Summary: How much death can one person stand? How many connections can be formed and broken in such a short period of time? How many civilizations will rise and fall before this cycle ends? And can you forgive the girl that caused it all?
The End of an Era
Ash.
That was all the boy could see.
Ash that fell from the sky like rain upon the scorched earth.
Craters peppered the ground like the surface of the moon. Trees that swayed with the scorching wind burned with a raging flame that seems to roar in anger.
A thick gray smog covered the sky, blocking all blue from view.
In the middle of all of this destruction a teenage boy sat. He lay on the only patch of green in view on this vast plain of ash and fire.
The boy had no memory of how the world came to this state. The last memory of his was that of a girl's face frozen in a state of absolute horror.
So, with this girl in mind, the boy began an adventure that would define the course of history. For the better or for the worse was yet to be seen.
"Thank you for your patronage." Said a muscular, older shopkeeper. He had a smile on his face that made it seem as though he was laughing at his own joke.
"You don't have to say that every time I buy something Touji." Said a teenage looking boy with an exasperated look on his face.
The boy had dark brown hair with a white streak running through the front. His eyes were the cause of a fair bit of attention as his left was a bright blue and his right was a fiery gold. He didn't always have this unique appearance, but it was something he had come to accept and treasure to an extent.
The man simply smiled that annoying smile while saying, "I'll keep saying it until you get something different for once. You can't live on boxed bentos alone you know."
The boy sighed, "So you keep trying to tell me."
"Because it's true. I wouldn't say it if it was a lie" Touji stated with a sense of confidence that can only come from an idiot with too much self-esteem.
"Why don't I believe that at all." The boy said with a small smile.
"I don't know. After all, I'm as trustworthy as they come!" The older man said boisterously.
The boy chuckled, "Guess that answers my question huh."
"What does that mean!" Touji yelled in faux indignation.
Now the boy was smiling, "Figure it out yourself. You're smart, probably."
"You can leave now." The man coldly said. Although it didn't match the childish pout on his face as he crossed his arms.
"Haha, see you later Touji." The boy said with a chuckle.
"Yeah, see you tomorrow Einar." The man said while giving the boy, Einar, a firm handshake.
Einar left the small supermarket after his conversation with the manager. He looked up at the towering glass buildings, saw the people in the streets hurrying about their daily activities, and the cars that flew down the roads with hardly a sound other than the rushing wind.
I guess some things don't change no matter what time it is, Einar thought with a bittersweet feeling in his chest. Well, no use dwelling on the past, and with that thought he carried on down the sidewalk towards his abode.
"Home sweet home!" Stated Einar with gusto when he walked through his front door into his humble apartment.
He went towards his kitchen to grab some utensils and begin his meal.
"Ah, this is the best." Sighed the boy with content. "I liked the freedom of the older days more, but nothing can beat this food!" Stated Einar, with a comparison that would have seemed odd to anyone that heard it.
After his modest dinner and indulgence in his pastimes he went to bed for the night. His dreams were the same as every other night. Bittersweet.
Einar awoke to screams.
He promptly put on his shoes, grabbed his hoodie, and formed a sword from thin air. It was a fairly average size, single edged, straight sword. The blade connected to the handle by way of a "V" shaped profusion that looked as though someone had taken the sharp side of a square of smashed it into the blade and wrapped the bottom half to make it a handle.
At some point during his life he discovered his ability to make certain objects under criteria he wasn't quite so clear on other than he had to know quite a bit of information about them. He wasn't able to create very complex electronics such as computers or even toasters but simply objects such as swords and toothbrushes. The latter was more important than he had thought at first.
With the familiar heat in his chest, Einar rushed towards the street expecting danger just not a woman that shot lightning from her palms.
"Well that's something you don't see every day huh?" Einar quipped when he witnessed the sight.
The boy then took off towards the target running faster than should be capable from a human being, his right eye burning with a gold that seemed to roar in intimidation.
Buildings were being shot with bolts of purple raining from the heavens.
"The weather channel didn't say anything about this at all!" Einar shouted during the chaos.
While he was preoccupied with trying to find a path towards this woman, vehicles armed to the teeth started arriving. They ranged from helicopters, to small mechs, and even to some kind of B*tmbile looking car/tank thing.
Einar looked at them in fascination thinking to himself, they were prepared for an event like this to occur. Soldiers started pouring out of helicopters in small squads armed with strange riles that looked like something out of a Sci-Fi movie, even in this technologically advanced era.
Decided that he had seen enough he emerged from his cover behind some fallen debris and started sprinting towards the woman blasting lightning at everything she could.
One of the soldiers saw this and tried to flag him down, "Hey kid! You'll die if you go near her!"
Ignoring the soldier Einar leapt towards his target as she sent a bolt of electricity directly at him. He couldn't dodge as he was only a few meters away. So, he did the next best thing.
He swung his sword at the bolt.
And he caught it.
His sword pulsed with the azure gleam of electricity, Einar's smirk illuminated ominously.
"Didn't your mother teach you not to blast people with lightning just after you meet them?" Einar mocked as he swung his blade at his opponent.
Unfortunately, the woman regained her bearings and flew backwards, avoiding the blow.
And putting her in the range of the soldiers' artillery.
A bombard of shells rained on the woman that controlled lightning, forcing her to hastily craft a shield of electricity to block the brunt of the attack.
The soldiers stopped after a few minutes to check the condition of their opponent. Short answer, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Long answer, she survived but not unscathed and she wasn't looking down on her enemies any longer.
The woman stood, her long blonde hair billowing in the breeze as lightning coursed through it.
And then she was gone.
And so was most of the artillery.
The woman darted around of a bolt of purple death. Slaughtering those that she came into contact with before being halted by a certain boy.
Einar slammed his blade into her form, halting her assault but not harming her for the most part.
The woman grunted out of utter rage and frustration, "You cannot stop an apostle of God from her goal!"
The boy looked tired as he said, "Maybe not, but I won't stop trying. I have something I need to do and you're in my way missy." He then pressed his sword forward, igniting the blade as it gained a strength that felt familiar to the woman. The heat in Einar's chest returned full force.
The woman jumped back shocked and confused. "You shouldn't have that power. It isn't yours!" She roared.
Charging forward she was met with an icicle to the abdomen. Quickly changing paths to veer right she ran into a sword bathed in a fire that was in no way natural. It glowed in a fearsome orange that seemed to desire the destruction of everything in its wake, and maybe more.
The woman could not escape the attack quick enough and suffered a large wound that spanned from her right flank to her left shoulder.
She growled, "What are you! How can you command those powers!"
Einar shrugged, "I want to know that myself. What you need to know is that I have them, and that I'm not alone."
The woman expressed confusion before the boy disappeared from her view in a flash of black and orange. Almost immediately afterwards a barrage of explosives once again fell from the heavens on her now weak and wounded form.
She no longer had the power to resist such an attack due to the wound inflicted onto her by the boy. She succumbed to the explosives while screaming at the boy that had caused the failure of her mission.
A short distance, on the rooftop of a relatively small building a young boy stumbled through an orange rimmed black portal. His face was pale and sweat covered his form as he gasped for breath.
"That almost went horrible wrong." Chuckled Einar with as much energy as he could muster.
"But it didn't, did it mysterious helper?" Said an unknown voice.
Einar barely moved to look towards a well-dressed man, "How about you repay me with a warm bed and a boxed bento, and we'll call it even, 'k?"
The unknown man chuckled, "If your services are that cheap then we have a deal. We will provide you with lodging and whatever else you desire while you help us with future beings such as the one today. Future Herrschers."
His face sobering, Einar sat upright, "So that's what you call them huh? Ok then, I'll help you as long as you don't get in the way of my goal." His face was deathly serious as he expressed his intentions.
"What would those goals be, if I may be so bold?" The man question with a curious expression.
Einar tightened his expression, "I want to find someone."
The man seemed intrigued as he asked, "Why would we betray that goal?"
Einar then replied with a tone mixed with grief and hope, "Because I think she might be a Herrscher."
"This is surprisingly quiet." Marveled Einar as he listened to the extraordinarily quiet sounds of the helicopter's rotors and engine.
A girl with large rimmed glasses and long black hair responded with a dull tone, "I would hope that something as tedious as that would be accomplishable by the Moth Who Chases the Flames."
Einar looked over at her and the white haired boy next to her and asked, "So, what brings you two here on this secret organization's plane after the destruction of a large metropolitan city by a lighting wielding maniac?"
"Curiosity." Replied the girl.
"Her." Answered the boy bringing a slight blush to the girl's cheeks.
Einar nodded as though he came to a grand revelation and stated, "So you two are here for your honeymoon!" He brought his fist to his palm while smiling, "Congratulations you lucky couple, may you live a long and happy life together!"
The girl proceeded to sputter denials with flaming cheeks while the boy tried to imitate the spectrum of the color red.
"I-it's not like that at all! I simply came here as a scientist to further progress humanities fight against the Honkai!" The girl tried to clarify.
"And I just came with her as a soldier." Said the boy while looking none too displeased by the accusations.
Einar laughed while saying, "Two things can be true at once friends!" The two looked as though they were about to object but Einar proceeded by asking them a more legitimate question.
"Do you two have names or should I just call you Mr. and Mrs. Tsundere." Einar questioned in-between chuckles.
The boy with the white hair answered for them as he had now regained his composure and the girl looked more ready to kill Einar than she did to talk to him.
"I'm Kevin Kaslana and this is Mei Raiden." Kevin declared with a mostly level voice.
"Ah, so you're engaged then." Einar proclaimed as he nodded in faux understanding.
The two finally seemed to realize that nothing they said would dissuade him from his delusions, so they decided to change the conversation.
"We've given our names so how about yours?" Asked Mei in a more professional tone than before.
"Einar, at your service madam." He said while giving her a little bow.
Kevin seemed somewhat confused as he asked, "No family name?"
Einar seemed to wilt a little as he answered, "Not for a long time, no."
Sensing that was a sensitive subject Kevin asked something else, "What brings you here to Fire Moth? You don't seem to be the researcher type, nor do you seem to be one for rigorous combat."
"First of all, ouch my pride. Second of all, I joined as a fighter believe it or not, I'm looking for someone and this is the best place to begin that search." Stated the boy with a tone of melancholy and wistfulness.
Kevin looked intrigued but didn't seem to want to pry, "Well I joined as a soldier and Mei here was scouted by Fire Moth to become a researcher. She is quite the genius after all." Kevin spoke with such pride that it was almost as though he was the owner of the world's most talented peacock.
Unfortunately for him, Mei seemed disinterested as she clarified, "My father was a quantum scientist and I've always held a fascination for the subject along with the other sciences. The Moth Who Chases the Flames was intrigued with my talents and offered their technology in exchange for my assistance with Honkai related matters. As the topic was of great interest to me I accepted."
Einar seemed shocked, "Someone that likes school!" Not for any valid reason though.
Mei simply gave him a blank stare, "Of course, it was interesting after all. Well until I sought to learn things that were not taught at my grade's level, then it became quite boring."
Shaking his head, Einar stated, "You are quite possibly the only one through history that has ever said that and trust me I would know."
As Mei was about to ask what he meant by that the door to the helicopter had opened. They had arrived.
A man dressed in a dark grey suit had come to meet them at the entrance, "Welcome, to your new home!"
The three companions glanced at each other, knowing that this moment marked the beginning of something that would define their lives from that point onwards.
It was up to them whether it would have a desirable outcome or not.
Author's notes: I first want to preface this by saying that none of the other author's notes will be this long if there even is one every chapter. This is my first fanfic but feel free to bring on the flames! I can take it!
Minor spoilers for this next part:
There will be no yuri pairings. I'm aware that this is not going to be a very popular choice but that would go against my personal beliefs so I'm not going to write those pairings. Romance is not something I'm going to focus on as much as the relationships between the characters. Fight scenes are not something I'm very confident one so there won't be a lot of fighting. At the very least there will not be nearly as much time spent on the fight scenes as there will be on moving the plot and giving motives for the actions of characters.
Something else that you might have noticed is that I haven't explored Einar's history as much as you might have expected. This is intentional, I'm trying to slowly reveal his backstory in little increments and small details instead of all at once. I'm planning on having his motives be revealed not through flashbacks but through his telling of the story to another character. What I want is to have the information solely from his perspective and to have the character he is telling the story to be able to interact with him as he's telling it. I'm getting ahead of myself though because that won't be popping up for a little while.
Well, thanks for giving this story the time of day and I hope the rest of your day is better than reading this mess.
Sayonara,
the Slow White Guy