Early that morning, Sienna drove out from the base, heading into the city to meet Cocolia.
After their conversation the previous night, they had agreed on a rendezvous point.
During that talk, Sienna had also learned that Cocolia had already located Bronya’s mother.
Sienna had asked her to pass the phone over so she could exchange a few words with the woman herself.
By the end of the call, she had managed to convince her to come along to the meeting.
“This has that whole ‘shady back-alley movie deal’ vibe written all over it,” Sienna muttered.
As she drove into an abandoned factory on the edge of the city, she caught a glimpse of her white casual clothes in the mirror.
She couldn’t help but feel she should have swapped them for a black suit before leaving the house.
Beep—!
Pulling up outside the building, Sienna tapped the horn to let them know she’d arrived.
“Phew.”
Stepping out of the car, she looked up at the snow, which was falling harder by the second.
Given her current physical constitution, the temperature didn’t actually feel cold to her, but out of habit, she brought her hands to her face and blew out a puff of warm breath.
“Are you guys sure you don’t want to find somewhere else to talk?” Sienna asked as she walked into a warehouse inside the factory.
She found the two women waiting for her.
The warehouse doors and windows were wide open, allowing the biting wind and snow to swirl inside freely.
The pair had been waiting for about half an hour; even in their heavy overcoats, they were clearly shivering.
Cocolia, having lived a military life, was holding up well enough, but Sienna felt a pang of worry for the woman beside her.
If the mother caught a chill and fell ill, Bronya—the “little ducky”—would be the one suffering for it later.
Sienna had suggested meeting in a private room at a city hotel over the phone, but the two of them didn’t trust her.
In the end, they had settled on this place—a location that, in their eyes, offered plenty of escape routes if the negotiations turned south.
As if a Herrscher couldn’t catch two ordinary humans anyway, Sienna thought.
She hadn’t voiced the concern after hanging up; it didn’t really matter to her.
“Whatever you have to say, say it plainly,” Cocolia said.
She didn’t relax her guard even as Sienna walked in alone, wearing clothes that clearly couldn’t hide any heavy weaponry.
Old habits from the military died hard; one of Cocolia’s hands remained pressed against her side, ready to draw the pistol hidden beneath her coat at a moment’s notice.
As soon as the words left her lips, Sienna gave a casual wave toward the entrance.
A transparent film shimmering with a faint purple light appeared, spreading rapidly until it sealed the doorway shut.
Seeing that her thin membrane of Honkai Energy successfully blocked out the wind and snow, Sienna used the same trick to seal the windows.
Her control over Honkai Energy had reached a professional level thanks to private lessons and practice with Cecilia.
She could use it skillfully now without worrying about being flagged by Schicksal’s satellites.
“!”
Seeing Sienna effortlessly seal their exit with an unknown method, Cocolia’s internal threat assessment of the girl spiked.
With the environment settled, Sienna scanned the cluttered warehouse, looking for anything that could serve as a table and chairs.
Finding only a few crates that fit the bill, she released her Threads of Domination.
She effortlessly yanked several heavy iron crates out of the junk pile, sliding them into the space between her and the two women.
“Don’t be so tense. I’m not the bad guy here.”
She didn’t mind showing off a little in front of these two.
Even if they didn’t understand the mechanics of what she was doing, it served to keep them grounded.
“Have a seat.”
After arranging the “furniture,” Sienna used her threads to sweep away the dust and rust in one clean motion.
Seeing this display of unknown power, Cocolia exchanged a glance with Madam Zaychik before they sat down together.
“First, a proper introduction. My name is Sienna Kaslana. You can just call me Sienna.” Once they were settled, she began.
“I’m a Valkyrie serving under Schicksal. My current mission is to clear out the remaining Honkai Beasts in this area… those white and purple creatures you saw the other day.”
As she spoke, Sienna pulled a white, hardened shard from her pocket and placed it on the table.
She tapped it gently with a finger, injecting a tiny spark of Honkai Energy.
“You—!”
Under the influence of the energy, the fragment began to warp and shift.
Seconds later, a miniature Honkai Beast sat on the table.
Seeing the white creature spring to life, Cocolia instinctively reached for her gun.
She remembered all too well that when she had faced those things before, bullets had been about as effective as pebbles thrown at a heavy tank.
“What is that thing?” Cocolia asked, calming down once she saw Sienna had it under control.
“A Honkai Beast. It’s one of the fundamental ways the Honkai manifests in this world.”
“And what exactly is… the Honkai?” Cocolia asked.
Sienna had mentioned the word during their first phone call.
“The concept of the Honkai is a bit too complex to explain in one sitting. Simply put, it’s a disaster that has existed since the dawn of human civilization, growing stronger as we progress.”
“Creatures or humans without resistance who are infected by Honkai Energy turn into these beasts or Zombies. Take this recent event in Siberia: it was a top-tier Honkai Eruption. This entire region will be uninhabitable for at least a decade.”
Sienna decided against explaining the entire history of the Honkai from scratch; it was time-consuming and felt a bit like she was just padding the word count of their conversation.
“Is your power… also from the Honkai?”
“Exactly. Though mine is a bit special. I’ll get to that in a moment.”
At this point in time, Cocolia didn’t yet look like the older woman from the main story.
She had a decent resistance to Honkai Energy and was only in her early twenties.
While she might be a bit old to start training as a Valkyrie, if she couldn’t be a Valkyrie, she could always be a Herrscher.
After all, Cocolia was still quite the beauty.
Sienna’s plan lacked many things, but it certainly didn’t lack the Cores needed to turn humans or Zombies into Herrschers of Dominance.
“And this ‘Schicksal’ you mentioned? What is that?”
“The largest organization in the world, bar none. Our primary job is to eliminate the Honkai and hide its damage from the general public.”
“So, you want me to join your organization?” Cocolia surmised.
If Sienna was telling the truth, they were looking for recruits.
“No, no, no. You’d be joining my organization. Not Schicksal’s.”
Sienna suddenly snatched the mini-beast she had been pinning to the table, instantly draining its energy.
Then, right before Cocolia’s eyes, Sienna reached her hand into the front of her shirt.
A small spatial rift flickered between her hand and the fabric, and her entire right arm disappeared inside it.
“Aside from being a Valkyrie fighting the Honkai, I have another identity,” Sienna said, pulling a Core of Domination out of the void and placing it on the table.
“I am a Herrscher—the highest and most powerful status within the Honkai itself.”