The days passed in tense calm, marked by Wendy's recovery and Schicksal's constant vigilance.
Wendy improved visibly: the stabilized gem allowed physiotherapy sessions, and her legs began to respond with weak but promising movements. Theresa spent hours by her side, remembering old times with guilt she didn't hide. "You were my best student, Wendy. The most talented I had in Oceania. You shone brighter than anyone... and Schicksal failed you. I failed you." Wendy, still pale in her wheelchair, lowered her gaze with contained tears. "Sensei... I'm sorry for everything. For becoming this." Theresa hugged her tightly. "It's not your fault. The experiments... I won't let anything else happen to you."
Bronya visited her daily, sharing stories about Seele in a neutral but warm voice. "Bronya was also a tool. But Bronya chose her path. Wendy can do the same." Kiana brought "special" food (prepared by Mei), shouting cheerfully: "Hey! No more drama! Eat this and get strong! I want to see you fly without wanting to kill anyone!" Mei adjusted the chair with serene gentleness: "Step by step. Your body will adapt." I contributed by draining residual Honkai excesses, accelerating her control without revealing too much.
Theresa, driven by her remorse toward Wendy —her most promising former student— and by the desire to free Bronya from the cerebral chip implanted by Cocolia, decided to venture into the underground church of St. Freya. There, it was said that Schicksal's most advanced biotechnology was hidden.
I knew the database contained files on "cerebral implants, biochip." Unfortunately, Theresa could only access the file from the Siberian base. The simulation started: a virtual environment of frozen tundra, with a recreated Schicksal base (massive Honkai reactor, defensive mechs). Theresa entered the immersion alone, reliving fragments of the past to access restricted files. I observed from outside, monitoring, preparing for the inevitable moment.
Simultaneously, Kiana —looking for Theresa— entered her own individual simulation. Just like in canon, she reunited with her "father" and "defeated" the Second Herrscher alongside her "mother" Cecilia.
Then the inevitable happened...
Kiana, still wrapped in the euphoria of victory, hugged her "mother" with a radiant smile, celebrating the triumph over the Second Herrscher. Suddenly, she saw Theresa approaching.
"Kiana, what are you doing here?" —Theresa asked, confused.
"Theresa? Haha, you're late! Cecilia and I defeated the Second Herrscher!" —Kiana replied, pointing proudly at the figure beside her.
"What? What are you talking about, Kiana? There's no one else here…" —Theresa said, voice trembling with concern.
"What do you mean? Cecilia is here. Next to me… Huh? Mom!"
Cecilia's figure vanished like smoke in the frozen wind, leaving Kiana alone with empty arms. Her expression shifted from pure joy to confusion and absolute emptiness.
I had seen that scene in the video game, but witnessing it up close was much sadder than I imagined. Kiana's pain —that shattered illusion of a mother who would never return— hit harder than expected. It left a knot in my throat, a raw reminder of why I was altering canon: to mitigate tragedies, not eliminate them all.
But precisely because of that, I shouldn't interfere. If Kiana didn't go through this —if she wasn't stopped as the Herrscher of the Void and forced to confront her power—, she would never mature or progress. It could lead to an unknown future, possibly tragic, where Kiana didn't control her power and everything crumbled in ways worse than the original canon.
The simulation faded. Fu Hua appeared, murmuring something about a mission. She told Kiana that everything she saw and felt was a lie, an illusion. Kiana collapsed, but as she knelt on the ground, she remembered the phrase she had read in a diary during the simulation.
Her eyes, normally blue, turned orange-yellow. Her battlesuit changed completely: white armor with black details and bright neon blue. Ethereal wings of energy oscillating between purple and orange emerged from her back, projecting an imposing and almost celestial aura. She obtained her Knight Moonbeam form.
The confrontation ensued. Kiana fought with fury to the end, but lost. Fu Hua defeated her with a precise strike and took her to Otto.
[System:]
[Do you wish to use 2 tickets to obtain 2 random special traits?]
— Yes —
The wheel on the screen in front of me began spinning rapidly, showing fleeting images of Jujutsu Kaisen characters. It stopped with a digital click: the image of Satoru Gojo, with his penetrating blue eyes, and the words Six Eyes.
[Congratulations: you have obtained Satoru Gojo's Six Eyes.]
For a brief moment I was paralyzed by surprise. Then, my vision changed completely. Everything sharpened to an atomic level: I could see the flows of Honkai and cursed energy as finest luminous threads, moving with infinite precision. My field of vision expanded to 360 degrees, processing every detail effortlessly —even the subtle fluctuations in the air, previously invisible—. My naturally black eyes now glowed with a subtle and ethereal blue, extending like veins of optimized cursed energy, allowing me perfect control of my cursed energy: zero waste, almost completely controlled flow.
Before I could fully react, the wheel spun again, this time more slowly —or so it seemed, thanks to the accelerated perception of the Six Eyes—. It finally stopped.
[Congratulations: you have obtained Hakari's Luck.]
What? I knew that after the Six Eyes, I probably wouldn't get anything comparable, but I wasn't sure exactly how "Hakari's Luck" worked. I closed the system window, feeling the pulse of the new powers settle.
(Schicksal Headquarters, 22 hours after Kiana's capture)
Otto Apocalypse observed the containment capsule in front of him, a serene smile on his face. "Continue infusing Honkai energy," he ordered in a calm voice. "It's the only way to awaken her.
Heh… it's been a long time." He approached the glass, green eyes shining with calculated satisfaction. "Welcome home… K-423."
Inside the capsule, Kiana floated unconscious.
—End of Chapter 6—