Honkai: Starting to Wander with Kiana

When Seele opened the treasure chest, Ryn—also a Saint—felt it too.

Someone has opened Pandora's box. Fate begins to turn now.

"Enough with the riddles," Ryn rolled his eyes. "Speak plainly." Ever since acquiring Cortana, the Saint Consciousness had been pestering him to create a subprogram for her.

Initially, Ryn thought the Saint Consciousness had detected something amiss with Cortana. But no, she was merely using Cortana as a holographic projector to binge-watch shows and read novels.

In the past, she would apologize if she said or did something wrong. Now, she had fully embraced her cryptic persona. If she made a mistake, questioning her was pointless—her "fate" had chosen it, and thus, she was infallible.

The Stigma in this world is different from ours. Someone forcibly unlocked the power sealed within a Saint's relic, but they failed to control it. The Holy Grail was triggered, and soon, more people in this world will awaken as Stigma.

"Isn't that a good thing?" Ryn asked. "If their Stigma works like mine, wouldn't that make it easier to fight Honkai?"

Dream on. I'm not some subprogram activated through a Holy Grail. These relics can't compare to natural-born Saints like me.

It's both good and bad. Stigma users can withstand Honkai's corruption, but these mass-produced Stigma won't grant great power. They'll only enhance adaptability to Honkai energy and slightly extend lifespans.

However, with ordinary people suddenly capable of handling high levels of Honkai energy, their deaths could cause an influx of high-ranked Honkai Beasts, suicide soldiers, or even Herrscher physiques and pseudo-Herrschers.

Rejoice, those who awakened your Stigma naturally, for fate has blessed you. But mourn, for your path against Honkai will be strewn with thorns. Friends will cease to be friends; enemies will cease to be enemies…

As the Stigma Consciousness spoke, it secretly flipped through books tucked away in Ryn's mind—cheesy quotes and dramatic monologues it had picked up online.

Ryn held Kiana close and thought for a moment. Ultimately, he realized there was little he could do. So, Ryn.exe stopped overthinking. No use worrying too much, he reasoned. I'll deal with problems as they come, like a soldier blocking arrows or an engineer diverting water.

Lying in bed with Kiana, Ryn absentmindedly stroked her slender waist. Her figure was delicate, with a perfect curve. The saying came to mind: The three treasures of Honkai—Kiana's waist, Bronya's bottom, and Mei's back...

As for why Kiana was in his bed… that was a story in itself.

When they first moved in, they each had separate rooms. On the first night, as Ryn slept soundly, Kiana snuck in, jumped onto the bed, and kicked him awake.

Dazed, Ryn stared at her in confusion as she climbed into bed and shoved him over.

"What are you looking at? Go to sleep!"

"Sleep? Go back to your own room! Why'd you come in and kick me?!"

"Hmph! I couldn't sleep alone. And thinking about you sleeping so peacefully made me mad. The more I thought about it, the angrier I got, so I kicked you!" Kiana pouted like a sulking child. "That's it. I'm going back to sleep!"

"..."

Ryn was speechless. Was this his fault somehow?

But truthfully, it made sense. Over the past few months, they'd grown used to sleeping together. What was missing earlier, he realized, was the ultimate Kiana-shaped Beanie World cushion.

So, Ryn wrapped his arms around her, and she embraced him back. Together, they drifted into sleep. From that night on, Kiana stopped using her own room and slept with him every night.

Back in the present...

Ryn noticed Kiana watching him intently as he caressed her hair. When their eyes met, she lightly punched his arm.

"Stop messing around… it tickles."

Her reaction was playful—neither forceful nor reluctant. They were long accustomed to such closeness. But Kiana had been napping, and Ryn's touch had woken her.

He nuzzled her cheek, enjoying its soft warmth.

"I just learned something," he said. "More people are going to awaken with Stigma. Some might become our allies against Honkai, while others could end up corrupted and dangerous. Kiana, what should we do?"

"I don't know," she replied softly. "But if they're not enemies, I'll do my best to protect them. And if they join Honkai's side and oppose us… I won't hesitate."

Kiana hugged Ryn, listening to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. It wasn't about anything special—it just made her feel safe. Her interrupted nap didn't matter; without a need to get up, she quickly fell asleep again.

I envy this girl. To have someone like you by her side… In my body's memories, no one was ever there for me. Her happiness is so fleeting—too brief to even register compared to my billions of years of recollection. A speck of dust in eternity.

"Really? Why don't you tell me more about your original form? You mention it all the time—there must be plenty of stories."

I'd rather not. If I did, she'd probably track me down through the network and beat me up. I'm just a Stigma Consciousness—getting hit won't kill me, but the process will be recorded in the Stigma, carved onto me like an eternal scar. No thanks!

"You're way too modest. Are all Stigma Consciousnesses like you?"

Of course not. I'm second to none in status and ability. The only reason I'm 'modest' is because she's overwhelmingly strong—she influences the Stigma, not the other way around. You people, on the other hand, depend on your Stigma.

This world is special. If I was just a vague awareness before, coming here made me mature. The rules here allow Stigma to develop self-awareness. Back in my world, many had Stigma, but only one or two gained consciousness.

Want to know a secret? Your otherworldly counterpart—Version Ryn of Penglai Temple—his Stigma doesn't have self-awareness either. It's just the original entity pretending to be the Stigma. When in a good mood, it exchanges riddles with him, driving him paranoid. It's hilarious. Haha— uh… Forget I said that! What are you doing with that spear?!"

"You should ask my spear what it has to say."

The Stigma's voice fell silent, followed by muffled screams. Between them came scattered words:

"I was wrong! Don't spank me!"

"How am I supposed to show my face after this?!"

"Mom?! Sis?! I'm sorry—let's not spank here—ahhh!"

Reportedly, the Stigma's self-awareness had been pinned against a table by its original form and was being soundly spanked with a long spear.