Kiana’s fists were clenched so tightly her knuckles bled white.
Her entire body trembled with violent, uncontrollable shudders, her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird.
She was terrified.
Terrified that the news they had just delivered was a cruel joke, a fabricated lie meant to break whatever was left of her.
Her memories told a completely different story.
They screamed that Himeko-sensei had already sacrificed herself to save her.
The Herrscher of the Void had hijacked her body, dragging her consciousness into the suffocating depths of the Sea of Quanta.
In her mind, there wasn’t even a microscopic possibility of resurrection.
But…
what if?
What if Himeko-sensei really had been saved, just as they claimed?
“Why should I prove anything to you?” The other Kiana—the chat group’s resident Herrscher of the Void—crossed her arms and turned her head away with a haughty sniff.
“You even hit me!
Hmph, I don’t want to!”
The Queen’s temper had flared, her face scrunched up in a stubborn pout.
Frez stood off to the side, rubbing the back of his neck helplessly.
He hadn’t taken any photos during the rescue, and with the Queen currently throwing a royal fit, he had absolutely no physical evidence to back up his claims.
It wasn’t that the native Kiana didn’t want to believe them.
She simply didn’t dare to.
To be handed a fragile thread of hope in the absolute abyss of despair, only to have it snapped away—that feeling was far too terrifying to endure twice.
The desperate light in Kiana’s azure eyes began to dim, the vibrant life draining from her posture until she looked like a hollow shell.
Her gaze drifted toward the edge of the platform.
She looked as though, if a high-rise building were right in front of her, she would step off the ledge without a second thought.
Watching her, the Queen felt a sudden, uncomfortable pang in her chest.
She and the Kiana from her own world were basically frenemies, constantly bickering and pitting themselves against each other, but underneath the insults, their bond was undeniably solid.
Seeing this alternate version of herself in such a shattered state—her once lively and spirited eyes now a picture of deathly stillness—was more than the Queen could stomach.
“Hmph!
Consider this the Queen’s boundless mercy.
Watch closely, commoner!”
She waved her hand with grand, sweeping theatricality, her momentum surging like a brilliant rainbow.
Then, right at the climax of her pose, she froze.
She blinked, lowering her hand slightly.
“Frez, wait.
How do I go back?”
“…Just use the travel function in the chat group,” Frez sighed, his shoulders slumping.
“Can you even use it?”
The Queen pulled up her interface, her golden eyes widening as she frantically jabbed at the holographic panel.
Nothing happened.
Her face elongated into a mask of pure dismay.
“My travel button is grayed out!
I can’t click it!”
Frez pinched the bridge of his nose, thoroughly exhausted by the emotional whiplash.
“Try opening a portal the way you came.
Don’t you have your Subspace Lances?”
“I have three!
No, wait—I lost my main Subspace Lance!”
Panic seized the Queen.
That was the specific Subspace Lance that had been with her since her awakening!
“My Subspace Lance!
Where is my Subspace Lance?!”
She began pacing frantically, patting herself down before literally dropping to the floor, rolling around on the ground and wailing like a toddler who had dropped her ice cream.
“It’s gone!
My favorite Subspace Lance!”
“It’s probably still stuck inside the Cosmic Juggernaut,” Frez said, deadpan.
“Stop crying.
It’s not lost forever.”
The Queen stopped rolling, freezing mid-sob.
“Why didn’t you say so earlier?!” She sat up, aggressively wiping the tears from her eyes and sniffling.
She glared at Frez and Seele.
Erase it from your memories!”
Seele and Frez immediately looked away, covering their mouths to stifle their laughter.
A muscle feathered along the native Kiana’s jaw.
She stared at the girl on the floor in absolute bewilderment.
This person was definitely, unequivocally not the Herrscher of the Void she knew.
Even though they shared the exact same face, the Herrscher of the Void in her memory was the ultimate embodiment of freezing indifference, absolute power, towering arrogance, and apocalyptic madness.
That monster would never, ever show such an embarrassingly pathetic expression.
It seems…
she’s not a threat?
Kiana thought, her tense muscles loosening a fraction.
A familiar voice echoed in her mind.
‘Kiana, be careful,’Fu Hua warned softly.’Their origins are completely unknown.
Himeko has already—’
“Shut up!”
Kiana barked the words aloud, her voice cracking with raw desperation.
This was her only chance.
If she missed this, she might truly never see Himeko-sensei again.
She absolutely, absolutely, absolutely had to seize it.
“Why are you shouting at me?” the Queen asked, blinking up from the floor in confusion.
“No, I wasn’t talking to you,” Kiana muttered, quickly apologizing.
The Queen snorted, dusting off her dress as she stood up.
“Since it’s my Subspace Lance, I can definitely track it down!”
Closing her eyes, she reached out with her consciousness, trying to communicate with her companion item.
Even across the vast, chaotic distance of the imaginary space, even without knowing its exact coordinates, the connection between a Herrscher and her weapon was absolute.
“Subspace Lance!
Come back to me!”
Space warped and folded in on itself.
The Umbra: Void Umbrella expanded, tearing open a swirling, golden portal in the fabric of reality.
Almost immediately, Rita poked her head through the spatial rift, letting out a long, elegant sigh of relief.
“Oh, thank goodness.
It’s so good to see that you’re all alright!”
Rita had been worried sick.
While she knew perfectly well that no one could physically catch the Herrscher of the Void if she genuinely wanted to run, the girl’s intellect was a different story entirely.
Given her gullible nature, Rita fully expected her to help a scammer count the money after they sold her into slavery.
Seeing them safe and sound finally put her maid’s heart at ease.
Right behind her, a blonde man poked his head out to survey the scene.
Before Otto Apocalypse could even open his mouth to speak, the native Kiana’s eyebrows shot up to her hairline.
Without a single moment of hesitation, bypassing all logic and thought, she made a purely instinctive choice.
She leaped into the air, her body twisting with lethal precision.
Nine Heavens Thunder Double Kick!
Both of Kiana’s boots planted themselves squarely into the center of Otto’s face with a sickeningly loud BANG.
A muffled scream echoed through the portal as Otto was violently launched backward, disappearing from view.
Kiana didn’t stop.
She dove straight through the portal after him, her fists flying in a blur of unbridled fury.
“Lord—Bi—shop—!” Rita shouted, her calm facade shattering as she rushed after them.
“Good!
Good!
Yes!
That’s it!” The Queen jumped up and down on the platform, pumping her fists like a ringside coach.
“Uppercut!
Now a low sweep!
Get him!”
Frez sighed, stepping toward the portal.
“Queen, don’t be in a hurry to go back.
Stay here for a while and keep the rift anchored.
“But I want to go to Furina’s afternoon tea!” the Queen complained, her cheering instantly replaced by a dissatisfied whine.
Rita, assessing the chaotic situation on the other side of the portal, maintained her professional smile despite the ongoing beatdown in the background.
“As for your afternoon tea, Miss Kiana, I will personally prepare it for you.
To help us figure out the current situation, please wait patiently for just a moment.
Miss Seele, please take good care of her.”
“Ah, okay,” Seele agreed, nodding earnestly.
“I’ll take good care of Big Sister Queen.”
The title “Big Sister Queen” hit the Herrscher right in her ego.
She beamed with absolute joy, waving her hand dismissively.
“Whatever, it doesn’t matter!
Ahahaha!
Rita, give me some money.
I want to go buy hot pot while we wait!”
“Uh, is the currency of the two worlds interchangeable?” Rita asked, tilting her head.
“Your current location appears to be Shenzhou.
I just happened to return from a mission in Shenzhou earlier today, so I still have some local cash on hand.”
Reaching smoothly under her maid skirt, Rita produced a sleek wallet, extracting a thick stack of crisp Shenzhou bills.
She handed them through the portal.
As the Queen eagerly snatched the cash, Frez squeezed his way through the rift.
“Queen, let me handle things over here.
You take Seele and go play first.
I’ll send you a signal later.”
“Fine, go ahead.” Having secured her hot pot funds, the Queen no longer cared about the logistics of the multiverse.
She waved him off without a second glance.
The spatial passage snapped shut behind him, the Umbra: Void Umbrella returning to its dormant state.
Frez immediately walked over and grabbed Kiana by the back of her collar, hauling her off her victim.
“Stop hitting him.
Although I am very, very reluctant to admit it, this specific Otto is actually a good person.”
Kiana struggled against his grip, glaring at the blonde man on the floor.
“A good person?
Otto?”
Could those two concepts even exist in the same universe?
“I thought the exact same thing at first,” Frez admitted, “but compared to that villainous gambler on your side, this Otto is truly wonderful.”
The multiverse was infested with countless Otto counterparts, but very few could genuinely be considered decent human beings.
As far as Frez knew, there was Father Otto, the Otto living a peaceful life in the event world-line, Overtime Otto, and the one currently groaning on the floor.
Among all the infinite variations, this one was a statistical anomaly.
Especially since this one was also a massive pervert.
Otto slowly picked himself up, his face heavily bruised.
Fortunately, his Soulium body was incredibly resilient, mimicking human damage perfectly without permanent structural failure.
Rita handed him a pristine white handkerchief.
He took it, elegantly wiping the dusty boot print off his cheek, instantly regaining his usual refined composure.
“Considering the traumatic experiences you’ve suffered in your world, I won’t say anything,” Otto said smoothly, adjusting his collar.
“Otherwise, little girl, I would show you the true meaning of cruelty.”
Reaching into his coat, Otto pulled out a small, high-tech calculator.
His fingers flew across the buttons in a rapid blur.
A moment later, the machine whirred, spitting out a long receipt.
He held up the paper, revealing an astronomical figure.
“You should know, just with the repair bill for this Soulium body alone, I could sue you into absolute bankruptcy!”
Frez leaned over to glance at the receipt.
It was a staggering wall of zeros.
He hadn’t seen a number that long since his days in Chengdu.
How many underground gangs would I have to rob to pay that off?
Frez wondered.
Soulium bodies really are ridiculously expensive.
Shaking his head, Frez looked at the native Kiana, whose anger had finally given way to nervous anticipation.
“Alright,” Frez said softly.
“I’ll take you to see Himeko.”
[Akarin’s Note:
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