"Interesting. Keep watching from the shadows. Report back to me the moment anything unusual happens."
"Yes."
Fu Hua waited calmly for Otto to finish speaking, then turned her head to look out the window at the blue sky and white clouds, her expression distant.
"Things are getting more and more interesting."
Otto swirled the wine in his glass, a smile on his lips as he gazed out at the same sky. His emerald green eyes glittered with keen curiosity.
"St. Freya Academy, my dear granddaughter Theresa…what surprises will you bring me?"
...
"Kiana… I won't hurt you… Please believe me… Come out and see me. I believe… you didn't mean to hurt her…"
Raiden Mei stood in front of the bathroom sink, her voice a low, pleading murmur that echoed softly in the small room.
Xia Qi stood beside her, watching, her heart a tangled mess of emotions.
She didn't know what to say. But seeing Mei beg like this, over and over, made guilt twist in her chest.
It's just…
She didn't know how to face her.
Outside the bathroom, Bronya stood by the door, listening without expression to Mei's muffled pleas.
Her small hands tightened into fists.
"Kiana… Come out and talk to me… I won't hurt you, and I won't let anyone else hurt you either. But… we need to know what happened…"
A thread of sadness wove into Mei's voice. The corners of her eyes were starting to redden.
Seeing her like this made Xia Qi's heart ache. A sudden, desperate urgency rose up inside her.
I should just leave.
I shouldn't be here.
Xia Qi looked at Raiden Mei, her mind racing.
This whole scene felt painfully familiar, like a ghost of the first time they'd ever parted.
"I'm sorry… Mei…"
After a quiet sigh, Xia Qi's voice, heavy with apology and regret, whispered right into Mei's ear.
"Kiana!"
Raiden Mei's eyes flew open.
That voice—she knew it was Kiana's!
But it sounded so different. It was sad, weary, weighed down, with a hint of longing… it was full of too many things that made Mei's heart clench painfully.
Then, in the mirror, she saw the familiar figure standing by the sink…
"Mei…"
Xia Qi looked at her, her eyes full of guilt and regret, and a deep reluctance.
"Kiana, it's really you…"
Mei whipped her head to the side, but there was no one there.
"Kiana?"
"I'm sorry, Mei. I'm not… that Kiana."
Xia Qi's voice was soft.
"I'm just… so glad I got to see you again, and even talk to you. This is probably the nicest thing that's happened to me since I came to this world."
"What are you talking about?! Kiana, where are you? Why… why are you in the mirror?!"
Mei was frantic. The look on Xia Qi's face was all wrong, and her voice made Mei deeply uneasy. She cried out, urgent:
"Come out! Kiana, I'll take you to see Theresa and the others! We'll clear everything up! No one will blame you! If we just explain, I promise no one will hurt you!"
She was sure this was Kiana—her Kiana, the one who lived with them every day.
Right now, the mystery of two Kianas didn't matter. All she felt was a terrible, creeping dread.
"I know… But I'm not your Kiana. Thank you, Mei." Looking at her, Xia Qi tried to muster a bright, warm smile, then turned toward the door.
"Wait! Kiana!"
"Please tell everyone I'm sorry… And that I'm sorry to you, too…"
"Wait!"
Mei pressed her palm against the cold mirror glass. The chill brought her back to her senses.
She watched Xia Qi's figure, already at the door, about to step through and suddenly she knew—if she didn't do something right now, she might lose her for good. Never see her again…
"Like hell I'll let that happen…!"
She lowered her head, teeth gritted. Faint, flickering strands of purple lightning began to coil around her body.
"?"
Xia Qi stopped dead, turning back in stunned disbelief.
"You're not going anywhere!"
A powerful force yanked on her hand. The cool, sharp tingle made Xia Qi fully realize what was happening.
The Herrscher of Thunder stared back at her, face blank, eyes burning with cold accusation.
"You… are staying right here. With me. You don't get to go anywhere else."
The Herrscher's grip on 'Kiana's' hand was iron-tight, refusing to let go.
Unlike before, the Herrscher could now feel it clearly—the heavy weight Xia Qi carried. She didn't understand it, but…
It made her furious.
Why does Kiana feel like this? So burdened, so sad?
Who did this to her?
Dark, heavy clouds began to gather over St. Freya Academy. For miles, the sunlight vanished. Jagged bolts of purple lightning clawed across the sky. The deep, rolling thunder seemed to shake the ground.
"Mei?"
Xia Qi stared, shocked, at her hand trapped in Mei's grip.
She was in her Herrscher form… existing between states, not fully here.
"Quiet. Just stay put."
The Herrscher tightened her hold, stepping closer until she was right in front of Xia Qi. The anger in her eyes hadn't faded; it was now mixed with a possessive, unyielding command.
"..."
Asking how Mei could even touch her seemed pointless now.
Xia Qi met her gaze, her own expression slowly crumbling into something painfully complex.
Outside the bathroom, Bronya peered in anxiously. She couldn't see what was happening.
She could only hear Mei's voice!
But she could feel it—the Herrscher's presence, and the crushing, oppressive pressure filling her chest.
The Third Herrscher…
Mei turned into the Herrscher again!
She caught the other Kiana. So that really is… the real Kiana?
But what is actually going on?!
"Bronya!!"
Rapid footsteps pounded down the hall behind her.
Theresa and Himeko came running, their faces etched with deep alarm and confusion.
"What's happening?! What's wrong?!"
"Mei-senpai is in the bathroom… talking to the other Kiana. But…"
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