Sorry for the delay guys. Choosing which one to write is a bit hard :P Did some complete deletions two or three times before settling to this.
Also, there are some visions related to Honkai that I (almost) guarantee that I won't write:
'An Unexpected Impact': The author doesn't want me to write it. Whatever reason he has, I will respect it unless he changes his mind.
'Reburn', 'Will of the Herrscher', 'Bronya', 'Seele', 'Meteoric Salvation': They are good trailers, I won't deny it. However, after measuring the impact of these to the other Honkai trailers, they don't hold much candles to the casts. These ones are just regular everyday things to them compared to the Honkai threats. UNLESS I suddenly manage to make a setup for them...
'Graduation trip': It's just a reminiscing trailer, it will 100% be covered throughout the story.
Other than that, I will let my writing skills and my mood choose the next visions to do :)
DISHONORED
"Hm… a change of pace." HoTE rubs her chin while humming in a low satisfied tone.
"With a title like that, I doubt whatever comes next is a happy thing." HoV scoffs.
"Hey now, I said 'change of pace', I didn't say it's happy or comedy."
"Do we need to cover their eyes?" Theresa gestures to the kids around her.
"Well… maybe just baby Kiana. The others are exposed to worse things than just killing people, aren't they?"
"Hey! We do not kill people!"
"Never say you do, Roza."
"...Care to elaborate what 'pace' you are referring to?" Adam raises up a good question.
"Black Death Version Two-Point-Zero." That causes all who know what happened groan in displeasure. "At least it's not a total dystopia like Metro!"
"The last vision would be an example for Version Three-Point-Zero, HoTE." Welt shakes his head, finding slightly amused at how the next vision's described by the False Herrscher. "It seems your history also has a problem with a Black Death."
"It's not Honkai, but the severity is there." Captain shrugs. "It's life."
"Any other warnings we should know?"
"Hm… You want me to troll or be serious, Bronya?" The MC flashes out a grin to the Squad Acting Leader.
"Can you do both?"
"Well… I can, Carole. You're about to see how Herrschers can be chosen."
That makes all freeze while snapping their heads to her.
"...Hey, she asked for both."
Beneath the flickering light of a dying candle…
Behind the rusty bars of a prison cell…
One man, donned in only a pair of tattered trousers, sleeps while sitting in his cell…
Memories echo in his mind…
"When you are near, my heart is at peace. Hurry home."
"YES! HE'S KILLED THE EMPRESS!"
Sounds of disbelieving audiences echo. The judge's wooden hammer has slammed.
"I'll see you beheaded for this, Corvo!"
A memory of peace only to be shattered by the painful memories causes his eyes to snap open as he constantly gasps for air. Once his head is clear and he recognizes his position, all he can do is to hang down his head and accept his fate.
"Killing someone who controls a country? He has guts." KALPAS grins.
"...It doesn't seem like he's the one doing so, though." Kyle disagrees. "Dishonored… maybe he was falsely accused."
"If the first voice was from the Empress, maybe this man has some sort of close relationship with her." APHO Mei theorizes.
"It doesn't really matter if she is already dead. In fact, it might even worsen his alibi." Cecilia adds.
"How could it be worse, honey?"
"If he was close to the Empress, my younger self, then he would be the first to be suspected."
Corvo looks down at the cuffs around his arms and his legs, and starts thinking about the death about to come…
"My dear Corvo."
He instantly looks up with his eyes wide open when someone calls him from the other side of the cell door.
"What a sad hand Fate has dealt you."
The face of the man is completely covered in shadow, his outfit looks shabby yet somehow still retains a certain amount of style and cleanliness. His way of speaking…
"It's Otto."
Kallen's comment causes all to look at the man next to her, and after a few seconds they nod with some of them chuckling at the idea, including him.
"It certainly feels like how the Overseer acts." Rita giggles, seeing how the nun draws the conclusion.
"Aside from the outfit, I agree." Otto shrugs, not feeling offended by the statement.
"Do you think he's going to open the door for the man to escape?"
"Well, he did try, Sakura. I just refused." Kallen replies, referring to her situation before getting dragged here.
"The beloved Empress is dead, and everyone thinks you are the killer."
The blunt address of the fact does not falter his focus on the stranger, though Corvo does feel the impact of the statement.
"But we know what really happened, don't we?" The stranger starts walking away…
Then, to Corvo's surprise, the man appears right next to him.
That causes many to startle a bit at the sudden cut, while HoFi addresses in surprise: "Did he just teleport without making portals or any preparations?"
"Yep." HoTE confirms.
"Please don't tell me he's like us." HoV grunts, not wanting someone like Otto to 'join their ranks'. "Actually, that man made himself a False Herrscher, I almost forgot."
"Well…"
"You don't want to end your life to the sound of idiots cheery as your head hits the muck, do you?" The man's question causes Corvo to narrow his eyes, thinking about it… "Let's see if we can do better." A slight pause. "And to make things interesting…"
A burning pain applies in his left backhand, causing Corvo to look down and grab it with his free hand. A mark starts to appear on it, burnt in red and blue flame before settling down in black.
"My Mark. Consider it… a gift."
Corvo quickly looks around, only to find the man already disappeared, like he's not even there in the first place.
"Cocoon of Finality." HoO manages to see the similarity HoTE mentioned earlier. "Now I see what you meant by 'How Herrschers can be chosen'."
"The concept matches, doesn't it?" HoTE chuckles. "To be honest, I wasn't thinking much about it until now."
"Does he have reasons to do so? That strange man, I mean, to give Corvo his power." Teenage Mei asks, feeling that the man might have ulterior motives…
"Entertainment." That causes the girl to blink in confusion. "I'm not joking. That would also be the exact same answer if you want to ask my other self why he brought you here… and why he dropped you on me." HoTE grunts at the last part, clearly pissed about being a landing pad.
"It would be a sick joke if the Herrschers are also made based on that." KEVIN addresses in disdain.
"But if that man gives away his power that easily…"
"Not that easy, Sirin. From what I heard, there's a long period that no one met him directly, according to the First Recorder. This man has high standards."
"Do you really need standards to find good entertainment?"
"YES!" Roza, both Kiana, both Siegfried, all Bronya and Carole shout at the same time after Benares questions with a scoff.
After a long black screen, a street next to a river inside of a smoke-covered city appears. It's also apparently nighttime as lanterns are lit behind some windows and on the street lamps. People walk around… and corpses lie on the ground…
"Jeez, just how many Zombie Apocalypses are we going to watch?" Teenage Kiana asks in disgust, seeing rats eating the flesh of the fallen. "So those people walking on the streets are zombies?"
"...You will see."
"ALL MEMBERS OF THE WATCH. WE ARE NOW UNDER HIGH ALARM! STAY ALERT, AND DETAIN ANY SUSPICIOUS PERSON ON-SIGHT!"
Some sorts of mechanical legs pass by, startling the rats and making them run away. A metal cab runs on the train rail and heads to somewhere.
"ATTENTION ALL CITIZENS! BY THE ORDERS OF LORD REGENT AND THE CITY WATCH, ALL CONTAMINATED BUILDINGS ARE STRICTLY OFF-LIMIT!"
More announcements are spoken in the background as the cab keeps running. Some citizens reach their hands towards it, possibly trying to catch the attention of whoever is inside of it.
An officer watches the cab coming, then notices a lot of infected citizens are 'blocking' the way. He turns to a Tallboy and orders: "Clear them out."
Feeling something bad's about to happen, Cecilia immediately covers baby Kiana's ears and eyes, while the Siegfrieds and ELYSIA do the same to the Sirin trio. APONIA also follows with GRISEO tightly held in her grasp.
The mechanical legs from before turn out to be a part of the Special Forces armor to counter the plague. The Tallboy starts walking to the pleading citizens…
"Wait…" SAKURA's enhanced ears catch on to the plea of the unfortunate citizens. "They are no zombies! They are still…"
And he draws out an explosion arrow and fires it at the ground below the citizens' feet, setting them on fire.
Those who are lucky enough to not get hit start running away, while the ones get caught are screaming in pain. One blindly runs forward without a care in order to find something to disintegrate the fire, but the Wall of Light instantly turns him into ashes with its high-volt electricity.
Some screech in horror when they see the guard set the people on fire, and almost repeat it when the Wall of Light activates. The others watch with the same feeling when the merciless brutality happens before their eyes.
"...I may understand the electricity gate…" Einstein tries her best to stay calm. "But…"
"Why the FK did the guards have to do so!?" Tesla screams. "Those people are already scared enough because of you!"
The cab goes past the dying citizens, and the window briefly shows the face of the Captain sitting in it who just snorts while sending a scornful look out to the people.
"OF COURSE IT'S THE F!#K!#G C$%^ AGAIN!" The redhead scientist slams her hands onto the table. "WTF!? CAN'T THEY FK SH!T UP FOR A FEW MOMENTS!?" There are more of her speaking, but HoTE puts a Silence spell on her, so everyone doesn't have to hear her shouting, though they do see and understand her anger.
After a minute, Tesla calms down, and HoTE turns back her voice while Welt asks: "Is it not possible to save them?"
"There's a cure but it's expensive. And why curing them?"
Some almost protest, but they notice the bitter and sarcastic tone in the last statement. Then they see the expression HoTE makes, so they settle down, knowing that she's also on their side.
"But… they could try to help in some ways, right?" Bella asks with a very small hope that they are still good guys amidst the officers.
"...Unfortunately, the one who can control these guys is gone, as you can hear from Corvo's memory echoes. But, with his new power…"
The man himself, in his new dark outfit, watches everything from the rooftop. Once the cab heads further into the city, Corvo wears a mask on his face. Once the optics on the mask are adjusted and his vision is clear, he starts running and jumping over buildings, determined to reach the corrupted officer. There's a slope rooftop that he lands on and slips down a bit, but he catches himself up quickly and peeks out for a moment to see where the cab is.
An officer, after making sure the cab goes through a checkpoint, hears a strange sound and looks up, only to see birds flying away.
Heading to another roof, Corvo watches the group of guards on the ground level, then to one who's standing on a balcony slightly above. He starts moving away…
"For having new power, he doesn't seem to use it yet." Adam comments with slight interest. "Is he keeping it until it's urgent?"
"Probably yes." APHO Mei agrees. "These tasks don't require anything special to perform anyway."
"Before this goes further…" KALPAS raises his arm up to gain attention, which is a bit of surprise to the other Flamechasers since he's not one to do such 'polite' gestures to get what he wants. "What's the scale of this guy's power? Can we beat him?"
"Unfortunately…" HoTE drags a bit to have some dramatic effects. "Yes. Compared to normal humans, he's almost unkillable. But to you guys? He has no chances."
"What about the guy who gave him the power?"
"Eh… I will leave that to your imagination."
With his knife out, Corvo drops down and stabs a guard through his shoulder through the lungs and spine. After lying down the body gently but quickly to not trigger too much sound, Corvo heads into the building and tries to find where the corrupt officer is.
"Isn't that… a bit too fast?" Dark Seele questions. "No reactions from the guard? Not even a spasm?"
"Probably the position he stabbed." Durandal points to the back of her body. "With how the knife goes, I suspect it hits fatal locations and ruptures his inner organs plus the drop causes sudden shock too."
"...You make him sound like a seasoned assassin." Carole comments.
HoTE rubs her chin and starts thinking if it's better to give the audience a glimpse of what Corvo was…
"Or maybe because he has skills that the former Empress knows which 'keeps her heart at peace'." Welt quotes what the Empress said in the Royal Protector's memory.
"So it could be that he's positioned very close to the Empress as her personal guard of sorts. Then the two start having feelings for each other throughout the time." ELYSIA theorizes with a smile everyone knows too well.
"Ellie…"
"She's correct, EDEN." That makes many 'Oh!' in surprise, with the Pink Elf smiling brighter. "It might sound like a fairy tale, but with how universes work, those can be real without us noticing."
"Maybe we should stop here before we go off-course." Doctor MEI interrupts before anything else gets through. "Let's finish watching this first."
"*Laugh* Why even bother?"
Corvo hears the voice of his target in a room at the end of the hall. He crouches down and looks through the keyhole and starts eavesdropping on the conversation between him and a guard.
"Plague is increasing…"
"As long as the disease stays among the poor, I don't see any reasons to become upset."
"Anyone opposed to me killing bastards like him if I have the chance?" KALPAS growls.
"As long as you avoid innocents." KEVIN replies, understanding the man's anger.
The guard then notices someone looking at them from the other side of the door. He immediately calls: "You! Outside the door! What are you doing…"
Seeing that he's compromised, Corvo stands up and raises his left hand towards the door. The Mask on his hand shines up…
And a second later, the wooden door is blasted into pieces.
"Explosions in the tip of the finger, huh? Neat." VILL-V whistles.
"Can we have this while fighting the Tower?"
"Even if we have that, my dear friend, I doubt it's enough to scratch his face until we get very close." Lyle chuckles at Adam's wish.
Both sides draw swords and the guard attacks first, though Corvo sees the attack and deflects it away, then pushes the guard to the nearby wall and slashes his neck, bleeding him to death. He quickly raises the blade up to block another strike from the other guard, punches him in the face and stabs him through the heart.
"STOP HIM!" The officer screams in fear before running away. "GUARDS! GUARDS!"
'Cowards.' Many scowl in their minds.
"Doesn't he have any weapons on him? I know he's just an officer, but with the situation in the city…"
"Because he knows what he's facing, Kallen. And Corvo's skills are known through The Watch. No guards want to fight him, but they have their job… unfortunately."
The officer reaches another room with Corvo closely in pursuit. However, three guards arrive and stand between him and his target.
"Shoot the bastard! Kill him!"
One guard draws his blade in case the assassin goes into a CQC, while the other two draw their flintlocks to shoot him…
Corvo freezes time and walks away from the bullet lines. He then shoots three arrows, each to the guards' necks, and retracts his power.
The bullets miss their mark, and the guards are hit by the arrows to the throat, killing them.
Many "WOW!" are voiced, surprised and impressed that Corvo can stop time, and his accuracy of the triple-arrow shooting.
"Maybe he's still human…" SAKURA compliments. "But his marksman skill is good, even when we don't count his Time Stop power."
"Hey! How long can he use that power before he's exhausted?" HoS questions.
"Around ten seconds."
"Enough to do his job." Sakura comments. "But why didn't he shoot his target instantly though?"
"You will see."
"This…" The officer can't believe what just happens, though he has no chance to think about it as Corvo grabs his neck collar. "Killing me won't solve anything…"
Without any words, Corvo cuts the officer's neck, then drops him to the ground and watches him die slowly.
"Wow, that's cold-blooded of him." Carole whistles. "I was expecting him to talk down to him or something."
"Reality is often disappointing." HoTE quotes a certain villain's statement. "But to be honest, if you're in his shoes, you wouldn't want to exchange words with those who won't change."
"That's true. Better to not waste breath with those people." Rita agrees.
Noticing the loud sounds behind him, Corvo turns to see the guards arriving, ready to kill him. He turns to a glass window and raises his left hand up again…
He's then somehow launched out of the room, crashing the window, landing on the road. Corvo quickly shakes off the dizziness and stands up… only to see two Tallboys waiting for him. He raises his left hand up, ready to make his way out of the situation…
Reactions will be continued in the next chapter.
