"Trajectory is stable. Weather is clear. No sighting of any abnormalities" The Herrscher of Origin relayed what was asked of her. She looked back from where she was seated, finding her Captain standing a few meters away, observing patiently through the clear glass panes. "Aside from the residual energy readings we've gotten from the initial outburst, everything seems normal"
Elysia, who was standing next to the Captain, frowned. "Well that can't be. I'm sure I felt something pulse outwards from the sea". She turned to her Captain, "You felt it too, didn't you?"
The young man sighed, taking off his cap and running a hand through his blazing red hair. "Yeah, I did"
"It wasn't any normal energy readings that I know of, though that might just be because I'm from a different era. But, and this might be just me, that pulse felt...personal"
Raiden Mei swiveled her chair to look back at her friend. "Personal?"
Elysia nodded. "Yeah, almost as if it was searching for something. Desperately looking"
"But for what? Seismic spikes of energy like that aren't common, more so if it was targeted to find something.
"Would you two believe me..." Their Captain initially stated before putting back his cap and frowning. "...if I said that they were looking for me?"
Two sets of eyes turned to stare at him curiously. As surprising it was to hear that, there was definitely some for of skepticism, as Elysia nervously chuckled. "Oh, you tease~ Why would they ever try and find you? It's not like you've done anything recently, no?"
"Call it a hunch, but that energy surge did...something, to me. Knocked me back and for the briefest of moments, I felt something" He casually walked forward, stopping beside Mei as his eyes never strayed away from the windows. "Whatever is out there is looking for me. I don't know why and don't know how. But I definitely felt a connection form. Almost as if...someone embraced me gently"
Mei eyed her Captain with a cautious yet sad look. She had a feeling she knew what he meant when he said that.
It wasn't well known to the vast majority of the populace, both public and private, but their Captain was 'special'. Originally brought in by Otto Apocalypse, the old Overseer of Shicksal and 'grandfather' to Theresa Apocalypse, there wasn't much known about him. At first, Mei and to an extent Bronya, chocked it up as him being secretive, as their Captain took part in an extremely dangerous yet highly ambitious project that was originally meant to bring back Kallen Kaslana, ancestor to Kiana.
And while he did bring her back, to which Otto had been more than surprised, pleased and willing to bend his morals, it only proved to everyone else just how strange their Captain was. To project himself into another timeline and even bring back the dead was something unheard of. But as time passed as their battles grew fierce, experiencing hardships and suffering, Mei knew better now.
A man with no past. No real identity, fabricated family, and lives upon a house of lies. Quite literally a ghost. But he was someone who was more than willing to go the distance to bring someone back. That was who he was. Someone who just couldn't say "No" when asked if he could save them.
Mei looked back out to where he was staring at and silently stared as well, gently placing a hand atop his own. Perhaps whatever is out there could shed some light on a man who doesn't even know his own name.
"Now now, I know that look coming from the both of you~"
Elysia skipped her way towards the pair, placing an arm around the both of them before pulling them in close. "But no matter what happens, let's all remind ourselves what we've been through. We can handle whatever is thrown our way. Who or whatever our Captain may have been in the past, it won't change our perspective of you!"
"Even if it were suddenly revealed that I was a criminal?"
As the young man eyed the pink elf with a raised brown and an amused smirk, Elysia gave off her signature giggle. "Oh don't be such a downer! Someone as amazing like you wouldn't be tied down to bad stuff. I just know it!"
Mei chuckled. "There goes Ely. Always the optimist". She heard the pink elf giggle as her Captain gave a dry laugh at first before joining in. "But she's right. We've been through thick and thin. You've guided us through so much of our life. To me, you're someone I know I can rely on. Someone very dear to me. I'm sure Kiana would say the same. She's always been stuck with you like glue"
The young man looked away for a moment and smiled, which Mei took notice of and blushed. Elysia, who watched the whole exchange silently, couldn't help but grin before giggling a little. "In any case, wouldn't it be fun if he was a criminal? He'd have this rouge-ish undertone that would be fun to tease~"
Elysia giggled once again as she was met with a groan and a dry laugh.
The rest of the flight across the Pacific Ocean was calm, albeit slow. The mobile aerial ship they were commandeering wasn't meant for long distance flights as it more used to transport goods to and from the Hyperion. However, considering the situation the Hyperion was in, this was the best they could do. Navigation systems were stable and for the most part, the skies were clear as can be.
"Any signs of the anomaly yet?"
Mei turned around to find her Captain was back, two mugs of iced-tea along with him. He handed one to her, which she graciously took and sipped. "So far no. Once again, everything is fine"
The chair next to her swiveled around to reveal the pink elf to be reclining within it, looking semi-bored. "While I agree with that, there's still something that I can feel out there" She explained before adjusting her seating posture to be more straight. She pointed a finger in front of them, out into the vast open ocean. "We're definitely going the right direction. The closer we get, the stronger this pull that I feel"
"Well, let's hope whatever we find won't be too much trouble" Their Captain stated as he took a sip of tea from his mug. "I can already feel the hairs standing on my skin standing tall..."
The three-person crew stayed mainly silent the rest of the way, choosing to cherish the moment of tranquility as well as snuggling up to the young man. There were times when they thought they spotted something unusual, but thorough scans afterwards lead to nothing popping up amidst the radar. That was until one moment, while conversing about the training regime plotted out for Kosma and Griseo, the young man raised a hand up to shush the two ladies by his side.
He stood up and walked forward over to the main control panel as he heard Mei call his name curiously. Tapping and twisting a few of the digital dials, the window pane in front of them showed a holographic display of the distant sky. As it was zoomed it, and because they weren't on the Hyperion, the graphical fidelity of the display wasn't all too good. Yet Mei felt the need to squint her eyes.
"Is that...?" She wondered out loud as her voice fell into a whisper. She stood up and walked towards her Captain alongside Elysia.
"I knew there was something there" Elysia smiled, however immediately frowned a moment later. "I'm sure that tear in reality is the cause of the spike we felt earlier. It's relatively small, but it's still worrisome something like this is popping up here"
"How did you even notice such a thing, Captain? Even to me, the fluctuation is so minute"
The young man placed his hands against the guard rails below the control panel, sighing in return. "Something called out to me. I...can hear voices beyond that rift. Almost as if...they're dragging me into it"
"Well that's not ominous at all" Mei awkwardly laughed, hoping to diffuse the tense atmosphere. "Shall I speed things up?"
Nodding his head to give the all clear, he stepped aside to let Mei handle the controls and a short while later, their ship started speeding up. In the distance, the rift that they had spotted was slowly coming into view. It was quite small as they had noted, however it was brimming with colour, threatening to burst out from the inside. The rift itself looked surreal as they assumed it to be similar to the void portals that Herrscher of the Void would create.
Unlike those that radiated of pure cosmic energy, the rift was akin to a mirror having been smashed. It formed cracks within the sky itself, which splintered off into various directions. All that was left to question was how they would even enter such a thing? Whatever on the other side could be dangerous. More importantly, they had no clue what the atmosphere on the other side would be, if it even had any.
Closing in and inspecting it would be the safest option, but if they wanted answer, they would need to traverse the great beyond and figure out what was happening before reporting back.
"Energy levels rising" Mei read off the meter next to the console that was slowly increasing. "No Honkai corruption detected. Ship integrity still stable with no damages"
"Umm...Is it just me or is the rift...getting bigger?"
At that particular question from Elysia, the Captain and Mei's eyes grew wide as they looked up from the controls and over to the windows where indeed, the glass-like rift was growing. In particular, it was forming even more cracks, as bits of the sky began to actually chip and break open, revealing small portions of the multicoloured inside. A loud warning then blared from the intercom as the ships' sirens shrieked out.
"Warning! All personnel, please proceed to any respective safe zone!"
The familiar voice of the Hyperion's AI, Ai-chan, spoke through the speakers. However the group knew it was a recorded message in case any fault or emergency were to take place. And as of right now, something was going wrong within the ship.
"We've lost our gravitational gyroscope!" The Captain called out as he fiddled with a separate control panel. "We're being forcibly sucked in! Brace for impact!"
While the sirens continued to scream, the trio latched onto the guard-rail behind the digital control panel as the ship was forcibly jolted within the air and stopped. They stumbled around due to the sudden halt before they noticed the cracks of the rift growing larger until one moment, it finally broke. It sent another burst of energy, similar to the previous, however stronger in intensity, nearly shutting down the ship they were inside.
The sudden shatter sent shards flying towards the ships, some having been implanted onto the sides on the large window pane. They saw how even those small broken pieces radiates a strange glow, the same as the rift itself, which was now wide suction itself wasn't as strong as they had imagined, but the trio could feel the ship being pulled inside the strange rainbow-like portal. Elysia had tried using her powers earlier to forcibly pull the ship away, but strangely enough she was met with an equal force that was acting against her. Something else was at play here.
As the ship continued to slowly move towards the maw of the rift, the strange rainbow-coloured inside began to morph. The colours shifted, an outline could be parsed amidst the vast emptiness. Soon, they noticed other things. Trees began to form. Clouds. Another sky, more cerulean than their own. But before they could even wonder what awaited them, the rift suddenly increased its suction, causing the ship to be swallowed whole without a moments notice.
All that was left was the ocean below, still swaying along as the sea breeze blew unsuspectingly, while the rift slowly began shrinking until it was back to its original size.
-?-
The priestess stared out the balcony, her eyes firmly glued towards the beautiful sky. A voice called out to her, causing her to sigh, though not out of frustration or anger but rather relief. She turned around to find the culprit; a lady with silvery hair much like her own and a pair of piercing amber eyes. The miasma that was constantly emitting from her a reminder to who she was.
Flanked on either side of her were two girls, slightly shorter in height and both with red hair, one maroon and the other a lighter shade. The priestess smiled upon seeing them back.
"Good to see you again, Demon Queen Calamity. I hope the journey here wasn't too...exciting?"
The demon queen sighed, placing a hand her head. "I would understand the celebration, but we didn't expect everyone to be so jovial after what had transpired"
"True. But then again, I'm sure you already know why the century-long prophecy we all knew, has been broken"
The demon queen eyed the priestess for a moment before sighing yet again. A small smile then formed against her lips, prompting her two aides to giggle. "I suppose the reason is also due to the same individual I felt enter the Celestial Realm?". Nodding her head, the priestess smiled radiantly. "I see...So he's alive. And we're not dreaming"
The priestess giggled as she casted her eyes towards the slightly shorter girl to Calamity's right, one who had a pair of horns to the side of her head. "I'd assume your dimensional rift went smoothly, Prime Minister Demise?"
The horned girl puffed out her chest in pride, smiling smugly. "Easier than expected! The flying ship they're in took some time to be swallowed up, but they'll be out fairly soon"
The maroon-haired girl gave a dry laugh. "She wasn't lying when she said it took some time. Our magic reacted wildly to their ship for some reason. Demise nearly fumbled the bag if it wasn't for the help of my Queen"
The priestess laughed alongside Calamity as Demise puffed her cheeks and looked visibly upset her secret was out. "Haha. Thank you for that, Minister Vielle. And to you too, Calamity". She walked forward towards them as she ushered them to walk with her. "What about the other Demon Lords? I assume they've began to take notice?"
"Like you wouldn't believe. Word goes around fast, but I noticed it was exceptionally faster this time around. Likely from all the buzz that somehow the prophecy of 'The Final Death' had been averted. There's some rumors going around that they've began their plans to continue conquering the last of the Celestial Realm. But considering Crimson Eyes has yet to do anything, I trust them not foolish enough to do so"
Nodding her head along, the priestess hummed in thought. "Knowing Crimson Eyes and her relationship with my Lord, I'm sure she's patiently waiting"
"You don't sound too upset about that. Aren't you, you know, his number one?" Demise wondered as she floated atop of her. "Speaking of him, where do you think he'd end up? I didn't put an exact location of the end point of my rift, so I'm worried they might end up lost"
The priestess giggled. "It's quite thoughtful of you to say that, Demise. Thank you, but I know my Lord. He is well beloved by everyone; you too, as am I. It wouldn't be right of me to have him for myself. As much as I love him with all my being, so too is everyone else who has been touched by his warmth". While still walking, she turned her gaze towards the Vielle and Calamity. "Don't you think so, Demon Queen?"
The Queen blushed upon hearing this, but did not shy her eyes away. Instead, she coughed slightly, still trying to maintain the straight face she wore. "A-Ahem. Th-That's besides the point, but you make it seem like everyone likes him. He's been friendly with practically everyone after all". Her eyes looked away for a brief moment as she whispered, "That idiot", to herself.
The priestess merely laughed. "I say that because I know so. I have full confidence in that fact". Her laughter died down moments later, but the smile still evident on her face. "In any case, call it a hunch, but I have a good idea where they might land. There's a large open field near the borders of our kingdom. Knowing my Lord, I have a feeling they will land over there"
"I had planned to gather a few members of the court before we meet him. Would you like to follow suit?"
The Demon Queen smiled as her eyes gazed across her two Ministers and closest aides. "If these two are willing, we do not mind. Would be nice to be amongst the first few to greet him once again". Vielle and Demise both smiled and responded in a chorus of agreement. As Calamity chuckled from their enthusiasm, her gaze went back to the priestess. "Lead the way, esteemed Oracle. Time is of the essence, no?"
The two silver-haired beauties laughed as the group made their way out of the throne room. As they were doing so, a flash of light appeared from beyond the sky, barely visible due to the daytime sun, and forming a trail of light like a comet before petering out.