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Chapter Text

"Yes, yes. I'll just pay with cash. Thank you."

Fu Hua fished out her piyo wallet and took out a few hundred paper bills. Putting it on the counter, the cashier totaled the items with a few cheerful chirps from the register and stapled her receipt on the bag. With a soft bow, she took the bag, thanked the cashier, and made her way outside.

Grocery list... Did I forget anything...? She stood by the side of the entrance to the convenience store and closed her eyes, trying to focus. The errand only consisted of buying stuff for dinner and tomorrow's breakfast, and she wasn't quite complacent with the things she bought. Maybe it was a last minute item? Something that she didn't manage to write down?

The clouds overhead caught her attention, as if the orange and pink streaks wanted to tell her themselves. Yet, she could only stare at them, mesmerized by the sunset skies; the only thing Hua could discern from the view was nothing short of a break in her dilemma.

There were not a lot of people out on the streets at this time. Mainly because working shifts are yet to end, they still had an hour or two before the sidewalks were filled with tired office-workers and commuters. It was the perfect time to be out and enjoy the peace of the city, and you wouldn't be bogged by the fatigue of other people walking alongside you.

"Old timer."

Broken from her trance, a carbon copy of her with gray hair and sporting a ridiculous shark-themed cap and a polo shirt with a few floral designs in its collars pinched her arm. Hua looked at her in a daze, and the other girl became seemingly annoyed already.

"My... My juicebox. You didn't get it, did you?" Senti had been holding a paper bag of her own, but it was much smaller than Hua's. She only held it with one hand, and her other rested on her hip. How sassy this child was... "We had a deal, old timer... I buy you your fruits, I get my juice. Is your age finally catching up to you? Want me to get you some medicine, too? Maybe fruits wouldn't be enough now that you're getting old."

Hua seemed unfazed by her snarky remarks, and only exhaled a long-winded breath. Ah. That's the one. "I'll go back and buy some." She said, and cocked her head to the side and slightly smirked at Senti. "I'll even buy you the whole pack. Hold this."

"....wait, reall— Ah." Now she was holding two bags. She could only watch Hua go back into the store, her mouth still open. So much for enjoying the early walk home with some juice...

Colors shifted all around Senti. The buildings towering above them blocked out the remaining peachy lights as the sun slept below the horizon, and now only the clouds displayed their warm and cool brilliance. Senti thought it was a nice view, somewhat. As much of a battle-hungry junkie she was, she's adapted to this lifestyle well. She's spent quite a significant time with the old timer... Makes her feel like she's retired now, as well.

Perhaps the days of Honkai were long behind them. They had spent day after day with unrelenting tenseness in their bones, peace was almost foreign to them. Especially to Senti. Spending most of her time playing a very aloof character, somehow, deep down she knew that it didn't feel right. That she herself wasn't supposed to experience this.

ding

A small bell rang to her side, thinking that it was Hua who had finally finished buying her juice. She turned and only saw the buttoned-up worker who was walking to the isles of grocieries in the store.

"....?"

Then her eyes fell on Hua, meekly standing in line holding a bundle pack of small juiceboxes. Something caught her attention, though, asides from what Hua had bought.

Old timer... You really are the same as me.

Hua's expression, from what Senti could gleam from the angle she could see, contained a very listless gaze that only stared at the back of the person she was standing behind from. She knew, that whatever was going on inside the mind of that geezer, was a turbulent, incomprehensible variation of what she was feeling now.

It was a combination of her mannerisms that, when put together, painted a picture in Senti's mind. A picture that wasn't, couldn't be associated with the Hua that she knows. The way she was slightly hunched over, how her shoulders seemed sagged and strained as she carried those juiceboxes, how she awkwardly shuffled forward whenever the line moved. How her steps were so unsure as she moved forward.

As if Hua had been living her past again.

Senti sighed. She didn't really know what to make of it. Or rather, she couldn't really admit it either. Senti was born from Hua, in every sense. A culmination of her history, condensed in a being so dissimilar to what Hua should be. And so, she knew what had been weighing on Hua's mind. But if she confronted her, asked her about it, she would be admitting that Hua's troubles were also her own.

ding

Hua shuffled with tiny footsteps, making her way to Senti. The view of the old timer yawning and handing her the treat scrambled her thoughts. "Here. I considered buying you another pack, but we'll be short on funds if we keep feeding your juicebox addiction. Go easy on drinking these, okay..."

Hua patted her on the back, causing her to flinch forward, and scoff at her. Not even having the time to protest about being treated like a child (again), Hua took the initiative to take back the two bags of groceries from her.

"Let's go? We can still make it past traffic hours if we hurry."

Senti, almost considering tearing past the plastic packaging of the pack to drink one, instead lit up in a wide grin. She wouldn't have the time nor the capabilities to confront her now, anyways. There were too much left unsaid, feelings unresolved despite the world's largest threats ended.

"Race ya to the station, then?"

Hua stared at her in a half-confused, half-surprised manner, and then broke off into a sigh and smiled.

"Sure, but you're taking one of these bags with you. On my mark..."

Without finishing her countdown, Senti had already broken off into a sprint and was gaining distance from her. The absurdity of it all, and the weight of her feelings stirred made her break into a shy laughter, laughing at the sky and the cicadas chirping their noise in the trees as both of them bolted back home.

Chapter Text

"No it's not!!"

"Coo."

"That's—!! Now you're just lying! That's not how that works!"

"Coo— Coo!! Coo...!!!"

"Stop touching it!!! Get your filthy feathers—!!"

Perhaps Hua's investment of not buying an alarm clock was the best decision she's made all year. Sure, maybe Senti and Piyo's bickering was more intrusive than an alarm clock, but it gets the job done all the same. It wakes her up, and deep in her still-groggy mind rumbles a very mild annoyance that sits and makes itself comfortable to stay with her for the rest of the day.

The gray-haired girl glances up just above the wooden doorframe of the apartment's entrance, eyeing the clock and doing her best to strain her ears, trying to listen in if the clock is indeed still working. "5:45 sharp... Eh... Close enough..."

The only lights that were on were the overhead lamps underneath the kitchen cabinets, barely illuminating the rest of their humble abode. A serene sight, and quite the peaceful resting place, Hua thought. The darkness outside, and the every now and then doppled sounds of passing cars was enough ambiance that this would've been every city girl's dream apartment.

That is, if they didn't live with the other two beings that were currently about to maul each other with a wooden cutting board and a wooden spatula respectively.

Hua was avoiding it somewhat, but she couldn't help but finally turn to the kitchen to see Senti's disgruntled face mocking the ever-so small Piyo, who did her best to stand up against the herrscher. The small, plump chicken could only tip-toe on the countertops while returning a relatively similar expression of mockery towards Senti. Just what exactly were they fighting about this time?

The herrscher's attention finally turns towards Hua, who was still rubbing her eyes clumsily in her white pajamas. Senti stomped her way very close to Hua's face, nerves on her temples and her neck seemingly about to burst, "Old timer. I'm this close to steaming her in that thing." She pointed at Piyo with the spatula, and Piyo only hid behind the cutting board as she held it up with both wings.

"...why, exactly?" Hua replied, her eyes remaining closed and sighing all the while.

"Well— I was trying to make breakfast! Egghead over there decides to butt in, thinking she knows better." Senti's head snaps back towards Piyo, "And I'm pretty sure you don't."

"O...kay?" Hua sighs again. "But you know you can just work together, right? You're both good cooks anyways. We've cooked for the new year with Mei before." She makes her way to the kitchen, intrigued by what exactly started this whole debacle. A particular appliance catches her interest.

"Well, I'd love to, but Piyo's not exactly being helpful! She's insisting that I don't know how to use that thing."

A rice cooker. Unplugged. And the rice grains might as well be soggy, Hua assumed, seeing as how they've been arguing for so long that it's just been sitting here, soaked under water.

Hua looks at Piyo, and raises an eyebrow. "Coo... Coo." She shrugs and points at Senti. "How were you planning to go about this then? Show me."

With a grumbled 'Okay, watch this then!' Senti takes off the pot with the rice still inside it off the actual cooker and, without warning, puts it on a stove top.

wait—

'Then you just light this thing.'

Piyo only made a sound akin to a squeal, and Hua was barely able to stop Senti turning the stove top to light it on fire.

----

"There was no shot I was doing it wrong. You can cook rice in an open flame! I know you can! I'm not gonna burn the house down, I'm not Kiana!"

Senti angrily made continuous remarks as she sizzled up a few sunny side up eggs in the pan. Piyo, who was wearing quite the smug look on her face, only stayed beside the rice cooker as if she was guarding it. Still holding the cutting board, Piyo points to it, then to Senti, and chirps. Senti could only stare daggers at her, without a word.

"Yeah, but we have an automatic cooker for that. You could've ruined the pot if you used the stove." Hua fixed her hair in front of a mirror just beside the door of her bedroom, straightening out her polo and evening out the creases. "Where did you even get the idea of cooking it with fire?" She didn't quite feel angry anymore, but she was befuddled by all of this. Senti's choices, specifically.

The girl didn't answer. But Hua could hear that she was cracking another egg in the pan.

"Was it Kiana?"

The girl froze, dropping the eggshells straight into the pan. Piyo chirped quiet giggles from behind the rice cooker, pointing at Senti with one large feather.

"She was the only one I had quick access to with my powers... My bad. I guess." She grunted out, struggling to remove the smaller pieces of eggshells that were now lost in the eggwhites. "I was desperate since it was almost time for you to wake up and I... Haven't done anything yet."

Hua stops. For a moment, she felt a twang of pain on her chest. Just... The way Senti said it must've hit her in some way. She wasn't exactly sure why, but her lips ended up forming a smile.

"I guess Piyo can be on rice duty. Whatever..." She felt two arms come up from behind her in a soft embrace, to which she instantly felt irritation from. "Oy!! I'm cooking—!!!"

"Thank you for cooking for me. I appreciate it, okay?"

Finally, the words she'd been looking for. But she couldn't quite help but scrunch up her nose and have her brows furrowed in an arc. What's with this old lady, and why is she being like this? Why was Senti doing this in the first place? She couldn't care less... Maybe not to that extent, but...

Hua rested her chin on Senti's shoulder, but her arms weren't hugging her anymore. Lights from the kitchen were slowly being outshone by the muffled, turquoise lights of the coming dawn. She glances at her side, and from what she could see, Hua was blankly staring at the pan. She should be finished with breakfast right now, had this whole thing not happened. But there was nary an ounce of hurry in her demeanor.

"Are... Are you alright? Old timer?"

Her breath hitched as the words left her lips. Again, there was no reason to ask her this. No reason to worry. They've weathered the toughest storms one could face, their very reality being doomed to crumble and disappear, all of it was well behind them. But the days hadn't felt easier, or rather, it felt like the rain hasn't exactly let off for both of them.

"I haven't seen Kiana in a while."

The storms were all they knew. And through them, they've shown solace under the umbrellas brought to the two of them from fleeting company. All who felt like the rain washing through them, so heavy, so fleeting. "...we can visit her, you know. We're not exactly banned from the moon???"

"I suppose that's true." Senti felt Hua's cheeks plump up; she was grinning. But in her peripheries, she could see how Hua's eyes fell just below them, with such weight that it seemed like this life was just a facade to her. Like this life detested her.

"Coo..."

Piyo reached out (mostly to Hua) and the girl took Piyo in her arms and sat on a chair near the counter. Hua's gaze remained listless, her fingers stroking the contour of Piyo's ruffled feathers. Without her glasses, the girl seemed like she was at the end of her rope.
Her eyes were sunken, paled and ashened like the rest of her skin seemed to look like under the rising sun's light.

Maybe a simple trip to the moon wouldn't revert everything back to normal. Senti felt lost, and mostly annoyed at how everything was definitely not alright, but not in an immediate sense. When there was a problem, she'd go about it one or two ways. She'd either beat it up, or have the old timer fix it for her. Sometimes she'd even do both.

But now she can't. She had never felt so... Helpless.

Senti only silently plated up breakfast on plates, her mind felt fogged. Never in her thousands of years of shared history with the girl had caused her this type of distress. Memories surge in her mind, flooding her emotions with thoughts of the past. Of mountaintops abandoned... Of cities ravaged, burned, and destroyed. All forgotten. All so distant.

But she remembers it all. And she might just have something that could work.

Chapter Text

"What? Really...? Mei didn't have an issue with it back then. Though, I guess she only let me do it once..."

Kiana, the now Herrscher of Finality that ended up 'stuck' on the surface of the moon for humanity's sake, looked out from the research building's sky bridge, peering into the large crater that housed their entire base far below.

"No, I told you... I didn't ruin any pots. I did burn the bottom of the rice when it was done, but Mei was happy that I managed to make edible rice so I thought I did it right!" Giggling to herself, she paced around as the conversation struts along. Eventually, she stopped in the middle of the suspended sky bridge, with the moon's hollow, white surface far below her feet behind thick glass floors.

Not a lot of the staff often came to this side of the base, only the higher-authorized personnel and the doctors Einstein and Tesla whenever they needed to check up on her condition; and in the present time, she was alone, and only talking to the voice that fizzled hazily in her head.

The overhead lights hummed as it filled the silence then. From her periphery, the rock that was now her temporary home seemed enveloped in dust and fog, twinkling distant lights that beckoned to her like stars.

Kiana leaned on the large windows of the bridge, resting her head back, and sighed as she smiled after hearing the other end bicker after hearing her words.

She wasn't exactly wearing her usual herrscher outfit. The base often simulated the temperature of Earth's, specifically, what the Hyperion was currently experiencing. Kiana found it a little too cold to be wearing something too showy. There wasn't any particular reason to wear it anyway. Only in combat sessions where her vitals and physical capabilities needed to be monitored, tested, and recorded.

The blinking lights of distant towers shined against her silvery-hair. Reds and greens, phasing in and out, echoing far beyond the lit horizon of the research building. She held her arms together in an embrace, sighing, and took in the sights of the ever-so lonely surface of the moon; the herrscher on the other end of the line drawing an ample tone in her voice, unknowingly mimicking the quiet world around Kiana.

"I don't know what's wrong with the Old Timer anymore."

The words hit her hard. They were heavy, too heavy, to be shouldered alone. It's not like the two of them had been keeping it a secret, they told everyone that needed to know; but only a few were informed and were capable of helping out behind the scenes.

Kiana didn't resent them for it, no. But the helplessness of the situation offered her no solace either. She had all this free time in-between the doctors' check-ups, and the thought of Hua was the only thing running in her mind in every waking moment.

"How was she this morning?"

"Got mad at me for the rice thing, but managed to get ready herself and left for work."

Some of the distant building lights started to fade away, indicating that it must've been night time back home; the staff must've gone to sleep. And she should, too, if she didn't want to be scolded by Theresa again. But she didn't want to be alone with her thoughts for now, and after an awkward silence, Senti spoke up to continue.

"She hugged me before she left... She said she missed you, too."

The two of them had been in often contact with each other for quite some time now, ever since Hua started exhibiting signs of changing. They would often talk late into the night, sometimes even while having their meals; trying to deduce what exactly was going on with her 'class rep.'

"You should call her again, I think... She knew I talked to you. You should check up on your elders..." Senti's voice was distant in some parts, whizzing against some flow of wind blowing against her, and clearly audible from Kiana's side. Today was the day, and Senti was probably on her way there now.

"I don't know." Kiana replied, "I'm scared. Even if I call her, it doesn't do anything anymore."

She knew that Senti knew, too. Their last call wasn't exactly eventful, but even from way before, Kiana was already aware that something was wrong. She started calling more often, and it even reached to the point of calling twice a day on weeks that the doctors were away and didn't need her to undergo tests.

The changes on Hua were subtle. It was her eyes that Kiana noticed, first. The fierce, assured sparkle in the class rep's eyes always burned even in the heights of despair; the same flame that saved her from ending her very own life. All from so, so long ago.

Whenever Kiana saw Hua's face on the comm's screen window, even with all the interference's noise due to the weak signal, she could still see it. How Hua's brilliant eyes shifted as she talked, unsure and lost while the words spilled out from her lips in the same cadence. Bags and lines formed under her eyes, wrinkles, which made her seem all the more older. In any other situation, she might've teased her about it, but she didn't have the heart to joke anymore. It would've hurt her as much as it hurt Hua to hear it.

Then it was her voice. Hua's voice always had a reserved, gentle tone; carrying the weight of such a long history behind it that she eventually came to be familiar with. This voice that always nagged at her back in school when she was still such an inexperienced valkyrie on the verge of failing her classes, the voice that shyly laughed along whenever Mei scolded and disapproved of her laissez-faire behavior despite Kiana's dreams of becoming an S-rank valkyrie.

This very same voice now only croaked, and seemed to lose the weight of its history, to carry her burdens that threatened to singe this history whole.

There was a time where Kiana needed to be away for an extended period, taking one Earth week of isolation because of a check-up concerning her herrscher core. In this time, both her and Senti confirmed that something really was wrong. Hua had an assortment of jobs that she took on, and required her to work six days a week. In Kiana's absence, Hua only managed to clock-in 2 of those days. Senti informed her that she had to care for the Old Timer, because Hua stayed in bed all day when she didn't go to work.

After that, calls with Hua felt so... Hopeless. Conversations dragged on, and Kiana was the only one putting effort to carry them. Interactions felt like they were widening the rift between them, instead.

"Your sister's... Uh, friend, was it? The maid..." Senti awkwardly chirped after another extended awkward silence between them. "Rita?" Kiana reminded her. "She came in extra early, didn't she?"

"Yeah. She's the one taking care of the old timer today, and she told me that your sister would swing by later on in the day. I hope that geezer doesn't mind."

"Don't worry," Kiana couldn't help but smile at the mention of her beloved sister. "Both of them were the best valkyries back in the day... They usually got along pretty well, I think."

"Psh. Maybe all of this isn't even necessary, and we're fussing over nothing... Maybe a visit from those two would knock her back to her senses." Senti spatted out in a scoff, causing Kiana to laugh.

"I wouldn't really mind... It would actually be nice if she did, don't you think?"

Another awkward silence, going for even longer than the times before. Kiana could only hear what she thought was the wind howling and the crashing waves behind the line. Before she could pipe up to confirm that Senti was still there, she cut her off.

"I'm finally here at the lab. I'll talk to you later."

Chapter Text

Senti hovered, carefully balanced on the flat side of one of her swords, the ocean’s waves beating on the small island’s shores that caused droplets and showers to barely reach just below her feet. At this height, it didn’t even seem like an island. It’s moreso akin to a forgotten piece of an island that drifted, breaking off from a larger landmass that was now ways away from this place.

There was no verdant grass or trees on this small patch of land; sand and pieces of shattered glass littered its shores, small shells and tiny hermit crabs scuttered on and about, them being the only sign of life on this desolate island.

Rocks protruded from the sand’s surface, all irregularly shaped from the assumedly hundreds and thousands of years of continued erosion from the relentless waves. There were no barriers in place, yet this place was short of any welcoming nature for visitors, much less to a herrscher like her.

“Am I lost??? What the heck…” From a distance, she expected something more, maybe a larger compound with halogen lamps overhead and fake grass, or even gray asphalt roads for parking lots with a huge facility in the middle, but no. Only the towering height of a stone lighthouse, whose roof was just below her, provided her any sense of an actual location that the doctors had pointed her to. They gave her the exact coordinates, and this was it.

Its location was obscure enough, that’s for sure.

Dematerializing her sword, she quickly fell into a drop and onto the wet, cushioned sand. Now on ground level, the lighthouse felt more imposing, hiding the view of the overcast sun behind its tall, shadowed frame. Senti, unable to contain her ever so-childish nature, even walked near the light just to have the sun hit her eyes. For no particular reason.

The exterior of the lighthouse piqued her interest however, the light of the sun offering her a more illuminated view of the abandoned tower before her. Carefully constructed masonry that, despite evidently mossed and beaten down by time, the walls’ details proved and withstood, tall and proud, despite it all.

Might as well head in? Her subconscious echoed at the back of her mind, drowned out by the sound of the waves. Stepping up the damp sand proved to be quite difficult due to the steep incline, but eventually, she managed to stand just before the lighthouse’s entrance.

A huge metal door, unlatched and browned like the rest of the place.

Sensing that there was no one inside, she stepped in; rust and salt quickly hit her, causing her to scrunch up her nose from the sharpness of the smell filling her senses. Only a circular room was immediately inside past the door greeted her, and a crooked ladder that led far, far up. Only the faint lights of the lighthouse’s mullions, and the light coming from behind her, served as her guide for her path forward. A path that she wasn’t quite sure if it even was forward.

As if on cue, and to quench all her doubt, unnatural sounds echoed far up above her. Small beeping noises, somewhat familiar to the drones that Dr. Tesla makes. Were they really about to meet here, in this crooked place? Only one way to found out, I guess.

But I’m not climbing this damn ladder!

Senti rode her sword up again, and she was now slowly ascending as if she was riding an elevator. Ladder steps slowly passed by her view as more of the light came in through the lighthouse’s gallery and windows. The ocean’s breeze blew as she passed by windows, offering her few instances of respite from her uneventful ascent. Eventually, she arrived at the gallery itself.

The sounds of the waves echoed in this spacious chamber. A spiral staircase leading to the lighthouse’s catwalk was placed on the middle, and parallel to it on the far end of the wall, was a relatively large computer and other few pieces of technology connecting to a charging dock.

And in this charging dock, was a droid that was looking directly at her.

“Uh…?” Senti took in the sight, the droid was rectangular in structure, with similarly shaped arms and two pincers as its hands that laid lifeless on its sides. Fenders and highlights lined the droid, colored in a messy green that mimicked the moss-covered limestones far below. A black screen, with two similarly-colored eyes that, assumedly staring at her, were visible on it.

“Dr. Tesla?”

The droid didn’t move. A coldness tugged at the bottom of her heart; had she taken too long to get here? Why didn’t the doctor appear herself? What the hell was this droid doing here? Did she get it wrong?

Was this a trap?

Senti materialized her broadblade behind her, a sword in hand and a few couple ones floating near her like wings. Carefully, she went closer to the droid and the computers, and one of the larger screens whizzed to life. Senti’s eyes widen, and her hand gripped the sword’s handle tighter as the blade led her forward.

The screen was on, but it remained black. Letters begin typing, one by one.

[Please put down your weapons.]

“As if. Who are you, and what did you do to Dr. Tesla?” Senti steeled her stance now, her feet wide apart and a cocky smile forming on her face. She hasn’t fought in a long while, and if this was indeed a trap laid out by whomever, all the more reason to let loose just a little. The era of Honkai was long behind them now, and surely, this wouldn’t be too much of a threat for someone as great as her.

[I am the one you’re supposed to meet. Please put down your weapons.]

Senti’s stance falters, but she quickly brushed it off. What is this robot talking about? “Where’s Dr. Tesla? Why isn’t she here?” She stepped closer to the screen, aiming the tip of the blade and resting its sharp end just on the surface of the glass. “Answer me or I’ll blow up this place to bits.”

The screen remained wordless for a while, and just as Senti breathed in to prepare to swing, the computer buzzed up an answer.

[I’m the one tasked to help Fu Hua. Have you forgotten what the Doctors said months ago?]

“Humor me.”

[Please put down your weapons first.]

She was getting nowhere. She tried recalling the past meetings she’s had with the two doctors, but she couldn’t quite remember anything about a different robot helping her. Perhaps this really was one of Tesla’s inventions? It certainly looked like one, but it didn’t have the feel that her other inventions would have. Namely, it wasn’t red. Senti had been quite familiar with them after sparring and destroying her prototypes before, so why was this model different? It was too blocky and awkward-looking, and the closest appliance she was reminded of was a vending machine.

“Fine…” Much to the droid’s behest, Senti flicked off the intimidating blades away. The herrscher didn’t need weapons to make quick work of this robot anyway, should it try anything suspicious.

[Thank you for your cooperation. May I confirm, are you the ‘Herrscher of Sentience’?]

“Yes.”

[May I call you ‘Senti’?]

“??.... No.”

[…Noted.]

Large tubes from behind the droid detach themselves, and a faint whisp of smoke and sparks travel from the monitor to the droid, and the droid’s screen, once again, lights up with emerald eyes. Noises, asides from the beeping, were now whizzing up from the robot, as if recalibrating itself. A few moments later, its metal plates groaned, and the emerald eyes turn into downward facing crescents.

The girl could only watch, wary, but more relaxed now. “What are you doing?”

The robot’s bottom-most frame extends, making it rise a few inches as wheels reveal themselves under the flaps. Its lower half split into two separate pieces, mimicking legs, and stepped over the charging dock’s boarding station. Its arm drones to life, two pincers shaped like wrenches assist itself past the charging dock as it slowly rolled to Senti.

[Do you truly not remember the plan, Herrscher of Sentience?]

The plan…

Months with Hua spiraling slowly, living through every day of it, watching the mirrored ‘her’ try her best to live and claw out of the depths that she was falling into. Yet, in the history they shared, never has she once had Hua become like this. Nothing remotely close. From the beginning, when the first impact tore everything she loved dear. 50, 000 years of resilience, and yet, when her mission’s finally done is when she falls apart?

I don’t want to see you go like this, old timer. I can’t.

Senti and Kiana were desperate, and they thought that maybe the doctors could help. There were never any promises, but they were only told that when the time comes, they’ll be able to think of something. Was this robot the result of their time waiting? This?

The robot only stared up at her, its screen rotated upward to mimic a small child in awe of the adult in front of her; or in another perspective, seeing through someone completely like a child realizing that adults were just as clueless as them. [Well?]

She sighed. Her knees felt somewhat weak, and her shoulders felt heavy. Plopping on the ground cross-legged, she sat to face the droid at eye-level. “Were you the one supposed to help us? I… I thought we had to wait a lot longer.” Senti eyed the droid carefully now that it was closer. There was a ribbon scribbled on its ‘chest,’ like it was clumsily drawn on with crayon. A faint lingering smell emanated from its metal surface, and it’s something that she’s definitely smelled before when she hanged out with Sushang, something sweet.

[I insisted to be introduced to you sooner. I believe I am capable enough to be of help, at the least, to show you a potential cause of the twelfth’s current condition.]

“Okay…? Were you designed by Dr. Tesla? Or was it the other one?”

[Both of them. And sir Joachim, as well.]

Reading the letters made Senti prop up and straighten her back. Mr. Yang was here? He had been missing for a while, wasn’t Dr. Tesla whining about that? And why was this robot the only thing she got from them? Why didn’t they show up in person?

[You must still have a lot of questions, Herrscher of Sentience.]

“Wh-uh?” Perhaps her expression was open like a book. “Ay, ay. Whatever. I just… have a lot on my mind, and you’re not particularly being helpful right now, just so you know.” She swatted the robot with her hand, then rested it on her cheek as she stared out into the open gallery, far out into the horizon. “I want to know how you’ll be helping us from here.”

[The doctors recommend that I station inside your home, in the meantime. Until my capabilities are restored to its fuller status.]

Senti only raised an eyebrow at the robot.

[I will explain in due time. For now, let us set off.]

Sighing loudly, she laid down on her back and sprawled on the floor. “I’m resting here for a bit, you’re gonna have to wait.” The sweat on her back made her summer outfit cling to her skin, making her aware of the cold winds coming from outside. She couldn’t be arsed hauling back this hunk of metal so quickly after she just got here, and she’s definitely not looking forward to the long journey back.

shfft.

Senti looked up and saw that the droid had rolled closer to her, and the metal plates in the middle of the robot’s framed parted open like a small compartment, revealing another pincer-like hand that held a…

“What the hell is this???”

[To quench your thirst, Herrscher of Sentience. It will alleviate fatigue.]

It was a large plastic cup of milk tea, sealed and accompanied with a straw taped to its side. Condensed cold droplets drip down the surface like it’s been freshly chilled, and the whisps of cold air coming off of it only reinforced that fact. “This is new? What the f—”

[I haven’t been here for very long, please don’t get any wrong ideas. This is freshly made.]

Hesitantly taking the beverage, and cautiously sniffing the straw’s opening as it pierced the seal, Senti looked back at the droid. The droid didn’t respond. It didn’t smell weird, and it didn’t look as old as this place, so maybe the droid was telling the truth. Sucking in and even getting sweet pearls in her mouth, confirmed that this was quite similar to the drinks she had with Sushang. “…What was your name again? Or your model number, I guess? Do you even have a name?”

[…]

[Please, call me Dr. Klein.]

Chapter Text

“Ah-- the sun…”

Hua jogs to an expansive highway bridge running parallel against the ocean, a pure clearing from the thick lines of trees that cradled the road and its travelers. The wind, shifting from its earthy undertones now blew against her with hints of salt and sand. Her hair becomes undone, and she couldn’t help but pause her escape to admire the view. Far above her, a gradient of gentle blue fades into fiery yellows, fading into the horizon’s line where the sun begins its submergence.

“…Huh.” The word escapes her lips, breathless from the sky’s grandeur and from her own perspiration. Her office clothes clung to her skin, and strands of hair stuck to her forehead; yet she remained still, and closed her eyes, seeing nothing but the gentle warmth seeping through the darkness of her eyelids.

But this warmth, as much comfort it gave her, stung her eyes. When she opened them, tears were beginning to pool; and only the tension from her lashes stopped them from falling down her cheeks. Instead of wiping them, she leaned forward to rest both of her shoulders on the railings of the bridge, her head going well beyond to let the tears fall far below the rocky crevasse. She watched her tears gain distance till its shape became undecipherable, before wiping her eyes with the auburn blazer that she had hanging loosely, unworn on her arm.

Hua wasn’t quite sure what expression she was wearing. She couldn’t help but let out a chuckle and sniffle her nose. She continued watching the skies far beyond her reach, and overhead stars that gave their blessed light on the uncaring humans that walk the world. Uncaring for the heavens, for the peaceful earth that resides, and for the seas that wuthered below them.

Uncaring for her plight, and how she had been wishing that things had been just a bit different for her. Perhaps she had expected it; spent her months trying to decipher it, to make her pain just a little more tolerable when she was alone.

She watched the sun’s rays pierce the towering clouds far above, minute by minute, and the world behind her dimmed at a staggering pace. Fear crept closer at her heart, and despite wearing her long-sleeved blouse, she couldn’t help but shiver.

Hua’s mind, however foggy it may be now, was lucid just enough to keep her in place. To keep her feet firmly stood onto the asphalt sidewalk, and to stay her gaze onto the setting sun. Despite the call of the void, teetering at the edge of madness, she could only tighten her hug on her blazer.

My purpose is done. We’ve triumphed over Honkai.

Her voice echoed loudly in her head, drowning out all sounds of the waves and the passing cars behind her. As to whom she was talking to, perhaps this was her way of responding to the void. To null its seductive temptation with a wall of her own making. She focused on her rough, calloused palms that were scratching at the surface of her blazer as she held it against her chest, the setting sun’s rays peeking through her bangs like it was bidding her its farewells from a closing curtain.

I have endured; and for so long.

Her thoughts begin to melt along with the sounds of her surroundings. The road beneath her feet disappears, along with the railings in front of her. In her hazy view, only the sun, the sky, and the sea remained. With one shaky breath, her foot clumsily pushes forward.

A soft bump of metal resounded out as her knee collided with the railings’ supporting beam, causing her to look slightly down. The railing was now against her, and her tears fell onto its surface. Hua laid the blazer down and softly wept. Millennia should’ve eroded her, to the point that this measly jump forward should have been the easiest task she could’ve done. Her prime directive, the reason why she had to endure all of those years, was to endure Honkai itself. But what now, after her purpose snuffed out, should she have a reason to continue burning?

“D-agh—!"

A strong gust of wind pushes her back, and in a daze, she loses her balance and almost falls over onto incoming traffic. But a firm hand catches her, holding her from behind and pulling her close.

“Hua, you were here the whole time?” A frame much taller and larger than hers, and a voice that was soft and gentle held her close. Pensive blue eyes, with hair strands that strewn its luster like the sun’s rays itself. “Bianka…”

“Miss Hua, your coat.” Rita, who was wearing a frilly, white dress with magenta pants that matched her accessories; came to drape the blazer over Hua’s shoulders. With one swift flick, she took out a small, checkered handkerchief with an orange paw mark on the corner and handed it to her. Her expression, which was normally always poise and dignified, carried about a sincere worry as she inched closer to give her the handkerchief.

“Why did you run away? We only wanted to check up on you.”

“Ah, I, uhm-- didn’t see you?”

“Ha.” Bianka couldn’t help but laugh, albeit her eyebrows arched upward to mirror Rita’s expression. “I think we were the first thing you saw when you stepped out of the building, you just ran away before we could even come close. Hua…”

The girl could only nestle her face close to Bianka’s shirt, breaking into quiet tears before any of the two of them could react. Bianka looked at Rita, and she only nodded in response. As awkward as it was, she assisted Hua by her side, and slowly started walking back from the direction they came from, past all the trees and into the distant bustle of the city’s nightfall.

From what the two of them know, Hua had been spiraling for a long while ever since the battle on the moon ended. But they never thought, specifically Bianka, that she would end up seeing a person like Hua cry like she had been now. Each gentle step, the three of them walked on, passing by dim lampposts and canopies that acted as awnings to blanket them from the starlight, keeping in the halogen lights of the cars and the twinkling, towering buildings that could be spotted between the tree lines.

Each step felt heavy. What could Bianka say? Rita only stayed silent, following them a few paces behind, and Hua remained stuffed close to her shoulder.

“Were you really going to do it?”

“…”

“Hua.”

“I don’t know.”

“…”

“I could’ve.”

The rest of the walk home remained silent after that brief exchange. Not even the neon lights of the city’s happy night hours alleviated any sense of tension and weight from the three. The brightly lit paths only served to be a hollow reminder of the way back home, Hua’s home, where they eventually decided to stay for the night. They couldn’t leave her, not like this.

The apartment, as rundown as it looked, was at the least up to structural code. Considering it was at a small nook couched between rising skyscrapers and buildings, it was homely enough. A three-story building with a visible, fenced rooftop above, and barely lit wooden stairs that led to the higher floors. Bianka, at one point while climbing the stairs, tried pushing Hua away a bit so she wouldn’t end up tripping on the steps and dragging her down. But Hua only clenched to her clothes tighter in response, never even saying a word.

Eventually, they made it to Hua’s quarters. Bianka ended up carrying Hua bridal-style, which didn’t really cause any objections from her. Opening the door, only the kitchen’s under-hang lights from the cabinets were lit. Initially, they thought that no one was home; but they noticed that the stovetops were lit, multiple pots and pans steamed and a small, round shape was busying itself on the countertops to tend to them.

“Coo…!? …C-coo…?”

“It’s just us, Piyo.” Rita greeted the shocked, plump bird, all the while hanging Hua’s blazer behind the door on a nailed coatrack. “You’re cooking dinner? Can I help with that?” A resounding nod invited the maid to join, and Rita turned to Bianka. “You’re much better suited to talk to her, I’ll bring the food to her room once we’re done.”

“Okay.” Bianka turned to Hua, who was softly snoring against her shoulder’s sleeve. If she didn’t know better, Hua must’ve been fast asleep; save for the fact that her left knuckles were white from how hard she was holding onto Bianka’s clothes. Carefully, she carefully maneuvered down the relatively tight hallway; minding Hua’s head, and slipped into what she assumes is Hua’s room.

After setting her down the bed, and Hua didn’t seem to fight it this time; only softly turning on her side and facing the window where the moon’s light eclipsed her sleeping figure. Turning on a bedside lamp, she took in the view of the room. Asides from feeling a bit queasy from intruding in someone else’s room, the overall aesthetic that she could surmise from what the light made her see was contributing to that feeling as well.

There were flowers by the windowsill, but upon closer inspection after running her finger down the stem, she realized that it was fake. No singular sock just lying around the bed or the floor, no sight of an unfolded tank top or anything. The turquoise, striped wallpapers with it being its only texture, and how there was little to no color other than the gray-ish hue of the bedframe made the room seem like a prison. Like an asylum.

There were no pictures in the frames on the wall. No memorabilia of any kind that would’ve otherwise proved that this room was lived in. Only a comb, a cup with Hua’s toothbrush and toothpaste in it, and a few towels laid by the bedside table. It looked like Hua had just moved in here; it looked like she was in the process of readying to move far, far away.

Bianka’s eyes landed on the large cabinet on the opposite side of the table, placed adjacent to the room’s door. The sickening feeling in her stomach was driving her up the wall, and she wanted to ease it somehow by trying to look into the contents of the cabinets to see if there were at least any clothes other than Hua’s work uniform, or anything at all. But she ultimately decided that that might be going too far.

Then she took in Hua laying down on the bed, still lightly snoring. She sat just behind her, turning slightly to her side and began to speak; resting her hand against Hua’s arm.

“Hua… what’s wrong?”

Hua slowly took in a breath, a shaky one, and Bianka could audibly hear her struggle to gulp down. Then, Hua sharply exhaled, and replied with a voice on the verge of tears. “I’m beginning to remember.”

“What? Remember…? Remember what?” Bianka wasn’t sure if she heard Hua correctly, and she could only parrot what she assumes she heard. With another quaky breath, as if the girl had mustered all her remaining courage to reply, could only utter the word with a voiceless plea for mercy.

“Everything.”

Chapter Text

“I’ll listen, Hua. Please, tell me what’s going on.”

Bianka scoots closer, squeezing Hua’s upper arm; for a brief moment, she didn’t react. Somewhere in the house, the ticking of a clock resounded through the walls, serving as a symphony for the dust to follow, twirling their dance through the twilight bleeding against the glass window. Hua groaned, as if the very act of Bianka’s sympathy threatened her very existence. A flash wisped by of all those she’s touched, all the lives that were entangled on her journey thus far were now but faded threads of what once was, unrecognizable and but a shadow of the memories she carried.

Memories that were eating her alive.

Pushing to prod herself up against the bed’s headrest to look at Bianka’s general direction, her irises obscured by her bangs; casting a null wary darkness from behind her slightly messy hair, she uttered; “What difference does it make?” Her voice so full of hurt that she practically hissed the phrase.

Bianka knows what to answer to that. Yet she couldn’t really bring herself to say the words, more specifically, the exact words that could reach Hua to feel safe. As much good her intentions were, both of them had traversed completely different, opposite lives.

Whereas she was saved from a tragic end, given another chance to fight for the losses she had endured; Hua was given no other choice, and was spared no chance but to endure tragedy after tragedy itself. Neither should be compared and weighed, yet she knew that her suffering was but a fraction of what Hua had accumulated up to this point. It would have been so unfair to liken her experiences to Hua’s.

So when you can’t find the words, the only choice left is to just listen. This was the least Bianka could offer her.

“We’ll be here for the night.” Bianka smiled at her, as sincere as she could; reminiscent of the times when she would talk to Kiana late into the night; comforting her dearest sister whenever she seemed down due to being isolated in space. She raised her left leg on the cushion of the bed to slouch to make herself comfy. “Rita’s already cooking, but I can buy snacks for you if you want something else, too.”

Hua hugged her legs close to her chest. But her cheeks glistened with newly shed tears, and even with the dim light, Bianka saw that she closed her eyes. “Hua, it’s okay. We’re here. We’re not going anywhere.”

The girl only choked as she cried against her knees. Her dried, veiny hands scrunched up to grip at her legs, and Bianka thought that Hua was only crying out of sadness; but she was soon proven horribly wrong.

Her gray hair slowly grew longer, long enough to completely drape and fall off either side of the bed, accompanied by a rustling sound akin to a bush being disturbed. Patches of ashened, white streaks were visible on random strands; tail ends that were crudely cut eerily resembling clipped angel wings. The red bits from her phoenix form were recognizable enough, but they looked so different. They had lost all hue, and looked like they were charred themselves; for a moment, they flared and smoked, but ultimately smothered into flaky pieces of coal as they fell and broke off to dust.

Cracks, literal fissures started to form on her skin like blemishes; gradually burgeoning from her chest like thorns. Hua coughed, and her breath became unsteady as she eased herself of what seemed like tremendous pain from what her undergoing the transformation.

And when she dropped her legs to reveal more of her body, Bianka only saw the deep bags under her eyes, and how her pupils reflected not the usual, brilliant blue eyes she always had; only the moon’s pale light gave them any semblance of life. Looking at her like this, Bianka thought that she was looking at a perfectly-preserved corpse. It looked like Hua had been dead, all this time; but were cursed to never truly die.

“Hua…?”

“Pathetic, isn’t it… What you’re looking at is what’s left. This is all there is.”

Bianka was beyond words, nothing could describe the harrowing sight right before her. Through Hua’s sleeves, underneath a few buttons undone, and her slacks; she could still see the cracks that ran on the surface of her limbs. Bianka, feeling a sense of urgency, took to reach out and touch one of the cracks that were visible on Hua’s ankles.

“Does it hurt…?”

And Hua could only nod, tilting her head so vaguely that the shuffling of hair was the only evidence that she moved at all. Her lips, dried and chapped, quivered as she struggled to rehydrate them. “It’s been like this for a while.”

“How long?”

“I don’t really remember exactly when it got this bad.” She leaned forward and slowly raised an arm up to her line of sight, seemingly taking in the sight of the cracks, and running her fingers down to her hand to brush off flakes and pieces of skin. Bianka could vividly see her flinch and softly whimper with every subtle movement, yet Hua continued to clean her ‘feathers.’ “The earliest memory I can recall was one of our sparring sessions, me and her.”

Hua’s hand then hover towards her chest, rubbing the buttons of the blouse with her pointing finger and her thumb. “You know how she is; she wanted to get serious.” A smile creeps up on the corner of Hua’s lips, making her look even more uncanny. “When I tried to transform, I… I couldn’t. My chest started to hurt. For a second, I actually thought that I really was getting old then.”

“So I cut the sparring early, and when we went home to wash up, there was just…”

She struggled to undo the remaining buttons of her clothing, her bony, shaky fingers doing their best to fiddle the button out of its socket; and what Bianka saw made her gasp loud enough that her voice was carried down the hall.

“As it turns out, I’m at the end of the line. It wasn’t this bad then, but you can probably guess just how it turned out like this.”

A cavern of ash and rock was placed on where Hua’s visible sternum should have been. Her chest was open and hollow; only housing a faint pulsing of crimson light that was easily muffled by the moon. Barebones of an empty husk is all that remained, and Hua’s labored breathing was even more obvious now that the folds of her clothing wasn’t obscuring her torso. It looked like her ribs were pierced by an entire mortar, and only left a crater after its impact.

“Don’t… Don’t look at me like that… please.”

She didn’t even know that she was crying, Bianka instinctively wiped a tear from her cheek with her palm. Hua’s words pierced her through, causing Bianka to look down at her lap. “Does anyone else know?”

“No. Not even her.”

“Why?”

Then there was silence. Eerie, ringing silence that were damped by Hua’s labored breathing. Bianka’s thoughts raced, trying to think of how to remedy Hua’s condition, whatever it was. She thought of the two doctors, or even Sir Welt; or surely, she could call Mei or Bronya and have them come over even for just a bit, despite being housed far away to equalize their herrscher powers now that Honkai was gone? What about Kiana, then? Bianka knew that, from her past conversations with her sister, that Hua had been going through something. Kiana only mentioned that ‘Class rep looks really sad,’ or ‘I don’t think she wants to talk to me anymore.’ Never could she have expected anything to this extent, something so immediate and chronic that Hua would’ve thought to tell someone, anyone at least.

But she realized, for months Hua had been silent. For a while, she didn’t contact anyone extensively to try and tell them about what was happening. Bianka knew that Hua wasn’t the type of person to just hide away and run, just to preserve her friends’ peace. That may have been the truth at some point, but Kiana and the others had changed her. She had even made peace with her past, all condensed into Senti; the very culmination of her rage and sadness which ultimately turned to their side. So why was this happening now?

How was any of this fair?

“I’m scared, Durandal.” Hua blurted out between gritted teeth. “I don’t want her to know how scared I am. But I just… I want it to end. I can’t help but want it to. I can’t take it anymore.”

A soft knocking came through from the door, putting an abrupt stop to the heavy atmosphere stuffed inside Hua’s room. Rita peaked through the doorway with half of her body visible from where the both of them sat. Bianka looked back towards the door, and only nodded at her to come in; carrying with her a metal, rectangular tray with a bowl of soup, a plate of rice, side of fried vegetables with sauce, and a pitcher of cold water. Piyo, who had made herself quite comfy sitting on top of Rita’s head, acted as her beret. The maid laid down the contents on Hua’s bedside table, and in a significant show of balance, neither the food nor Piyo tipped over despite Rita bending over.

Rita handed her a small spoon and the bowl of soup. “Thank you,” Hua croaked, as she eagerly cradled the warmth between her hands. Steam emanated from the yellow-ish contents of the bowl, topped with a few slices of what she assumes is green onions; but despite this, she wasn’t quite bothered with the heat. The feeling of her palms gave her solace, and accompanied by the scent of the freshly cooked food, all of it was enough to abate her pain.

“Of course.” Rita did her best not to show any emotion, seeing Hua’s state up close. Durandal and Hua’s conversation wasn’t exactly easy to not hear, given how small the apartment was, and how the door to Hua’s room remained open the entire time. She braced herself for the worst when she organized the food into the tray. Even then, albeit the drilled manners that stuck to her signaled that she shouldn’t pry; Hua was still a colleague at least, and a friend at most.

Moments before she stepped into the room, there was a very quick exchange between her and Piyo. “Is Hua okay?” She asked the squishy bird before her, who was raising her wings in a gesture of wanting to be picked up. “…Coo.”

Master is dying.

To her, Hua had always looked so frail, and even moreso now. She was in no place to ask, nor to give any word of comfort or advice. Bianka caught her eyes, and with it, was a steeled expression that bounced back from the depths of despair. “Stay strong, Hua. Please.”

The girl had been slowly drinking the soup, tipping the bowl up with both hands to replenish her strength in any way she could. Setting it back down near her lap, the contents were barely reduced. Hua’s silver irises trembled, and again, she only nodded; unable to even mutter the words, because she knew that her weakness would slip out and betray the lie that she wanted to say.

Bianka would need to inform Senti when she comes back at dawn. It offered her no pleasure to be the one to break her the news, but Senti of all people should have the right to know.

Chapter Text

Hua would dream most nights.

Often times, she was aware just enough to know that what she’s experiencing wasn’t real. There were telltale signs, of course. Her senses felt like they were submerged underwater, and she wasn’t quite as agile and sharp than she was in her heyday. Her cheekbones, and the bags under her eyes felt warm, swollen almost; and their nerve endings numbed, making her feel like she’s viewing the places before her from an outsider’s perspective. Like she’s looking through broken lens from an old camera dusted and found.

They were all enveloped in a gray haze; the memories pushing her further underwater as they surface all at once. At first, she found no reason to be afraid. Perhaps because it was easier to push those emotions aside, since they had just defeated honkai after all. Everything was fine back then.

The dreams persisted. Each night felt so intimately familiar to her. She recalled hovering over a great expanse, atop hundreds of lines of soldiers that marched to the beat of a sounding drum. They waved their banners, shouting something at her. The following events, she couldn’t quite recall, but she remembers there being flames; and the very blurred visage of a young, white-haired nun on top of her in triumph.

Again, but now she lays almost lifeless below an unforgiving, azure moon. Drenched in stygian rivers that flowed from her wounds, and the students she’s slain. Students that yearned for more, and asked everything that was left of her at the time. She swore at the world, and marked her words at immortal stone, that she would never bring another life to her cause. That she would walk this path, doomed to trod it alone.

Winds knock her back, and this time, she sees the neon lights of an upside-down railway that whizzes just above her and flowing through the tracks that acted as the city’s veins. Someone, a short-haired girl that she felt fond of, tugged her along past the alleyways that were lined with crates and crumpled litter. In the distance were the sounds of voices, exclaims, of what she assumed were people. What were they doing here? What were they doing here?

They were supposed to go somewhere. Were they supposed to be running?

In a blink, she finds her body rushing towards a woman kneeling in front of her. Her back was facing towards Hua; streaks of white, black, and orange were vaguely visible on the girl’s silhouette. Gently, Hua’s arms wrap around the girl’s neck in a soft embrace from behind, her hands gently landing on the pistol that the girl readily aimed at her own neck.

Hua’s eyes firmly landed on her own hands. Glowing a faint, divine light as if she was a reincarnation of someone else’s memories. At a certain point in time, they were calloused, bruised, bloodied, and weary. But through these times, there was someone to hold them; showing her that the life she’s lived, however broken and mistreated, she would be part of a better future. Living, and fighting towards that better future.

Yet every time she wakes, all of it melts away. Hua is left with nothing but the aching feeling in her heart, how her hands’ tremors slowly got worse as the nights turned to day, and how she felt so alone as she shouldered the memories that haunted her every night. She was living through the days as if she had died along with the very existence of honkai itself.

“I worry about you… of course…”

She was standing in front of a mirror now, her surroundings barely lit by the lamp just above her. The room was shrouded in darkness, and her reflection, too, seemed to veil itself with the smoke emanating from the glass’ cracked surface. The voice lingered in her head. The small, child-like voice yawned; it seemed to come from all around her, shifting just beyond the shadows. “Who would take care of you, Phoenix…? I don’t have long left… and I fear that you’ll end up doing very reckless things without me.”

Hua seemed to hear a genuine concern coming from that voice. Then, she felt an intense longing. From her own self, and even felt it between the lines of the voice that spoke to her. Has it been a while since she heard that type of concern? It seemed too far away, was this dream a shared vision too?

She wished that she could see whoever was talking to her, even just for a small moment. Or maybe, she wished to see that person again. Floating by her side as she rode a celestial sphere, always nagging at her wherever she went. She made a promise to her, that one day Hua would find a way to restore her consciousness when the circumstances were right.

Even that promise crumbled, completely eroded by time.

The mirror took her attention back, and in it she sees distinct colors of the identities she used to play as. She was a student, a master, alone. A weapon, a soldier, walking the path of immortality because humanity was desperate; because she was told that salvation lies beyond fleeting human years. What looked back at her, at the end of it all, are only the tired eyes of a girl whose only wish was to have someone else by her side. To help her endure the weight of the lives she lived.

“Old timer, you’re taking way too long! We’ve already taken almost a week going circles around this city!”

Hua wept, softly pressing her palm against the mirror. Her reflections didn’t budge, and only stared at her with the same glazed, pensive eyes. Her lips quiver, unable to contain her composure any longer. She wanted to lash out, break the glass despite the potential shards cutting into her skin.

“It’s only temporary, you know! Do you really want this dump to be your retirement home? It’s too small, couldn’t you have picked anywhere else?”

Her ashened gray hair starts to burn, sharp orange dust flickering back and forth, filling the room with their light like dying fireflies. Past the broken mirror was a reflection that hasn’t appeared a single time in all of her nightmares. Reaching out to her as if the reflection was holding a door knob.

“Ha. Fine. Fine! It's not like I'll be able to...”

What was it that she told Senti that day?

Eventually, the flames envelop her entire body. Hua watched the reflections in the mirror with blank eyes; she saw her own self carrying a pair of boxes stacked on top of each other as the shadow disappeared after colliding with the mirror’s surface. Then she saw Senti walk back ‘out’ the mirror, her pace hurried and cheerful.

Hua remembers that day. A few minutes from now, Senti will be throwing a tantrum after realizing that she forgot to order food ahead of time, and they’ll end up too tired to eat out; and ending up snacking on leftover chips and biscuits that they packed before going on the move. She remembers Piyo being greatly short towards Senti, one of many to come forth months down the line. What she saw next however, she had no recollections of.

Senti slows down her pace before turning to the walkway leading to the apartment’s downward staircase. Her back turned to Hua, she could only watch Senti’s back as she admired the setting sun that peaked behind the towering, concrete buildings; and untied her hair to let the wind dry her scalp. Senti gave a hearty laugh, before exhaling an audible, cheerful breath of air.

All of a sudden, Senti turned to Hua. Senti’s gaze held her own, as if she could see her through the mirror, breaking the illusion of her inwardly looking at the past.

And she smiled at her. But Hua couldn’t quite explain the expression Senti’s eyes made.

That was the last thing she saw before being completely devoured by the flames, falling into an even deeper slumber.

-------

“Herrscher of Sentience…?”

Rita opened the door to see a very sleepy looking Senti, carrying in her arms what appears to be a huge hunk of a rectangular metal box. Rita couldn’t quite see it properly, as most of the lights to Hua’s apartment were already shut off, but considering how much Senti was struggling to maintain a straight posture, she assumed that it was something heavy like that. The girl, despite her tiredness, coughed up annoyed at the maid just staring at her. “Are you just gonna stand there or?”

She was still quite groggy, since she and Durandal chose to sleep in the immediate living room that was only a few feet by the entrance door; and sleeping on the couch (much to Durandal’s suggestion, as she chose to doze off on the armchair instead.) definitely gave her a light headache.

“What even is—oofh.” It was heavy. After a few minutes of struggling, they decided to set it near the corner of the kitchen, right beside the trash bin.

[I would prefer not being here, Herrscher of Sentience.]

The screen booted up, filling a small portion of the room with a mellow green light. Durandal, who was intrigued by the sound of the door, now stood up to look at the contraption. “…What’s this?” Durandal’s words cleanly ask in a whisper, an obvious tell that she wasn’t asleep the whole time.

[Hello, descendant of Kaslana.]

“What? M-me?” After seeing her surname appear on the robot’s console screen, she turned to Senti, who was resting one arm on the kitchen counter and another on her back. “It’s a vending machine.”

[…]

Senti grabbed a nearby chair, and propped it near against the counter so she could plop down and rest. Sighing, she eyed the clock just above the entrance doorframe. It read just about 4am, just over an hour or two before the sun rises. She had been gone for more than a day.

To her, it didn’t feel that long. Did she take more time to get back than going there? She didn’t take any wrong turns, and sure, it did take longer to get to the lighthouse because she had to be particular about navigating a location in the middle of oceans nowhere. But she was almost sure that she would’ve gotten back within the day. Why did she feel so tired?

Small taps echoed from the single hall leading to the bedrooms, and Piyo’s small shadow came into view against the soft light of Klein’s screen and the single light that were turned on underneath the cabinets overhead the counter. The bird yawned, and waddled close to lean on Senti’s leg, still sleepy.

“How is she?” Senti asked Durandal, her eyelids half-open as she struggled to stay awake.

And Durandal stared back at her; before, she thought it would’ve been easy to just tell her, but now she wasn’t quite sure. Mulling over what happened in the past few hours, she thought that she realized something that was plain obvious. That should’ve been, because Senti for the most part seemed unaffected. “She’s dying. But part of me tells that you already knew that, didn’t you?”

Senti rested an elbow on her lap, leaning over to bury her face in her palm, and letting the messy, oily hair drape over her head like rags. She recalled the words exchanged between her and Klein before they set off to return.

[Your companions; Herrschers of Reason and Origin, will still be able to access their cores and regulate their energies for about a decade or more. That is an important detail to remember, considering the unpredictable variables that will resurface around that time frame. They are one with their power, and therefore, the sealing of Finality will have negligible impact to how their cores affect them, and vice versa.]

[Now, what do you think will happen to non-herrschers like Fu Hua? What would the entanglement of her entire lifespan and honkai do to her, when all of a sudden, the latter gets taken away?]

[The rate of decay will be exponential, Herrscher of Sentience. A mere human was never meant to endure that long.]

Chapter Text

Colors slowly faded into her view, blurry shapes coming from a seeping warmth of the almost-afternoon sun that lit the dusty, boring room. Hua, still completely out of it, could only stare at the same ceiling she’s woken up to for the past how many months, at this point.

Carefully, she took in a breath of air, mindful of her weakening body, and the pain that came along with every shift of movement. The corners of her eyes felt icky, and she could feel the accumulated grease and grime that formed on her forehead and her cheeks. Her fingers twitched under the sheets; which she thought were carefully tucked to keep her snug as a bug.

Her fingers felt dry, and so did her lips. Her nose felt stuffy.

Then her eyes widened, causing the crusty gunk on her eyelids to split apart. Pain would usually overwhelm her when her senses slowly woke up bit by bit in the morning. But she could feel that it was dampened somehow, not by a lot, but enough for it to be noticeable.

There was a weight that was resting on the right side of her bed, very much close to her arm, as she could tell that the cushions were caved downwards. From the tufts of messy gray hair that she could see on the bottom right of her periphery, it must be Senti. Looks like she finally just got back…

A bit upwards from there, a small figure sat on her bedside table’s chair, clearly aimed towards the bed from what she could see. Perched and comfortably sitting on it was a girl with poofy, green hair adorned with a makeshift crown of sorts. Only one eye carefully studied her, as the girl’s other eye was hidden away under an eyepatch and more strands of hair.

Hua’s vision wasn’t the best, but her glasses should be nearby. Yet Senti was on top of the blanket, and she couldn’t really exert any more force to move.

So instead, she could only try to squint at whoever that girl was. The young girl was lazily kicking her feet; the wrinkled lab coat that was a little too big for her flitted with every swish of her leg. She seemed to be writing down something on a small clipboard. Audibly, she could hear the scratching of a pen scribbling against the surface of the paper, tacked onto the hard plastic surface of the clipboard. Hua wasn’t dreaming. She knew who this girl was.

Klein…? Her mind echoed blankly against the sparseness of her thoughts. The name she uttered wasn’t exactly to call out to the girl; perhaps the memory decided to worm its way out from being suppressed beneath the pain that should’ve been encumbering her body. She couldn’t believe it. How long has it been? Why was she here? How?

Hua’s nose started itching, and the moment she sniffed, the girl’s appearance seemingly blurred into obscurity under the sun’s rays. Klein’s shape blended in with the gentle backdrop of the distant buildings behind her, past the curtains of her windows.

“…Old Timer?”

Before Hua could process anything, Senti had already partly climbed onto the bed to push her face closer to Hua’s. Uncharacteristically slow in her movements, Senti pressed the back of her palm against Hua’s cheek, causing her to slightly flinch. “Senti? Where have you been…? Did you just got back?”

The girl above her only continued studying Hua’s face, her eyes a pale luster against the reflected light from outside. Obviously, she was tired.

But it was more than just that. Bianka explained everything to her after Hua fell asleep, all the while she was the one who took the responsibility of finishing Hua’s barely touched meal. She couldn’t exactly sleep right away then, causing her to shoulder the rest of the night with her thoughts, and the things that Klein explained to her.

[I’ll begin the treatment now. Starting treatment’s duration is undefined. Best case scenario, it would take a week. But the window to do that’s been long gone now.]

[Consider this phase as a calibration period; both for her, and me. This isn’t exactly an easy operation considering my state right now. I hope you understand, Herrscher of Sentience.]

From what Klein could do for now consisted of numbing Hua’s pain. All of the accumulated stress from dealing with pain with no respite wouldn’t exactly allow anyone to have the ability to think straight, so this was the first thing to get out of the way. Bit by bit, Hua’s mind needs to be alleviated of as much suffering as possible. […and the rest will surely follow.]

“I… Just got back a few hours ago.” Awkwardly, she sat back down on the floor and rested her chin against the soft cushions of the bed. Her eyes solemnly downcast and stared at nothing, it sounded like she would’ve talked more, but Senti only sighed.

Hua smiled as she let off a drawn out, gentle breath. But it didn’t quite put Senti at ease. Which in turn, was also noticed by Hua.

They both knew.

That the other knew what the other was feeling. That what they felt didn’t need to be put into words. Betrayal and sorrow, shame and guilt. All of it hid behind their listless eyes, unable to even look at each other’s.

Beep. A noise chirped behind Senti, and from the chair behind her laid a rectangular metal box akin to a droid. Hua, whose attention was again garnered in that direction, tried shifting the weight of the atmosphere somewhere else.

“What’s that?”

Senti only tucked her arms in front of her in a napping position, closing her sunken eyes. “Something that could help you. Maybe.”

Beep beep. Messages displayed on the droid’s screen, but Hua didn’t exactly have her glasses to know what was going on, all of it a blur from her point of view. And Senti didn’t bother looking. Neither of the two were aware just how frustrating it was for Klein, who was already sitting there for a while, and was being cooked under direct sunlight.

“A…. A. Sh. Kckh.”

Radio static accompanied the meek voice emanating from the droid’s speakers, causing Senti to jolt up and turn behind her. Hua, who was also startled, could only turn her head at the general direction of the noise.

“…Put me in the shade!” A very drawl voice called out to the both of them, but despite being obviously annoyed, still sounded docile because of her manner of speech. The phrase was blurted out, almost. Whining and sick of what she was experiencing. “Herrscher… Place me somewhere else…”

Senti now fully turned around, scooted close to Klein and lightly tapped the top of the box with her palm. “You can talk???”

“I didn’t want to. Now please.”

Upside down crescent moons that served as eyes beamed up at the console’s screen, moving to the side and ‘looking’ at Senti’s direction, then to the bedside table. “There would be fine.”

With an unashamed grunt from her, Senti stood up and picked up ‘Klein’ to move her. With a hefty thunk as the metal surface hit the wooden flat of the table, Senti bapped the top of the screen with her palms. “You’ve been nothing but a pain since yesterday,” after crossing her arms, she added; “Some helpful robot you are.”

“Is this Herrscher normally this sassy? I don’t remember you ever being like this, Fu Hua.”

Hua’s expression wasn’t grim, nor was it devoid. But she was looking slightly upward now that Klein was on her table, now much closer to her. Was she hallucinating what she saw? Now she wasn’t sure if she’s still dreaming. Was she dreaming of dreaming before?

Panic begins sprouting bit by bit in Hua’s aching heart. This hasn’t happened before, and now she was feeling paranoid that she’s probably going to deal with worse things now, with a possibility that her condition was causing these sudden changes.

All of these thoughts were entirely out in the open to Klein, who was now entwined with Hua’s consciousness when she started the operation that morning.

“Herrscher.” The robot’s crescent eyes turned into slits, now addressing Senti. “How are you going to explain this to her now? She’s going manic.”

“Sigh. Old Timer. Look at me.”

If not for the current circumstances, Senti might’ve even laughed hard at how Hua looked, tucked in thick blankets like a burrito. A very panicky one at that, with her eyes wide and all.

She gently sat on the side of the bed, her face edging closer to Hua’s.

“I’m here. You’re not dreaming. You’re okay.”

Slowly, she reached out her palm to touch Hua’s cheek again. But this time, Hua almost leaned into her touch as her eyes closed and trembled, suppressing a jolt of pain from the sudden contact. Tears fall to the side of her face and onto Senti’s fingers, causing her to inhale a shaky breath of air.

A few minutes passed by like this. The quiet enveloping the two of them, only the warmth from Senti’s own skin signified any sign of life in the dull-decorated room. Specks of dust settled on her arms; time completely moving to a standstill, that the picturesque scene painted antiquity forgotten to time, art unable to be witnessed by anyone and no one. When Senti first touched her, she wasn’t sure then. She thought that maybe it was just her own arm going numb from sleeping on it for a while.

But Hua’s skin was cold against her own; within it, flames had long died, and only dying embers remained. Ashes that tainted her arms with its filth of a fire that once burned so brightly, paving the way for her and lighting her world. Making it feel so worth living in, and showing her paths she could take with that fire held in her own hand.

Senti’s jaw clenched. How truly unfair this was.

Her thumb caresses Hua’s cheek, wiping away more tears. “She fell asleep again. But she’s not dreaming at this point.” Senti shifted her weight to slowly stand up, careful not to disturb Hua’s slumber. “What does that mean?”

“It means that something’s happening, somehow. Normally, she should be dreaming. Moreso nightmares, but this is new. Something to look forward to, at the least.”

She turned her attention back towards Hua. It didn’t even look like she was breathing. Senti sat on the chair that Klein was previously laying on, and let the sun bask her face in its warmth. Tears formed in her eyes; unfathomably frustrated at how helpless she felt, before falling back to a slumber of her own too.

--------

“Miss Durandal! Yes, yes, we just landed— Hang on, miss Sushang!!! No, that’s the wrong bridge! That’s back to a different plane!”

From the other side of the line, Susannah’s voice trailed off. With it came a surge of distant people talking, and the rhythmic thumps of what seemed like her running footsteps. Durandal, leaning against a rented car to pick up the two of them, only chuckled in amusement.

“Should I go look for them?” Rita asked, sitting shotgun inside the car.

“No, no, it’ll be way worse if you guys miss each other. We shouldn’t leave those two alone at the house for too long. Let’s just stay put and let them come to us.”

Rita only nodded. Durandal arched her back to stretch, causing her midriff to be exposed to the chilly winds. Perhaps she should’ve picked a more formal attire. Though none of Senti’s own clothes really fit her, and this was the only compromise. Her bust caused the white tee to be slightly lifted up, and her jacket was her only saving grace. The four of them should probably shop before heading back to Hua’s apartment… Maybe Susannah has some good recommendations.

“Was it the east wing? I’m sure it was— Oh wait, Miss Durandal! I can see you!”

Susannah’s voice cut through the airport crowd’s already loud ambience, and her figure slips through arrays of people, cheerfully waving at Durandal and Rita. Behind her was Sushang, who was trailing along stacks of their luggage with one hand and the other holding a milktea set cup holder of four. Her face seemed quite confused, but after seeing Durandal and Rita, her face lights up almost instantly and waves at them with the same enthusiasm as Susannah.

“I’m sorry we took too long!” Susannah bowed repeatedly at Durandal, prompting to make her senior laugh. “I’m not too familiar with airports… And Sushang kept getting swept away by the crowds!!”

“You were too, though…” Sushang laughed along with Durandal.

“So why were we needed here at such short notice? Is it for something official?” Susannah then asked, “You told us that we should keep it hush-hush, is it urgent?” Sushang’s expression now waned stifled after hearing her colleague’s words. Both of them getting a call in the middle of the night from Rita wasn’t exactly the most pleasant thing to receive, and after only hearing of a summons to another country ASAP only further proved that it was definitely something that they should be worried about. Not that they were ill-prepped; but for the most part, it was a time of peace. What were they called here for if not for something dangerous?

“I’ll explain on the road. We have some time before we get to Hua’s house anyways.”

“Miss Fu Hua?”

“…the great Master?”

Chapter Text

“So what is it about Hua? She’s sick?”

“More or less.”

“Hmmh.”

Sushang, to their surprise, didn’t seem all convinced. Couldn’t fault her, though; how exactly does the Empyrea become afflicted with an illness? An illness, with as much gravitas that required calling her and Susannah, of all people. To some extent, she thought that it made sense why she was involved. Susannah just so happened to be there, since she was living with her for a while at that point and getting adjusted to the big city life.

Rita’s stifled giggles could be heard in the backseat while Susannah peered her torso up the car’s sun roof, laughing loudly as the folds of her clothes and hair accompanied the countryside’s breeze.

She had her hands raised, laughing loudly and stretching her back against the wind currents. Sushang and Susannah also decided to settle near a city metro, so provinces like this were few and far between to witness.

Wrapping around the city instead of going through it was an executive decision on Durandal’s part. She, along with Rita, didn’t exactly foresee the absolutely staggering time it took, waiting helplessly amidst the early rush hour’s traffic. They thought that it would’ve been quicker to get to the airport to fetch the two then, seeing on the GPS that it was a straightforward path.

Ultimately, it was better this way. Even if it did take long, the two wouldn’t be bored from the traffic.

“Was the trip to here fine, Sushang? You guys didn’t encounter any trouble on the way?”

Putting her upper leg up on the car seat, Sushang rested her elbow on the rolled down windows to look past the rice fields and on the fogged, distant mountains, smiling; “No, but admittedly, we almost boarded the wrong plane. Partly my fault, though…”

Durandal’s eyes looked at her for a brief moment, and even she too, couldn’t help but smile. “Why is that? You had your board passes, didn’t you?”

“Well…” Sushang took in a breath of air between gritted teeth. “I thought it said we had to go through board six. Turns out it was a nine. I was so convinced, too, that I was fighting Susannah over it.”

“We were already running late that time, but it worked out in the end… Hehe…” She scratched her cheek with a finger, embarrassment painted on her face.

“Ducks!”

Susannah’s voice was barely audible due to the winds. Durandal already saw it from a good distance; a flock of ducklings led by a singular duck were prepping to cross the road. Slowly, she eased in the breaks before coming to a complete stop, an entire car’s length from the crossing pedestrians.

One… Four… Nine… Duckling after duckling were hopping onto the asphalt from the lower levelled dirt path that led to the fields on the sides. Cutely, in a single file, they waddled; following their siblings as they traversed the great expanse of the road.

Thankfully, it seemed like they were the only ones on that route. There were barely any signs of human life, be it cars or even nearby houses. The nearest huts were fields away underneath groups of trees; farmers that took to till their crops.

As the ducklings passed, and their numbers seemed never ending, Durandal opted to shut the car off for now and stepped out to admire the ducklings up close.

With a very bouncy Susannah almost leaping off from the top of the car, Sushang and Rita decided to watch the show too. A singular duck veered off to walk close to Sushang and Durandal’s position, looking up at them and tilting its head in awe of the towering giants before it.

“Ah… cute…” Durandal kneels down and scritches the duckling’s cheeks, causing it to give tiny honks in thanks, and soon cuts back into the line. Durandal giggles, and with Sushang immediately next to her, she looks up at Sushang to see her reaction.

Her reaction was somewhat somber, smiling as she blankly stared at where the duckling used to be, then shifting on the duckling line as they all walked further and further away from them, and hopping off the road and into the shallow waters of the field below. Durandal stands up, only staring at Sushang in bemusement.

What snapped her out of that trance was Susannah coming up to her and shoving a handheld camera near her face, showing the screen. “Look! Duckies!”

“Yeah, that’s… Ducks alright.” Sushang laughed. “I forgot you had that; have you been taking pictures all this time?”

Susannah had been flipping through multiple pictures of ducks, some up close and some from above the line in a top-down view. And, as if to answer her, a picture of Sushang’s face slumped against the plane’s windows flashed on the screen.

“What the—”

From how the dawn elegantly gave the contours of her face warm rim lighting, a singular glistening streak of drool was sparkling from the lens’ view of her crudely sleeping face. Her eyes widen in shock, her voice sheepishly crawl out and tried reaching for Susannah. “Oy! Take that back— Delete it!! Delete it!!! Susannah!!!!”

The two ended up circling the car a few times as they waited for the remaining ducklings to pass. Rita clapped her hands softly, noting at Susannah’s speed and how she was outmaneuvering Sushang.

“Not skipping out on training, I see.” Rita gleefully remarked as Susannah hid behind her.

“It’s mostly due to Sushang, she always drags me off at dawn to jog— Ah!!! No! Rita, help me!”

Rita was tossed, shaken, and bumped into as Sushang and Susannah cat-fought around her, all the while the camera swung on its lace from Susannah’s hand. In a sudden motion, it flung square into Rita’s face with a loud thud.

-----------

“Have we all gotten it out of our systems?”

Sushang was the only one not familiar with that smile, but Durandal and Susannah, on the other hand, were very much aware of what it meant. Despite Rita’s calm expression was a belter of rage that were seldomly expressed from a pompous maid like her. It was the type of tenseness akin to a mother that had enough of telling her kid one too many times, and instead of physically telling them to stop, would only stare at them to catch their attention; so that the kid would stop their antics themselves.

“I’m sorry…” Susannah and Sushang were now both in the backseats, hands firmly pressed against their laps as they sat straight and proper. The sun roof remained closed, and Durandal was now riding shotgun. Rita didn’t even tell her that she will be the one driving, no, she didn’t need her to tell her that she’ll be the one driving that time.

She could take a hint. Especially from Rita; Durandal often concedes well in advance. Now was no different.

The journey resumed in brief. Silent then were the car’s passengers, and steadily, they zoomed past acres of fields as the fences blurred on the clear, un-tinted view of their windows. Eventually, the back-half of the car slowly eased from the tension. Sushang’s gaze, trailing the boundaries of each individual plot of land, took to wander amongst the fields and lost herself with the thoughts of her master.

The situation in her head, from what she knew, made sense. Perhaps it was karma, or just the fault of time, or even caused by history that she could only dream of fathoming. But her thoughts didn’t loiter there for long.

It was the fact that Hua had chosen to move to another country so far away from everyone else.

Other than inconvenience, it was so unlike her. Hua had always been the one to settle, to take her time and familiarize, acclimatize, with what she had; worst comes to worst, what she’s left with. The battle on the moon isn’t one to be taken as a joke, sure, but it was definitely a camping trip of sorts that ended up pulling everyone closer together.

It made everyone realize what exactly they were fighting for, and sought and caught the end of all their hardships. Other colleagues are busy after, like Kiana and her girlfriends,
but Hua decides to just up and leave?

Did the sickness connect to whatever that line of thought inferred?

Whatever conclusion she thought she had, turned out to be just out of reach. On instinct, she blamed her intellect, for how lacking it was. How lacking it had always been. Shenzou drilled her to be worthy of holding the sharpest of blades, and yet, when it comes to people, she had never felt so dull. She was thankful towards her master, but
never really properly paid her back for everything.

Sushang couldn’t help it anymore and sighed audibly, clearly stressed out from overthinking things. Maybe she’ll figure it out once they arrive at Hua’s, she thinks.

--------------

It had just been over two hours or so.

Klein, despite being in ‘sleep mode’, had her neural processes overclocked ever since she started on Hua’s treatment that morning.

Even though her consciousness was captured inside that droid, she could still feel. And oh, how terrifying that was. She hasn’t been exactly alone with her thoughts for a long time; having been stripped clean off of the Elysian Realm and brought here to have a second chance in exchange for one small favor, her prospects were bright considering.

But this was no small favor. In fact, the doctors that brought her here probably knew that.

In any case, this patient’s existence proved to be more valuable than hers. Klein, in all aspects, wasn’t even supposed to be here anyway. So, she couldn’t help but be stuck in the thinking loop of despair. Going through with treating Hua, no matter how long it took, wasn’t just a necessity. It was her responsibility.

Because treating Hua was possible.

Doctors; her, Tesla, and Einstein couldn’t turn a blind eye to any semblance of chance. Not when it involves saving a life. They had to try, she had to. Even if it meant that she would pay dearly for it, even if it meant betraying Mobius’ all attempts to save her. At the end of it all, she has no reason to continue on with her life, too. This was
for the best. Her last contributions would be significant enough that maybe, if she ever reunites with Mobius again, that she would overlook her faults just like when they were working late nights at the lab.

Klein watched the Herrscher twitch and toss over, slumped at the chair, and turned to look at Hua comfily still tucked under the sheets. Staring at her for a few seconds, and dozing off again.

This had been happening a few times over the course of those two hours.

Pity was another thing. It made the situation just a little more palatable. That she felt sorry for these two, for Hua; whom she hadn’t been exactly close with before. Not in the
previous era, not in the realm. Yet she was there with her, existed within the same timeframe as her; and were now just bygone relics of the past. Only difference was, Hua had reason to live, because there were people who’d miss her dearly this time around.

Treating Hua was a choice. No matter how calculated she was at interpreting the variables needed for potential success or failure, no matter how considerate she was of the effects she’ll sustain if she ever lives through this.

But that choice wasn’t wholeheartedly made. She, too, was just human. A human too caught up with numbers to tell her if something was worth doing. Yet her life went down a path ignoring that very principle, and ultimately lived through her final moments that way.

If it were to happen again, then the least she could do is to do it right.

Chapter Text

“My legs feel stiff…”

“Ugh. Tell me about it— My legs are buzzing.”

Durandal and Rita walked ahead atop the stairs, while the other two lagged behind as they supported each other, limping up each individual steps and whining as they felt the jolt of electricity tickle their numbed-out nerves.

They passed by the provincial areas as a shortcut and proved that it was a relatively good decision made, but they didn’t exactly foresee the heavy traffic as they re-entered urban parts of Hua’s place. It didn’t exactly help that she’s living smack dab in the heart of the town.

“This is master’s place?”

Sushang’s words escape her lips in an exasperated whisper. It didn’t feel fitting, but it wasn’t uncharacteristic of her either. It was too… ordinary, from what she expected. Somehow even that doesn’t feel right.

If Sushang doesn’t really focus on anything specific, the little things she could sense all fed a very strong impression of melancholy. The unkempt, peeled off paint from the walls, that was but a very vague blue or gray depending on how hard you squint at it. Or how the floorboards of the stairs creaked and croaked, like a frog at the end of its life cycle. Each step bellowed out a hum of the pliable wood beneath their feet, almost giving way, but barely ever withstanding the weight of each step.

Her nose started itching, noticing that the place had dust motes floating on and about, prancing in the wind as the both of them passed and finally landing on the top step.

Susannah let go of her, and walked near the terrace fence of the floor, looking out towards the city’s skyscrapers that towered far above them, and the busy streetlights that soon threatened to be filled with neon signs of the shops and convenience stores lining the road.

“It doesn’t look that bad, does it? I mean, I can see why she’d love it here. Maybe she’s more of a city-girl?”

Sushang, on instinct, shook her head. Hua was anything but.

Yet she couldn’t help but admire this view, too. There indeed was charm in it. Perhaps Hua was a city-girl, or even became one. She couldn’t say for sure. Doubt fills her head, only emphasized more by the haze of the smog, making the rays of the setting sun visible as it peaked through the gaps of the tall concrete buildings.

“Come on you two.” Durandal called out to them, a little bit more than halfway down the hall as she held the door of one apartment open; opting Susannah and Sushang to cut their viewing short, and complied.

Entering Hua’s apartment wasn’t a hard ask. They were required to be there, after all. But setting their foot in, the view of the interiors and how the cold shadows cast on the walls by barely illuminated shaft of the windows almost made them choke. This place, at its current state, couldn’t really be defined as hostile or unwelcoming. Only that it was uncaring of its visitors, did not mind at all who entered or left. An apathetic atmosphere that was a sudden shift of change that the two of them weren’t prepared for coming from the different kind of tranquil of the car ride.

“You guys are finally here.”

Senti, who was stirring up sautéed vegetables and rice on a wok, said so without turning to look at them. “Unpack your bags at my room, you guys can sleep there.”

Sushang and Susannah absentmindedly stared at her. Then to Rita, who picked up the sleeping Piyo by the couch, then to Durandal, who ultimately noticed their thoughts painted on their faces for her to see. She only chuckled with her brows furrowed, and nudged them, pointing at a room on the off-branching hall adjacent to the kitchen.

They picked up their bags by the door, which were previously carried by Rita herself; “Uhm… okay.” And made their way towards the room. Before entering, Sushang took note of the door directly in front of Senti’s supposed room, which was shut completely closed, and shrugged it off as she entered and shut the door behind her.

Sigh.

Both of them sighed in sync. Susannah plopped herself down the messy, unfolded sheets that rested on top of the bed, and stretched.

“I feel really tired…”

Susannah’s words were barely audible, stuffing her face on Senti’s sheets. Flopping her legs up and down, tossing her still tied shoes that were just a little bit bigger for her. She turns, now facing the ceiling.

Sushang leans on the door, staring at Susannah with a similar blank look on her face. They haven’t been here before, haven’t managed to visit Hua in a while. They would, in tradition and in necessity, immediately have pulled up their phones to film the surrounding sights, immediately ask Hua for the wifi’s password, to set up their accounts to go live and vlog.

Even if this was pre-ordained as something serious, even in past covert missions they’d always find the time to film their antics for their fans to see.

Suppose they just didn’t have the heart for it today.

“Oi… don’t go sleeping. Susannah.”

Sushang nudges the girl with her toes, poking her leg after seeing Susannah’s eyes part, and her eyelids giving way to the weight of fatigue.

“I’m not...” Rubbing her eyes like a toddler, she takes in a big gasp of air to set herself alight, hoping to ease off the ever-creeping threat of sleep. “Just… this place seems too… cramped. It’s making me feel even more sleepy.”

Sushang then looked off to the side. In agreement, and in speculation.

“It’s too quiet. Kind of like your parents’ house when it’s nearing midnight? That feeling… like you shouldn’t be awake by then. But here it’s more intense… does that even make sense? I might be blabbering now.”

The lack of décor, the plain walls of the living room. To them, it was only a minute or two ago. But the occupants of this house experiences this feeling continuously.

Senti’s room, at the least, felt a little bit more alive than the rest of the place. A coat rack nailed to the back of the door were knitted sweaters beaming a faint white and red, murky as they seemed under the sunset’s bare light seeping through the curtains. The walls were plain, too, but at the least there were pictures. Right above the bed’s headframe, were pictures of people they knew. Kiana, Bronya, Mei, Theresa. All bundled up near the center-ish area. On its outskirts, were clumsily taped pictures that seemed crumpled and worn. Pictures of them, but with another woman whose head burned with an auburn flare of red.

The centerpiece, were none other than pictures of one person. Just one. All in varying poses and scenes.

“No. I get you.”

She couldn’t just quite believe that Senti would take pictures of Hua. Not like that. It seems so unlike her to take pictures on a beach, and Hua just so happens to be profiled so perfectly that the sun hits her face, orange and yellow hues ambient all the while.

Or what about the picture next to it; a relatively blurred photo of Hua in a Christmas sweater, nose and brows scrunched as she holds a phone too close for her face to look natural, and behind her were Mei and Kiana giggling.

Another photo of Hua holding her arms high up in a V-shape, as she’s between two fingers posed so close to the lens that it appears as vague, blurry shadows. She wore a frilly white top, and it seemed to be taken some time around spring, considering the freckles of petals dancing just behind her hair.

All of these things seem so out of place here.

---------------

“Wow, this is really good…!”

Susannah stuffs her face full of the meal that Senti prepped for all of them, hogging spoonful after spoonful, completely forgetting her manners despite being in front of her seniors.

Faint chatter filled the air, distant from the two currently waiting by the closed door on the adjacent hall. Senti had been leaning her right shoulder on the doorframe, carefully eyeing Sushang’s nervous gaze.

“She’s in there?”

“Mm.”

“And Susannah isn’t allowed to see her because…?”

To answer her, Senti went ahead and opened the door. Slowly, she turned the knob, and the unlatching of the mechanism echoed to and fro the hall. “…You’ll see.”

Hua’s… corpse. Whatever it was, bore her likeness as it laid on the bed. Strands of its hair overflowed, draped down to the bedside and onto the floor, but she could see that some clumps were visibly loose and separated from the whole. A gaping fissure could be seen where its chest was. Bony, spindly arms peeked out from the blanket and laid so gently on her stomach, and the longer Sushang stared at it, the realization of it breathing bore its fangs to sink in deeper and deeper.

“What--?”

“Klein. She’s… still stable, right?”

“Huh?”

The robot that laid on a chair on the opposite side started shuffling, its pistoned legs rising just a bit and its screen flickering only one phrase.

[This would be the 42nd time you asked, Herrscher.]

Senti sighed, and positioned herself to sit at the foot of the bed. Gentle, quiet, and soddened so heavily. Her eyes reflected it, she looked down but her soul screamed and banged against the windows to be let out, to burn and combust the very air around her with pent up rage and sorrow. Was she always like this? Was this a side of the Old Timer too, inherited by her?

Sushang, despite weariness buckling her legs to fall, did her best to face her once master. Sunken eyes and all, chapped lips and all.

“Her memories?”

“Crushing her.”

“…Then…”

Why? How?

“We’re here because we can do something, right? We can… treat her somehow? Help her?”

[Disciple of Shenzou.]

Klein’s screen flickered again, as if waving for Sushang’s attention. [She will be better. Eventually. That much you can be sure of.]

Then what was their reason for being here?

Sushang couldn’t help but lean on the side of the doorframe now, clearly shaken up by the gravitas of it all. Memories of Hua resurface in her mind, fogging up her eyes with tears of a very distant past.

She cherished them. These memories, albeit so long ago; they tug at her heart and weigh it down even if the memories seemed insignificant.

Every bruise and cut she received when she was sparring with Hua, she wore it proudly. The pain of every injury was proof that her master wants her to be better and believed that one day, Sushang will be finished sparring with less of them. What she saw in herself was nothing compared to what Hua saw.

Meals shared, from the both of them fishing in lakes at the foot of Mt. Taixuan, hauling their gear from the very peaks all the way down and back again once they were done. Walks and climbs that sometimes took a day longer when the weather blew tailwind, or when storms came crashing about. They would memorize every trail, knew every nook to take shelter in between the rocks.

She would be tasked of gutting the fish, and Hua would start a fire of her own. Even if they had no choice but to stay awhile, unforeseen circumstances aside, they were together.

“Master. Do you think that these tragedies would pass someday?”

With the fish taking a while to cook, she couldn’t help but ask at one point. Staring at Hua’s face. Looking so longingly into the fire as she huddled her legs close to her chest, doing her best to stay warm despite the droplets of dew dripping down the strands of hair, making them bob in the wind.

“Don’t be so dramatic. Give it a few hours and this’ll pass.”

“That’s not what I—”

“…Although.” Hua smiled. Helplessly; in a longing of something greater and something so out of reach. That whatever type of thought had been evoked by her question made Hua chuckle so quietly to herself, in part realization that the answer she would give would be just as ridiculous.

Hua closed her eyes, and answered in a whisper, nearly drowned by the rainfall, “I hope it does. Because we’re giving our all to work for it, no?”

And when she opened her eyes again, they sparkled with the gleam of thousands of dreams that lived through the past and yearned for the future. The fire crackled, its reflection dancing in Hua’s shiny eyes that they looked like twinkling stars. “One day, it’ll end. As all things do. As all things should.”

Then Hua looked at her. And a single bead of water flowed and caressed the side of her face. Unsure if it was a tear, or if it was just the rain.

Then, it hit her. Sushang’s thoughts trailed further. Of Hua and Senti’s home, how long they were gone. The pictures on the wall. Could Senti have been trying to preserve memories just like that one? Desperately clinging to the Hua she knew? That one day it’ll all slowly fade away, and then easily snuffed out all at once without warning?

Had she known that one day it would come to this? Had Hua known herself?

Was this what she meant?

Chapter Text

"Is Hua okay? What did you guys talk about last night?"

Susannah whispered to Sushang, who was tying up her shoelaces as she sat at the foot of Senti's bed. She knew that Sushang heard her, even if she was taking a long time to answer back. So, she followed up; "I'm just worried too, you know. I don't know why I'm not allowed to be in on what's going on. Rita didn't tell me anything either!"

"Then I can't tell you anything too." Sushang finally replied, "I don't know why Senti insists to keep it from you though. I don't think it's like that... It's not like it's personal, Senti wouldn't hate you for no reason..."

Susannah's fingers traced the edges of her cap, tucking in the loose strands of her bed hair underneath, a few of the dead orange strands fall out and drift slowly to the floor. Her movements slowly come to a still as she listened to every single word. "But yeah, it's still Senti's choice to not tell you. I can't force her to tell you anything, can I?"

Which then prompted her to pout. What does Susannah even know about those two, anyway? She was singled-out out here, a black sheep, with no intimate history with either of them; so maybe that was the reason. Then why invite her in the first place? The thought just bogs her mind, making it the last thought she had before sleeping, and the first as she woke up just minutes ago.

"There... You ready?"

Sushang stands up, wearing a loose white shirt with an ink print on the back, and matching gray jogging pants. She eyed Susannah's outfit, a cutesy-pink tracksuit and a black cap, which she wore in tandem many times before too.

"Yeah. There's a lot of routes we can try out according to here..." Fishing out her phone, she flicks through the map on her screen. Multiple, different colored lines that snaked and wrapped around the square shapes of the city could be seen there, all with varying distances. "We can run on this one. It branches out a bit from the shortest route, but there's a 24/7 convenience store we can hit to buy breakfast for later."

"Oh, that's perfect."

Susannah looks just a bit longer on the map, and typed away stuff in her notes. A few moments later, she stands up and arches her back. "Okay, let's go."

Gently opening Senti's door, they're both met with the familiar door of Hua's room. Still closed, and nary a sound peeped through the cracks. The only thing that they could hear was the very distant hum of electricity in the walls, and the hush of the wind and the cars passing by below them every now and again. Echoing down the hall was the click, clack of a clock affixed over the apartment's single entrance and exit.

In the living room, Durandal and Rita soundly slept. The former who were curled on a barrel chair, and the latter who was underneath blankets laying on the sofa. Quietly, the two tip-toed out to go outside. Sushang took note of the clock before heading out.

3:10

It's become a tradition for her and Susannah at this point. Ever since they started living together and working on missions, they were required to move a lot. Never having a permanent staying place for months at a time. Sushang noticed her decline, getting homesick, and generally being down in spirit. And just by chance, she asked her to tag along in one of her morning runs. Now, she can't run without her.

Turns out she just needed some sort of structure. It proved good for both of them to keep each other in check. Susannah could get her workout; and Sushang, well, she could use the company. She's grown quite fond of her either way.

The chill of the early morning air greeted their cheeks, along with the smell of smog and a hint of distant street barbeque. The neon lights still blazed far below, through the haze of the streets.

"Cold..." Sushang wandered off, slowly walking to the main stairway. A million things ran laps in her mind. And she was itching to catch up with those thoughts and sweat out her worries. "C'mon."

At the foot of the building, they glanced high up at the skyscrapers that caged them. Then, looking back at the numerous shop signs that were still lit despite it being late. A good number of them weren't necessarily open, but their light nevertheless filled the streets with their noise.

Susannah pointed to the right, and off they went.

Sushang lagged behind, seeing as how Susannah was the one who knew the route they were going to take. Wordlessly, they huffed with each light step, the view of the streets rhythmically bouncing up and down as they ran. Minding the time, it still felt bizarre. To the two of them, something about that place bugged their subconsciously. They didn't comment on it, however. And instead, Sushang called out to Susannah.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Hmm?"

"How old do you think Hua is?"

???

Susannah slowed her pace, matching Sushang's so she could see what expression her face was making, just to confirm herself. "Is this a trick question?"

"No, it isn't."

"She's older than us, isn't she?"

"Uh-uh. By how much?"

"Ehm..."

Susannah wondered. Why was she being asked this, relating to Hua's condition, whatever it was? At the time, she was not aware of their exact ages. Only by seniority, Durandal and Rita were older, then Kiana and co., then her. Hua probably slotted in between Kiana and Durandal, basing on how little she interacted with her.

She did seem like someone that was far older than she looked.

What did that entail? Is her condition tied to her age? But then they would've sent her to the hospital or something. Maybe send her to St. Freya, where she last saw the Overseer and the doctors?

That couldn't have been it. Couldn't have been that simple.

"So what is it then?"

"I don't know how to tell you even if I wanted to... It's that complicated."

Susannah sighed. Must've been nice if she grew up with these people, spent her academy days with them. Maybe she could've been just a little bit more competent, deemed a little bit more reliable than how she was currently. Senseless helplessness bubbled up from her thoughts, foaming up her rational thinking and managed to bog down her mood.

It was too early for this. She decided that, if nothing else, she could just sweat this out. No use thinking about these things. She was called here to keep Hua company anyways, so that's what she needed to do first. Worry about other things later.

They passed by a quaint city park, tucked away between overpasses and stalls that lined its outskirts. Then, a pastry shop that could be smelled from a block away. A left turn, a straight, and another left revealed a supermarket that had an empty parking lot, devoid of any cars. Hitting all of the landmarks she remembered, Susannah swirled her finger in the air, signalling to Sushang that they were going to loop now.

Once, then again. And again. And again.

Both of them didn't utter a word, despite circling their route multiple times when they only looped twice on their usual routines. Didn't comment about how the city looked, or how the sun peeked from behind the skyscrapers in the distance as if to check up on the wellbeing of the city's residents; who were all hoping that it would sleep in along with them, wishing that the sunlight would be just a few minutes later like they were going to be.

"Haah..."

Susannah panted, now lagging a few paces behind Sushang. "Okay, I've... Had my fill. Let's take a break—"

Sushang turned around, she was just as sweaty, but she didn't look all too tired. "Woah. Wait, how long have we been jogging?" Susannah held her head down, and only put up 3 fingers. "What? We only looped around three times?"

"No... Hours. 3 hours."

Seeing as they were back at the park again, Susannah plopped down and sat at a nearby bench, slouched and all. Feeling her moist skin stick to the wooden planks of the bench, and her damp clothes clinging all the same. She fished out her phone from her zipped pocket and wiped its screen. "It's already past 6."

The sun was now illuminating the towers overhead, basking them in a strong light that made them look like oversized candles with their newly polished windows. Outside of the park, traffic could now be distinctly heard, the revving of engines and horn beeps echoed with the symphony of people in suits talking on their phones as they made their way to commute.

"Hooh. That hit the spot. We have to buy some food soon, Rita will get mad if we return late. She still has to cook the food..." Sushang pulled up her shirt to wipe her sweat from her chin, revealing her very toned abs that shone with sweat. "We can just buy it from there... Hey. Eyes up here. Where are you looking???"

Susannah's eyes had fallen, and continued to stare there. And she was drooling. Probably because of how tired she was, but she seemed to be just a bit pinker too. "Oh. Uh, yeah. Let's... Yeah."

In a sudden jolt, Susannah stands up from her seat and robotically walks towards the convenience store. "Ha. As if we don't share a bed together already... What's there to be flustered about, anyway..."

Despite her talking to herself, Susannah still managed to hear it, evident by her blushing ears that were unable to hide behind her hair, being blown by the wind.

-------------------------

Senti's numbed senses were still deep in their slumber. But the first to be stimulated was her sense of smell.

At first, she smelled the very recognizable scent of freshly brewed coffee. When Honkai was sealed away, their initial days back on Earth consisted of staying at Hyperion. Along with Mei, Bronya, Hua, and the Overseer. It was specifically Theresa who always had a cup of coffee next to her, along with the stacks and stacks of paperwork that had been coming in from all around the world. Relief funds, reinforcement requests, evacuations. Being the spearhead of Schicksal, she had to manage to handle it all.

And Senti was basically stuck there on days that she wasn't assigned to any of the operations. She would lounge at the control room, looking at the screen HUDs to relieve her agonizing boredom somehow. Watching her friends help people out, seeing the rest of the world slowly but surely heal, was accompanied by the scent of that freshly brewed coffee.

"...?"

Slowly, her eyes open. Along with the visions of the past, and replaced by the cruel view of the present.

"...It's still true."

She muttered out, pushing away a strand of hair from Hua's unmoving face. Save for the weak breathing, she might as well have been keeping Hua's corpse in her own room.

Senti pushes herself up, having been seated at the edge of the cushion near Hua's head. Must've fallen asleep like this, she thought.

Her neck was stiff, and her shoulders felt heavy. The troubles of adjusting to her current life was bearing its weight on her, it seems. She lifts her right palm up, covered in calluses and tiny cuts that have all healed and left their mark. A faithful reflection of Hua's own body.

But when she looks back at Hua, what she sees was anything but that. Foreign, unrecognizable, and pitiful. All of which shewas not supposed to be.

A gentle knocking disturbs her stupor, shifting her attention to the door.

"I'll... I'll be out in a minute."

What greeted her as she went out wasn't just the smell of coffee, but a mixing of different scents altogether. Not just that, but a different kind of bustle. The clinking of plates and cutlery as they were set down on the table, and how two of the pans were not being tossed on the stove instead of one. Piyo and Rita had been cooking there, and Susannah was tending to the table.

"Boo."

Senti felt wet fingers poke at her neck and her sides, causing her to reel in the opposite direction and swat her entire arm at the direction of the assailant.

"The fu—!!"

"Ha! Bahahah!" Sushang, who was quietly tucked on the side of the door's blindspot, was now wheezing loudly at Senti's wide eyes that could only stare at her, her entire body still frozen in shock.

"Come on." Sushang gently lowered Senti's arms down, "Did you really not sense that I was there? You don't have to play along like that, you know."

"Cut it out, you two. You'll disturb Hua."

Durandal exited from the bathroom, just behind Sushang. "Let's eat, shall we?"

"..."

Senti wasn't used to this. Never did. Never will. In the company of other people, she somehow felt like she didn't belong. Or maybe that Hua was the only one to anchor her there; in a way, it was still true. Had Hua not been there to bridge her with the others, she didn't feel the reason to be there.

Somehow, she felt like a stand-in for Hua's own unspoken emotions. But now, she wasn't quite sure what to say here. Wondering what Hua would feel, if she saw this sight with her own eyes.

She watched as Durandal, Rita, and Susannah ate in the living room just a few meters from them. Sushang and Piyo sat at the small circular table near the kitchen with her. They conversed among themselves, save for Sushang, who was staring at Piyo with a stupid smile on her face.

Senti ate with them. Savoring the food that Rita and Piyo collaborated on, it was better than whatever she could manage to make. That's one of the few things that she didn't manage to inherit from the Old Timer, somehow. She managed to be a perfect replica of everything else; her sizes, her height, her combat prowess(she was slightly better perhaps.), but not her cooking skills? How annoying that was.

"Coo?" Piyo now looked up at Sushang.

"I missed you too, buddy. Seems you're taking care of the old master well, huh?"

"Coo."

"Haha!"

Sushang gleefully laughed and patted Piyo on the head, to which she welcomed gratefully. Then her eyes met Senti's.

"What? You want one too?"

"Shut up. Both of you."

Chapter Text

Durandal couldn’t really shake whatever that feeling was.

She, for whatever reason, could not pinpoint when exactly it started. But she was almost sure that it was already there before she and Rita arrived and stayed at Hua’s.

If you were to ask her about it, she wouldn’t be able to explain it to you word-per-word. Only how it made her feel.

Durandal became aware of it when Klein started the treatment process three days ago, just when Hua had shown her what her current “condition” was. When she slept a few hours later, in the midst of her sleep, it bugged her. Humming, in the background, in her head, subtle just enough that it existed not to warrant her attention but to simply exist by itself. But it can only be sensed by her. Rita declined of sensing anything like that, though she didn’t manage to explain it properly anyway.

It wasn’t annoying, it didn’t put her off. It just was just there, its mere existence beckoning to her like a moth to a flame. Distant of its luster, only knowing that it was there.

Then yesterday, it changed.

It made her senses peak. That feeling when you know something is wrong, or amiss, or that tense clenching when you see something big fall from up high. That humming sparked, flared up, and it made her brace. As quickly as it made her alert, it was gone in seconds.

And it only happened once. All the more reason that it bugged her even more now.

Should I… call Theresa about this? Should I wake up Klein? Can I even do that?

Her mission was to accompany and check up on Hua. Waking up Klein could jeopardize that mission. Calling the Overseer wouldn’t change anything of her current situation. She was just grasping at straws; not even, just the very vague figment of straws that slipped between her fingers. No substance, just the mere thought of it. Yet it made her quite frantic on the inside, but she couldn’t exactly explain it to anyone else either.

She composed herself. Tried her best, at least. Her eyes followed Susannah and Sushang chasing each other over the fences and onto the grass.

Earlier that morning, they decided to step out and hang out at the park. It was Susannah’s idea, asking her and Rita if they had managed to see any vlog-worthy sites of Hua’s settled place. When they both said that they hadn’t had the time to, she begged to be let out almost instantly. Albeit politely, Durandal was unsure.

But Rita shushed her away, said that she’d hold down the fort just fine. If an emergency arises, the park wouldn’t be too far anyway. She’d be just a call away.

“Coo. Coo, Coo?”

Piyo had been addressing her. Snuggled closely near Senti’s hair, perched atop her shoulders. She didn’t acknowledge it.

“Hey. She’s talkin’ to you.”

“I don’t know what she’s saying.”

This was another conundrum itself. Rita and Sushang could understand this plump, rotund bird. She couldn’t though, she even tried listening in on any nuance of pitch in Piyo’s speech, to no avail. “She asked you if you’re not going to join them.” Nodding to Sushang and Susannah, who were now covered in leaves and twigs from tackling each other to the ground.

“Ha. I might just be a little too old for that, you know.” Durandal ruffled Piyo’s feathers, and she made a noise similar to a giggle.

And since Piyo was so close to Senti’s face, Durandal couldn’t help but notice changes in her features too.

Eyebags, not as deep and sunken as Hua’s but they were there. And they were out of place for someone of Senti’s character, who always fought and nagged and sassed to get her way with anyone and everyone. She looked… miserable.

“Don’t look at me like that.”

Durandal’s eyes widen. Hua had told her those exact words, too.

But Senti, as much as she mirrored her other half, had said it so differently. She wasn’t perhaps annoyed at that indulging pity, but that anger was aimed towards herself somehow. At her helplessness. That phrase was hissed, growled with a shyness that was stemmed from no rational thought. And Senti’s eyes were proof, as it avoided Durandal’s gaze.

“’Sigh, I’m sorry.” She patted her on the back. “I know you of all people don’t need me pitying you like this. I know you’re strong.”

“Tch.”

Damn right I am.

“So are you really not going to join them? Maybe creak those old bones of yours.”

“You don’t have to talk to me like I’m Hua, Senti. I’m not that old.”

“You sure do act like it sometimes, though.”

Durandal’s expression changed to a more scrutinizing one, and for a split second they met eye contact. But Senti avoided her again, and started whistling.

“Coo.”

“See, even Piyo agrees.”

“Coo…?! Coo! Coo!”

“Ow! Okay, stop!”

Durandal couldn’t suppress her smile, watching the two bicker like that. She was reminded of Kiana, whom she rarely fought with like this, but still acted like a whiny younger sister whenever it was convenient to her. Whenever she was hungry or tired, or whenever she missed Mei. And now, she couldn’t help but miss her too.

Senti noticed that change in Durandal’s expression. Both of them carry the weight of missing someone, it seems. One separated by distance, the other dulled by time.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you, by the way.” Senti balanced herself on the fence and leaned herself on the railing, slouched and now holding Piyo between her arms. “What were your days in St. Freya was like?”

Durandal didn’t quite expect that. Well, she didn’t know what she was expecting, so it caught her in an even more surprised reaction. “…Why’d you ask?”

“Just curious.”

“Were Hua’s experiences not transferred to you, then?”

“I’m asking you. And asides from her experiences with that Idiotka, her early days as a follower of that blonde bastard weren’t that all pleasant to recount anyways.”

“Ah, well…”

Perhaps Durandal shouldn’t have asked that question. “I guess I wasn’t that much different. I followed him too, you know.”

“Why? You could’ve been anywhere else with your power, no?”

…Perhaps. They were all water under the bridge now though, beget the regrets and to bury them all away again, whenever the thoughts and memories come across her mind. There were expectations to fulfill, missions to finish. Owing her life to Otto for giving her a reason to trust him; humanity’s survival was at his hands and she truly believed that as a fact.

She fought for it, too. Fought like hell for it. They made tangible progress by doing so.

But in a way it was all a façade, in the end. Because he only did it for someone who’s been dead for centuries.

“I guess. But… why would you concern yourself with that? What are you really curious about, Senti?” Durandal mustered up the most non-hostile tone she could, like how she would talk to Kiana whenever she instinctively knew that her younger sister had been staying up late and only snacked on cup noodles whenever she was hungry. She didn’t exactly want to provoke her.

“Dunno. I really am just curious. I’m just rackin’ my head on stuff about you and Rita, I guess? Stuff that the Old Timer knows.”

“Then what else is there?”

“Hmm.” Senti’s eyes sink, looking down at the brick path. Then sparkling with a newly found vigor. “That you were the strongest Valkyrie ever? Is that true?”

“Ah…”

In her conscious mind it felt so long ago. That label of being one of the top S-Rank Valkyries that St. Freya had to offer, considered to be an untouchable ‘blade,’ and a goddess that stood by the previous overseer’s side. There was such a time like that, wasn’t there?

“It is. But that title doesn’t mean anything to me now.”

“It does to me. I… want to let off some steam.”

Durandal blinked. Maybe once or twice. What was Senti proposing, exactly? Though, she knew, but she didn’t quite accept it. Does this herrscher really want to fight? Her of all people? But then again, it somehow made sense too. Senti was always proven to be quite fond of the idea of besting someone at the top. Anyone else would be foolish to aim so, but Senti was an entirely different story. It was the opposite; as the idea seemed to cheer her up and spark a dulling glimmer in her eyes.

“Ah-- wait. Nevermind.”

What?

“The Old Timer told me not to get into any fights whenever she was away. I don’t think she’d be very happy once she hears about it… when she wakes up.”

Senti’s reclined smile only made the pang in Durandal’s heart sting harder. She felt relieved, of course. That Senti was, indeed, still holding out for the idea that one day Hua would be better. Would become better like nothing ever happened. But on the other hand; it seemed uncharacteristic for her to be tethered by Hua’s words when she’s unable to sway her in the present moment. Durandal thought that this would be the perfect time to rebel, or something.

“I can vouch for you. I’ll tell her that it’s my idea.” Durandal leaned to the side, making their shoulders bump. “To be honest, I think I can use a sparring partner. It’s been a while since I fought someone in equal strength… though I assume you’d grown weaker, hmm?”

“Ha!” Senti turned, fully facing Durandal.

“As if.”

Maybe they were both spurred on by the heat of the moment, but there wasn’t any rhyme or reason for this at all. One moment they were in the park, and now Senti was riding shotgun in Durandal’s car, making their way to the outskirts of the city. Their farewells to Susannah and Sushang were brief and rushed, not leaving any time for the two to react or even object to what they said. It’ll be quick, call us if Rita ends up looking for us!

The buildings faded far behind them, and were slowly replaced by toll gates and wide-open roads. And a few kilometers after that, even they came to an end. Riding off into the beaten dirt path, they know lined the edge of the city and viewed the serene distance of the country-side, basked in a golden, orange light from beyond the valley.

The car came to an abrupt stop.

“Here’s fine, you think?”

There shouldn’t be any people, at least not in the nearest. It should be good enough.

Further past the grass was a clearing of solid dirt, a suitable ring for the battle they were soon to have. Durandal took off her jacket and threw it into the foliage and stretched. Shaking her limbs off of a feeling that seemed to irritate her the further this went on.

Senti seemed to be distracted too, as she looked far beyond west to see the distant city. Hua was there. Or wasn’t. Either way, Senti was still here despite it all.

“Ready?”

The word barely left Durandal’s lips, but Senti’s face had already been mere inches from her view. Instinctively, she stepped backwards, yet her opponent was still swift enough to close the distance.

One, two, three uneven palm strikes were barely blocked by Durandal’s own fists. Senti’s figure braced, as she twisted her right foot after stepping forward and firmly planting it on the ground, and struck Durandal’s left side with all her might.

But Durandal quickly recovered, absorbing most of the impact, and gracefully turned and landed while leaving dust clouds from where she was struck.

Senti changed her stance. A stance that, Durandal knew, belonged to Hua alone. She’s seen her senior fight before. With bare fists that hit harder than any blade she knew of. Senti’s ponytail swished from side to side, dancing with the accompaniment of the blowing winds, and made her small stature all the more intimidating because of it.

From the strands of her that obscured her face, Senti’s eyes beamed out a faint crimson hue.

“Come on. We didn’t come here to gauge each other’s strengths.”

Then, as her hair got blown a different way, her face peers out and reveals a devilish smile that was in hiding. Durandal hadn’t seen her smile in a while, and if this was the only way to console her grieving heart, then she ought to do a good enough job to satisfy Senti.

Gold plating started to manifest around Durandal’s limbs, coating her fists and her legs in glowing, bright armor. Summoning part of her [Dea Anchora] battlesuit, she decided that it would be the best one to fight up close with her fists. The sight of it only spurred Senti to become more excited.

Both of them dashed towards each other, cancelling out their fists in a stalemate. Durandal stepped to the side and feigned a sweep to catch Senti off-balance, but she had already been poising to strike the ground with her palms.

In a cloud of dust came out Durandal, followed closely by Senti’s shadow, peppering her blocks with multiple strikes of her fist. For Durandal’s point of view, Senti’s ponytail was the only thing she could see through all the after images. With one swift yank of her left arm, she managed to hit Senti once, but nevertheless still managed to maintain her speed.

With that mere interaction, Durandal guessed where Senti would end up next. Thrusting her right elbow clockwise and managing to hit Senti directly at her side.

For a brief moment, Senti had an expression of pain on her face, but instantly washed over by the glaring gaze of a fighter who only lusted for battle.

Dropping down from an elevated point after being hit by Durandal, she lunged forward, aiming directly at Durandal’s ribs to return the hit. But the adversary merely tanked it, and grabbed her striking arm with both hands and threw her overhead and into the ground, causing a loud explosion and kicking up debris.

As the smoke clears, Durandal remained firmly stood with a giant crater in front of her, and not a sight of Senti that should’ve been planted halfway through the ground.

“You’re not even using much of your power right now, are you even human? Huh?”

For a second, Durandal feared that she might’ve treated Senti too roughly. But judging from her sassy tone, maybe she had actually done the opposite. As she turned, she saw that Senti had been sitting on the ground cross-legged, resting her head on her hand. “I can’t believe you managed to hold out while getting those hits...”

What expression was this child wearing? Durandal couldn’t tell, was she disappointed? Senti’s lips quivered, unsure of what to say next and looked to be contemplating things in her head.

Durandal observed. Visible scratches could be seen on Senti’s skin. She was still a herrscher after all, even if she managed to go all out, she doubted that she could take her down easily like this. But why was she disappointed? It was a fairly decent fight, maybe only that…

Her hits didn’t hit as hard as she expected them to.

“You put up a good fight.”

“Don’t say that like I lost! I didn’t, for the record!” Ah, she was hissing at her now.

“You didn’t, but we can probably resume this at another time. It’s getting late, we should return before Rita gets angry at both of us. Hua, I can probably handle, but Rita…”

Coincidentally, her phone buzzed from her pocket. She fished it out, and before she could click to answer, the call was cancelled.

“Huh?”

Senti had been clenching her fists, her eyes fixated on how her bones moved underneath the bruised knuckles, and Durandal’s confused tone managed to get her attention. “What? Are they looking for us now?”

“I don’t know, but—”

Just then, that humming, that subtle buzzing feeling surged forth to overwhelm her senses. All this time, she wondered what it was. But she’s felt it before. It was energy, that enveloped her being and the rest of reality as she knows it. Her stigmata that drew strength from somewhere were now squirming inside her, like a line of rope that’s dropped into the void; now slightly shaking.

Within that second, she was reminded of a memory from the past. Under Otto’s wing, she had gone on a mission to travel between bubble universes at one point. Crossing those universes, she couldn’t have forgotten how it felt. Leaving her home universe behind, feeling those existences loosen their grip on her like fingers on sand, and being embraced by something entirely new.

“Hey! What the hell is that?!”

Senti ran up to her side, looking back towards the city. Durandal didn’t notice, but night had befallen the city in the distance; and it was alight by something other than the bustling signs and windows of the tall skyscrapers. A large flaring of smoke was emanating from its center, and a purplish-pinkish glow blinked at them even through the thickness of the fog. For a moment, it almost seemed like the winds carried not just the rustle of leaves and the grass, but also cries for help.

Amidst that chaos, a bubble universe was faintly resonating with her stigmata.

Chapter Text

Theresa looked out beyond the large expanse, towering clouds that lingered so near yet so far from the Hyperion’s docks. Starlight that peppered the dusky sky and the winds made her hair tangle loose, flapping back and forth to create a perfect steady rhythm that her ears could follow.

The sound rooted her in the present. Her eyes, however, looked desperately for meaning.

Otto’s shoes weren’t easy to fill. In fact, there she was, stumbling about in them; never truly sure if the decisions she had made were the best for Schicksal, and the people that relied on it. Only the spectacle that everything continued to run under her regime was proof that she was, at the very least, doing some things right. That vagueness was enough to make her keep going, if nothing else.

Trying to tend to rebuilding the world from the ground up, with much of Honkai’s influence kept at bay by Kiana, was a taller ask than she could’ve ever hoped for. It was anything but frictionless, not because they didn’t have any plans, but because the people themselves never made it any easier. In the midst of the chaos and the confusion, some had found a way to weaponize the remains of Honkai beasts to attack and take advantage of their newfound power.

She pities the Valkyries. That after training for so long and tending to the battle against Honkai, they would end up becoming normal military troops under the guise of that title

And what of the nomads? Those that were now privy to the existence of Honkai, had decided after the battle on the moon, that they would no longer partake in society as they knew it. Their reasoning, they said, that if the world reverts to tragedy, then they would make sure that they are far away from it as possible. But in the end, those nomads would fall victim to remnants of Honkai and would rely on Schicksal itself to protect them too.

Welt was gone. Decided to walk out and disappear among the stars. Leaving her to lead with Doctors Einstein and Tesla, that forespoke of a future that, even now, did not make any sense to her.

That there would be another Honkai eruption. At Earth. And they would not be able to avoid it. Tesla and Einstein had brought it up mere months after the events of the moon ended, and they told it in a way that made it all the more cryptic.

“It’s cyclical. Regardless if the Will of Honkai was sealed away, its own Will is entangled with our own universe, along with many others. We will experience it all again.”

But how could that be? What could they even do after everything that happened?

“You’re pulling this from where, exactly? I need to know. My students fought hard to get their peace, and you’re telling me that it’ll never end?”

“With what we’ve learned about the Previous Era, there’s nothing else to argue here. From the records of the Elysian Realm, according to Mei, their fates unfolded in their efforts to subdue Honkai. After realizing that their heroes would never be able to subdue it in their lifetime, they started their voyage. One far into the future, where they clung to the hope of one where the cycle ends.”

Tesla, uncharacteristically quiet, typed into the air with her right arm-gauntlet, and pulled up a screen of folders. Labels were stamped on the top of them in bold, red letters.

Project ARK. Project STIGMA. Project VALUKA.

The Ark, to seek out a place untainted by Honkai’s presence.
Stigma, to weaponize Honkai’s capabilities itself for humanity to have a chance of fighting.
Valuka, to peer into the imaginary tree and find some semblance of hope that there would be one universe where humanity triumphs.

“All failed. Because the truth is, Honkai itself can never be purged. I hypothesize that it’s comparable to any law we know today. Honkai is no curse, nor enemy to fight like gravity or rain. A phenomenon that all universes obey.”

Theresa remains still, sat on the director’s cushioned seat, and only stared at Tesla and Einstein’s calm expression. “Both of you don’t seem all too bothered.”

In a way, it did not sink in for her. The way they acted, she couldn’t discern if they were in a state of resignation and apathy, as they measure themselves once more against the entirety of fate itself. What it had in store for them, still.

“I’d be lying if we said we weren’t.” Tesla scoffed, and sat on one of the couches in the office, playing around with the greebles of her gauntlet. Einstein remained stood, with her chin held up and unwavering. “But we’re not here to be bothered. That’s not our job, as consorts of Schicksal’s director.”

Tesla accessed two additional folders in her HUD, and enlarged them for Theresa to see.

Project EMBER, Project SWARA. And a folder of a student’s, whom she knew all too well. Attached to that folder was a digitized scan of a group photo with Kiana, Mei, and Bronya. It included her, too, posing in front of a train station. The sun setting behind the buildings and the pillars that framed them. The student that this folder belonged to, obscured that setting sun behind her head like a halo.

“Our responsibility solely falls on fighting Honkai itself, even if there’s no end. Nothing changes. We can only continue fighting. And that starts with her.”

Fu Hua.

“Her other Herrscher half had contacted us months ago, asking about a checkup regarding Hua’s health. Nothing was wrong with her physically, though her mental aptitude was lower than normal… But Tesla managed to pick up on something that I didn’t.”

Tesla, with a slightly grim expression rose up from the couch to come closer to Theresa. A hologram of a large graph with data points of different subjects from different time-periods.

“Only because you dismissed it so quickly. This era of peace has you way too laid back, may I say.”

Lowering the opacity on the others, she focused on sequences of one as she explained.

“Whenever a Honkai eruption threatened to occur before, Honkai energy levels would spike at random intervals. Along with the coming of the beasts themselves, these energy levels would usually be traceable to where the Herrscher would be most likely to appear.”

“Then are you saying that Senti would have a second eruption?”

Tesla scoffed. “That would be too convenient. If that was the case, we’d know how to deal with it. We’d know how to prevent it. We have the means to.”

Hua’s records that were recorded just months ago were now highlighted. Staggeringly low energy levels were being compared to her normal set. And with a flick of Tesla’s wrist, showed data that her average before were three times higher than her current levels.

But every now and then in the graph, there would be a spike that would overshadow every other record of previous Herrschers. That spike would be just that, a spike, a momentary surge in energy that, in the grander scheme of things and the environment around her, it wouldn’t have mattered. But as Tesla scrolled the timeline further, the spikes very, veryknew her personally, known her long enough that it might just be clouding their judgement.

…Neither of those seemed right. Their eyes had weight… They must’ve held the same sentiment as her. Even if they weren’t the principal that took care of those students, even if they weren’t exactly “friends,” one thing was clear.

Understanding. Not justification, nor resentment. Only acceptance that this was now the reality before them, but refusing to dismiss who Hua was, and never blaming her for what was to come next.

“What can we do for her?”

“We have a few options.” Chirped up Tesla, who then closed the opened folders before them and opened up a new window containing a hologram of the world. “Mophead, tell her.”

With a nonchalant ahem from the blue-haired doctor, she steps up and begins tapping around the hologram. An echo of a circular ping, intermittently sending off blips like a radar, began emitting off a faint light that flickered reflections off of their eyes. “Tesla told you that I dismissed all of this, at first. Only because it didn’t make sense with the current information that we had. So, I went looking for information, and was thinking that I wouldn’t find anything, to prove her wrong. The lack thereof would be proof that these were all crumbs that led nowhere.”

“Hua’s life has only been preserved by the projects of the Previous Era. With research and application of Honkai itself to one’s own body as its very foundation. Take that away, and it all caves in on itself. Like a house with its frames in a far too gone-state of disrepair, or a human with severe autoimmune-disease. Mei, Bronya, and even Durandal aren’t affected by this because they’ve only ever been exposed to it in their lifetime.”

Einstein stared at the simulation in her hand. Tesla continued; “But to someone like Fu Hua, who walked through her entire life wielding different divine keys and exposed to countless Honkai beasts, I… can’t even imagine what she’ll go through.”

The radar continued to blip, and at the top corner of the hologram was the calendar’s date, that marked the day Senti came to the two doctors. The dates started to flip forward, and barely a week after that, a small yellow dot appeared on the lower hemisphere of earth.

Tesla pinched to zoom in, revealing that it was in a remote island far away from the continents.

“This is?”

“Honkai energy levels that matched what we found when Mei revealed the location of the Elysian Realm.”

“It didn’t disappear?”

“It did, but it seems someone was left behind.”

“You’re up next, Doctor.”

As the word left Tesla’s lips, the hologram closed on its own without any additional input from the two. It was replaced by a small message window.

[That flame-chaser. Help me help her. Please.]

Theresa suddenly felt a tap on her shoulder, breaking her free from the haze of her memories. Einstein held up a tablet in her hands. “It’s starting. Durandal’s calling us. We’re 450 kilometers from the target; we’ll be there soon.”

“Answer the call.”

Chapter Text

“There are 256 currently recorded casualties. We’re currently cooperating with the local law enforcements here; we’re still looking for people that could be buried under the rubble. Not to mention those infected--”

Durandal’s voice, muffled by the sirens in the background of the call, took to audibly calling out to someone else other than Theresa. It was only a voice call, but Theresa could ‘see’ her. Through the holographic HUD hovering above her table, she looked on at the tall pillars of smoke rising far above the highrise of the city.

“Is the Hyperion any closer now? How long left?”

“We’ll be there in an hour. But we can’t find any landing pads that’s large enough for the Hyperion, you’d have to drive out to the outskirts of the city, on the rice fields.”

“Okay. We’ll be there in 3. I need to find the others, still.”

Durandal hung up, and made her way down the piled-up ruins of a collapsed office building. She rolled her right shoulder a few times, and steadied her hold of Abyss Flower. Energy pulsed within it, like an out of sync heartbeat. If she focused hard enough, it almost felt like someone was calling her name; a phantom of a voice that sprung from tiredness, or was she hallucinating it due to stress?

The events of that night seemed so much like a blur, all of it happening so fast and so sudden that she hasn’t had time to compose herself.

A line of soldiers and police barricaded a large perimeter behind her, their guns and vehicles served as a cage that made sure nothing emerges from the raging, fuchsia-colored flames that suddenly erupted near the center of the city a few hours ago. With the explosion came toppled cars, shattered glass, and debris tossed high up into the air and came raining down on the dumbstruck civilians below. Their report consisted of that fire, and the sudden crystallization of Honkai energy piercing the walls and the highways, branching out from the flames and uncaring of the still-standing buildings, piercing them like merciless tree branches and furthering the chaos.

The corpses of the civilians were taken hold, and were instantly turned into zombies. Those that were caught in the blast were more fortunate, as they had died before their body were corrupted by Honkai. Most of the threat stemmed from zombies however, considering that this city was quite remote itself, and weren’t exactly experienced in handling Honkai threats.

As soon as the explosion appeared, Senti and Durandal had stopped their sparring. She hesitated, and in that moment, Senti took that as a chance to bolt off herself; not waiting for any directions from her. Gliding on top of a blade, cutting a line through the lake that surrounded the city, she sped off in a panic. Durandal knew why, anyone who knew Senti would know why.

After following suit in her car, she was quickly greeted by those very same soldiers that struggled to push all the zombified corpses, the people who didn’t manage to react in time to escape.

But since she was there now, the tides were quickly turned.

With each thrust of her lance, the guilt of not being able to save everyone took hold of her arm. Each zombie she pierced was a casualty that could’ve been prevented. That shouldn’t have happened.

The enemies eventually stopped appearing from the flames, and Durandal noticed something odd. If this was an eruption that threatened to occur, the energy levels should’ve been enough to draw out judgment-level Honkai beasts in hordes. A catastrophe would have engulfed this city whole, that would dwarf Nagazora in comparison. Senti and her wouldn’t have the time to react, wouldn’t have the time to get there. The people cowered up behind cement barriers and military jeeps would’ve died not knowing what hit them.

But the zombies that were coming at them, imperfect all; weak, and frail. Like someone cobbled them up purely from memory.

Their postures, lopsided and only limped with reckless self-abandon to pursue any and all living thing in their vicinity. Only their numbers and their pseudo-immunity to conventional weapons were the key factors in overwhelming the city’s forces before she got there.

Durandal tried fishing out her phone, hoping for some semblance of message from anyone near Hua. As her lockscreen came to illuminating life, there was no notifications at all. No messages, no calls. Seeing as her signal bar was dead on the water, the eruption should’ve been the culprit of interference.

There were soldiers and officers that assisted each other in digging up the dead, and slowly but surely their number was still rising up as they were laid down underneath tarps behind her. All tucked in neat lines. The sight aggravated her; this much death… How could she let this happen? In this era of peace?

Torn between leaving the officers to fend for themselves here and go find Sushang and the others, a distant explosion shoved her to a decision without having the time to choose. A loud booming echo carried between the skyscrapers, but near enough that the shattering of glass windows was still distinct amidst the cacophony of it all, ringing in her ears.

Amidst the smoke in the sky, she could make out a taller silhouette. But she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

It was a huge sword, towering higher than the remaining skyscrapers.

----------------------------------------

“Get out—!”

Senti, in all her rage and worry, pent up over the course of months, took to express itself by throwing herself into the horde that blocked her way. She leaped off her blade and took to the skies

“—of the way—!”

Her heart raced, drowning the ringing reverberations of her blade, humming with every clang as it collided with the crumbling outer shells of the imperfect zombies that turned their attention towards the Herrscher.

Each and every single strike losing form, losing purpose. Losing all sense of meaning as each familiar landmark whizzes by her like smeared film. The thought plagued her, stuck to her veins like clots, making her breathing shallow and desperate. The thought of losing her, all so sudden and without warning, couldn’t be a possibility. That both of them did not possibly live a life endured so long to have such a shameful and disrespectful end like this.

Eventually, the crowds that aimed to pile in front of her thinned, as most of those that came into view were preoccupied with something else. The apartment that they’ve settled in, what it used to be, slowly came into view. Only the ground floor remained, and bits and pieces of the foundations on the corners that supported its shape upright.

Its entire middle, engulfed by the flames and the zombies that crawled about the ruins as if they’re looking for something, and the scraping of the broken weapons that the zombies carried about with them as a part of the horde made Senti their focus; the unsightly view of it all, made her insides cold.

Parched lips parted to make way for nothing, thoughts blanked out for humble moments that it felt like she wasn’t really there. That none of it was.

Could she be dreaming? The first thought blossomed inside her head and wilted as soon as it emerged. Maybe Durandal knocked her out somehow. Maybe this was all in her head. Absolutely nothing could have led up to this, in the instances where she stayed up for Hua, cared for her, made small talk that slowly added a needle to her heart every single time.

But maybe she had it coming. That the entire time she lived so arrogantly, in such blissful denial of Hua’s entire life that she thought she could be the solution to her grief. That she would shoulder it with her, along with the friends that she cherished so much. Maybe that would have given her meaning, now that Honkai was gone. All of it, too much to hope for.

She was a Herrscher, after all. If she lived her remaining life doing good deeds, could it have been enough to forgive the past Herrschers’ transgressions? Could she atone, alone?

It wouldn’t be enough. Even if she gave her life, it would never be enough. What would stare at her would be this, time and time again. All her life, honed to strength, powerless and kneeling before fate.

Who could she have blamed, then? Klein? She offered a solution, they did. The doctors and the Overseer planned, and couldn’t have foreseen Hua dying too soon? Was she expendable? Lost her use? Not worth saving anymore?

Was this how it was all supposed to end?

Senti’s eyes blurred, losing its focus, and eventually stared at her feet as tears fell to the ash-covered asphalt below. In intermittence her eyes regained and lost focus as more of her emotions untangled loose.

What could I have done?

The gray silhouette of the zombies before her came into her periphery. Without so much as lifting a finger, hundreds of blades sprung up from the ground and annihilating the horde. Bits and pieces of their shell slid to her feet. Senti slowly raised her head to take one last look at that apartment.

Memories of walking up those creaky stairs was almost visible through the haze. Other times she would get scolded by Hua for skipping the stairs entirely by jumping off the balcony.

Hua would join her during sunsets. Figure that Senti would be just outside the door to the left, near the closed windows, sitting on Hua’s rocking chair and peacefully staring at the windows of the buildings, gilded by the sun’s light.

She would poke fun at her for it. That maybe they were both getting old.

Senti hated that.

But she loved it, too. For what it implied, it hasn’t really been that long; but spending their remaining days like that, even through the jostles and the teasing, she could live with it. Hua would always be her Old Timer, nagging at her to buy her juice and to buy some good meat every once in a while. Asking her to spar. Smugly watching Hua pick up her strewn about clothes on the floor, and have Piyo glare at her for it. Plain breakfast with the two of them. Quiet dinners.

The thought made her calm, only for a moment.

And out came a gut-wrenching scream that embodied her loss and sorrow. A scream that was shaky and so fragile that she wasn’t even sure if it came from her own lungs. Her hands came up to her head, as she inhaled to scream again once more. Pulling at her hair, digging her nails in her skin, feeling her veins surge with unrelenting heat.

Energy flared outwards from her chest and threatened to burst her entire being, as if her grief itself couldn’t be contained; the ground shook violently, and from that apartment slowly rose the sharp end of a huge blade.

Completely consumed by her rage, the earthquake made her quickly lose balance, and as the huge blade’s summoning hastened, a shockwave pushed back a wall of broken glass and debris. Senti couldn’t care. She wouldn’t die from this, and even if she did, it would’ve been a mercy. For this suffering to end, she willingly offers to take it to her grave.

Senti took one last look at that wall of rubble coming for her, but something grabbed her shirt from behind; she was standing there one moment, and was now under the arm of someone else.

Chapter Text

“Haah… foohh…”

With prickly fingers and shivering arms, the frail girl hugged herself inside layers and layers of wool and cotton. For what it was worth, it seems that the winter season hadn’t the patience to let them prepare, let alone brace for the chilly winds and snow. Her matching, puffy beanie barely contained the heat of her head, cupping her ash gray hair inside, messy and unkempt.

The windows fogged, and bare the distant warm streetlamps below. If you pressed your eye against the glass, you could make up the silhouette of small twinkling lights between each shape of the lamp; Christmas lights, red and green, alternating dances like every careful little snowflake that drifted from the charcoal sky.

And she loved it, somehow. Just the other day, groups of people had been awaiting her, Kosma, and Griseo’s return in that apartment room. Gave them gifts. For being heroes.

The least they could do.

Last week, she was still working overtime, along with Kevin. Picked up a corporate job, and it just so happened that he was there. Neither of them minded the other, and so, she stayed, after getting the job months and months ago.

Watching the transition of the setting sun through the floor-to-ceiling windows, draining the warmth from the walls like heavy, unwashed curtains, the silence takes over them until only the hum of the fluorescent lights and the monitors in front of them filled their senses. The clacking of old, dusty keyboards. The every now and then pushing off the desk, just slightly; to stretch, to sigh, to get a snack from the breakroom, or to just stand and look at the other being heavily invested with their work at their own desk.

She didn’t really mind that cycle, however many times it repeated throughout the days, throughout the weeks and months. She got work done; she got paid. It was something meaningful, besides.

Kevin, despite being so distant and silent, cared for all of them. She knew that. But sometimes his gestures catch her off-guard.

“Eat up.” He says, lightly pressing the surface of a cup noodle’s container against her arm. It had already been filled with hot water, and for a moment, she almost flinched. “If you plan to stay longer, you might as well eat dinner before you get too deep into work.” The smell of beef and pork, tangling into inviting umami scents were pungent in their corner of the room. His fingertips, in stark contrast to the water inside of the plastic, emanated an almost visible haze of cold that could only be seen if you squint and focus. She could feel that, too.

It was silly. Stupid. To see the hero of the world look down at her, with slight bags under his eyes from working overtime and watching the livestreams of a very lively pink-haired elf, even while late into the night. He, who was currently chewing loudly with a half-mouthful of noodles. With his pupils just slightly dilated, waiting for a response from her.

“It’s nothing.” She couldn’t help but laugh. Kevin chuckled, only once, to honor that gesture. Smoke, or steam, wisped out of his mouth as he did, then fading off like a ghost of his own joy.

And just a few minutes after that, their boss saw them working overtime. Ushered them to go home and urged them not to come back until after the holidays were over. Gave them a sermon, too. That those who vanquished Honkai had no need to be working at his company like this. What would the people say if they knew he slaved them away? He could’ve been joking, for all they care, but they could only think of one answer to his jests.

We need something else to do, now that it’s all over.

The elevator ride down was slow. The boss stepped off much earlier than them, looking through all the floors to find workaholics like them that insisted to stay behind.

Kevin awkwardly stepped forward, pressing the ‘UG’ button, and stepped back. He wore a simple white shirt, with a black jacket lined with orange tapers on the sleeves and shoulders. Towering far above her with his height, even with a slight hunch to his posture, she couldn’t quite help but look at him. Analyzing him. Carefully looking at his frame, and through her eyes, she couldn’t quite put something that disturbed her.

He yawned, a suppressed one. “What is it?” The words snaked out of his lips, tiredly finding their way to her ears.

“Your… collar has broth marks.” She pointed with her finger, as both of her arms remained hugging the Piyo backpack slinged in front of her.

“Huh— Wait, really?” He scrunched up his collar to look, and there it was, a few specks of brown droplets that came from the cup noodle’s broth earlier. Or much earlier. Who knows how long those marks have been there. “Agh… MEI’s gonna scold me again.”

“You guys have another date?”

“A date… hm.” Kevin, despite his aloofness, seemed to melt whenever MEI was involved in the conversation. “She didn’t quite call it that.”

“Mhm. And you?”

He smiled at her. That was the only answer she needed to know. “Where are you guys going, then? Surely you have plans.”

“Eden’s condo, at least one of them; apparently she’s in town.” Kevin flipped his phone upright to check for details. His eyes light up along with the screen, and his thumb tapped, tapped, and scrolled through widgets and messages. His nail matching the rhythm with every press as the elevator shook to a halt as the doors parted open.

The both of them walked through the barren emptiness of the parking lot underground, and Kevin started reading off from his phone. “She’s having a concert a week from now. Ellie tipped me off, told me that Eden wanted to announce it last minute, so the ticket buying rush would be more intense. But…” He turned off his phone to look at her. Stopping just at the bottom of the escalator that led to the highway above.

“She’ll be giving us free tickets, all 10 of us, excluding her of course.” Kevin let her go to the moving steps first, before following and leaning on the handles. “All of us are available by then, right? There’d be no reason to skip her concert this time… I mean I’d probably have to ask Sakura to talk Kalpas into it, though.”

Kevin’s voice trailed off. In her head, she was delighted. All of them should be available by next week, assuming Kalpas agrees to close up his ramen shop even just for a day, and Pardo would go if Kalpas lets her. Aponia wouldn’t be too hard to convince. Vill-V… she would probably be there. Elysia would be there to vlog everything, maybe she’ll even appear as a guest in Eden’s concert. Griseo and Kosma would be eager to come with, and since she was living with them, she knows for sure that they’ll be available. It’d also be a good opportunity to ask Sakura to invite Komaru this time around, since she hasn’t been to any of Eden’s concerts yet.

All eleven of them would be there.

That’s not right. I missed some people. Someone’s missing… that’s not all of us, is it?

And today would be the day they’re scheduled to meet at the town square.

Hua turned around, looking at how bloated her figure looked through layers and layers of clothing. She couldn’t help it, though. Waking up that morning, hubris crept at the back of her mind and steeled her will to consider getting through with relatively fashionable clothing, gifts from Eden. But she was much too thin, her bony fingers too shaky, and her knees barely holding herself up as they buckled with each careful step on her way to the bathroom. Determination alone couldn’t have been enough to overcome the effects of frigid cold.

Has she always been this susceptible to the harshness of the weather? A palm held up to her neck told her nothing. She didn’t feel a fever coming up, in fact she was cold to the touch too.

Leaning closer to the mirror, eyeing her face, her own pupils stared back at her. The corners of her eyes were dark, guessed that it was a byproduct of the cold.

Appearances weren’t much of her concern, especially her own. She didn’t exactly have the assets to elevate her physique, and being short and thin, she had nothing but her face to rely on. Which… at the moment, looked quite haggard and tired. Maybe she was. But she wouldn’t miss this concert even if her life depended on it.

Packing a small purse with her wallet and a small flask of hot tea, she walked to the doors and quietly whispered a goodbye to the place. Looking back with one more glance, checking at every appliance if she left some of them turned on. Leaning a bit forward to see into the hall to the right, watching the dust slowly settle to the floor from being disturbed as she walked by. Making her way to the quaint kitchen table and seeing Griseo and Kosma’s own flasks still left in the counter.

They must’ve forgotten, she thought. She filled them up with the leftover tea, lemongrass and mint leaves for Griseo, chamomile leaves for Kosma. The slightly sour, herbal scent filled the room as she poured, the wafting smoke moistening her cheeks from behind the scarf. Her eyes teared up; thinking that adjusting to this life might take her a long while. Maybe taking up the remainder of her life trying her best to do so.

But it wasn’t so bad. At the least, she wasn’t alone. Providing for the two gave her a different type of purpose, paying forward the efforts of everyone who took care of her so that she would take care of someone else. Their journey up to this point was born of violence and resilience, and now they must endure peace.

Hua opened the door and stepped out; twisting the key and latching the lock in place. A reflex, something she shouldn’t forget.

Stone walls allowed the small squeaks of her boots to echo softly against wooden beams, past the ceramic lanterns beside each door of every apartment room that lined the hall. No sound came from them, and she figured that the rest of the occupants inside that building were probably outside. With the same reason she had going out.

What time was it now? She asked herself. Should be nearly. Her other self replied.

Stepping through the archway that led to the sidewalk outside their lodging made her squint. Everything was coated in blinding white, the streets blanketed by snow and the occasional blurs of the people in dark colored jackets and coats. Once her eyes adjusted, she saw in front of her a picturesque holiday, perfect and warm.

“Hua…! Look!”

A small girl with reddened ears and a swollen nose waddled towards her, a testament to her clothes’ failure to do their job of keeping its wearer away from the effects of the snow. She wore a cardigan on top of an already thick wool sweater, an unbuttoned one at that. Her bright, light blue scarf reflected the light from the snow, and on a certain angle it looked like the snow itself clung to her neck with a stubborn hug. But her eyes denied all existence of snow, and burnt brightly with vigor and delight from the excited words that spilled muffled from behind the scarf.

“Look, I made a snowman of you!”

And there it was. Right beside the pillars of the lodging that offered shade to passersby were three snowmen, the tallest one almost reaching up to her thigh. Kosma knelt on one knee, and draped a small towel around one of the snowmen, and after seeing Hua approach quickly sat down and looked at her in shock.

“Y-you… you took so long! Griseo ended up making most of these while we waited—” His cheeks reddened, matching Griseo’s. But it almost felt like it was due to something else. “She couldn’t quite get your eyes right so I helped too.”

“Yeah! You got her eyes really perfect!” Griseo pulled down her scarf to exclaim, giggling and causing the hot air of her breath to evaporate in wisps of white trails.

Hua knelt down to inspect their work; just beside Kosma, who assisted her after wobbling just after she bent her knees. Being in a relatively suburban place, they didn’t have a lot of items to work with. Just little loose twigs, dried up leaves, and rocks.

But, she thought, that they were quite spot on. Kosma had the twigs for horns, larger than the ones used for his ‘arms.’ The towel he draped was used as clothing, made to look like a cape. His right arm-twig were positioned weirdly, but his other arm-twig held Griseo’s; whose only difference is that the face of her snowman had two small twigs in the shape of a V, in place of her mouth, and a crinkled gray flower on the upper left of her supposed snowman’s ear. Her other arm-twig wasn’t a ‘twig,’ but one of her paintbrushes, which held the arm-twig of another snowman.

Her snowman.

“Is this… supposed to be me?”

There were no other distinguishing features. Other than a pair of glasses whose arms were buried in the snowman’s head. A single button... in place of one eye behind those glasses. Couldn't they have bothered giving her another eye? A smaller ball of snow rested on its head, with two rocks as eyes and a triangular pebble for its mouth.

“This is Piyo.” Griseo pointed with her mittens, gently patting that snowball on top of snowman Hua’s head.

“Close enough, right?” Kosma smiled at her. Indeed, it seemed to be.

“Where did you even get these pair of glasses? Hey—” Hua bent closer to inspect them. Red frames, with light scratches on its bridge from where she always touched them whenever she adjusted them on her nose. It was hers. “This is mine—! Oi!!” And before she could catch them both, they had already scrambled to get away. Giggling, both of them, then outwardly laughing as they split to confuse their pursuer.

Their voices stood out above all else’s noise. That even the people minding their own business turned their attention to them, and made their own hubbub of amusement in witnessing so.

The ground faintly rumbled, and in her own lungs resonated the distant hum of thunder booming high within the looming storm clouds that drizzled below specks and dusting of snow. She wondered if there would be a snow storm soon, and could only hope that it falls well after Eden’s concert was over. At the least it could give them that.

A few houses away, Griseo called out to Hua. With Kosma at her side, waving to her, like they were her own kids.

She thought of a family. Her own family. Her father… She wondered what he was doing now. Wondered where he was. Wondered where she was… when was the last time she visited her father? Images of a dojo flashed in her mind, but only briefly. Made her intake sharp cold air, scratching against her lungs. With this breath came a momentary panic; accompanied with the booming thunder, her slowing heart beat with the sound.

“Hua!!”

What did her father look like?

The two called out to her, louder this time. Snowflakes melted on her nose, into droplets of water that trailed down to her lips, causing her to snap out of the haze. Her eyes felt hot, and she was unsure if it was caused by them doing their best to retaliate against the cold, or if they were tears. Why would she be crying, though? What was she thinking about?

Her own voice bubbled up from her own sea of thoughts, until only her own voice reverberated inside her own head. She blinked once. Then blinked two times in succession after that. That sense of familiarity lost its grip on her just then, her temples pulsed to focus but ultimately that, too, slowed to a halt.

We’ll be late for Eden’s concert.

Her palms felt sweaty from inside her wool gloves, her neck felt itchy and her legs felt in such a state of unrest that she wanted to tap them. She wanted to move. But there she was, frozen in time, not quite sure what exactly that feeling was. A sense of nostalgia washed over her and left just as quickly, and now the rest of her body itched like it missed a chance to sneeze.

The people passed by her like a shadowy shapes. The crunching of snow, the sharpness of the winds, her ears heard them. She heard the thunder again. She heard Griseo and Kosma. But she also heard the ocean. Cars behind her. The audible clinks of metal as her tears fell onto the metal rails in front of her. Where?

How?

Best to hurry. Need to meet up with the others.

Chapter Text

In the hubbub of downtown, with the passing traffic outside and the chatter of the excited crowd that made their way past the lampposts and potted plants of the shops, the splash of the starchy water filtered through the holes of the dented, metal strainer hits the floor and cut through all the noise. Those noodles were carefully shaken by a scarred, veiny arm, and in his other hand elegantly scooped a ladle of broth into the vibrant red bowl that sat with colorful spices of green, brown, red, and white in front of her.

The steam it produced fogged her glasses, reducing everything into a smear of the colors she saw. And in this kaleidoscope accompanied a symphony of scents that stimulated her stomach. Hua wasn’t sure she was hungry, going in here, but the croak that muffled within her clothes was proof enough that she indeed was hungry, starving, even.

Dropping the ladle on a small plate, the chef now picks up long chopsticks and, with careful precision, lines up the noodles in the broth; his best in full display as the swirly pattern remained preserved even as it slides off the strainer. In swift motions he sprinkles some chives on top, a drizzle of chili oil, three halves of a soft-boiled egg with browned outsides from being marinated, and two thick slices of chashu.

And to conclude his performance, he drops something on the center of her bowl. Or… rather, seemed to, but there was nothing when his hand retracted away. The performance, done thousands of times in repetition, acted out of memory.

“…? Pardofelis…!”

Even from behind the towel that hid his face, Hua can tell from his voice alone. Veins started bulging from his chiseled jaw, and turned around, the towel swishing through as it followed. A few feet behind the counter was Pardofelis, wearing a matching uniform with the chef. Her tail stood on end, hearing her voice muttered with utter rage unfettered in spite of Hua and the others hearing it all. “…yeah?”

“Fish cakes, get some on the back…! Now!”

Pardo didn’t need to assure him; she was already skipping towards the door whose frame was just visible from where Hua sat. At least, she thought it was that, as she took off her glasses to blow on them gently. Hoping to get rid of the steam’s effects.

“You can start eating now… Stupid cat probably swiped my last slices of fish cake. I swear, it’s either her or Pardo—!”

Griseo tugs at Hua’s sleeve, sitting right beside her. Hua turns, and saw that her bowl was empty. So was Kosma’s, who sat beside Griseo. Before the two of them could say anything, and before Kosma could object: “Pardo!!! Two more servings, your turn to serve this time! And bring those fish cake slices!”

Kalpas busied himself to prepare more of the broth, and Pardo took over with a crate of freshly made noodles carried with one arm on one side of the crate, and supported by her hip on the other, and a plate of two unsliced fish cake rolls. She sets the crate aside, just over the adjacent countertop, and stations herself just by Hua’s immediate front left. With a knife, she slices off three individual pieces and offers it to Hua, holding it like coin medallions.

“Thank you, Pardo.” Hua took her offerings, and she set them on top of the ramen herself.

The pink spiral of the fish cake allured her. Fascinated, she only stared at the hazy image of the ramen bowl, her glasses set off to the side after giving up the fight against the steam.

The scent of it; the hot, umami flavors that dissipated into the air, it was familiar. Not in the sense of nostalgia, but a stricken chord out of tune that clearly stood out from the rest. Something about it just felt strange to her. In two gulps of air, she tried to deduce what it was about this that has her on edge.

Kosma looked at her, past Griseo kicking her feet as she waited for her third serving of ramen.

He knew. He glanced at Kalpas, and Kalpas took note of this, clearly seeing those emotions worn on Hua’s face for both of them to see. As he prepared Griseo’s serving, he tried his best to break the ice.

“It’ll get cold, you know. You have to eat before we start walking to the concert later, otherwise you’d end up shivering.” Hua heard him. She looked up at him, briefly, with blank eyes. “You look like you could use another serving or two. You look weak.” Scoffing, with a lisped hiss, as he turned his attention to the bubbling noise of boiling water and decided to lower the flames of the stove.

“Right.”

“Don’t mind him, Hua.” They all hadn’t noticed, but only a brief chime of the front door’s bell announced Kevin’s arrival. Griseo turned around to wave rather enthusiastically to him, and Kevin smiled meekly in return. “What’s that? Kosma asked, his attention to the bougie paper bag slung on Kevin’s right arm.

Kevin turned it to the side, showing off a minimalist logo of a goblet, etched in gold. He reached in, trying to grab whatever was inside.

“Just some lightsticks, a pair for each of us.”

Kosma stood up from his chair to look, and Griseo was briefly interested, but quickly dissipating and onto the freshly ladled broth and noodles on her bowl. She sipped on its contents first, giving Hua quick glances as she did so. And as Pardo sliced more of the fish cakes behind the counter, Hua noticed that she, too, was looking at her every now and then. She couldn’t quite pinpoint why, still.

The atmosphere was warm inside Kalpas’ ramen shop, cradling them from the snow. They were the only ones inside there, and the sounds that littered her ears were not enough to elicit overwhelming stimulation and yet, there she was. Frozen, despite it. “Are you not going to eat that, Hua…?”

Griseo’s voice, small and curious, asked from beside her. Shattering her fear. Making her flinch, and making Griseo flinch in return.

Someone asked her that, before. Someone who also loved to indulge herself in noodles.

“…Do you want more, Griseo?”

Kalpas said something from down the hall, but she couldn’t quite make it out. So Pardo echoed it for him, “We have enough to accommodate all of you, Hua! Don’t be shy, just eat.” She smiled at her. Hua thinks that what she did, but there was an underlying worry beneath those words.

Something bothered Hua. An itch, a tenseness, déjà vu. Like circling a forest at dusk, with only the moon to guide her way. Passing by similar branches, doubting yourself, if you had gone through this patch of the woods before. Feeding your fears with visions of what’s in the dark, and the critters looked away at your helplessness. She held the bowl up, trying to stomach it all, by deciding to warm up her palate first. And as the lip of the bowl touched hers, and the broth slowly transitioning from drops to a pour, the taste hit her in waves as the visions of a bed, a tray, and blurred buildings outside of a room appeared in front of her. Her entire body feeling like it was lined with needles and cuts, burning from the pain. The sight aggravated her, made her head numb, making her even more confused.

And just as quickly as it appeared, it was gone. Replaced by Pardo’s chin resting on both of her arms at the counter, a dozen or two inches in front of her. “Good, right?”

Her spotted tail swished back and forth, clearly awaiting affirmation from Hua, and she could only rub her lips together, trying to preserve the taste between chapped, dried skin.

“…Yeah. Yeah… yeah, it is.”

She laughed. She laughed out with puffs of condensed air mixing in with the steam of the noodles held in front of her. Wanting to be rid of that sense of hopelessness that came from who knows where. Her brows furrowed in pain that didn’t exist there with her. It came from somewhere else, and she wanted to run away from it.

“Come on, Kevin. Dine with us.”

She turned halfway to face him, and Kosma, who were very much so preoccupied with the light sticks. He held both up with both hands, awestruck by Hua’s face. And so was the man beside him, who looked at Hua with thoughtless eyes.

Silent depression filled the room, with Hua as its eye. A dent in the warmth that did its best to bounce back up. Kosma awkwardly looked away, Pardo and Kalpas remain to busy themselves at the back, and Griseo only looked down at her food.

“Ha. Sure.” Kevin sighed.

Kosma returned the lightsticks on the bag and set it to the far side of the counter table. All of them now occupied the four seats on the counter. Kevin sat beside Hua’s left, and waited for his own order, memorized by Kalpas and Pardo at this point. He took out his phone, flipped it, and retracted the frame behind it to reveal a built-in stand on its case. He put it on the counter, just to the side of where his bowl will be, and played a video of someone she recognized. Her iconic, lush pink hair bundled together inside the fluff of her coat.

From what Hua could see (and barely hear, as the volume wasn’t turned up all the way.), Elysia was doing a last-minute vlog promoting Eden’s upcoming concert in a few hours. Showcasing videos of the venue with Eden’s logo on it; an open stage on the foot of the mall center, that could easily house a thousand or so people around it, and considering the advert screens built into the sides of the skyscrapers; people from afar would still be able to see the stage even if they didn’t pay to be around the set itself.

Elysia excitedly announced that she would be there, too. Then it cuts to her face, her nose and pointy ears flustered in crimson because of the cold, and waved an enthused goodbye to the people watching.

“She’s… on the way, right? What time do you think she’ll get here?”

Kevin turned off his phone and slid it into the pocket of his jacket, seeing as Kalpas reared with Kevin’s ramen bowl. He didn’t like it when people half-heartedly ate his food, preoccupied with something else. “The concert starts at midnight… she said she’ll be there by then. I’m guessing it’s because she’s still expected to give one last update once she’s there.”

Pardo handed Kevin a small plate of chili oil on the side, and rested her hip and her right elbow on the counter. “That Ellie… always so hardworking. She wanted all of us to go to the venue together! Now she’s skipping to go ahead herself?” She pouted and leaned more of her upper weight on the counter, now fully resting, much to Kalpas’ annoyance.

“Where are the others?” Hua asked, that nervous uneasiness climbing up her throat like bile.

And, as if on cue, the front door’s bell rattled, enough to startle everyone but Kalpas. They turned to the front door to see a woman about Griseo’s age, who was clutching her forehead with a pained expression on her face. Even past the orange glare of the glass, they could see that she was being held by two other women on either side.

Kalpas made his way to unlock the flap of the counter door and stepped out, making his way towards the commotion.

“That’s…” Hua stuttered, unsure of what she was seeing. Their names popped up in her head, and flickered, disappearing, and she was dumbstruck at the sight of the three. Kalpas helped the smaller woman to her feet, and the two stepped into the shop.

“Hi, hi! We’re not late, weren’t we?”

The white-haired woman cheerfully exclaimed, unaffected by the sheer cold. She crossed her arms, quite proud, and unashamed of how loud her voice was.

“No, actually.” Kalpas replied to her. “Surprisingly, both of you are early, this time.” He held the smaller woman by the arm, inspecting her scratched forehead. “I’ve lost count at how many times you bashed your head against my front door; I’m impressed that neither hasn’t broken yet.”

“I keep telling her to always mind the curb, but she doesn’t listen. Higokumaru… if you shatter his doors I’m deducting it from your allowance, you know.” The woman behind them all closed the door shut, and removed the dark-blue hood of her sweater to reveal light-pink hair and a pair of long, rabbit ears.

“I keep forgetting! It’s not my fault…” Higokumaru shrunk away, and Kalpas let her go. “Kallen! Help…!”

“Hey, even I don’t want to get on his bad side.”

She sneered at Kalpas, scrunching up his nose in taunting. Kalpas only clicked his tongue.

“Enough, you two. We’ll get the usual order, Kalpas. Oh, and give Komaru some extra servings of fried tofu.” Without a word, Kalpas turned around and headed back into the kitchen. The three seated themselves at a separate table, fluffing up their coats to loosen up any excess snow.

Hua stared at them. Muttering to herself. Sakura. Kallen. Higokumaru… Sakura, Kallen… Higokumaru.

Has it been that long since we’ve last seen each other like this? Her eyes refused to follow the thought and stuck, frozen in place. Hua?

“Hua.”

Hua slowly turned to Kevin’s direction. Was it his voice or her own? She wasn’t sure, until Kevin repeated his inquiry. “It hasn’t felt that long, are you alright?” His expression had traces of a smile, but dwindled at the expense of Hua’s own expression. What emotion could’ve been on her face right now, for him to react like that?

The Kevin he knew wasn’t that easily disturbed. He would’ve comforted her nonchalantly, frugal in his words but confident in his intentions. A sentence or two would’ve sufficed. Would’ve. Could’ve. Should’ve.

The Kevin he knew? Her thoughts clung to the walls of her head like sickly paste. What was it that she knew?

Her concept of time was shortening, dwindling, slipping through her fingers like sand. She tried to recall before; before all of this, before they fought and won, before plans of the end, what existed then? She chose to trust her memories, anything that would resurface from the depths of her thoughts to help her.

In the distant windows were the falling snowflakes that danced past and around the people moving forward. Kevin never stopped moving forward, bringing to them the epilogue they so desperately worked hard for. The moon’s light illuminated these fractals, and made them seem like dying, silver fireflies that glowed with the song of each other’s elegy. She looked at Kevin, eating his share, sipping, then sighing, with a satisfied smile on his face. Was Kevin always capable of… this?

Hua didn’t fault the idea of a stoic man. But the thought sparked a chain, like kindling to a flame.

“Kevin. Do you still hate yourself?”

“What was that?”

“Do you… still hate yourself.”

Those thoughts weren’t hers. Those thoughts was a cry from someone else, someone entangled with past and futures that lived and looked to live by clinging to hope no matter how many bruises it left her hands. They snake out of her lips lacking in questioning inflection, and her eyes looked away in grave disbelief.

She remembers it, she’s said those words to him before. She remembers what he said back.

“I… I don’t know,” He hummed a soft giggle as he spoke, letting off a cold breath of air. “Why? Why bring that up all of a sudden…?”

He turned the chair slightly towards in her direction, leaning backwards just enough to see her face in its entirety.

But Hua was, in that moment, gone. Gone from that place, only the vision of the barren moon existed right before her very eyes. With Kevin at her side, they held their gaze past the glass windows of the base and stood. At the end of it all, she remembers consoling him. She also remembers that those words were also what he said to her. I don’t know.

They rung like white noise. Why, indeed?

Her right hand, resting on her lap, felt cold. And as she snapped back into the reality she was in, she flinched far enough back that her elbows chipped off a few splinters from the crust of the table.

Everyone only stared on in horror, and before Kallen or Kevin could say anything, she bolts out of the shop without another word.

-------------------------------------------------------

She jogs between the maze-like corridor streets of the city. Through archways of the buildings’ ground floors, past the empty stalls of stores closing up shop to head early to Eden’s concert. Everything ached, the very air she breathed tanged with iron and silver. Her knees creaked with every step, seeking a destination, lost in its own journey.

Faces of people whizzed past her as she walked, lopsided and almost limping with how desperate she was feeling the need to get away.

“…Huh.” The word escapes her lips, and she feels… hate. With the waking world in front of her, it felt like it rejected her very being. And it was mutual. She didn’t know what she wanted, but this wasn’t what she thought she’d see after the end. That it felt wrong, somehow, that they would live out their lives in defiance of the stain that their battles left them with. Acceptance was the last thing she needed.

She started doubting her memories, along with everything else.

Something about it was most wrong to her, could Kevin live out the rest of his days like that? Or was he a caricature of what she knew about him, wearing his skin? Where was she? In both time and space, it felt like she was an outlier. She didn’t belong here.

[“Old Timer! You’re taking way too long! We’ve already taken almost a week going circles around this city!”]

The seething palm in her hand flares up, travelling up to her arm and shoulder. She stumbles to the side, almost slipping, as she hit the wall of a building’s pillar with her entire weight. Distant voices accompanied by high-pitched beeps called all around her. Unsure of where it was coming from.

People walking past her paid her no mind, like she didn’t exist at all. She tried calling out for help, but her throat could only produce a grunt and a half of gargled breathing. She coughed, her head sinking low, letting the sweat drip off from her face and melting into the snow below her.

[“Promise me you’ll never get sick of this place. I want you to promise me that you’ll stay by my side.”]

Those were her words. Who was it that she told them to?

She felt the heat dissipate, as two pairs of hands gently held her right arm. Before she could look, the sudden disappearance of the pain makes her black out fully.

Chapter Text

“Which ones next?”

“…”

“…”

“…Hm.”

Klein’s position, in every sense of the word, has been complicated.
Moments like these were not few and far between. Klein would work, nonstop; through the circadian cycles she would spend the entirety pacing around the patient’s bed. She was unable to rest; she didn’t feel the need to. The person she loved so dearly, whom so acted as her own timer to clock out, wasn’t here anymore. Days would flow like scratched writing before her sullen eyes. Undecipherable.

There was no dextrose, no wires, no monitors connected to the sleeping patient in front of them, located on the very corner room of a hallway on the top floor of a hospital in the middle of nowhere. Surrounded by barren fields of grass and straws.

“That one, next. If you can.”

The one who finally replied; he, who had his eyes completely closed, pointed to a spot with his left hand that could vaguely be interpreted as only somewhere near the patient’s right palm, that laid on the soft turquoise sheets of the bed. Klein, who was standing on the complete opposite side of the bed, looked towards that spot. She pondered, for one moment, if it was feasible.

Stalemates. They weren’t few, in segments of these sessions, they would be packed to the brim of just pondering, staring, wondering, if the memories that she or he points out to extract would lead to their doom. And so far, they haven’t made a mistake yet. It’s a delicate process of analyzing the patient’s memories, looking through them and watching it fully, extracting it, and completely turning it into cinders. So none of it could be reborn from its ashes. It would be devoured whole through Klein’s methods.

“Not yet.” She replied. Their patient, showing no signs of life, hadn’t moved since the start of the operation. But with his help, she could tell. “Hua… she’s tense. She’s fighting it.”

“Hah… She appears to be.”

Being a psychic mantis had its perks. Excluding the part where he can read her thoughts (much to her request), his abilities now transcend and flowed through her. Just a small part of it was enough, she needed the ability to see, to pass judgment. At the least… according to him, it was necessary.

Him, the doctor who oversaw this whole project. Who somehow, managed to preserve parts of his consciousness, and even hers. A backup, a rebirth, a cycle. Somehow, he pulled both of themselves from the sea of quanta and climbed, flew, towards an endless nowhere. He, who remained seated at a cushioned, gray chair that was purposed for visitors to sit on, lined at the wall of the room’s only door that led to the hall. His voice was quiet, in nonchalance, and almost amused. “Alright. Keep looking.”

At the corner of her eye, his silhouette was like a ghost’s; with his dark turtleneck adorned with golden and white pins in a vertical pattern, cloaked by his pale white coat that draped to the floor. Without his ability, these details would’ve melted together into an incomprehensible mess. His posture was languid, barely straight, as he leaned his weight slightly to his left, using his elbow as a crutch against the chair’s handle. There was no mistake, though. She couldn’t be convinced, not even for a second, that this person hasn’t lost his focus ever since they started.

Only the dim strip light that were behind the bed’s headframe illuminated the room. The thick, dark blue curtains that covered the two windows behind Klein eclipsed the idea of night and day. To them, there were no such concepts. There were only the patient and their purpose, nothing more.

“This one is fine, what do you think, Dr. Su…?” Klein made her way to the foot of the bed, surveying the still air above Hua. Memories flickered like hallucinations. Only visible to those who squint. She singles one out, reaching out both hands, and causing the vision to still; like a paused video.

“Hmm.” Su, replied, tilting his head towards the opposite side. His long hair followed through, each individual strand of a sickly, rotting, diluted gray pulled to the motion. Their ends were ruffled into splits, unkempt and roughly cut. Loose, dead hairs bundled into tufts that were stuck inside the turtleneck, and a bleak streak of green untouched to the left hemisphere of his head swayed in a delayed rhythm.

The soft clinking of metal emanated from him, his gold and green earring bouncing against their silver rings as he slowly stood from the seat. He was… crooked. The plastic joints of the chair creaked as his left hand squeezed its handles, using most of his energy to stand. He rests his weight on his left foot, making sure to raise his other foot just a bit as he adjusts. His movement a stark contrast to his image. Injured, hurt, and broken, unable to heal most of his injuries through time. Yet he persists all the same.

“Do you need help--?”

Su took in a sharp, shallow gasp of air. His right shoulder moved, just slightly in absence of a limb. Then he raises his left hand instead in a splay, with his head still bowed.

He hobbled, merely three steps towards Klein. Watching it from where she stood, there might as well have been a crevasse between them. His clothes floated, dragging behind him in the air. The empty, long sleeve on his right that contained no limb did the same, fluttering just enough to make simple noise reminiscent of a flag against a tailwind.

“This is…”

Not all memories were important. Once they were laid out like pages to be read; not all sentences on a page were important. You wouldn’t memorize a book in its entirety line per line, and one’s own life is only but a sum of these sentences. They were an accumulation of a whole, not just their individual components. These were especially true with both of them; Su, devout in the philosophy of the samsara, and Klein, an assistant of a scientist who devoted her life to infinity. And Hua, who carried that weight by herself.

Yet the choices they made here were painful. They were heretics against the ideals that they did their best to protect and fought so hard for. But who would make the choice? They were soldiers, still. Fighting not just for their own ideals but for each other’s own sake.

Hua, as she was now, deserved that much. At the very least. There was hope for her, one that he had seen, and therefore could believe in.

From up closer, Klein looked up to study Su’s expression. Asides from wrinkles of, what seemed like age marks to her, there were also tiny cuts of lighter patches of skin from healed scars. And the most prominent feature that stood out to her (asides from his lack of a right arm) was the burn marks that littered her side of his face. Subtle areas that compressed and wrinkled from its natural reaction to flame.

He felt aggravated by the sight of the memory. A place unrecognizable to him, but it was Hua’s little world at some point. The dojo at Sapphire. “…This memory, I wonder why it’s loose.”

She held her hands out towards the memory, and Su took in a breath with a high-pitched whistle coming through his nose. He looked down at Klein, with closed eyes still; causing her hands to stop mid-action.

“…What?” Klein asked him.

Hua’s father could be seen resting on the wooden steps. His eyes worn to slits, wrinkles surrounded the sunken skin around them; he smiled, watching his daughter practice her kata, minding her form, sweat dripping down her chin as she turned and stepped. The illusion provided them no sound, not a single one ever did. Yet the hundreds that they sorted through so far, they could hear their laughter. Their joys that once existed so far in the past, whose proof of existence were only witnessed through the eyes of ghosts.

Su, being part of the psychics, were once immune to such wear. But it was all the more off-putting now. He was once human, he knew despair. Its absence was replaced not by empathy, only bounded himself to the task with his sense of duty. Or atleast convinced himself that he did.

“Did you talk to Hua often?” In Klein’s stead, he was the one who reached out to the memory. He snatched it between his quaking fingers, compressing them tightly with enough force to make his hand tremble. In disbelief.

“No. Not even in the realm. I didn’t have much reason to.”

The memory felt warm between his hands.

“…I wish we could’ve talked to her more often. Out of all of us, Elysia and Sakura would’ve been her closest colleagues… Maybe Kevin, too. At some point.”

Then there was silence, and a cold, snow-crusted feather remained when he uncurls his fingers. Bits of the short furs near its stem shifted as the air makes them take flight, lingering in the air.

“I hope you can forgive me, Hua. Please.”

He turns, just slightly, and handed the feather to Klein. With both hands, she caged the feather between her fingers that acted like prison bars, encasing the object in oozing, dark liquid tainted with a blooming green.

[Mobius.]

The signet responds to that name, only to that name, and only to her voice. The ooze gains shape, and loses it again, fighting with their fragment of reality to be given form. A singular bead lets out a beam of eerie light, intent on the feather in front of it. It hisses, bubbling with the ferocity of an apex. The feather could only hum with faint vibrations, in an absolute resignation of will, surrendering like prey.

Fragments of the Signet of Infinity existed within Klein. She was her apprentice, and in the construct of her consciousness wrought out from the sea, bits and pieces of Mobius found her. Clung to her. Never wanting to let go again.

Her consciousness didn’t exist within this signet, though. But it works out all the same nonetheless.

Hua’s memories would be consumed by the Signet, with slim chances of recovery, and with no memories left to consume they would fade out and disappear along with those memories. Eventually, she would recover; freed from the burden of all her memories within the past 50, 000 years… Just that, she would only remember her last reset. They hadn’t scoured through most of those memories yet. Hadn’t exactly foreseen what those last memories would be; just how much would Hua remember by the end. All they could do was feed Mobius’ Signet as much and as fast as they could, as safely as they can without compromising Hua’s Honkai levels.

With a twitch of Klein’s fingers, the world lurches, vile with the sin of endless absolute; every speck, every pin of the feather becomes engulfed in an endless void. Corners of the room compress, slowly, to conform the power within its walls.

Anyone would think that the room wouldn’t hold, the floor creaked and the windows rattled close to shattering. The ground shook beneath them, making Su wobble unsteadily and stumbling to the frame near the end of the bed. Gradually it stops, and in the place of Klein’s palm were nothing but traces of smoke and dust.

“…Done.”

In vain attempts, they tried to unease their tenseness by exhaling audibly. Su was now seated comfortably on the foot of the bed. Klein remained standing, staring at her now empty hand, still held before her.

Su had his head remained bowed down, as if to acknowledge what they did. Hua had still not shown any movement or change. Klein’s hand slowly retracts and drops to her side. She walks to the right side of the bed, and resumes analyzing Hua without another word to him.

Somewhere, a ticking of a clock could be heard. Su’s attention wasn’t caught by it instantly; he only noticed it existed once he acknowledged it. But he’s quite sure that nothing of the sort existed on the rest of their tenure here. The more he focused on it, he started to notice something strange.

“Klein. Do you hear that?”

“…”

Her head whipped around with purpose, with an uncharacteristic speed that was against her lazily drawn self. “Yes.”

Su stood up, ignoring his pains and not bothering to properly balance himself first.

Where is that sound coming from?

He knew it was outside, instinctively thinking that it came from down the halls. Maybe at a dead end somewhere, looking out over metal trolleys of cleaning utensils and plastic bags, empty quiet chairs bolted to the walls.

But that couldn’t be, because whenever he strained his ears, turning his head slightly and hobbling closer to the door, the clock seemed to exist everywhere. Moving and floating outside the room but with no definitive location. A personification of Time that was lost. And they, existing as fragments that moved parallel to the world they came from, were being given glimpses of the trailing grains of sand piling on top of each other. No object that signified any sense of time existed in this place when it was fabricated into being.

Klein looks back towards Su. Her mouth quivered with no words strong enough to make themselves known.

And his eyelids were open, revealing two magenta irises that trembled in rising fear; upon the realization that the Hua somewhere else must’ve finally been feeling the effects of their labor thus far. But it was too soon, too early, and the variables he had planned to come into play weren’t present yet.

“What’s going on?”

Something hisses in the air.

“Hua’s becoming unstable.”

To Klein, it wouldn’t have meant anything. But his senses were now filled with recall; the very last thing his entire being knew before he died. A rotten, scent of ash. That clogged his desperate breaths as he fled. Behind him then, a world that fell on its knees as its body was set aflame. “Open your signet when I say so.”

Hua’s Honkai energy levels slowly started to rise, and her body starts to malform; the cloth on top of her chest slowly sinks as it caves into her sternum, her skin flushes into pale decay lined with cuts of scars that glowed a familiar seer of fuschia and red. And for the first time, they saw her face move, contorting with an agonized expression.

Su positions himself beside her, hovering his hand just above her right arm. Watching those scars come to life with blazing energy all so familiar to him.

“I’ll drive the corruption out. Consume her flames with the signet until it stops.”

He’s seen this before, just before everything burned.

[Mobius.]

Klein summons it again, and Su prepares his part. He inhales those repulsive scents, giving him a vision of the world once more. He detested it. How being left fragmented nullified parts of his immunity to mental fatigue. Emotions would get in the way of his duty to save the last of what’s left of them. But inversely, he thought, that these emotions are why he was doing this in the first place. Preventing the rest of reality to burn was a close second.

Ultimately, he didn’t want Hua do be the one to do that. To see the world she protected for so long be burned by her own flames…? There could be no such thing.

He failed to save Kevin once. In the infinite futures he saw, in the infinite pasts he inherited, once is just a drop of blood on the sea beneath the imaginary tree. But there was a time where only the three of them remained, and if both he and Kevin perished in his own world, then he’ll settle for this.

“I’m sorry. I’ll… have to depend on all of you once more.”

His irises glint, vibrating the air with trembling energy as leaves appear from their periphery. As they danced in the air, shaking up the dust from the surface of the floor, the room dulls with a haze of smoke and ash. The leaves, carried by a faint green glow, twirls with a clumsy-type of grace; as Su is unable to bellow the full extent of his remaining strength, he places his trust on the fragments of his comrades that existed in the dream.

Hua’s right hand glows in turn, a blinding light akin to a heated metal crucible. Threatening to expand into an all-consuming flame that would’ve devoured their pocket of reality. And just before the flames could reach Su, Mobius’ signet was already latched onto the bedframe, sharp tendrils managing to phase through the fire and absorbing it. He reaches his hand forward towards Hua, a faint ripple distorting from where his fingers end.

[Sambhogakāya.]

Chapter Text

“[Please] calm down.”

Those were the words that flushed out every single sensation in her body. The stinging cuts, her overflowing thoughts; and most of all, the flames that seemed to devour her body right-to-left. What was left of it was the cold, in the sudden absence of everything before she lost consciousness, it forced its familiarity onto her. Like there was nothing before it, and it was all there was. Her body believed it, no reluctance and resistance to the feeling.

After the cold, her hearing slowly wakes up from its slumber too. The sounds merely passed by her, no intent to register every proper sound and what it could’ve meant; the crunching of snow, the shuffling of clothes, and her own breath against something.

Distant pair of breathing separate from hers.

She was comfortable here. Her body shook to life, but only to shiver in contentment. The type of stretch that you’d do whenever you’re tucked under the sheets, woken up in the middle of a stormy night.

Her thoughts gained direction, slowly developing friction as they flowed as one. Her location and her purpose were distant, not managing to load every coherent thought at once. Not even the necessary ones. Only her body was at the forefront and in control, subconscious at full display.

Bit by bit, her shoulders rolled, in complete desync, a physical manifestation of her conscious desire to reel in her body’s own desires; tugging on the chains of the cold to pull out reason from underneath the ice.

“Wow. Aponia, it worked!”

Hua felt the vibrations in front of her, of a person jumping up and down in vigorous exclaim. Asides from reason, tenseness grows along with it, which must’ve been evident on her face judging from how the other voice replied to the first one.

“…Vill, you’re scaring her. Keep it down.”

The conversation continued between both of those voices, but she couldn’t quite pick up on what they were saying then, since they spoke with much more mellower tones after that exchange.

Two pairs of hands picked her up from underneath her arms, holding her tightly and setting her on someone else’s back. At least, that’s what she thought of when it happened all so quickly. Both of those events jogged her thoughts, stirring the pot to a bubble. It made her want to open her eyes, however weak they felt.

And with them half-lidded she shut them back to a recluse, stung by the blinding sheets of snow crunching underneath someone else’s boots. Hua focused on that silhouette, trailing up to look at who’s face (or hair) it resembled. Blonde, taller than the person carrying her. It must’ve been Aponia.

Then the person she was hugging now must be… “Vill-V.”

“…”

Vill-V’s head turned, just slightly for Hua to appear in her periphery. And from Hua’s point of view, the eyes of the person carrying her, Vill-V, wasn’t the eyes of the elusive magician that she knew. It held a calm demeanor that analyzed the stare of the other.

And that, too, was washed over with the sparkling enthusiasm of that familiarity after Vill-V recognized that Hua was indeed awake. “—You! You finally came to!”

Her voice wasn’t exactly contained, nor was it quiet. She spoke with her entire body, shaking Hua in the process.

“Vill… you’re going to make her puke if you don’t keep still. Or worse, both of you might fall.” With just a side-eye, Vill-V calmed down just enough to walk steadily through slippery snow.

Hua’s memories resurfaced. The talk with Kevin… both of them weren’t supposed to be together. Aponia should’ve been the last person to leave from the courtyard, and Vill-V was supposed to come from the town three times over. They should’ve come from complete separate directions.

“Why are you guys together?” Hua asked.

“We… uh. Ahaha.” Vill-V leaned her head back slightly, making Hua snuggle her poofed up hair. Dirt was easily visible against the half of her hair that was a lighter shade of yellow-ish gray. She had a habit of tinkering with mechs last minute, but on a day as important as this?

“Yeah, Vill-V. Why don’t you tell Hua where I found you?”

For a second, Hua thought she saw glinting rubies coming from Aponia’s direction. Then she turned her head away again, looking at her phone as they navigated the winding maze of the city, walking underneath stone archways of closed shops and restaurants. “I didn’t have enough money to get here, so it was all impromptu. I managed to get quite a decent sum out of it.”

“…From what, exactly?” Hua chimed, further regaining her strength that she can lift her head from Vill’s shoulders. “I brought a hat to record the show! A 4k, 90fps camera all tucked away underneath a top hat, electronics, battery, and all! And it didn’t even overheat when I tested it, too.”

Hua wasn’t exactly following per the letter, but it does sound like her to sell something like that. They; Hua, Griseo, and Kosma, did have a few of her gadgets back at home. Most notable of which was the automated fridge that were divided into equal partitions of an actual, cold fridge, and a half that served as a steamer/heater. They get a lot of mileage out of it, despite the A.I. throwing tantrums every now and then.

“And where does Aponia fit into all of this?”

“Why do you think her invention got bought out in the first place?” That one phrase was enough to spark protest from Vill.

“You didn’t do that! He definitely bought my invention because it was great and he needed it, thank you very much. He’s definitely gonna use it for the concert! I might even get some word of mouth spreading around if the audience sees it…”

“The concert that we’re about to be late on, you mean? Hurry up. Hua, how are you feeling?”

Vill-V had been lagging behind, and Aponia slowed down her walk to check on Hua. She touched Hua’s forehead with the back of her hand, and Aponia’s hand was hot against her skin. Hua felt… almost fine. Just a bit weak, but other than that: “Wait, why am I with both of you?”

Vill-V didn’t look at her nor answered. Her eyes remained staring forward.

So, Aponia answered in her stead. “After I picked up Vill, we planned to head straight to the venue, but Kevin messaged in the group chat. He said that we might bump into you.”

They didn’t look for me? Hua thought. But she couldn’t remember why she was separated with the others in the first place. Sakura, Kallen, Higokumaru… she remembered that they just arrived. She went out for a walk then? Why was she sleeping on the sidewalk?

She knew that her memories were spotty, but there were just holes on her thoughts whenever she tried to following them. This happened… and then… an empty patch of a thought that should’ve been there. Something… and then something else happens. Something else that she can actually recall. Strings like that were strewn about in her head.

Maybe it was the cold’s fault? Am I dreaming?

But she didn’t want to worry the others any more than she probably has them by now. It was supposed to be their day, meeting up again after so long. And so, she remained quiet. For the rest of their walk towards the venue, none of them said another word.

Eventually the streets started being filled with people, the taller the buildings became, signifying that they were slowly inching towards the city’s heart. The center of it all, where overhead large circles of different colored lights could be seen reflected on the undersides of nimbus clouds. People threw confetti, cheered even while the stage was still empty. “Hua, can you stand now?”

“Yeah, yeah. Thank you for carrying me for so long… you must be tired.”

“Eh, you weren’t that heavy. I’ve carried heavier pipes back at home… in fact, I think you’ve gotten slimmer!”

She clung to Vill-V’s jacket with one hand, and stuffed the other in her pocket. The crowd was becoming just a bit too much. Bit by bit, as they parsed through lines and lines of people, every tussle against clothed limb, the slippery tarmac, the voices that echoed against the colosseum-like structure of the place that were enclosed with a few tall buildings all around. Most of which had their windows open, to see the concert much more clearly; people out on terraces and on their balconies, all with their phones out.

Vill-V pulled Hua close to her. “You’re moving too slow! Here!” Something fitted at the crown of her head, cupping against her ears. Fluffy earmuffs. Hua was surprised, it wasn’t enough to completely muffle the noise, but having a layer on top of her ears proved to be a world’s difference.

They cut through near the front, and after a few guards recognized them they were let through past metal barriers that were covered in black cloth, where Eden’s logo could easily be seen stamped on top.

Past that was maybe just a hundred or so feet from the stage. There were less people here, probably crowds that paid more, or VIP’s; rows and rows of chairs arranged in an increasing semi-circle that pointed towards an almost-full venue. Even from the distance, Hua could see Aponia and Kevin waving at them. Pardo, an empty seat, Kosma, Griseo, Kalpas, Sakura and Kallen, with Higokumaru by her side. Aponia sat next to an empty seat, and next to that was Kevin. And next to him, was MEI.

Elysia wasn’t here yet, it seems.

Pardo, Kosma, and Griseo called her attention, enthusiastically pointing to the empty chair near them. Just as she made her way over, she saw Vill-V take Elysia’s seat. Ah, she’s not going to make it after all.

A few moments later, the stage erupts into a buzz. The speakers screech to life and the large TV screens showed an advert of Eden’s past concerts. In reply to that was the audience’s own roar.

Some of them stood, clapping with their hands over their heads. Hua was slower to stand, cupping her ears over the earmuff. As much discomfort she was feeling, she was still quite happy to be here. She saw Griseo standing on the chair, being supported by Kosma, as Eden rose from a mechanized platform on the stage. Hua heard her voice accompanied by a symphony of strings, and the noise turned to music. She lowered the earmuffs to hear it better; and it was more than she could’ve ever hoped for. Eden’s vinyls was a luxurious thing to have and listen to, but concerts were entirely different experiences from that.

The people sung with Eden as she danced on the stage with a sparkling dress that reflected countless stars from the eyes of the people watching her. It was a shame, Hua thought, that she couldn’t recall the words.

She looked beside her. Once to the left, and then to the right, of faces that she couldn’t recall either.

They cheered, they laughed, and they sang to the singer’s voice in front of her. Their familiarity slipped away, blending in with the other voices of the crowd that she didn’t know.

She made her way past the chairs, bumping against the lady to her left. Pushing past the crowd and bolting over the barrier and away from the people there. The environment dimmed, as soon as the people did, leaving behind the concert behind her. The snow was the last of her concerns; her body was starting to remember. She wasn’t this weak, she knew.

As she ran, someone had been running along with her. And as she looked behind, she saw a horde of glowing fuschia beasts chasing her, and someone else with tanned skin and gray hair who seemed to look equally terrified as her. Why were they running? Where were they running off to?

Each swift turn became more elegant than the last, and she pulled that companion with her, hiding behind dumpster bins as the horde passes by the alley they hid in.

“Hua, we can’t hide here forever!”

C[][]ol[]e.

A Taixuan blade misses Hua’s nose by a hair’s breadth, emanating a ear-piercing metal shing as it collided and pierced the bamboo trunk just beside her. She unsheathed it from the bamboo, and stood from where she was hiding.

Rage that wasn’t hers clung to the blade’s handle. A coup? A betrayal? Why now, of all times? And why them?

Her first student’s white and purple robes fluttered against the winds of the forest, standing proud and tall high up on a tree, and looked down upon her master; pointing another blade towards her direction. Behind her was the moon, large and overbearing, making her seem like its own presence personified to come and take her life.

“I… must adhere to our code. Even if it’s you.”

Zh[]o[][].

The names flipped through her head like damp pages; ripping and crinkling against their own skin as her hands tried to turn them. Slowly, as the contents revealed themselves, were they equally ruined and forgotten. Unsalvageable.

Then it was the Earth she could see, outside of a ward with windows for walls, and outside it was the pale ashened surface of the moon that she had just been looking at.

A white-haired man stands beside her bed, clearly ignoring the chair laid out for him to use. His face he brought here wasn’t like his previous visits. He… seldomly smiled, but he did his best for her.

“Su said to take you back to Earth.”

K[][][][].

“Why now, of all times?” Hua replied. The voice that came out of her mouth was hers, but the thought wasn’t from her own conscience. They flowed naturally, like she was a stowaway along for the ride as the memories unraveled. “It’s… hopeless. I know that much. Why else would he call me back?”

From her chest she could feel anguish, choking her to tears. “Why would he send you and not deliver the message himself?”

The man finally sat and held her hand. He said nothing more.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“…!!!!”

Hua finally wakes up. In her room. The dusty, still air makes their way through her mouth and inflates her lungs despite the pain. She looked down at her body, in a worse state than she remembers it. The cavern in her chest, the pale blinking core inside it, the hundreds and hundreds of cuts that coated her body that were now much more visible to see in the daylight. How the skin on her body clung so desperately against her bones, each contour like a stretched fabric on the edge of tear.

Outside, buildings stood tall, a pale pink-orange light reflected against her room’s own dull walls. It must’ve been some hour nearing sunset. Her left hand made its way to her head, gripping at her messy and unkempt hair. She remembers the dreams. She remembers how she forgot them all. How their names started slipping from her mind, how their faces felt alien to look at. How she lost them in the previous era, and how the dream gave her a chance to find them again. And now she lost them once more, because the burden of remembering was too much.

The pain, the hurt, of forgetting. She didn’t want it, either.

And by her side was Klein, holding her hand, and staring blankly at her. “Klein—? What was—”

“Why did you resist?”

“What—?”

“I couldn’t hold it back. It’s… partly my fault, if you really argued about it, but I… We didn’t expect you’d resist it like that.”

Hua wasn’t completely sure what she was referencing, but she was at the verge of realizing. So, she let her talk.

“I want you to know I tried my best.”

Hua nodded.

“And I’m to tell you that there’s still hope, somehow. Maybe I was just a contingency in his plans in the first place.”

The light in her eye was gone. Hua saw Klein in this form maybe once or twice, hallucinating her true body in the robot’s place when she was in a half-awake delirious state. This time, Klein looked at her with a combined expression of guilt and resentment. If it was aimed at her, she couldn’t have confirmed it outright.

“…And you’re okay with that, Klein? All of this, you had no problems with?”

Klein looked down, away from Hua, the guilt overriding the resentment. “The lives we led never gave us a lot of choices to choose from to begin with, Fu Hua. I told myself that I would like to give you a few choices in my place, instead.”

The person in front of her has died. Only moments before Hua woke up. This too, might just be a dream, as Klein lingers in limbo.

“So when the time comes, you have to choose. Don’t make her choose in your stead.”

And it’s all her fault.

“Because you wouldn’t be able to regret it even if you wanted to.”