The night was deep, and the bustling neon lights of Changkong City gradually quieted down.
The apartment Kael rented was silent, with only the occasional sound of vehicles passing by outside the window.
Kael was not asleep.
He sat on the living room sofa, holding a book on the overview of modern history borrowed from Senba Academy's library, reading it by the soft light of the floor lamp.
His Fusion Warrior body greatly reduced his need for sleep, and at the same time, it gave him a keen perception far beyond ordinary people.
His gaze was on the pages, but his thoughts drifted.
He had been in this city for some time now, playing the role of a humble school staff, observing the girl named Kiana Kaslana.
Her very existence was a huge mystery, intricately linked with Siegfried, Bianca, and even Sirin.
Otto called her "K423"; what was hidden behind this cold codename?
And Theresa, Sirin, Bianca... how were they doing now?
Thirteen years had passed; had they moved on from the pain of "losing" him?
Was Theresa still battling those endless documents?
Had Sirin truly become cheerful?
Had Bianca grown into an excellent Valkyrie?
As he thought of them, a subtle, dull ache spread through Kael's chest.
It wasn't physical pain, but a complex emotion mixed with guilt, longing, and helplessness. He had been "dead" for thirteen years; to them, had he long become a vague shadow lingering in their memories?
Just as his thoughts were scattered, an extremely subtle anomaly, almost blending with the night wind, brushed against the edge of his perception like a cold spider silk.
It wasn't a Honkai Beast, nor was it a common thief.
This aura... carried a deliberately restrained, yet still not entirely hidden sharpness and... a sense of familiarity?
Kael closed the book and gently placed it on the coffee table. He didn't turn on the light; he just stood up silently, like a leopard merging into the shadows, his sharp gaze directed towards the balcony.
There, the originally closed French window had been opened a crack at some point, and the night wind was silently pouring in.
A tall, yet slightly weathered figure, like a ghost, appeared silently in the shadows of the balcony.
The moonlight outlined his slightly messy silver short hair, his well-defined profile, and his characteristic aura of rebelliousness mixed with fatigue.
Kael's pupils suddenly constricted in the darkness!
Even after more than a decade, even if the other party's aura had become more profound and restrained, he would never mistake that face—
Siegfried Kaslana!
How could he be here?! How did he find this place?!
Moreover, his appearance... Kael keenly noticed that Siegfried looked much more weathered than thirteen years ago. The depths of his eyes seemed to hold an unresolvable weariness and a heavy burden, making him seem like a completely different person from the uninhibited, occasionally scatterbrained man in his memory.
Siegfried's gaze first swept with extreme precision and clear purpose towards the closed guest room door on one side of the living room—that was Kiana's room.
His gaze lingered on that door for a moment, complex and unreadable, showing concern, guilt, and deep helplessness.
Then, his gaze slowly shifted, falling upon Kael, who stood in the shadows of the living room.
Their eyes met.
The air seemed to freeze at that instant.
The expression on Siegfried's face rapidly changed from initial vigilance and scrutiny to extreme shock and disbelief!
His eyes widened suddenly, as if he had seen the most incredible sight in the world, even his breathing stopped!
He raised a hand and pointed at Kael, his fingers trembling slightly from intense emotional fluctuations, and a suppressed, almost aspirated gasp of horror escaped his throat:
"Fu, Kael?! You... weren't you... dead thirteen years ago?! How is this possible?! I saw it with my own eyes... Otto announced your death! You..."
It was that line again.
Kael looked at Siegfried's ghost-seeing expression and listened to the familiar questioning, his heart filled with mixed emotions.
Earlier in Shenzhou, Li Sushang had also looked like she'd seen a ghost.
It seemed Otto had made his "sacrifice" news seamless, even Siegfried believed it implicitly.
He sighed helplessly, raised a hand to rub his temple, his tone carrying a calmness that even he found absurd, and a hint of unconcealed weariness:
"So... in all your eyes, I, Kael... had to die?"
This sentence was like a basin of cold water, somewhat extinguishing Siegfried's shock.
He still stared intently at Kael, his gaze sharp as if to dissect him inside and out, to confirm whether this was some clever disguise or an illusion.
"What exactly are you..."
Siegfried's voice still trembled. He took a step closer, lowering his voice, full of vigilance and inquiry, "...Who are you? Or rather, what are you? Otto's trick? Or something else..."
Kael understood his suspicion.
Anyone would find it unbelievable for someone confirmed dead for thirteen years to suddenly stand alive before them.
"I am Kael." He met Siegfried's scrutinizing gaze, his tone frank, "The genuine article. I didn't die in that attack thirteen years ago; I just... slept for a long time. The specific reasons are complex, involving some of Bishop Otto's... 'unconventional' treatment methods."
He deliberately blurred the details of the "Fusion Warrior surgery"; now was not the time to explain that in detail.
Siegfried didn't immediately believe him, but he carefully sensed Kael's aura.
It was indeed the aura of a living person, steady and restrained, and even... carried a depth he couldn't see through.
Moreover, that familiar, reliable feeling of calmness that belonged to Kael himself was something no disguise could imitate.
After the shock, immense confusion and more questions surged into Siegfried's mind.
He opened his mouth, seeming to have countless questions to ask, about the truth of thirteen years ago, about Otto's purpose, about why Kael would appear here, appear... by Kiana's side.
His gaze once again involuntarily drifted to Kiana's door, his expression becoming even more complex.
Kael noticed this subtle movement of his, and his heart stirred. He spoke first, breaking the stalemate: "You came for that girl? Kiana Kaslana?"
Siegfried's body stiffened abruptly, as if his most sensitive secret had been pricked.
He was silent for a few seconds before answering in a very dry voice, filled with deep weariness and guilt: "...Yes. She... is my daughter."
This time, it was Kael's turn to be surprised.
Although he had suspected it, hearing it directly from Siegfried's mouth felt different.
"Your daughter?" Kael frowned slightly, asking the most crucial question, "Then what about Bianca?"
Upon hearing Bianca's name, a trace of helplessness flashed across Siegfried's face. He abruptly turned his head away, seemingly unwilling to let Kael see his current expression.
His fists clenched tightly at his sides, knuckles white from the effort.
"As for Bianca..." Siegfried took a deep breath, trying to calm his emotions, "She's doing well; she's become a very excellent Valkyrie at Schicksal Headquarters. She... still remembers you, but she doesn't know about Kiana's existence."
His words revealed a huge amount of information and deep helplessness.
Kael could feel that Siegfried was carrying something far heavier than he had imagined.
"Then this child..." Kael's gaze also turned to Kiana's door, "Why did you leave her? Let her be alone out there..."
"I had no choice!"
Siegfried interrupted him, his voice filled with uncontrollable agitation and pain. He turned back, his eyes bloodshot and struggling.
"Some things... I can't tell you now! Kael! But I left her to protect her! Too many people, too many forces are watching the name kaslana! Watching her! If I stayed with her, it would only put her in greater danger!"
His words stopped abruptly, as if he realized he had said too much. He wiped his face hard, trying to calm himself down.
Silence fell again in the living room, with only the heavy breathing of the two men.
After a long while, Siegfried spoke again. His gaze was fixed on Kael, his tone carrying a desperate plea and an almost instinctive trust in an old friend:
"Kael... I don't know why you're still alive, nor why you happen to be here. But... since you met her, since you took her in... I..."
He paused, as if using all his strength, before saying with difficulty:
"Can I ask you... to look after her for a while?"
Kael: "...?"
He even wondered if he had misheard.
Siegfried, reunited after thirteen years, after confirming his identity, his first official request was... to entrust his daughter to him, this "dead man"?
Was this development a bit too sudden and... absurd?
Looking at the undisguised astonishment and questioning on Kael's face, Siegfried smiled bitterly, his smile full of helplessness and weariness.
"I know this is sudden and unreasonable."
Siegfried's voice was low, "But my current situation... is very complicated. I can't stay by her side; that would harm her. And among the people I know... Kael, I may not be able to fully trust Otto, but I... am willing to trust you. You were such a reliable guy, even after thirteen years... my intuition tells me you haven't changed."
His gaze was fixed on Kael, with an unmistakable solemnity: "She... Kiana, she's just a bit of a silly, simple-minded girl. She shouldn't be dragged into those dirty things. Please... until I sort out my troubles, please watch over her, don't let her cause big trouble, and don't let... certain people find her."
Kael looked at Siegfried's eyes, which were filled with weariness, guilt, and a hint of pleading, and for a moment, he didn't know how to respond.
His original mission was just to "observe" K423.
Now, K423 had become Kiana Kaslana, Siegfried's lost daughter.
And Siegfried, his comrade-in-arms, was now embroiled in unknown troubles, unable to personally protect his own flesh and blood, only able to entrust this heavy responsibility to an old friend who had "returned from the dead."
The twists and hidden complexities were far beyond his initial expectations.
"Does she..." Kael pondered for a moment, finally asking, "...know about your situation? Does she know you've been watching over her in secret?"
Siegfried shook his head, a bitter expression on his face: "She only knows I'm a 'scumbag dad' who abandoned her. That's... fine. It's better for her to hate me than to be in danger because of approaching me."
Having said that, he took one last deep look at Kiana's door, his eyes filled with reluctance and determination.
"I should go. Staying too long might attract unnecessary attention."
Siegfried took a step back, his figure melting back into the shadows of the balcony, "Kael... I'm entrusting her to you."
Before Kael could say anything else, Siegfried's figure disappeared silently into the deep night, just as he had arrived, as if he had never appeared.
In the living room, only Kael remained standing, facing the sudden, immense amount of information and a heavy entrustment.
He turned and looked at Kiana's closed door.
Behind the door, the silver-haired girl was deep in slumber, unaware of her father's arrival and departure, and unaware that her fate had just been entrusted to the same person once again.
Kael raised a hand and pressed hard against his temple.
When will these days... ever end...