Honkai Impact: Merc's Involvement

Chapter 26: Heart to Heart

"Command this is Theresa Apocalypse. I need a report on the 2nd Herrscher." Said Theresa as she talked into a radio waiting for a report.

Following her were Alex and Kiana as they seemingly were on their way to meet up with Siegfried Kaslana, Kiana's father.

During the walk, Alex had been wondering for a while now on how Siegfried was gonna look like.

'Hm. Now that I think about it, I know very little about Kiana aside from what I know of her now.' Thought Alex to himself as then felt a tug on his sleeve as he turned to see Kiana getting his attention.

"What's up?" He asked.

"You probably don't care, but seeing this is making me really nostalgic." She said.

"Oh really? You remember stuff when you were one year old?" Asked Alex.

"Huh? No of course not you dummy I was referring to my life before I ended up at St. Freya, before I even ended up in Nagazora. I spent most of my childhood here in Siberia with my dad. We would live on our own in a small and nice wooden cabin." Said Kiana as she smiled, remembering fondly of that memory.

"It was just you two? Didn't it get lonely?" Asked Alex.

"Well, it was at first. Initially my dad rarely ever looked at me and refused to call me by my name. Not only that, but I also wasn't allowed to go outside at all. I'd be home all day, waiting until my dad got back home, which more often than not would take more than half of the day." Replied Kiana.

"If that's the case then why are you so nostalgic when you spent most of your time alone in a wooden shack?" Asked Alex.

"That's because it didn't last forever. One day, I decided to go outside on my own and attempt to help by slaying a Honkai beast, but I got so scared that I simply just sat there, unable to move. My dad arrived on time, losing an arm in the process but still ended up slaying the beast and saving me. I felt so guilty for causing him so much pain and being the cause of him losing an arm, but he reassured me that it wasn't. Afterwards, things changed. He finally started looking at me with joy, called me by my name, and we would both go out together to slay little Honkai Beasts. It was all so fun. Sadly, those times also didn't last forever either." Said Kiana.

"Seriously? What happened the second time around?" Asked Alex.

"I don't know why, but one day my dad just left out of the blue and abandoned me without even leaving a note behind or telling me anything beforehand. I was so heartbroken and felt betrayed. Even to this day, I'm still in the unknown about why he left. Thankfully, I was able to end up in Nagazora afterwards where I met Mei and Bronya, and then from there was when us three ended up at St. Freya." Said Kiana.

"I see. Well, I'm sure he must've had a good reason. I doubt he'd just leave you because he wanted too." Said Alex.

"Yeah I think that so too. Actually, me and Aunt Theresa made a deal when she recruited me into St. Freya. She told me that should I eventually become an S-Rank Valkyrie, she would give me the current whereabouts of where my dad is." Said Kiana.

"I see. That's nice to hear." Said Alex with a smile.

"I guess. Sorry about telling all this to you." Said Kiana.

"It's fine. At least you can remember and talk fondly about your parents. I have little to no memories about mine. The earliest memories I can remember is the time I spent as a part of Cocolia's Orphanage. The same one where Bronya came from." Said Alex.

"I don't get it. You know so little about your mom and dad, yet you talk like it isn't a big deal. Shouldn't the lack of knowledge drive you to understand and find out what happened to them?" Asked Kiana.