Please enjoy this new chapter!
Disclaimer: I do not own Honkai Impact 3rd.
Otto Apocalypse watched as the Sovereign of Anti-Entropy took a small sip of his glass of wine, not even pausing to consider whether or not it had been poisoned. To be invited by your rival organization for a 'dinner' without any witnesses, one might say this was the perfect opportunity to get rid of one of his biggest thorns right there and then.
And the ruthless Overseer was not above such methods.
It just so happened that he required the cooperation of the man in front of him to accomplish his dream, so he got to live…
For now.
"Shall I say…" The blond Overseer started, breaking the tense silence. "Imagine to my surprise to find you sitting before me after hearing of your 'death' in the Second Eruption."
The last reports of Welt Yang was that he had perished fighting against Sirin on the moon, having his Core of Reason absorbed by the Herrscher of the Void. After those events when he had begun to receive reports of individuals running around with the powers of the Herrscher of Reason he had simply chalked it up to Anti-Entropy simply scrounging up what scraps they could of their 'former' leader's power.
Seems that those reports had more truth to them than he had originally believed.
The Herrscher of Reason's brown eyes glinted in amusement at his words as he took a small sip of his wine. The Apocalypse Head had thought he was extending his invitation to the successor of the Sovereign, a random nobody that had managed to use a sliver of the original's powers.
Finding out that not only was his assumption wrong but it was in fact really Welt Yang had put him at a disadvantage before the real battle even began.
And Welt Yang knew that if the mirth hidden in his eyes told the Overseer anything.
It made him both respect and want to kill the man in front of him.
"Let us say that word of my death was…greatly exaggerated." The Sovereign explained as he set down his wine glass and folded his hands on the table.
"As you say," Otto responded back as he let go of this conversation, knowing that he wouldn't be getting the answers he wanted from it. He would concede this battle to his opponent, but the war was still his to win.
"It was quite a surprise to see what else was on the invitation you had sent me," Welt Yang pulled out the letter that he had sent out of the inner pockets of his dress jacket and placed it on the table. "An alliance?"
Otto leaned back into his chair as he smirked at the Herrscher. "With recent events that have happened I found it prudent that we bury our past grievances and focus our attention on our new common enemy."
The Overseer still believed that Durandal and her Immortal Blades was his best opportunity in capturing the Herrscher of Death alive. No technology short of Soulium would be able to withstand the Herrscher's powers and that was in short supply.
However with the recent defeat of the seemingly invincible Immortal Blades had him come to the realization that he had been too stagnant with his preparations. He had deluded himself into believing that he had become strong enough after all of that time had passed from the Second Eruption. When the next Herrscher was summoned, Schicksal would be able to deal with them with little to no trouble.
Unfortunately he was reminded of the bitter truth that there was no such thing as guaranteed victory. Durandal's loss was testament to this, and while he believed that the S-Rank Valkyrie would eventually prevail it did not mean that she might do so without heavy casualties.
Casualties that he was not willing to risk, not when he had to contend with the Herrscher of Binding as well. He feared Gabriel's powers more than he did Veliona's and a fully revitalized Herrscher of Binding could bring Schicksal to its knees.
And he needed Schicksal to help him fulfill his wish.
"Shall we dispense with the pleasantries and get to what you really want, Otto Apocalypse?" Welt stated plainly. "We both know that you have no need of Anti-Entropy and its resources. Yes your recent defeat will set you back but not enough to make you desperate to turn to us for help."
The Overseer chuckled at the Sovereign's tone. So this was how it felt like to be the one against someone who had all of the cards. "Very well then," He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table and interlocked his fingers as he looked Welt in the eyes.
"The Herrscher of Death, Veliona," He stated bluntly. "I wish for her capture and immediate handover to me."
The Herrscher of Reason's eyes narrowed as he heard his request. "For what purpose?" He demanded.
"Why the power of her authority, Death itself." He partially lied. "If we could reverse engineer her powers can you imagine just what advancements that humanity could make. What fear would we have of the Honkai if we could never die?"
It wasn't like if he was lying, the possibilities of understanding the authority of Death could help unlock so many mysteries. Mysteries that could utterly propel humanity into a future that they could have ever dreamed of.
Yet he only cared for one aspect of the Authority of Death, the one that allowed him to revive Kallen and give her the life she deserved.
But that was something Welt Yang did not need to know of.
"Yes I could see the use of such a power benefiting humanity, but I can also see how it may harm us as well. The power of death should not be trifled with so lightly, some might use its powers to hold humanity hostage…"
Welt's brown eyes bore deeply into Otto's.
"Or to revive someone that should not be alive."
It was only years and years of mastering his emotions that the blonde man's expression did not change. Internally however, for the first time in years, Otto was panicking.
He knew, there was no other explanation for the emotion he saw in the Sovereign's eyes. How was the next question? His truest desire was something that he did not share with anyone and he was meticulous to not keep any physical pieces of evidence for someone to uncover.
So how did the Sovereign of Anti-Entropy know about it then?!
Another reason why he detested how things were moving now. Things were now moving out of his ability to predict and plan for. Secrets that were not meant to be known were being known and impossibilities were becoming possibilities.
So it was why more than ever he needed to have Anti-Entropy join hands with Schicksal, so that he could have a stalwart shield against whatever this unpredictable future would throw at him.
"...As you say," Was all Otto said as he reclined back into his chair.
Was it a blessing or a ploy that Welt Yang did not choose to call him out of his lie? Regardless of what it was, the blond man was glad that he did not choose to do so.
"...Very well," Welt said, garnering his attention once more. "In exchange for the Herrscher of Death I wish for a full alliance between Anti-Entropy and Schicksal. All will be shared between the two, resources, information, bases, everything."
This deal was definitely not advantageous for the Overseer in any way shape or form. Schicksal exceeded Anti-Entropy as an organization in every aspect and in this deal it would be they who benefitted far more than he would.
But…
"Very well, I agree to these terms," Otto agreed.
It wasn't like he had any other choice in the matter.
The two spent the reminder of dinner hammering out all of the fine details of what their alliance would detail. What troops would coordinate with who, any potential targets that the two Herrschers would target, the allocation of resources all across the globe.
Once they had finished all of that and had bid the Sovereign farewell for the night, Otto Apocalypse was lounging in his personal office, a wine of glass in his hands as he thought back to the meeting he had just been in.
"I dislike being at the disadvantage," He sneered as he crushed the glass in his hands, uncaring of the wine trailing down his arm or the shards of glass that were now embedded in his flesh.
Having been at an advantage in every conversation or deal that he had been in ever since he became Overseer of Schicksal, he had forgotten what it felt like to be on the receiving end.
A position that he swore he would never be again.
"How did he know about Kallen," He whispered to himself as he tried to think of what could've possibly leaked it. There wasn't a single person in Schicksal that knew of it, not even Amber or Durandal knew his true ambitions.
"It matters not." He sighed in frustration. "My long desired wish is so close that I can almost just reach out and grab it."
Now was not the time to give in to his emotions. They were a weakness that he had longed purged from his soul. He had so much to do now, schemes and plans that needed to be reworked and changed. New players were emerging on the board that he needed to account for, and he would not be blindsided like this again.
He would take them down one at a time, just like he had always done.
The alliance with Anti-Entropy was a weapon that he planned on using to his full advantage, but was it enough? He had believed Schicksal was enough to weather any enemy but he had been proven that was not the case.
He needed more pieces to use.
Fortunately he had the perfect piece to use.
"...I suppose it's time," He said as he picked up his tablet and inspected what was shown on it. It was a live feed of one of his more remote facilities that housed something he knew that could tip the scales in his favor.
But was it the right time?
"Hey, when you find what you've been searching for. Wake me up okay?"
"Yes my dream is close at hand…" He muttered to himself as he zoomed in on the woman that was slumbering in the tank.
"Right Sushang?"
"That went better than I expected it to go." Einstein remarked as she walked alongside Welt Yang through the hallways of one of their bases. The Sovereign of Anti-Entropy had just returned from his meeting with Otto and had just finished re-telling the scientist all that occurred.
"It indeed did," Welt agreed with her as he handed back her tablet that had all of the data that Otto had shared with them. True to his word he shared with them all of Schicksal's resources and they had been in the midst of taking note of what those resources were. "At the very least I hoped that we would get an alliance where we would tolerate the other's actions with each other but I was not expecting a full alliance."
Einstein had to agree, this was certainly unexpected for Otto Apocalypse to offer them. Objectively speaking Schicksal had far more resources to their disposal than they did alongside having better warriors as well.
But now with this new alliance that status quo had been upended. It was an arrangement that Einstein planned to utilize till the end. There was only so much that Anti-Entropy could do and having the resources of Schicksal to use meant there were many projects that they had pushed aside that could finally be completed.
"Even with both of you agreeing, others might let old grudges get in the way of fighting our common enemy." She commented, her mind drifting to the most recent confrontation between the two organizations.
Welt also thought of the same thing as he gravely nodded. "Cocolia will be watched closely." He promised as he gripped his cane tightly. "While the extent of her connection with the World Serpent is unknown to us, merely associating with them places this alliance in jeopardization."
When they had learned of Cocolia's involvement in the attack of St. Freya they had been furious. Their first course of action was to punish her immediately for attacking one of Schicksal's main institutions.
However doing so would put the entirety of Anti-Entropy at odds with each other. Many had praised Cocolia's actions, their distaste for Schicksal blinding them from their true enemy.
So they had disciplined her lightly for authorizing an attack without the Sovereign's permission, a light punishment in comparison to what she should've received. However, now that an alliance against the Herrschers of Death and Binding was solidified, they could move to restrict what powers she had without suspicion.
And if others spoke out then they would oust themselves out, for who would speak out against an alliance against an enemy that had managed to triumph against the strongest Valkyries alive?
"I'll be sure to have her and her allies watched more closely," Einstein noted as she wrote it down on her tablet. They would have to move carefully in dismantling Cocolia's power but it would have to be done for the sake of winning. "For the sake of this alliance another St. Freya invasion cannot be allowed to happen."
This alliance was the first step to a permanent partnership with Schicksal. The dream of a united Schicksal and Anti-Entropy fighting side by side against the Herrscher might be foolish to some and certainly seemed impossible presently…
However the future they were walking into was a dark one, and they needed to face it as a united front.
Just another seemingly impossible problem that the cyan haired scientist was determined to solve.
"I believe Otto knows that we know now." Welt remarked as they turned a corner.
"About Kallen Kaslana?" She clarified.
The man nodded and the cyan haired scientist's mind went back to the moment they had learned about Otto Apocalypse's true goal.
The revival of Kallen Kaslana, who had been dead for over half a century.
It had been certainly a shock to hear that was the goal that Otto Apocalypse had been striving for all of these years. Every step he made, every ally he made, every ally he betrayed and every death he orchestrated.
It was all merely to revive someone he loved.
Hearing such a reason had made Einstein want to laugh. For how could she rationally accept that Otto had done all he had done, all of the lives he sacrificed, was not done to conquer the world or anything like that but just to bring someone back from the dead.
However when she heard such a goal from a certain somebody, disbelief had turned into reconsideration.
Haruto Nakamura.
She had visited Haruto to inform him about the invitation and to ask his input on what possible reason the Overseer might have for inviting them. It was a definite longshot since the red haired teenager did not have any insight on Otto that would have helped them but it did not hurt to hear it from another perspective.
What Einstein had not been expecting was for Haruto to be able to tell them the exact goal that pushed Otto forward.
The scientist had of course taken this information with suspicion and skepticism but she had a feeling that what she had been told was the truth. After all if not for Haruto's intervention and knowledge then the events of Nagazora would have been much worse.
But back then Einstein had been able to rationalize how he had gotten ahold of his information. Maybe he could've overheard a conversation that involved herself and Ishigami, perhaps he had been informed by Ryoma about the Honkai, or that he had found some files during his involvement with the World Serpent Docks incident.
Yet she could not think of any way that Haruto would be able to learn about the Overseer's true goal. Otto Apocalypse was a very meticulous man, if there was something that he wanted to hide then he would ensure that there would be no way for it to be known unless he himself told it.
The only way to know for certain if the information was true was to see how the Overseer reacted. It was one of the other goals Welt had for the conversation and judging from how Otto had reacted it was safe to say that Haruto had been right the entire time.
"For a brief moment the emotion of panic in his eyes was unmistakable." Welt explained as the two of them entered his personal office. The Sovereign took a seat at his desk while the scientist took her seat on the other end.
"And though he was able to cover it up quickly, the fact that he was caught off guard tells us that Haruto's information is correct."
"It certainly coincides with the Sirin clones we found." Einstein added as she thought to one of the other secrets that they knew that the Overseer was keeping, his Sirin Project. "Add that to keeping K-423 close to St. Freya, Haruto's warning of his end goal makes everything line up with each other."
Einstein could see how everything became connected now. By creating multiple clones of Kiana that were merged with the DNA of Sirin there was a chance that one of the clones could re-awaken as the Herrscher of the Void. No doubt that the 'Kiana' that became the vessel would have done everything in her power to wrestle control of the Herrscher personality and there was no doubt that was Otto's plan.
The result? If Kiana was to succeed then Otto would have discovered a way for Herrschers to be controlled by a human host. No doubt the Overseer would then replicate the feat with the Herrscher of Death when they appeared and would use their powers to bring Kallen back.
What Einstein could not fathom was the many flaws the plan possessed. There were just so many things that could go wrong that the cyan haired scientist could scarcely believe that Otto would take such risks. What would happen if Kiana could not resist the Herrscher personality, or what would happen if Kiana merely turned on him? What would happen then?
But the biggest flaw of such his plan was that it all banked on the notion that the Herrscher of Death was even capable of reviving someone, an ability that had not been confirmed in the Previous Era.
Yet despite all of the risks Einstein could see how it could lead Otto Apocalypse to be able to revive Kallen Kaslana, though what he planned to do after all of that was a big mystery.
"Do you plan on forwarding this information to Theresa Apocalypse?" Welt asked her as he poured himself a small glass of bourbon. "Is she not allied with us now?"
"She is more of a prospective ally at the moment," The scientist corrected him. "While she was definitely shaken up by what she learned in the vaults beneath St. Freya and is receptive to aiding us to find out the whole truth. Unfortunately I do not think she would act against her grandfather just yet."
And even if they were able to give her the entire truth with concrete proof of it, the cyan haired scientist had a feeling that Theresa would only truly be convinced if she witnessed firsthand her grandfather's cruelty.
Love had a way of making you turn a blind eye to evil if it involved those you loved.
"She's just woken up from her injuries and there won't be much opportunity for us to get a private meeting with her." She also added as she pulled out her tablet. "Not to mention that with Otto now wary he will undoubtedly strengthen his surveillance of Schicksal, especially those closest to him."
"Yes that is unfortunate but with the knowledge we know now alongside with the advantageous alliance with Schicksal we can now move much more efficiently against Otto." Welt took a sip of his bourbon before motioning to her tablet. "What else did Haruto tell you? If his information regarding Kallen Kaslana was correct then it is safe to assume that everything else will be true as well."
Taking a look at her tablet the scientist's blue eyes looked to the note that Haruto had made sure to make her remember before she noted down everything that he was about to tell her and if it had not been from him she would have dismissed it entirely.
Herrschers.
Haruto had shared the identity of mostly every Herrscher, barring Death, Binding, and Corruption. It was unfortunate that they could not learn the identities of their present iterations of their current adversaries but knowing the identities of every other Herrscher was a huge boon.
Einstein's blue eyes looked to the top of her notes, a reminder that Haruto had made her write down before he gave her what he knew.
None of this is set in stone.
The way he had said this unsettled Einstein. It made it seem like the information that he would tell her was somehow meant to be concrete, as if he had the ability to see the future.
And by reliable the red haired teenager's knowledge had been so far she was almost tempted to believe it.
"...To be honest with how things have been moving I'm not sure if the information I am about to tell you will help you or not." He said to her as the two were alone on the rooftop of his dormitory. "But I figured that it would be better if this information was in the hands of someone who had resources to deal with it if it ever happened."
"You seem to be so sure of it," She had told him with a tone of skepticism and disbelief. "Even I cannot predict who will become a Herrscher or not."
In turn Haruto just gave her a small smirk. "Well let's just say…I am quite sure that my information is somewhat reliable."
"Let us begin with the first Herrscher, the Herrscher of Reason," She started out the list. "Joachim Nokianvirtanen."
Welt just smiled as another person knew his true identity. It wouldn't surprise him if his most kept secret would become common knowledge in the upcoming months.
"And...Bronya Zaychik?" Einstein questioned as she turned to Welt with a demanding look, whose smile faltered at another secret of his that was so casually revealed.
"She has all of the proper qualifications to be my successor." He defended as he regained his composure. "Not to mention she has the approval of all of the souls within the Core, including Welt Joyce's,"
Einstein's eyes widened upon hearing that information. "So that is the reason behind your secret meetings," She realized. "You have been training her to utilize the Star of Eden."
It now all made sense. Ever since the events of St. Freya Welt would often go somewhere by himself. Whenever she had inquired of what he was doing all the Sovereign would say was that it was personal and that all would be revealed in time.
Welt nodded. "It will help her acclimate with the Core of Reason when the time comes for her to inherit my mantle."
Einstein pursed her lips before nodding. It wasn't pleasant that her friend had kept such a secret from her but she could see where he was coming from. "I see,"
The scientist continued on with the list. "Herrscher of the Void, Sirin/Kiana Kaslana,"
Welt frowned. "So Sirin does eventually awaken."
"I believe that is something that we cannot prevent from happening." The scientist countered. If Sirin was already slumbering within Kiana she couldn't think of a way that they could remove her presence without some dire consequence. "All we can do is mitigate the fallout of when that happens."
"Agreed, shall you continue?"
Einstein nodded. "Up next is the Herrscher of Thunder, Mei Raiden,"
"Then the Herrscher of Wind is…" Einstein could not stop the gasp that left her mouth when she saw the identity of the fourth Herrscher. "Now that is a cruel fate."
The Sovereign of Anti-Entropy looked puzzled by her response until she revealed the identity of the Herrscher. "It is Layla Gunnhildr's sister, Wendy."
Puzzlement turned into a knowing look. "...I see," Was all he said as he came to the same conclusion as her. They knew that Wendy Gunnhildr was the willing test subject of the Sirin's Gem of Desire. Einstein had suspected that such willingness was probably related to Layla but it did not detract from the fact that the gem already had a host to corrupt.
"We must strengthen our surveillance on Wendy then, seeing how she is the next Herrscher to awaken." Welt said with a look of concentration. The silver lining in all of this was that if the Herrschers resumed following the pattern of appearing in the same order as they did in the Previous Era then they knew immediately where to concentrate their efforts at. "It would not be remiss of our opponents to attempt to awaken another of their kind. I doubt that Schciskal and Anti-Entropy can contend with 3 Herrschers at the same time."
Einstein nodded as she noted that down as a reminder before continuing on. "Herrscher of Ice, Ana Schariac."
"Another member on Haruto's team." Welt frowned. Both of his teammates were siblings to Herrschers, that was a recipe for disaster in the making. "Seems like he can't keep inviting hardship into his life."
Einstein nodded as she continued down the list. "Herrscher of Stars, Owl of the World Serpent,"
"The World Serpent Officer?" Welt frown turned into a look of confusion. "I must admit that scenario happening might no longer be possible. With Kevin Kaslana back at leading the World Serpent I do not believe that whatever circumstance that allowed Owl to turn into a Herrscher will occur."
Yes there was a very slim chance that Owl would become a problem they needed to worry about. Einstein had no doubt that the original Kaslana would eliminate his officer if he ever began to show signs that he was transforming into a Herrscher.
"Next is the Herrscher of the…Rimestar?" Her voice held a tone of confusion at the unfamiliar Herrscher that was next on the list. Confusion turned into horror at what she read next. "A fusion of both Herrschers of Ice and Stars."
Welt frowned as he processed what he had heard. "That is…worrying."
That was significantly downplaying just how terrifying the ramifications were that a Herrscher could combine two radically different authorities. Even Einstein could not fathom how such a feat was possible.
However even if such a feat was possible, it only occurring once meant that the conditions for it to happen must be incredibly rare. It could not be their authorities, for Stars and Ice were so radically different from each other.
Then it must be related to the hosts then, Ana Schariac and Owl. Did those two share some sort of history together that made this seemingly impossible feat happen?
Something that she would have to look into later.
"Herrscher of Death," Whilst not knowing the identity of who this Herrscher Haruto had provided her information regarding them that Einstein was dying to know. Any information related to one of their adversaries would be a godsend in helping them deal with them now.
However hope soon turned to ash when saw only a comment and not a descriptive paragraph. "Hmm all Haruto provided me about the Herrscher of Death was a connection to a Seele Volleri."
The name grabbed Welt's attention. "...Seele Volleri you say?"
"You recognize the name Welt?" She asked.
"Yes," The Sovereign nodded. "I recognize that name in the reports that we were able to uncover from Cocolia's personal servers after we were punishing her for her attack on St. Freya."
The cyan haired scientist pulled up the files on her tablet and did a quick search of the name. "The X-10 Trials." She said as she opened the file and began to read it.
It involved the testing of the orphans that Cocolia had on their honkai resistance. The theory was that since most if not all of the orphans were from the aftermath of the Second Eruption then they would have a high resistance to honkai. If trained they could become Anti-Entropy's own kind of Valkyries.
However despite the promising preliminary results none of the children who participated in the trials were able to reach the level that the blond enforcer was looking for. Some of the children like Sin Mal showed that they had enough honkai aptitude to be able to become officers within Anti-Entropy.
"Indeed but seeing how they have been decommissioned for so long I didn't put much thought into it. Though now that we know this Seele child is connected to the Herrscher of Death it makes me wonder if Cocolia knew about it as well."
Einstein frowned, that was a worrying train of thought. It certainly fit the enforcer's methodology. Raising a child with the love of a mother and she would no doubt have a loyal defender of a Herrscher when the time came.
But Cocolia was also one who knew the risks of a Honkai Herrscher Eruption as she had been a survivor of the Second Eruption. It was more plausible that she would remove Seele should she ever learn of her connection to the Herrscher of Death.
Was it just a coincidence then? It certainly did not help that Seele Volleri was considered MIA and not deceased. Without confirmation of the girl's condition or her whereabouts they had only had speculations to go off of.
"It is clear that we must strengthen our surveillance on Cocolia. Have her transferred directly under my watch, she will not be able to move freely." Welt commanded.
Einstein nodded. "Tesla and I can handle the finalization of our alliance with Schicksal." That was more of a logistic problem anyway, something that she and her red haired partner were used to.
"Next on the list is the Herrscher of Sentience," The scientist paused at the name. "...Fu Hua?"
"Fu Hua?" Welt did not know what to think that the name of someone he had worked with was on the list. "Now how…I was not expecting that."
"No rather they grew…within her?" She frowned at the description that Haruto had given her. Something related to her origin that he didn't know fully of or understood and merely wrote that they would have to ask Fu Hua to explain.
"Is that even possible?"
"It is the Honkai, anything is seemingly possible." She retorted back.
Welt simply shrugged his shoulders, unable to refute it, and motioned for her to continue.
"Herrscher of Domination, Identity Unknown."
"No surprise." Welt commented. "They were more of a collective unconscious than a single entity. I doubt that knowing the identity of any one of them will help us in the long run."
Still it would've helped knowing where it would begin so they could possibly mitigate the Herrscher's rapid propagation.
"With the exception of one more name on the list that will be it," Einstein commented as she had reached the end of the list, with the sole exception of one more Herrscher. "Haruto made no mention of Binding or Corruption."
"Perhaps there is a reason why Haruto did not share them." The Sovereign theorized "Perhaps the identity of those two might have us questioning things we already know. Or maybe he simply does not know who they are."
Both had worrying implications. For the former it meant that someone they knew would become a Herrscher or that it would make it difficult for them to plan around. The latter implied that they would be dealing with a massive unknown, which was worrying as Corruption and Binding were the final two Herrschers before Finality."
"Let us put that train of thought to the side. We have other Herrschers to worry about." Einstein waved the line of thought away as she went to finish the list off.
"Herrscher of the…Flamescion," Blue eyes squinted in confusion at the unfamiliar title before widening at the name she saw.
"Kiana Kaslana?"
After a serious event that left one both physically and mentally injured, the usual course of action would be to take it easy whilst one recovered.
It should be what Durandal should be doing but instead of being on her bed resting she was back at her office, filling out paperwork.
The S-Rank Valkyrie's injuries still prevented her from being back at peak physical condition and back on the field but thankfully Schicksal medicine worked fast enough that her injuries would not hinder her abilities in filling out paperwork.
As the Commander of the Immortal Blades there was much that needed her final approval. Allocation of resources, confirming Valkyrja operations, and all of the other paperwork that was expected of a commander to sign. She was also partially responsible for the other Valkyrja Squads currently stationed in the headquarters meaning she had their paperwork to contend with as well.
And being absent for the past few days meant that the paperwork was already beginning to stack up on top of each other. Any longer and it would get to the point where it would hamper their efficiency as a military force.
It also allowed her to push her mind away from the loss that had been inflicted on the Immortal Blades.
She was not suppressing her grief, at least she wasn't. If she was not doing anything then she would drift back to the state she had been in before Haruto had managed to break her free.
Bianka was not the best when it came to…processing her emotions. Being raised as an amnesic orphan did not help her growing up and the life of a Valkyrie was all she knew how to do well. She needed to kill a honkai beast? No problem.
Dealing with complicated feelings…not so much.
The blond woman found that focusing on work allowed her to process her emotions better than simply sitting still by herself. She had always seen that such time could be put to better use, after all a busy soul was a soul that could not reminisce on the past.
And a despondent S-Rank Valkyrie was not what Schicksal needed, not right now. The Immortal Blades needed to be revitalized, the numbers they had lost needed to be quickly replenished with the emergence of the new alliance between Anti-Entropy and Schicksal.
An alliance between the two organizations was good news for Durandal. It meant that they could finally put aside their differences against their shared enemy, an enemy that humanity needed all of its strength to bear against.
Which was what she was doing right now. As commander of the Immortal Blades she was the one who had the ultimate say on who joined their ranks. She kept tabs on promising Valkyries from different battalions and squadrons and at the moment she was sending invitations to everyone on that list.
She signed her name on the last of the invitations before taking the stack of them and handing it off to the side.
"Have the invitations sent with utmost haste Rita…." She paused when she realized that she was not speaking to the maid Valkyrie but rather to Alvitr, who was serving as Rita's stand in while she recovered.
"Ah forgive me Alvitr-san, a force of habit I assure you." She apologized as she turned to the Valkyrie with an apologetic smile.
"It is of no worries Durandal-sama," Alvitr assured as she took the papers from her superior officer. "While I may not be able to fill the shoes of Rita-sama while she recovers I will do my very best not to let you down!"
In turn Durandal smiled encouragingly. "You are already doing good, keep it up Alvitr-san."
The Immortal Blade Valkyrie smiled as she saluted to her before leaving to accomplish her newfound duties, leaving Durandal all alone in her office. The blond Valkyrie moved to complete her next task, only to stop when she realized that she had just finished all her work for the day.
"Am I really all done now?" Bianka muttered to herself as she closed her eyes to try and think. There was no way that she had managed to finish all of her paperwork, including her news ones that correlated to the new alliance. She tried to think of anything else that she needed to do, only to realize that technically she was not supposed to be here in the first place and that meant all of her usual work had been delegated to other people.
Maybe she really should head back to her room and-
"No not yet, perhaps a walk might help clear my mind." She thought to herself as she stood up from her desk and left her office.
The blond S-Rank Valkyrie soon found herself wandering the headquarters, returning the greetings of those she passed. She tried to set her mind to do something to take her mind off things but found she simply didn't have the energy to do anything.
After some time spent just wandering aimlessly around, Durandal stopped in her tracks and sighed. She was doing everything in her power to not go and rest, to not confront what she had been trying to avoid the whole day.
Was she really this stubborn?
Surely she was not afraid of confronting her emotions?
"E-Excuse me," A voice called out to her, breaking her out of her thoughts. "Might you be Commander Durandal?"
"Ah yes," The S-Rank Valkyrie turned around to see a man and woman who looked to be around their fifties, who also looked familiar to her, walk up to her. "Forgive me but may I ask who you are."
"Our troublemaker of a daughter served under you." The man answered her.
That in of itself wasn't uncommon. While the secret of the Honkai was largely kept secret, most of the families of the Valkyries knew about it to some degree. It wasn't uncommon that some of the Valkyries' families come to visit and she had greeted more than a few of them.
"Ah, her name was Morgan," The man supplied, making Bianka's blue eyes widen at the revelation.
"Thank you Durandal-sama! I know as long as I fight alongside you nothing can beat me!"
"Ah," After the shock had died down the S-Rank Valkyrie turned her head away shamefully from the parents in front of her. "Forgive me, because of me your daughter is dead."
Her mind replayed that harrowing moment in the forest when Morgan had turned around, showing the zombie that had taken the energetic girl's face. She remembered how the other Valkyries had turned as well, of how those she had fought alongside she now had to fight against.
She remembered how she had held the Abyss Flower in her hands before she had begun to carry out one final kindness for her comrades.
Of that crushing feeling of how she had failed every single one of-!
She was jolted out of it when she felt a pair of hands cradle her own. Surprised, Bianka turned her head to see that it had been the mother to take her hand. "We wanted to thank you." The woman said with a smile, much to the shock of Bianka. "For bringing our daughter back home to us one final time."
…Why was she thanking her? She was the reason her daughter was dead and not with them right now. Why was she not angry with her, shouting at her for not doing better to save them?
"But-,"
The father spoke before she could. "Our daughter was lost when growing up, never having any interest in anything that she wanted to do in her life. We feared that she'd grow up listless, hence why we recommended joining the military."
"But even that wasn't enough to bring out her passion and we feared that our daughter would forever remain listless." The mother admitted as she looked at her husband with an exasperated look to which he returned.
"However that all changed when she was placed under your command."
Bianka felt something clench at her heart tightly when she heard that. What had she done? All she had done was what was expected of any Valkyrie, of any leader. She wasn't anything special, she had just done what felt like anyone in her position would do.
The mother continued on. "Whenever she called we would see her always smiling, always happy to tell us of how happy she was fighting alongside you and learning under you."
The father nodded. "We wanted to thank you. For not only giving our daughter hope, but also giving her new baby brother a person to look up to. She wrote a lot of stories about you that she wanted to read to him as he grew up."
Blue eyes widened as Bianka remembered the last conversation that she had. That was right, Morgan had been a big sister. A big sister that would never be able to cherish the little brother she had been so excited to take care of.
So why…why were they thanking her?
"I…understand." Was all she could say, not trusting her emotions to say the right thing at that moment as she struggled to comprehend it all. The rest of the conversation went by like a blur for the S-Rank Valkyrie, barely being able to remember saying her farewells to the parents as her mind was too preoccupied with itself.
The sun was setting when Bianka found herself back in front of the Valkyrja Memorial, a bouquet of flowers in her hands. Placed in front of the slate that had the names of the recently fallen Immortal Blades was another bouquet of flowers, a sash with the insignia of the Tyrfing Squadron tied to it.
She had not heard of Midori's condition for the last few days. The Valkyrie had been distraught after waking up and yet to leave the room that she had been recovering in. From what she knew only a few were allowed in to see her and her condition was not the best.
It was a reminder that she was not alone in her grief.
Standing in front of the slate so many things were going through her mind. So much that she wanted to say, so much that she needed to get off her chest.
"F-Forgive me everyone," She spoke out loud as she placed the bouquet of flowers down and exhaled a shaky breath. Her eyes began to water as she gathered the strength to continue. "I faltered for a while. I-I… "
Even now she was faltering, refusing to face her grief head on by herself as she thought of heading back to her office. She was not the strong Durandal that everyone thought she was. For how could she be when she could not face this grief head on, opting to only hide behind duty as an excuse.
But hiding would not solve her problems, no matter how much she wished it to be. Was that not what she taught her Valkyries? That some problems required you to face it head on?
And here she was ignoring her own teachings.
"I…I promise to do better," She vowed as she placed a fist over her heart, solidifying her oath. "To be the Valkyrie that you were all proud to serve under."
"Bianka?" A familiar voice called out to her.
She turned around and greeted her red haired friend who was walking up to her. "Ah Haruto. Did you need me for something?"
Haruto shook his head when he stopped right next to her. "When you didn't show up for our training session I thought something had happened. You okay?"
"Not yet," She turned back to the memorial and felt that a chunk of the weight that had been dragging her down had been lifted. It was still there but-
"But I will be."
It wouldn't be there forever.
Meanwhile in a hidden location a meeting of the World Serpent's highest officials was taking place.
"To think a day would come that the vaulted Immortal Blades would fail," Gray Serpent remarked at his position at a table as he poured over various screens of information. His backdoors in Schicksal's systems had been busy over the past few days, every level on the organization's hierarchy shaken by their recent defeat.
"What did you expect," Raven commented across from the masked hacker. "The Herrschers of Death and Binding, alongside the fact that they are the incarnations from the Previous Era. I'm honestly surprised they hadn't been completely eradicated."
"It's all due to Durandal's efforts," Owl spoke up beside her. The surveillance officer had recovered ever since his failure at Nagazora. Being effectively banned from leading any future operations the cybernetic teenager had watched the entire operation of the Immortal Blades go down. "Without her going up against the Herrscher of Death the rest of her teammates would've met gruesome deaths."
"There is also the interference of the Flamechaser Su and his entourage." Gray Serpent spoke up. "Without them the Herrscher of Binding wouldn't have been distracted and thus was unable to render aid to her ally Herrscher."
"And the whereabouts of these two Herrschers?" Raven asked Owl.
"Unknown," The teeanger shrugged. "I quickly lost contact with them when the Virtues began to stagger behind them and kill anything that tried to follow."
"Back to square one then," Raven clicked her tongue. "So what's our next step?"
"Nothing." Gray Serpent bluntly stated.
The mercenary raised an eyebrow in turn. "Nothing?"
"Indeed," The masked hacker elaborated. "We have no reason to engage the two Herrschers when we have Schicksal and Anti-Entropy to do it for us."
"It does make sense resource wise." Added Owl. "We don't exactly have anything that can match them in the open field and even if we did it'd be showing our hand too early."
But Raven was not convinced. Were they not the World Serpent? Were they not supposed to deal with threats of the Honkai as they arose? There was no way that they sat back and did nothing. "And what if they decide to raid one of our bases? As you said yourself we have nothing to deal with a Herrscher, we might lose valuable resources."
"Then we simply move our resources and allies to our more isolated bases," Gray Serpent retorted calmly. "They will not seek us out when they have to contend with their pursuers. We may relocate your 'nest' if you are so paranoid about the threat these Herrschers posses."
In the face of all that logic Raven couldn't find any other retort. She disliked the notion that there were two Herrschers running about without any sort of. It put the children under her protection vulnerable and she could not protect them from this threat.
Still, Gray Serpent's offer was one she was going to accept. She knew the shoddy hacker would never allow the allocation of the children to one of their more secure bases under normal circumstances but since he had offered she wasn't going to deny it.
"No, we will not stand idly by in this." A voice commanded. Immediately the three high ranking officers turned their attention to the head of the table they were sitting at, where Kevin Kaslana had remained silent until this very moment.
"Sire?" Gray Serpent asked.
"We will engage the Herrschers but not directly." Their leader spoke as his icy blue eyes looked at every single one of them. Even with countless years as a ruthless mercenary Raven was still unnerved whenever she made eye contact with the Kaslana. "Let Schicksal and Anti-Entropy contend with the two Herrschers, it will prepare them for those that come after. We shall aid them by hampering those that the Herrschers will call upon to aid them."
"Reinforcements?" Owl asked in confusion, a sentiment shared by everyone else. Had they missed something crucial? "Are we expecting to fight more Herrschers?"
However instead of answering directly Kevin Kaslana merely turned to the intelligence officer. "Owl you will strengthen your surveillance network in Europe, Gray Serpent will assist you in this endeavor. Locate any Virtues that appear and send out strike forces to deal with them swiftly"
The two individuals that had been called out slowly looked to each other, unsure of what exactly they were to be searching for, but ultimately nodded as they received their new assignment.
"Raven," Kevin turned to the hooded mercenary. "You will be accompanying me."
That took all three of them by surprise. Ever since their sire had returned from the Quantum Sea he had taken what one might say a…hands off approach in leading the World Serpent. The white haired warrior would only intercede in certain decisions and even then those were rare. For the most part he allowed the high ranking officers to continue making decisions as usual.
"As you wish Sire." They all said in unison.
After that the meeting concluded, leaving the leader of the World Serpent alone as his subordinates went off to prepare for their new assignments. Though he would not be left alone for long as the sound of clicking heels were coming from behind him.
"Hare," He greeted the newcomer without turning his head.
The white haired woman smiled as she took a spot right next to him. "I do wonder if this is how you planned it all to happen?"
Kevin knew she was referring to their dual Herrscher threat. It..complicated many of their present plans. Schemes and operations that they had planned for now had to be scrapped due to the interference of the two Herrschers.
"It doesn't matter," He said in his usual unbothered tone. "It does not matter what the Honkai throws at us, humanity will succeed. Have you looked into what I asked of you?"
"While I may be an expert in those matters," Hare started out. "Replicating what Flamechaser Elysia did to the Herrscher of Binding will be nigh impossible for me. From what you described such a feat can only be performed by her for reasons that are too obvious."
Yes that was a shame. Elysia's…special powers were near impossible to replicate, even with Hare's mastery over the stigmata space and the Imaginary space. It was the one trump card that Kevin knew they could have over the problematic Herrscher of Binding but it was of no matter.
"Well it doesn't matter then. I would have you focus on another task."
"Oh?" Hare's periwinkle eyes glanced at Kevin in curiosity.
"You shall comb through the data banks Cosmic Juggernaut for something for me." He informed her, making her raise her eyebrow in surprise. The Divine Key did indeed possess a plethora of information of the Previous Era. However even if it was to aid their great mission the Kaslana prohibited anyone from going through.
So giving her free reign to search through it now was quite the surprise.
"And what shall you have me look for?"
"A golden sword," He told her as he remembered the files of Haruto Nakamura that they had managed to hack from Schicksal. Of the golden sword stigma that was emblazoned on his shoulder.
"The sight of Haruto's stigma…it reminded me of something that Dr. Mei mentioned and I wish to confirm something."
Meanwhile in another part of the world the Herrschers were not standing idly by. Standing before Gabriel were a legion of kneeling Virtues. The statue-like angels in front of her were all that had survived their encounter with Schicksal.
They were lower than she had wanted but they were enough to complete what she needed to get done.
"You have your duties to accomplish, go in the name of our Lord." She commanded as the wings of the Virtues unfurled and before long they were high in the sky, the clouds soon obscuring their forms.
"Back on your feet?" Veliona smirked as she walked up to the nun from behind. "That took faster than I expected."
"A momentary relapse of my will," The nun responded back, her usual tone back as she raised one of her hands to touch her new blindfold. While it was not a perfect replacement for her old one, it was...nice enough that she had not replaced it yet. "It will not happen again."
"And you're back to your pious old self, good." The Herrscher of Death joked, one that got a small smile from the Herrscher of Binding. After that night the two's relationship with each other and become something akin to that of…more than acquaintances.
But they were Herrschers, such rapport was not needed to carry out their mission.
Veliona's indigo eyes looked up to the sky just as the last Virtue flew out of sight. "So what's up with sending the rest of our Virtues off? We lost most of them covering our escape and no doubt Schicksal will descend on them the moment they show up."
"They have been assigned new missions," Answered Gabriel as the Oath of Judah floated behind her. "Missions that will aid us in our goal."
"Yeah our goal," The short haired woman thought back to the reason they had been reincarnated in this era in the first place. Well it was more like a gut feeling of what they needed to do rather than being told of what it actually was. However for them Herrschers it was a feeling that was almost second nature to them.
After all it was how she learned that she was the Herrscher of Death.
"Find that mystery anomaly that the Honkai wish to remove and-!"
"Haruto Nakamura." Gabriel interrupted Veliona.
"...We have a name now," The Herrscher of Death started out, surprise in her voice as she glanced at her partner. "How did…? When did you learn of this?"
"I was spoken to in my slumber." Gabriel provided, to which Veliona merely nodded in understanding.
The sole exception to that 'gut feeling' rule seemed to be Gabriel. Veliona did not know how it came to be but the Herrscher of Binding seemed to possess the ability to commune, to a degree that no other Herrscher was capable of, with the Honkai itself.
But hearing how she had been 'spoken' to had her frowning. "Is it not related to what happened to us in the woods when we-,"
"No that…interloper has been taken care of." The nun informed her, thinking of the same thing that she was. "The…metal puppet will no longer interfere with our holy work."
That was certainly some good news but…
"How are you so sure?"
"Because the voice that spoke to me was the same voice that spoke out to me when I ascended to become the Herrscher of Binding." Gabriel informed her. "Our target is a Knight of Schicksal, one that bears close ties with Durandal Atageina."
"Does he?" The Herrscher of Death could not stop the grin that bloomed on her face. "Well things got interesting. Means we can finish some unfinished business then."
Because if that was the case...then that meant she'd get that rematch she was itching to have.
She cracked her knuckles in excitement. "So we find this Haruto Nakamura person, kill him and then-,"
"Not kill," The nun corrected, stopping her right in her tracks. "We are to capture him alive."
"...Alive?" Veliona questioned incredulously. This was new for them. Destruction had always been their mission, leaving nothing but ash in their wake.
So to instead do the exact opposite was surprising.
"And what exactly are we supposed to do with him then?"
Gabriel then turned to face Veliona.
"We are to bring him to an audience before our God."
It was the middle of the night in the woods where the Herrscher of Binding and Death had clashed with the Immortal Blades. Ever since the events of that night Schicksal had made sure that there was heavy military presence in the area just in case either of the Herrschers returned for whatever reason.
Yet for the red jester that was casually strolling through the woods, they could care any less. They eventually stopped in the clearing where the Herrscher of Death had fought the infamous S-Rank Valkyrie Durandal at. The evidence of their clash was still present, with the torn up pieces of earth and the craters that littered the area.
The smiling mask of the jester surveyed the destruction that surrounded them but they did not care for that. The head of the jester that an Aeon was using stopped when its eyes stopped at a particular part of the ground before walking over to it.
Kneeling down at the seemingly unimportant spot the jester lowered their hand to touch the ground. However the moment their hand touched the ground they instantly recoiled as if they had been shocked.
Pulling their hand away the Aeon looked at their white hand glove as something began to play in their mind.
Of a scene that only a Kaslana, two Valkyries, a Flamechaser, and two Herrschers knew of.
"So that was your ploy, oh metal puppet," Aha chuckled to themself as they stood back up once the memory had finished playing out. "One final gambit to tell your allies of the coming danger, though I wonder if you have done enough to change anything?"
They had been eliminated oh so quickly as well, the moment that…well the moment that the impossible had become possible. The Aeon of Elation wondered what other impossibilities they would encounter on this rather primitive planet.
They threw their head back and laughed out loud, maniacal laughter echoing throughout the woods. Surely if someone was close to hearing such laughter would feel them with dread, the twisted amusement of a god that a mortal could never hope to understand.
"Ah such a riveting play I've found myself in, twist and turns at every turn. Revelations made, secrets uncovered, and so many cliffhangers that would be worthy of song!"
Bringing their head back down the eyes of the jester mask glowed an intense red. "So many performers on this stage, each one with the capability of changing this story. What will happen at the very end I wonder..."
The red jester turned their head to the sounds of approaching footsteps. Stepping from behind a tree was none other than the Herrscher of Sentience, grinning as she curtseyed to the Aeon of Elation.
"If we added a bit of elation to it all?"
And somewhere in the vast expanse of the universe a familiar voice hummed to herself as she was alone in her domain.
"And the board changes evermore," Black Swan commented to herself as she moved the many pieces on the board that was arranged in front of her. Each piece represented a player in the cosmic game that had been played since the beginning of time itself
"No doubt the other Aeons have caught on to what is happening on Earth but how will they act? None have the power to defy Terminus, and none are as crazed as Aha to interfere directly as they are?"
The Memokeeper reached her hand out and grabbed the sole piece that stood in the middle, a simple but very important knight piece.
"I wonder Haruto if you realize where you stand in all of this. Allies you may have but will they be enough to help you weather the storm that slowly approaches? Do you realize the cosmic consequences should you fail?"
The Memokeeper shook her head. It was not her place to decide what happened or not, only those on Earth would be able to decide what future they wanted to take. She was just a spectator that helped…nudge things along.
Like now.
"Now then…" Black Swan smiled as she turned her head up to see the figure of Ai Hyperion standing expectedly in front of her.
"Is that not why you are here?"
"For answers to the questions you have?"
ELDEN RING DLC TOOK WAY TOO MUCH OF MY TIME LOL!
Not to mention Dawntrail and AX2024? Heads up next chapter is gonna take longer then usual(Which is long already).
Another Haruto-POV less chapter and for that I apologize everyone. I just couldn't for the life of me think of a POV that would be relevant to the chapter. He'll have a POV in the next chapter, just not in the way you think it might be.
I'm expecting some people to disagree with how I made him reveal his knowledge to Einstein, Tesla, and Welt but here was my reasoning. As the plot changes more and more from canon then his knowledge becomes less reliable. Yes it can still help but we've gotten to the point where he alone cannot change things with his knowledge, so he tells it with the people he knows that will treat such knowledge carefully and have the power to do something with it.
Case in point with Otto Apocalypse.
Now another thing I'm expecting some different opinions on. We know that Otto's endgame was never relying on any Herrscher powers to 'bring Kallen back' but it wasn't always like that in my opinion. He genuinely believed that the Herrscher of Death was his ticket to his goal until he found they weren't. I think that he learns of this during the events of the HI3 Comic where Su and Bianka first meet in the Cosmic Juggernaut and at the end of it the Valkyrie delivers a leaf to Otto. It's never shown what he was shown but the with how the events after this comic plat out I believe Otto is shown the Herrscher of Death would never help him in his goal. But if you were to take this encounter away then Otto never comes across this information and charges ahead with bringing Sushang back thinking that when he has the Herrscher of Death Kallen coming back will soon follow after.
But that's my interpretation of it.
Also the early decision to have Haruto's knowledge only up to the extent of the Theater of Domination and not up to the arc of Otto reviving Kallen(because when I wrote this story that was the latest story chapter in-game) is really coming back to haunt me lol.
The rest of the chapter involves some of the rest of the players that were seemingly out of play, what could my endgame possibly be with this range of different characters hmm?
Welp that's all for this chapter. If you enjoyed it, drop a fav/follow/kudos as they really help me out with creating great chapters. Reviews are deeply appreciated, they're the biggest motivation to keep writing, and if you have a question or a really interesting theory I am more than happy to reply. Please be patient if I don't respond to you super fast. Even if I don't respond to your comment for whatever reason, know that I read each and every one of them! PMing me is the best way for me to respond to your questions.
Peace!