NOVEL WEB Chapter 392: Senti, Senti
"You... you're not Kiana? Hahaha, that's impossible." Senti froze, a bewildered expression on her face. Trying to mask her discomfort, she forced a smile.
"You're joking, right, Kiana? We're friends. Don't tease me like this."
She chuckled nervously, searching Ren's eyes for a playful glint.
But there was none. Ren's gaze was as still as a stagnant pool, devoid of humor. Senti's heart sank.
Her forced laughter echoed unnaturally in the vast quantum space. She felt like a clown, a plaything for someone's amusement.
Her smile faltered, the laughter dying into silence. She stared at Ren, silently pleading for an answer.
"I'm afraid he's telling the truth. He's only borrowing Kiana's identity," Mei's voice came from the side.
Unsure who this girl with Fu Hua's appearance was, Mei didn't want her clinging to a false Kiana. She stepped forward, confirming Ren's words.
For Senti, Mei's words were the first clap of thunder in a gathering storm.
"Shut up! This has nothing to do with you! Get away from me!"
Senti's calm shattered. A dark aura erupted, and her Honkai energy surged, engulfing everything.
In her fury, she reverted to the uncontrolled Herrscher of Sentience, radiating a terrifying aura. Mei, sensing the shift, reached for her katana, but a fist slammed into her before she could react.
Despite her improved strength since joining the Obsidian Concord, Mei was no match for Senti at full power. She barely raised her scabbard in time to deflect the blow, but was sent flying into the quantum abyss.
"Senti," Ren said, watching her with a mixture of concern and helplessness. He'd anticipated this reaction, but it was different facing it directly. He tried calling her name, but was met with another attack.
"I told you to shut up!"
With Mei gone, only Ren and Senti remained, mirroring their first hostile encounter on that rainy night.
"Ha, I thought… I thought you actually accepted me, that you wanted to be friends."
Senti's voice trembled with rage, but Ren also detected a hint of despair. She was deaf to his words, lashing out, venting her fury.
Ren didn't retaliate, calmly blocking her attacks. He understood the weight of lies, especially for someone newly experiencing the world. A casual lie from a parent could inflict lasting damage. He wouldn't perpetuate the deception.
"I do consider you a friend, Senti. I'm not playing with you. Telling you the truth is better than continuing a lie."
"I knew it! I knew it! You never saw me as Fu Hua! You always thought I was a fake! You looked down on me, treating me like a clown!"
Senti's attacks continued, fueled by her anger, yet they lacked the power of their first encounter.
Ren knew she was holding back, relying on physical strength alone, not her Herrscher powers.
"No one is laughing at you, Senti. I didn't deceive you. I told you the truth because I didn't want to continue with a lie. Think about it. When you first revived, you were confused, lost. But you had your own thoughts. You wouldn't live as Fu Hua. Because you're unique, your own person."
Ren's words were like an anchor in a storm, steadying Senti's turbulent emotions.
"Whether Kiana or Fu Hua, those names don't matter. You need acceptance. I acted as Kiana for my own reasons, but not to use you. I wanted you to experience the world peacefully."
Fortunately, their friendship hadn't completely dissolved. Senti was listening, her anger tempered by a flicker of reason.
What was the source of her rage? Was it the deception?
No. It was fear.
Just as she'd feared losing her purpose, her identity, Ren's revelation triggered that same fear.
She feared that by abandoning the Kiana persona, he was severing their connection.
Kiana and Fu Hua were friends. Ren and Senti were not.
She feared that without that link, she'd return to the darkness, adrift and alone, dying in an unknown corner.
"Senti, that's your name. You can be Fu Hua, but you are Senti. You're not nothing, not someone else's shadow. You are Senti."
Like sunlight breaking through clouds, Ren's words reached her heart, calming the storm within.
She stopped attacking, but her anger lingered.
"If you were acting, why not keep up the pretense?"
"Because you're Senti, not Fu Hua."
"Nonsense! I am Fu Hua! The real Fu Hua!" Senti's pride wouldn't let her back down, even though her anger had subsided.
In truth, as the Herrscher of Sentience, she'd sensed her own incongruity when she'd used the Might of An-Utu. She had Fu Hua's memories, knew everything about her. But the moment she used her Herrscher powers, the truth had become clear, despite her self-deception.
However, clinging to the identity of Fu Hua was all she had. She couldn't abandon it. But now, with the new name Ren had given her—Senti—her fear of losing herself lessened considerably.
"Hmph. If you say I'm not Fu Hua, I'll find the real Kiana and prove it. You're just a… a…" The word "fake" almost slipped out, but Senti stopped. As an imposter herself, she knew how hurtful that word was. If it angered her, how would Ren feel?
She glanced at him, confirming he hadn't reacted negatively, before continuing. "Just you wait. Everyone will acknowledge me as Fu Hua someday."
Senti turned and walked towards the exit, feeling unexpectedly lighter, despite the exposed truth.
"Senti!" Ren called out.
She stopped, but didn't turn back. "I told you, my name is Fu Hua, not Senti!"
"Remember my consciousness signature. Come back soon. Don't get lost."
Ren's consciousness, no longer shielded by the Fenghuang Down power, flowed into Senti's perception. For the first time, she truly saw him.
Exposing his consciousness to a Herrscher of Sentience was incredibly dangerous. Senti understood. This was his true acceptance of her.
"Senti… it's… not bad," she muttered, a smile playing on her lips as she stepped into the portal, leaving World Serpent behind.