Despite being somewhat rusty, I managed to play a few of Eden's popular songs without much issue. When I finished the last note, I turned my attention back to the girls, only to see Sakura and Eden dazed with surprise, while Elysia applauded my performance. I had to wait a solid thirty seconds before Eden could recover.
-"Your skills are indeed enough to replace our pianist."-She placed a hand on her chest to calm her heart.-"You truly surprise me, Sir Eno."
-"A man without a few surprises won't be appreciated."-I joked with a shrug.
-"Indeed, you managed to attract my attention."-Eden smiled and gave a playful wink.
-"Hey! Eno! Eden is mine!"-Elysia jumped from her seat and embraced Eden, looking like a mother hen shielding her chicks.
I just smiled at her antics and ignored her.
-"So what should I do, Miss Eden?"
-"I'll give you the scores of today's concert. I hope those two hours will be enough for you to familiarize yourself with them. I'll have someone prepare a suit to match…"-She stopped herself and looked me up and down before a glint of mischief appeared in her eyes.-"A suit that would shine on the stage."
After saying that, she escaped Elysia's embrace and left the room to talk with her assistant. Not even a minute later, I received the scores for all the songs and started to quickly study them.
-"Hey, Eno."-Elysia called out to me.-"Why did you agree to help Eden?"
-"Why wouldn't I? Not only did this allow me to make a better impression on her, our biggest sponsor, but it was also something you asked me for. I consider you my friend, so if your request isn't too outrageous, I don't mind satisfying it."
-"You…"-She looked away, a charming blush appearing on her face.
-"Also, Sakura, don't overthink things."-I looked at her.-"It's not that I hid this from you; it's just that there has never been an occasion to show it. I never studied music as a hobby, so I don't see this skill as something to just show off, and even if so, my instrument of choice are organs, with a piano as a second choice. With my life in the lab, there never was a place to show it to you."
-"I understand, but…"-She looked at me with a gaze that didn't hide her dissatisfaction.-"After we return, promise me to play a few songs for me… my sister."-She corrected herself at the end.
-"Of course."-I smiled and made a promise.
Two hours later, Elysia and Sakura went to their seats in the audience; I, meanwhile, stood before a standing mirror, adjusting a suit delivered to me by Eden herself. Contrary to my expectations, rather than a classic black suit one would wear in the orchestra, she gave me a pure white suit with elegant golden accents. As I worked on smoothing all the wrinkles, Eden walked up to me and helped me to tighten my black tie, smiling in the process.
-"Satisfied with the suit?"
-"It fits well, but the color…"
-"Countless people would kill to stand on the same stage as me, the 'Golden Eden', and you here are complaining about standing out."
-"So, mind telling me why you did that? I doubt it's just to tease me."
-"The big part was indeed to tease you, but my main purpose was indeed different. Tell me, how would those higher-ups react if you were to be too close to their main source of funding?"
-"They would try to put me in my place before I can endanger them."-I answered without much need to think.
-"And in such a rush, they would make mistakes."-She smoothed the last wrinkle on my shoulder before stepping back.-"I apologize for using you, but I believe you don't mind that much."
-"If I did, I wouldn't be standing here."-I rolled my eyes.-"I hope Miss Eden won't be a miser after I achieve my task."
-"Of course not."-She laughed lightly.-"I never treat my people badly."
-"So I'm already your person? Be careful, or Elysia will make a fuss."
-"Ely would only pout for a while before jumping back into the fun. Not to mention, your importance to her is something even I can clearly see."-She linked her arm with me, allowing me to feel Gold's generosity.
Arm in arm, we walked onto the stage, where two spotlights lit a microphone and a piano, an arrangement that clearly showed this concert wasn't just Eden's solo performance, but a duo of us. After I led Eden to her spot, I walked to the piano and sat down. Placing my hands on the keys, I turned my head to Eden, who was also looking at me, and as she gave me a small nod, I played the first note.
At first, I was somewhat worried about being unable to keep up with Eden; after all, I'm no musician. All my skills in music exist purely to better utilize magic, but when I started playing, I remembered something Otto once told me: 'The difference between an instrument player and a musician is emotions, not simply the ability.' So rather than focus solely on playing the song, I closed my eyes and focused on trying to convey my feelings into the music.
Eden was the first to notice that subtle change and couldn't help but show a brilliant smile. She never hid her talent, which often resulted in her partners having trouble catching up, so singing along with someone who could match her without issue or errors was gratifying.
Without noticing, two of us got into the zone, ignoring everything but our duo. Our song was like a conversation: Eden asked, I responded; there were no interruptions in our flow, only the purest exchange of emotions with music. I was fully immersed when I felt something that made me open my eyes in shock.
In the audience, an enormous mass of Honkai Energy suddenly gathered, and without any warning, the whole atmosphere erupted into flames. Without time to think, I instinctively tried to use my Sankta wings to shield everyone, but I forgot that here, I was only a human. With no time to spare, I brought out the Key of Revelation, and using as much Imaginary energy as my body could endure, I created my wings with it.
And so, as the flames were to consume the nearest audience members, wings made of shards of light stopped them, momentarily entering a stalemate with the berserk Honkai. But even using my full strength, I was quickly getting pushed back, visible cracks appearing on my wings. Luckily, a crystal arrow forced the enemy to retreat, giving me a moment to breathe.
I couldn't help but fall back onto the stage, watching how the newly born Herrscher escaped from the opera, heading straight for the city.
-"Eno!"-When my ears stopped ringing, I heard Eden's scream as she ran to my side.-"Are you injured? Say something!"
I was about to answer that I was all right, but then I felt something and looked at my left arm, with which I had held the Divine Key. At first glance, my arm looked fine, but as I looked at it, I could see the familiar crystal arm overlapping with my 'normal' one. It was as if two were superimposed, existing at the same time and place, but distinct, separated by something eluding my understanding.
-"Eno?"-Eden noticed my hesitation.
-"No, I don't feel anything wrong, just exhausted. I'll go for a checkup later; for now, we need to deal with the threat."-I stood up, but staggered, only to be caught by Eden.
-"You already did enough."-She supported me.-"Leave the rest to others and take care of yourself first."
-"This…"
-"Eno!"-Sakura ran from the side, checking my state.-"I already contacted headquarters. We are to evacuate as fast as possible; the scale of this eruption is beyond what we predicted, even Prometheus couldn't react fast enough."
-"I see. Eden, you should come with us."
-"But…"
-"Miss Eden, I was also told to take you to safety."-Sakura backed me up.
-"It's a good chance to see how our dear bosses will do."-I looked at her.
-"Sigh. Please, take care of me."
With Sakura's support, I boarded the plane that landed near the opera. Aside from our trio, only two other Fire-Moth soldiers were evacuating: one who sustained serious burns, and one in shock. Looking at them, I found the last person familiar, but I couldn't put her face to any name in my memory.
-"Dr. Eno?"-She looked at me, but her eyes lacked focus.
-"Yes?"
-"Can someone who turned into Honkai be saved?"
-"No."-I shook my head.-"The only possibility is for their 'self' to be preserved as a Stigmata, but for that to happen, that person will need to become a Herrscher or a similarly strong monster."
-"Herrscher?"-My words seemed to awaken her from the shock.-"Then..!"
-"You mean your friend has become that Herrscher?"-I grasped what happened.
-"Yes. It's Major Himeko; she…"
-"Wait!"-Sakura stopped her.-"Himeko? That Himeko?"
The girl nodded.
This information made me and Sakura look at each other is shock and fear. It was one thing to fight against an apocalypse capable of ending a civilization, but the idea of that enemy being your own friend…
-"We'll do what we can."-I assured her.
-"Mhmm."-The girl nodded as light fully returned to her eyes.
Landing back in the headquarters, I took Eden and Sakura to Mei's lab, where she was working with Prometheus on a plan to defeat the 7th Herrscher. As we entered, I noticed that Mei's state seemed wrong; she didn't have that usual calmness she always possessed and instead seemed agitated.
-"Mei?"
-"Thank god you are OK, Eno."-She sighed in relief after seeing me.
-"Is something wrong?"
-"Those…"-She waved her hand at the screen on which the meeting of the directors was taking place.-"You will not believe what they tried to do."
-"Explain."
-"Had it not been the current emergency state that made the military commander possess temporary veto power over their decisions, they would declare you a target to be eliminated, branding you a traitor trying to overthrow 'humanity' by gathering personal power."
-"It would seem that my actions in opera truly made them anxious. But there is no need to worry about that."
-"They won't be able to make much fuss from now on."-Eden agreed with my words.-"Give me three days."
-"I'll leave it to you then."-I nodded; after all, one wouldn't be the brightest star without having the ability to deal with those who wish to cast a shadow on her.-"How is the situation?"
-"Bad, and that's taking it lightly. Australia is basically lost. We just received information that the third city has fallen, meaning about 30% of the continent's population is gone. With fires and Honkai beasts everywhere, we have no ability to contain the destruction."
-"So we no longer need to care about what damage we do. How's Kevin?"
-"Awake, but can't control his strength."
-"We'll need him to act this time; the heat is too great for any conventional armament to work, but before we send him, let's soften our enemy a little."
-"You plan to nuke her?"
-"Yes. We have to buy some time for Kevin to be ready. I also need to prepare Stigmata for Himeko."
-"I'll deal with the directors and keep them occupied."-Mei quickly agreed with my plan.-"Miss Eden can work without worrying about them interfering."
-"Thank you."
-"Let's get to work then."
-"We'll do so, but you need to visit Mobius for a checkup first."-Eden's tone left no room for discussion.
-"I very much agree."
-"Right, right, I'm going."-I raised my arms in surrender and walked out of the room.
Five minutes later, I sat in Mobius's lab playing with Griseo while Mobius performed all her tests.
-"Done?"-I looked up from the painting Griseo was painting.
-"Yes…"-Mobius looked at the results; her face showed clear confusion.-"Eno, did something change in you?"
-"What do you mean?"-I raised my eyebrow, glancing at my left arm.
-"The tests are generally all green, but two parameters stand out; no, they are outright blinding."-She handed me the result sheet.
I looked through it before stopping on two lines.
[Honkai concentration: Beyond measurable scale. // Honkai Sickness: Confirmed infection.]
-"This…"
-"Eno."-Mobius looked at me with a stern gaze, but I could see the worry in her eyes.
-"Mobius, I believe we were mistaken in our idea of what Honkai Energy is."
-"What do you mean?"-She was thrown off by my change of subject.
-"What do we define Honkai as?"
-"A cosmic force that tries to destroy human civilization once it reaches a high enough technological and societal level."-Mobius repeated the definition we came up with.
-"Then how does Honkai Energy fit into that?"
-"A chaotic, high-efficiency natural force/antithesis originating from Imaginary Space that scales and rises alongside human civilization's development."
-"And Imaginary energy?"
-"Raw energy source tied to Imaginary Space. Why are you asking that?"-Mobius was perplexed why I would ask such 'basic' questions.
-"You know I'm immune to Honkai, so I'm 100% certain that I can't be afflicted by Honkai Sickness, nor possess Honkai Energy. But I just used an enormous amount of pure Imaginary energy."-I stood up and walked to the Honkai sensor, taking it and placing it in the middle of the room.-"Our understanding is that Imaginary, Quantum, and Honkai energies are three distinct but balancing forces, but this result directly denies that possibility; instead, it points to a more troubling conclusion."
I gathered Imaginary energy through my stigmata, bringing it close to the sensor, and soon it started to react as if it were close to a mild Honkai source. Seeing that, Mobius stood up and approached with shock in her eyes.
-"Honkai and Imaginary energy are the same."-I looked at the sensor to confirm something.-"The energy I gathered was at least a hundred times what the sensor measured, so we can, for now, assume that Honkai energy is an active form of Imaginary energy that usually exists in inert form."
-"Then why would usually inert force suddenly attack human civilization?"
-"I guess this is god's will."
-"What are you talking about?"-She looked at me as if I just lost my mind.
-"I mean literally. There is something: a mechanism, will, some kind of gestalt intent; that makes use of Imaginary energy and targets civilization."
-"You… That's…"-Mobius wanted to deny my theory, but she couldn't find a fault with my reasoning.
-"It's just an idea, but if we assume that it's correct, many previously chaotic elements would fall into place. After we are done with this mess, I'll ask Mei to help me find some concrete proof."
-"That's for sure, but until then, you are under observation in case it's indeed a Honkai Sickness."-She brought the subject back to its beginning.
-"Ugh."-I looked away, dodging her gaze.
-"Brother Eno."-Griseo approached me and handed me her painting.-"It's done."
I took it and couldn't help but be shocked at what I saw. The painting depicted me sitting on the examination table at which I had sat previously, Griseo sitting on my knees while painting. If that was it, I would assume this painting depicted a scene from not even two minutes ago, but every other element of this painting made me unable to see it as such.
Not only did she paint my arm as if it were a blue crystal, but she also added wings and a halo to me, as if rather than painting the current me, she was seeing the real one. I had long ago known that little Griseo could see more than others, but whatever changes my usage of Imaginary energy had made, they were much more serious than I thought.