In the subconscious realm

Phillip woke up groggy and sore, the back of his head pressed against the stone pillar. Pushing his body to sit up straight, he hissed at the screaming agony that tore through his back and shoulder. He continued regardless, knowing the pain was insignificant compared to his situation.

Quick to stand up to avoid any more jolts of pain, Phillip scanned his surroundings with two swift turns of his head. He was in the subconscious realm, that much was obvious, but Gabriel seemed to be absent from his current whereabouts. Deciding to annoy the angel, Phillip opened his mouth to call out, but a voice cut him off.

"Don't you dare. Not when I'm like this."

The world shifted and Gabriel appeared, along with the white table, chairs, and tea set. The angel held a bottle of brandy in his left hand as his right leaned against the table to prevent him from falling from his sitting position. A crimson blush flooded Gabriel's cheeks, and, as he took another swig from the bottle, his body trembled against itself.

Phillip attempted to prevent the teasing from escaping his lips, knowing the situation required him to be calm and collected. However, seeing the single moment of weakness the angel gave him, the tease slipped through the cracks of his resistance.

"I thought angels couldn't get drunk."

The glare Gabriel sent him burned with aggravation, something no amount of fire could hope to produce. However, the angel didn't blink Phillip from existence and simply took another drink from the brandy.

Worth it.

"Shut it," Gabriel exclaimed loudly before pointing directly at Phillip. "You better not jump into any more traps, or this will be our last mission together."

"You make it sound like I'm intentionally finding them," Phillip shot back, leaning on his right leg as he sent the angel an unamused glance. "I'm trying my best to evade them, but that doesn't mean I'll leave the girls to fend for themselves."

"I know, I know," Gabriel sighed, expecting this would be the response. With a shake of his head, the angel sobered up and gave the boy a stern gaze. "By the time you wake up, it will be about three days since the encounter. You're sleeping on a hospital bed for the wounds you've sustained, which I've patched up already."

Phillip nodded at this, straightening his stance in preparation for waking. "Anything else I'll need to know out there? Are the girls alright?"

Gabriel waved his hand at this concern, waving the bottle in kind. "You'll find out when you're out there. Just get going before that Kaslana girl gets to your body first."

"Wait, what?!"

Those were Phillip's last words before the pillar forest disappeared and a blinding light shined and consumed him.

In the conscious realm, December 17th, 7:30 am.

Phillip nearly jolted from the hospital bed, the white sheets shuffling down as his upper body swung up from the laid position. He had every reason to be jumpy; Gabriel rarely lied to him for any reason. The angel will stretch the truth here and there, but rarely lie.

As he took in the surroundings, however, Phillip realized that it was, indeed, a lie.

Asshole angel!

"Hey, it got you up, didn't it?" Phillip could practically feel the smirk on Gabriel's lips. "Any longer, and you would have become a potato."

Phillip shook his head at this, the sudden burst of energy subsiding to allow him to rest his still sore body back down. With his head pressed against the white pillow behind him, Phillip scanned the room more rigorously.

A single large window lit up the room, the golden rays of morning shining through and reflecting off the pearly white tiles on the floor. The ceiling matched in color while a lone fan spun silently in the middle of the room. White cabinets were lined along the mint green walls, several reaching from floor to ceiling while others hung just above cobblestone tabletops. A folded border was close to his bed, obviously there in case he needed some privacy, along with a bag holding his clothes.

Phillip sighed at the sight of such a standard medical facility, but at least he could tell whoever was hosting him knew what they were doing. He turned his head to the left to address his only companion in the place.

Seated beside his bed in a metal chair while also laying her upper body down on the sheets was one Kiana Kaslana. Her messy braids fell to her left side while her face was turned towards him, arms under her head as a makeshift pillow. Her soft snores and closed eyes indicated that she was still asleep.

Which made Phillip's following action much easier to achieve.

With his right hand only, Phillip made a cross sign using only his index and middle fingers. A clone popped into existence on the right side of the bed, only to switch with Phillip at near instantaneous speeds, leaving the sheets undisturbed by the action. Now free from the confinements of the bed, Phillip walked over to the left side of the bed, grabbed the bag containing his items, and headed out of the room to change out of the blue hospital gown.

When he opened the door and stepped out, however, he was met with the amber eyes from before.

"Well now, this is a surprise," the woman said with a smirk as she tucked her arms under her bountiful chest. "We weren't expecting you to wake up for another two days at least."

Phillip rose a brow at this and looked the woman over. She was stuffed into a brown military jacket with the collar unbuttoned, allowing a view of the valley there. She had a belt wrapped around her stomach, despite no loops to hold it in place, and an aiguillette that went off her right shoulder and into a pocket hidden by the collar. Along with all this, she wore dark brown shorts and similarly colored thigh-high boots, the right boot having a belt to match the height of the other.

"It's fine, though," she said nonchalantly, with a shrug. "I'm heading to the principal's office to discuss your group's enrollment. Come with me if you want."

Phillip shot her a deadpan stare and slowly raised the bag in his hands up, hoping to convey his requirement. She took note and gave him directions to an abandoned room along the outside hallway.

Phillip gave a nod and began his trek while also thanking the woman. "Thank you, Miss..."

"Murata. Himeko Murata."

Outside hallway of the medical building, 7:35 am,

"What is this place?"

This was Phillip's question as the two traversed the hallway. White stone pillars were to his left, holding the roof up and separating the two from the courtyard, while the woman and red-brown bricks were to his right. It felt like the place should be a museum, but a principal makes this place a school instead.

Just what school would make a trained veteran a teacher, though?

"It's a school for Valkyries," Himeko said before pausing and restarting the conversation. "I forgot Schicksal isn't common knowledge in the normal world. So-"

Phillip raised his right hand to stop her explanation. "I know what Schicksal and Valkyries are. I'm guessing this is where you train them."

"More than that," Himeko stated. "We teach, house, and train them in stuff beyond Valkyrie work. Give them something to lean on should they want to quit being a Valk."

Phillip gave a hum at this, not really focusing on the explanation. Instead, he turned his attention to the woman herself. Himeko's walk seemed relatively rigid and stiff, as if every step was painful to her. Phillip wanted to ask, but he also didn't want to pry into anything and make himself an enemy to his caretakers.

They continued walking until they reached an intersecting hallway from the brick wall. When they turned into it, Phillip immediately saw their destination at the other end, where a white building could be seen across another courtyard. After a few more minutes of silent walking, they exited the hallway, and Phillip saw the white building in its entirety.

A church-like building stood before him. Pure white marble shone in the sunlight with light blue dome roofs along the main building and its many towers. After a brief moment of admiration, Phillip realized he was at the building's side as Himeko began walking off to the left, where many white arcs and a massive white staircase were seen. He followed her to the stairs and walked up the broad steps to the small, jade green door.

Once inside, the two scaled up a few more staircases, all of which started taking a toll on Himeko. When they reached the principal office (a bronze sign with a golden frame sticking out of the right side of the dark wooden door frame told him this), Himeko was gritting her teeth in pain as she pushed open the doors.

"Your Herrscher friend is a pain in the ass," Himeko hissed out as she gripped her right shoulder with her left hand while her other hand was pressed onto her lower back. "It's been 3 days since that fight, and I'm still hurting like hell."

"You used a proto-type Nexus model and forced over-loaded it to take a Herrscher attack." Phillip jumped at the squeaky voice and immediately scanned the room but found nothing. He only saw the twin red sofas facing each other with a wooden table between them, a brown wooden desk at the other end of the room, and a matching chair with red cushions. "Be thankful you're not covered in plaster. You hot-headed bimbos seem to always mess up."

Phillip realized the voice was coming from the other side of the desk. Tilting his head back slightly and craning his neck, he spotted a small tuft of white hair seated in the chair. Himeko, however, was both calm and teasing about the situation if her response was anything to go by.

"Where are you, Madam Principal?" Himeko asked tauntingly with a smirk, despite staring at the actual location of the girl. "I'm afraid I can't find you."

Phillip raised a brow but didn't speak up at this reveal. It's not the worst thing he had to get used to, though it is funny how a young girl managed to become a principal at what seems to be 12 years old.

"She's older than she looks," Gabriel interrupted Phillip's thought. "She should be about 45 right now."

So, this is a Neptune thing, Phillip replied as he watched Himeko pull a flash drive from in between her breasts and hand it to a now seething Theresa. Let's hope it's not some scientific aspect to it, and she's just a goddess or something like that.

"You'll learn, eventually." With that, Gabriel cut the connection, allowing Phillip to catch the following comment from the principal.

"Why did you bring the boy here?" she asked as she pressed a button on the side of the flash drive, positioning it as close as she could on the desk that towered over her. Two arms swung out - one at the bottom and another from the middle like a folded light–to produce a holographic screen before her.

"Oh, right. The kid." Himeko turned back to Phillip with a raised hand to gesture to the principal. "This is Principal Theresa. She'll be handling the enrollment of you brats."

"I gathered that," Phillip replied with a dead voice, a flat stare sent to the redhead. He stepped forward, moving between the sofas, to stand before the desk and addressed the girl. "I appreciate the medical assistance you've provided to my friends and me."

A younger-looking Kiana looked at him with sky-blue eyes, pondering his words. The black nun-like dress wrinkled as she pulled back her hand to grip the desk's edge, though the white collar and cuffs were undisturbed. Honestly, the only thing different about this girl and Kiana was that she only had one braid, tossed over her shoulder, somewhat neatly.

"I'm just glad we could find some survivors so fast," Theresa stated before returning her attention to Himeko. "Major, I want a full report of what happened that night."

Himeko did just that, retelling the story in excruciating detail. Once she finished telling the scenes Phillip knew, Himeko finished by taking how she and Kiana grabbed the unconscious Mei and Phillip, pulled them onto the ship, and flew back to this school.

Phillip noted something missing and brought it up. "There was another girl that was with us. A girl named Bronya with gray hair."

Theresa and Himeko shared a look, which led the redhead to shrug. Theresa gave a sigh before looking at him.

"We'll send another team out to search for her," she promised as she turned back to the holographic screen, which displayed Kiana's profile and education records. Theresa's eyes softened at the profile, but she shook off the look for a sterner expression. "Before we do, however, we'll need you to answer some questions."

Phillip crossed his arms at this request, knowing they would ask while also not particularly happy about the idea. "I don't think it will be in your best interests to ask me anything."

Theresa gave him a hard stare, followed by her crossing her arms over her chest with a pout. "Our medical staff spent quite a bit keeping you stable. The least you could do is answer a couple of questions."

Phillip opened his mouth to object to this, that his regeneration would have stabilized his condition without their aid, but Gabriel made himself known.

"Don't. I stopped your regeneration during that time, so play along for the moment. We need their assistance, after all."

Phillip schooled his features to hide his frustration behind crossed arms and a slightly bent right knee. "Fine, then. What do you want me to answer?"

Theresa leaned forward and stretched her little arms to tap the holographic screen on the right side, causing it to scroll over a few times. She stopped when the screen showed a video, one of his Kirin striking and detonating the Herrscher's beam of lightning.

"Here's the first one," Theresa said as she returned her focus to him. "How can you do the things you do?"

Phillip shook his head at this. "You wouldn't understand, even if I told you."

Theresa simply gave him a confident smile as she leaned back into the red chair. "Why don't you try it?"

Seeing no reason not to explain his story to her, Phillip shrugged and began recounting the tale of his origins.

12:30 pm,

By the time Phillip brought his story to a close, ending with the current events, it had reached midday. The expressions of the two women were exactly what he thought they would be: blank and disbelieving. Himeko had even started taking to a canteen as she sat on one of the sofas, the container pulled from her bosom. It reeked of alcohol, when he hit the midway point. Theresa was slack in her chair, eyes blankly looking up at the ceiling as a trail of drool came out of a corner of her mouth.

"I told you that you wouldn't believe me," Phillip stated flatly, snapping the girls back to reality and shifting their attention back to him.

"N-No! I fully and absolutely believe you," Theresa exclaimed before letting out a nervous laugh. "Though the idea of a universal traveler does seem rather farfetched."

Himeko spoke up at this. "There's 'farfetched,' and then there's bullshit." She downed another gulp from the canteen before placing it away. "So, that dragon you pulled from your ass was because of some other super energy?"

"Sort of," Phillip answered, not turning to look at the redhead. "A little chakra is used to shape and direct the attack, but its power is based on the storm used."

"How does that work?"

"How strong was the storm from three days ago, on that night?" Phillip directed this question towards Theresa, having the odd feeling she had the answer to this.

Theresa cleared her throat and leaned forward to scroll through the screen to the relevant page. "Three storms of Honkai origins were sourced in Nagazora. The first quickly grew to cover all of Japan-"

"That storm?" Himeko interrupted, sounding mildly surprised at the revelation. "The one with heavy rain that the weather channel said would last throughout the week but popped before the day ended?"

Theresa sent a threatening glare at the older-looking woman, which was diminished by her griping at the desk and diminutive size. When Himeko piped down, Theresa continued on. "The second storm didn't last, which was good because it was likely to extend to the coasts of China. The third, the one you're asking about, also stopped short but was likely to encompass most of the Eastern side of Eurasia."

Phillip looked back over Himeko, his flat gaze never shifting. "I use my chakra to shift charges in an area, forcing the lightning to strike there at my signal. However, this will use all the lightning and disperse the storm. We're lucky the Herrscher more than likely weakened it somewhat. Otherwise, that Kirin would have disintegrated the rest of Nagazora and obliterated another 100 miles along with it."

Himeko looked stumped at this for a moment before a smirk graced her face, and she spoke with laughter on the edge of her voice. "Giraffe?"

"I didn't name the damn that thing," Phillip replied with a groan, a palm placed against his eyes.

"Right. Well, I can tell you don't understand much about Honkai storms."

Phillip slid his hand down to his mouth to stare blankly at the redhead. A moment later, he looked over at Theresa, who held a grimmer expression. "Explain."

Theresa closed her eyes before speaking. "Honkai storms don't stop until their source is removed. Even if your attack can disperse a storm, the Herrscher's presence would simply sustain it and refuel the lightning. By all intents and purposes, that attack would have likely done more than what you're saying."

Phillip flinched at this, realizing just how much he underestimated the attack potency when under the influence of Honkai energy. It would have dealt too much damage to consider the attack a safe idea.

"I'll keep that in mind for next time."

"Though that leads into another thing I need to talk about," Theresa admitted, turning just enough to keep both of her guests in view. "Between the two of you, Nagazora had suffered irreparable damage. There's a crater several miles wide near the center of the city that's now swarmed with Honkai beasts."

"Sorry about that." Phillip's version of this was as genuine as possible, but Himeko's held the trances of annoyance and said only to get the girl off her back.

Theresa gave the redhead another flat stare and mumbled under her breath about hot-headed bimbos before continuing. "Let me make this clear. I'm not saying it can always be avoided. Just… try to display some level of restraint next time."

Phillip nodded. "I will."

Sensing the conversation's end, Himeko pulled herself from the sofa. "Alright. I'm going back to my place and help that Mei girl with the cleaning."

Phillip spun on his heels to follow after. "I'll come with you. Mei's my responsibility, after all."

Himeko shot him a raised brow at this, but it didn't stop him from following her. "A responsibility, huh? That's an odd way to refer to her, don't you think?"

"That's not your concern," Phillip responded coldly. Regardless of what these people supplied him, he still held distrust towards them.

Himeko shrugged at this. "Well, if that's how you guys talk to each other, I can't stop you."

"Before you two go, I have some advice for the major," Theresa called, pausing the two before they could get to the door. "Stop using the Nexus. The medical division says you don't have much time left."

Phillip shot the redhead a raised brow this time, but both he and Theresa were waved off as Himeko began her walk.

"I know. Don't worry, though. I won't kick the bucket until I've found my soul mate."

Himeko crossed the room, ignoring the grumbles from Theresa, and reached for the door handle. Before she got there, however, the handle rattled, and the door burst open. Himeko stepped back to avoid getting hit by the flung door, allowing Phillip to see the intruder.

Kiana was panting hard as she stood in the doorway, eyes set on Phillip. Phillip was confused about why the girl was here until he noticed his clone behind Kiana. However, he didn't have time to chastise the clone as Kiana lunged from her spot and tackled him to the ground. Once they got to the ground, she quickly shifted to a seated position, legs on either side of her victim, and reared back a fist to launch.

A barrage of hits, slaps, and punches rained down on him as Kiana expressed her frustrations. They dealt no damage to him, but Phillip did nothing to prevent them, knowing Kiana needed to vent.

Soon, the frequency of the attacks began to diminish as tears fell onto Phillip. When Kiana finally lost interest in attacking him, she curled forward and touched her forehead to Phillip's chest as she cried freely. Phillip immediately brought his hands up to cover her, making a somewhat awkward hug for the two.

A minute or two passed before a cough sundered the moment in two. Phillip sent a stern glare at the smirking redhead but tapped on Kiana's shoulder to convince her. It took a second, but Kiana slowly pulled herself off him, rubbing the remaining tears away while sniffing.

"You…you dumbass," Kiana mumbled as she dried her tears away. "You can't get yourself killed either. I'll kick your butt if you do!"

Phillip rubbed the back of his neck nervously, unsure how to handle the reaction. It's not that he didn't have people that thought him precious; there were plenty. Phillip just didn't have the self-confidence to hold himself to the same standard.

So, he gave the same response as all the others.

"Sorry."

Tension filled the air; the only sounds made were Kiana's sniffles. The two stood there unmoving, with comforting words that should have been said lost in silence's tide. Only after a few untouched minutes did Himeko finally break through.

"While it was nice for you two to sort out your feelings, we really need to head back now," Himeko said as she gripped the side of her head as if a headache was coming. "I'm certain Mei is overworked at this point."

Kiana nodded lightly, her sullen mood finally lifting at this. "Yeah, we shouldn't leave Mei-senpai alone for much longer. She'd want to know that this dumbass is alive and well, anyway." Kiana moved to Phillip's right side and laced her fingers with his. When Phillip raised a brow at this, she leaned close and whispered, "You're not allowed to go anywhere without me from now on. Got it?" Phillip only sighed in response, deepening when she tightened her grip.

"Actually, Kiana," Theresa called, obviously hearing what Kiana said despite her whispering. "I'd like to talk to you about some private matters. So, allow Phillip to head with Himeko for now, and you two can stick together like glue later."

Kiana looked back and forth between the younger-looking girl and Phillip, obviously looking for a means to keep her promise. In the end, Kiana pressed her body against Phillip's side and gave Theresa a pleading look.

"Aunty Teri, you wouldn't split up a pure maiden and her boyfriend, right?"

"Aunty?" Phillip asked incredulously. He thought the two might have some relation to each other, but absolutely not that close.

Theresa gave a dry chuckle before answering both questions in one sentence. "Yes, I am, and yes, I can. So, either do as I say, or we'll start training my way."

Kiana slumped at this, letting go of her death grip as she did. She sat on the sofa next to her, prompting Himeko to finally walk out into the hallway and gesture for Phillip to follow her.

Before Phillip did so, he looked at Kiana and raised his hand to pay her head. When she looked up at him in confusion, he gave the most comforting smile he could give her before finally going after Himeko. He felt Kiana's eyes follow him as he left, stopping only when he closed the door behind him.

Himeko led the two down the wide hallway, Phillip lagging only three steps behind her as they attempted to exit the massive building. When they reached the halfway point, however, Himeko stopped dead in her tracks and, after a brief moment, turned to him with a knowing smirk. Phillip, not wanting to question the reasoning for the smirk, simply tilted his head to look past her.

Two people stood before them. One of them was a new face to Phillip: a woman that worked on one of the battleships if her uniform gave anything away. It was a blue sailor suit, decorated with gold, silver, and bronze badges on the left shoulder and a red tie on her neck. She had a matching blue hat on top of her shot, black hair, and dark stockings to go with her black high-heels.

The other one was much more recognizable.

"Subject Phillip seems in better condition than witnesses suggested," Bronya said, her right hand latched onto the left of the sailor woman while the other carried her undamaged HOMU plush.

Phillip moved past Himeko rapidly to get over to Bronya, gauging her condition as soon as he got near her. When he realized that she was okay, Phillip left out a silent sigh of relief and stood back up.

"You seem fine as well, considering what happened three days ago."

"Da," Bronya confirmed with a nod. "Project Bunny protected the Bronya from damages. All functions nominal."

"I'll assume you two are acquainted then," the unknown woman stated, pushing up her black-framed glasses with a finger to cause the lens to flash pure white to hide her eyes. "I found this girl in the cargo bay of the Hyperion and brought her here to consult the principal on what to do with her."

"At ease, XO," Himeko called, turning all attention to her and causing the sailor woman to salute at her. "I'll take the kid to Theresa." Fishing through the one pocket on her uniform, Himeko pulled out a folded piece of paper and held it out to Phillip. "Take this. It will lead you to my apartment."

Phillip took it and quickly unfurled the contents, revealing a map of the area with one of the buildings circled in red, close to the medical room where he recuperated. Phillip rose his head back up to watch Himeko and the XO take Bronya back down the hallway. Once the three were halfway down the long hall, Phillip continued on his merry way, wondering about the residency Mei was at.

1:30 pm, St. Freya Dorm Rooms.

"...Gross."

Phillip didn't need to enter the wooden door to know what was going on behind the door. From the smell alone, he could picture abandoned and displaced beer bottles, scattered food containers, and several trash bags lying around the apartment. At this point, he'd rather stay as far away from the rotting place as possible, but knowing Mei was facing the worst of it pushed him to grab the golden knob and open the door.

"Sorry!" Mei's voice called from deeper within the trash-filled apartment. "The owner isn't here right now, so please return at a later time, please!"

Phillip smiled at the heiress's loud yet gentle response, showing the events hadn't completely traumatized the girl. He took slow steps as he pushed into the apartment, scooting past abandoned boxes and almost slipping on a fallen banana peel. Once he cleared the short entrance hallway, Phillip turned the corner to his right and happened upon the living room.

The red sofa and wooden table were covered in dirty laundry, with the only furniture untouched was the television. There were several doors along the stained, beige wall to the right while the left held the windows of the room. The far side of the room held a small kitchen area and another small hallway that led further into the apartment. The kitchen was where Mei was.

Mei worked diligently against the grimy tiles, scrubbing furiously with the foamy sponge in her gloved hands to reveal the white beneath. She gave a hefty sigh, wiped her brow with her forearm for a brief moment and continued her work. It was only when a shoe stepped at her side that she broke from her concentration to gaze up at Phillip.

Her eyes widened at the sight of him while her body completely froze over. After what felt like hours passed, she scampered to her feet while wrestling her hands from the gloves. When her hands were freed from the protective gear, Mei quickly enveloped Phillip in a firm hug.

"I-I thought you were-"

"I'm here." Phillip stopped her with a strong, calm statement, returning the hug with a much softer hold. "I'm here."

The cry Mei released at this was born of happy relief but felt heartbreaking to Phillip. He drew slow circles on her back, trying to comfort her the best he could. Another slow moment passed before she stopped crying and the two were able to separate.

"You met with Himeko-sensei, I take it?" Mei asked as she dried her remaining tears with her wrist.

"Sensei?" Phillip asked, his raised at this aspect of Mei's question. "When did she become your teacher?"

Mei grabbed her left arm with her right hand and looked away from Phillip, obviously nervous about something. "Yesterday, Himeko-sensei said she'd teach me to use my Herrscher powers without losing control. I wanted to learn, so I accepted the offer."

Phillip sighed and nodded at this before finally answering Mei's question. "We technically met three days ago, but only introduced ourselves today. We talked with the principal, and she sent me here while she dealt with other things."

Mei giggled slightly at this. "I've met the principal as well. She reminds me of a mini-Kiana, only more mature than the one we know."

Phillip gave an amused smirk at this, but quickly changed to a more somber tone. "Seems you're in need of some help."

Mei slumped forward at this, releasing her hold on her arm as she did. "Please? Kiana-chan disappeared on me, and Himeko-sensei is too busy with the end of the school year to be consistent help. We've used the rooms here, but they're still so dirty that it makes it hard to sleep without feeling grimy."

Phillip nodded at this and performed the Shadow Clone hand sign. With several puffs of smoke, the apartment was filled with clones that quickly got to work, getting all the trash out. Those in the kitchen took up the cleaning supplies Mei left there and started cleaning, while others headed out the door or down the small hallway next to the kitchen and up the stairs there.

Phillip pulled Mei against him and held her tight. In a flash, the two reappeared outside the apartment, allowing the clones full access to the place without interference from unneeded bodies. Mei stumbled out of Phillip's grip when he released her, a dreamy look on her face, but corrected herself immediately and controlled her expression to one of gratitude.

"Thank you. It would have taken me ages to complete on my own."

Phillip shrugged at this. "I've had a three-day break. Need to do something to get back into shape." He held his left hand out, obviously waiting for the girl to take it. "Care to take a walk with me?"

Mei's expression brightened considerably and lifted her right hand to lay it on top of his. "I'd love to."

Phillip smiled slightly at the acceptance and was about to begin their adventure out when Gabriel came out to wreck that plan.

"Sorry for ruining the moment and all, but there's something you two need to talk about. So, I'm gonna amp your senses a bit so you can know immediately. Thank me later."

Phillip dropped his smile for a deep frown but couldn't get a word in before the angel left. A second later, Phillip's body exploded in sensitivity, making everything he felt almost ten times as powerful. Every slight gust of wind felt like a strong gale, and the dust falling from the ceiling felt like rocks. With this, he felt something off with Mei.

A tick seemed to resonate from her body. It came close to matching her heartbeat but off by barely a millisecond. Phillip traced the pulse down her body and, with a technique he learned from earth-bending, conjured up an image in his head of Mei's autonomy.

Two things seemed to be off with her. One happened to be a small gem-like obstruction in her heart. Phillip assumed this was the Gem of Conquest, as the object showed no bad influence on Mei despite its size. The second, however, was far more worrisome.

An object, almost the same size as her heart, rested against the organ. It was the source of the ticking.

Phillip pressed his thumb down on Mei's hand, clenching tightly as to not allow the girl the ability to escape. "Mei, what is that?"

Mei looked confused at this. "What do you mean?"

"There's something next to your heart. What is that?"

Mei's eyes widened in fear at the grave tone that Phillip said these words. She tried to pull her arm away but to no avail. Seeing no way out, Mei turned her head away in shame as she explained the situation.

Theresa's office,

Theresa rubbed the side of her head for relief from the massive headache forming. Her brief reunion with her niece had been cut short by the untimely re-arrival of Himeko, along with the girl that boy, Phillip, mentioned before. Kiana immediately jumped at the chance to greet her lost friend, which deteriorated into the two having a verbal fight over the events three days ago.

Theresa let Himeko explain the reasoning for her intrusion before, literally, tossing the three out of her office. Not a moment later, however, did she receive a call from an oh-so-important figure in her long life.

Theresa wanted to wait out this call, hoping the man would finally accept the idea that she didn't like him much after what happened 13 years ago. She knew better, though, and tapped the holographic panel to answer the call.

"Hello, Grandpa."

"Ah, my dear Theresa, how nice of you to answer me," the cheerful and boisterous voice of Otto Apocalypse sounded throughout the room. "I was afraid you wouldn't answer me this time."

Theresa's eye twitched dangerously at this but tried to keep it out of her tone. "Surely not. How can I help you today, Grandpa?"

She was unsuccessful.

"Such hostilities." The voice sighed in what seemed to be exasperation. "Is it still because of what happened all those years ago? I will remind you it was Cecilia's choice, after all."

Theresa dropped all pretenses, wanting to get to the bottom of the impromptu call. "What do you want, Overseer Otto?"

"Very well, the crux of the matter. I have a friend that wishes to take part in your school. I was hoping if you'd accept her request."

Theresa rose a brow at this. Her "grandfather" didn't do friends, only pawns and assets. If you were of no use to him, you were either a liability or an enemy. No middle ground in between. So, she had a hard time believing him now using the term "friend" for anyone.

"Why would you send them here? Normally, you pull people from here, not bring them here."

"Yes, but these are unique circumstances," Otto said in response to Theresa's question. "She needs some guidance and I believe your school is better suited for her than the HQ."

Theresa sighed at this but accepted it nonetheless. "Fine. When will she be here?"

"Tomorrow. Have a nice rest, and I'll see you then."

The call cut out that this, leaving a gawking Theresa to stare incredulously at the screen. Stuffing the urge to scream every word in the dictionary that defined the man at the screen, she settled with a loud and exaggerated groan.

Now she had to worry about providing a welcoming service to a newcomer she didn't even know, brought here by her grandpa in person. Could her life get any worse?

"WHAT?!"

A massive shock wave shook the campus, carrying the words of a rather pissed-off male. The windows shattered by the voice, sending millions of glass shards to the ground. Once the shaking subsided, Theresa's office became a mess of papers, fallen furniture, and broken glass.

Theresa's hands covered her face as she began to scream in anguish. Of course, it could.

Well, this took unusually long to get out.

I hope you all are having a good day, and I thank everyone for supporting it.

Hope to see you all later.