The Fire-Chasing Herrscher Who Destroyed the World

"Envy...envy?"

The question was not surprise, but Kiana did not expect that Sirin, who had always been tough-tongued, would say such things at such a time.

It’s not that Kiana doesn’t understand Sirin’s envy, on the contrary, precisely because she is also Sirin in a sense. Although she has not witnessed everything about Sirin from the perspective of an “eyewitness”, she can still be called one. The person who knows [Xilin] best in the world, so she can better understand the weight of the fluttering word [envy].

"Are you... trying to cheer me up with these words?"

"Do you think I have such thoughts to comfort you? Don't be stupid, it's just a sigh."

Xilin said, but for some reason she raised her head.

Kiana's life has only been ten years so far. It is neither warm and ordinary nor smooth. Even at this moment, she is trapped in mental pain and existential crisis and cannot escape.

However, compared to Xilin's life, even the truly stable, ordinary and happy days in these ten years were only two years, and even including the time of wandering around and having fun with her smelly father, it was less than five years. . However, this is all that Xilin could hope for but could not achieve in the end.

The cold fingers slowly and gently slid up and down the cheek, just like the heart in that thin body that kept beating no matter what.

After a while, Xilin said:

"I just...I just...think the people you met are really nice."

"..."

"You have met Siegfried and the real Kiana since you were born. Although you had no fate with them before that, they were willing to risk their lives to help you. Siegfried even gave himself My daughter’s name is given to you...

"Later, when you arrived in Changkong City, you met Leiden Meiyi again. That little girl looked weak and weak, and she was not confident in what she did. She seemed to need your support and encouragement most of the time, but once you She is more anxious about anything than anyone else. She can give everything for you. As long as she gives the three words "for you", she can throw her life into the scale as a bargaining chip... I can't describe this feeling, because that It's beyond my knowledge.

"And Theresa. Although her initial concern for you was all because of Cecilia and Siegfried, and because you were her niece, during those two years at St. Freya, I saw how much she cared about you. The concern of the other Valkyries has also been seen. Even after knowing that you are not the real Kiana, but just a container specially created for the Second Herrscher who accidentally gave birth to self-awareness, she is still willing to do it for you. Fighting at the risk of everything, forcing yourself to do things that you are not good at, and never denying your identity as [Kiana]... Heh, you have seen it, I have also met Theresa before , she told me... [It's okay, the nightmare is over, I will take good care of you], it would have been great if I had believed her at that time... Unfortunately, at that time, I could no longer trust anyone.

"And Himeko... If Siegfried and his daughter decided to save you because of a sudden surge of passion, and Mei wanted to save you because of those complicated emotions, Bronya and Siel are good to you. Because of friendship, Teresa cares about you because of the family affection that was wrongly placed at the beginning. So why did Himeko risk her own life to save you? She is obviously just a stranger with whom we have no relationship. I even once I thought she hated you because you always slept when she was in class. After being caught by Teresa eating late-night snacks, you would find out the wine she had hidden in the dormitory to punish you, and you would always call her aunt... If it were me, I would have wiped your neck a long time ago. It can only be said that humans are complicated creatures that I can’t understand at all.”

Xilin's fingers stopped in the middle of her cheek, and the trembling of her fingertips was more clearly captured by Kiana.

Xilin fell into silence at this moment. Listening to her rambling words, Kiana only felt flustered, but she wanted to know what Xilin was thinking at this moment.

It was just a thought. Kiana did not expect that the scenery in front of her started to change. The familiar and unfamiliar theater around her began to peel off like wall paint, and then quickly turned into a pure white world. After that, the color was filled again. superior.

In this way, the scene is reversed.

"here it is……"

Compared to the dim theater, the fluorescent lights here are extremely dazzling, and the smooth metal on the wall reflects the light better, but for some reason, the darkness in the four corners of the lights piles up, making the place seem more depressing and heavy.

Tower of Babel.

Kiana recognized this place at a glance.

It's not the sky-reaching tower that the Tenth Herrscher brought despair to, but the experimental base that humans once set up for the beautiful vision of "defeating Honkai".

"Come on, give me your hand and come out quickly."

"That's... aunt?"

Kiana soon saw a familiar figure.

The short Theresa ran in the cold corridor, quickly opening the doors of one room after another. Every time she opened one, her face became darker. There were hundreds of rooms on the first floor, but she only found a dozen or so. For children who can move around on their own, there are even corpses piled up in the room with the "dormitory" sign that they haven't had time to pull out. The living people live with their companions like this. When the door is opened, the stench is almost overwhelming. To break people down.

That's why Theresa had to work hard to smile, and only that kind of smile would make everyone feel at ease.

"Don't worry, you are all safe. You hide here for now. I will send you away after a few days."

She smiled and held the shoulder of a brown-haired girl, but the latter only shuddered and pushed her away.

Why could she see it so clearly... Kiana suddenly realized that she was standing behind the brown-haired girl.

When he lowered his head, he saw long purple hair hanging down to the metallic floor.

"It's Xilin's memory again..."

"Wait a minute Theresa! You are violating the rules! The experimental subjects must be returned to the headquarters - they have all been injected with Honkai energy, we cannot let these experimental subjects go, it is too dangerous!"

The aunt who followed Theresa like a subordinate and a friend objected in a low voice. Even though he lowered his voice, he could easily be heard by the girls in such a silent environment.

Theresa lowered her head a little, then raised her neck with a smile:

"You know St. Freya Academy? Not long ago, I applied to the Bishop for an artificial island in the far east. There I will quietly take in the girls who are used as experimental subjects, let them study, and let them learn Control the power within their bodies. One day, they can return to a normal life, or... become as good a Valkyrie as you."

Valkyrie had nothing to say, and Theresa slowly turned her head, looked at the girls who were afraid of her, and said softly:

"Please believe me and come with me! It doesn't matter, the nightmare is over, I will take good care of you!"

"You really know how to say beautiful words..."

Kiana felt her lips move, making a series of imperceptible breath sounds.

"This is... the original Siren, just like this..."

"That's right, at the beginning, I just regarded Theresa's words as nonsense to coax children. I don't believe that there is unreasonable kindness in this world, but that is normal. Every relationship between human beings Every interaction requires an equal exchange with the other person, and even greedy people will ask for more than what they give. In the past, my mother and I fell into that situation just because we believed in a person's kindness. It is natural to have that kind of thinking. Now I admit that there are indeed some people in this world who are as stupid as you. They can do something without seeking rewards, or in other words, the rewards they ask for are not. Give not only to themselves, but to the world or the people they help.”

"so you……"

The time in memory stayed at this moment, so Xilin could remain silent and silent without restraint. It was not until a long, long time passed that she finally spoke with some yearning:

"Tell me, if I had believed Theresa at that time, what would have happened in the future?"

Xilin snorted and said, "At least one thing is certain. In that case, there won't be you Kiana."

"..."

The world of memory began to be put back together and reorganized. The cold and dark corridors of the Tower of Babel gradually faded away, and what came into view instead was the classroom that Kiana was all too familiar with, the classroom of St. Freya Academy.

"Do——"

A piece of chalk hit the table, causing the girl to raise her shaky head and uncontrollably drooping eyelids.

"Uh... why do you sleep in class too?"

Kiana paused the screen, looked at Jizi with raised eyebrows on the podium, and then looked at the long purple hair scattered on the desk, feeling something in her heart that she had to vomit.

But Xilin turned the tables and said:

"Tch, who told you to sleep in every class? As long as I think about studying, all I can think of is you sleeping in class."

"I sometimes listen carefully, okay?"

"Nonsense, you are standing on the edge of the podium with your desk on your back. If you don't listen carefully, who will?"

"Then why is Jizi the teacher? In 2000, Jizi hadn't gone to college yet, right?"

"Are you stupid? Besides you guys from St. Freya, do you think I know any other teachers?"

"Uh...is it really not intentional?"

"Are you sick? You are so annoying!"

In just two sentences, Xilin returned to the puffed-up blowfish mode, but when the time in the conscious world started to flow again, the [story] that followed the development of her consciousness came out in the next moment, Ji Zi's angry voice :

"Xilin! How many times have you fallen asleep in class? You must have been playing games after turning off the lights at night...Bella, why are you laughing? I knew it was you who was playing games with Xilin after I went back tonight. Just wait for me, I'm going to check you two out in your room! Siren, follow the old rules and stand here with your head on the desk!"

"Ah, the teacher is so annoying!" - In the past, Kiana would always complain like this, but at this moment, looking at Himeko who was exactly the same as in her memory, and listening to the exact reprimand, what was she saying? Didn't say anything either.

Like her, Xilin didn't question anything, just imagined herself obediently and obediently standing on the edge of the podium with her head on the desk.

Then, Jizi did not continue to write on the blackboard in the middle of the podium, but came to the side of the blackboard close to Xilin, used chalk to redraw the three views of the parts originally drawn in the center of the blackboard, and then deliberately looked at Xilin and repeated As I said before:

"The structure of this device is to ensure that when you are performing missions, if you encounter the Honkai energy transmission device or pipeline damage in the Valkyrie armor, or the Honkai energy stored beyond the threshold, which threatens your life safety, you can quickly deal with it. For armor disassembly, due to the special structure of the Valkyrie armor, only wire quick-disassembly technology can be used. It must be reassembled after each disassembly. Pay special attention to here, here and here when assembling. If the assembly is not in place, wear it lightly. The armor doesn't fit well, and the quick release cannot be activated when necessary - I don't care about anything else, this is about your lives, even if you sleep, you can still dream about this, do you understand, Siren!"

Xilin nodded obediently and silently. The table above her head was about to fall due to the unstable center of gravity, but she did not use her hands, and she had the invisible power to stabilize the table again.

"Okay, okay, you didn't go to bed first, why are you looking so aggrieved... Sit back, sit back, your head is really hard, I'm afraid the table won't be able to bear it if you hold it for a long time."

In her imagination, Jizi suddenly waved her hand generously and drove Xilin away again.

Siren just obeyed Jizi's orders obediently, but Kiana's consciousness had already burst into tears in this imaginary place where "Himeko" could not see.

For Siren, these are another possible future in her imagination, but for Kiana, this is the past that she has experienced firsthand.

If Sirin hadn't reappeared in the conscious world again, she would have almost forgotten the past.

There was a time when she only thought that Ji Zi was targeting her, but now that she looked again, she could only feel full of concern.

Calling her off the podium was not a humiliation, it was just because what was said at that time was life-threatening and she had to listen carefully. Ji Zi even wasted her time by going back to the blackboard where she could see it more clearly and drawing a picture, and deliberately explaining it to herself. I was afraid that everyone in the class could see it, but she was the only one who foolishly thought that Ji Zi just changed it casually. A blackboard.

"Asche zu Asche, Staub zu Staub. No matter how sad you are now, you can't go back to the past."

"Why are you talking about me with such a enlightened tone! And this is obviously your imagination! Can't you think of something more heartwarming?"

Kiana complained as she wiped her tears with one hand and her nose with the other.

"Is it warm..."

As if hitting some key words, the sadness on Xilin's face became even heavier, and she even forgot to take off the table above her head.

She smiled, her smile full of regret and unwillingness.

"Warmth...I don't know how to imagine it...but since it is the request of [other me], I will give it a try."

So St. Freya's classroom gradually faded away.

They came to another place that Kiana was familiar with - the principal's office.

only……

"Huh? Huh? Why is...Cecilia sitting here, where is Theresa?"

"Are you stupid? St. Freya Academy was originally an idea proposed by Cecilia. But in the end... it was just realized by Theresa. If I had followed Theresa back and finally became a student The director must be Lady Cecilia!”

Siren used the information gap to show off her superiority without mercy, but when she realized that the reason why this did not happen was ultimately because of herself, her tone became lower in an instant. Only when she read Cecilia's name , and then a trace of enthusiasm burst out again.

Time in the conscious world has begun to flow again.

Cecilia was rubbing her neck with her eyes closed. The short hair she had just trimmed made her neck look longer. If you want to ask why she appeared in this image, it might be because in that beautiful dream, Cecilia had a long hair. It must have been such a short hair, not the long hair that she had when she died holding Siren in her arms.

Hearing the noise in front of her, she put down her hands, straightened her head, opened her eyes, and quickly showed a soft smile:

"Huh? Sirin, you're here. Sit down quickly. Jizi recently said that your performance is very good... uh, forget it. It's rare to get along in private, so I won't talk about this!"

She suddenly blinked mysteriously, stood up from the table, leaned forward, waved to Sirin, then deliberately lowered her voice and whispered in a breathy voice:

"I called you here at noon. Actually, I wanted to give you a surprise and give... uh, that idiot a chance! - My dear, come in!"

Cecilia clapped her hands, and under Siren's gaze, the office door behind her was pushed open, and Siegfried wearing sunglasses and Hom brand flower pants walked in with a big smile.

He was holding a plate in his hand, and the plate was covered with a metal lid in a ceremonial manner. The alluring aroma of burnt food could not be stopped, and soon filled the entire room.

Cecilia frowned, waved her hand to pat the approaching scent, and then explained to the expressionless Siren:

"Last time your dad volunteered to cook, the result was too disastrous, but this time he swore that he had been researching for a week and finally made a dish that you would like, so I had no choice but to give him a chance - tsk, Isn’t that right, my dear, why do you taste like it’s burnt?”

"Don't worry, my dear wife, I definitely didn't accidentally burn it!"

Siegfried patted his chest and promised, but the increasingly obvious burnt smell became clearer and clearer.

So, Siegfried stopped pretending.

He placed the dinner plate heavily on Cecilia's desk, in front of the mother and daughter, and then opened the lid with an exaggerated poss——

"Dang! I invented a new dish after researching for a week - toast pizza! Make fresh toast, put the ingredients and seasonings on it, and then bake it with the Heavenly Fire Sage! It's a dish that even a fool can make!"

"Didn't you say...it wasn't burnt?"

Cecilia pointed at the dark square caramel on the plate, the corners of her mouth twitching.

"That's right! I burned it on purpose! How do you know you're eating pizza if you don't burn it!"

"Oh - it's indeed very creative. But dear, I should have said before: You can't use the Heavenly Fire Sacrifice to cook. Do you still remember it? You must remember it, right?"

"Ah? Is there any? You must have heard wrong, my dear wife, how could I possibly use the God Key to cook? Hahaha..."

"I just recorded it, do you want to listen to it again?"

"thump--"

It's like someone knelt down on the built-in keyboard - why is there only sound? Siren's tears were flowing silently.

Because more specifically, it was something that was completely beyond her cognition, and she couldn't even imagine it.

"I lied to you, I didn't record it, but aren't you admitting it now?"

Cecilia's voice came slowly from the pure white.

The sound was erratic and distant, as if coming from a very far away place.

This is the final thought.

Siren sighed.

"Celine?"

It seemed like Kiana was calling her.

But when she turned her head, Kiana was covering her mouth and crying silently with her, then...

"Sirin!"

There was another call, but it already carried the anxiety that a mother would only have in that single special situation.

"Sirin! Where have you been!"

Is it an illusion?

It seemed like Cecilia was calling her...

Siren tore her hair, using the pain to force herself to wake up.

Impossible, Cecilia is dead.

Everything is just your imagination.

But there is a real side to this world.

The pure white gradually faded away, and the surroundings were still dark and depressing walls in the theater.

Siren pinched Kiana's face, and then gently grabbed Kiana's hand.

Kiana thought it was just an ordinary handshake. Although Xilin pressed her fingers together like a compulsive disorder and straightened her palms to look like a knife, she didn't care.

But the next moment, Sirin held Kiana's hand, and before the latter could react, she thrust it into her heart. (End of chapter)