"Haa…"
Xia Qi breathed out, a slow, steady sound in the quiet. She closed her eyes, then opened them again. Lightning danced faintly in her irises as she took in the empty, silent space around her.
This peace was rare. A small luxury.
Too bad it wouldn't last.
Almost instantly, she felt it—the shift in consciousness as Raiden Mei slipped into sleep. At the same time, her awareness brushed against the scene outside: everyone gathered around Mei's physical body, fitting her with a clunky, bunny-eared device before putting on matching ones themselves.
A Honkai Virtual Reality Connector?
Recognition clicked. The silly gadget from the comics. A flicker of surprise went through her.
Are they… coming here? To see me? Do I even want to see them?
The thought had barely formed when the dream space rippled. Raiden Mei stood before her once more, but different this time—her posture firmer, her aura more resolved, a perfect synchronization with the Herrscher of Thunder thrumming just beneath her skin.
"I'm here."
This Mei's expression was a mirror of Xia Qi's own calm, though the St. Freya uniform she wore was a stark contrast to Xia Qi's attire.
"…"
Xia Qi didn't look at her. Her gaze went past her, to the space shimmering behind.
One by one, they appeared. Figures she knew by heart. The sight of them here, in this hollow place she'd claimed as her own, sent a complicated twist through her carefully ordered emotions. Unconsciously, she uncrossed her legs, her bare feet touching the cool, featureless ground.
"Mei?!"
Kiana was the first to move, darting to stand beside the present-day Mei before whirling to face Xia Qi, her blue eyes wide.
"It's her. Definitely." Fu Hua's assessment was quiet, certain.
Xia Qi's eyes slid over her, dismissive and cold, before moving on.
"Mei." Theresa took a few hesitant steps forward, studying her. "You… how are you holding up?"
It was a simple question, asked with a complexity of feeling behind it.
"…"
Xia Qi let the silence hang for a beat. Her detached composure began to soften, just a fraction, as her gaze traveled across each familiar face. Then it stopped, landing squarely on Himeko.
"Teacher Himeko," she said, and her voice was different—softer, layered with a nostalgia so deep it ached, and a joy so tightly leashed it barely showed. A faint, real smile touched her lips. "It's been a long time."
"…Hmm?" A flicker of confusion crossed Himeko's face. The look in this Mei's eyes as she said it… it felt off. Weighted.
?
Kiana, meanwhile, felt a cold little shiver. The memory surfaced, sharp and sudden: the other Kiana, her future self, begging her to say goodbye to Teacher Himeko. She'd forgotten, with everything else that happened.
Why is she saying it like that? Just to Himeko? Does she know something…?
"It has been a long time," Himeko agreed with some confusion but her voice careful nonetheless q,ad,$q. She walked forward, her expression a mix of warmth and wariness as she looked at this duplicate of her student. "Mei. If there's something on your mind… you can talk to me."
Himeko's golden eyes were earnest, firm.
"Matters of the future… I can't speak of them. It's not a choice. It's a rule." Xia Qi's reply was calm, but the defensive chill she'd shown the younger Mei was gone. There was only a tired gentleness.
Himeko finally stood before her. It took effort—real, physical effort—for Xia Qi to keep her stance relaxed, her breathing even.
"But why hide from us?" Himeko asked, her voice dropping to something quiet and personal. "Why stay out here alone?"
"You know what you are," Himeko continued. "But you should also know what you've become to us. To me, to Theresa. You're family. Even if you came from a tomorrow we can't imagine."
"Don't carry it by yourself, Mei. I know you're worried—that if you move, you'll change the path, make the future you know impossible to predict. But listen to me."
She leaned in slightly, her gaze unwavering.
"You are our family. Even if the future changes because of it, we are not letting you face it alone. Ever."
Xia Qi's eyes lowered. Just for a second. When she looked back at Himeko, a fragment of raw, unguarded sorrow slipped through—a glimpse of a wound so old it had become part of her.
Himeko saw it. She froze, a cold knot of dread forming in her gut.
Then the corner of Himeko's mouth lifted in a wry, almost helpless half-smile, beautiful and sad.
"Teacher Himeko," Xia Qi murmured, the sorrow gone, replaced by a fond resignation. "You really haven't changed at all."
Her attention shifted, taking in the whole anxious group. "So. You all want me to come out? To the real world?"
"Exactly!" Theresa piped up, nodding so hard her twin-tails bounced. She shuddered, hugging herself as she looked at the bleak, lonely expanse. "You can't just… live in this! You'll go crazy! And if you want to train Mei, you can do that at school! I've got a whole private training room you can use!"
"Right, right!" Kiana chimed in, her head bobbing in agreement. "It's way better than this creepy empty place! Mei, you're the gentlest person ever! You don't have to do the lone-wolf thing!"
"Is that so."
Xia Qi's focus snapped back to Kiana, her brow furrowing deeply. Kiana faltered under the intensity.
This was Mei. A Mei from a road she hadn't walked yet, strange and distant, but Kiana's heart still pulled her forward, desperate to reach her.
"But Kiana," Xia Qi said, the words precise and heavy. "The one who insists on trying to save the world all by herself… that's you."
"…Huh?"
Kiana's brain stuttered to a halt.
Beside her, Raiden Mei felt a quiet tremor of understanding. The core of it, the reason her future self might have hardened into someone so isolated… it was always going to be Kiana. Only Kiana could reshape her that completely.
"Principal. Teacher Himeko." Xia Qi's gaze returned to the two adults, all business once more. "You want me to come out. But have you thought it through? Two Raiden Meis at St. Freya. If Schicksal Headquarters or Anti-Entropy catches wind of that kind of anomaly, this whole academy becomes a target."
"You can leave that to me!" Theresa declared, puffing out her chest with determination. "We'll give you a new identity! Mei's cousin, studying abroad! I'll lock down the internal comms, scrub any leaks. My students would never sell us out."
She gestured around the void emphatically. "And besides! The Valkyrie dorm is a thousand times cozier than this… this nothing! Isn't it?!"
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