Fifty thousand years later—The Current Era.
World Serpent, Pacific Ocean.
"Jackal, did you know? Beneath this endless blue sea lie the two greatest secrets in the world. If they were ever brought to light, the entire global order would be thrown into chaos."
"Gray Serpent, rather than worrying about the world order, maybe you should focus on the current state of our organization."
Inside a small deep-sea submarine, two masked figures conversed in low voices.
Gray Serpent turned toward his companion—a woman dressed in ornate Egyptian-style garb. Her dark brown skin glowed faintly beneath the dim lights, and she wore an Anubis mask adorned with the ankh of life and the Eye of Horus.
Even through the mask, he could sense her unease. But knowing that her worry stemmed from loyalty and concern for the organization's future, Gray Serpent found a rare sense of comfort.
Cleo Hypatia—
A senior officer of World Serpent, codename "Jackal."
Publicly, she was the director of the giant pharmaceutical conglomerate Heliopolis Life Sciences. In reality, she had long specialized in structural research on Honkai Beasts and the undead, having produced countless synthetic monstrosities—a textbook example of a mad scientist.
She was now one of only two remaining high-ranking officers in World Serpent.
Jackal: "Ugh~ what a mess. Next time we recruit someone, maybe we should implant bombs in their hearts. Raven quit, Owl betrayed us, and that Raiden Mei woman—ugh..."
Gray Serpent: "The first two I'll let slide, but do you seriously think you could plant a bomb in a Herrscher's heart? And even if you could, would it actually work?"
Jackal: "Hmph, that's not the point! The point is that World Serpent's leadership has been reduced to just the two of us. Tell me, how are we supposed to compete with Schicksal, Anti-Entropy, and St. Freya? We don't even have a single fighter left!"
At that, Jackal held her mask in frustration, wondering how things had come to this.
World Serpent—the secret organization that inherited the power of the Previous Era—was now a shadow of its former self. Though still technically one of the "Big Four," it sat firmly at the bottom of that hierarchy.
They had only recently managed to recruit a Herrscher of Thunder as their enforcer, but she had merely joined to gather intelligence. Once she'd gotten what she needed, she left without even handing in a resignation letter.
"Do not worry," Gray Serpent said calmly. "After today, the structure of this era will be forever changed. Schicksal, Anti-Entropy, St. Freya—how they rank, whether they even continue to exist... will all depend on that man's will alone."
His tone was so certain that it sent a chill down Jackal's spine.
Though she, too, was an officer of World Serpent, she knew she didn't possess even half the knowledge that Gray Serpent did.
"Gray Serpent... are you serious?"
"Of course. Schicksal, Anti-Entropy, St. Freya—none of them are worth worrying about."
His confidence was absolute.
"...I always thought my arrogance was unmatched, but it turns out you, an artificial being, are even more conceited than I am. That superior tone—it's like you see this entire era as worthless."
Behind her mask, Jackal frowned. Though they were colleagues, she was still a person of this age. Gray Serpent's contempt for the current era rubbed her the wrong way.
"Did I give you that impression? My apologies. But yes... I admit I'm disappointed in this civilization."
Gray Serpent shook his head.
"I have witnessed another age—one of brilliance and greatness beyond description. An age that crushed Honkai beneath its heel from beginning to end."
"And yet this civilization, whose Honkai energy levels are far weaker, has responded so pathetically. The casualties from a single Honkai Eruption here exceed the combined toll of all disasters in the Previous Era."
"..."
Jackal fell silent. Though she had read World Serpent's records and knew of the Previous Era's advanced technology and glory, she still found it hard to believe.
What kind of era could it have been—one so extraordinary that it could suppress Honkai entirely, crossing even the Herrscher of Finality's threshold with fewer than a hundred deaths?
Gray Serpent ignored her silence. In his mechanical red eyes, a fanatical gleam burned.
"I've reached a conclusion—humanity will always need a will beyond their own to make the hardest choices for them. Yes... humanity needs a leader."
"So, you want to be humanity's leader?"
"Me? No, no, I lack such qualifications. Not just me—neither Otto Apocalipsis of Schicksal nor Welt Yang of Anti-Entropy possess them either. Humanity's leader—the world's savior—has only ever been one person."
"Wait! You can't mean... that man?"
"Indeed. Rejoice, Jackal. Today is the day we awaken our Lord. The world will bow before him—you will bear witness to his resurrection. And now... we have arrived at his resting place."
Gray Serpent turned toward the viewing window of the submarine. Following his gaze, Jackal finally realized they had passed through a deep fissure beneath the Pacific Ocean—reaching the lowest point of the world.
"Jackal, welcome... to The Deep End."
Once inside, Jackal couldn't help but look around in astonishment. She tore off her leather gloves, touching the walls and structures around her—and immediately froze.
"This color, this texture... soulium?! This entire structure is built out of soulium?! How extravagant is that? Wait—we actually have a base beneath the Pacific Ocean?!"
"Not a base," Gray Serpent corrected. "A prison."
"What?"
Jackal's eyes widened in disbelief.
"In the Previous Era, this was a prison the Lord built to contain gods. Every Herrscher he captured was imprisoned here. Later, he transformed it into an ark—to carry himself into this era."
Gray Serpent led Jackal through corridor after corridor. He had only been here once before, but every detail of the route remained stored in his most secure data archives.
"Y-you're joking, right..."
Jackal swallowed hard, trembling. How many cells had they passed already? Over a thousand, surely. Did that mean more than a thousand Herrschers had once been imprisoned here?
The thought alone was absurd—but as she recalled the countless mechanisms, and the fact that this place could only be accessed via spatial transmission, it started to make terrifying sense.
After all, what else but a prison for divine beings would require every single brick and tile to be forged from soulium?
"We're here," Gray Serpent finally said, stopping before a sealed gate.
Though his body was mechanical, even he couldn't suppress the trembling in his voice. He remembered—five thousand centuries ago, before the final battle against the Herrscher of Finality—he had been summoned.
Given a single mission: to awaken the Savior of the Previous Era, fifty thousand years in the future.
He placed his hands against the massive door, slowly pushing it open. Though he knew his strength couldn't scratch even the surface of The Deep End, his movements were reverent and deliberate.
To him, this place—the resting site of the Savior—was sacred, beyond desecration.
When the door finally opened, they saw a vast, ice-blue chamber. At its center stood a single hibernation pod, faintly outlined by a human silhouette beneath the frost. Even at rest, that silhouette radiated an indescribable pressure, evoking a primal urge to kneel.
"The Fifth Divine Key... The Great Hibernation..."
Gray Serpent quickly brought up the control console, inputting a long string of ancient codes. The Honkai energy stabilizers ceased their operation, and a moment later, the pod's lid began to rise as a wave of frigid mist rolled out.
And then—two radiant golden lights flared to life.
They were eyes—golden eyes.
Jackal froze. Her breath caught in her throat, her heart seized as though gripped by invisible hands.
What kind of eyes were these? Eyes that had witnessed the world's birth and its destruction; that had seen every beauty and every sin. Deep as the cosmos itself—one glance was enough to make her want to submit.
"Gray Serpent, the time."
"Year 2017, month and day unknown—Lord Elias."
"Good. The Current Era... I've returned."
The white-haired youth stepped out from The Great Hibernation. Having not yet restrained his aura, the pressure radiating from him made the very gravity around them seem to multiply.
Gray Serpent and Jackal immediately fell to their knees—not out of reverence or worship, but out of instinct.
When confronted with a being whose existence towered beyond their biological hierarchy, their bodies acted on their own, bowing in submission, a silent declaration that they bore no hostility toward him.
"Stand up. You've done well completing your mission, Gray Serpent. Had you failed to awaken me today, I would've had to use... a more forceful method."
"To serve you is my greatest honor, my Lord!"
Gray Serpent didn't ask what the "forceful method" was—because he could already see it. The white-haired youth reached into the hibernation chamber and pulled out a massive Honkai energy bomb.
The timer showed only a few hours remaining.
Clearly, his so-called "forceful method" was to blow up the entire chamber—forcing his own awakening through raw destruction.
Jackal broke into a cold sweat at the thought, but Gray Serpent remained calm.
He knew the man before him—his methods were always pragmatic, sometimes terrifyingly so. In truth, using a Honkai bomb was one of his gentler options.
"This place has gotten dull. Let's talk somewhere else... hmm... yes, this will do."
Snap!
With a snap of his fingers, Gray Serpent and Jackal found themselves suddenly elsewhere. In the blink of an eye, the deep-sea gloom vanished, replaced by cool, open air.
They stood atop a skyscraper in Nagazora City, the gentle wind brushing past them.
Elias narrowed his golden eyes. Warm sunlight bathed his body, and the cool breeze swept across his skin—it was refreshing. He could feel how much stronger he had become.
Even while his consciousness slept, his Chimera body had continued evolving. Over fifty millennia, the Heaven Devourer within him had reached the Planet-class level.
And Elias himself had completely fused with all his Authorities. Even without their Cores, he could now wield their full powers—like the space transfer he had just performed using the Herrscher of the Void's ability.
"My Lord, to celebrate your return, I have a gift to present."
Gray Serpent said, bowing deeply as he held out a greatsword with both hands.
"Only this legendary Divine Key is worthy of your hand, my Lord—the Savior of worlds."
The blade was dull gray-white, its flames long extinguished. Once, it had been said to be the flaming sword guarding Eden itself—the holy fire that razed Sodom.
It had appeared throughout countless myths. Those who had wielded it were called heroes.
But Gray Serpent knew better. None of those so-called heroes, even combined, could compare to the man before him. Only in the Savior's grasp could the sword reveal its true, divine might.
"...Judgment of Shamash. So the first one I find is you."
Elias raised his hand slightly, and the greatsword flew into his palm. In the next instant, the pale blade burst into brilliant, molten gold flames once more.
It was as if the sword itself was cheering, rejoicing.
The Might of An-Utu form activated automatically, waves of scorching heat distorting the air around him. If Elias were to swing it now, he could surely incinerate oceans and mountains alike.
Gray Serpent's metallic face almost seemed to reflect awe. Obtaining the Judgment of Shamash had cost him greatly—but seeing it ignite once more in Elias' hand, he knew every sacrifice had been worth it.
The Honkai of this age was doomed. The one who had single-handedly slain them all had returned.
As for Schicksal and Anti-Entropy?
Could they even withstand a single swing of his sword?
"How is everyone? They're still alive, I hope."
"Yes... all except Lady Elysia," Gray Serpent replied softly. Even now, after fifty thousand years, he still didn't know what had truly happened that day.
On the final day of the Previous Era, Elias never went to the Elysian Realm as planned. Instead, on the night before, he entered hibernation within The Deep End.
The next day, Elysia revealed herself as the Herrscher of Origin and sacrificed herself, freeing the Herrschers of that age from the control of the Honkai.
Gray Serpent could never fully understand how it all happened—but he knew how much she meant to Elias. That was why he worried how his Lord would react to the news.
However—
"Don't worry. Ely's still alive." Elias spoke calmly, his expression steady, without a trace of sorrow.
"Ah?! Lady Elysia is... still alive?!" Gray Serpent's mask almost slipped from his face in shock.
"Of course. How could I ever allow her to die? Our promise still isn't complete."
Elias produced a small box. Inside lay a ring that still gleamed brilliantly even after fifty thousand years. He still hadn't placed that ring upon the pink elf's finger.
But soon—he would.
If not for the system's warning that once he returned from the Previous Era to the Current one, he could never go back, he wouldn't have chosen to use The Great Hibernation to sleep through fifty millennia.
Nor would he have begun the defiant plan he was now about to set in motion.
"What about the others, besides Ely? If I recall, Project EMBER was led by Kevin, Su, and Hua, wasn't it?"
"Uh... Lord Kevin had a disagreement with Lord Su and was sealed within the Sea of Quanta. As for Lady Hua, she is currently in this era, within an organization known as St. Freya Academy—and she has lost much of her former power."
"Tch. Fate's correction again, huh? Strange... I thought I'd already rewritten the Stigma Project. What could they have possibly fought about this time? Kevin went back into the sea again?"
Elias frowned, clearly irritated. He hadn't personally interfered in the flow of events, but he had believed such outcomes could be avoided. Yet somehow, history had repeated itself.
"...It was about custody."
Gray Serpent paused awkwardly before continuing.
"Whose custody?"
"Of Adam Kaslana, my Lord. Lord Su used your Divine Key to battle Lord Kevin for guardianship. In the end, Lord Su sealed Kevin within the Sea of Quanta—and afterward, he raised the early generations of the Kaslana family himself."
Of course, that was only the beginning. Once the white-haired Kaslanas grew and spread into a clan, Su had long since stepped back and let them develop on their own.
"...Where is he now?"
"I'm terribly sorry, my Lord. I do not know."
"Those two idiots!!"
Elias exhaled sharply, rubbing his temples in frustration. He suddenly had the urge to drag both of them out and beat some sense into them.
"Seriously, Su—you didn't even want to raise a child before! What made you start fighting over custody?!"