Collapse, survive

The following spring, Himeko Murata, the sole survivor of the stormtroopers, visited the orphanage and introduced herself to St. Freya Academy, where she now teaches.

As a child, she thought Himeko was using her identity as a member of the stormtroopers for publicity, and angrily questioned her. Himeko's answer guided her from a blank slate at that time, but she understood love.

“There is no point in repeating the grief. If you truly care about her and respect her value, then you should help her achieve her dreams.”

Himeko thought that way, and she did that way; Himeko could tell, and her intuition told her she wasn't lying.

After that, she signed up for the Valkyrie training program at the Destiny Headquarters.

She had also considered going to St. Freya, but the relaxed academic system there made Bianca feel that she would waste several years before becoming a Valkyrie in her own right, so she eventually gave up.

Then, she quickly became a Valkyrie, and... she survived her first mission all by herself.

From that moment on, she realized that she was different. To this day, how much of that past was accidental, and how much was a cruel joke of fate?

So she still came here, took Theresa and Siegfried out of that 'moment', and told them the identity that Fang Jie had told her.

"Yu... Kiana, may I call you that, child?"

Siegfried was crying uncontrollably, looking extremely unsightly. He was too ashamed to look at himself, as he was still sobbing.

Durandal didn't find it ugly. Compared to the ever-smiling Otto, she could feel the warmth flowing through this man's broken heart.

And profound despair.

So after seeing a ray of light, she acted like a child, completely unlike Theresa or Durandal who were both composed.

“It’s alright, it’s all the same. Many years ago, my name was Kiana Kaslana, and I was your and Lady Cecilia’s daughter. I don’t deny that, and I fully embrace that identity. I just… need a little more time.”

"I understand, I understand."

Siegfried tried his best not to make his expression ferocious, almost to the point of consciously entering a state that only the Heavenly Flame could unleash, a state that would bring out Kaslana's true power.

Otto! Otto—

"This is not your fault, it is my fault, it is me... who failed to protect you, Kiana."

With her head slightly lowered, Durandal didn't want to delve into the matter, as it involved the truth about Cecilia that neither of them wanted to face—rather than having Siegfried tell the story, or having Theresa, whose memories were distorted but who seemed to have anticipated it, listen, Durandal didn't want to hear it.

She didn't want to face it even if it was just a little bit.

Before this, she had even been holding the Black Abyss White Flower, for those who were destined to be...

Lies, all lies.

"Please call me Durandal. After all these years, this is the only name I'm most willing to accept now. I'm sorry, I need a little more time."

She turned and left; she couldn't stay there any longer. As she said, she needed a little more time.

Therefore, Durandal went to the subspace located in the City of the Sea Abyss.

There, the endless flow of Honkai energy catalyzed the emergence of monsters, the shadow of the Quantum Sea, and the remains of the Void Tree God.

As a special intersection, these kinds of things are bound to happen.

"Lord Yulandel?"

Rita had already noticed that she was in a bad mood and followed her all the way up. Rita, who was forced to go offline the whole time, had a bad feeling.

"Rita, don't worry about me."

Durandal charged straight in, confronting her past. Her heart was hard to calm, but she found some peace in the midst of battle.

She needs some time.

Siegfried needed more time, so Theresa silently prepared to leave: "You stay here, Siegfried. I need to go... to find Himeko. My intuition tells me it's not safe for her to be the only one in charge of the academy."

"Yes, Theresa, please take good care of Kiana for me. I'm..."

Siegfried wanted to thank Theresa for her thoughtfulness, but he hesitated and only asked her for this.

Walter was very busy, extremely busy, and Theresa didn't seem like herself either; she had many children to take care of.

And myself...

There's nothing to be busy with, since there's nothing I can do anyway.

What a failure! Kiana, who stirs up hatred the moment they meet, Kiana, who sheds tears of sorrow the moment they meet, ended up protecting nothing.

My heart is completely empty, filled only with a growing and spreading anger that calls upon me to destroy everything, including myself.

But he had already emerged from the numbness of being a walking corpse. At this moment, his dejection was only temporary, and Siegfried headed towards the City of the Sea Abyss.

Times have changed, the world has changed, everything is so bizarre and unbelievable, but since Walter... Siegfried also believes in the meaning of kindness and courage, and all sorts of other nonsense.

But he found it hard to believe that such good things would happen to him for no reason—he had to create opportunities himself.

He then headed towards the location of the Will of Collapse.

.

Chapter Ninety-Three: Historical Records state that the swelling pufferfish only dissolves when stabbed under the moon.

When Siegfried entered the room, which was decorated like that of an older, single, homebound brother and sister, the former Honkai Will, and now the Honkai Will, noticed him immediately.

She doesn't like it.

Just like she doesn't like Kevin.

But he still looked like he was crying...

"I'm tired, Fang Jie."

With eyes closed, the duck instantly teleported away, its lifelike, tactile projection vanishing without a trace, disappearing without a word.

He probably went to find Fu Hua.

Siegfried seemed hesitant. To be honest, facing Fang Jie, who had told Durandal everything, he, who knew relatively indirectly, didn't know what he was thinking when he came here alone.

That seemingly ordinary solution was far more terrifying than he could have imagined or comprehended, even surpassing the Lawgiver.

"Please have a seat. Would you like something to drink?"

Fang Jie didn't intend to invite him for drinks, milk tea wasn't suitable, and coffee... he wouldn't drink anything other than Himeko's coffee.

"Just a glass of water would be fine with me."

Since the other person was polite, Siegfried didn't dare to be impolite.

Upon hearing this, Cocolia left, since the maid had either run away or hadn't come to report, leaving Fang Jie and Siegfried alone.

Fang Jie was very direct: "Is there anything you want to ask, or is there anything you want to do?"

Siegfried stared at Fang Jie, and without hesitation for long: "About Kiana..."

"It's all true."

There's no need for Fang Jie to be subtle; what does it matter if he's blunt in revealing the truth in the face of harsh reality?

"As expected, Otto, you still have no intention of letting me go!"

Siegfried thought he needed more evidence to convince himself, but he didn't. When Durandal earnestly told him that she was Kiana, Siegfried believed her. At this moment, even facing Fang Jie was nothing more than...

It's related to another daughter.

"That Kiana?"

His voice was dry.

"You should know that when I first arrived, she was the one who welcomed me—Kiana saved the world."

Fang Jie, of course, understood which Kiana he was referring to, and remained calm.

"I was planning to propose to her someday."

"what?"

Siegfried didn't want to ask that; he had no intention of becoming a father-in-law yet. His gaze towards Fang Jie…

She is still a child!

Fang Jie was slightly embarrassed, but made no attempt to hide it: "You can't control this. The only one who can refute me is Kiana herself, understand?"

The nominal father-in-law, upon seeing the waving fist the size of a clay pot, became even more agitated.

"..."

This kindness is not without reason.

Kiana and you in the future...

Are you really from the future?

He couldn't help but recall the descriptions in the many intelligence reports Walter had revealed, and frankly, he found it hard to imagine what the future would hold.

"Let's just say that. The future is not static. I was worried that it might bring about the grandfather paradox, but it just turned out to be a memory regression, at least for now."

Fang Jie shook his head, not wanting to speculate about things like the old 'timeline' being destroyed; what mattered was the present.

"Therefore, it is meaningless to let suffering continue. Happiness is never something that must be nurtured by suffering. I have changed some things, which may change the future, but that is not something to be afraid of. Instead, we should create a better future."

"A better... future."

Siegfried originally had many problems, problems that would lead to him offending the people in front of him, overestimating his own abilities, and suffering all sorts of unbelievable torment.

But it seems like none of that matters anymore.

When did I lose the courage to fight for a better world?

"People's happiness should be created by themselves, by me, you, us, and all of you together."

Fang Jie didn't intend to listen to Siegfried's question either, and interrupted him directly.

We're all just ordinary people, and the answers to our questions are already known long before they're even answered.

Instead of asking me, you should ask yourself.

"You shouldn't have wasted your time here. Instead of looking for me, you should go for a walk in the 'tree.' Many things cannot be resolved through peaceful negotiation. The only way to protect the people you care about is to fight them."

Fang Jie was excessively calm, waving his right fist:

"For example, if I want to marry Kiana, what can you do to stop me?"

The old father was furious, extremely angry: "Excuse me, just kidding, which Kiana are you talking about?!"

Who else could it be? If you like someone, just go for it. Fang Jie wouldn't shy away from this or that. He looked smug in front of his father-in-law, winking and making faces at him.

"Don't worry about the details. The solar system, Earth is a beautiful world with distinct seasons, magnificent mountains and oceans. It's a highly habitable planet, especially one I really like. However, it's too deeply entangled with the forces of collapse, constantly experiencing cycles of destruction and prosperity..."

"Yes, the effects of the Honkai have taken too deep. In the foreseeable future, people will continue to fight against the disaster. It can only be said that the scales of victory are tilting in favor of humanity. The reason for this is that our predecessors have placed a weight called 'hope' on them. That is not a reason for you to do nothing."

"I'm just a passing gardener who saw the beautiful flowers and was willing to fertilize and water the seeds. But ultimately, this is a world that needs you to be heroes."

The water has come.

Cocolia placed the water in front of Siegfried without much ceremony, then gently sat down next to Fang Jie and fed him milk tea.

happy.

Fang Jie watched as the gloom in Siegfried's expression was washed away by the newly born anger, and his expression pleased him even more than when Walter had fainted.

The relationship between a son-in-law and his father-in-law is like this: at the very least, the son-in-law is there to take advantage of the daughter.

"Let's put aside those grand topics about saving the world and the future, and talk about the present, Mr. Siegfried."

"There is still hope for the future" is a phrase I like, but the past is not always irretrievable. I understand that you are the kind of hero who is willing to become the kind of hero that the people you love want you to be. This is the continuation of Kaslana.

"But anything is possible with effort. Walter can do sit-ups, so why can't you try even harder, Ms. Cecilia?"

"..."

Siegfried was stunned; he wasn't quite sure what Fang Jie meant.

But Walter, yes, Walter!

Siegfried knew very well how Walter, a fellow super unlucky guy, a victim of Otto's conspiracy, and a hero whose life was full of ups and downs, could do sit-ups even with his body exploding.

But he is a Herrscher, and that kind of thing is a miracle. His Herrscher of Reason core contains the soul fragments of 300,000 people, and only he has accomplished the miracle of resurrection.

In short...

"what do you mean?"

Siegfried's eyes were filled with hope, and he couldn't help but stand up, as if he had grasped at a glimmer of hope.

Saving the world is less practical for him now than protecting his loved ones, especially his daughters. But Cecilia is an issue he can't avoid, a point of contention he can't discuss with his daughters.