifying. Surviving that level of firepower seemed nearly impossible.
Yet she had lived.
Were the Federation's forces useless?
How could they let her escape like that?
Kiana appeared relaxed. She had indeed sensed her enemy's presence. While surveying the ruins, she had felt someone watching her.
That had put her fully on guard.
"Where is Herta?"
Now that she had been discovered, the Herrscher no longer bothered hiding. She revealed herself openly, stepping out from what had appeared to be empty space.
If she had not launched that attack and triggered the tactical visor's alert, Kiana might never have detected her concealment.
Only then did Kiana clearly see the Herrscher responsible for this Honkai Eruption.
She looked about the same age as Kiana. Long black hair framed a pale, cold face. Her skin bore numerous corrosion-like marks. Within her eyes was an intricate sigil, icy and laced with malice and hatred.
So this was a Herrscher?
Kiana studied her curiously, her gaze lingering briefly on the torn clothing that exposed large swaths of marked skin.
Was this… her kind?
"Do you and Herta have a personal grudge?"
Kiana did not rush to attack. The Herrscher did not appear to be in peak condition. She was likely injured.
But that did not mean it was safe.
How much strength did she still retain?
And her first words had been about Herta. The earlier thunderstorm had also seemed aimed at the sanatorium.
"A grudge?" The Herrscher laughed coldly. "Of course. I have a hatred against her that cannot coexist beneath the same sky. Someone like her deserves to die!"
Her expression twisted with fury.
"If she had just done nothing—just quietly waited for the apocalypse—what would have been wrong with that? Someone like her should not exist! Why? Why wouldn't she just obediently die?!"
"I will find her and torture her slowly—make her feel the pain of those innocent girls who died on operating tables because of her technology!"
She spat curses at the one she hated. The thought of tormenting and killing Herta filled her with savage delight.
But the pleasure lasted only a moment.
As if recalling something, her icy gaze locked onto Kiana.
"You're one of her experimental subjects too, aren't you?"
"I remember you. Yes, I remember. You escaped with her. You must know where she is."
She raised her hand. Violent lightning gathered in her palm.
"Tell me her location. I might grant a defective product like you a quick death."