Honkai Impact: Starting from Wandering with Kiana

【You're just too useless. I've already told you the conditions; if you can't meet them, what's it to me?】

"Let's integrate the powers of other Herrschers first, and then integrate the powers of the Herrscher of the Sea later."

[Yes, but you still need to trigger a Great Collapse to obtain energy for a life-level sublimation. However, you can take advantage of the Great Collapse caused by a normal Herrscher's descent and steal the energy the newly born Herrscher needs. Without energy, she's just a weakling when she fully awakens, and you can easily subdue her then.]

"That's all for now. Remember to let me know if a major collapse occurs."

The Stigmata's consciousness did not answer, because she knew what was about to happen: a great collapse would erupt in Changkong City, and the Third Herrscher would descend.

--------

November 2013. Raiden Ryoma was drinking with Siegfried when a group of police officers stormed into his house and arrested him.

These police officers were ordinary people, and they even showed their identification. Neither Siegfried nor Raiden Ryoma would lay a hand on ordinary people. Siegfried's bottle was still raised in mid-air when Raiden Ryoma was arrested.

Siegfried was a bit bewildered. He had been following Kiana, but quietly left after discovering that Kaslana's family had also arrived. He'd come back to check on Kiana these past few days, only to find out that Jiuxiao was actually a man. Siegfried was furious when he found out. He'd actually allowed Kiana to sleep with a man, but he couldn't possibly go out and stop Jiuxiao and Kiana from being together. So he could only spend his days drinking with Ryoma at his house. And then, Ryoma just died like that.

Siegfried was still drinking after a while. He needed time to process what had happened recently, but then the police came in again, took Siegfried away as an accomplice, and also sealed off the Raiden Ryoma family's property.

Then the news began reporting that Raiden Ryoma, president of the famous multinational electronics company ME Corporation, was arrested by the police for defrauding $34 billion under the guise of financing the development of ultra-high frequency electromagnetic field confinement.

Raiden Ryoma was not only dismissed from his position as president by the board of directors, but also imprisoned, causing his reputation to plummet. This incident had a huge impact on Raiden Mei.

Raiden Mei, daughter of Raiden Ryoma, and the heiress of Me Company. From being admired and envied by thousands, she suddenly became a pariah.

When Raiden Mei arrived at school the next day, her desk was covered in vicious curses and ugly drawings. Her classmates glared at her with disgust and hurled insults at her relentlessly.

Those she thought were close friends also deliberately kept their distance from her. Mei invited them to have lunch together.

"Everyone...would you like to have lunch together? I made my own bento box today..."

"Who wants to eat with you? You're a criminal's daughter!" "That's because nobody cooks for you, so you have to cook for yourself!"

They spoke vicious words to Mei, like sharp knives piercing her heart.

"No... Dad isn't a criminal... he isn't..." Mei didn't know why things had turned out this way. She cried as she opened her bento box and silently ate.

"The food I made... tastes awful... Dad..." Mei finally couldn't hold back anymore and started crying, burying her face in her arms on the table.

It was only then that Mei realized she wasn't some carefree bird, but merely a crow with meat in its beak in other people's eyes. And those praising her weren't any small animals, but just drooling foxes. When they discovered the meat in the crow's beak was gone, they naturally flew away, and none of them spoke another word to the crow.

What made Mei even more desperate was that when she returned to Homu Sword Saint's dojo after school, she never saw Homu Sword Saint again. Raiden Mei had already assumed that Homu Sword Saint disliked her just like everyone else, but then she found Homu Sword Saint's suit in the wardrobe next to the dojo.

Raiden Mei once had a wonderful family. Her mother was incredibly gentle and caring, raising her to be just as gentle and caring. But a terrible illness took her mother's life, and her father was still working overtime until her mother's passing. At that time, Mei was very angry with her father, and Raiden Ryoma didn't know how to comfort his daughter.

Not long after her mother's death, the Houmu Sword Saint appeared. He taught Mei swordsmanship and the principles of life. Mei once thought the Houmu Sword Saint was heaven's compensation for her lost mother, but now, considering recent events, she wondered if the Houmu Sword Saint was actually her father in disguise...

Touching the thick leather suit of the Houmu Sword Saint, one could smell an unpleasant odor from years of being soaked in sweat. Whether in the freezing winter or the scorching summer, the Houmu Sword Saint always appeared on time.

Mei burst into tears... Only then did the girl realize that her heart wasn't as strong as she thought.

Chapter 41 This world is never beautiful

The malice around her surged towards the girl like a tidal wave; this was the first time she had faced so much hostility. Having always lived in a sheltered environment, she was at a loss and had no choice but to silently endure it.

During this time, she realized that the world was not as wonderful as she had imagined.

She learned to be more sensitive and perceptive of the people and atmosphere around her, yet she still maintained the composure befitting a young lady from a wealthy family and did not lose her bottom line. However, her personality became increasingly cold.

Societal judgment, family hardship, school bullying... all sorts of malice overwhelmed her, suffocating her...

In this boundless darkness... a ray of light shone in, piercing through the darkness and shining upon her without reservation, as if telling her, "You are not alone."

Yes, that's when the girl got to know her again...

"You lot, try talking bad about Mei again!" Kiana shouted angrily, knocking down one of the guys who was cursing Mei from behind with a stick.

A group of people immediately surrounded Kiana, and the guy who had fallen to the ground pointed at Kiana's nose and said to her, "Huh? Who are you! What business is it of yours if you talk bad about her!"

"Of course we're related! Mei is my friend!"

"Heh, be careful if you become friends with her, or you might get arrested too."

Kiana raised her baseball bat to hit her again, but Mei pulled her back and told her not to.

"Kiana... never mind, I don't care, don't bother with them."

"No way! I'm going to beat them until they apologize to you!"

Kiana yelled and tried to rush forward, but Mei held her tightly.

"Tch. Let's go, don't play with monsters." "How scary~" The people who mocked and insulted Mei ran away while taunting Kiana and Mei who were trying to break up the fight.

"Hmph, don't let us see you again! Next time Mei isn't around, I'll beat you so badly you won't be able to take care of yourselves!" Kiana shouted angrily in Mei's arms. Whether Mei heard her or not, Kiana didn't know, but she was sure she would smash their heads next time she saw them.

Watching them walk away, Mei released her grip on Kiana. Her expression somber, she said to Kiana, "Never mind... Kiana, I'm used to it..."

"How can you just let it go! If Jiuxiao hadn't told me that something had happened to ME Company and that you might be bullied, and if I hadn't made a special trip to see you today, I wouldn't have known they were so rude!"

Kiana was furious. She thought Mei had been studying a lot lately and hadn't seen her much. If Jiuxiao hadn't remembered that Mei was supposedly the heiress of Me Company and mentioned it to her, she didn't know how much longer Mei would have to endure this suffering.

"Kiana doesn't care? About the Me Company...that case." Mei hesitated, afraid that Kiana, too, would be as fragile as a bubble, but she still wanted to ask Kiana.

Kiana took Mei's hand and said with a smile, "What are you talking about? Mei is Mei, what does it have to do with the case!"

"Kiana..."

"Let's go, this damn teacher isn't doing anything about it. We might as well not go to school." Kiana grabbed Mei and left. She didn't know what the teacher was thinking, but did a teacher who didn't step in to stop it even deserve to be a teacher? Kiana didn't believe the teacher hadn't seen how badly Mei's desk had been scratched.

"Ah... where can we go? The teacher is actually watching..." Mei was still being pulled along by Kiana. But Mei felt that Kiana didn't understand that the school was actually much better than outside...

ME Company's products cover a wide range; on average, one in ten electronic components is from ME Company. Since ME Company's scandal, people in society blame Raiden Ryuo on any electronic devices that malfunction, and consequently, Mei. The bullying at school was passive-aggressive, but in society, it's blaming violence...

The school teachers have tried to stop bullying, but they are helpless against passive-aggressive bullying... They've replaced Mei's desk, but the next day it's covered in curses again. The teachers can't find the culprit either, because everyone is a culprit.

Kiana looked into Mei's eyes and sincerely extended an invitation. "Come to my house. Jiuxiao said your house has been sealed off, so you can stay at my place from now on!"

“I actually have a place to stay...the housekeeper took me in.”

"I don't care, I've already invited you, how can I refuse! Jiuxiao even specially prepared a meal to welcome you!"

"Wouldn't that be too much trouble..." Mei was still hesitant, afraid of bringing the malice of society to Kiana and Jiuxiao.

Kiana saw what Mei was worried about, patted her budding chest, and said, "Don't worry, if anyone dares to curse me, I'll smash their head in. As for Jiuxiao, there's even less to worry about. Although he won't smash anyone's head in, he'll make Cortana steal all their money. He said that's more painful for them than smashing their head in."

Mei fell silent for a moment. Although she didn't know who Cortana was, she felt like she had entered a den of thieves.

Kiana's house wasn't far from Chiba Academy, but even from that short distance, she could hear people talking loudly about Mei, and some were even preparing to throw things at her. Fortunately, the baseball bat in Kiana's hand reminded them that trying would be suicide, and in the end, they just talked loudly.

They were almost there. Although it was a short distance, Kiana and Mei both looked rather pale. When Kiana saw Jiuxiao waiting for them at the door, she felt a pang of grievance, and tears welled up in her eyes.

Jiuxiao held Kiana, who rushed into his arms, and gently wiped away her tears. He pressed his head against Kiana's and said softly, "What's wrong... Kiana? Did someone wrong you?"

"I...I don't know...I don't know why the world suddenly turned like this...Everyone is usually so cheerful and laughing, but today they were verbally abusing Mei and me, and even tried to throw things at us...But neither Mei nor I did anything wrong?!"

Kiana's eyes welled with tears. She felt her faith had been shaken, and she didn't know if these people were still worth protecting... If they were, then was it fair to the innocent victims...?

Jiuxiao fell silent for a moment. He wanted to say that this was just human nature, but it was a bit cruel to Kiana...

"This world has never been beautiful...that's why we have to make it the way we want it to be. Kiana...do you remember what Siegfried taught you? No matter how the world changes, I will protect the people I love. So...you don't need to care about what other people think, just focus on what the people who love you and whom you love think. And those who don't love you...those who hate you...leave them to me."

After comforting Kiana, Jiuxiao turned to look at Mei, who had been listening to what had just been said and seemed to be deep in thought.

Jiuxiao reached out his hand to Meiyi.

"Welcome, Mei. Stay here and relax. We'll help you."

"Thanks..."

Mei grasped Jiuxiao's hand.

Chapter 42 Pots and Pans, Submit to Me

Leading the two of them inside, Jiu Xiao patted Kiana, gesturing for her to look at the somewhat reserved Mei.

"This is Mei's first time at our house. Kiana, go and show Mei around the room. I'll go back to preparing the dishes."

"Okay, Mei, let's go see my bedroom, and then I'll arrange a room for you." Kiana nodded to Jiuxiao, then cheerfully pulled Mei towards the bedroom.

"They've all left, right? Well then, I hereby declare this place to be Jiuxiao Plaza." Jiuxiao tied on an apron, preparing to cook some of her signature dishes to entertain Mei.

After a while, Jiu Xiao looked at the dish in his hand. Even if it wasn't perfect in color, aroma, and taste, it was still an exquisite delicacy that one could only eat once in a lifetime. Then he threw it directly into the trash can.

Cortana is about to order takeout. It seems I overestimated my cooking skills.

"I've already ordered it in advance, Master."

"Next time, use your humanity in other areas. It will make me very sad if you say that."

Spurred on by Cortana, Jiu Xiao still insisted on trying to cook a few dishes. Hmm... a mottled mix of black, but still edible.

After placing the dishes and takeout on the table, Jiu Xiao called Kiana and Mei down to eat.

Kiana took Mei's hand and walked down to the table. She looked at the dishes curiously for a few more moments, then looked at Jiuxiao and said, "Didn't you say you cooked? Why is it takeout?"

He picked up his chopsticks and tapped Kiana on the head, giving her a good whack. Jiuxiao pointed confidently to the plates of black mud in the corner and said, "What do you mean 'all takeout'? I ordered takeout because I was worried you wouldn't be full from just eating my food. Look at these plates of my food; Kiana has to eat them all later. Mei, don't try my food; a normal person couldn't handle this stuff. Just eat the takeout."

"Damn it, why did you make me eat it?!"

Kiana kept asking why, but she obediently started eating anyway. After all, it was made with "love" from Jiuxiao, and with Kaslana's bloodline as a safety net, there was nothing to worry about.