"Damn you, Kiana!"
At this moment, the Queen of the Void's hatred for Kiana reached its absolute peak!
Even when she was confined to this nearly lightless space of consciousness with only a single beam of light, even when she saw Kiana "acknowledging a thief as her father," the Queen of the Void had never been this furious.
"Queenie the Sprite, great Queenie the Sprite, please show yourself to me, I'm begging you!"
Kiana's murmurs echoed endlessly throughout the dark space.
To the Queen of the Void's ears, Kiana's once-pleasant voice now sounded like the teacher's concerned words after you've just created a miracle with a single pen on the last day of winter break, only for them to say, "Seeing as none of you did your homework, I won't be collecting it." It was like the hopeful look in your classmate's eyes when you're splitting the bill for dinner, and they pull out a 30% off coupon, asking you to pay the full amount first and then pay them back for their two-thirds share...
Sound malicious? That's right, it was malicious!
Watching the scene projected in the sky—Kiana sitting before a beautiful young lady, praying for Queenie the Sprite to appear—the Queen of the Void, who had just finished getting dressed and was about to enter the undressing phase, became beside herself with rage. She casually picked up a brick and hurled it at the sky.
To think she'd interrupt me hitting on a man just so she can hit on a woman!
How could you be so wicked, Kiana!
If the Queen of the Void and Chen Li were brewing feelings in the hazy darkness, then Kiana's chanting was like flipping on all the lights in the house at the peak of passion!
So wicked!
As a star in Kiana's consciousness space dimmed, the brick thrown by the Herrscher of the Void shot straight through the constantly playing screen, flying off to an unknown destination.
Chen Li recognized that the stars dotting the dark sky were actually the marbles he had given to the Queen of the Void.
Beads condensed from barrages—danmaku beads, or 'marbles' (danzhu) for short.
And they were all Yakumo Yukari's marbles.
Every message Yakumo Yukari sent in the Friends Circle had become one of the stars above the Queen of the Void's head.
It made one wonder... just how much of a chatterbox was Yukari in the Curio group chat?
And Yakumo Yukari's barrages carried her traits, one of which was the ability to tear through the boundary between fiction and reality, allowing things from a space of consciousness to enter the real world!
---o---
"Mei, look!" Kiana said excitedly, seeing the familiar rift appear before her again.
"Is... is Queenie the Sprite real?" The young lady beside Kiana couldn't help but gape, looking incredibly cute and dazed.
"I told you I wasn't lying. The great Queenie the Sprite can conjure up lots of delicious snacks! She always helps me out a little whenever I'm in a tough spot. You used to help me fill my stomach so many times, Mei. This time, it's my turn to help you!" Kiana said, full of energy.
However, in the next moment, a brick flew directly out of the gap and smacked her on the forehead.
Because the brick didn't have much momentum, it didn't cause any real damage to the thick-skinned Kiana. But... if you've ever been scrolling on your phone in bed and had it slip and smack you in the face, you would understand Kiana's mood right now.
People are different; some have even broken their noses from a phone falling on their face.
Although the delicious food Kiana had been hoping for didn't appear as promised, the comical scene did make the downcast Raiden Mei burst into laughter, which was immediately followed by concern.
"Kiana, are you alright?"
"I'm fine, don't worry. It doesn't hurt." Kiana casually placed the brick on a nearby bench and rubbed her forehead.
"This Queenie the Sprite... is she really reliable?" Raiden Mei carefully examined Kiana's face and breathed a sigh of relief after confirming there were no injuries.
"She's always been reliable before... Maybe I just called at a bad time? My gut tells me I just interrupted something very important. I can feel the anger from this brick," Kiana said.
Kiana's intuition was quite accurate.
Although she didn't know what good thing she had interrupted, she still felt a little guilty.
Queenie the Sprite was such a nice person, granting her every wish except this one!
And not only did she have no way to repay her, but she had even interrupted her at a crucial moment.
She was so wicked!
"I'm so sorry, Queenie the Sprite. If I interrupted something important, please don't mind me. It was unintentional. You're a magnanimous person," Kiana clasped her hands together and muttered endlessly.
"..." Watching the genuinely apologetic Kiana on the screen, then glancing at Chen Li, whose expression was gradually changing, the Queen of the Void gritted her teeth even harder in anger.
I'm begging you, please stop talking!
"Interesting. This Kiana's intuition is quite sharp," Chen Li said with great interest.
"Sharp my foot! I was just annoyed that she interrupted me while I was getting dressed! She didn't interrupt any 'good thing,' did she? Don't get any funny ideas," the Queen of the Void said, displeased.
"But Your Majesty, you're already fully dressed."
"None of your business!"
"Alright, alright, none of my business. So, Your Majesty, are you done with your preparations?"
"More or less. What is it?" The Queen of the Void inspected her attire and felt that everything was in order.
An outfit primarily of white, gold, and purple covered her entire body. The white symbolized the pure power of a Herrscher, the gold accents highlighted a sense of divinity, and the purple lent an air of mystery and nobility. Her long, slender legs were wrapped in black over-the-knee socks, which created a slight indentation on her thighs.
Seeing her in this outfit, Chen Li almost thought he could hear cries of "Long live the Queen."
"Are you ready to leave?"
"Leave? To where?" The Queen froze for a moment.
"Outside, of course." Chen Li pointed upwards, towards the outside world depicted on the screen—a world of brilliant sunlight, clear skies, and a beautiful young lady, so different from this dark space of consciousness.
"Now? You have a way for me to seize control of Kiana's body?"
"Not exactly. It's more about making you go from virtual to real, to head towards that blue sky of the future. Just like how you threw that brick at Kiana, this time, you'll be the one who gets thrown out!" Chen Li shook his head.
"You have that kind of power?"
"I don't, but a friend of mine does..."
When Chen Li said he had a friend, he wasn't making up a story about himself. He really did have a friend.
If Yakumo Yukari's barrages could let the Queen of the Void casually bestow some snacks upon Kiana, then Yukari's personal presence would surely be even more effective.
And the Queen's situation was easy to solve... the Boundary of Reality and Unreality!
The power of boundaries, it's magical, isn't it?
"...No. This is my body. I will take it back sooner or later." Seeing Chen Li extend a hand to her under the light, the Queen, who was in darkness, suddenly shook her head.
"And even if I can turn from virtual to real, the authority of the Herrscher of the Void would be handed over to Kiana, right?"
"That... I don't know." Chen Li shook his head honestly.
He had never tried this before, so he didn't know what would happen.
"You don't know, which means it's possible. I cannot bear that risk. I cannot allow myself to hand everything over to Kiana. And before I take back the body, staying in this space, this space that I have perfected, is quite nice, isn't it?" the Queen of the Void continued.
"...You don't want to go out, do you?" Chen Li glanced at the Queen, whose expression was cold but seemed to be hiding something, then at the chaotic yet orderly environment, and suddenly asked.
"How could that be? I just don't want to admit my identity as a loser! This is clearly my body!" the Queen of the Void flatly denied.
But because her denial was too quick, Chen Li roughly understood.
His "Queenie the Sprite" cultivation plan had succeeded, but a little too well.
The Queen not wanting to flee as a loser was part of the reason, but her reluctance to give up this comfortable life was another.
If the Queen of the Void had been lonely in Kiana's consciousness, watching Kiana abandon her hatred as Sirin and live a happy life, it would indeed have made her want to take everything back.
But if the Queen of the Void in the consciousness space was living a life many times better than Kiana's, would she still be so extreme?
She would!
Absolutely!
After all, the Queen of the Void carried Sirin's malice towards the humans who had dragged her into an endless abyss!
But that was how she was supposed to feel.
However, with the interference of Chen Li, Benares, who was most important to Sirin, had not disappeared. The emotions left in the Herrscher Core would naturally not be so extreme.
Furthermore, all of the Queen's food was delicious cuisine made with [Mom's Tablecloth]. According to Mobius's research, besides tasting great, this food could also gradually pacify the consumer's temperament.
In other words, it reduced their 'blackening' value.
A simple nursery rhyme could hard-control the final boss for ten minutes; a friend's call could bring a falling hero back to the light...
Why couldn't the taste of a mother's cooking achieve the same thing?
Chen Li also seemed to understand why he always got strange and bizarre things when he used [Mom's Tablecloth]. Besides the fact that these items were more suited to his situation, the fact that his own mother could genuinely cook these god-awful dishes was probably another reason.
Have you ever had shredded potatoes stir-fried with shredded ginger? Chen Li had. His mom said it dispelled cold.
Have you ever had Houttuynia mixed with Surströmming? Chen Li had. His mom said it challenged one's limits!
With all these factors combined, Chen Li's "Turn the Queen of the Void into a Shut-in" plan was already halfway successful.
The other half was that the Queen of the Void still seemed unwilling to cede full control of the body to Kiana.
But this unwillingness wasn't very strong, because she had seen with her own eyes that Kiana was having a much worse time than her.
At the very least, it was much worse than her current life of eating hotpot and singing songs in Kiana's consciousness space.
People just can't help but compare.
It was the same for split personalities.
"Are you sure you don't want to go out? There are many more things waiting for us outside," Chen Li said, looking at the screen of light that represented the exit, reflecting Kiana's perspective.
"No. Why should I be the one to forfeit?" The Queen of the Void continued to shake her head.
"Do you also think that silly girl is the true continuation of Sirin? No, I am the real Sirin!" she continued.
"Why should she be able to forget everything and shamelessly search for Siegfried, the one who brought ruin to Sirin?"
"Why should she be able to enjoy the fullness of life? While I can only stay in this space of consciousness?"
"She doesn't even admit that she's Sirin; she doesn't even have that awareness. So why should she be the Herrscher of the Void? Why should she inherit the authority of the Herrscher of the Void?"
The Queen of the Void asked one question after another.
"So that's what you think..."
Just as Chen Li was momentarily stunned, the Queen of the Void grabbed his hand and gave it a sharp pull.
Not only did she have no intention of following him into the sunlight, but she also pulled him back into the darkness.
Chen Li stumbled out of the edge of the beam of light and was tightly embraced by the Queen.
"You're not leaving either. Just stay here with me. I know that to you, that silly personality is also the Herrscher of the Void. Maybe you hope that the idiot personality and I can coexist peacefully..." After a moment's embrace, the Queen released him and stared straight into his eyes.
"I can fulfill your wish, but I have one condition."
"What condition?"
"I want you to stay here with me forever, to coexist with me in the darkness forever, and never disappear from my sight! You are my retainer, and you can only be my retainer! Not hers at the same time!" The Queen of the void lightly lifted his chin, a greedy look in her eyes.
Suddenly, she felt that compared to the boring life called "Kiana," this retainer before her, who made her feel an involuntary sense of fascination, was more important.
This space had food, drink, and entertainment. Wasn't it better than Kiana's life outside, starving for nine meals every three days?
No worries about food or clothing, diverse forms of entertainment, and she was even keeping a pet named Kiana, occasionally tossing her some snacks to see her other self be grateful. It would be even better if she could add a desirable retainer to the mix.
Seize the body? Not anymore!
The thought that if she took control of the body, she would be the one starving, and her game consoles, her save files, her snacks, her soft big bed would all be inherited by Kiana—and even her retainer would belong to Kiana—ignited an nameless fire within her.
She couldn't let that thieving cat, Kiana, get everything she now possessed!
And now, the Queen decided to vent this fire on the retainer before her, right here in this empty space of consciousness, with no one else around!
Just as the Queen of the Void's fingers landed on Chen Li's cheek, brushed past his lips, and were about to probe into his mouth to play...
"Hey, thieving cat, what are you doing to my retainer?"
A sudden voice rang out, sending an inexplicable chill down the Queen of the Void's spine.
She turned her head to see a purple-haired girl with golden, cross-shaped pupils that shone brightly in the darkness, showcasing her pride and nobility. Cradling a Benares doll in her arms, she slowly flew towards them through the darkness...
---o---