"So I started paying attention to Kiana, often secretly watching her... Her smile is truly captivating when she laughs~
Every day, my mother would scold me for no reason, sometimes even hitting me. At school, my classmates would bully me relentlessly. But whenever I saw Kiana's smile, it felt like everything was worth it." Yuna clasped her hands to her face, a sickly smile spreading across her face, lost in a trance of enjoyment.
But then the mood shifted abruptly. Yuna's expression twisted into a grotesque grimace as she clawed at her cheeks with all her might, as if trying to tear her face off.
"But Kiana's smile... it's all fake! All fake! Only when she's with you, Sparkle, and Raiden Mei does she show her true smile... How I long for Kiana to smile like that at me too, but I'm not worthy, and I wouldn't dare... Just seeing her is enough for me...?"
"Um... Could Kiana be faking her smile for me too?" Theresa asked curiously, glancing at Ryn.
"Why don't you try being cute and see? Kiana can't resist anything adorable," Ryn shrugged, as if to say, "Who knows?"
"Bastard, don't ignore me!" Yuna roared, sending her vines lashing towards Ryn and Theresa. But Ryn blocked them all with ease, keeping them at a distance.
"You keep saying Kiana saved you, but I see no gratitude in your eyes," Ryn said, pointing at Yuna. A force ten times her normal weight slammed down on her. "Tch, even a Pseudo-Herrscher can't directly control her own Domain..."
"Heh, you're so weak!" Yuna shook off the weight. Though she didn't know what Ryn had done, a mere tenfold increase in gravity was nothing to her now. In fact, she felt she could even order the Honkai Energy Ryn was controlling within her Domain to be rejected.
"Do you know what I used to think? I believed Kiana would be the world's savior. But as I watched her, I realized she's nothing of the sort...
She's just lost in her own hero game. Whenever someone is bullied, she appears to beat up the bad guys, but she never says a word to the victims. She just leaves, as if she's done her job.
Kiana thinks she's saving everyone, but she's changed nothing! Stop this one time, and it'll just happen again!"
She drove off the abuser, but the victim remained a victim... After that, she continued to be used as a punching bag, brutally beaten and subjected to vile verbal abuse. Even when she returned home, she would be scolded by her mother for simply standing there, even though she hadn't done anything wrong..."
As Yuna spoke, she collapsed to her knees, tears streaming down her face.
But her crying didn't last long. Her eyes suddenly widened, bulging as if they might pop out. She spread her arms in a grotesque gesture, laughing maniacally as she pointed at Ryn.
"But thankfully... the goddess chose me! She granted me power, the power to control deadly poisons and the forces of nature! The goddess told me to follow my own desires, and I will cleanse this ugly world...
All those hateful, damned creatures are already dead. Next is you, Ryn! I'll kill you first, then Kiana, and then I'll bathe the entire world in blood before ending my own life. Hahaha—"
"It seems her will has long been consumed by the Honkai," Theresa said, reaching out to Ryn. "Ryn, hand over Judah's Authority. Let me handle this!"
Ryn gently pressed down Theresa's hand.
"No, that's no longer necessary," Ryn said, shaking his head at Theresa. Then, with a grim expression, he walked toward Yuna.
"Poor Yuna!"
"Heh, so you've come to me of your own accord? You didn't run away, but instead came here to offer yourself up for slaughter? I went to great lengths to explain my goals in detail, just like a teacher imparting knowledge to their students."
"How else could I send you to eternal bliss without getting closer?"
"Heh, if that's the case, then why not get even closer?" Yuna began walking toward Ryn as well.
Now that she wielded Authority and power, she felt capable of anything. The gravity Ryn exerted on her was easily countered. Since she no longer needed to fear his Authority, what was there left to fear?
(Ryn: I can't control the Honkai Energy within you, nor can I directly alter the gravity of your body. But if you try to use your Authority directly on me, I can simply negate it with a word.)
The two approached each other, their hands almost touching.
Yuna watched Ryn with mocking amusement, while Ryn simply spread his arms wide.
"Idiot."
With a soft command from Ryn, Judah's chains instantly materialized in his right hand, then burst into light and transformed into a katana. Meanwhile, his left hand clenched around a miniature black hole. As the black hole appeared, the flow of time around them immediately warped under Ryn's influence.
Yuna still wore her carefree smile, but Ryn had already unleashed countless strikes.
A pathetic creature, driven mad by the world's malice...
Ryn had initially considered trying to save Yuna, but when she turned her attention to Kiana, he decided against it. Better to grant her release sooner rather than later—wasn't that also a form of salvation?
As Ryn retracted the black hole in his hand, the flow of time around them returned to normal.
Yuna felt her life force draining away, staring at Ryn in disbelief. This is the true difference between a Herrscher and a Pseudo-Herrscher? But earlier... I could have rejected his Authority...
Ryn tapped Yuna's forehead lightly with his finger. She collapsed straight backward, shattering into countless fragments.
"The world's sins clung to you, and even the goddess of fortune turned her back. All things face their end, and souls return to the void. This life is beyond redemption, but the next remains unknown. Do not give up hope; the dawn of salvation will eventually break. Farewell, Yuna-san..."
Ryn, recited the blessing he had just thought of and bowed to Yuna. He didn't want to comment too much on her experiences; those who are pitiable must have something hateful about them, and those who are hateful must have something tragic about them.
"This... is this a dream?!" Yuna looked at her hands, realizing she was lying in her bedroom.
At that moment, her mother gently knocked on the door, then opened it and walked over to Yuna.
"Yuna, it's time to get up for breakfast~ or you'll be late for school."
"School? Late!"
"If you don't want to be late, hurry and get up. I made your favorite miso soup today~"
"Okay, Mom~" Yuna replied with a smile.
Right, it was just a nightmare... just a nightmare...
Yuna gradually turned into a stone statue, slowly splitting apart and dissolving...
"Thank you... Ryn..."
With her last ounce of strength, Yuna uttered these words before completely vanishing from this world.
Not even a trace remained to prove she had ever existed... such is the world's indifference.
Perhaps even the gods pitied her, granting her this final dream...