"So, Miss Kiana, you only awakened in this era very recently?"
Inside the Seat of Divine Foresight, Yaoguang looked faintly surprised after listening to Kiana recount what had happened to her lately.
At the same time, one of the Alliance's longstanding questions finally had an answer.
No wonder the Alliance had never managed to gather even the slightest scrap of information on this Lord Ravager. She really had been missing for a very, very long time.
After all, even the birth of the Aeon of Destruction had only been a little over three thousand years ago. If Kiana herself had vanished for an even longer span of time, then everything made sense.
"Yeah. After I woke up not long ago, I stayed with Herta for a while."
"And I only found out a few days ago that Mother was on the Luofu," Kiana continued.
"…Lady Herta?"
Yaoguang seemed to sink into thought.
After a moment of silence, she spoke again.
"Miss Kiana, if I remember correctly, neither you nor Lady Cecilia were affected by the Enigmata, correct?"
Kiana nodded.
"In that case, during your time at Herta Space Station, did you ever notice discrepancies in your memories and tell Lady Herta about them?"
The atmosphere inside the Seat of Divine Foresight immediately grew tense at that question.
On the Xianzhou Alliance's side, their investigation into the Enigmata had so far yielded absolutely nothing.
But if a genius had gotten involved as well, perhaps they could gain far more ground.
After all, before the Alliance had even found a genius worth inviting, Kiana had already brought them a lead.
To that, Kiana gave her answer.
"I did. At first Herta wanted to run some experiments on me, but I realized the thing she made looked like a knockoff version of my great-aunt's stuff."
"And after I told Herta and the others about Great-Aunt Theresa, they didn't seem to have any memories related to her at all."
Yaoguang's eyes flickered. "And how did Lady Herta respond afterward?"
"She used something called the Simulated Universe, I think?"
"The Simulated Universe?" Yaoguang paused in surprise.
She did vaguely know about Herta's latest creation.
Although the Simulated Universe was one of Herta's recent inventions, bringing it into existence had naturally required a great amount of resources and several outstanding collaborators. Because of that, Herta had never tried to keep it low-profile or hide it.
"That's right." Kiana nodded.
"Herta said that thing could simulate virtual Aeons, so she had me go inside and see whether I could find any clues."
"And the result?"
"Well…"
"The result was that some woman named Polka came looking for trouble, but she couldn't beat me."
Kiana sounded completely unconcerned, as though she had just brushed aside some random mook.
But to Yaoguang, that statement was anything but simple.
Polka Kakamond?
That Emanator of Erudition? The Fourth Seat of the Genius Society?
That was an old monster among old monsters—one of the longest-established figures in the entire galaxy.
And the Xianzhou Alliance had never once doubted her raw strength.
Yet now Kiana was saying that Polka had lost to her…
Well, Yaoguang actually wasn't all that surprised.
Though Kiana had not revealed much of her strength during their earlier confrontation, Yaoguang, as a fellow Emanator with exceptional divinatory ability, had seen enough at a glance to know this Lord Ravager was terrifyingly powerful.
What was more, even Xingxiao—the one who called herself Kiana's servant—had already displayed strength sufficient to overpower the Luofu. How much more fearsome, then, must Kiana herself be?
After hearing Kiana out, Yaoguang fell silent for a moment, then gave a slight nod.
"I see. Then…"
She turned to Cecilia at last.
"Lady Cecilia, do you have anything to add?"
"For example—when did you first realize your memories had begun to diverge from everyone else's?"
It seemed that after discovering Kiana had only just awakened from an age-long slumber, Yaoguang had shifted her attention to Cecilia instead.
But Cecilia had long been ready for that.
"Six hundred years ago."
That precise number made Yaoguang go still.
Six hundred years—even for long-lived people like those of the Xianzhou—was no small span of time.
Fortunately, as a general of the Yaoqing, Yaoguang did have some grasp of the major and minor events that had taken place across the galaxy.
And yet, no matter how she searched her memory or calculated through divination, she could not recall what exactly had happened six hundred years ago—or in that period at all.
Of course, there was also the possibility that the Enigmata had erased her memories of it.
After a pause, Yaoguang asked another question.
"Then, Lady Cecilia, did the IPC show any unusual reaction six hundred years ago?"
Cecilia appeared to think for a moment, then shook her head.
"No. The IPC was exactly as I remembered it, at least on the surface. They didn't make any extreme moves."
Hearing that, Yaoguang did not continue down the IPC line of inquiry. Instead, she brought up something else entirely.
"May I ask what Lady Cecilia and Miss Kiana know about Penacony?"
Cecilia answered first. "The so-called Planet of Festivities?"
Actually, Cecilia had quite a few ideas about Penacony.
After all, whether it was Gopher Wood or Sunday, the arrangements they had set up there were enough to influence the entire galaxy.
And a time like that was perfect for someone like her to jump in and stir the pot.
It was just that she still hadn't fully finalized her plans—so why was Yaoguang bringing it up all of a sudden?
Yaoguang smiled faintly and continued.
"Some time ago, the IPC sent the Xianzhou Alliance a private invitation, hoping the Alliance would no longer decline the Family's offer."
"So I've been wondering… what exactly is the Company planning to do in Penacony that would require the Xianzhou Alliance to witness it?"
At that, Kiana seemed to remember something.
Back when the IPC had come to Herta Space Station to ask her about the whereabouts of that Preservation Emanator, hadn't she pointed them toward the Asdana system?
Looks like the IPC intended to start their search at Penacony.
But why were they inviting the Xianzhou Alliance as well?
Had she already set up a new alt account in Penacony without realizing it?
"So, General Yaoguang, you want to invite us along to watch the show?"
Yaoguang smiled slightly, and the divination tools in her hand appeared once more.
"Miss Kiana flatters me. I wouldn't call it 'watching the show.' I simply thought that, since both you and Lady Cecilia seem interested in learning more about the various currents shaping this galaxy, Penacony—on the eve of its great celebration—would be a pity to miss."
"And besides…"
She paused, her gaze passing between Kiana and Cecilia.
"To travel alongside the two of you would, I imagine, make for a very interesting journey."
After all, according to Yaoguang's divination, she and Kiana were fated to become entangled in the future.
And with Penacony looking more and more like the site of some major upheaval, Yaoguang naturally wanted to see whether the knot tying her fate to Kiana would begin there.
However, just as Yaoguang was about to ask for their answer, another voice cut in.
"Ahem. The three of you, pardon the interruption."
The smile on Yaoguang's face immediately stiffened.
She slowly turned her head, her gaze as sharp as a blade as it landed on Jing Yuan.
Her rhythm had been perfect. What was Jing Yuan trying to do, barging in now?
But before Jing Yuan could explain, yet another voice rang out.
"Kiana, I'm here!"
Accompanied by a crisp series of footsteps, Herta strode into the hall.
And clearly, it was because of Herta's arrival that Jing Yuan had chosen to interrupt their meeting at all.
Because the reason Herta had given was frankly outrageous.
She had claimed to be Kiana's adoptive mother.
Herta swept a glance across the hall, then fixed her gaze on Kiana.
"Kiana, you've really made me work to find you. You promised you'd stay on the station, and then you ran off to the Luofu. Running off to the Luofu would've been one thing, but then you went and got yourself mixed up with that bunch of lunatics from Sanctus Medicus. Do you think your life isn't exciting enough already?"
Kiana blinked. "Herta? Why are you here?"
"Why am I here?" Herta walked up to her and gave her a full once-over. Only after confirming Kiana was fine did she continue.
"If someone had run off with you, I would've been in real trouble. I still have a whole mountain of experiments waiting for you back on the station."
Kiana paused.
But since Herta was already here, there was naturally no way she could throw her out.
And according to the script, Cecilia—now Kiana's mother—was supposed to thank her properly.
After all, on the surface, it was Herta who had awakened Kiana on Jarilo.
At that thought, Cecilia rose to her feet.
"So this is Lady Herta. As for my daughter Kiana—"
"Hold it right there!"
Unexpectedly, Herta cut her off before she could finish.
Then she said something absolutely explosive.
"So you're that irresponsible Cecilia—the one who abandoned her own child and never took responsibility?"
Cecilia: ???
Why did that come out sounding so aggressive? I don't think I've done anything to offend you.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 139)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter171)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter100)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter184)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 168
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 156
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 105
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 185
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 160
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 150
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 76
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 97
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 66
Uma Musume: From Beginner 116
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 75
Uma Musume: I Want All 93
I Can Copy Unique Skills 79
Summoning an Evil God, but the 55
Supernatural Multiverse 75
My Harem Is Indescribable 68
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 70
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 66
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 69
Still playing traditional Honk 49
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 53
What Should I Do After Switchi 42
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 50
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 38
Transmigrated as Sukuna 35
Checking In in Demon Slayer 40
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 55
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