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.
Threads of Fate
CLANGGG.
The girl with the pink hair was blocked by the new weapon that Kevin had been given for this mission.
"What?" the girl was lightly shocked.
"..." Kevin however remained silent as he pushed the girl back with sheer strength. Looking at the weapon he was holding the other men were shocked as well.
"Is that-" one of them said.
"Yeah." another one replied.
"But how? Didn't we get the intel that he fights with a great sword?" a third one said astonished.
"Yeah, we did. But no matter how you see it, it's not a great sword." a fourth replied.
Kevin then swung the blade to his side causing a gust of wind to form due to the pressure of the blade being swung. Seeing this everyone stepped back a little, a person that strong shouldn't be taken lightly.
Kevin was holding one of the newest prototypes of Anti-Honkai weaponry from the DECIMATOR series. These weapons were designed after collecting hours of combat data from various soldiers and Kevin himself, to create weapons that have much higher damage output while being less straining on the user. The weapon Kevin was holding now was a prototype and as such its safety limiters were not in place; thus, it had the same output as Surtr but was more concealable.
The sword was an eastern longsword called Tachi. While the girl held her sword with the blade facing up which meant it was a Katana, he held the sword with the blade facing down. Kevin's training in eastern sword arts and his Kendo club activities coupled with his natural sword fighting talent meant that he had nearly mastered this type of sword. The stance, the breathing techniques, the hand movements, he knew and remembered it all. Seeing him standing in an impeccable stance impressed the pink-haired girl a little. There was no other person in this far west that wielded a sword like her, so she had been wanting to fight an opponent like him for quite some time.
"Your Kata is impressive. From whom did you learn to wield a Tachi?"
"…"
"I see. Then can I at least know its name?" she requested.
"HOMURA." Kevin replied.
"It's a strong name. I acknowledge your power and skills. Thus, I will fight you with Honour here." the girl said pulling off her mask to show her face that lay within.
Calm Purple met cold Sky-blue. The girl now could see the pain and loneliness that gripped the man before her. But in the forefront, she could see only two emotions in those unfeeling eyes:
Determination and…. Rage.
Rage for what she didn't know. However, she could now feel the rage that he carried emanating from his blade. However, this was not blind rage, the boy before her has done something that only a few people in history had done: he channelled his rage and used it as a strength. This however meant that he was a greater fighter than she had assumed him to be, this was going to be difficult she realized.
"My name is Matsui Sakura. May I know yours?" she asked in her calm and composed voice.
"Kevin Kaslana." Kevin replied.
"It's a nice name. Well then, we shall duel honourably. If you defeat me, I will pursue you no longer. However, in case I defeat you, you will be slain by this blade." The girl now named Sakura said while motioning he hand towards her own sword. At this Kevin just got into his self-developed stance; bending his legs and swinging out his arm holding the blade horizontally.
'Such a bizarre stance.' Sakura thought to herself as he dropped into her own. The two were standing still for a few moments. Suddenly a leaf blew past them and started to settle down; they simultaneously decided to start when the leaf hit the ground. The air was thick with tension with both Sakura's men and Elysia waiting with bated breath for the duel to start.
The leaf touched the ground.
Both Kevin and Sakura started charging into each other. As they neared, Sakura went for an upward slash which was blocked by a downward slash by Kevin.
CLANG. The night air rang up with the clashing of two eastern blades.
Elysia took this as a cue to start her fight as well and brought out an umbrella-looking weapon from her heavy clothing, discarding her cloak in the process. Underneath it, she was wearing a modest dress which was also modified by her to be suitable for fighting. The people on her side then started the fight as well. Three of them were carrying standard rapiers and the two behind them fired using shotguns aimed to distract her.
In response to this Elysia just struck the weapon in a series of blindingly fast thrusts. The excessive number of thrusts caused the ones with the rapiers to get overwhelmed even though they outnumbered her five to one. One of the persons in the back fired another round, only to get deflected by that weapon. This caused some of them to growl in frustration.
"Kh. First the Godslayer and now his assistant as well."
"Like seriously, how strong are they?"
"And what is with that weapon? We have got no intel of anybody using something like that in the Moths."
"Why in the blazing hell is she smiling while fighting?!"
Hearing all these types of comments made about her didn't deter Elysia one bit. As they were discussing the weapon she held, they got distracted and left an opening. Seeing her chance, Elysia struck with the weapon again. This time it found its mark on one of the distracted goons, the blunt end of the weapon struck its stomach, hard. This caused the goon to bend over while spit came out of his mouth because of the intense pain before he went limp unconscious.
"Wha-" one of the goons tried to comprehend what just happened.
"Didn't they teach you to never take your eyes off such a beautiful girl like me~? I'm hurt." Elysia teased.
"What?" the goon was befuddled. But before he could say further, things got over extremely fast. In the blink of an eye, the girl in front of him swung her umbrella-looking thing and struck the second goon, causing him to double over. Then she struck one of the shotguns holding goon the same way she struck the first one. He was also caught unprepared and met the same fate as first. The second gun holding goon and the one she second rapier holding goon charged at her at the same time, to which she only twirled around like a ballerina on her toes, letting her weapon hit them both on their heads. Both of them got knocked out with the sharp blow to their temple and fell on the ground with a thud. Seeing all of his friends being beat up by this seemingly beautiful woman caused the last remaining goon to shudder.
"W-who are you?" the goon asked while stuttering.
"Of course, everyone would want to know a beautiful girl such as myself. You can call me Miss Pink Elf~." Elysia replied.
"…" the goon was too dumbstruck to answer. Seeing his unblinking eyes, Elysia went forward and waved her hand in front of him. Only for him to tip back and fall unconscious probably due to the shock he got.
"Mou, you didn't have to be so shocked to see my beauty." Elysia said as she looked around to see other opponents. She then realized that she was standing alone with nearly ten goons unconscious and Kevin and that girl nowhere to be seen. Seeing that no one here is conscious to reply to her, she just took to fondle their pockets to gather any clues as to where they came from. She then found a cocoon-shaped pendant on one of the unconscious ones. She was sure that this pendant was a representative symbol of their organization, but how? She now could only wait for the conclusion of the fight between Kevin and that girl.
"Sigh… fighting alone again. What am I going to do with him?" Elysia said as she followed the trail of destruction left behind after Kevin's and that girl's clash, convinced that it would lead her to where they were.
RUINS OF NAGAZORA (JAPAN) - 2021 (Previous era) (Around the same time)
It was practically the next day here at the ruins of the city at the centre of the third eruption. Lt. Emile Jeffery from the 4th regiment and Fu Hua were on a goose hunt of sorts here in this ruined city. It was the first time that she had seen the destruction that the third Herrscher had left in its wake. She had heard stories from the ones who were present, however nothing could prepare her for what she was seeing now with her own eyes. Buildings, streets, playgrounds, everything was absolutely destroyed. There was a huge crater nearly 3 km in radius. Everything in that crater was destroyed beyond existence, nothing but a gouged-up ground remained. She had heard that it was the aftermath of the third Herrscher using her strongest attack. Just how strong was it, she wondered? To cause such untold amounts of destruction all over the world. And to think her commander fought such a creature all alone, her respect for him soared; and so did her worry. She has heard of how he had nearly died twice fighting the two Herrschers and his demeanour showed that he was not planning on stopping. This caused Hua to grow anxious every time that they went on missions together, she saw him getting hurt again and again while protecting others.
Just the sight of him getting hurt caused a deep pit to form in her stomach which made her sick to the core. She had come to look up to him as a mentor and something more which she wasn't sure of herself. But what she was sure of is that she had to grow stronger and smarter if she was to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with him.
She was so much absorbed in her self-thoughts that she didn't notice the other person calling her name.
"..a. …ua. Hua. HUA."
She was brought out of her thoughts when suddenly someone shook her shoulder. She instinctively threw a punch in order to disorient the supposed attacker, but was blocked by an arm lock by the other party. She then came to her senses to see whom she was about to punch:
"I'm extremely sorry Lt. Emile. Please forgive my insolence." Hua bowed to an almost perfect ninety-degree.
"Oh, don't worry about that. I also shouldn't have put my arm on your shoulder so carelessly. I apologize as well." Emile said while bowing himself a little as well.
"O-oh, t-there's no need…" Hua tried to frantically raise the Lieutenant's head. He was a commanding officer, and as such was in a much higher rank than a private like her. Given this was not a normal military organization, but still the ranks had to be followed thoroughly. After some time, the Lieutenant raised his head and said:
"Okay, let it be water under the bridge."
"Y-yes." she saluted.
"You know, you don't have to be so rigid with me. I mean you are not even one of my subordinates."
"But you are still a lieutenant sir. I cannot show disrespect to you like that."
"Sigh… let's leave it at that." The man said before continuing:
"Okay let's continue."
"Yes sir." Hua acknowledged, and they made their way into the centre of the ruined city. As they were walking, Emile let out a whistle while seeing the destruction left after the third eruption.
"Damm. The 3rd Herrscher really did a number on this city. Crazy to think that Major Kevin fought and defeated something that can cause this much destruction."
"Yes." Hua replied in a low voice. Seeing her making a frowning face, Emile decided to ask what bothered her:
"What's wrong Hua?"
"Nothing Lieutenant. It's just, the commander is in some secret mission against some unknown foes and…" she trailed off.
"Hmm." Emile hummed slyly. It seemed Major Kevin had caught another 'fish for his pond' as they like to call it. It was amazing how the most gorgeous women in the Moths were vying for his affection; ranging from the extremely sensual head of the First institute Dr. Mobius to the idol and goddess of many in the 5th regiment Sergeant Elysia. And it seemed that this girl had been caught in his charms as well.
Emile was a little jealous of him like everyone. They had girls not even give a glance to them, but they rolled out the carpet for him. However, he couldn't fault the man himself; he was just too perfect: a handsome face, a toned and ripped body, and not to mention his battle prowess. He was not called the GODSLAYER for nothing, having defeated two Herrschers single-handedly. The final nail in the coffin came in the form of his intelligence, to which he was simply a genius; in both scientific matters and battle strategy. And the cherry on the top was his ice-cold demeanour with a hint of pain in his eyes. As if there was a woman whose maternal instincts wouldn't be triggered by that. At first, they become curious and try to find out the cause of such an expression, then they are slowly led to fall for his kindness and sincerity; and before they realize it, they are head over heels for him. Really, some men had all the luck; he internally scoffed.
Thinking such things, he decided to tease this recruit who he was sure was crushing on the man by now:
"So you are worried about him?"
The reaction was instantaneous, Hua blushed and dipped her head while saying:
"I-it's not like that. It's just concern f-for my commanding officer." she tried to deny that she was worried crazy about Major Kevin.
"Is that so. Then why are you blushing?" Emile teased further.
"T-that's…" Hua trailed off again while only lowering her head further. Seeing her reaction made Emile laugh loudly.
"HAHAHAHAHA."
Hua could only blush deeper, her seemingly teeny-tiny crush on her commanding officer was apparently found out by Lieutenant Emile. Seeing her on the verge of crying due to embarrassment. Emile quietened down and said:
"Okay, Okay. I won't tell anyone about your crush on him."
"It's not a crush." Hua said in a low and meek voice.
"Sure, sure. But you know, Hua; from what I can see you have got some serious competition. Both Dr. Mobius and Sergeant Elysia are deeply in love with him, and from what I heard they are not the type to yield without fighting tooth and nail." Emile said.
"…" Hua remained silent. She already knew that she didn't stand a chance against them. Both of them had huge… assets and voluptuous bodies even by Moth standards. They looked like those supermodels that she used to see in those magazines back in Sapphire city. And she was… she looked down to her chest area and sighed.
"W-well it's not like you don't have any charms either." Emile said trying to cheer her up.
"Thank you, Lieutenant. But I know where I stand." she said dejectedly. Emile just went silent realising that he had just touched a sore point for this girl. To further think that just the thought of not being appealing to Kevin was enough to down the mood of such an innocent girl.
'Damm you lady killer.' he thought as he cussed him lightly in his head. As he was doing so, they were suddenly surrounded by Honkai beasts of various classes. Pushing the earlier thoughts away, Emile commanded his partner like a commanding officer like he was:
"Hua. Take down the Seraphs and Knights. I will take care of the Chariots and Templars." Emile said while taking out his signature shotgun.
"Yes, Lieutenant." acknowledged Hua, as she prepared the standard issue battle gauntlets and got down in her stance taught by her father. Both of them charged into the Honkai beasts before they could take any action, taking the beasts by surprise.
Emile was impressed by seeing her fighting style. It was fluid and smooth, with no wasted movements. Every strike, punch and thrust were at the weak points of Honkai beasts killing them quickly and with minimal damage.
'She's good.' thought Emile as he shot through an incoming Chariot through its chest, killing it.
…
"Hyaa." Hua struck a Knight with a palm strike filled with Ki to penetrate its shell, killing it. She was single-minded killing the beasts that she didn't notice one that snuck behind her.
"Hua, look out!" Emile warned her. As she turned around, she saw a Knight about to maim her to death. She got nervous and froze in her spot. Seeing that she was about to get knocked by the Knight, Emile fired his shotgun on the beast, piercing its head and killing it. With the same motion, he reversed the barrel of the shotgun and killed the last templar. He then looked around to scan for any more enemies; finding none, he approached Hua who was breathing heavily upon her first near-death experience while fighting the Honkai.
"What is it, Hua? This is just a routine mission, there's no need to be nervous." Emile said while calming her down.
"…" Hua just remained silent. She was feeling ashamed after failing to notice the beast and causing unnecessary trouble for the Lieutenant. She then apologised:
"I apologize Lieutenant. I will be more careful."
"Hmm." Emile acknowledged.
Since her escape, this was the first time she returned to a city like where she had once sought knowledge. This was also the first time in her life that she reached a breaking point. And the person who had once saved her from death... she was no longer there.
"We're almost there, right Lieutenant?" she inquired after she finally got her bearings.
"Yeah." Emile replied "the Honkai energy reaction that showed up on our readings should be just ahead. But let's be careful. Even though the records from the third eruption include detailed reports of it being killed by Kalpas, this kind of abnormal Honkai energy might give rise to new Honkai Beasts, or maybe that one isn't even dead. I hope we can stick to the original plan, in which case we just need to recover its body, no need to complicate things. After all... it if has the ability to come back to life... there's no point in looking out for each other. A Judgement-class Honkai Beast... this is not an opponent that we can deal with on our own."
'Kalpas', Hua wondered. She had heard that he was one of the elite fighters in Colonel Ato's 4th regiment and that he had killed a Judgment-class Honkai beast in the third eruption. But still, she had to confirm their target for which they were having this goose chase.
"Judgement-class... has it been confirmed?"
"Yes, it's the Judgement-class Honkai Beast Śes̩a. Before we detected this anomalous reaction, the MOTHs have been unable to locate its body." Emile replied.
"Śes̩a... This Honkai Beast... does it have any special characteristics?" Hua inquired further.
"Huh?" Emile looked over her questioningly "Hua, did you look at the information I gave you before we left? Because it was born with the 3rd Herrscher, it also has the ability to control lightning. Beyond that, it's unclear... the MOTHs don't have a full understanding, but they warn that it should never be touched and that a safe distance of 10 meters should be maintained at all times. Besides that, there should be some info about its physical characteristics, right? Just reading the reports is enough to imagine how it looks like. It should look like an enormous..."
"Snake, right?" suddenly, they heard a sound that stopped both of them in their tracks. If it was an unknown enemy, perhaps that would have been better. But they recognized the sound, and it put them on guard. —It was the sound of a snake hissing in the darkness.
"D-Dr. Mobius..." Emile was flabbergasted.
"Ah, hello, Lt. Emile and the recruit from Kevin's battalion. Just now, I resolved the Honkai disturbance here." the green-haired woman stood before the two of them, smiling with her hands clasped behind her back.
"Dr. Mobius... why are you here? And by yourself, how did you..." Emile was still not able to believe his eyes. How did the head of the First institute, who was not even a fighter was able to reach here without any help? And she said that she resolved the disturbance here.
"Haha... Don't jump to conclusions. Look at your instruments... do they show an abnormal Honkai energy reaction?" Mobius said with her common predatory smile which put Emile on a guard a little. It was a well-known fact that nobody should underestimate the woman in front of him. Even Dr. Welt was always wary of her.
"It's... gone..." Hua said shocked.
"The Judgement-class Honkai Beast, Śes̩a. Just now, I wiped it off the face of the earth." Mobius casually said like she was discussing today's weather.
"Wha-" Emile was speechless. This woman was saying that she defeated a JUDGMENT-CLASS Honkai beast, which requires the effort of a full battalion? The only other person who can defeat such a beast is Major Kevin or Kalpas if the reports were to be believed, but she was nowhere near them; then how…?
"There is no longer a need for a recovery operation, warriors. Your mission is over. You can go back. I'll deal with the mop-up on my own." the woman in front of him simply said.
"Mop-up...?" Hua asked.
"Did I just say that?" she said in an oopsie voice "I just meant I need to complete my... investigation. Yes, just a very simple investigation."
At this Emile was skeptical, but decided to leave it alone. The less time he spent with this woman, the better he decided. Thus, he said:
"Very well then, we both will remain stationed on guard on the crossroad over there. Please call for our assistance if you need it Dr. Mobius."
"As you wish Lt. Emile." Mobius said while keeping her smile.
"Let's go Hua." said Emile motioning Hua to follow him.
"Yes, Lieutenant." she acknowledged before bowing towards Mobius and saying:
"Then, please take care doctor." saying this they both left the scene. What they didn't notice however was that Mobius held an oddly-shaped sealed container behind her back. In the container was a large amount of viscous dark-green fluid. And in it floated an eyeball, the eye of a snake.
After they got out of sight, she brought the container forward and said to herself:
"Finally, I can research the feasibility of PROJECT: MANTIS. This will surely help him more by making him stronger. He will never be hurt again by those pesky Herrschers." she smiled an eerie smile "ever… again."
Mobius had already resolved herself to do anything in order to help her beloved and to keep him safe. No matter how inhumane others treated her work, she was not going to stop. She was willing to stain her hands with untold amounts of blood, whether it be Honkai or … . She will do anything necessary to keep the most important person in her world safe, no matter the cost.
SUNDOWN ALLEY (BUCHAREST- ROMANIAN EMPIRE) – 2021 (Previous era) (Around the same time)
CLANGGG.
Two metals clashed against each other before separating. The two persons holding the respective blades were going at it for at least half an hour by now, with no clear victor. One of the combatants; was a girl with pink hair and was wearing clothes with pink accents. She looked like she was in her mid-teens with calm purple eyes.
The other was a boy presumably in his late teens, with silver-white hair and cold and steady sky-blue eyes. Both of them had been at a standstill for quite some time now. It was clear that the girl had more skill and a greater experience fighting with an eastern blade, as she had sliced the boy multiple times. However, it was no match to the boy's extremely fast learning rate and his innate strength. He was quickly learning to deflect to stop her slashes to the point that she was barely scratching him now.
CLANG.
CLANG.
Both of them were fighting each other at blinding speeds, that even a veteran fighter would have some difficulty following. A slash there, a deflect there. Kevin was also surprised by the swordsmanship of the girl in front of him. She had cut his tendons in his arms and legs many times now, the only reason he was doing well was because of his mark's passive regeneration. Kevin had to acknowledge that when it came to martial skills of this type of fighting, the girl in front of him was superior. The only reason he was able to keep up with her was because of his natural high strength and fast learning talents, but even then he was finding himself being backed into a corner.
The girl charged into him again with a slash aimed for his neck which was blocked by him. He then retaliated with a thrust to the chest which was deflected by the girl. She then unleashed a volley of fast attacks that made it seem like he was being attacked from various directions. Kevin just held Homura vertically in front of him to fend off the attacks. The majority of them he was able to deflect, but some of them went through his defences leading to small cuts on his entire body. After the attack was ended, the girl looked expecting to see the man lying in a pool of his blood, however when she saw him with only minor injuries, she was shocked. The last attack she had used was her strongest one: Thousand Falling Petals. It was an attack meant to slash the enemies with an uncountable number of slashes from all directions in a moment by shifting the direction of slashes. This attack will guarantee that the one who is faced with it, will get cut up in all places of their joints and vital organs, dying of excessive bleeding. However, the attack also cut off the nerves making sure that the opponent dies as painless as possible. This was her mercy and honour to the opponent that she had recognized; as this slash was not for just anybody. Until now, she had used this attack on only two occasions, and both the time, she had won. That was until now.
"H-How?" the girl named Sakura asked disbelieved.
"…" the boy named Kevin remained silent.
"You were cut up by thousand slashes in an instant, how are you still moving?"
"…"
"Who are you?" she asked with a little apprehension in her voice. At this Kevin finally spoke up:
"That last attack was very good. If I was not who I was, I would've died for sure."
"Wha-" Sakura started to ask when she saw it. The different wounds and cuts on his body were starting to heal in on themselves, knitting themselves as if time had been reversed. After a few moments, the only wounds left on his body were deep ones that hadn't healed properly.
"What manner of sorcery is this?" Sakura was flabbergasted.
"…" Kevin remained mute as usual. After some time, he spoke:
"As a faith of acknowledging your skills, I will unleash the true power of this blade."
"True… Power?" Sakura was alarmed. So not just he was special, but so was his sword. This really put into perspective for her how big and advanced the FIRE MOTHS was, and this just made her angrier. If only they were earlier, then their mother would-…
She took a deep breath to calm herself down. She was fully aware that it wasn't the fault of the young man before her. As his partner had said earlier, he had tried his absolute best to protect them all, herself and her sister included; so, she was thankful to him. If they weren't on opposite sides, then she would have loved to trade martial knowledge along with her Battōjutsu knowledge with him, alas here they were. She had to kill him now for the plan that the Grandmaster had deduced.
She heard as Kevin unleashed the true power of his sword:
"Ignite. HOMURA."
The sword exploded in fire, as its blade spew wild dancing flames everywhere. They were wild and chaotic until he brought them under his control. They were now contained only around the blade, rising up and enveloping the whole blade. Sakura sweated a little from the intense heat of the flames produced by the blade and the outpour of some form of energy that she could feel was fuelling the fire. Her eyes widened a little when she recognized what that energy was.
HONKAI.
The extremely malignant and chaotic energy from the world outside that corrupts and destroys everything it touches. None were spared by its destructive nature, either corrupted by the energy itself or killed by the beasts that it spawned. Those two Herrschers that the young man before her had defeated before were also the manifestation of the Honkai. The how? How was he able to not only withstand such dangerous levels of Honkai energy but to control it as well?
"How?" she could only ask in disbelief.
"It's my speciality." Kevin said as he swung the sword to his side leaving a trail of fire in the air. Then he said:
"None of us has any more energy to duel any further, so let's end it with our next attack."
"Fine." Sakura said agreeing with him and readying her sword. For a foe this strong, only her last secret technique will work. The two stood still, so still that the cold November air that was blowing in the dilapidated surroundings can be heard.
First Heartbeat.
Sakura readied her stance by bending her knees and bringing her blade to her side, fully concentrating on her's and her enemy's breathing.
Second Heartbeat.
She put her thumb on the tsuba of her Katana to draw it in one motion for her attack.
Third Heartbeat.
She sucked in her breath to start the attack with an explosive burst of speed and precise slashes.
The dust that was swimming in the air finally settled down.
Both Kevin and Sakura unleashed their attacks at the same time.
"Frozen eternal Naraka."
"Caladbolg."
A million slashes carrying the cold and bitter winds of the north met with the raging flames stemmed from determination and anger.
BOOOM. A loud explosion rang out into the night.
…
Elysia was making her way to the place from where she had heard the large sound earlier from. The trail of destruction that she had been following earlier had now brought her to another unfamiliar part of the Sundown alley. This portion of the district was nicer than the one in which they had been ambushed earlier, but the scene of poverty still remained.
She had been thinking about these people whom she had faced over this past hour. True enough, they were not veterans but still had a decent amount of skill and discipline as in a military organization. But how? Was the Empire of Romania secretly employing and providing for them? If this was the case, then this whole investigation just got more complicated; and if handled poorly, could lead to a civil war in this empire which was the last thing anyone wanted. Having a civil war when the threat of Honkai was just hanging over their heads was the worst thing that could happen now.
Once she finally made it to the place where both Kevin and the girl 'Sakura' if she recalled were having their duel, she saw the amount of destruction that happened as the aftermath. Broken pavements, gouged-up ground, broken streetlamps among many other things made it look like a scene from a battle. Elysia started to quickly search for Kevin as she navigated through the broken pavements.
"Kevin?"
"Kevin, where are you?"
"Keeeeevinnnnn?"
She searched the area while calling out his name. just as she was getting worried if something had happened to him, a familiar black coat billowed in the wind in front of her eyes. He was standing with holding his blade to the side while looking in the distance with a neutral expression. She then noticed the deep wounds on his right arm and shoulders, which were still dripping blood. Worriedly she ran up to him and called out his name:
"Kevin?"
Kevin finally looked at her with those usual indifferent eyes. Even though he was badly injured, the first thing that came out of his mouth was:
"Elysia." he acknowledged "Are you all right?"
Hearing this made Elysia irritated a little. Why was he worried about her when he was this much injured? However, she decided to leave this train of thought as she remembered that this was how he was; her heart felt both elated at his kindness to others and saddened at his self-sacrificial nature. She just took out a handkerchief from one of her pockets and started to press the wound on his right arm to stop the bleeding.
"What are you doing? Don't stain your handkerchief with blood." Kevin said when he saw her pressing her hands on the wound on his right forearm.
"…" for the first time since he had known her, Elysia just stayed silent and applied pressure on his wound while her head hung low. So, he just put his uninjured hand over her head while patting it.
"Dummy." she finally said in a small voice. At this Kevin just stood still. This comfortable silence was enveloping them until a little voice spoke:
"Are you guys wuvy-dovey?" Kevin looked around trying to find the source of the sound, and that was when he found it. A small boy of roughly eight or nine years of age with golden hair looking at them curiously. Elysia turned around her head as well to see the boy. Seeing him brought her back to her lifted spirits and she replied in her usual cheerful tone:
"Why yes, little one. We are going steady in our relationship."
At this the boy's eyes widened before they glowed up with curiosity and excitement:
"Wow, so are you going to chu as those adults do?"
At this Elysia looked at Kevin and asked in a teasing voice:
"Are we, darling? ~"
Kevin having enough of unnecessary things tried to pry his arm off of her hands only for her to hold it firmer. Turning his head towards her, he found her looking at him with concern in her pink eyes.
"Your wounds are deep, please don't move too much." she then turned to the boy and said:
"Alas, it is not the time to do such things little one. Do you know a hospital around here somewhere?"
"Hospital? What's that?" the boy asked innocently.
"It's where you get treated for your boo-boo. You see, this big brother has big boo-boos and the big sister would like to take big brother to get treated for it." She said while smiling sweetly. Seeing her smile, the boy also became happy and said:
"Well, I don't know about this hospital thingy you are talking about. Nia onee-chan always treats my boo-boo back at home."
Hearing this, Kevin decided to speak up at last:
"Then, let me escort you back to your home. It's not safe here." he finally pried off his arm from Elysia despite her protests. He then turned to her and said:
"Go back to the Hotel room and wait for me. I will return after dropping this boy off."
"B-but your wound-" she tried to protest but Kevin cut her off:
"Enough Elysia. This is an order." he said in his commanding voice. However, she wasn't still willing to leave him alone in this place while he was this wounded. She started to think about some way to remain beside his side when the boy spoke up offering her a solution:
"Nia onee-chan won't mind both of you coming over. She can also heal big brother's boo-boo."
Hearing this made Elysia brighten up again and she asked the boy:
"Really, your sister is able to treat him?"
"Yes, whenever I fall and get hurt, Nia onee-chan will put her hands gently on the hurt and it will disappear." the boy said exclaiming happily and puffing his tiny chest out, a little proud of his onee-chan.
"Great. Lead us to your home~." Elysia said as she clasped her hands over the wound on Kevin's forearm again.
"Wait?" Kevin tried to refute only for both of them to see him expectantly.
"Onii-chan, won't you come to my home?" the boy asked innocently.
"Are you going to break his little heart, onii-chan~?" she teased again. At this Kevin knew that he had been outvoted. He then sighed and said:
"Fine. Lead us to your home." And with that, they started to make their way to this boy's home with her hands holding and pressing the wound on his arm firmly. As they were making their way to the boy's home, he looked over to her to which she only winked at him.
'So tiring.' Kevin thought.
The home that the boy brought them to was not what both of them had been expecting. It was a huge white building with a lot of premise grounds. Kevin could assume that there was a garden inside, making it a nursing home of some kind. But what was a nursing home doing here of all places? The big gates with an arc that inscribed the name of the establishment greeted them:
'TWILIGHT NURSING HOME.'
Kevin recalled that he had heard this name somewhere before, but couldn't remember where. As he racked his brain, he finally remembered where. It came out of the mouth of Kalpas.
Flashback
"And one final thing. No matter where you go, never set foot in the Twilight Nursing Home."
"Why?"
"You will regret it."
Current time
Kevin was slightly on guard as his body tensed up as he remembered those words. And then he noticed it:
There was Honkai energy emanating from the nursing home.
His body immediately got into a guarded position by this. Whatever was inside, it was dangerous, he decided. Thus, he said:
"Enough, Elysia. We are going back."
"But why?" she inquired.
"Didn't you notice it?"
At this Elysia also sensed what he meant, Honkai energy was coming from inside the orphanage. This was bad she decided, Honkai getting involved that things were now extremely dangerous for their current state. What was going on inside this nursing home? The boy however, oblivious to this motioned them to come in:
"Please come in. this is my home: Twilight nursing home."
At this Elysia asked:
"Ne Alan-chan, are you sure this is where you live?"
"Hmm, yes. But why did you ask Ellie onee-chan?"
"It's just, isn't there something weird in here?"
"Weird?" the boy scratched his head "Why would you say so?"
At this Kevin finally spoke up:
"Are there any infected here?"
"K-Kevin…" Elysia tried to warn.
"Infected? What do you mean onii-chan?"
"Are there any persons with strange marks on their bodies?" Kevin asked again.
"Oh, that." the boy said realizing "Yes, there are some. But Nia onee-chan had healed them and their sickness is not that much dangerous. We play together, my best friend Ri is also one of them."
"…" Kevin was surprised. This Nia person can treat Honkai infections? But that's impossible. Even with thousands of hours of research and development, Welt-san could only cure one out of a thousand with the HSN-b46. He decided to investigate this matter by himself. It seemed that this mission was not a simple investigation of murder and eradication of an organization anymore. Thinking such things, he said:
"Fine. Lead us in." at this Elysia asked alarmed:
"Are you sure Kevin?"
"If what he said is true, then we might find a way to make the anti-Honkai serum more effective, saving more people." saying this he entered the nursing home despite the warnings given to him earlier.
This small step into the nursing home grounds will pave the way for some of the monumental points in his life, as well as for fighting against the Honkai.
"Nia onee-chan, I'm home. I brought guests with me as well." the boy shouted as he made his way inside. After a brief silence, a smooth and relaxing voice answered:
"Alan, I have repeatedly said you to not sneak out when I was gone. Why do you do it again and worry me?"
"Ehh? But I'm feeling healthier. And furthermore, your stories are getting boring. So, I went outside for a little adventure."
"Is that so?" the voice answered "Then you need to be punished. You are not getting any sweets for one week."
"Whaaat? Noooooo. Not the sweets Nia onee-chan. Please forgive me, I won't do it ever again." the boy was pleading with tears flowing from his eyes. Missing out on Nia onee-chan's sweets is far crueller than any punishment.
"Naughty children should be punished accordingly." the voice said growing closer. Then it noticed two unfamiliar presences in the nursing home and asked:
"Who are you both? Do you need something from us?" the owner of the voice asked.
Elysia was about to reply but was beaten to punch by the boy:
"They are the guests I was talking Nia onee-chan. They are both good and kind people who took me home after I was lost earlier."
"Is that so? Then you have my gratitude." the owner of the voice said finally coming into the light revealing themselves.
She was a tall woman with light brown hair tied in a small french braid. Her head was bowed down in gratitude. Once she rose her head up, Kevin could see her face clearly. Semi-closed blue eyes opened in shock and apprehension to see the person in front of her.
Calm blue met with Cold Sky-blue.
"H-How?" she asked nervously. At this Kevin just tilted his head a little.
As she looked at him in utter shock, he noted her clothing. It seemed to be a nun's outfit of some kind. She wore a tight white turtleneck with a butterfly brooch extending around a blue gem on her chest. There were various cross-like symbols over her body.
She had black and puffy sleeves which end in white cuffs. Her shorts were white and frilly. From her torso all the way down to her feet, she donned a long black cloth with golden accessories. Connecting to her back was a long robe that resembled blue butterfly wings. There were much shorter, wilted, butterfly wings connected to the black piece. Her heeled boots were a simple white.
After a few moments, she calmed down and said with her soft voice and motherly aura.
"Please forgive my rudeness. I'm forever thankful to you both for protecting Alan and bringing him back. How may I help to return the favour."
At this Elysia jumped forward and held both of the woman's hands while exclaiming:
"You are so beautiful. My name is Elysia Levedeva, but you can call me Ellie~."
"Elysia. We don't have time for this." Kevin tried to rebuke her.
"Oh, hush now. Don't you see how much beautiful she is? Ne ne will you be my friend miss." Elysia said.
"I-I…" the woman was unable to say anything. Before this nobody had wanted to become friends with her or even talk to her except Kalpas and that cat-looking girl.
"Will you please tell me your name please?" Elysia asked in a expectant manner.
"It's all right Nia onee-chan. They are really good people; I can promise that." the boy named Alan added.
After contemplating for a while, she finally relented and sighed. Then with a small voice, she said:
"My name is Aponia."
"Waa~, that's so pretty." Elysia smiled warmly and said:
"From now on we are friends, Aponia."
"Miss Elysia."
"No, no, no call me Ellie~."
"E-E-E…..Ellie-san." Aponia said finally.
"Yay~." Elysia jumped with joy. Seeing her actions Kevin was a little stunned. How can she easily make friends with unknown people like that? He then looked over the woman named Aponia; there was something about her that bugged him and thus made him wary of her. Aponia also looked at him nervously, as this was the first time that she couldn't see it.
There were no threads from his body. No golden lines that said of a person's predestined fate and role in this world, that bound them from the moment they were born, herself included. She had never seen a person without those golden lines, and thus she was utterly confused. Furthermore, she was not able to see premonitions of the future currently. It was a power that she had since her childhood, showing the predetermined end of all she came across, causing her to fruitlessly struggle against it only to fail to change anything in the end.
'How?' was the only thing that Aponia could think; to cause such disturbance in the flow of destiny, for her to simply not be able to perceive it. Suddenly a realization hit her like a wall made of the strongest bricks.
He wrote his own fate and those near to him. He was not bound to it like others, rather it was bound to him and obeyed his will. But how could that be? Who was he, she wondered, to even make fate itself bend to his will? As she was contemplating these, she finally saw the blood dripping off his arm. Then she noticed numerous deep gashes on his body.
"Y-you are hurt." she said, her maternal instincts kicking up and making her worry immensely for this boy in front of her. Hearing her, Elysia also remembered why they came here. She then turned to Aponia and said:
"Yes, he is hurt. Can you please treat him?"
"I will try my best. Please bring him inside, I will get the warm water, bandages and medicines."
"No need." Kevin said coldly. He didn't trust this woman. Then she did something weird. She held his hand and said:
"'Please' come inside to treat your wounds." Kevin felt some sort of power course through him trying to make him obey her, but his mark nullified it rendering it useless. At this the woman was shocked as well; how did it not work on him? It was impossible. It should work on everyone without exceptions.
Kevin pulled his hands back fast, his distrust for the woman growing. She had definitely tried to use some sort of power to manipulate him. She was not normal and an unknown factor. Just as he was trying to turn and leave, the woman held his hand again and said:
"Please come in to treat your wounds. They are very deep and bleeding badly." she said with genuine concern and worry in her eyes.
"Please." she emphasised, this time without using any powers. Elysia and the boy also looked at him with pleading expressions. Thus, deciding to give this woman a chance, he turned forward and motioned her to lead him inside.
"Thank you." The woman said relieved, and then she got closer to him. He could smell the scent of Jasmine on her. She then whispered into his ear.
"I'm so sorry."
Then the three of them made their way into the Nursing home with Aponia holding Kevin's hands tenderly and helping him walk despite his protests. As they were walking, she spoke softly to him:
"May…. May I know your name? Please?" she asked nervously as if he would beat her. Kevin was silent for some time before he said:
"Kevin."
"Thank you." she replied gratefully, seemingly relieved.
'Who is she?' Kevin thought as they made their way to the treatment room.
To be continued….
Hello everyone, welcome back to 'A Warriors Destiny'.
I'm extremely sorry for taking this long to update this chapter. A lot of things are going on currently making it difficult for me to write consistently. Please be understanding.
Well with that out of the way, we got the introduction of two more new members of the Flame chasers. Who is your favourite of them? Comment in the Reviews, for me it's our KeBin; without his simp mentality of course. His story in Hi3 was the main reason for this fic.
On another note, I have been dabbling in Honkai Gakuen for a while, and have found some characters that I would like to incorporate into this story. What do you all think? Should I include them, or make this fic strict Hi3 based.
Well anyway, just two or three more chapters for the COCOON arc and then we will have a time skip to the sixth eruption, from where the feels and depression will begin. I hope you guys are excited about it as I am.
As always if you like the story please leave a follow, favourite, and/or review.
Thank you for reading, until next time.