NOVEL NEXT Chapter 303: Don't Run Away Anymore, Anna
The shadows in the sky seemed to have dissipated somewhat, but there was still no sign of the blizzard abating.
The flaming greatsword in her hand gradually dissipated, and Kiana continued to pant. The intense burst of power was a considerable burden for her at the moment. However, with Ren's support, this level of exertion was almost negligible.
She stood up, gazing at the snow-filled sky. The raging cold wave was gradually receding, and the storm engulfing the area had also weakened significantly.
"It's finally gone." With the greatest threat to the civilians finally gone, Kiana breathed a sigh of relief.
Herrschers were not so easy to eliminate. Even Kiana's full-force attack infused with Flamescion's power had only severely injured the Herrscher of Ice.
However, that didn't mean her attack had been ineffective. On the contrary, it was precisely because her attack posed a mortal threat to the Herrscher of Ice that the Herrscher had chosen to flee.
The current Herrscher of Ice still retained Anna's intelligence and consciously thought during the battle. She had sensed Kiana's power and understood that the humans were Kiana's protected targets. That's why she had voluntarily stopped attacking the city and temporarily retreated.
In any case, the city's crisis was temporarily resolved. Millions of people on Coral Island were evacuating in an orderly fashion, and the casualties caused by the Herrscher were greatly reduced. If Kiana hadn't stopped the Herrscher of Ice, very few of those millions of civilians would have survived.
Now that the Herrscher of Ice was seriously injured, she wouldn't be able to make a comeback in the short term. This was the best opportunity for evacuation that Kiana had won.
This time would be enough for Schicksal to dispatch a Valkyrie squad to join the battle, and perhaps even Durandal would arrive.
Of course, this wasn't the end, but the beginning.
…
「Ugh.」
Intense pain churned through Anna's consciousness. Even though the Herrscher of Ice's body was no longer under her control, she had to fully bear the damage done to the Herrscher's body, further exacerbating her already severe state.
「She... Gah... Esca...」
The sounds coming from the Herrscher of Ice became blurry. At this point, Anna had almost lost the ability to speak coherently. However, because the Herrscher's body was severely injured by Flamescion, she was finally able to control her body to some extent.
「I...」
Anna controlled the Herrscher of Ice's body and slowly moved towards a more distant place. She was afraid of losing control again and hurting others once more. Collapsed buildings were reflected on the smooth ice surface, like a mirror, reflecting Anna's past.
The same Honkai, the same scene.
Two years ago, a terrifying Honkai eruption broke out in the Philippine capital of Manila. The disaster killed nearly 2 million people, infected more than 3 million, and displaced nearly 10 million more.
At that time, Anna had only recently been stationed in Manila when the Honkai destroyed everything she knew.
The entire city was reduced to ruins by the Honkai, and Anna's Snow Lotus Squad was almost completely wiped out. She was the only survivor of her squad.
It was then that Anna truly felt the helplessness and despair in her heart.
Walking through the city, all she could see was ruined rubble and piles of corpses, as well as those who were still barely breathing but beyond saving.
Fear grew rampant in Anna's sixteen-year-old heart. Despair wrapped around her throat like a venomous snake, and with her reason nearing collapse, Anna could only keep running, wanting to return to the evacuation point and reunite with the reinforcements.
Because of this, she ignored those who needed help, violating her original intention as a Valkyrie.
Painful cries echoed in her ears, and the cries of death flowed through her mind, but she dared not stop, dared not face this despairing scene.
For Anna at that time, such a choice was not wrong. Choosing to retreat and seek help was, in fact, the best option.
The guilt in her heart and the agony of her inner turmoil questioned Anna's heart, reminding her of the oath she had made when she became a Valkyrie.
「I will bring hope to those trapped in disasters, and fight for every suffering victim.」
A Valkyrie's mission was to fight for those who could not fight. Anna, who had chosen to run away, eventually stopped, and even though her heart was filled with fear, she was unwilling to be a deserter and unwilling to abandon her vow.
But fate was a cruel mistress. Whether she chose to run away or to save others, Anna's choices were not wrong. The biggest error was saving the wrong person at the right time.
「Chen... Tian... ugh.」 Anna, as the Herrscher of Ice, tried to say that name, but all that came out were strange noises.
Chen Tianwu was a lazy but uniquely charming boy, optimistic even in the face of disaster.
At this point, Anna, whose heart was already full of guilt for running away, was moved by him. During the process of escaping together, a strange emotion blossomed between them.
She took off her heart-shaped pendant and gave half of it to Chen Tianwu.
To comfort and encourage each other, they made a promise that if they both survived, they would go on a date together.
This should have been the beginning of their relationship, but it turned into Anna's most painful scar.
Chen Tianwu, hoping that Anna as a Valkyrie would help him find his sister, but Anna discovered that the girl she had failed to save before because she chose to run away was actually his sister, Chen Tianwen.
After the disaster, both of them survived, but an even stronger sense of guilt engulfed Anna's heart.
「Valkyrie」
This identity had become a word that weighed heavily on Anna, making it hard for her to breathe. Having chosen to be a deserter, she felt that she was not worthy of this title at all.
She dared not tell Chen Tianwu that she had abandoned his sister, and she dared not face this boy. In the end, she chose to leave alone.
It could be said that the root of why Anna was chosen to become the Herrscher of Ice lay in these two instances of running away.
The first time, she ran away from her duty as a Valkyrie.
The second time, she ran away from the courage to tell the truth.
The disaster on Coral Island now was almost a repeat of Manila two years ago. Reflected on the ice surface was Anna's own shadow.
The surrounding ruins made her feel like she was back two years ago, and this time, she herself had become the cause of the disaster.
The sin in her heart continued to gnaw at Anna's reason, trying to drag her into the abyss of the Honkai. Her already weak will was teetering, on the verge of collapse.
「I... can't... run.」
However, even though her memories were being erased by the Honkai's will, Anna did not give up immediately. Because she had seen a different choice in Kiana.
It was a choice she had failed to make.
What would have happened if she had not chosen to run away, but had faced it bravely?
This was Anna's deepest regret, and now she had found the answer in Kiana's actions.
The current Kiana was exactly like Anna at that time, but their choices were completely opposite. Kiana was like a mirror, reflecting the step that Anna had failed to take.
From Kiana, she saw the courage she lacked, the responsibility she had failed to bear. In other words, Kiana's presence healed the most feared and self-condemning gap in Anna's heart.
「I don't want to run anymore.」
「But I don't have a chance to choose again.」