It was as if all sound had been sucked out of the bathroom; even the air held its breath.
The showerhead, rustling just a second ago, suddenly froze in mid-air as if an invisible hand had pressed the pause button.
"You... are the real Kiana?"
[Yes, I am.]
"Then, who am I?"
[A new consciousness automatically extended from my body after I fell into slumber.]
The Queen spouted nonsense effortlessly: [Haven't you ever wondered why you possessed basic common sense about life before even opening your eyes? Why you possessed self-awareness from the very beginning?]
[This is the answer.]
This was a lie.
The knowledge in K423's mind was all inputted by learning devices. Kiana's self was derived from Sirin's yearning for "goodness," just as the Herrscher of the Void persona was the extension of her "evil."
The person involved knew nothing of this.
She touched her own face dazedly and whispered, "In other words, my previous deductions were all wrong."
"I am the real Kiana?"
Huge teardrops fell to the ground. The white-haired girl, kneeling on the floor, wept tears of joy. "The one who made the promise with Ah-Li... it really was me when I was little?"
[Correct.]
The Queen huffed.
This was exactly the goal she wanted to achieve.
Miss Herrscher wouldn't deny that she lost to Raiden Mei. A loss is a loss; at worst, she'd just win it back next time.
Therefore, she wouldn't deny that, having spent centuries of life with only him, whether it was love or not was hard to say, but she was thoroughly unable to leave that man (Fuli), inside and out.
Thus, the Queen appeared before Kiana and told a colossal lie to her other half who had already sensed the problem.
She knew that with this fool's personality, if she truly realized K423 wasn't the real Kiana, she would indeed struggle at first, but eventually, the girl would definitely make the truth public.
Because Kiana is kind.
Deceiving Fuli would torture her heart continuously until the overflowing water breached the dam, turning into a surging, monstrous flood that destroyed everything in sight.
The Queen could not tolerate this. Once this happened—
No! This must absolutely never happen!
So, she took action.
Since the real Kiana was already dead, wouldn't it be fine if I became the real Kiana?
The method was to assume the real Kiana's identity. While unlocking Kiana's shackles, it would also give her the motivation to move forward.
Anyway, the real Kiana first had her head blown open by wing wreckage and then fell from an altitude of ten thousand meters. If she could survive that, buy a rocket ticket and travel 380,000 kilometers to the moon. There are the remains of the Herrscher of Finality from the Previous Era; tell it to leave, you sit there.
In short, Real Kiana, you just go in peace. I'll take good care of your identity and your fresh meat fiancé. I guarantee he'll be served comfortably.
Oh right, serving him was actually one of the major reasons driving the Queen to take this risky path.
During the first ten years Fuli broke into the spiritual seal, although things naturally progressed to the wedding night with the lonely Queen, he adamantly refused to take the crucial final step.
The reason?
The boy's feelings for Kiana were no longer simple liking or love, but had ascended to a level of spiritual faith.
As long as Kiana hadn't 'recovered' her childhood memories, even if the Queen could be considered a part of her, he still refused.
Otto was the same in this regard. Even after creating a clone identical to Kallen, that man never crossed the line.
Learning the truth made the Queen grind her teeth in anger. What was this? Mei could play, Kallen could play, Theresa could play, but she, the Herrscher of the Void, couldn't play?
Yes, only she couldn't.
Just as a devout believer can marry and have children normally but would never conceive thoughts of blaspheming their god.
Fuli could accept normal horseplay, and even being a bit more ambiguous wasn't out of the question, but don't even think about the most critical step.
Because God cannot be blasphemed.
But even if humans revere God, what does God think in their heart?
'God' doesn't want to be viewed by 'humans' with non-human eyes. 'God' wants to blaspheme 'humans'.
The more loyal and chaste he is, the more she wants to see him lose his soul in debauchery;
The more indifferent and detached he is, the more she wants to see him fall into the mortal dust;
The more calm and breezy he is, the more she wants to see him tossing and turning in desire;
The more high and mighty he is, the more she wants to see him servile and kneeling.
So, late one night, the Herrscher of the Void, having regained a small portion of her authority through a crack, transformed into an evil dragon and pounced on the sleeping boy who had trustingly turned his back to her.
If you can't even do forced entry, do you dare say you love him? Damn it, I'm eating first, talk later!
The startled Fuli initially wanted to resist. However, when the Queen looked at him with incomparable grievance using that beautiful face identical to Kiana's, his movement to condense the Shadow-Trailing Sword inevitably stopped.
It's just a mental space. It's a dream.
Consoling himself thus, the boy sighed and ignored the white-haired demon who laughed wildly while constantly encroaching upon him and feasting.
Moments later, the guest became the host.
Afterward, Fuli forgave the Queen before long. She was a part of Kiana, and that was enough for him.
The Queen also knew that all the reasons the boy indulged her willfulness were based on this point, so she absolutely couldn't let the truth come out.
What? Impersonating an identity to date Fuli—isn't that becoming someone else's substitute?
Laughable. The Herrscher of the Void, inheriting Sirin's memories and malice, wasn't that little brat Theresa living in a sugar jar. The Queen never cared about being a meal replacement or not.
From beginning to end, there was only one phrase in her dictionary—survival of the fittest.
If she really cared about this and that, how could the past Sirin have survived the inhuman experiments and treatment in the Babylon Tower time and time again?
In the end, love is a luxury that only exists in civilized society;
And Herrschers, their birth is to be the enemy of civilization.
Moreover, just thinking about using someone else's identity to ravage someone else's fiancé made the Herrscher of the Void feel a strange electric current rush straight to the top of her skull. Her exquisitely beautiful face couldn't help but reveal a frenzied expression mixing malicious desire for conquest and destruction.
Yes! That's right! This is a Herrscher! A Herrscher should be like this!
As envoys of God, we are born to conquer and plunder!
This is just the foundation. Wait until a certain day in the future, when that man (Fuli) completely cannot leave her.
After a daily exercise session, satisfied, she would lie by his ear and softly whisper the truth: "I'm not the real Kiana. All of this was a lie to you~"
At that time, what kind of expression would that man show?
Blankness? Despair?
The hesitation when he struggles countless times only to find he absolutely cannot leave her? Those crimson eyes completely losing focus?
The thrill brought by that instant—how delicious would it be?
I am high to the point of no return!!!
It seems centuries of loneliness finally caused a perverted reaction in the Queen's mind.
Suggestion: Go sit at the same table as the Herrscher of Dominance.
...