Chapter 15: Wish of Ancestors
"This way! Come on, get away from the plaza ASAP!" Soleil was waving civilians down the street as Logos diverted the Honkai Beasts away from them. Even if it really is just pointless in the end. Soleil thought, looking off as Logos' sword flashed through the air, trails of blue light flying from the blade and cutting through the primitive Beasts. Kallen was moving them away with well-aimed kicks. While both were striking the monsters hard and fast, their movements were slightly duller than Soleil could only assume they otherwise would be. That Lord Arthur guy did mention they were wounded… wait, if they were in the Far East, how are they not healed up?
But that lapse in logic Soleil noticed couldn't go anywhere as one of the Beasts broke through and went for him. Cutting his losses, Soleil yanked off his key, pulling it back. Come on damn thing! You're not the real thing in VR, so work dammit! To his satisfaction, he felt the key shift in his palm, and as the sword flashed into form, he brought it forward and cut right through the Beast's arm as it lunged for him.
"Hah! About damn time!" Soleil laughed as he wheeled around when the Beast turned back with a roar, plunging the sword deep into the monster's skull when it charged.
"Soleil, isn't that…?" Logos looked back with a wide gaze as Soleil extracted the sword from the dead Beast, the boy chuckling as he lifted it up with a stilted look. "Well… I suppose there's no time to explain. Here, take this while you're at it!"
Logos reached under his jacket and threw something to Soleil. What he caught was a large, blocky handgun done in black with a smooth white grip. Orange lines pulsed across it, and where a chamber would be was instead part of a crystal. The Judgment of Shamash?! Soleil thought, looking to Logos as the man drew out another gun akin to the one now in his hand and fired it at one of the beasts, blowing through its shoulder with a bolt of fire. Why the hell would one of my ancestors have this on him?
"Don't think much of it!" Logos said, seemingly catching onto Soleil's thoughts. Somewhat. "Consider that… a sign of trust between Kallen and me."
"Not arguing!" Soleil said, bringing the pistol to bear as another Beast charged towards him, nailing it between the eyes with a shot that went through and out. "Damn… this is the real deal. Dad always mentioned this thing was powerful as hell."
"That's how a Divine Key goes." Logos said, turning to Kallen now that they had an opening, tossing the gun in his hand to her. "Kallen, find anyone else you can. With the two of us, we can fend these Beasts off while you and Miss Kiana help the civilians escape."
"Got it." Kallen nodded, catching the other gun when Soleil threw it, gesturing to Kiana as she went off another way.
"Be sure to catch up, Soleil-senpai! Don't have too much fun without me!" Kiana saluted as she followed Kallen down the alleyway.
"Is that really a good idea?" Soleil asked. "I know we gave Kallen weapons, but…"
"As long as none of them get through us, it'll be fine." Logos said. But something in the young man's tone didn't sit right with Soleil. There was an odd kind of resignation to it. Like he knew something would happen and that he couldn't do anything to stop it. An inevitability, huh? Soleil thought. In the end, that's what's happening, isn't it? Whatever happens here… it's just an inevitable replication of events.
This place really is getting crazy! Kiana thought as she followed Kallen in getting people further away from the fighting at the plaza. That Logos guy whipping out Papa's Judgment of Shamash was a surprise. Kiana hummed to herself. As good a time as any to ask.
"Hey, Kallen…" Kiana spoke up. "Those guns… what are they?" Just play ignorant, and you'll hear what you want. Perfect strategy! Kiana chuckled to herself at her idea, sounding oh so smart to herself.
"These weapons are a Divine Key, the Judgment of Shamash." Kallen said. "They're something of a relic within my family. My father used them before me. And as a sign of good faith between our houses, since I was given a different Divine Key, I requested Logos be allowed to use them for the time being."
"But from the looks of it, he has his own cool weapon." Kiana said. "So why let him have another?"
"Consider it… a sign of trust." Kallen stated, her face reflected in the barrel of one of the guns as she lifted it. "Logos and I are lifelong friends. The only person I've known for nearly as long is Otto. And, well… I've seen now what kind of foul person he really is. We may be friends, but I will never agree with the methods Otto seeks to use."
"That's why you stole that box, right?" Kiana said. "What were they using it for?"
"Experiments. Horrible ones." Kallen muttered. "The kinds that killed people in some vain effort to save them. It even resulted in one of my Valkyrie comrades being turned into some kind of Beast herself."
"That's terrible." Kiana murmured. Though it isn't like I haven't seen that before. Papa and I came across a lot of things when we were traveling. What Honkai does to people who can't become a Herrscher is horrifying. As used to it as Kiana felt she had become, she had to admit there was a certain terror behind it all. And it was only moreso knowing all of it was because some force within the planet was trying to get rid of humanity.
"It's in the past now; there isn't much that can be done about it." Kallen said, a wistful tone to her voice. "Anyway, let's keep searching. There must be…"
Kallen froze when a child's cries echoed down the road. She took off running ahead of Kiana, coming across a Beast bearing down on a small girl that had tripped. Kallen moved forward without a seeming thought to it, knocking the Beast's arm up away from the girl, her guns deflecting its claws. And Kiana froze as next, a spine shot from the Beast's arm, going right through Kallen's belly. Kiana growled and leaped at the Beast, which bat her aside with its other arm when she got close, slamming her into a wall as it flung Kallen off of the spine from its other arm.
"Dammit… if only I had my own weapon!" Kiana wiped the blood from her chin as she struggled up. If I was close, I could grab Shamash. I've used them before after all. Kiana's hand bunched up as the Beast started bearing down on her. Or I could use that… it's a VR space. It would be safe for me to do that… right?
"Subject Kiana is in mortal danger… Soleil-niisama is doing fine." Bronya, still latched to a pole to observe the events going on around her, swiped a hand to the still open data windows. But no matter what she put into them, her attempts at accessing the data within were blocked out. And she wasn't helped at all when a Beast came from below the pole, violently shaking it to try and knock the small girl loose. "Uh oh…"
Bronya went sailing down. But rather than be snapped up in the jaws of the Beast, someone caught her. A blonde man who looked awfully like the Otto person she had seen talking to Kallen and Logos. But, his features were a bit older, and his attire was different. And a smile that Bronya saw as both playful yet not quite friendly graced his face.
"My my, I didn't expect to find some kittens and a puppy running around here." 'Otto' said. This man isn't a VR character. Bronya thought. "Don't worry now; I'm not a bad guy. Though I do admit, I was a little troubled when I found you'd hacked into my secret garden. But, your attempt to save Kallen touched my heart. And, your friends remind me of Kallen and Logos as well. I should also remind you that this zone's hyper-realistic feedback means if you die here, your real bodies will die too. And Theresa would be quite angry if such a thing happened. So… what should I do… ah, actually, this would be a perfect time to test those."
With a swipe of 'Otto's' hand, a new window opened, and confirmed access signs flashed across it. He lowered his other arm to set Bronya down, patting her on the head.
"The treasury is unlocked. Consider this a little gift from me." 'Otto' strolled off, Bronya looking to the windows now unlocked for her access. Glancing off to where 'Otto' vanished, she decided to brush it aside for now and opened the files. What Bronya found were schematics, ones for what she found to be Valkyrie Battlesuits.
"This… the Bronya can certainly use this." Bronya said, her fingers already working. "Both of them will work well for Subject Kiana and Soleil-niisama… send the data for Knight Moonlight to Subject Kiana, and Hell Knight: Igneous to Soleil-niisama."
Soleil and Logos had diverted from the central plaza to go after Kallen and Kiana. What they'd found was a wounded Kallen, slumped against the wall with blood pooling underneath her, and Kiana on the ground, a Beast ready to bear down on her. Soleil moved to stop the Beast but stopped when a window opened in front of him, simply reading "Unzipping Package" as a bar filled. A similar one appeared in front of Kiana. And when the bars filled and access was confirmed, both shut their eyes as space around them flashed.
Kiana stood and found herself wearing white armor marked in blue lettering. The suit underneath it bearing her family's very logo on a portion at her chest. Feathers of light flowed out from Kiana's back. Soleil now stood in black armor, rune symbols lining the gauntlets. A blue waist cape flowed out as he looked himself over while a headset locked into place over his eyes.
"Kiana!" Soleil shouted as he snapped back to attention, the Beast that was going for Kiana throwing a punch. One that was easily blocked with a flick of Kiana's wrist and a return punch that blew a hole right through its torso. "Whoa…"
"Holy crap!" Kiana yelped. "I just punched a hole through it?! Did Bronya send this over? Because this suit is made of friggin' awesome! Soleil-senpai, you got one too, didn't you?! Awesome!"
"No time to gawk at these things!" Soleil said, his eyes darting across the HUD he now had as data started running across it, signatures for more nearby Honkai beasts pinging. "What the hell kind of suit is this? And just what can it do?"
"Soleil!" Logos shouted as one of the pings Soleil had begun rushing their way. Soleil shot around as a Beast rammed through a building, roaring at the group as it stumbled through. Soleil lifted a hand as information flashed across the HUD. As his hand moved out, circular sigils appeared around the beast, burning chains flaring from them and binding the Beast where it stood. A snap from Soleil caused the bound Beast to go up in blue flares as it flailed against the bindings.
"Well, that's familiar…" Soleil murmured, flexing his outstretched hand. "But I like it. Kiana! What can that suit of yours do?"
"Let's find out!" Kiana leaped into the air and found herself going high, well above the town. Her own HUD began locking onto targets. Every Honkai Beast in the area was getting a confirmed lock as the light feathers behind her flared outwards, another system running as the lock ons kept coming. Lightwing Unleashed.
Kiana shifted her arms, and the wings of light let loose with dozens of bolts of light. They shot across the city, every Honkai Beast that was left being speared by the rapid beams until not a single one of them was left standing. Kiana pumped a fist when she saw every last one was down and started descending. Bronya was entering the alley from a side passage, Soleil trotting over as Logos passed them to Kallen. And the battlesuits the two were wearing vanished into light.
"Whew, that was a bit of a workout." Kiana said, rubbing a shoulder. "And I think I got them all. Didn't even have to do that."
"What would that be?" Bronya asked, Kiana looking to the side. She obviously wouldn't answer that. "Anyway, the Bronya cannot find the specs for the battlesuits you two were sent in Schicksal's archives."
"Hmm… maybe they're some kind of classified prototype designs?" Soleil murmured. He looked over to Logos and Kallen, and Kiana's hand bunched up as she saw Kallen giving Logos a weak smile while holding his hand. "Even if it's not real… it's still painful to look at."
"Bronya, you said this is from five hundred years ago, right?" Kiana asked, Bronya nodding. "So then… the real Kallen actually did…"
"Yes." Bronya confirmed. "The real Kallen died five hundred and thirty-eight years ago. Even if we have overcome the challenge here, we cannot change historical events."
"The way Logos talked to me earlier… he sounded like he knew this would happen." Soleil said, Kiana and Bronya looking at him with their own versions of surprise. "I know they're VR characters, but with how they behave… it's an oddity for sure. He barely even questioned it when he saw me using the Key."
"Even still!" Kiana went over to the two VR characters, kneeling down to Kallen. "Told you, didn't I? We got them all. The people are safe."
"Thank you." Kallen said, taking Kiana by the hand. "As a VR character, I never expected to be treated with that kind of love and care."
"Wait… you know this is a VR world?" Kiana gasped.
"I knew something was up." Soleil muttered, looking at Logos. "You knew all of this was going to happen. Both of you did. How?"
"Repeat something often enough, and eventually, you notice it." Logos said, sitting down at the wall beside Kallen. "When you try everything, and it all ends the same way, it starts to become obvious the world around you isn't in your control."
"No matter what the both of us did, this is always the ending we reach." Kallen said. "Whether we run or fight the Honkai Beasts, it always repeats. If we fight, then I die, and Logos is left to finish the Beasts off on his own. If we run, then it all just resets anyway. We wake up back to the previous few days as if nothing had happened."
"So eventually, we noticed it." Logos said. "That the people around us always did the same thing each time. Acting as if they were following a script. Even Lord Arthur's actions never change, and Otto's plan is always this absolute disaster. And of course, we came to realize what we are… just lines of code and data made to play out parts on a stage."
"We've tried everything available to us." Kallen continued. "And when you two fell from the sky, we hoped maybe it could cause something to change for real. Maybe break us out of this cycle at last. Tell me, Miss Kiana, Sir Soleil, how many years have passed since the real Kallen and Logos died?"
"Around five hundred years." Kiana said.
"That long, huh?" Logos mused. "Then… it's good to know they have descendants like you two in such a distant future."
"Wait, you know?!" Soleil gasped.
"You both look like dead giveaways." Logos said, tapping Soleil on the forehead. "Perhaps you and Logos would have been brothers were you born in the same era. But it's perhaps better you live in a different one. The memories we have of them are quite the burden as is."
"That person they sealed away." Kiana murmured.
"Yes." Kallen nodded. "As VR entities made of their memories, we both know that Kallen and Logos had to seal away someone they loved. Yae Sakura, long since turned into a Pseudo-Herrscher but untouched by time."
"She's out there?!" Soleil gasped.
"Perhaps." Kallen said. "Unveiling those memories gave me my raison d'étre. We can't leave this VR world. But, if you two by some chance ever meet Sakura, could you tell her something? A message, from Kallen and Logos, that they've kept for her for five hundred years now."
Kiana and Soleil nodded to the two VR entities. Both leaned in and whispered into their ears, Kiana and Soleil going tense as they got the message from both. And as the two leaned back, the space around them all was beginning to fall away into a digital void.
"Sector integrity is collapsing." Bronya said. "Beginning logout protocols."
"Lady Kiana, Sir Soleil, farewell." Kallen said.
"It's good to know that the two of them have people like you carrying on for them." Logos said. Both waved as Kiana, Soleil, and Bronya were pulled away as the sector collapsed. The wistful smiles they were being shown were the kind that both felt like were going to stick in their minds forever. It's just… sad. Soleil thought. Even if it's not real, those two realized something about the memories of the people they were based on and fought to try and change something. Even when it was inevitable that they would fail.
Sozo's words about an inevitable event rose into Soleil's mind as the datascape changed to a flash of white. And about trying to change the outcome of this event, even if he couldn't stop it from happening. But… can I?
Soleil and Kiana shot up with a start once the VR dive was cut off. Both were silent as they removed the headsets. Kiana then gave a dragging sigh as she leaned forward on her knees.
"I didn't think my ancestor would be a stupid as me." Kiana murmured.
"Freaking dumbass…" Soleil grumbled, pulling at his bangs. "He knows damn well I can't just say no to a request like that. Shoving that onto me five hundred years later. I don't care if it was a VR copy or not. That's unfair."
"The Bronya finds it curious a space like that was somehow connected to the historical records accessed." Bronya said, shaking her head as she removed her own headset. "Though as it was restricted to those who were of Kaslana and Empyrean blood, perhaps it was on purpose."
"Well, it definitely made for a history lesson." Kiana said, stretching her arms since they'd gotten rather stiff. "I really hope we weren't actually in there for that long either."
"Nyet." Bronya said. "The Bronya set the VR device to induce a time displacement to speed up the lesson. We were only within the program for the past two hours."
"Talk about quick!" Kiana yelped. "I got an entire night's sleep while we were in there. That was nuts!"
"But it was also real in its own way." Soleil said. "Anyway, don't go letting this make you lose focus. Those remedials aren't just suddenly going to vanish on you, ya'know?"
"Yeah yeah." Kiana waved a hand. "But… I wonder. If they'd been able to live longer, what kind of lives do you think Kallen and Logos would have had?"
"Unfortunately, we can't really know." Soleil said, laying back down and putting an arm over his eyes. "I just don't like being left with some suddenly cryptic ideas we don't know what to do with. Just my rotten luck."
"You really say that a lot, don't you?" Kiana chuckled.
"I have reasons to." Soleil dragged, sighing as Kiana snickered while Bronya had the slightest hint of amusement about her face. But, some wandering Pseudo-Herrscher in Japan, huh? It'll be a hell of a coincidence if we somehow run into that Sakura girl in the near future. Or maybe it'll be something else that does it.
Otto leaned back in his chair as a chuckle rumbled through him. When he'd seen an alert his private little simulation of the past had been intruded on, he certainly hadn't expected to find that the breach had been caused by Kiana and Soleil stumbling onto its access point within the archives. I do have to give credit to that Zaychik girl. Her hacking prowess is quite admirable if she could breach it without the access the other two had, even if the lower layered data was inaccessible to her. Well, at least I got a chance to get some data for Knight Moonbeam and Hell Knight: Igneous out of it. So it's all well and good. He thought so with a sly smile.
"Lord Otto." The ever-helpful Amber approached, Otto leaning back to look at her. "Are you sure allowing that incident is alright?"
"It's fine, Amber." Otto assured. "We managed to get data for two of the Godsbane Battlesuits, so I would say that breach turned into a pleasant surprise."
"Understood."
"As well as seeing what Sigurd's son is capable of, even if just a bit." Otto opened the file he had on Soleil, musing over the rather impressive records he'd made only within a month of attending St. Freya. "He's still behind Fu Hua, but he's quite the example. Though he has definitely had a boon in being trained by his father during his… absence, no doubt."
"I am quite surprised Lady Kiana has done so poorly outside of practical exams." Amber noted. "Even with Lady Theresa and Lady Cecilia watching her."
"Perhaps we can blame Siegfried for misaiming his daughter." Otto said. "Though I can only hope my little project will bear fruit. I only need a sign, and I'll know we can begin moving into the practical phase."
"Of course."
"Oh, and an idea." Otto turned his chair around. "Have Rita go to St. Freya for one of her normal check-ins. But also inform her to spend some time observing Kiana and Soleil. Especially the boy. The Empyreans have always been secretive about themselves and their abilities. Not even his relatives would share anything after Sigurd abandoned Schicksal… and in my long time, my understanding of them remains thin."
"What is it you hope to learn by observing the boy?" Amber asked.
"Simple: The secret behind the shift in this world's history." Otto said, spinning his chair back around and leaning back into it. "What "God" shared with me fourteen years ago… perhaps the Empyreans and their mysterious powers hold the answers to what this world holds compared to the other."
Later that night at dinner, Kiana's mind was stuck on what she'd seen in the VR space. And while she wasn't saying it, she could tell her mother, and Theresa knew she was bothered by something. Not that the normally voracious girl just picking at her food didn't come off as a clear sign that something was on her mind.
"Kiana, dear, are you worried about the makeup tests?" Cecilia asked.
"You wouldn't even need to if you'd just studied the first time." Theresa teased. Theresa really does look like Kallen... Kiana thought.
"I'm not bothered by the test at all. I'll ace it easy when it comes around!" Kiana put on her usual bravado but shifted back down as her fork picked at the chicken on her plate. "But one of the things I went over with Bronya and Soleil-senpai stuck with me. See, it was about one of my ancestors, Kallen."
"You didn't know that?" Theresa asked. "It was seriously on your history exam. She was only the first S Rank Valkyrie in Schicksal's history. The only other people with that honor to their name are Cecilia here, Durandal, Rita, and a few others from before them."
"Of anything, I would have thought you'd be interested in the history of your father's family." Cecilia said. "Kallen's story is an interesting one. She may not have been the first Kaslana of note, but she's the one who made history, especially as the first user of the Oath of Judah. Why the sudden glum face about it?"
"Well, it's just… her story's kind of sad." Kiana said. "She just did her best to help people, to save the ones she cared about. And all she got for it was ridicule and betrayal. And in the end… giving her life to protect others."
"Well, that's a little known fact." Theresa hummed. "Most books say she was hung for going insane."
"She wasn't, though!" Kiana said. "It's not wrong to love a Herrscher. I mean… c'mon, one of my friends is one. And Mei-senpai is not a bad person!"
"We know, we know." Cecilia said, Kiana letting out a sigh. "Back then, in some ways, the world was much crueler than it is now. But the fact you were able to save Mei is enough in its own way, wouldn't you say? You've done something that in the past would be considered impossible, just as insane even. Hopefully, you learn something from this, yeah?"
"Yeah… there was also Soleil-senpai's ancestor, Logos. What happened to him?"
"Nobody knows." Theresa said. "All the records say is after Kallen died, he returned the Judgment of Shamash to the Kaslanas and his own Divine Key to the Empyreans and departed for parts unknown. Nobody knows if he settled down somewhere or passed away while wandering."
"That's also pretty dang sad." Kiana groaned, leaning on an elbow. "Talk about crappy ways to end your lives… if they'd been luckier, who knows how much happier they could have been."
"You're talking as if you met them." Theresa chuckled.
"Obviously, I haven't." Kiana said. Because the ones I did meet weren't actually real. But… though maybe that's rude of me to say. They were aware of things and fighting themselves. Maybe they're just as real as the actual ones, in a sense. Kiana groaned as her head started to throb. Thinking about things this hard wasn't her style, and she just wasn't fond of it. "Man, this is so bothersome!"
"Well, while it is good you're taking this in… you still need to finish eating." Cecilia said. "If you don't, it'll just make studying all the harder. And I won't be pleased if you fail these remedial exams. If you do… Mama is going to have to tutor you personally."
"Y-Yes, ma'am." Kiana flinched. Cecilia's smile looked sweet, but Kiana knew her mother well enough to understand sometimes that caring grin could be anything but. Her father was kept in line for a good reason. Huh… now that I think about it, I wonder what Papa's up to right now. I swear if that jerk is fooling around when Mama doesn't know it, I'm gonna sock him good whenever he gets back here!
Sigurd look back from observing the snowdrifts before him as the man behind him let out a loud sneeze, a wry smile coming to the crimson-haired man as his companion wiped his nose.
"What's up, Ziggy? Catching a cold out here?" He prodded.
"Haha, Sig. No." The man known properly to others as Siegfried Kaslana cracked his neck as he stepped over to Sigurd. Like all Kaslana's, Siegfried bore silver-white hair and blue eyes, the man keeping it in a practical, short tail that left his intense gaze framed by some strands. The roughed-up blue coat Siegfried wore told of plenty of days spent fighting and without much ways to care for his gear properly. "Someone's probably just talking about me. Maybe those ladies we passed in town."
"Or maybe your wife and daughter sending a premonition to you." Sigurd said, Siegfried flinching. "When are you planning to return to St. Freya? Don't you have a position as an instructor there to fill out?"
"I'll get back to it soon enough." Siegfried countered. "For now, let's actually do what we've spent the last month trying to get access to. The damn reason we even came back to this blasted hell of an old battlefield."
"You'd think after fourteen years, this place would've recovered at least a bit. Suppose not." Sigurd looked past the snowdrifts and to something else. The remains of a massive tower stretched up from the snow-covered, battle-scarred earth and up above. Sigurd felt an unpleasant series of memories rise back up in his head as he looked the tower up and down. "The Tower of Babel facility. Never thought I'd willingly come back to this place after so long."
"Neither did I, but that's exactly why we're here." Siegfried said, starting down the rough path before them. "So hey, I ever tell you why it is I took Kiana on that special training trip three years ago?"
"You mean the trip where you ditched her after two years to fend for herself?" Sigurd chuckled when Siegfried flinched. "Though not like I'm much better. I ditched my own son for a year to find the daughter I didn't even know I had for ages."
"I'm surprised to hear you even have more than one kid!" Siegfried said. "Shame to hear your wife didn't make it through. Would've made the news a bit better to hear, I bet."
"It can't be helped. I never wanted her involved in this anyway. I'll see her again, eventually." Sigurd tapped Siegfried on the shoulder as he moved past him. "So take yourself as the lucky one Ziggy. Don't go leaving your family waiting for too long once we're done here. Cecilia's gonna chew you out otherwise. Now, onto business… what exactly made you decide to bring us back to this place? There aren't some active remnants of the Void Herrscher lingering around? Or that damn dragon?"
"We'd only be so lucky if that was the case." Siegfried chuckled. "Call it… a trip down memory lane. You know how much happened in that battle. The friends we lost, and the things that woke up inside all of us." Siegfried put a hand to his left arm, slowly flexing his fingers. "I've been trying to find out the truth behind that for a while now. Same with why you've been scouring Old World ruins to find out more about your clan's origins."
"The MANTIS project, right?" Sigurd got a nod. "Good, we're on the same page about that. But… this has to do with something else, you know, doesn't it? Is it the Gems? Did something happen with the Gem of Silence that Schicksal has?"
"Not as far as our mutual friend has told me." Siegfried put a hand behind his head. "Nah… it's another thing. Something that concerns Kiana."
"I'm listening."
"Otto called it the "St. Freya Creation Gift" some years ago. And about three years ago, I found out something had happened to Kiana… and it has to do with the Herrscher Core that was retrieved from that Sirin girl fourteen years ago."
A/N
I swear I wish we knew more about some of the other Godsbane suits, cause then I'd be able to have a better idea what the Igneous suit is even supposed to DO in terms of proper lore... but the odds of us figuring that one out are slim. So, might as well go with an interpretation of it.