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.

Extra- 5: Visions at the Edge of Time

ELYSIAN REALM – 2018(Current Era)

Raiden Mei was currently talking with Pardofelis about the way to gain access into the deep end of the realm. She had no idea where to even begin searching for the lead. And to add to her worries, she hadn't seen him for quite a while now. thinking about their last conversation still brought many concerns to her mind.

Flashback

Mei was Making her way back after meeting with Griseo. That girl was so sweet and innocent, just like Kiana-chan was. The pain returned when she thought about her friend and her little sister figure. The pain of helplessly watching her enduring injustices of the world due to an extremely selfish and vile soul who refused to be put to rest. Her anger returned for the man who had been the root cause of it. That man had brought nothing but pain and disaster for everyone she cherished; all for a selfish goal that was not even worth it in the end.

The only silver lining in the entire mess of the situation that the man had created was that it allowed her to meet the people who would accept her and treat her as family. She found what she had lost after her father had been wrongly accused in the halls of St. Freya. True friends, a family, a home… and him. a small smile crept up her lips as she thought about how much he had helped them all even after saying to them that he didn't care in the slightest. From treating Kiana-chan for her condition to finding and bringing back Himeko Sensei from the sea of quanta.

She still couldn't believe that he would jump into that place just to find sensei. He had said that he went there to retrieve his weapon and found Sensei's body by chance. All the personnel in the World Serpent had accepted it because of his nature, but she knew better. She knew that in that cold and dead heart, there still lay a man who cared. The more he seemed to change, the more he remained the same. He had retained his kindness for 50000 years, a feat that nobody else would be able to perform except him. He had remained loyal and sincere to his comrades: both the past and the present ones from the starting, till today, even after so many thousand years later.

This made Mei imagine how he would treat that special one in his heart. But alas, during the time that she had spent interacting with others in the realm she had come to know that nobody had ever managed to cross that barrier in his heart, not even Elysia. His priorities had remained the same all this time and so did his methods.

This made Mei frustrated. To state in a nutshell, he was just a worse version of Kiana-chan when it came to self-sacrifice. The number of times he had gotten hurt trying to be a hero and carrying all the burden alone was already uncountable. And the worst part was that he really managed to pull off those stupid and reckless plans due to his strength. He was a great strategist and a leader, but also an equally idiot and reckless person.

He would still use that accursed weapon that hurt him even after knowing about it. She had tried to reason with him so many times to not use Shamash as frequently as he did. The only response she always got was him ignoring her concerns; and if she still persisted, he would then tell her to get stronger herself if she wanted to force him to listen to her. She still remembers the horrible after-effects that the zeroth power release does to him. She hated that particular weapon with a passion amongst all the divine keys. The weapon that only brought pain and destruction, both to the surroundings and to its user. She was thankful that Kiana-chan was spared from that horrible responsibility, but that meant that it was he who had taken the mantle to be the last successor of the Kaslana family and the last keeper of Shamash and their oath. How ironic was that the first progenitor will be the last successor.

Thinking such things, she made her way to the central hub where she saw two figures talking to each other.

"Do you still intend to follow it through, even after seeing our latest visitor?"

"…"

"Kevin. DELIVERANCE might be the best possible solution to Honkai and beyond. But that doesn't mean that any of us agrees to it."

"…"

"Do you think she would have agreed to this?"

"She's gone."

"But she was still your… no all of ours little sister; and I promised her to take care of her Onii-chan."

"…"

"The answer is no, Kevin. None of us will. Not in the past, nor in the present."

"What you all think doesn't matter."

"Then what does matter to you?"

"Humanity's future, and my Oath and promise."

"But Kevin, our latest visitor has shown the potential. You don't have to go through it. They can be with you. They can help you to shoulder our world's fate. You just need to ask them. They are going to be strong enough, and even surpass us."

"They are not ready."

"Kevin. To all of us Flame-chasers, victory is meaningless if you are not there to see it."

"…"

Feeling that she had heard enough, Mei stepped forward letting her presence known. The two of them looked at her normally, as if they were already expecting her. of course, who was she trying to fool; they are the Flame-chasers, the strongest of their time. Every single one of them present here was capable of taking on a Herrscher by themselves.

The person who was speaking greeted her once she came close enough:

"Hello, Visitor. Are you done with your exploration for now?"

"Yes, I suppose you can say that." Mei greeted the man named Su. He was one of Kevin's closest friends from his school days in the previous era; and perhaps one of the people who knew him the best from a personal level. Thus, she had asked him about all the things he knew about Kevin in the previous era. And it came as no surprise to her when she learned that he was the same as he is now. It brought equal measures of relief and sadness to her on learning this. Relief for the fact that he still was the same from all those years ago and sadness for the fact that he had only grown colder and detached during this long period of time.

Her eyes then landed on the man himself, and as usual, she found her breath being taken away. Despite this being just a fragment of the real one, her feelings still burst out whenever she was near him. She just couldn't help it. Thankfully, the etiquette and manner lessons that she got in her childhood helped her to not make a fool of herself in front of other World serpent members. Nevertheless, she knew that maybe everyone had an inkling about why did she hang around their leader more than anyone else. Raven had already teased her enough about this one, enjoying her reactions every time his name was mentioned.

However, this was not the time to dwell on such feelings as she had a more important thing to discuss, namely:

"What is PROJECT: DELIVERANCE exactly, Kevin?"

"…"

"…"

At this both of them were silent. Kevin had his usual expression, cold and aloof, making it seem that it was nothing to be concerned about. Mei chose to ignore him; not like he would tell her anything important anyways. She instead focused her attention on the long-haired, closed eyes man whose face slightly twitched. She understood at once that she had asked something very monumental and serious. It was because the sage-like man in front of her barely reacted to anything. If he was reacting now, that means whatever this project was, it was most likely detrimental. For whom, she could probably hazard a guess.

"Visitor, that's-" Su began to open his mouth but he was cut off by someone else.

"-nothing you should be concerned about, Raiden Mei."

Mei looked at the man who had effectively barged into their conversation. She just scoffed subtly and said:

"And the Honkai will be defeated tomorrow. I know that you have hidden many things from all of us, Kevin. This was the reason I came to this realm, to find out the truth myself."

"…" Kevin remained silent, his face betraying nothing of what he was thinking. She then turned to Su and said:

"Please continue, Su."

At this, Su just sighed and said:

"Even I'm not privy to all the details. This was something decided between DR. WELT and him. Even Dr. Mobius doesn't know of its true nature. So what I know is something that I have speculated on my own."

"Even your speculation will be useful, Su."

"Did he really not tell anyone about the projects? I thought at least the ones working with him in this era would know about the projects in more detail."

"No. None of us knows the full details. Not even the top members. And do you think anyone of us is able to make him tell us if he doesn't want to?"

At this, the two simply looked at him. Kevin just stood there, silent as a mountain. This grated Mei's nerves more than it should for some reason. This man had so many who put their trust in him, so many who are more than willing to help him and many more who just want him to be safe. And yet, he pushes them all away and shoulders everything on his own. She was tired of his lonely act and would have smacked him if his strength was not inhuman.

She understood that no matter what she says, it still doesn't matter to him as he knows that he is superior to her in every single way. And the more she spent her time here, the more she was convinced that she will never reach his level. He was simply too powerful. From the bits that she has gathered here, she could safely assume that his strength goes even beyond the Herrschers and the Honkai.

She was brought out of her thoughts when Su spoke:

"Well, I don't know how much my speculation will help but since you have asked for his sake, I will share all that I have deduced. To put it simply, PROJECT: DELIVERANCE as the name sounds unleash the full powers of the one who carries the title of the hero of deliverance."

Mei glanced sideways to the said man who carried the title, only to find him standing with his usual stoic expression. she then turned her face towards Su and spoke:

"Full… power?" Mei asked not understanding.

"Yes. As you might know, his powers are from a much higher dimension than our own. Thus, this project aims to fully break the innate restraints put on his physical body and allow him to use those powers to their full potential. However, as to what it is and how it will be possible, I'm afraid I don't have a clue even with my enlightenment."

"Is it true, Kevin?" Mei asked to the man, to which he simply looked at her coldly, without any hint of expression on his face. Taking his silence as confirmation, Mei simply asked:

"Why?"

At this, Kevin finally opened his mouth and said:

"Because it's a promise."

"And what will happen to you, if you succeed?" Mei asked apprehensively. This silence from him about this project was making her worry for some reason. A voice inside her head told her that, whatever this was, the price was going to be very high. Because power always came with an equivalent price, she knew that painfully first-handedly. And an impossible power will come with an impossible price; a price that she was sure that nobody who cared for him would ever accept.

Kevin was silent at this, opting to not speak any further. It was Su who spoke up:

"She deserves answers, Kevin. Didn't you promise her that?"

At this, Kevin simply released a breath and said:

"I will be what I always was." and started to walk away without further saying anything. Mei tried to approach him but was stopped by his voice:

"Focus on your mission here, Raiden Mei. Don't poke your nose where it doesn't belong." saying this, he disappeared from the hall, leaving a confused and worried Mei behind. She stood there for some time before she heard another voice speaking up:

"You really know how to strike his nerves, Visitor."

She turned around to see Su looking at her with a smile on his face.

"Out of all those I have known; you seem to be the closest to him in the current era."

"What does it matter when he doesn't say anything to me." Mei said despondently. At this Su chuckled a little and said:

"It's just his nature to push people away. However, I can see how he cares for you, Visitor. You have a special place in his heart."

"Really?" Mei asked hopefully.

"Yes. However, it is not what you think it is. It is more akin to him thinking of you as a close friend like us."

"I see." What was she expecting?

"But still, it eases my mind knowing that he has people who still care for him in this era. So Visitor-" Su then looked at her straight. It felt as if he was seeing her even though his eyes were closed.

"-please take care of him."

At this Mei was silent for a while before she started trembling and sounds of giggles could be heard from her. She then smiled a sincere smile that she hadn't in ages and said:

"Of course."

At this Su simply smiled and thought:

'Yes. He will be all right now.'

Current time

Mei finished speaking with Pardofelis. They have decided to go and speak with Griseo again after some time regarding the path to the deep. Pardofelis then waved her goodbye telling her that she needed to stock up on her shop again. Mei knew she was going to steal things again, but who was she to stop Pardofelis from falling into her self-dug grave? Karma doesn't spare anyone, not even simulations.

The hall fell silent once Pardofelis left leaving Mei to her thoughts. This was one of those rare times when no one was present in the hall. She wondered where Elysia had gone off to but decided to leave that train of thought. At least she will get some peace and quiet.

She then sat down on the sofa reminiscing about her past, her childhood, the third eruption, St. Freya, Kiana-chan, her friends, him. As she rummaged through the memories, she found a faint smile creep up her lips. In these trying times, all those happy memories were all she had. She realized she had to work even harder if she was to gain those days back; days with him that she cherished the most.

Her reminiscing was interrupted however when the teleport crystal in the centre of the hall shone, indicating that someone had entered the realm. 1Mei raised her head to see who would have come this time. To her surprise, she saw a familiar black cape and wearing it was none other than one of her closest co-workers in this organization: Raven.

Mei stood up to greet her but realised that she looked different somehow. Then her focus went to her face, a mixture of horror and anxiety. This made Mei stiffen as she knew that whatever made Raven like this cannot be a good thing at all. Once Raven was near enough, Mei greeted her and asked:

"Kon'nichiwa, Raven. What's wrong?"

"Ojou, we have a situation. It's Sire. He has done something reckless again."

Hearing this made Mei frown in worry. What had that stupid idiot done this time? She tried to remember where was in the outside world. If she remembers correctly, he had gone with Gray to Kolosten for-

"gasp." she gasped as she realized that he was currently in the place where Kiana-chan and the others were fighting that bastard. Then that means-

"What happened, Raven? What did he do?" Mei asked holding Raven's shoulders and shaking her, the worry and dread in her voice clearly showing.

"Mei, he…he…"

"WHAT DID HE DO, RAVEN!?" Mei shouted, unable to hide the deep fear that was manifesting in her heart. Why did something like this have to happen when she was unable to be on his side to offer her support?

"He took the blow meant for the Herrscher of the void and that blonde Valkyrie and disappeared somewhere."

"What?" Mei asked not able to wrap her head around what she was told.

"What she means to tell that our Sire came in between that Bastard Overseer and them and got pierced by him. After that, both that Overseer and he had disappeared somewhere unknown." A lazy-sounding voice sounded from the glowing light from the teleport crystal. When the light faded, she saw another familiar face.

"What do you mean by that Owl?"

"I could tell you the whole story here; however, we are running out of time. Our intel had indicated that Sire was deeply wounded taking a direct attack that carried the power of authority of binding as well as domination."

"N-no." Mei whimpered. The world seemed to spin around her. It felt like a nightmare, except for the fact that it was real.

"And I thought that she was the most stupid member of this organization. I guess times of idiocy strike everyone once in their life."

"Owl." Raven threatened in a low voice "Don't forget who saved you and that Schariac girl. Without our Sire's timely intervention, you very well know what would have happened."

"Hai, hai." Owl said while rubbing the back of his head again "Can't you guys take a joke."

"Hmph." Raven just harrumphed.

"Sigh… Fine, let's talk about it more on the way out." Owl said as he started to make his way to the teleport crystal. He was followed by a scowling Raven and a shell-shocked Mei. She still couldn't believe that he would do something this dangerous. She had first-hand heard about the tragedy of binding from the residents of the realm, and how much devastation it inflicted upon the MANTISes of the previous era. It was an entity that even Kalpas, the most battle crazy of them refrained from speaking too much of. This just showed how much all of them had lost to the 11th Herrscher of the previous era.

And to think that he took a direct attack from a person carrying the same powers. No matter how one looked at it, it was simply foolishness. The cherry on top was that it was boosted with the authority of domination from the last missing core of the 10th Herrscher.

She still wanted to find a way to the deep end. However, his safety was far more important compared to her search for the truth. Deciding thus, she stepped outside the realm, leaving the exploration of the realm for further date. As she stepped into the portal leading to the outside world, she was unaware of the pair of sky-blue eyes that were watching her from behind one of the pillars.

UNKNOWN PLACE – 2018(Current Era)

It was a place with no boundaries. It was as if the reality had been twisted and bent out of shape and then been spread in all directions. The surface was covered in a type of sand that radiated the notion of time being in a chaotic mix rather than being unidirectional as people are taught since childhood. The scenery around just mirrored the fragments of the memories of the place in the reality out of countless others from where the gateway to this place had been opened. Broken fragments of the fifteenth-century European homes, a broken vestige of a large cathedral, and parts of cobblestone roads reminded the one who was currently walking through this seemingly impossible place, the past which had shaped many happenings which had culminated in them walking through this wasteland.

The person was a man with blonde hair who looked no older than in his twenties. However, behind those clear, green eyes, lay a lifetime of regrets, wishes and hope. A hope for a chance that drove the man until this very moment. Finally, after walking for what felt like an eternity, the silhouette of the thing that he came here searching for came into view. It was shaped like a glowing tree with an infinite number of branches and was so high that it was impossible to see its crown.

This was it. This was the moment he had been working towards for the last 5 centuries. Ever since that day when his own foolishness caused the only light in his world to vanish forever, he had worked to achieve this. All the pain, betrayals, failures, scorn, sacrifices and persistence; it all had been for this moment. He will make sure that she gets the same fair chance that everyone else gets. He didn't care for what happened afterwards. He was already a dead man; he had been dead for five centuries, carrying a rotting grave on his back, refusing to let go or to forget.

It was all right. This was the ending he deserved and wanted anyways. The heroes of the world he left behind will now move it forward, leading it to a brighter future than he ever could. The story was theirs now, and his will end now. Resolving this, he took a step forward.

However, he stopped. Several shadowy creatures rose from the sands as they took a form very familiar to him. it was the figure he saw every day in the mirror of his long existence. A figure he hated more than anyone else in this world: himself. He closed his eyes as he thought:

'The malice of this world shall be sundered by this villain.'

He then created a golden projection of a sword. It was the most powerful weapon he had ever known. The true mysteries of it were lost to time that not even its keepers could unravel. Maybe everyone except one. However, he didn't need its full power; what he had now would be more than enough.

However, the moment he was about to leap into the horde, a black wave of fire swept through the sands and eradicated all of those creatures at once. The heat of those black flames was enough to melt and convert the red sands to red-tinted glass. The man closed his eyes again as he smiled. Even though it looked different, he could recognize those flames anywhere. He looked back not surprised to see the only man who could have used those flames. The said man was an anomaly that even couldn't be rationalized by any theories he had come up with. And from what knowledge has managed to gather, he could simply understand one thing.

This man was beyond the Honkai, the sea and the tree.

The man would be lying if he said he wasn't jealous. He had powers that could simply defeat Honkai. If he had those, then she wouldn't have…

He pushed those thoughts out of his head. What's done is done. He then greeted the man:

"So, what do I owe the pleasure of getting to meet you again, Hero of Humanity?"

"…" the man was silent.

"Oh, should I call you the Sire of the world serpent?"

"Call me as you wish." the man said without any hint of warmth. His eyes were frozen of any emotions, and so was his heart.

"So, for what purpose have you come here? Do you also want to change an inevitable fate?"

"No."

"Then is it for the Void Archives?"

"That is half of it."

"And the other half?"

At this the man simply brandished his sword, pointing it at the man with golden hair.

"Your judgement."

"My judgement…" saying this the man with golden hair started laughing like a madman. Perhaps he had gone mad for a very long time. It didn't matter to him now. He then looked at the man and said:

"And how exactly? Don't forget that we are the same. What gives you any right to judge me, if you are much as a sinner as me?"

"Perhaps." the man said as black flames started to come out from the great sword he held in his hands. He then said:

"I care not for what you think. But for what you have done in the five centuries of your life, you will face judgement like everyone else."

"Kh…" the man with golden hair flinched. The heat was becoming unbearable. He was sure that the man in front of him had chosen to unleash his full power here where he was sure nobody would be affected by it.

The man then came before him and the tree that he desperately sought and said:

"For the impossible wish that you seek to fulfil, you will have to overcome an equally impossible challenge. There is nowhere to hide now. So, show me your resolve and the strength of your feelings. Because only then will you be able to save her."

At this, the man with golden hair clenched the imitation of the sword the man held. Compared to the real thing, this imitation was more akin to a child's toy. However, he refused to bow down. He had come too far to back away. No matter what, he will go past this man and create a future that she always deserved.

She had given him salvation, and for that everything of him was for her.

He sprinted forward to maybe the biggest and hardest challenge he had ever faced in his long long life. But he will never submit.

Thus spoke Apocalypse.

Hello everyone, welcome back to 'A Warrior's destiny'.

How do you like the preview of what is going to happen down the line? Don't worry it won't be happening for a while as we still have a lot of ground to cover.

Treat this extra chapter as additional reading material as the next chapter is going to be delayed for a bit due to IRL situations and the sheer content I have to put into it for finishing off the Cocoon arc. So please wait patiently for it, as we will finish it with a bang.

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

Thank you for reading, until next time.