Chapter 3: Time Spent

I tiredly dragged myself from my bed, my entire body felt as though it was numb.

I looked down at my hands in confusion seeing light bruising on the palms as if I had either slammed them into something or someone. I shook my head weakly and got dressed in some pajamas, making my way down to eat breakfast.

I entered the kitchen, carefully grabbing a bowl along with simple wheat brick cereal, eating it after adding hot water and milk, the slop returning some much-needed energy as I ate. A slight noise caught my attention, raising my head to look towards the kitchen entrance, I saw Tesla staring at me with interest.

"Mornin..."

Tesla glanced off to the side, raised an eyebrow before looking back at me blankly.

"It's three PM."

I choked and shot my eyes towards the digital clock to the side, my eyes widening in horror as I saw that she was indeed correct about the time and that I had missed a day of school. My first missed day since I had entered Chiba Academy a few months prior. I had to call the school and explain, make up some excuse. I hated lying, but I needed to-

"Calm down Playboy, I called and said some punks jumped you and that you were shaken up, so you wouldn't be attending classes."

Observant. Tesla was always like that, noticing the slightest changes in variables, be it physical health and even mental health. She had been on top of the game because she knew she was helping teach the next generation of Valkyries, I was more of a side project, an assistant in keeping Kiana and Sirin on their toes.

"Now that we have an understanding in the fact that you owe me. Mind explaining why you were out until two in the morning Sieghart?"

I made to respond before I felt my throat tighten, it was as if a spell had taken over my body and made it lock up. I couldn't even hear my own heart beating as I stared back at Tesla, feeling nothing before I... Something, made ME sigh.

"I was looking for work. I can't always rely on Dad to send us funds, I don't want to be a waste of time."

Those had been my words, but I didn't think them. I hadn't said them with my own thought process. I didn't even remember going out last night, all I remember was coming back from school after hanging out with Mei, Kiana, and Sirin before...

Nothing.

"I see, you're taking my advice on not being a leech. Did you at least find some places of interest?"

I shook my head weakly in response and shoveled the rest of my food into my mouth before I cleaned my plate and rushed by Tesla to head upstairs again, not noticing her watching my back as I disappeared into my room to once again get dressed in proper clothing.

My head was pounding and my heart was racing as I felt as if I was completely in control again. I had lied to Tesla, someone father trusted, someone I trusted to an extent. I felt sick, but part of that vile feeling was alleviated by the fact that it wasn't ME who had lied.

I unconsciously pulled out a set of black clothes, a hoodie with orange lining, and, a pair of sneakers. Clothing I wouldn't normally wear, but it would do the job.

The last thing I remember was picking up a pair of Tonfa I had somehow gained at a point and slipping out of my window.

A black, porcelain mask covering my features from view.

Tesla watched as her drone hovered above her house, cold and calculating eyes watching as Sieghart left through the window of his room in full black attire. She ordered the drone to follow him, a holographic display lighting up across the table alongside screens showing his movement across multiple angles.

It was intriguing, from her observations, the boy had been docile until a few days ago when, who she assumed was the Herrscher, Sirin had alerted everyone to a sudden shift in Honkai Energy, unable to pinpoint the source outside of the fact that it had been originating from one of the many factories owned by the late ME Corp. The mention of the sudden spike seemingly caused the boy to go into a trance in which he just moved as normal and barely spoke.

It wasn't until the night prior that Tesla had begun to understand what was happening, the boy returning with bruises across his exposed limbs and tiredness that with time would fade, his constitution allowing him to normally bounce back quicker than ever. Unfortunately for Sieghart, whatever had occurred the night before had been too much and he had slept in, meaning whatever had happened had drained him to the point that he had to rest.

Ultimately meaning that whatever had been happening was becoming too much for the teenager and she would need to observe before stepping in.

She idly turned her gaze towards the front door as it opened and sighed, the twins were home and she'd likely need to tell them what was occurring with their annoying brother.

Being the responsible adult was honestly a pain in the ass to her.

She almost pitied Einstein.

Almost.

My fist impacted the guard's face harshly, knocking him out with a single hit. I let out a slight hiss from behind my black mask before leaving my crouch, leaving the guard where he was, completely out of it to the world before looking towards a slightly ajar window, I tilted my head before nodding as I got a running start and vaulted off of a container up to the window, just barely gripping onto the frame while ignoring the pain from my bruised palms.

I pulled myself up and onto a metal sidewalk that hung above the main area of the factory, there were a few guards situated around the factory, I glared down at each of them, mentally marking where they were before moving on. My phone shimmered to life as I brought up the schematics of the factory and took note of anything suspicious.

A single vent caught my attention, it didn't lead up as it should've, it led beneath the ground. A hidden facility.

"Target found. Moving in to strike."

I don't even know why I had said that, maybe watching movies with Kiana was a mistake, too many American action flicks. Nevertheless, I moved on through the darkness, twisting my Tonfas, watching it shift briefly through forms before settling on a screwdriver.

When I finally reached the vent, I unscrewed the casing and gently placed it to the side, I slipped in quickly and slid the case back into place before descending the ventilation system, I had sent one glance towards the sky through an old, shattered window and cursed within my head, it was dark already. I had spent too much time staking the place out, I needed to speed it up. Tesla had already asked too many questions.

I dropped down into an open corridor, landing in a crouch as I took in everything around me. Whereas the factory above was a complete waste, destroyed due to misuse and negligence, the pristine white walls around me, alongside the still functioning lighting told me another story. The facility was still in use, which meant that the guards above weren't just stationed to keep the riffraff out from destroying salvageable property. They were there to keep out threats.

I made to show myself the schematics again, pulling out my phone, the gentle light illuminating my face. It also illuminated the thing floating behind me, still in the vent, silently watching. I spun around and threw my Tonfa hard, watching as the drone cracked against the wall and fell down before me.

"Of course, can't help but put your brand on everything Tesla?"

I slammed my foot down, crushing Tesla's drone in annoyance before turning and running down the corridors. I slipped small, barely visible beads of light out of my pockets to allow myself to see where I had come from, a few guards attempted to block my way as I moved freely, but they were swiftly dealt with, left where they were found, unconscious.

It ultimately didn't take long to find what I was searching for. An active Honkai Reactor, brightly burning in the main room of the facility. Scientists were scattered around, dead on the floor, dried blood caking where their wounds had obviously been. It was disgusting and for a slim moment, clarity entered my mind as I made to step back, to flee. I didn't like it there, I needed to leave.

But that feeling was squashed as a heavy whirring noise entered my ears follows by a heavy stomp to my left. I barely had any time to turn my head before the giant robotic fist of a Titan impacted my body and sent me flying, the pilotless mech had likely been stashed away in hopes of distracting anyone that found the area, to allow the reactor to continue powering up.

I flipped myself in the air, groaning in pain as I landed and fell to a knee, my ribs hadn't cracked, but the very blatant feeling of bruising was enough to tell me that taking another hit from the mech was not a good idea.

"Fucking... Anti-Entropy..."

Wait, Anti-Entropy? Who was that? I don't remember anyone ever telling me that name before, I don't even remember it in passing. Why had I spoken that name with such vitriol?

It didn't matter as I dodged to the right, the white tiles shattering in all directions as the Titan tried to crush me where I was. As it pulled its arm back out, I slammed my Tonfas together, both forming a heavy metal bat that I spun once before swinging as hard as I could into the arm, sending it back a few meters. It almost seemed caught off guard or disorientated before it focused on me again.

"You want me? Come get me!"

I ran forward, flipping into the air as I slammed a kick down on the upper armor covering the cockpit of the mech, I hissed in pain as I planted my feet down to right myself before I raised my bat and swung down, shattering one of its cameras with a shout of anger. The mech buckled, throwing me off against as I spun, hitting the wall with a shout of pain before I began to weakly try to push myself up again.

I watched with narrowed eyes as the back of the mech opened up, it was a rocket type and a combat type? Since when had Welt begun making that type of mech? Welt... Who. Was. Welt?

I growled at the question and finally pushed myself up, my muscles screaming at me to give in as I used to wall to right myself before I took in a breath.

The ground cracked beneath my feet as I shot forward, my bat feeling hot in my hand as I jumped above the mech, it's rockets hit the roof above me, sending cement into my back and propelling me downwards towards the Titan, the momentum along with my bat allowed me to crush the head, caving it in completely as it fell backward and began to glow.

My eyes widened as it continued to glow in brightness, the light almost blinding me before reality tore before me. A void portal engulfed the mech completely and teleported it away, judging by the fact I heard the explosion above me, it likely was teleported in the air above the factory. I shook my head slowly before crumpling into myself, my consciousness fading as my eyes fell upon the reactor as something glowed within the center of it.

I coughed weakly as I was laid out across an operating table. Tesla working on stitching up my back after removing the shards of cement that had torn it open in the first place. Sirin and Kiana were off to the side, I couldn't meet their gazes after learning of what had happened after I collapsed. Sirin had panicked, the Herrscher Sirin taking over to get me to safety while Kiana, who was a little slower on arrival was left to panic when seeing how much I had been hurt before contacting Tesla who had explained to them what I had been doing for the last week.

Which, mind you, was a surprise to me. I had no recollection at all of the escapades I had supposedly gone on, I wouldn't have believed it either until Tesla had brought me a set of Tonfa's that could change forms based on whatever the user desired and an oddly familiar porcelain mask. When I had seen that mask, it was as if a feeling of ice water had engulfed my nervous system.

It was familiar, yet I couldn't remember why. All of the events Tesla told me about were fantastical, a teenager becoming a vigilante? Fighting through droves of Guards to find out the truth? That was absolutely moronic, yet, as I laid down on the table, Tesla fixing me up, forcing me to watch to the recording of me beating down a security guard, I couldn't help but feel completely helpless.

I hadn't done it. At least, my mind knew I hadn't done it. But the fighting style, even if it were just a set of Tonfa's was undoubtedly the Kaslana Kata, without guns and purely focused on physical blows, both Sirin and Kiana were watching, so they had an alibi with Tesla herself, while I was gone. My window was slightly ajar, the tiles on the roof having shoe prints that matched the sneakers I didn't even remember buying while a lock of hair that Tesla had her drone retrieve from the facility matched the genetic sequence within my own.

Without a shadow of a doubt, I had been going around, exacting justice upon a group of people after Sirin announced the fact that there was a spike in Honkai Energy. And, that made me feel completely horrible. I had found something of proof supposedly but before that... How many people had I beaten down? Likely injured more than necessary?

I had once called myself a pacifist in front of Siegfried and he had accepted it, saying that even if I had no plans to hurt others, I should at least learn to protect myself from monsters, and here I was, hurting people, dressed in all black like some avenging spirit that haunted the night.

I had so easily gone against my own morals. I... Hated it.

As I wallowed in that feeling of disgust, as Tesla finally finished working on me, I let myself fall asleep.

When I awoke again, my entire body felt stiff, yet better than ever. I felt energetic, unnaturally so. I could hear Kiana and Sirin downstairs arguing over something. Then suddenly, it all came back to me and I felt my chest tighten. I looked down at my cut-up fist and remembered the video of me slamming the same fist into the guard's face, cracking bone beneath me as I forced him into unconsciousness.

I could smell the taint of blood and the worst part was that I knew it was more than likely my own I could smell, not the man I had assaulted. I shook the thoughts away and noticed my clothes laid out for the day on my chair, a small smile slipping onto my face as I quickly picked them up and headed off to shower. Cleaning myself up and gently rewrapped the bandages around my chest and back, covering up the stitches before I slipped into my school attire and headed downstairs.

"You dullard, do you not get it!? What he did isn't good! He could've been killed, if Tesla never told us, he could've died and we would never know!"

The sound of a plate smashing echoed as I stopped myself on the final step and listened, my heart clenching as Sirin screamed at her twin in anger.

"It doesn't matter! He found a place that should've been shut down ages ago! What if that Reactor thingy had gone off? How many people would be hurt from that Sirin? That's what the Kaslana Oath is about, protecting people who need it!"

I flinched as I heard Sirin shout in annoyance after Kiana had spoken out against her, I didn't like it, hearing the two fight so audibly instead of just fighting it out like they always would, training allowing them to realize who was wrong or who was right.

"Fuck the Oath! That is my... Our brother, Kiana! What matters more, some useless self-sacrificing bullshit, or our brot-"

The first step into the kitchen caused all of the arguing to be cut off completely, Kiana and Sirin just staring at me as they abandoned their argument and stared at me. The kitchen looked like a tornado had swept through, broken equipment and plates scattering the area, I looked to the two of them, noticing how disheveled they looked, their school clothes were out of place, Kiana's hair, normally braided was loose and wild, Sirin's hair was out of its clean flow, spiked outwards in various directions, as if someone had pulled it.

I stepped back, my normally straight face had cracked as the two stared at me. The two watched me as I moved further away and turned, the door swinging open as I ran. I ignored their shouts and ran, to the only place I could, Chiba Academy. Ignoring the looks of people as I disappeared into the school and went to the roof, slamming the door hard. Allowing myself to be entranced by the silence of the roof. I would stay there, at least until Homeroom started.

I was once again quiet as I sat within Homeroom, Mei was watching me worried. The twins had to have contacted her, told her of the sudden problem that had arisen, causing me to run from the two. I wrapped my arms around myself, cursing my stupidity, I should've stayed, talked to them, but learning of what I had done and hearing them truly fight for the first time had overwhelmed me.

I was an older brother, yet to them, I had always been the more fragile of the three of us. Being physically weaker than Kiana and lacking the firepower that Sirin could summon, I was treated more like glass. Like a doll on the brink of collapse. I bit my lip, tasting blood as I turned my eyes to the window and gazed out at the city.

A cold chill engulfed my entire being. A feeling of wrongness formed in my stomach as I stared. Then it happened, a pulse of something exploded outwards from multiple factories in their designated district, engulfing Nagazora in a brilliant pink light.

A memory flickered to life within my head, causing it to pound violently as I watched the pulse grow nearer, a single light glowing within a reactor before the world went black. The sight of what was undoubtedly a Herrscher Core, much like the one Sirin had shown me years ago, held within a Honkai Reactor.

I shook my head weakly, before the pulse crossed over the school, shattering windows and sending people flying with a scream. I landed atop another student, pushing myself up and looking around for Mei.

I found her, standing unharmed in the center of the class, glowing with a violent light that seemed to spark off of her, lashing out in all directions. She stared at her own open palms before screaming, a second pulse flooding the school, originating from her being.

It didn't take long for the Honkai corruption to spread to those around us, for the humans now turned into Zombies to attempt to kill us as I dragged Mei out of the classroom and fled. The distant screams from around the school echoed within my mind as I ran in the direction of where the underclassmen were normally for homeroom.

Not noticing Mei watching everything around her with horror, self-hatred, and disgust flashing through her vision with every death she was forced to see.

AN:
The Third Eruption begins. I know some of y'all wanted more time for the Nagazora's early arc, but being truthful, I wanted to show that the WoH was desperate in a sense, to show that things could happen earlier or later based on how severely things were changed.

I want it to be known, that the "Shadows of Nagazora" arc that is starting will have heavy horror elements, so use this Authors Note as a warning, while this story may be Family/Sci-Fi, the following arc will have some... dark themes.

I'm saving some of the safer themes for when St Freya appears. Until then? Yeah...