Chapter 4: Clue of one's origin
In the floating fortress that is the Schicksal main headquarters. Otto apocalypse sat in his office. His index finger lightly taps his desks as the man contemplates his next move.
A mix of disappointment, frustration and anxiety formed on the man's face after Ragna Lothbrok herself told her the events that occurred in the cold tundra of Alaska. The Valkyrie sat on her wheelchair, she was rather lucky to come out of that ambush alive with a spinal injury. Though she had to live the rest of her life paralyzed from the waist down.
Even if her surgery is successful, Ragna wouldn't be able to serve as an active Valkyrie like when she was in her prime. With both Ragna and Himeko being the last and only member of the assault squad Otto decided to disband the squad entirely.
Though it wasn't just because he had lost the assault squad that the man was anxious. His only chance in getting at least K-423 back into his grasp had failed. Not only that, the Kaslana would likely go deeper into AE territory to seek shelter making it impossible for him to get the Herrscher back without risking another war against AE.
"Is that all?"
"Yes." Ragna nods. "I apologize Sir Otto. But when I woke up they were already gone." Her crafted stories were fortunate enough to convince Otto that the Kaslana family had left way earlier than they did.
-Flashback-
Ragna laid on her bed motionless. She stared helplessly at the ceiling of the cabin. Her upper body aches all over and her legs. She could no longer feel anything from them as if she didn't have her lower part attached.
[You really should just leave me be Siegfried. I tried to kidnap your daughter. Why are you bothering patching up my wounds?] The Valkyrie asked. Siegfried had brought her back into the cabin where he later convinced Natalia to help him patch her up, preventing any extra blood loss and stabilizing her condition in the process.
[Because I can. Kiana already told me the story of what happened. You tried to save them both from the Honkai beast ambush despite having the order to capture Sirin. You still saved those kids, even though you could've taken Sirin with you and left Kiana to fend for herself.] Siegfried stood up from his chair. The man picked up the unconscious Sakuya that was in the same room as her.
[If you have a conscience then don't tell Otto our location. I'm sure you probably overheard some conversations because of your Valkyrie enhanced senses.] The man then leaves without looking back at his patient.
Ragna was lost for words. She never had anticipated him to patch her wounds and she knows he's right. She could technically snatch Sirin back then and let Kiana distract the horde of Honkai beasts. But that would mean her pride as a Valkyrie would be worthless and her teammates would likely be disappointed in her.
How would she face them if she took that path? Would they even give her another chance? Ragna wonders if this choice was the correct one too. They were all still young and had a lot to go for in their lives. She would rather have her life being taken instead of her teammates.
Still she couldn't let their deaths be in vain. At least she would remember them even if it pains her to do so. It is the weight that she has to bear as their leader.
[Alright. I'll do you a favor, at least Siegfried.] She closed her eyes. Hoping to at least get some sleep while the morphine is still in effect.
She expected Schicksal to come to her location soon. The Valkyrie hoped the man and his family could escape successfully without getting caught. She'll do what she could, Her Valkyrie career is already over the moment she suffered this injury. What's the worst that could happen if her lies were found out?
'Live well Kiana, Sirin.' Ragna silently prays as she closely observes her overseer's reaction.
"Then there's nothing we can do but wait. I suppose I have to delay some of my plans but nothing has changed. Now about Himeko Murata." Ragna silently breathed a sigh of relief that her overseer decided to trust her report.
"What about Himeko?"
"Temporarily Himeko would be assigned to the back up squad until I further notice. Ragna, I want you to look after her."
"That much I could do."
"Perfect. Amber give me the investigation report afterwards you two are dismissed."
Amber neatly put the brown folder on his desk. "Then I shall leave my lord." She bowed slightly before she left with the ex Valkyrie, pushing her wheelchair to the exit of Otto's office.
The man slowly reads through the contents of the folder. Each containing information about the girl that Otto asked Amber to investigate before. A girl that is known as Sakuya Kaslana now.
Nothing truly stands out in the papers. She was an amnesiac that was raised in an orphanage in Belarus. Her stigmata awakened at the age of 9. 'Wait, 9?' Otto paid closer attention to that sentence.
Her age doesn't line up to how she looks when Schicksal first steals her from the world serpent. 'Is it due to the experiment that her aging was halted? That means she should be 20.' Otto thought for a moment. Her situation reminded him of his own granddaughter, Theresa.
He then turned the page trying to find something more useful than that simple fact. Yet unfortunately he didn't find anything special. Sakuya was just an ordinary girl who got lucky it seems.
'Still her parents weren't found.' If only Otto could find which bloodline she came from. Then perhaps he could try and recruit her big family into Schicksal. Offer them a job to serve as Valkyries if they have sufficient Honkai resistance, if not then they might be useful in some other aspects such as research, engineering or maybe a simple office job.
Ever since the death of Cecilia Schariac. The active S rank seats have been empty for the last 7 years, since then no one has been able to fill in that spot. Now Schicksal needed it more than ever as Herrschers would awaken more and more frequently than the last.
Otto considers the possibility of him releasing Li Sushang from her long hibernation this early in his plan. But he ruled out the possibility. The time isn't right for her to roam free just yet there are still other variables and opportunities that haven't shown itself.
"Perhaps I should consider making a 2nd Ubermensch." Otto muttered quietly. Weighing his options, financially he doesn't have any problem with making a new one but there's always a high chance that his produced clones wouldn't develop any consciousness thus becoming useless and a waste of time and resources.
His next bet is to wait and see if the new batch of Valkyries has any sort of potential. The man has high hopes for 1 promising Valkyrie squad. Fantasy Novae, It is the name of the trainee squad that came from the european branch of Schicksal. Elysia Schariac is the de facto leader of that squad.
"Elysia Schariac. Hopefully you can be as promising as Cecilia." The man neatly puts all the papers back into the folders as he relaxes on his chair.
His main goal would always be Kallen. But Otto couldn't just ignore the world Kallen was trying to save. He would hope that someone else could fulfill his most important person's dream. Otto doesn't care who they're so long as they have that goal, The man would gladly take the bet even if it means that he has to play the villain.
A sinner like him could never be a true hero in the world that Kallen wished to build afterall.
Gasp-
Sakuya's eyes shot open. The dark haired girl immediately goes into a sitting position. She noticed that her surroundings were different. There's a forest and a cabin but there's no snow. Beside the wooden cabin there's a big blue lake with a dock that connects the natural wonders to whoever owns the cabin out in the woods.
"Ah you're awake." Said an unknown girl. Sakuya turned her head to her right where she saw the girl smiling warmly and waving at her from afar. The girl looks to be around 10 years old though what is interesting is that she has a similar appearance with Sakuya.
Dark hair with pink gradient tips. Their faces look a bit similar, perhaps she's related? The minor difference is in her dark pink eyes and shorter appearance though the height difference is understandable as Sakuya was always taller than the average kid her age. The girl tied her long hair in a half side ponytail on her right.
"Where am I? and who are you?" Sakuya asked. She's still dumbfounded by the fact that she was in a completely different location than she originally was.
The Herrscher of the Void didn't teleport her somewhere random right? Is this cabin the girl's home too? Sakuya hopes she isn't invading someone's home right now since it'll be hard to explain how she got there without a vehicle.
"Hmm, short answer. You're in your own Stigmata space as for me I'm the will of your stigmata. You can call me Houraiji Kyuushou." The girl crossed her arms and puffed her chest.
"I'm inside my stigmata?" Sakuya looks more confused now.
"Yep! It's just your consciousness that's here. Your body is still asleep. You overexerted yourself using your MANTIS powers that haven't fully assimilated into your body yet that's why you were knocked out. Don't worry you'll wake up eventually."
"I see. But who really are you? Isn't a Stigmata space connected to your subconscious? I don't know anyone with that name."
"I'm Houraiji Kyuushou like I said before. I just took the form of one of those Stigmata users that has the same stigmata as yours. Meaning you two are related in some shape or form. But don't ask me if she's alive or not."
"So you're saying she's part of my real family? And why can't you tell if she was alive?" Sakuya tilts her head.
"Because I'm the will of your stigmata specifically. You would know if you get close to them if they have the same stigmata as you. That's how you'd find your family that you forgot due to your amnesia."
"That means I could find my parents!?" Sakuya stood up with her eyes wide open.
"Maybe. Don't get your hopes up. It could just be your Aunt, Uncle, cousin or sibling." Stigmata Kyuushou shrugs. "Although stigmata is also like an external storage so technically memories of your past should be stored here but It's sealed away unfortunately." The girl turns around and points at the lakeside cabin"
"It should be in there but like I said it's sealed."
"But why!? Why would I seal it?"
Much to Sakuya's disappointment the girl shakes her head. "I don't know. Though maybe it's because of trauma. A trauma so traumatizing that you'd rather forget than remember it. But I would show bit by bit of that memory as I unseal it. If it's too uncomfortable for you just tell me."
"Okay." Sakuya nods. She looks down, Slightly disappointed that she couldn't see what her parents looked like at least. "But I would like to find who my real family were in the real world."
"That's fine by me. If you ask me, find out who Houraiji Kyuushou is. That should be a big clue on how you'll eventually find who your real parents were if the real Houraiji Kyuushou isn't some old deceased person that is."
"Oh right, I want to ask something. Have I ever used my stigmata abilities before?" The two girls decided to walk together to the lakeside cabin.
"Active abilities Yes. During your fight against the Herrscher of the void. You used the power of reason to materialize a Scythe. Passive abilities? You have been using that from the time you awakened this stigmata."
"Really?" Sakuya is intrigued. Natalia told her that each natural Stigmata has an ability of its own. But Natalia never told her what her Stigmata's ability was since Natalia never saw her Stigmata in the records before.
"Yes. Passively you'd absorb Honkai energy around you. Don't worry about Honkai corruption if you awaken this stigmata your body wouldn't succumb to the effects of Honkai corruption no matter how high the concentration of Honkai radiation are in the area.-"
"-And it seems you have an incomplete memory storage as well. But most of it is in muscle memory." Stigmata Kyuushou explained.
"What does that mean?"
"Hmm I guess it means that your body would remember martial arts skills or anything that requires muscle memory that a past user has developed or learned in the past."
"Ohh! That's cool! Then if my ancestor learned kendo would that mean I should know how to wield a sword?" Sakuya's eyes sparkled in delight.
"More or less. Still unsure but that muscle memory isn't from some random user although currently I don't have enough information on the user that learned those techniques."
"Aww alright. What about my active ability?"
Stigmata Kyuushou suddenly stopped in her tracks. "It's a Herrscher's"
"What?" Sakuya looks at her, straight in the eye. 'Is she serious?' Is what Sakuya thought.
"Yes. It's what I said. More specifically you could copy a Herrscher power so long as it isn't the final Herrscher but you have to know how the power works in the first place."
"Then am I a Herrscher?" Sakuya is terrified. Considering what Sirin had done before. She didn't want herself to do the same if her Herrscher persona took over.
"No you're not" The will of stigmata sigh. "You just have the power to copy a Herrscher's powers to a certain degree. At least only 60% of the Herrscher original powers and you can only use 2 of them at once at a time. Also unlike a Herrscher you'd have to learn everything from scratch."
"Thank goodness." Sakuya breathed a sigh of relief. At least she isn't a Herrscher. Though the part where she has to learn everything from scratch somewhat discouraged her. It would be too overpowered if she could use it naturally like a normal Herrscher would it?
"Ah right, you sounded differently than the one I heard when I was fighting the Herrscher."
"Hmph. I'm not rude. I know my manners. A Savior like me can't be that rude like her." Stigmata Kyuushou huffed.
"Huh? Then who was she?"
"Hmph. She's rude enough to not show up here 'll find out who she is later." Stigmata Kyuushou shakes her head. Sakuya let out a frustated sighs. Great another mystery for her to solve on her own just what she needed right now.
"Then Houraiji san, do you know how I could get out of here if I needed to?"
"No need to be formal, I'm technically a part of you."
"Fine~." Sakuya rolled her eyes. "Kyuushou san."
"Just Kyuushou. No. Honorifics."
Stigmata Kyuushou said sternly as she glared at the other girl. It made Sakuya flinch from her scary and piercing gaze.
"Kyu…Kyuushou then." Sakuya let out a hefty sigh. If her will of stigmata didn't like being called that then it can't be helped.
"Do you know how I could leave this place?"
"Hm? Just think about leaving and a white door should appear or you can walk and follow this path. at the end you'd find a white door as well." That sounds simple enough.
Except for the first part. Sakuya thought about leaving for a while but a door never showed up and so she's forced to walk and follow the dirt path all the way to the edge of the clearing. Fortunately the 2nd option works. Would be really bad if she's somehow stuck in there.
"I'll always be here if you come again." Kyuushou smiles and raises her whole arm to wave her goodbyes at her.
"Mhm. Goodbye for now, Kyuushou." Sakuya waves back and with a smile on her face. She is greeted by a bright light as she opens the door and without hesitation the girl steps through, Leaving this imaginary world for good.
Her eyelids slowly open up as the girl yawns. She could feel the aftereffects of using her MANTIS powers as soon as she became conscious again. Every part of her body felt really sore and it stings each time she moves a muscle. At least it doesn't hurt unlike before.
"Nee san! Just rest, we're still on the road." Sirin said in a low voice. She tried to hide her excitement in order to not wake up the others. She is surprised to see her older sister woke up this early. Natalia did say to all of them that it might take a week before Sakuya would wake up and fully recover, yet the older Kaslana woke up sooner than Natalia predicted.
It made Sirin happy that her older sister is recovering quickly. Perhaps it's too fast? But she is a stigmata user so it's normal for her to recover quickly.
Sakuya moved away from the girl's shoulder to take a peek at the world outside. Though there's not much to see outside other than more snow and a dim lit sky with stars glittering above. "Whoa." The girl is mesmerized by the beauty of those giant shining celestial objects in the night sky.
"Shh. Kiana and Leon are asleep!" Sirin put her index finger on her lips. The kaslana points at the sleeping boy and girl behind them. Sakuya found the two sleeping faces rather cute. It's disappointing that she didn't bring a camera but her stigmata should record all of this.
"You're not tired?"
"Already slept in the evening. Just woke up recently. I'll sleep again soon." Sirin looks away. Though from a glance Sakuya knows the girl just had a nightmare and didn't want to disclose what the nightmare is about. If she had to guess it's most likely related to her Herrscherr persona.
"If you say so." Sakuya decided not to pry any further. The older kaslana rests her head against Sirin's shoulder once again. The younger Kaslana cheeks slightly reddens, but Sirin quickly adapted to Sakuya's more spoiled side.
Sakuya kept her eyes open as she wanted to continue observing the stars. Sirin didn't say anything else during that time either. The two -who were the only ones left awake- enjoyed this peaceful atmosphere. No words needed to be said to each other to make the moment more memorable and comforting.
They continue their road trip in silence and eventually all of them fall into a deep and peaceful slumber. Thankfully the car could drive to its destination automatically, so there wasn't any need for Siegfried to stay awake at this hour.
Meanwhile, somewhere in North America. Su is sitting down in an office. The pioneer knew this place would help him give Yae Sakura her body back.
Novatruth Research institute. One of the leading private corporations in terms of its science and engineering. Brilliant minds from across the globe came into this place with one single goal in mind, breakthrough and innovation. It collaborates with Schicksal and AE alike yet none of the others really knows that their enemy is working with the same company that they're allying themselves with.
All of this was possible because of the green haired woman sitting in front of him. She is the current CEO of this company. She wore a green shirt with a black tie on top and lab coat. She sat with one leg crossed on top of the other, exposing her rather curvy and slender legs masked underneath a black pair of leggings. Yet her gaze and smile is rather unnerving.
Her snake-like gaze pierces through any sort of mental barrier between one's physical body and soul. "Hmm tempting offer. But how could I know you're not lying to me…Su?" The woman leaned forward. Her smile persisted, There was no warmth behind them, no comfort, it was the smile of a devil.
Though for Su this scene is rather nostalgic as he had worked with someone like her before. "Then, , what do you wish in return? Have I not stated my cards?"
"Fufu~ Knowledge you knew about the previous era and in return I helped you make a body for this person trapped in here?" 'Mobius' points her index finger at the black box that was sitting neatly on the table in front of them. It wasn't a bad offer although she wanted something more. Someone like him would be irreplaceable. She couldn't let Schicksal, AE nor that cult worshiping world serpent have him.
"I accept, on one condition." She leaned back, crossing her arms under her chest. "You work for me and for this company only."
"Since we'll be having a collaboration. I accept your proposal. So long as I still have my right as an employee."
"Demanding more are you now?" Her smile grew wider. The woman likes someone like him. Someone who has guts to talk back but more importantly he had a concrete goal. "Naturally, you would have. I'm not all tyrannical unlike a certain overseer." She sneered.
"Now then Su. I would appreciate you more if you chose to say my actual name instead of my pen name. Also don't act as if we know each other." Her smile faded. During their talk she noticed that he talks to her as if they were old acquaintances. Of course she never met him once in her life before. Even if she did, she's not the type to forget names of a person with such potential like him.
"My apologies Dr. Nathara Adaline. It's just your pen name and looks reminds me of an old friend." Su coughs. If she didn't point that out, the pioneer wouldn't have noticed it.
"I see. Interesting. Very interesting." Nathara smiles yet again. She rests her cheek on her hand. "Reminds you, hm? If you truly are one of the 4 survivors and pioneers of the previous era then, did you truly believe that SHE would just be reincarnated?"
Her tone shifts slightly. No longer is the woman interrogating him but she speaks out for her own ever growing curiosity. Of course the idea of reincarnation is baseless in the eyes of many scientists.
How could a soul be transferred into another body after their death? Some religions didn't believe in that concept either and Nathara isn't one of those religious types. But there were times where those absurd ideas were later found out to be true. Ideas that were thought to be a work of fiction turned into facts, years in the future.
Nathara didn't believe in what the masses generally thought about reincarnation. As the media generally portrays that concept in a very exaggerated form. But if she could find some evidence to confirm such a theory then perhaps she could find out the real truth on why Humans haven't become extinct after the final Herrscher descended from the heavens.
"That I couldn't answer. You and her are quite similar in a sense but there are also differences. It's a similar case with Yae Sakura and my old friend." Su answered. In truth he too was also confused. Is it because of fate that his friends were reborn again into this accursed world? Or perhaps it's just a coincidence that Nathara and MOBIUS are quite similar.
To him Nathara is just a MOBIUS who still has her morals. But other than that, the way they speak or they act aren't that different. "I see." Nathara closed her eyes.
'Even a pioneer didn't know huh.' She thought. "Then Su, have you ever thought that there was an Era of humans before you?"
"Of course." Su answered. While her face didn't show any sort of reaction to his answer. Inside was excited but also terrified. She theorized that there were multiple eras before this one. By studying the geological compounds of this planet, she came to that conclusion.
Many minerals and resources were out of place. Old wreckage and bunkers were found deep underground. Some bunkers were placed deeper than the others and some had a completely different architecture than many of the bunkers her company and Schicksal found. But the most compelling evidence that supports her theory was a skeleton made not from calcium like most species found on this planet but from silicon.
The main compound that made up a Honkai beast. It was found on the moon, not too deep under its cold and lifeless crust. From the leftover Honkai residue that the skeletal remains of a long and ancient Honkai beast, they concluded that It has been dead for longer than 50.000 years. What's worse is that it still has honkai levels comparable to an emperor class beast.
"Su, did you know about the remains of the Honkai beast that is on the moon?" Nathara decided to ask. Perhaps his answer could help her determine what kind of Honkai beast it was.
"Hmm. Let me remember… Yes, in fact I've studied them myself. Though unfortunately we couldn't name it because if we do It'll only cause further panic. We were on our last day and panic is the last thing we want to happen." Su lowered his gaze. Nathara couldn't understand why he looked afraid just thinking about it.
"And why is that?" Nathara leans forward. Her curiosity couldn't be contained any longer. She has to know what it is.
"Because…." Su let out a sigh. "That Honkai beast was originally a Celestial class. Meaning it is either as powerful as a Herrscher or something greater. A Herrscher is still a human at its core but a beast of that magnitude? It could even be compared as a planet level disaster. But none could ever beat the calamity that is the final Herrscher."
"She is nothing like the previous Herrschers or Honkai beasts. It's as if a goddess has decided to punish humanity herself. The term judgment day wouldn't be an understatement to describe the last days of my era before it crumbles."
Cold sweat ran down the scientist's back. A new celestial class Honkai beast could definitely emerge and wreak havoc. All they know is that it came from outer space. The frontier that mankind hasn't been able to explore freely just yet.
Though that's not the only issue. Perhaps this era has been underestimating the final Herrscher way too much. Nathara wouldn't want that to be true but what if it is the case. But what could they possibly do to survive such calamity? But these questions remain unanswered.
Just how many times has humanity failed to take down the final Herrscher. How many eras have the malevolent goddess decimated?
"…Su… Don't hope your job will be easy." Nathara takes a deep breath and stands up from her seat. "Come again tomorrow. You still have a contract to sign."
"Then I'll take my leave. Good night ." Su takes the black box with him as the pioneer makes his way out of her office.
"So the pioneer has decided to make his move. I shouldn't let him down. Veronica, you better make a more powerful weapon or battlesuit the next time I see you." Nathara sighs as she sits back down on her desk. The scientist stares at the beautiful night sky from her office desk. Enjoying whatever time she has left before the storm eventually catches up to them.
"Now then. I hope Natalia can bring those specimens safely. Would be a shame if we lose them now." That's right Otto must not have them in his hands at all cost. Though it is undeniable that a sample of their genes would be proven very valuable for Nathara's research.
Author note:
Hopefully by playing VNs my writing would improve, been interested in Dies Irea lately. I hope someday i could write something beautiful like how Dies Irea describe each scene.
But enough of that.
Anyway thanks for reading the chapter.