The mountainous warships blotted out part of the sunlight, casting mottled shadows across the ground and dimming the area considerably. This was the temporary ground command post of the Dark Angels of the First Astartes Legion.
Most of the Astartes, along with the Imperial Auxilia and Servitor Army soldiers, had already dispersed to attend to their respective duties.
Less than ten steps apart, Selene and the valiant female knight Durandal stood facing each other, their gazes locked, complex emotions reflected in Durandal's eyes.
"You... already know?"
Dropping the heavy Imperial Code onto a simple field table, Durandal let out a sigh.
Faced with Selene's abrupt question, Durandal understood perfectly well what she was referring to. After all, who knew her own affairs better than herself?
But how did Selene know? It had only been such a short time since she recovered her past.
"What do you mean?"
Startled awake by the veiled exchange between Selene and Durandal, Kiana suddenly lifted her head.
That unpleasant feeling again.
Although Kiana could now face her true self, confront her past, and had achieved her own sense of completion, why was it always like this? That feeling...
Every time, until the very end, it was as if everyone else already knew the truth—everyone except her.
Because she had jerked her head up too forcefully, several crystal-clear tears flew from her eyes. At that moment, the newly awakened Herrscher of Flamescion looked heartbreakingly fragile.
Her childhood memories had all been fabricated. Even her name belonged to the "other her" standing opposite.
Facing "her," no matter what, Kiana could not muster strength.
She stared blankly at Selene. The "her" she wanted to spend her entire life making amends to stood right before her. Only now did she realize she could not stop the tears rolling down her azure eyes.
Why?
Was it guilt and self-reproach toward the "real" Kiana? Was it because Selene's outline resembled her mother Cecilia, stirring old memories? Was it envy toward Arisa, who was cradled in Selene's arms and receiving gentle affection?
Or was it...
Perhaps all of it.
Following Selene's line of sight, Kiana's gaze shifted back and forth between Durandal and Selene before finally settling completely on Selene.
"'Kiana'..."
Sticky tear tracks marked Kiana's pale cheeks as she looked at Selene's brow.
Because Selene was gently stroking Arisa's hair with one hand, her sharp phoenix-like eyes had softened slightly. Her glossy, supple hair and translucent skin radiated warmth.
It felt as though any unnecessary outsider might shatter this intangible yet precious gentleness.
Kiana tugged at the corner of her mouth, no longer avoiding Selene's gaze. She tried her best to form the gentlest, most ordinary smile she could manage.
But it backfired.
The result was forced, self-mocking, and pitiful—so heartbreaking it made one ache.
In this strange atmosphere, like something straight out of a melodramatic soap opera, Alex had already quietly withdrawn. With his subordinate officers and members of the Honor Guard, he strolled some distance away without leaving a trace.
They lowered their heads, studying the trampled and compacted ground beneath their feet as if researching some profound academic subject, observing it with utmost seriousness.
Matters of the royal family were best left untouched. The less they knew, the better.
"..."
Shaking her head, Selene set Arisa down and walked over to Kiana. Under Kiana's disbelieving gaze, she extended her hand with practiced ease.
"Kiana, why are you crying? Why do you feel guilty toward me? In a certain sense, you and I share the same origin. We could even be considered sisters."
Hearing her name spoken in that gentle voice, the experimental subject called Kiana instinctively lifted her head.
Meeting those crimson diamond-shaped pupils, she could clearly feel the warmth of Selene's slender fingers against her skin. Kiana's pupils contracted.
So warm.
But the gentler Selene was, the more guilty Kiana felt.
"You... don't hate me? I'm only a clone. I stole your name, your father—everything that was yours..."
Her delicate face flushed faintly red. Mist gathered in her ocean-blue eyes. Her lips had turned pale from biting down too hard, her expression one of shock and disbelief.
Against the backdrop of steel behemoths filling the sky, the exquisitely dressed beauty looked down at her from above. The faint smile curving her lips softened her otherwise distant and icy aura.
"You've chosen the wrong person to confess to."
Her fingertips slightly damp, Selene gently wiped away Kiana's tear tracks. With precise Honkai manipulation, she evaporated the remaining moisture without harming the skin in the slightest.
"The hints have already been clear enough. Do you still not understand? Sometimes I truly can't tell whether you're genuinely foolish or just pretending to be."
Her voice was graceful and elegant, yet the words were blunt. Kiana blinked in confusion.
I'm stupid?
"I am not the 'Kiana' you speak of. Though I indeed carry the blood of the Kaslana family and the Schariac family, my name is Selene. Siegfried Kaslana and Cecilia Schariac are not my parents."
Without giving Kiana time to process, Selene turned to Durandal and said seriously, "Durandal—should I address you as Bianka Ataegina, or as the true Kiana Kaslana?"
"Durandal is 'Kiana'?" Not only Kiana, but Theresa and the others beside her cried out in shock.
The Hyperion group who overheard this revelation were utterly bewildered, their minds thrown into chaos.
"What?!"
At this moment, Kiana's small head was filled with countless questions.
Today felt utterly surreal.
First, she had encountered the "real Kiana," whose appearance and presence so closely resembled her mother Cecilia that she had instinctively chosen to believe it.
But now Selene had denied that.
The true Kiana was actually Durandal—the one who had always been at odds with her?!
Earlier, because of Selene's presence, her entire focus had been fixed on Selene. Now that she had received a definitive answer face-to-face, Kiana finally began to calm down.
Only then did she realize that when she reunited with Durandal before, that indescribable feeling... it had been familiarity. An instinctive sense that she should know her.
Perhaps that possibility was indeed very high.
"I'm sorry. I did not mean to hide it from you. The timing was not right. Originally, I planned to tell you after we found Father."
Seeing that concealment was no longer possible, Durandal's tense shoulders finally relaxed. She exhaled softly and spoke with straightforward honesty.
Though it was not stated outright, Durandal's response plunged the scene into silence.
"..."
"Hey, chicken-head, that's really unexpected," Tesla muttered, lowering her voice cautiously.
"..." Einstein scratched her fluffy light-blue hair and glanced at the dazed Theresa before lightly poking her in the back. "Miss Theresa, didn't you claim to be Kiana's aunt? You were close friends with the late Schicksal Saint, Cecilia, and you're one of Schicksal's S-rank Valkyries. Why didn't you know that the real Kiana was Durandal?"
"Uh..." How was Theresa supposed to answer that? She couldn't exactly admit that she used to neglect responsibilities and preferred playing around.
At that moment, Alex quietly retreated even farther with his men, bringing over large command platforms and studying the tactical maps with utmost focus as he directed the Imperial Army's landing operations.
Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!
In the heavy silence, the sound of applause rang out with startling clarity. Selene narrowed her eyes, resting her chin on interlaced fingers, head tilted slightly, a faint curve at her lips. "Sisters speaking honestly to one another—what a fortunate thing."
"Se... Selene-sister, may I call you that?" Kiana suddenly asked.
For some reason, even after learning that Durandal was the "real Kiana," her attention still instinctively gravitated toward Selene. Her body felt closer to Selene.
It was as if their bloodlines resonated more strongly.
"You may. Though I bear neither the Kaslana nor the Schariac surname, there is undoubtedly a blood relationship between us. I believe you can sense that as well."
After all, K-404 came before K-423. I'm not exactly taking advantage of you.
"Selene-sister... who exactly are you?" Taking a deep breath, Kiana asked.
"Mm-hm. Sisters? Father and son? Mother and daughter? Original and clone? Any of those are possible. Why not guess? If I were to pass away, the two of you would even have the right to inherit the throne..."
Eyes curved like crescent moons, Selene swayed her head lightly as she spoke in a playful, unfathomable tone.
"Hiss—!"
Before she even finished, Alex in the distance sucked in a sharp breath, his ears twitching.
The... the right to inherit the throne? Are you serious?!
Should he offer counsel? Or pretend he heard nothing?
The question of succession was a lethal trap. As an external general, it was absolutely not a topic he should involve himself in.
Selene continued, "As for the questions and conditions you mentioned earlier—rest assured. 'To fight for all that is beautiful in the world' is a noble slogan, one that aligns quite well with my standards. There is no doubt I will treat you well."
"Unlike Anti-Entropy, which requires cleansing, or World Serpent, which must be exterminated—Schicksal is something I rather like."
She was still smiling foolishly when Kiana suddenly froze.
Wait. Exterminate—exterminate World Serpent?
Mei!
Catching the key word, Kiana's voice rose three octaves. "Exterminate World Serpent? Selene-sister, could you explain that in more detail?"
"Exterminate means exterminate. World Serpent is a remnant of the previous era's civilization. Their existence tramples upon the 'assessment' of the current era's civilization. Besides, they intend to eliminate me entirely~"
"Th-then I, I..."
"It's fine. You want to save Raiden Mei? Don't worry. I'll issue the order to spare her life—but that's all. Little Kiana, how do you plan to compensate me?"
Without a trace of wariness, as if granting anything freely, Selene maintained her cheerful smile.
"Thank you..."
"Then, Lady Selene, what are the conditions for Schicksal's surrender?" Durandal pressed.
"Mm-hm. Follow me. Let's discuss the specific terms of surrender."
Without further explanation, leaving the two staring at one another, Selene turned and waved her hand.
Rip—
Physical space tore open into a mottled black cavity.
Selene stepped in first. The moment she crossed the threshold, there was not a trace of the warmth or tenderness from before in her eyes. Those scarlet pupils that seemed capable of seeing through the human heart turned cold enough to terrify.
The speed of her change was astonishing.
Whether the earlier Selene had been acting—or had truly felt something—perhaps even she herself could not say.
The "real Kiana," Durandal, and "K-423," Kiana, exchanged a glance before following in at an unhurried pace.
...
Elsewhere, in the city housing World Serpent's headquarters.
Boom!
The frozen permafrost cracked and melted.
"Insolent wretch—you deserve death!"
A crumbling iceberg was swallowed and devoured by surging magma, like a fragile glass ornament shattered at a touch.
Clad in blue master-crafted power armor, the giant raised a crimson greatsword. The raging tides of magma surged and bowed as though paying homage to a sovereign.
Crack—crack—!
"As a human who aids tyranny—you are not worthy to wield Judgment of Shamash!"
Kevin answered only with a cold scoff. His face looked as though carved from ice itself. With a slight lift of his hand, biting frost radiated from his entire body, freezing the earth beneath him.
The successful product of Dr. MEI's "MANTIS" project, Kevin carried within him the DNA of the Emperor-level Honkai Beast Parvati, granting him dominion over ice and snow.
Battle cries roared. The earth froze. Heavenly fire descended. No one saw how it began—yet the two transcendent beings were already engaged in a battle like something from myth.
Their energies collided.
Even the mere aftershocks of their clash caused the ground to collapse further, skyscrapers to disintegrate, glass panels throughout the city to shatter completely. The remaining structures around the massive crater groaned under unbearable strain before crumbling.
Crash—!
With each successive collision, defensive constructs buried deep underground were destroyed. Ancient stasis pods were activated.
BOOM—!!
"Shamash—Assault!"
With a furious roar from Roboute, the sea of molten lava swallowed the glaciers. Like a colossal waterspout formed from converging oceans, a towering vortex of flame erupted.
The vortex coiled around the crimson crystal embedded above the hilt. Flames surged and the scarlet sun blazed skyward. It was as if heavenly fire itself had been born and unleashed, the entire sea of magma converging into the inferno vortex.
Violent flames burst forth, forming tangible waves of scorching heat that rippled outward from the crimson blade of Judgment of Shamash, baking the earth until it cracked with sharp snaps.
Merely standing near it felt like approaching the sun.
In the next instant, a firestorm swept across the ravaged land.
RUMBLE—!!
Everything was engulfed in flames.
Everything was drowned in thunderous explosions.
Blasts erupted one after another. Rivers of fire flickered without ceasing. Waves of blazing inferno cascaded from the sky, scouring the ground below.