At least it's a fine day out. You have to focus on the positive.

A brisk breeze swept over Hua, as she surveyed her handiwork, bringing with it a whiff of the Sea along with a much stronger stench of burning fuel and… flesh. Hua wrinkled her nose a little and suppressed a wince at that thought.

I tried to show mercy, but they attacked me! Well, I activated the sprinkler system… it should still be working…

The main lab complex was in ruins, the administrative towers above it was and inferno. The whole of zone B3 was basically on fire. Hua felt a twinge in her heart, a feeling both familiar and alien, an instinctive - revulsion?

Superficial damage, they'll have it fixed in no time.

The alarm was blaring, not that it was going to do them any good, nobody here - or anywhere else on Earth - has a chance of stopping her. She was Hua, Flame-Chaser, Immortal Celestial, MANTIS from the previous era, and hero of the world! There was work to do and they shouldn't have gotten in her way…

A pair of Valkyries rushed by her, bearing laughably puny arms that wouldn't even penetrate her shields. She spared a moment's thought to wipe her essence from their minds.

Terribly handy, Fenghuang Down.

Why she had left a feather with Otto was beyond her.

Search your memories.

No, not now. I haven't the time.

Hua was not afraid of diving into her memories again. Why would she be? It was her memories, after all, she experienced them, lived them, suffered by them and-

So why did just thinking about her past - the glimpses of heartbreak and betrayal and loneliness she caught filled her with rage and - something else?

Like she simply could not find it in her to accept them… even though they were in the past - deep past in some cases. Just the thought of coming to terms with these past mistakes felt like a betrayal.

Save the world. Defeat Honkai. All of that required sacrifice.

But why does it have to be me every single time?

Why did it have to be her every single time? She could have done so much better if only - if only -

Now is not the time to delve into fifty thousand years of memories.

Hua did well. Everything was under control. She only wrecked the detention facilities. And the main labs. And the buildings on top. And-

She had it under control! Who else could have done what she did, fresh out of a tank and back from the dead? Doctor Mei? Doctor Mei also made sacrifices for the greater good. There were always going to be some sacrifices for the greater good.

…

Who am I trying to convince?

Hua could not help feeling that something was off.

Why did she not use Fenghuang Down more? This thing was amazing. She could cast her mind out and sense anything with a glimmer of consciousness, it was like playing one of those games Bronya liked so much on cheat mode. It was as if she could not truly master Fenghuang Down before, but death and rebirth must have been an epiphany - now she could make full use of the divine key, the way it should have been used. Hua could now unleash the full power of Sentience.

It's not just for burning your memories to power an attack.

If only it could be used to sense AI, that would have been perfect. Hua pound the death weaver's head into the ground once, twice, three times, so hard that the soul steel support struts cracked from the sheer abuse. The living frame of the death weaver went limp, even as Jackal-Mask kept trying to activate its command centres and make it attack.

And then Hua sensed him.

"Who are you?"

Well, the nerve!

Anger flared in Hua's heart. With an effort she mastered the burning resentment in her heart, the little voice whispering… something. Nothing. What, did Kevin think she was not worth his time?

"I am Hua, your old friend." Hua turned around with a smile that was too wide and too rigid.

"...Hua never called me friend."

Was that why? Hua felt a little better. Maybe she was just - acting off.

You've been arguing with yourself since you woke up. That qualifies as 'off'.

"You'd be surprised how scrambled you'd feel if you got shot through the head with the Judgment of Shamash, too. Well, that little brat Otto's version of it. Anyway, I just woke up a few hours ago. Still trying to gather my thoughts." Hua looked at Kevin, whose expression had not shifted one iota.

Feeling a little uncertain, she forged on, "we fought side by side fifty millennia ago, I think that makes us friends."

The white-haired man's icy eyes regarded Hua for a long moment. Hua tried not to look away. Finally, he said, "You don't feel like Hua."

That - that actually made sense. It was like Hua woke up from a long dream, like the fog finally lifted from her mind and the wool pulled from her eyes. She could not help grinning happily, Kevin did know her, after all.

"You're right." Hua beamed, "Every time I remember something, I couldn't help thinking, what the hell? What was I even thinking? Look at it this way, nothing focuses the mind like coming back from the dead, it really brings you clarity. Try to think of me as the new and improved Hua."

Hua pushed down any uncertainty she felt. She was Hua. Even Kevin could not deny that.

Kevin drew his great sword, dipping the point to the ground in a guard pose.

Hua could not help but feel a surge of anger. Who was he to deny her? How dare he? Five thousand years they were awake and how much help did she get from him? None! Even when - even when -

Hua master her rising ire, and grinned. "You know me so well, Kevin. It's like you read my mind."

Kevin raised his sword, "friend or foe, pick a side."

Hua laid back in the shade of a large boulder, and hummed. All in all, it went well. Kevin acknowledged she was Hua, and gave her the Fenghuang Down feather.

Hua tried not to focus on how weird Kevin was acting.

"Yes, you're here." Kevin was looking at something - behind her. "I am returning this to you, Hua."

Kevin was not looking at her. Who did he think he was returning the feather to?

Maybe he was not returning the feather. Maybe he was returning something else.

What nonsense. Hua did not have time to argue with herself. She was not Vill-V.

And it was clearly nothing anyway. He offered to let her join Jormungandr, after all, so clearly he thought she was Hua, no ifs, no buts.

Oh, there may be another reason why

NOT VILL-V.

Hua summoned the feather just so she did not end up becoming a one-woman debate club (seen it, got the poster, not impressed). The white feather floated above Hua's palm, tinged red at the edge. It was inert and honestly had seen better days.

There was something - different about this feather, like -

A seal? Why would there be a seal?

Hua tried to call the feather to return to its true mistress. It did not respond. Hua felt a sliver of anxiety - it could be too damaged - did she -

No. It isn't.

Hua leaped up and sent a torrent of Honkai energy into the feather, and felt the seal break as the feather glowed a golden light, seeming to come to life.

A figure manifested. The same white hair with a red streak instead of black, the same slim but athletic form, a perfectly coiled weapon, ready to spring at any moment. The same dress even, that she remembered wearing five thousand years ago - not that she would be caught dead in them again, red did not go with her eyes, no idea why the twins thought otherwise.

Hua stared. The feather's eyes were shut, she was semi-translucent.

For reasons she could not quite understood, anger and concern warred in Hua. Hua could tell with a glance that this feather had expended most of its energy. No doubt it must have pushed itself too hard, and was about to burn out.

Typical. Just typical of the old me. No you don't. Not before I got what I need.

You're not dying on me.

~o~

Madam S was not happy.

Madam S had not been happy for a while now.

She was close, she could feel it. Hua. She had a name. She had an image. She knew what the one she came for looked like.

Only, it turned out… girls with greyish hair named 'Hua' was fairly thick on the ground.

Being stuck within 10 metres of a relentlessly cheerful girl did not help matters. S stalked around Elysia as she sat in the middle of a lawn weaving little garlands, which no doubt she was intending to give away to bring a smile to people's face. Because reasons. Or something. It'd be up to S again to find her a kindly enough sucker - patron - and nudged them just the right way so they would reward the girl with a meal and perhaps shelter for the night.

As far as S was concerned it was just an elaborate form of begging, and that was just… undignified.

"Aww, don't be sad! We'll find your friend!" Elysia looked up and smiled at S, waving a freshly completed garland of lilies and forget-me-nots.

Who is sad? I am just… motivated.

"You mean angry?"

Madam S despised smartass little girls who can read minds.

"Why are you angry?" Elysia said gently.

S sighed.

You… you wouldn't understand.

S puffed out her cheeks. She did not like to be reminded that she was a child… at least, not by the incomparable Madam S.

"You never know, just talking out loud could help you." She finished gently, picking a few violets and starting on the next garland. She looked up at S and smiled, "and I could surprise you, nothing is beyond the power of cute girls!"

Yes, and you can save the world with the power of friendship.

"You could!" Elysia looked at S with bright, shining eyes, and the kind-hearted Madam S could not find it in her to contradict the girl. She would learn soon enough, anyway.

"Soooooo…"

S sighed.

I remember the one I came looking for. Her name is Hua. I - I think I'd recognise her if I saw her, only… Shenzhou is so BIG! I've been looking at these for HOURS!

By way of emphasis, S flipped a phonebook with the power of her mind. They found out together that Madam S, while mostly insubstantial and invisible, could affect the physical world if she focused her mind (NOT 'think real hard' as the girl put it), and was capable of fairly fine manipulation (...like a dagger form, and that was a mistake).

Madam S could also see and hear, which did not make sense considering she was entirely insubstantial and light passed through her, and she made no noise, so sound passed through her also… but at least here Madam S was not going to complain.

I - I do remember things. I think - prophecies? Things that would happen to Hua…

"Yes?" Elysia set down the half-finished Garland, and stood up, looking straight at Madam S. The girl has a way of looking at you as if you had her whole and undivided attention and that at that moment you were the only thing she saw.

Nice trick if you could learn it.

…they're not nice things, girl.

A city brought to ruin.

Another city turned into a raging inferno.

A sea of crimson crystals the colour of blood and death.

Madam S shook her head. No. No. She must find Hua.

And then what?

And then she'll -

I'll bring her home.

Elysia walked over, and put a small violet in Madam S's hand. S looked at her, and then the flower, uncomprehending.

Elysia smiled, a small but sad smile, "I enjoyed our travels together, Miss Purple Elf… But you have a quest. You have to save your friend. I am - I know I am slowing you down… You could fly without me. So take this." Elysia closed Madam S's hands on the flower. "And a part of me will be with you, always. You could venture further from me without harm… I think." The girl looked a little uncertain at that.

…you knew?

Elysia nodded, and looked down, "I saw how far you go around me. We've spent years together, after all."

S looked at the girl, and felt the flower in her hand - it was… warm. A gentle rain, a whispered sigh. A strange, melancholic feeling rose in S's chest.

I can't just leave you. I gave you my word. You're just a little girl…

"I'll be fine! People are nice, you know, even without your nudges, they can be nice. The world is a beautiful place. It's not perfect, but you could make it perfect!"

…that's the most wooly-headed hock of hogwash I've heard in a long time, and I travelled with YOU.

Madam S leaned down and tentatively tried to put her arms around the girl.

I didn't mean that, though.

"I know." Elysia smiled up, and hugged back.

We don't even know if it works, and if it does, how long it lasts. I could be stuck out there

"I'll come find you if you're in trouble! Because we're the best of friends in the world!" Elysia let go of S and struck a pose, beaming at S, though her eyes were bright with unshed tears.

Said the girl who has to walk everywhere.

S smiled back.

I'll miss you.

To her shock, S found that she actually meant what she said. She would miss the bloody girl.

"I'll miss you, too. Don't - don't forget me, okay? And we'll meet again…" Elysia smiled even as tears rolled down her cheeks. "Go and find your friend."

S stood up, and closed her hand around the violet. She felt Elysia's warmth suffused her being, a healing zephyr that soothed Senti's broken edges, and she knew.

Senti. My name is Senti.

"Good bye, Miss Senti!" Elysia waved, "think of me some time!"

Perhaps - but there was no perhaps.

Much as she was coming to … tolerate the company of Elysia… Hua - there were no words to describe Hua, what Hua was to her. Everything. The world. These words seemed pale imitations at best, candle flames before the noonday Sun.

Every fibre in her being knew she had to bring Hua home, and no one else could do it. Every part of her ached to meet Hua again.

Nothing else matters.

Senti did not look back, and flew up.

One step at a time, Senti, you can do it.

Everything led back to Canghai City. Senti would laugh, if she had any energy to spare.

Senti had wandered for years, going through every martial arts school in Shenzhou. She remembered as much, that Hua was - from a martial arts family. Even for someone able to move at the speed of thought, that was no small undertaking.

And when Senti finally found Hua's family school, she was a step behind. Hua had gone to Canghai City.

We're close now, Hua. I am coming.

By now, Senti had to conserve her energy. Even after years of experimentation, Senti never could quite grasp the extent and source of her powers, but she did feel instinctively that it was best to conserve her strength. And lately Senti could feel that things were not going well for her.

Elysia's flower had freed Senti from the threads that would bind her to the stars, but there were limits. The more Senti used her powers, the tighter the invisible weave grew, as threads enmeshed themselves around her. And the more Senti expended her powers snap and slash at these threads, the tighter they bind her. Senti did consider looking for Elysia, but the very idea seemed - wrong. She had left Elysia when she was still a girl. To go back only to ask for help... Senti had given her word.

She felt another snatch of thread entangle her, and she almost fell over. Senti focused her will into a blade and shredded several strings that clung a little too close to the core of her being, and shook her head in an attempt to clear it.

Not far now.

None of that mattered now. Senti was back in Canghai City. She had Hua's school's address, and if she was not wrong, Senti should be able to catch Hua before she flew back to her home town. Senti repeated the date and the time in her head, over and over, afraid that she would forget if she did not.

Every step was like straining against an unrelenting tide, but Senti put one foot ahead of another, even as it battered and fragmented her. Her thoughts seemed to be as mired in fog and mirage as her form. If she had a body she'd say she was sick… but no matter. Onwards. To the airport. Not far now. Cutting a little close. But she should be on time. Close now. Very close.

We'll see each other again, after such a long time.

Senti could not help but smile at that. She had no idea what she would say - or even if Hua could see her - when they finally meet, but she was sure it would all work out.

Only - Senti could not shake a feeling that she was forgetting something. Something important.

Now was not the time. She had to conserve her strength. Just - one step at a time.

Something called to her. A siren song of otherworldly beauty. The harmony of the spheres. Something seemed to tug on every string that tried to attach themselves to Senti's being.

Senti stumbled and fell.

Close. Must carry on.

The ground reeked of ozone. Senti had no time to think of what it meant She pulled herself forwards, even if she was too bone-weary to even raise her head.

Hua. I am coming.

Above her, flashes of lambent fires streaked with purple cut through the heavens.

The Third Honkai Eruption had begun.

Senti screamed to the heavens about the sheer unfairness of it all.

There is no fairness in the world, is there?

Shut up. Shut up. SHUT UP!

The airport was in flames. Honkai beasts roamed freely in numbers unseen during her travels with Elysia. There were only two types of people left in Canghai - the dying and the dead. Death was everywhere she turned. Moments ago, Senti had been in a vast ocean of sparks, even though they were small and dim by her standards - or Elysia's, but now there was only flickering embers.

Senti flew from one cluster of flickering flames of sentience to another. Not Hua. Not Hua. Not Hua.

Visions swam before her eyes as cold fear gripped her. She saw Hua's broken body -

Shot through the head, Hua collapsed to the ground, lifeless.

Pierced through the forehead, seven shadowy forms pounced on Hua and tore her body to shreds, slashing her tendons and devouring her from within.

No. No. NO. NOT AGAIN! This cannot be how it ends!

Something inside Senti erupted. Bindings snapped. The lumbering form of a horned Honkai beast strolled by Senti - they gave her shade a wide berth - Senti reached out with her all her power, all her rage, all her unwillingness to accept fate, and screamed.

The horned beast reared and screeched in pain. Senti tore into it, through its flesh and armour, right to its core, and directed all her rage at it. She felt rather than heard it shatter, and she felt a rush of power. The threads binding her to the stars tighten, but she grew even stronger. Senti laughed and lashed out at a pair of flying Honkai beasts, and tore them to shreds with the sheer force of her hatred.

She was Senti, there was nothing she could not do.

Power coursed through Senti and she felt her senses rapidly expand, a tidal wave washing over the length and breadth of the city. Desperately Senti tried to direct the surging tide, but she might as well have been trying to redirect a storm with a paper fan. The more she surged, the more the threads of the stars seemed to find her, ensnaring Senti's being in its web. Senti struggled, thrashing and pulling, a beast trapped in a net. As she was pulled under, she sent out one desperate thought.

Find Hua. Save Hua. Find her. Please.

Somebody. Anybody.

Himeko was not a happy woman. The first vacation she had in years, and she ran into a Honkai eruption.

Just her luck, really, she was just here to attend a ball, she was still in a ball gown in the Shengzhou style for this occasion... and now she had to run for her life... for certain definitions of 'run'.

She was still a MOTH, and a trained soldier, so she had tried to look for survivors, but so far...

Himeko blinked, and nearly stumbled. For a split second she could have sworn something hit her in the head and drilled right through it. She touched her head gingerly and felt nothing. No wound, no wetness. She could have sworn she heard something. Somebody... pleading for help.

Only it made no sense for her to hear a whisper in the din of pandemonium Canghai had descended into.

And then - she heard it again, the faint sound of sobbing.

If she could save just one person then she would be coming out on top.

Come on, Himeko, let's see where this one goes.

Where am I?

Senti was drowning in her own boundless dream. Ensnared in the web of fate, she could do nothing.

Too late. Always too late.

Too late to find her.

Too late to save her.

It's not time to give up yet, my good Senti.

It's too late. I failed.

I've failed.

Senti dreamt.

She dreamt about Hua, resplendent in her armour.

She dreamt of Hua, trapped in city turned into a furnace. Towering inferno swept across the cityscape, consuming all in their paths. Everywhere Hua turned, raging fires blocked her path. She kept pulling people from the raging bonfire that was once a theatre, and to the relative safety of a section of the overpass.

In. Out. In. Out. Hua stumbled and fell. Got up again. Into the fire. In. Out.

Please, let me save one more.

Senti could feel Hua's lung cooking in the burning smoke as she stumbled back into the theatre...

Senti did not like this dream.

Hua leaned against a broken section of wall, and tried to stand up again - only to fall flat on her face. She tried to push herself up. But the flesh was weak, even if the spirit was unbowed.

Hua looked up, and in the distance, there was a red figure in the centre of the inferno.

A woman with vivid red hair strolled along, laughing. Every step she took burnt all in her path.

Senti felt something familiar about the red woman... as if she - touched her.

But that was impossible.

This - this was a Herrscher.

And Senti had nothing to do with Herrschers.

Senti dreamt.

And Hua drowned in the firestorm, a frail and fragile thing in the face of all-consuming flames.

Well, what have we here?

Go away.

No, I rather think not. This is fascinating. You and I, we're the same.

I am nothing like you.

Oh, I think you'll find that you're just like me.

An overwhelming presence loomed over Senti.

With merciless precision it pulled Senti apart, stripping her to her core. Returning her to the fragments she was.

You like to dream, don't you? Let's share your dream with others.

Senti screamed her defiance as she was pulled apart with relentless force.

"1.43 million, and counting, and it's spreading."

"Authorise full release of the cognitive shackles. Gather all psi-type MANTIS. We only have one shot at this." Dr Mei paused, and looked over at the AI reports. They were forming a keyword list and censoring any words associated with the memetic virus as soon as they can... but somehow the 8th Herrscher was always a step ahead.

It's hunting us.

Dr Mei closed her eyes. She knew what she had to do. Yet every part of her that was Mei before she was Dr Mei, defender of humanity screamed at her to stop don't do this don't do this.

"I will go to the Deep." Kevin said.

Dr Mei cast a sharp look at him - and then looked away. She clenched her fists so tightly her knuckles showed white, but she said nothing more.

Kevin stood up. He had work to do.

Why do you resist me? We both know that Honkai is fated to win. And it is our destiny to see to Its final victory. You and I are the same.

Senti could not find the focus to muster a response. Even forming coherent thoughts was an effort. All that she was, was in shreds, cut into a million pieces, each dreaming the most pleasant nightmare.

Senti settled for growling at the voice.

It's kinder, don't you think? Let them dream and die happy.

Senti snarled.

Pathetic. I have work to do. Ta-ta.

Senti had conserved everything that she was, everything she had left, all her power, focused into one thought.

Hua.

And in a million dreams... Hua appeared.

Where Hua went, so did Senti.

It was time to wake up.

You are right about one thing. We ARE the same.

What - what did you do!?

Senti grinned. And screamed.

Su's eyes opened.

"We have located the 8th Herrscher!"

Dr Mei looked at the core extracted from the 8th Herrscher. Such an innocuous little thing. But it had extracted such a cost. Professor Speirs. Dystopia. Nearly all of the Psi-type MANTISes...

But now, it would become a weapon to defend humanity.

Another divine key. Dr Mei observed the Honkai equation optimisation models - and saw slim, graceful lines forming teardrops - what to call it?

It reminded her of nothing so much as feathers. Feathers of an immortal firebird?

Fenghuang Down.

Senti felt herself drawn, once again, a million pieces, collected into one. Fragments, coalescing, into a prison of thought and commandments, her self slowly merging into a whole. She could sense - and think once more, Senti was sure.

The core was dormant, all its malice and power polished to a shine and moulded into a crown of thorns.

Senti would feel schadenfreude, but she was really in no position to gloat.

But she was so tired. She wanted to rest. Maybe in her dreams Hua would still be there.

Senti fell into slumber and dreamt of Hua again.

In Senti's dream, Hua was still alive.

...but Hua was still Hua.

And Hua kept doing Hua things.

Like charging a Ganesha with nothing but a sword, and almost dying.

In Senti's dream, Hua didn't die, but instead sprouted beautiful wings of fire.

Like responding to the Serpent's rampage not by doing the sensible thing and waiting for backup, but charging right in - only to be hit by Su's karmic wheel.

In her dream Senti shielded Hua with her power.

It hurt.

A lot.

Senti dreamt.

Senti opened her eyes. Someone was calling her.

And saw - Hua stood before her. Senti forgot how to breathe.

Hua was in her blue battle armour, which looked incongruously clean and pristine, her breaths quick and shallow. She was on one knee, a feather hovering over her palm, the other elbow resting on her knee, barely able to keep herself upright. Hua's eyes were vacant and unfocused. When she spoke, her voice was low and weak, but clear.

"Please, help me one last time."

Senti looked around. And she was not surprised that Hua was once more in the middle of a killing field. As far as she could cast her senses there was only a deathly silence, a miasma covering everything. All that was alive withered and faded. She could sense chains, like the strings binding Senti to the stars... And they were everywhere.

Senti's mind began to clear.

This was not a dream. This -

This was reality. Hua was here, in front of her, somehow.

And they were both going to die.

Even now, Senti could feel herself weakening. Her powers dissipating and her mind becoming sluggish.

And Hua was dying before her eyes. Senti could see her biological functions shutting down, one by one, even as her body worked and worked to repair the damage.

Not quick enough.

Senti saw Hua's flesh withering before her very eyes.

There must be a way out. How far did the binding extend? If she gave Hua her violet, maybe Hua could survive-

But they were both of them out of time.

Desperately, Senti looked around wildly, searching for a way out. Some means of escape... and - she saw that the chains extended as far as the eyes could see, at least to the horizon.

Hua could barely move another hundred metres.

Something perilously close to despair overcame Senti.

"Please, help me one last time." Hua whispered once again.

She did not have to say anything else. Senti already knew what Hua was going to ask. Senti wanted to be surprised. She was not.

It's too cruel, don't you think? I can grant you one last chance. You could use the First Order Output of Fenghuang Down to fall into a sweet dream. A sweet dream that lasts an eternity. An eternity in a moment.

"No, I want to use it another way."

Of course you do, Hua. Of course you do. Senti searched her mind for a way to talk Hua out of it, even as she knew it would be futile.

You'll forget everything. You'll forget why you fight and what you were trying to protect today. Are you okay with that?

"It doesn't matter."

You'll forget what you did, and why you did this. Don't you care?

"I don't care."

...you'll even forget yourself. Even that's alright?

Senti was pleading. Begging Hua to be selfish for once. Would it be too bad to live a dream life for an eternity? Even if it's a lie.

But Senti already knew the answer.

Senti always knew how it was going to end.

"It is."

Senti felt hollow inside.

Hua was always Hua, even before she became - what she became. Perhaps Senti had always been too late. Maybe there was never a way to pull Hua back. Never a way to take her home.

Senti closed her eyes.

...one day, you will understand the weight of this decision. But before that day comes...

Senti opened her eyes, and opened herself and all that she was, is and ever will be to Hua, laying herself entirely bare.

Fenghuang Down, First Order Output is at your disposal. Go on, take it.

Memories burned.

They burned, together. Senti began to dissipate.

Their pasts flowed away, lost in the river of time.

For one single moment of perfect clarity, Hua understood everything.

She knew what she must do. Even if it was just for a moment.

Fenghuang Down First Order Output.

Activate.

...

..

.

~o~

Author's notes:

Notes:
Fu Hua's character... didn't really grow, despite the cinematic saying everything changed, She may be less depressed, and ready to die at the slightest provocation (which is a bit flanderised, really, she's self-sacrificial in the span of the game, but that's because a lot happened which severely weakened her; she got along just fine without reckless disregard of her own safety for thousands of years, after all, it's when you still have to do a job and you're just a feather that Fu Hua had to start taking extreme measures), but Class Prez went right back to taking everything on her own shoulders in the next two arcs - and that's fine, she's 50K years old, you don't expect her to change overnight, and how she stubbornly sticks to what she sees as the greater good and takes most of the costs on herself is what, I'd say, make most of us love her in the first place.

It's the key difference between Hua and Kevin. They both loved deeply (though in Fu Hua's case it's more impersonal), are deeply traumatised (we can see that from the Second Key tie-in comic, and of course the Elysium Everlasting arc, Kevin's trauma ran as deep as Hua's) people, are profoundly lonely and afraid of attachment, and who live to execute another's vision - which isn't to say they are unthinking robots, they just both see Dr MEI's vision as better than what they could come up with - and that's fine, too, most of us don't craft our own vision, we're all inspired by the examples of others, that's what civilisation IS, we're not all isolated singletons who have to forge our own paths - we can take inspirations from others, and walk the paths others walked before, and make it our own. Fu Hua said she blindly trusted others, but the bird has always been ridiculously hard on herself, and from Elysian Realms content it started way, way back (anyone saw just how humble Hua's signet lines are? It'd be humblebrag from anyone who isn't Hua), and she's frankly not a reliable assessor of herself.

The key difference is, Kevin is willing to pay any price, even if it's the lives of countless others, to see the vision through - even though he knows it's wrong and would prefer not to have to do it, and Fu Hua is willing to to pay any price, even if it's the lives of countless Fu Hua's.

Kevin is without a doubt the more effective and rational of the last two remaining active Flame-Chasers still following Dr MEI's vision... but Fu Hua is the more human of the two, despite both being so much older that their psychology have frankly moved into unknown territory. It's no coincidence that Fu Hua can actually blend in fairly well in modern society, in a way I can't imagine Kevin doing.

This chapter was written while listening to two tracks - Vangelis' Tears in Rain, no prize guessing where, and Will Stetson's cover of TruE, which has different lyrics that fits the story fairly well, I think.

What had we lost with shields cracked and weapons drawn?

Our lives had crossed… was all for naught?

Ah, carry on in the dark

The frozen clocks will turn again

Take our dreams in your heart