Liang Wu stared at the pale, delicate face on the sofa and fell into a long silence.
But clearly, all of this was real.
A Kiana from 50,000 years in the future, the Void Drifter who should have been carrying the weight of the entire world on her shoulders during the mid-stage of the Current Era’s main storyline.
At this very moment, she was curled up on the sofa of his tiny rented apartment, feverish and sleeping without a care in the world, as an eighteen-year-old impoverished student of the Previous Era.
Hmm…
how could he be having a dream like this?
Even so, Liang Wu eventually accepted reality.
After all, if something like transmigration could happen, then meeting Kiana in the Previous Era didn’t seem all that surprising anymore.
Moreover, this might actually be a great opportunity for Liang Wu.
He had spent all this time in the Previous Era diligently grinding melancholy points for a reason.
And his goal was very simple.
Stop the Finality.
Or at the very least, secure a spot in a cryopod.
That was Liang Wu’s pursuit, the objective he had been fighting for all along.
After all, the Previous Era did not end well.
And if you did the math, from the Third Herrscher to the fall of the Previous Era, he wouldn’t even have lived half his life.
Naturally, Liang Wu refused to let his life end like that.
He had to do something.
And now, the Previous Era had an extra Kiana.
That meant Liang Wu’s wish might actually have a better chance of coming true.
After all, this was the future Finality and the protagonist herself.
With Kiana’s character of fighting for the beauty of the world, she would never stand by and do nothing while the Previous Era was in peril.
Of course, Liang Wu’s personality would never let him place all his hopes on someone else either.
He turned his gaze back to the system panel.
[Currently Bound Melancholic Character: Kevin]
[Kevin: The first of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers, the bearer of the Signet of Deliverence, and the most powerful MANTIS.]
[In the future, after the passing of his closest friend, Kevin gradually loses faith in human civilization.
Because Honkai is inextricably linked to civilization, he comes to believe that the only way to defeat Honkai is to eliminate all ordinary humans and create a world consisting solely of MANTIS soldiers.]
[Kevin’s power stems from immense sacrifice, which shapes his cold and solitary personality.
Without a doubt, among the entire world of Honkai, Kevin ranks among the highest in melancholy.]
[However, the current young Kevin has not yet grown into the melancholic man of later years.
For now, his melancholy level is merely a small cup.]
[Melancholy Charge Efficiency: 20%]
Yes, this [Most Melancholy Person] system had two fatal flaws.
Not only did it require him to form a bond with a melancholic character closely tied to the main plot, but his melancholy gain also depended on that character’s level of melancholy.
And that character description was also somewhat bizarre…
What did it mean that future Kevin, in order to defeat Honkai, decided to eliminate all ordinary humans?
Had the system picked up the wrong script from another story?!
Add to that the Six Eyes he had received as a reward after binding Kevin—who wouldn’t be confused by all this?
Could it be that the Previous Era also had a “Kugatsu” (suffocating summer heat)?
Bro, you’re really making me uneasy here.
With a soft sigh, Liang Wu’s gaze lingered on the system panel for a long time.
The number [20%] was like a thin needle, pricking his nerves ever so slightly.
It was far too low.
Putting aside whether that hypothetical future Kevin was real or not, the current Kevin was still a sunny boy who would comfort his bro after class.
He couldn’t even be described as worried, let alone melancholic.
But Liang Wu had no choice.
Binding Kevin was his only option at the time.
Looking across the entire Previous Era timeline, there weren’t many characters who could be considered melancholic and closely tied to the plot, and most of them were completely outside Liang Wu’s social reach.
Someone like Kevin was truly unique—even if he hadn’t grown into his future self yet, he was at least accessible.
Originally, Liang Wu had planned to use Kevin’s 20% charge rate as a temporary bridge during the early stages.
But now, things were different.
Liang Wu slowly shifted his gaze to the white figure curled up on the sofa.
[Kiana Kaslana: A Herrscher of the Current Era, a vessel designated K423, and the Finality chosen by the world.]
[In her current state, after the betrayal of her class monitor and the sacrifice of her teacher, Kiana wanders alone through Arc City.]
[Three days ago, when Kiana awoke from a certain night, she found herself in an unfamiliar world.]
[Without a doubt, at this point in time, Kiana is the most melancholic person in the Honkai Current Era.]
[Binding Evaluation: If you need a VIP experience card for the melancholy world, then she is a living legend.]
[Note: When a truly melancholic woman appears before you, you will realize that your C-rank melancholy, carefully cultivated through your campus persona, is nothing but child’s play.]
Liang Wu: …
He silently closed the system panel.
He took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled.
Then, he looked at Kiana curled up on the sofa, looked at his own tiny rented apartment under fifty square meters, and finally looked out the window at the darkening sky.
Kiana, you really are my treasure of a girl.
Clearly, Liang Wu had already started to disdain the current Kevin and wanted to switch his binding target to Kiana.
But unfortunately, changing the bound character wasn’t something you could do casually.
It required an initial bond with the target, and after each binding, there was a one-week cooldown period.
The latter condition wasn’t too bad, since Liang Wu had only ever bound Kevin, and that cooldown had long since expired.
The real challenge was the initial bond requirement.
To be fair, a basic bond wasn’t particularly difficult.
Back then, Liang Wu had reached an initial bond with Kevin in just one afternoon.
But the person before him wasn’t Kevin—she was Kiana during her Void Drifter period.
This was the Kiana who was going through her darkest hour.
Friend betrayal, teacher sacrifice, shattered self-identity, wandering alone under the weight of her sins.
In that state, how was he supposed to build a bond with her?
“…Troublesome.” Liang Wu rubbed his temples.
But honestly, he already had an answer in his heart.
He had waited eighteen years for such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
“…In that case, I’ll just have to put on a different persona and pull a little con.” As he spoke, Liang Wu looked back at Kiana on the sofa.
“Save the world with me, Kiana.”