"Reconstruct the past... can that really be done?"
Kiana couldn't calm herself. After Ruan Mei left, she sat up and stared blankly at the sky outside the window.
Build a Stigmata terminal. Construct a Stigmata world.
Then recreate the past.
Every word Ruan Mei had spoken replayed over and over in her mind, overwhelming her fear, her unease—even her despair.
If it truly could be done, then would that mean...
"What am I even thinking?"
As if suddenly realizing something, Kiana irritably hugged her legs and buried her head in her knees.
"This is all fake!"
From Herta to Mei, and now to the Ruan Mei she had just met—even this entire world—everything kept reminding her of the same fact.
This was only a trial.
Everything here was false. Once the trial ended, this trial world would completely disappear.
Because it had never truly existed.
And yet she had told Herta with absolute certainty that even if the world was false, the emotions formed between people were real.
At first, her memories had been a complete blank. There hadn't been a single trace belonging to herself—or to anyone else.
But now was no longer the beginning, no longer the time when she had just met Herta.
Though brief, she remembered her mother's warm embrace in childhood. She also remembered how, in the depths of despair, her father had finally found her—using blazing flames to carve open a path of escape.
Those scorching flames had twice brought her back into this world, planting the seed of hope within her heart.
Was that fake too?
Kiana hugged herself tighter, unable to stop her thoughts from spiraling in that direction.
Because the "protagonist" needed parents, she was given a pair of parents. Because the "protagonist" needed such experiences, so...
If every experience had already been predetermined,
Then what about love?
Was that predetermined as well... or?
...Enough. Stop this meaningless thinking.
Did it really matter whether it was real or fake?
They all said this was only a trial. Whether it succeeded or failed, it wouldn't change the fact that everything here was false.
Sooner or later, she would return to the real world.
Forcing herself to stop dwelling on it, she tried to empty her mind. She needed to calm down and remain clear-headed.
After a brief period of consideration, Ruan Mei still chose to go back and see two familiar faces. This matter had to be said sooner or later—better sooner, so it could be resolved sooner.
She wasn't someone who dragged things to the final moment, waiting until there was no more room to delay before making a decision.
"Any leads? Hurry up and tell us."
Seeing her approach alone, Herta guessed she was ready to talk about her earlier discovery. She straightened slightly, prepared to hear Ruan Mei's thoughts.
She had to admit—
Ruan Mei had spent the longest time with Kiana and perhaps understood Honkai even better than she did. This was merely a trial space constructed by Honkai. Whether its theories could be applied to the outside world still required verification.
Not to mention, Ruan Mei had appeared last.
They had already made plenty of mistakes and ruled out numerous possibilities.
"Do you still remember why we appeared here?" Ruan Mei asked.
"We got dragged in by her trial," Herta replied.
Ruan Mei shook her head. "The primary reason this trial was initiated was to construct a Stigmata terminal."
"You're saying this trial is related to the Stigmata terminal?" Herta frowned.
"We cannot deny the original objective. And with most other possibilities already ruled out by you—constructing a Stigmata terminal remains the most probable explanation."
Herta couldn't help but retort, "Did you forget something? If we could've built the Stigmata terminal, Kiana wouldn't have needed to start this Stigmata trial and drag all of us here in the first place."
She instinctively excluded certain unsuitable options, not even placing them among her backups.
Acheron, however, was different.
Because she cared deeply about Kiana, the moment she heard Ruan Mei's speculation, she recalled what Kiana had once said to her about this matter.
I am the most suitable vessel.
The experiment had stalled at the vessel stage. And Ruan Mei bringing up the Stigmata terminal now—had she solved that problem?
Unlikely.
If the vessel issue were that easy to resolve, Kiana would not have initiated this Stigmata trial.
"You want to use Kiana as the vessel?"
There was no hesitation, no courtesy. Acheron stared at Ruan Mei, her tone sharp—almost accusatory.
"There is no other way," Ruan Mei replied.
Herta, who had been thinking it impossible, froze. Then she looked up, frowning. "We can't use her as the vessel. Isn't that the core issue in building the Stigmata terminal?"
"If we're going to use her as the terminal vessel, why did we try so hard to find a workaround in the first place?"
"And is constructing the Stigmata terminal directly related to this trial? Did you forget—this is a trial. Building the Stigmata terminal is our idea."
"Herta, these are not two separate matters," Ruan Mei explained. "A normal Stigmata trial should resemble the one Acheron experienced. Kiana mentioned this to me. She granted Stigmata to other friends before, and their trials only required defeating enemies."
"Kiana bestowed a Stigmata upon a replica in order to make it the vessel of the Stigmata terminal. Suppose the trial has already ended. Then this trial world—so different from a normal one—has another explanation."
"This 'world' is nurturing the Stigmata terminal," Ruan Mei continued. "Our role is to be the catalyst—or to construct the Stigmata terminal ourselves."
"You're saying the Stigmata trial either ended long ago—or never existed to begin with?" Herta nearly laughed in disbelief. "According to you, we're all catalysts? Then why are we in different time segments? And why does the world reset after failure?"
"What if it is the same thing?" Ruan Mei met Herta's gaze and voiced her bold conjecture. "Constructing the Stigmata terminal is the ultimate objective of this trial. That is why the extinction of human civilization is irrelevant. What truly matters is the possibility of constructing the Stigmata terminal—that is, you and me."
"...Even a corpse can be recycled. That is why the world didn't immediately reset after her death."
"The Stigmata terminal—that is the answer."
Ruan Mei had been thinking: if they built the Stigmata terminal here, it would synchronize with the clone marked by Kiana's Stigmata, transforming it into a true Stigmata terminal.
Perhaps that was the truth.
"Don't use ambition as an excuse," Herta snapped, anger rising across her face. "You know what this means. You want to use her to build the Stigmata terminal? You want to transform her—while she's still alive—into a terminal?"
"I thought you had changed. That you had gained at least a shred of humanity!"
Ruan Mei did not waver at Herta's sharp words. She believed her deduction was correct, and she knew this was the choice Kiana herself longed for.
So she would help Kiana achieve that goal.
She would not let this opportunity slip away.
She would not allow everything to become meaningless.
"Transform her into a Stigmata terminal? Ruan Mei, you—" Acheron had suspected as much, but hearing her say it outright—and intending to act on it—still left her shaken.
During the time Kiana had lost consciousness, she had spent a period working alongside Ruan Mei. They had cooperated to retrieve Kiana's awareness.
It was during that time that she had finally set aside her reservations about Ruan Mei.
She would not deny Ruan Mei's feelings.
But turning Kiana into a Stigmata terminal—subjecting her to experimentation and modification—was something Acheron could never accept.
"A Stigmata terminal, as the name implies, means transforming a human into a biological computer," Herta said grimly, explaining it in the simplest possible terms.
"A biological computer?"
Ruan Mei sighed softly. She was not surprised by the resistance, nor did she expect approval. "I believe this is the correct choice—and the outcome she wishes to see."
"That's just your own assumption!" Herta shot back. "Do you understand how cruel it is to transform a living person into a biological computer?"
"I vote against it." Acheron fixed her gaze on Ruan Mei. "I understand why you would choose this path, but I cannot agree."
"Even if this is only a trial, I don't want to see Kiana harmed." She took a slow breath.
Ruan Mei spread her right hand slightly, unwavering. "I stand by my judgment. For the same reasons as before. I have no justification to let her expectations fall through simply because this is a trial. This has always been her wish."
"To personally turn the person you love into a terminal?" Herta suppressed the emotions surging in her chest. "Is that what you want to do?"
Ruan Mei's conjecture was not without merit. But conscience told Herta that this crossed a moral line.
The consequences would be severe.
Ruan Mei fell silent for a moment before a faint sigh escaped her lips. "I have no other choice."
Herta had already eliminated the other options one by one. There was no reason for her to ignore the most probable solution simply because it was unpleasant.
There was, however, something Ruan Mei did not voice.
If this world truly was nurturing a Stigmata terminal as she suspected, then were they—these variables dragged in by accident—truly the decisive factors in determining its outcome?
If she ignored it and chose to do nothing, would the trial simply end here and fail?
No. There was another possibility.
Before she had ever met Herta and the others, Ruan Mei had already gained some understanding of this world. There was no doubt that it had evolved from Kiana's memories.
And she had not forgotten a crucial detail.
When the Stigmata terminal was mentioned, Kiana's first reaction had been that she herself was the best vessel.
Which raised a question.
Kiana did not truly understand what a terminal was. So why had she instinctively believed she was the most suitable vessel?
Combined with certain reactions Kiana occasionally displayed—and the excessive number of similar counterparts—the conclusion was not difficult to infer.
She had seen it before.
This world had been derived from her memories. If Ruan Mei softened and refused to complete the Stigmata terminal, would this world then evolve according to what existed in Kiana's memories?
Would it give rise to another person?
Someone capable of successfully constructing the terminal?
Ruan Mei did not share this speculation with Herta or Acheron. Until it happened, it remained nothing more than conjecture.
"What a convenient 'no other choice'!" Herta scoffed. "You were just talking about studying the Starcrusher Swarm King to draw parallels, and now you're claiming you have no alternative?"
"This is different." Ruan Mei met her gaze calmly. "I understand how you feel, Herta. But I must do this."
"You don't understand her well enough. This is an obsession buried deep within her heart. Yes, if we terminate the experiment here, she won't blame either of us. But she will still try every possible means to construct the world she envisions."
"And that... may bring her endless trouble."
"You've encountered Honkai as well. Since its emergence, aside from when Kiana voluntarily came into contact with the Antimatter Legion and met Nanook's gaze, have any other Aeons turned their attention toward her?"
"The nature of Honkai energy needs no further explanation from me. As a fellow member of the Genius Society, you understand better than I do what Nous is—and what the other Aeons represent."
The dissatisfaction on Herta's face eased slightly. She understood exactly what Ruan Mei meant.
Aside from that single voluntary encounter, the Aeons had not interfered with Kiana at all. They had not even made contact.
That, in itself, was unreasonable.
At present, Honkai seemed to have limited impact on the universe—affecting only two or three worlds.
Leaving aside the Aeons, even an Emanator's actions could influence an entire galaxy.
Even if Kiana completely assimilated those two or three worlds—and multiplied that number tenfold or a hundredfold—it would still be insignificant on a cosmic scale.
Was it because she had not yet made a noticeable impact that the Aeons paid her no heed?
Impossible.
Honkai energy—frankly speaking—if Kiana lacked humanity, if her moral threshold were lower, if she had no conscience and spread Honkai wherever she went, then sooner or later the entire universe would face the possibility of complete assimilation.
The probability was not zero.
Honkai could erode and assimilate anything. It could convert Imaginary energy. It could assimilate Path energy without exception. And now there was another factor— the more advanced a civilization became, the stronger Honkai grew. There was no upper limit.
Herta understood all of this. But since the Aeons had shown no reaction, she had not bothered to dwell on the scale of catastrophe that loss of control might bring.
She was not one to worry needlessly.
Kiana was controlling it.
"Is it that they don't want to intervene... or that they don't dare?"
A thought stirred in Herta's mind. She looked at Ruan Mei with a flicker of astonishment, not expecting her to frame it that way.
"Maintaining the status quo is sufficient. I don't believe contact with other Aeons at this time would benefit her."
"...You're referring to a war of gods?"
"The universe has never been peaceful. I don't want her to passively fall into someone else's chessboard—to become a piece to be exploited."
As she spoke, Ruan Mei turned to Acheron.
"Constructing the Stigmata world and resisting the expansion of Nihility along the way—is already a worthy objective."
Acheron frowned slightly, confusion entering her tone.
"What do you mean by a war of gods?"