To her surprise, this one planet had birthed so many brilliant minds.
--------------------------------
"Technology..." Kevin was silent.
Before his eyes appeared many people from the previous civilization.
Mobius, Vill-V, and... Mei.
They were the brightest stars of the previous civilization, and even of the current one.
The modern soulium, Divine Keys, and fusion warriors were all their creations.
Even Schicksal's Valkyrie battlesuits, though Kevin didn't understand the top-level technology, he could still see traces of the Key of Blankness within them.
"In this regard, I cannot give you an answer right now."
Ruan Mei nodded slightly. She wasn't surprised by Kevin's reply, but that didn't mean she would give up.
After gathering her thoughts, Ruan Mei smiled faintly and spoke softly.
"Death is not the end."
The air froze. Wisps of visible cold air rose from around Kevin's body, layers of frost spreading across the wide hall, and near his center, ice crystals reflecting the lights began to form.
...
Death is not the end.
Recalling her meeting with Kevin, Ruan Mei's heart was utterly calm.
Those eyes, which had witnessed the essence of life, told her that Kevin's reawakening was only a matter of time.
"Eh? Why are you here!!" Little March's voice echoed through the hall.
.....
Another place, long ago.
A shrine maiden exorcised demons to protect her land.
Yet, Heaven was not merciful. In the end, what the shrine maiden received was nothing but a sharp blade with no scabbard.
Cherry blossoms drifted, the sky dyed scarlet.
The shrine maiden without a home walked alone along the silent shore.
Long pink hair, violet eyes, a shrine maiden outfit with exposed shoulders and black underclothing, a shimenawa(sacred rope) tied around her waist, a checkered short skirt below, violet long boots on her feet, a purple scarf around her neck, and an Inari mask hanging behind her head.
A sword hung at her waist.
Most striking of all were the two slender fox ears atop her head.
Alone, she left footprints on the sand. The endless tide caressed the fine shore.
Even her empty heart seemed to grow more hollow under the washing of the waves.
Yae Sakura's heart was lost; she walked along a void path, unable to see the way ahead.
No, it wasn't that she had no goal.
Suddenly, light flickered in Yae Sakura's dim eyes as she gazed blankly into the distance.
Her confused heart had found a moment of peace.
"This scent... it's Kallen!"
Before her mind could react, Yae Sakura took firm steps toward the desire in her heart.
...
Not long after Yae Sakura started walking.
The global Schicksal intelligence network accurately captured a flicker of restless Honkai energy.
"Lady Rita, a Honkai energy reaction has been detected in the Far East. Judging from the intensity, it's at pseudo-Herrscher level!"
A member of the Immortal Blades reported solemnly.
Listening to the report in her earpiece, Rita wasn't sure what to think. Pseudo-Herrschers, artificial Honkai beings below true Herrschers, in some ways were no less dangerous than actual Herrschers.
Although pseudo-Herrschers lacked the full authority of real ones, to ordinary people, there was no difference.
Both were existences that spelled instant death upon encounter.
And for such an existence to have hidden this long without being discovered, there had to be an extraordinary reason.
Tracking her down would undoubtedly be extremely difficult.
"Wait! Lady Rita, the pseudo-Herrscher's signal is moving toward St. Freya Academy!"
At that moment, the Valkyrie responsible for tracking exclaimed.
"St. Freya?!" Rita's eyes narrowed, a dangerous aura rising faintly around her.
Though there were many places worth investigating in that direction, everyone here was an elite of Schicksal, their analysis was rarely wrong.
Given St. Freya's unique nature, the likelihood of the pseudo-Herrscher heading there instantly rose several levels.
However, a mere pseudo-Herrscher couldn't possibly threaten St. Freya.
Rita relaxed slightly at the thought.
Let alone a pseudo-Herrscher, even a real Herrscher wouldn't stand a chance there.
Being captured and brought back would be the only possible outcome.
After a moment's thought, Rita opened her chat to contact Theresa directly.
This time, there was no need for Schicksal to deploy its full force.
None of the high-tier combatants capable of handling this level of threat were in that region, and if they provoked the pseudo-Herrscher, the destruction could be immeasurable.
Besides, before Schicksal could even arrive, the people at St. Freya would probably take care of it themselves.
Rather than making a wasted trip, it was better to let Theresa handle it.
After all, it was just a pseudo-Herrscher. Having made her report, Rita left the room and headed toward Otto's office.
"That's the situation, Archbishop. The pseudo-Herrscher is heading toward St. Freya." Bowing slightly, Rita spoke respectfully.
After listening to her account, Otto nodded faintly and smiled.
"Don't worry. It's only a pseudo-Herrscher. Theresa can handle it herself."
Just a pseudo-Herrscher, nothing worth concern.
He had far more important matters at hand.
...
Dawn broke, and the fresh air was invigorating.
Yae Sakura's path was blocked. Before she could speak, the girl in front of her raised a hand and smiled cheerfully.
"Hey~~."
"You are?" Yae Sakura looked at the girl holding a game console, puzzled.
In her memory, she had never seen this girl before.
"Who I am doesn't matter. What's important is you." Waving casually, Silver Wolf looked at the confused Yae Sakura with great interest.
"Sealed for five hundred years, yet you can move freely, unaffected, even at peak power, so this is a pseudo-Herrscher, huh?"
Originally, Silver Wolf had come to this world with Kafka just to explore around, if they found something, great; if not, it was just for fun.
But after learning about this world, she was utterly amazed.
'Holy crap, how do people in this world even survive under these circumstances?'
They were practically all superhumans. Silver Wolf's fascination with this world far exceeded Kafka's.
In her eyes, it was like a massive, perfectly balanced dataset.
No matter what changes occurred, as long as the foundational core wasn't shaken, the world would remain stable.
To someone who saw worlds as games, that was irresistible.
And that was one of the reasons Silver Wolf appeared here.
"Kafka's still in the 'present' timeline, so I'll play around a bit longer in the past."
Saying things Yae Sakura couldn't understand, a digital shimmer briefly flashed around Silver Wolf.
"Let's go. You wanted to go to St. Freya, right?"
"St. Freya?"
"That's your destination this time. Come on."
Yae Sakura paused for a moment, then released her grip on her sword hilt. Her intuition told her Silver Wolf wasn't lying.
No matter who this sudden visitor was, at least, she didn't seem hostile.
That was enough.
"Wait a sec, I'll open a path first."
Under Yae Sakura's wary gaze, Silver Wolf's fingers flew rapidly.
The next moment, a passage distinctly separated from the surrounding environment appeared before them.
"Let's go," Silver Wolf waved, then stepped in first. Seeing this, Yae Sakura hesitated not a bit and followed.
In an instant, the world spun, and when Yae Sakura could see clearly again, she found herself standing in a vast complex of buildings.
But that didn't matter to her. What mattered was ,
"Kallen." Whispering softly, Yae Sakura ignored the onlooking Silver Wolf and walked toward the familiar presence she sensed.
Seeing this, Silver Wolf chuckled lightly, tossed her game console upward, and said:
"Let's go."
She was quite looking forward to the impact Yae Sakura's return would bring.
In her free time, Silver Wolf had looked up records of this world, and most of them had been altered due to the influence of Otto.
Many things still remained shrouded in mist. Yae Sakura was one of them.
And according to the information she had found, the current ruler of Schicksal, Otto, and this shrine maiden from the Far East seemed to have a small conflict.
If those two were to meet, Silver Wolf couldn't even imagine what kind of interesting scene would unfold.
With no missions or major events to deal with, the path ahead and the perspective of the world's observer were both relaxed and casual.
The Aeon of Elation should really give me an award! Yae Sakura hadn't gone far before being stopped.
Such a striking shrine maiden, so different from St. Freya's usual crowd yet so beautiful, walking around so casually, it was as if she were flaunting herself under the eyes of everyone at St. Freya.
Yae Sakura knew she was being watched, but this was someone else's territory. If she wanted to see Kallen, this was unavoidable.
However… Her little nose twitched lightly, and a trace of melancholy appeared in Yae Sakura's violet pupils.
It was merely Kallen's scent. Having been with Kallen for so long, she could naturally tell the difference.
Pulling herself together, Yae Sakura looked at the approaching person. Judging from her appearance alone, the woman before her was bold and straightforward, her thick red hair blazing like fire.
"St. Freya doesn't seem to have a student like you. Mind telling me where you're from?" Himeko smiled at the shrine maiden before her, but remained on guard inside.
"Why are there more and more strange beings popping up in this world…" Just thinking about everything that had happened in the past year or two made Himeko's head ache.
In the past, the Honkai could give rise to powerful beings, but that took time.
Like the Second Eruption, the Herrscher of the Void caused immense destruction.
But afterward, the Honkai quieted down. Though there were still small-scale Honkai beast attacks around the world, compared to the major eruptions, the damage was negligible.
But that all changed after Godzilla appeared.
The world became unfamiliar. The World Serpent, hidden in the shadows, revealed its fangs.
St. Freya Academy, where Valkyries were trained, now had two Herrschers, no, three, plus one pseudo-Herrscher.
Every time she thought of that, she couldn't help but ask herself, what on earth happened to this world?
Her gaze swept over Yae Sakura, noting her fox-like ears, soft and pink, occasionally twitching slightly.
On such a cute girl, they didn't look strange at all, only charming.
"I…" Yae Sakura tried to explain, but suddenly froze.
How was she supposed to say it? During her wanderings, she had gathered information about the current era.
It had been five hundred years since her time.
Five hundred years. Kallen had been a normal human, while she herself, transformed into this form, had gained a long life, and spent five centuries sealed in a different time-space.
Such a long time… even records about her would have faded away.
And she had only followed Kallen's lingering scent here, not even knowing who she was truly searching for.
For a moment, the shrine maiden who had lost her home fell into confusion once more.
"Sigh." Watching this scene, Silver Wolf walked over with a helpless shake of her head.
The sorrow between long-lived and short-lived beings.
"Huh? Bronya, you, wait a second!" Himeko was about to speak to the newcomer when she froze, eyes widening, staring at Silver Wolf's mismatched feet, one bare, one in fishnet stockings, and her casual, carefree posture.
"Huh? Bronya, do you know that great guardian from Jarilo?" Silver Wolf looked at Himeko with the same puzzled expression.
This scene felt oddly familiar. For a moment, silence filled the air.
But it didn't last long, the next second, several powerful Honkai energy signatures erupted from St. Freya, all aimed directly at this spot!
Yae Sakura snapped back to awareness.
Instinctively, she looked around, and realized she was surrounded. The people encircling her exuded Honkai energy no weaker than her own!
…
Only those involved knew, how much damage it caused when the aura of a pseudo-Herrscher suddenly appeared in the very center of St. Freya Academy.
In this tightly guarded academy filled with strong Valkyries, someone had managed to sneak right into the heart of it, and only after deliberately revealing their energy had they been detected.
When everyone sensed that aura, an eerie silence spread.
In the headmaster's office,
A Homu manga that hadn't yet been hidden lay flat on the sofa. Everyone capable of making decisions in St. Freya was present.
All eyes were fixed on the intruder before them.
Yae Sakura gazed at Theresa. Fu Hua's pupils trembled slightly as she looked at Yae Sakura.
For a while, the scene froze.
Finally, unable to bear the tension, Theresa spoke helplessly.
"Do you know me?" Meeting Yae Sakura's burning gaze, Theresa asked in confusion.
Yae Sakura's eyes were so intense, more intense than even Rita's when she was in her strange state.
"…You carry Kallen's scent."
"Wait, you don't mean that Kallen, do you? Kallen Kaslana?" Himeko couldn't help interrupting, asking with uncertainty.
Yae Sakura nodded slightly and spoke softly.
"If the Kallen we know is the same one." Himeko's lips trembled slightly; she didn't know what to say.
Kallen Kaslana, The Holy Maiden of Schicksal.
Her deeds were widely known. Even after centuries, Schicksal was still ruled by the Kaslana, Apocalypse, and Shariac families.
And Kallen Kaslana, her life story was still part of the Valkyrie training curriculum at Schicksal.
It was no exaggeration to say that she was one of the spiritual pillars of Schicksal. If this fox lady before them wasn't lying, then that would mean, she was born five hundred years ago!
"Wait, my head's a mess. Let me sort this out." Rubbing her aching temples, Theresa puffed out her cheeks and sat down, frowning deeply.
Things were taking a very strange turn. First, a pseudo-Herrscher had snuck into St. Freya unnoticed.
Then, this pseudo-Herrscher claimed to have no hostility, and said she was from five hundred years ago.
Was this some kind of prank event today?
Taking a deep breath, Theresa raised her head and spoke firmly.
"We'll talk about your matter later." Then she turned to the silver-haired girl watching the show.
"Now let's talk about you, the young lady who looks so much like Bronya."
As the focus shifted to Silver Wolf, Kiana, who was being restrained by Mei, immediately jumped up and waved her arms wildly, pointing.
"I've been saying it! This shorty looks just like Bronya! Bronya, look, don't you think she's your long-lost sister or something?"
"Idiot Kiana! Bronya doesn't have a twin! Be quiet!"
The room fell into chaos again. Standing nearby, Mei sighed helplessly.
In truth, she was also curious whether Bronya and this mysterious girl were somehow connected.
…
Sea of Quanta.
After a long absence, Kevin once again stepped into this oceanic realm. He easily found Su.
"A rare visitor, Kevin."
Seeing Kevin, Su smiled faintly.
Then he asked,
"Did you encounter some trouble outside?"
Su knew Kevin well, if he had come here, it meant something serious had happened.
Kevin's time was precious.
"There's just something I want to confirm."
"Oh?" Su looked at Kevin curiously, then smiled again.
"If it's something I can answer."