"He is my Retainer!"
"Mine! Mine!"
"You're an old fossil that has already faded away! You should have been crushed into the dust of history! Why are you showing up now to steal my Retainer?"
"Ha? Me, an old fossil? Are you even listening to yourself? Besides, he was my Retainer first. You inherited my emotions and memories, so what gives you the right to raise your voice at me?"
"Heh, no way, no way, you don't actually think that's going to break my resolve, do you? Since you've already made your exit, you shouldn't reappear in this world. You're an outdated old hag!"
"You! You ungrateful, rebellious wretch! I bestowed control of the Herrscher Core upon you as an act of charity! You should be on your knees in gratitude, not calling me an old fossil in this consciousness space!"
"I am Sirin, and I am also the continuation of Sirin. I have my own emotions and memories, and I don't believe they are fake... Since it's something you already abandoned, it's not illegal for me to take it, right? Besides, no one can punish me for it!"
"You! You shameless, thieving cat!"
"You certainly are a shameless, thieving cat."
"I'm talking about you, you bastard!" Seeing the Queen of the Void acting so self-righteous despite having stolen her things, the original Sirin swung a vicious slap, hitting the other's wicked chest.
However, as she watched the slime-like jiggle, Sirin only seemed to grow angrier.
Even she had to admit, although Kiana starved herself three days out of four, her genetics were undeniably good. Her figure was quite impressive.
"What are you doing!" The Queen of the Void clutched her chest.
"From now on, your name is Queenie the Sprite! You are not allowed to call yourself Sirin!"
"And you think just because you're Sirin, you can control me?" the Queen of the Void snorted coldly.
"You imposter! How dare you be so arrogant!"
"A person is made of memories and emotions. Since I possess your memories and have inherited your emotions, why am I not Sirin? You can't possibly think that just by showing up here, I'll fall into self-doubt, see myself as a fake, and submit to you, can you?"
"...Tch." Sirin clicked her tongue in annoyance, then snapped her fingers.
---o---
In the real world, Kiana, having failed to get any food from Queenie the Sprite, was about to accept half of the lunch bento Raiden Mei offered her when she suddenly clutched her chest.
"What's wrong, Kiana?"
"My chest suddenly feels so hot. It's like something is about to burst out!" Kiana clutched at her Senba Academy uniform, wrinkling the fabric. The slight gap in her clothes revealed a tantalizing glimpse of spring, a sight only for Raiden Mei's eyes.
"Is it painful? Do you need me to take you to the infirmary?"
"No need. When in doubt, ask Queenie the Sprite! Queenie the Sprite will guide me!" Kiana waved her hand dismissively and began to chant again.
"Oh, great Queenie the Sprite, please grant me a solution to this heat in my chest!"
"So... what exactly is Queenie the Sprite?" Seeing Kiana turn to this "Sprite" for help with her discomfort instead of modern medicine, Raiden Mei genuinely thought the girl's fever had cooked her brain.
But in the next moment, a bottle of mineral water emerged from a crack in the air that had suddenly appeared.
"..." was Raiden Mei's only response.
"See? Impressive, right?" After chugging the entire bottle of water, Kiana felt much better and turned to Raiden Mei.
"This Queenie the Sprite..." Raiden Mei began, but trailed off.
"Queenie the Sprite appeared a while ago," Kiana explained, seeing Mei's curiosity. "She said the world is about to face a great change, and only those who awaken the power hidden within them can control everything, establish their own laws, and sever the threads of fate! There was a lot more, but I forgot."
"Is it really okay to tell me something so secret?" For a moment, Raiden Mei felt a twinge of envy for the cheerful girl before her.
To have a hidden power capable of controlling everything, to be guided by a sage-like sprite... Perhaps she was truly born to save the world.
Her future was destined to shine brightly on the stage called 'the world'!
Perhaps she was the real protagonist!
Looking at the girl full of hope for the future, Raiden Mei was reminded of her former self.
As the daughter of the president of the world-renowned ME Corp, she had received the finest education and upbringing. From her illustrious birth to her outstanding appearance, from her social graces to her achievements, she was impeccable. The title "Raiden Queen" had spread quickly throughout Senba Academy.
Raiden Mei had grown accustomed to the fawning of her classmates and assumed such days would last forever.
Until... her father, Raiden Ryoma, was not only dismissed from his position as president due to allegations of economic fraud but was also imprisoned. His reputation plummeted overnight...
Powerful figures with designs on ME Corp began to plot against them. Friends who were once inseparable started to keep their distance. Only then did Raiden Mei realize that everything her father had brought her would ultimately wither away with his departure.
The crowds only brought her torment; only by distancing herself from them could she find a moment's respite in the suffocating environment.
Through her past experiences, Raiden Mei understood that external things would always be just that—external. Only what truly belonged to her, what she held in her own hands, could showcase her true worth!
If only she, too, possessed the status of a savior! If she had a hidden power within her! The potential to shine on the world's stage! Then she...
But alas, she was nothing.
As Raiden Mei clutched her loneliness, craving recognition and hope, she seemed to hear a voice from within her heart:
Do you wish... to grasp the future?
Do you wish... to stand on the world's stage?
Do you wish... to make all who betrayed you regret it?
Do you want to become the protagonist?
A flicker of confusion crossed Raiden Mei's eyes, and she failed to notice a spark of electricity flash across her forehead.
---o---
"You two, stop fighting!"
"You'll never get anywhere hitting each other like that!" Chen Li shouted at Sirin and the Queen of the Void, who were engaged in what he could only describe as noob chickens pecking at each other.
"Hmph, I'll let you off this time," Sirin, who clearly had the upper hand, snorted coldly.
She then commanded the Subspace Lances, which had transformed into subspace ribbons, to release the Queen of the Void.
Although Chen Li saw the fight as a pathetic squabble, Sirin had, in fact, been using her lances to suspend the Queen of the Void in the air and whip her, maintaining complete dominance.
Meanwhile, the sentient Benares doll was acting as the hype man, constantly cheering, "Long live the Queen!"
It was unclear which Queen Benares was actually supporting.
"Tch." The Queen of the Void was resentful but helpless.
Sirin had just demonstrated what true control over the Herrscher Core looked like for a Herrscher of the Void.
A being born from the Herrscher Core was fundamentally incapable of threatening Sirin's control.
Especially here, in the consciousness space deep within the core, the Queen of the Void was being utterly suppressed.
How tragic, to be condescended to and patted on the head like a dog!
"Want to learn? I can teach you," Sirin said, crossing her arms.
"..." The Queen of the Void felt as if she had suffered a critical blow.
So tragic! Not only was I condescended to, but now she's trying to take me as her disciple!
The pain was unbearable!
"Don't look so bitter. In terms of seniority, you should be calling me 'Mom'," Sirin stated slowly.
"You!"
"But I won't take advantage of you. So, I plan to give you a new name. She has her own name, so you should have one too." Sirin pointed at the light screen in the sky, which was showing Kiana.
"What name? Even if you humiliate me, I won't..."
"Let's go with Queenie the Sprite. You don't actually expect me to call you 'Queen,' do you? That would be far too rebellious!" Sirin said, narrowing her eyes.
"..." The newly christened Queenie the Sprite looked suspiciously at Sirin, then glanced at Chen Li.
"Why that name?"
"It's simply the choice of fate," Sirin replied, too proud to explain.
For the time being, Sirin viewed both the Queen of the Void and Kiana as extensions of herself, but she still had no objection to Chen Li's plan to raise the former into a useless dependent.
What Chen Li intended to do with the Queen of the Void was clear from the name "Queenie the Sprite."
But so what?
Sirin believed that rather than letting the Queen of the Void be driven to destruction by the overly extreme emotions she had left behind in the Herrscher Core, it was better to just spoil her rotten.
At least she would still be alive.
Of course, Sirin didn't regret any of her own decisions.
The Tower of Babylon had to be destroyed. All the researchers had to die!
Schicksal also had to be destroyed. Sirin couldn't care less what Schicksal had done for civilization; she only knew that it had brought her nothing but suffering.
Those extreme emotions were hers, and she wouldn't reject them.
But the biggest problem with the Queen of the Void and Kiana was that both were too extreme.
Sirin wouldn't engage in self-destructive internal conflict. She was willing to pay the price for her own mistakes, but Chen Li had already paid that price for her.
Since Chen Li had already footed the bill, if she continued to tear herself apart, wouldn't his sacrifice have been for nothing?
No one can judge their past self from the perspective of the present. Besides, her past self wasn't wrong at all. Her only mistake was lacking sufficient power!
If she had to do it all over again, with the same mentality and experience, Sirin would make the same choices!
The only difference would be that, after Fu Hua's sword severed her connection with the Honkai consciousness, she would have immediately slapped a collar on Chen Li's neck and dragged him to the moon!
Siegfried, who unlocked his Kaslana powers through artificial Honkai Eruption, was certainly formidable, but he had one major weakness—he couldn't fly.
Come chase me to the moon if you can!
Then, she and Chen Li could live a shameless, blissful life on the moon.
Now, Sirin felt the pressure of competition was mounting.
Not only did she have to fight other women for him, but she also had to compete with the "continuation" that inherited her memories and emotions.
Sirin had always felt that the way Big Herta looked at Chen Li was strange. That teacher of his didn't have honest eyes either. His relationship with Elysia didn't seem to be one of pure friendship. And while he and Vill-V acted like brothers, that was also dangerous because they shared a common hobby...
---o---
"Alright, you two, stop arguing. Queenie, want to come outside with us?" Chen Li asked, seeing that their dispute had finally subsided.
As he expected, Sirin was an excellent breakthrough point.
She was enough to make the Queen of the Void let go of the heavy burden of "avenging Sirin upon the entire world."
Kiana knew nothing, but the Queen of the Void was different. She understood the memories and emotions of Sirin that were etched into her heart.
Her recognition of Sirin as an individual was the final barrier preventing her from truly letting go and embracing her own identity.
Now that Sirin had appeared to set the record straight, and after being forcibly renamed Queenie the Sprite, she seemed to have shed some of that burden.
However, Queenie the Sprite still shook her head.
"You guys go ahead. I'll stay here," she said.
"Why?"
"No reason. I'm just used to it. Is that reason enough?" Queenie the Sprite retorted.
"You need some time to think quietly... How about this? After we deal with the Schicksal problem, I'll come back here one more time and extend my hand to you again."
Chen Li knew that Sirin's appearance was not without its impact on Queenie the Sprite.
During their argument, Queenie the Sprite had seemed carefree, but she had also inadvertently revealed her true thoughts.
"And what if I still choose to stay here?" Queenie the Sprite asked.
"..." Chen Li just smiled without answering.
"...You're so forceful. Are you really my Retainer?" But Queenie the Sprite seemed to have understood his unspoken intentions.
"Of course not," Sirin interjected.
"Then what is he?" Queenie the Sprite was a little curious.
"He's certainly not your Retainer. He's my Retainer!" Sirin emphasized.
"...There's no talking to someone with a love-addled brain," Queenie the Sprite sighed.
She couldn't help but feel that the Sirin before her was different from the Sirin in her memories.
Is this Retainer really that captivating?
"What did you say?!"
"Alright, you two should get going. You have things to do," Queenie the Sprite said, waving her hand dismissively.
She didn't believe for a second that Chen Li had brought Sirin to her consciousness space just to visit. They must have a purpose for wanting to leave.
But Queenie the Sprite wasn't going to bother with it. After all, whether they wanted to destroy Schicksal or destroy the world, she would be happy to see it.
They couldn't possibly be here to save the world, right?
"Yakumo Yukari, time to work." Chen Li snapped his fingers, summoning his friend.
Yakumo Yukari merely gave her surroundings a curious glance before waving her hand gracefully, summoning a gap that seemed to tear space itself.
"It's time to leave... Hey, don't look so down. This is for you." Sirin looked back at Queenie the Sprite, who was curled up on the sofa, hugging her knees and staring blankly at the departing group. Sirin tossed her own Friends Circle terminal to her.
Look at you, you look like a pet watching its owner leave!
"I have one," Queenie the Sprite said, fumbling to catch the terminal.
"Mine is different. The password is my birthday." Sirin just shook her head, not bothering to explain further.
Sirin's Friends Circle terminal was indeed different from most. Hers was a hacked version that could access data from various anime and movies.
Chen Li didn't really want to keep it a secret from everyone, but with a heavyweight like Haruhi Suzumiya in the group, and Big Herta who could add some extra spice to a Stellaron at any moment...
So, Chen Li planned to wait until the Herta Space Station matter was concluded before revealing it.
Although Queenie the Sprite didn't understand, out of respect for the individual named Sirin, she used the birthday etched in her memory to unlock the terminal and saw the content Sirin wanted to show her.
---o---
"What did you show her?" Chen Li asked curiously as they walked through the gap.
"Nothing much. Just the entry for Queenie the Sprite from the Honkai Impact 3rd wiki."
"???"
"Why are you making that face? I think if Queenie the Sprite knew you wanted to take care of her for the rest of her life, she'd probably be quite happy." After saying that, Sirin didn't dare to look Chen Li in the eye and flew towards the exit of the gap just ahead.
"I... I really can't do anything." The first thing that greeted Sirin's eyes was a girl's mournful sigh.
Sirin felt as if a voice whispered in her ear: Password correct!
Immediately after, as she flew out of the gap, Sirin sensed that the Honkai energy concentration around the academy was rising sharply. A Honkai Eruption seemed imminent.
Seeing this, a scornful smile appeared on Sirin's lips.
Causing a major Honkai Eruption in the city where I reside?
Did you even ask for my permission?
---o---