[Inside the Theater of Domination]
After seeing the Hyperion battleship appear and then disappear, the puppets all let out sharp laughter.
"Ahahahaha~ Look, this is humanity~"
"In order to fulfill selfish desires, they even willingly give up such a hard-earned opportunity!"
"So then, Kiana~ are you ready to welcome our second act?"
As the words fell, apuppet suddenly stepped forward, speaking with enthusiasm to Kiana,
"Is it Kiana? The hero who saved our city, the Herrscher of the Void, Kiana!"
Hearing this, Kiana looked at the puppet before her in surprise and said, "You are... someone who lived in Sky City?!"
After receiving Kiana's response, the puppet became excited like a fan chasing a fallen star.
"Yes, yes, we've met before~ You don't remember me, but I've always wanted to see you again, to thank you in person~"
At this moment, the scene shifted to display the puppet's memories in front of the viewers.
"I used to be just an ordinary middle school student, but then one day, Honkai struck..."
"The school became a pile of rubble. Whether teachers or classmates, they were all buried beneath it..."
"At the time, I thought my life would end right there."
"But in the end... you appeared like a beam of light, saved me, and even comforted me, saying the future would surely get better."
"Watching your departing figure, hope reignited in my heart. Because at least I was still alive, and everything would get better, right...?"
———
[WTF, is this plot trying to redeem the puppets?]
[As expected of my dear Kiana, she can even emotionally move puppets!]
[Will this lead to a puppet betrayal of the Domination Herrscher and help Kiana win?]
[Although this plot feels good to watch, something about it just feels off?]
[Eh~ who cares if it's weird, as long as it's satisfying to watch!]
———
[Back to the Video]
However, while people in the real world were still discussing, the plot suddenly took a turn.
Accompanied by eerie background music, the viewers heard a despairing truth from the puppet's own mouth.
"But... I was wrong. As the only survivor, I became everyone's target."
"Most of the families around us had lost loved ones in that disaster. They supported and encouraged each other, but they gradually distanced themselves from our family."
'Why is it that I survived?', this was the question I heard the most."
"No one was willing to offer us shelter, no one was willing to give my father work, and even post-disaster relief delayed our family's application."
At this point, the puppet's tone suddenly became agitated.
She raised her head and looked at the girl before her, once thought to be a ray of light in her life.
"The disaster didn't crush us, but fellow humans did!"
"My mother cried herself to sleep every day, and my father became irritable and violent. In the end, I personally heard my parents say in the middle of the night..."
"[If only that child had died in the disaster too.]"
"In that moment, something cracked inside of me."
"Then, a voice gently whispered in my ear....."
"Welcome to... the Theater of Domination."
———
Seeing this, everyone in the real world couldn't help but feel furious.
Because the words spoken by the puppet vividly portrayed the ugliness of human nature.
And what made it worse was, these words weren't made up. They were something that truly existed in the world.
As the saying goes, it's scary when your brother's doing poorly, but scarier still when he drives a luxury car.
Jealousy is truly a terrifying thing. Under its influence, people can become monsters that strike fear into others.
[This part of the story is making me feel seriously emo]
[I can actually relate. My family went through something similar. To be honest, I've had thoughts like that too]
[Sigh~ Forget Kiana, even I as a bystander felt shaken just listening to this]
[This part is incredibly dark and depressing]
[As expected, the world was never a beautiful place]
[WTF, bro above, are you becoming a Herrscher of a Thousand Laws already?]
———
[Back to the Video]
While people were still debating about the perspective of the Herrscher of Domination, Kiana shook her head resolutely and said,
"No, I won't be confused by you. You are the Herrscher of Domination, not a human being."
"You magnify the negative emotions in people's hearts, and guide them toward extremism… But the human heart is not such a simple thing!"
Seeing Kiana rebut the puppet's words so logically and clearly, people in the real world sighed at how fast she had matured.
That girl who once thought of ending her own life in despair had unknowingly grown strong enough to shoulder responsibility on her own.
Seeing that her words had failed to shake Kiana's resolve, the puppet wasn't angry.
They knew, the calm and strength Kiana displayed were only appearances. Because inside Kiana's mental wall, a tiny crack had already appeared without her noticing.
As long as it could be exploited, this crack would widen into a massive hole that couldn't be filled.
By then, everything would unfold exactly as they had planned. But before that, it was time to give Kiana a little shock.
Inside the Theater of Domination, both sides were on the verge of battle.
Kiana brandished the Void Lance in her hands, smashing the puppets charging at her into pieces.
Yet even when shattered, the puppets were still relentless, launching "suicide-style" attacks at Kiana.
Amid the scattered mechanical parts, the puppets let out piercing laughter.
"So ruthless~ just like when you killed Van back then~"
Kiana's movements didn't falter for even a second. Her spear swept out again, and another wave of puppets fell.
"As expected of the Herrscher of the Void!" a newly appeared puppet applauded, "Easily doing what most people couldn't~"
"After all, not everyone can hurt others and still pretend like nothing happened~ Looking at you like this, you really are the most qualified to become one of us~"
"Admit it~ Kiana, you are the biggest 'evil' in the human heart!"
Hearing this, although Kiana's offensive was still fierce, sharp-eyed viewers noticed that she was no longer as steady as she was at the beginning.
Whether it was the slightly messy breathing, or the faintly trembling arms, it all showed that something in Kiana's mental state had quietly begun to change.
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