Sirin felt her mana source. Before returning to this world, she had taken the star she created—a star of infinite mana—and compressed it into her body to serve as her mana core.
This way, she could possess infinite mana output, reaching the power of a star.
No need to worry—she would never be unable to use magic even in a world without mana.
Good. No problems at all.
In the process of creating her mana star, Sirin had taken advantage of magic's ability to generate power from nothing. Using the mana she obtained from the magical world, she produced a small amount of mana, which she used to generate more, and then even more, layering it infinitely.
Mana itself could be endlessly compounded.
But stacking too much would exceed her control. The result could be unpredictable.
So, once it reached a star-level threshold, Sirin stopped the amplification and maintained it within a controllable range.
After all, she was heading to other universes to perform experiments.
Losing control would be… undesirable.
If her mana ever ran low, she could simply lift the limiter again.
For someone who could create mana from nothing, Sirin was still getting used to it—she could use and generate mana but hadn't yet fully mastered it.
At the moment, she was only fusing it with her Honkai energy for combined use.
"How about we do the experiment on Mars?"
Kiana Kaslana looked toward the barren red planet.
Mars, huh?
Sirin thought for a moment. There shouldn't be much difference between Mars and Earth.
After all, they were in the same universe now.
She only needed to test whether magic could still function in this non-magical universe—and whether any anomalies would occur.
The two descended onto the Martian surface.
The experiments began.
Various super-tier spells bombarded the desolate planet.
The experiments ended quickly.
Sirin found that part of her super-tier magic had lost its special effects.
Summoning spells were the most affected. Those that created constructs from her own mana still worked, but spells that summoned beings from external realms failed completely.
She could summon nothing but emptiness.
The summons created from her own mana were purely mana constructs—not true summonings.
Neither Kiana Kaslana nor Sirin were surprised by these results.
In a world without magic, it was only natural that spells reliant on other realms would fail.
Next, Sirin cast a spell to alter Mars's entire environment.
The barren red surface sprouted lush green plants, transforming into a forest within seconds.
Then came wind and rain.
After a while, Sirin roughly understood which spells worked and which didn't.
While Sirin was experimenting with magic, Kiana Kaslana discovered a terminal and entered Mars's virtual world.
In the Honkai world, Mars was a massive quantum computer.
All Martians had become digital beings, living in endless cycles within this quantum world.
The dreamscape world of the Blue Star's Holy Sanctuary might also be looping endlessly.
miHoYo did seem to have a fondness for the theme of reincarnation.
As for the second part of Honkai Impact 3rd's story—Kiana Kaslana didn't know much, having only seen gameplay and fan videos featuring Dreamseeker, Songque, and Thelema Nutriscu.
As for the plot itself, she had no idea.
Were the digital beings in the virtual world considered the souls of the Martians?
Kiana Kaslana didn't care.
She was a straightforward person. Most of the time, as long as someone looked good and she liked them, that was enough.
Just like with the Elysian Realm's memory bodies and their originals—if both had the same body and memories, it didn't matter to her who was the copy and who was the original.
Because she would take them all.
"Why is it in this state...?"
Upon entering the Martian terminal, Kiana Kaslana frowned. The quantum computer's world was in a suspended, standby-like state.
What happened to the reincarnation cycle?
Should she force it to activate?
She fell into thought.
Suddenly, the environment shifted.
A red-haired girl in a white dress appeared.
"Hello, may I ask… are you a Herrscher?"
"No. I am the Will of Ruler."
Kiana Kaslana looked the red-haired girl up and down.
Not bad—she had a bit of Elysia's charm.
"Will of Ruler? What's that supposed to be?"
Senadina sensed an unusual fluctuation of Honkai energy from the girl before her.
"I'm the Will of Honkai from another universe. You can think of me as the consciousness of an entire universe. What you're seeing right now is merely one of the avatars I casually created."
Kiana Kaslana introduced herself.
"Do you need help? I can assist you in escaping the quantum computer and restoring your physical forms—but it will require a price."
"Ah…?"
Senadina's lips parted slightly, struggling to follow the rhythm of the white-haired girl's words.
Will of Honkai, Will of Ruler, universal consciousness…
And she could even help Mars escape the quantum computer and regain physical bodies?
Was that… really possible?
"Aren't you going to ask who I am, or what happened to this planet?"
She looked puzzled.
"The moment I saw you, I knew that you were destined to be mine. Whatever happened to this planet doesn't concern me."
Kiana Kaslana spread her hands.
"I only want to know whether you're willing to pay the price for my help."
What an interesting person.
Senadina smiled faintly. "What kind of price do we need to pay?"
"If you can guess what it is I like, you'll know the answer."
"What you like?"
Senadina tilted her head in thought. She wasn't sure whether this mysterious girl could truly save Martian civilization.
But as long as there was even a sliver of hope, she wouldn't give up.
Still, they had nothing left—what could she possibly want?
"Our technology?"
"No," Kiana Kaslana shook her head. "In terms of technology, the Fleet of Fog's level far surpasses that of you Martians."
"Then I can't think of anything else."
Senadina noticed Kiana's gaze fixed on her and froze for a moment. Then, with uncertainty, she said, "You don't mean… me, do you?"
"You really are a clever girl."
"..."
Senadina never imagined that this stunning white-haired beauty—perfect in both looks and figure—would actually want her.
But… wasn't this their first meeting?
Love at first sight?
Was her charm really that great?
Kiana Kaslana reached out, her fingers brushing against Senadina's cheek as she smiled mischievously. "I think you don't want your people to live trapped in the quantum computer forever, right?"
Senadina's pupils quivered, her face turning crimson in an instant.
W-what was this woman even saying?!
Were people outside Mars all this… forward?!
"Don't be shy, Senadina," Kiana's voice dripped with allure. "As long as you agree, I'll help the Martian people escape their predicament."
"Just look at me—I'm not that bad, am I?"
Senadina's mind wavered. Of course she didn't want her people to remain confined within the quantum system for eternity.
In the end, she made her decision.
"Fine, I agree," Senadina said through gritted teeth. "But you must promise to help us."
Kiana smiled in satisfaction. "Don't worry. I always keep my word."
"We'll meet again soon—in the real world."
Then she gently kissed Senadina's forehead.
...
On Mars's surface, Sirin noticed Kiana Kaslana's return.
"Mom, where did you go?"
"Oh, nothing. Are you done with your magic experiments?" Kiana changed the topic.
"Mm, all done," Sirin nodded, then said, "I checked—most spells work, but many of them have lost their special effects."
"The most important ones—time magic and resurrection magic—both malfunctioned." Sirin's tone was heavy with disappointment.
Kiana comforted her. "That's alright. We'll figure out how to resurrect life in this world, eventually."
"Can you tell me what went wrong with time magic?"
A violet magic circle appeared beneath Sirin as she casually dropped a stone.
The stone fell freely.
Just before it touched the ground—
Time magic activated.
The stone halted in midair, then reversed its motion, returning to Sirin's hand.
"Isn't that perfectly normal?" Kiana Kaslana asked, puzzled.
"No, it's not. The time magic in this world doesn't feel the same as in the magical world. It feels... off." Sirin paused, then continued, "Mom, do you think that when a stone moves to one place and then returns to its original position, that counts as time reversal?"
Does returning a piece of matter to an earlier position count as time reversal?
Kiana Kaslana thought for a moment. Time, space, and mass—each was independent yet intricately interconnected as absolute concepts.
"Do you think this method could actually resurrect a living being?"
"It can revive something that just died—not something that's been dead too long." Sirin glanced toward Earth's moon. "Mom, I think the space-time of the entire solar system is being disturbed by that thing. My space-time magic is being interfered with too."
The reason for the 200-million-kilometer teleportation deviation earlier was probably the influence of the Cocoon of Finality.
Cocoon of Finality!
Hearing that, Kiana Kaslana froze for a moment—then realization struck.
She had almost forgotten.
The Herrscher of Finality's authority governed time itself.
So Sirin's space-time magic was being disrupted—that explained the strange sensation.
"What about resurrection magic?"
"That doesn't work either. The consciousness of an ordinary lifeform dissipates too quickly—it can't linger as long as it does in magical worlds." Sirin shook her head.
"Neither works, huh?"
Kiana Kaslana sighed softly.
She patted Sirin's head. "No rush. We have plenty of time."
"Mm." Sirin nodded.
In the Honkai world, the only known case of resurrection was Otto's attempt through the Imaginary Tree.
The result? A parallel world where Kallen lived again.
Could that truly be called resurrection?
The entire cosmology of the Honkai world differed from ordinary universes.
The entire star system was like a bubble encased in Imaginary Energy. Countless civilizations couldn't even leave their own galaxies.
"Mom, what should we do next?"
Sirin sounded lost. Her time and resurrection spells could only bring back those who had just died.
How long had Bella and the others been gone?
"Even if you can't bring them back yet, you still have us. We'll help you," Kiana Kaslana said gently, hugging Sirin to comfort her.
"Thank you, Mom." Sirin leaned into Kiana's embrace, her heart feeling a little lighter.
"Let's go take a look at Earth," Kiana suggested.
Sirin nodded, activating teleportation magic. The two of them shifted together into orbit near Earth.
Damn it—the teleportation was off again!
Annoyed, Sirin's gaze turned toward the moon. She seriously considered blasting that troublesome "Cocoon of Finality" to pieces.
The closer she got, the more strongly she could feel its interference—and the more unpleasant it became.
"Sirin, you go down first. I'll check out that man on the moon."
Sirin flew toward Siberia on Earth.
Kiana Kaslana flew toward the moon and entered an ancient ruin, where she found a white-haired man seated upon a throne.
Alongside him were Su, Elysia's clone Hare, Prometheus, and Gray Serpent.
"Good evening, everyone."
Kiana Kaslana stepped into the hall, greeting them casually, her eyes sweeping around the empty chamber. "Is there seriously no chair I can sit on here?"
A second later, a chair made of ice appeared.
"Forget it. Ice chairs just freeze your ass."
Kiana Kaslana leaned back in midair, crossing her legs with an arrogant posture that showed she feared no one.
"My name is Kiana Kaslana. But if you don't want to call me that, you can address me as the Will of Ruler."
Hare tilted her head curiously. This white-haired girl looked somewhat similar to herself.
"Kiana Kaslana..." Kevin murmured the name under his breath from the throne.
"As far as I know, that name belongs to Siegfried and Cecilia's daughter—not you," Prometheus said flatly.
"Can't I name myself that?"
"You can."
"Then there's no problem."
"I just don't understand why you'd choose that name."
"If you don't understand, take your time. You're a super AI from the Previous Era—you'll figure it out eventually. If not, then you're outdated and need a version update."
"..."
Prometheus fell silent.
Kevin finally asked, "Will of Ruler, what brings you here?"
"What, you think you can control where I go? A civilization that can't even escape its own solar system dares question a being who crosses universes? Do you think you're qualified?"
Kiana Kaslana's tone dripped with arrogance.
"..."
Everyone fell silent, their tempers barely restrained.
This woman's words were infuriating—but they knew she was incredibly powerful, a being from beyond the Imaginary Tree.
Not someone they could afford to provoke.
Hare spoke softly. "That child… is she doing well?"
"That child?"
"You mean Bronya?"
Hare nodded.
"She's doing great. Met lots of pretty girls. Living quite happily."
Met lots of pretty girls? Living happily?!
Hare couldn't help but feel that something about those words sounded very strange.