Volume 4, Chapter 37: Choose, Kiana

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March 2016, Anti-Entropy Salt Lake Base.

Upon learning about Bronya's recovery and bringing back Seele from the Sea of Quanta, Anti-Entropy's leadership held a simple celebration.

Following this, fortune seemed to turn in their favor: Cocolia lost her backing, Schicksal and Anti-Entropy began collaborating, and Welt Yang returned to the Salt Lake Base.

And now...

"After Dr. Tesla's extensive presentation spanning 176 slides, we finally managed to convince Schicksal and Anti-Entropy to fully cooperate on Entropy Reduction, aiming to mitigate Honkai across Earth."

Einstein announced, "It appears Otto has completely abandoned control over Schicksal. Currently, Durandal holds full authority. We must admit, Durandal is easier to work with than Otto.

"To facilitate better communication, Bronya, Mei, and Seele will temporarily remain at Schicksal. If everything proceeds smoothly and theoretical values align, within three years, initial Entropy Reduction should be achieved. At that point, large-scale Honkai occurrences will no longer have a foundation on Earth."

"We also owe thanks to Schicksal for providing data on Coral Island's Honkai event... In any case, humanity finally has hope of defeating Honkai."

Einstein's news was undeniably uplifting.

Yet Kiana alone couldn't find it within herself to rejoice.

Siegfried had vanished.

Without warning, inexplicably gone missing.

She was the first to notice Siegfried's disappearance, but given his combat prowess, there was no way he could vanish without a trace. Either someone abducted him, or he left intentionally.

Naturally, Anti-Entropy personnel discovered Siegfried's absence as well. Despite sending teams to search, they've found little success so far.

Kiana pondered where he might be, her thoughts drifting away momentarily.

"Kiana?"

Einstein looked at her and continued, "The next piece of information comes from Schicksal, and it may concern your father."

"You have news about that rotten old man?" Kiana blurted out anxiously.

"Yes." Einstein paused briefly before continuing, "The Herrscher of Dominance has reappeared, leaving traces across various countries while abducting several individuals. Among them is even Wendy, Schicksal's S-rank Valkyrie, who has gone missing."

Compared to the earlier good news, Einstein's words now undoubtedly carried a heavier tone.

She paused briefly before continuing, "With Schicksal and Anti-Entropy fully cooperating, the Herrscher of Dominance will surely attempt more sabotage. Everyone must remain vigilant."

"You need to be especially careful. Based on my conjecture, they're targeting you."

Kiana's expression turned slightly grim. "Is it because...of Sirin Project?"

"Yes."

By this point, Sirin Project was no longer a secret. From the 2000 Second Major Honkai Eruption through the K-series clones, leading up to Kiana herself—the entire sequence had been fully exposed.

The sole purpose behind the project was to enable humans to harness the power of the Herrscher of the Void.

Although the reasons for specifically focusing on the Herrscher of the Void remained unclear—neither explained nor elaborated upon in the Schicksal Files—the experimental process and underlying rationale were meticulously documented without any omissions.

However, the timeline of the experiment had been accelerated.

Kiana's feelings towards Sirin Project were similarly complex.

One obvious consequence was that without Sirin Project, Kiana wouldn't exist.

But this didn't stop her from hating being controlled and manipulated. Even under Sirin Project's timeline, she had gained mastery over the Herrscher of the Void's power earlier than expected.

Kiana took a deep breath. "If it's targeting me specifically, then I could be drawn into that theater at any moment, right?"

"Yes," Einstein nodded. "Kiana, you must stay vigilant during this time. According to our intelligence, the Herrscher of Dominance possesses the ability to strip other Herrschers of their powers."

"It's fine," Kiana said confidently. "Even with just my Kaslana Gunmanship, I can still defeat them."

Based on Dr. Einstein's estimation, Siegfried would likely remain unharmed for now. However, nothing is ever certain.

Currently, Anti-Entropy lacked sufficient resources to fully support Kiana. The organization was already severely weakened, not to mention they were preparing for the upcoming Entropy Reduction Plan.

Theresa needed to stay at the Salt Lake Base to guard against Cocolia's potential counterattacks. As such, aside from providing intel and supplies, Anti-Entropy could only rely on Kiana herself for this mission.

The Herrscher of Dominance arrived sooner than expected.

As soon as Kiana left the meeting room, she noticed something unusual at the Salt Lake Base—a letter lying by her feet.

It was unmistakably an invitation to the Dominion Theater.

With the address indicated on the envelope, Kiana rushed straight there.

The destination marked on the invitation was a small, underdeveloped city. Perhaps it was just bad timing, but upon arrival, she found herself witnessing a robbery—an exceedingly rare drive-by theft, no less.

Unfazed, the robbers were about to collide with a pedestrian.

Without hesitation, Kiana used her powers to save them.

"Boom."

An explosion rang out.

Despite Kiana's intervention, the speeding vehicle continued its rampage, claiming even more lives.

Anger flashed across Kiana's eyes, yet the disaster persisted.

On top of nearby skyscrapers, figures clutching bombs appeared, seemingly ready to hurl them onto the streets below and detonate chaos.

Those two individuals stared down at Kiana, as if posing a question: "Choose, Kiana."

The Herrscher of Dominance seemed well-acquainted with her, employing these tactics to gradually dismantle her mental defenses.

Ignoring everything else, Kiana immediately summoned the Aether Spear...

Another explosion echoed.

There were not just two figures on the buildings but four.

The violent blasts alarmed many people. This nation had a long history of terrorist attacks, causing widespread panic and chaos as individuals fled in terror.

On the street, several individuals with darker skin tones emerged, aiming their machine guns at Kiana.

They opened fire.

Kiana instinctively tried to dodge, but realizing there was no cover nearby, she halted her evasive maneuvers and instead used her Authority to send the bullets into Virtual Space.

"Is this your choice, Kiana?" came a chilling voice.

Kiana's eyes narrowed slightly as she spotted a puppet resembling Siegfried materializing before her.

Her gaze hardened.

Although aware that the Herrscher of Dominance possessed the ability to mimic others, seeing her annoying old man depicted as a villain still infuriated her.

"If this is Kiana's choice, then...how about this?"

Even more guns now pointed directly at her.

Behind her, screams erupted as people scrambled for cover or attempted to flee—but escape seemed impossible.

Undoubtedly, Kiana found herself trapped in a dire predicament.

"What do you want?" She tried negotiating.

But the doll's gun fired without hesitation.

Instantly, the scent of gunpowder and blood filled the air.