The Queen Descends

The next morning, the train continued its journey. Sunlight streamed through the thin curtains, illuminating Shu's room. He slept soundly, wrapped in the comforting embrace of the Blanket God.

In his dream, he sat at the head of a dimly lit conference table, Otto and Theresa on either side…his hands were clasped, his chin glued to his white gloves. Kiana, sitting across from him, stood up, holding a document, her expression serious.

"Shu, when are you going to wake up and show us the rest of the story?"

Shu: "?"

A sudden chill. He lost the Blanket God's protection, dragged from his dream, reluctantly opening his eyes to find Kiana crouching beside his bed, clutching the corner of his blanket, her head resting on the edge of the mattress, seemingly lost in thought.

"…What are you doing?" he asked, his voice raspy with sleep, quickly clearing his throat. He glanced at the door.

Did I forget to close it again?

Apparently, he had. He'd spent the entire previous day as a human projector, not only controlling the video but also answering questions. They'd only managed to watch the first eight chapters, and some of the manga…

But he had seen what he wanted to see.

Kiana had accepted Sirin as her "sister," expressed admiration for Welt's sacrifice, and glared at Otto…who had promptly been smacked by Kallen.

Fu Hua had been utterly bewildered by her in-game counterpart, and Kiana had stopped complaining about being worse than the class monitor, now terrified of being cleaved in two by the real Sword God.

Otto had been smacked by Kallen.

Mei had been surprised by the portrayal of Kiana's parents, which differed greatly from Kiana's own account.

Otto had been bitten by Kallen.

Bronya, seeing the location of the Second Eruption, had fallen into deep thought.

Otto had been choked by Kallen.

Theresa had given Otto a stern lecture, while Himeko remained silent, a sense of foreboding washing over her.

Otto…he got beaten up!

Shu had enjoyed the show, but…did Kiana really have to wake him up this early? Was she that eager to relive the trauma? Did she not remember crying during the manga scenes?

"Shu! You're awake!" Kiana, startled back to reality, exclaimed, "Don't be lazy! Mei's making breakfast. Get dressed, and then show us Chapter 8!" She released the blanket, tucking him back in.

He sighed, then got up, putting on his jacket, following the humming Kiana to the dining car. It was mostly empty. After a bland breakfast of plain porridge, the listless Shu was dragged back to the viewing room by a group suffering from story withdrawal.

I understand the others, but why is Otto so eager?

Are you enjoying Kallen beating you up?

Otto just smiled at Shu's death glare. He didn't care. That other Otto could do whatever he wanted. This Otto had Kallen. See? The bite marks were still there.

Does he have these? Huh? Does that evil Otto have these bite marks?

"Shu, hurry up! I want to see Mei and the others rescue me from Otto!" Kiana said, her eyes shining with anticipation.

You asked for it. I've never seen anyone so eager for emotional damage.

Shu started Chapter 8. Kiana fell silent, watching intently. He'd explained enough yesterday, so he skipped most of the explanations, letting the video play uninterrupted.

Then came the ending cutscene, the descent of the Herrscher of the Void.

Kiana's smile vanished as she watched Mei's desperate opening attack, but it quickly reappeared…on Shu's face.

"This…this isn't right…" Kiana stammered, staring at her on-screen counterpart, swallowing hard, then turning to Shu, about to protest.

But he didn't pause the video. She hugged herself, watching, nervously gulping. She was clearly the most distressed person in the room, aside from the characters on screen.

"Don't do it, don't do it…" she muttered, then, as her in-game self released her grip on Mei, a flicker of a smile returned.

Then Mei was thrown back, rolling across the hard ground. Kiana's smile vanished completely.

"Oof!" Kallen winced, muffling her cry.

Otto nearly lost his composure as Kallen gripped his arm, hard enough to leave a mark. Inner peace…inner peace…this is proof I'm better than that other Otto.

The arrival of the Titans eased Kiana's anxiety. She'd nearly had a heart attack watching the Honkai beast raise its weapon behind Mei. But it was just a game…Shu had said so. She and Mei were playable characters. No game developer would kill off a playable character, right?

But she didn't want Mei to end up comatose like Bronya…

Thank goodness…the Titans, the Herrscher-slaying mechs, were here, and in force. They could surely defeat her…

They watched as the Titans charged the Herrscher of the Void, erecting a seemingly impenetrable barrier. Even if the Honkai beast's weapon was slowly breaking through, it was still slow, right? And all those other mechs were transforming into…powerful-looking cannons. It seemed like an even match…

Surely, they could all escape safely…

Snap

A single, quiet snap heralded the beginning of a new nightmare.

Silence fell over the carriage as they watched the previously invincible mechs crumble into scrap metal. No one spoke, not even Otto, who was being choked by Kallen…again.