Chapter 5: Back Into the Fire
Around the same time that Soleil, Kiana, and Mei were exploring the ME Corp facility in Japan, another event took place. Elsewhere in the world, somewhere in the forests deep within Yellowstone National Park in America.
Sigurd Empyrean made his way through the grand park's woods with the cover of the night keeping his presence away. It wasn't like people ever came this deep into the woods anyway. So not like anybody would find the lone man seeming to just be aimlessly wandering the restrictive depths of the park.
But, this region of the park was restricted from public access for an excellent reason. But of course, a certain somebody couldn't just leave the man's walk in silence, now could it?
"And just what is it you're looking for here, hmm Sigurd?" Sozo, appearing to Sigurd in the guise of his very son, but of course with the difference of the being's white-blue hair and eyes. For his credit, Sigurd was not at all impressed seeing the eccentric being come to him looking like that.
"I would appreciate it if when you decided to show up, you didn't do it appearing as Soleil." Unkind words from the man, but Sozo only seemed amused as the man continued walking, simply reappearing along the path either on the ground or in trees whenever Sigurd passed them. "What is it you even want right now?"
"Nothing much. I do already know where it is you're headed. The Yellowstone ruins, yes? Now just what is it that could be waiting for you there? I thought Anti-Entropy had picked the place clean in the decades since they found it."
"True as that is, they didn't search it with an Empyrean with them, now have they?" Sigurd stopped his walking as he came across a sudden break in the trees. Usually, if one were to view this location from above, it would look like another dense forest patch. In truth merely a smokescreen to hide what he was looking at from the greater public.
Because the break led down into a site long since left alone once the excavation had finished, ruins of a city somehow modern in appearance. While little of it remained, some of the ruins still stretched above the taller trees. This was just one of many other ruins like it were strewn across the globe, the ruins of the previous civilization.
And this term didn't merely mean prior historical civilizations such as Rome or Mesopotamia. No, this meant something entirely different. At its height, a society that was beyond even the current state of modernity. If modern scholars were to learn about it, it would completely shatter many notions about mankind's pre-history. Because what these ruins showed the truth of was something far, far different.
"Ah yes, this city. Haha, I find it almost incredible how, despite the vast differences, once humanity rose again, how quickly you all went back on your former path. Then again, the survivors of the old civilization were good teachers. They did well to pass on what knowledge they had." Sozo leaned on a hand while swinging their legs in a tree, Sigurd giving a huff as he started walking down the path. "So, just what is it you hope to find here, Sigurd?"
"I'm not sure. Perhaps something connected to my bloodline only these ruins could answer. Maybe about the things I've seen. How our history seems to have diverted course when it otherwise wouldn't have. And if there's a way to find her." Sigurd put particular emphasis on the word, Sozo giving a hum. "After all, I haven't been working with Anti-Entropy these past few years for nothing… I can't trust Cocolia, just like how I can't trust Otto. Hah! If only Welt was still the one leading, Lizelle and Frederika wouldn't have to keep my involvement as hidden as it is."
"Well, then I'll leave you to it, Sigurd. So long for now!"
"Hold it, Sozo." Sigurd turned back as Sozo was about to hop away. As he did, the being shifted appearance from Soleil to somebody else, a young woman whose face made Sigurd tightly ball his fist up. "How is Soleil right now? Is he fine?"
"Oh, he's fine. Had a bit of a tough fight against a Herrscher, but that lucky charm you gave him pulled through. They'll be fine. He does have a little helper on his side too." Sozo vanished from sight with that, Sigurd giving a huff.
"As flighty as always, of course." Sigurd turned back to the ruins before him, reaching to his back and pulling out one of the weapons, unfolding it into a spear as he strode down the path. A faint smile came to the man's face as Honkai beasts began to rise from the dirt, Sigurd's spear shooting through the first one that lunged at him with an almost casual strike from the man. "And even less surprising. Hehe… always so unfortunate, we Empyreans."
"Well, at least we can say there's not a ton." Kiana was bitterly trying to lighten the situation as the Honkai Beasts started closing in on them in the hall. The fact the Chariots were as big as they are certainly made things more claustrophobic for the lot.
"Doesn't help, Kiana. But… this won't be too hard." Soleil said, whipping out one of his spiffy new guns and firing it at the nearest Angel, the burning shot slamming right through the thing's wing and sending it spiraling back. "Heh, nice!"
This prompted the other Angels to shoot forward. Kiana kicked the one that came to her and shot it with both of her guns. Mei quickly slashed at both that came her way. While the attacks didn't finish them, Soleil served as the follow-up, drawing the sword he'd taken along with the gun. The moment he actively used it, the violet lights changed to light blue along the blade. His own gunshots and sword slashes finished the Angels off quickly.
But they were just the small fry. Of course, they would be easy to deal with, even compared to some.
"Ugh, I felt how hard those things are." Mei muttered as she rubbed a forearm. While her blade had cut through without a lot of trouble, she'd felt how sturdy those silicon bodies were during the cuts. She'd definitely have to put more into it if she wanted to make a clean cut through one.
Kiana dashed past Mei as a Chariot came for her. Slamming the beast with the energy hammer and ramming it into the wall, smoothly following up into perforating the beast with rapid shots. Seeing an opening as the beast tried to lumber out of the wall, Mei swapped to the shotgun she'd grabbed, and with a quick dash, the shot it fired slammed the beast and blew its shell wide open.
Soleil dodged when the Chariot before him tried to slam him down with its arm. He leaped upwards as he fired at the Chariot to pelt its shell and create a weak spot, which he promptly rammed the sword in his hand into. He followed that by using the blade to jump and then drawing out his spear, swirls of power forming around the spear as Soleil came down, ramming it right through the top of the Chariot.
Both beasts were down for the count with what had happened to them. Soleil pulled out both his stuck-in weapons as his Chariot collapsed while Kiana tapped at the one she and Mei had finished off to make sure it was actually down for the count. A few moments after the beasts were confirmed dead, their bodies also began to crumble away, a small touch from Mei causing the section of the Chariot to crumble like brittle Styrofoam.
"No time to slow down right now." Soleil said, already looking off elsewhere. "I doubt those ones were all there is to it, and odds are there's gonna be a few more between us and the elevator."
"Well, if it goes like this did, then I don't think we'll have problems." Mei said, Kiana chuckling as she spun a gun.
"And then from there, it's a straight shot to the other side so we can get on the railway!" Kiana turned as the other two nodded. The path back should be simple. All they had to do was be smart and cautious… that wasn't hard at all, right?
"So… why am I going to be living on my own for a while?"
"There's some… things I need take care of I can't bring you along for. This city is pretty safe and well away from any Honkai zones."
"Dad, I can handle myself just fine."
The time currently was a year before the current outbreak. Nagazora at this time was far livelier. People were all over the place along the wide sidewalks of the busy streets. The buzz of a normal, everyday life unbothered by any kind of threat or disaster. An entirely peaceful and bustling city at the height of modernity. And at these sterling streets, Soleil and Sigurd were seated at one of the many cafes around town. They'd been in Nagazora for some time now, so now the sudden news he'd be living on his own from this point on was, well, it was news that was for sure.
"But what is this even about? You always just took me anywhere you went without issue, so what's different about this?" Soleil turned the straw in his drink, Sigurd giving a hum as he lit up a smoke and took a drag. "Tch, c'mon, don't go smoking here. That crap brand you like reeks."
"Hey, it's not that bad of a brand." Sigurd chuckled, Soleil narrowing his eyes, the father taking another drag and blowing the smoke upwards in a steady stream. "Well, to be blunt, what's different about this case is that I'm going to be looking into things that require some more… let's say finesse. Besides, I also don't want you constantly moving around. Like I said, Nagazora is a pretty safe place, so just stay here for a bit and be a normal high school kid for a while, alright?"
"That's a hard thing to do considering my luck and all that." Soleil said, leaning on a hand. "And what kind of "things" are you talking about here?"
"Can't say!" Sigurd gave a goofy expression as he put his arms out, Soleil not looking amused in the slightest. "Let's just say it's some business I'm doing for old friends, people I have a deal with that they decided to finally act on… heh, can't believe it took her thirteen years to decide that now would be a good time to get in touch."
"Fourteen years? What now?" Soleil tilted his head, and Sigurd waved his hand as he then stamped out the smoke. "You're way too obtuse right now, dad."
"Sorry, sorry. It was just something that happened when you were small. Let's just say this "dead" is meant to be beneficial… and has to do with things about our family." Sigurd just got another tilt of the head from his son, the man chuckling again. "But don't worry too much. Besides, you've got the family lucky charm with you. I'm sure it'll kick in just when you need it."
"You've been saying that ever since you gave it to me."
"Well, just give it a bit more time."
"You've been saying that too."
"Ahh, and here I thought we'd have it easy! But those beasts keep showing up! They just don't stop!"
Kiana was, of course, whining as the group had ducked into another one of the labs. Their goal of making it back to the main elevator fell flat on its face because more of the sealed up Beasts had somehow escaped their containment and were all stalking the halls.
"Welcome to my daily life." Soleil snidely said, Kiana shrinking away from a bit. "We should try and conserve strength anyway. It's been about an hour and a half since we got down here. If we can just find a map in one of these terminals, then maybe we can track down a different exit, hopefully, one on the other side of the building and near the station."
"That's a good idea." Mei said, looping her shotgun over her shoulder. "We're lucky there's till power, Kiana-chan. Let's start looking at some of them. I doubt any of them lost their data, so one is bound to have a map… though how we'll get past the passwords is another thing."
"That'll be easy to cover." Soleil pulled out his phone, and Mei tilted her head as he then pulled some kind of wire out of a port he opened on it. The open end of the wire then shifted as he plugged it into a port on the side of the nearest terminal, a few moments of data passing on the phone screen before the computer unlocked. "The phones me and Kiana have are pretty standard Schicksal tech. They may look like your typical smartphone, but they have plenty of other functions, hacking being one of them."
"They also have a Honkai radar and emergency communication functions." Kiana said, whipping her own phone out from its storage space in her cleavage. "And thankfully, their batteries last pretty much forever, so no need to charge them either!"
"Wow, that's crazy useful! Uhh… my phone lost power ages ago, and I don't even have my charger on me." Mei sagged down as a cloud of despair hung over her, Soleil and Kiana giving awkward chuckles.
"Well, hey Mei-senpai, we can look together… which on is on… ah, over here!"
As the two girls went off to another terminal, Soleil turned his attention to the one before him as he started flicking through its files. Unlike the first ones they'd come across, this one didn't have any damage that led to corruption, so he could cleanly look through the records in it. As he expected, Soleil found plenty of research data on Honkai Energy, Beasts, and its effects on the environment and those in it. Most of it was things Soleil himself knew, the corrupting effects and rapid mutations Honkai Energy caused in living organisms.
He set his phone to start copying the data he was accessing since it could probably be useful later. He skimmed most of it since he could take time later to look over it in detail once they were in a safer spot and resting. But, as he kept skimming and flicking things away to copy them, he stopped when he saw a particular file with an odd name. Soleil opened it, and his eyes started going wide as he read it over.
"Soleil-kun! Kiana-chan and I found a map. Did you find anything?" Mei came trotting back over then. Soleil immediately shut the file he was looking at closed, Mei looking over his shoulder as he unplugged his phone, the wire snaking back into the device. "What did you find?"
"Just some research files I'll go over in detail later, nothing too big. So, what was this about a map?" Soleil pocketed his phone in an apparent hurry, though Mei paid the motion no mind. She simply thought that, like he was about ready to get out of here.
"Yes, the facility map we found has everything about this floor. There are a few other elevators we can take to get back to the upper floor, and one of them will take us right to the station side entrance." Mei said, Soleil nodding. "It's a bit far from where we are, but we shouldn't have any problems making it there, right?"
"With the pace we've got going, there won't be any trouble at all!" Kiana said, zooming over and throwing an arm up. "And once we're at the station, we just follow the rail line until we're at a part of the city where the Honkai Energy isn't so condensed, and then we can get a signal out! Lucky for us, the Shicksal Far East Branch has plenty of squads to operate around here!"
"Are you sure that's the best idea? Going by what you said, Kiana, technically speaking, you shouldn't be here, right?" Soleil asked, Kiana flipping a hand about.
"Ah, it won't be bad! You could say Papa took me on a special training trip. I haven't been gone that long." Kiana said, a proud air around the white-haired girl. Though Soleil and Mei were both giving her flat looks. "Eh?! Come on, don't look at me like that! I'm honest! I also know just who'll show up, don't worry, they're both great… well, Auntie Himeko might try to throttle me…"
"Well, whatever. Let's just get moving." Soleil sighed as he scratched the back of his head, and he gave a bit of a grumble. I've got a bad feeling in the air all of a sudden… I doubt it'll stop us, but getting out of here won't be that simple, will it? Just my rotten luck.
After leaving that lab with some rest in-store and now an actual map to follow, the path the teenagers took was simple to plot. It was winding and time-consuming, but by Soleil's advice, they aimed to avoid fighting unless necessary. They made sure to take paths that would lead them past any larger lab locations where there would be potentially released Honkai Beasts roaming around in them. Even if they had the means to defend themselves just fine, getting caught in the middle of a big enough swarm would prove troublesome. Hence, the best strategy was to avoid even potentially putting themselves into a situation where that would be possible. Best to stay in the passageways where they could have a chokepoint and route of escape than a vast area where things could surprise them from odd angles.
But of course, not like that just because they intended to avoid fighting unnecessarily meant they would actually be able to avoid fighting altogether. There was still zombified staff to deal with, and the Honkai Beasts they did end up coming across. Yet, to avoid wasting energy, the group instead chose to find ways to get past them, killing here and there as they went.
Something that did become quite clear to Kiana and Soleil quickly was the disparity between their abilities and Mei's. Mei definitely had talent, and her skill with a sword was the real deal, but it was clear she wasn't used to the changes to her body her time as a Herrscher no doubt had brought about in her. It was a standard fact that those who could resist Honkai Energy in whatever manner tended to undergo changes because of it.
The Kaslana and Empyrean clans were perhaps the two primary examples, known quite well as being well above normal humans in terms of physical abilities. Valkyries often underwent enhancements to further their natural skills and to better use their various kinds of equipment. Even as a low rank, a single Valkyrie could take on well-trained soldiers with ease, being unstoppable against ordinary human foes. Something that was downright necessary to combat the Honkai. Of course, its corroding nature meant Valkyries often had vastly shortened lifespans as a result. All but those lucky enough to be born with incredibly high natural resistance had to accept that their lives wouldn't be as long as others, even outside of battle.
Though considering her powers, inactive as they currently were, Mei could still be considered a Herrscher. It was likely there would be little for her personally to worry about aside from her Herrscher side manifesting again. And it wasn't like she was holding Soleil or Kiana back as they fought their way through either. But it was clear their training gave them something more advanced than her, who'd only just learned of these kinds of things literally this very same day.
But, their advance wasn't stopped, and soon enough, they neared where they were aiming for. The only obstacle left between the three and their goal being this final breadth of a lab they had to enter to get to their destination. As they entered the wide lab, they slowed their pace down to a far more cautious walk. Like other locations, this lab had inert Honkai Beasts kept in it. To exercise as much safety as possible, they slowed to make sure nothing could easily ambush them because, at this point, rushing forward would be too impractical.
"Seems quiet… but that's just suspicious." Kiana swept her guns around as she scanned around them, Soleil nodding as he adjusted his grip on his drawn spear.
"These Beasts could go active at any moment, and we don't know if any of them are already out and roaming right now. And this open space means we don't have chokepoints and doors we can close behind us to use for an escape." Soleil was just on alert as his eyes scanned around, and behind the two, Mei was even more cautious in her pace as she kept a look at their sixes.
"Is it just me, or does the air feel a bit heavier than it did before?" Mei said, the group stopping for a moment, and the girl took a closer look at one of the contained beasts. "The other inert ones still had a glow to them… but these, Soleil-kun, Kiana-chan, you noticed it too, right? They're completely dim."
"Yeah, she's right. All the other contained ones weren't dead… so why are these ones? As long as their core is intact, a Beast can still be considered alive… so why are these ones actually dead for real?" Kiana took a look at the Beasts herself, tilting her head. "It's like all the energy they did have left was sucked out of them or something."
And that was when the air changed. Like Mei said, it suddenly felt a bit heavier, and what didn't help the matter was the odd, mangled groaning that then came across the air. The three were put immediately onto alert, and a dark ebbing started to come from further ahead of them. What came with that dark ebbing was a girl in a kimono, and while she seemed different from the zombies they'd encountered, she seemed almost normal aside from the chalk-white skin she had. Whatever was coming from the girl's mouth sounded like utter nonsense, completely indecipherable.
"What the… a zombie?" Mei said, looking concerned that Kiana and Soleil were on an even higher state of alert. "Is it not that?"
"Worse." Kiana muttered.
"Mei, remember how I said Herrschers come about from those who get drawn in by Honkai?" Soleil got a nod, and he nodded in response. "Well, there's also a lesser form of Herrscher, Pseudo-Herrschers. They're not fully developed, and they're just as corroded as zombies tend to be. Still, they retain enough "self" to act independently and often display limited powers of their own. They're not so much to be a major threat, but you still need to be cautious with one. Thankfully, they're as rare a happening as an actual Herrscher… but, well, that result already happened."
"Should we try and…" Mei stopped when Soleil and Kiana shook their heads. They didn't need to say much else beyond that. That response alone told her that, unlike her, there was no saving this girl who was looking at them with nothing but pure murderous intent in her eyes.
The corroded girl attacked first, her arm moving out and sending out gouts of black fire at the three. Soleil shot forward as a vanguard, dashing through the fireballs and right for the target, closing the gap quickly and swinging his spear forward. The target just barely dodged, only to be met by Kiana coming in with a whirling kick. The blow connected and sent the Pseudo-Herrscher skidding back. The follow-up gunshots whizzed past, but left grazes where they struck.
"We're sorry about this!" And then Mei came up from behind, her sword coming down, the Pseudo-Herrscher moving out of the way and striking back with a whip of her arm that caused the flames to follow after it, Mei taking a leap back to get clear.
Then with a yell, the Pseudo-Herrscher slammed an arm down on the ground, causing shades of black to spread around her, and then red figures, facsimiles of Honkai Beasts, rose up from the black pool. The summoned Beasts were quick to strike at the combatants. Soleil took the first swing and thrust his spear forward, and he looked surprised at how easily his weapon shot through the beast, which shattered away and faded all too quickly. But that shocked expression quickly turned to a smirk as he also drew out his sword in his right hand.
"Let's not worry too much! These things are weak as all hell!" Soleil sidestepped and brought his sword through another summoned beast that lunged at him, Kiana and Mei following his lead and quickly cutting down the ones that went their way. While the summons kept coming out as the Pseudo-Herrscher tried to drive them off, the fact they went down so quickly meant they could actually press it.
Kiana then ran along its side, her aim clear as she kicked off of one of the summons and towards Soleil. He caught on immediately and grabbed his spear in both hands, Kiana landing on it heavily enough to make his arms lurch. Still, Soleil quickly changed the angle, pushing forward as Kiana started moving to leap again, launching the girl right over the crowd of the fresh summons and above the Pseudo-Herrscher. Her Mjolnirs glowed as she swung them down, slamming the energy hammer on her target with a yell.
As their foe was slammed into the ground, the summons all shattered. And the Pseudo-Herrscher was left there in the crater. When she rose up as Kiana trotted back, a roar was given as she attempted to attack, but a sudden gunshot trailing blue light split the air and hit her.
"You can stop struggling… find some rest now. You can let go." Soleil's arm pulsed with energy as it started causing the orange glow of the gun in his hand to turn blue. As the Pseudo-Herrscher lunged at him with a desperate roar, he pulled the trigger again, the energized shot piercing right through and causing her to stop dead and flop onto the ground.
Kiana holstered her guns and then clapped her hands together, the position she took all too similar to giving a prayer. When she finished, she then looked between Mei and Soleil with an awkward chuckle.
"Ehehe, just a little something we St. Freya Valkyries do. There's a protocol when it comes to dealing with allies who turn… we're supposed to put them down before they fully corrupt." Kiana said, a tinge of sadness in her voice. "I heard a lot of stories about people who lost friends like that, and it became a bit of a tradition to offer a prayer to them. I felt she deserved it too."
"Makes sense." Soleil went over to the body and knelt down. To the surprise of the group, drifts of light began coming off the girl, and moments later, when the light faded the body seemed to vanish. However, there was still some lump under the kimono… and with some shuffling, a body covered in white fur then poked out tail first, before following with a head. A fox. It looked around at the three for a moment, somehow looking visibly confused. It hopped out of the kimono and dashed off, vanishing into the rows containment units before any of them could try and catch it.
"What was that?!" Mei said, Soleil standing up while holstering his weapons. "Did that fox turn into that girl?!"
"While Honkai Energy does primarily corrupt, it's also entirely possible for something to channel it in ways and then take on a human form." Soleil replied, pocketing his hands. "Whatever it was, that fox's own spirit must've been desperate enough to change its form, but in the end, it went wild… but as for how it's alive, hell if I know, some kind of a fluke, I suppose. Though it sure as hell looked odd."
"That definitely wasn't a normal fox at all." Kiana said, then giving a fist pump. "But now we're totally in the clear! Come on, let's get going and get on out of here before it gets too late!"
"Any idea where the rail line will even take us from here?" Soleil asked, and Mei nodded as they started for the elevator.
"If I remember correctly, from this point, the rail line will pass by the entertainment district… and the first stop along the way from there would be the HOMUland park." Mei's statement made Soleil giving a hum, and Kiana made a sound.
"Ohhh, that character Auntie Theresa doesn't like to admit she likes so much!" Kiana then got looks given to her for saying such an out-of-context thing, and she gave a chuckle. "Sorry, just remembered… but, if that's gonna be our first stop, then let's go!"
Considering the time the group had been in the lab, it hadn't come to their surprise at all that the early day was starting to give way to the late afternoon. Because they had to take more time getting out of the place with their slow and avoidance-based progression, the sun was beginning to set across the city once they'd exited the lab.
But the transition from the enclosed and stuffy lab setting to this brighter, much more open, and easier-to-navigate free space was welcome by the three. Of course, the station was basically wholly abandoned because nothing was actually alive there anymore. It was starting to feel like a routine for the three to just deal with zombies that got too close.
"Okay so, we can just walk on the rails for a while. But, well, the fact there are no trains to be seen is concerning." Soleil was scanning up and down the rail line, and not a train was in sight. Odds were also high since the air was still filled with the sounds of sirens, horns, and other things that had yet to die down, that any trains that had been going had crashed. They could follow the rails, sure, but who knew how far they'd be able to go before coming across a wrecked zone due to crashes?
"Now that we're actually near the city, this really does feel like something out of an apocalypse story." Mei noted, looking off at the still-active fires in the city beyond them. The odds were the entire city had been caught up in the Impact that had gone off. Meaning the odds of finding any other survivors were next to nil. The average person simply didn't have the level of Honkai resistance needed to actually not be immediately zombified from such an event.
And while it wasn't like Japan was a large country, Nagazora's infrastructure was the type that a sudden event like this meant news would not easily travel out of the city. It could be days before any official news channels got reports about the sudden silence of such a massive hub city. Because it would take that long for anything unusual to actually be noticed.
"Things like this are the reason our world is how it is." Kiana said, giving a sigh. "Even though it's been fourteen years since the last Impact, the damage that was caused during it was so severe a lot of parts of the world still haven't fully recovered from it. Especially the Siberian region, which is still being torn apart even more by civil wars."
"You said second… does that mean there was an Impact like this even before that?" Mei asked, then her eyes went wide. "Wait a minute, back in the 1950s, the destruction of Berlin! I remember notes about it in history class. Still, it never went fully into it… the books just said it was a mass nuclear disaster."
"That's just the coverup story Schicksal put out." Soleil said, hopping down from the platform and onto the rail line. "What actually happened back then was the first Impact itself. The event was big enough the city was completely annihilated, every person in it dead within moments. The region around the ruins is still considered inhospitable because the Impact was so big Honkai Sources around there are still too thick for humans to resettle in. Germany's been struggling to recover from it ever since, but they never quite got back to where they used to be, and the Second Impact didn't help at all."
"I do remember things about that too." Mei said, her and Kiana also hopping down and following Soleil. "Fourteen years ago, the world was struck by a massive disaster. Some unknown incident deep in Siberia somehow being followed by meteors that struck the planet. And, wild natural disasters in several cities that wound up killing millions of people all over the world."
"That was the Second Impact." Kiana said, her arms behind her head as they strode along. "Like with the First Impact, Schicksal put out a cover story to try and keep the public quiet. While the Honkai phenomenon is common knowledge globally, things like Herrschers and Impact disasters are things only people who work in researching Honkai itself or fighting it know about. Suppose people knew that at seemingly any time, a being with the power to kill millions could pop up at any moment. In that case, it'd send the world into total chaos."
"Do you know anything else about that time?" Mei asked, Kiana and Soleil shaking their heads.
"Schicksal has a pretty tight seal on lots of information." Said Soleil, putting a finger up. "The basics of the Second Impact are there for anyone to access. The in-depth info is locked behind layers of security. I asked my dad about it since he participated in some of the early fighting. Still, he hasn't told me anything else aside from that. Whatever happened near the end of the disaster, nobody but the Director of Shicksal himself and a few others like my dad know."
"Same with my parents and Auntie Theresa." Kiana added. "I asked, but they wouldn't tell me anything, and I know for a fact Mama was the one who beat the Second Herrscher!"
"So the truth about it is a mystery to nearly everyone but those who participated." Mei murmured, again drawing her eyes to look out over the city. Nagazora was indeed a large city. Its population numbered in the millions. Its place as a trade hub and technological center had earned it a place in the world. But now, within mere days, that had been utterly crushed because of a random occurrence. When Mei thought about it, the fact humanity had reached the point they had if something like this could happen seemingly whenever it felt like it was truly remarkable. "I wonder… if there's a force like Honkai that wants to exterminate mankind, then is there one that wants to aid us to counter it?"
Soleil glanced back as Mei said that, moving aside the glove on his right hand to show his Stigmata. At this time, he, of course, hadn't told either of the two girls about Sozo and wasn't even sure how to bring it up at all. But his focus drew a bit further off from his Stigmata mark as they finally started to near the park that Mei had mentioned.
Now would likely be an excellent time to run down exactly what Homu is: A manga that had achieved massive popularity across the world, with its principal character and mascot, the "rabbit" Homu being a flagship icon someone could see anywhere, with a long-running and surprisingly deep history around the character and his fellows from the manga and various spin-offs. No one knew how such a thing achieved its popularity, but one would be hard-pressed not to find tons of things themed after Homu and his pals. Soleil himself was a bit loathe to admit it nowadays, but he was a fan of the series. His bag still had a few rarer Homu character phone straps on it, plus a couple of those near impossible to remove stickers on the back of his phone casing.
Attention hadn't been brought to those facts, thankfully for him at the time. Though he didn't intend to be caught openly reading the series. Mostly because most of his peers who did know were all stuck in that near-universal teenager phase of disliking anything popular.
Crack
And that was when Soleil had his own thoughts pulled on back. The walk along the rail had been so non-troublesome he'd actually stopped focusing that much about it. So when his foot took a step that came with a sudden cracking noise, Soleil stopped dead and looked immediately unsettled as another crack sounded.
"Just my rotten luuuuuuck!" Soleil barely had the time to turn as the area he was standing on crumbled away right under his feet just as he tried to leap out. Still, it fell short because his timing was right on with the portion of the rail crumbling.
"Soleil-senpai!" Kiana tried to reach out as Soleil fell, but she just barely missed his hand as he fell, the boy's somehow exasperated screaming trailing him down.
Though it seemed that despite the fall, some luck was on Soleil's side this time. He came crashing down on top of one of the park's banners, the banner stretching down and depositing him quickly onto a foyer covering. Which he also promptly dropped through and landed back to the ground with a heavy thud. Those two stops had slowed his fall enough; all he got out of it was dull throbbing at his back as he sat up. Now was yet another time he was thankful for being as sturdy as he was.
"Soleil-senpai!"
"Soleil-kun!"
"I'm alright!" Soleil trotted out from the awning and looked up, spotting Kiana and Mei still up on the rail, both girls looking relieved as they saw him come out okay.
"We're gonna come down after you!" Kiana shouted, Soleil shaking his head. "Why not?!"
"Well, unless you've got a battlesuit you can deploy to help break the fall!" Soleil said, Kiana shrinking back a bit. "You two head to the station; I'll meet you halfway in the park!"
"Alright! Kiana-chan, let's go!" Mei took off first, Kiana nodding, then stopping for a moment.
"Don't do anything dumb!" Kiana said, Soleil chuckling as she ran off after Mei.
"I should say the same thing to you." Soleil turned around, putting his hands on his hips as he sighed. "Alright, so this is happening now… so where would halfway even be?"
"This way!" And as if by prompt, that odd blue butterfly appeared again, drifting past Soleil and moving forward. Soleil chuckled after a moment, putting a fist to a palm.
"Nice! You didn't lead me wrong before, so I guess I'll follow you again!"
And so Soleil took off after the butterfly again. If things went right here, then they'd easily be able to get out of this park and keep up their pace. And he was confident that such a stroke of bad luck would have to rebound on him somehow, right? Only it wasn't like Soleil could know just how that would actually happen, but he would hope for the best.
"Who knows, maybe it'll be someone new?"