Dharmakaya
"Again, a title I don't understand," said Kiana (2016) pouting.
"The title doesn't have to be understood, what's important is the content," Himeko said.
"If Bronya had to guess, this title would be the name of another test," said Bronya (2016).
"Yes, I think so too," Mei (2016) said nodding.
"What we need to know now is how much testing there is and what the end goal is," Theresa (2016) said, crossing her arms.
"…" Fu Hua (2016) remained silent and stared at the screen intently. Although she didn't remember, she was still curious about the purpose of one of her friends in the past.
2 months after Director Ragna passed away. The infectious disease department disbanded the team that handled Honkai sickness, and I was transferred to another department instead.
"2 months… did you really live for 2 months there, Durandal-sama?" Rita (2016) asked.
Bianka (2016) thought for a moment before shaking her head, "Honestly, my memory of the incident is quite hazy but I'm pretty sure I didn't live that long there."
"Hm, if we conclude from the previous videos, it seems that this test only selects events that require a decision as a condition for passing."
"I think so."
"There's nothing to worry about, you're recovering quite well," Bianka told the patient she was treating.
"Thank you very much, Doctor Bianka," said the patient. Bianka nodded with a smile before returning to her office.
However, I refused to give up on the war against Honkai. I studied every case I could find every night.
And every time we get a patient who tests positive for Honkai sickness, MOTH will come and pick them up.
"So for 2 months there has been no development," Lixue said with concern. If this had happened in her era, there might have been development, especially if Otto had been involved.
"People from the past must have had a hard time not knowing anything about Honkai," Kallen said sadly as she imagined the struggles of her ancestors.
"Yes, and we should thank them because it is thanks to their sacrifice that we gained so much knowledge about Honkai," Cecilia said, earning nods from the other 2 women.
"Patient transfer complete, Doctor Bianka. Thank you for your hard work," said the person Bianka was calling. After that, she hung up and went back to reading the files on her desk.
Knock knock
As she was reading, a knock on the door caught her attention. "Who is it?" she asked, the door opened to reveal someone she had been seeing a lot lately, Otto.
Many people frowned and expressed their dislike of Otto's return to screen, although not openly.
"Ugh… is he going to keep appearing on screen?" Tesla (2000) groaned with a disgusted face.
"I don't know, but I have a feeling that he will appear often," said Einstein (2000), making Tesla (2000) even more annoyed.
"Remember that he was not the real Otto, Dr. Tesla," said Welt (2000).
"I know, but I can't get rid of my annoyance every time I see his face!"
Welt (2000) said nothing more after that, he understood where Tesla's (2000) annoyance came from and he didn't blame her at all. After everything Otto had done to them, there was no way they wouldn't be upset.
"Someone who's curious about Bianka, you seem to be doing better," Otto said as he stepped in. "It's nice not having to deal with Honkai patients, isn't it?"
"Nice to meet you again, Otto. I prepared a new sample, I updated the ratio of active ingredients according to your suggestion," Bianka said as she handed Otto a file.
"Alright, as usual I'm just wasting my time. I'll take a look at your new formula," Otto said as he took the file and read it, before long he frowned.
"No, this ratio won't work at all. What are you afraid of? Killing the patient? Your potion will never be able to defeat the Honkai sickness," Otto said in disappointment.
"20 points, no more. I can't believe you made me read this. How many reports like this have I read? 8? 9? This is pathetic," Otto said, crushing the file. "And you spent 6 months coming up with this ineffective concoction. Just give up, Bianka. You don't have what it takes to be a MOTH."
"Tch, what's with that attitude," Siegfried clicked his tongue, not liking Otto's attitude towards his daughter at all.
"Hmph, he's acting like an arrogant researcher now," Celine snorted.
"Annoying," Sirin grumbled.
"Indeed," Kiana said crossing her arms unhappily.
"Fu fu." Bianka could only chuckle, she felt happy that her family defended her from other people.
"No, I refuse to give up," Bianka said firmly. "Every time I close my eyes, I see Director Ragna, Annie, and all the patients I failed to save. I will… I must defeat the Honkai sickness."
She then lowered her head, "Please continue to guide me, Professor Otto."
"Even if she's not a Valkyrie, Durandal-sama still works hard. Hehe, she's truly amazing," Susannah thought in admiration.
Otto stared at Bianka for a moment before sighing, "Ugh, why did I agree to this? Okay, I'll email you my review tonight."
After that, Otto went out, leaving Bianka alone in her office. Outside, Otto was greeted by Paul Long who was leaning against the side of the building.
"You've been talking to Dr. Bianka for quite some time. Why don't you make things easier for everyone and let her join MOTH?" Paul said.
"So she still wants to join MOTH even though she was rejected," SEELE muttered.
"She has a strong determination, it would be better if she could join the organization," Seele said concernedly.
"You've seen his nature, she's naïve. An organization that tries everything to defeat Honkai wouldn't accept someone like that."
"Yes I know."
"That girl is too naive, Paul. We both know that MOTH is no kindergarten. Her attempts to heal are still obsessed with the well-being of her victims," Otto said, pulling a water bottle from his coat pocket. "To fight the incarnation of hell and its minions, one must first learn how to be a killer."
"Indeed, if only I had been braver in experimenting with my serum, perhaps more of my patients would have been saved," SU thought, frowning at his past actions.
"Becoming a killer, huh. Apparently that thought has been ingrained for a long time, because there is almost no difference between MOTH and World Serpent," Natasha thought as she remembered the members of World Serpent who were full of eccentric people.
Paul didn't say anything, just leaned back and listened to Otto's words quietly.
"By the way, are we going to get a sudden surge of casualties in this city? I think it's time to prepare the Myrmidons. Prepare the soldiers."
Almost everyone felt a strange vibration hearing those words, they felt something was going to happen in the near future.
"What does that mean? Is something going to happen, Durandal-sama?" Rita asked in confusion.
"Yeah, keep watching, you'll find out later," replied Bianka.
Meanwhile in the middle of the city, Bianka had just finished her tiring work, then her attention was diverted by someone's voice from the loudspeaker.
[Please proceed to the air raid shelter in an orderly manner]
Those from the Previous Era immediately understood the meaning of the warning, because it was a warning that came from the organization they were part of, MOTH.
"Honkai Attack, huh," KOSMA said.
"They really do attack at the worst times, when civilians are most likely to gather," SAKURA sighed.
"That's their goal anyway," VILL-V said crossing her legs.
While everyone was muttering to each other, SU remained silent and stared intently at the screen. Unlike the others, he understood the meaning of the video this time.
"Now, it's time for the test to begin, Miss Bianka. Whether you can overcome the naivety we have, all that is determined from here on out."
"…" KEVIN also stared at the screen silently, his memory was also quite clear about this event because this was his reunion with SU after his 'Death'.
Everyone was confused after hearing the announcement, they started to crowd around and murmur to each other.
"This makes me weird. Air raid drills these days? Who's going to bomb us this time?"
"It seems like civilians are also treated the same as our era, information about Honkai is closely guarded," Himeko said.
"It's all for security reasons so that civilians don't live in fear because of Honkai terror," said Theresa (2016).
"But it can be a double-edged sword, sometimes ignorance can cause bigger problems," said Hua (2016) while recalling an experience she had.
"Yes, I can't deny that," Theresa (2016) sighed. She didn't know which choice was the right one to make, if it was her grandfather, he could have chosen that choice in an instant without hesitation. Thinking about it made her admire herself in the future where she became Overseer in place of her grandfather, it took a lot of responsibility to fill that position.
"Conspiracy channels on the internet said the exact same thing in Nagazora 5 years ago. Some even claimed monster sightings and crazy stuff like that."
"Nagazora, huh. Honestly, I was quite surprised to hear that city also existed in the Previous Era," Kiana said, leaning back in her chair lazily.
"Yeah, me too," Mei chuckled. "Who would have thought my hometown would be so old."
"If I had to guess, that city is a result of the Project Ember carried out by Class Monitor," Bronya said.
"Hm, that makes sense considering she channeled the technology of the previous era to our era," Kiana said nodding in agreement.
"This all reminds us of how big a role Class Monitor plays in our Era," Mei said as she glanced at the person in question.
Bianka just kept quiet while continuing to listen to the murmurs of the people around her, among the conversations of everyone she listened to, there were several words that caught her attention.
"Nagazora? Monster? Sounds more like a bad movie," Bianka thought thoughtfully.
"KYAAA!"
Several people tensed their bodies hearing the scream, they all already knew the impact and horror caused by a Honkai attack.
Bianka gasped and came out of her thoughts when she heard the sound of someone screaming, she turned to the source of the sound and was shocked to see what she saw.
A creature that she couldn't explain appeared in the middle of the city, the creature floated in the air with a body that glowed purple, on both sides of the creature there were wings that emitted quite strong gusts of wind.
"What the heck is that!?"
"Run!"
A commotion broke out, people immediately ran here and there in fear because of the appearance of the creature. They did not know what the creature was but their survival instincts told them to run.
Amidst the commotion, Bianka stood in awe at the creature that was the source of the trouble, "Wait, there's something about these glowing creatures… it feels like I've seen them before…"
"So this is the perspective of an ordinary person when facing the Honkai disaster," Lixue said. She herself did not know how to feel because she had known about Honkai since being saved by her Master, and the events that happened to her as a child were vague to her because of the traumatic event.
"The only thing they can do is run to survive because of their ignorance of something they don't know," Cecilia said bitterly.
Bianka then came out of her stunned state when she saw a school girl lying helplessly on the ground and her body covered in wounds. Without thinking, Bianka immediately ran towards the girl and carried her away from the chaos.
"Don't worry, girl. I can help you!" she said running away while carrying the girl.
"It's quite strange for me to see you running away from the Honkai monsters, it really shows that you're a different person," said Rita (2016), as someone who was always by Bianka's side, it was a rare sight for her to see her captain running away.
"What else can I do, I'm just an ordinary person there," said Bianka (2016).
"But even so, I am happy that your determination to never give up and your hard work do not change even though you are playing someone else, that is what I respect about you," said Rita (2016) smiling softly.
"…" Bianka (2016) was silent for a moment before smiling softly as well. "Thank you, Rita."
"Fu fu, you're welcome, Durandal-sama."
Bianka continued running for a few minutes to make sure the situation was completely safe, after she was far enough from the center of the chaos, she then put the girl down and leaned her against the wall of the building.
"We should be safe for now," Bianka muttered with a tired sigh.
"Hngh…"
She heard the girl groan and that was when she realized the terrible condition the girl was in, purplish blue lines running along her arms. Bianka didn't have to think long about what the girl was going through.
"Well, this shouldn't come as a surprise considering how close the girl was to the attack site," Tesla said crossing her arms.
"The question is what will Durandal do now," Einstein said.
"In the midst of a disaster like this it would be difficult for her to ask for help and the girl needs to get medical treatment as soon as possible."
"Maybe she could use the serum she made?" Siegfried asked.
"The serum failed, didn't you hear Otto's analysis results earlier?"
"Maybe this will be the test this time," Welt said, drawing the attention of Tesla and the others.
"What do you mean?" Tesla asked confused.
"The previous test was to see whether or not Durandal would give up fighting the Honkai sickness after the death of someone close to her," Welt said, reminding the purpose of the previous video.
"Yes, in the end Bianka chose not to give up and kept going," said Theresa.
"Well, although it's not certain, I think this video is almost the same as the previous one, the difference is the choice she will choose."
"The choice she will make… I see, I understand now," Einstein said with a small nod.
"What does that mean?" Siegfried asked, not understanding.
"It's all about the serum," Tesla said.
"Serum?"
"Yes, we all know that the serum Durandal made was not perfect and did not give any effect to the patient, that was because she tried it with the wrong ratio. Do you remember what Otto said about that?" Welt asked.
"Hm, I remember he said something about being afraid of killing patients… ah!" Siegfried's eyes widened as he realized what his own words meant.
"It seems like you already understand, Otto's words imply that Durandal is afraid that her experimental serum will kill the patient, so she made the serum ratio within a reasonable limit, causing her to continuously fail."
"In short, she was naïve," Tesla said bluntly.
"Yes, and the test this time is to determine whether she can get rid of her naive nature or not," Einstein concluded.
"I see, so that's what Otto meant by that earlier," Siegfried muttered before he looked back at the screen.
"Those stripes… it's Honkai sickness! How?! Did that unnatural monster light cause this?" Bianka said in surprise, then quickly took out a box from her bag.
"I have no emergency treatment except for this, a serum redesigned based on Professor Otto's feedback," Bianka said as she injected the serum into the girl. "I pray this works."
Bianka stared at the girl's arm with intense eyes, hoping that the serum she made would work and the girl would be saved. But her hopes were immediately dashed when she saw that the stripes were still there and spreading more.
"So it really can't be…" Mei (2016) said sadly, seeing the girl's condition reminded her of the Honkai explosion in Nagazora.
"As Professor Otto said before, the serum was a failure," Himeko said.
"Isn't there anything that can be done to save her?" Kiana (2016) asked, frowning.
"Nobody knows, all we can do now is watch and see how this all plays out," Theresa (2016) said, shaking her head, then looking at Bianka (2016) out of the corner of her eye. "Except for someone who has lived it firsthand."
"That damned infection pattern keeps spreading!" Bianka grumbled in frustration and despair. "My serum is just another failure."
Bianka looked down for a few seconds, regretting her helplessness in saving someone's life. She had tried so hard all this time, but all she got was failure and more failure.
"It's too soon for you to give up, keep thinking," SU thought, encouraging Bianka.
The tension that Bianka felt also occurred in the room, they were all curious about how Bianka would face the desperate situation she was experiencing on screen. Would she give up or keep going? That question echoed in all of their minds.
Bianka stared at the dying girl in front of her, the girl who was within her reach but she couldn't save at all. Seeing the girl she remembered someone she failed to save in the past.
"Annie…"
Bianka remembered Annie, she had promised to save her but in the end it was in vain. She still remembered Annie's desperate request at the end of her life, where she didn't want to die and continue to live.
"No, I can't give up like this," Bianka said. Remembering Annie, remembering her past failures aroused her will to not give up, she didn't want the girl in front of her to suffer the same fate as the people she failed to save.
Instantly a sigh of relief could be heard in the room, the suffocating tension immediately disappeared after everyone heard Bianka's answer. They were happy to see Bianka not giving up after the despair she felt.
"Congratulations on passing this test, Miss Bianka. I'm glad we chose the same option," SU thought with a small smile. "Now what are you going to do after this- no, I don't need to ask anymore."
(No, this ratio won't work at all. What are you afraid of? Killing patients?)
"Yes, I remember what the Professor told me," Bianka said as she adjusted her serum. "I had no choice but to increase the dosage of the active ingredient."
Bianka injected the serum into the girl once more and waited for a few seconds. Then a miracle happened, the stripes began to shrink and disappear, proving that the serum was working well. Bianka felt an incredible relief after seeing the sight.
"That's it! The stripes are finally gone! He was right all along!" Bianka said excitedly, she was happy because the serum she created had successfully eradicated the disease that had taken the lives of many people.
"Of course he's right, it's his daily job after all, isn't it, SU?" MOBIUS asked in amusement.
"…" SU just kept quiet and didn't answer. Of course he understood what MOBIUS meant, MOTH had made a serum that was much more effective than his, the serum he made was nothing compared to MOTH's.
But… the happiness only lasted for a moment. Suddenly the purple glowing creature appeared right beside Bianka.
"Hmph! Way to ruin the fun," Senti snorted.
"That's not surprising since Honkai's attacks won't stop until MOTH arrives," Hua said.
Kevin who was sitting beside Hua stared at the screen with a little interest, after all, he would soon appear on the screen even though someone else would be playing him. If he had to guess, then the person who would be him would be the girl who was always near Bianka, Rita Rossweise.
"!"
Bianka froze for a moment in surprise but she quickly came to her senses when the monster launched something like a slash towards her, she grabbed the girl and jumped to avoid the attack, but the impact of the attack threw her a little far away.
"Go away, beast!" Bianka shouted as she hugged the girl tightly. "I… I won't let you hurt my patient!"
"Even though she had just met the girl, she already considered her as her patient, she is a good person," said Cecilia, smiling softly.
"Yes, people like that are definitely needed in the war against Honkai," Kallen agreed.
Of course she knew that it was just a desperate scream, the monster would still attack no matter what she did. It was at that moment that she realized something was wrong with her, her vision quickly blurred and her body began to go numb.
Everyone immediately had a bad feeling when they saw Bianka's condition.
"Don't tell me…" Natasha thought as she stared at the screen with her eyes narrowed.
"Hmph, so she's not immune, huh," Cocolia thought as she stared at the screen in boredom.
"My vision is starting to blur. This must be Honkai..."
"H-Honkai Sickness…!?" Susannah said in a trembling voice seeing her idol in danger.
"Are you okay, Durandal-sama?" Rita (2016) asked worriedly.
"Yes, I was saved," said Bianka (2016) to calm her friend.
"I see, whoever it was who saved you, I guess I should thank them," said Rita (2016) in relief.
"There's no need to do that, Rita. After all, this is just a test," said Bianka (2016). She honestly didn't know whether to thank her savior or not after being rescued so inhumanely.
Rita (2016) looked at her captain in confusion, but she didn't ask any further and returned her gaze to the screen.
"It took me so long to find you, Doctor Bianka. Why weren't you at the shelter?"
"Why is he there?" Senti asked, frowning.
"He's a member of MOTH, of course he'll be where the Honkai disaster happened," Hua said.
"Seeing him only have one arm makes me think he's just a burden there," SEELE said without hesitation.
"That was rude, SEELE," Seele said reprimanding her other self.
"Hmph, I don't care," SEELE replied with a snort.
Suddenly she heard a familiar voice, although her vision was starting to blur but she could still hear clearly. She turned to the source of the voice and saw Professor Otto walking towards her.
"I see that the girl's Honkai infection pattern hasn't spread yet. Did you manage to deal with it?" Otto asked as he looked at the girl Bianka was hugging. "Finally something impressive for the first time. 60 points, Bianka. Good job."
"What was he thinking in the midst of a disaster to make such an assessment?" said Kiana (2016) frowning.
"He completely ignores the situation around him and focuses on what interests him," said Mei (2016).
"It seems that Overseer Otto's eccentricities are also present in this person," Himeko said.
"Yes, maybe that's why he appeared in the form of my grandfather," said Theresa (2016) with a slight wince.
While Otto was satisfied with Bianka's work, the monster that had previously attacked Bianka now turned its attention to Otto. The monster emitted the same beam that had attacked Bianka, causing the girl's eyes to widen at the sight.
"Watch out!" Kallen shouted, even though she knew her words were useless, but she subconsciously shouted when she saw her own friend in danger.
Some people who do not know Otto's true nature expressed their concerns about the danger that would befall him on screen.
One of the people in the room noticed the strangeness and felt interested, that person was MOBIUS. Honestly she was not interested in the video displayed on the screen because for now the screen displayed something useless to her, therefore she paid more attention to the people in the room and there she was interested in their reactions.
"Hmm, even though someone is in danger, they don't show any concern at all. Interesting, it seems like this blond guy has done something they don't like. Fufu, I wonder what he did."
After thinking about that, MOBIUS looked back at the screen with a dangerous, hungry gaze.
"Professor Otto! The monster is right behind you!" Bianka shouted.
But Otto did nothing, he just stood there while still looking at Bianka's work with satisfaction, "You always worry about the wrong things, Bianka. Rita, we need to clean this area."
"Eh?"
"Eh?"
Both Ritas let out confused sounds at the same time, they were shocked to hear their names come out of the screen. At first glance they thought that the man on the screen was the real Otto, but that confusion was erased when they saw the next scene.
After he said that, suddenly someone appeared and jumped towards the monster. In the person's hand was a large sword that emitted hot flames, without hesitation the person immediately slashed the monster until it was destroyed without a trace.
Bianka was stunned by the sight, but she was not stunned by the power of the sword and the slash, but rather she was stunned by the sword user.
She knew that face very well, the last time she saw that face was a few months ago when an event caused her best friend to die. This time the same face appeared in front of her, Bianka immediately knew that the person in front of her was not a stranger but her best friend who she thought had died in the past.
"Rita…?!"
"…"
The room fell silent.
No one spoke for a few moments, everyone had varying reactions. Some were shocked, some were amused, and some didn't react at all. Their reactions all depended on how close they were to the person on the screen.
"That… me?" said Rita (2016) at a loss for words, not expecting her sudden appearance.
"Yes," said Bianka (2016) amused, quite funny seeing her friend's rare confused reaction.
"I don't know what to say…"
"Wawawawa, Rita-sama also appeared cool. But her cold expression doesn't match the usually elegant and graceful Rita-sama," Susannah thought with mixed emotions.
Just like her past self, the older Rita is also shocked by her on-screen appearance.
"I never imagined I would appear like that," said Rita, still glued to the screen.
"Fufu, looking back it was indeed surprising. That cold and flat expression, coupled with the Great Sword you were carrying. It was all completely different from your usual graceful appearance," Bianka chuckled.
"Please don't tease me, Durandal-sama," Rita said tiredly.
"Haha, but you put on a great show there, Rita," Sushang said laughing.
"Not you either, Sushang-sama..."
Not far from the 3 S-Rank Valkyries, Senti was laughing at Rita's appearance on the screen.
"Bwahahaha, look at her appearance. It turns out the air holes on the chest of that clothes function for that," said Senti amused by Kevin's clothes worn by Rita, although with a slight difference.
"Calm down, Senti," Hua scolded, but her other self didn't hear her at all. Hua sighed before turning to her brother, "So that's how you reunited with SU?"
"Yes, even though it happened by chance," Kevin said.
"After that he learned the truth about MOTH and joined the organization. It was quite surprising that he decided to join the organization, but considering his nature I think it was normal."
"He carries the burden of the people he failed to save, if there is a way to save many people then he will take it."
"Yes, that's what SU is like," Hua said softly thinking of her long-lost brother.
…
..
.
"Only beings who can keep their 'self' intact can pass the Dharmakaya test. Good job, Miss Bianka. You have successfully passed the test," Su said with satisfaction after observing all the events. "However…"
"So the title is really the name of a test, what does he mean by keeping yourself intact?" asked Kiana (2016) confused.
"That means someone who can survive when faced with a desperate situation like what happened to Durandal on screen, she was faced with despair because the serum she used failed to save her patient but she didn't sink into despair and managed to get back up," Himeko explained.
"I see… I understand."
His gaze then shifted to another screen, a screen that showed the same situation that Bianka was experiencing, only Bianka and Rita's positions were replaced by Su and Kevin.
"?!"
It was the original memory of the test Bianka was currently running, the memory of Su, the Pioneer.
The people who didn't know whose memories Bianka was living were satisfied with the information, they had been filled with curiosity since the beginning of the video about the owner of the memories, but now they knew the answer. The life Bianka had lived from the beginning of the test until now was Pioneer Su's memory.
"I see, so this is Pioneer Su's memory," Cecilia muttered.
"So he used to be a doctor, I wonder how he ended up being a Pioneer," Lixue said curiously.
"I think we'll find out later, what's certain is that the journey will definitely not be easy," said Kallen.
"…This is just the beginning of our suffering."
"Suffering? What does he mean, Bianka?" Siegfried asked a little worried.
"Pioneer Su had a pretty tough life, because I played a role in living his life, I will also experience the suffering he felt," Bianka answered.
"Are you going to be okay?" Theresa asked her niece.
"I'm fine," Bianka said with a soft smile. "It was tough, but I got through it. Otherwise, I wouldn't have the Seed of Sumeru."
"I see, thank goodness then," Theresa nodded, she and Siegfried immediately took a deep breath to relieve their tension.
"Haha, of course Onee-chan can do it, she is the strongest Valkyrie after all," Kiana said confidently.
"Fufu, I agree. Durandal-sama has an unyielding determination that will never fade, that's why she has been the role model for the Valkyries all this time," Rita said with a gentle smile.
"E-Ehem, that's enough you two," Bianka cleared her throat sheepishly, making the two giggle. "It seems teasing me has become their new hobby now."
Kiana and Rita were ready to tease Bianka again but before they could, Eve's voice caught everyone's attention. Bianka was really grateful to Eve for her timely appearance.
"Okay everyone, now we get to the short video," said Eve announcing to everyone.
"Looking at the previous videos, I think this time it's about us again," VILL-V said as the screen came back to life.
"The question now is who it is among us this time," EDEN said.
"I hope this time it's not something grim," said PARDO less enthusiastically.
Cast in Gold
Seeing the title, everyone in the Previous Era turned to EDEN who frowned slightly at the screen. She wondered if it was her turn again and hoped it wasn't something gloomy.
"Is it about EDEN again?" HUA asked.
"We won't know until we watch it, just because the title is Gold doesn't mean it's always going to be about EDEN," SU said.
In the depths.
The chill in the air surrounding the man befitted the darkness. It was how this place usually struck its visitors - dark, cold... Desolate.
"Kevin?" MEI said raising an eyebrow, she turned to the man next to her and realized that he was also confused.
"Wait, that place…" SAKURA said recognizing the place Kevin visited on the screen.
"What is he doing there?" VILL-V said interestedly.
"Did you know about this, KEVIN?" SU asked his friend.
"I don't know, I've been there a few times so I don't know if this is the future or not," KEVIN replied.
"You've locked yourself down here again, Aponia," the man said to someone who was at the edge of this darkness.
"Aponia? What are you doing there? Has this happened?" ELYSIA asked in surprise, she and the others did not expect APONIA to lock herself up again.
"No, I'm sure this hasn't happened," APONIA said shaking her head, she was pretty sure this hadn't happened because KEVIN had never visited her personally in The Deep.
"So this happens in the future, but why did you lock yourself up again?"
"I don't know, I can't answer something I haven't done, ELYSIA," APONIA answered, but she actually knew quite well why she had locked herself in the future.
"I see, I hope you tell me the reason before you do it, okay?" said ELYSIA without giving any room for refusal.
"…Yes, I understand," APONIA said quietly, unsure whether she could fulfill the request.
"Kevin? I didn't expect to see you here," said the person at the edge of the darkness, Aponia, surprised that someone had visited her. "No, you deserve to be here more than I do... Who should atone for the Tragedy of the Binding if not you?"
"…"
Everyone was silent especially those from the Previous Era, just a few days ago they had gone through that terrible disaster and now they were reminded of it again.
HUA was the most affected by the information because the Tragedy of Binding was one of the most painful disasters in her life.
"There is nothing to atone for that tragedy, APONIA," MEI said, breaking the silence.
"That's right, the incident spread quickly beyond our scope," ELYSIA said, trying to keep everyone calm and not blame each other.
Everyone remained calm, they knew what ELYSIA wanted to do so they remained silent. But of course there were some people who were dissatisfied, one of them was KALPAS who growled for a moment before being calmed down by SAKURA.
APONIA also decided to remain silent because she respected ELYSIA, otherwise there would be a long argument between those involved in the tragedy.
MEI could feel everyone's dissatisfied feelings and could only sigh about it, she wanted to defend KEVIN because she felt KEVIN was innocent because he only did what had to be done, no one understood how heavy KEVIN felt for choosing that action.
"It's okay, MEI," KEVIN said suddenly, making her turn to face him. "I was the one who chose that course of action so I know what I will have to endure in the end."
MEI bit her lip before looking away, "It doesn't mean you have to bear everything."
"My time to do so has not come. And you're the only one who'd willingly come here. Go, for the restraints you imposed on Kalpas have been lifted. Only you can subdue him again."
"Hah!" KALPAS growled.
"Calm down, KALPAS," SAKURA said immediately, luckily the man calmed down immediately although he was still grumbling. SAKURA sighed, she had to thank Eve because this room had a madness suppression on KALPAS so he didn't go on a rampage easily.
Even though KALPAS has calmed down, everyone still has worries in their hearts. Because if KALPAS' restraint is released, only destruction will occur, and as Kevin said on screen, only Aponia can calm him down.
"Lying is a sin, Kevin."
"Eh, lying? What does that mean?" PARDO said confused.
"KEVIN couldn't possibly be lying, maybe she meant something else," SU said.
"…" Kevin was silent, unaffected by Aponia's words. "Aponia, you're not the only psychic MANTIS who survived. As for who lifted the restraints... it was Su. He did it unintentionally in the Tragedy of the Binding."
"What…? I did it…?" SU said in complete shock, he was completely unaware of it.
"Kevin said you did it by accident, SU. So it's natural you didn't know," HUA said, making her friend aware.
"Y-Yeah, I know. Thank you, HUA," SU said as he took a deep breath to calm himself.
"Wait, so that means KALPAS's restraints were already off since we got here? Wow, it's a good thing Eve took precautions, otherwise he would have gone on a rampage by now," VILL-V said in surprise.
"Shut up!" KALPAS growled again.
"Hahaha, that reminds me. Without it, he often goes on a rampage too," VILL-V chuckled fearlessly.
"Su... I remember him. He's developing at an incredible rate. But I can't comply with your request, Kevin," Aponia said, shaking her head. "The enemies we face now are of a different breed. The restraints are a bridle, a prohibition... it's time we set the beast free again to hunt down new sacrifices for the god. And Kevin... haven't you realized? You already pose a far greater threat to humans than Kalpas."
For those outside the Previous Era had no idea what Aponia was talking about, the only thing they understood was that this Kalpas was a dangerous person.
"Who exactly is this Kalpas, Mei-senpai?" Kiana whispered to Mei, she actually wanted to ask Hua directly but Hua was sitting quite far away from her.
"Hm, if I explain it will be a long explanation. All I can say now is that he is the most brutal and dangerous fighter I have ever known."
"Wow, that sounds scary," Kiana said in surprise, if Mei said that then it was the truth.
"Have you ever fought with him, Mei-neesan?" Bronya asked curiously.
"Yes, I once tried to provoke him into fighting me, and it was a terrifying experience. He was so strong and without any openings, if it wasn't for someone coming to save me, I might have been seriously injured or worse, dead."
Kiana and Bronya widened their eyes at the information, "Even though you are a Herrscher?" Kiana asked in disbelief.
"Normal Herrscher are nothing in front of a Flame-chaser, they can be equal or stronger, you already know how strong Kevin and Class Monitor are."
Kiana and Bronya were silent after that, trying to process the information they had received. But amidst all the information, they were thankful that Mei was okay. When they were about to ask who saved Mei, Eve's voice suddenly appeared in their minds.
"It will all be aired later, so just wait, okay~?"
Hearing that, they had no choice but to look back at the screen.
Then she stared right into Kevin's cold eyes, "A vicious beast and a butcher with a cleaver... The latter is clearly more terrifying."
"You can believe whatever you want. I didn't come to squabble."
"But you didn't come for Kalpas either, Kevin. Lying is a sin."
"Eh, so he didn't come for Kalpas, but what?" HUA asked.
"It must be something more important than appeasing Kalpas," EDEN said.
"Something more important than calming Kalpas? What is it? Is it Herrscher?" SAKURA asked warily.
"P-Please not again," PARDO said a little nervously, they had just gone through the Herrscher disaster, she didn't want to go through something like that again anytime soon.
"The proposal, the Elysian Realm... We've tested it. The conclusion... it's impossible without you. Only if you and Su work together can we possibly reach our ultimate goal," Kevin said, revealing his true intentions.
"Elysian Realm…? That sounds like my name?" ELYSIA tilted her head in confusion. She and her friends had no idea what Kevin was talking about.
"Something that can only be done if Aponia and Su work together…" MEI muttered in thought.
"Do you know something, MEI?" SU asked curiously.
"Maybe a plan you made?" EDEN asked.
MEI shook her head, "I don't know for now, before we arrived here, my mind was filled with plans to recover ourselves after the Tragedy of Binding."
"Elysian Realm, huh. If that works then we can reach our final destination, I wonder what it is," VILL-V said wonderingly.
"We'll probably find out soon."
"…"Aponia just sighed tiredly. "...Could the god have sent another servant so soon? Why are we rushing to implement a plan that should only be used as a last resort?"
"Last resort? Isn't Project Stigma the last resort project created by Dr. MEI?" HUA asked confusedly.
"It might be something different, Project and Plan are not the same thing, you know? And Aponia on screen doesn't say Project at all," MOBIUS explained.
"That means we have quite a few backup plans," SAKURA concluded.
"…" Kevin was silent for a moment before he told the terrible truth. "During the time you locked yourself here, Aponia... Humans have lost all cities but three."
"…"
The whole room was silent.
No one could speak because what Kevin said was the most terrifying thing that had ever happened to humanity, especially for those in the Previous Era because they were the ones who would directly feel the misfortune. Although not as terrible as their Era ending, but the terror they experienced was still the same.
"Only three cities… after the Tragedy of Binding I could guess that the surviving cities would be no more than single digits, but I didn't expect there would only be three left…" MEI said gloomily.
"As MOBIUS said, our Era can no longer be called an Era," EDEN said with a sigh.
"…" MOBIUS didn't say anything, she just closed her eyes in silence.
"Yes, our Era can no longer be saved…" ELYSIA said melancholy, making the people around her a little surprised. But then a small smile appeared on her face, "But that doesn't mean we're going to give up, right? There's still something we need to do until everything is truly over."
EDEN and the others were silent for a moment before smiling as well, "That's right, Ellie. There's still something we need to do."
"Right? I'm still curious about that Elysian Realm, the name is quite interesting to me," ELYSIA said curiously.
"That's something we have to find out. Aponia on screen says that it's a last resort, we can't ignore that," MEI said.
"Then let's keep watching, we will definitely find the answer later."
"…" Aponia was silent, Kevin could see her surprise even though it was in the dark.
"I didn't come today..." The sword cut through the chains. Fire appeared, flickering in the suffocating darkness. "...to discuss strategy with you."
"Chains and darkness will be no more after today."
"Aponia, come back to your old self."
Video ends.
"…"
No one spoke, once again the short video that was shown had a gloomy atmosphere. They all needed time to calm down and clear their minds from it.
"So terrible was the Honkai attack in the past that only three cities were left," Cecilia said bitterly.
"Yes, plus the Final Herrscher attack that ended an Era," Lixue said with a sigh.
"But… even so, they did not give up," Kallen said. "They fought until the end and continued the struggle in our Era."
The two women smiled at Kallen's words, "Yes, that's why we also must not give up fighting Honkai, so that we can make the people we care about live in peace."
"Yes, I agree," Lixue said, nodding with a smile.
Unbeknownst to them, Kallen winced at Cecilia's words. Because she herself had given up on life after Sakura's death.
Not wanting those negative thoughts to fill her head, Kallen shook her head and leaned back in her chair with a sigh, "Calm down, Kallen. As long as you're still here, you have plenty of time. You have to decide what to do when you get out of here."
Kallen said those words in her heart to strengthen herself, because that was all she could do right now.
Thanks for reading!
Sorry if there are mistakes in words, repeated words, or language errors during writing.
See you next chapter.