Honkai: Starting to Wander with Kiana

As Raiden Ryoma listened to Siegfried, he found himself downing two bottles of wine. He looked at Siegfried and said:

"So, if that girl is sent by Otto, would she end up just like you, as the final sacrifice for Kiana's awakening?"

"Yeah... I suppose so... I should have died long ago. Cecilia and my daughter are waiting for me on the other side. Right now, Kiana and defeating Honkai are the only things keeping me from joining them. Rather than let Kiana turn into a Herrscher and then die, I'd rather trust Otto and take a chance. If we fail, all that happens is I take Kiana to meet Cecilia and the other 'Kiana.' But if we succeed, Kiana will be able to control her power without worrying about the Herrscher personality erupting at any moment. It'll give her a chance to survive in this godforsaken world. And I can go join Cecilia without worry."

"This is too cruel for Kiana," Siegfried said. "Even if you succeed, she'll spend her life living under the shadows of all of us."

Life had never been easy in this world, and he knew nothing except how to fight and keep fighting. But he could never keep everyone safe in the end. It's cruel, yes, but for Kiana to survive is enough. Life will always be better than death.

Raiden Ryoma shook his head helplessly. He didn't have any great ideas, and since it didn't directly affect him, he figured he'd be fine. He couldn't become a sacrifice for a Herrscher anyway. Oh, wait, let's call it a "human anchor point" instead. I'll ask Walter when we get back and see if he has any suggestions.

Yi: Ah, right, right, right. I'll just go offer myself up first, Daddy.

"You know I'll report this to Walter when I get back, right?"

"Yeah, you're part of Entropy after all. Tell him; he'll know what to do."

Walter: In fact, not only do I know about this plan, but six years from now, I'll also give your daughter a Moonlit Throne.

"What happened to your arm?" Raiden Ryoma curiously poked Siegfried's stump with a wine bottle, earning a glare from the lich.

"Sirin's hatred might have rubbed off a bit. The Herrscher persona of the Empty Law holds a grudge against me. Being around Kiana can stir the Herrscher awake. Once, when Kiana lost control, I hesitated, and she tore off my arm."

Tsk, tsk, tsk. Fatherly love and filial piety. Still, our mei is the sweetest. I'll make her a good blade when we get back. At least that will be safer for her. Oh yeah, come to Entropy and I'll build you a mechanical arm.

"Let's talk about that later. I need to protect Kiana's safety first. Once I'm sure she's secure, I'll come find you."

"Sure..."

After a long while, Raiden Ryoma flew back on his vehicle. Siegfried remained behind, silently drinking. He picked up his phone, thinking about calling Otto to confirm something, but then decided against it.

The sun was high in the sky. Kiana, the restless sleeper, was clinging to Ryn like a koala bear. Ryn wasn't much better, as he was also holding on to Kiana. Whoever woke up first would have it hard trying to get out of the tangled mess.

Unfortunately for Ryn, he was the first to wake up. He looked at Kiana, then at his entangled limbs. Ryn carefully extracted himself and quietly slipped out of bed.

As soon as Ryn left the room, Kiana opened her eyes and stretched lazily.

She had woken up earlier but didn't dare move, sensing she was wrapped around Ryn. She had waited until he woke up and left before she finally stirred.

In the early morning light, the two tacitly agreed not to mention their entanglement. After washing up, they packed their bags and set out to find Siegfried.

With no specific destination in mind, they followed the main road, going wherever it led them. Whenever they came across a village, Kiana would eagerly explore its curiosities, strolling here and there. After failing to find any trace of Siegfried, they continued their journey.

Since they had no set destination, they hadn't bothered with a map. Ryn was contemplating their lack of funds; neither he nor Kiana had any money, and he wondered if he should take her somewhere to earn some travel expenses.

But when Ryn mentioned money, Kiana reached into her backpack and pulled out a black card.

"This is the card my dad left me. He said we don't need to worry about money if we have this. Just swipe it to pay."

"Oh? I wonder how much money's on it and how long it'll last us."

"What do you mean 'how much money'? I only remember my dad saying this card has no limit and you can use it anytime. It's a special black card for the head of the Kaslana family—hehehe, that stinky old dad is the head of the Kaslana family, and I'm his little princess."

Ryn was completely awestruck by Kiana as she held the black card like it was a precious treasure. From now on, this card would be his lifeline. Who could resist a black card with unlimited credit that doesn't require repayment?

Siberia was vast; Ryn and Kiana walked for an entire day and only encountered three inhabited places. It was already 8 or 9 PM when they finally reached another village. The good news was that there was a commercial street, but the bad news was that most shops were closed.

Excitedly, Ryn pulled Kiana along, searching for a hotel to stay the night. Luckily, most hotels didn't require identification for check-in at that time, otherwise it would have been trouble for Ryn and Kiana since they were undocumented.

"Miss, can we get two twin rooms?" Ryn asked the receptionist, still holding hands with Kiana.

The receptionist looked at Ryn and Kiana, then asked, "Are you sisters? How old are you? Where are your parents?"

"Um... we're siblings. I'm the brother, 15 years old, and she's 12. Our parents are out. They're sleeping in the car, and we're staying in the hotel."

"The little brother looks so delicate. His voice is even quite lovely—it even confused me for a moment there! How about this? I'll give you two a room with a big bed. That way, you can save some money."

"Sounds good, thank you, Miss."

"Oh, one more thing—do you know where we can eat around here? We saw many places closed when we arrived."

"We have food and drinks here at the hotel. There's a menu in your room. When you want to order, just use the phone beside the bed to call the front desk."

"Great, thanks again, Miss."

"You're very sweet. Here's your room key. The elevator is over there."

"Okay, goodbye, Miss."

"Goodbye."

With that, Ryn took Kiana and left. As they walked away, Kiana noticed how both of them were smiling. She found it strange—Ryn had made up everything, yet the woman at the front desk seemed so happy. Remembering, Ryn had told her before they entered to just let him handle things and not say anything.

Once inside their room, Kiana didn't even take off her backpack; she just threw herself onto the big bed, burying her face in the covers.

"Wow, Ryn, this bed is so soft—it feels amazing! Though the smell is kind of funky."

"It's probably the cleaning solution. Or maybe the sheets haven't been changed for a while. Just pull on those sleepwear and try to get some rest. I'm going to take a shower first."