POV)
It was a simple room with only the basic furniture, but something felt totally wrong about it.
There were no doors or windows.
Just four walls covered in random paintings and items, which looked really weird for a place that felt like a prison.
In the corner, a girl sat curled up on the floor, hugging her knees.
She looked exactly like Kiana.
But her eyes were different.
Instead of Kiana’s sky-blue eyes, hers glowed a bright gold in the dim light.
“Who is that woman…?” she whispered, her voice full of fear.
“She isn’t human… her power is just too much.” She shivered.
It started a few days ago.
She was sleeping, stuck in the darkness ever since Siegfried beat her.
At first, she didn’t care.
It was just a matter of time.
Soon, another Honkai eruption would happen, and she would wake up with all her strength back.
Humanity would finally be wiped out.
But when she opened her eyes, there was no destruction.
No chaos.
Just her.
And a strange girl with long black hair and sharp red eyes standing right in front of her, staring quietly.
The Herrscher of the Void narrowed her golden eyes, feeling really annoyed.
“What do you want, insect? Are you here to bow to your queen?” she sneered, sounding super arrogant.
She expected the girl to be scared or running away.
But the girl just smiled.
“So, you’re the Herrscher of the Void?” her voice was calm and even a little amused.
“You really do look like my Kiana… but your attitude is annoying.”
Kiana?
The Herrscher scoffed.
“My worthless host? Of course I’m better than her. She’s just a useless burden. If I didn’t have to share a body with her, I’d have already crushed every last bug in this world.”
She hated Kiana.
She hated her weakness and her stupid friends.
Without Kiana in the way, the Herrscher could finally do her job.
But then—
THWACK!
A sudden, burning pain exploded in her stomach.
“Ghk—!?” She stumbled back, grabbing her stomach.
It burned so badly, feeling like her insides just got crushed by pure force.
“You—!” Her golden eyes burned with anger.
“How dare you—!”
“If you ever insult Kiana again,” the girl said, her voice totally cold, “I’ll sew your mouth shut.”
The Herrscher shook with anger.
“You dare hit a queen?!” She reached for her power to tear this girl apart, but nothing happened.
Her powers just wouldn’t work.
The girl smirked.
“Frustrated? Can’t use your powers?”
Then, the girl just kicked the ground once.
The whole world shifted.
The dark room faded away.
Suddenly, they were standing in a huge, open landscape.
The sky looked super strange, with giant floating cubes casting big shadows on the ground below.
[IMAGE]
She took a sharp breath.
“What… is this place…?”
Suddenly, a huge rush of power flowed into her.
The Herrscher clenched her fists as she felt the crazy energy moving through her body.
This wasn’t just her normal power coming back.
This was way stronger than anything she ever felt before.
She shook, not from fear, but from pure excitement.
A big grin spread across her face.
“Hahahahaha—!” She laughed wildly.
“Yes… YES! This is real power! I’ve never felt anything like this!”
Her body started to change.
A bright golden light surrounded her.
Her normal clothes twisted and turned into a fancy battle outfit, making her look incredibly powerful.
Her long white hair floated behind her like wind was blowing it, glowing with energy.
Then, they showed up.
Space cracked open behind her, and giant golden lances appeared, floating in a perfect line.
One.
Two.
Four.
Six.
Eight.
Their sharp tips glowed brightly, ready to destroy anything in their path.
“Ahh… This is what I was meant to be,” she mumbled, rolling her shoulders as she got used to the new power.
She looked back at the girl—the one who made fun of her and hit her.
But the girl didn’t look scared at all.
She just watched with those red eyes, acting like she totally expected this to happen.
The Herrscher’s smirk grew.
“You were stupid to bring me here, bug. Do you even know what you just did?”
She raised a hand, and the lances quickly turned, aiming right at the girl.
“This is the power of a queen,” she said loudly, her voice echoing everywhere.
“This world will listen to me. You’re going to died, just like all those weak humans.”
She aimed her hand, ready to fire her weapons.
“Die.”
With a quick flick of her wrist, three golden spears shot forward, aiming straight for the girl.
BOOM!
When they hit, a huge explosion covered the area.
Fire and shockwaves tore up the ground.
Thick smoke and dirt filled the air so she couldn’t see anything.
The Herrscher smirked, feeling really proud of herself.
But when the smoke cleared…
there was nothing left.
She scoffed.
“Tch. That’s it?” She sounded disappointed.
She really thought the girl would be tougher, especially since she actually managed to hurt her earlier.
She figured it must have just been a lucky shot.
“I really thought she’d be stronger than that,” she said, crossing her arms.
She shook her head.
“Well, whatever. Time to get out of here.”
She raised a hand to open a portal, but nothing happened.
The empty space just stayed empty.
She frowned and tried again.
Still nothing.
She started getting annoyed.
“C’mon… Open!”
She clenched her fists and pushed more power into it, but the portal just wouldn’t open no matter how hard she tried.
Then—
“Hehehe~ Struggling, are we?” a familiar voice said right behind her.
The Herrscher spun around fast.
And there she was.
The exact same girl was standing there without a single scratch, smiling like she was making fun of her.
“You…! How did you survive that?!”
The girl tilted her head, her red eyes looking really amused.
“Hmm? Maybe because your attack was just too weak~?” She shrugged.
“Try harder next time.”
It was pure mockery.
The Herrscher’s golden eyes burned with fury.
“You dare—!”
This time, she didn’t hold back at all.
She summoned way more than three spears.
Dozens of glowing weapons surrounded the girl, their sharp tips pointing right at her.
In a flash, they all shot forward.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
The whole place shook from the hits.
Giant explosions filled the air as the lances ripped up the ground.
“Die! Die! Just die already, you insect!!”
She threw everything she had at her, not giving her any room to run.
The crazy amount of power even cracked the air around them.
Until—
THWACK!
A super hard hit slammed right into her back.
“Gh—!”
She went flying through the air, and her attack stopped right away.
Before she even knew what happened, she crashed into the ground, sliding across the ground.
Dizzy, she gasped and tried to push herself up.
What…?
How…?
She looked up and saw the girl.
She was standing in the exact same spot, like she never even moved.
Just smiling.
Waiting.
Watching her like she was just a toy.
For the first time, a really cold shiver ran down the Herrscher’s back.
Who is she?
She had never seen anyone like this girl before.
Besides that big gorilla of a man with the fire sword, nobody ever made her feel this scared.
But right now, she felt that exact same deep, scary feeling.
“If you’re done…” the girl’s voice broke through her thoughts.
“Then it’s my turn~”
Then—
FWOOOSH!
Three pairs of dark wings shot out from the girl’s back.
The whole area changed.
The air started shaking, bending under some crazy invisible power.
The Herrscher held her breath.
The pressure was just too much.
It felt like she couldn’t breathe.
The girl smiled, clearly happy to see her looking so scared.
CRACKLE!
Purple lightning suddenly sparked around the girl’s right arm.
The Herrscher’s eyes went wide as she watched the energy twist and turn into something real.
Piece by piece, it turned into a sword.
It was golden but covered in a dark, scary aura that pulsed right along with the girl’s creepy vibe.
[IMAGE]
This wasn’t a normal weapon.
It looked like something that didn’t belong in this world.
It was super unnatural and terrifying.
The girl lifted the sword easily, her smile getting bigger.
“Time for some discipline~”
And then, she moved.
(Kiana’s POV)
Gasp—!
Kiana’s eyes shot open, and she sat straight up in bed, desperately gasping for air.
Her chest heaved up and down incredibly fast, and her breathing was a total mess.
She was covered in cold sweat, her clothes completely soaked as if she had just woken up from a really bad nightmare.
Still feeling dizzy, she looked around the dark room.
It was familiar.
It was the exact same bedroom she had been staying in for the past month.
The same bed.
The same walls.
So why was her heart still beating so crazy fast?
“What… happened…?” Kiana mumbled, putting a shaky hand on her chest to try and calm down.
Her whole body felt super tight, like she had just been fighting for her life.
In the back of her mind, she saw a quick flash.
Wings.
Pain.
A blurry memory of someone mercilessly beating her down without holding back.
But when she tried to remember more, there was nothing.
The pictures just slipped away, leaving her feeling really scared and confused.
“It was just a dream… right?”
She took a deep breath and forced her body to relax.
After a minute, her breathing finally went back to normal.
“I need a bath…”
Kiana dragged herself out of bed and walked to the bathroom.
Thirty minutes later, she came out feeling a little better.
Her wet hair stuck to her shoulders as she stepped into the hallway.
She just wanted to go back to sleep.
But she stopped.
She stared at the door next to hers.
Reina’s room.
Without even thinking about it, she reached for the doorknob.
“Why am I doing this…?” she hesitated for a second.
Then, moving super quietly, she turned the handle and pushed the door open.
Inside, Reina was sleeping on her bed.
She looked totally peaceful.
Kiana let out a soft breath and smiled a little.
“Of course she’s sleeping… It’s the middle of the night,” Kiana whispered, shaking her head at herself.
She knew she should leave, shut the door, and go back to her own room.
But she stepped inside anyway.
She closed the door really gently so she didn’t make any noise.
She just stood there for a minute, watching Reina sleep.
She hesitated again, then took a step closer.
The dim light barely showed Reina’s body, but Kiana’s eyes adjusted pretty fast.
The first thing she noticed was Reina’s long black hair.
It spread over her pillow in soft waves around her face.
Even in the dark, it looked so pretty and made Kiana’s heart do a little flip.
“I love her hair…” she whispered.
She stared at it as she took another step.
Then she noticed Reina’s breathing.
It was so soft and steady.
Watching her chest slowly go up and down was super calming.
Without meaning to, she stepped even closer.
She moved really carefully because she didn’t want to wake her up.
Then, she climbed onto the bed.
The mattress sank just a tiny bit, but Reina didn’t even move.
Slowly, Kiana laid down right next to her.
Now that she was up close, she could see everything.
Her pretty face.
Her soft lips.
Her long eyelashes resting on her cheeks.
She was so beautiful.
Kiana swallowed hard.
Her heart started pounding again, but this time it was just from looking at her.
She scooted closer until her face was right by Reina’s neck, her breath gently brushing against her skin.
“So peaceful…” she whispered, smelling Reina’s familiar scent.
Just like always, it made her feel better.
The scary feeling from the nightmare totally faded away, quickly replaced by the safe, warm feeling of being near Reina.
Kiana closed her eyes and snuggled closer to get warm.
Her arms just naturally wrapped around her, holding her gently like she was scared to let her go.
And before she even realized it, the steady sound of Reina’s breathing put her right to sleep, perfectly safe in her embrace.