"Ugh... so hungry... so sleepy..." Theresa returned on Judah, her face a picture of misery.
She had worked diligently all night yesterday, finally finishing the latest episode of Homu's Great Adventure. Then, too exhausted to wake up this morning, she had slept straight through until now. Himeko hadn't even brought her any food, and she was practically starving.
"Judah, help me open the door," Theresa mumbled, too tired to move. She slumped against Judah's back.
Judah gently adjusted Theresa's position, then extended its chains to unlock Himeko's door. But then, as if sensing something, it abruptly dropped Theresa and fled.
Left sprawled on the floor, Theresa stared blankly. Where did my Judah go?
Meanwhile, inside the room, Kallen was frantically searching for food when the Oath of Judah slammed into her, knocking her off her feet.
Kallen steadied herself, her head still reeling from the impact, and looked down at the massive weapon that had landed in her arms.
"Judah?! Is that really you? Old friend, I never thought I'd see you again!" Kallen cried, embracing Judah tightly, tears of joy streaming down her face.
Judah, in a surprisingly human-like gesture, returned the embrace. Master, my Master~
(After all, Theresa is a clone using Kallen's genes, so in a way, they're quite similar.)
Watching her Judah and another woman embracing and weeping, Theresa suddenly felt her head grow heavy.
Cortana silently appeared beside Theresa and handed her a green hat.
"Want one?"
"Mm."
"Kaslana?"
"Right..."
And so the two of them sat by the door, both wearing green hats, watching the sunset.
Wait, why am I wearing this? Cortana placed her own hat on Theresa's head and then vanished.
Feeling her head grow even heavier, Theresa ripped off the hat and stormed into the living room, where Judah and Kallen were still locked in their embrace.
"Bastard! What did you do to my Judah?!" Theresa stomped onto the coffee table, leveling her gaze at Kallen. "Wait, why do you look so familiar? You look just like a friend of mine!"
Looking at the adorable little white-haired girl before her, Kallen felt a bit dazed. If she and Yae Sakura ever had a child, surely they would be just as cute!
"What's your name, little one?" Kallen released Judah from her embrace and tried to ask Theresa's name.
"I'm not a little one! I'm the Principal of this Academy! Just call me Theresa." Theresa stood with her hands on her hips, loudly announcing her name. "And you? Who are you? I don't remember anyone like you in my Academy!"
"Theresa, huh? I love your name! I'm Kallen, Kallen Kaslana." Kallen smiled at Theresa.
Kallen's affection for Theresa immediately skyrocketed. Not only did she look like the child Kallen had envisioned for her future, but her name was also one Kallen had once considered for her own child!
"Kallen Kaslana!!!" Hearing Kallen's name, Theresa froze for a moment before shouting in surprise.
"What's going on?!"
Theresa's loud cry startled everyone in the room, drawing them out.
Ryn floated out of the room carrying Kiana, looking at Kallen and Theresa with confusion.
"Kallen, what trouble have you gotten into?"
"I don't know! Little Theresa looked so shocked when she heard my name..." Kallen said innocently, glancing at Ryn before hugging Judah, the only source of comfort in this unfamiliar era.
Theresa watched Kallen embrace Judah again, and Judah didn't resist. She realized this might indeed be the Kallen she had been thinking of.
"Kallen... Judah... Kallen... Grandpa?!" Theresa spun in circles, her long-dormant mind finally starting to work again. "Grandpa promised me he wouldn't clone people anymore... But this Kallen... Did Grandpa's plan to revive Kallen succeed?"
Hearing Theresa's mumbling, Sparkle reached out and tapped her head.
"Don't overthink it. This Kallen has nothing to do with Overseer of Schicksal Otto. She's a virtual personality Ryn and the others rescued from the database and transcribed into a real person."
"Yes, I am a virtual personality created from Kallen Kaslana's memories extracted from her corpse by Otto. Ryn and the others brought me out of Data Space, allowing me to truly live..." Kallen nodded, confirming Sparkle's words.
"Huh?" Theresa looked at the group, confused. The situation was a bit complicated, and her little brain couldn't quite process it.
"We'll explain later! Just think of her as a second Kallen Kaslana. Besides, Otto already knows we saved Kallen."
Speaking of Otto, I just remembered. Otto told us to call her just Kallen, not Kallen Kaslana. But I think it's just a name, so I didn't agree. Then Otto said it was up to us, as long as we didn't use her full name in front of him," Ryn said, shrugging helplessly.
"Hmm... I see. I'll be careful then. I won't call her Kaslana anymore, since I don't know the real her... Though I'm quite proud of the name Kaslana."
Kallen stroked Judah regretfully. Though Ryn and Cortana had crafted her this body to be identical to the real Kallen Kaslana, even stronger, she was still just a memory construct.
"Aba aba~" Theresa's little brain short-circuited. Everything felt chaotic, and she was on the verge of becoming Theresa the Fool.
"Anyone interested in playing a fun game? I discovered this new ability last night while evolving in the Sea of Quanta!" Cortana announced, floating on Ryn's shoulder.
"What is it? Let me see!" Kiana poked Cortana, urging her to hurry up.
"Don't rush me! Ryn, obey my command and provide Judah with some Honkai Energy," Cortana said, sitting on Judah and plunging her hands into its body.
"It's just a Herrscher Core-driven Anti-Honkai God-Slaying Armament, a Divine Key—the key to divine power," Cortana declared dismissively, casually hacking into it.
"Kallen or Theresa, keep Judah from resisting! Otherwise, destroying its consciousness won't be any fun," Cortana called out to Kallen and Theresa.
"Ryn, come on! Fill it up completely!"
Without hesitation, Ryn began injecting Honkai Energy into Judah.
Judah began to tremble violently, resisting Ryn's Honkai Energy. But without its master's control, the Divine Key was ultimately just an ordinary Honkai Energy-powered device.
If Kallen and Theresa didn't help, Judah would have to submit to Cortana and Ryn's lecherous hands.
Finally, after Ryn injected a massive amount of Honkai Energy, Judah emitted a blinding holy light that seared the eyes of everyone present.