“The Promotion Exam?”
Sienna lay sprawled on the sofa, reaching out to grab her communicator from beside a mountain of snacks.
A message from Schicksal Headquarters had just popped up on the screen.
“Is it because HQ is completely tapped out of S-rank and A-rank Valkyries that they’re dragging in the B-ranks to put up a front?”
The notice instructed Sienna to head to the floating island of Schicksal HQ tomorrow morning to participate in the A-rank Valkyrie promotion exam.
Usually, these tests required the Valkyrie to submit an application first, which HQ would then review and approve.
But just last month, Schicksal still had three S-ranks and several A-ranks at its beck and call.
Now, facing a desperate talent drought, they had no choice but to tap the best of the B-ranks to maintain the prestigious image of the world’s greatest organization.
It had been over a month since she returned from Siberia.
Sienna’s solo achievement in wiping out Honkai Beasts there had earned her a spot among the candidates for this emergency promotion.
“All this because of the mess Otto made himself,” she muttered.
After skimming the message, she tossed the communicator back onto the sofa and went back to watching TV.
“An evaluation at Headquarters?”
Cecilia, who had been outside watering the flowers, overheard the commotion and stepped inside, setting down her watering can.
“Here, look.” Sienna handed the device to Cecilia as she approached, her expression saying ‘I told you so.’
In Sienna’s eyes, Otto had brought this on himself.
First, there was the way he’d blocked Welt and Siegfried, allowing Sirin to escape to the moon.
Then, he wasted the perfect opening created after Fu Hua battered Sirin and used Fenghuang Down.
Finally, out of fear of Siegfried’s power, he tried to blow him up—a move that ended up crippling his own forces.
“Since you’re officially ‘dead’ to the world, and Theresa recently left for the Far East, all that’s left is Siegfried, and he’s spending his days in a drunken stupor. If Otto doesn’t find a new poster girl soon, is he going to put on a dress and become a Valkyrie himself?”
Even without S-rank Valkyries, Schicksal’s hidden deck was still leagues beyond what Anti-Entropy could muster.
However, the organization’s public “brand” relied on Valkyries whose power rivaled superhumans.
While it took far more time and resources to train a powerful Valkyrie than it did for Anti-Entropy to mass-produce a Titan mech, Otto knew that pure machines could never truly defeat the Honkai.
The end of the message mentioned that the exam wasn’t mandatory—it was strictly voluntary.
Sienna could easily skip it if she wanted to.
“Of course I’m going. A ‘pity pass’ exam like this only happens once a century; I’d be crazy not to join the fun.”
Not everyone was like her, lucky enough to walk away from a Honkai War with a Herrscher Core.
For most, power only grew through innate talent and grueling, endless training.
In this real world, there were no “Valkyrie Fragments” or “EXP Chips” to consume.
If you were weak before the war, you were just as weak now.
Sienna recalled that after this conflict, Schicksal had relaxed its testing standards and accelerated the development of Valkyrie Battlesuits.
It had been less than three months since Otto gave that order.
She definitely wouldn’t be able to snag a first-generation suit for tomorrow’s test.
“Besides, once I have A-rank status, I’ll have the clearance to stay at Headquarters.”
“You want to stay there?” Cecilia asked.
The floating HQ didn’t actually need high-level Valkyries for defense.
The place was a fortress in its own right, a literal weapon of war bristling with heavy artillery and energy shields.
Unless the enemy reached the doors of the command center, there was rarely a need for hand-to-hand combat.
And if it ever got to that point, resistance was usually futile anyway.
Currently, the two future S-ranks and the rest of the “Immortal Blades”—who would eventually all be S-ranks—were still just toddlers learning to walk.
No matter how short-staffed the other branches were, Otto always kept a few powerhouses at HQ to be at his beck and call.
“All the good stuff is at HQ,” Sienna explained.
“If I don’t go, how am I supposed to poach people and resources from Otto? Besides… you want to see Kiana as soon as possible, don’t you?”
While Sienna was busy plotting how to fleece Schicksal for all it was worth, Cecilia spent every waking moment thinking of her family.
“Kiana must be having such a hard time right now,” Cecilia sighed.
After returning from Siberia, Cecilia had settled into the city with Sienna’s help.
The fortress she used to enter and exit with ease was now a forbidden zone.
Whenever she looked toward the horizon, she knew her family was right there.
“Theresa left last month to build her St. Freya Academy in the Far East. And Siegfried… well, he still hasn’t stepped out from the shadow of losing you.”
“Siegfried…”
Theresa was her best friend, but she wasn’t family in the same way.
Sienna had told her how Otto used the Void Archives to mimic Fenghuang Down and alter Theresa’s memories.
Now, Theresa had forgotten that it was Otto who ordered the strike while Cecilia was still on the battlefield.
She had gone to the Far East to open a school, carrying Cecilia’s old wish: “Teach Valkyries to cherish their own lives.”
But Siegfried—Kiana’s father—was wasting away in a bottle.
If Kiana hadn’t grown up fast enough to start going out and buying her own food, Cecilia genuinely feared Siegfried might mistake a vodka bottle for a baby bottle and shove it in the poor girl’s mouth.
“Don’t be angry. I’ll make sure you see her again,” Sienna said, noticing the dark cloud crossing Cecilia’s face.
She knew it was a mix of disappointment and resentment toward her husband.
“Don’t worry about me. I don’t want to cause unnecessary trouble for your plans.”
Life at HQ wasn’t like the snowy wastes of Siberia.
Trying to get close to Kiana—who was already under Otto’s watchful eye—was a monumental task, and Cecilia knew it.
Sienna wasn’t strong enough yet; she didn’t want her taking that risk just for her sake.
“I have my ways,” Sienna replied.
Cecilia worried for Kiana’s well-being, but Sienna had her own eyes on the girl.
After all, Kiana was one of the future “main characters.”
There was the future K-423, the classic protagonist who would grow through hardship and the support of her friends.
Then there was Durandal—the youngest and strongest S-rank who could dive into the Sea of Quanta at fourteen and swallow a World Bubble—the “cheat code” protagonist.
And then there was the real Kiana.
She hadn’t appeared in the main story yet, but Sienna knew from other timelines—GGZ—that she was the true powerhouse, capable of becoming the Herrscher of Finality.
She was a protagonist destined to shake the world stage.