When they said they'd go, they went—just like that.
The place wasn't far, and before long, Kiana and Mei arrived.
"What a huge forest."
This area seemed to have frequent visitors—the narrow trail wasn't overgrown with weeds and stretched straight toward the deeper woods.
"Mei, do you think there might be Kami hiding here?"
With no one else around, Kiana, who had been wondering where all those monsters had gone, asked curiously.
"Unlikely," Mei replied, walking half a step behind her while glancing at the trees along the roadside. "There aren't many disappearance reports related to Mirror Lake in the city news."
"Then where did those things go?"
Kiana frowned in confusion. "Right after Almighty Thunder showed up, all kinds of monsters started appearing in Nagazora. Where did they all come from?"
Kami weren't Honkai creatures, and Almighty Thunder wasn't a Herrscher—it couldn't trigger chain reactions that spawned swarms of corrupted beings.
So where had they all been hiding before?
"I don't know either," Mei shook her head, equally curious. "Maybe we can ask Sirin next time we see her."
"Who knows when that'll be."
Not exchanging contact info really was a mistake. She'd make sure not to repeat it next time—whenever she met someone new, the first thing she'd do was get their contact.
"Alright, let's relax for today and stop thinking about that," Mei said, patting her shoulder. Not far ahead was a torii gate, and the scenery around it looked quite nice. "How about I take some photos for you?"
"Sure!"
Answers would come in time. Sirin would probably come to find her within a month at most.
Since the answers were bound to reveal themselves eventually, there was no point overthinking things now.
"Stand here, alright?"
Holding up her phone, Mei adjusted the angle. Seeing Kiana's bright smile through the lens, she couldn't help but smile herself.
At that moment, she truly looked like a seventeen-year-old girl.
They stopped often along the way to take photos of whatever caught their interest. What should've been a ten-minute walk stretched into a leisurely half hour.
—Mirror Lake.
That was their destination. As its name implied, it looked like a great blue mirror set in the middle of the forest, surrounded by soft green meadows.
It wasn't an uninhabited area either.
By the lake stood a small pavilion and a wooden platform for fishing.
But since the recent disaster had only just subsided, no one else was in the mood for leisure. For now, the two of them were alone.
"It's beautiful!"
"Yeah, just like before."
The last time Mei had come here was ten years ago, yet the scenery hadn't changed much. It had been well preserved.
"You've been here often, Mei?"
"Only once," Mei said as she walked forward, her expression softening in recollection. "But I remember it clearly."
"What kind of memory?"
"For many reasons." Because it was Kiana, Mei didn't stop there but continued. "The most important one—it was the first time my father ever took me out to play. A reward for winning a competition."
The first—and the only—time.
"No wonder you remember it so well. You must've been really happy that day, right?"
"Mhm. I thought I had earned my father's recognition." She nodded, then smiled as she looked at Kiana beside her. "My mood… is probably about the same as now."
"Eh? Because you're with me? Then I'll take you to more places in the future, Mei—fill your heart with lots of happy memories!"
Was Mei truly unconcerned about her father's whereabouts? Or was she just keeping quiet to stop Kiana from worrying?
That thought flickered through Kiana's mind.
"What about you?" Mei asked. "How do you feel? Now that we're out here in the open, do you feel a bit more relaxed?"
"I feel amazing!" Kiana said, pulling on Mei's arm playfully. "It's beautiful here—and with you beside me, I'd feel happy anywhere!"
"Is that so."
"Of course! You can trust me, I mean it."
"You really are something…" Mei murmured, smiling helplessly.
Kiana's words always carried a certain ambiguity—just misleading enough to make one wonder whether she did it intentionally, or if it was simply her way of speaking.
"Mirror Lake is beautiful. Once all the Kami are gone, I'll take you to see the stars, Mei—to places with sights you won't find anywhere in Izumo!"
Heh, when that day came, she'd definitely bring Mei to Penacony for the Harmony Festival—and scare the life out of Welt Yang!
That would be a sight worth seeing!
"Stars?"
Mei looked up at the sky. Aside from the blazing sun, the most prominent thing she saw was Takamagahara.
They said the Kami invasion had begun from there.
"Is that where you're from, Kiana?"
"…No."
Kiana's smile faltered. She looked up at the sky as well—but her gaze wasn't on the sun, Takamagahara, or even the distant stars.
"I can't go back."
"I don't have a home anymore."
Though she always joked that the Honkai could do anything, Kiana knew the truth. Even if she became the Herrscher of Finality, she would never be able to return home.
Because she was already dead.
There was no going back—ever.
Mei had assumed Kiana was just a traveler. Kiana had never mentioned how she had come to Izumo, nor what her past had been like.
Mei's eyes widened slightly. She had never expected the ever-cheerful Kiana to carry such a past.
Can't go back. No home.
That must mean… her homeland had been destroyed, right?
Just like how Izumo now faced the Kami—and this newly emerging Honkai.
…Honkai?
Could it be that Kiana's homeland was destroyed by the Honkai? That was why she feared it so deeply—why she saw it as a disaster even worse than the Kami.
"I'm sorry, Kiana, I—"
"What are you apologizing for?" Kiana interrupted, her smile returning. "I accepted it a long time ago. I'm not the kind of person who'd give up on life and the future just because I can't go back."
She actually considered herself lucky.
To have died, only to cross into another world—still able to live her life, and even meet a Raiden Mei who hadn't yet become Acheron.
Sure, her landing might've been a little rough, right next to that gloomy guy, but all in all, she was pretty satisfied with how things turned out.
"Was it because of the Honkai?" Mei asked softly, her tone gentle, careful not to hurt Kiana's feelings.
"…Honkai?"
Kiana went quiet. Well… technically, yeah—it did have something to do with it. After all, her system was literally the Honkai System.
"It's all in the past now," she said vaguely, not quite sure how to explain it. "Just let it stay that way."
Better to leave it vague—and let Mei draw her own conclusions.
—
—
40 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon:
Patreon.com/DaoOfHeaven