A loud shot rang out. A Honkai beast fell to the ground, smoke wafting out of a hole in its carapace. It had joined the other beasts, whose corpses were beginning to disintegrate into violet dust and the zombies who had been bisected and sliced in all sorts of manner. A boot came down, shattering the carapace into pieces.
"I think that's the last one," Ceci said, eyeing her surroundings. She removed the empty magazine from her pistol and replaced it with a new one. Her blue eyes made their way to her father, who pulled Shamash out of the body of a Chariot.
"Cecilia said to meet her at the tower. The best we can do is clear the path for her so it won't be too difficult," Siegfried said.
That's right… he's trying to prevent her from fighting in the war. But why? Ceci raised an eyebrow in confusion. "But why? Wouldn't it be better to get more help? Especially from her?"
Siegfried shook his head as he hefted Shamash on his shoulder. He walked past her and beckoned for her not to fall behind. "Cecilia Schariac is the strongest Valkyrie in Schicksal. However, she just gave birth to our daughter. If she joins while she's still in this state, then I'm afraid she might not make it back.
"I'm the last person on this planet to hold her back, especially from a fight. I know how strong my wife is but… Kiana's birth was traumatic and she got weaker as a result of that. She's Ljust only beginning to recover now."
That's right. Sis said that Mom died in the Second Honkai War… even if this is just a dataspace, isn't there a way for me to mess with the outcome like in a game? Ceci thought as she saw the look on her father's face.
"Wait? Daughter? Don't you mean daughters?" Ceci asked.
"Daughters? What are you-"
Huh?
A wave of nausea passed through Ceci's body. Her knees suddenly gave out and she fell on all fours. Her vision began to swim and swirl. Bile rose to her mouth and it took every ounce of self-control to not vomit right there in front of her father. It was a dizzying, disorienting sensation.
"Oi! Ceci!"
Ceci looked up at her father's worried expression.
"Are you alright? You just suddenly keeled over," Siegfried said, holding her shoulders.
"I-" Ceci suddenly lost control and she pulled away, running to the closest bush and proceeded to vomit whatever she had eaten earlier.
"Hey, hey, just let it out," Siegfried said, rubbing soothing circles on her back.
After a few seconds, Ceci calmed down and she wiped her mouth. "Ugghhh…"
"Are you alright?" he asked.
"Yeah, it's…" she needed an excuse or else he would ditch her here and run off to that tower without her. "It's just that time of month!" Ceci said. Her cheeks were flushed red in embarrassment.
"Oh, um, I don't really know how to deal with this. Do you want to use Shamash as a heating pad?" Siegfried asked.
"No, Da- Siegfried, that's a terrible idea," she replied, catching herself before she called her father, "Dad".
"Jeez, did me talking about our twins give you cramps or something?" Siegfried asked.
"No, what? Talking about your daughters did not give me-"
Eh? Daughters? Didn't-
Ceci felt another sharp pain pass through her head. She gripped the side of her head briefly. The pain faded after a few seconds and she felt her head was clear once more. "Right, sorry about that. Let's just get to the tower."
"You sure? You look like you need to take a breather," Siegfried said.
"No, no. Like I said, it's just my… period," she finished.
"Okay, anyway…"
"About Cecilia?" Ceci asked.
"Right, Theresa and I are here to prevent Cecilia from coming out. My younger sister should be here too, leading another battalion on the western front of Siberia. I think the message to regroup reached them too… hopefully," he said.
Their boots crunched against the snowy path for a few seconds before Ceci spoke up.
"You mean… Kriemhilde?" she asked.
"Mmm. She's the other S-Rank Valkyrie. I think I told you about her. She almost killed me when I took up that test the Overseer gave me so that I can rejoin Schicksal, ahaha." Siegfried let out a hearty laugh.
Ceci smiled. She missed this. She always loved hearing her father's stories, especially the ones of his youth when he went around saving people and hunting things. Just like what she and her older sister were doing now. A sharp pain cut through her chest when she thought about her father. What would he say now if he were still here? Would he be proud of them?
Would he be proud of me? she thought. Ceci's gaze slowly went to the data simulation of her father, who was still talking about his life.
"Oi!"
Ceci blinked.
"You've been staring at me for a while now. Is there something on my face? Wait… is there Honkai blood on my face?" Siegfried asked.
"N- No, I was just lost in thought. You really remind me a lot of my Dad," she said.
"Well, if I do remind you of your Dad, then he must have been one good-looking bastard," Siegfried said, grinning.
"You talk like him too," she said with a deadpan expression on her face.
"Ahahaha, really? Your mom must have had good taste then," Siegfried replied.
"Yeah… she did," Ceci said.
"Mmm? You two seem to be having a lot of fun."
Ceci and Siegfried jumped at the sound of her voice.
"Jesus, Cecilia! Stop doing that!" Siegfried said, clutching his chest.
"Pfft, I don't think I will. It's too funny~! Anyway, Siegfried, I have good news. Theresa's going to live another day-"
"You goddamn psycho! Using Abyss Flower to-"
Theresa's voice was suddenly cut off.
"Theresa's right, Cecilia. Using a Divine Key like Abyss Flower to heal all those valkyries in your condition. Are you sure you don't want to just let me handle this?" Siegfried asked.
"And let you die out there so I can mourn you as a widow? Siegfried, we promised to be apart from each other ever again. I'm not letting you go, even in death," she replied.
"But-"
"Look, dear, you're worrying too much. It's not like I'm going to fight the Second Herrscher alone. We'll fight her together. And… it's our job. You're a Paladin and I'm a Valkyrie. Protecting innocent people is our sacred duty," Cecilia said.
"But, Ceci-"
"I don't want to argue about this, Ziggy. I know you don't want me to do this but I can't just stand by and watch millions of innocent people die knowing I could have done something," Cecilia replied.
Siegfried ran a hand through his hair and let out a heavy sigh. "I can never win against you…"
"You've lost every argument we've had ever since we started dating and after we got married. Don't expect to start winning one now~," Cecilia chirped.
"Hah, you got me there," he said.
"I'll meet you two at the Tower. Don't be late," Cecilia said before cutting the line.
"Well," Siegfried said. He glanced at Ceci, who was listening to the whole conversation quietly.
"You heard the woman. Let's get a move on!" he grinned and continued the trek toward the tower.
Babylon Labs. That was the name of the gargantuan obsidian tower that stood before her. Its blinking lights resembled eyes that gazed out over the landscape, keeping an eternal vigil in this inhospitable, frozen wasteland. It looked massive from a distance but seeing it up close and personal, she couldn't find the exact words to describe it. Nor could she find the words to describe this feeling of foreboding and recognition she felt when she saw it. It had truly lived up to its name.
Her footsteps clacked against the metal platform leading up to the tower entrance. Massive poles were arranged in concentric circles around the base of the tower.
The closer she got, the stronger the feeling became. She had been here before and she did not know when. It was like an itch she could not scratch. A nagging, annoying feeling in the depths of her subconscious. But she knew that she had never been here before.
"Or have you? It all began here you know. Before Kiana… Before Dad… Before Mom…"
"Who-?" Ceci whirled around and looked for the source of the voice.
"You okay?" Siegfried asked.
"Yeah, just a bit jumpy," Ceci said, rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment.
"Mmm, wait here for a second. I'm going to scout ahead and see if I can find us an easier way in. I don't think taking the elevator is the best idea right now," Siegfried said, walking ahead of her.
"R- Right," Ceci said. Now what am I supposed to do?
"Mmm?" she saw a notification appearing on her HUD.
[Incoming call from Cecilia Schariac]
"Eh? Mom? Why is she calling me?" Ceci wondered. She shrugged and pressed a button on her headband, accepting the call.
"Go for Ceci," she said.
"Oh my, this voice! I knew I got the right frequency! And all I had to do was twist Theresa's arm a bit!" she heard her mother's voice on the other side of the channel.
"Mo- Cecilia! Why… Why are you calling me?" Ceci asked, kicking an errant rock across the metallic platform.
"Hmm? Can I not call you?" Cecilia asked.
"N- No! It's just… we've never met before so…" she trailed off, not knowing what to say to her mother, whom she had never met.
"Fufufu," Cecilia giggled. "It's alright. I understand that this might be out of the blue and whatnot. But anyway, I do have a small, teeny favor to ask you."
"A favor? Anything! I'll do anything! I'll even put my life on the line for you.," Mom, she added as an afterthought.
"Oh my, that's a bit extreme. But no, this favor isn't life-threatening or anything. Just this once… can you try calling me 'Mom'?" Cecilia asked.
Ceci froze.
That word. Mom.
Words she had longed to say. Words she longed to say to a woman she had never met. Her father and Kiana had always told her about their mother and she always found it strange that she had very little memories of her Mom. However, Kiana always told her that it was just amnesia she suffered from when they were escaping from the bad guys. Who the bad guys were, Kiana would never say. Though, other times, she just chalked it up to her being very young.
Her heart beat rapidly as she processed Cecilia's request over and over again in her mind. "Ah… can I ask why?" she asked. Her breathing increased slightly.
"Hmm? Oh, um, it's just that… your voice. It sounds exactly how I imagined my little Ceci's voice to sound like all grown up," her mother replied.
Ceci remained silent.
"Please! Please do this for me!" Cecilia asked.
A blush spread across Ceci's face. She gathered up the courage to call her something she had longed to say for 17 years. "M- Mo-... Mom!" Ceci stuttered out.
A long pause passed between them and Ceci feared that she had just made things awkward by accepting Cecilia's odd request.
"Yayy! That… That really made my day just now! Recording this ASAP! I'm going to show this to Kiana and Ceci after all this is over," Cecilia said.
Ceci pursed her lips. She took a deep breath and spoke into the comms. "H- Hey, Cecilia, can I ask something of you too?"
"Mmm? What is it?" Cecilia asked.
"Can you… Can you give up this mission and let Da- Siegfried and I handle it?" she asked.
Another pause passed between them.
"Mmmm, that's an odd request. Did Siegfried and Theresa get you in on this too? Oh well, since it's you, mind telling me why?" Cecilia said.
"Theresa… said that you're in poor health and the Old Man said that since you're using Abyss Flower after childbirth, it's only going to make you weaker," Ceci said.
"Mmm, they were in pretty bad shape. Also… that part is kind of true, ehehe. Also, the Second Herrscher looks really strong on paper," she replied.
"So-"
"And to calculate my chances of winning, I have an 80% chance of coming out on top, right?" she said.
Eh? 80%? That's more than what Dad and Aunt Teri are telling me, Ceci thought.
"If… if it's 80%, then why are Siegfried and Theresa so worried?" she asked.
"Well, I did have a traumatic childbirth. Twins aren't easy you know, especially if they're your first! I was pushing for hours, and then I bled! But… other than that, I guess that's just what they do. Theresa has always been a worrywart since I was a B-Rank and Ziggy, well, that man gets so worked up sometimes. Those two combined… jeez, they even Cecilia-proofed the house when I was in the hospital. But enough about that, Ceci, don't worry about me," she said.
"But-"
"It'll be fine. 'Mom' is a lot stronger than she looks so trust me, kay, Baby Doll?" Cecilia said.
Her breath hitched. Baby doll. That was the pet name her father gave her and her older sister. Tears threatened to well up at the corner of her eyes but she fought to keep them down.
"Y- Yeah…," Ceci said.
"Good girl! Tell my dummy husband I'll be there in 10 minutes," her mother said. "Cecilia, out!"
Ceci heard the call cut off just in time to see her father walking toward her.
"No sign of the Second Herrscher and the Tower's practically deserted. For a lair, you'd think there would be more Honkai Beasts here," Siegfried said, rubbing the back of his head.
"Isn't that a good thing?" Ceci asked.
"Usually it is but I can't help but feel that something is off… about this," Siegfried said.
"Really, I think that-" Ceci suddenly grabbed Siegfried's coat and pulled him back. The sudden impact and subsequent shockwave knocked them both off their feet and sent them flying into the air.
Siegfried caught himself and landed on the ground. Ceci was not as dextrous as her father but managed to barely stick a landing.
"A Honkai beast?" Ceci said.
"It looks different from the others we fought. It's… a lot stronger. And it looks like it won't let us through without a fight," Siegfried said, pulling Shamash out and transforming it into its sword form.
"Looks like," Ceci said, unholstering her pistols.
The Honkai Beast in question was a hulking monster, far taller than the Ganesha they had faced earlier. It had a large pink exhaust-like feature on its left with a small left arm while its right was disproportionately large. It stared at them with its featureless, silicone carapace for a face before letting loose an ear-piercing roar.
"That thing has some fire in its belly, huh!" Siegfried said, swinging Shamash.
"You say that like you're going to kill steal, Old Man," Ceci replied, spreading her legs slightly apart.
"At least there's only one-"
Another roar pierced the silence of the complex. From the sky, it landed with a thunderous slam. Another Honkai Beast had appeared, only it was the exact opposite of what had landed prior. A complete mirror reflection of its earlier counterpart. Rather than pink, it had bluish hues and its left arm was disproportionately large compared to its right.
"You had to say something, didn't you?" Ceci said, giving her father a dry look.
"At least it can't get any worse-"
The Blue Honkai Beast leaped at Siegfried, grabbing him with its obscenely large hand and threw him across the metal platform. He flew a great distance before landing in the snow on the other side.
"DAD!" Ceci yelled.
The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end when she felt the other one looming over her. On instinct, she activated her Time Fracture, dodging its large arm at the last second. She jumped into the air as time resumed normally and fired several rounds into its nape.
She cursed when the bullets barely even scratched its extremely dense shell.
"Well, fuck me… Neko Charm!" she said.
The Pink Beast rounded on her and jumped, attempting to grab her like it did her father.
She threw a fist forward, sending a massive cat-paw to intercept it. A ground-shaking blow rattled the entire platform. The sheer force and weight of such an attack caused the metal underneath them to bend and creak.
Ceci clenched her jaw as she held it back. Her blue eyes flitted over to the Blue Honkai Beast that was approaching her. "You want some too-" as she was about to send another cat's paw, a wave of flames slammed into the Blue Honkai Beast, sending it flying into the tower where it crashed violently.
"Let me finish my sentence!" Siegfried landed on the ground. He rubbed his jaw and spat out a glob of bloody spit onto the floor. He looked over to Ceci, who was holding back the Pink Beast with her hand. "You got that one, right?"
"Of course, something like this…" Ceci held up her other hand and threw a vicious right hook in its direction.
In an instant, another paw construct the size of a double-decker bus slammed into the Pink Beast's side, causing it to fly across the platform. It slammed into one of the metal poles, toppling it in an instant.
"Is nothing!" she grinned and gripped her pistols tightly.
"Right, then I call dibs on blue since it tried to kill me," Siegfried said. Ice formed underneath his feet and he propelled himself into the air.
"That's the thing…" No, now's not the time to be thinking about that. Now I have to- "FIGHT!" Ceci jumped over the Pink Beast as it came charging toward her. She fired several rounds into its shell before landing on the ground.
"Tch… White Comet! Initiate scan!" Ceci called out. Her HUD lit up as White Comet's AI scanned the beast before her.
[No data found.]
"Eh? EHHH!? No data! This damn suit! I need to get your software and hardware updated after I help Kiana," Ceci cursed. She took off in a headlong sprint toward the beast. "White Comet. Switch the ammo. Give me the antimatter rounds!"
[Switching magazine belt clip.]
Ceci jumped, dodging the arm before firing several shots at it. Her eyes widened when her shots managed to penetrate through the exposed pink flesh on its arm. She landed on the ground and backstepped to avoid a sweeping attack from the beast.
Its arm… am I seeing things?
She reached over to the clip on the side of her hip. Ceci quickly reloaded her pistols and began moving toward the Beast in a zigzagging manner. She slid underneath its arm before firing into the exposed pink flesh on its right arm.
The beast howled and whirled around, slamming its forearm into her.
However, it hit nothing but air and the metal platform. Ceci reappeared above it. "Eat shit, asshole!" Yellow energy crackled in the palm of her hand and swiped her arm. A massive cat's paw slammed into its side, sending it flying across the platform.
As it flew, its blue brethren flew from the opposite direction, slamming into it in midair. The two collided violently, kicking up dirt and snow.
Siegfried landed a short distance next to her, grinning like a madman. "Eat shit, you damn asshole," he said.
"We did it!" Ceci cheered. She reached out toward her father with her hand held out.
Siegfried let out a chuckle and high-fived Ceci. He then reached over and instinctively ruffled her hair.
Ceci's eyes widened before she subconsciously batted his hand away. "Dad! Stop that!"
Siegfried's face morphed into one of surprise when he heard her words.
It took a few seconds for Ceci's words to register inside her head. Her face turned red as she looked away in embarrassment. "S-Sorry, it's just that-"
"I get it. You miss your Dad. It's fine, kiddo. Though, it feels weird to be called Dad by a girl that's seven years younger than me. I'm only 24, you know," Siegfried said.
"R- Right, sorry. Well, should we get a move on and kick the Second Herrscher's ass?" Ceci asked.
"Yeah, let's-"
The ground shook and a low rumble alerted them to the location of the twin Honkai Beasts.
"Come on! Can't you two just die?" Ceci said, resting her fingers on the triggers of her pistols.
"Wait, something's not right," Siegfried said, holding his arm out.
The Twin Beasts lumbered toward them before freezing suddenly. Their bodies began to shake and spasm. The sickening sound of their joints twisting and cracking. Their tiny arms reached out and grabbed each other, pulling the two beasts together. Ceci and Siegfried took a slight step back, perturbed by the sight unfolding before them. The two beasts were fusing together. The sickening squelch and crunching noises were an assault on their ears. The sight of their carapace opening and the muscle and sinew squirming and slithering underneath was a violation of their sight.
"I think… I think I'm gonna hurl," Ceci said.
"... It's done," Siegfried said, watching as an aura of pure Honkai energy burst from the now-fused Honkai beast.
The energy rapidly spread across the platform, corroding and twisting the metal underneath its feet. It stood on its hind legs and let loose an ear-piercing screech. It slammed its massive arms on the ground, physically shaking the entire tower and the immediate surrounding area.
Ceci was almost knocked off her feet but managed to keep her balance. "Ol- Siegfried, what do we-!?" the words in her mouth died when she saw the sclera in her father's left eye slowly turn black. His blue eyes began to glow dimly.
"Killing a Honkai Beast this strong. I haven't done this since Cecilia and I got our date interrupted by an outbreak! My Kaslana blood is boiling!" Siegfried said, lifting Shamash and pointing it at the beast.
"Sheesh, Dad and Sis are really alike… but who am I to say anything? I'm the same too!" Ceci grinned and stared the beast down.
The pink and blue exhaust fins on its front began to glow brightly. With a roar, it fired two energy beams at them.
The two rolled out of the way, avoiding the beams. The two beams traveled across the platform before obliterating a rock formation in the distance.
"Damn, it can fire lasers? Ceci, are you ready?" Siegfried asked.
"Yeah! Just give me the signal!" Ceci replied.
"Well, here's your… signal!" Siegfried swung Shamash, unleashing a massive swathe of flames that tore across the metal platform.
At the signal of her pounding heart, Ceci tore from her spot, running after the high-speed cutting wave.
The Honkai Beast raised its arm and slammed it into the platform, sending a massive shockwave racing across the ground.
The flaming wave sliced through the shockwave, dispersing it across the earth. The foundation of the tower trembled violently and fissures opened up across the ground.
Ceci expertly maneuvered her way around the rapidly changing terrain, flipping and jumping into the air at the right moment.
Right now, Dad's counting on me. If it's anything like its pink self, then its big arms are its weak points. Only problem is…
"White Comet, scan it!" Ceci said as she circled the Beast.
[Scanning…]
[Honkai Energy Field detected!]
Ceci's visors lit up as she saw the Honkai Energy concentrations of the beast. Where it was more concentrated, the brighter it glowed on her visor. She shifted her focus and aimed for its arms.
"Your weakness is still the same!" Ceci jumped and kicked, sending a cat's paw slamming into its left side.
It stumbled, having been knocked off balance.
However, Ceci didn't surrender. She quickly capitalized upon the situation and fired several rounds into its underbelly. A grin spread across her face as she watched her bullets puncture its soft underside.
"And now…!" she swiped her arms in an x, slashing it across its belly with the cat paws. Several slash marks appeared on the carapace and flesh of the beast.
The Honkai Beast roared before getting up. It thrust its right arm at Ceci.
Ceci did not have time to react as she felt almost an entire ton of force colliding with her body. She bit down the urge to scream as she felt her bandaged ribs creak and groan. Her body flew at high speeds across the air until Siegfried caught her in his arms and landed on the ground.
"Hey, kid! You alright?" Siegfried asked. His eyes kept their focus on the Honkai Beast before him.
"Fuckin… yeah, my ribs," she said. Her hand gingerly touched her side and she winced when she felt a sharp pain travel through her torso. Her ribs hadn't healed yet. Scratch that, why did she even expect her ribs to heal at all? It had barely been 2 days since she got injured.
"Well, can you get up?" Siegfried asked.
"Yeah." Ceci got off her father's arms and glared at the lumbering beast. "You little-"
"Wait," Siegfried said. He gripped Shamash tightly.
"What is it?" Ceci asked.
The feeling of static filled the air around them. The beast let out a roar before unleashing several bolts of lightning at them.
Ceci and Siegfried evaded the attack before moving in, sidestepping every bolt launched in their direction.
"Lasters, lightning, shockwaves, is there anything this thing can't do!?" Ceci asked.
As if it heard her, it stood on its hind legs and slammed its blue arm into the platform before tearing out a large metal pipeline.
"You had to ask," Siegfried said.
"What the hell-"
"DODGE!"
Ceci, with the grace of a cat, flipped over the metal pipe thrust in her direction. She cartwheeled across it before running toward its face.
Next to her, Siegfried's speed increased to the point where he turned into a blur.
Ceci managed to make it to the beast's chest before it could pull the pipe out of the ground. She delivered a devastating roundhouse kick to the side of its skull, using a massive quantity of Honkai energy to reinforce her blow.
And it was extremely effective. The blow sent it careening to the side, knocking it off its left leg.
"And this!" she brought her leg down as if she were performing an axe kick. A massive cat's paw descended down from above it and slammed into its head, slamming it violently into the floor.
"Old Man!" Ceci yelled.
Siegfried appeared next to the Honkai Beast. "Burn out!" Siegfried's left eye glowed brightly as he swung Shamash, unleashing a cyclone of flames. The flaming tornado swallowed the Beast's body, incinerating it completely.
"Really? Burn out? What are you, a chuuni?" Ceci asked.
"What? It sounded cool. It sounded like that one line from Arahato," Siegfried replied.
"Is it dead?" Ceci asked.
"Of course. Nothing in the world can survive Shamash's flames forever. Not even Herrschers," Siegfried said.
Ceci watched in morbid curiosity as the flames crackled and popped. The Honkai Beast inside was being consumed by the flames. Its shell and flesh were being used as fuel, burning until not even its ashes would remain.
"Come on, let's go. We need to get inside the tower before-"
The ground shook. Siegfried and Ceci turned to see a massive black and blue Honkai Beast barreling in their direction.
A Parvati!? Here! In this simulation!
As the two prepared to fight, a silver blur suddenly impaled the Parvati through its shell. It had come from the air, coming down diagonally at impossibly high speeds. Another tremor rocked the area as the tower groaned and creaked, threatening to collapse on top of them.
Ceci coughed as the dust blew in her face. She squinted her eyes, attempting to see what was going on beyond the dust.
When the dust cleared, Ceci's eyes went wider than dinner plates. The Parvati, an extremely high-ranked Emperor Class Honkai Beast capable of destroying an entire city with ice, had been taken down in a single strike. Its corpse was slowly turning into black and violet dust where it had been pierced.
"Woah… it got one-shotted," Ceci said in a shocked tone.
Her eyes slowly traveled to the silver lance that was impaled into the ground. A simplistically designed weapon with a white outer shell that spiraled itself around a black interior that ended in a violet tip. Its handle was black with a violet gem at the pommel and a white grip.
"Hmph, that's Abyss Flower. That's the Sixth Divine Key that has the power to dematerialize anything," Siegfried.
"I told you to watch your back, didn't I?"
Ceci slowly looked toward the source of the voice. Her mouth opened slightly. Words wanted to escape but her voice would not allow her to speak.
This woman, who was the spitting image of her older sister, stood before her. The only difference between them was that Kiana wore her hair in a ponytail. She had warm blue eyes and long flowing white hair. There was a horn ornament on the left side of her head and she wore a pitch-black battlesuit with gold accents. Her black armored boots clacked against the metal platform as she walked to retrieve Abyss Flower.
"That's my Cecilia. Strongest Valkyrie in the world," Siegfried said, openly praising his wife.
A slight blush spread across Cecilia's face, though Ceci could not tell if it was from the Siberian chill or if it was from her father's attempt at flirting.
"Ziggy, stop it, you know I'm not good with compliments," Cecilia said.
"You know Dear, you looked really hot taking that Honkai Beast out-"
Siegfried ducked as a snowball flew across the air.
"S- Stop that! We're on a mission and there's someone here!" Cecilia said, her blush intensifying.
Her eyes flitted over to Ceci.
"Mmm? Oh, and this lovely lady must be Ceci. You, me, and my daughter even have the same name!" Cecilia smiled warmly at her.
"Ce…ci…lia," Ceci clutched her chest tightly as her heart ached. That smile. Her older sister's smile overlapped with that of their mother's. "Mom…"
A man sat in a room, surrounded by screens on all sides. He leaned back in his chair, disturbing his golden blonde hair as he eyed the screen with his analytical green eyes. A look of curiosity gleamed inside them as he took in what he had just witnessed.
"Scan the data," he ordered.
[Scanning the dataspace…]
[Honkai Energy detected. No anomalies have been detected. File integrity intact. Data space is currently intact. Likelihood of file contamination due to Honkai Radiation Erosion: 65%.]
The man placed a hand on his chin as he watched Ceci speaking on screen.
"Huh… I never expected this sort of development. Can you track Theresa inside the space?" he said.
[Theresa Apocalypse is currently scanning all files related to February 7th, 2000.]
"How interesting. These new developments have gone beyond my calculations. To think that…" A smile spread across his face. He swiveled in his chair and swiped the holographic screen to face him. His green eyes locked with two individuals in the room.
"You two, until Anna and Kriemhilde get back, keep an eye on our little subject," he said.
"As you wish, Lord Overseer," a female voice said. Her red eyes glinted in the light of the setting sun.
"Roger," the second voice said.
Now, he thought as he turned his attention back to the screen. What else do you have up your sleeve for our little K-423?
Yay! We finally got to Cecilia... meeting Cecilia... See, this is why I changed it to Ceci so I wouldn't get confused. As you can see, since there is no Theresa, it won't just be Cecilia and K-423 going into the Tower alone. Siegfried will be with them all the way. I figured it would be the greatest set up for some emotional damage on Ceci's part. Kiana already got her emotional trauma shoved back in her face, so it's Ceci's turn to have emotional and psychological trauma dumped on her! It's not fair that the older sister is the only one that has to go through all of that, hehe. So, to preface some future events, I will retcon 1 thing in the first chapter. It's not too big. Back when this story first started about... a year or so ago, I had an idea but then got another idea. I won't tell you as it is kinda spoilery for the future of this series but just know that I did change the nature of events regarding future plans for World Serpent. Just telling you now so you won't go back on me saying "Wait... wasn't it supposed to be X character?" Anyway, that's it for now! Next, we go back to Kiana jumping through Stigmata Space! See ya!