Another Farewell

"Principal, we're approaching ARC City. Do we need to request permission to dock at the spaceport?" The howling wind whipped past Bronya's ponytail as she stood nervously on the deck. If Ren truly was the mastermind, their arrival in ARC City was akin to walking into the lion's den.

As a former cold-blooded assassin, Bronya was usually the calmest of the trio. But Ren exerted immense pressure on her; just closing her eyes brought back flashes of those two figures in the rainy night.

She glanced down along the bridge's edge, still able to see the bridge she personally built spanning the river below.

"Don't be nervous, Bronya. The Hyperion is too large to hide from them anyway. Besides, as long as we don't show hostility, with Kiana around, he wouldn't attack us directly."

"Really?" Bronya remained skeptical. She had been beaten up right here last time.

"Don't overthink it." Standing on tiptoe to pat Bronya's head, Theresa offered a reassuring smile, then used her captain's authority to contact the ARC City spaceport channel.

"This is Hyperion, requesting permission to dock at ARC City spaceport."

"Permission granted."

"In 30 seconds, the docking route will be transmitted to your vessel. Please maintain distance from populated areas and avoid city structures."

"See? I told you it would be fine." Receiving the confirmation, Theresa relaxed and patted Bronya's shoulder before heading back to the control room.

"I hope so," Bronya sighed, helpless. She took one last look down at the city before leaving the deck.

...

As one of the largest battleships, the Hyperion dwarfed even standard aircraft carriers. Just hovering above the city cast a massive shadow covering parts of the urban area.

No one noticed that within that shadow, two figures stood atop the television tower that had once nearly been detonated, quietly watching the battleship in the sky.

"Didn't expect Theresa and the others would actually come," Himeko sighed involuntarily, watching the ship slowly approach the port.

"Are you worried about them? I wouldn't mind if you wanted to leak some intel to them," Ren said, a teasing smile playing on his lips.

"Not really. I still have some faith in their combat abilities. I just didn't expect that simply showing your face intentionally was enough to lure them over."

"You think they were lured? In reality, it's just information asymmetry."

Hearing Ren's explanation, Himeko felt a flicker of curiosity. She turned and asked, "By the way, if I weren't on your side, what are the chances I'd fall for your tricks?"

"That's something you'd have to ask yourself. When you're in a world where 80% of the information is deliberately fabricated by me, how confident are you that you could grasp that single thread of truth?"

"Eighty percent..." Hearing the number, Himeko's expression froze. Staring into Ren's golden eyes, she couldn't help murmuring, "That's terrifying."

"Not really. Because I just made that number up. Think about it, I'm not a god; how could I possibly know what news everyone reads every day in such detail?"

The boy sat perched on the railing, overlooking the entire city. Under his gaze, the city streets seemed to transform into golden threads, and everything within the city became mere prey caught in a spider's web.

He tilted his head up, revealing a smile. "I just put on the right performance at the right time."

The distant sunlight was blocked by the Hyperion, casting a large shadow. For some reason, looking at Ren enveloped in shadow, Himeko felt an undeniable sense of loneliness surrounding him.

She pressed her lips together and asked softly, "Do you always have to present yourself through performance? Don't you get tired?"

"..."

After a brief silence, Ren shook his head. "Can't be helped. I am Dominance, and also the Legion. I was born to live in the shadows of others."

With that, Ren stretched lazily, cutting off any further questions from Himeko. "Alright, since they've arrived, it's time for me to go."

He released his grip on the railing, leaned forward, and prepared to fall from the hundreds-of-meters-high television tower. But before he could jump, Himeko grabbed his shoulder.

"Are you sure you don't want to say goodbye to Kiana?"

"If I said goodbye, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to leave."

Smiling, Ren gently broke free from Himeko's grasp, closed his eyes, and savored the brief joy of freefall. Just before hitting the ground, his figure vanished into thin air.

Atop the tower, only Himeko remained, sighing with complex emotions. Her gaze shifted towards the location of their home.

"Sent her out to buy groceries this morning... wonder if she'll worry when she comes back and finds him gone. But with Bronya and the others here, it should be okay, right...?"

Muttering to herself, Himeko felt a lingering sense of unease. After some thought, she pulled out paper and a pen, imitating Ren's handwriting to leave a note.

But just as she was about to sneak back to deliver it, her body suddenly froze, losing all control.

"Sorry, Himeko-sensei. He wouldn't want you to do that." A female voice sounded suddenly from behind. Himeko slowly turned, her pupils instantly dilating.

"Kiana?"

"Mm-hmm, I am indeed Kiana, but not the one you know. Of course, you can also call me Liuli." [Kiana], cradling Taxue, stroked the cat's head as she slowly emerged from the darkness. "It's just a pity that in the world bubble I come from, I wasn't your student, Himeko-sensei."

"While Ren is away, I will act as the proxy for Dominance's authority. So, leaking secrets... that's not allowed."

[Kiana], now in control of Himeko, sighed and took the small note from her hand. However, the note didn't contain the classified information she expected, but rather a gentle farewell.

"..." Looking slightly unnatural, Liuli pretended nothing happened, tore up the note, and stuffed it into her pocket. "Ahem, my mistake."

But this series of actions held a different meaning for Himeko. "It seems you care more about his plans than Ren does himself."

Releasing Himeko, [Kiana] didn't deny it, instead confessing with a hint of regret, "Can't be helped. Even though we're both Kiana, to him, she is the only one."

Hearing this, Himeko understood instantly and wisely chose not to press further, directly changing the subject. "So, you're the 'Herrscher of Dominance' Ren asked me to cooperate with?"

"Correct guess. Let's go. Anti-Entropy has already started moving, and Schicksal is beginning to investigate too. There will be plenty of trouble ahead." With that, [Kiana] stroked the cat's head again.

The next second, Taxue the black cat's eyes turned golden, directly opening a passage to the Theater of Domination.

As the two stepped through, the aura of Dominance completely vanished from the city. Only Kiana, just emerging from a supermarket, seemed to sense something, looking towards the signal tower.