Honkai Impact 3rd: Yumeji Satsuki's lies

The next morning, I headed to the library and found Kiana sprawled on the floor, clutching her head amidst a pile of books.

"Looks like you haven't crammed anything new into that head of yours, huh?"

I pulled up a folding chair, sat down, and asked casually.

"Stop poking around! I can't even remember what I was trying to study in the first place! Seriously, why is there so much to learn?"

Kiana groaned and started throwing a small fit, causing me to sigh and say, "I've got a solution for you."

I snapped my fingers, and Bronya suddenly appeared, placing a mechanical helmet in the shape of a Homu bunny on Kiana's head. I slipped on a matching one as well.

"If you can't understand history by studying it, then experiencing it directly should do the trick."

Bronya chimed in, her voice emotionless but agreeing, "Bronya likes this approach too. It's the best way to get knowledge into Kiana's empty head."

"Take this thing off! I'm not an idiot!"

We ignored Kiana's annoyed protests. Sorry, but this isn't up to you, Kiana.

With that, I pressed the button on my helmet, and Bronya did the same for Kiana's. In an instant, our minds were transported to a virtual space that looked like an enormous library. Bronya picked up a random book, opened it, and we found ourselves witnessing historical events as though we were right there, even if it was all just an illusion.

"Bronya will start with the most important events."

"Okay, what's this? It looks pretty epic! Show me already!"

Kiana, clearly thrilled by the idea of seeing history like a movie, was eager to learn. Though at first, she'd been sulking like a kid who'd had their toy taken away, she was quick to change her tune.

"Bronya can see that Kiana is very eager to learn. Please follow Bronya's instructions and watch carefully. Bronya will take you to the key events, and she hopes you'll feel even more excited."

Bronya took on the tone of a tour guide as she led us to some of the most significant moments in history. We learned about Xuan Yuan, who fought against the Honkai beasts in 2717 BC, and the formation of Schicksal, the powerful religious and anti-Honkai organization, at the start of the 14th century.

"Bronya is locating key events for Kiana to witness."

Bronya paused for a moment before continuing, "And, although very important, some of these ancient events may be difficult to grasp. Don't worry, Bronya will explain any details if Kiana doesn't understand."

"That's great!"

Kiana responded eagerly, clearly excited to have Bronya's guidance.

During this period, Schicksal had managed to seal the Honkai under the cathedral's underground tunnels. But humanity had yet to fully defeat the Honkai, and its energy had triggered a plague that took countless lives across Europe in just six years. As we watched this historical moment unfold in the simulation, Kiana accidentally bumped into a large cross about the size of a person.

"That's Principal Theresa's cross. What's it doing here?"

When Kiana absentmindedly reached out and touched it, the space around us abruptly shifted. Kiana was pulled into the inner world of the cross, and since I'd been standing close, I got dragged in too. Bronya was left staring in shock as we both disappeared. Then, after slipping through a rift, Kiana and I began to freefall through the sky.

"Bronya can't enter... Why can't Bronya enter??"

Bronya looked momentarily flustered before regaining her composure and pulling up a virtual panel to adjust the program.

"There are some unknown errors, but Bronya can fix this. Please wait for Bronya."

---

Returning to the current situation of Yumeji and Kiana...

As we were plummeting through the sky, I shouted at Kiana.

"Why do you always have to mess with everything, Kiana?!"

"Ahh, what the hell is going on? And where's Bronya? I can't see her!"

I responded, a bit annoyed, "Only we got sucked in! Bronya's stuck on the other side of the portal. God help us land safely."

I clasped my hands in prayer.

Of course, praying didn't change a thing—we were still free-falling through the sky. Kiana glanced at me, then copied my pose and started praying as well.

"Dear Lord, we're falling from the sky; please don't let me get hurt!"

But it seemed that luck was unfairly distributed. While someone caught Kiana, I ended up headfirst in a trash can.

"Are you okay, young lady?"

A nun with platinum hair had caught Kiana. Blushing with embarrassment, Kiana looked up and replied, "I'm fine. But, um, who are you?"

"I'm Kallen. Kallen Kaslana."

Dragging myself out of the trash can, I tossed aside a banana peel stuck in my hair and sighed as I saw Kiana happily chatting with the nun.

"Does no one care about me, even a little bit?"

Kiana and Kallen exchanged amused glances, both clearly enjoying themselves.

"I can remember someone if they're as beautiful as you, Miss Kallen. You look like a goddess!"

Feeling completely ignored, I began to whine. "Can you two stop ignoring me, please? I'm begging you!"

Kallen turned to look at me with a sweet smile. "Well then, young man, what is it you want?"

I swear Kiana was smirking at me. Ignoring her, I faced Kallen and asked, "So, you're really Kallen Kaslana?"

"Yup, I'm Kallen Kaslana." She placed a hand on her chest, confirming it proudly and giving me a warm, friendly look.

"Miss Kallen, it looks like you're injured. Did something happen?" I asked, noticing the slight wear and tear on her nun's habit.

Kallen raised a hand to touch a cut on her arm. "Yes, there was... an incident, but… Tch, they've found me! You two need to leave now!"

As soon as she spoke, a group of men in black cloaks with crow masks appeared and surrounded us. One of them stepped forward and addressed her.

"Miss Kallen, why do you keep running away?"

Apparently familiar with him, Kallen replied calmly. "Oh, Mr. Arthur, I wasn't running away—I just saw a cute girl falling from the sky and went to rescue her."

The others began to chime in with accusations.

"Stop with the excuses! Someone like you who betrayed the organization can't be trusted!"

"Don't forget, you stole something invaluable from us six months ago."

Fed up with the chatter, Arthur raised a hand to silence them, appearing to have considerable authority.

"Miss Kallen, if you reconsider, I could ask the master to show mercy."

"…"

Kallen thought for a moment, then shook her head firmly. "My mind's made up. Besides, I don't have a reason to live for anymore."

Sensing something unusual in her expression, I glanced at her briefly, then over at Kiana, whose face had darkened with a clear intent to cause trouble.

"Hey, hey—"

Just as one of the men tried to seize Kallen, Kiana lunged forward and punched him, sending him flying, a huge grin of confidence on her face.

"Hey! I've put up with you guys long enough. Just what do you think you're doing to my savior?"

I rubbed my face in exasperation. We were definitely going to end up in jail again. And, just as I feared, Arthur teleported instantly, knocked Kiana out with a chop to the neck, and disappeared.

'Such quick reflexes!'

He glanced at me, and after meeting his gaze for a moment, I shrugged and raised my hands in surrender.

All three of us—Kiana, Kallen, and I—were locked in a cell shortly after.

Kallen looked regretful, realizing that both of us got caught up in this mess because of her.

Kiana lay unconscious, bound hand and foot with ropes, tossed into a corner like a discarded doll.

Well, at least they were kind enough to provide her with a blanket to shield her from the cold.

Kallen was shackled to the wall, looking a bit awkward as she caught my gaze.

"You seem pretty calm," she remarked.

I sat cross-legged, leaning against the wall as if I were accustomed to this situation.

I glanced down at my cuffed hands and replied, "If they wanted to harm us, they wouldn't bother throwing us in a cell with you. They'd separate us and use torture tactics instead."

I looked at Kiana, still unconscious, and shrugged.

"It seems you have a rather unconventional way of thinking. True, this organization has a shady reputation and a false facade of benevolence. But its purpose is to protect humanity. If they mistreat innocent people like you two, it won't serve them well. Don't worry; you're just temporarily detained."

".....What about you? I noticed earlier that you didn't resist. Do you not want to live?"

Kallen stared silently at me before saying, "Of course I want to live. Who doesn't? But I feel like my ties to this world are so fragile. Perhaps it's just a sense of responsibility and kindness; all that matters has already... Therefore, I want to choose my own end."

"Even if that means a bad ending?"

"Exactly."

I fell silent, contemplating Kallen's words while gazing out at the moon through the bars of the window.

"....Maybe you've lost many things, and sometimes life seems burdensome. Life is like that for anyone. However, while you may feel that way, others might think differently. The kindness you give might seem trivial to you, something expected. But the people you cherish may no longer be around. Yet there are still those who care about you. So, what I want to say is... the life you think you understand and have accepted is still long and filled with many things you have yet to discover, sister. So don't give up too soon."

Kallen blinked at me in surprise.

"You really are a strange person."

"I've heard that a lot. Hehehe."

Hours later, Kiana began to regain consciousness.

"Huh? Huh?"

Confused at finding herself bound, Kiana looked at me and Kallen.

"You must be brave to have confronted Mr. Arthur. After all, he's the one who taught me martial arts."

Kiana glanced away, looking dejected as she said, "That was just me being careless. But I have to ask, why did those people capture you?"

".....It's because I stole something important."

"Stole? But you, Kallen, are too good to do something like that."

"It's true; that item is very dangerous if it falls into the wrong hands, so I had to steal it."

"....."

Noticing Kiana's silence, Kallen inquired, "By the way, I don't know your name yet."

"Me? I'm Kiana, Kiana Kaslana."

"Eh? Kaslana? Fufu, I see, now I understand. What about you?"

Kallen looked at me expectantly. I stared at the moon and replied, "It's Yumeji, Yumeji Satsuki."

"Yumeji? That's a nice name."

"Do you think so? Although that's my last name; my first name is Satsuki."

"Eh??"

Kiana's eyes widened at me.

"What's so surprising about that?"

"It's just that... uh... never mind, don't worry about it."

Kiana swallowed her words back. If she revealed that she had mistaken Yumeji for the boy's name all this time, she would be mortified.

Three days later, Bronya came to bail us out, but Kallen remained imprisoned. I followed Bronya while Kiana anxiously looked back at Kallen still stuck in her cell. We arrived at the main street, where Bronya explained that Kallen would be executed the next day; this seemed to be a historical event.

Upon hearing Bronya's explanation, Kiana gasped loudly.

"Wait, so Kallen is my ancestor!?"

"Only now do you realize it?"

"This can't be! I have to save her!"

Seeing her, I quickly intervened.

"Save her how? With your bare hands?"

"Bronya thinks so too; Kiana should calm down first."

"Fine, I'll calm down, just let go of me."

Both Bronya and I released our grip on Kiana.

"....Can Bronya update our weapons?"

"Bronya thinks that's possible, but it will take a while."

"In that case, make sure to update our weapons. I want to beat them up so badly."

"Bronya understands; she will do her best to complete it."

"Make it snappy."

I listened in silence as the two of them spoke before finally chiming in.

"I have an idea I want to discuss with you both."

After a moment of deliberation, Bronya replied, "It's a great idea, but a bit risky."

"Sometimes you have to go all-in to win."

"Hmm, Bronya understands now. She will prepare a loudspeaker for Yumeji."

"Awesome, thank you so much."

I watched the people pass by, smiling and joking.

"Hehehe, let's prepare to shatter this annoying