### Chapter 1: Transmigrated
**Mind Storage Room**
"Love you walking alone in the dark alley
Love you, that undefeated look~"
A boy named *Jiu Xiao* was eating hotpot and singing in a small shop when suddenly, a bright light flashed across the back of his right hand, engraving a strange cross-shaped pattern into his skin. Right after that, a clear and ethereal voice echoed in his mind.
**[Are you free? Could you come save me?]**
Jiu Xiao paused for a moment, then instinctively replied:
"If you believe I can do it, then I'm willing to give it a try."
**"BEEP BEEP BEEP—"**
A massive truck suddenly barreled into the shop with its horn blaring, sending his hotpot flying and screeching to a stop right in front of him.
In the blink of an eye, Jiu Xiao vanished from the shop.
---
Jiu Xiao suddenly jolted awake. As he opened his eyes and looked around, he started patting himself all over, cold sweat trickling down his back.
That was terrifying. He'd been just 0.01 meters away from that truck.
Clearly, this wasn't the place he was in before. Back where he had been, it was a city of concrete and steel, in the peak of summer—hot enough to fry an egg on the ground. But here, everything was covered in snow. The trees on both sides of the road were blanketed in white, their original forms barely recognizable.
Leaning against a tree, Jiu Xiao checked his own condition. Yep, limbs still intact. Not missing any parts. In fact, he now had a really cool purple pattern on the back of his hand. He lifted his hand into the sunlight—sure enough, the symbol gleamed.
"I'm screwed... Damn chuunibyou. I thought I was just hearing things, but it really was a truck that sent me into another world! And I used to think that kind of thing only happened in novels."
**[Sorry... This is my first time doing something like this too. I've read that truck accidents are a common method of transmigration in novels, so I thought you might enjoy it. My bad. I won't do it again.]**
The ethereal voice returned, and at the same time, the symbol on his hand began to emit a warm glow.
"This thing actually talks? Wait—are you in this mark on my hand? Can you explain what's going on?"
**[This is my *Stigmata*, engraved with my power, memories, and such. My name is... uh, sorry, I've lived too long, I can't quite remember. Let's skip the name for now. In my world, there's something called "Honkai," a recurring natural disaster—a cosmic rhythm of sorts. Its outbreaks are unpredictable and manifest in different ways. But one thing is consistent: when it strikes, it releases a highly efficient but extremely dangerous energy—Honkai energy.
Honkai energy is more efficient than any known power source, but it corrodes living beings, turning them into Honkai beasts or undead soldiers. After every major outbreak, a "Herrscher" is born.
The Honkai represents an incomprehensible divine will, and Herrschers are its apostles. They possess powers granted by the Honkai, but their abilities are limited by the level of civilization. Their purpose is to enact the will of the Honkai—essentially, to destroy existing systems... (massive lore dump skipped)]**
"..."
"Ohhh! So my mission is to kick Herrscher butt and wreck the Honkai? Sounds like a plan! I feel pumped already!"
Jiu Xiao, freezing his tail off in this snowy world, forced himself to stay rational. He'd just received a massive information dump—it felt like he'd just opened the door to a whole new world.
"I feel so full of power now... my body's all floaty!"
**[Emmm... Based on Stigmata feedback, I think you're hallucinating from the cold. I suggest you find shelter fast, or you're gonna freeze to death. Hmm? Wait... something's off about this world...]**
The voice suddenly went silent. But Jiu Xiao could feel the Stigmata on his hand getting warmer. He grabbed a nearby stick and pressed his back against a tree, scanning the surroundings with alert eyes.
"What's going on? Are we fighting already? But Honkai and Herrschers are supposed to be super strong—I'm just a normal dude! What can I even do?"
**[The Honkai energy levels here are weird... This isn't right. I think I transported you to the wrong world. Just hang in there—]**
"Huh?!"
---
---
"Huh? Why is someone lying here? Wearing so little too, aren't they freezing?"
A small white-haired girl, bundled up in a thick white parka, with a chameleon hairpin and twin braids draped over her shoulders, was poking Jiu Xiao with a stick.
She slapped his face a few times. Seeing no response, she touched his forehead.
"Yikes, that's hot. He's burning up!"
"As the people's shield, and as a Kaslana, I—Kiana Kaslana—cannot stand by and let someone die!"
After a moment's thought, she tossed aside her giant backpack, pulled out a big blanket and wrapped it around Jiu Xiao. Then she hoisted him onto her shoulders and started running home.
In the vast snowy landscape, her small feet left deep prints behind her. Jiu Xiao was a lot heavier than her backpack, and after a while, she was panting.
She set him down to catch her breath. His long, purple hair was spread across the snow. His delicate, beautiful face looked like that of a girl. He was wearing a red and white school uniform from some unknown academy.
"Whoa! I didn't even look closely before—he's a super ultra mega cute girl?!"
Kiana's eyes lit up like stars, and she started drooling a little.
"Ahem! What am I doing?! Focus on saving people—save now, fangirl later. Hehehe... Beautiful girl~"
Trying to compose herself, Kiana cleared her throat and got ready to carry Jiu Xiao again. But once she looked at him, she got distracted all over again. With a goofy grin, she slung him over her shoulder, giggling like a weirdo.
After a bit, she shifted from carrying him to piggybacking him.
Jiu Xiao's head rested on her shoulder. At first, she didn't notice, but then their faces accidentally touched. The soft, warm sensation sent a shiver of joy through her.
Though she was trying to focus on getting home, Kiana once again wore that goofy smile.
"Hehehe... So this is what a beautiful girl's face feels like... So soft! So warm! Just a little hot... Snuggle snuggle~"
---
T/N
tea ☕