That night, Kiana didn't continue with the story.
She curled up on the sofa, hugging her knees, looking at the Chapter 9 icon on the screen with a complicated expression.
"Let's... stop here for today."
Her voice was a bit muffled.
"I think I need to take a breather."
Shu glanced at her, chuckled softly, and shrugged, saying nothing.
Understood, he completely understood.
Although back when he first played through Chapter 9 himself, he didn't feel much—only that the story was indeed very good and genuinely moving—he hadn't yet formed a sufficient understanding of a certain trendy hairstylist (Shaoji).
This led him to truly believe the idea that Himeko would return in later chapters. Following the game step by step, it wasn't until the update of Chapter 25 that Shu suddenly realized the truth.
Shaoji really deserves to die!
Then he went back to Chapter 9 and repeated that sentence a hundred times.
Shaoji really deserves to die.
"Then what do you want to play?" Shu, shaking off the memory of his own emotional breakdown, asked, "This game has other modes you can play."
Kiana's eyes shifted, finally showing some energy.
"There are other modes?"
"Yeah." Shu pointed to a few sections in the game. "This is the Chronicles, where you can view past event stories. That one is Elysian Realm, which contains all the stories related to the Previous Era."
Kiana's gaze fell on the words "Elysian Realm."
"Previous Era..." she murmured. "Elysia?"
Shu nodded.
Kiana's expression turned solemn.
"Alright!"
Although she already knew what kind of girl Elysia was, she still wanted to meet her in person!
Shu watched her geared-up appearance and silently lit a candle for Kiana in his heart.
Another victim about to be blinded by the "True Self" [EGO]...
He pointed to another icon.
"This is Superstring Dimension, but we usually call it Abyss."
Kiana leaned in closer. "Abyss? What do you do there?"
"It's basically a tower-climbing mode," Shu explained succinctly. "There are four stages in total. The first is the previous cycle's boss, and the remaining three are the current cycle."
"You fight your way up stage by stage. Each stage has monsters. After finishing, your ranking is calculated. The higher the rank, the better the rewards."
Kiana's eyes lit up.
"Have you played it? This cycle?"
Shu shook his head. "Not yet."
"Then let me do it!"
Kiana sat up straight instantly, reaching for the mouse.
"I'll clear it for you!"
Shu froze for a moment.
He looked at the Abyss interface on the screen—
Nirvana bracket.
The highest tier.
Redlotus was already a hellish environment of intensity where fully geared outdated valkyries got curbstomped by new characters. Nirvana... usually, if you didn't have a fully geared new character, you didn't even get to sit at the table.
He looked at Kiana's enthusiastic face.
Forget it.
Anyway, there was still over a day left before this cycle's settlement. Letting her play around was fine.
At worst, he would just clear it himself later.
"Sure," he said. "But be careful, the difficulty here is quite high. You should familiarize yourself with the character mechanics before entering—"
"Got it, got it!"
Kiana had already clicked into the character selection screen.
"I'm a genius! Two tries max, I'll definitely get first place!"
Shu fell silent.
Looking at Kiana's brimming confidence, his mind drifted back to the first time he entered the Abyss—back when the Abyss was still young, and everyone schemed against each other.
Now the Abyss environment was better. You didn't need to put up stealth items to save your life or throw bombs to blow people up, nor was there that suffocating stacking bleed effect. But the monster strength...
He opened his mouth, wanting to say something.
But seeing Kiana already selecting characters, he swallowed his words.
Forget it.
Let her experience it herself.
Kiana picked characters very quickly.
Three characters, all white-haired.
All "herself."
[Kiana Kaslana] Herrscher of Flamescion
[Kiana Kaslana] Herrscher of Finality
[Kiana Kaslana] Valkyrie Ranger - White Comet
Hm?
How did that ultimate single-celled character sneak into this team?
If Kiana really managed to take first place with this lineup... the second-place player would probably go insane.
"Hehe, three Kianas are invincible!"
Full of confidence, she clicked "Start Battle."
Shu watched silently from the side.
The screen flashed, and the battle began.
Kiana's operation... well... although the visual effects looked flashy, Shu could tell at a glance that Kiana was simply mashing basic attacks and evasions frantically, not even touching the weapon skills.
She's a complete beginner...
And the opponents of the "Kianas"?
After a violent tremor on the screen, a massive Imaginary brute appeared.
It raised its body high and crashed down heavily.
Bang!
The "Kiana" Kiana was controlling was sent flying directly by an elbow strike.
The screen went gray.
[Battle Failed]
Kiana sat up bolt straight with a slap.
She stared at the words on the screen, mouth slightly open, eyes wide.
"That... that's it?"
Shu didn't speak.
Could he say Kiana's performance was actually a bit better than he expected?
"Again!"
Kiana's expression became exceptionally serious.
"I was just careless just now!"
Round two.
She focused her attention, dodging more precisely, attacking harder.
Then that brute appeared again.
Another merciless slap.
Bang!
The three "Kianas" in the team were sent flying once more.
The screen went gray.
[Battle Failed]
Kiana fell silent.
She stared at the screen, her brows furrowed tightly.
"How is this monster... so strong?"
Shu still didn't speak.
This is nothing.
Besides, we didn't have conditions as good as yours back then. The simple, brutal monsters we had, and that damn bleed—
Kiana stared at the screen for a long time.
Then she suddenly slapped her thigh:
"I know! It's the characters!"
She whipped around to face Shu with an expression of sudden realization.
"Three Kianas won't work! We need to change the lineup!"
Shu nodded in hearty agreement.
Leaving aside the fact that you brought two main DPS Kianas, that White Comet shouldn't even be here.
Even if White Comet SSS could truly evolve into White Moonlight, it still wouldn't work.
"Of course!" Kiana had already started reselecting characters. "Look, here's Mei, here's Bronya, here's Kiana—Friendship! Bonds! This is the strongest power!"
Shu: "..."
Then pick the Herrscher Trio... why are you pairing Silverwing with Flamescion?
Why is Mei still Herrscher of Thunder?
I just pulled Lunar Vow: Crimson Love... even if she's not SSS yet, she shouldn't be shunned like this, right?
He looked at the extremely bizarre lineup on the screen and silently prayed for them.
Round three.
Kiana operated while shouting slogans:
"Mei! Bronya! Let's go together!"
"For friendship!"
"For our bonds!"
Then the brute appeared.
One punch.
Another punch.
One more punch.
ACE!
Under Commander Kiana's direction, the three characters were elbowed to death.
[Battle Failed]
Kiana stared at the screen, looking as if she had been struck by lightning.
She was silent.
Silent for a very long time.
Shu sat beside her, watching her quietly.
Watching her face shift from disbelief, to confusion, to doubting life, and finally to—
The unyielding fire reigniting.
"Again!"