Honkai Impact 3rd: Catching the Herrscher of Sentience at the Start

Clearly, she hadn't expected Kiana☆ to make such a request.

But after a brief moment, Mei☆'s surprise gradually faded, replaced by a gentle, soft smile.

"Alright…"

Mei☆ responded quietly, then tied on an apron and walked into the kitchen, starting to prepare a delicious meal.

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At the dining table, Mei☆'s gaze occasionally drifted toward Kiana☆, who was burying her head in her bowl, shoveling food into her mouth with big bites. Mei☆'s lips parted slightly, and her brows furrowed a little.

On the other side, Kiana☆ was completely unaware of Mei☆'s complicated expression. She put down her spoon contentedly, lifted her head, and stretched her sore neck.

"I'm so full~"

Then, Kiana☆ met Mei☆'s gaze. After a brief silence, she said,

"Next, let's talk properly about the Herrscher of Thunder killing Fu Lin. I already roughly know what happened..."

However, before Kiana☆ could finish, a sudden noise from the door interrupted her.

Sirin emerged from the room draped in a crumpled white bedsheet like a ghost.

Her hair was a mess like a bird's nest, and she was yawning occasionally, clearly just woken up, with no regard for appearance.

A loyal Bella followed closely behind, carefully combing her hair.

Then Sirin yelped in pain, "Bella, that hurts!"

But the next second, Sirin sniffed the air forcefully. The delicious aroma of food around her made her sleepy eyes instantly widen.

Immediately after, Sirin shouted loudly, "Kiana☆! You're eating again without calling me—do I even matter to you?!"

Before the words finished, Sirin had already walked quickly to the table.

When she saw Mei☆ sitting there too, a trace of surprise flashed through her eyes.

Still, this small surprise didn't stop her. She casually sat down and began scanning between Kiana☆ and Mei☆ with great interest, as if examining something.

"Huh? Why are you here, Mei☆? Don't tell me... Kiana☆ already forgave you?"

Sirin raised an eyebrow, wearing a gossipy expression.

Mei☆ ignored the comment and instead turned to Kiana☆ and asked,

"The reason the Herrscher of Thunder killed Fu Lin? Tell me quickly, Kiana☆."

Being ignored, Sirin burst out angrily, "Don't ignore me, you jerk!"

Kiana☆'s eyes showed a trace of surprise, seemingly taken aback by Mei☆'s intense reaction.

But soon, Kiana☆'s gaze turned sharp, like two piercing swords aimed straight at Mei☆, her expression extremely serious.

"Hmph. Looks like the Herrscher of Thunder never told you the secret before she died. Maybe she was afraid you couldn't handle the blow and would break down?

Actually, it's quite simple.

That Honkai Will used your life as a threat, forcing the Herrscher of Thunder to kill Fu Lin. But maybe the Herrscher of Thunder was too weak—anyway, she couldn't beat Fu Lin at all."

As she listened to their conversation, the agitated Sirin gradually calmed down and sat quietly to the side, softly murmuring,

"'God' wants to kill my brother?"

At that point, Kiana☆ paused slightly, took a deep breath, and continued,

"However, since Fu Lin always had to get to the bottom of things, he kept pressing. Eventually, the Herrscher of Thunder told him the whole truth.

So, kind Fu Lin—just to protect you from harm—willingly chose to let the Herrscher of Thunder end his life."

Upon hearing this, Mei☆'s eyes darkened slightly, her smile faded slowly, and her lips trembled as she muttered to herself,

"I see… So that means the Herrscher of Thunder only killed Fu Lin to protect me from the Honkai Will.

And Fu Lin willingly chose to die by the Herrscher of Thunder's hand, just to keep me safe...

So it's all because of me. No wonder you can't forgive me. If it were the old me, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself either..."

At that moment, a pink crystal flower that had been left behind by Fu Lin—or perhaps chose to stay by Mei☆'s side—floated out of Mei☆'s pocket.

It glowed with a faint but gentle light and lightly touched Mei☆'s cheek, as if softly comforting her wounded soul.

Mei☆ looked at the crystal flower and suddenly thought of something. She turned to Kiana☆ and asked,

"The Honkai Will had Prometheus-17, an AI implanted by Mobius from the Previous Era. Its relationship with Fu Lin shouldn't be like this. Why did it make the Herrscher of Thunder kill Fu Lin?"

Kiana☆ shook her head and replied,

"The exact reason is unknown even to the Honkai Will. It only knows that the 'Will of the Honkai' seems to reject Fu Lin's existence and does not permit it."

After a long silence, Mei☆ exhaled deeply, then looked up at Kiana☆ with a complicated expression and softly asked,

"Why are you telling me all this? Could it be... you've forgiven the mistakes I once made?"

Kiana☆'s previously calm face instantly turned serious as she solemnly replied,

"Even though I now know the truth, I still can't forgive you.

Of course, if you're willing to give up competing with me for Fu Lin, I might reconsider. Otherwise, we'll always be enemies."

Mei☆ suddenly stood up, speaking firmly, "I'm sorry, but I will never give up on Fu Lin. In that case, there's no point in saying more. Goodbye."

With that, Mei☆ turned and walked away without hesitation, leaving only a resolute figure behind.

As she watched Mei☆'s figure gradually fade and disappear, Sirin gently patted Kiana☆ on the shoulder and said in a deeply earnest tone,

"Kiana☆, don't worry. No matter what, I'll never accept her as my sister-in-law."

Before her words even finished, Sirin got up and walked to the snack cabinet.

She opened the door, picked out some of her favorite snacks, and cheerfully walked back to her room.

But who could've expected—

Before Sirin could step through the doorway of her room, she suddenly felt a sharp pain on her scalp, and the snacks in her arms scattered all over the floor.

"Ouch ouch ouch!"

In pain, Sirin quickly turned around and found Kiana☆ behind her, holding tightly onto her hair.

"Kiana☆, let go! You... gulp~"

Sirin yelled in frustration, but upon seeing Kiana☆'s expression, she instinctively swallowed her words.

Kiana☆'s face was cold as water, radiating a chilling aura. Just looking at her made one feel uneasy, and her eyes gleamed with displeasure as she spoke in a low voice,

"Sirin, can you stop locking yourself in your room like a shut-in all day?

Go out once in a while. Breathe some fresh air and stretch a bit.

Just look at yourself now. Where's the elegance and majesty of the former Queen of the Void?"

Hearing this, Sirin's face froze instantly. Then, like a spoiled child, she began yelling loudly,

"I don't care, I don't care, I don't care!

I just like staying in my room!

It's quiet and cozy in here.

I don't want to go out and deal with all those messy people and things!

Hmph!"

Looking at the tantrum-throwing Sirin in front of her, Kiana☆ felt helpless.

She could only shake her head gently while pressing her hand to her forehead.

How did Sirin become like this? Could it be that this willful and reckless side was her truest self all along?

Just then, Kiana☆ suddenly said quietly, "'Fu Lin' has already returned."

As soon as the words left her mouth, the noisy Sirin instantly fell silent.

She abruptly looked up, staring straight at Kiana☆ with a hard-to-describe expression, seemingly filled with both surprise and anticipation.

"Where is my brother?"