A whole year...A whole year of this COVID and life is changing. But we presevere in the end, still here and writing our tales to entertain the viewers. Working so that food is on the table, and finding alternative means to keep our bonds with others far away strong. One day this blight will end, and life will continue on...
Let's keep fighting for all that is beautiful in the world. And today is December 7, so I decided to upload this next chapter.
Happy Birthday Kiana, our Celestial Guardian. Let's keep doing our best with the fellow Captains and get the ending we deserve.
Nikolai examined the area around Chiba Academy, site zero of the Honkai Impact and closed his eyes. He was focusing on the powers of the Void he shared with his Queen as he peered into the Imaginary Tree's branches and leaves.
In the rifts of quantum spaces, peerless timelines converged onto the location in bubbles-gap ways into other timelines as several scenarios have ended with the Honkai's victory. One alternate future was a few years ahead in a timeline that the Praetorian did not exist.
Herrscher of Thunder vs Herrscher of Void...
To save the one person she cared for, she discarded her past and descended into the abyss to push her beloved to the light. But the cost, was it worth it?
Another timeline unraveled before him, a timeline that tasted bittersweet as the final days approached.
His Queen won this timeline, or rather, the Will of Herrscher in her gem did. He did not exist in this timeline either, and the Kiana Kaslana is different from the one he encountered. This one did not bear the scent of his Queen in her blood nor the gem from years of exposure.
"Otto..." the loyal servant growled in realization; he knew the man had tried several things to try and resurrect a woman named Kallen-even cloning and instantly realized the man had cloned the girl named Kiana and implanted his Queen's Herrscher Core within her copy. That explained her faint recognition of him and Bella despite not knowing them and why the Herrscher power felt fractured.
The Will of Herrscher remained dormant but where was the human half?
[You've met her Nikolai...]
The man paused from his thoughts, immediately recognizing that 'voice' anywhere. How could one not? For the Great Will of Honkai itself, God, spoke unto its servant.
[The human you loathed revived her...and with his Key, erased her memory of all that she was. The Will of Herrscher was angered at this transgression as her ally, her other half was now lost in a cage of amnesia...]
"...living a false life." he finished as he clenched his fists in anger. He had been reunited with his Queen yet her memory was violated by that man! It was unforgivable, and it made it all the more better to make sure the Gem of Serenity never falls into that man's hands.
He felt God's presence in his mind guide him in peering into the many paths with a suitable plan in mind. If executed properly...Sirin will be restored in both memory and power.
But there was one problem with that...He had to be captured by Otto's loyal cheerleading squads to pull it off while stripped of his gifts. But if he could pull it off...
He looked a bit further into that future and he saw her face overlap with her current vessel. She smiled tears of joy at him and Nikolai felt part of him broke; he, the loyal servant of the Honkai Queen vowed to be her shield and sword when she blessed him a name with his new life under her command.
He made it his duty to protect her both physically and mentally of all threats so she could smile. That wonderous smile that was compared to a supernova he vowed to be a more permanet one.
He will follow this path, even if it meant losing the gifts she gave him and become human again. All was for his Queen, from his life to his soul was all for her.
It was time to plant the seed, and since that future of Mei's betrayal to his Queen will not come to pass thanks to his words of encouragement and Bella's guidance there is hope for Siri-Kiana he mentally corrected himself.
Then, those pests Otto sent-especially that girl.
/?\
This was unprecedented, for the numerous Valkyries of Schicksal from various places gathered with the Immortal Blades, the Maid of Schicksal and even Durandal herself was alarming.
"To all Valkyries, I'd like to have your attention." Durandal spoke, silencing anyone talking at the time as they stood straight and serious.
"As you know, the Praetorian of the Void is in Nagazora. Our mission is co-opted with Anti-Entropy in hopes of finally defeating him and ending this nightmare once and for all." she spoke to her fellow Valkyries. This made everyone, even Rita and the Immortal Blades widen their eyes in shock as they all looked at each other.
"What we're up against isn't a monster, it's actually history." One of the Immortal Blades muttered silently to herself while others shifted uncomfortably at the notion of fighting him.
The Praetorian of the Void; a human corrupted and enserviced to the Honkai nearly sixteen years ago. Known as the Queen's Right Hand, this person swerved a path of carnage and death to humanity the day Schicksal defeated the Herrscher of Void. His name was taboo, as if saying it would summon him behind you to feast upon your unguarded soul.
He was the most terrifying thing any Valkyrie encountered as he hunted them specifically with barbarous cruelty. He ripped and teared so many Valkyries with his own hands (while thankfully not raping them like some gossips say) and raided labs, stealing precious artifacts and secrets for who-knows-what. He was the boogeyman to all Valkyries, and the only one to survive one on one engagements was Durandal herself.
Records say that every fight they had since first contact ended with her defeat, normally he'd kill the promising Valkyrie to ensure she wouldn't be a threat but strangely enough spared her every time. It became a heated debated amongst the girls that he found her a worthy adversary, a toy he couldn't resist playing with, or grooming her to be a trophy girl so he could indulge his sick desires upon.
Durandal gave anyone a death glare for saying that last one, a disgusted death glare. Not even Rita herself knew why that'd get a reaction out of her because the S-ranked Valkyrie wouldn't speak of her own personal desire to fight the man whenever he appears.
/Blade of the Void\
"Anti-Entropy is preparing their trump card and it will take time. We are to buy them time to set up and weaken him." Durandal announced as everyone was in the city square preparing everything. The S-ranked Valkyrie looked up to the roofs of the area around them with caution-her danger senses were kicking in as she practically felt his gaze upon them.
The sky was a blood red, it was his doing to announce his presence in the city and that alone intimidated a handful of the A-ranked Valkyries as they looked up at the sight. "I know the tales say he dyes the sky red with his fury, but to see it in person is something else..." a Valkyrie spoke up as Durandal looked to her.
"The tales are...watered down. You only have to worry when it starts to..." Durandal began explaining before freezing as she felt something wet land on her skin. It was water, it had begun raining. "Battle stations now!" she suddenly screamed out as everyone besides Rita were panicking at the sudden order as they all felt it.
A presence that chilled to the bone as thunder roared above as the wind swirled to create an artificial eye of the storm as a lone figure descended upon them. Adorned in the carapace of Honkai armor, its tail twitching in anticipation as its wings generated powerful gusts as it looked down at the humans below it. Its body shone without light touching it as the bestial face was noble and horrific to look at.
Durandal recognized the monstrous form...the Praetorian of the Void in Honkai Form. He was not holding back this time and the Honkai reading emitting from his body was staggering just from his mere presence alone. It was shocking that he wasn't a Herrscher himself yet after all these years of battling and evolving. He roared at the sky was set ablaze, tornadoes of fire cut off any possible escape paths and black haze began to seep from his body.
"He's using all three this time!" Durandal thought with alarm, for her previous encounters with Nikolai were always relying on one of the duplicate Herrscher cores the Second Herrscher blessed him with during Second Impact. Never two, or even all three at once!
The Beast roared and the earth shook with his rage, the living nightmare was prepared to attack. "Saboteurs, to positions with the serums. Frontlines with me, we're focusing on repelling him. Ranged Valkyries focus on using elemental rounds the minute he uses a core!" Durandal barked her orders as she drew her lance and charged at her opponent. The Praetorian looked to her and she could have sworn he had smirked as he pointed his index finger at her as she clashed with him.
The impact from two powerful opponents caused a shockwave to burst forth as everyone widened their eyes at the impossible. Nikolai's index finger was pressing against Durandal's lance at the tip and was holding it in place.
"King!" Durandal called out as her projected ally manifested itself with its great blade in hand as it brought down its blade to smite the blight to mankind.
The Beast looked up at the incoming attack and smirked before unleashing a Honkai-infused roar that destroyed Durandal's ally faster than anyone can blink while said Valkyrie was sent flying into a building.
That was when the first of the darts pierced the Beast's flesh and began injecting the serum into its bloodstream. "Anti-Honkai serums? They are weak to the amount of energy I have, scum." it spoke to them with contempt and with a flick of its fingers the Saboteurs were struck with explosions, causing them to scream in pain as Rita dashed at him with scythe in hand and Crescent Harvest by her side.
Like with Durandal it took one finger from one hand to halt the attack as a tail swipe repelled Crescent Harvest as it was sent flying like a rag doll. "Foolishness, woman." he chided, barely restrained contempt in his tone as Rita's eyes widened in alarm as she felt the heat surging into her scythe as it slowly started melting. "What make you loyal to a deceiver like Otto is beyond me. To have you all fight me like this shall be his undoing."
A simple flick sent the Maid wayward as she managed to regain foothold quickly before glaring at him. He was impressed by that before the roar of thunder and a surge of Honkai energy from afar caught his attention.
Mei Raiden had called upon her Herrscher other.
That was bad, and from what he sensed from other Honkai Beasts in that vicinity there was another Valkyrie Squadron there; he needed to end this fast.
He flew high in the air above the city as Durandal realized what he was doing and horror etched itself unto her face as the squadron with her were panicking since they were boxed in with the fire tornadoes as they realized they were going to die.
Commanding the Essence of Haste, the molecular acceleration began as a blazing orb of fire hovered above the city block before falling down.
Time slowed as everyone watching was prepared to meet there end, only for Titan Mechs of Anti-Entropy to appear and creating barrier walls in front of them just as the explosion began.
Buildings crumble and fell apart, reduced to ashes as the girls screamed in fear of this terrible heat. The Titans held their ground as their hulls were being melted from the intense fire, only giving out once the explosion ended and they collapsed.
Nikolai who saw this only blinked in confusion. "...What?"
Then a bright light, a beam of some sort struck him directly in the back and he screamed. He felt it; his Honkai energy being turned to heat that left him while his body began feeling weak by each second the light was hitting him. The Essence of Serenity, the copy of the Gem of Serenity rendered inert as its energies were expended.
When the light died down, Nikolai, body now emitting steam from the attack turned to gaze at the source. It was a flying battleship of Anti-Entropy's, one armed with a familiar weapon he recognized years ago used against his Queen.
This inccured his wrath as he channeled both the Essences of Haste and Desire and began punching the air in the direction of the ship. It produced flaming shockwaves that penetrated the ship's hull and damaging the inside with fire that melted parts of the inside, crippling the vehicle for a while.
That was when Durandal made her move as her armor's hip thrusters guided her to the sky as she clashed with the Praetorian once again, but this time she noticed he was using his full hand as parts of his form was cracked in a few places.
"How many times have we fought Durandal? Why do you keep throwing yourself at me like so?" he demanded as he took notice of the look in her eyes. There was a desperation of some kind, of recognition, and a deep sadness along with longing inside. "Who are you?"
Durandal gritted her teeth, holding back tears as she looked behind the eyes of the Honkai Warrior in front of her. "...Do you not remember me, Eric?"
The name caused him to flinch as he was pushed back and he grabbed the side of his head in pain. A reaction that brought hope to the Valkyrie as the man groaned in pain before glaring at her.
"I have no recollection of that name yet it brings both joy and sorrow. You are someone of my past that was robbed from me. Now I ask again... .YOU?" It demanded with both confusion and anger in its voice.
Then just when she was about to answer, someone landed near the side in a three way staredown as the woman in question wore obsidian black armor with orange glowing highlights, signifying its attack power significantly enhanced. "Fu Hua?" Durandal started, surprised by this unexpected appearance while Nikolai gritted his bestial teeth in fury.
The girl-Fu Hua said nothing, only looking at Nikolai behind the visor of hers with clear focus as she got into a stance. Lightning crackling between her fingers while flames and wind danced in his in recognition of her.
...
"Our conversation is on hold, Durandal." Nikolai stated as he held his palm outwards towards the S-Rank Valkyrie, causing her to immediately be trapped in a tornado of fire as the other ones dissipated. "THIS one I have to finish...personally!" he snarled at the sight of her.
"...We meet again." Fu Hua stated at that was enough for the Honkai energy the Praetorian emitted to increase in volume.
"You dare show yourself, after the pain you've caused my Queen?"
"As I would have loved to not be involved with you...the fact that you've caused problem for my homeland is warrant enough to fight." she answered as Nikolai too got into a combat stance.
"The suffering of those in Babel was reflected in kind to the ones involved with Apocalypse, including you."
The serene calm against the raging anger, the crippled phoenix against the fallen warrior. The silence between the two was enough as they rushed at each other, exchanging fists and kicks that produced shockwaves.
To any that saw this could easily compare to a fantasy martial arts movie as there were only grunts and screams with each move they made. Blows against each other's armor produced cracks as they focused solely on each other. The minute they broke away, both opponents paused to take a breath. They were dead even in skill and combat, both trained themselves to the point of lethality.
Their reasons differ, one fought to protect whilst the other sought to destroy and it reflected in their style of martial arts they fought with. Their blows had already caused parts of their respective armors to fall apart.
Something interrupted their duel, as a massive volley of missiles flew in the air, targeting the loyal servant of Sirin in a desperate attempt on his life. By a glance he could tell their origin point of fire and merely snapped his fingers, causing a portal to swallow the incoming projectiles and sending them back to their owners as a battalion of Titan mechs were destroyed in an instant by their own weapons.
"Humans and their pitiful weapons...despite their ingenuity they squander their potential bickering with each other over their own selfish desires." Nikolai mused with mirth in his eyes as he eyed Fu Hua with caution. "Then again, you are the same. Static. Unchanging in nature. Unwilling to let go of your past and move on with your life trying to seek happiness while trying to preserve something that is best left buried and long forgotten in the annuals of history."
"Like you are one to do so Honkai Warrior?" Fu Hua spoke up as the demon smiled at that. It looked a bit sad when he made his response.
"I have no human past to recall, for I know nothing but the origin of my birth in Siberia, the loyalty to a Queen that inspires me today with my mission, and friendship with Bella. These three define my existence alone." he answered with a controlled tone as his glare was focused on killing her.
"Strange then, explain why Durandal is spared from death when you had the chance to kill her when you first met her as a child." Fu Hua countered as the pseudo-Herrscher paused at that. He couldn't explain it himself, something stopped him from killing the blonde when they first met. The reaction when she saw his face baffled him years after that first encounter and then her persistent hunt for him. Who was he originally?
"I take it your silence is your uncertainty?" Fu Hua asked as Nikolai clenched his fists hard. "She is someone close to you before you became part of the Honkai. Enough that you spared her and had that reaction to your name...Eric."
That name struck a ping in his head as he held it with one hand. Confusion and rage was swallowing him as he tried to reign in his anger. The Honkai energy within will render him a mindless berserk until his anger died out and he didn't need that right now. The girl was trying too-!
Nikolai grunted as he felt something pierced him in the neck before quickly and grabbing the arm of the one responsible for the sneak attack. He recognized it being the Maid of the Immortal Blades Rita from her profile as he held her arm in a vice-grip and punched the incoming Crescent Harvest as frostbite nicked his knuckles. He pulled out an ejector from his neck and crushed it, irritation as he felt more of his Honkai energy being depleted.
"Damnit, I'm losing energy. That strange beam took a good portion of my reserves and the serums injected earlier are taking effect." he thought as his bestial Honkai form crumbled revealing his human self and both Rita and Fu Hua widened their eyes just as Durandal bursted free from her prison.
Blond hair, a single blue eye with a golden amber one infused with Honkai energy, a resolved yet calm face; he bore a striking resemblance to Durandal as he was several years her senior. "Ara, ara, no wonder why Durandal-sama is focused on bringing you in alive." Rita mused with a coy smile as Nikolai blinked at that.
Was he missing something?
Before anyone one could react, Rita kissed him fully on the lips causing everyone even those in the safety of their respective bases to pause and comprehend what happened.
Durandal had a look between bewilderment and wanting to strangle Rita.
Fu Hua is wondering what is happening and why.
The Valkyries were silently exchanging money from secret bets.
Scientists of Anti-Entropy on the currently damaged battleship were in a state of confusion as the screen cracked from the absurdity.
Otto Apocalypse smiling uncertainly while pondering about something.
Far away in a different part of the city, Kiana Kaslana felt a disturbance in the air and despite not knowing it developed a hatred for scythe wielding maids unexpectedly.
Nikolai's mind momentarily shut-down before quickly rebooting itself as he let go of her and jumped back several feet from her, babbling in utter confusion and embarrassment.
"You-whut-I-gah!" he sputtered out of control, quickly flustered by Rita's smile and her slightly red cheeks.
If they only knew why she did that in the first place. Rita you sly fox!
"Rita...I'll have words after this." Durandal spoke up, her tone was neutral as she was focusing mainly on Nikolai yet she was emitting an aura of anger around her.
"My apologize Durandal-sama, I will explain in detail after this." Rita bowed as she had a small bead of sweat run down her cheek at the anger her lady was emitting.
Nikolai finally had regained self-control as he manifested the Essences of Haste and Serenity and examined them carefully. The two replica cores had lost all power and began crumbling to dust before him, leaving him with only the bond with his Queen and a useless Essence of Serenity.
"Clever..." he admitted in his normal voice to Rita with mutual respect as he wiped his lips. "Using a special serum as lipstick and then kissing me like that to weaken me in the most unexpected way. A femme fatale down to the core." he admitted while Rita drew her scythe with a smile.
"Durandal-sama wants you alive so I'll oblige her and use any means to subdue you." she replied with the polite smile never leaving her face.
Rita was dangerous, very dangerous, if the target was male, her very existence would be the apex predator that devours a man from inside and out with her honeyed words and alluring voice. This Nikolai was certain as he was instantly on edge with her. Flexing the fingers of his Honkai arm, it began to glow dangerously alongside his golden eye. That was when the Valkyrie's comms turned on.
{Girls, this is Otto. That arm is the source of his power. Despite our efforts it seems that arm is bound to the Herrscher that corrupted him. There must be some sort of organ inside it that acts as a connection to the late Second Herrscher. Destroy it and the last of her influence ends, possibly freeing him from her.}
That alone spurred Durandal into action as both King and Queen manifested by her side as she flew towards Nikolai with a roar. Rita not far behind with Cresent Harvest as Fu Hua charged in with her fists. As all three drew near, Nikolai smirked and snapped his fingers.
A bright light swallowed the four and they were separated in a labyrinth of deception.
