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A Dance of Moonlight and Thunder

Chapter 17: What Lies Beneath

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

The campfire danced brightly against the darkness of the desolate Honkai wastelands, its crackling, sparking warmth a welcome ward against the cold drifting in from the sea beyond the shattered city. They had almost forgone the fire entirely, the Herrschers’ mortal companions worried about the light drawing unwanted attention. However, Kiana’s confidence that nothing would get this close to Schicksal HQ and the encroaching chill made them concede. Now here they were, tents once again set up in the same circular formation around the fire at the centre of the camp. The dirt wasn’t the most comfortable place to sit but sitting in and of itself was relief for the exhausted party. Even Project Bunny had been relieved of the cargo containers strapped to it so she may take a break alongside them. They were tired. Dreadfully so. Not to mention the splitting headaches that still plagued the Moonbeams and Camellia. Yet they could not go without food, and so here they were, slowly plucking away at another simple meal straight out of the can.

 

Kiana bit back a groan of pain as she lowered herself to the ground and quickly claimed Mei’s shoulder as a headrest, “Fuck me, I got rid of that shit years ago but it still feels like that Husk kicked me in the balls.”

 

Such words were followed closely by Sophia choking on her food from the snort that tore through her unbidden. Isabella and Caihong wasted no time in firmly patting the woman on the back, amusement twinkling in their eyes even as they valiantly bit back their own shocked laughter.

 

Once Sophia had recovered she pressed a hand to her head and let out a groan, “Ow! Headache. Fuck that hurt.”

 

Bronya rolled her eyes, “As crude as ever, Kiana idiotka. Shouldn’t you be trying to set an example for your priestesses?”

 

“Eehhh,” Kiana waved her off, instead nuzzling further against Mei’s side, “You know I hate trying to act like that when I don’t need to. Who’s gonna complain about me not being a stuck up Goddess in the middle of the Honkai wastes?”

 

Bronya shot a glance to Cecilia and shrugged, “I tried.”

 

“I heard that, Bratnya!” Kiana snapped.

 

Isabella laughed, “In all my years I never thought I’d be listening to the Moon Goddess make crass jokes around a campfire.”

 

“You say that like you’re old,” Mei smiled.

 

“The kids that come to the temple certainly seem to think so,” The woman chuckled.

 

Caihong scoffed, “You’re barely thirty! No way you’re old cuz then Sophia and I’ll also be old in another two years.”

 

“Hey Isabella isn’t as much of a grandma as Cecilia at least,” Sophia quipped. Though she quickly shied away under the fierce glare the woman in question sent her way.

 

“I’m only two years older,” Cecilia grumbled.

 

“Well hey,” Kiana jumped in, “If we’re comparing ages, I think Bronya and I have you all beat at over three-thousand.” She gestured towards her body, “And I still look this good!”

 

Caihong uttered a quick, “No comment,” before stuffing herself with another mouthful of food.

 

Isabella smirked, “Uh-huh. Regardless, Mei and Camellia are the babies here.”

 

“Excuse me?” Camellia locked onto the priestess with a rather offended pinch to her brow.

 

“Well I know Mei’s like five years younger than me and that’s already baby, but Valkyries get recruited real young, so it only makes sense.”

 

Camellia frowned at the teasing smiles staring back at her, though after several seconds her eyes fell and she mumbled, “Twenty-one isn’t that young...”

 

“Oh my god she is just a baby!” Sophia gasped.

 

“Shut up!” Camellia snapped, “I’m the only one of us five that managed to do any real damage to the Husk!”

 

Caihong shrugged and bobbed her head, “She’s kinda got us there, Isa.”

 

“Alright,” Isabella chuckled, “You’ve made your point oh big and strong Camellia,”

 

Mei set her can down with a soft clink, “Kiana,” The Herrscher had been keeping an annoyed glare fixed on Bronya, but at the priestesses voice this immediately dropped away so she could give Mei her undivided attention, “What might we expect in there tomorrow?”

 

Kiana sighed and pushed herself back up so she could meet her priestess’s eyes. The change in demeanour interrupted the ongoing teasing of Camellia as well (something the Valkyrie was silently thankful for), “Well... It’s probably gonna be extremely dangerous just walking into the place considering it’s been decaying for around three-thousand years. But most of the really important bits were heavily reinforced with resources Otto recovered from Previous Era ruins and are probably still both structurally sound and functional, considering you all are still studying PE ruins and they’re working just fine last I checked.”

 

Mei nodded, “The results of such studies are heavily classified by just about every organisation on the planet, but yes. The high priestess is quite adept at political manoeuvring but even she has failed to keep any of the previous era data we’ve found on our expeditions.”

 

“Yeesh,” Kiana winced, “Well, anyways, Otto had a lot of personal labs and other top secret Schicksal projects hidden away on these floating islands when Sirin brought them down. Lots of secrets he spent no effort in ensuring no one else could get near after the HQ and city were decimated. We’ll have to find those data centres and labs.”

 

Cecilia frowned, “And probably deal with any defensive systems that might still be operational if Otto Apocalypse really was using PE tech.”

 

Kiana smiled reassuringly, “Don’t worry, that’s what we have Bronya for!”

 

“I’m not your portable hacking tool,” Bronya grumbled.

 

“No! You’re my best friend and I’m asking you to pretty please work your magic on anything still functioning in there!” Kiana capped it off with a cute pose and a flutter of her eyelashes.

 

“Acting cute won’t get you what you want,” Bronya rolled her eyes again, “I’m not Mei.”

 

“W-what is that supposed to mean?” Mei protested.

 

Caihong chuckled, “Mei, you have been positively enamoured with every word that comes out of Kiana’s mouth ever since you came out of your tent with that hickey. More so than usual.”

 

Mei hastily picked her food back up and stuffed herself with another mouthful in an attempt to hide her burning cheeks.

 

“Oh you should have heard her before that,” Kiana grinned devilishly at the wide eyed plea Mei shot her, “I don’t think she realised I knew she was hyping herself up to talk to me, because she was praying about it on her way over and I can hear every word of prayers directed at me, so...”

 

Mei’s eyes were now as wide as saucers and the poor woman looked about ready to retreat into her tent like a turtle into its shell. Her cheeks were still stuffed with food and the sight was almost too much for Kiana to bear, the Herrscher’s chest shaking and lips twitching as she desperately tried not to laugh.

 

“Alright,” Isabella interrupted while pushing herself to her feet, “I think I’m gonna go crash before Mei explodes. If I still have this headache in the morning that Husk and I are gonna have words. You all have a good night.”

 

The others slowly trickled away to their tents as well over the next few seconds, leaving a greatly amused Bronya to watch as Mei rapidly worked through her mouthful like a woman on the brink of death.

 

Now able to speak, Mei spun to her Goddess with a low hiss, “You never told me you can hear all my prayers!”

 

“I didn’t think it was important!” The Herrscher hissed back.

 

“I-I mean, I suppose it’s not the highest on the list of importance,” Mei stumbled, “But it would have been nice to know you were listening to me the entire time I was walking to the river!”

 

“Well, I only heard your prayer. I didn’t know why exactly you were so anxious about coming to me. I can’t read your mind,” Kiana paused just long enough to wrap her arms around Mei’s own and cuddle back up to her side, “Well, I could read your mind, but I learned how to stop doing that on accident millennia ago.”

 

Mei simply set down her now empty can with a soft sigh. Kiana’s body heat was a comfortable warmth humming against her side and Mei found herself giving in to its temptation. Kiana’s smile pressed gently against her shoulder as she leaned her head against the Herrscher’s, their embrace fitting against each other like puzzle pieces slotting together. The fire was slowly dying down now that no one had tended to it in a while.

 

By the time they had settled down, Bronya had procured a tool from somewhere and begun fiddling with her prosthetics once more. The soft swishing of fabric and the clinking of metal heralded Caihong’s return to the fire, the priestess settling down beside Bronya with the stiff skirt of tools and bobbles that was usually around her waist in her hands. Kiana watched with a small smile as Caihong stumbled over her words to offer her aid to the grey-haired Herrscher. The soft crackling of the dying fire was just enough cover to their murmured words, but the results were clear as Caihong retrieved a few tools and tenderly pulled Bronya’s legs onto her lap as the Herrscher began pointing out components the priestess needed to remove for the repairs.

 

“It’s nice seeing them getting used to us a little,” Kiana commented quietly.

 

Mei hummed in agreement, “It is... incredible, to be able to see that the Goddesses we worship every day are so... human. The Herrschers always seem so distant, so beyond us mere mortals, so... detached. But through the friendship I gained with you and Bronya, the same kind of camaraderie the others are coming to embrace, through what you did for those long dead priestesses... if any of them had doubts that you truly care for us tiny humans I think they have been put to rest by now.”

 

Kiana shifted against her side and the movement almost managed to cover up how her grip tightened around Mei’s arm, “Thank you, Mei,” She said softly. Her voice was laced with a slithering emotion that curled underneath, a grateful yet almost melancholic tone spiralling through her words, “I’ve been a Herrscher for so long that sometimes... sometimes I almost forget I was ever human. I try my best to make sure humanity knows I care. That my goal has always been to protect humanity and find a way to defeat the Honkai forever. But I’m...” She let out a short, almost derisive laugh, “I’m far from perfect. The shadows of this battlefield... they hide so many memories I’ve done my best to forget. One of my greatest failures. If we can find Otto’s old data archives then you’ll no doubt see,” She let out a quiet sigh, her voice dropping so low Mei had to strain to hear her, “That day changed my life forever.”

 

Slowly, hesitantly, Mei shifted her arm out of Kiana’s grip and wrapped it around her shoulders in a more comforting embrace than their previous mutual lean. An embrace Kiana happily settled into, “I’m sorry. I wish... there was something I could have done to help you, even back then.”

 

Kiana seemed to find this particularly amusing, her chest jumping as she laughed but held back any vocalisation, “You’ve done more than you realise, Mei. More than I could ever ask of you.”

 

Despite the late hour and exhaustion, it was nearly impossible to miss the way Kiana’s voice carried with it something more, nor the way Bronya’s searching gaze had locked onto them. A mysterious tone, a possible suggestion, and insinuation. But an insinuation of what?

 

We have the strength of a hundred warriors when Mei’s around!” She couldn’t help the way one of her earliest visions flashed through her mind. The tense voice, the smiling girl with white hair staring back at her so lovingly, so similarly to how Kiana looked at her now. Then a shout of warning, that flash of purple hair, the explosion of fire and burning red hair... the possibility of what she had seen through this memory had lingered in the back of her mind ever since that day, but it had practically been staring her in the face ever since they had visited the Herrscher of Fire’s memorial. Only one real question remained in Mei’s mind as she and her Goddess left Bronya and Caihong to retreat to their tent.

 

Was it simply a mere coincidence that the Kiana in her visions also called out for a “Mei”?

 


 

Despite the disturbing quiet that had befallen the mountains with its lack of fauna, it had still felt rather peaceful. Especially in the crater. However, morning in the desolate Honkai wastelands was blanketed in a silence both foreboding and paranoia inducing. The very dirt itself seemed stripped of life, not even a hint of insects or other small creatures within its dry surface. Not even the Honkai mutated plant life they’d found in the mountains existed here. The destruction was complete and total.

 

The camp remained quiet as they packed up their supplies. The shifting and rolling through the night still echoing in the ears of the mortals present. Dark circles and messy hair a testament to the troubled sleep they had all suffered, Kiana’s warning of the after-affects of an encounter with a Husk of Existentialism having done little to prepare them for the nonsensical and terrifying images in their dreams. Things that none of them could put into words. Prayer spilled from their lips in a supportive chorus near inaudible to all but the white-haired woman tying their supplies back onto Project Bunny. Even the Herrschers seemed to have a sombre cloud hanging over their heads as their gazes were continually drawn back to the ancient battlefield around them.

Despite these struggles, there was an undeniable eagerness to set out simmering just underneath. Though in Bronya’s case it was mostly due to her newly repaired prosthetics restoring her movement. After an hour of repacking, set off they did. Breakfast was limited to snacking on dried jerky and some sips of water.

 

They had gotten only a few minutes into their journey when Mei shivered, “There’s something... dreadful about this place.”

 

“I would think that would be obvious,” Cecilia replied.

 

“No, not just the history,” Mei shook her head, “I can feel... I don’t know how to describe it. I can feel the intense concentration of Honkai energy in the air. It’s... moving and writhing like a living thing but also hanging in the air like a cloud of dust. But if I focus it’s almost like...” Mei’s eyes darted around the long forgotten husks around them for several seconds before she broke away from the group without a word.

 

“Huh? Hey, Mei!” Isabella called out.

 

Mei did not respond, continuing to walk with a targeted gaze.

 

Isabella shot a concerned look towards Kiana, “My Lady, is she alright?”

 

“I’m fine, Isabella,” Mei called back to her, “I just feel like... I feel like something is calling to me through the Honkai energy.” She came to a stop at a seemingly insignificant patch of dirt.

 

Half buried in the dirt around her were ancient fragments of Valkyrie battlesuits and weapons, some still relatively complete. It was a terrifying thing. To behold this unnatural stillness that seemed to blanket this entire location. These things should have long been buried by time and yet... there was no wind. Nothing to stir the dirt. Even the air was so dry it felt as if the rust must have taken centuries just to gain a foothold. Her eyes darted around the space, searching the bits and pieces left behind, her mind opening up to the Honkai energy with a laser focus, and yet that feeling that had drawn her here flitted past and disappeared like dust being blown away by the wind. Her companions gathered around her with wary eyes watching the wastelands and curious gazes cast towards the priestess as her eyes continued to search the dessicated earth. Kiana kept an uncharacteristic distance, merely observing alongside Bronya and Project Bunny while Camellia took a position at Mei’s shoulder.

 

The Valkyrie held her quiet for a few more seconds, carefully eyeing the priestess’s furrowed brow, “You seem distressed, Miss Raiden.”

 

Mei exhaled a sharp sigh, “I just... I don’t know. I’m getting the strangest sense of déjà vu and I don’t know if it’s the Honkai energy saturating this place or something else.” She turned back towards the distant derelict floating island, unable to help the way her gaze darted to Kiana for just a moment, “I’m sorry for the interruption. Let us continue. Perhaps this strange feeling will become clear once we find the information we’re looking for.”

 

With not much else to do, the others simply nodded and resumed their journey.

 


 

The walk was slow. Too slow for Kiana’s liking. Yet she couldn’t push onwards as she would like with her body screaming in pain with every step. The Will of Honkai sure was being a massive bitch. Kiana didn’t like it very much, to put it simply. She didn’t like needing to sit in Project Bunny’s embrace as it grew harder to walk. She didn’t like being back at this ancient battlefield. She didn’t like today very much in general so far. The constant pulsing, aching pain combined with the almost forty minutes it took to cross the one kilometre to the edge of the crashed Schicksal island was beginning to flare her irritation.

The Island before them was sunken into the ground, the force of the crash evident in the lean of the debris and mech remains for a nearly two-hundred metre radius around it. A catastrophic disaster. Yet one that worked in their favour. Thanks to the force digging it into the ground it’s lean was not too extreme as to prevent them from walking along the flattened top upon which the facilities had been built underneath protective environmental domes. The rocky edge would require some climbing, but luckily the steep edge had crumbled into more of a gradual slope from the crash and time.

At Kiana’s insistence, Project Bunny lowered her arm to allow the Herrscher to step off under the watchful eye of Mei. Yet at her first step the Goddess stumbled, a string of curses flying from her lips. Ever more familiar arms darted around her and slowed her fall, yet a growl of frustration rumbled in her throat all the same once her knees touched the ground.

 

“Kiana, are you okay?” Mei asked.

 

The Herrscher said nothing for a moment. She sucked in a deep breath and released it as an annoyed sigh before trusting her voice, “Sorry. Everything fucking hurts.”

 

Bronya floated over with a small, worried crease in her brow matching those on her priestesses faces, “Kiana, you know Project Bunny doesn’t mind carrying you.”

 

Kiana chuckled, “Did she actually say that or are you putting words in her mouth cuz her combat form doesn’t have a speaker?”

 

“You know I wouldn’t do that,” Bronya replied with a roll of her eyes.

 

“Yeah...” Another pained groan squeezed from her lungs as Mei helped pull her back to her feet, “Gah, every time this happens I remember Himeko had to deal with chronic pain for decades and I have to wonder how she stayed so active.”

 

Bronya’s gaze darted away for a moment, distracted by the clatter of falling pebbles as Camellia began to work out a path up the forty metres of rubble, “Was probably the insane amounts of alcohol. So, gonna let Bunny carry you up this?”

 

Kiana’s face scrunched up like she was preparing to argue, but one last glance at Mei’s worried expression and her defiance crumbled, “Fine, but I’m gonna walk once we’re in the base!”

 

With that settled they turned their focus to the task at hand. The climbing wasn’t difficult necessarily. Their slow pace was set by the caution with which they took each step. The stones and debris may have had three millennia to settle but it would not do for carelessness to start a rockslide. After another thirty minutes, the sight that greeted them over the ridge of the large island was quite something to behold. The island was cracked, broken, and severely decayed, but a quick observation from Camellia had her placing its circumference around four kilometres. Scattered across this area were environmental domes of varying sizes to house the facilities and protect them from the elements when the island was high in the air. Now however, these domes stood shattered and broken. Whether the damage was from the crash itself or from the Herrscher that took it down was impossible to tell. At their feet rested the decimated stone and metal that had once formed a brilliant walkway meandering through the base, white against the darker stone of the island itself. Raised platforms and walkways of metal had collapsed long ago, their surfaces thick with rust and grime and their jagged, broken edges piercing the sky like one last breath of defiance. Every surface was scattered with purple crystalline-like smears, still pulsing with a soft inner light and marking the ancient passing of Honkai beasts. Around them the group found their feet scuffing against dents in the metal and stone and the brittle remnants of ancient Valkyrie battlesuits. So decayed were they that often there was not enough left to fill out its original shape, merely palm sized shards of what once was the height of Schicksal technology. Though such a thing would be highly valuable in its entirety even now. The war against the Herrscher of Corruption four-hundred years ago had taken a great toll on humanity’s technological prowess. The lines around Kiana’s eyes were tight as she ran her gaze across the shattered domes, searching for any sight that stirred memories long held in the back of her mind.

The Herrscher found what she was looking for in short order and pointed out a larger dome further into the base to the others. Their progress was faster now that they were on relatively solid- if slanted- ground. The Herrschers countenances had settled into a grim seriousness the further they ventured into this piece of Schicksal’s former HQ. Kiana had kept true to her word and continued to move under her own power despite the way her stony expression would still twitch in pain from time to time. At the very least, it kept Mei as a comforting and constant presence at her side. The journey to this dome sitting at the centre of the base seemed to take no time at all compared to the journey to the island itself, despite it being roughly the same distance. Perhaps the distant, unpleasant memories held here lent speed to her steps.

 

Camellia stared up at the heavily reinforced double doors that marked the entrance inside. The doors were made of thick reinforced metal, and yet by the crumpled and bent appearance seemed to have been torn open from the inside. After a moment the Valkyrie turned to the priestesses behind her and jabbed a thumb at the destroyed doors, “Yeah, I don’t like this place either.”

 

Caihong snorted softly, “Is that your professional opinion as a Valkyrie?”

 

“It’s my Kaslana instincts telling me nothing good happened here,” Camellia shot back dryly.

 

Kiana came to a stop beside the Valkyrie and nodded, “Well, you’re right about that,” She said quietly. She held up a hand to stop Camellia as she began opening her mouth, “Don’t. You’ll see once we’re inside.”

 

Bronya hovered up to her friend’s side and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, “Kiana, you gonna be okay going back in here?”

 

“I’ll be fine, Bronya,” Sighed the Herrscher. Then, more sharply, “Come on, lets go.”

 


 

The sight beyond the door in the dim light of the long abandoned base started much the same as outside. Dirt, grime, old blast marks and gashes of battle long past, remnants of Valkyries and Honkai beasts littered the entranceway. The inside was a fully metal construction, what once must have been a clean silver shine long faded and dulled by time. The doors twice as tall as the women entering led to a room of similar height large enough to comfortably fit a large cargo truck or two before the ceiling and walls gradually sloped inwards to create a more human sized hallway behind another door that had been knocked free of its housing. The light from the battered entranceway did not filter past this second door, its soft rays of light forced back by the encroaching darkness of the secrets kept deep within these dilapidated hallways. Onward they walked, to forboding sights that grew alongside the shadows. The humans all procured small flashlights from their belts and flicked them on as the darkness enveloped them. Kiana’s palm danced with an orange light, her fire easily lighting up the main part of the hallway they were travelling down with the aid of Project Bunny’s larger lamp.

It was several long minutes of travel into the darkened facility. Cables hung from where they’d been dislodged from behind broken ceiling panels. Side rooms, offices, and smaller labs lay in ancient dilapidation. Glass was smashed and littered the ground, doors torn or knocked from their hinges and housings, what little remained of bodies slumped in chairs or scattered across the cold floor. Kiana guided them through winding corridors and destroyed security checkpoints as if she knew the place intimately, or at least the path they were travelling. After about fifteen minutes they passed through several destroyed doors down into the depths of the island. At the end of this descent they stepped through another large set of double doors, though these had been left open instead of the smashed open look the others had.

Isabella and Camellia let out the same confused exclamation as their lights revealed what was on the other side. Before them was a hall nearly twenty metres tall but rather narrow in comparison and curving around to the left like a crescent, possibly following the curve of the island. It was wide enough for five of them to walk comfortably beside each other. But the construction itself was not what was so concerning. What drew the eyes of all but the Herrschers were the large cylindrical tanks set into the walls on either side of them stretching out of sight. Each one of them was empty of anything but a murky, viscous fluid with a sky-bluish tint to it. Many had been cracked and broken, the fluid long gone or only partly contained. It looked disgusting. It smelt even worse. Yet as Mei stared at these human sized tanks, the only thing she could focus on was a deeply instilled dread that seemed to crawl just under her skin. Metal plating on the bottom rim of these tanks marked each one with a designation. The one before her designated this tank as “K-347”. What that meant, she wasn’t sure she wanted to know. Something about them disturbed her on a far greater level than she expected. In the corner of her eye Kiana seemed to be straining to keep her expression set in its stony neutrality, eyes carefully focused on the end of the hallway and not so much as glancing at any of the tanks. Sophia gave in to curiosity and reached out to poke at the strange substance only for her hand to be quickly slapped away by Cecilia. Halfway through the place Mei nearly jumped out of her skin at the sudden touch of Kiana’s hand sliding into her own. One glance was all she needed to see the distressed, pleading emotion shimmering in those shining Herrscher eyes. So Mei squeezed her hand, and gave what she hoped was a comforting smile in the oppressive darkness.

Everyone was glad to move on.

 

At the end of the curving corridor was another door. More dangling and dead power lines forced the women to brush them away and duck to the side to walk through this next smaller door. Mei’s eyes were constantly darting between the retreating darkness in their lights and the Herrscher beside her. Once they stepped through, Kiana let out a nearly inaudible sigh of relief. Mei might have even thought she was imagining things, if not for Bronya resting her hand on the woman’s shoulder. Isabella took point and swung her light around the room, observing this new location with quick, wary glances. The darkened screens on short pillars of metal before another one of those tanks as well as the chair-like fixture on the other side of the room told them all they needed to know.

 

“Looks like we found one of the labs,” Isabella said. Her light lingered on the medical-chair like fixture, and her light glinted dangerously off the metal cuffs affixed to the flat surface.

 

Mei followed the light, and when her eyes noted the same as Isabella’s, her heart dropped into her stomach. The emotions from that horrible memory welled up in her at once, the images flashed through her mind, even the sensations seemed to rush back in an overwhelming crescendo. It burned.

It burned.

It burned.

It burned!

 

Mei collapsed to her knees and pressed a hand to her sternum, a great teeth clenching hiss of pain echoing into the chamber.

 

“Mei!” Kiana was down beside her in an instant, the others circling protectively around them without question, “Mei, what’s wrong?”

 

“This place...” Mei panted, the sudden rush had passed yet it left her drained and exhausted as her mind struggled to cope, “It looks...” The priestess had to take a moment to blink rapidly and wipe at the moisture that was collecting in the corner of her eyes, “This room looks just like the one I saw in Sirin’s memory. I’m sorry, I’m okay,” She sent her companions a half-hearted smile and let Kiana help her to her feet, “Seeing this place for real... it brought everything I felt in that dream rushing back. Sirin’s helpless terror, the way Schicksal cut open her chest...” She shook her head, “I’ll be okay,” She said again, though it came out like she was trying to convince herself more than anyone else, “Would these terminals have anything, Kiana?”

 

Kiana turned to stare at the nearby terminal bank and the empty tank a few metres past it. It sat on a raised platform and had clamping claws holding the top and bottom fixed in place. A sealed hatchway to the hallway they just exited suggested the tanks were on some kind of conveyor system to bring the required tank into the lab. The tank itself was shattered, and as their lights continued to dart around the room they illuminated the glass scattered all over the room. It seemed something had broken out from within, and with great force. On the bottom was once again a designation. K-423. Kiana quickly ignored the curious whisperings of the number around her, “Bronya, do you think any of the systems here are still working? The main computer probably remained connected to Schicksal’s internal network even after the crash.”

 

Bronya pointed to the far wall, “Yeah, it’s right there. Lets see, shall we?” The lights snapped to where Bronya was pointing and revealed a much larger computer bank with a screen as tall as Mei affixed to the wall. They made their way over, glass and debris crunching beneath their boots. Mei was rapidly becoming all to aware of the sweat slicking her palm in her anxiousness. Bronya studied the computer while they observed, but she was loath to remove herself from Kiana’s comforting touch. Would Kiana think she’s gross? She shook her head gently to scatter such wandering thoughts. Now was not the time.

 

Bronya wiggled her fingers in preparation and locked onto her target, “Looks like this is Otto’s lab alright, this is one of the major terminals spread across the HQ. Lets try this,” Bronya stabbed at one of the buttons with her finger. Her glowing eyes darted up to the monitor. One second. Two.

 

Just when it looked like nothing was going to happen, a gentle rumble vibrated through the metal beneath their feet. A single light flickered to life on the console and the massive monitor lit up with a sickly pale light. All around them lights reluctantly flickered back on as the ancient backup generator spread its power throughout the facility bit by bit. Now in a fully illuminated room, the women flicked their lights off one by one.

 

“And I didn’t even have to rebuild any parts this time,” Bronya commented smugly as her fingers raced across the grimy keyboard, “Eugh, some of these keys are fucked. Though Bronya supposes she should be grateful they’re functioning at all,” She mumbled to herself. Her companions watched as she pulled up file directories on the monitor, “Here. Have at it, Mei,” Bronya stepped away and jabbed a thumb over her shoulder, “I should go down and check the generator to make sure it stays functioning.”

 

Isabella frowned, eyes darting to the glowing wounds still pulsing along the smaller woman’s body, “Will you be okay on your own, My L- Bronya?”

 

Bronya allowed a slight smile, “I’m not doing nearly as bad as Kiana is today. I’ll be fine. If anything happens I can warn Kiana through our Herrscher Cores. Look after her while I’m gone, yeah?”

 

Isabella blinked in surprise, but nodded in acceptance. Bronya disappeared into the darkness soon after with Project Bunny close behind.

 

Mei took one more look at Kiana. The Herrscher nodded silently and released her hand, settling for sitting down against a nearby support pillar. The priestess stepped up to the console, her heart beating rapidly, hands almost trembling as she settled them onto the grimy metal and easily found the file directory containing the lab records. Her eyes scanned the folders listed before her and immediately fell on the most recent set of reports that had all been uploaded on the same day, as well as another directory labelled “Project: Sirin”, “That must have been the day of the Great Eruption,” She moved down to the first report of this set of same day uploads and clicked.

 

A video began playing automatically. It was a man with long blonde hair swept into a tie that held it in place halfway down in an over the shoulder ponytail. He wore a blue coat with frills peeking from the sleeves from a white dress shirt and brown pants that said shirt were tucked into. His emerald eyes stared back at them from the screen. As he began speaking Mei found she could not help the aversion and disgust that shot down her spine.

 

My dear friend has recovered K-423 as ordered. She has been sedated and placed back into the cloning tank. The nutrient fluid will keep her vitals stable,” His voice was rather tinny, the terminal’s speakers struggling to function after so long. The camera turned, to the astonishment of Camellia and the priestesses as it revealed a rather familiar looking woman with white hair braided into twin tails, though this girl was clad in an unfamiliar white and black bodysuit decorated with hollow orange stars and highlights along her palms and soles, “I will infuse the tank with a massive amount of Honkai energy. This should awaken the shard of the Void Core within her body and- according to my research- awaken a persona of the Herrscher of the Void within her. Of course, Sirin will undoubtedly sense this happening and is likely to attack, but-”

 

But I’m already here!” Another voice cut in and a black and white blur crashed into Otto and flung him off screen, “You bastard! Did you really think you could lay your hands on my sister and I wouldn’t know?! Did you think you could treat Kiana as a tool and get away with it?!” A head of long purple hair floated into view, an absolutely livid expression affixed on Sirin’s face as Otto chuckled weakly off screen, “I’ve allowed you filthy insects to walk all over her for too long! Today, I will fix my failures during the Second Eruption! I couldn’t save Siegfried’s true daughter, but I can exact her vengeance! Today, Schicksal dies!” The entire building rumbled in frame, dirt and dust raining down as something continued to shake the entire building like an earthquake. Pieces of the ceiling began to topple downwards into the room and the recording cut to the crescendo of Otto’s laughter.

 

Mei’s arms shook, the console creaking as she leaned heavily against it while her mind raced quicker than even the Herrscher of Wind’s storms.

 

Sophia was the first to speak, “What the fuck was that?”

 

“Couldn’t save Siegfried’s true daughter, she said...” Mei mumbled to herself. She spun to face Kiana, the realisation written all over her face, “Then the girl I saw in Sirin’s memories, that was-”

 

Kiana’s smile did not reach her eyes, “My old man raised me in that cabin alongside Sirin for four years,” She replied nonchalantly.

 

“But that would mean you’re-”

 

“Not the real Kiana?” The Herrscher finished dryly.

 

“I- That was not what I was going to say!” Mei protested over the disconcerted noises of the others.

 

Kiana shrugged, trying to hide the way she avoided the astonished and appalled looks on the mortals’ faces. Cecilia seemed to be studying the designation on the tank behind them with a ferocious scowl, “I made peace with who I am a long time ago. Yes, I am Kiana Kaslana’s clone. K-423, a consciousness birthed by a shard of Sirin’s Herrscher Core. But I am also the one and only Kiana Kaslana. I fought with everything I have for that name. It was a gift from my father and the Kiana I hadn’t ever met when I received it. If we ever did met I wanted to be able to look Kiana in the eyes and know that I did her name proud,” A more genuine smile now spread across her face, “And I did. I earned my name in every way that matters. No longer just a clone with a stolen name, I could finally hold my head high and know that I was worthy of being Kiana Kaslana.”

 

“So she lived?” The words spilled from Camellia’s lips, a distraught pinch to her brows.

 

Kiana laughed, “She did. Though thanks to Otto’s meddling she no longer felt any connection to her original name or identity. So she urged me to carry on, to continue being the hope against the Honkai my name and I had become. And she would continue with her own legacy, one she had built all on her own,” Her smile grew nostalgic as she met Camellia’s questioning gaze, “That was the day I finally called Bianka ‘Durandal’ Ataegina my sister.”

 

There were several moments of shocked silence, a measure of amusement dancing in the Herrschers eyes as she watched this information sink in.

 

Camellia stared back, realisation painting her face in the flickering lab light, “So that’s how Durandal is connected to the Kaslana family... We always knew she was but her physical appearance was always described so differently from any other Kaslana I always wondered...”

 

Kiana exhaled sharply in dry amusement, “Yes, Otto was a scientist. A rather skilled one. He used Previous Era nanobot technology to help heal Bianka’s fatal wounds from rescuing Sirin and I as well as alter the colour of her hair, while utilising a copy of the Divine Key of Sentience to erase her memory so she would never remember her life as Kiana Kaslana. Even now her childhood with Cecilia and Siegfried is mostly like a hazy dream to her rather than cherished memories.”

 

Isabella’s knuckles were beginning to turn white from how hard they were clenched at her sides, “That fucker,” The Moonbeam’s captain growled, “Id read that Overseer Otto was a piece of work, but this?!” She gestured towards the screen, “This is...” Words failed her and she finished with another growl of anger. Sophia and Caihong gently laid their hands on the woman’s shoulders, rubbing gently as the woman took several deep breaths in an effort to calm herself down, “Okay. So Sirin interrupted him before he could, what, turn you into a second Herrscher of the Void?”

 

“More or less,” Kiana nodded.

 

“What else is there on the Great Eruption, Mei?”

 

Mei forced herself to tear her eyes away from her Goddess and turned back to the terminal to bring up the next folder of files, “These look like... battle reports?” She began skimming the correspondence and reading out anything that caught her eye, “Island three damaged by an explosion of Honkai energy... K-423 last seen taking a stolen shuttle to the city... thirty minutes after the explosion at HQ, Sirin appeared from the Honkai wastes with six-hundred-thousand Honkai beasts and ten-thousand Void blessed and laid siege to the city...”

 

“Six-hundred-thousand?” Came Sophia’s incredulous whisper.

 

“When was the last time we saw Honkai beast numbers that high?” Caihong enquired.

 

Cecilia’s scowl only seemed to deepen, “The last time humanity faced the Honkai in such numbers in a singular battle was during the war against the Herrscher of Corruption and her Herrscher allies. A great wave of destruction across the planet even as the Herrschers battled each other in the heavens. Over a million Honkai beasts.”

 

“And Sirin on her own created six-hundred-thousand...” Caihong winced.

 

Kiana released a pained chuckle, “To be fair, she was really pissed off. We were... on better terms back then. Though that all ended when I refused to join her here.”

 

Mei pursed her lips but could not find words that didn’t just catch in her throat. So instead she turned back to the screen, “There’s another recording...”

 


 

The hallways remained so quiet that even the nearly inaudible whine of her prosthetics seemed like thunder in Bronya’s ears. It wasn’t difficult for her to locate the backup generator that had rumbled and coughed its way back to life, Schicksal’s bases always tended to have similar layouts. And even if they didn’t, the power of Truth would allow her to decode the structure’s entire layout if she didn’t mind facing some backlash from the Will of Honkai. Regardless, she had found what she wanted. The generator was ancient, but a type she had become familiar with over the course of her time using the power of Reason to be a mobile maintenance crew.

The generator was just barely clinging to life. Many of its parts were on the edge of tearing themselves apart from the strain of just normal operation. Luckily for this little generator, the Herrscher of Truth was here. Her grey eyes gained a reddish brown tint to them, her pupils morphing into a toothy shape like that of a mechanical gear with a rod horizontally through the middle and extending out either end to the edge of her irises. She pressed her hand to the cold, vibrating metal. The Honkai energy to repair the ailing machine seeped into its surface, and blue angular light swept over its shape. It took only a minute and the generator appeared good as new, it’s coughing vibrating strain now the gentle hum of a well oiled machine. If she was honest, she would have preferred taking the thing apart and getting her hands dirty. It always helped her focus her thoughts. But they didn’t have time. Nor could she afford to turn it off and deprive the others of electricity.

 

And beside that, there was the tug she was feeling in the back of her mind as a familiar presence fluttered along the edge of her consciousness through her Herrscher core. And if she focused on this gentle pull just a little more...

 

-onya? Bronya?”

 

A genuine smile spread across the woman’s face as the voice resonated in her mind through the Core, “Hello, Seele.”

 

Bronya! There you are!” The smile was clear in her fellow Herrscher’s voice.

 

What’s up, Seele? You don’t usually contact me like this unless it’s important.”

 

Yes, I don’t have much time. Listen Bronya, Sirin is attacking Arc city.”

 

Bronya shot back to her feet, “What?”

 

I brought Seele and Ana with me to help defend the city, but you know Ana cannot last long opening herself up to the Will of Honkai and Seele cannot use her full strength within the city or else countless humans will die. We need you and Kiana if we are to avoid such a large death toll.”

 

Bronya exhaled sharply in frustration, “We can’t do much at the moment. Sirin attacked us and forced open a crack for the Will of Honkai to slip through. We’re both still purging our Honkai energy of its influence. Kiana cannot afford to expend the Honkai energy it would take to teleport us all the way back to Arc. If she doesn’t constantly refill the holes the Will is poking in the Honkai Intertidal Zone and-

 

Yes, we know that!” Snapped Seele’s voice, though this voice was harsher and paired with the distinct sense of another consciousness touching her own.

 

Ah, hello Seele,” Bronya greeted this newcomer.

 

Shut it, Bronya! I’m not interested in being nice to Kiana right now! Either she figures out how to get back here and deal with her bitch of a sister or she better find a way to contact Durandal to do it instead! Since somebody-”

 

Bronya could almost feel Seele wincing and rubbing her neck sheepishly.

 

-Insists I focus on shielding the city instead of just killing that annoying dragon, Bella. Which has done nothing but result in us sitting here in a stalemate for three days while Seele and Amber argue with the militia over a plan on how to break this siege. I could do it! I could break the siege with a flick of my goddamn pinky!!”

 

You know we can’t kill Bella!” Seele protested against her other self, “Besides the fact that I don’t want to kill either of them, If you kill Bella Sirin will never stop until we’re both dead and our cores are shattered and scattered to the winds. Sirin is an incredibly difficult foe even in the best of circumstances.”

 

What about Wendy?” Bronya queried.

 

Seele scoffed harshly, “Wendy’s a pussy and cares even less about collateral damage than I do! Besides, Sirin already kicked her ass when she destroyed one of those small cities on the edge of Shenzhou a few years ago, I doubt she wants to try and fight her again yet. Like I said, we need either you two or Durandal. Unless Seele stops complaining every time someone inhales the mists of death like a fucking idiot. Or you could just wait. Right now it’s just Bella, but not even Seele can hold me back if Sirin shows up and forces our hand.

 

Noted,” Bronya sighed, “I’ll tell Kiana. Though she’s probably having quite the time explaining her connection to the cloning tanks upstairs to Mei and the others right now.”

 

Good luck, Bronya,” Came Seele’s soft smile, “I love you.”

 

Yeah yeah, good luck and all that,” Came the second, harsher tones, “And if you leave me to deal with all this by myself I’ll never forgive you.”

 

Bronya chuckled to herself as she exited the generator room and began the journey back up to her companions, “I love you too. Both of you. I’ll get back in touch soon.”

 

Hmph. You better.” Seele offered as their final reply before both of their touches faded from her core.

 


 

When Mei selected the next video log it was not Otto who greeted them this time. But a woman with long blonde hair, blue eyes peering from underneath loose bangs, and clad in a battlesuit of silver armour over a deep blue dress, I am Bianka ‘Durandal’ Ataegina, Captain of the Immortal Blades.”

 

Camellia’s sharp intake of breath was clearly audible over the recording.

 

The Overseer has ordered me to stay in headquarters and not engage the Herrscher of the Void. I will follow my orders, but...” A conflicted look flashed across the rather frazzled-looking woman’s face for the briefest moment before she pulled her expression under control and sighed, “Overseer Otto has requested I update the records.” By the hardened shine of Durandal’s eyes she didn’t seem to be too pleased nor entirely sure of the necessity of this request. Yet still she took in a deep breath, “It has been three hours since Sirin launched her attack. In that time the city’s defensive walls have been breached, the majority of the settlement, over three-hundred Valkyries, and eighty-thousand local soldiers have been lost to the Honkai horde and followers of the Void. Anti-Entropy and Principal Theresa’s defectors joined the fray within the hour of Sirin’s attack and targeted the Herrscher directly. They failed. Overseer Otto has successfully transferred to a backup, but Agent Fu Hua has disappeared among the chaos in the meantime,” Durandal shook her head slowly, “The Overseer was confident St. Freya would convince Himeko Murata to take up the mantle of the Herrscher of Fire. It appears he was right. But... it was not without cost. Himeko burned away Sirin’s body yet she... she did something to K-423. Transferred herself somehow. Possessed her. They are still locked in combat with Sirin utilising K-423’s body. Major Himeko has offered us a brief respite. But there was a... significant loss,” Durandal paused for a moment as if debating whether she should say more, eyes darting to papers in her hands before she continued, “I’ve organised a Valkyrie MIA and KIA list for your perusal. I have included known Valkyrie defectors from St. Freya out of respect for their resistance agianst Sirin. You will also find the battle plans that were provided to the Valkyries and annotated maps of the city along with our scouts’ intelligence with a transcript of all I’ve said here.” The entire room seemed to shake, a dull rumble audible even on the recording, “Rita, it’s time for us to go.”

 

As the recording reached its end Mei rapidly moved the window out of the way and brought up the lists in question, “Significant loss? Who was she speaking of? Would we recognise the name, Kiana?”

 

Kiana nodded. A slight movement that was almost imperceptible with how her head was hanging low, gaze locked with the cold ground between her legs, “Yes,” The Herrscher said softly, “You’ll recognise the name. It’s on the KIA list.”

 

She could almost feel her pulse pounding in her very fingertips as she moved. She needn’t move far, and yet it felt like an eternity between Kiana’s words and when her eyes drifted up to the name burning a line into the screen. It took some searching through the alphabetically organised names. But Kiana was right. When she saw the name a pit seemed to open up to swallow her thoughts whole, a tingling shock of horror racing through her heart and down her spine. There it was, a little more than halfway down the list. Where the only name that mattered stared back at her with a terrifying familiarity.

 

Killed in Action: Raiden Mei.

Notes:

Finally we get into the secrets hiding within Schicksal HQ >:3 Tbh I rewrote the lab scene like twice bcuz I was unsure abt the recordings discovery format but don't worry because that is NOT the only way we're gonna be discovering shit here. Also Seele informing Bronya of what's happening back in human occupied areas because I think the Herrschers should get to use their cool gem communication more and if anyone's gonna do it OF COURSE Bronya would use it to keep in touch with her gfs. Anyways, do you know how long I have been sitting on the "What if Sirin actually did kill Mei during the Battle of Schicksal" plotpoint? Fucking FOREVER! And now it is finally here :) And soon, even more of Mei and Himeko's fight against Sirin will be revealed :3

Notes:

And thus ends the first chapter in a new journey. I've kept a lot of the lore regarding the gods a bit vague and from the POV of the regular people that don't know all the personal details and events of the Herrschers' lives on purpose in this beginning part. More will be revealed later as we meet new and more knowledgeable characters as well as expanding on the ones we've already met. I have greatly expanded the timeline that this version of the Honkai world is working on, with events from the game such as Kiana being overtaken by the Herrscher of the Void having happened millenia ago, and thus the facts have been blurred over time for the people of the present day in which this fic takes place.

While I want to focus on this present day, as we reach certain plot beats I am entertaining the thought of putting out shorter fics exploring this ancient history in more detail that wouldn't work for me to squeeze into this fic in such detail in-between the story I'm already trying to tell. Anyways, hope you enjoyed! Mei's journey has only just begun ;3