Helios — Meeting Room, Following Day
Tesla: "Ugh… this piece is now trash."
Tesla held up a damaged component, inspecting its warped edges and scorched surface with an expression of utter disgust.
Just a few hours ago, it had been a core component of the Raikiri blade. Now, it was little more than scrap metal.
With an exasperated sigh, Tesla tossed it aside.
Scattered across the table before her were the dismantled components of Raikiri. The blade, hilt, moderation circuitry, and energy valve had all been separated and arranged in neat rows, making the extent of the damage painfully obvious.
Tesla stared at the mess.
Tesla: "Apparently someone broke the blade, the hilt, the moderation circuitry… and even the energy valve."
She pinched the bridge of her nose.
Tesla: "Great. I might as well build a brand new one from scratch."
Mei: "…"
Mei sat at another desk, silently sorting through the mountains of files piled before her.
Or, at least, she was pretending to be busy.
For months, she, Tesla, and the others had been conducting a relentless search for Kiana, Himeko, and Kouga. Information had poured in from all over the world, and every potentially useful lead had been printed, filed, and brought into the meeting room.
The result was a room overflowing with reports, photographs, maps, and intelligence records.
Yet, despite all their efforts, the three missing people remained beyond their reach.
Tesla glanced over her shoulder at Mei.
Tesla: "Still thinking about her?"
Mei: "Yes…"
Tesla's expression softened slightly.
Tesla: "Look on the bright side. At least she's not in the hands of Schicksal or the World Serpent."
A few hours earlier, Anti-Entropy had received news that the World Serpent had launched an assault on Schicksal's laboratories in North Africa.
The details surrounding the battle remained scarce. No one knew exactly what had happened inside the facility, nor what the two factions had been fighting over.
However, one thing was certain.
The Herrscher of the Void had escaped.
For a brief moment, the news had brought everyone a measure of relief. Kiana was no longer trapped in Schicksal's hands.
But that relief had quickly given way to a familiar sense of apprehension.
Kiana was still missing.
And nobody knew what she would do next.
Tesla watched Mei quietly shuffle through another stack of documents before letting out a sigh.
Tesla: "There's just the two of us here. Do you want to talk about it?"
Mei's hands stopped moving.
For a moment, she seemed uncertain whether she should answer. Eventually, she lowered her gaze toward the papers in front of her.
Mei: "Kiana… she's… changed."
She struggled to find the right words.
Mei: "I can't describe how she's changed. Did she grow up? Become more mature? It just doesn't feel right."
Mei's fingers tightened around the edge of a file.
Mei: "She had always been loud and restless. From the day we first met, I never knew she could ever be quiet or patient."
A faint, bittersweet smile appeared on her face.
Mei: "She was a troublemaker, but I found that reassuring. But something changed when I met her again in Arc City…"
The smile slowly disappeared.
Mei's expression sank, and her voice grew quieter.
Mei: "She was… quiet… too quiet. I couldn't even… recognise her."
She swallowed.
Mei: "It takes a lot of painful experiences to change someone like that… anything could happen in 4 months…"
Her gaze drifted toward the window, though she seemed to be looking at something far beyond it.
Mei: "Even now, she's probably out there alone, enduring pain that we could hardly even imagine…"
Her voice trembled ever so slightly.
Mei: "I just wish I could find her…"
Tesla remained silent for a moment.
She wasn't particularly good at comforting people. Her usual approach involved complaints, sarcasm, and the occasional insult directed at whatever had annoyed her that day.
But even she could see how much Mei was suffering.
Tesla: "…Don't be too hard on yourself, Mei. It's bad for your health. And we're doing everything we can."
She turned back toward the dismantled weapon and began gathering a few of its remaining components.
Tesla: "Erm, just help me clear the desks. I need to make another run to the intel room."
With that, Tesla headed toward the door.
But just before leaving, she stopped and glanced back.
Mei had already returned to sorting the files, her expression distant and her movements mechanical.
Tesla watched her for another moment, a worried look crossing her face.
Then she left the room.
The door closed behind her.
And Mei was alone.
She continued organizing the documents, moving one report after another into neat piles. Yet her hands worked almost automatically, while her thoughts remained trapped in memories of Kiana.
Four months had passed since the Battle of Schicksal.
Four months in which the world had continued to suffer under the shadow of the Honkai.
How many ruined cities had Kiana witnessed?
How many lives had been lost before her eyes?
How many times had she stood alone amid the destruction, believing that she was the one who had to put an end to it?
Mei's mind wandered to the Great Eruption.
Had Kiana blamed herself for everyone who had died?
Had she convinced herself that she was responsible for the suffering of those around her?
Was that why she had chosen to carry everything alone?
The questions offered no answers.
Mei shuddered.
Her physical wounds had long since healed, but the pain in her heart had only grown more intense with every passing day.
And then, as though someone had reached into her memories and pulled the words from the deepest part of her mind, Kiana's voice echoed in her thoughts.
Kiana: "No… I can't go back, Mei."
Kiana: "I'm sorry… I can't go back… I can't put you all in danger again."
Mei closed her eyes.
She wanted to forget those words.
She wanted to believe that Kiana hadn't meant them, that her best friend had simply been frightened or confused, and that one day they would meet again and everything would return to normal.
But those words were all she had left.
They clung to her thoughts, refusing to fade.
Mei felt like a cold, lifeless stone sinking deeper and deeper into an icy, dark lake.
For the first time since meeting Kiana, she found herself unable to recognize the girl she had once known so well.
The girl who had barged into her life with boundless energy.
The girl who had made her laugh, irritated her, and given her a reason to open her heart to others.
The girl who had promised, in her own reckless way, that they would face the future together.
That girl was still somewhere out there.
Mei wanted to believe that.
But when she remembered Kiana's empty expression in Arc City, and the quiet determination with which she had refused to return, a terrible thought crept into her mind.
For the first time after meeting Kiana, Mei felt that the girl had become…
…a stranger.
*THUD!*
The sudden sound of the meeting room door slamming open jolted Mei out of her thoughts.
Tesla stood in the doorway, breathing slightly harder than before. Her eyes were wide, and she held a newly printed report in one hand.
Tesla: "Mei, pack your gear! Let's go!"
Mei immediately stood up.
Mei: "What happened, Dr. Tesla?"
Tesla looked at her.
For once, there was no irritation in her voice. No sarcastic remark, no complaint about the state of the laboratory.
Only astonishment—and a glimmer of hope that she could barely contain.
Tesla: "We… we found her!!"
Mei's eyes widened.
For a moment, she simply stared at Tesla, as though she were afraid that she had misheard her.
Then she hurried toward the door.
The Helios glided through the sky, its engines humming steadily as it approached its destination.
Inside the observation area, Mei stood beside Tesla and Sakura, looking out through the window.
Sakura's familiar little Kallen doll rested on her left shoulder, while Higokumaru floated beside her right.
Below them stretched a city that Mei had not seen in far too long.
Nagazora.
The city where her life had changed forever.
The city where she had first met Kiana Kaslana.
And the city where she had first encountered Kouga Hayata, the mysterious young man whose arrival had intertwined their fates in ways none of them could have anticipated.
Now, after months of searching, they had finally detected Herrscher energy here.
In Nagazora.
Tesla checked the readings on her device, then looked toward the city below.
Tesla: "We've arrived."
She studied the data for another moment before continuing.
Tesla: "This is where Herrscher energy was detected."
Mei barely seemed to hear her.
Her eyes remained fixed on the city where everything had begun.
Her hands slowly curled into fists.
Mei: "Kiana…"
Her voice was barely above a whisper.
She stared down at Nagazora, her heart tightening with a mixture of fear, hope, and an ache she could no longer ignore.
Mei: "Why…"
She paused, unable to understand what could have brought Kiana back to this place.
Mei: "Why did you come to Nagazora?"
The Helios descended through the gloomy skies above Nagazora before finally landing on the rooftop of an abandoned building.
Below them, the once-prosperous city was submerged beneath an enormous flood. Seawater covered the streets, swallowed entire districts, and stretched between the ruined buildings like a vast, stagnant lake. Only the upper floors and rooftops of some structures remained above the waterline.
The sight was a grim reminder of the devastation left behind by the Third Honkai Eruption.
*WHOOOOSH…*
As the Helios settled onto the rooftop, its engines gradually powered down.
The hatch opened, and Tesla, Mei, and Sakura stepped outside.
Sakura's little Kallen doll sat on her left shoulder, while Higokumaru floated beside her right. Both accompanied her as she surveyed the ruined city alongside Tesla.
Tesla glanced at her equipment before turning toward the others.
Tesla: "Let's go through what we know so far."
She brought up a holographic display containing the information they had gathered.
Tesla: "The World Serpent attacked a Schicksal lab in North Africa yesterday, with Kiana seizing the moment to escape."
Tesla: "A few hours later, our Far East post detected a Herrscher energy pulse in Nagazora that matched samples from Arc City."
Mei's eyes narrowed as she studied the readings.
Mei: "She teleported to this place with her Herrscher powers…"
Tesla: "That's right. An ultra-long-distance teleportation."
Tesla swiped through the available records, her expression growing more serious.
Tesla: "She's been off the radar since then. Our posts and satellites picked up nothing else."
Tesla: "But at least we're sure she was here. We might find more clues in the city."
Mei turned toward Tesla.
Mei: "Is Schicksal doing anything?"
Tesla: "Not yet. We're ahead of them this time."
She closed the holographic display and gestured toward the surrounding ruins.
Tesla: "The Helios landed in east Nagazora. We'll set up a base point here and start with the surroundings."
Tesla: "The city is now wholly deserted. I'll set up a simple Honkai detector matrix to locate Kiana."
Tesla glanced across the rooftops, looking for a suitable location to deploy her equipment.
Tesla: "We first need to find some open space."
With that, the group began moving through the abandoned rooftop, searching for an area large enough to establish their detection equipment.
After some time, the group reached a vantage point overlooking the surrounding city.
Tesla stopped when she noticed a massive wall stretching across the ruined landscape.
Tesla: "The wall over there. What is it?"
Mei followed her gaze.
Mei: "That's the Nagazora Wall."
She looked toward the enormous structure, memories of the city before its destruction resurfacing in her mind.
Mei: "It breaks the city in half. The west side and the east side."
Mei: "A historical structure."
Her gaze then shifted toward the streets below.
Her expression changed.
Mei: "Oh… the streets are all flooded."
Water stretched as far as she could see, covering roads and intersections that had once been filled with people. The tops of submerged vehicles were barely visible beneath the murky surface.
Tesla stared at the devastation.
Tesla: "Woah… still can't believe it…"
She shook her head in disbelief.
Tesla: "…Even when I see it with my own eyes."
Tesla: "Just unreal."
After examining the surrounding buildings, Tesla pointed toward a relatively spacious rooftop nearby.
Tesla: "This place will do. What happened to this place? The streets are flooded. The maps are useless now."
Without wasting any more time, she dropped her luggage onto the rooftop and began unpacking the equipment needed to assemble the detector matrix.
Mei watched the flooded city in silence.
Mei: "I knew Nagazora was devastated, but seeing it again with my own eyes…"
Tesla: "The 3rd Honkai Eruption surely left its mark."
Tesla pulled out several components and began arranging them on the rooftop.
Tesla: "Nagazora was a port city with a low elevation. The Eruption sank the place and led to seawater intrusion."
Tesla: "Honkai-contaminated seawater made it worse. The eastern districts located downstream were hit the hardest."
She paused, looking over the ruined skyline.
Tesla: "To think that Nagazora used to be a prosperous city with 3 million people just 3 years ago."
Mei lowered her head.
Mei: "All this was caused by the 3rd Honkai Eruption…"
Tesla glanced at her.
Tesla: "Well… it wasn't your fault."
Mei remained quiet for a moment before slowly shaking her head.
Mei: "It doesn't really matter. There's no way to make up for the devastation that this city suffered."
Her eyes wandered across the flooded streets.
Mei: "I chose to become a Herrscher 3 years ago. The Nagazora tragedy might have been averted if I were stronger."
She clenched her hands.
Mei: "I know I can't turn back time…but I'm always reminded of this disaster whenever I face a choice."
Mei: "This is a burden that I must bear."
Her expression grew more sorrowful as another thought crossed her mind.
Mei: "…Kiana must feel the same way."
Tesla let out a weary sigh.
Tesla: "Sigh…"
She returned her attention to the equipment, connecting several cables and adjusting the device's settings.
Tesla: "The setup is complete. Let's see if this detector matrix works."
The scattered components had gradually become a strange-looking contraption, its central unit surrounded by several smaller sensors. A monitor flickered to life as Tesla activated the system.
She began explaining its function while checking the readings.
Tesla: "To find Kiana, we must identify Herrscher energy by filtering out the background Honkai noise of Nagazora."
Tesla: "This tech is pretty new, so the detection radius is only about 3 to 5 kilometers."
Mei studied the monitor.
Mei: "This means we need at least 3 to just cover the east city, and even more for the west."
Tesla: "Yeah, so we'll probably need to spend some time…"
She leaned closer to the screen.
Suddenly, her eyes widened.
Tesla: "…Wait! I think I found something!!!"
A bright red spot appeared on the monitor, blinking repeatedly against the map of Nagazora.
Mei immediately stepped closer.
Mei: "Dr. Tesla, that's…"
Tesla: "Lemme see… this is it! It's faint, but it's definitely a Herrscher!"
Tesla quickly adjusted the display, examining the energy signature.
Then her expression abruptly changed.
Tesla: "…And it's very close! Wait a sec… it's… it's right beside me?!"
She froze.
Tesla: "…"
A few seconds passed before Tesla slowly turned her head toward Mei.
Tesla: "Oh… it's you."
Mei blinked.
Mei: "Erm…"
Tesla stared at the readings again, then slapped a hand against her forehead.
Tesla: "Oh, damn my memory… the Gem of Conquest is gone, but you still have traces of Herrscher energy."
Mei: "Yes, Dr. Einstein also included that in her assessment report."
Mei glanced at the detector.
Mei: "She said I wasn't the only one. Your Sovereign was another case, though we don't know the exact details."
She hesitated before adding:
Mei: "And… I can't control these trace powers either."
Tesla immediately shook her head.
Tesla: "I'd advise against that. You'll only hurt yourself if you try to tap into an unstable source of energy."
Mei nodded. She had no intention of experimenting with the remnants of her Herrscher powers without understanding them first.
Tesla returned to the monitor and filtered out Mei's energy signature.
The red marker vanished.
She waited for another reading.
Nothing appeared.
Tesla leaned back and sighed.
Tesla: "Back to the topic. After filtering out your energy signature, I don't see anything around here."
She shut down the initial scan and began packing the smaller sensors.
Tesla: "Sigh. Let's head to the next location."
The group continued their search, traversing the rooftops of buildings that had been partially submerged by the flood.
The farther they went, the more difficult their progress became. Streets had disappeared beneath the water, familiar landmarks had collapsed, and the old city maps were practically useless.
At one point, Tesla peered over the edge of a rooftop.
The water below had risen so high that it nearly reached the building's upper floors.
Tesla: "Wow… the flood's reached here too."
She looked around, trying to identify a route forward.
Tesla: "Can't even tell which way to go."
Mei and Sakura exchanged a glance before continuing after her.
They had barely moved another few steps when an ominous noise echoed through the ruins.
*KRRRRAAAAH!*
Several Honkai beasts emerged from the surrounding wreckage, their distorted forms moving toward the group.
Sakura immediately drew her katana.
Mei followed suit, unsheathing her own blade as violet electricity flickered around its edge.
Tesla's eyes widened.
Tesla: "Oh, come on! Can't we go five minutes without something trying to kill us?!"
She hurried behind a nearby structure for cover.
Higokumaru and the little Kallen doll quickly followed, taking shelter alongside her.
Meanwhile, Mei and Sakura advanced to intercept the approaching beasts.
Mei: "Sakura!"
Sakura: "Understood."
The Honkai beasts charged.
Mei moved first, her blade flashing through the air in a swift arc. Violet lightning crackled along its edge as she cut through the first beast, sending it crashing onto the rooftop.
Sakura moved with equal precision. Her katana traced a clean line through the next attacker before she pivoted and struck another beast from the side.
The remaining creatures attempted to surround them, but the two swordswomen fought in perfect coordination.
Mei intercepted one beast's lunge and drove it backward with a powerful slash. Sakura slipped past another attack, turning her body and delivering a decisive cut.
Within moments, the last of the Honkai beasts collapsed.
Silence returned to the rooftop.
Mei lowered her sword and examined the fallen creatures.
Sakura flicked the blood and debris from her blade before returning it to its sheath.
Once the danger had passed, Higokumaru and the little Kallen doll emerged from their hiding place and returned to Sakura's side.
Tesla cautiously peeked out from behind the structure before finally stepping into the open.
Tesla: "…Is it over?"
She looked at the defeated beasts.
Tesla: "Good. Because I was about to start regretting this entire expedition."
Mei paid little attention to the complaint. Her gaze remained fixed on the ruined creatures scattered across the rooftop.
Mei: "Honkai beasts are still roaming in the city."
She looked toward the flooded streets below.
Mei: "They've been here since 3 years ago?"
No one immediately answered.
The thought that these creatures had continued wandering through the remains of Nagazora for three years only made the city feel more desolate.
After a brief pause, the group resumed their search.
As they moved through the abandoned district, Mei suddenly slowed down.
Something about the building ahead caught her attention.
Its exterior was badly damaged, with sections of the walls collapsed and the remaining structure scarred by an enormous hole.
Mei stared at it.
Mei: "Eh? This place…"
Tesla turned toward her.
Tesla: "What's wrong?"
Mei took a few hesitant steps forward.
Mei: "I remember this place."
Tesla followed her gaze, examining the heavily damaged building.
Mei's expression grew increasingly troubled.
Mei: "I… I remember this place."
Her eyes settled on the enormous hole in the structure.
Mei: "That big hole… I… I'm to blame for that."
She stood motionless, staring at the damage left behind by a battle she had never forgotten.
Mei: "I escaped from Nagazora together with Kiana, Kouga and Bronya 3 years ago… I met Miss Himeko right at this place."
Mei: "We thought she was an enemy… so we… fought."
Tesla glanced between Mei and the ruined building.
Tesla: "Just look at this pile of rubble. You probably gave her a ton of trouble."
Mei gave a small, rueful nod.
Mei: "Yes, I did. My Herrscher powers went rampant during the fight and Miss Himeko almost failed to stop us."
Her gaze drifted toward the gaping hole in the wall.
Mei: "The Hyperion required heavy repairs afterwards. The prototype weapon aboard the ship was damaged beyond repair."
She lowered her head.
Mei: "Miss Himeko was almost punished by HQ, but our Principal took the blame for that."
For a moment, Mei's expression softened as she remembered the woman who had changed her life.
Mei: "I feared losing control during our escape… and when I did lose it, I thought it was all over."
She remembered waking up afterward.
A warm bed.
A quiet room.
Himeko sitting beside her, watching over her as though nothing about her could ever make her unworthy of being saved.
Mei: "But I woke up lying on a warm bed with Miss Himeko next to me. She didn't care about who… or what I am."
Mei's fingers tightened around the handle of her katana.
Mei: "She said she'd forge me into a soldier in control of my powers. That's why I became a Valkyrie."
She fell silent for a moment, looking at the ruins with an expression caught between gratitude and sorrow.
Three years.
It seemed like such a long time, yet the memories remained as vivid as ever.
Mei: "Before I knew it, 3 years had passed…"