Obsessive and Self-Destructive

The moment the girl's voice came through the phone, the scene fell deathly silent. Mei, whose expression had just been sharp, froze, her lips parting unconsciously but unable to form words.

After two seconds, as if snapping back to reality, she hurriedly explained, "Sorry, Kiana, I didn't realize it was your call. I thought it was my... colleague."

After speaking, she paused tentatively. Hearing no reply, she added, "A rather unpleasant person."

As Kiana's best friend, Mei knew how deeply the Herrscher of the Void incident had wounded her, so bringing up the topic of 'defection' [Raven defected from World Serpent, but the word itself is sensitive for Kiana] felt incredibly inappropriate right now.

However, the expected sadness didn't come. Instead, there was a light laugh from the girl. "Pfft, Mei, it's rare to see you explaining yourself so frantically. But I'm not that sensitive or fragile anymore. Actually, the way you said that just now sounded pretty badass. I didn't expect you'd change so much after we separated, Mei."

"Have I?"

"Mhm. Even though you subconsciously change your tone when talking to me, judging by the way you speak now, the current Mei must be a powerful and impressive super-soldier."

The girl's string of compliments made Mei's heart beat a little faster, and an almost imperceptible smile touched her lips.

"Ah, I should have noticed back in ARC City. I was just too excited after not seeing you for so long," Kiana's voice held a hint of annoyance. "Next time we meet, Mei, you absolutely have to tell me about the new friends you've made."

"Of course." Though miles separated them, Mei subconsciously nodded.

She glanced up at the steadily gathering Honkai Beast tide in the distance. The Seven Thunders of Retribution vanished from her hand instantly. The next second, the sand-covered sky turned overcast, dark clouds beginning to gather over the perpetually arid desert.

With a crash of thunder, lightning struck down. Monsters just emerging from void rifts were sent straight into a lightning inferno before they could even roar.

After dealing with the surrounding Honkai Beasts, the smile faded from Mei's face. She knew Kiana wouldn't call just to chat idly; she must be in trouble.

So, she didn't prolong the small talk, steering the conversation to the main point after a few pleasantries.

"Mei, I heard you're the leader of The Obsidian Concord now. Are you familiar with Ren?"

"Ren..." The expected question, the expected answer. Mei felt a mix of complex emotions, yet also a sense of relief.

"Not particularly familiar, but if you want to ask, I can tell you everything I know."

"That's great! Here's what happened..." Kiana's spirits lifted upon hearing the confirmation. She quickly summarized recent events: the chaos caused by the Herrscher of Dominance, Ren's departure, and Schicksal's actions.

Hearing about the HoD incidents, Mei frowned slightly and murmured to herself, "Has Project Stigma already begun?"

"Project Stigma? Isn't that World Serpent's plan? What does it have to do with Ren?" Kiana seized the key piece of information.

"Looks like he didn't tell you anything." Mei sighed, glanced at The Obsidian Concord mark on her wrist, and conjured a ball of electricity, covering and shielding it.

"First, there are two things I need to tell you upfront. One, Ren is indeed the Herrscher of Dominance, and an extremely powerful one. Two, I'm only the nominal leader of The Obsidian Concord. The real leader is actually Ren. He likely founded the entire organization himself. And the purpose behind creating it... was to provide you with the support you need."

"What..." Suddenly hit with such huge revelations, Kiana was completely stunned. "He never told me any of this."

Mei wasn't surprised. "That's normal. The reason he didn't tell you is likely because he didn't want you interfering with his plans. From what I know of him, Ren is extremely meticulous, his methods are watertight, and most importantly... he has an intensely obsessive personality."

"Obsessive? I never really got that impression." Recalling her time with Ren, Kiana couldn't think of any instances where he seemed particularly obsessive.

"People are good at hiding things, especially someone with his personality. But don't worry. Since he hasn't shown any abnormality towards you, it means he's still maintaining his rationality."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm referring to Schicksal using your wanted poster as a trap. He's incredibly intelligent; he wouldn't fail to see through a trap like that. So you don't need to worry. As long as he maintains his rationality, even if Schicksal mobilizes everything, they won't be able to find him."

Someone capable of setting up such a global network in just half a year was no pushover; Mei knew that much. But she worried about something else. During their previous discussion about 'Why do birds fly?', Ren's answer was [Death].

And death usually symbolizes either being killed or suicide. Initially, she thought Ren intended to use the Herrscher of Dominance to cause a cataclysm and reshape the world order. But now, she considered that 'death' might refer to Ren himself.

It was hard to say what an intensely obsessive person harboring strong self-destructive tendencies might do. The only hope now was that Kiana, like a lifeline, could hold him fast.

Of course, these thoughts only flashed through Mei's mind; she had no intention of telling Kiana.

"Oh, right, I need to warn you about Project Stigma. Ren isn't just the Herrscher of Dominance now; he's also key to Project Stigma. World Serpent and The Obsidian Concord have partnered up, preparing to overcome the Finality using Project Stigma..."

She was halfway through her sentence when she suddenly let out a muffled groan. Looking down, she saw the electrical shield covering her Obsidian Concord mark had dissipated sometime ago, leaving only a charred burn scar on her wrist.

"Looks like the shielding time is up."

She sighed lightly, picked up the phone again, and continued, "Regardless, Kiana, your priority now should be ensuring your own safety. As long as nothing happens to you, Ren won't do anything reckless. Once the plan is complete, you'll be able to find him eventually..."

She finished speaking but received no response. Looking down, she realized the communication had been cut off at some point.

---||---

Meanwhile, aboard the Hyperion, Kiana, who had been listening intently to Mei's explanation, felt a sudden, inexplicable unease.

The next second, Bronya Zaychik, who was standing aside, focused on piloting the Hyperion, her expression suddenly changed drastically. Immediately following was the whistling sound of air being torn apart.

"Kiana, get down!"

BOOM!

A violent explosion swept over them. The Hyperion, currently in steady cruise mode, had no time to deploy any defensive measures. Amidst the violent tremors shaking the bridge, the cockpit area erupted into a fireball.