Splash!
The calm quantum sea stirred up small waves, as a strong, broad-shouldered man with a head of white hair suddenly burst up from beneath the surface. In his hand he was dragging a pitch-black wooden box, as tall as he was.
The swarm of parasites entrenched at the roots of the Imaginary Tree was disturbed by this commotion. One by one they awoke from their slumber and came flooding toward the man in a sky-darkening tide.
[Mission item detected. Mission complete. Reward issued: the Sword of Promised Victory]
[Now beginning spatial teleportation. Destination, the Honkai Star Rail Universe]
[Countdown: 60, 59, 58...]
The cold, mechanical voice of the system rang in his mind. The Heroic Spirit Emiya calmly opened the newcomer's starter pack the system had gifted him.
Inside were three cards: ten thousand units of energy, one minute of MAX energy, and six thousand units of energy.
The "energy" shown by the system was essentially mana, just under a different name.
The ten-thousand unit card had already been used and turned gray. Judging from his previous battle with the parasite swarm, Emiya was certain that even if he used up the six-thousand units, it wouldn't be enough for him to fight them head-on for even a single minute.
'Well, so be it. Let me, once a so-called partner of justice, make one more contribution to the world!'
With a quiet sigh in his heart, Emiya chose the MAX energy card without hesitation.
Buzz!
A torrent of vast mana burst uncontrollably out of his body. Parasites within a hundred meters of Emiya instantly evaporated.
The rest, usually so arrogant and fearsome, were shocked still by the bizarre sight, their massive black eyes filled with confusion.
This wasn't their first battle with Emiya. He had unleashed strange energy before, but it couldn't even scratch their hides. Why then, this time, had it become so terrifying?
Yet the distant swarms knew nothing of this. Seeing the burst of strange energy, they went even more berserk, surging toward Emiya like moths throwing themselves into flames.
Watching silently as the parasites gathered into an ocean in the span of a few breaths, Emiya raised a faint smile at the corner of his lips.
His right hand grasped the air, and in response, the "Sword of Promised Victory," once wielded by the legendary King Arthur, came into his hand.
Now overflowing with endless mana, the sword shone with brilliance brighter than it had ever before. Emiya swung casually, and wherever the blade's light passed, every parasite was silently annihilated.
"Just as I expected, this replica is far stronger than the original!"
With less than forty seconds left on the MAX energy card, Emiya wasted no time. Holding the sword, he charged straight into the ocean of parasites.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Each swing was world-shattering destruction. Each step forward took countless parasites with it. The quantum sea rose into monstrous waves.
Parasites that had roamed the roots of the Imaginary Tree for endless ages were being wiped out by a single man.
Boundless fear spread like wildfire.
"Screee!"
No one knew which parasite shrieked first, but suddenly they remembered they had the ability to make sound. Ear-splitting, grating screams erupted one after another.
Even a thousand years later, the few parasites who barely survived this ordeal would tremble in terror when recounting it to their descendants.
"Who can understand this, family? Humans are just... disgusting. Their bodies are tiny, like grains of rice, but they're fiercer than Aeons! From now on, if you see a human, run as far as you can!"
Finally, the system countdown ended. Emiya timed it perfectly, diving into the wormhole at the very last instant.
———
On a ruined, desolate planet, rifts split the surface, monsters roamed unchecked, and all traces of life had long been buried under rolling yellow sands. Only scattered iron forests still stood tall, whispering of a past age of prosperity.
Crack!
A deafening roar split the sky as the wormhole burst open. The monsters rushed forward to gawk at the strange sight, but all they met was a sword-shaped pillar of light piercing the heavens.
Taking advantage of the very last second of his MAX energy state, Emiya unleashed a full-power strike, eradicating every monster within sight.
Then, tumbling out of the wormhole in exhaustion, he staggered into the nearest ruins, running for his life.
When the MAX energy state ended, all of Emiya's mana was drained empty. He was now weaker than even an ordinary human, and so he didn't notice a slender figure, followed by more than a dozen parasites, leap out of the wormhole behind him.
Fortunately, his earlier commotion had been so loud that it drew all the powerful rift-born monsters away. Emiya darted through the ruins, quickly finding an abandoned underground chamber to crawl into.
Inside, dozens of rats the size of wild dogs lurked. Smelling fresh human scent, they bared their scarlet eyes, their fangs and claws flashing cold light in the dim underground.
Instinctively, Emiya turned to flee. With no mana at all, he was no different from a common man.
But somehow, the Rat King had circled outside. Its calf-sized body blocked the narrow passage completely.
Trapped between wolf in front and tiger behind, with no escape left, Emiya's temper flared. He charged forward with all his strength, swinging his sword down at the Rat King's head.
To his surprise, the creature that looked so mighty collapsed instantly, cut down on the spot.
The instant their leader fell, the rat horde scattered in panic, leaving Emiya standing stunned.
'That weak...?'
He lifted the Sword of Promised Victory and gave it a swing. Once again he confirmed he had no mana.
He couldn't even activate the sword, it was so heavy, swinging it felt harder than chopping firewood with an axe.
So, it seemed, not every monster in this so-called Star God Universe was as strong as the parasites.
'No time for more thought.' Emiya dragged the Rat King's body into the chamber, covered the blood with sand, and blocked the entrance with rocks. Finally, leaning against the wall, he let out a sigh of relief.
[Notice: due to total depletion of energy, some system functions will take thirty days to recover.] The system's voice suddenly sounded.
"I don't have any mana right now. Can't you just give me some random task and reward me with a little mana for self-defense?"
In this world, there was no such thing as mana. Emiya's only source of it was from completing system missions and receiving it as a reward.
[Until you reach a human city, the system cannot generate missions. As compensation, three units of energy will be issued daily to maintain the host's basic survival needs.]
Three units of energy meant three units of mana. Emiya's daily activities required one mana, and the sheath of Avalon within him also needed one per day.
The only comfort was that the newly obtained Sword of Promised Victory consumed no mana when not activated.
Judging from his earlier use, its sharpness alone was enough for him to cut down small monsters to survive.
Since there were no missions, there was no reason to go outside. Emiya cut up the Rat King's edible meat, wrapped it in his clothes, and planned to follow the rats' dug-out tunnels downward to find a safer place to sleep.
From his earlier experience, Emiya discovered that if he reduced his activity to the minimum, he could nearly reach zero consumption. That way, he could save up two units of mana per day for emergencies.
BOOM!
Thunder exploded in the sky. At the same time, deep in the underground chamber, Emiya was blasted off his feet by a surge of lightning. The soles of his feet were charred black, filling the air with the smell of roasted flesh.
[Warning! Detected energy fluctuations of the Emanator of Nihility, Acheron. Host must evacuate immediately]
"Emanator of Nihility? What's that, an enemy?"
[Acheron has deep ties to the Nihility Aeon. Contact with her will draw the attention of the Nihility Aeon, extremely high danger]
As if afraid Emiya might underestimate the situation, the system immediately elaborated further.
Acheron's homeland, Izumo, and the heavens above Izumo, Takamagahara, had recently all been destroyed and returned to nothingness.
Acheron believed the source of this tragedy was the Nihility Aeon, and she sought to slay it with her own strength.
But Emiya's foundation was far too fragile now, and with the system in his possession, if he were noticed by the Nihility Aeon, his fate would be even more miserable than Acheron's.
Emiya had originally planned to hurry deeper underground to hide. But hearing the system's explanation stirred something deep inside him. Gritting his teeth, he made his decision: he would give the world one last chance to choose.
If it were the sole survivor of two worlds, one who had witnessed with his own eyes the power that destroyed them, then surely that person would make the right choice. Surely they would also have the strength to kill him.
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