"Right here. Bronya saw another Kiana—one who looked older. She was standing next to Kiana's bed."
In the hospital room, Bronya looked up with her usual blank expression as she spoke to Theresa, who had rushed over.
"Another Kiana…"
Theresa looked down at Kiana lying unconscious in the bed, confusion and disbelief clear in her eyes.
"How is that even possible…" Raiden Mei whispered, completely lost.
Kiana was currently on a hospital bed. The doctor had just finished checking her—there were no physical injuries. But her body was showing strange stress symptoms that matched bad burns, even though she was getting better quickly.
The real problem was that Kiana had fallen into a deep coma and needed to stay in the hospital for at least two days.
"Bronya is sure of what she saw. That was another Kiana. She was real," Bronya stated seriously.
"What happened then?" Theresa pressed, her focus entirely on Bronya.
She trusted Bronya.
"She disappeared. Right after Bronya made eye contact, she vanished. Bronya didn't detect any unusual energy readings."
Bronya's brow furrowed slightly, a sign she was deeply puzzled.
"If that's true…"
Raiden Mei's face lost a little more color.
"Last night, when Kiana was sneaking food in the kitchen, she suddenly laughed and said, 'You're so bad!' Was she… talking to another Kiana?"
"Agh… So when she hid those chicken legs in her bowl and took them to the bathroom, was she sharing them with… the other her?"
Himeko was slowly putting the pieces together, her expression turning serious.
"Bronya, could you try to draw what the other Kiana looked like?"
Theresa asked, her tone grave.
"Yes."
Bronya nodded, pulling out the drawing pad and pencil she'd apparently brought with her, and began to sketch.
Meanwhile, outside the hospital room…
Fu Hua stood holding a basket of fruit, her brow deeply furrowed, her expression solemn and troubled.
Another Kiana? Also… from another world?
"Correct."
A calm, familiar voice spoke from behind her. Fu Hua turned without any surprise—she'd sensed the presence there for a while.
"Hua."
Xia Qi met her gaze, her own eyes steady. She was currently in the form of the Fenghuang.
"What is the meaning of this?"
Fu Hua stared at her, a thread of anger slipping into her normally placid voice.
The hallway was empty. Even if someone walked by, they'd subconsciously overlook the two of them.
"It was the Kiana from my world. She let this Kiana try to use her weapon—the one embedded with four Herrscher Cores. But Kiana couldn't handle it."
"Have you all lost your minds?!"
Fu Hua's eyes widened, and she looked at Xia Qi with barely restrained fury.
"Don't you understand that Sirin's consciousness is still inside Kiana's body?"
"Sirin isn't a threat right now. The Kiana who came with me already defeated Sirin and mastered those cores. Everything she did was to help Kiana grow."
Xia Qi replied calmly.
"I can't accept that."
Fu Hua's expression was furious. The look she gave Xia Qi turned sharp, dangerous.
Meeting her gaze, Xia Qi was silent for a moment. Then she gently raised her right hand. In her palm, a single feather glowed with a soft, golden light, beautiful and mesmerizing, slowly pulsing.
"..."
Fu Hua's face went still.
"Maybe after you see this, you'll understand."
Xia Qi slowly offered the feather to her.
Inside were memories—Fu Hua's own memories, of living alongside Kiana, watching her grow, step by step into the future.
Glimpses of future Herrschers flickered within, too.
But the most critical parts—like those about the Herrscher of Sentience—Xia Qi had hidden away.
The feather also held a little power, enough to restore a small part of Fu Hua's own strength.
"I think this should be enough to make up for our… mistake."
Xia Qi said softly.
Fu Hua silently reached out and took it. The next instant, she clutched her head, a flicker of pain crossing her face as memories rushed in and the subtle power began to mend old wounds in her body and spirit.
Watching her,
Xia Qi's gaze was understanding, her own expression growing more complicated.
Her power was limited.
Giving some away meant having less.
So…
Ha. Of course it's never that simple.
"Ha…"
Less than half a minute later, Fu Hua lowered her hand and looked up, meeting Xia Qi's eyes. Her gaze now held a new weight, a deeper weariness, but also a sharper clarity.
"Thank you…"
"Between us, there's no need for that."
Fu Hua had regained a fragment of her strength. Pieces of her sealed memories had returned. And now, she carried those extra memories—of living with Kiana, of facing a harsh future together.
She wouldn't just be watching Kiana from the shadows anymore.
"Hua."
"Hmm?"
"Don't change the future. Not yet…"
"I understand. I… see it all now." Fu Hua nodded slowly. Xia Qi was a little surprised but didn't press.
"Also… please remember for us. The things that happened, even though they didn't."
"...Alright."
A brief silence hung between them.
"What about Kiana?" Fu Hua asked quietly, standing beside her. With those memories, she felt almost like a future version of herself already.
"..."
Xia Qi's silence made Fu Hua wary.
"Our world… doesn't exist anymore. In a way… we don't either. But because of something… special, we were able to come here. It's just…"
"It's just… only one of you can be here at a time?"
"Right."
Xia Qi nodded gently.
"Do the others know?"
"They don't. I keep my sense of self because of the feather."
"I see. About not existing…"
"Let's not talk about that."
Xia Qi cut her off gently, nodding toward the hospital room door. "Go see Kiana. She'll be okay. She just needs to rest now. And… it's a good chance for you to really meet her."
"Mm."
Fu Hua nodded, a cold, hollow feeling settling in her chest as she turned and gently knocked on the door.
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