Chapter 9: Nagazora Suburban Life
Note: I'll be calling Stigmata users, Stigmata Awakened/Awakeners now. Following Hi3 Official translation for those who bear and awaken a Stigmata.
As the scorching heat from the sun warms up the summer noon in Canada. Many schools had their long awaited summer vacation coming. Students experiencing their post-final euphoria spent their time going out to the beach or went on a camping trip with their friends or stayed at home playing games and cooling themselves from the scorching heat outside.
As much as Natalia wanted to go out onto a beach with her son, Leon, maybe invite the Kaslanas along with her. She still had a job to do, after all this is a price she had to pay for being a Schicksal fugitive though it really baffled her when her boss suddenly ordered her to go with her to the far east, More specifically St Freya in Soukai City.
"Umm. Dr. Nathara, Are you sure you are asking the right person? We're going into Schicksal's territory."
"Your assistance is needed there. This Yae Sakura project isn't the only thing we worked on. Besides me, you're the 2nd most reliable person in Honkai biology."
That is true. Su might be a PE doctor but he's more experienced at handling humans, He also isn't involved much in Fire Moth MANTIS development. "I'm a fugitive-."
Nathara sighs, She's already getting annoyed in dealing with Natalia's anxiety. "Just shut up about that fact already. I know Theresa, she isn't like her grandfather Otto apocalypse and she would understand your actions. You're safe there, I can guarantee that."
"Fine. I won't argue on that." Still for the blond haired scientist she felt uncertain just casually walking straight into Schicksal territory like that. Otto would undoubtedly have a Valkyrie from the main branch stationed there to observe and report back to him any problems.
While she doesn't doubt that Nathara would just hand over her employee like that and the green haired CEO is also very protective of her useful assets. Making it less likely for Nathara to betray her but knowing Otto, he might outright plan a kidnapping or worse an assassination.
You never know what the overseer of Schicksal would do, making him a rather dangerous man to deal with.
"Do remember that my company has an active collaboration with both Schicksal and AE, less so with the world serpent, so in this base and that base would naturally have different sets of technology to avoid suspicion. Otto and Welt don't know my exact location either and Klein usually handles that problem since she's stationed in our main headquarters."
"You really went out of your way just to pursue the truth huh?"
"Small sacrifice to discover the truth of this world. Politics is nothing but a game of strategy but some people take it way too seriously." Nathara shrugs while she puts all of her stuff in her bag.
"We'll be leaving in the evening and Natalia don't you have somewhere to go first? Give my greetings to Sakuya and Kiana. Both girls are rare find indeed, truthfully I'm very interested in them. Hopefully they could help me in some of my experiments."
Nathara then left the room first with a smirk that Natalia wouldn't be able to forget. She knew exactly what her boss meant, she wanted them to be a volunteer though precisely to be her lab rat where she would run all sorts of tests and experiments on them. If they gave their consent of course, Nathara wouldn't do anything dangerous, thankfully.
While Kiana is understandable since she is the daughter of a Schariac and Kaslana, wouldn't that extend to Sirin as well? Who's also a Herrscher on top of that.
Though she's relieved that her boss didn't seem to be that interested in Leon after seeing his blood and DNA results. He seems to be an artificial human made from Alice Redfield's DNA, a former Schicksal S-Rank Valkyrie that defected from Schicksal and now works as an AE agent because she discovered the dark truth that Schicksal has been hiding from its own Valkyrie for years. That included their previous unethical experiments alongside the truth about the 2nd eruption that happened years ago.
After the body is made, he would later be genetically modified by adding fragments of other Valkyrie DNA into him. Making him quite literally a perfect human, in a biological sense that is.
Hence the name of the project, Project Ubermensch. A Project meant to create a perfect transcended human without using any Honkai genetics, that's why him suddenly gaining a stigmata is a surprise for everyone that worked on that project. There is news that Otto almost completed his 2nd one of these Ubermensch. Natalia hoped that Leon wouldn't be forced to fight his "Sibling".
And on the other hand there's also Sakuya, who is a MANTIS. Not just a regular MANTIS Either but a MANTIS made from a celestial class Honkai beast genetics.
It is also a bit surprising to see her physical appearance didn't change much after the MANTIS program was finished. Her growth as a human isn't really affected either unlike a certain apocalypse, Maybe this is why her boss is interested in her. Well just like Kiana she's also a Stigmata awakened.
But why just those 2 in particular is something that Natalia didn't really understand. Maybe they're just more resistant to Honkai, that's a possibility since a Vaccine like product is part of their project. While it wouldn't make someone fully immune it would help them develop immunity making it less likely for said person to turn into a zombie.
The scientist sighs as she walks out of the office building she was in. "Both Otto and Nathara are dangerous. Why do I keep working with people like these?" Maybe it is just her fate to be the subordinate of someone ambitious.
"They all should be in the airport right now. I gotta hurry." She entered her car that was parked outside. Driving her way past the semi busy street of the town and made her way onto her destination.
In the summer especially, even their local town airport is packed with people and tourists. Families and friends booking their summer vacation somewhere. Businessmen and women that come and go for their business trip.
For the blonde scientist, finding a couple of white haired kaslanas in this crowd isn't particularly hard as their white hair really stood out among the crowds, especially Siegfried since he's a pretty tall man compared to the average person here.
"Ah sorry for being late! Airport security here is pretty tight." Natalia let out a tired sigh. "So Sieg, have you briefed them about Nagazora yet?".
"Yes I did, don't worry, Ryoma helped me find a good house for their temporary stay there until their highschool semester is finished. AE also sent someone as their caretaker and guardian while we're not there for them." Siegfried replied.
"Why aren't you coming with us dad?" Kiana asked. The twin braided girl frowned a little.
"Ah that's because your dad still has a job to do with Einstein here. Don't worry in new years I might come and visit." The man smiled as he ruffled his daughter's heads.
"Okay I understand Dad. Stay safe."
It would be their last time seeing him for a couple months so none of them complained about receiving a head pat from their father.
Especially Sirin, somehow the girl looked more anxious about leaving her father than Kiana did. "Just stay safe dad." Sirin looked directly onto her father's eyes.
Despite being the coldest, She is the one that in the end worried about her family the most. "Yeah, I know. Sirin. You too okay?" Siegfried wanted to tease his ice princess but decided not to. It would ruin her mood even further if he did.
"Don't worry dad. I'll make sure to keep them in check." Sakuya replied.
And a couple seconds later a ring from the intercoms followed by an announcement was made about their plane arriving. "Seems like our flight is here. Dad, Natalia, We'll be off. see you two later." Sakuya parted first as she waved back at the two adults before her sisters and Leon eventually followed her.
"Leon. Take care of the girls alright? Don't do anything weird to them while you stay with them."
"Mr Siegfried, I'm not that type of person." The boy sighs, He doesn't understand why Siegfried kept teasing him about that even though he was the one that taught him on how to be a good gentleman. "But don't worry Mr. Siegfried, I'll look after your daughters."
"Hmm. That boy has grown up well."
"Your daughters too, Sieg. Hopefully they'll land safely. Nagazora can be a scary place if they're not careful."
"Aren't every city like that?"
"I guess so. Maybe I'm worrying too much."
"Who wouldn't. I'm worried about Kiana, Sirin, Sakuya and Leon too but at the same time I trust them. They're not little kids who needed us to babysit them anymore. Let them make their own life choices. As a parent our job is to support whatever choices they made along the way."
Natalia nods, after spending years with Siegfried. The scientist had grown to respect the man. She never knew that being a parent could be so difficult and unlike her, He had lost the love of his life.
Cecilia and Kiana really changed a man like him to be more responsible than what the rumors have said about him.
The two adults continued to wave at their now grown up kids until they were out of their sight. How time passed quickly, it feels like they were just little kids a couple months ago and now they've grown to become reliable teenagers.
Still for a parent parting with your kids isn't an easy task. There would be times where you'll worry about their safety or if they're living well or not. Both Siegfried and Natalia knew about this fact and all they could do is pray and put trust in their kids as they start a new life.
"…Cecilia, I hope you're seeing this." Siegfried smiled as he stayed at the airport while Natalia went out first as she still had things to prepare. Observing every minute of their plane, taking off from the airport's runway until the plane disappeared into the clear blue sky above.
"Are you proud of them as much as I am Cecilia?" Siegfried chuckles. The man finally moves away from the window and heads back home to where one of the leaders of AE would be meeting him.
"If they do become a Valkyrie someday. I hope that they could shine as brightly as you did."
Soaring high above the clouds Sakuya looked outside to see the gorgeous satellite view of the ground below. A new chapter in her life is beginning to unfold.
No longer was she shackled on the floor of a cold laboratory. Now she can soar up high as much as she liked or maybe dive deeper into the abyss into the unknown. With the knowledge of her past incarnation in mind she feels confident to tackle this new path.
After all, she's only dealing with humans in Nagazora, not Honkai. While it could get annoying, none of them are life threatening. It makes her wonder why in every era the humans always responded to dealing with the Honkai threat by hiding their enemy's existence from the general public.
Honkai only grew in power when the Human civilization grew, not their knowledge. If the Honkai do grow with knowledge, Sakuya would've fought stronger Honkai beasts since Jyahnar and Her have the knowledge of the previous era.
She remembers some miscellaneous things like how her previous incarnations lived her day to day life but some knowledge can be considered useful like how her previous incarnations fight using a scythe. It is the reason why Sakuya is so proficient with using a scythe as her main weapon compared to other weapons.
Though the memories she received are all fragmented and she can't control what kind of memories she would get either.
There's also Jyahnar's story in which she told her that all human civilization always has the same beginning and end, but what happened in between are always different.
The statement isn't all wrong, since Sakuya would've definitely joined or been recruited into Fire moth if it does exist in this era. "Maybe I could make my own Fire moth. Schicksal is too corrupt and AE is too weak."
Joining the world serpent is an obvious no. Why would she join the organization that tormented her in the first place? She couldn't carelessly seek her revenge either.
That organization is like a cult and an underground mercenary group that is led by one leader, their Sire. He is also known as the original Kaslana of this era, Kevin Kaslana the strongest human/soldier. Unless she has a death wish, no one can take him down in a head on fight, even Herrschers would struggle when fighting that man.
The stealth option might work but it is still very risky. For someone who lived for around 50.000 years, he's bound to have experience in dealing with assassins. Unfortunately for Sakuya, assassination isn't her forte nor do her previous incarnations have done any sort of assassination before.
Most of her incarnations are soldiers due to fate forcing that role onto the girl. She hasn't got a single memory fragment about her being anything other than that so unfortunately she couldn't know for sure.
"Let's start off slow, I can deal with the World Serpent later. First objective Houraiji Kyuushou, maybe she would know something about my past considering my will of stigmata takes her appearance. It is also really suspicious how she's invited into Senba academy like that."
Just like her family, she too was invited by Raiden Ryoma but unlike her sisters and Leon who had Siegfried that could casually ask the Raiden patriarch to give his daughters and Leon a scholarship to Nagazora most prestigious academy.
An email from Natalia confirms her suspicion about the mysterious Houraiji. It was a stretch but her guess was right. That girl, Kyuushou knew about the Honkai existence and decided to make a game out of it of all things, she's either cunning or dumber than Sakuya had expected when she tried to upload her game to the web twice before AE deleted any trace her game from the internet in a matter of seconds.
"Now she definitely has a target on her back." She sighs and finishes reading through the file. No wonder Raiden Ryoma gave her that scholarship, it was to keep her under AE's observation and Schicksal would likely be interested in her as well considering that's where Natalia got her information from.
It is unknown if she has a stigmata or not but given the fact that she knew the existence of Honkai, it isn't highly unlikely.
Sakuya wonders if she should keep an eye on her as well. As she might be a good potential ally in the future if they do fight together.
Sakuya looks to her right to see what her sisters are up to. She saw Kiana sleeping as always, the girl somehow always managed to sleep in every long car ride. Sirin looked awkward around Leon and the boy didn't seem to notice it as he's too immersed in whatever book he's reading. Judging from the cover it is probably related to engineering again.
"If Honkai didn't exist I wouldn't have met them. Sometimes I wonder if I should be thankful for that or not." If the Honkai didn't exist she would've been with her original family living somewhere else and probably wouldn't have met any of them.
Sometimes even the worst curse can bring a blessing in disguise. Now she had to think on how she could keep all of them safe from the malicious nature of the Honkai.
"Haa this is difficult, I couldn't keep them all safe by myself….. Unless." Sakuya looked at them once more. That's right she isn't alone anymore, she has them now.
Honkai is a threat that threatens all of humanity. If that's the case then the solution is simple. Everyone should play their part to ensure their own survival at the very least.
Why protect your family by yourself when you can make your family have the capacity to protect themselves from danger?
"Seems like I have to invest a lot for that to happen." She's excited to see how far their potential would be able to reach. Naturally she didn't plan to lose to them either.
"Let's see what Nagazora had to offer."
They traveled across the globe for a couple hours before they finally set foot on the airport of Nagazora. It was busier than their little Canadian town airport but it is to be expected as Nagazora is a thriving metropolis in the far east.
While Leon, Kiana and Sirin all looked excited to finally visit and live in a bustling metropolis, Sakuya didn't look excited at all. Since as soon as they landed she started to have a bad feeling that something big is going to happen here and it isn't going to be good. A sense of foreknowledge of what's going to happen in the future.
Whatever it is, she had to prepare them for that event now. Who knows there might be a Honkai invasion happening in the near future.
"Dad said our caretaker should be In our new house right now. We should hurry and get a cab." Sakuya said while checking on her phone.
"I'll ask for a cab. Sirin here, buy me some snacks." Kiana gave her twin some of her pocket change as she left the group behind.
"Fine, fine. You two want anything?" Sirin asked, the girl is feeling generous today it seems.
"I want to try boba tea." Leon replied. "A drink would be nice, anything's fine. Your choice Sirin." Sakuya shrugs, She didn't care what kind of drink Sirin would end up giving her, Sakuya would still accept it. Besides, Sirin would still buy her the drink she likes even if Sakuya didn't ask for it.
She wondered where that sense of respect came from. Was it because she used to be friends with SIRIN before? It was a stretch but it would make sense considering Sirin does remember her predecessor's life because of the Herrscher core she's carrying.
They waited for a couple minutes before a taxi eventually arrived and picked them up. It is now noon in Nagazora due to the time difference. Everyone was a bit saddened by that fact as they all wanted to see how cool the Nagazora night life would look like with all that flashy neon light, lighting up the streets of this city.
Fortunately Sakuya have taught them well on how to speak or read Japanese, writing kanji is a different story but they'll eventually get used to drawing symbols all the time.
Eventually they left the city inner area and arrived at the outskirts where the suburban area is. It is also the area where they would live for the rest of their stay in Nagazora.
"Hoo, our house looked a bit bigger than the last one." Kiana comments as the girl observes the house and front yard of the property. Supposedly there's also a small garden in the back and an additional basement for them to train in.
Exclusive support from AE and ME corp sure is handy.
"Let's check out the neighborhood after this!"
"To the arcade first." Sirin raised her hand as she helped take the rest of their belongings from the taxi. "Okay, do you know the way?"
"I memorized the road Kiana. There's also a map and unlike someone, I could actually read a map." Sirin smirks.
"Ugh. Alright alright." Kiana looks away with her beet red face. At least Sirin's Herrscher of the void status also helped her with navigation or else she would've been easily lost like her twin sister.
As soon as they entered the house. They saw a rather tall woman sitting comfortably on the couch while drinking a glass of red wine. She has long velvet colored hair, in which she wears loose. Her bright gold irises alongside her alluring curvy figure makes for a perfect combination for a beauty like her to charm anyone she comes across.
Eden Ragvindr is her name. She is a rising star who recently became a popular celebrity after her debut in the entertainment industry. A Diva who performs and entertains the world with her voice and songs. Who would've guessed that she was once an Ex Schicksal Valkyrie, a former member of the now disbanded squad, Fantasy Novae.
"Ah. You've arrived." Noticing the kids. The woman smiled warmly inviting them into their new abode.
"Sorry that I couldn't pick all of you up. There would've been a lot of trouble if I were caught outside." The diva apologizes, bowing slightly to express her condolences.
"A-ah It's okay we understand. But am I seeing this right? The singer Eden is our caretaker!?" Kiana asked excitedly, "I'm not dreaming, am I !?"
"Kiana calm down. You're making this too awkward for us." Sirin let out a sigh as she walked past the diva towards the stairs. "Excuse me, Miss and Sorry for her sudden outburst of excitement, she's always like that."
"Mhm It's fine. I'm used to this type of reaction."
Leon looked just as excited as she was. The two were fans of her songs and usually listened to them whenever they could.
"Miss Eden, can we have an autograph?" Leon asked trying his best not to be nervous in front of his idol.
"Sure. After you guys pack your things." Eden giggles, The diva loved seeing their excitement in finally meeting their idol in front of them. Of course Sakuya already packed her stuff first since she could use portals to instantly store her stuff in her own room.
"Ragvindr san. What about our monthly groceries? And well house rent." Sakuya asked, Managing their money would be important now that they're living alone. Sakuya don't know if Eden would be generous enough to split the bill.
"No need to worry about that Sakuya san. This is my property so you don't need to pay any rent to me and for the food we can order meals online. Unless you could cook, my meals are usually prepared by someone else so unfortunately I'm not a great cook. In any case do tell me if you need some money for groceries just promise me you won't spend them all for a shopping spree."
The girl was surprised to hear that they don't have to worry about paying rent or money for groceries. This is better than what Sakuya was expecting.
"Me and Leon could cook. But he's better at cooking than me." Sakuya admitted. "We can save our monthly income by making homemade meals and don't worry Ragvindr san I'm not the type to spend money on a whim."
"Hmm~ I look forward to those meals then. Ah right no need to be too polite with me, Our age isn't that far apart. It is a bit weird to hear your roommate being so polite all the time."
"Then Eden san. Anyway, why did AE send you? Aren't you a bit busy with your other job?"
"That might be true but I currently don't have any live performances planned out and I could always sing from a studio. AE provided me with a private studio in Nagazora so I don't need to worry about the travel distance. And in case things happen I could protect you guys by being here, Sakuya san did you know that I am an Ex Valkyrie?"
Sakuya nods, She had read the files about the main branch Valkyrie squads so naturally she knew about that fact. "I've known about that. You were an A rank Valkyrie before you left correct?"
"Mhm. I guess you're well informed. I was in a squad with Ellie, Aponia and Rita and It was my own decision to leave Schicksal. Don't worry, we're still on good terms with each other." Eden frowned as she talked about her old squad mates, it is a topic that she wished to bury in her past.
Sakuya was interested but decided not to continue the topic further. "Ah right, is Leon Milkova perhaps Alice's son? He looks rather similar." Sakuya shakes her head as a response.
"I see. I must've mistaken him for someone else." Eden looks over to the stairs seeing her two fans finally finished with their task. "Hmm? You two are finished? Alright, where do you want me to sign it?"
"My notebook."
"This shirt!"
Leon and Kiana handed over their respective belongings for their idol to leave her signature on. "Here you go." Seeing the smiles of her fans always brought joy to the diva's heart as she returned their belongings.
"Thank you." The two expressed their gratitude and awkwardly bowed their upper torsos. They aren't as used to Japanese culture as Eden yet. The diva nods as the two head back to their rooms.
Though eventually Kiana walked downstairs again as she still wished to explore their suburban area a little bit with her sisters.
"We'll be back Eden san." Sakuya said as she locked the door behind her, bringing with her the spare key for their new home.
Their expectation for the arcade was totally blown out of the window as soon as they stepped into their local arcade. For one this is just the local suburban one, not an arcade for the mall.
Yet there's neon lights everywhere, some holograms as well as the one of the newest versions of the arcade machine. There were a lot more games present here as well.
The aesthetic and atmosphere felt very different from the one Sirin and Kiana used to visit back in Canada.
It took a couple of seconds before the girl could start registering what they should do after being left speechless and awed by the place.
"Highest score?" Sirin asked. It is clear what the girl wanted to do, she just wanted to put her name somewhere on the leaderboard, preferably taking the number 1 spot for herself.
She's not shy from a competition either, after all competing with her sisters is a fun activity even if the girl can be a little too excited about it.
"Hmph. I'm not losing to you, that's for sure." Kiana of course accepted the challenge.
"Nee san?" Both girls looked at their older sister with anticipation in their eyes.
"Alright fine, I'm in, just don't be mad if I did beat you two in the leaderboard."
And just like that a fire has been lit, as they tried every arcade game that interested them. One round of them practicing and the other of them trying to get the highest score possible.
They were really starting to gather crowds around them after they moved on to their 5th game. These 3 just came in and with only a couple of tries they managed to get themselves in the leaderboard top 20 of some games, sometimes even top 10.
For a certain petite light gray haired girl who was just playing a shooter type arcade game to try and get herself a new HOMU plushie for herself. It was certainly unusual to see a big crowd of spectators forming before she even played anything.
Usually they would form a circle around her whenever she played a game in the arcade. The girl's name is engraved at the top of the leaderboard in many arcades including this one. Now she understood why a crowd was formed there, once she saw that her own high score was toppled not by one person but by 3 people.
She had a suspicion that it is definitely those 3 over there. She has been observing them for quite awhile as soon as she saw a big crowd.
She decided to take the initiative and challenge them, feeling as her spot as a gamer being challenged by these 3 new competitors. She wanted to at least challenge one of them to see their skills for herself.
Perhaps games wouldn't be as boring if there were people like them that can give her a challenge or play together with.
"The Bronya would like to request a match with one of you." The petite Russian girl said as she looked up to the 3 foreigners. Her Japanese is surprisingly fluent despite her Russian look and accent.
The tallest girl with dark hair looked surprised when she first saw her appearance or was it when she heard her voice? Bronya couldn't really tell which one she's surprised by. The white haired twins on the other hand were squinting at her.
It is as if they're observing her from head to toe. "Who are you exactly?" One of the girls asked after an awkward silence ensued, It was the straight white haired one.
"Haxor bunny. Haxor_Bunny019. That's Bronya's username." Now the twins looked surprised as they recognized that username. The username was quite infamous in the RPG or MMORPG community.
But Bronya couldn't understand why the tall dark colored hair with a pink hue on the tip of her hair didn't look surprised at all? Did she not know of that username?
How come she was more surprised to see Bronya's appearance or hear her voice than her username Haxor Bunny? That username stood on top of the leaderboard of this arcade and many online games as well.
"Alright Bronya, I accept!" Sirin confidently smiled. The other twin seemed a little down by not getting that chance to challenge the infamous Haxxor bunny but fortunately she didn't create a fuss in the end.
"Sirin Kaslana." Sirin extends her hands out for a handshake. Bronya was left dumbfounded as she was still processing Sakuya's irregular reaction. It took a couple seconds to register what the girl's intentions were before she eventually accepted the gesture. She didn't expect her to be this bold but guess she should've expected that from a foreigner.
"Bronya Zaychick." Little do they know, it was in this moment that their friendship began to form. Both of them were really competitive as the crowd began to cheer for either side to win.
Finally the competition was over after a long heartfelt battle between the two competitors that spanned a couple of hours. With Bronya winning at the end by a close margin. The Russian girl hasn't had this much fun in a while.
"Ugh fine I lost. Hey, what's your number?"
"Why's subject Sirin asking for Bronya's number?"
"To call you for a rematch duh. I will win the next match, I swear. Did you really think I'd be satisfied with a loss?" It was an unexpected answer but the Russian girl did cave in to her challenger's demands.
"Bronya calls for the next rematch to be in a game." Bronya said as the two exchanged their phone numbers.
"Deal! I'll text you when I'm available." Sirin then waved at the Russian girl as she left with her sisters to explore the rest of their small residential area.
"…" Bronya didn't wave back but she knew the two would definitely see each other again someday. She felt her phone vibrate, Checking her phone she sees a new message from her Matushka/mother.
Bronya knew what it was about without even looking at its content. Seems like she has to run a few errands for her Matushka before going home.
In Soukai City, there lies an academy for Valkyries, St Freya is what the academy is called. Founded by Theresa Apocalypse after the 2nd eruption, the academy have thrived to be one of the leading facilities for Valkyrie education.
While they haven't made any S ranks yet. The Valkyries that graduated from these facility are usually B or on some occasion an A rank Valkyrie. The far east now became known in Schicksal as a Valkyrie training facility due to how successful they were at producing good quality Valkyries and their low rates of death during training is also very appealing.
St Freya not only serves as an academy it also serves as the far east branch main headquarters.
The Yssring Research Institute set up their main Schicksal collaboration facility here. In exchange for having a place they also produce the latest piece of equipment for the Far East branch to use, so that they don't fall behind between the other branches of Schicksal.
"Alright, I accept the proposal Dr. Nathara. You can have the students as volunteers for your Honkai Vaccination project but if you don't mind I would like to have one request." Theresa apocalypse while holding onto the research data that the scientist had provided her with.
Her appearance can easily fool anyone by thinking that she is also a student at the academy. Afterall who wouldn't think like that unless you have heard of her in the first place.
She looks like a 13 year old kid. Not only that, her appearance looks strikingly like a young Kaslana, snow white hair and blue eyes. But in actuality her real age is about as old as Siegfried himself.
Due to her circumstances as a MANTIS, she didn't grow pass the age of 13. But it could also be because of the old technology of cloning that was used to create her.
There's only a few people that know of her background that includes Nathara who was sitting in front of her. While she didn't technically participate in that project, her teacher did and through her is how the CEO of the institute is able to learn Theresa's secret.
"If it's within my power. So what is the request, Theresa sama?"
Theresa put the research papers away and laid her hands on the table.
"It is simple, I don't want my students to be one of your experiment's casualties. So I would like to request that I test that on myself first to avoid any unwanted casualties."
"I have no issue, I already did some tests on myself and the results are as I expected but your concerns are reasonable. Maybe some of the Valkyrie instructors could also be included, after all this project could save them from becoming a zombie from a Honkai energy overdose or an overuse of Schicksal rather sloppy artificial stigmata."
Theresa didn't need to think that much. While there could be some side effects that they haven't foreseen yet, the benefits are too good to pass on. As a Valkyrie herself she knows how many comrades that she had to slew herself during a mission because their body couldn't handle the excess amount of Honkai energy.
It was always a dangerous gamble for those individuals that aren't chosen to be a Stigma Awaken. They either die young as a human or lived too long that they became a zombie due to constantly being exposed with Honkai energy.
"Alright. Then we have an agreement, Dr. Nathara. But may I ask if you have told Yae Sakura about my existence?"
"I do not. She wasn't exactly a human when I met her. You would have to ask her yourself or my employee Su for that matter."
"I see then you may leave." Nathara stood up from her chair, The scientist bowed slightly with her hand on her chest before she eventually left.
"It was Veronica before, now I have to deal with her boss too." Theresa sighs. She hoped that her project would at least lessen the chance of her students and instructors to turn into a zombie.
Even if a cure is still out of their reach. Building up your body's natural resistance to a disease is the next best option. It sounds good on paper but it made the headmaster wonder if such a Vaccine would be effective for Honkai corruption as well.
While his boss deals with the business side of their project. Su had other plans as he roamed around the campus area of St Freya looking for a particular person.
Someone that he calls an old friend of his. Though unfortunately she may already forgot about him but that doesn't matter since he has a way to help her recover her lost memories.
"I believe she should be around here somewhere." The man walked down the hallway of the campus.
It didn't take him long to finally see the person he was looking for talking with another student. "Excuse me miss but may I speak with this person privately for a bit?" Su asked as his eyes continued to glance at the blue haired girl in front of him.
While the other student was a bit concerned, she didn't feel any malicious intent from the man and their class monitor is an A rank Valkyrie so it shouldn't be a problem for her if the man decided to do something.
"Sure we can talk. Sorry Yeonseo but we'll continue the conversation at a later date." The blue haired girl apologizes for this sudden inconvenience to the St Freya graduate.
"Mhm. Don't worry about it. Class monitor Fu Hua or should I say instructor now?"
The two girls laugh before they eventually part ways. "Well it is nice seeing you again but duty calls for me too. See you during the holidays, if you're willing to visit." The black haired girl also gives her respect to the former Flamechaser as she walks away leaving the two of them to have a private chat in the unused classroom beside them.
The semester hasn't started yet so naturally the school halls are usually empty.
"What do you want to say to me?" Fu Hua asked as she kept her distance from the man and warily observed him.
"I'll get straight to the point then Hua. Do you remember me?"
"…" Fu Hua looked at the man weirdly as she raised one of her eyebrows. What exactly does he mean by that? Did he really know about her condition?
"As I thought." Su put his hand on the girl's head "This would hurt a little bit but I'm afraid you needed to remember it. Hua the 12th Flamechaser and the overseer of project EMBER."
Fu Hua wanted to smack his hand away but strangely enough her hands wouldn't move as she wanted to. Just like instructor Aponia this man also had psychic powers. Though before she could ask how, her memories from the previous era started flooding back in.
Memories of her friends that she forgot, her trauma of the 7th Herrscher, The warm memories she spent with ELYSIA and HIMEKO and the despair she felt from the battle on the moon against the calamity known as the Herrscher of Finality returned to her.
All the good and the bad memories were slowly starting to get more and more vivid.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" The girl fell to her knees as she held her head. The influx of memories gave her a massive headache. Her brain felt like it was about to explode from the overload of information. Though she knows that something is still missing.
While it is true that she remembered her experience from the previous era. The time she spent after she got out of that cryogenic pod and now is still a blur.
"Are you okay Hua?" The man bent down to check on his friend. He worried that he might've overdone it but Garuda's regeneration should negate some of that pain in the long term. Though he could've been more subtle about this, maybe Su is just feeling excited to finally meet his old friend again after hundred's of years of isolation.
"Su… Thanks." Fu Hua still held her head, Her nausea is calming down, she wanted to puke so badly right now but it isn't appropriate to show such disgusting action in front of a friend, so the girl held on. "But it seems there's some bits that I don't remember. Also call me by the name Fu Hua if we're in public."
"I understand. Sorry but this is all that I could do. I only gave you your memory that was inputted to the Elysian Realm system. Naturally there wouldn't be any memory of this current era."
"It is fine. I can check my feathers later when I visit Shenzhou. Seeing that Fuxi and Nuwa aren't here, meant that something happened to them a long time ago didn't it?"
Su only nods, though Fu Hua knows from the look on his eyes that these two didn't make it. Perhaps she would remember something else when she visited their resting place.
"Su. Don't you find it strange that our comrades, the Flamechasers, are alive? Though they lived different lives and some have different identities. Their personality seems strangely familiar." Fu Hua asked.
"It is a cycle of Samsara Hua. Aponia, Eden, Elysia, Sakura, Mobius, Vill-V, Kalpas, Kosma and Pardo have all been reincarnated. I suppose and Klein as well."
Something was a bit off about his statement, it looks like he missed one person. Did he not see it when he was in SUMERU?
"Griseo?" Fu Hua asked. She was after all part of the Flamechasers like them. Did something happen to her? Or did project ARK finally achieve its original goal?
"There's no trace of her. I didn't see her life in this era from my time in the seed of SUMERU either. It appears whatever is causing this cycle of Samsara couldn't reincarnate a person that is still living like us or someone that's lost in space. Project ARK lost contact many years ago, Hua and currently we don't know if Griseo is alive or not." Su answered crushing all of Fu Hua's hope of humanity's survival in a new world.
"Then why did you come out of the seed of SUMERU? Su, did you perhaps find an answer from project VALUKA?" Fu Hua asked in anticipation. It was the hope that they have long been searching for. A hope of a peaceful future free from the Honkai.
"Not exactly but I did get a hint to be precise. Not one world can be free from the Honkai I'm afraid. But they could free themselves from Finality. As 1 world achieved that unbelievable feat, a chain reaction occurred afterwards, sort to speak. But there are also unexplainable things like how a branch suddenly fell and started to glitch out as if we were in a matrix." Su explained. Until now he still couldn't understand what he saw. It was as if the branch instantly became chaotic but somehow from all that chaos an order was formed.
"Only the final Herrscher huh…" Fu Hua let out a disappointed sigh. Perhaps she was expecting something impossible but this is already good news all by itself. The two MANTISes knew how powerful the Herrscher of Finality is. To think there's another world that was able to beat it is nothing to scoff at.
It proves to them, to Humanity, to this era that the final Herrscher isn't as unstoppable as they might think.
"Then what should we do, Su? To increase our chances of winning." Fu Hua later asked. Su took a while to contemplate what he saw. The glimpse of the final battle of this current era.
"I saw a glimpse of the future. Although I couldn't accurately see what it was from SUMERU, someone would eventually devour the golden light of Finality. It is as if the light of Finality was consumed by the abyss. We have to put our trust into that person and help them." He replied. As strange as it sounds, he doesn't look like he's cracking jokes.
Fu Hua knows this. But it was definitely a surprise to hear their chosen one isn't someone with heroic traits or is a selfless person, but it is someone that is morally gray or maybe even a villain.
Though it could also be their powers. Perhaps it's a Herrscher that would ultimately save them. It would be quite poetic if that's the case but this era is indeed different from the one Fu Hua grew up with.
Fu Hua has no choice but to entrust this era's survival to that person. Now all that's left is finding who that person really is. She hoped that the chosen one wasn't Otto as after gaining her memories it made her question why she was so obedient to that man.
"Then I suppose this era would have to eventually face Kiana Kaslana as the final Herrscher... Just like that time."
To her surprise Su actually shakes his head, Denying her statement. "The Herrscher of Finality isn't her, Hua. She doesn't bear the golden Stigmata of Finality."
"Huh!?" Fu Hua looked confused. "How could that be the case? found that piece of evidence that very clearly suggests it has always been like this when she researched the ruins of Finality on the moon! How is this era Kiana Kaslana not the vessel for the final Herrscher?"
"The final Herrscher would always be Kiana. But fortunately for this era, Kiana Kaslana isn't their chosen Herrscher of Finality." Su looked at her with a tinge of sadness in his eyes.
Why did he look at her like that? This doesn't make much sense to the blue haired MANTIS. Is her psychic friend saying that- "Yes. Hua, SHE is alive."
With this the Nagazora arc officially starts and Sorry for the late update guys. I don't have any holidays yet and college have started to get busier this year.
Honestly i can't wait to see the story of 6.4 especially since it is said that part 1 of Honkai Impact. I wonder if there would be anymore coincidences with the story I'm trying to write cuz it would be cool.
The design of HoFi and HoO is also really cool. Though i do wonder what would the design of the final boss be like or the true HoFi cuz ain't no way Kiana becomes the final boss right? Unless they decided to copy GGZ then it would definitely be durandal that became the final Herrscher but i really hope that's not the case. But nevertheless it would very depressing if it did happen.
Wonder what part 2 of Honkai impact would be like. Please let there be a Hi3 version of Kyuushou, Hoyoverse.
Anyway thanks for reading the chapter! And thanks for all the follows and favorites. It is nice to see that people are following the story.