In the end, they weren't able to figure out what their next course of action would be in regards to helping Ritsuka with his problem. Alternate universes were something Anti-Entropy was wholly unequipped to deal with despite their experience with the Sea of Quanta. They even tried contacting Theresa to see if any of Otto's files on the Imaginary Tree still remain but have yet to get a response. Before they knew it, the sun was down and Welt offered to treat them to dinner in the city.

Afterwards, the two groups parted ways with the AE members— mainly Welt —opting to stay and visit a few stores since they were in town. Meanwhile, Fu Hua, Senti, and Ritsuka returned to their hotel to turn in for the night. The latter, in particular, was exhausted by all the tests and questioning and practically collapsed on the couch. Senti, being Senti, sat and poked at the sleeping teen's cheek for a moment only to get no response. "Aw… I wanted to hear more," she pouted before flopping face-first onto her own bed.

Fu Hua stared at her Herrscher self with an indecipherable look. After a minute of silence, she finally spoke up— "Senti?"

There was no answer, and she knew Senti could hear her, which tells her she knew what was coming. She's even trying, and failing, to feign sleep, before letting out an uncharacteristically nervous "...what?"

Ignoring her obvious unwillingness, Fu Hua asked the pressing matter that's been on her mind all day. "What is our connection to him?" Her eyes flickered towards the couch. "And don't try to say there isn't one; I'm not a fool, Senti. Don't think I didn't notice the way you were acting around him this entire time."

"It's a lo—" Senti flinched as she felt Fu Hua's glare on her. "Alright, alright. He's… There was a Ritsuka in the Previous Era too who was a part of Fire Moth. That's it, okay? I just happened to recognise him." There was more to the story, Fu Hua could tell. She knew Senti well enough to understand when she was hiding something.

She sat down right next to Senti to pressure her for more before— BEEP —she received a message. Senti perks up, desperate for anything to get her out of the questioning. Fu Hua just gives her the look, wordlessly letting her know that it's far from over as she takes out her phone. "Tesla gave me the TLDR of the situation. Can you come with AE and bring Fujimaru to St. Freya tomorrow?"

Fu Hua sighed in relief at Theresa's request; the headmistress finally checked her messages. She returned a short, "Affirmative," before turning back to Senti, who turned from hopeful to curious. "Pack your bags, we're going to St. Freya in the morning."

As if she wasn't just being interrogated a few moments ago, an exaggerated look of horror appeared on Senti's face. "We're going back to school?! Noooo!" She cried, clutching her face in despair, which just made Fu Hua shake her head before something occurred to her. She quickly shushed Senti as her eyes darted back at Ritsuka, worried that her counterpart might have woken him up. Seeing her concern, the Herrscher couldn't help but giggle. "Pfft, don't worry. That guy can sleep through a storm when he's tired." The words had barely left Senti's mouth when she realised her mistake. How did she decide to correct it? "I'm going to buy some more souvenirs."

Fu Hua didn't even have time to open her mouth before the door loudly slammed shut as Senti took the easy way out. The former could only sigh at the blatant attempt to hide but what could she do now? She wouldn't feel comfortable chasing after Senti and leaving the sleeping Ritsuka by himself. "You're starting to become a real headache for me, you know…" Fu Hua shook her head in amusement as she watched Ritsuka continue to snooze away. It was rather cute in a way, though she would never admit this out loud, much less in front of Senti. The Herrscher would never let her hear the end of it. Her thoughts were interrupted when she noticed him shivering, so she got up from her bed to grab an extra blanket from the hotel closet. "Good night, Ritsuka…" She whispers as she drapes the blanket on him.

As soon as he woke up the next morning, Ritsuka was pushed into the bathroom by Senti with new clothes she bought the night before after he fell asleep. "We're going on a trip" was all she told him. Well, at least he was given more fitting clothes this time…

In any case, the trio headed back to the Anti-Entropy airship after checking out from the hotel before embarking on a trip to… where again?

"St. Freya Academy— a school dedicated to teaching those capable of doing so, how to fight the Honkai," Fu Hua explained as they lounged around one of the airship's quarters. It had a window looking out at the world below which caught Ritsuka's attention; he was used to being in an airship but this was the first time he could really see the breathtaking landscapes pass by without any sense of urgency. "Theresa Apocalypse, the leader of Schicksal we tried contacting yesterday, is the headmistress," she continued as she walked up next to him. "…Is this your first time travelling by air like this?"

"No, actually. I've been living on one for a while now," Ritsuka answered as he turned his head to look at her. "But I've never gotten the chance to see the world like this for… reasons."

"I thought Chaldea was in Antarctica," Senti chimed in while lazing around on the couch, which made Ritsuka nervously chuckle.

"Uh… Yeah, that's..…the airship comes later. I'll get to it soon," he replied with a hesitant smile. It was quickly replaced by a joking one as he turned back to Fu Hua, "Also, Apocalypse? That name doesn't really spark joy if I'm being honest."

That managed to get a small chuckle out of her. "Yes, admittedly not the best of names but I assure you, Theresa's one of the best people I know. She's done a lot to help us in the past and she'll do everything in her power to help us now."

Well, if Fu Hua vouches for her this much, then there's nothing to worry about. Instead, he switched to his other question. "So… what exactly is the Honkai?"

"…Oh, forgive me, we never did explain that part to you, did we? It completely slipped my mind in the midst of everything." Fu Hua flushed slightly from embarrassment.

"It's okay," He assured her." We've been rather busy since we first met. Think of it like this: I've told you guys about my side of things, now it's your turn."

"Still, that is no excuse to not inform you about the dangers of this world, especially if you're going to be staying here for a while." Fu Hua insisted.

"Eh, they're not really much of an issue anymore," Senti added with a dismissive tone. "Thanks to Miss Finality on the moon, the Honkai is no longer a threat to humanity."

"...Long and complicated story?"

"Long and complicated story."

It was starting to annoy him how often that comes up but he's one to talk, considering his own story. Either way, Fu Hua continued, "As Senti was saying, the Honkai used to be a threat to humanity before a friend of ours put an end to it. For the longest time, however, they plagued humanity, causing nothing but destruction in their wake. There was even a point where humanity was nearly wiped out in the past."

"What?" Ritsuka asked without thinking, before realising that this was likely what Senti was referring to when she said humanity was set back millennia ago.

Fu Hua, however, mistook his confusion for something else. "Yes. About 50,000 years ago, the Honkai came close to exterminating humanity. In the end, those who survived went into cryosleep as the planet recovered from the disaster. That period of time became known as the Previous Era."

"And old timer here was one of them. She was throwing hands with the Honkai longer than anyone else in the entire world," Senti added, more than likely just to annoy Fu Hua by reminding her of how old she was.

It worked of course as Fu Hua snaps her head to Senti. "He doesn't need to know that part, Senti." She hissed out.

"Why not? Afraid he's not interested in old ha— Whoa! Hey!" Senti shouted after barely avoiding whatever it was Fu Hua threw at her. She childishly blew her tongue at her before dashing out of the room and away from Fu Hua's range.

While Fu Hua quietly fumed at her other self running her mouth, Ritsuka couldn't help himself but laugh at their interaction. They might not be actual sisters, but they certainly acted like they were. Reminds him of another not-sisters from back home. "So… 50,000 years old?" He already knew that but now he could actually talk about it with Fu Hua. His grin only widened as her cheeks turned a few shades brighter at his teasing question before she muttered a meek, "Yes," making him chuckle. "Well, if it means anything, you look great for someone older than most civilisations," Ritsuka complimented, hoping she wouldn't take it the wrong way. Fortunately, Fu Hua took no offence as her face flushed even deeper.

She opened her mouth to say something and while he couldn't hear her at first, he knew what she meant to say. "Tha… ou… ahem, In any case, St Freya teaches those capable and willing the skills necessary to fight the Honkai. With most of it now sealed away, the school now serves to prepare future generations in case another danger arises, be it the Honkai's return or another threat altogether."

That's understandable; better be prepared than be caught with your pants down— but that still didn't answer the question. "But what exactly is the Honkai?"

"Uh… That's…"

Seeing Fu Hua trip over her words, Ritsuka did her a favour and told her it was alright if she didn't know. Whether that's the case or not, the answer was likely yet another complicated story, but it doesn't matter right now. He could always find out another time. "So is there anything else I need to know about this Theresa or her school? Anything I should avoid saying to her that might get me kicked out?"

"Hmm… Don't call her a child, no matter how much she could look and act like one," Fu Hua answered after a moment of thought.

"Look? Don't tell me…"

"Yes, she's also older than she looks," she stifled a chuckle upon seeing Ritsuka sigh as he realised what she meant. "Nothing as extreme as myself. She's only in her 40s."

"The people here must be blessed with good genes. What? Are Welt and Tesla older than they look too?" Ritsuka joked… only to notice Fu Hua avoiding his gaze. "…I'm just going to stop talking now." The defeat in his voice managed to make her laugh again.

"Then it's my turn to be the storyteller," she smiled once having calmed down. "What would you like to learn about first? This Era and how we finally beat the Honkai? The Previous Era? Both would be a long tale."

Ritsuka already knew his answer and told her without taking a second to think about it. "Actually, I want to hear more about you first," he aimed a gentle smile at her in hopes that it'd win her over.

"Are you sure? My story is… there's not much to say," she replied with a small frown. He couldn't tell if she was trying to avoid the topic or if she genuinely believed that.

"Funny, I would've said the same thing about my story, but now you know how that's not true. As someone once taught me, everyone has a story to tell, some might not be as eventful as others, but that doesn't make it worth any less" Ritsuka replied, his voice and smile becoming more reassuring. Was it enough to convince her? He can't be sure as she remained silent for what seemed to be forever until…

"…Alright, if you really want to hear…" She finally cracked a sheepish smile as she scratched her cheek, making Ritsuka smile brighter too. "It's only right that I do anyway since you've been telling me yours. Let's sit then; while I don't recall too much of my old life, I do know it will be a long story regardless."

It was chaos— Chaldea was in chaos. Civilised chaos, but chaos nonetheless. It had been a couple of days since the ill-fated mission to investigate that Singularity and they had been up in arms trying to locate the missing Fujimaru Ritsuka. Litres of coffee and energy drinks had been consumed as the entire support team slaved away day and night to figure out what the hell happened.

Da Vinci let out a long groan as she stumbled out of the control room, bags under her eyes from a whole day of looking at screens and reports. Before she could stumble over and fall flat on her face, she heard a familiar concerned voice call her name and her body found support. "Oh… Hey, Mash…" she forced a cheery smile upon seeing the pink-haired Demi-Servant. She must have woken up after nearly collapsing the previous night. "Finally taking my shift?" Da Vinci tried to joke but was met with Mash's stern gaze. The Rider Servant let out a sigh, "I know, I know. I should take a break…"

"So long as you understand this isn't healthy," Mash's eyes softened. "Did… Did we figure out anything?" It pains Da Vinci to hear the hope in her voice, as she could only shake her head in response.

"Nothing that we don't already know: SHEBA lost sight of Ritsuka for a moment and he disappeared from the observable timeline. That's it." Why and how that happened was still a mystery and they sadly don't have their ace detective around anymore to solve this puzzle. "And no trace of him exists as far as we could track… Have any of the other Servants found anything? Merlin, perhaps?" She asked, hoping that the Caster or anyone else came across something they hadn't.

Now it was Mash's turn to shake her head. "I'm sorry, but no one's been able to find anything new either." A frustrated and dejected sigh escaped Mash's lips as she looked down. "Senpai….I hope you're safe, wherever you are."

"You and me both, Mash… you and me both…"

A/N: Chaldea is scrambling to figure out what happened to Ritsuka while he is having a gay old time hanging out in the Honkai universe. Pretty standard procedure if you ask me. Either way, things are slowly developing between the main duo + one of the story and next chapter, a couple of more familiar faces (well, names). Now I just need to figure out how to have Adam appear...