Kiana leaned toward Fu Hua, lowering her voice. "Okay… who exactly is Elysia?"
Fu Hua folded her arms, gaze distant. "Elysia was the first Flame-Chaser. And… her greatest wish was to free Herrschers from the Honkai's control. That is the only reason you, Bronya, and the others still have your minds as Herrschers."
Kiana blinked. Bronya stiffened beside her.
Before either could respond, Lee appeared again with a sigh. "Fu Hua, you're skipping ahead. I keep having to rearrange this in real time."
Kiana waved at the scenery around them. "Rearrange what? And why go through all this effort? This… it all seems like a lot. What exactly are you trying to say?"
Lee shrugged. "Trying to get myself a new employer."
Kiana opened her mouth, confused.
"Also," Lee added, pointing at her, "people who like spoilers are the worst."
She vanished.
The world fell away in an instant. Darkness swallowed everything, leaving only the void of space, with only a starfield visible around them. Rings of white light rippled beneath their feet like slow shockwaves.
Lee's voice drifted from everywhere at once.
"Let's get to the point. Elysia was unique, something the previous cycles never produced. And like Fu Hua said, she's the main reason Herrschers in this era are rational."
Light swirled, pulling into a single point.
"Elysia's identity might surprise you," Lee continued. "She was the zeroth Herrscher of the previous era. The Herrscher of Origin."
Herrscher of Origin?
Fu Hua didn't say anything, seemingly immersed in her own thoughts.
Lee laughed softly. "The Imaginary Tree loves its little patterns. Origin, the Trailblaze, the start of everything. Finality, the end. Or is it just another beginning?"
The laughter faded. Her tone dropped.
"But the authority of Origin didn't come from the Cocoon of Finality. It was an anomaly. The only anomaly that let humanity survive long enough to see the Herrscher of Finality. Not that it helped them in the end."
A purple flower materialized between the three girls, petals glowing faintly.
Lee continued, "They died. And in the end, they became the thirteenth Divine Key."
The flower shattered, breaking into thousands of shards, falling downwards until they were no longer visible.
Kiana frowned. "But… didn't you say Elysia was the zeroth Herrscher. So why the thirteenth key?"
Fu Hua spoke up, "Elysia was recorded as the thirteenth Herrscher… after her death. She died before Finality arrived."
Lee nodded. "You're wondering what her power was? The Herrscher of Origin's authority was simple: wish fulfillment. Anything Elysia desperately willed to happen… happened."
"And when she died," Lee said, "the thirteenth Flame-Chaser, Pardofelis, took the thirteenth Divine Key and Prometheus, the sentient AI Dr. MEI created, and dove randomly into Imaginary Space."
A glowing, featureless white silhouette formed in the void.
"Using the thirteenth Divine Key, and Pardo's own supernatural luck, they managed to somehow reach the Cocoon of Finality, located somewhere in imaginary space. They essentially managed to 'Hack into' the Cocoon of Finality."
"And that," Lee said, "became what you call the Will of Honkai. Compare this era to the last, weak Herrschers, flawed selections, endless mistakes. It's obvious the Will was incompetent. That's because its goal was never truly the destruction of Humanity. It's basically a corrupted version of Prometheus."
Kiana blinked. "Wait, what?"
Bronya stepped forward, "So the Will of Honkai was created because Pardofelis hacked the Cocoon?"
Lee nodded. "Prometheus did the work. Pardofelis delivered it. Prometheus had three tasks: The first, stopping the 'Reset' mechanism of the Cocoon of Finality. Preventing the trail from being marked as a failure. The second was to make sure that the Herrschers in the current Era matched those of the Previous Era, for which data and tactics was already known, and finally create a backdoor into the Cocoon for the moment of truth."
A sharp beep cut her off.
A holographic window snapped open, Dr. Tesla's panicked face.
"Kiana! Hyperion is under attack! Herrscher of Domination, multiple bodies, approaching the ship!"
"What!?" Kiana shouted, "What's happening!?"
Bronya spoke up, "Isn't the Herrscher of Domination dead?"
Lee materialized again, shrugging. "Probably Otto. I don't know what that guy is thinking."
Tesla confirmed, "It's that bastard Otto! They all look like him!"
Fu Hua turned to Kiana. "Open a portal. Hurry."
Kiana sliced the air open, forming a shimmering gate. Bronya and Fu Hua rushed through without hesitation.
Kiana stepped forward–
But Lee appeared in front of her, blocking the way.
"I'm not done yet." she said quietly.
Kiana scowled. "I can come back after I help them!"
"They can handle it," Lee replied. For once, her expression was completely serious. "What I have left is only for you, Kiana."
Kiana stopped, "What's only for me?"
"I want to talk about 'Kiana'."
The original Kiana? What exactly…
"The original Kiana?" she asked.
"Not necessarily."
Kiana crossed her arms, "Who exactly are you referring to, then."
"Let's continue my little story." Lee said.
"Try and keep it brief."
"I'll give you the SparkNotes version, then."
"SparkNotes?" Kiana asked.
"Don't worry about it." Lee sighed. "Look… I still don't know if this is the right choice. To tell you now…"
"What choice exactly is it?" Kiana asked.
"Look… what I want to say… I mean… Su said everything would work out… but I am afraid." Lee said after a long time.
Kiana reached out towards Lee, and surprisingly, found something solid.
Lee gave a sort of strange shocked reaction.
"I didn't expect that to work." Kiana admitted.
"Well… I mean, I am actually here. I just had the arena conceal me. I'm not a projection." Lee gave a small, embarrassed laugh.
Kiana grabbed Lee's arm, pulling Lee towards her.
"Caught you." Kiana said with a laugh.
After a moment she looked directly into Lee's face. "You don't have to decide everything alone, okay? Why not tell me? I can decide for myself."
"Not happening," Lee said flatly.
"Why not just flip a coin then." Kiana said.
"You want me to flip a coin?" Lee stared at her, then let out a short laugh.
"Look… what I wanted to say… it's fine. In the end I'm not that brave. I thought I could be the big schemer, revealing everything in one dramatic act. But… I'm afraid of messing everything up."
She let out a long breath.
"I guess. There are still a few things that I want to tell you…"
She sat down in the middle of the starfield, pulling Kiana down beside her. Ripples of light expanded beneath them with every movement.
"Look… I guess there are two, maybe three things I want to tell you. The first is what I didn't tell Bronya last time."
Kiana thought for a moment, "The victory condition for defeating the Honkai?"
"Yeah. Like I said, the Cocoon of Finality, it's a form of extrapolation. The goal of that extrapolation… it's probably to create more things like itself. Something equally as powerful. This concept is called 'Embrace'."
"What exactly… So it's not just about defeating the Herrschers?"
"Well, the Herscher of Finality isn't exactly… beatable."
"So, like you said, we need to cheat. Like Elysia did, overriding the reset."
Lee just smiled.
"Look, I have prepared some things for you. After I have left. Some gifts. You will like them, I guarantee it." Lee said.
Kiana's small smile faded, "You… There is no chance to change your mind about leaving?"
"Look. From the moment I arrived I knew that I would leave. That's why I avoided seeing you as soon as I could. I mean… what you've been through. I just wanted to say… it's not because I didn't like you. Quite the opposite in fact. I really like you, your… well, yourself. You're so silly, and cute, and cool sometimes, if a bit perverted."
"Hey!–" Kiana interrupted, "I am not that bad, okay?"
Lee just smiled, "Ignore that. I just wanted to say that I knew you were exactly the kind of person who I would become easily attached to, and was scared of that, so that's why I avoided you. I thought that if I avoided you and the others, it would make leaving easier. But I just wanted to let you know, that you should always be yourself. No matter what anyone else says, or does, you will always be exactly who you need to be."
She let out a soft laugh. "And I bet after all this is over, you'll feel way better. Okay?"
The communicator beeped again. Tesla reappeared.
"Kiana, is something wrong? Why did the portal disappear? Why didn't you come through with the others? Did Lee do something to you?" Tesla shouted, clearly anxious.
Lee just sighed, "Look, you should probably just go. I still have things to do before I leave, like writing up what I should have told you just now. I also have some other preparations, I am a very bad guy you know! I need to complete my evil plan."
"Evil plan?" Tesla asked over the communicator.
"It's fine Tesla, I will be right there." Kiana said before ending the call.
"Lee." Kiana said, "The moment I step through that portal… will I never see you again?"
"Yeah." Lee confirmed.
Kiana just sat silently.
"Look, I'm not good with goodbyes," Lee said, "and you still need to figure out Otto's big plan."
"You know what it is, don't you?" Kiana asked.
"Yeah." Lee confirmed again.
"But you aren't going to tell me." Kiana asked again.
"Yeah."
Kiana sighed, "I am wondering if I should beat you up and take you with me back to the Hyperion."
Lee laughed, but also looked a bit scared, "You aren't winning that fight. Then you will be stuck here."
Kiana stood, and created a portal using the power of the Herrscher of the Void.
This is really it? The last time we will ever meet… It's been a while… but still.
"That night… the first time we met." Kiana said.
"What about it?" Lee asked.
"I thought you were just like me, and when I thought of you staying with me. The future I imagined wasn't so bad." Kiana said.
"Hey hey, look, don't go saying things like that, it's bad karma. Didn't you say you were going to marry Mei and live together forever?" Lee said.
Lee rolled her eyes, and suddenly said, "Oh you shut up, don't start now."
????
Lee calmed down, and said, "Not you… look, it's fine. As for that future… Maybe if I wasn't so afraid. If I was willing to accept an unknown future… maybe it wouldn't have been so bad for me either. Some people certainly think that."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Kiana asked.
Lee grabbed Kiana by the shoulders, "Onwards till the future. When it's time to make a choice, make one you won't regret."
She then shoved Kiana backwards into the portal, before it winked out behind her.
"We aren't ever talking about this ever again." Lee said into the empty air.
Lee sighed, looking around the empty void.
"I spent too much time programming these scenes, and then skipped half of them for pacing when they came up naturally! And I didn't even get to use the final act!"
"I need something to drink."