People die when they are killed—duh, I know that. But I'm the Hero of Hyrule, the Traveler of Teyvat, an adventurer of Arad, the Doctor of Rhodes Island, a Summoner from the Rift, the King of Stein (scratch that), a witness of the Moth to Flame (scratch that)... But hey, what do you mean by 'being qualified to bear a Stigmata'?"
[A Stigmata is hard to define—just think of it as a cheat code in a game. Anything you can imagine, the Stigmata can help you achieve.]
[Stigmata are also the carriers of bloodline inheritance—they hold the memories and powers of their previous bearers. If a descendant becomes powerful enough, they can either overwrite the previous legacy or create a new one alongside it.]
[So the strength of a Stigmata depends on how powerful the original bearer was. As for the one I gave you—it doesn't contain much power. Just a few authorities. While you can't punch the Imaginary Tree or kick the Quantum Sea or drown the Honkai with your spit... you can become invincible in your world.]
[That said, a Stigmata is a double-edged sword. It gives you Honkai adaptability, power, even immortality—but if your adaptability becomes too high, you'll become a perfect Honkai host: a Herrscher vessel. Until you master the powers I gave you, try not to show yourself in front of the Honkai God. You're a wildcard in this world's trial—your presence alone could cause the Honkai God to turn you into a Herrscher, or even drag others into this.]
"...Okay, I admit I was a bit loud earlier. But it sounds like as long as I don't do anything reckless, I can just lay low till the end and then swoop in and destroy the Honkai!"
[Yes, but I don't think it'll go that smoothly. Do you believe in fate? Main characters seem to be drawn to each other...]
"Wait, are you being dramatic now?"
[Well, that's all I can do for now. The Honkai level in this world is too low—I can't help you much directly. You'll have to discover the true potential of the Stigmata on your own.]
It was deep into the night now, and snow began to fall outside. Jiuxiao pulled the blanket tighter around him and—somehow—his thoughts drifted to his parents. Damn. He'd vanished without a trace; how devastated must they be?
Still, he couldn't blame the girl inside the Stigmata. Sure, he had impulsively agreed to help her—but he had said those words himself. Speaking of which, he still didn't know her name. He'd have to ask next time. Wait... she said she'd forgotten her own name. Maybe they could come up with a new one together.
As he thought about all this, Jiuxiao slowly fell asleep. Sometime later, still asleep, Kiana, as if drawn by a delicious scent, slowly rolled over and plopped right on top of Jiuxiao—drooling as she did.
While they slept, a white-haired man was not far from their cabin, lying prone in the snow and peeking through the window with a pair of binoculars.
The man—Siegfried—had an empty left sleeve swaying in the wind. He held the binoculars in his right hand, and beside him was a massive greatsword.
When he saw Kiana bringing home a strange girl, he gave her a proud, hearty smile in secret. That's my girl—true Kaslana behavior.
He watched as Kiana performed emergency treatment, gave the girl some medicine, then tucked her into bed. Siegfried thought, My emergency response lessons really paid off.
But then, seeing Kiana climb into bed with the girl to sleep together... his eyebrows twitched. He set his massive sword down beside him and kept a close eye through the binoculars. Not safe. Not safe at all. How could she sleep with someone she hasn't confirmed is safe yet? I mean, sure, she's a beautiful girl—but Kiana, you're also a beautiful girl!
Later, when Jiuxiao woke up and began talking to Kiana, Siegfried crept closer. The moment he saw Kiana crying, he lowered the binoculars and grabbed his greatsword. He closed the few hundred meters distance in seconds—but when he heard Kiana crying over her mother, Cecilia, he gently put his sword down again.
He stood silently outside the cabin where Jiuxiao and Kiana couldn't see him. Snowflakes swirled in the air, landing on Siegfried's shoulders. He stood motionless for a long time, then sighed softly and disappeared into the night.
[There are no identical "leaves" in the same world—but between different worlds, they can exist. People may share similar personalities, but their experiences differ. In this world, 'Kiana Kaslana' lost her mother, but her father lives on. In my world, my mother lives—but I lost my father. Sigh... is this what they call fate?]
By late morning, the sun was up, but it was still cold. Jiuxiao instinctively reached for the blanket—but instead of grabbing it, he grabbed something soft, warm, and squishy.
Naturally, he nuzzled into it without thinking.
And then—
BOOM!
The wooden cabin exploded with a crash, a huge hole blasted through the wall. Jiuxiao went flying through the air, rolled across the snow for who-knows-how-long, and finally got buried in a snowbank.
No need to dig a grave—he was halfway there already.
Back in bed, Kiana blushed furiously, hugging the blanket. After a moment of embarrassment, panic set in. She threw off the blanket and ran outside toward Jiuxiao's body.
Her dad had told her many times: ordinary humans are fragile—control your Kaslana strength or things will go very wrong.
Nearby, Siegfried had just skewered a Honkai Beast with his sword and was getting ready to roast it when he heard the explosion. He flung the beast off his blade and sprinted toward the house, just in time to see Jiuxiao flying out like a cannonball. Oh no. Something went very, very wrong.
Halfway there, both Kiana and Siegfried stopped in shock as a hand popped out of the snow. Jiuxiao crawled out of the drift, battered but alive. He felt like he'd just been slammed by an 18-wheeler going 180 km/h, but surprisingly, aside from the pain, he wasn't injured.
Whoa, this is the power of the Stigmata? Too cool!
He looked up to see Kiana leaping at him. She wrapped him in a tight hug, shouting "I'm sorry!" over and over.
From a distance, Siegfried witnessed this and chanted to himself, They're both girls, they're both girls... (Clearly still in denial.)
"Kiana... you're really strong... but I'm fine."
"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to! After I found out you were a boy last night... then I woke up this morning and saw you snuggling up to me, and I just reacted!"
Jiuxiao helplessly patted the fluffy white-haired girl's head. He stood up, brushed the snow off both of them, and led her back to the cabin.
"No worries. If you'd kicked me like that yesterday, I probably would've died. But now? You could kick me a hundred times, and I might still crawl over and lick your foot."
"Y-You pervert!! Just go die! Go die, go die, go die!!"