Please read the note at the end of the chapter but other than that enjoy :)
It was silent in a certain area of the Nagazora Docks. What might've been a busy day of receiving and transporting shipments to and from across the world was unusually silent in this area.
No incoming ships full of cargo, no trucks dropping off their shipments, no signs of cranes moving massive crates around the docks, no sign of yellow hard hat wearing employees could be seen anywhere.
It was essentially just a ghost dock.
"North side clear."
"West side clear."
"East side clear."
"South side clear."
"Commander Owl, we have the docks under lockdown."
"Good, maintain cover and ensure that it is not blown. Set up rotating patrols, I want anything suspicious to be reported immediately." In a warehouse, the intelligence officer gave his orders to the soldier standing before him. "I don't care how unimportant it is, if it's out of the ordinary then it's reported."
"Of course sir," The soldier saluted before he exited the office, leaving Owl alone in the office.
To his left was a screen filled with the feedback of all the security cameras that covered this section of the docks that he had managed to commandeer. Ranging from World Serpent soldiers patrolling the perimeter to the hulking form of Iudex that stood unresponsive in the middle of a warehouse.
Taking control of the docks wasn't his ideal plan but when you were essentially just handed an assignment without any prior warning, you worked with what you were able to get.
Infiltrating Nagazora had been the first obstacle that he had to solve. Ever since the attack on Massive Electric Ryoma Raiden had increased the security for anyone entering the city. The numerous checks that were performed at customs made any of the ordinary ways of sneaking his forces in the city practically impossible.
If it was just him? Then he could easily get into Nagazora no problem.
But trying to get two battalions worth of soldiers in? Now that was almost next to impossible, excluding the fact that he had to also sneak in a several foot tall armored knight as well.
You couldn't exactly stick them inside a semi truck and just drive up into the city without Anti-Entropy getting alerted and sending the entirety of their military might onto him.
But if there is a will then there is a way. Utilizing one of the many allies that the World Serpent had to help, Owl was able to have him and his battalions disguise themselves as a shipping company.
Ranging from legit documents to actual cargo that they had to transport, to any regular person they seemed like an actual company. Unless someone actually knew that they had disguised themselves as a shipping company then they had nothing to worry about.
However life just loves to throw its twist and turns at the worst of moments.
The cybernetic officer sighed as another one of his owl familiars went offline. Ever since he had discovered Kiana Kaslana in Nagazora, there was a noticeable decrease in the owls present within the city. If he were to count this owl the number of lost owls would rise to ten.
One or two of them were normal, but ten of them was an indicator that someone was hot on their trails. It wasn't Anti-Entropy as they had made no moves to increase their security or made any signs that they were on high-alert. He had monitored Schicksal deployments to see if any Valkyries had been deployed nearby but to no avail.
Either a third party was in play or someone had been deployed in secret. He wasn't as concerned with the former more so than he was with the latter. If there truly was a third party then they would've already been on World Serpent's radar, meaning that they weren't a risk to his operations.
But if it was the latter then that was a major concern. That meant that not only did they know that he was here, it also meant that they had reacted accordingly. If that was the case then he would need to step up his surveillance across the city.
Some might call him paranoid considering he had Iudex as a bodyguard but Owl would not leave things to chance. Unless it was absolutely guaranteed he would not take his chances.
Before he could think of how to increase security throughout the city, someone knocked on his door. "Who is it?" He called out.
"Uh sir," It was the soldier from earlier. "We might have a slight problem."
The tone in the soldier's voice made Owl narrow his eyes. Had they already been discovered? Had Schicksal or Anti-Entropy already locate their base of operations? "What seems to be the problem then?" As a precaution he brought up his arm that held the bracelet to command Iudex, a pin's drop away from ordering the knight to his location.
"Well uh…." The soldier trailed off as he tried to find the right words. What could the problem possibly be if he couldn't just spit out already? Just as Owl was about to rebuke the soldier, he got an answer.
"We found a Shicksal shipment in our ship."
Hearing those words, the World Serpent officer felt his stomach drop and he wanted nothing more than to rip his hair out in frustration. For all the possible things that could have happened it had to be-!
He took a deep breath before he did anything rash, acting out in anger was not going to do anything for him. "Iudex head to the storage area," He spoke into his bracelet before exiting his office as he headed for the container, the soldier following close behind him.
When he arrived at the storage area, Iudex and five other soldiers were waiting by the container. Throwing a quick glance at the grey container, Owl could confirm that it indeed belonged to Schicksal. Their infamous emblem was painted on the side of the steel storage.
"How did we miss this, I thought we triple checked every container that we loaded up on our ship?!" He demanded as he walked over to the container.
"It was a last minute change," A soldier handed him the ship's manifest for him to read over. Owl scanned through the papers while the soldier continued explaining. "It was delivered under a different name, hence why no-one noticed it until now."
The intelligence officer sighed as pinched the bridge of his nose. Great now they possessed a shipment from the very same organization that they were trying to avoid. "Do you know where it was supposed to be delivered to?" He asked, trying to find the silver lining in all of this.
"From the paperwork this was supposed to be delivered to the Far East Branch.
Irritation and bubbling anger swiftly turned into confusion. The Far East Branch? Wasn't that the branch that revolved around St. Freya Academy? From what he remembered the academy was where young girls who had stigmas would go to train and become a Valkyrie.
If that was the case then what was an academy shipment doing on their ship?
"Do we know the contents of this container?" He asked, trying to wrap his head around what was happening.
The soldier who was relaying the information just shook his head. "Whoever sent this container made sure that it's contents were classified. The only way we will know what's inside is to open it ourselves."
Hearing those words, every soldier in the room instantly readied themselves. Flicking off the safety switches on their guns they began to encircle the container, fully expecting something to attack them should they inspect the insides of the container.
Iudex remained passive as the soldiers fanned out but a single command would have the knight drawing its massive zweihander that was strapped to its back.
Owl was curious to what was inside the container, he didn't need to fear for his safety as he had Iudex here to mercilessly destroy anything that dared to attack. It wasn't everyday that one could explore a Schicksal container.
Schicksal had its own transports to transport their resources around the world to lessen the risk of their secrets getting accidentally leaked out. So what reason would this container be an exception to that?
"We do nothing," He finally decided. If anything this could've been an administrative error and this container could've contained clothes or food for the academy. "We might accidentally set off an alarm or beacon if we opened this container."
"Relocate this container to another warehouse, if it is indeed a threat then we can have Iudex freely handle the problem without posing a risk to our base of operations." He commanded before he began to walk away, the soldiers scrambling to accomplish their orders.
Still…
He couldn't shake off the feeling that he would be seeing the container once more in the near future.
A few days had passed after the little celebratory feast that was held at Mei's manor, a few days since I stuffed my stomach with the best delicacies that the world could possibly offer me. If I had just suddenly dropped down dead after that experience.
I wouldn't have cared.
Kiana had the time of her life as she devoured plate after plate of food that was offered to her. After a while it began to look like a cycle of perpetual food constantly getting eaten and refilled.
It went a little like this.
In the beginning we have Ayaka bring over a plate of freshly cooked food to the table, you knew it was good just by the visible scrumptious aroma just wafting out of the plate. The head maid would then place the plate of food on the table while picking up any dirty plates before leaving.
What followed was said plate to be instantly snatched up by Kiana and in world record time that plate would be cleaned out. Kiana's stomach was something to truly be feared, me and Mei's had reached our limits while the white haired girl seemed to be just getting warmed up.
It eventually became just the two of us watching her add plate after plate to her food killstreak. Her appetite was so convincing that I was sure that if I signed her up for any food competition that she would win hands down.
Though I also had to give props to the manor's kitchen staff because they certainly knew how to perform. It felt as if they were in sync with Kiana's appetite for the moment that she would be finished with her current plate of food, Ayaka would enter with a newly cooked plate of food in hand.
And after what seemed like hours the unkillable beast that was Kiana's stomach had finally been conquered.
The days that followed after that dinner were as normal as normal could be in the Honkai Universe. When you were with Kiana Kaslana the definition of normal was just as unpredictable as the weather.
It could be calm and sunny in one moment and a raging thunderstorm the next.
"When you mentioned that you had something important I wasn't expecting this," Keji deadpanned as he took in what was exactly happening in my apartment. I turned my head back to see what he was referring to and adopted a slightly guilty look. "Uh, I can explain."
No I couldn't.
"No fair!" Sora pouted as she watched her character's health bar drop to zero. The pink-haired child put down her controller and glared at the person she was playing against. "I thought you said you would go easy on me Kiana-neechan!"
The Kaslana just stuck her tongue out in playful retaliation. "We Kaslanas don't know the definition of 'going easy' on people!" The white haired girl then selected the rematch option on the screen as she got ready to win another match.
And what might they be playing?
None other than the acclaimed fighting game Homu Kombat Ultimate.
You essentially mash Mortal Kombat and Super Smash Bros together, sprinkle in the inspiration of the Honkai Universe…
And BAM! You get Honkai Kombat Ultimate.
"Ishigami-sensei, why did you cancel today's club activities today of all days?" I silently lamented knowing that this was all possible because of my teacher's change of plans. It was definitely strange as the chess loving teacher had never cancelled a day of club activities before.
Actually, the only time that he had cancelled a day of club activities was the day that Kiana had passed her quiz. And ever since that day it's either been the case of him cutting the club time short, or just outright cancelling it.
It was really, really suspicious timing. Factoring the serious expression that he would adopt for a fraction of a second whenever Kiana was near him did not help matters, or when I might catch him watching the two of us from the classroom windows when we left the academy grounds.
But I couldn't really do anything about it since all I had to go off on was a hunch and even then that hunch could just be my paranoia at play. So the only option that I had available was to just wait it out.
And doing nothing was worse when you knew something was brewing in the shadows.
Kuro's challenging hiss brought me back from my thoughts to see the feline descending from her scratching post and in front of Sora, protectively shielding her from Kiana as if she was actually going to harm the child.
Ever since the two's little fight, Kiana had followed my advice and did bring an offering as an apology for what she had done to the feline. Kuro had grudgingly accepted the offering of tuna but she was anything but pleased with the white haired girl.
Some things were not just so easily forgiven.
But at the very least the offering was able to get their relationship to a somewhat passive aggressive level, Kuro would tolerate Kiana's presence so long as the girl did nothing to aggravate her..
In Kuro's eyes, she much preferred Sora as opposed to Kiana. Also the fact that she had no idea what a video game was and that what they were having was 'gamer talk did not help either. In fact I wasn't so sure that the feline had any understanding of anything that was digital.
And oh my god Kiana is rising up to accept Kuro's challenge. "Please help me," I mouthed to Keji as I knew if I tried to intervene then the one who I ended up not siding with would be very displeased.
And despite their shared appreciation for food, I doubt that would be enough for either of them to forgive me.
Keji just sighed tiredly before nodding his head. I gave my heartfelt thanks as he walked past me and the chess fanatic made his presence known. "You need some help there Sora-chan?
Sora's face lit up as she waved excitedly at him. "Keji-niichan!"
"What's up Sora-san, your nii-chan has come to save the day" Keji affectionately ruffled Sora's hair before sitting down right next to her, picking up the controller from the ground. He looked towards Kiana, a cocky smile on his face as he selected his fighting character without even looking.
"Fair warning Kiana-san, I'm not your ordinary opponent. Would be quite a shame if you were to embarrass yourself in front of everyone here when you can only beat Sora."
A fire began to burn in the white haired girls at the declaration. "Oh you are so on Keji! I'll make you regret ever challenging Kiana Kaslana!" Selecting her fighter, the two were soon at it. The sounds of them exchanging 'gamer's talk' were overshadowed by the sounds of furious button mashing.
Seeing how the crisis had been averted, I let out a breath of relief. No more having to worry about the potential fight of Kuro against Kiana, no more worrying about my apartment getting destroyed, and no more worrying about having to explain it all to my grandmother.
...For today at least.
This was going to be a long and arduous week if this continued on. I prayed that somehow or some way that the two would make-up, though I felt that I would need a miracle for that to happen.
"Meow," Kuro got my attention as she walked over, looking at me with a rare seriousness in her blue eyes.
"Yes Kuro?" I asked.
"Meow," She looked at Keji celebrating his victory against Kiana with Sora joining in. Kiana had an expression of horror as she stared at her character's empty health bar . Soon enough she was on her feet demanding a rematch from Keji.
"Meow," She decided before walking towards my room, stopping halfway to look back at me and motioning with her head to follow.
I threw a glance at the trio before reluctantly following Kuro into my bedroom. If we were in any other universe I would've laughed at the idea of following a cat into my bedroom.
But I guess in the Honkai Universe anything was possible.
"Alright Kuro," I locked the door behind me and crossed my arms as the two of us were now alone in my room. "What's going on?"
Kuro looked around cautiously to ensure that they were truly alone, that they had no uninvited eavesdroppers listening in. Once she was sure, the feline walked her way towards the back of my closet and pulled something out.
"Oh god Kuro what the hell!" I shouted as the cat brought out the limp body of an owl. For crying out loud when did she have the time to go kill and hide an owl?! "How the hell did you get an owl in here without me knowing?!"
Kuro opened her mouth and brought down her fangs on the neck of the dead bird. "Oh for crying out loud not here!" I rushed forward with the intent of prying the cat's fangs from the owl. Not only did she bring in a dead bird, she was about to spew its guts everywhere and stain the carpet in a rich red.
I did not want to spend the rest of the day cleaning my room from owl blood. Not to mention that I now needed to check the entire apartment to see if Kuro was hiding any more owls in random discrete areas.
However I was stopped in my tracks when Kuro pried the head of the owl from its body, revealing the circuitry that lay within.
"What the…" I mumbled in surprise as I kneeled right before the mechanical owl. Running my hand through the circuits that made the 'organs' of the bird and the metal exoskeleton that looked like any regular owl from a distance.
All of it felt authentic.
"Wait, isn't the same owl that Kiana met?" Realization overtook me as I remembered the owl that landed near Kiana. I looked towards Kuro who nodded in confirmation that it was indeed the same owl that the both of us met on the second day of school.
I stood up and nervously began to pace around the room. Was I about to relive another grocery attack situation again? Could I even handle surviving another experience like that? Could I even survive now knowing Kiana was also a part of this?
How much more chaotic could it get now that Kiana was now a part of this mess?!
What if-!
"Okay calm down Haruto," I patted my cheeks in an attempt to stop myself from spiraling out of control. Overthinking now would not end well in the long run, I had to approach this with a calm mind and not a stressed one.
Taking in a deep breath, I exhaled calmly before looking at Kuro. "First things first Kuro, does this belong to the 'people' you work with?"
It had been a long while since they, I had my suspicions on who Kuro was working with, or anyone else had tried to do something. I knew that the peace that Nagazora had been experiencing ever since my run-in with Stalker Carbon was just a prelude to something else brewing in the background.
And seeing Kuro nod her told me that whatever was coming finally struck, it would be much bigger than a simple grocery attack.
"Oi Apollo," I called out in my mind, hoping that the reclusive being in my head would finally open up to me. Ever since their revelation the day before I left for Nagazora, they had been awfully silent.
Since Kiana's arrival, I fully expected him to say something about it. Maybe some sort of warning of any future events or a guiding piece of advice on what I should be doing next. But yet…
He's refused to acknowledge all of my attempts to reach him.
Even now my attempt to call him was met with silence. "...There's always the next option." My mind drifted to the next idea and I almost immediately shot it down. It wasn't per say the worst idea but it was still a bad idea to even think of.
It involved getting a response out of...the other entity living inside my head.
Whenever I thought about 'them', I would always be brought back to the island. The hot sand, the seabreeze, the vibrant greenery of the trees…
The fearsome gales that followed its presence like a shadow, the thunder crackling in the background whenever they spoke, the crashing waves that played like an orchestral introduction, the wilted trees that were left in their wake.
"Are you there?" I hesitatingly asked, unsure what I would receive as an answer. I knew it was stupid trying to ask for the other being that lived in my head but I needed to take the risk.
Not when the stakes were getting higher.
"Oh?" Slithering out of wherever they had been hiding in, my body tensed as it felt the full brunt of this thing's presence. Even if I had experienced this before, it was still terrifying to be under the influence of. "Now this is a surprise, to think you would come and approach me first."
I clenched my hand in an attempt to control my breathing. Thankfully Kuro seemed to be preoccupied with something outside of the bedroom's window so she could not see my inner predicament.
And judging by how animated the conversation was between Kiana and Keji, It looks like I didn't have to worry about them interrupting me.
"Usually people try to avoid me, my presence makes them so very uncomfortable," I couldn't help but yelp under my breath when a cold presence brushed over me, like someone with hands of ice was gripping my shoulder.
It felt as if they were right behind me as we talked.
"But you don't," They laughed as the cold hand-like presence left my shoulder, a sigh of relief leaving my lips . "I don't know if you're either brave or very stupid, maybe a little bit of both."
"However I must reward your boldness, it's been so long since I have been amused" They placed an emphasis on the captain as their indomitable presence faded away, the feeling that I was slowly being choked leaving with it. "So captain, what do you wish of me?"
I took a deep breath before I asked my question. "Where is Apollo? I need to ask him something."
"Unfortunately for you, my little neighbor has taken a little trip for the time being." They answered. "It seems that you will be stuck with me for the time being."
Apollo gone?! "Do you know where he went?" I wanted to know what was so important that my only guide in this whole mess had decided to leave without telling me anything. A heads up would've been nice!
And to my utter disappointment, they told me the answer that I was dreading. "Your guess is as good as mine. They just decided one day to get up and leave."
Great! Not only was I now on the precipice of a major event happening in the near future, the stakes were probably much higher than ever, other players on the level of Rita might probably be introduced…
And to top it off I had a murderous spirit living within me for support!
"What's to be stressed about?" They mockingly asked. If this is what I needed to rely on to get through what was coming then I was royally screwed. "You've got me to rely on."
"That's the whole point-," I stopped my rant midway when a glaring problem presented itself. "I just realized that I don't even have a name to call you by."
"Finally!" They exclaimed victoriously as if they had been expecting this conversation to happen sooner or later. "It's been long enough that I've had to be called the 'evil voice' any longer."
I resisted the urge to facepalm lest I draw unwanted attention to myself. "Regardless of what you feel, I think it's time to give you a name," My mind began to race to what I could potentially call this envoy of darkness that lived inside my head.
But he seemed to have other ideas. "Not to worry, I have already prepared for this." They paused for dramatic effect before unveiling the name that they chose. "You may call me Hyperion."
I took a double take at that. "Hyperion?" I asked incredulously, wondering if they were either joking or being serious. "You chose the name of the ship that I am supposedly meant to be the captain of as your name?!"
"What?" They sounded so offended, like they had actually gone through some effort in picking the name out. "It's a nice name if you think about it. Hyperion was the Titan of Light and Apollo was the God of the Sun, natural enemies. If the other 'me' is to be Apollo then it should be fitting that I be his Hyperion."
I opened my imaginary mouth to try and dispute that, only for me to begrudgingly agree that it did make logical sense. Apollo was the good and Hyperion was the bad, the yin and yang that inhabited my mind.
Though it was going to take some getting used to calling them that when a ship was already called that in this universe.
"Fine Hyperion," I ignored the slight joyful cheer that they did seeing that they got the name they wanted. "Seeing that I have to rely on you for the meanwhile, what is going to-"
"And how exactly will that help you?" Hyperion interrupted, not even needing me to finish my question to know what I was asking. Their go happy attitude suddenly reverted back to what I knew them best for, the oppressive atmosphere that followed them like a shadow. "How does knowing what happens next help you?"
"What do you mean?" I asked in confusion. "If I know what happens next then-"
"Have you not learned your lesson from last time?" They butted in. "For all that foresight you possessed, what good did it do for you when you found yourself being hunted for Rita? You are simply inviting danger should you learn what happens next."
The entity's words cut deep, reopening some bitter wounds. That feeling of helplessness as I watched Kuro defend me from Stalker Carbon, the ever present fact that I was just a damsel in distress.
What good was future knowledge if I lacked the power to change anything?
"I have seen great kings lose it all when it became clear what would become of them if they continued on their path of ambition, only to see them continue foolishly onward." They began to list off. "I have seen the most lauded of heroes meet the worst of ends when they tried to change their fates, the most legendary of tales ending in ruin."
"They said that knowledge of the future would help them, that they could arrogantly face the challenges ahead. I say that very knowledge was what doomed them in the end."
As Hyperion continued to talk about things I couldn't make heads or tails out of, there was one conclusion that I could make about him.
That whatever they were, they were very, very, old.
I don't how I came to this conclusion but something within me just knew that what they were telling me was all true. They had no reason to lie to me now, not when there were so many opportunities to do so already.
So I listened silently as Hyperion continued speaking. "You have done remarkably well for what power you currently possess," They assured to my utter shock. Never did I think that I would be receiving such treatment from who I once believed to be an evil spirit. "Continue to play the game as you once did, there is no shame in living another day."
"It would be quite disappointing to find you in my domain in the near future."
"Wait domain?" I did not like the way he said that word. "What do you mean by-"
"Oh, would you look at that Kuro is approaching you now." Hyperion pointed out, reverting back to his original go-happy attitude. True to his words the black feline had finished window watching and was making her way back to me. "It seems that we must cut our conversation short, till next time!"
"Hyperion?" I called out only to realize that I could no longer feel their presence. "Hyperion? Hyperion!" I shouted in my mind but to no avail.
The nerve of that-
My frustration must've shown on my face as Kuro tilted her head in confusion. "Ah, sorry Kuro. Just thought of something, no need to worry." I lied.
If Kuro bought it or not was unclear but the cat just shrugged before walking over to the corpse of the mechanical owl and proceeded to drag back to wherever she was hiding it.
It could've been worse honestly. I could be going into whatever the hell was about to happen without support so I guess having Hyperion as support would be a great positive. Though I had a feeling that it would come back and bite me back in the ass when I would have to rely on that sarcastic spirit.
"HARU-SENPAI!" Kiana shouted from the living room. "I need a partner to help me whoop Keji's sorry butt!"
"I doubt that having Haruto help is going to change anything!" Keji smugly argued. "I'm not champion status in this game for nothing."
"Well be prepared to kiss that title goodbye when I pry it from your cold dead hands!"
"In your dreams Kiana-san!"
"Haruto-niichan! Come and play with us!"
"Coming Sora!" I shouted back before I left my room, Kuro following close behind me.
At the very least, I could enjoy the calm before the storm.
Unknownst to Haruto, a figure had been watching him the entire time. On a rooftop not too far from the apartment that he lived in, Fu Hua was observing the household and those within it.
More specifically she was observing the state of K-423, the future Herrscher of the Void.
"That cat has good senses," She mused as she left her hiding spot. "She must have a good sixth sense if she was able to detect my presence." It was only through her quick reaction that she had been able to hide herself before the black feline scanned the building that she was on.
"Um Fu Hua-san?" Midori's voice came through her communicator. "May I ask what exactly you are doing there?"
"I am just observing Kiana," She replied as she watched her white haired target throw the controller at the ground as the child and her partner celebrated their victory. "Why do you ask Midori-san?"
"She's not dangerous is she?" The B-Rank Valkyrie asked apprehensively.
"No, Kiana might belong to the Kaslana Family but her natural talent has not been trained upon." She truthfully told. "She will not pose a threat to any of us." Against a Valkyrie who trained to fight against the horrors of Honkai, Kiana would lose every time.
"If she's not dangerous, then why does she have a bounty on her head?"
Fu Hua had to applaud her partner's intuition. Even if she was only B-Rank, she knew how to ask the right questions as if she was A-Ranked. "Midori-san, do you know who her father is?"
"It's Siegfried Kaslana right?" The B-ranked Valkyrie asked confusingly, unsure where this was going..
"So you know he possesses the Judgement of Shamash, a Divine Key that has the ability to obliterate an entire city." The blue gray haired Valkyrie was sure that only Durandal would have the means to match the male ex-valkyrie.
"As a precaution we have placed a bounty on Kiana Kaslana as well for wherever she is, then her father is not that far away. Rest assured that orders are to capture her alive." Fu Hua assured her partner.
"That's a relief, I didn't want to complicate everyone else she's close with." The blue gray haired Valkyrie smiled at the valkyrie's distaste of involving the innocent but frowned when she could hear the sounds of other people on the other end of the communicator.
"Midori-san, where exactly are you?"
"I'm in the girl's changing room," In the empty locker room at Chiba Academy Midori Aki was sitting alone, her kendo armor sitting beside her. "Why do you ask Fu Hua-san?"
"I thought we agreed that you are to not endanger your cover when you are at school." While the B-Rank Valkyrie's help was appreciated, she did not wish for the young girl to lose her cover at the academy.
Neither did she wish for the highschooler to uncover the true purpose of why she was in Nagazora to begin with.
"But-" The black haired girl tried to argue.
"You have your mission to complete, so do I." Fu Hua's firm voice wasn't going to allow any arguments. "Your classmates are probably looking for you right now, we will talk later."
"...I wish you the best of luck then Fu Hua-san," With a dejected goodbye Midori ended the call, leaving Fu Hua alone on the rooftop.
Or so she wished.
"Who knew you could be such a harsh critic, old friend," Otto laughed through the glasses' communicator. The Overseer had been listening in the entire time that the two valkyries had been talking.
"I'd appreciate it if you didn't listen uninvited." She flatly said.
"I'll make sure to make a note of it." He assured, even though both of them knew that this wouldn't be the last time that they would be having this conversation.
Fu Hua casted one last look at the people inside the Nakamura household before walking away. "I thought that you were confident in my abilities, Overseer. Unless the situation has changed I prefer unneeded distractions. "
Back in his personal office, Otto Apocalypse was monitoring the grey blue haired Valkyrie's movements. "Of course, of course. I know better than to distract you when it comes to completing missions."
"But I am surprised by the fact that you are so adamant in making sure that Midori Aki isn't involved in your task." Otto smiled as he pulled up the B-Rank Valkyrie's dossier. "I'm sure that she wouldn't mind getting involved-"
"Do not push your boundaries Otto," Fu Hua reprimanded as she walked down the streets of Nagazora. No one payed her any attention as she continued her conversation with the Overseer. "I alone am enough for this mission."
"Such bold words Phoenix," Otto thought. "You are just a hollow shell of your past self." To think that the mighty immortal defender of Shenzhou would be reduced to a mere puppet. He could still remember the day when the Phoenix of Shenzou descended into the battlefield all that long ago.
The mighty army of Schicksal learned that day how insignificant their power truly was.
But even if she was far from the being that she once was, Fu Hua was still a valued friend. Her dedication to defend Shenzhou, even if she no longer remembered the reason why she still defended it, was the same as his in reviving Kallen.
And for that he had nothing but respect for her.
"If you say so," He relented. "But I do hope that you haven't forgotten your other objective now have you?"
Ah yes that objective. "What is your fascination with Haruto Nakamura?" The age old immortal could not understand why a man such as Otto would be so interested in someone like Haruto Nakamura.
Her true objective was simple really. Whilst gathering intel on Kiana Kaslana, she would also do the same on Haruto Nakamura. Anything ranging from the most basic of information like his eating habits to his connection with the World Serpent, his bond with his cat in particular.
And should she find something that requires much more questioning, which she doubted seeing as her initial assumptions of the red head who bore a striking resemblance to Himeko wasn't anything special.
Then she would use the Fenghuang Down on him and investigate for herself.
"Call it a hunch my old friend. I find myself intrigued by him in some way." Otto pulled up the dossier that he had on the redheaded student. From a normal perspective there wouldn't be anything too special about him.
A normal childhood, a normal family, exemplary grades at school.
But fortune favors the bold and Otto decided that he would dig deeper into who the person that was Haruto Nakamura. If his gambit was successful then the very nature of the game against the Honkai would change. If not?
Well the news would have their breaking news of the day when they found his dead body.
"I'll leave you be for now, but I expect you to make progress on your mission the next time I check in." With that final remark, Otto ended the conversation.
With the conversation finished the undercover Valkyrie made her way to the next location that she needed to scout out.
However, on the street opposite of her, Akira Ishigami lowered his newspaper as he watched the valkyrie leave the area. Folding his newspaper up, the science teacher stood up from his position and began to follow his target of interest.
A car drove down the street that two were walking down, only for it to stop suddenly in its tracks. As a matter of fact the entire world seemed to stop into place, like if someone had paused a video at this precise moment. Vibrant colors were suddenly replaced with a dull grey.
Birds were locked in mid flight, pedestrians frozen in time, cars stuck in motion, a child's fallen ice cream cone was suspended mid fall.
Even the forms of Fu Hua and Ishigami were frozen in time. The form of Fu Hua was surrounded by bright red feathers whilst the form of Ishigami had a dark red aura surrounding him.
"The moment you decide to take a vacation, the one person who could screw everything over just so happens to arrive." Sitting on a bench not too far from the pair, Hyperion had an amused grin on his face.
"This little trip of yours had better be worth it, the role of a guide has never been my forte. Humans have a tendency to take my words in a different meaning than they were supposed to." A flicker of movement directed his attention to one of Fu Hua's bright red feathers floating closer to him. Nonchalantly the hooded grabbed the feather with his hand. "Though should our little phoenix get too close…"
He plopped the feather into his mouth and made a sound of appreciation when he swallowed it. "It tastes the same as I remembered it to be." He burped and out came a few embers.
"Like that of fried chicken."
A tranquil expression was on the sole resident of the Seed of Sumeru, the leaves of the Imaginary Tree fell around him as the gray haired pioneer mediated in the bubble reality, focused on the sole task at hand.
Floating in front of him was a leaf of chalk, one of the countless new realities that he devoted his entire attention to uncovering.
A large steel knight stood in a dark space, its glowing red visage cutting through the darkness as it stared down its target. A massive zweihander was held above its form, a red tinge surrounding the blade before it was brought down with extreme force.
The red head human that had piqued his interest brought up his own weapon to try and defend himself from the incoming strike.
However, before the zweihander could make contact with the other weapon…
The vision was filled with static before it ultimately cut out.
With a sigh Su released his concentration on trying to extract more information from the leaf. His eyes opened as he stood up from his seated position, the chalk leaf in front of him disintegrating into ash.
For the countless years that he had remained in the 2nd Divine Key, observing the infinite number of parallel universes for an answer to defeat the Honkai.
He was sure that he had found it in the form of Haruto Nakamura.
For someone to change the very nature of the Imaginary Tree was no ordinary person, no ordinary pawn of fate.
To change his role from that of being once a sidelined character to that of the main cast of the story of the Honkai Universe.
Su was sure that Haruto held the key to everything.
But as he began to observe the universes in which Haruto Nakamura would be a main player, he found himself hitting a roadblock that confounded him to no end.
Normally if something caught his attention the pioneer would watch the selected universe, taking note of all that transpired and comparing the differences between the other universes for future references.
And in all of his years he spent fulfilling the purpose of Project Valuka, the pioneer had never met an individual like Haruto. Never had he encountered an individual who could simply 'end' a vision.
When he was observing a universe, Su would watch what transpired up until the end of the universe. Most often than not the Honkai would lay waste to humanity but each universe had their own positives when dealing with the ancient enemy along with what didn't work as well.
He would take note of what went well from different and use the Seed of Sumeru to create simulated universes where he would test each and every plan that he devised. The number of combinations that he could create numbered in the millions, and that was without accounting for even the smallest of details.
For even a butterfly in the wrong place could make the difference between victory and defeat.
Yet each vision that he watched that involved Haruto Nakamura would somehow unexpectedly end with no explanation. The red head would be in the midst of some important event and then it would be cut as if someone had pulled the plug.
It wasn't due to Haruto dying, no for even if the person that the pioneer was observing died the universe would just keep progressing until the very end.
Su closed his fuchsia colored eyes as he tried to determine why that was the case. He knew for a fact that nothing was manipulating what was shown to him, yet he could not think why any visions regarding Haruto Nakamura would suddenly just cut short.
"I'm missing something but what could that-" His thoughts were abruptly stopped when he sensed a shift inside the Seed of Sumeru. Years of self-imposed exile within the bubble universe had merged his senses with that of the Divine Key.
Very little happened without him knowing.
And he would know when someone arrived uninvited. In fact…
He had been expecting this one's arrival for quite some time.
"When I was first given the 2nd Divine Key, I was told that no-one would be able to force their way into the bubble universes that it created." He called out loud as he thought back to when Dr. Mei had gifted him the Cosmic Juggernaut, as he was the only MANTIS who had the potential to effectively use it.
He also remembered all of the warnings that she had given him regarding the Key forged from the Herrscher of the Void.
"So imagine to my surprise that an unknown entity was prodding their way into the Divine Key, seeking to gain access." Opening his hand, the Seed of Sumeru answered his call as a storm of leaves began to swirl on his open palm.
"Anyone, whether it be human or Honkai, trying to gain access into the Cosmic Juggernaut would be met with extreme prejudice, the knowledge that lies in this Key could so easily destroy the universe as we know it." A copy of the Abyss Flower manifested on his hand. It may have been just a weak copy of the original but it was still a deadly weapon.
With the copied Divine Key in hand, Su turned around and faced the hooded visage of Apollo. The entity stood calmly as he leveled the lance at them. "But yet you did not force your way into this bubble universe. No, you knew exactly how to enter this place."
The first lesson that Su had learned during his self-imposed exile was that there was always an entrance in the dimensional plain that both the Imaginary Tree and Sea of Quanta resided in. In a realm where new universes were birthed and old ones wilted away, one could find an entrance to almost anywhere.
And that either required a never-relenting will to look for every possible clue for that opening, or…
Prior knowledge of where the entrance laid.
"After you first stepped into the realm of the 2nd Divine Key you knew how to navigate your way here, avoiding the other realms that lay in this Key." Su narrowed his eyes as he regarded who stood in front of him.
For he knew only a handful of people that knew how to navigate the Divine Key.
And none of them were standing before him.
"So tell me how it is that you know how to gain access to this place." The gray haired pioneer laid down his ultimatum, his hand tightening around the handle of the copied Abyss Flower. He might not have been the strongest MANTIS but he was no pushover when it came to combat.
"An old friend once told me," Apollo, unfazed by the ultimatum, moved his head upward, the action revealing a hint of a wistful smile. "What you seek will not be found with your eyes alone, should you covet it then what you must open up-"
"Is your mind. For the mind shall cut through the veil of the universe, revealing the sea of unbound knowledge." Su finished as he found himself smiling at the saying, despite the fact that he was conversing with a potential enemy.
"Aw Su," A memory played out in his mind of a pink haired MANTIS pouting as the two of them walked alongside each other down a hallway. She placed her hands on her hips as stepped in front of him. "Are you still mad at me for making you the seventh ranked among us?"
As strange as her little quirks were, Elysia could arguably be one of the smartest one of the thirteen MANTIS that made up the MOTHs. Behind that facade of nonchalant attitude was someone who could be on par with the intellect of Dr. Mei.
Pushing aside the fact this entity knew Elysia somehow, he was now confronted with an even bigger question. How did this entity know of Elysia in the first place? As far he knew Elysia has had no visitors ever since she locked herself in the Elysian Realm.
"Who are you?" Su narrowed his eyes as his eyes glowed a bright purple, the Seed of Sumeru answering his call. A ferocious gale began to rip through the bubble universe, winds so strong that even the mightiest of shields would buckle under its might. The Divine Key was ready to rip into the intruder on a moment's notice.
Yet Apollo remained unfazed by it all.
"Su," The being spoke as their hood was blown off of their head from the ferocious winds, revealing the identity of who he was to the pioneer. Su's eyes widened in shock as he registered who he was exactly looking at, his mind desperately trying to come up with rationalizations to explain what he was seeing.
"It can't be," He muttered as his mouth opened in shock, his brain drifting to a certain memory. A certain memory that had haunted him even up to this day.
"It's impossible," Dr Mei told him as the two stood in the MOTH base. He was in the midst of proposing a plan, hoping for approval from the world's greatest scientist. A plan that if it worked meant that they could defeat the Final Herrscher once and for all.
Unfortunately the raven haired scientist shook her head as she read over his report. "We've considered this course of action but not even the super A.I. Prometheus can tell us how to achieve it."
But he was undeterred, ever since their tragic defeat at the hands of the Final Herrscher he performed countless observations into other worlds for an answer. He was sure that the Seed of Sumeru would reveal what he was looking for.
Somewhere out there in one of the countless universes that existed, someone must've discovered the means to do it. With the Cosmic Juggernaut on his side he believed it was all but inevitable until he found what he was seeking.
And with its discovery, victory against the Honkai was all but practically guaranteed. The sacrifices that his era endured would not be for naught.
But every universe would give him the same result, every answer that he received told him it was impossible. No matter what he tried, no matter what scenario he tried to think of, it led him to the same answer of failure.
He began to think that what he was seeking was just a fairy tale.
Yet...against all the odds he was staring at that very impossibility right now.
A smirk wormed its way onto Apollo's uncovered face as his eyes glinted in amusement at Su's realization.
"You're not the only person here who's in an era that they don't belong in."
Omake: The Tuna Vs. The Bunny
[ChessFanatic213: What have you done Haruto]
[LordChaldea: ...On paper this seemed like a great idea].
[ChessFanatic213: Clearly you thought wrong.]
[Homu_Bunny: Neko_Charm is a baka.]
[Neko_Charm: Excuse me?!]
[Homu_Bunny: Neko_Charm has equipped low level gear, leading you to die over and over. Your idiotic actions have cost us the dunegon run.]
[Neko_Charm: It's not my problem that the healers don't do anything!]
[Homu_Bunny: Healers cannot save idiots that die in two hits.]
[Neko_Charm: What did you call me?!]
[LordChaldea: Um Homu_Bunny it's my fault, I told her that it was fine equipping them for the sake of fashion.]
[Homu_Bunny: Then LordChaldea is an idiot.]
[Neko_Charm: Hah!]
[Homu_Bunny: But Neko_Charm is a bigger idiot for believing you in the first place.]
[Neko_Charm: I'll show you who's an idiot!]
And as me and Keji watched the ensuing firestorm between the two in the chat, a thought suddenly hit me.
Why did this interaction seem so familiar?!
I'm not dead...yet!
It's been 2-ish weeks since my last update and too be honest I didn't want to have the next update be a month later. Technically I started college this week as the two weeks before that I wanted to rest my brain from writing fanfiction.
Even if I was writing fanfiction in my free time lol.
So...alot happens in this chapter. Like alot happened and I'm not sure if it will bite me in the ass later on. I knew that I can't do regular updates so I wanted the chapters to be bigger than normal so you guys don't suffer from waiting.
I saw that Ishigami got really good feedback as even if his true identity was fairly obvious, you guys really enjoyed it. So I applied it to Hyperion and Apollo here. Apollo is much more obvious than Hyperion but you guys might start getting some ideas about who they were.
You might know who they might be but their circumstances on how it came to be will definitely come as a shocker for you guys.
I hope that Elysia was written well. I know that Elysian Realm is out and I could gleam more of her character but when you have poorly built teams it's hard to get far. And Su may or may not start having more cameos this arc, and maybe future arcs.
I saw some comments of wanting Bronya and I too wanted to add her in but decided against it ultimately because there would simply be too many characters to write about. If you've read my other works then you know that I've learned that adding too many characters shot me in the foot.
So I opted for the omake instead, hope you all enjoyed it :)
And that Schicksal Container….lets just say it has a very very pivotal role in this arc. If I had to make a comparison then it would be that of a Pandora's Box. Things get interesting when it gets opened up.
Sorry if I didn't respond to you in the previous chapter, I took a break and totally forgot to respond to you guys!
Also 500 Follows! That's a huge milestone that I didn't think I'd be hitting so thank you so much guys!
BAAL WANTERS WILL BE BAAL HAVERS!
Support has been crazy and I want you to know that I deeply appreciate all of you.
Welp that's all for this chapter. If you enjoyed it, drop a fav/follow/kudos as they really help me out with creating great chapters. Reviews are deeply appreciated and if you have a question or a really interesting theory I am more than happy to reply. Please be patient if I don't respond to you super fast. Even if I don't respond to your comment for whatever reason, know that I read each and every one of them!
Peace!