Lumina Crusade

by ColinHayworth

In the 42nd Millennium, there is only war. In the Hive World of Twilight where the promise of technology and understanding still remains but the corrupted and rotten bureaucracy in its place is threatening to destroy all of it slowly but surely. And when the threshold has finally been broken, it will take only a spark to burn all of it down. And there will be retribution...

6. Trigram Stratagem

Warning: This story doesn't exactly follow the suit of grimdark because of the way the story may develop. If you still enjoy what you are reading then go ahead.

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Chapter 5
Trigram Stratagem

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Lower Hive, Vespera, Twilight

"Finally... we're here. This place is strangely much cleaner than how I expected considering just how deplorable the environment of Lower Hive is...". Michele said as she stepped down from the truck as her clothes are battered in the blood of her enemy.

"Yup... Now, all we need to do is carry all of these Lasweapons to our designated Rogue Trader. For what we are called as Merchants, we are more of transporters than actually selling since the transaction has already been done back at the Guild". Anastasia said as she opens the cargo hold.

It was a mess considering just how much chaos they have gone through in just their journey toward here. At least all of them are in one piece and not shattered or broken into non-functional parts. Worse, they appear unharmed but will instantly blow up if used. Pre-transaction transport was also called upon as serfs upon serfs came and the leading one presented the permit of said Rogue Trader to carry all of the said Lasweapons.

A group of menials carried all said crates and Michele and Anastasia soon followed to make sure they are going where they were supposed to. Elise also followed her sister and as she makes her steps toward her, her bracelet suddenly vibrates. Right at that moment, Elise stopped on her track and starts to look around her surrounding. This bracelet of hers has unique markings carved into it and whenever she felt tingling from it, something will happen whether for good or bad.

Then she suddenly heard a voice speak to her inside her mind, a voice that mimics her own saying only the following two words:

Near Future: Absolute Curse

Without a single warning, Elise collapsed onto her knee as if those words reawaken a past trauma that she wish to never ever hear again. Those words were spoken to her years ago when she still has a place in Upper Hive and the words come to her just before her Noble House was destroyed in the collaborated scheme of other opposing Houses. The flame-wrought scar inside her heart burns as those vivid memories arise, everyone that she cared about, her father, her mother, and all her servants alike perish in the indiscriminating destruction done by them.

Anastasia upon seeing her sister kneeling there quickly approaches to see what's going on. Upon inspection, Anastasia noticed the bracelet on Elise's wrist vibrating ever slightly as it gives out a faint glow imperceptible to those around but her bloodline. At this moment, Anastasia also felt the same as her bracelet also resonating along with Elise and she also received said premonition much like her younger sister.

To say that she was displeased was understating the matter.

Fast forward a few minutes later, the Valkyria sisters finally caught up with Michele as she was not having a very good time with what she just learned. Michele may not perceive it but the ability that she and her sister have is a double-edged sword and recently has it been worse as they received nothing but bad omens recently and it only has gotten worse lately. All Anastasia could hope for is that it won't be now, not here.

"Hey, you don't seem to look so fine. Did something happen?" Michele asked as she inspects Anastasia's expressions.

"Nothing... It's just that the atmosphere here is so bleak". Anastasia spoke her half-truth to Michele as she attempts to rectify her mental stature.

Anastasia wasn't wrong to say it like that. This voidship port was in use back when Twilight wasn't turned into the polluted hellhole that it has become now. Although the port's functionality still is there, most traders do not know about them as the contaminated atmosphere completely veiled over the Lower Hive. Only those who were told exactly where the location of such ports is would come exactly for these places. Thus they found their new purposes as illegal trade points or black market imports.

Of course that most people don't know the actual contents being imported here and they certainly won't ask any questions.

The three made their way as the inside of the port is much cleaner and more comfortable than the actual atmosphere outside. In the Lower Hive where lots of manufactorum relies on lower-level Tech to mass-manufacture items for export, all forms of advanced and less-polluting technology didn't trickle down due to tech hegemony or monopoly of the respective Noble Hives. The Tech-Priests simply find these acceptable and didn't even bother to improve the situation at all since the plight of people is nothing but insignificant chattering to them.

All of these cascade upon one another and resulted in the ecological disaster that Twilight has become. For the Lower Hive folks, the sky and ground are utterly alien concepts as this dark and filth-tainted sky is the only thing they ever see in their short and fleeting life. The bleak color of faded concrete makes living here more of a miserable experience that the Middle and above folks often take for granted.

Purpose? So that the Imperium can mass-produce manpower in their unrelenting conquest and hold out against the enemy of mankind that threatens them out there. Just by enlisting into the Guards that a better life was assured for them.

The idea of attempting to mass-produce humanity is a baffling concept that should have never crossed anyone's mind for this very hell is that very proof of why no one should.

Anastasia has long been aware of the situation but there's simply no possible way to give equity to the general masses. Most lower folks think that just giving people more opportunity is enough and that a universal basic income is possible. But in reality, it is no longer possible to do that in any form. Equity in the 42nd Millennium is like sawing everyone else in half so that the shortest person in their entire hive is now as high as everyone else. Goodwill or not, that wishful thinking is now only a fable that is no longer applicable.

The three of them await at the terminal lounge of the voidship port along with the goods, the glass window shows them the landing zone of voidships which can be as large as a few kilometers. However, there is one that seems to not follow standard design like others in which they believed it might be the Rogue Trader that they are supposed to meet. While it is not within their directive to directly interact or enter any voidship without clearance. Anastasia felt that she must get this done before the calamity befalls them. The premonitions that she received up until now have never been wrong and it most likely will not make an exception now.

For what exactly may befall? A sudden void vessel crashed into the port? A highly volatile cargo self-destructed while docking? No, Absolute Curse so far has never been cruel enough to collaterally affected everyone unrelated to her. But not so much that it spared her beloved or family. Whatever it is, her guard is instinctively raised and it will not drop until whatever happens, happened.

As Michele watches over the Lasweapons cargo that piled into a height above her, she noticed a group of people approaching her location. She compares the leader of the group with the picture of the supposed client and it matches perfectly. The rough face with a goatee that has seen many battles and partaken in no few amount of them. Dressed in a regal red suit with gold trimming that signifies both his reputation and renown. This kind of Rogue Trader while not the worst is often very insufferable when throwing a fit or suddenly having a bad mood. They often have to portray just how important they are at the worst moment possible despite common sense speaking otherwise or against them.

Michele has the worst time learning that lesson the hard way thus she intends to just finish this one quickly. The less she has to face exposure to this insufferable self-important moron, the better. She quickly just takes out the file and prepared to present it to the Rogue Trader to finally verify this transaction. While Michele is preparing the paperwork, Anastasia decided to use the forbidden technique of her House. No one will be able to discern what she did exactly for what purpose, at least they won't.

She shows her hand toward them before returning and positioning it so that her uncovered eye is between the fingers. Then a piercing gaze is unleashed and her bracelet vibrates subtly much to the Rogue Trader's dismay at first toward her actions. Strangely enough, he doesn't find what Anastasia did strange at all but just some whimsical behaviors.

The moment she finished, two simple words echoed in her mind:

Near Future: Minor Bless

Anastasia lets out a sigh of relief and Michele instantly got in between to show the transaction paper to him.

"Please fills in the transaction paper so that we could verify it is you that is purchasing all of these Lasweapons. Understand that we have to really make sure that all of these actually going to the right client and not someone imposing to heist all of these. But seeing you and your entourage, that chance is very unlikely but we can't be too prepared". Michele said as she tries to be as courteous as she could so that she could prevent that same case from happening again. Some level of desperation has been seen and she would rather have no one ever trying to attempt that again.

Anastasia looks emptily into the Rogue Trader's entourage in front of her then suddenly, her bracelet twitches. Right in that instant, a vision of a near-future that has yet to happen occurred right in front of her as a high-caliber bullet swiftly pierce through Michele's head leaving a trail of gore and blood behind. It was swift and sudden that not even Anastasia could do anything.

The vision ceased and nothing has yet come to pass as Michele is standing here while the Rogue Trader reads through paper for fine print then handing over it to one of his scribes in the entourage for a more thorough check. Anastasia turned toward the view window as she detected a bare glint in the distance away on a parked voidship. Realizing the severity of the situation, she quickly tried to make physical contact with Michele as quickly as she could to save Michele but...

She never needs to.

As if a flash of insight appeared in Michele's glint as she instantly gripped her sword and unsheathed it. The entire entourage of the Rogue Trader nearly almost react violently at the first glimpse of her action before Michele skillfully blocked the bullet that was aimed at her head with her sword, and didn't even break contact with the Rogue Trader as the situation suddenly escalates. Thankfully that he holds everyone else from instantly going too close to their hair trigger and causing irreversible damage.

Anastasia quickly calculates her aim based on the sniper's location and the bullet trajectory. With swift motions of her hand, she unfolded the Krak Spear into its full form as she then fires it at where the sniper should be. The contraption and mechanism built into it make it appears as nothing but makeshift trash but the potency and strength it contains deceive even the most experienced of veterans at first glance.

The Krak Harpoon burst through the view window and fly true through the hazy and foggy weather that has perpetually befallen Lower Hive. Despite its unconventional delivering device, it soon made contact with its target and an explosion was seen before being heard even from distance away.

"Mind elaborating on what just happened?" The Rogue Trader asked. He knew that if there was any assassination, it would more likely be on him rather than some no-name merchants.

"Headhunters, bounty hunters, mercenaries, whatever is the equivalent in your birth language. Those Lasweapons, get your men armed now because there will be bloodshed sooner or later". Michele said as her expression furrowed before unsheathing her indestructible blade back.

The Tech-Priest Magos among the Rogue Trader's entourage shudders at her blade. He actually discerned the bullet's true property and the force to block it just from the first glance of it alone. No manufactured metal exists within Imperium blocks a literal turbo-penetrator from an Exitus Rifle of Vindicare. If her capability demanded such a thing to be used on her then just how dangerous is she?

"You there, why do you just keep looking at me like that?" Michele said as she doesn't seem to find the reason why the Magos keep standing there while the rest of the entourage dispersed to take their claim over the Lasweapons stockpile.

The Magos instantly dart away toward the pile, not because he is interested in Twilight weaponry but because he is in fear. At some point, techno-supremacy just ceases to matter and natural response to danger would overtake them regardless of how they may selectively purge it. And Michele's existence made him truly feel primal dread ever since his ascension to mechanical cyberneticism. Much as he wants to obtain that blade to research what it is, he felt that will be his final mistake.

To Michele however, that Magos was just some weird guy in cybernetic pretending to be more than what they seemed to be.

"Hey, take this," The Rogue Trader spoke to Michele as he tosses something over to her.

Michele grabbed the thing in the air and she noticed that it is a sheathed two-handed broadsword. The moment she unsheathed it fully, energy starts to crackle around the blade. The sword itself has an intricately carved design that is a masterwork in itself. Even without using it properly, she could tell the power behind it is never to be underestimated at all.

"Consider it a tip for a job well done. And besides, I have something personal to uphold no matter what". The Rogue Trader said as he arms himself with the newfound Laspistol for his arsenal.

"Thanks for the tip then. Even if it is not fitting my style". Michele said as she sheathes the blade back and place it beside her.

The Rogue Trader does not add any more words as he departs along with his entourage. Strangely, Anastasia noticed that the way they heading is not the same as where they came from. If he intended to leave then that is not the way to go but who is she to judge someone she barely met's decision?

"Elise, let us leave now". Anastasia said to her sister as she froze up from the sudden ambush before.

Right at the moment that Anastasia grabbed Elise's hand, a group of hired guns breaks in and instantly opened fire on the first thing they see which happened to be Anastasia herself. Anastasia however put her sister's safety first as she used her body to shield her from the gunfires. She would have a rather hard time defending if it weren't for the Silver Wing's repulsion field blocking all of it.

Michele instantly cut them down with her slab of whetted metal in a quickly done fashion while they completely focused on Anastasia. Blood splatters across the entrance the hired guns used and Michele looks down the hallway only to see another group of them approaching this location. The frontal gunmen instantly unleash their Autoguns on her as she barely gets away from that barrage. She could certainly handle even 5 automatic rifle wielders against her but she definitely not going to take on 20 of them at the same time.

"Let me handle this... I had fucking enough of those that wish my demise! Does my entire House that they have taken not enough at this point!?" Anastasia yelled in anger, finally after repressing that benign hatred of her for so long. Now that the Absolute Curse is about to be in place.

Anastasia wields her spear once more as she charges down the corridor against the relentless tides of bullets against her. Shots that would have gutted her straight ended up completely brushed aside from the power of her family heirloom that is now her protection. As she approaches closer, she initiates her first attack, and her bracelet resonated in sync.

Augury Kick

One swift kick upward that is impossible to trace the beginning or how fast it was. Its precision exceeds what could possibly be imagined as anything mortal.

"Does human spine supposed to bend that way?" Michele muttered as she follows right behind Anastasia and sees her in action.

Divinatory Impact

With a sudden and abrupt burst of speed, she tore through the hired guns with forces and strength unparalleled. Her Krak Spear cleaves through ranks and files of man nothing but short of a scissor through a single piece of paper. Without even using the ranged compartment, the men were overpowered by her fury with impossible ease. They were given no quarter, not even a chance for retaliation.

Pierce, slash, strike, guard, evade. All basic forms of combats reduced down to single words are chained together like an exquisite yet lethal baroque. Anastasia keeps on going even through another group of reinforcement as they were suddenly silenced with no time to respond.

Michele is carrying Elise with her as the little scion of the house Valkyria witnesses her older compatriot callously destroying all those who dare to stand in her path. Something about it awakens something inside her. It was as if she wanted to be like Anastasia, to be able to stand up against all adversaries with no hesitation or doubt. To be able to be seen as dependable and trustworthy.

Unlike her who is seen as a dead weight, a nuisance that serves no purpose other than making others' lives more miserable even with just presence alone. Despite even being given a status as a merchant, she is seen only as a useless good for nothing even by her fellow people that she is supposed to work together

"Where are we right now?" Michele asked as they have completely immersed themselves in the carnage that they forgot where they were supposed to go where exactly.

"This... this is a voidship hangar". Anastasia said as she is the only one who understood any depth of what she has spoken.

It was understating to say how huge the place is. When seen from the outside, the port would be understandably massive but comprehendible nonetheless. But once inside and in this particular place would its true size starts to hit them. Ships that were in process of maintenance were left abandoned due to the crisis just now. Massive supply vehicles and cranes were left deserted as the sound of alarms was still blasting across this massive chamber.

"More enemies...". Anastasia said as she looked toward the side.

To the side of them is a group of hired guns sent to just kill the Valkyria sisters. This is already the hundredth hired killer that she has killed in this day alone. Nonetheless, she must fight for her sister's sake. With a single motion of her foot, she dashes forward as the hired guns instantly move to position so that all of them can funnel their firing toward her and her alone.

Michele looks at the bracelet worn on Anastasia's arm and she noticed that it is faintly glowing. Then at that moment, she realized that it isn't just a mere trinket of fashion but it is a tool of something beyond her wildest imagination. The unreal precision of her attacks, the extreme methodical strikes. All possibilities are narrowed down to but strand that breaks the impasses that are strung against them.

Something that precisely and decisively leads her to triumph against the inconceivable and futility itself.

Symbols that once held meanings are now forgotten but remain to fulfill their purpose no matter what. Functionality for once mundane purposes transforms into a tide-turning weapon once driven to the brink. There is only one such name for one such technology whose possibility both extends infinitely and collapses back into finite in itself.

Chaos Theory

There is no place to miscalculate with a delicate fate

Humanity at its apex has mastered and obtained its mastery of control over space and time itself so much that they can fire singularity as projectiles and use time paradoxes as a sure-kill. Or even deleting reality even the Immaterium that consisted of them. But if there's anything that mankind dared to challenge despite their reach of the scientific zenith, it would be to control fate itself.

Chaos theory. That infinite calculation can only make finite predictions at best a few days ahead before it became nothing but a wild guess. How a butterfly that flapped its wings on an Agri World caused a Galaxy Segmentum to collapse in anarchy. How in total Chaos a system may appear to be, an underlying principle must be upheld no matter what. That in Chaos always exists Orders.

But fate is fickle in itself and any attempt to do so through sheer physical means is hubris at its utmost. But it didn't stop her House at what they did thus their Noble Status of Vespera. Their technology... is Quantum Physic.

A world beneath even the molecular itself. A world where even mere attempts at observation alter the result but it has not stopped anyone back then to crown themselves the leader of quantum mechanics. In their path to conquer fate, they fought against gargantuan exponential calculation requirements and thus they use "fire to fight fire". Using Quantum Computation, they increase their processing power until they calculate years ahead of them with each Planck time. Each moment passed, and a new prophecy was uttered.

Thus came the Trigram Bracelet.

That bracelet Anastasia wore is a room-temperature Quantum Computation Device. Using 10,000 Qubytes, they calculate up to 10 years ahead with each Planck time passed. This thing uses Time Crystal as Data storage thus the amount of energy used to uphold is none. Perpetual motion is all fine as long as everyone turns a blind eye towards it as lunatic as it sounds. And turns out that a Qubit can be used up to 8 states instead of classical 2 thus making a Qubit more of a Qubyte.

Because of it, House Valkyria obtained their prestige as diviners of fate. And throughout the entirety of the House's history, there are only a few cases where 'Absolute Curse' was divined. First was the Iron War, the second was the Age of Strife, the third was the Heresy, the fourth was the fall of Cadia which led to the Great Rift, and now the fifth Absolute Curse is about to come and nobody could tell what exactly it will be. With only 10 years given as a limit, all of the Upper Hive Noble Houses scour the Segmentum for any solution or answer but all of them have exhausted everything that they know.

Over 10000 years of service suddenly no longer mattered. And the vanity of their privilege wasted on them turned House Valkyria into a Cassandra. The one who took the fall as all of the Upper Hive Nobles has devolved into superstition and irrationality. Nothing survives 10k years' worth of decay and lost messages as her House was razed after such indentured servitude repaid in blood.

And now they genuinely believe that silencing the messenger will deter this fate from coming.

Now that the 10 years time limit is about to come to an end. Elise has also received that premonition too so what exactly will be the Fall? Will it be for her? Will it be for the entirety of Vespera? Or will it be Twilight itself? Or this whole Segmentum? Or even the entirety of this Emperor-forsaken galaxy? Whether their thoughts are stuck in the past or lamenting what's still ahead, there is no time left to find out or alter what's coming.

By the time Anastasia finished her recollection, she practically slaughtered every single hired gun here despite not being in the fight in mind. The deadline draws nearer than ever and for the first time in her life, she felt genuinely powerless despite having all of this power against the folks sent to kill her. What she is fighting isn't anyone physically anymore... but rather, she is fighting against her family's sworn nemesis face to face. Fate, and this time... she is alone.

Anastasia looked at the bracelet once more now that every of her enemy is dead or in pieces. She gazes at the designs imprinted on the bracelet itself, 4 designs that filled the bracelet's surface completely, each is 3 lines with some are cut in between. As she stares at it a little longer, an epiphany played out in her mind. A long and distant time ago back when she was nothing but a greenhorn, she was taught about the true meaning behind them.

They are signs of divination of a long-extinct culture of Holy Terra. There used to be 8 but now reduced to 4. They are called the Four Trigrams and they stood for virtues that house Valkyria is supposed to have. Integrity, life, wisdom, and determination. They also stood for heaven, earth, sun, and moon. And 4 of them move toward each other in an endless cycle of self-improvement.

Anastasia woke up from her epiphany once more as another bullet nearly graze her. She broke out of the self-nostalgia only to see another group of mercenaries already made their assault on her. She clicked her tongue as she knew just how much of a wrong time it was to self-reflect in the middle of a battlefield and when she turned around, she realized that both Michele have made her way already toward the parked vessel with Elise in tow. Whatever it is, Elise's safety is a priority and that goes above even Anastasia's life.

She then charges toward the mercenary group, now with a rekindled faith in herself.

Trigram Stratagem - Destiny

Anastasia muttered as the bracelet on her wrist shines brighter and something starts to flash within her eyes.

Words of Emperor: For this part, play Combat (Destiny) - Triangle Strategy

Meanwhile, Michele is running through the ship's corridor while still holding Elise tightly. And guess who didn't take their cargo out before just putting maintenance on their ship? Because right at the front door is a stockpile of Frag Grenades and maintenance wires. It didn't take long before Michele put two and two together and thus littered the hallway that their pursuers also running down is also an endless amount of tripwire traps placed in the corridor.

She sometimes wonders just how exactly the lower percentage of human intelligence is because there's no possible way for them to trip every one of it. But perhaps their general strategy of them was just to drown her in the blood of their corpses. And that sheer kinetic weight of it will crush her to oblivion. By the law of attrition, she will meet her demise.

A ship's section alone is practically a city block that could contain up to millions of people. Void traversal demands a ludicrous amount of manpower and unfortunately slaves along with it. Supplies and upkeep are kept only for the leadership and the rest will trudge on what is spare. In general, everything in the Imperium that kept it alive is built on wanton and deliberate cruelty.

In a labyrinth of steel that is somehow vast yet claustrophobic at the same time. It wasn't long before she is bound to be pincered by a group of enemies. This time, they are clad in armor from head to toe with no seen chinks in it to exploit thus preventing her from just melee it out. Unfortunately for them, they thought that they could outsmart her this time by being more prepared but that line of thought was soon betrayed as Michele's power sword cleaved them at an abrupt pace without retaliation.

The power sword has its matter disruption field and thus easily cleaves through most seen armor even the ceramite used for Space Marines except for the most molecular-bound materials in existence in Imperium. Unfortunately, this power sword is a bit too unwieldy for her even when using both hands, unlike her sleek single-handed sword. If it has the same design then she would use it to full effectiveness but a beggar can't be a chooser.

"How many people did those dipshits hired!?" Michele curses in her mind as she tries to adapt to the new sword style of the power broadsword.

While it is not out of the realm to hire a hundred people for something. But she has a feeling that whoever is behind this has hired literal armies just to kill her and Anastasia alone. If that's what it takes then she doesn't want to see Anastasia going truly all-out. Technology jumps vast distances the higher they go in Vespera. Who knows just what technology is weaponized as in the Upper Hive when brought to Lower Hive?

Her instincts flared up as she quickly unsheathes the slab of whetted metal and blocked a chainsaw that suddenly burst through the wall which was moving toward her. Michele quickly falls back and Elise tries to remain as close as she could to her as a measure of self-preservation. Just a moment later, said person burst through the wall as they swung their chainsword in a raving bloodthirst.

What Michele noticed is that said person is wearing a menial exoskeleton suit. Said things are produced in Lower Hive for the fact that they are remotely cheap to produce and that they multiplicative increase a menial's working strength so much that it is a net loss to work without them.

A Forge World's production relies on its menials. Although Servitors exist to somewhat automate productions, a majority of them still rely on normal people. This includes back-breaking labor and extreme tedium. Vespera however retains a single piece of STC that enables the production of these exosuits. A single menial that can carry 50kg can now lift 150kg with ease instead. Thus making it one of the most powerful pieces of work gear that exist in Imperium and they are as common in Vespera as safety helmets.

And humanity like usual tries to weaponize it for combat thus what Michele is seeing right now. A madman in exosuit trying to kill her with this chainsword he found somewhere. Michele would have just instantly demolished that man if she was alone but now with Elise in tow, she ended up having to play the defensive so that the collateral may not affect Elise. She dreads whatever treatment Anastasia will do to her if anything happened to Elise.

"Kid, get away from me!" Michele said as she tries to signal Elise but the little girl doesn't know how she was supposed to despite clear command.

The man in exosuit charges toward her as he swung his chainsword toward Michele which she promptly blocked with her "normal" sword. Sparks flew out as the man tries to press it on her, Michele herself starts to struggle with the force of the exosuit itself as she tries to find a moment to backpedal and counter. As the two are stuck in their clashing gridlock, Michele heard approaching footsteps coming and knew that she must end this conflict quickly right now

The reason why these exosuits aren't being too widely used in gang conflicts or general violence is that they demand maintenance that most Hive Gangers simply don't have nor anyone would willing to. They are to belong in workplaces where there is at least a Tech-Priest to overlook the maintenance of these suits. And recalibration is often done to prevent overstressing these still sturdy yet delicate suits.

Elise raises her hand forward toward the exosuit as tears can't seemingly stop flowing from her eyes. Suddenly, the shoulder of the exosuit started to freeze up and not budge at all. Michele took advantage of it immediately as she swerves her sword so that the chainsword slides away from her and when the man falls over because he focused too much strength into that singular direction. The moment she did so she instantly severed his head with a swift swing of her sword.

Michele gazed back toward Elise and saw the bracelet on her wrist glowing in the same way. She doesn't know if she did something at all or not but time is running short and there's none of it left to ponder. Taking hold of Elise's hand, Michele made it off as fast as she could before the same situation happened to her again. She thought that Elise has used some impossible technology to manipulate the exosuit to malfunction but in reality, it is even more unreal than that.

Elise manipulated probability so that the exosuit would freeze up in that moment and that alone. Like how a flap of a butterfly brought ruination to a Segmentum, the unseen twitches of her fingers and the tears she cried contributed to the chaos that she manipulated for this very abysmal probability no matter how impossible. Her power is...

Butterfly Effect

Unlike Anastasia's Chaos Theory, she can direct fate to a certain probability as long as she is given enough time. But Elise right now is but a child that can't possibly handle the sorrowful and bleak future that is still ahead. "Ignorant is a virtue" is an idea that the Ecclesiarchy tries to perpetuate but perhaps there is a kernel of truth for every lie that is spoken.

Elise suddenly puts her hand on her forehead as an intense headache viciously spread through her head. She is seeing something that Michele couldn't which she would wish to know but before any inquiry could begin, the entire surroundings around her start to violently shake as all she knew is that the world is turning upside down.

Then everything literally turned upside down as Michele got struck on her head with the floor during the process and knocked out cold.

15 minutes before. Anastasia breathes tiredly as her white clothing is now drenched in the blood of hundreds that she has slain up to this point. Her House has a tradition to wear white clothes as proof of their sincerity and honesty. That they will not use their divination to their malicious ends. But a promise has no meaning if others deliberately broke it for their own. Now that creed is meaningless much like her clothing tarnished with bloodshed.

More of those hired guns appear and there is seemingly no end to them. Realizing that once more, Anastasia braced her footings and stood upright once more as she prepares for another onslaught against her. Voidship hangar is kilometers in size and only now does she encapsulate its size that she has to move on foot all the way. She has a feeling that this place was off-limits and that they have strayed into a place where they shouldn't.

Not that it even matters when literal thousands are breaking said rules anyway.

Anastasia turned around and saw a massive horde of hired arms whose numbers by estimation reached up to a thousand. While her prediction tells her that she could feasibly kill them all given enough time, her goal is to get the fuck out of here. Not causing more unnecessary bloodshed for the mere sake of violence alone.

She then ran off down the pathway as those opposing her still attempt taking her down regardless of the futility itself. Now that she could focus without worrying about Elise, she then uses the bracelet to its full capacity. Future branches and splits with each second that passes, with each moment as she breaks the seams. She foresaw all as she moves down the fastest way that her capability could allow her.

Although she could theoretically see up to 10 years ahead much like how her House demonstrated, it is a massive strain upon the mind as it is not made to witness all the vast infinity the future consists of. For actual practical purposes, 6 seconds is the best before it became nothing but a wild guess as the Trigram Bracelet is linked directly to her mind. But 6 seconds alone is more than enough to alter a significant loss into a decisive victory

Distant Future divination will give a glimpse is seen for a brief moment and Close Future gives a brief epiphany before cutting off. The Trigram Bracelet also divinities a person's luck based on 1 second with each minimum Quantum time calculated from that point onward based on settings. The most likely possibilities are then displayed as Blessing or Curse with each of their own degrees. Each degree is scaled exponentially. Minor is fiscal and will only affect self. Normal will affects nations or continents or anything of similar quantity. Great could affect entire planets or systems. Absolute is the utter end of the scale where any attempt of approximation is unfathomably impossible.

And ever since the inception of House Valkyria, Absolute Curse was divined many times. But Absolute Bless has never existed, not even in any form beyond Minor. This makes her House wonder if something is going on in the underline of this universe that dictates suffering and horrific misfortune perpetrated no matter what.

Making some headway and crossing vast distances as she cuts down any interloper, her future sight suddenly warn her of something as her lightning-quick reflex responds to a hyper-velocity bullet that nearly grazed her. Even the mere aftershock alone could tear her body apart. She could already tell that just from foretelling of what happened if she was anywhere near its proximity.

Then based on the bullet's trajectory, Anastasia traced its path toward where the sniper should be but by the time she did so, that sniper is already out of the way. With such destructive power to wield at their hands, she knew that whoever it is will demand to have her head no matter what. She wishes that she could find a reliable way to take that sniper down but as mercenaries flood into the hangar like a breaking waterfall, her only reliable option that her foresight suggests. Is to run.

Keep running no matter what.

The sniper peaks its head once more as that seemingly harmless gun for some reason keeps making her mind scream in warning and danger that is to come. But appearance deceives much like her Krak Spear as the shot fired it from far exceeds anything of its size. A bullet that was so fast and powerful that it created a torrent of storms behind its trail as it raze anything nearby its target into indiscernible scraps.

Anastasia didn't even bother to attempt deflecting it. That thing is too powerful for something as rudimentary as her spear thus putting all she has into her acrobatic, she narrowly evaded it as it nearly tore her hair apart.

At that point, she realized the true nature of that bullet. Turbo-penetrator round. Limited only as an extremely rare tool for assassinations of the highest command in the Imperium. The ruling class outside Twilight here thinks that it is rare enough to be a non-issue unless they really earn the extreme ire somehow. In Twilight, however, the Upper Hive uses this very type of round, as mass-producible self-defense.

The only difference between the Assassinorum's turbo-penetrator and Twilight's round is that Twilight's round has no auto-aim cogitator which funnily reduced its production cost by a huge margin that it is easily mass-producible. Anyone with a decent aim would devastate their targets and surroundings. Collateral would no doubt be taken into account but Upper Hive is built differently literally.

Although they could easily mass-produce such a thing, it is still ultimately the last resort when out of options. Hundred thousands of these rounds are produced and sales for anyone with a decent sum of cash in Upper Hive in comparison to hundreds across all Vindicare Houses. Even then, exporting these rounds to the wider Imperium is deliberately sowing chaos to its already unstable structure of it. Imagine the cutthroat politic as it already is and then toss these unstoppable rounds in military-scale quantity. The result is already not good to see or imagine.

And because of its rather abundant nature in comparison to Assassinorum's version. They will not hesitate to use it when the chance presents itself even if it misses. They have destruction and inhumanity to spare.

Just as if Anastasia could tell where even the trajectory of the bullet could go. She narrowly evaded every one of them whenever that occurs. She could only hope to exhaust their ammunition but based on how much the Upper Hive wanted her dead, that is probably out of the question or expectation even.

Suddenly, her future sight distorts. Her vision of the possible futures that she could perceive suddenly filled with static and near indiscernible corruption. A second later, it became psychedelic which forces her to stop using the Trigram Bracelet if she wants her mind intact. She then tries to discern what on Twilight caused such a thing to happen until she realized something about the air around her.

It's utterly wrong, a sensation so foreign yet fundamentally understood. She turned her gaze toward her left and saw a massive tanker the size of a voidship section and half of its height. A container tank that contains something completely out of this world yet is so fundamental toward any form of interstellar transportation. It's a warp drive's fueler tank.

When her House once existed, they have done so much in their attempt to reduce the effect of Warp exposure to their divination device. But no matter how much they try to isolate the Quantum Computation unit, the Warp completely bricks the Qubytes used to calculate the future. Thankfully that it does not affect the Time Crystal thus their computation data and algorithm are safeguarded thus a simple reboot is enough for the Trigram Bracelet to function again normally. Because of it, house Valkyria avoids all warp fuckery like a plague.

They even go as far as to hire Pariahs to cancel out Warp effects. But turns out even their null aura of them also bricks the Qubytes for a different reason.

Anastasia now has to run across the warp drive fuel tank as fast as she could because there's no possible way to use Trigram Bracelet here without it just being filled with Chaos. Unfortunately, no future sight means everything is unpredictable. And it didn't take long before something eventually struck her.

She wondered how the hell the sniper moved about so fast. Much faster than her even. The true answer was that there was never one.

A glint of light flashes from ahead of her. Then just a few seconds later, some of such extreme power pierced through the repulsion field that her Silver Wing created to protect her. It felt as if her body has been torn apart with such visceral strength that not even an atom of her should remain where it stood. But, for whatever reason, she refused.

This turbo-penetrator round was infused with additional shield-breaker parts to enable it to pierce through the repulsion field. But in exchange, its power dwindled if ever so slightly. That alone was enough for Anastasia because any more than that would have spelled true demise.

The moment the dust cleared, the snipers soon realized that even a turbo-penetrator wasn't enough. Her muscles blackened as if throbbing with something. Blood is dripping from the wound she suffered but other than that, it still seems to function normally as if nothing serious happened.

The shot landed right on her shoulder and tore the right half of her clothing apart as it revealed the pitch-black throbbing that seems like anathema to her snow-white appearance from before. Anastasia stopped for a moment as she looked right at where the wound is as the bullet hole that the turbo-penetrator round pierced through slowly pieced together and remove that injury altogether.

An Upper Hive Noble hides as many secrets as the stars above them.

Anastasia remembered back at those golden days with their used-to-be comrades. Before the fall of her House and before she was decreed as a Cassandra. Noble Houses rarely work together for something but when they do, the creations they made together are far more than the sum of their parts. This is one of them.

Nanomachines. They harden in response to physical trauma. Combine with Quantum Mechanic, they become far more effective and responsive which they go beyond their normal medicare usage. Now they can interlink with each other at a quantum level that they can form structuring far exceeding even Adamantium in durability and protection.

It has been years since then and she never intends to use them as it reminds her far too much of the betrayal her House suffered at the hands they once called partners. Their loyalty was repaid with destruction. But now, she has been finally pushed to use this final trump card. She once questions herself if she is really being unreasonable with all of this bloodshed and carnages but... She finally understands that all these cruelties can only be ended with annihilation. That peace can't be found until that last drop of blood dripped from the corpses of those responsible.

Another turbo-penetrator round was fired and this time, Anastasia didn't even bother to dodge. Right at an exact moment later, she caught the bullet right in her hand as she looks at the bullet she caught. Adamantium jacketed tip with a special magno-sealed flux needle. This thing is practically an unstoppable death sentence but Anastasia has already exceeded such a thing.

She crunched the bullet with her hand and the sniper attempted another shot at her which broke her Krak Spear as it splinters apart. Before they could pull the trigger again, their head was pierced with a spear that extends from Anastasia's position straight to the sniper's. All within a blink of an eye across 3 kilometers. With a weight no more than a feather. Even without needing to be there, she could already tell that kill is confirmed.

A spear made out of structured nanomachines.

The spear then disintegrates as it reformed again back into the form of her Krak Spear. It appeared the same but now completely pitch-black as if not reflecting anything. Anastasia focuses her strength right at her feet as she then bursts forward with explosive speed leaving behind a crack on the ground where she used to be. The other sniper realized that their supposedly unstoppable armament no longer could kill her anymore. They now have to resort to their own extreme measure.

Seeing the warp-drive fuel tank, the sniper knew that this will not end well in anyone's book but at least they'll pin all the destruction that happened on Anastasia.

The warp-drive fuel is Warp Ions extracted from the bleeding edge between real space and the Warp. They are of such extreme radioactive and psychic taints that long-term exposure is an excruciatingly slow death. Because of that, a purely mechanical system is used just to fuel warp drive alone and must be readapted for each different ship. The hull used to contain them is a complex layering of different psykic repelling materials devised by a long extinct House that only their know-how was passed to their fellowships.

This is the only form of tech that they can't cut any cost at all for the potential disaster otherwise is far worse. And now, nothing could try to justify the cost anymore. With hesitation clouding their mind, the sniper aimed at the warp drive fuel tank and wonder if this was worth it at all. But before they could truly contemplate any decision, they pulled the trigger by accident as the sheer stress alone was so overwhelming that a muscle reflex was activated.

The turbo-penetrator round rushes forward through the barrel. A decision that can no longer be overturned.

Meanwhile, Elise suddenly felt a premonition at hand as she saw a bleak future ahead of her against her consent. She saw the entirety of Twilight engulfed in a massive warpstorm as it then disappeared without a trace. Seeing that she only has mere seconds left before that fate occurs, she clasped her hand together despite Michele's holding her by the wrist. Then a silent prayer was unleashed.

The ship shakes with fierce volatility as all that exists trembles against the force that is impacted upon them. Elise has once again used the power of Butterfly Effect to manipulate the chaos of probability so that the consequence of the warp-drive fuel explosion is significantly less bad than what she could have seen. Instead of a planetary-scale warpstorm, it is now a still rather massive psykic explosion that knocks the whole ship over.

By the simple act of praying, she spat probability right in the face. Whoever was owning this ship will probably have a massive meltdown the moment they learned what happened to it during its time here. Warp-drive fuel explosion is utterly unpredictable in terms of possible destruction. Ranging merely from a radioactive leak that can easily be cleaned up to what Elise sees in her vision. It is exponentially even more unpredictable with the quantity when such a case happens.

Elise has then knocked out afterward after she managed to do so as processing such a massive calculation took out all of her spirits.

It was unclear how much time had passed but it must not have been long considering they aren't captured or dead. Michele slowly woke up as she realized she ruptured a somewhat large wound across her guts. However, Elise is tending to it as that rather disturbing cut slowly mends together perfectly as if it was never there, to begin with. Her palm shines a light green hue as Michele's injury disappeared.

Nanomachines. They are made to be able to construct items at the molecular level and are often used as a medicare item that can treat virtually everything that is not genetically crippling. Even from the closest to death's door or most grievous of injuries, they could and will fix a person back to their prime based on deciphered genetic sequence analyzed by said nanomachines.

They are one of the Noble Houses' inventions. Presented as proof of cooperation between as there can't possibly be any higher level of trust than giving part of your most prized possession to the counterpart. The combination of Quantum Mechanics and nanomachines allows impossibly-perfect level recreation of items that are even Xeno in nature or long extinct and exhausted such as Fulgurite.

And here such prestigious privilege is wasted on Michele herself. But after such devotion and protection which she placed on Elise, it would be blasphemous if it's not used at the right time like this. Because otherwise would only be like what the Upper Hive Nobles did to House Valkyria.

Michele stood up once more as she saw the entire surroundings of the ship's interior ablaze. A lot of pipelines that went through the ship itself burst and interact which other caused almost if not all of the ship's inside engulfed in fire. Because of that, they were better off getting out of there as soon as they could before the entire ship become their crematorium.

The power sword is thankfully fine and it was surprisingly sturdy despite her first impression of it. Both of them is sheathed and still carried on her personal belonging as the two of them tried to traverse through the blazing hellscape that the ship has become. However, it soon becomes clear that not even when the entire voidship port completely ruptured inside out does it stop the incursion from going on at all.

Footsteps draw near and Michele despite having all of her injuries up to this point cured, the treatment does nothing toward her actual stamina. She is filthy tired and would rather not fight if she could although her instinct has already told her that confrontation is unavoidable at this point in time. With a disgruntled grunt she lets out, she unsheathed her pristine sleek sword that kept its form despite numerous punishments inflicted upon it up until now.

The gleam of the blade shines through the overwhelming light of the fire. Some did take notice of it and thus charged toward Michele without hesitation. Michele already take action as her fleet footwork blazed across the firestorm between them.

Elise however can only look in sadness. How many times was she disregarded because she was a child? A good-for-nothing little brat that just stood in everyone's way because of how much of a target she puts on herself through her presence alone. Her sister said otherwise but how

She doesn't want to be called useless, she doesn't want to be considered worthless. She doesn't want to be treated with a cold shoulder. She doesn't want to feel alone even when surrounded by people.

She doesn't want to be afraid

She doesn't want to feel pain

She doesn't want to feel cold

She doesn't want to feel miserable

She doesn't want to feel terrible

(Nobody wants to)

Finally fed up with all the loneliness, sadness, misery, suffering, and emptiness. She has tasted bitter loss at the hands of others but if she continues to keep count of her regrets, there will be no end to it all. For that long distant promise that she has broken long ago.

She kneeled and clasped her hands together. She prayed for someone, for something no matter what it is. Then upon the bleeding edge of Chaos, something completely unrelated happens to her. Through the utter limitless probability, the ceiling part in front of her collapsed as a charred corpse dropped in front of her. At the first glance, there is no possible way to tell what's special about the corpse. But then also came a revolver that remained unharmed despite the raging fire it went through.

Elise stares ahead and saw the carnage that is Michele fighting everyone else against her. As her blade cleaves through them with precision, some fell with a mere precisive stab, some bisected by her quick draw, and some lost their minds literally as they try to hit anywhere near her against her swordsmanship. The fire makes ranged fighting much more prone to friendly fire thus they resorted completely to getting as close as they could. However, they are only outmaneuvered with every attempt no matter what.

Michele hunched over in tiredness as lethargy visibly ran across her face. Although she can still keep going, she seriously starts to question if she is going to leave this place alive. Then suddenly, one more person erupts out of the flame as they tried to take her down with them. Michele tried to turn around and counterattack but the heat of the fire sapped a lot of her fighting spirit. She could take them down but not without suffering an equally grievous injury along the way.

But before such a thing could occur, a bullet struck through the temple of the ambusher as the said person fell over away from Michele. Michele then finishes the bastard off so that they suddenly don't try to wake up and ambush her again. She then turned her gaze over toward Elise and saw her aimed down with the revolver in her hand.

"Thanks..." Michele said as she tries to approach Elise once more.

That was the first time she received a sincere "thank you" from others. Most of the time, they are often filled with back-handed insults that she is so tired of hearing them.

"Now, let us move on". Michele then follows up as she holds Elise by her hand as they rush down the corridor.

As the turned corridor of the ship makes the whole experience completely unbearable, it wasn't the first time that she has to traverse through one thankfully thus she could tell from general architecture that she actually made progress and not running around in a circle. Plus a thankfully not burnt map of the ship interior hung on the wall which Michele quickly deciphers and analyzes the way out for them.

And as they made their way, another obstacle approaches. Stood in front of them is a massive hall that is seemingly used as a recreation hall for the ship's leader. Right at the center of it stood a group of mercenaries armed to the teeth with ranged weaponry and armor as the leader of this particular group appears menacing much to Michele's dismay. Even if the leader themselves isn't, that particularly large gun, a rotary cannon they wield is already a forebode signification.

"Well, well, well... It seems that we found our target. You better surrender yourselves now or..." The man in large figure said in an imposing tone as his gun slowly revs up.

The entire group of them positioned themselves in swift measure as all of them now aim their Autoguns at the two. And they made damn sure that all of these guns are aimed at Michele and Elise.

Michele is on the verge of giving up already. The distance is too great to simply cut down without her being riddled with bullet holes in the attempt of doing so. But she knew damn well that she won't surrender to these fucks without a fight. Thus knowing the chances are slim, it is the only one that she knew of that can bring the two out of this horrid situation. As she prepares to unsheathe her sword again, Elise once more clasps her hands together as she seemingly tried to pray for something to happen.

"Praying to the Emperor, aren't you? He ain't saving your arse this time around, kid". The leader of the group opposing Michele said in a mocking tone as if trying to make a child miserable wasn't enough for his sadism already.

So consummated at what was in front that none of the group noticed the ceiling above them is cracking down. It's only when bits of hot dust landed on them did they notice what is going to happen to them. By that point, it was too late.

Words of Emperor: For this part, play Megalomania - Live A Live

The ceiling completely gave out as blazing chunks of the ceiling landed upon them. Some didn't make it out in time as the fire quickly spreads and cause confusion among them. Michele takes advantage of the situation immediately as she unsheathes her blade and rushes forward with all she has. With reflex unseen, she outmaneuvers the armed men with ease as she cut them down as her images flicker and distort between the fire.

The leader despite taking the brunt of it came out mostly unaffected. His entire gang, however, wasn't that lucky like him as the sudden disorientation that Michele took advantage of decimated a chunk of them. With a swift calling, he managed to regather the closest when that sudden blow occur and made sure that such a thing won't happen again.

He stares at where the two used to be and noticed that the kid in white isn't there anymore. He was pissed nonetheless but he finds it interesting for once because her prayer worked. And when prayer gets responded to, it is often followed with damnations not too soon later.

Michele steps out of the blazing fire as her clothes are blackened by the heat. And as the flame starts to die down, Elise who is nearby Michele at the moment starts to pray once more when the ceiling above them starts to collapse. As each piece of debris fell upon them, the enemy soldiers became hard-pressed to keep their formation and integrity as Michele is like an illusion that appears and then disappears from their sight as each life is claimed by her blade.

"Get her!" The gang leader yelled out loud through the crackling flame as all of those around quickly take measures with their guns.

Right at the next moment, Michele burst through the flame as she lances forward with her blade as two gunmen impaled through with it. The following gunmen unleash their firing at her as the impaled bodies shielded the majority of it and the rest missed their mark. Emerging from the veiling fire is Elise with her revolver aimed at them. Normally it would be no cause for concern as their armor would block small-arm ballistics like nothing but something tells them that it is not.

Elise pulled the trigger and whirled the revolver in her hand simultaneously as a barrage of bullets unleash from it as they rain down upon them. For what is perceived as a six-shooter, she fired what is essentially an Autogun mag worth.

"Did she fit 30 rounds in a 6-round cylinder revolver?!" Michele said as she removes the torn bodies that shielded her from her blade.

The bullet penetrates through their armor as the pain disorients them once more. Michele then jumps straight ahead as she demolishes what was left of their formation save for their leader as he revs his gun toward the two.

A few minutes before this fight, Elise was foretold of an incoming battle that they can't avoid. Seeing just how out of shape Michele has become at this moment, she decided that she must also contribute something to the fight or else. Remembering that the nanomachines in her body have their use beyond medicare, she decided to cut her finger with Michele's blade when she wasn't noticing and used each drop of her blood into the cylinder chambers of the revolver. With it scanning the revolver's caliber and chambering, it then instantly reform the ammunition inside her revolver so much so without reloading required.

Nanotech is one of the Houses' technologies as they allow replication and reconstruction of both humans and items at the molecular scale. Not only that, they enable the production of otherwise difficult items that would require massive manufactorums or an array of logistics just to produce one. Nanotechnology enables near-perfect copy as it only needs to scan one to create another. Although mass production using replicated items could cause degradation in quality, they cooperated with House Valkyria so that they can get rid of these degradation aspects or at least make it so that it would take billions of years for degradation to be noticed.

Guess that regardless of the outcome now, the deal is at least upheld with no sabotage behind it because this would have been a kill-switch back at that fateful event for them.

Using recollected dust and particles scattering in the atmosphere, the nanomachines reconstruct the ballistics in the cylinders using only a hundred-thousandth of the original material through sheer efficiency alone. Thus making her gun strangely fires dozens of rounds in a 6-round cylinder.

As Elise "reloads" her revolver without even looking at it directly but keeping a gaze toward the battle, a gunman noticed and tried to shoot at Elise only to find her completely sidestepped his aim and unleashed all 36 rounds of it at blazing speed. The bullets gutted him near-continuously as the shock knocked him out as he bled out to his death amidst the fire.

"It seems that I have taken all of you too lightly, but it all ends here!" The gang leader yelled as his massive gun revved loudly his aim was clearly toward her.

Elise's eyes flash as she foresaw Michele's demise as a torrent of bullets tore her body apart in mere seconds. With mere seconds left to alter her demise, Elise also found herself surrounded by a group of lackeys as they are a mere moment left from pulling their triggers on her. Seeing that she has few options left, she twirls her revolver madly as she guns down every hostile around her with no prejudice. All of it happens in a blink of an eye as they found themselves fed with dozen of rounds each before their deaths claim them.

With little left to spare, she fired at the gun the gang leader is using. The revolver rounds collide with it and throw the aim off as its stream of high-calibered bullets nearly grazed Michele before she disengages into the fire. The gun still continues to fire as its aim stream upward until the gang leader lets off the trigger.

"You have more violence in you than I thought!" The gang leader said in a sadistic tone as if Emperor knows what is going on in that mindset.

He then aims his gun at her thinking that this will be the easiest kill in his lifetime only for someone to intervene. As he is about to pull the trigger, something stabs into his flank. It was Michele's sword and she is trying to push it even further to take the gang leader down.

"Not even a scratch!" The gang leader laughed as he then pulls the trigger on his rotary cannon. Bullets stream forward as they tore everything ahead apart but the main target the leader intended is nowhere in sight. Then slightly to the left of his warpath, stood Elise with her revolver aimed at him dead in the eye.

"Perish..." Elise whispered before she pulled the revolver's trigger.

Torrents of bullet rush from that tiny proportion gun. Nobody could tell just how much was fired but it was so overwhelming that it was like that rotary cannon before but now in her hand. The gang leader's protection can only do so much before it completely crushed beneath the sheer weight of ballistic fired at him. As the gang leader drowns in leads, Elise steps closer and closer while still holding down the trigger at him. With her aims squarely on the head, she keeps the trigger held down until the gang leader's head is completely crushed into pastes.

It was anti-climatic as it was. Before Elise obliterates the gang leader in cold blood, Michele pulled the blade out before Elise did her work and seriously questioned whether or not that man was anything human to consider a deep stab a nontrivial wound. Thankfully with the gang leader dead, the rest of his cohort wasn't as "courage" as he is and thus scurry between their feet as they ran for their lives. Not that they made it far before she completely mops up the remnant.

With that out of the way, the two continue to make their way through the capsized voidship as their hardship has just merely begun.

Meanwhile, back at the Warp Contamination Zone. Stood within the affected area are multiple columns of pitch-black pillars that seemingly surround something within. Then a few seconds later, some of those pillars deconstructed themselves as they reveal what was within.

It was Anastasia and the color on her face is strangely pale. But other than that, she is still within her capability to continue fighting. The Warp Contamination is making her sick but the nanomachines inside her body along with these black pillars are the few reasons why she still stood against all of the odds.

She looked at the black pillars as she noticed the inscriptions on them. Never exactly know what is it as her House never has a chance to decrypt them at all. All she knows is that a certain Magos of the Tech-Priesthood called Cawl requested her House to assist him in understanding and replicating these things. While the ability to replicate at Quantum levels helped them never run out of samples to test with, they are far from able to interface with it as it is supposed to be able to act as both Warp Repellant and Conduit based on its current mode. Recreation of them has simply acted as Warp Repellant with no known way of changing.

This thing called "Blackstone" as that Magos called has saved Anastasia's life as their Warp repelling property is the reason why she doesn't immediately die of Warp Exposure as she is formulating her plan right now. Deciding that running down this path is simply not enough anymore, she gazes at the capsized voidship to her side and knew that it is the only viable way forward.

Focusing the nanomachines at her feet, she made a massive jump as the Blackstone Pylons deconstruct themselves the moment she left their vicinity. After landing upon it, the nanomachines cover her feet as it magnetizes toward the ship itself. The reason why she didn't even use this overpowering advantage of her is that she only intended to stay low and out of the Upper Hive Nobles' sight. And secondly, these nanomachines required significant energy storage for any offensive functioning beyond medicare. This is why she and her sisters eat a lot whenever they could. This very fact gets them called snobby and gluttonous. But rather being called standard Upper Hive behaviors than withstanding the full wrath of the Upper Hive. Her House didn't survive, what's the chance that the two sisters have against the entire Hierarchy?

With speed overwhelming, she intended to cut down the 3 kilometers run in mere minutes alone. Each running step of her kicks a dent into what's considered a nearly impenetrable voidship hull that she is running on. All of these are made to withstand interstellar travel and take a lot of punishment to even visibly damage and her running pace alone is doing what rebellions on most Imperial worlds failed.

If anyone is visibly close to the moment that it happened. They will visibly see a shockwave unleashed with each footstep of her.

Meanwhile, a group of armed guns stood just outside the newly made entrance into the capsized ship. What they knew is that their targets are hiding inside and thus they simply armed themselves and prepare for this expedition. If only they knew of the true danger that their bounty really is then no amount of money would convince them to stay. Guess that some information was withheld just to prevent some too-inquisitive hunters to know the full truth, especially considering the prize hung above it should have been a foreboding warning.

When life-changing money is on the line, the length that people are willing to go is both surprising and unsurprising.

Suddenly, a shadowy figure appears at the entrance. By the size they made out, it wasn't any more than a child of 12. Wondering if the worsening condition of the hangar is fooling them, they preemptively raised their guns at it as a precaution against what may happen. But regardless of any decision they made, death awaited them.

A stream of bullets rip apart the first few without retaliation as the rest tried to take cover and fire back. However, none of it mattered as the heavy-caliber rounds shred apart both materials and people alike with no discrimination. The muzzle flashes clear away the hazy shadow around as it reveals Elise using the Gatling gun she has taken from the previous kill against all of them. Within her gaze, is innocence that has been lost from the forceful reawaken of a power that is too much for a mere child.

She has soon too much, too many and she will be destined for even more tragedy beyond her peripheral sight.

Michele steps out of the "entrance" which is more of a blown-out hole made with explosives. Seeing the carnage in front of her doesn't even faze her anymore at this point. She herself has been the perpetrator of many bloodbaths with her sword and she simply couldn't care if she was in the right or wrong at that moment. All that mattered was that she must survive.

Elise drops the Gatling gun towards the ground as she made her silent steps forward. A loud clank was followed then only silence remained. She thought there would be more bodies that are willing to throw themselves into the meat grinder but it turns out that the situation wasn't that desperate, yet.

As the two went down the ramp leading to the other side of the voidship hangar, a simple exit awaited them as if nothing had yet touched it. Elise looks at it intently as if questioning whether or not an ambush or trap is awaiting at the other side. They don't even know how much time has passed when they stared at the door in hesitation but their doubt was soon dispelled as Anastasia soon finished her 3-kilometer sprints and landed abruptly nearby their locations as the ferrocrete ground visibly cracks from it.

"Sorry, was I too late?" Anastasia asks as she tries to stabilize the nanomachines inside her that are running hot.

"The fuck is that with the performance you just did!?" Michele couldn't control her surprise as she didn't expect to see Anastasia this soon. Especially not seeing her making a 500-meter jump from the capsized voidship to down here.

"Nothing... just something that I would rather not have used but they have pushed my hand toward this". Anastasia said as she approaches the exit door and kick it wide open to reveal absolutely no one behind it.

Michele swore that she has more problems than Anastasia and that she envies her confidence and capability. But once again, Upper Hive privileges, and Michele would rather be no one but herself.

The three went down the hallway as they finally exited the hangar. It was clear that the port has blacked out long ago considering the incident that happened. Because of it, this hallway ended up as an ironically perfect escape that they could use. The lack of light makes it near impossible to be detected and none would care. Perhaps too perfect as it ended up as a possible way for them to escape. Such as when they finally kicked open the exit door at the end of the hallway, their hope was then promptly crushed by what awaited at the end.

A massive army stood there waiting for them, artilleries are literally being used just for them alone. Overkill is understating just the length of those who wished their deaths on them.

Michele can only swallow a bitter laugh as not even she could fight back against this overwhelming amount of enemies at once. Anastasia however seems to be fully aware that she maybe... just maybe could take on all of them and came out victorious but... Her Trigram Bracelet is already in function as countless passages of the future playing out in her mind. Many permutations and yet all of them have only one outcome for her.

She sees herself lying amidst the field of corpses motionless as visible aftermath scars across her future vision.

A pyrrhic victory. And yet... she still felt compelled to fight back no matter what. To say she isn't feeling fear is utterly wrong as her heart and mind are arguing with each other about the path they must take. Her logic dictates that they must retreat yet her heart tells them that no matter how much they run, their pursuer will still chase them now with greater ferocity since the cat is out of the bag. That their House's true power is still in activation and now no amount of collateral will deter them anymore.

Anastasia gazed at her younger sister and saw that she is shaking in nervousness like her although Anastasia did better at hiding it than Elise. At that moment, Anastasia knew deep down what certain someone close to her once say.

It has to be this way.

Anastasia steps forward in which all of the opposers react very clearly. They knew the capability she has considering the aftermath left behind in that voidship port. They knew that all of them may not be enough to stop her after all. And yet against all of that, they still stood their ground. Whether to pity or praise for their foolhardiness is up to viewers but hardly anyone who views this would enjoy what's coming.

Right before Anastasia did so, she communicated to Michele using sign language. It is basically a lifeline for a lot of the Guild's Merchants and many made it as if it were mandatory. It is useful but not many realized that it isn't enforced. By deciphering it in quick succession, Michele made out a simple message.

Save her

Right after the message ended, Anastasia rushed head-first into the carnage without any sense of self-preservation.

Someone amongst them tried to make the first attack but Anastasia exceeds them by a huge margin that probably will never be seen to be bridged. In a blink of an eye, dozens of lives were claimed as her nanite-forged spear cleaved through their bodies as simple as scissors going through single-layer toilet paper. Their armor did little to protect them as if the strength she displays exceeds what the mortal body is supposed to do. Of what even enhancement and bionics available in Lower Hive are capable of in comparison to her.

No matter how much they wished that they were prepared, Anastasia was simply beyond their scope of combat. Artilleries fired frantically as it tries to pinpoint her but failed to hit anywhere close as Anastasia was like an afterimage, the moment she was there, the next she is somewhere else.

Michele took Elise's hand as she takes advantage of the chaos Anastasia is sowing right now. With them getting out of the voidship port not in the same way as before, Michele ended up having to stay near the vicinity if they ever wish to make it back to their vehicle. Or more exactly, the underground parking lot that the truck is taken to since keeping it right at the port's front entrance is inviting carjackers to steal it. Even with the locking mechanism in place.

Their descending into the dark went unhitched as far as they could be concerned but no matter how far they run, they can't escape the sound of war happening above them. Michele felt tremendous guilt as she couldn't imagine herself personally separating one of the Valkyria sisters from the other. Elise meanwhile is crying uncontrollably as she is plagued by the vision of her sister's death. No matter how much she prayed, no matter how much she tried to manipulate the chaos of probability, the future refused to change.

Her awakening is probably completely unexpected by her sister as Anastasia is visibly affected by her future sight and premonition. If a grown adult is inexplicably affected by the premonition then how much hope is there for a 12-year-old? Not to mention that Elise's capability was probably far exceeding her own sister right off the bat as Anastasia's Chaos Theory can foresee the possible futures and guide her on the right path. Elise however has the power to directly affect Fate itself from minuscule manipulation of Chaos itself thus making her power considerably greater than her own sister.

If not even she could do anything to change it then... What's the point?

Deep inside her heart, she is so stricken by sorrow that she starts to refuse to work together with Michele despite her attempts to calm her down. This quickly resulted in discord between the two of them as they go on and try to find the transport truck they rode on. Arguments were made, and angry remarks were spoken. Michele was not having the best time of her life combined with her tendency to mood swings grinds down on the remaining composure that she has.

In the worst possible moment that she could have done. She uttered the word that is unbecoming of a therapist in the first place.

"Can you shut up already, you deadweight!?" Michele yelled out loud at Elise's face.

Michele is also unable to hold back her tear in the same way that Elise couldn't. Anastasia's sacrifice is getting on both of them and their presence toward each other is drawing the worst out of them too. Elise stares at Michele in shock as her mind process the cruel words that Michele spat out into her face.

Deadweight... That simple word reverberates loudly in her mind as if that's all she ever was to nearly everyone around her.

"I hate you!" Elise yelled back as loud as her vocal chord could before she tried to run away as far as she could from Michele.

Michele grabbed her by the wrist as she desperately tries to move forward regardless of Michele's intent. The nanomachines inside Elise's body start to activate slightly as she starts to drag Michele on despite the former's immense strength over her. So consummated by the conflict between the two that they forgot what's important. Their survival.

Michele suddenly felt multiple foreign presences nearby as she then placed one hand on the sheathed indestructible sword's handle. Elise felt the same way as she tried to search for a weapon on herself only to realize that she was completely unarmed in comparison to Michele. Right in the following moment, multiple light sources shine upon them as they found themselves surrounded by more mercenaries with their guns trained upon them.

They were encircled and unlike those amateurs from before, they are seemingly much better disciplined in comparison to the foes before them. Escape while might be a possible solution, will not be without heavy consequences slap upon. As the still tension rises between them, Michele made her first move thus breaking the standstill between them.

Instead of slashing her blade. Michele pushes Elise into the unshone path as she then runs into the darkness hoping that no one will catch her. The rest of the mercenaries tried to aim their guns at Elise only to find one of them butchered by Michele the moment their gazes disconnect from her. With their targets changed, they find themselves at the mercy of Michele's swordsmanship as her fleet footwork makes it near impossible to aim down her precisely.

Elise keeps running down through the darkness as she couldn't help but be unable to stop her tears from flowing. She had enough of the sacrifice of people around her for survival. She had enough of people hunting her down because of her identity. She had enough of having to be so powerless. To be unable to fight back the vicious tide of fate that has brought her to this point.

She had enough.

As Michele fought tooth and nail against foes armed with automatic weapons. Suddenly, another light source shines from the direction that Elise runs towards. Instinctively realizing the meaning of it, Michele turned around to see Elise confronting a tank head-on as its main cannon aimed right at her.

"No". Michele could only mutter a single word as what soon followed is an image that she wished she has averted her gaze from.

Elise stood there paralyzed in fear. Despite everything at her disposal, she could have easily destroyed that tank by bullshitting the probability to her side. But her mind is stricken by both horror and sorrow as the two made their pincer attack against any remaining stability her mind once has. The image of Anastasia's death keeps flashing in front of her eyes as the image slowly shifted toward her own demise.

Elise has officially lost all she has.

Right in the next moment, what was once Elise herself splatters across the ground around her like smears across the pavement. The tank cannon point-blanked her as the Trigram Bracelet she wore dropped from where she was before rolling toward Michele. It didn't even take long before it drops onto the ground and stayed motionless. Her last memory was nothing but hate towards everything around her for being so heartless for any real reason.

I... I failed her...

That bloody and visceral image was imprinted directly into Michele's mind against her will and consent. And at that moment, Michele's mind shut down in overwhelming trauma as if it too reminds her of a long-repressed memory. A bloody reminiscent stained in blood-soaked resentment. A curse that is written in ink as dark as despair.

Words of Emperor: For this part, play Doomsday Trance - Trails of Cold Steel 3

Michele was a mood whiplash for anyone around her and her inability to control the overwhelming emotions isn't because she is incapable herself but rather... it was directly linked to something far more sinister than just rage and hatred. The line that is beyond wrath and rage that Michele herself wasn't truly aware of.

Despair... Despair that once again, she lost what's important to her. For all the vitriol she spat out at her, she ultimately cared about Elise until the end. And now it is too late.

Michele lets out a growl that is almost demonic-sounding in nature as if no human is supposed to make a sound like that. Her eyes turn nearly pitch black save for the iris of blank white that contrast vastly with the rest of it. By the first gaze of it, it was as if Michele is a demon wearing human skin and they would not be too wrong to call her that for once.

As if radiating demonic presence, the mercenaries instinctively step back as if something is horrifically wrong with her. Unable to stay controlled under overwhelming pressure, one of them fired first at her only to doom all 5 adjacent gunmen around that particular one. A single slash was perceived and yet their bodies fell apart from one another in more than just one way.

It was as if she performed 9 slashes simultaneously in a single swing alone. It was a feat that there was no possible way for any mortal to perform. And that they ended up being on the receiving end of it, regret is all too late.

If there was anything to describe what Michele is feeling right now. It would be a melody written in maddening raves with melancholic notes sprinkled on top of it. All of that bitter resentment and loathing is ultimately an expression of grief at a decision made too hasty.

ǵëƫ ǒմṱ ōϝ ḿȳ ḥȇȁď

It was the last word she made coherent fully before being completely consumed by her despair.

Michele yelled loudly as she slaughters the encirclement with tragi-hilarity ease. For all the effort put just into capturing the Valkyria sisters, Michele was a toolbox thrown as forcefully as it could into the critical juncture of the system. She was merely collateral, a bystander caught up in this gigantic conspiracy that the Guild Master was fully aware of yet unable to do anything about. For the supposed speck of dust in the grand scheme, she ended up being like a particle affecting a Quantum system, a small effect that would soon have major consequences down the line.

ƌҿṧṕἆɩӷ

The exosuit soldiers tried to grapple her down using the enhanced strength granted by it. But Michele's strength was anything but usual, the moment they approaches her any remotely closely, she swung her slab of whetted metal in an arc at such impossible speed that it was more like a flashing mirage. By the time they realized it, they were bisected from the waist as if the exosuit granted virtually no protection against her. Before she struggled with such foes, now they are nothing but mere trash against her way.

թệɼȉšի

One mercenary realized just how hopelessly outclassed he is thus he tried to run away. Contract be damned, he would rather live to see the next day than die meaninglessly. Unfortunately, he will not realize that he is already dead as the Autogun of a certain dead mercenary penetrated through his own head despite the distance he made between them. He soon collapses onto the ground as his death is fortunately quick and less horrible in comparison to what the Upper Hive Nobles will do to him for fleeing.

đϵɱíṡễ

The tank that callously killed Elise in a cruel and ruthless manner proceeds to move forward as it tramples over what remains of Elise's smeared body. The crew inside thinks that they would be safe from her blade since they are inside the tank. Unfortunately, they will come to learn a rather uncomfortable truth that, it will not matter at all.

The tank fires its main cannon at her thinking it will accomplish the same thing as firing it at an unarmed 12-year-old. This thought is then bashed away as in a split second, she cleaves the Armor Piercing tank shell fired at her with her power sword with ungodly precision. The evidence of it soon followed as the splintered tank shell pierce into the wall behind Michele revealing what she did.

The tank crew realized the horrific danger they are in the moment they noticed the crackle of her power sword. That thing rends apart armor like nothing and based on its size, it is more of an Astartes-grade weapon than something belonging to the human hand. The fact that is wielding it with such ease as if it is nothing but a pocket knife puts primal fear into them.

Michele dual-wields both the whetted slab of metal and power sword in each hand as she then charges toward the tank at neck-breaking speed. The tank crew in panic tried to reload the tank cannon as fast as they could. The gunner meanwhile decided that instead of waiting for the reloading, he decided to use the Heavy Stubber installed into the tank as he fires it at Michele hoping that quantity can make do the situation.

Unfortunately, Michele's ferocity exceeds even 12.7mm rounds as her slab of whetted metal deflected them with impossible speed and precision. As his panic rises, his firing becomes erratic and unstable thus he quickly gave up the Heavy Stubber as he retreated into the tank. A good call for that moment but it didn't deter Michele from rushing forward.

The main cannon clicked as it fired another shot, Michele, however, didn't even bother to strike it as if her body isn't her as she evades it with such grace impossible. The shell detonated a distance away as she continues her rush down unhindered. The crew in desperation tried to backpedal but now it was too late, she is right in front of it at blade width and thus came an abrupt demise for all of them.

Ëɭẙșἲắբ Đṓ₥īṇ⍶Ւίоń

With both blades in motion, as if enchanted by a power unseen that they rend through the tank in motions together. Neither clash nor go against one another. Like binary stars, they follow each other in harmony. The power sword while easily understood why it could cleave through armor, the slab of whetted metal that Michele called a sword for some reason able to perform the same thing as the power sword. By the time she finished, what was once the tank that so callously kill its opponents fell apart as blood visibly stained the "normal" blade while the power sword has vaporized it by the disruption field.

It didn't even explode as it was slashed apart instead of shot at. Swordsmanship and anticlimatic just seem to go hand in hand with each other whenever combat arises.

After putting that tank crew into the past tense, more light shone upon her as it reveals that there are multiple tanks sent just to scour this parking lot alone. A bitter smile arose on her face as she gazes at more victims to kill. And as she charges forward while seemingly laughing hysterically, she was crying uncontrollably as tears can't stop falling. As each drop fell within the darkness surrounding it, they scatter like stardust within the sky. Wishful but ultimately ephemeral.

Ħόẉ Ւɧѳ ғսćƙ ḍṏ Î ϵẋթļᾷἰṋ Ւȟɨŝ Ƚὸ Ăπảṣʈἂṣỉᾶ

Meanwhile at the ground level. Anastasia is fighting fiercely against an overwhelming amount of foes as she decimates through their ranks and numbers as if she is stomping a pile of dust. However, she felt no satisfaction or enjoyment as the future vision starts to plague immensely over her. In her desperate attempt from straying toward that dark path despite the clear vision of the future, she hummed a melody to herself and soon even lyrics start to come by themselves as combat drew out.

Words of Emperor: For this part, play Weight of the World - Nier Automata

I feel like I'm losing hope. In both my body and my soul.

Anastasia basically has killed up to hundreds at this point. Although she isn't a stranger to killing, she has never made herself comfortable to murder so many in mass at all. She always judged whether or not she should have used violence because her House's close nature to clairvoyance and fortune-telling gave them leverage that many Houses can't. Because of it, self-control is praised and elevated because they too fully understand the danger of power-hunger. The danger of tyranny itself.

It was ironic because although they looked for danger outside of their sphere of influence, they couldn't foresee that other Houses decided to dispose of them. Not after 10k years worth of servitude. But no amount of regret will ever undo the treachery that befell her.

And the sky, it looks so ominous.

Within the brief silence that she was granted as the stragglers tried to regroup. She gazed up into the sky momentary as it is dark and ominous no matter the time. Back when she used to live at Upper Hive, she took the starry sky for granted while she enjoyed looking up at it when she is relaxing. And now down here at the bottom ditch of Lower Hive where pollutants have completely covered the sky. It makes her think that such a life like this is nothing but miserable. If anything...

Even the serfs deserved to see the sky.

And as 'time' comes to a halt. Silence starts to overflow. My cries... are inconspicuous.

Those who fight against monsters should see to themselves not becoming monsters in the process. Her House chose to fight fate itself against all they had and needless to say that fate has thoroughly defeated them. By the test of time, they didn't come out and the hubris of challenging fate itself has warranted that they'll face their ironic way out.

Anastasia knew that and yet... despite the way things have turned out. She still clings on to one last thing. The very last of the Valkyria itself.

The will to go on living.

Tell me, Emperor. Are you... punishing me? Is this the price I'm paying for my past mistakes?

Regret is plenty to all humans across Imperium. To die truly at peace is a privilege that is practically non-existent, perhaps even to the utter upper class in Imperial Hierarchy. For in far-flung distant future, there is only war. Anastasia has fought bitterly, whether for her House or her own belief. And yet she could hardly say that she is not without remorse. The greatest of it all... is that she'll never see her sister's face ever again. Not after this final battle.

She wonders if this fate was predestined long ago as a result of her trying to divine fate for her own purpose. To ensure that destiny is always on her side.

This is, my redemption song... I desperately need you more than right now... Can you hear me now?

Anastasia's nanite spear lengthened as it formed into a nanoscale thin edge as it swept across the opposing soldiers like a scythe reaping what it has sown. Her clothing is drenched in blood-red color now that her Silver Wing is back online once more. Although it did its job superbly with projectiles, she wished that it did the same with the blood and gore but she guessed that it is a reminder of why they should not partake in direct warfare.

And yet the future she sees refuses to change no matter what. By all the laws of attrition, she should be dead no matter what. Foreign feelings that she's not used to arising as desperation starts to mount. To say that she has fought so fiercely like this is never been seen since her escape from Upper Hive. Perhaps even more so now that she had been declared excommunicated.

For the first time in her life, she prayed. Never before when House Valkyria take control of their fate did they ever pray to any higher being. Even if general worship of the Emperor is the same across Vespera. To pray to any higher being is to accept that they can't take their fate to control. Now that she is truly alone, there is hardly anything more to lose other than her life.

Cause I'm going to shout it loud. Even if the words seem meaningless. It's like carrying the weight of the world. (Carrying the weight of the world)

Their House's entire dedication toward combat of fate is absurd as it may have sound. But for all of what they did, they have fought valiantly against all the possible horror that beckoned upon Twilight. Four Absolute Curse, and yet they averted none of it but damage control it from spiraling far beyond their control. From truly bringing extinction to mankind. To say that a massive weight is placed upon all of the Valkyria's descendants is a huge statement for that weight may crush all people underneath it. Maybe... even the Emperor himself.

Wish that someway somehow that I could save every one of us. But the truth is that I'm only one girl!...

Anastasia is now alone... Surrounded by nothing but foes who seek her demise. Although the gap between them is wide for now, as each second pass as it is bridged ever so slowly until she completely burned out. By that point, no amount of saving grace will truly help her anymore. Her reminiscent of her House makes her heart aches immensely as the loss she endured can cleanse away the agony of that faithful day.

She wished that she could have averted it. But alas... it was too late.

Maybe if I keep believing... My destiny will come to life...

Maybe she really is foolhardy after all. To keep believing in a better future despite everything that led to this moment... Perhaps she keeps on choosing this path for the alternative is too heartbreaking to envision.

As a Valkyria, she is only allowed to cry when all is truly over. And she genuinely doesn't know if the end... is really the end.

True Trigram Assault

Anastasia unleashes her nanite spear forward as the speartip spreads out like tree roots as it seeks anyone close to its vicinity. The nanoscale sharp tip penetrates through their defense as it strikes each and every one at their respective weak points. Indiscriminating as her attacks as it is that anyone unfortunate enough to be around her dies a slow and painful death as the pitch-black thorns tear them apart yet never giving them the solace of a swift death.

Normally it would only be an attack completely focused on one person. Only one... but with the way things have gone, indiscrimination is the only way left for her. Soon as she retracts all the focused thorns back, blood sprouts from all the victims within the vicinity as they all turned into a fountain overflow with blood and death. The worse part, is that they will feel every moment of it before completely snuffed out.

Meanwhile, back at the underground parking lot.

Leman Russ Tank while completely modular and easily have its gears replaced with something else to fit the situation. It, however, still is clearly a disaster in design that not even the Vespera Hive Nobles allow remaining that way. Thus they even went to such a massive degree to fake an STC of a Leman Russ whose design inked out all of the horrendous flaws while remaining the perks that distinguish it from the rest. This of course went completely under the Tech-Priests' radar and they just accept it wholeheartedly without questioning Tech Heresy or anything at all.

But unfortunately. Not even that save its crew right now and right here at this moment from meeting their demise at the end of Michele's power sword. As its crackling power tore apart the tank hull like a hot knife through butter, so is the primal scream of fear that is quickly silenced as Michele cleaves a massive slash across. Many would think that Michele is enjoying the carnage like the psychopath she appears to be. But in reality, she doesn't even have a heart left to smile, not even anything inside her that urges more than the bitter sorrow that lives rent-free in her head at this moment.

The tank creaks to its slow death as Michele continues to trail forward as she left a carnage of many tanks wreckage behind her. After such an arduous and long journey soaked in the blood of those who stood in her way. She finally found the transport truck that gets them this far. And yet when Michele looks at it, she felt distant and mournful as she doesn't feel like she is herself anymore.

She reaches out for the truck's door handle and right before she opened it, she heard a voice. A voice that belonged to Elise...

Michele fell to her knee as the memory of Elise's horrific demise replayed in front of her sight repeatedly as if her entire existence is stuck at that moment alone. Michele yelled in despair as she wails only one phrase constantly with each of them increasingly demented-sounding.

ցềէ ơṻṫ ớƒ ḿȳ ĥеἂⅾ

ɠḝƫ ỡửȶ ổſ ɱў ћěắḑ

ɡϱԷ ȍµʈ ôẛ ₥ÿ ẖḗἂժ

ģҽț ȯևՒ ộƒ ḿŷ ḣèǡƌ

She slams her head straight into the armored truck door in an attempt to subdue that traumatic visage. And yet even when her head bleeds and the door is dented, that tragic memory still clings to her like a leech to fresh prey. It still plays vividly as if the wound is still fresh and that it wasn't even a second that has passed.

Michele gave up... She utterly has nothing left that mattered. Anastasia is gone... Elise is dead because of her. The weight of her mistakes crushes heavily upon her as if they are still stalking her beyond their death. Cursing and deriding her with each and every moment for her failure. Michele doesn't even know if this mind of hers is still hers anymore. With tired hands, she opened the truck door and sits in the driver's seat. It wasn't so lonely before but... now... the silence is deafening.

With the last ounce of her strength expended. Michele face-slammed into the steering wheel as the demonic gaze in her eyes disappeared away and was replaced with her normal look. It was as if that side of her never existed. Her eyes slowly closed as anguish and regrets lull her to the emptiness.

Back at the blood smear that was once Elise. The Trigram Bracelet lies there ownerless and yet surprisingly, no one has even picked up on it thinking that it has no more use since its owner's death. But what soon followed is a blasphemy beyond even the wildest imagination of people.

The Trigram Bracelet shines hazily as it is barely perceptible in the pitch-black darkness of the parking lot. Suddenly, the blood and gore remnants of Elise suddenly move on their own as the nanomachines residing in them quickly reassemble even the particle itself to reform its owner. From the death itself, Elise will not accept her unjust demise. In a matter of seconds, Elise's body is recreated down into Quantum scale perfectly as if she was never point-blanked with a tank shell, to begin with. The Trigram Bracelet has also made its way back to Elise's possession once more.

Reverse Collapse

'Collapse' in Quantum terminology is the breaking down of subatomic particles into even more base elements that made up said particles. Whether as direct intervention or entropy. Reverse Collapse is a specifically powerful technology unintentionally devised from the combination of Nanotechnology and Quantum Mechanic that even House Valkyria has to withhold from leaking due to the potential abuse of this almost unfair technology. So much so that even in their death throe, they refuse to use it as a weapon no matter what.

Reverse Collapse enabled even physic-defying reconstruction of items from base elements. Even transmuting different elements into one another at the Quantum level. That is how they infinitely replicated Blackstone which was a technology that even the Necron is hard-pressed to replicate. And Quantum Computation and Time Crystal allowed exponential computation and faultless data storage which enabled Elise to replicate herself even after her death. Down to even memory, body, and soul. It is so powerful that not even the Valkyria believe the Imperium will use it responsibly and imagine the catastrophic damage it will cause upon getting into the hand of the ill-will.

Who has enough self-responsibility when given this transcendental level of power? No one. Simply no one.

And yet, something inside her is visibly affected. Even if she wasn't aware of what happened to her a few seconds before her demise. A trauma that went so deep that it instinctively remained despite that.

She only remembers that she has argued with Michele and decided to run away on her own. But after that, it was abruptly cut as she found herself alone in the dark as burning wreckage of tanks scatter around. There were clear marks that Michele has been here and yet she is nowhere to be found. Her first action was simply calling out for her in this darkness.

"Michele?" Elise whispered as her voice reverberates through the eerily silent parking lot.

The response she got was not pleasant.

ցềէ ơṻṫ ớƒ ḿȳ ĥеἂⅾ

ɠḝƫ ỡửȶ ổſ ɱў ћěắḑ

ɡϱԷ ȍµʈ ôẛ ₥ÿ ẖḗἂժ

ģҽț ȯևՒ ộƒ ḿŷ ḣèǡƌ

Elise simply plugged her ears in both fear and horror. She has no idea if the voice actually came from somewhere or if she is imagining it herself. The words she heard were almost demonic and infernal in nature and yet parts of it sounds like Michele. But in the end, her instinct made her run as far away from the direction that voice came from as far as she could. Seeing how the tanks were destroyed and the marks of her blade, she can only make a wild guess of what befell Michele.

Seeing how the last words between the two toward each other were nothing but vitriol, Elise can't really turn back toward Michele anymore lest she'll meet her end again at Michele's blade. With tears rolling down her eyes, she can't believe that this is really how things ended between them.

Suddenly, the Trigram Bracelet vibrated again as a vision of the future played out in her mind. It is Anastasia's death again and Elise couldn't help herself but feel helpless against it. If she has more wisdom beneath her belts or more experience with this power, she perhaps would have realized that the future isn't meant to be all in stone. And that her House has fought Fate itself regardless of what happened. Even if it was clear who has the final victory.

The war above her still rages on. It felt as if this whole parking lot will fall apart the longer Anastasia continue to fight. But if she is still battling then... she is still alive. That's what Elise said to herself. Deciding that the state Michele is in is no different than death, Elise made her way upward as she decided that if she's going to meet her end, it will be by her sister's side.

It was as if she never realized that she came back from the dead herself.

Meanwhile, at the ground above. Anastasia's body is scorching hot as if everything around her is vaporizing. Battle wounds cover her body as the nanomachines are trying their damnest to keep her health up. Thousands were slain by her and countless property destruction was wrought by her immeasurably powerful technology. And yet, there's still seemingly no end to them.

She is already on her last leg both literally and figuratively. Exhaustion is running her thoroughly as she couldn't even find the strength in her to keep continuing. By all the laws of attrition, it really has her beaten far and wide ahead of her. But mankind wouldn't get far if they gave up in front of all the overwhelming odds against them, because after all. Never say never.

Anastasia knew that this is probably the final nail in her coffin. The last act of defiance will probably spark even more hardship down the line. But her sister, she couldn't dare disappoint her at all. She couldn't let harm befall her. She has seen what other Houses did to hers and they will not spare an ounce of mercy for even a child that knew no better.

She stood for once more for her last stand. Mustering any power left inside both herself and the nanomachines inside. Her muscles throb and blacken as their concentration of them hardens in response to her demands. Releasing the function limiter which will finally exhaust the nanomachines inside her and by that point, she will be no more than a weakened and pitiful girl stranded and lost in a place that has no mercy for the weak.

Quantum Overclock, activate.
Medicare Nanomachines Limiter, release
Trigram Processor, unleash

Anastasia opened her eyes once more as the focused power inside surged like a reactor when critical. It was as if her body could fall apart after this but Anastasia knew that it is either her or the enemies. And she will not let any of them have the satisfaction of defeating her.

Crimson Trigram Assault

With a single stomp onto the ground with all she has, the nanomachines ruptured through the ground as it quickly replicates and spreads out like a contagion. The remaining soldiers around her now trying to rush in now that Anastasia has little to no strength left to resist. However, the first one that approached her first found himself impaled and splintered by a pitch-black spire before any recognition could be made. The others besides the first victim also find themselves soon suffering the same fate as the latter as those spears as dark as Lower Hive's night splinter them like meat on a skewer.

Realizing the nature of the attack Anastasia has just performed. The remaining soldiers tried to retreat but soon find themselves outpaced by Anastasia's attack as those spikes burst through the ground like tidal waves crashing through flat plains. Those spikes can also burst into impossible heights as one of the flyers scouting the battlefield below also find itself as one of the casualties when one of the black spires pierces dead through the center.

As if a curse was uttered, those black spires invasively spread as if they were razor thorns of Death Worlds. They pierce and tear apart everything with no mercy in their vicinity. Armored vehicles torn into scraps. Flyers struck down like literal flies. Anything alive within Anastasia's vicinity was torn apart viscerally because they were stabbed not just once but thousands of times over and over until what was left of them eviscerated into splatter staining the pitch-black spires in the blood of many. Thus the inception of its name for the crimson of blood.

Her House didn't go down without a fight and it is easy to see why Hive Governor sees the conflict between the Noble Houses so disastrously damaging to its functionality. When was the last time that Noble Houses actually assisted in the livelihood of people instead of squabbling with each other? If it weren't for the fact that there exist Noble Houses whose entire purpose is urban planning and rebuilding then the entirety of Vespera would have long been destroyed before the Imperium even contacts them.

She pitied him despite all the power he has with his position, he is ultimately fighting traditions and superstitions of 10000 years that have made Vespera the way it is today. No amount of fiscal change he made now will last in what it has become.

Nanomachine Power Reserve depleted. Medicare units went dormant.

Anastasia falls to her back as all of her strength is truly expended. With no medicare units functioning, she felt the full brunt of all the wounds she received up until this point. This was exactly what she has seen in her vision.

Without the power, those black thorns that were created from Crimson Trigram Assault disintegrate away as parts of them scatter like dust in the wind. Soon, not even a trace of it would be left behind but the carnage and scar of its aftermath. Anastasia at this moment is now no different that a normal younger. No enhancement, no power, just her lonesome.

"So this is my end..." Anastasia muttered softly.

In a matter of seconds, the respite that she has after isolating herself with Crimson Trigram Assault disappears and the remaining soldiers can easily kill her now that she is utterly defenseless. With the end so close in sight, they just rush in with no sense of self-preservation or careful planning. For a moment, it seems that fate truly has won this senseless charade.

Whether it would be considered fortunate or the opposite, Anastasia is no longer alone.

A beam of light swept through the vast of them as it cut through them indiscriminately much in the same way that Anastasia did before. As more of them start to appear as it picks out the opposing soldiers easily as the bolts of light burst through their armor with little effort. Suddenly, in the sky above her. A voidship with considerable size revealed its appearance as enemy soldiers realized how hopelessly outclassed they are. For all of what Anastasia did in comparison, a voidship for some reason has more fear factor in it than her alone.

Armed with camouflage tech provided by the Tech-Magos of the Rogue Trader that Anastasia has met before. They conveniently blink and reappears out of sight when all eyes are on Anastasia alone. Seeing just how much potential in her that the Rogue Trader saw, he decided that local laws be damned, he simply must have her in his retinue.

The retinue dropped down from the ship on the Grav-Chutes as the Lasweapons that they provided are being put to good use. The continuous bolts of crimson light flashed through the atmosphere as for once in a long time Anastasia felt that she isn't alone anymore. And that there really is help after all.

The Rogue Trader steps in front of Anastasia as he lends her a hand and the Magos integrated the Lascannon into his vast arsenals simply gunning down the horde of hostiles like a blender cutting through pastes within her sight.

"This is simply not the end yet. I see your struggle and it speaks to me that I must help you". The Rouge Trader said in an encouraging voice as he tries to get her up.

Minor Bless, that is what she divined of him when she first met at the waiting lounge. To think that it is he will be her savior at this moment gave her mood whiplash as it is too comical and ironic for her taste. She could only return a wry smile before her eyes truly closed in exhaustion. Seeing that Anastasia is hopeless, he decided to skip the ceremony and courtesy as he just carries her toward his ship.

At the distance, one of the Vindicare Expy snipers managed to emerge out of the ruined voidship port on the rooftop and see that his target is about to escape. He decided to load one last Turbo-penetrator round into the Exitus Expy as a last-ditch effort. Unfortunately, he will soon see his own effort crumble as the moment before he pulled the trigger, one last black spire penetrates through his head from the jaw first as his gun is then dropped down from the rooftop.

One of the soldiers in the retinue soon found it and conveniently take it as a trophy when the order to retreat is transmitted across all personnel of the Rogue Trader.

Mere minutes later, the trader ship rises up into the darkened sky above and soon vanishes from sight without a trace. Many frantically searched for it on the Middle Hive's sightline but it was as if it was never there for they have camouflaged it already within the cloud line. To search for it now would be like looking for a needle in an industrial box of nails. This place is a major export of technology with many ships in and out thus even to search for her directly is a fool's hassle.

With Anastasia no longer on the battlefield, the remnants of the kill team scatters away leaving behind a desolated field caused by her havoc and fury. They did all they could and they got nothing to show for it. All the lives lost, all of what was destroyed, and in the end, nothing mattered.

Elise finally emerged from the parking lot after much struggle with the deteriorating structure of the port. She expected much of what above her will be ruined infrastructures scattered around from the fight Anastasia caught up with. As she trudges deeper toward what she assumed to be the center of the battlefield, the eerie silence accompanying this place irked her immensely as this isn't what she envisioned a battle in her mind.

Finally, she reached toward where she knew must have been the place of prophesy that she received. But... there's no trace of Anastasia here at all. Everything is correct down to order but with the exception of Anastasia herself. Now she is truly lost without sight of where to go, she just continues to stand there in the place where Anastasia once was, alone.

Suddenly, spotlights shone upon her as she noticed multiple flyers hanging above her as if they intently stares into her.

"Raise your hand and surrender, or else you will be punished according to Imperial Law". A raspy voice spoken through the speaker yelled to her.

From fire straight into hell, Elise somewhat knew that the law enforcement or Arbite of Lower Hive would respond upon detecting such massive damage wrought upon it. But she didn't think through that she'll be blamed for it. Blamed for everything did to her sister and vice versa. And she knew... she knew that she has the power to fight back against this unjust. But after seeing the fate that befell her sister, she couldn't dare to use the Trigram Bracelet herself again.

Elise's closed her eyes as tears dropped once more. She has cried for multiple lifetimes of her and soon, what will shed will be no longer her tears but the blood of everyone else.

For now, she knelt down to her knees and raised her hands up in surrender.

---

Back at the Middle Hive, Eventide Merchant Guild HQ

"How's the situation about the three that I sent? The therapist and the Valkyria sisters, I meant". The Guild Master said as if he already partially knew everything that could happen. Being in this line of work long enough and one could foretell based on even the whispers passing by.

The Guild Master stares at his co-assistant. Someone who is just one step below him but he himself never finds it comfortable to address as such.

A woman with short black hair tied into two-bun dressed in a near-black dress with gold-accentuate on it. While Middle Hive is certainly a step up in terms of comfortability in comparison to Lower Hive, decent and unique clothing is still a scarcity that most often doesn't realize. They are used to wearing mass-manufactured clothing which is already covering a lot of needs and styles. Her however is too distinct that it is probably more self-made than any other way imagined.

"... They did their work, Guild Master". The woman in black gold said to the Guild Master as she taps on the cogitators at an immeasurable speed.

"How's the situation in the Lower Hive, Tia?". The Guild Master said as he stares at the paperwork and profile sheets laying in front of him.

"It's in chaos... What it seems to report is that a voidship port was compromised and caused an untold amount of property damage." Tia said as she solemnly gazes at the cogitator as the news seem to spread out already to many major remembrance sites.

Network cogitators exist and it seems that Middle Hive somewhat enjoys a highly-monitored version of it. In a city of such a huge scale as Vespera, maintaining communication is simply first order, and cross-sector communication and cross-layer lines are always maintained so that the general monitor of the populace is maintained.

"Hive Sector 12?" The Guild Master said in an increasingly anguish tone as if he knew something has happened.

"Yes..." Tia seems to not like the news at the least.

The Guild Master has already long aware of their true identity. How he came to learn such a thing would warrant such secrecy that he will not spill even against the threat of death. And despite knowing about it, he still harbors them and grants them refuge in exchange for their labor. And now, it seems that all good times must come to an end.

He appreciated them and it stings even more now that he knew... there will be no more people like the Valkyria.

The profile sheets of the two sisters. He looked at them for one last time before he puts them into the file shredder. Whether by expulsion from or death in this line of work, very few times did he enjoy having to shred anyone's working profile. It hurts immensely when he did it to Alphric and his crew and now... the Valkyria sisters too.

The machine whirls once more as what used to be proof of them now lies indiscernible and forgotten amongst the past.