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.
Conversations
FIRE MOTH BASE (BRIEFING ROOM) – 2024 (Previous era) (One Month later)
The briefing room was currently inaccessible to any moth member except for the Institute heads, Top Scientists, General Alexei and the Colonels of each Moth Regiment. Today there was a top-secret presentation by Dr. Welt on the findings that they made during the first expedition in the Sea of Quanta. Currently, only those mentioned above were allowed to attend the presentation.
It was a common occurrence in military organizations for the lower brass members to be unaware of the many top-secret projects and research occurring within their organization; Moths was no exception. However, this didn't mean that the members didn't trust their organization anymore. They understood that such secrecy was needed to avoid the leakage of sensitive information that could be used against them, a hard fact that many of them had learnt after the Cocoon crisis.
There were, however, some people who weren't satisfied with this arrangement.
"Nee… can't I just have a little bittle peek. I promise I will be quiet as a mouse."
"I'm sorry Major Elysia, only the Colonels are allowed inside for now. These are General Alexei's explicit orders."
"Geez." she said, her ears drooping a little. (a funny thing is that nobody noticed how her ears weren't exactly round like an average person's.)
Elysia then saw a familiar face making its way towards the Briefing room. She quickly made her way to the said figure and latched herself to them while whining:
"Mobiussssss. They are not allowing me inside."
Mobius just sighed and straightened her glasses. She then withdrew her hand from Elysia's clutch and said in a stern tone:
"Only the top members and Colonels are allowed inside Elysia. Of course, you will not be allowed inside."
"But Kevin is inside, isn't he? Then why don't I get to go inside as well?"
"He is the Colonel of the Seventh Regiment, Elysia. Obviously, he will have the permission."
"Then why are you allowed to go inside?"
"Because I'm the head of the First Institute."
"Mmmmm… this isn't fair." Elysia pouted. At this, Mobius just sighed and said:
"Enough, don't waste my time any longer. Go play with Dystopia and Hua." Mobius said shooing Elysia away.
"Meanie." Elysia pouted again and left the scene. She decided to try some other methods to know what was happening inside.
"That girl." Mobius sighed and looked towards the guards standing at the door "No matter what, do not move from this place. I know that the girl is plotting something."
"Yes Mam!" they both saluted and stepped to the side. Mobius made her way through the path and stood in front of the closed door. She then took her I.D card attached to a frame which was hanging by a golden string off her lab coat and pressed it on the scanner.
"Access Granted." the words light up on the glass panel. She along with the other Institute heads, General Alexei, Dr. Welt and the Colonels had the highest level of clearance in the entire moths. And although, she would rather prefer to die than admit it, it gave her a sense of superiority over that annoying woman. After all, she had something in common with Kevin that that woman couldn't. Hah, serves her right.
Thinking this and grinning to herself, Mobius stepped inside the briefing room where the presentation was going on currently.
"And that is all that we have gathered about the Sea of Quanta, the imaginary tree, and the nature of Honkai." Welt said finishing his presentation. On the screen were the various analysis graphs, pictorials and statistics that showed the results of the various analysis that they had done post the initial mission with the Second Divine Key.
"Hmm." General Alexei said while bringing his clasped hands in front of his face. He then looked at Welt with a serious face and spoke:
"What are the chances that the Honkai beasts are similar to these Quantum shadows as you call them?"
"Well, from what we had analysed from the few samples that we were able to retrieve from the Mu base, these two organisms share a very strikingly similar level of anatomy. The only major difference is their composition." Mobius answered his question. She then continued:
"Although we need further anatomies to fully determine how much far these similarities go, which unfortunately is still currently impossible."
"Why's that?" Colonel of the Second Regiment asked.
"That is because of the fact that they are made of quantum particles which decay very quickly when exposed to our environment. I only got to work on them for an hour before they completely dissipated away, and that too in a room which was practically vacuumed."
"That indeed seems like a great headache." Colonel of the Third Regiment muttered.
"That being said, we are working on a chamber which can replicate the conditions of the Sea of Quanta in the MU base, so we can accelerate the study of these beasts and be able to perform various other experiments which require that sort of environment."
"That is good to hear." Ato said.
"Yeah. I can't believe that all of these exist. It feels like I'm watching a sci-fi movie." Himeko nodded in agreement.
"Like they say that truth is always stranger than fiction." Yada added in his two cents.
"What do you have to say, Kevin?" the Colonel of the third Regiment asked Kevin.
"If my strange power exists, so can they." Kevin said in his usual tone and became silent.
"True that." the Colonel nodded in agreement.
"Well. Leaving that aside, how are the Production of divine keys going, Dr. Welt?" General Alexei asked changing the topic.
"As you can see from the reports in your hands, next week, we will be running the first field test for the Third Divine Key: Seven Thunders of Retribution soon. I will be counting on you for that." Welt said while looking at Kevin.
Kevin just slightly nodded his head in acknowledgement.
"Wait, why him? Didn't you say that Divine Keys are too dangerous to be wielded by us without protective equipment?" Himeko asked confused.
"Yes. However, you must also know that Kevin has borderline immunity to Honkai energy. Furthermore, his Diagmata allows for the most affinity and regulation of Honkai energy. That is why he is the best candidate to wield the Divine Keys for now."
"…" Himeko was silent but one can see from her expression that she was absolutely against this idea. And from looking around the briefing room, one could easily see that she wasn't the only one.
The man himself was silent, however. Kevin knew the importance that these Divine Keys had in the war against the Honkai; thus, he had every intention of helping out with the Divine Key tests. He also knew that if push comes to shove, he is the only one who could currently wield them properly.
"I see." General Alexei said. He then continued "What about the other two?"
"Hai." this time it was Mei who replied "the Fourth Divine Key: Antikythera's Ascension is being set up for launch into a low orbit around the earth as we speak. We have simulated that with its zeroth power, the cleansing of ambient Honkai radiation in the atmosphere will be increased by a factor of 10. With it, we can reclaim Honkai irradiated lands back at a much faster rate."
"Really, then what about South America?" Ato asked.
"Hai. We can reduce the Honkai radiation over the continent to an acceptable level within 10 years at this pace. However, the natural after-effects will be nearly impossible to revert." Mei said while bowing her head.
"Figures." Ato said in a low tone.
"We already know that it's hopeless Ato. What we can do now is to ensure that something like that never happens again." Yada said patting his back.
"Yeah, you're right." Ato said in agreement.
"The Fifth Divine Key is still in the last stages of its development, and as such still doesn't have any official name yet. So, we call it by its title, Key of Winter."
"Key of winter?" Colonel of the First regiment asked in curiosity.
"Yes, we have decided to give titles to these one-of-a-kind weapons to distinguish them from normal Honkai-powered weapons." Welt continued "You can see the official titles we have given to each Divine Key on page 35 of the report."
Everybody flipped the pages of the summary report to see the title names that Welt was saying. Kevin peered over the page. On its top was written with bold font.
'OFFICIAL DIVINE KEY TITLES CURRENTLY'
Below that were the names of the currently constructed Divine Keys along with their official titles.
Second Divine Key: Cosmic Juggernaut – Key of Infinity
Third Divine Key: Seven Thunders of Retribution – Key of Sanction
Fourth Divine Key: Antikythera's Ascension – Key of Tempest
Fifth Divine Key: No official name – Key of Winter
"What about the First Divine Key?" Ato asked jokingly.
"I prefer to stay alive, thank you very much." Welt replied "However, if it comes to that, I hope that Vill-V will give it a good name and not a goofy name just to make me embarrassed."
He laughed a little after saying this but was suddenly cut by a sharp pinch to his side.
"O-o-o-o-o-ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch. What's wrong Dr. Tesla?"
"Idiot." Tesla mumbles and turned her head away.
"Please don't make a joke on something that Dr. Welt." Einstein said disapprovingly.
"What she says is true, Dr. Welt. Don't make lightly of death. All of us here have experienced losing someone precious to us. We don't want to lose more. Furthermore, your contribution as a scientist is more important than whatever your Herrscher core could potentially provide." General Alexei said in a serious tone.
"I understand General, please accept my apologies." Welt said with gratefulness in his heart. These people accepted him for what he was, and he couldn't ask for anything more.
"You are not the only freak here, Dr. Welt. So don't think too much about what you are. We are here for only one thing; that is what should matter in the end." Kevin broke his silence to speak his mind on the matter.
"I suppose so." Welt looked at him with a hint of fondness. Really, what was he supposed to do with this kind idiot?
'Oh, Kevin.' Both Mei and Mobius were touched by his kindness. It made them realize again why were they both so strongly drawn to him.
"So I suppose with this we can end our presentation." Welt said. He then continued "Any more questions anybody would like to ask?"
All the Colonels and General Alexei shook their heads.
"Well then, if anybody doesn't have any more questions, then I can call this meeting adjourned." The General said getting up "Thank you all for your hard work."
"Thank you as well." the different Colonels said getting up after him. They soon filtered out of the room leaving Kevin alone with the Institute heads and Mei. That was when Welt motioned him to come aside. Once they were a bit farther away from the others, Kevin spoke:
"What happened Welt-san?"
"Kevin, I need to speak with you alone afterwards, will you come to my laboratory whenever you are free?"
"Hmm, then this evening after supper time."
"Sure, that works." Welt said and started walking away. Kevin stood there with a confused face pondering what he was talking about. That is until a familiar voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Kevin?"
Turning his head he saw the purple-haired beauty wearing glasses walking towards him. Once closer, he asked:
"Do you need something, Mei?"
"Well, Welt-san has given me the rest of the day off, so I wondered if I could hang out with you for the rest of the day."
Kevin just lightly shrugged in response. At this Mei beamed and said happily:
"Really? Thank you so much Kevin." Mei said while latching herself to his arm. Lately, she was getting bolder with the idea of physical contact with him. However, she had realized fairly quickly after coming here that she had to grow out of her shyness if she wanted to compete with the more outgoing women like Elysia. Hence, she tried to spend more time with him whenever she got time from her hectic schedule. He was the only one here whom she knew closely enough to relax around. To everybody else, she was the genius protégé of the head of the Science division of the Fire Moths. They treated her as someone who knew everything and is supposed to solve all their problems.
All the top scientists were treated akin to gods, being able to solve any problems and never make mistakes. The expectations of the soldiers were so high for her, that Mei sometimes felt overwhelmed by them. However, Kevin was different. He never expected her to be the genius that everyone else did. He always treated her the same as he did back in their high school days. He treated her as Mei and not as the daughter of Dr. Ryoma or the apprentice of Dr. Welt. He saw her as a normal girl with normal wishes and normal emotions.
That was another one of the main reasons why she spent most of her time with him. Despite him being a man of few words, he was fun to be around as he somehow knew exactly what to do pass the time. For her, she loved to discuss various scientific theories. Unfortunately, many of the people just didn't bother to listen to what she wanted to say, or were simply disinterested. However, he was different; he listened to her ramble on for hours without interrupting. In the beginning, she thought that he was just doing out of pity, and had confronted him about it. But when he did not only perfectly remember what she had said but also gave his own insightful thoughts on what she had been saying, she was shocked beyond words. He understood what she wanted to say, and in turn, provided his perspective on the matter. His replies to her questions relating to morality and what it means to be human were the major reason that she had not become a person of cold logic and calculations. In more ways than one, he was the most humane out of them all.
However, this kindness only applied to others. For he was the harshest he could be on himself. Even a science nerd like herself could see how much he demeaned himself. Always ready to throw his well-being away to safeguard others, opting for plans which always ended in the worst possible way for himself. It went to such lengths that he had become the person who visited the medical wing the most in the entire Moths. Scars big and small marred his entire body, barely leaving any smooth skin. His hands were full of callouses and the scars extended up to his fingertips.
Her heart clenched in pain whenever she saw his body that carried those scars, some even dating back to when he was a literal child. She was shocked and wordless when she learned how he was one of the oldest members of the Moths, even before Elysia, Mobius-san and Welt-san. She couldn't even imagine the scenario of a ten-year-old boy fighting those Honkai beasts with nothing but pistols and a normal sword, yet they were all true. Thinking about it made her extremely sad about his way of life. He always had only known the battlefield, the blood and death, the despair and the anger that follows.
Mei could sense the immense anger that Kevin carried within himself. The source of his immense strength and his unyielding will. When being asked why he joined the fight against the Honkai, he replied that it was 'to purge the Honkai and burn down those false gods'. Mei didn't even need her immense intelligence to know who those 'False gods' were, as it was blatantly obvious. The hatred against Honkai was painfully evident in his way of life, yet somehow, he not only tolerated Welt-san but even respected him. This meant that he was not blindly driven by rage, but rather used it as a weapon.
However, only using that one emotion to fuel himself had left many negative impacts on himself, some of which were more hidden than others. His modus operandi made it clear what his intentions were.
He wanted to take away the Honkai with himself to the grave.
And that scared her to no end.
It wasn't as if he was actively seeking death or trying to blow himself up to kill the Honkai beasts and Herrschers, but Mei knew very well that he didn't see himself living past this war to the future they envision. For him, he was born in the flames of this war and he will die in it.
This caused her to become deflated every time she thought about it. He was thinking of a future where he is not present when all she wanted was to spend the rest of her life by his side when this war ended. Truth be told, the only reason she joined the Moths in the first place was that he was here. She could help him directly with what she was best at, i.e with her research into the quantum phenomenon and its connection to Honkai.
"Mei?" a voice suddenly brought her out of her introspection. Raising her head, she saw Kevin looking at her intently.
"W-what?" Mei stuttered. His face was extremely close to hers, so much so that she could clearly see his Sky-blue eyes. They were extremely beautiful she noted.
'No. no. no. Mei get a grip on yourself. You are an adult, not some lovestruck schoolgirl dammit.' she mentally chided herself. Yet, her attempts to keep herself blushing were failing badly. She was always irritated by how much self-conscious he made her feel, to the point that she had started to use some light makeup to make herself pretty for him.
"You were spacing out. Is there something on your mind?" Kevin asked in his usual tone. However, if one listened carefully, one could see the concern in it. She smiled at his display of kindness. His kindness was not visible or expressive like Elysia's, Eden-san's or even Aponia-san's, but a more hidden and practical one.
"It's nothing." she replied distancing himself from him. She prayed that he didn't hear how hard her heart was thumping now. She then said:
"So where are we going?"
"I was thinking of doing some training to pass the time."
"Ehh? But didn't you already do your quota this morning and some more?"
"It never hurts to be more prepared. Perhaps you can give me feedback. Furthermore, there is something I want to try; and I would like your insight into it."
"Hmm? Okay then." Mei was skeptical but she agreed nonetheless. This was the first time she would see him train with her own eyes. All this time, all she had seen for his training were the simulation arena data and footage that the arena cameras provided. As usual, the data mostly made no sense as it was always skewed because he killed those simulated beasts with so much power and so fast that the program couldn't calculate his parameters.
This only put into perspective how much strong he was. The only one who could go toe-toe with Herrschers, and now the only one who can successfully wield a Divine Key.
And Mei couldn't decide whether this was a good or bad thing.
"C-colonel Kevin and Dr. Mei!" the technician in charge of the simulator arena saluted both of them when she saw them.
"At ease, I just wanted to use the arena for myself. Is there anyone scheduled to use the simulator for now?"
"No sir, not that I remember of. However, let me confirm once again." the woman started typing in a few commands in the terminal she was sitting on. Soon she looked up at Kevin and said:
"There is no one scheduled to use the arena for now. So, you can use it to your heart's content, Colonel."
"Hmm." Kevin hummed and made his way inside the simulator room. Mei seeing him disappear behind the huge steel doors turned to the technician and spoke:
"May I take over for this session?"
"O-Of course Dr. Mei, it would be an honour."
"Please there is no need to refer me that way. I'm just a junior researcher."
"But you are under the direct command of Dr. Welt. Furthermore, you know many higher-ups personally, and also you are one of the most genius people here. With your invaluable contribution to the God Key Project, it is hard to not look up to you mam." the technician spoke with stars in her eyes.
"Haa…" Mei sighed softly. It seemed that there was no persuading this woman otherwise. Hence, she left the conversation at that and focused on what she wanted to do. She focused her gaze on the live feed monitor which was currently showing Kevin in the centre of the simulator room, apparently prepared for this supposed training.
…
"Are you ready Kevin?" Mei's voice broke through the announcement speakers inside the Simulator arena.
"Yes. We can begin whenever you want." he replied whilst he spins the sword that he picked up for the training. It was a basic training sword, nothing special about it. However, it was exactly the thing he needed to check his progress in the new technique he was developing.
"Are you going to use just that, Kevin?" Mei's voice sounded again through the speakers. She sounded a little bit concerned. However, Kevin's reply to it was unchanged:
"Yes. I need to use this one to check whether I'm successful or not."
"Okay. But I will stop the simulation if it becomes too much for you." Mei replied.
Kevin just nodded his head. Soon, the room came to life as simulations of various Honkai beasts came to life. There were beasts of every category, ranging from Chariots to Emperors. Kevin just pointed his sword forward and closed his eyes.
'Concentrate. Let it flow through the body. Let it strengthen the bones, the muscles, let it condense as much as possible.'
As he concentrated hard, the air around him began to change. There was a slight golden aura around him. Soon the levels of Honkai energy in the simulator room began to increase.
"What?" Mei was genuinely shocked. There was no way the Honkai energy would be increasing at this rate inside the simulator room. It was as if Kevin was producing Honkai energy out of thin air; yet, all the instruments were telling her the same thing. Honkai energy concentration was increasing at an alarming pace. It was now at a value where a normal human would be easily cascaded into a zombie, and it was only rising.
"Dr. Mei what's happening?" the technician asked fearfully.
"Don't worry, the insulating material of the simulator arena is designed to keep Honkai energy of up to 300 Relts insulated."
"H-Hai." the technician replied. That was when Mei looked at where the Honkai energy was getting concentrated and was shocked beyond belief.
Kevin's bones, his muscles, and even his blood vessels; they were getting saturated by Honkai energy. However, instead of degradation, it was strengthening them. Even if it was a temporary strengthening, it was beyond what was achievable by human methods.
Honkai instead of destroying him was making him stronger.
Yet, she didn't detect any sort of change in the basic structure of his body. He was in full control of his body. The only thing that had changed was that his body was now reinforced by raw Honkai energy.
"How?" Mei could only utter this one word. What she was witnessing should be impossible, yet it was happening before her very eyes. Kevin had done what was impossible for anyone besides Herrschers.
He had made Honkai energy his own.
"!" Kevin opened his eyes suddenly and slashed the training blade in empty air. What happened afterwards further shocked Mei and the technician.
THUD…
The different Honkai beasts' simulations started to fall, being perfectly cleaved in half. Not even one beast was spared from the seemingly invisible slash of Kevin. Once the beasts had all been defeated, an automatic voice sounded through the simulation room.
"Simulation finished. All beasts neutralised. Simulation time: 20 seconds."
"Fuuu…" Kevin released a long breath and pointed down the training sword which unfortunately shattered into several pieces the moment the simulation ended.
"Kevin!" Mei called alarmingly through the speakers.
"I'm fine. It will take much more than that to scratch me." Kevin replied in his usual emotionless tone.
"Geez, you…" Mei's voice trailed off. Soon after, the door to the simulation arena opened and Kevin came out of it. Seeing him come out, Mei quickly scuttled to his side and started looking over his body in case he had not noticed any injuries.
"I said I'm fine Mei."
"But still, I need to confirm myself. You know you can't notice any injuries that you may miss."
"…" at this Kevin was silent. Of course, he knew that she was hinting at his inability to physically feel anything. Thus, he let her check over him, if only to calm her down. Once she was sure that he had not been injured by the weapon suddenly shattering. She looked at him and asked:
"What was that, Kevin? You just conjured Honkai energy from seemingly nowhere and augmented not just your body but that training sword so much that it cleaved those beasts in one slash. Speaking of that, what was that slash? You just slashed in the air and all the monsters died? How is that even possible?"
"As I said it is something I was working upon. And from the results, it seems that my training was successful."
"Wha-" Mei was too stunned to speak. Kevin was training to do this. No matter how you look at it, doing something like this was impossible.
Looking at her confused face, Kevin spoke:
"Even if I explain how I did it, it will be useless because you still don't understand many things. Even I don't know how to explain it in simple terms."
"You could try?" Mei insisted. At this, Kevin just sighed and said:
"I just channelled the Honkai energy directly from the imaginary space and used it to augment myself and that sword. As to how exactly I did it, I can't explain because I don't know how to."
"Hmm…" Mei hummed. If what he said was true, then it was indeed something to be researched upon. A way to directly utilise Honkai energy without the danger of cascading. It can change the war against Honkai on a fundamental level just like Divine Keys.
But for today, this much training will be enough. Thus, she opened her mouth to say the same:
"Kevin, I think that is enough training for today. Let's go somewhere else."
And before Kevin could protest, she dragged herself away from the training wing, but not before instructing the technician to send all the data of this particular training session directly to her.
A few hours later
Both of them were now currently sitting on a bench on top of the Moths H.Q. It was a private garden maintained by gardening enthusiasts here at Moths. Surprisingly the one who did most of the work to maintain this little garden was Sakura. One would be hard-pressed to believe that a member of special ops like her would be this talented in gardening, but here they were.
Mei often came to this place as it reminded her of the garden that she had back in her home. Back when her mother was alive, it had been her who had maintained that garden and Mei had taken it upon herself when she was old enough.
However, all of that vanished in smoke and dust when the Third Eruption took place. And while she had seen her fair share of majestic gardens in the various places she had been, nothing brought her solace like the one back at her home did. That was until Sakura came along and started this small little project. The feeling of familiarity and closeness that Sakura's gardening skills brought Mei prompted her to contribute as well. Soon enough, more members joined in like Aponia-san, Dystopia-san, Clara-san and surprisingly enough Kalpas as well.
And the result of all of their effort was this small. There was a small Sakura at the centre of the garden surrounded by more flower plants and small shrubs. A small path had been created to the Sakura tree under which a small wooden bench was placed.
Mei loved this place for another reason as well. The bench was placed facing the west, which meant that you could see the setting sun; and that was what they both were doing now.
"Kevin thank you for accompanying me for the day."
"…" Kevin just stayed silent and looked out at the horizon. Looking at his face, Mei got the courage to ask the question that had been bugging her for so long.
"What do you think the world would have been if there was no Honkai?"
At this, Kevin turned his head towards her. His Sky-blue eyes that she loved so much pondered her over in confusion.
"What's with this suddenly?"
"I'm just curious, that's it. I wonder what do you think it would be like if we were just normal people in a normal world, trying to live our lives as normal people do?"
"Hmm." Kevin kept his elbows on his thighs, clasped his hands and rested his face on them. He then spoke:
"To be honest, I've never thought about it. Honkai and the tragedy it brings were something that I have known since I learned to speak. So, I cannot imagine a world without Honkai. But since you had asked, I would say…" he then looked at the setting sun on the Horizon again and said:
"It would have been peaceful. And beautiful."
"So do you mean to say that our current world is not beautiful?"
"I don't know. However, it is certainly not peaceful."
"I see." Mei said. She then went quiet for a while and then spoke again:
"Do you remember a picture of our earth taken by Voyager I, 9.4 billion Km away from the earth?"
"..."
"The earth in that picture is just a pale blue dot. The planet on which we were born and grew up is just a tiny blue dot in the huge universe." she continued:
"Humanity's history, billions of people, our knowledge and our culture they appear… so insignificant…"
She then looked at him and spoke:
"That brings the question, of just how much an individual is worth in front of the vast scale of the universe."
"Are you continuing that conversation again, Mei?" Kevin asked.
"Oh no, no, no." Mei laughed softly "you have already given me your answer. I just wanted you to know as to how I see our world and Humanity as a whole."
"Hmm. Indeed, when you see it that way, what we feel or want may feel insignificant compared to the cosmic world. However, as I have said before, humanity's belief is what has allowed us to march forward despite this and try to attain the utopia that we desire."
He then looked at her with eyes full of determination and said:
"That is why nobody has the right to determine our future single-handedly. Not me, nor you, nor the Honkai."
"I see. I shouldn't have expected nothing less from you." Mei said. However, her complete thoughts didn't leave her lips;
'Because you are a real Hero.'
She then continued speaking about how she believed that there are many planets out there with civilizations which may be very similar to humanity and in the same position as them against the Honkai. How she wished that she got to visit the said worlds, observe their culture and civilization, share ideas and knowledge. She told him how she wished to help those worlds that were plagued by the Honkai fight against it. As she kept going on and on, Kevin just kept silent and listened intently.
Suddenly realizing that she had been speaking continuously for a while, she got flustered and started apologizing:
"O-Oh I'm sorry Kevin. I'm just boring you with my rambles, aren't I?"
"No need." Kevin replied "I will listen to everything that you want to say." He then continued:
"Furthermore, I want to listen to what you have to say and then think upon it myself. As they say, no knowledge is bad knowledge. Even the knowledge of making ramen."
"giggle…" Mei giggled at his slip of mentioning his favourite food.
"You finally smiled." Kevin suddenly said.
"Eh?" Mei blushed because his eyes were now very soft, unlike his usual icy sharp look.
"You should smile more; you look more beautiful when you do."
"!" Mei was now blushing up a storm. Damm this guy and his way with words. It wasn't fair. Why was she the only one feeling this way?
Mei placed her hand on her chest so as to try to calm down her racing heart. However, she was failing badly at it. The serene atmosphere along with the fact that he was looking sincerely at her without any hint of expectation was just making it harder for her to resist him.
Kiyome Mei knew that she had fallen for this man named Kevin Kaslana. However, she also knew that he had bigger things to do than just be with her. He was the hero that humanity needed in these dire times. He was strong, kind, brave; everything you would expect from a competent leader. Mei knew fully well that the survival of everything on this planet fell on his shoulders. Yet, she couldn't fully accept the fact that it was he who needed to carry such a heavy burden.
She just wanted to live a happy life with him. Where did it all go wrong?
Seeing that the sun was setting Kevin stood up, prompting Mei to come out of her thoughts. She then saw a familiar scarred hand outstretched towards her. Looking up she saw Kevin looking at her with those same soft eyes that he had earlier. Mei gingerly took the hand that was offered to her, noticing how cold it felt despite belonging to a living person. She enveloped the hand with her other one in hopes of returning some warmth to it; so that she could fully believe that the one standing in front of her will never disappear from her vision.
They stood there standing silent for a while before she spoke up:
"Kevin, promise me that we will see the sunset again when all of this is over."
"…" Kevin remained silent.
"P-Please." Mei begged, feeling her heart break into pieces again.
"Mei, you know very well that I cannot promise something like that. What I can promise you however, is that you will not be alone when your time comes to go to the other side. Even if I'm not there."
At this Mei was silent for a long while before giggles could be heard from her. However, her body trembled and transparent drops fell to the ground around her feet.
"Mei?" Kevin extended his hand towards her but stopped midway when she raised her head.
Tears were streaming down her face. And although her features were contorted in pain, she was still smiling. She then said in a quiet shaking voice:
"I should have known it will be like that." She then smiled and said in a pained voice as fresh tears rolled down her cheek:
"And that's why it hurts so much, Kevin."
"Ah…" Kevin tried to say something in reply but found his voice dying inside his throat. He just stood there looking on as Mei mumbled a quick apology and dashed out of the terrace. Only then he noticed that the sun had set fully, enveloping the surroundings in darkness, with only him left alone in it.
"sigh…" Kevin sighed and slowly made his way to the cafeteria. He had a meeting with Welt to keep.
…
Mei kept running until she couldn't anymore. She found herself in the storage area. So thankfully she didn't meet anyone else, otherwise it would have been a problem to explain her tears.
Once she was sure that she was alone, she slid down against a wall and curled herself in a foetal position.
"Idiot. Idiot. Idiot. Kevin, you dumb dumb Idiot. Why do you always say that sacrificing yourself is the only way to the future? Kevin, you idiot."
She kept repeating the word idiot again and again. As she did, she cried to relieve the pain she was currently feeling. However, instead of the pain lessening, it was still the same. It still hurt a lot.
"I'm an Idiot." she whispered to herself as she stopped crying. Her eyes were red and puffy. Yet, she didn't care. She didn't feel hungry anymore and started to make her way to her quarters, not minding anymore if someone would see her like that.
Mei was aware that her feelings will never come to fruition despite how much she wished them to. In this world, their story was one that was never meant to be.
And that to her was a fate worse than death.
WELT'S PRIVATE OFFICE – After Dinner
Kevin knocked on the door politely three times before a voice sounded from inside.
"Come in."
"Pardon the intrusion." Kevin said as he twisted the doorknob and pushed the door open. As he stepped inside, he saw Welt sitting on his chair reviewing some documents.
"If you are busy now, I will come at some other time." Kevin spoke.
At this Welt looked at him surprised and said:
"Oh no, no. these are some regular reports that I was seeing now. Don't worry, I can look over them tomorrow morning. Our conversation here is more important."
"…" Kevin remained silent. At this Welt motioned him to sit on the chair opposite to himself. When Kevin sat down on the chair, Welt lighted a cigarette and took a long puff of smoke from it as he began:
"Kevin, I actually wanted to talk with you about the things that happened in the Sea of Quanta that I've not mentioned in the reports."
At this Kevin's eyes became sharp as he saw the expression on Welt's face. Because this was the face that he made when things were really important.
"What do you mean by it, Welt-san?"
At this Welt replied:
"You know that mark on your left forearm is very special right? Until now I didn't have any way to know what it exactly was. that is until now."
"…" Kevin remained silent and listened to what Welt was saying. Then suddenly Welt said something that made him double back in astonishment:
"Kevin, call it out."
"What?"
"As I have said. Call it out. The one who lives in your soul. The one who is the source of your power."
Kevin was silent for a long while before he spoke:
"How do you know of that? Did Apo-"
"No. Aponia didn't say anything to me." He then let out a cloud of smoke through his nose "So she knows about it too. No. I don't think she knows what exactly it is."
"…" Kevin was silent. Seeing his hesitation, Welt spoke again:
"Kevin, it is important that I speak to him. There are forces greater than just Honkai playing on the board. And not just our world, but the infinite universes are hanging in the balance."
Kevin was silent for a long while before he spoke:
"Do you know its name?"
"…" Kevin remained silent.
"It has not said it to you yet?"
"No."
"I see." Welt mused "anyway, call it out. I need to have a conversation with it."
"Sigh… Fine, but if it gets too dangerous, I will push you out."
"Believe me Kevin when I say that I might know about it more than you do yourself."
At this, Kevin said nothing and just extended his hand with the Diagmata to touch Welt's hand. Then Welt started speaking in a dialect that he was unfamiliar with:
"ɬ ₩₪и₸ ₸⃝ ₸₪∟ќ ₩ɬ₸₶ ¥⃝ч Ꞩⴙᶕოᶕꞩ₶."
At this, Kevin felt the entity within him stirring. He heard its voice in his head saying:
"So he has come. Let him in."
And after that Kevin found his world going white again. As he was drawn within his consciousness, he felt as if he understood what that last word meant. It was a name. A very odd and ancient name.
SHAMASH.
As he woke up, he saw the entity had already materialised before him. He also saw Welt standing beside him examining the entity with curiosity.
"So this is what you look like in this plane, Ꞩⴙᶕოᶕꞩ₶ ?"
"Hmph. It is because this boy's desire for revenge and power had tainted my image so that I look like this now."
"Hmm." Welt nodded and said "Well, you must know who I am and why I'm here."
"Yes, you desire to find the fundamental truths, Child of Knowledge. As it is the only thing that will help you to defeat that one who infests your kin."
"So, it was not her then after all."
"No. it is one of those who oppose my judgement. He had spread his poison throughout the Sea and had corrupted even her."
"She said that I will find my answers where the primordial flame rests. Please point me the way. I have the means to travel there."
"Ha. You mean that little toy. That won't get you anywhere except the lowest plane. Don't think that Teotl is a place easily reached by you creatures." the entity said with contempt.
"Then what should I do?"
At this, the entity started moving forward towards Welty. Once he was standing right in front of him, it raised one of its hands and touched his forehead.
The reaction was instantaneous, Welt kneeled down on the ground and started to write in agony.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA…"
Seeing Welt's condition, Kevin asked the entity in an alarmed voice:
"What have you done with Welt-san?"
"Don't worry your little head about it too much. I just gave him the knowledge on how to travel between the planes. However, it seems that even his modified brain was not strong enough to hold that wisdom."
"Who are you?" Kevin asked again. Now he was fully sure that this entity was not just the manifestation of his powers. He was a totally different entity entirely.
"Haven't I already answered it when we first met?"
"No. I want the truth."
At this the entity was silent for a long while before answering:
"You already know my name, don't you?"
"What do you-" Kevin started to say when he remembered something. The name he heard when he was coming here.
"Shamash."
"…" the entity stayed silent neither confirming nor denying that name. at this, Kevin spoke:
"Aren't you going to refute it like everybody does when their identity gets revealed?"
"You have watched too many of those corny 'dramas' as you creatures call them. Why do you suppose I would deny what I am?"
"…" Kevin was silent at this accusation.
"However, you are also wrong about it." the entity told him.
"About what?"
"While it is true that I'm Shamash. It is also true that I'm not him. I'm the personification of his law. In a sort of way, I'm just the afterimage left after his demise."
"He is dead?"
"Yes."
"Why? Aren't gods supposed to be immortal?"
"Your view of us is greatly skewed. While it may be true that we cannot be killed by your kin of this plane, the same couldn't be said of those who reside in the same plane."
"So the other gods killed him."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because of the one common emotion that runs true amongst the creature of different planes: the fear of the end."
"?" Kevin was confused.
"You will learn all in due time. So as I have said, while it may be true that I'm the personification of the powers of Shamash, I'm not the said god itself."
"Then what is your actual identity?"
"I'm just power. I have no name."
"I thought you told me your name when we first met and I was not able to understand it?"
"No. What I told you was what I was, not my name. I don't have one."
Kevin was silent for a while. From the corner of his eyes, he saw that Welt had been writhing less and less. This meant that the pain was subsiding; however, his face looked extremely pale and exhausted, as if he had experienced a very stressful situation.
"It seems that he was successfully able to assimilate the knowledge. Impressive. As I thought, that her Child of Knowledge would be able to do it."
"Her child of Knowledge?"
"You will learn about it when the time is right." the entity said as he tapped Welt's prone form with one of its tendrils.
"Now do you know how to reach there, Child of Knowledge?"
At this Welt started coughing violently. Kevin knelt down beside him and rubbed his back in hopes to help him catch his breath. As his coughs quietened down, Welt spoke while taking in large gulps of air as if he was suffocating until now:
"This… huff… huff… this is… huff…"
"Keep your astonishment to yourself. I have given you what you need. Go find it, only then you may have a chance to stand against them." Saying this, the entity snapped his fingers. The moment he did, there was a glass-shattering sound, and the world started to whiten. Kevin understanding that he was being thrown out of the Diagmata space asked a final question to the entity:
"What is there?"
As the world faded away completely, Kevin only heard the voice of the entity saying:
"Your Destiny."
…
"GASP… huff… huff…" Welt woke up with a violent shudder. As he looked around, he found himself back in his office, leaning back against his chair. As he rubbed his eyes to get the drowsiness away, he heard another groan coming from in front of him.
"Ugh…" Kevin groaned as he stirred awake. His eyes seemed unfocused and glazed over. He turned his head around a few times trying to regain his bearings. Once he was completely awake, he saw Welt looking at him in a sort of amused way.
"That was one intense meeting, Kevin."
"…" Kevin remained silent, not deigning to answer that question. They both sat in silence for a while before Welt spoke up again.
"Now since it has given me the way to reach that place, I suppose you have many questions to ask me."
"…" Kevin still remained silent and stared at him deadpan.
"Don't look at me like that. To be fair, even I don't know much about whatever is going on there. However, I will tell you everything I know, okay?"
At this Kevin sighed and leaned back on the chair he was sitting in; he then took a cigarette from the pack that was lying on the table and lit it. As he took a long swig of the smoke, he finally spoke:
"Then please do."
Seeing his action, Welt spoke:
"Do the others know that you smoke?"
At this Kevin started at Welt deadpan again. Welt seeing his reaction raised his hands in surrender and said:
"Fine, fine. Not like I'm in a position to say anything. So where should I begin? Perhaps from the moment I saw the other bubble universes would be a good point."
And thus, Welt narrated his journey across the Sea of Quanta and what he saw and experienced there, all the while Kevin listened silently.
SAHARA DESERT (NORTHERN AFRICA) – 2024 (Previous era) (Three days later)
The Sahara research base was bustling with activity at the moment. Researchers and technicians hurried to and fro across the base, doing various last-minute check-ups and other related procedures. It was the same type of commotion as when the Cosmic Juggernaut was fired, and it was expected to be. It was because today was another special day for the Moths. Today was the first field test of the Third Divine Key.
Kevin clenched and unclenched his gloved hand as he stared at the big crate carrying the supposed Divine Key. He was only allowed to open it when the test started as the huge amount of Honkai energy needed for its initial activation may lead to a small-scale Honkai outbreak within the base; an undesirable outcome for everyone present there.
He approached the crate and put a hand on top of it. He could sense the power of the third Herrscher coiling within the crate, the sense of pride and ego which the third Herrscher had shown when he fought it. He sensed that this Divine Key would not submit to anyone of will inferior to its own.
He looked at the researchers who were running the final diagnostic tests on the Divine Key. He approached one of them and asked:
"How are things going."
"Yes!" the researcher stood on attention rigidly and spoke:
"After finishing these final tests, we will be ready to go anytime you want."
"Hmm. Then make it quick, we don't have time for this all day."
"Y-Yes." the researcher shouted nervously and went back to his work. Hearing Kevin, all the other technicians and researchers quickened their pace. Seeing that his little reprimand had the desired effect, Kevin went to sit on a stool nearby. He then looked over the clothes he was wearing today. It was his battle coat he wore before switching to Gladiator.
One of the reasons that he was not wearing his battle suit was that Welt had asked for the return of the same suit for some major upgrades that he was planning. Apparently, Welt had gained an epiphany in how time works due to the immense knowledge given by that entity. And as such, he wanted to test out a new feature out on Kevin's battle suit.
Kevin started to count the number of particles of dust floating around a lamp on a wall nearby to pass the time.
'2987187… 2987188… 2987189…' he was counting the dust particles when he heard the voice of the researcher earlier say to him:
"We are ready whenever you are, Colonel."
"Hmm…" Kevin hummed in response and made his way to the large lift that would lead them above ground where the test site is. As he stepped on the large lift, he saw the crate which carried the Divine Key being loaded on the side. Two technicians accompanied the said crate, to help open it when they got to the surface. After making sure that the crate carrying the divine Key was secure, one of the researchers gave the go-ahead and the lift started ascending. Alarms blared through the entire base to indicate the start of the test as all the others scurried towards their respective position.
…
The wind was howling loudly as it gathered sand to form small vortexes as Kevin stepped off the lift. He made his way towards the targeted area and the two technicians followed him pulling the crate which contained the Divine Key. Once they reached their respective area, they typed a few keys on the control panel on the crate. The crate started humming indicating its activation. Once their job was done, they turned to Kevin and said:
"Good luck Colonel."
Kevin just nodded slightly in response. He watched the two technicians as they quickly made their way back to the lift which then quickly went underground again. Once he made sure that he was left alone in that place, he spoke loudly:
"We can begin now, Dr. Welt."
As if anticipating his approval, Welt's voice came from a hidden speaker.
"All right, Kevin. Initiating the first field test for the Third Divine Key."
As he spoke, Kevin stepped forward and opened the lid of the crate. The moment he did, there was a huge outpour of Honkai energy that was enough to kill even those with high Honkai resistance. The wind suddenly became fierce as the sky darkened and streaks of purplish lightning could be seen in the storm clouds that have seemingly appeared out of nowhere.
Kevin reached his hand inside the grab a long rod which was slightly glowing purple. He asked out loud:
"Why does a Divine key look like this?"
Welt's voice came through the speakers:
"It was because I wanted it to have multiple weapon forms. Thus, when you activate it, it will change its form based on what its temperament is."
"Temperament?"
"Yes." Welt's voice explained "As you know that even if the cores are deactivated, they have some residual consciousness of the Herrscher within them. And since the third Herrscher was prideful, it has somewhat of a stubborn personality."
"Oi, don't call my creation stubborn." another voice rang out in the desert air.
"Vill-V." Kevin muttered.
"Yes, it's me. No need to wrack your brain over all that stuff. What you need to know is that the Divine Key will only respond to those whom it finds affinity with. However, you won't have a problem as you are more stubborn than anything I have seen before."
As she said this, the long piece of rod started glowing brightly. The sky darkened considerably as the storm clouds rumbled with purple lightning. Kevin sensed the Honkai energy rising in the air with each passing moment. If he still had the sense of touch, he would have felt the static electricity building up in the air.
After a few seconds, Welt's voice boomed:
"Kevin, NOW!"
Kevin immediately raised the rod vertically in the air as a large bolt of lightning came down from the heavens and struck the rod.
KADAKCHDOOOM.
The loud sound made Kevin's ears go deaf for a second. A bright light filled his vision, making him unable to see what was actually transpiring. A few moments passed like this until the lightning finally died away. As his ears rang and his vision was whitened, he sensed that the rod in his hand had changed its form.
Soon his vision returned. And the first thing he saw in his hands was
A purple Katana.
The blade was a pinkish purple with a small serrated at roughly the middle of the blade. The blade bifurcated to a web-like appearance as it connected with the handguard, and within that web-like bifurcation was the Third Herrscher's core. The handle of the blade was black with its grip seemingly made of leather, and instead of a tassel, there was a pinkish bulb at the other end of the handle. Overall, the sword was not something that was possible to make with normal human means, and this is what separated it from the normal Katanas visually.
Kevin could feel the intense Honkai energy flowing through the length of the blade. However, he could also sense a sort of dissonance with the blade. He felt as if he didn't resonate with the Divine key for some reason. As if no matter how much he uses it to its full potential, the Divine Key will never be able to help him reach his full potential.
"That is because you are more attuned to the element of fire. Hence, this Divine Key will not be able to tune properly with you." A familiar voice sounded in his head.
'Then what should I do?' Kevin asked mentally.
"Regulate your power as much as you can. You will have to consciously direct the flow of Honkai energy." the voice replied.
'Fine.' Kevin said and started concentrating the flow of Honkai energy from his body into the divine Key. As he did, the katana crackled with electricity and the smell of ozone grew stronger. He also strengthened his bones and muscles with Honkai energy augmentation, so as to not shatter them when he used the technique.
"Fuuu..." Kevin took a long, deep breath as he got into his stance when he used eastern blades. He spread his legs to give himself a firm footing and dropped his body a little so that he gets a stable centre of gravity. Then the moment came.
"!" Kevin opened his eyes which had started to glow bright golden instead of his usual Sky-blue. He coiled his body as he drew the Katana back to his side to perform a single drawing slash technique called 'Battōjutsu' in eastern cultures. As his muscles tensed, the Electric field in the air reached a breaking point.
CRACKLE… CRACKLE…
Tiny sparks flew off the excessively charged blade of the Third Divine Key. That was when he performed his strongest attack.
"Excalibur…"
The blade roared with a deafening sound of lightning, as the surroundings were bathed in purple.
"…Galatine!" and slashed out the blade in an arc.
Thousands of millions of volts of electricity flew off the blade and onwards to the empty desert. The moment the arc of purple electricity touched the ground, it got converted to glass and then plasma due to the extremely high heat produced by the slash. The slash kept going until it disappeared beyond the horizon, and then a few moments later a loud explosion was heard in the distance.
BOOOM.
As Kevin observed, a very high cloud of dust rose in the air in a mushroom shape. The explosion was soon followed by a very strong shockwave that even rattled the underground base badly. When the shockwave passed, it was followed by a strong gust of wind. Kevin covered his mouth and closed his eyes again to protect himself from the sand.
Finally, when everything calmed down, Kevin opened his eyes to see the aftermath of the attack.
It was monumental.
There was a broad stretch of glass laid before him in the direction where he let out the attack. The stretch of glass looked like a road which stretched out into the horizon. The surroundings still crackled with electricity, and the heavy smell of ozone and nitrogen oxide filled the air. There were small fires nearby due to objects like small bushes getting combusted due to the extreme heat produced by the attack.
However, something bothered Kevin. There was a strong smell of burnt flesh floating in the air. Odd, he was sure that no big animals were present in the surroundings, then from where…
Sizzle…
The answer came in the form of a low sizzling sound from the hand that was holding the Divine Key.
It was horrible.
Burnt flesh stuck to pieces of fabric that seemed to melt into his skin. His whole right hand was charred badly and was blackened to the point that even moving that hand will be a miracle in itself. When he tried to grip his fingers over the hilt of the sword, he found that they were responding very slowly. It seemed that he had burnt his hand to the bones, as cracks appeared in his burnt hand. And even if his regeneration was kicking in, it still couldn't hide the fact that using the Divine Keys required a heavy price from the user. If this was the price he had to pay, even though he was nearly immune to the Honkai energy and had that technique; then others wouldn't even survive using this weapon in its basic form.
As he kept standing there, he saw the lift coming to the surface. He quickly reacted and tried to find the carrying case of the Divine Key, only to find it being blown to smithereens during his attack. He sighed and deactivated the Divine Key in hopes that the Honkai radiation from the sword will be lessened to allow the ones who were coming to not get corrupted.
To his surprise, not only the Honkai energy was completely cut off, but was well contained within the blade. It seemed that the Soulium that the weapon was made from was doing its job properly.
"Kevin!" at the sound of his name, he turned his head around to see the one person he least expected to be here.
"Wha-" before he could express his confusion however, a white blur tackled him. Kevin had to steady himself quite a bit so that they both didn't fall to the ground. He then heard sniffing sounds coming from the person who had just tackled him.
"sob… sob…"
Kevin remained silent as the person cried on his shoulder. Suddenly they became stiff as they noticed the condition of his arm. As the person separated themselves from him, Kevin could finally see those Electric-purple eyes which were now widened with horror.
"Y-y-y-y-your a-arm…" she whispered as her voice shook. At this Kevin said:
"It's nothing."
The reaction was instantaneous. Mei with whatever strength she could find shouted at him:
"NOTHING!? WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY NOTHING? DO YOU EVEN SEE THE CONDITION OF YOUR ARM? WHY DO YOU ALWAYS BRUSH AWAY YOUR WOUNDS LIKE THIS? DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA OF HOW SCARED I'M BECAUSE YOU ALWAYS ARE SO RECKLESS?"
She kept shouting at him and hitting his chest with her index finger. Finally, when her energy was spent, she gently embraced him again while crying and spoke:
"Why do you always take things too far… sob… sob… Stop worrying me.
Kevin just put his uninjured arm on top of her head and patted it lightly. At this action, Mei couldn't hold it in anymore and started bawling.
"waaaaa…."
Both of them kept standing there for some time until her cries quietened down to sobs. She buried her face in his chest as she sniffed occasionally. Kevin then saw a few more faces approach him.
"From seeing the Results, I must say that Divine Keys are indeed powerful. However, it seems that wielding one has drastic consequences." General Alexei started speaking.
"sigh…" Welt just sighed and shook his head. He then turned to Vill-V and said "Bring it back to the lab. We need to fine-tune the energy output."
"Hey, it's not my fault that he pushed it to its limits. I didn't even know that he would be capable of something like that. And that he didn't even release the zeroth power." Vill-V complained. Mei went stiff at hearing the name 'zeroth-power'; her fears returning tenfold. She tightened her arms around Kevin in an attempt to calm herself down.
"That is why we must fine-tune it. If this-" he pointed towards Kevin's hand "-what happens to him when he uses it, don't even get me started on what will happen to others." Welt said.
"Tsk…Fine." Vill-V clicked her tongue. She then turned towards Kevin and said:
"It's your fault. And to think we still haven't tested the weapon's zeroth."
Kevin just looked at her deadpan. To her credit, Vill-V didn't flinch and met his gaze head-on. They kept this staring contest for some time until General Alexei spoke:
"All right, Miss. Vill-V, Kevin, you can have your disapprovals some other time, we need to head back to the base. Only if to treat your wounds, Kevin."
"Yes, General." Kevin replied.
"Hmph." Vill-V pouted and turned her head away.
And with that, all of them made their way back to the base where Kevin would get first aid and then primary treatment. In the following days, after wrapping up all the equipments used during the test and recording and transferring the relevant data back to the Second Institute, all of the personnel would return to the Moths H.Q.
Welt and Vill-V set out to the Second Institute labs as soon as they reached the base. Their primary focus was to develop limiters and regulators and fine-tune the Seven Thunders of Retribution so that it doesn't vaporize its user.
Kevin would be led to the medical bay of the Third Institute where he would receive further treatment. Unironically, he would receive an intense thrashing from Mobius, Himeko and Clara for being reckless yet again. Even the others showed their disapproval at his recklessness. And as a punishment, he would be forbidden to join in any kind of field mission for the rest of the year.
What they didn't expect however was that everything was useless when the real catastrophe struck. And the result of that was not what anyone wanted.
A Few Weeks Later
In the Briefing Room of the Moths H.Q, another one of those top-secret meetings was going on. However, this time even the Colonels were not allowed to join in the meeting. Only the Institute heads and General Alexei were the participants in the meeting.
The contents of the meeting were going to be another massive step in the advancement of strategy against Honkai. That was all they knew. However, the exact contents were lost to anyone, except for those present inside the room.
In the room, General Alexei was sitting while contemplating what was being told to him. If what was said is indeed true, then it would be another revolutionary step like the creation of the Divine Keys. However, this time the number of unknowns was greater than anything they have faced before. Hence, expressing his concerns he said:
"What are the chances of this actually succeeding, Dr. Welt?"
"To tell you the truth, I honestly don't know General. The Sea is a totally foreign territory for us. Even with my expedition in it, there are a number of mysteries that are still unknown to even me."
"Aren't you supposed to be THE Herrscher of Reason?"
"Being the Herrscher of Reason doesn't entail me to be omniscient. I don't know what I haven't experienced or don't understand. And this place is full of those things. We don't even know our own universe fully, and this place is the birthplace and nurturer of countless of those. Hence, I'm afraid that even with my current capabilities it is impossible to plunder the Sea of Quanta of all its secrets."
"I see." the General replied.
"However, with this project, we can at least try to find a solution to our most current and concerning problem, i.e. defeating the Honkai. If we don't know how then we can learn from those who do."
"But are you sure that such a civilization exists? You yourself had said that Honkai is like a disease that spreads across the so-called imaginary tree."
"We can only believe so, General. And we won't know until we try to find them."
"'Belief', huh? You know, that boy seems to be rubbing off on you more than you would like to admit, Dr. Welt."
"Isn't it the same for you, General? Because if not, we wouldn't be having this conversation now."
"Perhaps so." General Alexei smiled a little "Anyway, if you are going to do it, I would like to have some results. Because you know that operating the Cosmic Juggernaut is not cheap. Those at the U.F. are trying to force us into a corner to hand over the Divine Keys to them."
"Yes General." Welt saluted and replied. He then looked at the screen on which the name of one of his newest endeavours was written in bold letters:
PROJECT: V.A.L.U.K.A
The Six letter acronym stood for Virtual AnaLysis of Universes under Key Attention. On paper, this project aimed at finding a civilization in any of the branches of the imaginary tree that had managed to win out against the Honkai and to observe their methods using the Second Divine Key. The most optimal civilizations would be those similar to humans; but if not, then at least gather the knowledge that will help them devise their own countermeasures against the Honkai.
He didn't know if this would work or not. As with any anti-Honkai technology, this was an arrow in the dark. He only hoped that it would provide him with some sort of result, whether it be what the U.F. wanted, or whether it was what he wanted.
Welt didn't mention the hidden part of this project to anyone except the General. Even the institute heads, even Tesla didn't know what he was actually aiming for.
However, the fact remained that he had to succeed if there was to have any hope for humanity.
He had to if he wanted to save those whom he held dear.
He can't fail.
He won't fail.
To be continued…
Hello everyone, welcome back to 'A Warriors Destiny'.
So we are starting the Sixth-eruption arc with an unrelated chapter huh? Haha, don't worry as everything will piece itself together as we progress down the road. Anyway, I wanted to get all these stuffs out of the way before we delved into the actual eruption circumstances of the eruption itself.
Now on to the chapter itself, we finally find out who's living rent-free inside Kevin's head. We also finally have the debut of the Third Divine Key.
Speaking of Divine Keys, we are yet again reminded that even if Kevin is strong enough to wield them without his meta-morph surgery, they are not to be taken lightly.
On another note, in this universe, it is not Su who executes VALUKA, and neither it is a plan to observe the different universes. As to what it is exactly, stay tuned to find out.
So, with this, we move on to the actual happenings of the Sixth eruption and how it destroys Kevin; because we can never have enough depression in a Honkai story.
As always if you like the story please leave a follow, favourite, and/or review.
Thank you for reading, until next time.