You and I - Both Extensions of Sirin
"Vessel... that word makes me think of Luna," Kallen said softly, gently stroking Luna's hairs. A hint of sadness lingered in her voice, as if she was remembering something.
She was thinking about the girl the Captain had risked everything to save during the summer solstice.
Luna was part of an experiment, a way to keep Kallen alive in their game. And Kiana, well, she was a Herrscher, created in a lab. She was a vessel, a container for the Herrscher to come back to life
"That's how Sirin is. After all, she's the Herrscher of the Puffer-fish. She starts swelling up at the slightest opportunity," Luo Mo added, nodding in agreement. He always had his own way of looking at things.
He wasn't sure if Sirin ha in this world inherited this trait, but she was definitely a Neet. She was either gaming or on her way to game.
Even getting into voice acting was because she was broke and couldn't afford to spend a lot of money on games.
Oh, maybe it was also because she was promised a limited edition figurine?
"Uh... luckily, Ms. Sirin isn't here. Otherwise, she'd probably be all puffed up like a pufferfish. It's quite fitting," Rita said, covering her mouth with a small laugh. The sleeve of her white dress danced in the breeze.
"Hehehe... let's hope Sirin doesn't see this. It's true, her victory horn came too early," Kallen couldn't help but chuckle, finding it all a little funny.
"Interesting. The battle between two individuals with similar faces, what will its outcome be?"
Kongming glanced at Luna discreetly, and of course, he also cast a sidelong glance at Rita and Irene with a mischievous grin.
This was a battle too, a battle for life!
-----
After a quick fight, Sirin didn't mind playing with Kiana a little before the real battle. She enjoyed seeing Kiana get nervous. It made her feel powerful. She looked down at Kiana, who was still calm and collected, and asked curiously,
"Oh? You know that you can't win in the upcoming battle. Soon, I will gradually replace you… and you will be crushed, reduced to nothingness."
"But why aren't you panicking? Not scared? Not desperate?"
She remembered how scared Kiana looked when she first showed up. She felt a little nostalgic, thinking back to that moment.
Kiana squeezed her right hand, a little sadness in her eyes. She looked at Sirin, letting her know what she was thinking, the conclusion she'd reached after thinking hard.
"No seal can last forever. It just puts off the inevitable," she said.
"You and I are destined to have this final battle, to settle everything."
"We're like fire and water, incompatible. We can't make concessions or compromise."
"Since reconciliation is impossible, we can only settle it this way - the winner stays, the loser disappears."
"... Hahahaha! Is that your conclusion?"
Sirin laughed in a way that made fun of Kiana, mocking her obvious plan. "Do you really think... you have a chance of winning?"
"Those awful memories, those painful chains... you can't let them go. You try to escape, but you just get pulled deeper into the mess," Sirin taunted, enjoying Kiana's struggle.
"You can't handle the soul of this body, you can't handle the weight of-"
Kiana listened quietly to Sirin's words, her voice filled with memories of the past as she spoke back,
"... In ARC City, you said I would never escape you."
"Since then, I've been thinking about what your words meant. I've been trying to find the answers to two questions - who are you, and who am I?"
Her soft words echoed in the space, laced with contemplation and a yearning for confirmation.
"I'm the Herrscher of the Void, you're K423. The answers are already clear," Sirin said, her voice dripping with mockery, though her eyes flickered with something else.
"So it's all the Herrscher's fault, not yours. You have nothing to do with it - isn't that what you like to say?"
Kiana closed her eyes, hiding all her emotions, and spoke seriously,
"There's a truth I've refused to acknowledge. But only by accepting it can I fill the void in my soul and stand a chance against you."
"I am you. We are two parts of the same soul, two beings born from Sirin's wish."
Kiana took a deep breath and said her final conclusion,
"You and I - both extensions of Sirin."
[Both, both Sirin? A clone developing consciousness… I see. No wonder they say clones can become conscious.]
[Kiana's dreams about Sirin hint at this too. Those scenes in the lab, how could she have dream them so easily if they weren't her own experience?]
[Ugh, my head feels itchy. I can't take it. My brain is going to explode! If we look at it this way, wouldn't that mean the Queen is also a Tuna?]
[With the fountain spirit (Parasol Kaiserin, in the game's summer outfit) around, the Queen suddenly doesn't seem so scary anymore.]
-----
"???" Sirin tilted her head, completely confused.
She turned to Cecilia, her mom, and shook her leg, trying to get her to explain.
Why were there two of her?
"Whew... looks like you and Kiana are twins after all. That explains why you guys love to fight. Must have started when you were little," Cecilia said with a playful wink, taking a deep breath.
"!!" Sirin's lips twitched, her big eyes blinking in confusion.
"Alright, you two are just two people now. Don't worry too much about it," Cecilia said, pushing Sirin gently, telling her not to overthink it.
"No matter what, I'm not twins with Kiana. Don't be so silly, Mom. You see, our hair color is completely different..." Sirin tried to explain, stroking a strand of her bright purple hair.
But when Cecilia looked closer, she noticed a few crumbs of food stuck in it. It was hard to tell if it was bread or chips. Thankfully, it wasn't instant ramen.
Cecilia fell silent for a moment, her face becoming serious. She smiled thinly, a forced smile.
"Sirin, have you been eating snacks while floating in the air again?"
"No, absolutely not!" Sirin replied earnestly, but her eyes were shifty.
She didn't even know where she'd gone wrong.
Then Cecilia sighed, grabbed Sirin, and decided to wash her hair. She was such a troublesome child.
Sirin tried to resist, muttering to herself, but it was in vain.
…
The dormitory fell silent after Kiana's words, everyone stunned by what she had revealed.
Even with all the preparation for the Second Honkai Impact, their understanding had been wrong. This explained why Kiana had always seemed burdened, and as the one involved, she must have known about her connection to Sirin for a long time.
"Both... Sirin? I see. That explains a lot," Fu Hua said, realizing something, and sighing.
Sirin had undeniably died during the Second Honkai Impact. The remnants of her original consciousness were already a dissonance, and a clone developing human consciousness was equally inexplicable.
But if the situation had become what it was now, combined with Sirin's statement that she couldn't escape her no matter what, the answer became clear.
If they were really the same person, and nothing could separate them, then it all made sense.
"Kiana... is Sirin? They're both Sirin? Wait… never mind. I'll let her explain," the Herrscher of Sentience said, frowning and focusing on the scene.
She knew that Kiana would win, but she wasn't sure how Sirin would be defeated.
"... Second Sister wouldn't... no, no, we're not in the same body."
Kiana suddenly had a strange thought. Could it be that, like in a parallel world, she was also an extension of Sirin?
But she quickly shook her head. This time, she knew her own origin.
"So, there's another explanation for the Herrscher of the Void in the game wanting to destroy everything. It's because the real Sirin couldn't bring herself to destroy humanity, especially after cutting off Honkai's influence," Fu Hua said, adopting a detective-like pose, her right hand curled into a fist, her index finger and thumb stroking her chin.
She had been following Sirin's story, which is why she thought the game and real life were different in many ways. Sirin seemed more relaxed, lazy, and wanting to enjoy life. She wasn't as aggressive.
"The explanation makes sense, but doesn't that make the situation in the game even more complex?"
Bronya pointed to the two figures facing each other, indicating that they could continue watching the development.
Then, she ruthlessly chimed in, "But dummy Kiana is so articulate and clear-headed in the game. Even her vocabulary is on point, no mistakes… If only dummy Kiana could learn a bit from her in-game self. Otherwise, when she actually faces the Herrscher of Dominance, she'll be shut down."
She shook her head sadly, expressing deep regret.
"... I'm not, I'm not slacking off, I'm trying my best, working day and night... And Sirin, she wouldn't say those things normally. Maybe it's just triggered by a specific situation!"
Kiana pouted and protested.
-----
In this deep and silent space, the Herrscher of the Void burst out laughing.
It was as if she'd heard a joke, mocking Kiana with her laughter.
"Hahaha... Even now, you're claiming to be Sirin? Delusions of grandeur! Your mind has completely gone crazy?"
"Alright, let's see. If you are Sirin, how do you plan to achieve Sirin's wish, to destroy the world she couldn't destroy?"
"Yes, that's your real goal," Kiana said calmly, her words clear and sensible, arguing with the Herrscher of the Void.
"You claim to be Sirin, and you recklessly unleash your malice and hatred. You do this to separate me from the true Sirin, to make me refuse to acknowledge my identity."
"But that's just your desire, not Sirin's. In her dreams, there's a swirling, murky darkness, but there's also a calm, warm light."
"Complex and contradictory emotions intertwine in her heart, but you only want me to see the resentment."
It was true. The girl named Sirin didn't just have sorrow in her memories. That love spell echoed in her mind until her dying breath.
Ich liebe dich
"Heh... alright, let's have a little chat," the Herrscher of the Void said casually, her eyes still filled with disdain.
"Those holier-than-thou researchers took Sirin away, in the name of hope, and pushed her into the depths of hell... From that day on, she didn't even have a peaceful night's sleep."
"Hate, anger, and a need for revenge bloomed at that moment, caused by humanity itself."
Her words were strong, without any doubt.
"But there, she also met Aurora, Agata, and Bella. They were her friends, names she treasured until the very end."
Kiana presented her evidence. Those who had held a place in Sirin's heart, moments of warmth she had once possessed.
"The Honkai shattered Sirin's heart, but she never forgot those names. She still longed to be with them again."
"But in the end, humanity took them away, making them sacrifices."
The Herrscher of the Void stared coldly at Kiana. "They died. Even the Herrscher of Death couldn't bring them back. Sirin lost them in the end."
"So... she chose revenge. Maybe there were innocent people in that tower, but Sirin didn't care anymore. She inflicted her pain on another without any consideration, because she no longer wanted to be part of humanity."
"But even then, there were still people who wanted to save her!"
"Save her?"
The Herrscher of the Void scoffed and began to list them off one by one.
"You mean Theresa? She just speaks pretty words, unrealistic and useless."
"Siegfried? Heh, he's a coward, weak and indecisive. He... shouldn't even be counted."
"As for Cecilia..."
The Herrscher of the Void hesitated for a rare moment, but quickly returned to her usual sneer. "She might have had a strange affection for Sirin, but love is too weak and powerless against hate. The world wouldn't allow it, and in the end, she could only turn her weapons against Sirin."
"They killed her together - that's what you call 'saving' her. Your so-called kindness and understanding are the biggest irony of Sirin's fate."
The Herrscher of the Void mercilessly mocked everyone, including Kiana, who thought she was so clever.
None of them could save Sirin.
[Suddenly, I feel like the Herrscher of the Void is making a lot of sense. Kiana isn't wrong either. There's no arguing with her.]
[From Sirin's perspective of malice, it's always humanity's fault. Kiana, on the other hand, sees the good that Sirin received, even if... it pales in comparison to the vast malice.]
[It makes sense that Kiana is the main character. She remembers the good things others do for her, little by little, instead of focusing on the bad... That's a really good quality. There aren't enough people like that in real life.]
-----
"Is that so? So... that's how she feels? No wonder..."
Theresa lowered her head, her eyes red. She pursed her lips.
Sirin and Cecilia had been very close, so close that they were inseparable. But Theresa had only shown a little kindness, even though it was much more than what others had shown.
"Only speaks pretty words... a very accurate analysis. I was the first to get there, and if it had been Cecilia... everything would have stopped right at the beginning, wouldn't it?"
She couldn't help but laugh bitterly, filled with regret. But it was too late now.
"But Theresa, you were still the first member of Schicksal to extend kindness to her. You paved the way for Cecilia's appearance later on," Luo Mo comforted her.
After all, he had been eating her food for a long time, even though there was a lot of bitter melon he didn't like... And he had been staying at her place for a long time, even though he built a Herrscher class for her...
So... for Luna's sake?
Luo Mo nodded silently, happily agreeing with his own suggestion.
"I-is that so? Luo Mo? You didn't kick me while I was down?"
Theresa rubbed her eyes. The tears that had welled up in her eyes were pushed back by surprise. She blurted out what she was truly thinking.
"Is that what I'm like?"
Luo Mo gave Theresa a roll of the eyes, letting her figure it out.
"Alright, Theresa, you did very well. It's just that you were a bit naive at the time... you couldn't guide her back to the right path."
Kallen lovingly stroked Theresa's head.
She hadn't done a good job, but she was growing and willing to work hard, and that was what mattered most.
"It seems Ms. Theresa has a big misunderstanding about the Captain. He only likes to kick people when they're not sad... Maybe that's not called kicking someone while they're down, maybe it's called a prank?"
Irene added with a smile, glancing back at Kongming, as if challenging her - she understood the Captain better.