Lights in a Starless Sky - A Honkai Impact 3rd Fanfiction

Act 31: Strength

ARC City was alight with flames, the bomb had gone off and Kiana had failed to stop it. Kiana knelt amongst the rubble, Honkai Circuits traced up her left arms and a voice continued to probe into her mind. 

"Kiana..." 

"Kiana..." 

She felt hands on her shoulders, the grip was ice cold and the voice was gently sinister. 

"You can't ignore me forever, Kiana."

The white haired Valkyrie turned around to see... Herself? No, Sirin. Sirin, in HER body, smiling sadistically at Kiana. 

"You can't continue to ignore me... After all..."

Sirin leaned in towards Kiana, her golden eyes staring deeply into Kiana's sapphire eyes. 

"I AM you." 

Unknown Time: Cells, Shicksal Vimur Labs

Kiana jolted upwards, sitting upright with panicked breath. ARC City was gone, she was in a cold room with bright white walls and blinding lights. The bed she was in was by a window out into a hallway, the outside being covered with black steel and dimly lit. 

"You're awake. That's good." 

She had never heard this voice before, she looked to her right to see a blonde woman with her eyes glued to a book. "You're... Durandal..." The blonde Valkyrie nodded, flipping over to the next page. "That's right." Before Kiana could open her mouth, Durandal spoke up. "ARC City is safe, no civilians were harmed and the Valkyries are in the process of clean up." Kiana was in shock, her throat drying up. Without even thinking, Durandal knew exactly what she was going to say. Durandal chuckled softly, flipping to the next page with a small smile. "Sorry, you're just too easy to read." Kiana froze and looked down at her hands. "And Mei?" Durandal shook her head lightly, her blonde hair shining gently in the bright light. "Mei joined her friends and left ARC City, she's safe. Right now, you're in a Shicksal Lab in North Africa. If you have no other questions, you should get some rest." Kiana was confused as to how Durandal was the Strongest Valkyrie, to her, she was like any other ordinary girl. Her voice was gentle, her posture was tall and her gaze was serene. 

'What the hell is with her? She's so... Calm... So gentle... Yet...' 

Kiana remembered something Perceval said to her once: 
"Perhaps... Perhaps its because... She's a lot like me..."
She didn't think that he meant it literally, but now she saw it.  

'I can't keep thinking about Durandal, I'm in the worst possible scenario right now. If I could draw on Fu Hua's power or my Herrscher abiliti-' 

"I thought I asked you to rest."

Kiana looked up to see Durandal standing beside her bed, her book closed in her hands. "Wha- How did yo-" Durandal smiled slyly, tapping the book on Kiana's head. "I told you that you are easy to read. Right now, you're a thousand metres underground and there's nowhere to run. That is, if you can run at all. You're not only injured, you're suffering from Herrscher Core infections. You even gave off Honkai energy while unconscious, injuring Perceval when he carried you here." The words halted in Kiana's throat, she didn't know she had lost control that badly. Durandal began to walk towards the door. "You're no less than a ticking time bomb if you leave here. I know that Perceval would chase after you to save you." The Valkyrie looked back at Kiana sternly, opening the door. "And to protect my Darling, I'll make sure you stay here until you're stable." The door closed behind her with a metallic clank, leaving only the humming machinery accompanying Kiana. The white haired Valkyrie could only stare at the door, all thoughts leaving her mind. "To protect my Darling... I thought Perceval was joking about her dedication..."