Chapter 2: Ruler of Thunder

Honkai Energy: A "natural antibody" of the world some would say. Some call this wild force "The Will of God." It is a cyclical natural disaster phenomenon, a periodic adjustment of the universe. For as long as the history of man has been recorded, so too has the Honkai been known to cause disasters against man. Honkai's manifestations are wholly unpredictable: Wars, diseases, mass extinction events, even the arrival of giant monsters. Known Honkai outbreak disasters include the Black Death during the 15th century, and the extinction of the dinosaurs during the Cretaceous period.

Honkai Source: As Honkai Energy is released through the air, it slowly aggregates together into small "Sources", which themselves eventually come together to form a singular, large Source. Eventually, once the Source has grown large enough, an explosion of Honkai Energy, and thus a following disaster, occur. These incidents are known as "Honkai Impacts" and are to be responded to with the utmost haste.

-Excerpts from Shicksal Database: "Honkai"

"I don't mean to sound like a pessimist here, but I've got a bad feeling about what's going on here!" Soleil shouted over Kiana's gunfire as he drew his sword out of a zombie, the two stuck fighting through the horde as they chased after Mei, by now the chase having nearly brought them up to the roof of the school building.

"You're thinking the same thing too huh?" Kiana replied, batting aside another zombie.

"Herrscher… that's the only thing that could be happening right now!" Soleil said, ducking under a zombie's swipe, Kiana kicking the zombie away. That feeling again… ever since that ball of light showed up, I've been feeling that déjà vu this entire time! Soleil thought for a moment, and without looking, thrust his sword out behind him, the blade coming right into the path of a charging zombie and going right through its chest. I shouldn't have been able to see that coming, but I knew right where it was coming from like it was a memory… what the hell is with this?!

"We're almost caught up to her!" Kiana shouted, Soleil nodding and breaking away from the zombie he'd stabbed to rush off. "Geez, get out of my way you stupid zombies!"

"Let's just hope this doesn't go the way it seems like it is!" As Soleil slashed through another zombie, another boom of thunder rang through the air. The chase eventually brought the two up to the roof of the building, the two stopping as they finally caught up to Mei, who let out a laugh as the rain came down on her, and the oddly quiet, milling zombies remained still.

"Mei-senpai!" Kiana shouted.

"Hahaha, everyone is around me now. Father, friends…" Mei said, again sounding like she was talking to somebody else entirely.

"Tch, she's surrounded by the zombies! How're we gonna get close?" Kiana aimed her guns and fired though she barely made a dent in the bunch surrounding Mei. It did get Mei's attention though, and her eyes had shifted into a glaring shade of dark red. "Get out of the way dammit!"

"You… are you trying to steal this happiness away from me?!" Mei screamed, Soleil clicking his tongue.

"Quit talking nonsense dammit! Whatever you're feeling or seeing is false ya' hear!" Soleil snapped. "You're just being influenced, it's the Honkai telling you these things, stop listening to it!"

"Shut up shut up! Leave me alone! I don't need your mercy!" Mei screamed, the zombies around her letting out roars and turning their attention to Soleil and Kiana. "Leave… me… alone!"

"What's going on? This looks bad!" Kiana shouted, Mei turning and running off again. "Agh, get back here!"

As Kiana charged, the zombies lunged at her, her guns raining bullets out as Soleil also jumped in to cut down the ones assaulting them. The two broke through the crowd and shot past, Kiana catching up to Mei first and grabbing the other girl by the arm.

"Hah! Finally got you!" Kiana said, Mei letting out another yell as she reached out to something.

"Wait! Father, wait! I'll become the daughter you want! Please… just don't leave!" Mei screamed, Kiana's expression confused.

"What the hell is she seeing?" Kiana muttered, looking back at the remaining zombies as Soleil stepped back from fending them off. "And the zombies aren't attacking her either… damn, so she really is turning into one?!"

"Kiana get back!" Soleil grabbed Kiana in a moment of feeling a danger sense go off, pulling her away as lightning began arcing around Mei, before it then exploded outwards and blew the two back across the roof, Soleil using himself to take the brunt of it. As he and Kiana rose, the mood changed. The rain stopped and only left the cracking thunder and Mei across from them. And something about her had changed. Mei's left arm had turned a shade of purple, crossed by glowing lines that pulsed with lightning, her eyes an outright glowing red, and coming from her left shoulder were constructs of energy that formed into a segmented wing. And furthermore, visible from a tear in her shirt, just on her left hip was a red mark, like an arrow shaped bolt of lightning.

"No way…" Kiana murmured, Soleil letting out a growl.

"She's a Herrscher." Soleil muttered.

"Hahahaha! Ahhh, I feel so much better now. So this is what this filthy world looks like hmm? That weak girl… she resisted for that long?" Mei flexed her left hand, looking over to Soleil and Kiana, and a huff came from her. "And two filthy humans as well. No… one of you is unusual. The Lynchpin. Haha, so you appeared here as well? You reek of that one's light."

"What is she talking about now?" Kiana said, Soleil clicking his tongue again as he readied his sword. "So you're a Herrscher huh? Heh, you're still pretty new though, so it means you're not as powerful as you could be! Sorry, but I'm kicking you out of my friend's body!"

"True. But that doesn't mean I'm not so weak I can't squash a couple of insects." Mei snapped her fingers, Kiana and Soleil immediately moving to the side as lightning shot down at them, the strikes just narrowly missing them. Another bolt then shot right from Mei's hand for Soleil as he was coming out of his dodge. It was going to hit directly. But his right hand shot up at it, and when the bolt impacted to his hand, flowing threads of sky blue energy began flying from his palm, the arc of lightning blowing apart, the threads of light drifting off of Soleil's hand as he panted, the wrappings that had been on his arm mostly burnt away, the singed ends of them fluttering in the wind. "Tch… that's going to be annoying."

"Are you okay?!" Kiana shouted, Soleil nodded as he put his sword back to his right hand, and as he lifted it back up while twisting his hand around, Kiana saw it clearly: On the back of Soleil's right hand was a blue mark, styled like a burning crown backed by three swords. "So you do have a Stigmata!"

"Later! We need to try and take her down. Best case, subdue her, worst case… well, let's burn that bridge when we get there." Soleil muttered, Kiana nodding and readying her guns.

"I'm with you!" Kiana replied, Mei letting out a scoff.

"Fine then. I believe you two can entertain me for a bit. In the end, you'll just be another one of these dead bodies. Once I'm done with you two, I can move on from here." Mei launched another blast of lightning at the two, Soleil and Kiana shooting past it. Kiana's bullets were blocked by sparks of electricity as soon as they came near Mei, but all those did was draw her attention as Soleil ran in. When his sword came down, the blade was blocked by the energy wing, Mei glaring at him as the blade and wing scraped against each other. "Move aside!"

Soleil vaulted back as Mei slashed at him with a wave of electricity pulsing from her hand, the sensation of the sparks singing his clothes and tingling his skin. And in the following moment, Mei shot forward with her other hand, a burst of lightning firing from it and slamming into Soleil, sending him careening back across the roof and rolling across the ground. Though as he struggled up, threads of blue were drifting off the impact area, though even then the blast had clearly gotten through.

"Tch… you'll take a bit longer to kill." Mei's wing shifted and blocked more bullets, the girl drifting back a bit when a kick from Kiana came sailing at her, Kiana quick to follow it up with several more accompanied by shots from her guns. "Stupid human-agh!"

As Mei moved to strike again, she was forced to block when something came right at her head. The deflected item clattered to the ground, revealing it to be a throwing knife much like Soleil's sword, the energy edge flickering away as it skittered to a stop.

"Don't go forgetting there's two of us!" Kiana said, firing again, and the shot from her gun left an actual mark in Mei's wing when she moved it to block, earning a snarl from her foe. "Nice one Soleil-senpai!"

"Always gotta have a sub weapon on you." Soleil said, flicking a few more of the throwing knives into his left hand, holding them between his fingers as their edges activated. The three knives were thrown out and deflected, though that just left an opening for Kiana to land a kick as she also wheeled back, Soleil shooting back to the front. Mei slashed in kind with her wing, though when they clashed this time, Soleil's blade dug into the gathered energy of the wing.

With Mei in place, Kiana aimed both her guns and fired just as Soleil was forced back again, the bullets sailing for the nick in the wing… and just as it pulled back, they impacted, Mei yelling as the upper segment of the "feather" shattered off.

"How dare… how could mere humans damage a Herrscher's wing?!" Mei growled, moving her head when another slash from Soleil damaged the wing more, Mei retreated as the damaged "feather" flickered out of form. "I need to gather more power…"

"Like I'd let you do that!" Kiana shouted, grabbing Mei by her right arm. "Perks of being a Kaslana, my Honkai resistance is high enough I can even grab a Herrscher!"

"Ggh, let go!" Mei snapped, her attempt to swipe at Kiana with her left arm being stopped by Soleil grabbing her too, and as she looked at him, his other hand had a swirl of that blue energy at it. "You!"

"Let's see if we can't snap you out of this!" Soleil shouted, slamming his hand onto Mei's chest, eliciting a sharp scream from Mei as the blow landed. Lightning arced out in retaliation to the two, Soleil and Kiana gritting their teeth against it… and then Soleil felt a flash in his mind, and a voice…

"Please… help me… Father! Help me… Don't leave me alone!" Mei's voice, fearful and calling out.

"This… what the Honkai is amplifying in her." Soleil gritted his teeth again, and the arm he had slammed onto Mei was starting to bleed as the wrappings were burned away.

"Father! Why did you abandon me… why does everyone treat me so badly now after what happened?! Why? Why?! WHY?! This world… I hate this world!"

"Ggh… get out of my mind!" Mei screamed, another burst of lightning blowing Kiana and Soleil away, both rolling to a stop, Soleil clutching his bleeding arm as he attempted to prop himself up on it, his right hand gathering blood under it. "With more power… nobody can hurt me!"

"Stop it!" Kiana shouted. "You're just being controlled by the Honkai Energy! If you keep giving in to those negative feelings, you'll lose yourself again! Don't do it!"

"It sounds nice, right?" Soleil muttered, panting between the sharp pain coming from his arm. "What it tells you… it sounds nice and pretty… but whatever you're being told by the Herrscher is just lies!"

"Hmph. You really think you're talking to the weakling right now?" Mei muttered, Soleil growling, and then Mei started drifting upwards. "Don't try and play me, Lynchpin. Both of you… I'll never forgive you. Next time we meet, you won't be so lucky, that much I promise you!"

"Hey! Stop running!" Kiana shouted, aiming, but her finger froze on the trigger, leaving Mei to fly off, and the dark cloud above them followed her off further across the campus district. "Well at least we know where she'll be. Hmm… Mom said the worst thing about a Honkai Impact wasn't the Impact itself, but the thing born inside of it. She's really turned into a Herrscher."

"Someone who's sacrificed their heart to "God" to escape their suffering in exchange for power to change their fate. Obviously though, it's not that simple… you stop being "you" when you accept that offer. Talk about the worst-case scenario." Soleil muttered, flinching when he adjusted his grip on his arm. "Damn, this hurts like a bitch. That lightning hits hard that's for sure… definitely lives up to her name."

"Ah, you're arm! You okay?" Kiana stepped over and gingerly helped Soleil move the arm up, the older boy giving a harsh hiss.

"Obviously not. But this area should start being safer. The zombies are going to follow Mei since she's the biggest source of power for them to follow… you know where the infirmary is?" Soleil asked, Kiana nodding.

"Yeah, follow me!"

In the infirmary of the building, and with precautionary blocks against the doors to remain on the safe side, Soleil was seated on one of the beds, peeling off the remains of the now blood stained wrappings on his arms, letting them fall into a bin at his feet. Kiana was shuffling through the medicine cabinet for anything that could be useful to them, though considering it was a school the supplies available weren't much.

"Hmm… Cold medicine, nope. Pain killers, definitely keeping these. Extra bandages are always good… also a good idea to put anything in glass bottles in something else so it doesn't smash." Kiana moved the items to keep that didn't need to be moved into other containers into Soleil's bag, and once the shelf had been thoroughly sifted through, she picked the bag up and stepped back over to Soleil. As he was wrapping his left arm up, Kiana's shooting-trained eyes noticed something: His arm was covered in incredibly faded scars, only made more prominent because of the stopped bleeding from his injuries leaving his skin chalk white. No doubt they were old, very old. "Scars?"

"Hm? You can see these old things?" Soleil asked, Kiana nodding, Soleil returning it with a chuckle as he kept up with his task. "Heh, I have plenty of scars all over. My dad wasn't exactly the kind of mentor who let me off easy just because I was a kid."

"Huh." Kiana took a moment to look Soleil over a bit more closely to see what he meant. His face showed a couple of those faded scars too, a nick in his left eyebrow telling of another scar, and another was over his lip. But maybe more of note was that mark on the back of his right hand. "That mark is a Stigmata, right?"

"Can't think of anything else it'd be." Soleil said, tightening the wrapping on his arm and tucking the end in and closing it, bringing his marked hand up after also placing his bag back on. "It's been there for as long as I can remember. The Empyrean family's Crown of the Sun."

"Ahhh! I just remembered!" Kiana then stuck a finger in Soleil's face, "Empyrean! Your family used to be in Schicksal until the 2nd Impact."

"So you know about that huh?" Soleil asked, Kiana humming as she lowered her arm.

"2005. The 2nd Honkai Impact occurred at the Babel Tower research facility in Siberia. Full details of the incident are classified, and I can't get in much more than the basic details beyond the following disaster everyone knows about. But one big thing about it is that the Empyrean family, which had been part of Shicksal since its founding, cut ties after it ended… which makes you Sigurd Empyrean's son, right?" Kiana said, Soleil nodding as he stood up.

"Yeup. Dad left Schicksal when I was 3 for reasons I still don't know. Spent my whole life moving from place to place so we could stay under their radar, been living on my own here in Nagazora for over a year now cause my old man went off to America for some reason he never bothered to tell me. Haven't heard a word from him since." Kiana wasn't sure why, but something was weird about how utterly casual Soleil was as he said that kind of thing. He seemed totally fine with the fact his dad had upped and left him behind for some unknown reason.

Granted I know his dad is at least as good a fighter as Papa if the archives are anything to go by… but I still don't know why such a strong person would have left the Schicksal to begin with. Much less leave his son on his own in a completely different country. Though we're kind of similar there I guess… Kiana put a finger to her chin as she thought, and Soleil snickered as he could see the gears in her head turning.

"Look I don't worry about it… mainly because he left me with this." Soleil reached under his shirt and produced something from under it, a black chain that connected to a bright blue colored pendant the same shape as the mark on his hand. "Empyrean family heirloom. I can't lose so long as I've got this thing with me."

"Weird… it looks like it's got some kind of energy to it." Kiana noted, seeing how the pendant had a small glow to it. "But you seriously think that huh, Soleil-senpai?"

"Hey, grow up with my luck and you take whatever good luck charm you can get." Soleil said, and as a crash of thunder from outside shook the building, rattling from the nearby shelf sounded… and a few items promptly fell, in perfect sequence based on size, on Soleil's head repeatedly, though he seemed more annoyed about it than anything. "Like that for example."

"W-Wow… that's uh… wow." Was all Kiana could say to that as Soleil pat the spot where he'd been hit. "Well, we also don't have time to stand around, especially after that. Mei-senpai is somewhere she can gather power, and we just got lucky that first fight. We won't be able to brute force a win next time."

"Definitely not but… I think there's a way to save her." Soleil looked at his left hand and closed it, Kiana glancing at him.

"You heard it to?!" Kiana asked, Soleil looking at her with a surprised glance. "Yeah! Mei's voice! After you hit her with that attack I heard her."

"I did too." Soleil confirmed. "And if we heard the real Mei, then it means the Herrscher hasn't totally taken over as the dominant self… which means that if we can get through to her, somehow. You know her quite well, right? Why would she have given into the Honkai like that?"

"Mei-senpai… well, you know the reports about how her dad was arrested?" Kiana got a nod, and she sat down on the bed. "She used to have a lot of friends, but after that… everyone just started hating her for no reason. They were all so dang stupid, it's ridiculous. But… even with that, I can get why she could have turned. So I have to save her. She's my friend, so this isn't just about being a Kaslana for me."

"I can respect that." Soleil mused. "So let's think this over. We both heard Mei's voice when I hit her with my powers… that means if I can get a clean hit in, theoretically I should be able to get through right? At the same time… I felt it too… how much she's hurt because of what happened, and the life Mei tried to live. The Herrscher personality is like a shield for those emotions. If we take too long, then it'll fully take over. If we're lucky, then it means the Herrscher probably went dormant to regain the power she lost fighting us… but that won't take long to recover since we're right at the center of the Impact."Soleil let out a long sigh. The situation seemed entirely hopeless. They were in the middle of the most dangerous thing imaginable, a foe that would be too powerful for them to beat in a head on fight in only a short matter of time, and between them and her, an army of zombies. By all means their chances were slim to none but… I don't feel worried at all… instead… I feel like I know we can save her. It's that sense of déjà vu again too… but… it feels different despite that.

"It's a lot to go over, but we can definitely do it!" Kiana stood, turning to Soleil with a bright smile. "Our chances are way up since there's two of us doing this, don't you think? I mean, I could totally handle it myself, but help is appreciated."

"You're kind of cocky at times, aren't you?" Soleil chuckled, standing and lightly poking Kiana on the forehead. It earned him another chuckle from the girl as she raised a v-sign. But he also couldn't shake off that weird feeling he had about everything. As with all cases of déjà vu this was a situation he felt that for some reason, even if in a small way, something was different. Like he hadn't mentioned his good luck charm because he simply didn't have it, that Kiana hadn't said anything about his family in any detail. The sensation was off-putting… why did it feel this way?

"So, you're starting to remember huh? Hahahaha! That's incredible! Even if vaguely you've retained memories of the old possibility!" As the world around him suddenly turned greyscale, Soleil snapped around when he heard the same androgynous voice of that light that had spoken to him before. Though this time rather than a ball of blue light, to his surprise, Soleil found himself faced with a Mei, but with hair and eyes of the same sky blue, nearly glowing shade as the light he'd seen. "I see you're confused by this form. I simply prefer to take on the forms of people who those I'm speaking with find more comfortable to talk to."

"Considering the situation and your different voice it's not helping." Soleil muttered, the being tilting her(?) head with a surprised raise of a brow.

"Really? Hm… I suppose it must be a bit uncanny."

"Very." Soleil said, his voice strained as he muttered it between his teeth. "So you actually gonna tell me what you are rather than be all cryptic and vanish on me?"

"Well, I have many names. I suppose if the force you are facing now is "God", then I would be "Lucifer." But, I'm also known as things like "The Will of Man", "Alaya", "The Lightbringer", some even choose to call me "The Devil." I however, prefer Sozo." The being said, spinning a finger around. The sequence of some of those names wasn't giving him a lot of confidence about what this thing wanted from him. "I believe the language of this land translates that as "Creation." Fitting is it not? Counter to Honkai, meaning "Collapse." And despite the other names, don't worry, I'm not some demon looking to make a deal that won't end badly for you. I'll have you know unlike Honkai, I quite like humanity."

"Common sense demands I keep a level of suspicion about all of this." Soleil muttered, Sozo smiling as she(?) leaned on a hand, pointing at Soleil's right hand.

"And who do you think is the one who gave your family the "blessing" that resulted in that Stigmata you bear?" Sozo's statement got Soleil to look at the mark in surprise. "Even a newly born Herrscher is capable of sensing powers born of my light. I'm sure The Third could tell."

"She did say I "reeked of that one's light" when we fought." Soleil muttered, looking from his mark to Sozo. "No arguing the results, I guess. It's this power of mine that lets me fight the Honkai without worry after all. So, what do you want Ms. "I actually like humanity" huh?"

"I simply wish to prove to my counterpart mankind isn't the parasite worthy of destruction it so believes you are. It's why I've picked people such as you as envoys of my own… admittedly there have been less than stellar results along the way, some who let their new power go to their heads and became no better than Herrschers… never quite let myself live those down." Sozo was, of the many things Soleil was not expecting some entity of higher power to ever do, biting their thumb in frustration… hell even just admitting they had messed up was making this so much weirder for the teenager to process. "But I suppose that's the risk I take for allowing my envoys to choose their own path. Some start out well but turn bad down the road. I admit though it can be rather vexing."

"… this has become so damn weird." Soleil muttered, sighing and shaking his head. "But… that's really it? No later exchange of anything, or cost for anything? I just have these powers, and all you want me to do is what I'm already doing?"

"About summarizes it." Sozo said, nodding. "Now, Lynchpin, I believe you have a Herrscher to save… and don't worry, for one such as you, the story is never set in stone. If it is within your power, then rewrite everything… you've done it once before."

"Huh?" Soleil was again left on a cryptic note as Sozo vanished with a wave, color returning to the world around him as he gave a low grumble. "It did it again…"

"Huh?" Kiana hummed.

"Nothing!" Soleil snapped, his teeth grinding against each other for a moment. "Anyway, aside from the first aid stuff now in my bag, how are you looking on supplies?"

"Ammo isn't a worry since these guns use Honkai battiers." Kiana said, pulling out one of her guns and rolling the chamber. "Thankfully with these Mjolnirs I can use Honkai Energy to attack with them, but it's not really my style. I can rely more on kicks, but the Kaslana gun-kata style still uses shots during moves. Being able to actually call for help would maybe be nice though." Kiana said, then going to a window and throwing it open, looking off to where the thundercloud had moved. "It's a bit of a ways from the old school building we're in now, but it looks like our next destination is going to be at the offices."

"That's the building with the dome, right?" Soleil leaned out behind Kiana, the girl nodding as she pointed off to the building in sight just across the woods of the grounds. "Damn this campus is huge."

"Senba is a ladder school after all. That building is for the college district, it's their study hall. Also, not too far away from a hall that ME Corp. built… huh. Think she went that way since it's her dad's company?" Kiana said, Soleil shrugging.

"Maybe. But if that's where we need to go, then let's move." Soleil said, wincing a bit as he turned, feeling some throbbing at his chest, where he'd been directly hit from before. I'm still feeling this one… but we don't have time to rest as long as Mei remains a Herrscher.

"Hey, Soleil-senpai, real quick… why do you want to save Mei-senpai too? Even if we have a way, the chance of saving her from becoming a Herrscher completely is slim. I obviously have my reasons for it, but why do you?" Kiana asked, Soleil giving a small chuckle as his hand went to his pendant, the boy turning with a smile on his face.

"Because I don't believe there isn't a life worth saving. Even if we're hated by life itself, there's always a reason to continue and live. Every life is worth living." Soleil remarked, Kiana's eyes going a bit wide. "So, I'll do whatever I can to save people when I can. I'll always stretch out a hand whenever someone needs it."

"Cool…" Kiana murmured, just at a whisper, a bit of a red tinge showing on her face, then she broke out in chuckles. "Heheh, I like that answer! You're interesting, Soleil-senpai!"

"Do you seriously have to call me that?"

"Mhm! I think it's definitely fitting now too!" Kiana nodded while Soleil sighed, the girl then chuckling and head for the doors. "Let's not waste time then! We've got someone to save, right?"

"Heh… yeah, we do." Soleil stopped as thunder crashed again, his hand going to his pendant as his smile didn't falter. "Hated by life itself, all we can do is carry on. There is no stopping a world that desires our demise. So move on, push forward, keep fighting. Rewrite the story, create a world where things can be beautiful again. Fight on, and unweave fate to create your own design… that's the core of our family right Dad? Hehe… looks like today I'm getting to really act on those words. I've got someone to save… so I'll push forward"