Chapter 1 - Dive Back In Time
He tightened his grip, squeezing the handle of his large black and red sword.
His sharp golden eyes locked in a laser-focus glare at the opponent in front of him.
Black hair gently ruffled as a soft breeze blew by.
And then it charged.
A menacing mechanical beast of gray and crimson. It resembled the skeleton of a large bull, only the limbs and ribs had been removed leaving only the skull and spine. The beast snorted, shaking its head from side to side to display its sharp, blood-red horns, while the blood-red, curved blade at the tip of its tail swished around. Then, it sped up. Straightening its body, it glided at immense speed, horns directed towards the gray-clad boy standing in its way, intending to impale him onto its sharp metallic appendages.
He waited for it to get closer, watching as the distance between them got shorter by the second. Only when it was inches away, did he act. He leaped off his feet in an expert fashion, performing several back somersaults through the air that would put olympians to shame, before feeling his feet make contact with a wall.
Using said wall as a launch pad, the boy rocketed forward. Red hot flames seeped rapidly out of the black blade of his weapon.
The bull-like beast had no time to react. It reeled back in pain, letting out a weird combination of a static screech and a synthetic roar as the tip of the sword was lodged deep into its spine. The boy - who had landed on the creature - quickly adjusted his grip, twisting the sword around and punched his gripping hands down. One by one, dark gray armor flew off the beast, popping away like popcorn, and soon it was left bare as all its protection had been pried off.
It was left defenseless with all its weaknesses revealed to the world, and all it wanted to do was get away to rebuild its armor all while getting this pest off of its back.
But the boy would give it none of the luxuries it seeked.
In a single cut, the beast was split in two from across the middle. The black-haired teen jumped off the creature with it crashing to the ground, it twitched and jittered for a bit then it laid there, unmoving.
Before he could make his next move, the small communicator earpiece he had equipped beeped.
[ Adam, two Strengths are approaching from behind ]
Adam quickly spun around to see two, four-armed, humanoid figures walking towards him. They were caped, and much like the bull, they were predominantly black and gray, with metal and what looked to be some flesh-like substance tying them together. In their hands, they both held two blades of glowing red, made from an unknown material, some type of ore and alloy from wherever these beings were from.
Suddenly one of them disappeared after sharpening their swords across each other, but Adam knew exactly where it went. He dashed to the side as the gray and red humanoid stabbed at the ground after dropping down from above. This wasn't Adam's first time against one of these, and as long as he was still active on this mission - and as long as that giant crimson lagoon of portal was up in the sky - it was far from the last.
Without wasting another second, Adam shifted his stance and sped forward, his weapon igniting once again. The alien glanced at the attacking Knight in a panic, it had lodged its weapons too far deep in the ground and wouldn't be able to tug them out in time. Fortunately for it, its ally came in to defend it.
The ringing of metal on metal sounded through the streets as Adam's sword clashed with the Strength's double blades, a hexagonal barrier had been manifested when the alien crossed its swords together. The barrier's sudden appearance had caught the teen off guard for only a moment as his weapon bounced off the holographic shield, and the Strength took this chance to slice across Adam's body. It was too close to miss and the hit would definitely be a heavy one, perhaps even fatal. Even if the boy did somehow parry it away, the second Strength had recovered from its minor set back and repositioned itself behind Adam, its swords already in midswing.
However Adam didn't look fazed.
And the world around him was drenched in blue.
The two Strength's movements suddenly became sluggish, and even the dust that their battle had kicked up became slow, the little gray particles leisurely floated through the air.
Adam was the only one to retain his normal speed.
Using this chance he fired up his black blade for a third time, and slammed it into the torso of the caped alien in front of him. The two of them were launched into the air, leaving a blazing trail in their path.
Six slashes.
Two across, and two diagonally down the torso.
One uppercut slice running from its left thigh to right shoulder.
And one last one across the chest.
But Adam wasn't finished there.
Tightening his core muscles and twisting his hips sharply. He and the flaming greatsword came down like a small tornado of fire. The sound of shredding steel filled his ears as he tore through the Strength until they both slammed into the ground. The helpless alien lifeform shattered into several pieces on impact. Adam quickly stood back up, turning around to face the remaining Strength.
Despite its ally's death, the caped alien didn't look bothered. It didn't have a face to produce expressions but Adam saw the twitching of its muscles. It was excited.
Like a madman, the alien charged spinning its red swords like buzzsaws.
Adam glanced down at his feet and saw the blade of the Strength he had just killed. An opportunity arose and he was going to use it.
The moment the charging alien got into distance, Adam kicked the handle of the sword and sent it flying towards the Strength, the caped alien batted it away easily, but very quickly felt a burning sensation through its body.
Adam had used the flying weapon as a distraction to ensure that it wouldn't be able to put up its barrier, before stabbing his sword straight through the alien until its torso touched the guard of the sword. Before it could make another move, the black-haired teen ripped out his sword and uppercutted the Strength into the air. As it came back down, Adam pivoted his feet, spinning around and using the boosted momentum to—
*BANG*
The Strength flew off to the side. It bounced and rolled several times across the road before coming to a stop.
Aside from the wound he had inflicted on it only a couple seconds prior, Adam saw a new one. A large hole, directly in the center of its head. A tunnel so smooth that a roll of paper could be thread through without even shredding the slightest bit.
Behind him he heard the quiet taps of someone maneuvering themselves down from a high vantage point.
"Nice slashing there my dear friend,"
"You stole my kill Lyle," Adam said, sheathing his weapon on his back while looking over at his teammate walking towards him. He was a tall young man sporting short, cream-colored hair wearing a brown and white battlesuit with green accents.
Lyle Collodi gasped in dramatic shock and placed a hand over his chest for extra effect, though the mischief in his pastel green eyes never faltered, "Whaaat~? I would never,"
Adam rolled his eyes, "Riiight,"
"Remember what they taught us at Schicksal Prep Academy?" Lyle chuckled, "We're sharing kills and sharing is caring,"
The black-haired swordsman deadpanned, "I'm pretty sure that's not—,"
"Ah well, close enough," the sniper swung his rifle over to rest on his shoulders, the weapon lifted with his shoulders as he shrugged with a smile, "Let's just get this task over with so we can get back to base earlier, Carole said she thought of a new drink to mix and I volunteered to try it first,"
Upon hearing the words 'Carole', 'drink' and 'mix' in the same sentence, Adam felt a shiver run down his spine where it lingered for a few more seconds before disappearing. Honestly, what goes through one's thought process for them to think that adding expired bitter melon juice into cold lemon tea with a pinch of salt is a good idea. He silently wished Lyle's internal organs good luck for their terrifying near-future.
Pushing aside the traumatic memory of his junior's experiments, the two crouched down by the now slowly dissolving corpses of the aliens, with Lyle checking the Strengths and Adam turning the Chariot on its side.
He reached into its horned skull, digging around inside until grabbed hold of the item he had been tasked with collecting. With one sharp pull, Adam extracted a palm-sized, pale red crystal from the Chariot's head.
"And that should be enough for today," commented Lyle, who was pocketing the red crystals away in his battlesuit. Then something caught his eye, and the sniper let out a surprised gasp.
"Wait, is that…Woooaaah!"
Adam interested piqued and he paced over to his friend's side, "What is it?"
Rummaging through the corpse of the alien, Lyle pulled out a small handheld gaming device, blue and gray in design with a bit of aging present, but it still looked usable.
"Bro, look," the cream-haired Knight pointed the console up at Adam.
The swordsman's golden eyes widened as he took the console into his hands, flipping it around to inspect every bit of it. On the back cover of the device there were two letters engraved into it, [ M.E ].
"This…This thing is over ten years old. What's it doing in St Fontaine?" he asked, handing the console back to his teammate
Lyle stood up and dusted off his hands before retrieving it, "Well, we're in an old abandoned city like this that surely houses some relics of the past. But still, to find a PixVolt here a decade after its cancellation…I'd probably have more of a chance getting paid regularly by Overseer Theresa,"
PixVolt, a decade old handheld gaming device. Originally developed by Massive Electric Industries in their attempt to create their own line of consoles. The creation and announcement of it shook the world back in 2013, for the people knew that the console would surely have been constructed with the best of best parts for a far more optimal gaming experience. Unfortunately, in the same month of it's release, ME was hit with an intense wave of scandals and the consoles were immediately discontinued. Leaving the PixVolt as a collectors item with only one thousand, five hundred in existence.
"Here, you have it," the sniper decided, tossing the console over to Adam who caught it without trouble.
"Why?" Adam raised an eyebrow, slightly shocked that his friend would give the device up. Between the two of them, Lyle was the more experienced and passionate one when it came to video games…only slightly though, "You found it,"
"And you killed the Strength carrying it. Just think of it as repaying you back for the 'Stolen Kill',"
"...If you're sure,"
"Positive," grinned Lyle, "At least you didn't damage its torso too badly otherwise this gem would've been cut up. Now come on, let's get back to the others, Squad Leader Mei and T should be wrapping up their patrol as well,"
Adam looked down at the PixVolt, when he raised his head he saw that Lyle was already a few steps ahead of him. The black-haired Knight slipped the console into the inner pocket of his long, beige, hooded coat.
'I don't have a use for this, it's a little too old for my tastes…might give it to Squad Leader Bronya later,'
Quickening his steps, Adam soon caught up to Lyle, walking only a few paces behind. As they headed back to Stargate that would transport them back to their base, he took the time to look around, surveying the area for any new threats.
The sky of Upper St Fontaine was bathed in an eternal red. The ghost city's streets and roads were now populated with the Sky People. According to the Void Archives, they are aliens that defeated their Honkai by absorbing their energy, turning into their version of fuel. And now by using that stored up energy, the Sky People had been traveling the universe, conquering any civilizations that had overcome their own Honkai Invasions.
Adam watched as a jellyfish-robot that he had named [ Code VI - The Lovers ] floated over an abandoned bridge, accompanied by a group of [ Code 0 - The Fools ], ape-like aliens with a cloak covering their head and face. Their long, red, sickle claws dragged across the rock pavement as they trudged along.
It felt like only yesterday that he was studying for the upcoming St Freya exams, and it had already been a little over a week since he was deployed on this mission with his Squad led by Raiden Mei. What had started as a basic rescue mission to extract Welt Yang, the Sovereign of Anti-Entropy and well-known animation producer and designer, quickly became a mission to hold the line to at least delay the alien invasion. An event that Adam knew was going to be inevitable as long as that giant pool of swirling scarlet remained in the sky.
Adam stretched his arms and winced from the pain running from his arms down to his obliques. It had only been one full day since Squads 2 and 3 defeated Lucheni, the leader of a scouting group of the Sky People. The black-haired Schicksal Knight knew what he was signing up for when he joined St. Freya Academy, but never in his dreams did he imagine that he would be fighting a giant alien mecha, literally made out of St Fontaine itself, with psychic warping abilities and a hidden core stashed somewhere within a dimension within itself.
'I swear if the Overseer doesn't give me a raise or bonus or promotion for this…' he internally grumbled, rolling his shoulders to loosen the muscles.
"I see it up ahead," Lyle's voice cut through his thoughts.
In front was a gray, brick wall stationed between a convenience store and a cafe. The Sky People were a crafty race, being able to make both visible and invisible Stargates. Tactics to greatly boost their chances of the silent invasion before their actual conquest. This particular gate would take them to and from Upper and Lower St Fontaine.
The duo jumped up the platform standing between them and their exit. Lyle passed through the Stargate and the wall rippled as his body disappeared, Adam was quick to follow.
An exhale of relief escaped Lyle's lips when he saw the lower half's signature clear blue skies and ferris wheel that was infected by chunks of Krystallum, it was a comforting sight in a weird way. The rest of their team were waiting for them down at the old auto repair shop by the canals.
"It's great to be back, right bro?" Lyle asked.
But he was answered by an eerie silence.
"Adam?" he repeated and pivoted around to see nothing except for the rocky cliff face.
His eyes flicked from left to right, and whipped his head to look around. "Adam? You there?"
His face sharpened seriously, "Aaadam? This isn't the time to be playing hide-and-seek, we can do that when you give me a tour of St. Freya's campus after all this is over… Come on bro, stop playing, the Overseer and Squads 1 and 4 are arriving later today, we want to make a good first impression…," Lyle sped up his steps, as he scoured the area for any sign of his missing black-haired friend, "Come out already… Where are you?"
Then it hit him like a ton of metal dropping onto his shoulders, "The Stargates!" he gasped and his eyes widened, "Could they have shifted!?"
Lyle spun on his heels and raced to the cliff, placing his hands on the rough surface and sliding them frantically across the rocky wall.
"Oh no…no…no, no, no, no, no," beads of panicked sweat rolled down the back of his neck and by the side of his youthful face.
Finally, he stepped back. His fear had come true. The Stargate that separated them from Upper and Lower Fontaine had been closed.
Lyle bit his thumb's nail as he contemplated on his next course of action.
"Best case scenario, Adam was transported to one of the other gates within Lower Fontaine. Second best case scenario, he's still in Upper Fontaine. Worst case scenario, he's been transported somewhere else entirely…shit, he couldn't have ended up on the aliens' ship or something right?" his hands clenched his cream-colored hair, "First…first I gotta inform the Squad Leaders, they fought off the Honkai after all so something like this…they might have experienced something similar to this right?...Right, I'll go tell the them now,"
He spun on his heels and dashed as quickly as he could back to their base.
Adam stumbled a bit as he exited the Stargate.
"What the—?"
He regained his footing and quickly took in his surroundings. He was standing on a gray stone structure that was floating in the middle of a crimson void.
"Great, one of these things,"
"Lyle!" he called, and was answered by an ominous silence.
"Damn it, the Stargates must've changed courses or something,"
"...He went first... He must've gone through before the shift in destination," he deduced. Seeing that there was no point just standing there, he started to travel forward, "At least I didn't end up in the Sky People's spaceship or home planet or something like that,"
Memories of that time he fought an 'evil' version of himself in a small pocket dimension came seeping to the front of his mind. As far as he knew, he was in another one of those pocket dimensions. He pushed his initial annoyance to the back of his thoughts, he'd be lying if he said he wasn't familiar with these dimensions. During the days leading up to the raid on the Arcane Castle, he had voluntarily entered and explored the Stargates littered around St Fontaine. Usually to get out there was a puzzle or a contraption that he had to activate to get out. These pocket dimensions also occasionally contained supplies as the structures were built from pieces of the city itself, so that was always a plus. Sky People were also a common occurrence in these things, but that was to be expected.
Adam leaned over the fence of the 'bridge' he was on, looking for any switches on the side of the construct. Experience informed him that sometimes, these pieces of the city had to be flipped around in order to reveal the pathways to get out.
'Nothing,'
The black-haired swordsman continued along the path, leaping off the chunk of stone and cruising to the next one on top of a glowing neon red zipline. So far there were no complex puzzles to be solved, and bizarrely no Sky People wandering around. Truth be told, it was strangely a relaxing experience for Adam. It felt almost like he was in a first-person platform game, jumping from place to place.
Soon his eyes caught sight of the target. At the very top of a giant staircase, inserted between two golden pillars, was a swirling mirror of rippling red.
"The exit,"
Newfound energy surged through him as he bounded up the staircase towards the gate.
Suddenly, the intense whistling of a violent wind, the crashing of a turbulent wave, and the crackling of a destructive thunderstorm, the three sounds merged together and exploded through the dimension.
Adam stopped in his tracks and looked towards the source.
A black vortex rimmed by white electrical flames was beginning to form next to the alien-made structure he stood upon.
"Oh… Yeah, that's not good," he said to himself, and immediately hastened his climb.
Like a blackhole, the vortex pulled the construct apart, vacuuming in every loose bit of rock. It didn't take long for the damage to reach Adam as the ground beneath him cracked and rumbled before flying off towards the gaping mouth of the unknown spiraling structure.
From his wrist he shot out a blue grapple hook. Much to his relief, it connected to the same platform the Stargate was on. Unfortunately, that relief was short-lived, and that very platform broke apart, taking the Stargate with it.
A flash of despair crossed Adam's face.
'NO!'
The blue line flailed in the air before retracting. He could feel the winds of his plummet fly by his body, partnered with the vortex's vacuum. Adam outstretched his hands in one last desperate attempt to grab hold of something and only air slipped through his fingers. The unseen gravitational grip of the black hole tightened even more around him and pulled him down as if he weighed nothing.
Before he knew it, he was completely engulfed by the black and white hole. As if on cue, the vortex flickered shut and vanished, leaving nothing, not even a speck of dust within the red void.
…
…
…
*GASP*
Adam awoke with a jolt, all of his muscles screamed in response. His eyes felt strained and his chest felt like it had been caved in from being hit by a heavy external force. He coughed several times, trying to get his breath back before looking around at his surroundings. The stinging in his neck was bearable but still a burden to turn around. After a while, he deduced that he was in a dark narrow alleyway painted even darker due to the starless night sky. The only source of light came from the multicolored glow emitting at the end of the alley.
Slowly but surely, Adam picked himself up using the assistance of the alley walls. He winced and groaned in discomfort as he stretched out his tense as rock muscles and cracked his stiff bones, the sensation of relief that came afterwards was nothing less than heavenly. He didn't know how long he had been unconscious but finally, his body felt like it could function normally again.
Ahead of him, Adam could see his trusted - and experimental -weapon, [ Labor of Olympus ] lodged neatly in between the narrow sides. Without wasting any more time, he walked forward and placed his hand on the handle. Normally pulling the sword out wouldn't have taken any trouble at all, but with his currently weakened state it took a little more effort but eventually, he removed the weapon from its stuck position. Leaning against the wall, Adam inspected the weapon for any damage. He ran his hands over it, turned it up and down, and as a final test ignited a small spark of Honkai-powered fire across the blade.
Adam sighed with relief that the sword assigned to him was relatively untouched, there were a couple of grazes across the blade itself and the guard but it wasn't something a little bit of waxing, polishing, and perhaps a new layer of paint couldn't fix.
Next his golden gaze moved down to the Moon Ring attached to his bicep. His expression dropped into frown. The Moon Ring's condition was the opposite of the Labor of Olympus. A large splinter that stemmed into smaller cracks ran across the pale red screen, the letters on the monitor were flickering out of control. As he went to touch it, a small vine of electricity shot out of the monitor, causing Adam to retract his hand.
"Damn it," he hissed.
The same hand then shot up to his neck, feeling around where the purple, eerie, luminescent veins of Honkai Radiation had been. Panic surged through Adam. The Moon Ring was Schiksal R&D's latest invention, a device that could control the level of Honkai energy and convert it into general-use energy. Adam was its first, albeit unplanned test subject on the field. Previously, in order to save his Squad from certain death from a [ Code XXI - The World ], an absolute monster of an opponent, but only a mere, disposable servant to its true master.
In that battle, due to removing the seal on the Labor of Olympus, his body had absorbed tons of Honkai energy in exchange for sheer power, unfortunately the energy his body took in far exceeded the amount any living being should take in, and thus a flooding dose of Honkai Radiation was certain. At first the purple veins traveled across most of the right side of his body, but lessened thanks to the regulations from the Moon Ring he had received from Squad 2's temporary leader Bronya shortly after. Though he wasn't cured from the virus, the Honkai energy was controlled to a minor amount, at least enough for him to continue the fight and investigation against the Sky People.
Adam hurriedly looked around and spotted a small puddle close by. He quickly scrambled over to it, dropping to his knees and pulled down the collar of his hooded coat. For the second time that night, he released a relieved breath of air, the glowing veins of Honkai energy hadn't changed, and was still isolated to a small part on the right side of his neck. Either his body was somehow adapting to and fighting off the energy by itself, or the Moon Ring, despite its condition was still functioning optimally.
Adam stood up and sheathed the Labor of Olympus to his back, a movement that was now instinctual to him.
Suddenly, he shot out his arm, flicking his wrist and a luminous blue string shot out from within his sleeve, impaling its tip into the wall. He breathed a breath of relief, at least the grapple line still worked. Adam tensed his wrist and retracted the grapple back into its slot.
Next, he removed his earpiece communicator to check it for any damages. He pressed the 'on' button several times, but every time there was only silence, not even a whisper of static.
"Great," he muttered and slipped the communicator into his pocket.
With nothing else left to check, his priority turned towards identifying where he was and he started to move towards the light at the end of the alleyway. For all he knew he could still be in St Fontaine, only just a couple hours after that bizarre phenomenon that happened with the Stargates.
But when he stepped out, his eyes widened. One look and anyone could tell that he was nowhere near St Fontaine. The unrelenting, flashing neon signs, the dense forest of intricately designed skyscrapers fusing eastern and western design, the essence of futurism in the air was more compact than a steel wall. A bullet train rushed across the elevated rails built high above the ground. Seas of people went along with their daily lives through this cyberpunk city, music boomed from the nearby buildings, challenging the loud chattering from the city's citizens. Shenzhou words adorned the sides of most buildings, for entertainment, business, residential, and restaurants.
Adam recognized some of the letters, he had seen them before and he had a creeping hunch on where he was.
Suspicion turned into confirmation when he heard a loud synthetic bellow, a giant holographic goldfish emerged, swimming out from behind a tall futuristic building that had the word [ miHoYo ] etched across it.
"Arc City?"
He walked further and further away from the shadowy alley and into the city lights. Looking around bewildered as if he couldn't believe where he was now. Only an hour ago he was in a ghost city infested by aliens on the southernmost tip of Africa, and now he was in the middle of the largest and most developed city in the Eastern side of the world.
"That Stargate transported me to…Arc City,"
From experience, the Stargates he had used in the past had been restricted to St Fontaine's area, and the Arcane Castle which was situated above the deserted city. But then again, it was made using the alien technology that could transport the Sky People across the universe, so it wasn't too far fetched of a possibility for one to fling him north east across the hemisphere. However, as long as he was still breathing, his mission hadn't ended yet and he had to get back to St Fontaine and regroup with the others. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, collecting his thoughts and putting all of his focus on the task of getting back.
He knew that the Overseer's most recent orders were for all Schicksal Squads to immediately head for St Fontaine to join the fight against the Sky People's invasion. All he had to do was temporarily join up with one of those Squads and then he'll be returning to Fontaine by the end of the day. But then another problem presented itself, no Schicksal Base was located in Arc City. Last he checked, there were three established in Shenzhou, in the north, west, and south, but none were near the cyberpunk city.
"Macau Base is technically the closest," he said, "If I take a bullet train it'll only take around an hour and a half to get there,"
With his mind made up, Adam headed toward the nearest train station, but not without the help of several maps and signs. The city was a neon labyrinth after all.
[ THIS ACCOUNT DOES NOT EXIST ]
Adam blinked, "...What?"
Standing in front of the automated ticket dispenser, Adam tapped his card across the machine's sensor again.
[ THIS ACCOUNT DOES NOT EXIST ]
Adam stared at the machine with his face scrunched in disbelief.
'First they don't have QR scanners. Now my account doesn't exist…' he lifted his card to swipe across the sensor for the third time. '...How? Arc City is supposed to be 'the' pinnacle of technological advancement for humanity and I can't buy a single ticket?'
Adam glared at the buffering circle in the middle of the monitor, perhaps if he stared hard enough and with enough intent it would suddenly work. And it wasn't like he was out of money either, the last time he was paid around…three months ago.
[ THIS ACCOUNT DOES NOT EXIST ]
Two hands slammed against the sides of the ticket dispenser. Gripping the machine tightly in his grasp, as his jaws dropped. Adam shook the machine furiously.
"What do you mean my account doesn't exist?!"
"HEY! KID!"
Adam whipped around and for the first time noticed the giant line piling up behind him. It extended from his position to all the way across the station. The one who yelled at him was a fuming middle-aged man in a business suit lined up directly behind him.
"Hurry up will ya?!"
The rest of the annoyed crowd quickly joined in.
"Yeah! Stop holding us up!"
"Some of us need to go home! Do you know what time it is!?"
"Damn punk! Stop breaking the machine!"
"If you don't have money, get out of line!"
Adam glanced back at the ticket machine, the vibrant message reminding him of his financial issues stared innocently back at him. He took in a deep breath and muttered, "Okay, okay, fine,"
He ran a hand through his jet black hair as he walked off to another part of the train station. He looked down at his card, flipping it back to front scrutinizing every detail. The Schiksal logo glimmered under the bright station lights. Adam sighed and slipped it back into a pocket on the inside of his long coat.
The black-haired male turned to look back at the tunnels of the station that led to the bullet trains themselves. It wasn't very Valkyrie-like…or Knight-like, but the idea of sneaking in and riding on the roof of the train crossed his mind. But he quickly shook the thought away. He was strong enough to fight alien mechas - albeit not alone - but he couldn't exactly balance himself perfectly on a vehicle speeding at three hundred and seventy kilometers per hour without the risk of flying away ten seconds in…at least that was as far as he knew. He hasn't tried yet, but if he can't find another option within the next hour, then today will be his first time bullet train surfing.
And at the moment, that was starting to look like his only option.
But then a lightbulb beamed above his head.
Adam slapped his fist into an open hand as the glow of realization drifted over his body.
"I can just call Schiksal HQ and ask them to pick me up on their way can't I?"
With that, the boy looked around for a phone booth and immediately rushed over the moment he spotted it. Not wasting any more time, Adam punched in the number that was exclusive to any Schiksal Agent that needed to urgently contact headquarters. Then the dreaded words appeared on the phone booth's screen.
[ PLEASE INSERT COIN OR PAY BY CARD TO INITIATE CALL ]
Adam stared at the monitor. A fire was blazing in his golden eyes, burning into a great scorching inferno. He wordlessly slammed the phone back into its slot and slipped out of the booth.
He trudged over to the waiting area, and flopped to his side onto a bench, ignoring all the stares from his loud and sudden appearance.
"Uggh," he groaned and mushed his face around in frustration.
He shifted his position to stare up at the ceiling, his head rested on his arm and one leg was propped up in an angle…What were the others up to? How did they react to his disappearance? More than likely they must be working to their limits searching all of St Fontaine for him, and Lyle most definitely got an earful from all of them, especially from Squad Leader Mei and Bronya… heck, if the Overseer was there by now, from her too.
Adam traced the shape of the earpiece in his pocket. If only it hadn't completely shut down, then he'd be able to tell them that he was fine and that the Stargates had sent him to another part of the world, and that he'd be back soon.
The teen sat up, with the Labor of Olympus strapped to his back lying down wasn't exactly a comfortable position. He racked his brain for more ideas of getting Schicksal's attention and getting back to St Fontaine. Planes were out of the question, no commercial plane would be heading to that city. Boats were the same, and instead would head to the port cities around it. Back to square one it seemed.
Adam huffed, he stared out the window, watching the bustling nightlife of Arc City moving along around him. His golden eyes flickered from a couple on a date, to a child and her parents leaving a restaurant, then onto a group of high school students exiting a karaoke bar. Every single one of them, from the several people he had just observed to the eternity of the advanced Shenzhou city, to the entire world. Every single one of them were oblivious to the incoming invasion of Honkai-powered aliens set on conquering the planet.
A soft pitter-patter caught Adam's attention, drops of rain began to inhabit the large glass panel. He watched as the people outside began to put up their umbrellas and raincoats or take shelter. Without waiting much longer, the rain began to grow heavier and heavier until it was pouring with so much rain that the neon signs were starting to blur.
[ ATTENTION: The last train to Macau will be leaving in five minutes. Repeat. The last train to Macau will be leaving in five minutes. All passengers for this train, please make your way to Platform 15 as soon as possible. ]
Panic crept through his body. His last chance to head to the southern Shenzhou base was slowly slipping away and in about six hundred seconds it would be gone completely. At least for the day that is. Adam glanced towards the route that would initiate his journey back to the deserted city. But his feet just wouldn't move, ingrained to the cold white tiles. After staring at the entrance for seemingly hours on end, he finally got up and surveyed the surroundings. Though late at night, the station was still packed full of people. The security barriers before the platforms were manned with at least three guards, not to mention the myriad of surveillance cameras everywhere, some being more obvious than others. Adam's gaze lingered on one for a moment, finding it strange why the station was using an older model. Perhaps the newer ones were under maintenance and needed some temporary substitutes.
He moved along the barrier, searching for any gaps that he could slip through. A second was all he needed to fracture time and pass the hundred pairs of vigilant eyes as if he were invisible. The chance suddenly was unveiled in front of him, a security officer turned his back, his partner distracted by a customer, and a camera facing the other direction. Adam instantly shifted his stance to rush through but found himself hesitating at the last second.
Was this really what a Schicksal Knight should be doing? The organization's insignia was designed onto the back of his coat, hidden by his sword. Everywhere he walked he would be representing Schicksal, and as their sole Knight, it wouldn't be hard to identify him if he did something that tarnished their reputation to the people.
'…Wait… That's it!' Adam mentally snapped his fingers.
As the primary organization leading the Post-Honkai Cleanup, Rescue, and Rehabilitation, Schicksal wasn't working in the shadows of human civilization anymore. Under Theresa's new leadership, it was revealed to the public although much information was still kept classified such as the Herrschers, Bubble Universes, and surprisingly even details on the previous Overseer. All the people of Earth knew was that Schicksal had been fighting the mysterious white and pink monsters that were once thought to be urban legends, and ancient myths known as the Honkai for centuries. Every city on the planet had ways of contacting Schicksal just in case they happened to witness any strange occurrences that could be linked to the Honkai.
'...How did this slip my mind?' Adam asked himself as he changed courses, trotting towards the main security office of the bullet train station.
He knocked on the iron doors and a middle-aged officer with a graying mustache, holding a mug of piping hot coffee greeted him.
"May I help you?"
"Yes," Adam reached inside his coat and pulled out a small silver card and showed it to him. The sparkling symbol of two wings presented itself in full, "I'm a Knight of Schicksal currently on a mission, but I've been deployed in the wrong area. Could you please utilize the Arc City Code to contact Schicksal HQ? I need to explain my situation to the operators and request for extraction and relocation,"
The security officer just stared at Adam, a blank look on his face, clearly having not understood a single word.
"Eh?" was all the man could say.
'Did I speak too fast?'
Adam cleared his throat and repeated himself, but the man still stared at him as if he had two heads.
"Hey Vin, what's the hold up, the race is about to start," another security called from further inside the room.
The man named Vin turned back and yelled, "Nothing, just a kid that thinks he's being funny,"
'What?!'
Adam raised an eyebrow. Either this man lived in a bunker for the last ten years and only just resurfaced or somehow the man really thought that he was playing a prank.
Just as the teen was about to retort, Vin turned back, leaning against the door frame as he sipped on his coffee.
"Look, kid, I don't know if you're bored, or your friends are daring you to do this, or whatever, but you shouldn't be disturbing Security like this. Our job is very important. We have to keep a lookout for any potential dangers, like terrorists and thieves and we really can't afford to have this distraction," as the man was going on and on, Adam peeked inside the room. Productivity seemed to be just a word there, as a group of security guards were seated at a table eating snacks and watching the TV on the wall, live broadcasting a horse race.
"But hey I get it, youth, you wanna do all these crazy, stupid things," Vin continued, waving his mug around as he talked, sloshing the coffee around inside, "But tell ya what, you can use our phone to call your parents and tell them to pick you up or something,"
Adam considered the option and nodded, the officer let him inside. It smelled like used cigarettes there but at least he didn't need to pay to use the phone.
He punched in the numbers to Schicksal HQ and waited, the digital ringing echoed in his ear. As he waited, he stared absentmindedly at the TV the other security guards were watching. From the speakers came a loud *BANG* and the guards cheered as the horses were released, dashing with all the strength in their legs.
[ The number you have called does not exist. Please try again. ]
"The hell?" muttered Adam before pressing the digits one more time. Another wave of cheers exploded from the security guards while some of them groaned in despair. Adam's golden eyes flicked towards the TV again. This time a moping male and an elated female presenter were on the screen sitting in a studio.
[ And there you go! He's done it again! The Stallion of the Decade! Nox the Dark Flash wins for the fourth year in a row! ] the female's shrill voice filled the entire room.
Gathering up his emotions the male presenter straightened his tie and added [ That…victory, concludes 2013's Equine Championships… Congratulations to Nox and his rider and caretakers. We hope to see each and every one of you again next year. ]
[ Hehehe, you owe me three hundred, Jacob. ]
[ *BEEP* off, Cindy. ]
'...2013? Are they watching a playback?' Adam wondered.
[ The number you have called does not exist. Please try again. ]
"Again?" he glared at the phone in his hand, "Did they suddenly change numbers or something?"
As a last resort, he tried calling the Overseer directly but was only met with the same result. Frustrated, Adam slinked out of the security office and back under the fluorescent lights of the train station.
The teen ruffled his dark hair in annoyance as he trudged away.
'What the hell is going on? First my bank account isn't working. Next no one knows what Schicksal is. Then emergency calls to the Schicksal Operators and the Overseer don't exist anymore. It's like… it's like they're not a thing in this world anymore,'
Adam's eyes widened. His hand slid down to his side, beads of nervous sweat formed, and a haunting possibility suddenly manifested in his mind.
'The Sky People! They have something to do with this don't they?! There's no way they could destroy all of Schicksal and erase their existence from people's memory…right?! There's just no way. Overseer Theresa sent everyone, including herself. Everyone's there, all the legends from the Final Impact fighting against the invasion. Durandal, Rita Rosseweisse, Master Fu Hua, Seele Vollerei, Squad Leader Bronya, Squad Leader Mei—,"
An announcement over the loudspeakers echoed through the building and cut through his train of thought.
[ It is now 23:59. On behalf of all the workers of Arc City Bullet Express Station 03. We would like to thank all of you passengers for traveling with us for the first half of this year. We hope to see you again on board for the next half of 2013. Thank you for your support. ]
"...," Adam craned his head, looking up at the loudspeakers and murmured, "2013?" his golden eyes flicked toward the security office remembering the TV broadcast, "Again?"
Adam's feet shifted uncomfortably. He looked around, scanning the area as if an alien or Honkai Beast was hiding in the crowd. He couldn't ignore the feeling of a dreadful chill crawling slowly up his spine, vertebrae by vertebrae. Something felt off.
The numbers twenty and thirteen circulated his head, bouncing off the insides of his skull and moving carefree in his mind.
Once was a bit weird but acceptable. Twice and suspicions started to rise. Absurd suspicions but Adam had read enough Light Novels for him to build a fantastical hypothesis on the situation at hand. He desperately hoped that he was wrong. Although, despite having daydreamed once or twice of being in one of those novels' protagonist's shoes, that wish was slipping away faster than water swept down the speeding currents.
Spotting a convenience store nearby, the teen swiftly made his way to it. Delaying the possible revelation any further would only cause more stress and anxiety to bubble up within him. It was best to quickly get this out of the way before doing anything else.
The time to confirm his dreaded suspicions, that had been brewing in silence, positioned in the most shaded corner of his mind ever since he appeared in Arc City, had finally arrived.
Before he knew it, he stood in front of the drink section, staring at the myriad of selections stacked like a coordinated rainbow on the cooled shelves. Adam reached out and picked up a bottle of Ice Green Tea. He spun it around until the bottom faced the top and his grip instantly tightened around the bottle.
[ Expiration Date: 2013-08-16 ]
"...No," he said quietly, "This isn't possible, it's just a printing mistake,"
He placed it back before picking up the bottle beside it, flipping it over to check the date underneath, before putting it back in its spot. Adam repeated the action with haste all across the aisle and with each one, the whirlpool of uneasiness grew and grew, continuously without any sign of stopping.
[ Expiration Date: 2013-08-27 ]
[ Expiration Date: 2013-07-05 ]
[ Expiration Date: 2013-09-23 ]
[ Expiration Date: 2013-09-07 ]
[ Expiration Date: 2013-08-18 ]
Whipping around, Adam rushed down another aisle. This time full of snacks and he began the frantic process once more.
The number [ 2013 ] was innocently staring back at Adam each time.
Customers watched him with confused and worried looks as they passed by.
Finally, when he reached the end, he slowly put the final item back onto the shelf with a blank look on his face.
In the corner of his eyes he noticed that the cashier was watching him with one hand on their phone. If Adam had continued, no doubt the police would've been called.
"Hey," the black-haired male said, his voice was low and threatening though it wasn't on purpose
The cashier yelped and squeezed her phone tighter, "D-D-Don't c-come any closer,"
"What's the date today?" asked Adam, turning to fully face her.
"T-Thirtieth of June," she stammered, "Though technically, it's now the first of July,"
"And the year?"
"T-Twenty thirteen,"
Adam felt his mouth slightly part but he remained silent. All sounds were drowned out as that word echoed in his mind. Bouncing around like a pinball with no exit.
He bit his lip, and dipped his head to the girl.
"Thank you," he said before walking out.
No wonder nothing was working. The answer was terrifyingly simple. They just didn't exist yet.
On the outside, Adam looked as fine as can be, tranquil like an undisturbed frosty river on a cool winter's day. However, within was a different story. His mind swam rapidly in circles, crashing into each and every corner of his conscience as the chaotic torrents raged on, spiraling out of any chance of control as it flooded over reason.
His hands began to shake as his breathing became shallow and restricted. He felt a trembling in the back of his eyes and his deep-golden orbs shrunk in shock. The black bangs of his hair casted a shadow over his eyes yet they glowed eerily, staring beyond the cold tiles and into blankness.
Adam's body was set onto autodrive, moving aimlessly through the midnight crowd. The bustling chattering were mere whispers in his ears, his steps became silent, and even the rain thundering onto the roof was softer than snowfall.
Before he knew it, freezing temperatures assaulted his body. His spiky dark hair deflated under the pouring rain, and his clothes were dyed a shade darker. The water ricocheted off the Labor of Olympus that was loyally sheathed to his back, creating miniature waterfalls cascading down the weapon.
He kept walking, and walking, and walking. With no destination in mind. Like a lone jellyfish floating at the bottom of the pitch-black abyssal ocean. Unknowingly, he had been heading deeper into the bustling, fluorescent, Arc City until he reached the center.
The neon signs, flashing holograms, and booming electronic music greeted him first, displaying their full luminescent and symphonic glory to him but Adam wasn't fazed at all. The array of pedestrians from all classes around him either avoided him or bumped against him, not that he noticed either. The muscles in his legs and core, sculpted from hours upon hours of harsh training everyday prevented him from falling over.
Suddenly he stopped. A hand moved up to his face and he brushed soaked strands of hair out of his eyes. Looking up he saw an beaming advertisement displaying the 'newest' ME Corp product that was to be released later in the year. A handheld gaming device, named the [ PixVolt ].
His conversation with his sniper best friend from an hour ago echoed in his mind.
"This…This thing is over ten years old. What's it doing in St Fontaine?"
"Well, we're in an old abandoned city like this that surely houses some relics of the past. But still, to find a PixVolt here a decade after its cancellation…I'd probably have more of a chance getting paid regularly by Overseer Theresa,"
Adam tore his gaze away from the display, still trying to separate himself from this haunting reality but the world wouldn't let him. Everywhere he looked, from signs, to movie posters, to even more advertisements, the voices of the civilians, the electronic news stands. Everything was reminding him of the situation he was in with a wide smug grin. If they could talk, they would be mockingly laughing at his predicament, or perhaps utter empathetic words.
The Schicksal student took in a deep breath, closing his eyes in the process. He remained still under the pouring rain, and when he opened his eyes again. A slightly calmer demeanor spread across his body.
He didn't want to accept it. The fact that he was now over a decade in the past. Dragged back in time by a dark Stargate created by tech or magic from another world. With nothing but the clothes on his body, the sword on his back, a Moon Ring, a grappling hook, some busted equipment, a useless wallet, an identity that was yet to exist, and finally an out-of-battery PixVolt and several shards of Krystallum in his jacket's pockets.
But, what use was there to mope around.
It's not like whatever bought him here would just suddenly show up and apologize for the accident before transporting him back to his time.
He was now in the past whether he liked it or not, and coming to terms with it sooner rather than later would be more beneficial for him both mentally and physically.
Reaching up he slapped the sides of his face with both hands, soaking his cheeks in the process but he paid it no mind.
'July 1st. That's eight months until the Nagazora Eruption, and a year and a half before the second coming of the Herrscher of Void. Though the Schicksal back then…now, wasn't exactly friendly, and I've still yet to graduate from St. Frya but… '
A newfound resolve sharpened in his golden eyes.
'I'm still a soldier of Schicksal. It's my duty to defend the people from the Honkai, no matter if it's in the future or the past. If I can help, even just the smallest bit to save even one extra person, I'll do it,'
Adam's fist clenched as he gazed up at the heavy dark gray clouds. The rain cascaded down his face as he watched the clouds inch slowly across the starless midnight sky.
'And, if I can delay them. I'll do it,'
The black-haired teen lowered his head and took his first step. To find shelter from the rain before he catches a cold which wouldn't be helpful at all, seeing as he had no money for…well anything. As he trotted over to the cover of a skyscraper, the first obstacle smacked him in the head and it was only now that he thought about it.
"...How do I get to Nagazora?"
Hi everyone. I'm FireMonkeyDragon.
I've never written anything Honkai related before despite playing for a while so this will be a first. I had this idea in my head for a while now and thought that it's about time to get it out, so welcome to my newest project, [ Starchaser ].
As you can see it revolves around Adam, the APHO protagonist being unwillingly sent into the past. Whether it's still his timeline or a bubble universe…not telling…yet.
Anyway, it's still the first chapter so there's nothing really to say. If you enjoyed the chapter please leave a follow, favorite, and/or review. All are greatly appreciated, and really helps with the production of future chapters. If you have any questions, theories, or just wanna know some spoilers then feel free to PM me and I'll be happy to reply to any of them.
Thank You For Reading! Until We Meet Again!