Going Back to Face the 'Music'

With a gasp, Seele pushed herself off the ground as she was feeling wobbly after that throw.

'You are lucky you were not her main target.' 

A colder voice said in her mind.

'Yes… But to catch my scythe with bare hands…' Seele trembled at that thought!

'She was not Honkai or anything like that. That Kiana looks alike was more like a supernatural entity.'

'Like a witch or a dragon? From fairy book stories?' The girl nearly gawked at that idea, making the other girl inside of her grimace from silliness.

'Fairy books aside, she didn't wield honkai but something else, making me think that she was supernatural of some sort.'

Seele sharply nodded as she collected her weapon and looked around.

"Umm, is it just me, or are the Siera Nevada mountains gone?" The scythe-wielding girl commented as she looked at the distance.

'As I was saying… supernatural.' Her 'evil self' reaffirmed what she mentioned a moment ago.

Seele nodded as she realised that Kiana and the armies were gone. All that was left behind was just sand… 

However, she knew that these guys were not gone. That thing in the sky was still there, and so was the fleet of spaceships keeping its watch.

'Return to the base. Maybe they know what is going on.'

"Right!"

The girl rushed back to the Anti-Entropy base. Instead of seeing the familiar airstrip, she saw an old derelict base that looked like it had been abandoned for many years.

Military personnel looked confused as they tried to figure out what happened.

Seele's eyes finally ended up on Bronya, sitting on a boulder and looking distressed.

"Bronya!" 

"...Seele? Where is Kiana?" 

As Seele rushed over the ash-silver-haired girl, more Anti-Entropy people approached. A red-haired girl and a blue-haired tomboy girl walked over to speak with Seele.

"There was an army of knight-like people who took Kiana! T-There was an evil-looking version of Kiana who did all of this! She was incredibly dangerous! She could transform into a more powerful version!"

As the girl explained, the group started to ponder on what this meant.

"More evil version?" Bronya mumbled under her breath, having a flashback at Schicsal base where Kiana's Herrscher form awakened.

'But it can't be. Has she got a separate body?'

"Any other details, Seele?" the red-haired glasses-wearing girl asked in a serious voice. It appears it went from Herrschers threat to planetary invasion… as absurd as it sounds.

"Umm…umm…" The girl tried to recall. Immediately recalling a ring on that girl's finger.

"She is engaged?"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"No, I am serious!" Seele pouted for a second as no one cared or believed that Kiana's evil version could be engaged in all things!

"She is engaged to some person who could have armies! And she said she is from a different alternative reality?" She tried to explain what she meant.

"So, is the evil alternative self from a different reality trying to eliminate other versions of herself? This sounds like a cheap movie plot." The red-haired girl replied with a tired sign.

"Tesla…" The tomboy girl reminded me to keep it serious.

"I know, I know."

"What is concerning is that Honkai ceased to exist when these armies appeared. It's troubling." A brown-haired man with glasses walked over.

"Welt?" 

"The Herrscher core in Bronya's hands turned into a regular stone. It was as if it was never a core to begin with." Welt Yang, the Sovereign of Anti-Entropy, commented as he looked at what Bronya was holding. It was a simple rock. 

"...No way… that lady said that she was waiting for 50 thousand years for this… maybe it's related?"

When Seele mentioned that, everyone looked dumbfounded. In a way, it made sense.

"...Then…"

"Are you saying that this evil Kiana waited for our Kiana to be born before she sprang into action!?" the redhead muttered in disbelief.

"This sounds like a way worse version of a cheap movie!" Tesla grimaced at how crazy this evil Kiana sounded.

"How does she look like?" Bronya asked after somewhat getting over that her powers turned into a rock.

"Well–"

What Seele described was exactly what Bronya remembers: golden orange eyes, energy wing on the right shoulder, subspace lances, black stockings, white short skirt… 

'Exactly like Herrscher Kiana…'

"What Seele described was Herrscher Kiana from the time Bronya saw her In Schicsal," Bronya explained to the group.

"I see. This all seems to be related."

As Welt said that, he looked at a warship approaching their location. He could see a smaller gunship leaving the warship and moving towards their location.

It appears this faction has decided to attack after acquiring Kiana.

~~~~~~Meanwhile~~~~~~

"Hahahahaha, it all makes sense… hahaha how cruel of you, world! I have lived in a fake world for the past 500 years!!!" A blonde man could not stop laughing as he realised everything he had built was for nothing!

Well, nothing he built, invented, crafted, even exists! All of his technology, which was a faction he should have nurtured, was an illusion!

He has no idea what is real and what is fake! Whoever did this is cruelty incarnate!

What should he do now?

Otto Apocalypse laughed as he looked around. The Headquarters of his faction, which should be in the air above the Mediterranean, is fake! It appears he never left the original headquarters location!

Honestly… what is the point of all of this?

Without wasting time, he decided to end himself right here; there was no reason for him to live anymore.

~~~

Kevin was even more confused than Otto. Nothing made sense to him.

His power, which he trained and nurtured over 50 millennia, was gone; he couldn't sense anything in his body.

The remnant technology of his civilisation all of a sudden was back where it was supposed to be.

Cities that should have been dust were back in their place. 

'What is happening here!' He was feeling a certain dread as he left World Serpent's Headquarters and saw massive spaceships floating above the city. 

"Those…"

At that moment, he felt something inside of him was getting removed.

That strange feeling he always had…

Old memories like sledgehammer slammed into his consciousness very front.

He remembers an invasion on the eve of the Seventh Herrscher fight.

It's the very same invasion he is seeing now!

But then he recalled the experiment, him becoming MANTIS! 

"These Aliens! They used me! For what!? What was this!? What is the purpose of this!? Over 50 thousand years!!!" 

He felt a massive amount of anger. He was utterly livid! Suffering for so long! For what!?

With out-of-control emotion, he decided to look for answers!

~~~

Raiden Mei looked at her trembling hand, unable to sense her power. It was like she never had one, to begin with!

Nothing made sense to her! Who were these people? Why are they invading? Why did Honkai seamlessly cease to exist? None of that made sense to her.

It's as if the world decided that it got tired of one thing and switched to another.

"Hmm?"

Her gaze ended up on a group of people flying.

'Are those are knights?'

For a second, she pondered, but then these people changed their direction and flew towards her.

Warning bells in her mind began to ring as she was feeling growing anxiety.

*THUD*

*THUD*

*THUD*

One after another, these knights landed, and instead of their rifles, they pointed their wrists of their free hands at her.

"Command, a priority collectable has been located. What are your orders."

'Priority collectible? Are they speaking about me?' 

Raiden Mei immediately realised they were most likely speaking about her status as Herrscher of Thunder.

'Someone strong enough to collect Herrschers… wait! Kiana!!!' 

The girl got anxious as she looked around for a weapon.

[Supreme Commander has suspended all projects, collectables and research on this planet. For now, mark the collectable and let it go.]

The dark purple-haired girl didn't hear the command as it was said directly to them.

"Orders Understood."

The leading knight shot something at Mei, who used her hand to try to block it, but whatever it was, it was formless and invisible.

'I didn't feel a thing… '

Before she can ask, the knights simply fly away.

"W-Wait! Tell me where is Kiana-chan!" The girl loudly exclaimed as she looked at them, just flying away.

"Damn! I won't give up that easily!"

~~~~~~With Sirin~~~~~~

The first thing Sirin did the moment she arrived at the bridge was to find the captain.

"How much time do I have before we arrive where Marcus is at?" The Void Queen asked with a concerned tone.

"Three hours." 

"T-That close!?" 

'To think we were this close!' The white-haired girl reeled back as she needed to compose.

"Yes, Supreme Commander is at the same 'island' as we speak. The distance is negligible." 

As the pair were discussing, Kiana finally caught up as she was looking at everything with a curious gaze.

She didn't expect the bridge to be something akin to a balcony with huge hall-size windows where she could observe the warship stretching out like that.

"How much you can delay the arrival?" Sirin asked the captain of her ship.

"The order is not strict. The Supreme Commander didn't ask for your immediate arrival, so I can extend it for a maximum of 24 hours."

"Do it." The Void Queen immediately agreed to the proposal.

"Very well."

With her arrival delayed, Sirin looked at Kiana and then looked around. It appears her new maids are not on the Bridge.

"Aurora, send a word to the maids. We are going to eat, and I want them to come as well."

[Understood.]

"And me? You won't be leaving me hungry, yes?" Kiana 'magically' appeared next to Sirin when 'food' was mentioned.

Sirin used her hand to push Kiana's face away before explaining to her.

"I won't. You can come with me. I do have a world-class chef who can cook anything I want."

That is right, to Sirin, Hisako is a world-class chef! Not that she ate from one before, so her opinion is based.

"What!? You even have a chef!?" Kiana gasped loudly when she heard that! Now, that sounds like royalty to her!

"Indeed. Now follow me." The Void Queen motioned to follow her. She is feeling generous at the moment because of the mess she has caused.

"...Can't say no to that~." The white-haired Valkyrie nodded as she began to follow her.

The pair arrived at a floor that looked like a corridor in an apartment building. It looked quite comfy and not overloaded by sheer size like the other areas Kiana had seen before.

No, it felt more like they arrived at a new building than a floor. There was carpet on the floor, small wooden coffee tables, and comfortable couches on the sides of the corridors. It was like you could just sit down and relax.

The only indication that they were moving was a huge window at the end of the corridor; Kiana could see movement there.

"...This place looks comfy, like a dormitory." 

"Hmm, you can say that this is a private floor where only people I choose can stay." Sirin clarified this place's purpose before walking towards specific doors.

Without standing ceremony, she opened them and walked in.

"Hisako! I need some food!" The Herrscher loudly spoke, making Kiana slightly amused by the Void Queen's unqueenly behaviour.

"Gah!?" The chef girl exclaimed in surprise. 

Kiana's eyes landed on her. She didn't look older than her! 

'But that bust!? What is she eating?' 

The Valkyrie looked slightly jealous of those mountains! It's one thing to accept Mei's assets as she is older, but these? No way!

"S-Sirin I thought you were busy," Hisako exclaimed before looking at the girl behind her. 

"I-Is that a clone of yours!?"

Instead of asking if Kiana could be her sister, Hisako is asking if she is a clone. That just shows how crazy her life is now.

One could expect anything in this place.

"No, but you are not far. This is my alternative self from this timeline. I am taking her to Marcus. In the meantime, prepare some food for me… her—" Sirin motioned with a dismissive hand at the girl behind her. "And the new maids."

"O-Oh, okay! Do you have any preferences?" The pink-haired chef looked immediately happier the moment she heard that they were returning.

This trip looks far shorter than she imagined.

"Nope, just do your thing. I want some deserts, too." After telling her to do whatever she wanted, Sirin walked to the sitting area and sat there. The Void Queen immediately leaned into her seat as she, closed her eyes and started to think about how to save her butt from incoming danger.

The issue with her situation is that she can lose all the favour she gained from this trip.

The dinosaurs she collected, the way she disposed of those maids, all of that will be undone.

'Well…'

After pondering for a bit, she can only give away all she got in this invasion trip and then throw herself at him.

As his creation, she does have perks, right? She bragged to Kiana that she would 'return', but she is not that confident about this.

As Sirin was thinking about what came next, Kiana was looking around. The girl realised that this was like a super flat of some sort.

Upon entry, there is a large sitting area. At the end of it, there are a couple of stairs that lead to something like a dining area. Then, there is an open kitchen on the right.

On the other side is something like a huge TV, and further down, there is a huge window through which she can see space… or something like that. It looks like they are travelling on a huge rainbow bridge through rapidly moving stars.

No doubt… she doesn't even know if she will ever return to her world.

Something like that makes her nervous! Quite a bit, actually! Her boldness is bitting back at her bum!

'But I doubt these are real windows. Won't that be bad for a warship? I am not an expert on this, but isn't it dangerous?'

Regardless…

The girl eventually ended up in the kitchen area and looked at the chef by the name of Hisako. 

"...Soo…" 

"Hmm?"

"Are you her chef?" Kiana asked while pointing her thumb at 'resting' Sirin.

"In a way? My lady is one of… Lord Goldman's fiances… I ended up making food for her when we were on trips." Hisako tried to explain herself in the simplest ways possible.

'Lord…hmm…that guy is the real deal if people in this time and age calling him Lord…'

The white-haired girl walked closer and asked in a whispering tone.

"Is he that dangerous? Honestly, I have no idea what kind of situation I got myself in." The Valkyrie asked while looking around, thinking that whispering still works.

"...I see… let's just say… if he wants something, there is no force in the cosmos who will stop him." Hisako, with a strained smile bluntly explained in a single sentence.

"...That bad…" 

Kiana slightly grimaced. That alone told her that this guy can do as he pleases.

It explains Sirin's meakness. She never imagined that proud thing speaking in such a puppy tone. That Herrscher was genuinely terrified of him.

"...Indeed. He is an inventor."

"I heard that before." The Kaslana Valkyrie mumbled under her breath. Inventors are something she is familiar with. After all, she is a byproduct of one.

"Hmm? Your world has a guy who builds a literal faction all by himself?"

"...Umm, not that far, but close." Kiana felt that she was going from a wolf to a bear. Both are not good for her health.

"I see. I don't know anything about the inventor of your world, but ours want the entire space and time under his control."

'Definitely worse than Otto Apocalypse.'

Kiana grimaced again, but if she went directly to him, could she stop or alter a thing or two? 

It is worth trying. 

'From trying to save the world to trying to save the entire space-time continuum.'

It appears her mission just got far more grand in size.

At that moment, the doors opened, and four more girls entered.

The white-haired girl poked her head from the kitchen and towards the main doors.

"Mei-senpai!?" 

The moment Kiana realised who it was, she rushed towards the new arrivals but stopped midway as she noticed Mei's confused look and the fact that this Mei had glasses.

"...You…are not Mei-senpai." 

"Unbelievable. This is the third time someone has confused me with this…Raiden Mei!" The girl groaned from frustration, but it only lasted for a second, as she quickly composed herself.

The pinkette next to MEI giggled, as this was new to her.

"I am Dr MEI. I was the premier scientist for an organisation called MOTH. I am originally from a previous civilisation to your civilisation."

Kiana gasped slightly, hearing that! This was someone from 50 thousand years ago!?

"Yep, and I am Elysia, and this is—"

"Sakura? And Kallen?" Kiana recalled these other two.

"...You know me?" Sakura looked surprised for a second, and so did Kallen.

"Umm, aren't you from medieval times of the Far East?" For a second, the white-haired Valkyrie wondered if this was THAT Sakura. But didn't she have bunny ears?

"No. I am from the same era as Dr MEI and Elysia." Sakura pointed at those two.

"...Oh… so there was another Sakura too, curious…" Kiana wondered if there was some sort of connection before looking at Kallen.

Kallen was looking back at her. There was certain connection she could feel the pair had.

"...You are Kaslana, like me, right?" Kallen asked her.

"Yep! I am Kiana Kaslana."

"I-I see, so we survived that long!" The other Kaslana was pleased to her that there were Kaslana's 500 years from now.

"Of course you did. I made sure you did." Sirin from the side interrupted this happy reunion.

"Now get inside, and don't stand next to the doors." The Void Queen instructed, and the five of them moved away from the doors.

"R-Right!"

"Okay…"

The five walked deeper into the living quarters.

"So why do you need us?" MEI asked. She wondered what was going on. Sirin wasn't done with her quest, right? As the nerd version of Raiden Mei could see Kiana Kaslana was the whole ordeal, right? That is why Sirin messed with time. Yet, they were flying somewhere!

'Marcus requested to return? What for?'

"We are flying back because Marcus wants to! End of story!" The orange-gold-eyed version of Kiana replied with a snappy tone.

"She messed up, and her future husband saw through that and has demanded to return to him immediately," Kiana explained with a crafty smirk. She is interested to see how her evil self will pull herself out of this!

'Oh, so she did act without permission. No wonder.' MEI nodded as she pushed her glasses up and looked at Sirin.

"Oh, shut up! As if you understand what it means!" Sirin snapped with a pouty tone as she felt like shit, unable to do anything against these sharp tongues.

She could send them all work with dung, but they can complain to Marcus once they arrive, and she doesn't want any sort of resentment towards her situation as it is.

"Sadly, I understand well enough. He gave you armies to conquer the previous era, and you did. But then you wanted to get back at me and used time manipulation.

He didn't give you permission, yet he figured out what you did, so now you are returning to him. That is why you are so nice to us." Kiana explained everything to the whole group.

"..." 

The Void Queen looked annoyed for a second.

"I see, so it was like that." Dr MEI had the look of realisation as she was thinking around similar lines.

"Oh, so it's like that." Elysia sagely nodded.

"It's not nice to make your future husband mad like that." The pink menace raised her finger as if advising the Void Queen.

"I don't need advice from someone who never had a boyfriend to speak of!" Sirin exclaimed angrily as a bucket of ice cream appeared in her hands, followed by a spoon. She used her time manipulation to get an ice cream.

"Now, if you excuse me, go enjoy your food. I need to think in peace!"

The group of five girls looked at each other with a set of different expressions.

"Well, let's go~." Kiana began to walk back to the dining area; the rest followed her as they looked around. This was the first time they had seen living apartments in the massive Dreadnought.

"You know… this is a bigger apartment than I used to rent." Sakura said to Elysia and MEI.

"...Um, what is an apartment?" Kallen asked Sakura.

The pinkette assassin looked at the white-haired girl.

"Right… different era. An apartment is a large building where many people live at once, " she explained.

"Definitely bigger than the dormitory I shared with Mei-senpai." Kiana chipped in, making Dr MEI grimace.

"Who is this Raiden Mei? Everyone kept on confusing me to her."

The Kaslana Valkyrie showed a nervous smile, realising that this version of Mei is colder and more calculating, like a scientist-type!

"That is because you look like her." Kiana pulled out her phone and went through her Gallery showing picture of Raiden Mei and Kiana.

"She truly does. This is so strange," Sakura commented as she never expected to see Dr MEI look alike like this!

"Oh! This version is such a cutie!" Elysia found her extremely cute.

Kiana puffed her chest for a second before pulling her phone away.

"Yep, and she is 3rd Herrscher, the Herrscher of Thunder."

"Oh!!!" Elysia clapped her hands when she heard that. Dr MEI looked shocked for a second. Now she knows why everyone is mentioning this girl! She was a Herrscher!

"That reminds me, how was it with Herrschers in your time?" Kiana asked the people from the previous era.

The question got the trio to have complex emotions.

"Ha. You wouldn't like them." Sirin chipped in.

"They had to deal with real Honkai while you were dealing with a simulation." The Void Queen explained with a snort.

"What did you even do it?" Kiana asked curiously. How did it go from the real deal to a simulation?

"I blew it up. The real form of honkai was like a cocoon or a planet with a hole inside it. I would say it reminds me of a seed of a tree. Maybe it was? We had honkai because our universe is structured like a tree. Such thing doesn't exist where Marcus originates from."

Sirin explained as she was swirling her spoon like a weapon in her hand.

"I see. But I thought you wanted to enslave Honkai to your will." MEI remembered what Sirin said a while back.

"I did, but then I didn't." The Void Queen lazily waived her spoon.

"When you have such a firepower, it becomes difficult to hold back and not want to blow it up simply.

Besides, I will be back at my original timeline. I did promise Marcus that we would conquer it together."

"That depends on him~." This time, Kiana teased her, making the evil counterpart's eyebrows twitch.

"Shut it!"

Sirin curled up on the couch like a cat and returned to eating her ice cream.

~~~~~~Meanwhile, With Marcus~~~~~~

"Are you okay? You looked spaced out." Bronya asked with concern in her voice.

"Hmm?" Marcus snapped out, and for a second, he shook his head.

"I am fine. I just tried out a new form of projection. It was disorienting." He explained himself as he massaged his forehead briefly before fully recovering.

"Are you sure?" She with uncertainty.

"Don't worry. My superpower is adaptation. Something like this is temporary." He clarified with a smile before taking her hand.

"Instead, you should worry about how to pamper me! We need to explore the city." 

Bronya smiled slightly at him.

"You know that I spent my whole life here? I know all the alleys and shortcuts like the back of my hand?" The girl told him with amusement.

"True, that is why you are the best for this job." He motioned for her to lead, and the next Supreme Guardian nodded at his request. She began to walk slowly. Mentally, she was building a route for what she wanted to show him.

However, she quickly noticed that no one noticed her. It was as if she were a complete stranger. People that she had known for years didn't recognise her!

But then… the situation got even more embarrassing for her! People are talking behind their backs!

"Do you think it was the right move to offer our next Supreme Guardian for this alien newcomer?" 

People were whispering and talking about her and Marcus right in front of her and him! It's beyond embarrassing for the Heiress!

"Umm… please ignore them! They are defensive about me and suspicious of strangers." Bronya defended her people as she got closer to him to keep his attention on her, not the people.

"Don't worry; I know~~~. " He smiled at her, his voice full of a teasing undertone, making her embarrassed.

"...Umm…why they don't recognise me?" She asked with an awkward tone. It was strange to her and even refreshing.

"That is because Bronya is for my eyes today." He teases her even more, making her turn away with a heavy blush.

"I-I see…"

"Yep." He nodded in satisfaction as they continued to walk until Marcus' eyes ended up on trams moving through wider streets.

As a self-proclaimed lover of trains, his attention was immediately perked up.

"Do you need to buy a ticket to use it?" He asked her as he stopped and looked at the trams.

"We can use one if you want," she suggested after seeing how he looked at them. She finds it amusing how he got interested in such a basic thing when it comes to his things.

The guy has massive spaceships, but is he interested in them?

"Then let's go." He pulled towards the closest tram station and waited for the next one to arrive.

"...Where do you want to go?" She asked him as she looked at the map on the side of the tram stop.

"I have no idea. You are my guide. I will go where you take me." He looked at the map alongside her. His eyes ended up on the entrance to the Underworld, the city under a city.

"The Underworld. Do you want my troops to clean it up for you?" he asked her, turning his gaze to the side to look at Bronya.

She looked slightly nervous when she heard the question.

"It's a sour spot for my city. We abandoned them. I have no idea what is going on there." The next Supreme Guardian looked ashamed to tell him that.

"Like I said. I have more than enough manpower to fix that for you."

"I-I know. It's just… I don't want to end up being useless." The girl eventually told him how she felt about this.

"...Hah… what a classic reply." He shook his head as he had predicted this.

"What do you mean?" She asked with confusion all over her face.

"Well, I don't expect you to do anything in the true physical sense. A woman's true objective in a relationship is moral and spiritual support," he explained to her.

"...I… don't even know where to start." To his remark, she was clueless. She was raised to be a guardian to her people, fight, lead troops, defend their homes, and make hard decisions.

"...Hmm, how about this. Focus on one step at a time. For now, your only job is to be my date for today. We need to have fun."

"...As you wish…" Her voice was full of uncertainty.

"Sometimes, the hardest tasks require the easiest solutions. I know that from experience." He said this and pulled her closer to himself.

"For example, ~ Bronya needs to cuddle to solve all of her issues ~."

Her cheeks immediately heated up as she thought of something else. She didn't grasp the true meaning of 'cuddle' yet. To her, she felt something more intimate.

"Y-You perv!" The girl exclaimed out of nowhere.

Marcus looked surprised for a second.

"As expected of a heiress, even holding hands and hugs are indecent to you." The inventor joked at the naivety and purity of the girl in his hands.

When she heard that, there was a look of realisation in her eyes.

"No. It would seem I misunderstood the meaning of this word." She explained while looking away, not daring to look into his eyes.

"Hohoho, my Bronya is quite naughty!" the girl trembled in his hands as she turned around and showed him inflated hamster-like cheeks for thinking that she was naughty!

"I am not! Like I said! I have no idea how this whole thing works!" The Heiress explained herself with ever-growing embarrassment. She can't believe she has to explain herself like this!

"Hmm, well, that is why I am here to show you the ropes," he said with a small smile as one of his fingers poked her inflated cheeks. She looked gorgeous and adorable at the same time.

His actions caused her to look away again.

"Don't worry, we do it slowly~ letting you get used to hugs like these."

Bronya frowned slightly when she heard that.

"Do you always do this to your girls?" She asked with a curious tone.

"Depends which ones. My created ones know that I adore them always, so I don't need to remind them constantly, but the ones I meet, I usually pamper in a similar fashion~."

His explanation reminded her that Marcus is something else to have the ability to make real girls!

"I see… it appears I need to try seriously." She said with a deadly serious tone.

She turned around and slightly leaned into him. She was close to kissing him right there!

"Oh~~ someone is getting serious~~"

~~~

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