"Boss, do we really want to do this?"
In the dark, gloomy corners of Rivet Town, where street gangsters and underground criminals like to hang out, a group of gangsters was meeting near the Aponia Sanatorium. They were discussing a common topic for them.
"But didn't you... yesterday?"
"You don't get it!" The gang boss snapped, punching his lackey who was asking questions.
The gang leader's eyes gleamed fiercely as he stared at a plain envelope with a striking mark on it.
On the envelope was an image of a tarot card, namely The Fool.
"It's from an organization called [The Fool]. They want us to do a job for them."
The gang leader had long believed this shadowy organization was tied to half the problems plaguing society. So when they approached him with a deal, he couldn't bring himself to refuse.
He swallowed hard, eyes gleaming with greed. The sanatorium was the last place he'd ever want to set foot in—cold, eerie, and rumored to be cursed. But thirty million dollars was on the table.
Thirty million.
Enough for him and his crew to vanish from the streets forever, rich beyond their wildest dreams.
The job sounded simple: enter the sanatorium, find a few "special patients," and bring them out alive.
Simple—at least on paper.
With his 50 men armed with black market guns, facing a group of unarmed people should be easy.
Even if they caught some disease from that cursed place, thirty million dollars was more than enough to pay for a cure.
It was a risk worth taking.
The gang leader made up his mind.
The next day, when his scouts reported that Aponia had just left the sanatorium, he knew the time had come.
A convoy of rough-looking men advanced toward the decaying building.
"Once this is done," the gang leader said, shotgun slung across his shoulder, "I'll never have to see this rotten place again."
He sneered. "No one on this street can stop us."
He'd already forgotten about the strange man from yesterday—after all, what could stand against a gun?
But when they reached the sanatorium, someone was waiting for them.
A lone figure blocked their path.
The gang leader frowned at the scruffy man standing in the road.
"Where the hell did you crawl out from? Move."
One of his younger thugs stepped forward, shoving at the stranger.
"Are you deaf? Have you ever seen a real gangster before? Get lost!"
He pushed again—nothing.
The man didn't move an inch.
"What the—? This guy's like pushing a damn wall!"
The stranger's voice was low and rough.
"Is this… Sundown Alley?"
He had short gray hair, a mask covering half his face, and a thin frame that made him look harmless—almost frail.
The thug laughed. "Are you kidding me? You look like you haven't eaten in days!"
He swung his bat with a sharp grunt.
The hit landed with a metallic clang.
Pain shot up his arm—the man hadn't even flinched.
Before the thug could react, the masked man's hand shot out and clamped around his throat. His voice stayed calm, almost cold.
"I'll ask again. Is this Sundown Alley?"
"Let— let go!" the gang leader barked, realizing too late what they were up against.
So Aponia had hired protection.
"Big mistake," he growled, raising his gun. "Let's finish this!"
The gang surged forward.
Kalpas, who had come to this town only to ask for directions, didn't even blink.
Fifty men charged—he moved like lightning, cutting through them with brutal precision.
Bodies hit the ground one after another, tossed aside like rag dolls.
"Shoot him! Shoot!"
"Watch where you're aiming—you hit my leg!"
"What is this guy?!"
The street dissolved into chaos.
Kalpas stood in the center of it, silent, surrounded by groans and dust—the newcomer who had just walked into the wrong fight… or perhaps the right one.
A few beams of light from the big windows in the room shone on the chessboard.
On each side of the black-and-white chessboard, there were large red leather chairs. Two figures sat there, covered in big cloaks, but they had something in common: masks.
Both wore scary white clown masks that looked like they were part of their faces.
The sound of chess pieces moving echoed in the room. White was attacking hard, but Black's important pieces were still safe. White's advantage was only temporary.
In just a few moves, Black turned the game around, taking out all of White's pieces except for the king.
"Our 'king' is still looking for his knight," a voice said. It was hard to tell if the voice was male or female, but it sounded pleased.
"It's all in vain," said the other voice, coming from someone with a sad clown mask.
After saying this, the Sad Clown Mask seemed done talking and made the final move.
"Checkmate."
The Happy Clown clapped and said, "Good game! I still can't beat you."
"Maybe our 'King' will give us better challenges next time," the Sad Clown said.
"Let's see…"
In Sundown Alley, the battle was one-sided.
Even though Kalpas had fought Orion and traveled through a few mountains, he easily beat the gangsters. His speed and skill made it impossible for the gangsters to hit him.
The gangsters, seeing the chaos, panicked.
"Monster! Aponia raised a monster!" they cried.
The gang boss, feeling desperate, pulled out a small box with two injections of purple liquid. He didn't want to use them but knew he might not have a choice.
"If the mission fails, throw these injections into the sanatorium. But you'll only get half the reward," the employer's voice echoed in the gang boss's mind.
The gang boss threw the injections into the sanatorium. The liquid quickly evaporated into the air, spreading a purple mist.
The purple mist was powerful and could cause Honkai Sickness; even just one drop was dangerous.
Kalpas, who was the first to be affected, jumped to a nearby telephone pole. The gangsters weren't so lucky. They began to suffer from horrible symptoms, their bodies twisting unnaturally and their eyes turning dead.
The gangsters' leader panicked and tried to run away. But before he could escape, someone grabbed his shoulder.
The streets, once noisy, were now eerily quiet.
Kalpas, sitting on the pole, looked serious. The situation was getting worse as the purple mist spread towards the sanatorium.
Inside the sanatorium, children were waiting for dinner, oblivious to the danger outside.
Suddenly, the mist reached the basement where patients were lying on beds. The patients started shaking uncontrollably and developed strange white spots as the mist began its infection.
"What has happened will happen again."
Orion didn't know how many times he'd watched his life slip away. No matter how many times, it was always hard to accept, and he never wanted it to happen again.
15 minutes earlier…
When Orion brought Aponia back to the sanatorium, everything was in chaos. The streets were damaged, gun fragments were scattered around, and there were wandering zombies—making the place look like a nightmare.
"Get back, Aponia!" Orion shouted, pushing her behind him. This situation was too dangerous for her.
"Inside the sanatorium!" Aponia suddenly looked panicked, not because of the chaos outside, but because of the children inside the sanatorium.
Orion noticed a figure on a telephone pole.
"Kalpas?"
Orion wasn't surprised to see Kalpas, but the timing was perfect.
"I'll handle things here. Take Aponia and go!" Kalpas said, appearing next to Orion.
Orion could feel Kalpas's anger, like waves crashing. The fallen zombies were being reanimated by the Honkai.
Orion didn't have time to think. He grabbed Aponia and wrapped her in protective energy. Then, they leaped into the air, heading towards the safety of the sanatorium's depths.
The children in the dining area were sitting with their bowls and singing songs they'd learned from Aponia.
"On that day, He fell from the sky… People looked up and saw the starry sky…"
Suddenly, there was a loud knock on the door. The children turned to see where the noise was coming from. It was a door they were never allowed to open—the one where Aponia kept patients with Honkai sickness.
"Let's go see," one child said.
The children hesitated. Even though Aponia never yelled at them, she always warned them not to go near that door.
"What if the patient inside is hungry?" one child wondered, thinking they should be kind and help.
Some kids started to open the door, believing talking to the patients would be okay.
Suddenly, purple energy entered the room, changing the children invisibly. Behind the locked door, a figure from the basement was approaching. Their skin had turned almost entirely white, a sign they were close to turning fully.
"Stop!" Aponia shouted, her voice heavy with fear. The children froze, their hearts pounding.
They saw Aponia being carried by a stranger and heading towards them.
"A monster!" the children cried out.
"Aponia, run! I'll stop them!" Orion yelled, but he couldn't stop the children's innocence. He set Aponia down and focused on the basement door, which had just collapsed, letting in the reanimated zombies.
"Everyone, come to me!" Aponia called, gathering the children and holding them close.
Even the slowest child sensed danger and ran to Aponia.
Orion saw a pale figure dragging itself towards him. The lower part of its body was almost completely white.
Orion could easily defeat this "patient" but hesitated when he saw the children clinging to Aponia. He felt torn between saving them or letting them go.
He knew it would be impossible to get them to a Fire Chaser's base in time. There was no way to reverse the Honkai erosion here.
Orion thought about his past orders to soldiers: if a comrade turned into a monster, they had to be attacked without mercy. Now, he faced a similar choice.
The figure in front of him was a girl, about the same age as the children in Aponia's care. Time had given her a tough past, and Orion didn't want to take away her future.
Orion took a deep breath and thought of a dangerous, almost impossible plan. His life had already come from one miracle; he hoped he could manage another.
"Aponia, get the medical equipment ready. I'm going to try something."