Disclaimer: 'Honkai impact 3rd' is the property of Hoyoverse, Singapore. I do not own any characters in this story except the minor OCs here and there.


Summer side Rhapsody: Side A

ANTARCTICA (235 KM AWAY FROM SOUTH POLE) – 2023(Previous era) (Six months after the fifth eruption)

The transport craft made its way to the marked location through the howling winds of this perma-frozen continent. On the craft were just five men, travelling all this way out in this barren, frozen land to take care of an isolated Honkai outbreak that was just reported this morning. However, since this was basically the winter season for the southern hemisphere, the sun's absence made visibility low and the temperature to plummet further than it already was.

"Brr… cold." one of the men commented. Even though their battle uniforms had features to keep their body relatively warm, still the extreme cold of polar winter made them shiver.

"I know right? It's so damn cold, even with all this padding." another one replied.

"Maybe it's the after-effect of the fifth eruption. The 5th Herrscher did freeze the entirety of South America into an ice age." a third added.

"Maybe." the first one said. He then looked at the fourth member of the group and said:

"What do you think, Major Roberts."

"Don't call me that, it's embarrassing." the man named Roberts waved them off.

"But still, to think that you became a major at 25 is pretty damn impressive right?"

"If that is 'pretty damn impressive', then what about him?" Roberts pointed to the fifth and final member of the team. He was a man in his late teens and had silver-white hair and sky-blue eyes. Though he looked so young, the weapons he carried and his demeanour told people otherwise. He was wearing a black overcoat with blue accents, a large collar, a white shirt underneath, and an open chest area. He was simply looking out at the Horizon through the open side of the transport craft. Nobody knew what thoughts roamed behind those cold and frozen sky-blue eyes, yet they knew that he was the most capable out of all of them.

He was their leader, their hero and their ideal. Many of the people in the organization they belonged to wanted to even be as half capable and strong as him. He was at the pinnacle of strength a warrior could reach in their lifetime, and for it, he was deeply respected by everyone. However, it was not only his physical prowess that drew people to him; his other qualities like his chivalry, sincerity, charisma and his kindness made people put their trust in him. Although the last one was not quite visible easily, he never showed any expression on his face except a cold neutral expression.

"Well, nothing can ever truly top our commander. He is not called GODSLAYER for nothing."

"True that." Roberts nodded in agreement. He then saw the boy looking across the horizon through the small round window of the transport craft with a long gaze. Thinking that he was having something on his mind, he approached the boy and said:

"Is something wrong, Colonel?"

"Nothing." the boy answered before looking at the other four men. The men straightened and internally cowered under his cold and hard gaze. The boy then asked the pilots of the transport craft:

"How much time left?"

"Our ETA for arriving at the epicentre of the Honkai surge is ten minutes, Colonel Kevin."

"Hmm." the boy Kevin, hummed and then looked towards the men again:

"Start your final preparations and check your equipment. We will encounter enemies at the moment we touch the surface, so be prepared accordingly."

"Sir!" all four of them saluted and went over to do as instructed. Kevin following his own words, went over to give a final check on his weapons. The crimson blade shone in the dimly lit cabin of the transport craft, glowing a crimson glow in the main body which became more orangish as it went towards the sharpened end. Kevin lifted it up, a familiar weight settling in his hand. He had to be careful and not swing it in any way, lest he destroys the transport craft from the inside out. He then carefully strapped the Great sword: GODSLAYER SURTR on his back, as he went for the pair of silver-coloured pistols. APOLLO: the strongest Honkai-powered handgun that the Second institute has produced to this date. Even though it belonged to the first-generation Honkai-powered weapons, its sheer performance and explosive power were unmatched by any of its successors. The same could be said for the great sword which was essentially a prototype for the now mass-produced DECIMATOR series of bladed Solium weapons.

Kevin picked up the pistols and holstered them in the holders strapped at the side of his thighs. He was one of the few people in the Moths who was adept at both mid-range and close combat, one of the main reasons he didn't need anyone to cover his back. As he finished equipping his weapons, one of the pilots announced:

"We are here Colonel Kevin."

"Get ready." he commanded to the other four.

"Sir!" they shouted in unison and lined up one after another for the airdrop with Kevin leading them. Earlier they had to wear special equipment for such a manoeuvre, however due to the advance of anti-Honkai battle uniforms which had Solium interwoven in it, they were able to withstand far greater physical forces than ever before. As such, they didn't need any special equipment save for the goggles to keep their vision clear.

"Hatch will be opening in 15 Seconds."

"Prepare for the drop." Kevin commanded. Soon after, the hatch at the back of the transport craft opened to reveal the ongoing blizzard outside.

"Whoa. Why do we always get the shit end of the stick?" one shouted.

"Get used to it. Only the strong can keep up with our commander." Another replied back.

"On my signal." Kevin said bringing their conversation to a halt. He then inched closer to the open hatch and then finally said:

"Now!" and jumped down from the craft. He was soon followed by the remaining four as they made their way to the ground to complete their mission.


She had been waiting for quite some time now. Waiting for the warrior that her god had warned against. For an extremely long time, she had travelled different worlds, seeing the repeated cycle of them trying to fight the Honkai and failing miserably in the end. Some manage to resist it in its initial state, some perish at the very beginning, while some extremely resilient ones make it to the advent of the Herrscher's arrival. Yet, they all fall in the end at the hands of their big sister. Her big sister was the absolute limit of time, beyond which no civilization could exist. In the infinite branches of the Yggdrasil, no civilization had managed to best them. They were the pinnacle, the absolute, and the end of everything; apostles of their god who carried out its single wish.

Destroy Civilization.

And for this they existed, wielding powers that went beyond the minds of normal mortals, incomprehensible to them. They were able to twist the dream that these creatures called their reality to their own will, and use it however they deem fit. They were at the apex of existence and their god went beyond even them.

And yet their god was afraid. No, afraid was the wrong word; their god was 'nervous'. Nervous about what she didn't know, but she knew that it was tied to this boy. She was extremely curious about this boy who had not only managed to make her god nervous but also single-handedly defeat three of her kin. Thus, she had come to this planet to meet this human in person, even if this isn't what her god didn't desire.

She came to this planet avoiding the suspicious eyes of the ones who led the war against Honkai on this planet. She had seen them building a structure on the moon when she was making her way here. Maybe it was to serve as a front guard for their retaliation, maybe it was to be their final defence line, it didn't matter to her. what mattered to her was meeting that human who had piqued her interest without even showing themselves once.

And thus she waited in the dark cave she had made for herself. She waited patiently while letting some of her creations roam free outside. She knew that sooner or later, these many Honkai beasts will get the attention of someone, and if the fates permitted, it will be him that comes to take them on. Thinking this, she waited patiently for the creatures of this planet to come and confront these beasts.

She didn't know for how long she waited. The moment she was feeling a little bored by this endless waiting, she felt it. An energy so strong and potent that it made the hairs rise on her human-form hands. She had never felt something like this during her entire time of existence, from when she was created. This power was unlike anything she has experienced before. It was raw, overwhelming and extremely dense. She could feel how much stronger it was compared to the Honkai energy that their god had gifted them. Moreover, she felt as if this power was out of place, like it didn't belong to this world. This made her think back on something that her god had mentioned to her when it warned her against him.

Flashback

"Be careful of the Kaiser." a voice whispered into her mind.

"My God, what do you mean by that? Please enlighten your humble subject." she said venerably.

"He is someone who shouldn't have existed. Those humans in their endless pursuit had finally managed to penetrate into the plains of Teotl and made a pact with ▀▄█▐. He had given one of them his powers that transcend beyond even what I can provide you with."

"My god, that means…" she was surprised. Humans of this branch had managed to gain access to the higher plains and even make contact with one of the gods there. What did these humans do?

"Do not make contact with him under any circumstances. My younger daughter is already in the clutches of that human. And he had defeated three of my apostles single-handedly. That human is getting stronger at a pace that my apostles cannot. I'm afraid this time, even my eldest daughter will not be enough."

"My god…"

"I repeat myself again, Jyahnar. Do not meet him if you value your existence. You are one of my precious apostles. There are many other important things for you to do. Do not ignore my words…" saying this, the voice faded away from her mind leaving her utterly confused. Who was this human that made her god who was an absolute figure to them to react in such a way?

Her curiosity finally won over her tardiness, and she started to make her way towards the planet that those humans call their home. However, as her god had forbidden her to make contact directly with humans of this branch, she couldn't approach in her normal form. Thus, she transformed herself to resemble closely to what they call a human being and made her way stealthily towards earth as possible. All this while only one thought swam in her mind.

'Who are you, Kaiser?'

Current time

She opened her eyes as she felt the source of energy getting closer and closer with each passing moment. Then there was a loud sound of impact as the earth on which she stood shook violently. She then felt her creations getting agitated as they started attacking someone.

'You are here.' she smiled to herself as she made her way out of the cave to see the so-called Kaiser with her own eyes.

Her wish was granted soon enough.

"Caladbolg."

BOOOOM.


"Caladbolg." Kevin said the name of his attack as he performed his downward slash. Dark crimson flames with black streaks erupted from the blade of the great sword which vaporised the horde of Emperors who were in its way. Ever since he had started to train with that entity, his physical strength has increased by leaps and bounds. This increased strength has allowed him to channel his powers better to further improve his combat prowess. However, this increase in his strength had come with an equivalent price as the entity has warned. The fits of coughing were getting stronger with each passing day and now was at a point that it was difficult to hide it from others. He was sure that some of them had caught on to the weird wheezing sounds he made after he uses the Surtr to unleash those crimson-black flames, but had not chosen to confront him about it as they didn't haven't caught him red-handed yet. For how long could he keep his condition a secret, is something he didn't know.

As he slashed away another horde of Templars, he sensed that these Honkai beasts were different somehow. Usually, the Honkai beasts shared similar physical composition at their core, with modifications applied to only their extremities. However, he felt that these beasts were different somehow like they were made of something other than silicon. If he had to give an analogy, it was as if these creatures were made of jelly. Their bodies were translucent, and instead of having whitish bodies, these creatures had bluish bodies. Furthermore, all the creatures looked more like marine animals, with appendages resembling fishes rather than land animals. All of these seemed to convey the fact that they were creatures of the sea, and not of land.

Kevin has instructed his men to take samples of the fallen carcasses of the beasts to be studied by the First Institute later. He was certain that Mobius-san will be ecstatic to find new samples after days of going nowhere with her research. He also wanted to see what made these beasts different from what they were used to and if they could be a significant threat in the future. As he was thinking this, he suddenly felt someone approaching from behind. Their aura was not human, it felt more like… a… Herrscher.

Kevin's eyes widened as he swung around Surtr while unleashing his crimson-black flames.

"Is this how the Humans of this planet greet each other?" a soft voice called out as a big bubble of water suddenly engulfed his sword along with the arm that was holding it. The bubble then froze almost instantly, trapping his hand inside a huge orb of ice. The flames also were frozen completely, their shape encased in the ice ball. Finding it difficult to hold that much weight, Kevin lowered his sword-holding arm. The ice-engulfed ball dropped to the frozen ground with a thud, as the winds howled due to the earlier momentum that Kevin's swing carried. The winds caused a huge amount of snow to fly off in the direction from where the sound came. Kevin heard some choking sounds as the one standing there was made to face a wall of snow heading their way.

"Cough… cough… cough… even… cough… even the gusts of wind as the aftermath of your attack are quite powerful Kaiser." the voice said between coughs. Kevin could make out the silhouette of a person amongst the flying snow around them. From the build, he could deduce that it was a female. However, he was still on guard against that person. If they were really what he thought them to be, then this isolated Honkai outbreak could turn into a global disaster very soon. Furthermore, this person knew of the name that the entity referred him to. He was having so many questions going through his head. However, he had to maintain a cool head to get anything out of this confrontation. Thankfully his millions of times dying in his dream training caused his natural preservation instincts to be suppressed, as he waited for the snow to settle down and finally reveal who this person was.

And then he saw it. The first thing he saw was a white veil with blue markings fluttering in the wind. As the snow settled further, he saw the savoy-blue hair that the veil was protecting. There was a tiara on her forehead with a teal-coloured teardrop-like crystal dangling in the middle of it. Her clothes reminded Kevin of those that the traditional priestesses wore in eastern countries. Two long blue tassels-like ribbons extended past her priestess-like dress and reached nearly to her ankles. She was wearing two long sleeves on her hands, separate from her dress. She wore full-length black stockings which went up her leg all the way until they went below the layers of her priestess-like dress. She wore string sandals on her legs which seemed out of place considering their surroundings. Two bell-looking accessories were tied in her hair, while the rest of it fluttered freely.

If any normal human saw her, they would surely be in love with her in an instant. However, Kevin was anything but normal. He sensed a large amount of Honkai energy coursing under that human body and understood in an instant.

This woman was a Herrscher.

He activated his powers again, and the ice encasing the Surtr vaporised in an instant. He then pointed his sword at the woman in front of him while he asked in a cold voice:

"Who are you?"

"Is it not polite to introduce yourself first when asking for someone's name?"

"There is no need to be polite to a Herrscher." Kevin coldly said as flames started to flicker around the blade of Surtr, indicating that he was ready to fight.

"Haa…" the woman sighed and said "I never thought you to be this rude, Kaiser."

"How do you know that name?" Kevin asked again, his grip on Surtr tightening.

At this, the woman smiled a gentle smile and said:

"I know who you are, Kaiser. You cannot hide the divine power that courses in your veins."

"…"

The woman sighed again and continued:

"It seems that you won't speak with me unless I give you my name first. Very well, they call me many things: the ancient one, the god of the deep sea, the eldritch elder, Cthulhu." She then smiled again and said "But you can call me Jyahnar; and as you have said, I'm a Herrscher. The Herrscher of Ocean."

"…" Kevin said nothing as he kept Surtr pointed toward the self-proclaimed Herrscher.

"Now that I've introduced myself, it is only proper to say your name, isn't it? Or do you want me to keep calling you Kaiser?"

At this Kevin was silent for a while before he replied:

"Kevin."

"Hmm…" she hummed "Kevin…" she said his name, feeling amused at the way it rolled off her tongue. She then approached him with short steps and said:

"So, Kevin, can you put your weapon down? I just want to talk with you."

At this Kevin just glared at her icily. Jyahnar however wasn't afraid. She had seen this expression on a lot of faces during her long life to even care. However, something else caught her interest.

"You. What pain do you carry, Kevin?"

"?" he looked at her questioningly.

"I'm the Herrscher of Ocean, Kevin. I'm the embodiment of water, and your reflection in the water doesn't lie. In your eyes, I can see the deep hatred against us and the rage that drives you. However, below all of that, I can see the agony and loneliness that torments you more than anything."

"I don't know what you are talking about." Kevin replied, dismissing her.

"As I have said, water doesn't lie Kevin. The pain that you carry seems to threaten to tear you apart, yet you push on despite that. Is it the reason that ▀▄█▐ made the pact with you?"

"…"

At his non-responsiveness, Jyahnar sighed and said:

"Let me rephrase the question a bit, Kevin. For what reason do you fight?"

"To Purge the Honkai and burn down the false gods."

"giggle… false gods." she giggled and said "then what do you suppose a real god is?"

"…"

"Fine, fine, we will leave this discussion for later. Then Kevin, suppose you managed to defeat us all, then what will you do?" Jyahnar asked curiously.

"If that happens, then there is no need for me." Kevin said in an extremely neutral voice that unnerved her if she was to be honest.

"What do you mean?"

"When I finish purging the Honkai, I will move on as well."

"Move on from what?"

"This life." Kevin without hesitation.

At this Jyahnar was shocked to her core. She has never met someone that said that they will perish when the Honkai was defeated. Didn't this man want to live in the future where humanity's enemy was purged? (even if it was not possible, but still…)

"Don't you want to live to see the future that you will bring? Are you not afraid to lose the things you love? Of leaving all those you love behind, alone?"

"Everyone that I love is already on the other side. There is nothing for me here."

"What about your loved ones here?"

"They will be fine."

Jyahnar looked at Kevin to see if he was lying. However, his face was resolute as from the moment he pointed his sword at her. He was not lying. For the first time since she was created, she was feeling an emotion that she couldn't understand. It was making her want to hold this boy and protect him, even though he was their enemy. She didn't want to kill him anymore, as she planned earlier. She didn't understand what this feeling was, nor why was she feeling it now. it was a heavy feeling, that made her insides heavy and dropped her mood.

Thus, she did what her instincts told her to get rid of this feeling. She started to approach him slowly. Seeing her move towards him, Kevin got alarmed as his body tensed. Surtr responded to his tenseness as the flames started to get hotter and wilder. It threatened to swallow her whole and vaporise her. yet she didn't show any fear on her face. As she approached him, she said:

"I'm not here to hurt you, Kevin."

"…"

"Just believe in my words once. Isn't there a Herrscher that has helped you?"

"…"

"I'm not a mindless killing creature like my other kin. Just let me come closer to you. See I'm not armed, and I will not try to do anything to you." Jyahnar said spreading her hands to her side.

"What do you want?" Kevin finally spoke.

"This." and before he could say anything, he saw the self-proclaimed Herrscher rushing up and embracing him. She then dragged his head to her chest as she cradled it, running her fingers through his hair.

"Your skin is so cold. Is it because you don't think you deserve to live?" she asked softly.

Kevin was initially alarmed and tried to move away, yet this woman's strength was not normal, even by a Herrscher's standards. Thus, he remained there in her embrace. She smelled of the fresh morning sea breeze and of the flowers that grew on the cliffside of the sea. He unconsciously relaxed at this soothing scent as he let his body go loose. Why was he doing it, he didn't know. Wasn't she a Herrscher, their enemy? He was supposed to kill her, not hug her. Yet at this moment, he thought that this hug wasn't so bad. As he was thinking this, he heard her voice coming from above:

"To tell you the truth, I came here of my own will. My god had forbidden me to meet you, saying that you will kill me."

"…"

"Yet all I can see is a boy who is hurting. What did you do to me, Kevin? Why am I feeling this way? Why do I want to protect you, even though we are mortal enemies?"

"…" Kevin remained silent.

"sigh…" Jyahnar said releasing him. She then looked into his eyes. Ocean-blue eyes washed over him in a gentle gaze. She then said:

"If you'd like to, you can talk to me. I promise to not tell my god anything that we talk about. It will be our little secret, okay."

"…"

"And in exchange, you can tell me stories of your civilization. Of your history and values. You see now I have gotten quite interested in these humans that you try so hard to protect."

"What makes sure that you will not try to destroy us."

"It is simple. My god has forbidden me to meddle with your civilization. So instead of one of its apostles, I'm just an observer here. And for as long as I'm here, I will remain here."

Kevin was still skeptical. The last four Herrscher he had dealt with had taught him otherwise. Was she really a Herrscher as she claimed to be, he wondered.

"I know that you have reasons to not trust me. And I cannot give you anything other than my word to assure you. Yet all I ask is for your trust."

"You are a Herrscher. Why should I trust you?"

"Because isn't it what you did for the first one?"

"How do you know of him?" he asked.

"giggle…" she giggled again "we Herrschers know of each other's presence even without meeting."

He looked at her sharply, not believing her words.

"Look, if I wanted to destroy your civilization, hadn't I would have appeared in the most populated area and started killing people there? Why do you think I'm here where there is nobody, and why instead of attacking you, I'm talking to you here."

"…" Kevin had no words to refute her.

"I just want to be your conversation partner. We can be friends as two individuals, not as a Herrscher and Kaiser."

"I don't make friends with Herrschers."

"Yet you did with the Herrscher of Reason."

"…"

"So can we be friends?" she asked tentatively.

"You are a weird Herrscher." Kevin finally said.

"Hehe… there are a lot of types of Herrschers like there are civilizations. And even though we obey our god to destroy them it doesn't mean that is all we are capable of."

"Your kin that I've defeated tell me otherwise." Kevin countered.

"Maybe so, but you can tell right if I'm speaking the truth or not." Jyahnar said. She then continued "But still, if you are not satisfied, you can use your technology to keep an eye on me. That way you will know if I'm near to any human settlement or not, right?"

Kevin was skeptical at hearing her words. Even though she has not shown any hostile intent towards him or humans, he couldn't take any chances. The fifth eruption resulted in the continent of South America becoming second Antarctica when the Herrscher froze it into an ice age. And even though he and Kalpas managed to defeat it in the end, the damage had been done. They had lost an entire continent and one-eight of the entire world population.

Still, something in him told him that he could believe her words. Was it because he was more in tune with his powers? He could sense her intent from the flow of Honkai energy around her, and now all he could feel from her was curiosity. Thus, he decided to trust his instincts which had seldom failed him, even though what he was about to do was totally irrational.

"Fine." he finally said after a long silence. Hearing his affirmation, Jyahnar smiled widely. Kevin then raised three fingers and continued:

"However, there are three conditions."

"Anything." she said ecstatic, feeling extremely happy that he had decided to be her friend.

"One. You will not leave this continent until I say so. No matter how much time passes."

She nodded.

"Two. You will not try to hurt any humans that come across this place. You will hide yourself from them."

"What if they come to me first?" she asked.

"That is up to you. You can entertain them or send them away. However, you must not reveal who and what you are to them."

"Fineee." she said pouting a little. Kevin was weirded out by the seemingly human reactions that this Herrscher was showing. Maybe Herrschers can really be turned back. He decided to keep this thought at the back of his mind.

"And the third?" she asked.

"I will tell you when the time comes." Kevin said dodging the question. In reality, he hadn't even thought about what to ask of her anymore. She had promised to remain in Antarctica for the foreseeable future and had promised to not hurt any humans that may cross paths with her. Thus, he decided to not impose any more restrictions on her.

"Okay." she said while leaning towards him, her hand clasped behind her back. She then continued "But you will have to tell me when the time comes."

At this Kevin nodded. He then heard the Herrscher say:

"Now that I've agreed to your condition, you have to tell me all about the humans of this planet."

At this Kevin was wracking his brain on where to start. Seeing his confusion, Jyahnar said:

"You can start with yourself."

"There is nothing to talk about me."

"Nonsense." she lightly scoffed "There is so much to know about you. Where were you born? Who were your creators? Where you have lived until now? What have you accomplished? How did you defeat three Herrschers on your own? See there is so so much."

At this Kevin just looked at her with a questioning gaze. However, she gave her the same expression that Seele gives when she wants something from him. After some time, he sighed and replied:

"It's going to take a long time."

"Don't worry. We can talk until they awaken." Jyahnar replied and motioned her hand to shift the ice revealing all of his squad members lying unconscious. Seeing them lying with their eyes closed made Kevin alert again. However, before he could think any more dark thoughts, he sensed the Herrscher put a hand on his shoulder. She then in her soft voice said:

"Don't worry. They are just unconscious after getting swept up in the aftermath of our confrontation. My creations saved them by covering them in a dome of water."

"You have my gratitude." Kevin said sincerely. This was the reason that he didn't lead too many men at once when he confronted a Herrscher. He was sure that there will be huge casualties due to his battle with the said Herrschers as he still couldn't fully control the output of his powers when he was in a serious situation. Him getting injured due to overuse of his powers was fine but dragging others into this mess was completely unacceptable.

Seeing his solemn expression made Jyahnar's stomach drop for some reason. She didn't want to see him have that expression. She still couldn't understand why she was feeling this way. What was it that drew her so strongly to him? Was it curiosity, pity or something else? The only thing she knew was that she didn't want to see him make those eyes. Thus, she decided to change the topic to get his mind distracted. Helpfully, she had just the topic on her mind.

"Hey, can you start telling me about yourself?"

"Hmm." Kevin turned towards her, earlier thoughts leaving his mind. As it did, his gaze became softer (Jyahnar mentally cheered herself at successfully changing the flow of their conversation.). he then said:

"Let's sit somewhere."

At this Jyahnar dragged him to the cave she was in earlier, her creations carrying the big bubble with the unconscious soldiers inside behind them. Once inside, he sat down on a large slab of rock and started telling this so-called Herrscher-turned-friend his story from the time he joined the Moths. All this while the said Herrscher listened with rapt attention, never interrupting him even once.

And sat there, two people who were supposed to be mortal enemies, sharing stories with one another. They had set on a shaky yet hopeful path of friendship, something that will evolve into something deeper, more intimate. At that time Jyahnar didn't have any faintest clue as to how this man before her was going to make her feel things that shouldn't be possible for her. Such bitter yet sweet feelings will make her more human than she could have ever imagined.

And how in the end he will shatter her into pieces.


ZURICH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (ZURICH – SWITZERLAND) – 2023 (previous era) (The next day)

Kevin handed over his single piece of luggage to the airline staff for taking it to his flight. He then went on ahead and sat on one of the couches in the first-class lounge overlooking the airport. As he sat down with a glass of brandy, he thought back on what happened just a day prior and how unrealistic it all seemed to be.

To make a long story short. He told her everything that happened to him, albeit leaving the parts out about their research and his powers. However, as she already knew about it, it didn't take much time for her to ask about it. Even then he managed to keep many things from her, he had told her about the two visions of his friends and comrades that he got while fighting the 2nd and 3rd Herrschers. When she heard about those parts, she embraced him again while assuring him that it was not his fault. Kevin was puzzled as to why she was asking this, however kept to keep his silence. He then continued on to talk about the Cocoon crisis (keeping the grandmaster part away), then the 4th and the 5th eruption. All the while she just kept on listening with a curious expression on her face. When he finally finished, she had asked so many questions that he was almost led to believe that he was dealing with a curious ten-year-old. He found it funny, considering that it was the age when he lost everything and became the walking dead he is now.

Their conversation came to an end when he saw the soldiers murmuring and gaining consciousness. He then made her bade goodbye and reminded her again to keep her end of the deal. At which she only smiled and told him not to worry. Soon she melted out of the cave as she left in the form of a mass of a black substance. However, the waking-up soldiers could not see that slithering mass due to the cave's dark interior. This saved Kevin a lot of trouble when they woke up. He was able to make up a story that they all fell unconscious while trying to fight those Honkai beasts looking like marine creatures (which ironically enough is not far from the truth). Thankfully due to their trust in him and his valid-sounding explanation they didn't ask any further questions.

Afterwards, they made their way to the pickup point while carrying samples from the Honkai beasts they had slain. They then contacted the transport craft to take them back to the base. On the entire way back, the craft was deathly silent as no one dared to speak of how they failed to not only do their duty but also leave their colonel to clean up all of their messes.

'Colonel.' Kevin still believed that he was unworthy to hold a rank only the top commanders of Moths held. There were only seven regiments for such a big military organization as the Moths, and thus there were only seven Colonels. They held Military authority only behind the General and Welt-san. Both aniki and aneki were Colonels of the 4th and 5th regiments respectively.

He only got this position because his predecessor had sacrificed himself to make a path for him and Kalpas to confront and defeat the Herrscher of Ice. He had detonated a Honkai-fission bomb which the Second Institute under the head of Welt-san, Tesla-san and Vill-V developed. Unfortunately, the automatic timer system was frozen useless by the Herrscher making the only way to detonate it was to do it manually. However, this meant that whoever did it will surely perish as the resulting explosion and radiation will cause the person who stood near it to vaporise in an instant.

And that was when Colonel Andre came into the picture. He took the responsibility for detonation of the bomb. When Kevin went to stop him from this suicide mission, he simply patted his shoulder and said:

"We only truly die when we stop moving forward. So don't stop moving Kevin. Write this story's end how you wish it to be."

Saying this, he pushed him away. The next thing Kevin knew was a blinding white light and a loud noise that made him temporarily deaf. When he regained his bearings, he found the entire area they were fighting in was reduced to a burning crater. In the centre of the said crater was the Herrscher, heavily immobilized due to missing some of its limbs. He then made his way to the Herrscher to defeat it before it completely recovers. Kalpas made his way to him through the now Honkai-radiated wasteland to join him in killing the Herrscher. Kevin wanted to ask him if he had gone crazy; however, he didn't have much time to think about it as the Herrscher was regaining its strength fast. Thus, he and Kalpas worked together to bring it down. He used his powers to wear the Herrscher down and to break its ice shield when Kalpas delivered the finishing blow. That was how they managed to defeat the fifth Herrscher; however, even though they won the battle, they lost the war. The entirety of South America was completely frozen which would take thousands of years to unfreeze.

A voice brought him out of these heavy memories. Turning his head, he saw one of the staff of the airlines on which he was flying today looking at him in a concerned way.

"Is everything all right sir?" the staff asked nervously.

"Yes." Kevin said, his face becoming hard as stone again. He then said in his usual voice:

"Did you want to say something to me?"

"Ah." At this the staff was taken aback before they composed themselves and spoke:

"Yes sir. The flight that you will be flying today is ready for boarding. So, I have come to fetch you. Please follow me, we will drive you to the aircraft."

"Hmm." Kevin nodded sharply and got up from the couch he was sitting on. He was then led to a luxury sedan which drove him across the airport to where his plane was. Once he arrived there, he was greeted by an array of flight attendants.

"Welcome, Mr. Kaslana. The airline has strictly instructed us to make your journey as comfortable as possible."

At this, Kevin didn't say anything and just boarded the aircraft. Once he was inside, another attendant asked:

"May I stow away your jacket sir?"

"No need." Kevin said coldly "Just make sure nobody disturbs me during the flight."

"Yes sir." the attendant said as she was still standing there. Seeing her not leave, Kevin asked:

"Do you want something from me?"

"S-Sir that-" the flight attendant stammered as her cheeks were dusted with pink.

"Be quick." Kevin quipped.

"Y-Yes!" she became rigid before she spoke again while stuttering "w-would y-you l-like to t-take a p-photo with m-me sir."

"?" Kevin tilted his head not understanding what she meant by that.

"I-It's because you are such a renowned personality. Just one photo please."

At this Kevin looked at her blankly for a minute. The attendant started trembling slightly in her spot thinking that she had something wrong. Finally, after a while of silence, she heard a small sigh coming from the man before her, following him saying.

"Fine. But just one photo."

"Yes." she said cheerfully. She then took out her mobile phone and squished herself at the side of Kevin, causing his hand to be enveloped by her assets. She then raised her phone as she took a selfie shot with her phone. Doing so, she quickly excused herself and left him alone, but not giving him an additional glass of champagne. Kevin just stood at the door of his onboard suite not understanding what had just happened. Why were people looking up to a monster like him as if he is a hero? He had failed again to save thousands of people. He was not worthy of either respect or adoration. And he certainly didn't deserve love.

Thinking such, he hung his coat in one of the small wardrobe cavities near the door and slumped down on the seat of his first-class cabin. He could hear that girl earlier squealing at the far end of the galley. It was followed by another bunch of squealing and whining. Deciding to tune it out, he picked up a magazine nearby and flipped through it. It was a Fashion magazine which didn't interest him at all, but it was better than nothing.

Soon after he could hear the captain through the intercom making the announcements before the flight. He was still reading the magazine, so he could only hear bits of what he was saying.

"The flight time to Bangkok will be eleven hours forty minutes. The weather is expected to be calm and there are no indications of turbulence along the way. We hope that you have a pleasant experience flying with us today. The flight attendants are ready and willing to assist you in any way possible. The meals will be served at…"

'A long flight.' Kevin thought to himself as he made himself comfortable for the long haul ahead.


SUVARNABHUMI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (BANGKOK – THAILAND) – 2023 (Previous era) (Twelve hours later)

Kevin casually looked around the bustling arrival area of the Bangkok airport as he searched for the ones who were supposed to pick him up. The fight had been a smooth one as the captain of the flight had stated earlier. He was thankful to the crew for not disturbing him for the entirety of the flight duration. He had caught up on the much-needed rest for his body after the continuous deployments for the last couple of days. However, him resting didn't mean that he was procrastinating, as he still trained in his Diagmata space with the entity. He was finally woken up when they were nearing Bangkok. He then freshened up and had a light breakfast as they descended onto the capital of Thailand.

So now here he was, looking around everywhere, trying to find those said persons. Soon he spotted them looking for him around one of the pillars. He then picked up his bag and made his way to them. They also seemed to have noticed him, as two blue blurs tackled him the next moment.

"Nii-Nii."

"Onii-chan."

Kevin kept his luggage on the ground as he patted the two mops of blue hair that seemed to nuzzle into his chest even more. He then said:

"How have you two been? Seele, Griseo."

At this, both the girls separated themselves from him and smiled a wide smile. Seele then started speaking:

"Seele has been enjoying so much. This place is so pretty and Seele had lots of fun playing with Griseo-chan."

"Hmm." Kevin nodded. He then looked at the last of the trio who had come to pick him up.

"Su." Kevin greeted.

"Sup." Su greeted him back as he put a hand on Kevin's shoulder. He then said:

"Man you have gotten broader. Your picture in video calls doesn't even say half of how toned you've become."

"You have grown your hair." Kevin replied noting that Su's hair now went beyond his waist.

"Haha…" Su laughed "well, doing my PhD thesis along with research on multiple areas doesn't leave me much time for self-care. So I left it as it is."

"Hmm." Kevin hummed. He then looked around trying to find the car in which they came in to pick him up. Seeing his friend's eyes roam around to search for something, Su asked:

"Something's wrong Kevin?"

"No. I was just searching for the car in which you three came."

"Oh that. It's parked some distance away. This place is crowded, so I wasn't able to park it nearby."

"Then let's go." Kevin said picking up his bag again. Su, Griseo and Seele followed him to the place where the car was parked at. Once they reached it, Kevin put his bag in the trunk of the big SUV and took the car keys from Su's hands.

"Hey, let me drive. You must be exhausted after taking all of their deployments and that long flight." Su tried to protest.

"I'm fine. Just direct me where to go. Seele, Griseo get in the backseat." Kevin said as he opened the door to the back seats.

"Hai." both Griseo and Seele said as they sat in the backseat. After making sure they were well seated, Kevin closed the back door and sat in the driver's seat. Su joined him in the front sitting on the adjacent seat. Kevin turned on the ignition and started the car after making sure everyone was seated. He then shifted the gear and slowly drove the car outside the parking lot of the airport and into the bustling city roads of Bangkok.

As they made their way through the busy city streets and stepped into the countryside, Kevin relaxed a little and made himself comfortable in the driver's seat. They were now cruising on a highway towards their destination. Su seeing that they have left the city, started the conversation:

"So Kevin, how have you been for the last three years?"

"Fine." Kevin answered monotonously.

"Sigh… you haven't changed at all. I don't know whether you are like this or it's your natural personality."

"…"

"Sigh…"

"Ne Ne, Su Onii-chan, how have your studies been?" Seele asked trying to clear the air of silence between them.

"Oh don't ask, Seele-chan." Su said as he put a hand over his face in mock frustration "Those old geezers don't clearly know anything about the Honkai compared to me. And they have the nerve to tell me to do this and that. you know I've seen them trying to steal my research so that they can get recognition and win international prizes."

"That's so terrible." Seele said while holding her chest.

"Haha don't worry Seele-chan, they don't even know how to understand themselves what I've written, much less explain it to others. So I'm not worried about that."

"Eh? But then how will you get your PhD?" Seele asked worriedly.

"That is because of my guiding professor. His name is Vincent Kruithof, and he like me is trying to study the Honkai sickness and how to cure it. In fact, many of the initial ideas with which I started my research were taken from his paper on Honkai radiation and its containment methods."

"Hmm." Seele hummed in response, trying her best to understand as much as she can what Su was trying to say with her seventeen-year-old brain.

"I don't understand." Griseo spoke for the first time since they had started moving. She was a little dejected that she was not able to participate in the conversation meaningfully.

"Don't mind him, he is just speaking nonsense." Kevin said while not taking his eyes off the road. At this, Su cried out:

"Oi, what are you saying?"

"That you should talk about mundane topics instead of topics that have nothing to do with them."

"Haa." Su huffed "You don't get to say that to me when you yourself don't have anything worthwhile talking about."

"I have other things to talk about too."

"Oh, so what is it? How many Honkai beasts you killed in your last deployment."

"…"

"pfft… giggle…hahaha…" both Griseo and Seele started laughing at this. At this, Kevin's eyes softened just the tiniest fraction; however, Su claiming to be his bestest friend noticed it. He then himself smiled and said:

"Isn't it fine this way, Kevin?"

"Yes it is." Kevin said. At this Su made a content face and made himself comfortable in the front seat. They felt silent once again, however this time a warmth filled the air between them. And in this comfortable silence, they made their way to their destination, only Su occasionally speaking to give Kevin directions.


STAR SEA RESORT (NEAR PATTAYA CITY – THAILAND) – 2023 (Previous era) (Four hours later)

The sun had started to dip towards the horizon when they made their way through the main gates. He then stopped the car in the parking and turned off the ignition. Seeing that they have arrived at their destination, Su turned back and spoke:

"Wake up princesses, we are back at the resort."

Hearing this, the two girls sleeping soundly in the backseat stirred. They started waking up while rubbing their eyes.

"Mmmmm…. Yawn… are we already there Onii-chan?" Seele asked rubbing her eyes.

"Sleepy." Griseo mumbled while turning to the other side.

"You both should've remained here if the drive was long for both of you." Su said. At this, Seele woke up completely and shook her head:

"No, no, no. It was not that long. We were just excited to meet Onii-chan that we didn't sleep much last night."

"That is not good Seele, a young woman of your age requires enough sleep to grow up healthy."

"Hmph." Seele pouted and said "Can't Seele get a little excited about meeting you? It's been six months, and you don't even call Seele that much."

"…" Kevin remained silent. Really this girl, why was she so attached to a no-good brother like him?

"Haha… setting it aside, we are here. Let's go inside. The others are waiting for you." Su changed the topic.

"Yes." Seele said excitedly. Kevin also nodded silently and got down first and opened the door for Seele to get out of the car. He then saw Griseo who had fallen asleep again and was snoring softly. As he approached to pick her up, Su stopped him and said:

"Don't worry about her. I will take her to her parent's room. You go on ahead with Seele, as there are many people waiting for you."

At this Kevin nodded again and opened the trunk to take out his luggage. He and Su then went on their separate ways, with him going to the reception area, while Su went towards the direction of the Villa rooms of the resort.

As he and Seele were walking up to the reception, Kevin finally looked at her properly. She had grown a little taller and more beautiful in these past two years. No longer she was the scared child he rescued from that burning town; she was a grown-up young girl now. She has grown so much while he wasn't looking. Thinking this, he subconsciously patted her head. Seele feeling her big brother patting her head, turned her head sideways and asked:

"What's wrong Onii-chan?"

"Nothing." he then looked at her with a tint of fondness in his eyes and said in a soft and sincere voice:

"I'm proud of you Seele."

"Onii-chan." Seele was overcome with emotions and hugged her brother again. She then sniffled and said:

"This is all because of you saving Seele and giving Seele a new home Onii-chan. So thank you so so much. You are Seele's saviour and precious brother."

"Hmm." Kevin hummed softly in response and continued stroking her head. Both the siblings stood there for some time before Seele separated herself from him and giving the widest smile possible said:

"Now come on, you have to meet the others who are waiting for you."

"Lead the way then Seele." Kevin said. As they entered the reception area, he heard a familiar voice call out:

"Ke…vin?"

He turned his head to see a woman in her late teens with dark violet hair and electric purple eyes. She was wearing a violet backless dress and thin-string gladiator sandals. Her hair flowed down her back with accessories in them. From the looks of it, she was getting ready for some kind of formal event.

"Mei." Kevin spoke acknowledging her presence.

"Ah…" she looked as if she was in shock, then suddenly her eyes watered and she ran towards him. Reaching him, she engulfed him in a deep embrace as she nestled herself in his chest.

"It's you, it's really you… sob… sob… thank goodness sniff…" Mei said while sniffing into his chest. Not understanding why was she so distressed, Kevin put one hand hugging her back while with the other he stroked her head. This caused Mei to nuzzle in deeper. Seeing her actions, Kevin asked:

"What's wrong Mei?"

At this there was a silence for a while before he heard he heard her speak

"It's been so long since I've seen you in person. And then I hear about what happened in the fifth eruption, and then how you were again deployed in some last-minute urgent mission. So I thought that…" she couldn't say any further as she sniffled again into his chest.

Mei had been extremely worried about him since these last two years when they were apart even though she knew that he was strong, probably stronger than anyone else. She also knew that if anyone could come out alive from confronting the Herrschers, it would be him. Still, she couldn't help but worry excessively as she kept hearing about the awful stories of what happened after she left: from him being pierced in his chest while fighting against the organization Cocoon to being in the epicentre of a Honkai fission bomb blast to subjugate the Herrscher of Ice.

"I'm here." Kevin just said these two words. Yet, it was all she needed to hear. His voice and his hand softly stroking her hair put her in peace of mind like nothing else did. She really had fallen head over heels for him, so much that she now believed that she was incomplete without him.

"Hmm." she said as she closed her eyes, letting her senses feel his toned chest rise and fall with each breath. As she was letting herself melt in his arms, a voice called out:

"Sorry to disturb you lovebirds, but there are others who want to meet him as well."

"Kya…" Mei squealed separating herself from him. when she turned around, she saw the familiar faces of Ato-san and Welt-san looking at her with amused expressions.

"W-we a-are n-not l-l-lovebirds." she stuttered.

"Sure you are not." Ato teased.

"Muumuu." Mei hid her face which was getting redder by the second. From the corner of her eyes, she saw Kevin looking at her with a confused expression on his face. This dense stupid idiot.

"Haha… leaving her aside, it's good to see you, Kevin. I believe that the last mission went well."

"Yes, Welt-san." Kevin said turning his attention to the brown-haired man, he was wearing a black tuxedo with a white undershirt. He had his hair slicked back which made him look younger than he actually was.

"Well then, I know that you are tired, but today's the big day. So get to your room and change fast. She won't start it unless you are here and we are getting closer to the appointed time." Ato said. He was wearing a white tuxedo with a purple undershirt. He also wore an expensive-looking brooch on his neck. He also had his hair slicked back like Welt which made him look more mature and gentlemanly than what he usually looked.

"Hmm." Kevin said as he picked up his luggage again and made his way to the reception counter to pick up the keys to his room. As he was led to his room by Ato, Welt, Mei and Seele, Welt spoke:

"Yeah, your tuxedo should come around in half an hour, so you can use that time to freshen up."

"I understand." Kevin said. Truth be told he was also looking forward to this day and was a little concerned that he wouldn't make it in time. However, luck was on his side he not only made it here in time, but he also got some time to take a shower and get freshen up before the function.

"Still, you are going to be a lady killer as always Otouto. Hey, Welt, how many will want to dance with him?" Ato said.

"Is that even a question? All of them." Welt replied laughing.

"Bwahahaha… that is the correct answer." Ato agreed with him as he laughed louder.

Kevin all this while was not understanding what both of these people were talking about, so he let it enter through one ear and leave it through another. However, it seemed like not everyone was so dismissive of it.

"Is something wrong Mei?" Kevin asked in a neutral voice seeing her extremely quiet. However, the only response he got was a mild glare from her.

"Are you sure you can keep him to yourself Mei-chan?" Ato asked jokingly.

"What do you mean Mei wants to keep me, aniki?" Kevin asked, ignorant as always. At this, all of them stood still for a while where they were standing, which was followed by a burst of laughter by both Ato and Welt.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHA… this is golden." Ato said while tears of laughter appeared at the corner of his eyes.

"Never change Kevin." Welt also chuckled at the naivety and denseness of the supposedly strongest soldier of the Moths. He was an excellent man in every area except interpersonal relationships, and this caused no less amount of entertainment for outside observers.

"Baka." Mei in her native dialect mumbled in a low voice while pouting.

"Oh, Onii-chan." Seele facepalmed at her brother's otherworldly denseness, while Ato and Welt just laughed harder.

"?" Kevin just stood there silent not understanding what both aniki and Welt-san were laughing at.


Half an hour later

He had settled comfortably in his room and was taking a shower when the doorbell to his room rang.

"Who is it?" he said in a loud voice intended to be heard by the person outside.

"C-Colonel, i-its m-me." a young voice answered stuttering. Kevin at once knew who it was, as only a few of the new recruits were sent to his Regiment, and even among them, his situation was a bit special.

"Is there something you need?" Kevin asked in his cold voice. He could hear the owner of the voice shifting uncomfortably on their feet. He then heard them muttering something to themselves before answering him in a meek voice:

"S-Sergeant Hua told me to bring your clothes for the ceremony ahead. S-so that's why I'm…" his voice trailed off seemingly nervous and unconfident.

"Hmm. Wait for a little while." Kevin said.

"Y-Yes Sir!" the voice loudly replied. He then heard something being put on the bed as the sheets crinkled with a soft sound. It was followed by the sound of a chair being dragged and someone sitting on it. Knowing that the person was now waiting for him, Kevin turned his attention to showering as fast as possible to not make them wait for long.

Kevin came out with a towel wrapped around his waist while he was drying his hair with a second one. Once he opened the door to the bedroom, he was greeted with the figure of the person who had come to deliver his clothes.

"Ah!" the person suddenly went rigid as they saw him entering the room. They tried to stand up and salute him like back at the base, only for to be told off by Kevin.

"It's fine. No need for formalities here. We are not on a mission or on official business here."

"B-but sir-" the person tried to protest.

"I said it's fine, Kosma." Kevin said dismissing him. hearing his regiment commander and his ideal say that it was fine to be relaxed a little, Kosma relaxed a little; however, he wasn't able to be completely relax in front of his idol, his inspiration and his hero.

For the dark green-haired with orange eyes youth, his commander was something that existed in only storybooks. Kevin Kaslana, the strongest soldier of the Moths, the hero of the second, third, fourth and fifth eruptions, and the title which he liked the most: THE GODSLAYER. He was someone who had the most experience in fighting the Honkai, and the only one who was capable of going toe-to-toe with Herrschers. However, despite this much power that he had, he was extremely loyal to the Moths and considerate of his peers. He was an excellent leader with the highest amount of survivability in his regiment. During these six months that he took on the role of being the Colonel of the 7th regiment, the mortality rate of soldiers under his command has practically reduced to zero.

Kosma could go on and on, but it wouldn't do the man in front of him justice. He just wished to be at least one-hundredth of the man his commander was so that he could make his parents and his friends proud. He was like many others, losing everything to Honkai and taking vengeance in his heart. however, he was given a hard reality check by his commander when he was in the induction session; and from then on, he had been under the care of Sergeant Hua, another elite fighter from the 7th regiment. Kosma wanted to grow strong, so strong that he could protect whatever he had left, to finally become a hero like his idol, yet that goal seemed so far away seeing how much stronger the regular soldiers in the 7th regiment were.

Kevin saw the gears turning in the young boy's mind. Kosma Caliadis, one of the latest recruits of the Moths after the fifth eruption. The boy's background was a typical one, lost his friends and relatives in the eruption. Fortunately, he and his parents and a younger brother made it safely to one of the Moths' bunkers, so they were spared from the wrath of the Honkai for now.

Kevin then remembered why this boy's situation was special. Apparently, in a bid of becoming a hero, he had joined the moths whilst concealing his age. After the third eruption, the General had restricted the minimum age limit to join the Moths to fifteen years. It seems that he didn't want another case of Kevin appearing in the Moths, yet this boy in his naivety had somehow managed to slip past the initial screening by forging his documents. Even Kevin himself only came to know about it when the boy's parents came knocking at the Moths' doors. They were demanding the vile Moths to hand their baby back, even saying that they had poisoned their baby boy's mind so that he had joined in their foolish crusade. They also called Kevin many usual insults ranging from the spawn of a monster to the devil incarnate. It was only when the General himself intervened and brought Kosma with him that they seemed to placate down.

After all the hollering, they left him there but not without saying that they will burn the Moths to the ground if something happened to their baby boy. He knew they were empty threats and thus did not make an issue out of it. However, after that, he confronted the boy and told him to get off his high horse, as this was not the place to play the hero. When the boy was adamant about not leaving the Moths, Kevin had given him a feel of what the reality was by letting the boy fight against him in a duel. The boy didn't even last ten seconds before he was knocked out cold by one of his punches. As he was carrying the boy to be returned to his parents, Hua intervened and requested the boy to be given under her care. That was the first time that she had asked something sincerely from him, thus he decided to give the boy another chance to prove himself. He assigned him to her squad. From then until now he was improving at a steady and fast pace; the naïve demeanour that he had earlier has completely vanished, and now instead of a starry-eyed boy, he could see a proper soldier. Maybe it was time to give him a real chance to prove himself in a battle.

Thinking this, Kevin opened his mouth:

"Kosma."

"Sir?"

"Hua has said that you've improved well. And now I can see that you understand of what type of organization you've joined."

"Sir, I…" Kosma tried to say anything but words were stuck in his throat.

"You will be transferred to the fifth squad when we return."

"Ah." Kosma went wide-eyed at this. Squads one to eleven were the frontline squads. Colonel transferring him to one of them could only mean one thing. He was overcome with emotion as he realized that his hero had given him a chance to prove himself, a chance to show how much he have improved in these six months; a chance to fight alongside him.

"YES!" Kosma said loudly as he went rigid and saluted Kevin feeling euphoric. Seeing his expression, Kevin said:

"You can return now and get ready yourself for the function now." Kevin dismissed him.

"Sir." Kosma acknowledged and started to leave the room. As he stepped one foot through the door, Kevin's voice sounded from behind:

"Do not disappoint me."

"YES!" Kosma turned around and saluted again. Then he left the room quickly, feeling happiness and pride bloom in his chest. Ever since he joined the Moths, he finally had the chance that he had always desired. As he ran through the open paths of the resort towards his room, he clenched his hand in determination.

He will not fail his hero.


One hour later

A man was standing in front of the altar wearing a white suit and white pants with a flower pinned to his left collar. He had red hair and golden-yellow eyes. He looked around fidgeting. He was getting nervous to be honest, yet despite all that nervousness he couldn't help but feel excited and happy. Happy that one of his long-desired wish was coming true, and excited for the future that the fulfilment of the said wish was going to bring. He looked at his side to see a boy with silver-white hair and sky-blue eyes standing silently. The boy was wearing a white tuxedo similar to himself and was holding two small boxes in his hand. He had his eyes closed and seemed to be waiting for the event to start.

The man started a small talk to ease his nerves and to get comfortable with the boy who was going to be his supposed family soon.

"So, Kevin?" the man started.

"Yes, Colonel Yada."

"Hey, no need to call me colonel, at least not in private settings like this. After all, we are going to be brothers-in-law soon enough, aren't we?"

"…" the boy remained silent.

"Hey, loosen up." the man said patting the boy's back. However, this action was more to calm himself rather than the boy beside him. Seeing the man's expression, the boy spoke for the first time.

"You will be fine."

"Eh?" the man asked befuddled.

"She has chosen you amongst many others. And you know better than anyone else what that means."

"Ah." the man could only gasp at what the boy was implying.

"She has given you her trust and her heart. Thus, don't think that you are unworthy. Because if you really were, she would not even give you the time of the day in the first place."

"Kevin…" the man said emotional. Even though he knew the boy to be considerate and kind below that cold exterior, this was the first time he was being encouraged by him.

"But aren't you worried about if I may hurt her in future?"

"No."

"Eh, why?"

"Because you won't live long enough to see it."

"Y-you mean…" the man asked shivering.

"No." Kevin said understanding the man's question.

"Then who?"

"She herself is more than enough to handle you."

"Fair enough." The man said sweat dropping. The thought of what she will do to him if she finds him with another woman, not that he was thinking of it anyway. He was too much in love with her to even think about others. This was the reason he had persevered all these years was because he wanted to create a future with the one whom he had always cherished. He had come back to her against all the odds, even surviving those horrible eruptions because she said she was waiting for him. She was the one who gave him the strength to move on when he had nearly lost everything. She was his flame, his light in the darkness and his reason to fight. She was all that was beautiful in this world.

And now his wish was going to come true. He was sure he is the happiest he had been ever since he joined the Moths, and will continue to be. He had walked alone for too long; however, he could now walk it with his other half.

"Thank you, Kevin." the man said gratefully.

"?" Kevin didn't understand what he was talking about.

"I'm able to fulfil my wish today because of your efforts and bravery. You have ensured that I could have this future. You have protected us all from Herrschers. All those who are present here are laughing because of you. this beautiful world today is because of you."

"…" Kevin remained silent, not able to decide how to accept the man's words.

At this as if it was a cue, the ringing of bells told them of the arrival of the one for whom they were waiting for.

First Seele and Griseo appeared with flower baskets, throwing flowers on the carpet ahead as if to welcome an angel. They were followed by the girls as they giggled and guided the one who was behind them.

And then entered her.

The man felt his breath taken away.

Her hair was tied in a delicate bun, and the top of the veil was attached to it. Even though the said veil covered her face, it could not fully hide her extremely beautiful face. Her cheeks were dusted lightly pink and her lips were red and full. Her eyelashes were long and delicately curved which quivered like the feathers of a dove every time she blinked. She wore a silver tiara on her head and a silver necklace with a diamond brooch adorned her neck. She was wearing a perfectly fitting wedding dress with an open back, the trail of which fluttered and was held by Aponia and Clara. The wedding dress she wore was as white as the first snow and made her look like a literal goddess; its design made him vision a fluttering butterfly, the fluttering folds looking like the gentle fluttering of the said butterfly's wings. The man didn't know how to process all of this visual stimulation he was having. He was already head over heels for her, yet found himself falling for her all over again. Really, he was the luckiest man alive on the planet now.

She was holding General Alexei's hand as he took up the role of the father to guide his daughter towards the groom. The man didn't know how much his heart was beating like crazy until she approached him. As she drew near, he could hear his heartbeat ringing in his ear; this was it, this was the moment that he had dreamt of for so long. This was his happy ever after, and it was real.

Once she approached him, general Alexei let go of her hand. He then looked at the man and said:

"Take care of her, Yada."

"Yes." He affirmed with determination and confidence.

"Pfft…" A light giggle could be heard from the side "How are you acting cool now? I still remembered how much you were shaking and almost doubled over when you proposed to me."

"Let me at least look cool on our special day." The man whined.

"Cool. Pfft… You are the least cool man I've ever seen."

"Sigh…"

"But you are the one I've fallen in love with." she smiled. At this, the man's and general's eyes softened. Ahhh… he loves her so so much.

"Ahem…" a cough was heard from the side. Looking in that direction, the people standing there saw the priest looking at them with annoyance.

"We have to start now." the priest said.

"Ah yes." the General said before slapping the man's back "I wish you all the happiness. Yada Hiroyasu."

"Thank you… General." the man said gratefully. After saying that, General Alexei made his way to the front bench and sat down, letting the ceremony continue.

Seeing his cue, the priest began:

"Brothers and sisters. Today we have gathered for the holy matrimony of Yada Hiroyasu and Himeko Kasumi. Those who have any objection to the marriage speak up now or forever hold your silence."

The entire altar was silent. The priest then continued:

"Then I as the witness of god shall see their devotion and faith unto each other." he then looked at both of them and said: "You may begin."

The man began: "Himeko. As you know that I'm the weakest of all the Colonels present in the Moths. Heck, I have the highest rate of ruining the plan and causing unneeded losses during our operations. At one point, I even lashed out at you and hurt you deeply. I know that I'm far from the perfect man, but if you are willing to give me a chance, then I will try my best to become the hero that you can be proud of. I love you Himeko and nothing will change that even a thousand years apart."

Hearing this, Himeko teared up and said "You may not be the strongest man in our place, but you are the bravest I've ever known. You are the one who helped me get up after I lost my way at the beginning of our time. You have shown me that there are truly things worth cherishing. You say that you are not perfect, but neither am I. So let's complete each other, as we know that we are our other's half."

After the readings were over, the priest said:

"Now that I have confirmed both of your devotion to each other, we shall move to the vows." He then looked at the man and said:

"Do you, Yada Hiroyasu hereby in the name of God, take Himeko Kasumi to be your wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until you both are parted by death?"

"I do." the man replied without hesitation. The priest then looked at Himeko and repeated the same set of words:

"Do you, Himeko Kasumi hereby in the name of God, take Yada Hiroyasu to be your husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until you both are parted by death?"

"I do." Himeko replied smiling, her eyes never leaving her soon-to-be husband.

The priest then looks towards Kevin nodding at him as a cue to bring the rings. Kevin understanding, brought out the rings, one on each of his hands. The priest then continued the ceremony with the ring exchange. First, it was the man who put the ring on Himeko's finger which was followed by her putting the ring on his finger. After the ring exchange, the priest chanted a small prayer asking for the blessing for this newly joined couple and their future happiness.

In the end, the priest spoke ending the ceremony:

"Now that Himeko Kasumi and Yada Hiroyasu have given themselves to each other by solemn vows, with the joining of hands and the giving and receiving of rings, I pronounce that they are husband and wife."

The newlywed couple stood facing each other. all this while Kevin watched with a small hint of satisfaction in his heart. All the blood that had been shed, all the pain he suffered, all the sacrifices, it was not for nothing.

The priest said the final set of words "having witnessed your vows of love to one another, it is my joy to present you to all gathered here as husband and wife." he looked at the man "You may kiss the bride."

The man felt a pair of soft pair of lips upon his own. Initially shocked, he soon reciprocated the kiss as he held his beloved in his arms. The surroundings erupted in cheers as everyone stood clapping at the successful completion of the wedding ceremony of the two soldiers who had found love even in the flames of war.

Kevin watched in complete contentment, as this gave him a hint of a hopeful future. A future without Honkai. A future where Seele and Griseo will be having this moment with her chosen one.

A future of smiles and happiness and not of blood and death. And for that, he will do everything her can. He clenched his hand as his determination grew.

Humanity will purge the Honkai. He will purge the Honkai. No matter what happens to him. If his blood ensures their future, then he will shed as much as possible.

But for now, he suppose he could bask in this moment. He saw Himeko and her husband leaving the wedding altar. The people followed behind them, with girls more eager than most. Soon he found himself to be the last one standing in the place where the wedding took place. He then saw a hand landing on his shoulder, looking at his side he saw the General smiling at him.

"Thank you for being here on time and playing such a crucial role in her wedding."

"It's nothing General."

At this, the general laughed and said "Look at us, a father and a brother standing here after the marriage of the daughter of the family. Even though we are not related by blood, still I can feel the feeling of emptiness that a father feels after sending off his daughter."

"Hmm." Kevin nodded. The General then continued:

"I hope to see my son's family grow too someday like this."

"?" Kevin looked at him quizzically.

"Haha… no need to think much about it, you still have some time." He then started walking ahead as he motioned for Kevin to follow him:

"Let's go Kevin, the wedding party awaits. And it would be remiss for the family members to miss it right?"

"Yes." Kevin said following the General outside to where the others were present.

'Family huh…' Kevin thought as he followed the General to the celebration happening outside. When he stepped outside, he could hear the girls squealing:

"Colonel Himeko throw it towards me."

"No, me, me."

"Of course, she is going to throw it towards me."

"All right, all right. I'm not playing favourites. So if you want it, then catch it before everyone else." Himeko's voice giggled. She then started to toss the bouquet she was holding. The girls waited with bated breath to catch the bouquet, especially a certain group that wanted to tie the knot with a certain hero.

However, sometimes things don't go as planned. A lesson they learnt when the bouquet instead of flying backwards, flew forwards. Kevin saw something approaching him from the corner of his eyes and stretched out his hand to shield himself from it. And before he knew it, he was holding a flower bouquet adorned with white roses in his hands. Seeing it, the General went slack-jawed as he said:

"Kevin, you…"

All of them present there went wide-eyed at what happened, especially the girls. Kevin could however utter only one word.

"Huh?"


To be continued…

Hello everyone, welcome back to 'A Warriors Destiny'.

Well, well, well would you look at that? Kevin flexing his Harem protagonist-EX skill to its maximum. Not even the great Cthulhu is safe from his charms. Anyways as from the chapter of the chapter you can infer that it was meant to be a vacation arc. I do not plan on dragging out this arc for much longer, so that we can delve into the sixth eruption arc sooner.

On another note, expect more fluff in the next chapter. More sibling moments between Kevin and Seele, as well as more alone moments with the new girls. That is before the nature of Honkai kicks in and reduces everything to ashes. I'm looking forward to seeing all of your reactions when the inevitable happens.

Furthermore, how do you like the pseudo-happy ending that I gave to Himeko? It was one of my sore points while playing the game that she did not get any sort of happy ending that she deserved in either of the eras, so I personally gave her one. Of course, it is going to hit much harder when Kevin will do what he had to do. And that in my opinion will be more impactful on his character development. Oh I'm soooo looking forward to writing the next two arcs (evil laughter).

As always if you like the story please leave a follow, favourite, and/or review.

Thank you for reading, until next time.