Chapter 10: Kairos and The Everlasting Starlight

An awkward silence ensues with the two Flamechasers. Fu Hua has yet to digest every bit of information that Su gave her.

From her friends reincarnating to the confirmation of HER being alive. It is all too much for her to handle right now.

While her friends reincarnated into this era. It doesn't seem like they'll remember the previous era they lived in even if the 10th Flamechaser reminded them about their past life. It is still a mystery to both of them on why such an event happened.

Did Prometheus do this? It is the most likely scenario as the last time Fu Hua and Su saw that AI is during the final battle where it attempts to hack into the Finality. While it failed to awaken the human persona it probably succeeded in doing other things they didn't expect.

Mobius, who is now called Nathara, still became a scientist and she even became a famous one with her own research institute to back her up as well. She had a teacher before she took over her company, Klein is still her assistant.

Eden still became a celebrity and an idol even if she's a rising star now. Though at one time she was serving Schicksal as a Valkyrie.

Aponia also became a Valkyrie like her comrade Eden. Fu Hua occasionally sees her in teaching as a Valkyrie instructor, unfortunately Fu Hua and her don't have a squad to look over yet. Apparently she also used to run an orphanage that was sadly attacked by the Honkai beast, half of the kids there went missing, while she saved the other half. The Flamechaser could see some guilt whenever she saw her watching over the students train here.

Vill-V or whoever truly was, now has a clear name in this era, Veronica. She is the lead mechanical engineer in Nathara's institute. Even Otto is impressed by her genius, it saddens him that he couldn't recruit her into Schicksal but the organization itself still reaps the benefits of their cooperation. As most of the elite Valkyries use either the weapon or King's bane battlesuits that she made.

There's also the new battleship Hyperion that she is creating, the only problem is that she isn't good at software engineering so she couldn't truly finish the project. As without an AI running that ship, It would've easily crashed somewhere due to the amount of manpower needed to maintain and run the ship. She could only make a very basic AI system that works on normal vehicles. There were rumors about her being a former Software engineer but after an incident she changed her job into a mechanical engineer instead, Fu Hua doesn't know if the rumors were baseless or not.

Kalpas and Kosma reincarnation's whereabouts isn't well known but Pardofelis now goes by a different name, Felix. Like in her past life she was a thief though she only stole from the rich to feed the kids in the orphanage that she lived in. Her current whereabouts is unknown. Su confirms that they're all still alive somewhere.

Lastly there is Elysia. The most striking difference about her is that she is 100% Human through and through. She was undoubtedly a Judgment class Honkai beast that has a human appearance and heart in Fu Hua's era. It was a secret that she kept from everyone and even from herself until she found that out much later in her life. Still she loved humanity till the end, she even goes as far as being the first one to sacrifice herself when the Herrscher of Finality finally awakened.

Currently Elysia Schariac is the strongest S rank Valkyrie that is still active in duty. While she isn't stronger than her predecessor Cecilia, it is rumored that her strength is on par with her. She also has a unique Stigmata, because unlike any other stigmata which is colored red this one is colored bright pink, just like the old ELYSIA's stigmata.

All that is left for them to do is to find more information on HER. Especially HER whereabouts or if she does reincarnate as well like the rest of the Flamechasers.

"Then Su is there any news-"

BAM!

"Is there any news from kevin?" was the question Fu Hua was about to ask before the door to the room they are in was slammed open by someone.

An ash blond woman with gray and pink irises entered their field of view. "Oh! There you are Fu Hua!" The woman known as Veronica Vill instantly dash towards the blue haired Valkyrie and grabs her arm. "Come on, come on! We take your measurements! It is for your Shadow Knight armor, God's bane armor!" The engineer insisted.

"Ah who's this? Are you a new employee of the boss?" Veronica looks over at Su while still keeping a firm grip over the A rank Valkyrie, who seems like she's struggling? To get herself free. Is this woman really just a simple engineer?

"Correct. Miss Veronica I presume?" Su answered.

"Mhm~ Nice meeting you, Newbie! Sorry for the interruptions but this is quite Important. Let's go Fu Hua, we can't delay the project any longer!" The engineer then drags the Valkyrie out of the room.

"Wa-Wait. Vill-V! I could walk on my own." Still this is rather unexpected for the A rank Valkyrie to be dragged like this. In the end she just gives in, Fu Hua can't reason her way out of this eccentric engineer's plans. Anyway, just how is a regular engineer this strong?

"You know it is weird that I'm commissioned to make a god's bane battle suit. Usually that would be reserved to someone of the elite. Well isn't that right our little spy?" Veronica smiles innocently and giggles.

"Ho-How did you?" Fu Hua tensed up. It caught her off guard for an engineer to know about this secret that only the overseer knew about.

"Ah. A magician never revealed her secret~." Veronica winks. Seems like Fu Hua had to save the question for later. At least she would help keep that a secret unless Otto himself leaked that information but it would seem highly unlikely.

"I figured you wouldn't say anything, Vill-V." Fu Hua wonders if there's a spy within Schicksal or someone digs that information by themselves.

"Anyway, no need for you to think that deeply. I wouldn't hurt you you know~. Umm it'd be a different case for your boss tho." Veronica shrugs. In the end the A rank Valkyrie was dragged all the way to Veronica's workshop. Guess the rumor was indeed true about her having an endless amount of stamina even Fu Hua was shocked at how the rumor wasn't exaggerated in the slightest.

The woman started to take measurements as soon as they arrived and then the calculations right after. She already finished with the design and planning process now all that is needed is to make the battlesuit itself.

"Okay off you go! Just be sure to wait patiently. It should be done in a couple of weeks. But you can always watch me work. An audience would make this show much livelier! Isn't that right, miss A rank?"

"No thanks." Fu Hua raised her hand. Truthfully the A rank Valkyrie had better things to do.

"Aww~ no fun. Also next time just call me Veronica alright" The engineer sulks as her one and only audience leaves her workshop.

"Ri-right sorry about that Veronica." Fu Hua sighs as she closes the door behind her. "This day just kept getting crazier and crazier. I should visit Shenzhou soon, this is technically my vacation."

Back in Nagazora, while the girls were busy with their own adventures. Leon stayed at home, to hone his body and skills.

The red haired boy is sweating from head to toe as he tries out every training equipment in their new basement. He's a bit disappointed that he didn't get any custom weights of his own just like the girls do.

Even if he's not as physically gifted as them, he couldn't let that be an excuse to laze around and just focus on his academic skills. Siegfired would definitely be mad at him if he couldn't do what he promised him to do and that is to watch over his daughters.

While they're certainly capable of defending themselves, It is still a man's job to keep them safe. At least that's what Siegfried taught the boy.

Leon sat down on a nearby bench to recuperate his stamina. Despite his age, physically he can overpower a trained soldier if he wanted to, though the boy doesn't seem to know that.

Living with superhumans really dulled his senses to reality that he is in fact stronger than a regular human. Kiana and Sirin seem to suffer the same fate while Sakuya knows that they're at least as strong as a Schicksal Valkyrie.

One other thing that Leon possessed, Is his very own stigmata,Ouroboros Leminiscate. It is a very unusual stigmata as Schicksal seems to have no record of this stigmata whatsoever. Natalia was the one that gave it its name.

Its power is also quite unique. Leon looks forward to the training room as he focuses all his will into handling the Stigmata's power.

The boy used his mind to imagine himself stretching one of the fundamental aspects of their world, Time. He continues to stretch/slow down the present moment infinitely until everything except him is frozen.

Of course that includes light which meant that he couldn't actually "See" anything. But in this world that only he could control "Vision" Is something he doesn't need as he uses other means to "See" the frozen world that he's in.

But there are always limitations, Such as how long he could keep the gears of time to a complete halt. "5 Seconds." Leon muttered as the gears of time started ticking once more, unfreezing the world.

The longer he spent in that frozen world the harder the backlash his body would have to endure. 5 seconds used to be his limit now it is his optimal duration he could stay in that infinite present moment.

His brain would feel like it's about to explode from the overload of information that he spent in that frozen world. Same with his lungs and heart. The influx of air and sudden blood movement would make someone's body go into a state of disarray.

He could only stop time at max 10 seconds now. Any longer could possibly lead to his death as 10 seconds was already enough to knock him unconscious after time resumes back to normal.

There are also other restrictions such as, he couldn't damage anything in stop time. While he could change the trajectory of an object, he couldn't make them stop even if he changed the direction of the object opposite to where it is facing initially.

The object would simply go straight after time resumes, no matter which direction it was facing before he stopped time. Naturally this means any punches he throws to someone wouldn't hurt them.

He could still move them around and once time resumes they would feel as if they teleported into a different location. The other thing he noticed is that anything he's carrying wouldn't really work in stop time.

If he tries to shoot a gun, the gun would definitely trigger but an explosion wouldn't happen therefore no bullets would be shot out. His phone would feel like a piece of plastic as no matter how much he tapped on the screen it wouldn't respond though once time resumes multiple inputs would simultaneously happen at once.

To fight and damage his opponents efficiently, Leon would use his stigmata to stretch time until it reached planck time, though that amount of force would be enough to completely obliterate someone but it would also take a lot of concentration away from the boy. He would also have to suffer the recoil of the blow unfortunately due to Newton's 3rd law.

Leon sighs as he swallows his headache medicine that Natalia makes to remedy the side effects of constantly using his stigmata. Though unlike other stigmata awakeners and Herrscher's stigmata, his stigmata is surprisingly efficient with how it use Honkai energy. He never once could completely empty his reserve just by using his stigmata's abilities. Though that efficiency doesn't apply if he wants to use his Valkyrie/Knight enhancement.

"Attempt no 423, Success. Can at least now stop time 8 times for 5 seconds in a day, before starting to feel any side effects." Leon muttered as he wrote all of his down in his personal notebook.

C-Crack.

"!" Leon looks up as he sees the very fabric of reality crumbling right before his very eyes. "Wh-What's going on?" He muttered as the world around him began to lose all of its color.

He managed to stand up though just as he did, he felt stuck. It is as if he is frozen in a solid block of ice. But Leon couldn't understand how he could still perceive any of this.

Is his stigmata helping him? Or maybe this is the drawback of him overusing his stigmata?

Many thoughts swirled inside his head as He became scared and confused. 'Would my family be safe in all of this chaos?' Leon thought as the world is becoming more and more torn apart.

"…S-"

"Ahem my apologies for the confusion but your family is safe if that is what you're anxious about." A young woman's voice can be heard. He definitely heard that despite being frozen in time.

As the world crumbles like dry wallpaper. He now found himself standing on top of a stationary big gear.

All around him are gears of all sizes. Every single one of these gears however rotates at a certain interval, despite the difference in size they all rotate in unison. Creating a rhythmic pattern of metallic creaking noise that isn't too loud nor is it too silent.

"Welcome to your stigmata space, Leon Milkova, though I believe our introductions are late due to some circumstances. But you seem to be handling the power bestowed by the stigmata just fine." The woman spoke.

This new world gains itself a purple grayish color.

Leon can finally move his limbs again as he observes the woman who is standing in the middle of the platform. Somehow he knows exactly who she is. "Will of Stigmata."

The woman nods, She has long jet black hair and flat purple colored eyes. She is also wearing some sort of work uniform. If Leon had to guess she had the looks of a woman in her 20s.

"To be precise I am the manifestation of this Stigmata's will. My name is Akemi Homura, You can call me Homura, That is the name that my creator gave me." The woman formally introduced herself. Her tone is monotone though he can feel a bit of warmth coming from her, it seems she doesn't have any malicious intent.

"Creator? As in god?"

"No he's just a regular human. Unlike most natural Stigmatas who would later develop their own will depending on the bloodline. I was given an EGO from the moment of my birth. My job here is only to guide you on how to utilize your power and give you information that my creator wished to pass on."

"I see. Why did you decide to appear right in front of me now? And what exactly happen to the world outside?" The boy decided to move closer, standing on the edge just doesn't feel right after all he doesn't want to fall down into the endless void that is lurking on the bottom.

"The world outside is moving, just very very slowly. For the first question I don't know myself. The stigmata isn't supposed to appear on you. For 6 years, I have been dormant due to your body trying to adjust with this Stigmata. I'm sure you felt the effects."

Leon was quite surprised to hear that actually, now he understands why he was so weak before despite being a transcended human that Otto created.

"Due to your unique body as well, you could stop time for 10 seconds. No other incarnation have been able to achieve that feat. 5 seconds have always been the limit any longer could lead to their early demise. Though it came at a cost, while you build up more Honkai resistance and imaginary resistance. Your physical strength was sacrificed in return. You should've had the strength of an S rank Valkyrie right from the start if it wasn't for this stigmata." Homura explained, She looked a bit guilty that it happened. But it is a process that she nor Leon could really control.

"I see." Leon breathed out a sigh of relief. He was wondering if he was actually a defect but it seems that wasn't the case. "Imaginary resistance, what's that?"

"Usually it only occurred to Herrschers as they would need to channel Honkai energy from their Herrscher core to their stigmata then finally to the real world, through what you humans called the Imaginary plane. It is the plane you stand on when you stop time, while the real world deals with space-time as one unit, in the imaginary plane you can move around without breaking reality as time doesn't exist here in the imaginary world." Homura explained.

"That's why i couldn't break any object no matter how hard i slam them to a wall huh or how i couldn't hurt them when i punch them in stop time. If you remove time, then all force would be equal to zero." Leon rubbed his chin. That would make sense on how he could move and how he couldn't hurt anyone no matter how hard he punched them in stop time.

Since in the real world space-time correlates with each other. It would theoretically be impossible to fully stop time in the real world. That's why no matter how much he tries to slow down time he couldn't do it after a certain point.

Essentially the stigmata allowed him to travel to a different plane of existence. It is as if he is moving to a higher dimension to view the everlasting present moment.

"This power feels too much like a Herrscher." Leon concludes as for a simple stigmata this ability bends reality a bit too much. After seeing, Sirin and Sakuya used Herrscher powers during their training. He once asked a question on how Herrschers managed to use reality bending abilities without actually breaking reality itself.

If portals were created the normal way, a moon worth of energy needed to be used just to create a human sized portal. Maintaining them for a period would be a different story as it would need a lot more energy to do so.

While the Herrscher of the void can effortlessly create this hole in space anywhere she wants.

"Because essentially it was made from a Herrscher's authority, The stigmata merely managed to replicate the effect and if you were the actual Herrscher itself you can do so much more."

"…There isn't a Herrscher of time the last time I checked."

"Haa silly human. All of your answers are always the same." Did the woman just smile? Leon noticed that her stoic face is finally making some sort of expression but why does she find this funny?

Leon thought maybe he's too dense or too ignorant. But Siegfried and Natalia had already told them everything about the Herrschers though, unless that information isn't even complete. Leon started to have second thoughts that it might be the case.

"The Herrscher of finality. This stigmata that my creator, Kairos sama made. Replicates the true power of the Herrscher of finality. In a lesser extent of course as it is impossible to fully replicate that Herrscher's authority without being the Herrscher of finality itself, so this stigmata is essentially the false authority of finality."

Leon heart sank as soon as he heard that. Wouldn't that meant he's now a likely candidate to be the Herrscher of Finality seeing how his stigmata is literally the recreation of that Herrscher's authority.

"This stigmata existence is only made possible by using the authority of another Herrscher to be able to create a false authority of the final Herrscher. The Herrscher of blankness, a Herrscher that could copy another Herrscher's powers with the exception of Origin and Finality. It is also one of the few Herrschers that isn't part of the shades of Finality aka the 12 Herrschers you all know and preached about." The woman spoke those facts in a nonchalant manner. It made Leon wonder why is Kairos mad enough to create a Stigmata as dangerous as this.

"Doesn't that mean Sakuya is a Herrscher? Since her powers is similar to the Herrscher of blankness."

"Ah that Houraiji? Of course not, she's a normal stigmata awakener, unless she evolved into a Herrscher. Her stigmata is passed down through her bloodline, it would mean that even her cousin could evolve into a Herrscher of blankness if they're a stigmata awakened."

"What do you mean "evolve"? Can a human even do that?" A human evolving into a Herrscher is the most absurd thing that Leon has ever heard in his life but the woman in front of him doesn't seem like she's joking. 'Does that meant that Houraiji is Sakuya's real family name too?'

"Yes, all stigmata awakeners have the potential to evolve into a Herrscher, whether the Stigmata was a new and unique one or passed down by your bloodline the potential remains the same. Humans or Zombies don't matter either, Though a Zombie Herrscher would pose a far greater threat than if a Human were to evolve into one-."

"-It is still unknown what kind of conditions these stigma awakened need to fulfill before they're able to evolve into a Herrscher. But one of them is surviving in a place where a lot of Honkai energy is concentrated."

"I see." Having a stigmata is a double edged sword it seems. In exchange for Honkai resistance and a way to better control Honkai energy and sometimes gain supernatural abilities, Stigmata awakeners have the potential to turn into a calamity.

But surely there's a way for them to keep their humanity even if they transformed into a Herrscher.

Leon tried his best to keep his cool. After all there aren't many cases of a stigmata awakened evolving into a Herrscher, it must've meant the condition to turn into one must be very specific.

"Then why is this stigmata created? You knew full well that I could turn into another Herrscher of finality if I somehow evolve into one." The red haired boy glared at his own will of stigmata. He's still unsure if he could trust this Kairos or not.

"…Leon this Stigmata is created with a different purpose than what you're probably thinking, it is created with the intention to save the Finality Human side or at least make her move on without regret.-" The nonchalant tone of the woman is gone as it is replaced with a more somber one as she stared at the moving gears behind Leon.

"-It is Kairos sama's final wish. He wished to be able to give back the hope that he received from his savior. The fate that befall her was a cruel one and unfortunately He failed to bring that ray of hope to her just as she once did to him. So he wished that in the future someone else might be able to do it for him in his stead, as his savior deserved a better future than becoming the embodiment of the apocalypse itself."

'So she's that important.' Leon could guess who that savior is. Maybe both of them isn't that different. He could empathize with that feeling of wanting to bring nothing but joy to the one who saved your life from the hell you were trapped in. 'Mr. Siegfried, Mom. Hopefully they'll be fine right? Alright let's not think about those negative scenarios anymore now, Leon.'

"Then who's the person that's supposed to receive this stigmata If I may ask?" Leon asks as he couldn't hold back his curiosity as well as an attempt to distract his thoughts away.

"It is Alice Redfield's son. I'm sure you've heard who she is. But I suppose fate works in mysterious ways and technically you're Alice Redfield's son. Just like how Sirin is Siegfried's daughter." Homura answered. She has been telling the truth every time the boy asks a question. Leon had his suspicion at first but it seems that she's trustworthy.

"I see." Leon doesn't seem to be bothered by that but he wished that he could see his "real" biological mother. Though it doesn't change the fact that it was Natalia that nurtured and raised him. She would always be his mother even if they don't share any blood.

C-Clang.

Some gears started to fall out of place as a domino effect took place as more and more gears became unstable and fell from their place to the abyss down below.

Clang-Clang.

"Ah it seems like our time here is cut short." The woman said as the gear world started collapsing at an alarming rate. "If you wish to visit this place again feel free to ask me tomorrow. For now this is goodbye, oh and don't be surprised if you heard my voice. I could still talk to you even without you visiting this place although you might get a headache if we keep talking like that."

"I see. Then Homura, I'll be in your care." Leon bowed slightly. The woman's smile was the last thing he saw as the world collapsed. In a blink of an eye he's back in the training room as if nothing had ever happened.

The boy touched his chest to make sure he's still in one piece. He then pinch his cheek to see if he was truly dreaming or not.

"Ow." Leon rubbed his reddened cheek, well that answered his question, guess he could've used a bit less force. But that was truly a mind bending experience just to enter his own stigmata space.

"Did Sakuya experience something similar when she first encountered her will of stigmata?" Leon muttered. "Nah it is probably exclusive to mine." He sighs as he tries to digest every bit of information that Homura gave him.

'Aren't will of stigmata usually take the form of someone from their family's bloodline? Am I somehow related to Homura.' Leon had a sudden thought. But she calls him Alice's son. It would make sense on why Otto used her genes as the base on making his first ever ubermensch. She was the only S rank valkyrie that was alive back then after the death of Cecilia Schariac in the 2nd eruption.

"Alice Redfield hmm… " Perhaps he would know more about her if he asked their caretaker Eden.

"!" The boy turned around as he felt someone's presence. "Sakuya, you could've gone through the door normally, you know." Fortunately it is just Sakuya or else he would've tried to subdue the intruder.

"I know. As expected your senses are too sensitive for me to sneak up on you even in stealth mode." Sakuya waved at the red haired boy. Though Leon didn't wave back as he used to, instead of smiling the boy made a grim expression as he smelled something off.

The faint smell of iron permeates his nostril. It was the smell of blood. "Sakuya. Are you okay? Did you get hurt somewhere?" Leon asked worried that something might've happened to her when they went outside to explore the place. Even if Sakuya could heal her wounds just as easily, the boy is still worried nonetheless.

"…Nothing could ever escape your senses huh Leon." Sakuya chuckles and shrugs it off. "It is nothing."

"Are you sure?" The girl just nods at his question. But that still hasn't calmed Leon down just yet as his intuition tells him otherwise.

"Say Sakuya, did you hurt someone?" Leon asked.

"What makes you say that I did?"

"Because the scent is different. It is more like a regular human than a MANTIS blood. Sakuya please tell me the truth." Leon frowned. He knows that she and Sirin can be violent but they usually wouldn't outright hurt someone if that person didn't provoke them first and Sakuya was never bothered by insults in the past.

'I see, His nose is really sensitive like a dog huh. I didn't expect this.' Sakuya sighs, seeing that lying in front of Leon would just be a waste of time anyway. She decided it would be best if she told him the harsh truth that the boy is expecting. "Yes I did. It is just a world serpent agent. He's not exactly innocent either." Her smile faded, leaving behind a cold and empty stare from her eyes.

"A world serpent agent? What did you do to him?" Leon asked but the girl didn't seem to want to answer that question.

"Sakuya?" Leon asked again. But still no response, he felt his anxiety rising up as the air around them grew cold. 'It can't be what I'm thinking right?'

"… Did you kill him, Sakuya?" Leon asked in a low shaky voice. No matter how much they wash their hands or bodies the smell of blood usually still lingers for a couple hours. At least zombie blood smelled a bit different but this is definitely the scent of blood coming from a human.

Sakuya gave in and nodded at his question. "I did. I tried to interrogate him first but no matter how many times I punched him he didn't spill anything out. So I tried to use sentience to hypnotize him and make him tell the truth but I failed. It fried his brain instead, Killing him instantly. I suppose I had to be a bit more delicate at handling that power." Sakuya nonchalantly replied as she crossed her arms under her chest.

The boy is of course utterly shocked. "Sakuya! You just killed someone! How could you be so relaxed!?" Just how could she do that without feeling anything?

"Because he's an enemy. Leon, what do you think would happen if I give him mercy?" Sakuya asked coldly. Her expression is so indifferent that it weirded Leon out a bit.

"That's!" Leon wanted to say something but no words came out of his mouth. He knows she is right yet he couldn't bring himself into agreeing with her actions. Leon just stares at her eyes as he is speechless at the moment.

In that moment he noticed something. How could've he not noticed those eyes before? It is as if he's staring deep into a dark abyss. A person's eyes always have some sort of light behind them.

Leon starts to question if they actually know who Sakuya really is. For 7 years, he thought he knew her well but maybe that's just the things she wanted them to see. He's sure she doesn't mean anything bad but it hurts him a little on how Sakuya still hides her true self even from him and her family.

"… Would you rather have him tell the world serpent that we're here? If I were to give him mercy and free him he would do just that Leon. He's someone that could threaten our peace and safety, After All we're all very high value targets. That was a necessary action and let's just say it is also for something very personal." Sakuya closed her eyes instead as Leon is already scared just looking at the void in her eyes.

Leon knows it is necessary but how can someone take someone else's life without a shred of remorse or guilt? Leon also felt a faint aura of bloodlust coming from her when he brought up that topic. She must've been trying to suppress that all this time as she didn't want Leon to hate or fear her.

'She really hates them, I can sense her hatred. But why didn't she tell us anything?' Just how far did the world serpent push her to make her like this? His fear eventually turned into pity instead.

"I know what you're thinking and I won't stop you if you do decide to investigate. You don't have to pity me, it is all in the past." Sakuya said as she opened her eyes once again. This time she looked much calmer at least.

"But Leon, I'm doing this to protect us. Don't misunderstand that as me doing that for the sake of my personal revenge. My first priority is always you guys. Oh right, I'll be cooking dinner tonight and sorry for that sudden news. I'll be fine, don't worry but try to calm yourself Leon." Sakuya waved as she headed up using the entrance door this time.

"Did you bury the body at least?"

"And let the world serpent dig it up and found out I was the one that committed that? No chance. I threw the body away into the sea of quanta." She replied before gently closing the door behind her.

"…" He is left speechless, Finding that information comes second. He's sure that Sakuya would open up eventually. He just needs to make sure to reignite that light in her eyes once again. The question is how? How could he make her trust him enough or at least trust someone like Kiana or Sirin enough for her to eventually open up?

"Kiana. Sirin. Let's not burden Sakuya too much from now on." Leon muttered quietly, He felt a little guilty for their shenanigans she had to put up in their childhood. But Leon never doubted her as an older sister. Despite facing a lot of hardships before they met each other, she still fulfills that role wonderfully.

He closed his eyes as he steeled his resolve. He too will protect his family just like her, There's no need for Sakuya to be all alone in this. If he could ease up her burdens just a little then maybe even Sakuya could feel what it is like to just be a normal human for just a little while.

Maybe even fell in love with someone special. 'No. No. Absolutely not without my consent.' Or maybe not.

'Hopefully high school could be an eye opening for her. Alright! Let's not wallow in this too much Leon.'

If Honkai has an ED song, Magia could definitely work. Homura is just a little tribute to PMMM i decided to put into this story. Since i wanted Leon will of stigmata to be someone that have time powers, Homura works perfectly as a candidate.

I know it is a little shorter than the last one but I've been building up too much lore in the past couple of chapters so i decided to simplify it in this chapter. The time powers that Leon has, is actually inspired from a Horror story I listened to on YT. I figured that the time power in that story makes a lot more sense if you could theoretically control time without making the power too fantasy like.

Anyway thank you for reading the chapter. See you next time.