The Fantasia of Taixuan — Mount Taixuan
Training continued.
Day after day—or what felt like days within the dream—Kiana continued to push herself.
She practiced her movements.
She refined her breathing.
She learned to control her body and focus her mind.
Every mistake was repeated until she corrected it.
Every successful technique was practiced again until it became instinct.
Fu Hua remained nearby, observing silently and correcting Kiana whenever necessary.
Zeztz Exdream sat at the edge of the training ground, quietly watching the entire process.
Whenever Kiana became exhausted and collapsed onto the ground, the transparent Rider would simply raise one hand.
A drink would manifest in his hand.
Kiana would stare at it.
Then at him.
Then happily accept it.
After a short rest, she would return to training.
Again.
And again.
And again.
The peaceful Mount Taixuan arena gradually became a battlefield of constant training.
Eventually, after what felt like countless hours, Fu Hua finally decided that it was time to test Kiana's progress.
She watched Kiana finish another series of movements before speaking.
Fu Hua: "Kiana, we have been training for a while."
Kiana wiped the sweat from her forehead.
Fu Hua: "Time is not on our side, so I'd like to see what you have learned."
Kiana straightened herself.
She looked confident.
Kiana: "I see. Shall we begin?"
Fu Hua shook her head.
Fu Hua: "No, you're not fighting me this time. Your opponent is…"
Fu Hua snapped her fingers.
SNAP.
The sound echoed throughout the serene Mount Taixuan arena.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then—
The entire dreamscape changed.
The peaceful blue sky suddenly darkened.
Clouds gathered overhead.
The warm sunlight vanished.
The wind stopped.
The atmosphere became oppressive.
Kiana's expression changed.
A powerful presence descended upon the arena.
Fu Hua remained completely still.
Then something appeared in the darkened heavens.
A figure slowly descended from above.
She levitated effortlessly in mid-air.
A ghastly smile appeared on her face.
Kiana froze.
Long white hair flowed behind the woman like a curtain.
Her yellow eyes glowed beneath darker diamond-shaped pupils and pointed rings.
A black-and-orange hairpin rested in her hair.
Around her neck was a yellow Kaslana collar.
Black fur rested upon her shoulders.
Her body was clad in a black, white, and pink suit, with a long black-and-pink glove covering her left arm and a black glove covering her right.
A white-and-orange wing extended from her back.
Three Subspace Lances hovered behind her.
Black-and-pink shorts, black thigh highs, and matching shoes completed the terrifying appearance.
Kiana's breathing stopped for a moment.
She knew that face.
That face had haunted her nightmares.
The same woman who had taken Kouga and Himeko away from her.
The Herrscher of the Void.
Kiana instinctively tightened her fists.
Kiana: "I have to fight her…?"
Fu Hua looked at her calmly.
There was no cruelty in her expression.
Only determination.
Fu Hua: "I know it will be difficult for you to fight her on your own."
Kiana stared at the Herrscher hovering above them.
The fear was still there.
The memories were still there.
But Fu Hua continued.
Fu Hua: "But sometimes one must battle without help and reap both the sweet and bitter rewards alone."
The Herrscher of the Void slowly raised one hand.
The surrounding space distorted.
Fu Hua: "Every one of us must face our deepest fears. It is a trial that we must undergo on our own."
Kiana's eyes narrowed.
Fu Hua stepped aside.
She would not interfere.
Fu Hua: "You must face her and fight her again and again until she is nothing but just another breath you take."
The words carried weight.
This wasn't simply a combat exercise.
Fu Hua was teaching Kiana to confront the fear that had been buried inside her.
To face the image of the person who had taken everything from her.
To stop allowing that fear to control her.
Fu Hua's expression softened slightly.
Fu Hua: "Kiana, the Divine Key is not all-powerful. I will not be at your side forever…"
Kiana's eyes lowered.
Kiana: "…"
Fu Hua looked toward the darkened sky.
Fu Hua: "I foresee a far more treacherous path before you."
The Herrscher of the Void continued hovering silently above them.
Her yellow eyes remained fixed on Kiana.
Fu Hua: "Before my time ends, I'll do what I can to prepare you for this difficult path."
Fu Hua looked directly at Kiana.
Fu Hua: "That is my promise to you, and the promise I made to Major Himeko."
Kiana's hands trembled slightly.
For a moment, she remembered Himeko.
She remembered Kouga.
She remembered the moment she had been powerless to stop the Herrscher of the Void from taking them away.
But this time—
She wasn't the same Kiana.
Kiana raised her head.
Her eyes hardened with determination.
Kiana: "I… I will be prepared."
Fu Hua nodded.
Fu Hua: "Then we shall begin."
The moment those words left her mouth—
BOOM!
Kiana launched herself forward.
The ground beneath her feet cracked from the force of her acceleration.
She transformed into Void Drifter as she rushed toward the Herrscher of the Void.