Ten years can see the coming and going of spring and autumn, a hundred years can prove birth, aging, sickness, and death, a thousand years can lament the change of dynasties, and ten thousand years can see the shift of the stars.
Few memories of the past remain.
Only [Protecting Shenzhou], which was a promise made with an old friend, has never been forgotten.
Known as the Immortal Jingwei by the world, she has protected the land of Shenzhou for thousands of years.
Until the fire happened.
Because of the accident, Phoenix was severely injured, and only one-tenth of her strength remained.
It was difficult to continue to fulfill the promise with her friend.
Then came the Archbishop of Schicksal, Otto Apocalypse.
In desperation, in order to continue to fulfill her promise with her friend, Immortal Jingwei had no choice but to make a deal with Otto.
She was driven by him, and in exchange, he would protect Shenzhou with the power of Schicksal.
As part of the deal, Phoenix agreed to change her name to Fu Hua and came to Saint Freya Academy to monitor a girl named Kiana Kaslana.
However, she didn't expect the task to be abruptly solved by the questions in the strange Q&A space.
And that was not the end.
The next question felt like a heavy stone, thrown into Fu Hua's heart, causing ripples.
From Theresa's previous explanation, Fu Hua understood that the questions in this space were related to their past, present, and future.
This question clearly revealed her future. She would obey Otto's orders, lurk and monitor Kiana, then one day, take Kiana away to defeat an unknown monster, but eventually wake up and decide to make up for her mistakes.
"Is this my future?"
Having had no prior contact with him, Fu Hua, who had no understanding of the future revealed by the question, showed a rare moment of confusion in her eyes.
"...Anyway, I should answer the question first."
Unlike Theresa who still worried about Fu Hua being an undercover agent sent by Otto, Mei who was the calmest at the moment, spoke up, pulling Fu Hua from her confusion.
Her tone was not harsh.
Although the question clearly indicated that Fu Hua would take Kiana away, Mei, at least, knew that Fu Hua regretted her actions in the end and would make amends.
Of course, this is because Mei was wearing glasses, so she was in a calm and rational state. If she were normal, and she wouldn't have known that Fu Hua was after Kiana. The moment she made the move, it would have been enough to pull Fu Hua's favorability into the negative.
"...I understand." Fu Hua nodded slightly.
Since they were in this space, it was only natural to focus on Q&A the questions first.
If the questions weren't answered, they couldn't even return to reality.
It was pointless to think too much.
With a complicated look, Fu Hua took another glance at the question and then focused on the four answers.
[A. Immortal Jingwei, I didn't lie.]
[B. I'm sorry, old friend.]
[C. This is a trial.]
[D. Sorry.]
To be honest, all four answers could align with Otto's tone.
However, C could probably be ruled out.
Its meaning was unclear. Saying something vague before killing oneself would be too much of a riddle.
D could likely be ruled out as well.
Thinking carefully about her interactions with Otto, Fu Hua had never heard words like "sorry" or "apologize" from the Overseer. She didn'
t recall any apology from him.
Based on the future described in the question, Otto should not have apologized to her.
The conflict between her and Otto was probably about rejecting his ideas and actions.
Excluding C and D, the remaining answers were A and B.
Both answers sounded like something Otto would say.
Fu Hua suspected that Otto may have said both of these sentences.
However, since the question asked for what Otto said in his final moments, they had to distinguish between the first and last.
"I choose A."
Without hesitation, Fu Hua made her choice.
She didn't think much about it.
Between the two, she simply picked one at random.
This was her first time in this space. Although Theresa had told her that good things would come from Q&A the questions correctly, Fu Hua didn't care about it.
In the years of guarding Shenzhou, her desires had been few. She didn't need much. If something good came, that was fine, but she wouldn't be affected if it didn't.
[Correct]
The green color representing correctness covered the screen.
Fu Hua was a little surprised by the correctness, but she didn't dwell on it.
She was more concerned about the information revealed about her future by the question.
As she thought, the screen that appeared after Q&A the question came into view, drawing everyone's attention.
The background of the image showed the sci-fi headquarters of Schicksal. Fu Hua, dressed in a sleek, black, technologically advanced Valkyrie armor, stood in it. Opposite her was a figure familiar to Theresa—her grandfather, the Bishop of Schicksal, Otto Apocalypse.
Otto who considered Fu Hua his friend did not hold back. He directly revealed his plan: using the DNA of Kiana and the second Herrscher, he created the experimental subject K423. He arranged for K423 to meet others and form a deep bond, then turned K423 into a Herrscher, using the bond to control her.
Thus, the Herrscher who could be controlled by others was born.
This incredibly insane plan was revealed to the others watching the video.
Theresa, Himeko, Bronya, and Fu Hua were all shocked and heartbroken.
Except for Mei, as she had already guessed part of Otto's plan.
And...
"...So, that's it."
Crystal tears slid down Kiana's cheeks, and her beautiful face, once like a flower, now looked lost and panicked.
She lowered her head, recalling everything that had happened.
In this moment, everything hidden became clear.
Tears rolled down as her blue eyes stared at her trembling hands.
This body, this name...
So she was just a false copy?
An unstoppable sadness surged in her heart. Kiana appeared heartbroken and alone.
"..."
Mei sighed.
When she pieced these things together, she had sensed this moment might come.
But she hadn't expected it to arrive so quickly.
She took off her glasses and put them in her pocket.
Then, without hesitation, she opened her arms and embraced Kiana.
The sudden action caused Kiana's trembling body to stiffen, but the warmth of the embrace made her not resist.
"Listen to me, Kiana..."
Mei's voice was soft but full of tenderness as she leaned her head against Kiana's ear.
"No matter how others see you, in my eyes, you are the only Kiana."
With complete certainty in her words, Mei leaned against Kiana's forehead and spoke, word by word:
"The Kiana I know is only you, and it will only be you!"