To create Honkai Impact 3rd in a world where Kallen exists.

"They spread their pain of losing loved ones to the survivors; this is the 'evil' of the human heart. But you also said... they can support each other and work together to build a better tomorrow; this is the 'good' of the human heart."

"Everyone has both good and evil within them, but that will not be a reason for me to give up on saving them."

Having experienced many ups and downs, Kiana calmly analyzed and retorted,

She is no longer the person she used to be.

"Hehe, haha... That's right, after all, you are the greatest evil! How should I address you? K423? Kiana... or, Herrscher of the Void, Sirin?"

"Your goal... could it be..."

Kiana's eyes widened instantly, a bad feeling creeping into her mind.

"You got it right!"

The puppet spoke slowly and deliberately, a mysterious smile on its face, as if its wicked scheme had succeeded.

Last time, not only did they outmaneuver the puppet, but the puppet also outmaneuvered them.

The doll is not the true Herrscher of Domination; it has always remained hidden deep within.

Sirin's consciousness was completely suppressed by Kiana, leaving her no room to maneuver. They had no choice but to invite Kiana into the Theater of Domination.

They win as soon as she gets in.

This doll... is quite clever; it knows how to unite all forces that can be united.

[Won't the Queen become a puppet controlled by a doll? That kind of thing... No, please, my Queen!]

Good and evil are inherently difficult to distinguish; their boundaries are blurred. Especially when it comes to a specific individual, is it true that a good person only does good deeds and an evil person only does evil deeds? Obviously not.

"Tch—me's the target? Do you think I look that easy to bully?"

Celine scoffed and muttered something under her breath.

Then he glanced at Bella and said irritably,

"Bella, stop fiddling with your phone and come watch with me... And let me touch your horn while I'm at it. It's infuriating that they think I'd cooperate with those tattered dolls?"

Upon hearing this, Bella immediately stopped her frantic chatter on some live streaming platforms and ran over to Sirin.

It obediently stretched its head over, but dared not rub against it too hard.

Last time, I accidentally tore a hole in Her Majesty's dress, and she was so upset with herself that she refused to spend any of her own money on in-game purchases...

But sometimes the twin horns can please the Queen... She doesn't know what to do.

"Ouch—be gentle, Your Majesty!"

Bella said with tears in her eyes, "Cilin is fiddling with the two horns. In her opinion, they're impossible to break, so they're pretty good toys."

“Cerin—” Cecilia glanced at her helplessly.

Celine ruffled Bella's hair, and Bella's expression instantly became incredibly obedient again.

It wasn't because of her mother's words; she had indeed accidentally used too much force. Feeling guilty, Celine didn't look at Bella and instead rubbed the skin near her corners reassuringly.

...

As the plot progressed, the puppets felt they had victory in hand, and Kiana could no longer influence their plans.

They directly revealed the plan they had been preparing.

Let Kiana reappear in the world as a Herrscher—after all, Anti-Entropy has always claimed that Kiana can control her power.

This is the simplest and most effective way to instigate infighting among the upper echelons of human society.

“But… that was our original plan, Kiana. We unexpectedly discovered that perhaps, you are more suitable to be one of us than Sirin?”

The doll grinned menacingly, revealing its fangs.

The theater seats, which had been in the distance as a backdrop, were filled with puppets, and a farcical trial began.

"Silence! Silence! Next, we will examine the qualifications of the new members! State your names!"

"Hehe--I know, I know, her name is Kiana... Oh, no, no, she doesn't even have a name, she stole it from someone else, hehe."

"Don't worry, everyone here is a loser, just like us."

Kiana pursed her lips, looking at the malice emanating from every corner of the platform. "Don't judge me by your standards!"

"Disdain us? Do you even have the right?"

"We're puppets? Then what are you, a clone with a core inside?"

"It's not even a human!" the numerous puppets on stage exclaimed indignantly.

"New member, confess your crime!"

The judge in the chairman's seat struck the gavel, seemingly to announce the next step of the process in a fair and impartial manner.

"I know! You made a man named Siegfried lose everything!"

The puppets on stage competed to speak, vying to be the first to speak, as if they were facing a deeply sinful and incorrigible person.

"He lost his daughter to save you, raised you without holding a grudge, and yet you cut off his arm and shamelessly call him Dad!"

"You can't control yourself and you refuse to be locked up, leaving your friends homeless."

"You said you would fight for all the good things in the world, yet you killed your own teacher with your own hands!"

"You hurt your best friend, making her go to such a dangerous place for you!"

"You're doing what you call heroic deeds, but you're losing people around you, and the world is getting worse!"

“You are an evil person, you are a sinner, and your good deeds cannot make up for your evil deeds.”

The puppets on stage were condemned by everyone, recounting her experiences and the painful things that had happened to her.

It was as if they wanted to uncover everything, to dissect her newly healed wounds again, and to identify them one by one.

Kiana coldly stared at their accusations, her heterochromatic eyes fixed on the two pistols in her hands, offering no defense.

"...That's true, I...can't refute what they said. Looking at the later developments alone, if Kiana weren't the main character, what they said would be absolutely correct."

[This is an overstatement; many things weren't Kiana's fault... Come on, Kiana!]

Who voiced this? Did they let loose? I knew it, there must be thousands of Herrschers crawling out of the game in real life.

"Kiana, don't let those words affect you."

Seele placed her right hand on her chest, looking at Kiana with concern.

She probably had no idea how to explain what the puppets in the game were saying.

Kiana, you're such a strong person!

"...Actually, I don't think what they said is entirely wrong. In the game, it was because of me that the people around me suffered repeatedly, my relatives, friends, teachers...one by one they left me."

Kiana said somewhat somberly, a complex emotion flickering in her eyes.

Whether you were more sensible back then, or stronger, or more mentally resilient enough to resist Sirin's corruption... things wouldn't have turned out so badly.

And Mei, she was the one who drove Mei away.

Although she understands her character in the game, she also both admires and resents her in the game.

She hopes to learn from this experience, but even more so, she hopes to move forward again.

She dislikes the decrease in the number of people around her in the game, fearing that she might also be unable to protect them in real life.

"That's not your fault, Kiana..."

Mei tried to comfort her, saying that she also felt Kiana hadn't done anything wrong; it was just that the world had pushed her into that situation.

She has done everything she was supposed to do.

"It's not my fault... but then whose fault is it? I do bear some responsibility."

Kiana patted Mei's hand and smiled as she spoke.

"Don't worry, I'm not that fragile. The other her went through all that, facing the accusations of a thousand Herrschers alone, dealing with so many dolls by herself... I'm perfectly fine by your side, so how could anything happen to me?"

"The Kiana in the game is definitely much stronger than you are now."

Himeko walked out of the bedroom, stretched out her arms, relaxed and yawned, and patted her mouth with her right hand.

"I slept quite well, hmm, phew—what's wrong, Kiana? Are you wavering because of what they said?"

Himeko walked over, patted Kiana's head, and said gently.

"No, how could that be? After all, I wasn't a witness..."

Kiana looked away, her strong will preventing her from admitting it.

Otherwise...wouldn't that make her look bad?

"Neither Siegfried, nor I, nor any of us will blame you for this. Just like when you saved Fu Hua... We are getting stronger, so don't worry about us being affected."

"But…"

"What? Is Kiana the only one allowed to say that?" Himeko smiled gently and ruffled her white hair.

"Ugh—no, it's not like that... No, I wasn't affected by her words."

Kiana stammered, unable to refute, and could only look at Mei with pleading eyes.

With eyes like a helpless kitten, Mei covered her mouth and smiled, offering no help or comment.

Kiana thought Himeko-sensei must have just woken up to say something so reasonable, but she didn't really think so herself... probably.

...

With a gunshot, Kiana could no longer contain herself and interrupted their conversation.

"Shouldn't this farce be over?"

Kiana said coldly.

"Hehe--, of course, of course we know that you have experienced a lot along the way, and no matter what we say, it is difficult to shake your will."

The doll chuckled and said, its words surprisingly beginning to affirm Kiana's will.

But then he paused.

"But we also know that even someone like you has unfulfilled regrets and an emptiness that is hard to mend."

“You know perfectly well that apart from the rebellious heir, both the Destiny and the World Serpent are searching for the Disease Gem, but so far they have found nothing.”