The two of them leaned against the railing.
The night view of Arc City spread out beneath their feet, the distant neon swaying faintly in the heat, like light beneath water.
"Do you still remember when your birthday is?"
Sirin's fork froze midair.
She turned her head and looked at Su Yu.
The man was tilting his head back, gazing up at the stars.
"I don't know." Sirin drew back her gaze, staring at the half slice of cake left on the plate, her voice dropping low. "And I don't need some stupid holiday like that."
In her memory bank, "birthday" carried only one meaning—the day she came into this world and began to suffer.
The nutrient fluid in the cultivation tank was cold. The probes of the electric-shock experiments were cold.
The white lab coats called her by a number, refusing even to give her a name.
Before that? Before the Tower of Babylon?
There had been warm scenes.
There had been a woman's soft palms, the warmth of being held in someone's arms.
But those fragments were too distant, like old photographs tossed into a shredder, impossible to piece back into a complete picture.
She didn't need them.
Hatred was the best fuel—enough to drive her all the way to the end of her revenge.
"Your birthday is June 23rd."
Sirin's head jerked up.
Su Yu's gaze pulled back from the starry sky and settled on her face.
"It's already passed by a month. That's a shame."
"But it doesn't matter. If you're willing, today can be your birthday too."
The night wind passed between them.
From the distant private room came faint laughter and the clinking of glasses.
"Happy birthday, Sirin."
Not "Kiana."
It was "Sirin."
What he called her was "Sirin."
Her golden pupils contracted violently.
Her fingers clenched the edge of the plate, nails sinking into the soft fibers of the paper dish.
She looked at that face.
The moonlight outlined his silhouette in a cold, white edge.
His expression could hardly be called tender—it was more like the calm that comes after exhaustion.
But it was precisely this calm that made a certain distant scene, one she had locked in the deepest part of her memory, come surging up.
In the illusion, that woman named Cecilia had looked at her with this very same gaze.
No fear, no revulsion, none of the prejudice born from the label of "Herrscher."
Just looking at her, as if looking at an ordinary child—one worthy of being treated kindly.
Sirin bit down on the soft flesh inside her lower lip.
"What kind of joke is this."
Her voice squeezed out through gritted teeth, the ending trembling slightly.
"Are you pitying me? I don't need you to pity me like this—"
The instant her volume rose, her breathing fell apart.
That surging, scalding emotion in her chest—one she had no idea how to name—made her nose sting.
She fought it down hard, forcing that sourness back into the depths of her throat.
Su Yu didn't argue back.
He simply took something out from behind him.
It was a palm-sized plush toy.
Blue and white in color, with a round, plump body, adorned with a pair of tiny dragon wings and two curved horns on its head.
The craftsmanship wasn't exactly fine—clumsy, even—but that shape—
Sirin's brain stopped working.
She recognized it.
That was Bella.
It was Benares.
It was the one, on the barren wilds of the moon, who would lower its head and gently nuzzle her palm with its enormous skull—the only such companion.
It was the first—and only—life to swear "fealty" to her after she granted it reason.
Her fingers began to tremble.
"Whether you think it's pity, or just going through the motions to complete a task—none of that matters." Su Yu set the toy on the railing and let go. "At the very least, this gift is for you. Just like the cake in the consciousness space last time."
He took a step back.
"Happy birthday, Sirin."
With that, he turned and walked toward the private room.
The sound of his leather shoes on the stone-paved floor grew farther and farther away.
Sirin stood where she was, both arms clamping the little blue-and-white dragon tightly to her chest.
The feel of the fluff brushing her chin was soft beyond measure.
The scent of the cake's cream lingered in the air, mingling with the fireworks-tinged aura of Arc City on the night wind.
Her eyes burned.
But nothing fell.
The footsteps were about to vanish at the doorway.
"Wait."
When the sound burst out of her throat, Sirin startled even herself.
Without any permission from her brain at all, her mouth had moved of its own accord.
The footsteps stopped.
"What is it?"
Sirin hugged the toy tightly, her nails nearly digging into the fluff.
She didn't turn around, only stared at the brilliantly lit cityscape beyond the railing.
"After this is over, come with me to the studio."
"What?"
"I have something to give you."
Through the gap in the private room's door leaked a warm, yellow light.
Laughter and the clinking of glasses could be faintly heard.
And under the moonlight on the terrace, the Herrscher of the Void buried the little blue-and-white dragon plush between her neck and chin, the fluff soaking up the trace of moisture at the corners of her eyes that she'd nearly failed to hold back.
Su Yu nodded, not asking what it was.
He did indeed need to head back to the studio too—Bronie, that little bunny, was still waiting in the server room for him to come feed her.
"BOSS." Bronie's complaining voice came through the communicator. "I put your present in the very bottom drawer of your office. Don't forget to pack some food and bring it back—I'm about to starve."
"Why didn't you come along?"
"Better not. That Kiana still hasn't given you her thing—don't I have to help keep the secret for her?"
"Thanks for the trouble."
"If you really think it's trouble, then give me a bigger bonus."
"Sure."
The taxi came to a stop in the underground parking lot of Arc City Tower.
The doors opened, and the hot night air pouring in carried the smell of concrete and engine oil.
Sirin got out first, the blue-and-white dragon plush tucked under her arm against her waist, her posture as stiff as if she were transporting some kind of hazardous material.
There were only two people in the elevator.
The metal car climbed upward, the floor numbers ticking up one by one.
Sirin leaned in the corner of the elevator, her eyes fixed on the ever-changing numbers, not saying a word from start to finish.
Su Yu leaned against the other side, the mingled scent of alcohol and cream cake still lingering on him.
The top floor arrived.
The motion-sensor lights in the corridor lit up one after another, stretching the two figures' shadows long across the polished floor tiles.
Su Yu set the packed food down in front of Hack Bunny's little den, knocked on the door, then left it at that.
Sirin didn't head toward the temporary lounge assigned to her, but instead turned straight toward the door at the end of the corridor.
That was Kiana's office.
Thirty seconds later, the door of Hack Bunny's den opened, and a hand reached out from inside and swiftly snatched the takeout box away.
"Whoa, all hearty dishes—guess you've got a conscience after all."
Bronie sat cross-legged in her gaming chair, looking at the packed-up, obviously freshly-remade feast inside, the corners of her mouth curling up.
Her gaze turned to the two figures on the surveillance feed, walking toward Kiana's office.
"Well, well—late at night, all quiet, a lone man and woman, and he picks this moment to give a gift? Since when did this white-haired dummy climb to such a high rank?"
Bronie whistled; she did understand the principle of not spying on what one shouldn't.
"Seeing as you're so trustworthy, BOSS, I'll just pretend I didn't see anything."
She switched off the surveillance for Kiana's office.
It wasn't the first time she'd shut off the cameras, anyway.
Bronie thought this to herself, feeling at the same time that old lady Cioara had been absolutely right—when a big star who had never once stirred up a scandal suddenly has a man appear at her side, if that isn't a secret lover, then Cioara would eat her plate right there on the spot.
Facts proved that the old ginger is the spiciest—though the old lady was also a lifelong single, solo since birth, her eye for reading people really wasn't bad.
Su Yu and Sirin stopped at the door.
On the nameplate was a hand-drawn Homu sticker made by Nuwa, and beside it, scrawled crookedly: "Kiana's Exclusive · No Snitching Snacks."
Sirin stood before the door, took out her work card, and swiped the electronic lock open.
The office was large but rather empty; Kiana had never had much time to decorate it.
Just an ordinary desk, a swivel chair, and on the desktop a few empty potato chip bags and a cup of long-dried-up milk tea.
In the corner were piled some motion-capture props, and on the wall was a chibi portrait of Kiana drawn by Griseo.
Sirin walked to the desk and pulled open the bottom drawer.
Deep in the drawer sat a box wrapped in kraft paper, tied on the outside with a wrinkled red ribbon.
The ribbon was tied into a bow, but the knot was terrible—clearly not the work of anyone deft-handed.
She took the box out, turned, and pushed it toward Su Yu, who had followed her in.
"Your gift for me?"
Sirin rolled her eyes.
"Don't get it wrong. This is a gift from that idiot Paramecium to you."
She crossed her arms and leaned against the edge of the desk, the dragon toy tucked under her arm, its tail dangling and swaying from the crook of her elbow.
"Hasn't she been wanting to surprise you all along?" Sirin's gaze fell on the night view outside the window, not looking at Su Yu. "In fact, the day I was forced to take over her body, she'd already had that little girl Bronie buy the present for her. It's been sitting in this drawer ever since, all just to give it to you on your birthday."
The office fell silent for a few seconds.
"You... didn't have to tell me."
A pause.
"In fact, you could have just destroyed it—that would fit better with—"
She had indeed had that thought—even if she didn't destroy it, she would never have taken it out on her own initiative.
But she said it anyway.
Acting as a mouthpiece for that Paramecium she'd always looked down on.
It irritated her.
"Don't get it wrong, human."
Sirin's voice suddenly rose half a pitch, cutting off Su Yu's unfinished words.
"I simply disdain to stoop to such tricks."
As she said this, her chin lifted slightly, her neck taut in a straight line.
It was the arrogance that belonged to the Herrscher of the Void, carved into her very bones.
"Besides, you said it yourself—only if that fellow lives can I live. If she found out I broke her present—" Sirin's pace quickened slightly, as if eager to rush through the words. "—wouldn't she fight me to the death?"
With that, she gave Su Yu no room to reply.
Sirin strode toward the door, and the moment she crossed the threshold, she tossed out one last line without turning back.
"The thing's given to you. The rest has nothing to do with me—I'm heading back first."
"Do you know how to get back?"
"I'll take a cab," she said.
The door closed.
Only the hum of the air conditioner's airflow remained in the office.
Su Yu looked down at the crudely wrapped box in his hands.
The ribbon's bow was lopsided, one end long and one end short, the marks of tying and untying, untying and retying, clearly visible—that dummy had definitely fussed over a tutorial video for a long time.
He tore open the kraft paper.
Inside the box lay a graphics card.
It was exactly the model he'd been going on about for ages, the one he'd never been able to bring himself to buy.
The graphics card was packed in an anti-static bag, and stuck to the outside was a sticky note in Bronie's handwriting: "Hack Bunny Proxy Purchase—no returns, no exchanges."
Beside the graphics card was also a voice recorder.
Su Yu picked up the recorder. The metal casing was icy cold, with a tiny Homu sticker on it.
He pressed play.
"Heh heh, big dummy Su Yu!"
The instant that voice sprang out of the speaker, the very air of the whole office changed.
Vitality.
Brightness.
Carrying that energy that belonged only to Kiana Kaslana, as if it would never burn out.
"Didn't expect it, did you? Got a fright, huh? When you saw this young lady's present, were you so happy you almost cried?"
A faint noise came through the recording, as if Kiana had accidentally bumped into something while recording.
Then came her hushed, sneaky giggle.
"Let me tell you—to buy this graphics card, this young lady put in a lot of effort! You know what, just last month I caught seventeen wanted criminals! There was one who ran really fast; I chased him for three whole streets before I cornered him at the end of an alley—oh right, that time I even rescued a lost elementary schooler along the way, and the Vigilante app gave me double the bounty, heh heh!"
Her voice grew more and more excited, and her words came faster and faster.
"But the hardest part was still getting Bronie to buy it for me. At first she flat-out refused to help—she was all like, 'I don't want to be your after-sales errand girl, it's such a pain!' I played fighting games with her all night, and even though I lost way more than I won, she still ended up won over by my perseverance!"
"How about it! This young lady's pretty amazing, right? Heh heh!"
Laughter.
Undisguised, pure laughter, smug over her own little cleverness.
"Oh right, speaking of Bronie—this is a secret, okay! I have a really amazing friend named Bronie; she's a super amazing hacker! I'll introduce her to you someday—the two of you will definitely make a great team!"
When she was recording, she still didn't know that Su Yu had already gotten in touch with Bronie long ago.
The recording went quiet for two brief seconds.
You could hear Kiana take a deep breath.
"Heh heh, that's all I'll say."
Her voice softened.
"How about it, got tricked by this young lady, didn't you? Hmph hmph, this young lady finally got to trick you for once—it's because you always take everything onto your own shoulders—"
She paused.
A very faint sniffling sound came from the recorder.
Then that voice returned to its full-of-energy tone, as if nothing had happened.
"But after listening to this recording, you've definitely already broken down and cried, haven't you?"
Her tone became certain, as if stating an already-confirmed fact.
"This young lady should be right in front of you. I'll lend you my shoulder—you lean on this young lady's shoulder, and while you cry, say, 'I'll make games for you for the rest of my life'!"
She deliberately drew out those last few words, carrying the smug triumph of a prank pulled off.
"Heh heh, come on! Don't be shy!!"
"Oh right, the day you hear this recorder is your birthday, isn't it? Even though this young lady is right in front of you, I still want to give you my blessing here—"
"Happy birthday, my dummy producer! Heh heh!!"
"Beep—"
The recording ended right there.
The office fell dead silent once more.
The sound of the air conditioner's airflow reclaimed the entire space.
The lights of Arc City outside the window were as dazzling as ever, and in the distance an ambulance's siren flashed by.
The few empty chip bags on the desktop still held the pose from the last time Kiana had eaten snacks.
On the wall, the chibi Kiana drawn by Griseo was holding up a V-for-victory sign, her smile so radiant it was impossible to look away.
Yet in the office at this moment, there was no girl who would laugh and banter with him, no shoulder to lean against, and no slightly goofy smile—
There was nothing here.
Only himself.
Su Yu looked at the desk before him.
Kiana wasn't here.
She should have been here.
She should have been standing in front of him, hands on her hips, chin tilted up, waiting for his reaction with that "hurry up and praise me" look, disguising herself as a mature "little grown-up," looking just like a puppy angling for a reward—
But she wasn't there.
Su Yu clutched the recorder in his palm.
His gaze fell outside the window.
The night view of Arc City was the same as always, but he had no heart to admire it.
He stood there for a long, long time.
In the corridor.
Sirin leaned back against the wall of Kiana's office, at her feet one of the sandals she'd kicked off when she strode out earlier.
She hadn't gone far.
The dragon plush was clutched to her chest, its round head resting against her chin.
The blue-and-white fluff brushed her neck, bringing a sensation she couldn't put a name to.
She herself didn't know why she hadn't left.
She should have left.
The thing was delivered, the transaction complete; she had no reason to stay here.
She was the Herrscher of the Void, the enemy of humanity, the parasite that Paramecium wished she could be rid of once and for all.
She disdained running errands for Kiana.
Right.
Disdained.
If that Paramecium ever found out that, at such a perfect opportunity, she had secretly hidden away the present she'd so painstakingly prepared—she would absolutely fight her to the death in the consciousness space.
In this world without Honkai energy, she couldn't beat her.
Right.
That was it.
It was just because she couldn't win.
It was just because she didn't want the hassle.
It was just because of the cooperation.
Just cooperation, that's all.
Sirin buried her chin in the toy's soft head and closed her eyes.
The corridor lights weren't on.
The darkness swallowed her whole.
Only the blue-and-white of the plush dragon in her arms could be faintly made out in the ghastly green glow of the fire-exit indicator light.
Her fingers unconsciously tightened around the toy's wings.
Something, in that always-cold place in her chest, gave off a tiny sound—the kind heard only when ice cracks.
She didn't know what it was.
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