With the creak of the door opening, a sleepy white fluffball peeked half its head out. Ren looked over curiously, only to see Kiana emerge, sporting impressive bedhead and stumbling groggily.
"Morning," Ren greeted with a smile, casually turning off the TV. The girl didn't respond at all, just shuffled dazedly into the bathroom.
After a few clinks and clanks, Kiana reappeared. Yawning widely, her eyes barely open, she started weaving her way back towards her bedroom.
Halfway there, she seemed to finally register something. She froze mid-step and slowly turned around.
"Morning, Kiana."
Ren acted perfectly normal, but a visible blush crept onto Kiana's face. She stood there awkwardly, unconsciously scratching her messy hair.
"M-morning."
With that, she practically bolted back into her room, slamming the door shut with a bang.
Crash!
The sound of something falling over echoed from inside. Clearly, the girl was flustered.
Did she really need to react that strongly? Ren wondered, rubbing his chin.
Living together definitely had its downsides; personal privacy was hard to guarantee completely. He himself didn't really care about such things – after all, he'd been through quite a lot, and his attitude towards Kiana felt comfortably settled, like an old married couple.
But she was still just a normal girl, and their relationship hadn't quite reached that stage yet. He'd need to be more careful next time.
A little while later, Kiana emerged again, looking slightly more put-together. This time her expression was calmer, though she still avoided direct eye contact with Ren.
"Uh, I got back really late yesterday. I'm gonna take a bath first," she mumbled, clutching a change of clothes and heading into the bathroom.
"Okay, I'll get the hot water ready for you."
Ren got up and went to the utility closet. Their place wasn't huge, but he'd specifically made sure it had a bathtub back when he was planning the initial 'abduction,' and surprisingly, it had seen consistent use.
Placing his hand on the water tank, he channeled the power of the Gem of Haste. Within seconds, the water temperature adjusted to Kiana's preferred cozy warmth.
If I started a plumbing and heating company in Siberia, I'd probably make a killing.
The random thought popped into his head, only to be dismissed just as quickly.
Unlike when he was simply controlling puppets, Ren, having shed his more detached 'divine' perspective, found his thoughts becoming much more whimsical and... human.
...
"I sense your tension. It seems you finally recognize the threat that guy poses." The words suddenly popped into Kiana's mind as she soaked in the warm bathwater.
"Herrscher of the Void, do you just love popping up while I'm trying to relax in the bath?"
"Heh. With your current abilities, do you think you'd even give me a chance to appear if you weren't so relaxed?"
The Herrscher of the Void, silent for a while, still had that same cold, mocking tone. However, it was noticeably toned down compared to months ago. Perhaps even she knew that after Kiana awakened as the Herrscher of Flamescion, Sirin stood no chance of winning anymore.
"Since you know you can't manipulate me anymore, why bother showing up? Wouldn't it be better to just stay quiet?"
Kiana sank lower into the water, blowing bubbles with her mouth and watching them pop on the surface. The image of her very first bath here flashed through her mind.
Back then, she was still deeply plagued by the Herrscher's corruption. Now, she faced it unflinchingly.
"Pitiful experiment. It seems gaining power hasn't cured your foolishness. Do you remember why you were created?"
Of course, Kiana remembered. A clone of Sirin, a vessel for the Herrscher of the Void – those labels had haunted her past, casting a long shadow over her entire life.
"Exactly. Your body was made to contain the Herrscher of the Void's consciousness. You should understand, one body cannot hold two souls. Sooner or later, one of us will disappear completely. That being the case, I will never give up any opportunity to replace you."
"You really think you still have a chance?"
"Whether I have a chance isn't for you to decide. The Honkai never misses an opportunity to corrupt. As long as there's a crack in your heart, I will return. The fact that I'm here now, isn't the answer obvious?"
A crack in my heart?
Kiana fell silent. Honestly, theoretically, she shouldn't have any vulnerabilities right now. After all, Himeko-sensei was alive, Fu Hua had woken up, and Mei and Bronya, though separated, were fighting the Honkai in their own ways. The only real loose end was her deadbeat dad still being MIA.
"Why do you instinctively avoid mentioning his name?"
Ren.
"You don't actually think you can shake me by bringing him up, do you?" Kiana found the idea almost laughable. If others became weak points, it could be understood as lingering regrets. But Ren? The person who had been with her through thick and thin, the one who had consistently filled the emptiness inside her – how could he possibly be part of any crack?
"Heh. If that's the case, then why were you so nervous just now? Why was your heart beating so fast?"
Why? It wasn't like she could admit it was because she was embarrassed he'd seen her looking like a mess.
Kiana certainly wouldn't say that. Instead, she replied with a pitying tone, "As a Herrscher, you're incapable of understanding these kinds of emotions."
"You're right, I certainly don't understand human emotions. But I understand you. Your heart tells me what's making you uneasy isn't what you're claiming."
"You're afraid. Afraid he'll find out what you've been doing lately. You're uneasy because you've been deceiving him."
"..."
"Afraid to answer? Then let me be even clearer."
"You... suspect him!"
"The Herrscher of Dominance, the Herrscher born from malice. You suspect Ren is one of them. Otherwise, why have you spent the entire past month investigating this very thing?" The Herrscher of the Void mercilessly revealed the true nature of Kiana's recent activities. However, she wasn't met with denial, but a calm reply.
"I did worry about that, yes. But so what? Whether he's part of the Herrscher of Dominance or not doesn't change how I feel about him. Besides, what do you think I've been investigating this month?"
"I was investigating the connection between him and the Herrscher of Dominance. And the facts proved it to me – he has no connection whatsoever."
That was right. Kiana hadn't been collecting evidence that Ren was involved with the Herrscher of Dominance. On the contrary, she was confirming he wasn't.
The reason she hadn't wanted Ren involved was simply because she worried he might misunderstand her intentions.
"..." Kiana's explanation left the Herrscher of the Void speechless. She couldn't understand why Kiana believed everything Ren said, yet dismissed everything she said.
"You'll regret this," was all she could finally manage.
"That's not for you to worry about."
Feeling triumphant, Kiana mentally shoved the Herrscher of the Void back into her mental prison without mercy. With a casual mental command, the notebook flew from the pocket of her discarded clothes into her hand.
Looking at Ren's name under the list of suspected Herrscher of Dominance candidates, a small smile touched her lips. The flame of the Herrscher of Flamescion ignited gently, burning away that page of suspicion completely.
After doing this, Kiana felt a weight lift off her shoulders. The month of exhausting investigation finally had a satisfying conclusion.
"I heated up breakfast for you," Ren's voice called from outside the door. The girl splashed some water on her face, quickly tidied up, changed, and walked out.
Perhaps even she herself didn't realize... the Herrscher of the Void hadn't truly vanished, and the crack in her heart hadn't closed in the slightest.