Although both charged at the tree, the price Sirin paid was not as harsh as Otto's.
She merely arrived in an era destined for Destruction.
After Kiana contacted Chen Ran, she looked at the sleeping Sirin beside her, her hair sticking up, not knowing what to think.
The purple-haired girl in front of her was the one she found on her bed when she woke up.
Based on her previous experiences, she immediately recognized that this was the former Herrscher of the Void.
Although she didn't know why she appeared here and was sound asleep.
But...
She was really cute!
Kiana immediately showed a lovestruck smile and pinched her cheek.
"Mmhm…"
The sleeping Sirin made an unintelligible sound.
"Really so cute."
"I have no resistance to girls like this at all."
Kiana's delicate hand grew bolder, moving from her cheek downwards.
At that moment, Sirin suddenly opened her eyes, her golden pupils flashing.
"Human, you have overstepped your bounds."
Kiana was startled and fell to the floor.
She instinctively apologized, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it's just that you were too cute—"
Then she saw Sirin sitting up on the bed, her messy hair bobbing.
Kiana blinked, noticing Sirin was in a daze.
"Hmm?"
She mustered her courage, slowly leaned closer, and shook her hand.
Sirin's pupils began to move as well.
"Um, Kiana, where am I?"
Sirin finally came to her senses.
She accepted her slightly chaotic memories, realizing she seemed to have met 'God' in the imaginary space and reached some condition with it.
But wasn't she supposed to come to fifty thousand years ago?
Why was Kiana still here?
"Where's Teacher Cecilia?"
She couldn't help but ask Kiana.
Kiana blinked, "Where's Mom… Lady Cecilia?"
Hearing this name again made the girl a bit confused. She said, "This is Fire Moth from fifty thousand years ago, and you just happened to be lying on my bed, which startled me."
"Oh, so it's still fifty thousand years ago. Then you…"
Sirin blinked, thinking that the Kiana in front of her should have another identity.
K423.
In the 14 years she lived under Cecilia's protection, K423 was left with only a name.
Although Cecilia had always thought about recreating K423, at that time, Sirin hadn't become the Herrscher of the Void, so there were no conditions for the clone Kiana to be born.
And by the time Sirin became the Herrscher of the Void, it was already too late.
However, even she didn't expect that the clone Kiana would actually come to fifty thousand years ago.
Kiana shyly said, "Oh, here, I have a name, called Sirin. You shouldn't call me Kiana in front of anyone other than Chen Ran, okay?"
Sirin was a bit dazed.
"You're called Sirin, what should I call myself?"
Kiana waved her hand, slightly embarrassed: "Then you can call yourself Kiana, since no one knows."
Sirin said softly, "Aren't you afraid the real Kiana will come here too?"
"Is that so? We'll talk about it when the time comes."
With a brain capacity like a paramecium, she wouldn't think too far into the future.
Sirin instinctively took on an elder's tone: "You, you never consider the consequences of your actions."
"Hmph, so what? Hehe, Little Kiana, now at Fire Moth, you have to listen to me."
"Little… Little Kiana?"
Sirin was a bit confused.
Dazed, she was led by Kiana to the mirror, and then she saw herself shrinking in the reflection.
In the 14 years under Cecilia's care, Sirin hadn't grown up without any changes.
Although she hadn't grown much taller, her figure had become more graceful and charming. But now, she had turned back into a child from the Babylon Tower.
Sirin felt greatly impacted.
Kiana chuckled, "To avoid your identity being exposed, from now on, you should call me Big Sister Sirin, understood, Little Kiana?"
"Big Sister?"
"Ah, so obedient."
Kiana couldn't help but kiss Sirin's cheek.
The girl in front of her was really so cute.
Sirin bared her teeth: "Can't I have a different name?"
Kiana blinked, "How about you call yourself Bella?"
"Absolutely not." She quickly shook her head.
After the timeline changed, Bella also didn't die.
But she hadn't become a Valkyrie of Schicksal either.
Unlike Sirin, Bella didn't have much resistance to Honkai Energy. Even though she enjoyed privileges in the Babylon Tower, she hadn't become a special genius.
There aren't that many geniuses.
However, after Bella came of age, she still joined an external consortium of Schicksal, responsible for some business.
If Valkyries dealt with Honkai, then Bella dealt with human society.
Inevitably, although Sirin and Bella had always had a good relationship, the related topics had become fewer and fewer. Besides spending important holidays together, they were usually apart.
She sighed and said, "Then let's just call you Kiana."
At that moment, they heard the doorbell.
"It's here, it's here."
Kiana hurriedly went to open the door and saw Chen Ran walking in with a double portion of food in hand.
"Hi, Sirin, it's been a while."
"To be honest, I don't think you're suited for this place."
Chen Ran looked at the childlike Sirin in front of him and said, "Fire Moth has a complexity you can't imagine; it's not just about fighting here, there are other matters to consider."
Although Sirin had been in Schicksal long enough, she had always been protected by Cecilia, so her experience in human affairs had hardly grown.
Also because of Cecilia, she didn't have to worry too much, and no one would disturb her.
Chen Ran felt a bit of a headache.
Right now, he only needed to ask Mobius for help; it wouldn't be difficult to place someone in Fire Moth.
But the problem was that Sirin bore the Stigmata of Herrscher Sirin, and the world's malice towards her would be met with her unique self-protective methods.
And Fire Moth had always been a place filled with malice.
Leaving Sirin in Fire Moth didn't really have any pros or cons, but Chen Ran felt the risk was too high.
The combat capability of Fire Moth was unquestionable; the subsequent promotion of the super transformation surgery didn't lack a Herrscher as combat power.
However, Sirin's ability to harness the power of space could help Fire Moth better research the Imaginary Tree.
Currently, the cost of the spatial lenses produced by Fire Moth was quite high; if Sirin could help, it should ease things considerably.
While the two were chatting quietly, Chen Ran heard a familiar voice.
"Hi, Chen Ran, who is this lovely girl?"
In the lounge area, Elysia smiled brightly: "I feel like I've met her before; hurry and introduce her to me."
"Of course, wherever there are pretty girls, you're sure to be around."
Chen Ran paused for a moment, then introduced Sirin: "This is Elysia, the biggest idle person in Fire Moth; even now, I still don't know which department she belongs to."
"This…" Chen Ran hesitated and said, "This is Kiana, my cousin."
There was no way around it; at this moment, he could only use cousin to cover her identity.
Elysia smiled brightly: "Chen Ran, you have so many cousins."
"I can't help it; there are many relatives in the family, you know how it is." Chen Ran coughed lightly and said, "She encountered some issues and had to come to me; now she's living with Sirin. You've met Sirin before."
Elysia looked a bit mischievous: "Really?"
She knew Kiana's name, so naturally, she also knew that the person in front of her called 'Kiana' was not Kiana.
Chen Ran sighed: "Alright, lean in."
The girl in front of him showed a curious gaze and leaned closer to Chen Ran.
Chen Ran quietly explained Sirin's background.
Elysia's gaze fell on Sirin, turning and turning.
Upon learning that Sirin was the chosen Herrscher of that era, her eyes widened in surprise.
Fire Moth had never seen a Herrscher with self-awareness before.
"I see, then little Sirin … no, Little Kiana, make sure you don't get tricked by Mobius, okay?"
Elysia had heard the gossip she was satisfied with and smiled brightly: "Alright, I won't disturb you two siblings any longer."
She made space for Sirin and Chen Ran.
Although Elysia liked pretty girls, she wasn't someone with low emotional intelligence.
On the contrary, she was actually quite emotionally intelligent.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to unite the heroes of Fire Moth.
After Elysia left, Sirin looked at Chen Ran and instinctively asked, "Um, Elysia is really enthusiastic; I'm not quite used to it. Does she like you?"
"I think she might like you more."
Chen Ran wouldn't be narcissistic enough to think Elysia liked him; at least, it wasn't possible now.
Their interactions were too few, and he wasn't a walking aphrodisiac.
Chen Ran didn't dwell on it and continued to introduce Sirin to the internal workings of Fire Moth.
However, just as he was wandering around with Sirin, they encountered Blanca and Griseo in the lounge.
Griseo was carrying a small backpack, and upon seeing Chen Ran, she greeted him: "Uncle Chen Ran."
"Call me Big Brother."
Chen Ran corrected her.
It had been a while since he last saw the mother and daughter, and he couldn't help but feel a bit puzzled.
He looked at Blanca and smiled: "Senior Blanca, what brings you here?"
"Nothing much, just no longer participating in Fire Moth's affairs."
Blanca glanced at Griseo with a hint of affection.
"Griseo needs to grow up in a normal environment; now that I have some free time, I plan to take her out more. I haven't been able to accompany her properly these past few years, so I need to make it up to her."
Fire Moth didn't advocate for a rote-style compulsory education.
But that didn't mean the environment of compulsory education wasn't important.
A person's growth is not only related to the knowledge they receive but also to their environment.
While Mobius could teach Griseo a lot of knowledge, what Griseo lacked at this stage was not that, but peers of her age.
Fire Moth didn't establish educational institutions internally; that was the bottom line for the United Nations.
The reason was simple: if Fire Moth established educational institutions with self-sustaining capabilities, what would the United Nations use to bind Fire Moth? Money or resources?
Don't be ridiculous; would a group of geniuses lack money or resources?
So, even though the United Nations was very generous with its funding for Fire Moth, it did not allow Fire Moth to build any form of school.
Thus, Griseo's education became a big problem.
Especially after Griseo and Durandal often played together, Blanca became increasingly worried.
She resigned for this reason, wanting to find Griseo a normal educational environment.
Chen Ran briefly introduced both sides, then asked with a smile: "So, Senior Blanca, where are you headed first? The frequency of Honkai outside is increasing; it's not safe."
Blanca didn't hide it: "We've already chosen a school in Mu Continent; Honkai can't threaten Mu Continent."
Mu Continent is a gathering place for scholars, and humanity wouldn't allow Honkai to spread in Mu Continent.
This is a consensus among everyone.
However, when this fell on Chen Ran's ears, he couldn't help but be shocked.
In the plot he was familiar with, Blanca died in Mu Continent.
During the seventh Honkai, the Herrscher of Rock created a massive black hole that caused the entire Mu Continent to disappear.
Although Griseo survived, she had to undergo super transformation surgery to maintain her life due to Honkai.
And now, although fate had deviated, from the perspective of the Fifth Herrscher, the upcoming Herrschers would only grow stronger.
He opened his mouth, instinctively wanting to dissuade Blanca, but he held back.
Chen Ran couldn't come up with a reason to persuade her.
He couldn't use events that hadn't happened to convince Blanca; that wasn't realistic.
"Hmm, okay."
Chen Ran squatted down, pinching Griseo's face: "Remember to come back and visit Big Brother and Aunt Mobius when you have time. Aunt Mobius really likes you."
"Okay, Uncle Chen Ran."
"It's Big Brother."
He corrected her again.
Blanca took Griseo and left.
Sirin looked at Chen Ran and asked, "You seemed a bit unhappy just now."
Chen Ran instinctively thought to brush it off, but seeing Sirin's clear eyes, he decided to tell the truth.
"If you see the trajectory of fate but feel powerless to change it, you wouldn't be happy either."
Blanca was good to him; one could say that among everyone in Fire Moth, Blanca was the one who had the least selfish motives towards him.
She didn't have Mobius's ambitions, nor did she have Vill-V's aspirations.
She was just quietly repeating her work.
Although in Fire Moth, Blanca had already proven her uniqueness, in the torrent of fate, she was no different from ordinary people.
Sirin seemed to understand: "So, in the future you know, they will die, right?"
"Maybe, after all, no one can say for sure about things that haven't happened."
He suppressed the emotions in his heart and continued to wander around with Sirin.
Then, they saw two other people.
Kalpas and Himeko.
"Hmph."
Upon seeing Chen Ran, Kalpas instinctively turned his gaze away.
He no longer sought to fight Chen Ran, but it was impossible for him to find Chen Ran pleasing to the eye.
This despicable guy who bled had long been blacklisted by Kalpas.
Chen Ran noticed that Kalpas and Himeko were holding hands.
To this, he could only say: Big Brother, steady.
Himeko was very open: "Nice to see you again; this is…"
She looked at Sirin.
Sirin had already adapted to her new identity and said, "Hello, my name is Kiana, and I'm Chen Ran's cousin."
"Another cousin?"
Himeko's eyes showed a hint of surprise, but she didn't dig deeper; instead, she smiled and said, "Your family genes are quite good."
Chen Ran helplessly shrugged: "I think so too."
He didn't pry into Kalpas and Himeko's private matters; after all, obvious matters didn't need to be inquired about, and things that people didn't want to be inquired about shouldn't be pried into.
After a brief exchange, they parted ways.
Sirin looked at Chen Ran and noticed that the boy's expression was not as cheerful as when they were chatting earlier.
He had been faking a smile before.
Sirin hesitated and said, "They will die too, won't they?"
Chen Ran nodded.
"Among all the people you meet here, only a very few can live by human definitions."
"Finality will end everything."
He took a deep breath to calm his emotions.
Regardless of whether fate would change, he always stood on the other end of the balance of fate.
"Sirin, I have an experiment that needs your help."
He had new ideas regarding the global connection.
…
…
And as the news of Chen Ran bringing another cousin began to spread throughout Fire Moth, on the other side, someone returned quietly.
"Kevin, I've found a way to temporarily suppress the drawbacks on you, but it can only weaken some of the side effects."
In MEI's laboratory, she found Kevin.
Obtaining a doctoral identity in Mu Continent wasn't difficult for her; the hard part was finding the corresponding materials in Mu Continent.
If it weren't for her father's recommendation that brought her to Einstein's laboratory, she would never have been able to find the answers smoothly.
Kevin's Honkai factor was naturally known to Einstein as well.
Einstein was surprised by MEI's boldness and also gained data from the super transformation surgery.
But the one who benefited more was MEI.
Einstein was a pioneer of classical mechanics, but that didn't mean she was unfamiliar with quantum theory. During this time, MEI learned a lot, broadening her horizons and thinking directions.
Originally planned to return in a week, MEI ended up delaying her time to half a month.
Now, she had many experiments she was eager to conduct.
"Really? That's great."
Kevin felt the same surprise.
During this time, his combat ability had become very strong, and he was even the top Fire Moth warrior.
But due to this side effect, he had no suitable weapons and couldn't get close to others. Even wearing the special thermal suit designed by the engineering department's Vill-V, he couldn't completely block the low temperature.
His body had merely dropped to around 0°C.
Even though his comrades didn't ostracize him, the low temperature forced him to be alone.
He wasn't someone who could naturally endure loneliness.
The side effects of the super transformation factor brought Kevin torment.
But he still chose to endure.
He could only endure.
"Wait for my good news."
Although they were a couple, the two were forced to keep a great distance apart.
Kevin nodded and then left.
MEI let out a slight sigh.
Then, she heard Prometheus's voice.
"Dr. MEI, half a month ago, Chen Ran came to the laboratory and asked me to pass this information to you."
The artificial intelligence presented the "Dead Sea Scrolls."
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