Herrscher of Dominance in Honkai, starting with the abduction of Kiana

Bright light pierced through Ren's eyelids.

He blinked, taking in the clear blue sky, the scent of grass, and a faint, sweet fragrance.

A bubble universe?

These miniature worlds often formed in the Sea of Quanta, their lifespans fleeting, their contents random.

This one was a vast, endless grassland.

"I should be dead."

A gentle breeze rustled through the grass, silver hair brushing against his cheek.

He realized he wasn't lying on the soft grass, but on someone's lap.

"You're a cute sleeper." A warm, feminine voice spoke. Something blocked the sun, casting a large shadow over him.

Azure eyes met his gray ones. His voice hoarse, he spoke her name.

"Kiana."

"Hmm? I'm surprised you remember me. You left so heartlessly." This Kiana, now a stunningly beautiful woman, still retained a girlish playfulness, twirling a strand of her long hair around her finger and brushing it against his face.

"..." He was stunned. That artificial world, barely able to sustain itself… What had she done to break its barriers, to reach the Sea of Quanta?

"Silence won't work. I've got you now. I've seen your true face. I'll find you, wherever you go!"

Smiling brightly, she pinched his cheek. He realized his body was fully quantized. And after dying, his appearance had reverted to his original form.

Kiana poked his cheek playfully, as if she'd truly captured him. But Ren noticed her arm, hidden beneath her sleeve, ravaged by quantum corruption, barely holding its form. Her fingers twitched, masking the agonizing pain. Her entire arm trembled.

She was dying.

"My name is Ren," he replied softly, not contradicting her.

"Telling me your name now? You're a cruel man." She turned her face away, tears welling up, then shattering into motes of light.

A true name represented everything. By revealing it, he acknowledged her, not as a fleeting encounter, but as a significant presence in his life.

She'd stolen the Honkai energy sustaining that world, risked everything to break its barriers. Wasn't this acknowledgment what she craved?

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Overseer Ren. I'm your secretary, Kiana."

…

He didn't ask how she'd found him. Her corrupted body told the story. She'd crossed the Sea of Quanta through sheer willpower.

She didn't have Project Bunny like Bronya or Seele's natural quantum state. She'd used the residual Honkai energy Welt had left behind in that world to find him.

He'd been practically dead, though he'd given Seele the crystal as a failsafe. Kevin's attack had been too much.

Kiana had found him, given him her energy, allowing him to quantize and survive. But she, already corrupted by the Honkai, had paid the ultimate price for crossing the Sea of Quanta: annihilation.

They walked across the endless grassland, bathed in the warm sunlight.

The only blemish was the black line on the horizon, the edge of the world, a sign of its imminent collapse.

They both pretended not to notice. For now, this world was theirs.

Kiana smiled, a pure, childlike joy she hadn't felt since she was a child.

"Thank you, Ren!" Though they were close, she shouted, as if afraid he wouldn't hear.

"You don't have to shout. I can hear you."

"I want to! I want you to hear me! Otherwise, you'll forget me!"

The world was a fragile collection of bubbles—delicate and fleeting. Its inhabitants were mere echoes of dead worlds, their essence as fragile as morning dew under the rising sun.

It took so little—a ripple, a whisper of change—to erase them entirely, leaving no trace behind.

But she didn't want to vanish. Not like that. Not without meaning.

Can an illusion crave to be real?

Kiana's heart answered that question long before her mind did.

She fought with everything she had, tearing herself free from the boundaries of her fabricated world. She chased his fleeting shadow across the Sea of Quanta, piecing together fragments of his story.

It was like a child scavenging for stars in a darkened sky.

And now, her dream stood before her. Breathing. Alive.

His eyes were as piercing and indifferent as she remembered.

She had earned this moment—a fragile fragment of time where he knew her name and she knew his.

Yet, she wanted more.

More than just to remember him.

She wanted to be remembered by him.

Not every day. Not in some carefully-kept diary or hollow monument. Just a fleeting memory, preserved somewhere deep within the folds of his heart.

A quiet whisper that said she had been there. That someone had loved him once, with everything they had to give.

That would be enough.

Or so she told herself.

"My only regret," she whispered, her voice trembling, "is not seeing the girl you protect."

Her fingers trembled as she clasped her hands behind her back, hiding the way they flickered and dissolved like dust caught in sunlight. She didn't want him to see her weakness. Didn't want him to carry the weight of her suffering.

"Bubbles like these... they're just illusions, destined to shatter. Like a dream, slipping away the moment you wake."

Her lips trembled. Her gaze dropped to the ground as her voice grew weaker.

"Will you forget me, too, Ren?"

She hesitated, the ache in her chest deepening. "I envy her. What kind of girl is she, to make you walk this path so resolutely?"

Her heart cracked under the weight of words she could no longer say.

Her voice was barely a whisper now, trembling under the strain of emotions she couldn't contain. "If only her name was Kiana…" (i'm gonna hold your hand when i say this...)

A bitter smile touched her lips. She bit down hard to stop her tears.

She wanted to scream. To cling to him. To beg for more time.

But she didn't.

Instead, she memorized his face—every line, every shadow—burning it into her mind as though her fading existence could etch him into eternity.

Ren remained silent, but his gray eyes softened as they met hers. For a fleeting moment, his expression reflected the faintest glimmer of something she dared to hope was regret.

The edges of the world began to fray.

The endless grassland dissolved, piece by piece. The vibrant greens faded into black. The light dimmed, and the warmth of the sun gave way to the cold embrace of encroaching darkness.

Quantum corruption crept up her neck, her form flickering like a candle's flame in a storm.

The pain was unbearable.

And yet, she smiled.

Kiana turned her back to the darkness, refusing to let him see her tears fall.

They came freely now, streaking her face in quiet surrender.

This bubble universe was her final gift. A sanctuary for them both. A fleeting stage for her last goodbye.

"Farewell, my savior," she whispered. Her voice broke, her heart shattering alongside the fragile world.

Her form began to dissolve into motes of light, each particle carrying the weight of her love and the sorrow of her parting.

Her final glance lingered on him. Her expression held peace, tinged with unbearable longing.

And then she was gone—swallowed by the Sea of Quanta as the world crumbled into silence and darkness.

…

…

...

Two days later, in the real world.

Ren stood on the rooftop, looking down at the city below.

Kiana, now able to move more freely, was undergoing physical therapy with Mei's help. He watched from a distance.

'So that's me in the real world?'

Yes.

'Really? Kiana? Her name is really Kiana?'

Yes.

'I poured my heart out in that farewell! And now you're telling me this? Were you laughing at me the whole time?'

No. Your body vanished, but your consciousness remains. You're not truly gone.

In his mindscape, threads formed a web, with a crimson feather resting at the center.

It was one of Fu Hua's feathers, once given to Bronya. Now, Ren could use and retrieve them, having gained access to Fu Hua's main body.

If he were still Kosma in the Sea of Quanta, he wouldn't have been able to save Older Kiana. But with Kevin gone, the Herrscher of Dominance was no longer a threat.

He could have pulled her from the Sea of Quanta in many ways. The feather was simply the safest.

I'm still here, oi!

And for now, that would have to be enough.