The white-haired girl had been wandering through the Illusionary Realm for an immeasurable time, nearly losing track of how long she had spent in this Trial.
Here, she had once been lost and hesitant. But now, all that uncertainty had transformed into unwavering resolve, fueling her relentless advance.
The girl had long forgotten whether this was even a Trial. All she knew was that she must move forward... she could only move forward.
And in the final, ultimate moment, she once again recalled everything she had experienced before:
This... this is my final lesson, Kiana...
"Death"
I will never abandon you, Kiana, just as you have never abandoned me!
"Friend"
I will rewrite this tragic story into the ending we always dreamed of.
"Vow"
The Class Monitor... has never been a failure!
"Bond"
This... this is the path home for me and everyone else!
"Promise"
Well done, heroes... Tell Theresa... I regret that her grandfather won't be able to attend her ceremony...
"■■"
These words forged the girl's will, tempered her spirit, and as the golden-haired man's parting words echoed through her mind, the dream plunged into darkness...
-
"The Trial seems to be over... She'll be a formidable warrior."
"Let's go, Kevin. There's nothing more to see here. Miss Snow can handle the cleanup."
Su watched the projection fade, nodding in approval at the final image of the girl's resolute, sharp gaze. He turned and led Kevin out of the white space.
"You should leave too..."
The golden-haired girl looked at Benares, still lost in admiration for Kiana's last fierce, unwavering glance.
"The White Queen was so cool at the end..."
"...Tch. I hope Kiana's blood pressure doesn't spike too high when she sees this lapdog later."
Rubbing her temples, the girl waved her hand, temporarily banishing the Dragon Girl from the space to join the two old men in the World Bubble.
"Little Sirin? Oh, she's asleep... Let's send her out too." Snow glanced at the girl curled up in the chair, already asleep, and shook her head before sending her out of the dream-within-a-dream.
Then—the girl vanished as well, and the white space began to collapse, leaving only her words echoing behind.
"Now, just one more thing..."
-
The red earth stretched into the distance, where a golden tree stood tall. As the darkness shrouding the white-haired girl gradually dissipated, she found herself in a place she had never been before.
"Hmph, just another mess," Kiana muttered, gripping her sword tightly as she cautiously surveyed her surroundings.
Silence hung heavy in the air, broken only by the sound of the girl's footsteps.
"...Come here, one who has passed the Trial."
A familiar female voice echoed from beneath the distant Golden Tree. Scanning the area for any hidden dangers, Kiana heightened her vigilance, hefted her Great Sword, and hurried toward the source of the voice.
Beneath the Golden Tree, the Hermit sat upon a Throne woven from an unknown substance that intertwined black and gold.
"Hermit... no, that golden hair and that tone of voice... I should have realized it sooner... You're Snow, aren't you?"
Though framed as a question, the White-Haired Knight spoke with unwavering certainty. In response, the figure on the Throne removed her mask, revealing a face all too familiar to Kiana.
The golden-haired girl smiled approvingly at Kiana, but what truly captured the Knight's attention wasn't the girl's flawless features, but her strangely mismatched eyes.
The girl's left eye was exactly as Kiana remembered—a brilliant azure, like the sky itself, now filled with admiration and approval.
But the sensation Kiana got from the girl's right eye was far less pleasant...
—Indifferent, merciless, and aloof.
Unlike a Herrscher, this was a purer form of supremacy, the kind of gaze only a true God could possess.
Moreover, that eye seemed to have a will of its own. After a fleeting glance at Kiana, it grew bored and closed its lid.
"Snow, your eyes...?" Kiana asked, planting her Great Sword into the ground and studying the golden-haired girl with curiosity.
"You always focus on the strangest things, Kiana... I thought you'd ask why I'm here first," Snow said, shaking her head in exasperation.
"Well, they're questions I'll ask anyway. What's wrong with following my curiosity and asking what interests me first?" Kiana shrugged dismissively.
"—Besides, since you're showing me this unusual side of yourself, you were planning to tell me eventually, right, Snow?"
"Ha... You've really grown up. Well then, welcome to my Stigmata Space, or rather, the Stigmata Space of all the Kaslanas. Though this particular section belongs to me."
"Tch, you're not much older than me anyway... You were acting so profound earlier. But speaking of which, the aura around you does feel ancient... And what exactly is a Stigmata Space?"
The Knight pursed her lips, finally relaxing in front of her friend after enduring what felt like an eternity of trials.
"The Stigmata Space probably won't be of much use to you anymore. You've already walked a different path... This place will likely serve as nothing more than a repository for your memories now..."
"Here, you can glimpse fragments of memories from every generation of Kaslanas. Of course, if someone grants you a backdoor, you can experience their memories directly—like what you just experienced. All those memories were essentially mine, which is why I served as your guide."
The golden-haired girl leaned back against the throne, explaining casually.
"So, you can see certain future events, and you also carry the bloodline of the Kaslana family, right?"
Kiana swiftly pieced together the key information from the girl's words.
"So, you could say that, Kaslana Knight. Then, let me formally introduce myself. I am Snow Apocalypse, daughter of Schicksal Overseer Otto Apocalypse and Schicksal Saintess Kallen Kaslana."
Snow stated her identity with unwavering composure.
"...?"
A small question mark occupied the White-Haired Knight's eyes and expression. Regardless of how one looked at it, the sheer volume of information in that moment was overwhelming...