'This girl... claims she has slain gods and severed fate?'
Welt narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing the silver-haired girl standing before him.
"If what you say is true… then maybe, just maybe, you really can talk with the Serpent and rid us of this looming threat."
"So, what's your answer, Herrscher of Reason?" Kagura smiled, a glimmer of wild confidence dancing on her pale cheeks.
"Will you keep wasting your strength in this endless war of attrition—or will you seize this chance to cut the root of the problem once and for all?"
"…Perhaps this really is the best option," Welt said after a moment of contemplation.
"But Miss Kagura, you must understand: the Serpent leader is unimaginably powerful. I can't leave this barrier.
If I do, the Serpent might break through it and escape into the real world."
"So if you're determined to face the Serpent… I won't be able to assist you. The best I can do is send you to where it resides. That's all."
"I understand. That's enough." Kagura nodded. "Leave the rest to me. I promise I'll get everyone back to the real world safely.
After all, I didn't cross dimensions to visit this strange, chaotic Sea of Quanta—I came to see your beautiful world. And I won't leave until I do!"
"Kagura-chan, I'm coming with you!" Himeko stepped forward.
"You can count on my strength—just leave your back to me, you saved my life, after all. If I let you keep fighting alone while I stand on the sidelines, what kind of Valkyrie would I be?"
"Haha, then I'll be counting on you, Miss Himeko!" Kagura grinned. "To be honest, I've… heard of you before, in a certain way. I deeply respect you, and it's my honor to fight by your side!"
"And it's mine as well" Himeko laughed heartily and clapped Kagura on the shoulder.
"Once this is all over, I'm buying you a drink!"
"Hey! Don't just casually raise a death flag like that!" Kagura cried.
"U-Um… Seele wants to come too…" Seele finally gathered her courage to speak. "Seele… also wants to help… even just a little."
Hearing that, Himeko gently placed a hand on Seele's head and softly brushed the hair from her ear.
"Seele, I know you're a kind, sweet girl. But fighting the Serpent is extremely dangerous. I can't let you risk your life like that."
Her voice was tender—like a loving older sister.
"You should stay here with Mr. Welt. That's the safest choice. Besides, Bronya's still waiting for you to come home."
"But… but!" Seele shook her head fiercely, without hesitation. "Seele doesn't want to be the one who's always protected! Seele wants to protect others too!"
"It's okay, Seele. Come with us." Kagura stepped forward, her voice firm and kind.
"I believe in you. Let's go defeat this so-called 'Serpent'—together."
"Kagura, are you sure about this?" Himeko asked, concern clouding her expression.
"If what Mr. Welt says is true, this thing is far too dangerous.
I don't want to see Seele hurt… She's still just a kid, and there's someone in the real world she longs to see more than anything."
"And aren't you the same, Miss Himeko?" Kagura replied gently. "There's someone waiting for you in the real world too, isn't there?
Whether it's you or Seele, I promise I'll get you both home safely. In exchange, though—you're buying me dinner!"
"Ahh…" Himeko sighed, seeing the unshakable resolve in Kagura's golden eyes. "…Fine. You're impossible to argue with."
And so, after learning the truth about what was happening in the Sea of Quanta, Kagura, Himeko, and Seele set out together under Welt Yang's guidance—toward the farthest depths of the quantum realm.
There, they would face the one who had long lurked in the shadows of chaos—the World Serpent, watching and waiting for a chance to strike the world of Honkai once more.
————————————————————————
—The Depths of the Sea of Quanta—
There were no skies here. No land.
Only endless chaos.
The Sea of Quanta was a realm beyond comprehension, a space of pure distortion and fragmentation.
Floating in the void were countless cubes—some small, some vast—where one could find temporary footing.
Each of these floating cubes was a fragment of a world—some from the past, others from the future.
Some born from the imagination, others remnants of civilizations long destroyed.
And among these scattered fragments, one stood apart.
In the deepest part of the Sea of Quanta, a massive and unique world-shard had formed.
Countless cubes that had once drifted separately were now pulled together by some unknown force, forming a vast floating island in the chaos.
At the heart of that island stood a single, eternal cherry blossom tree.
Its pale pink flowers bloomed endlessly, never withering.
From a distance, the petals drifted down like a dream—serene, beautiful, and nostalgic, as if remembering a time long gone… a memory etched into eternity.
Beneath the cherry blossom tree, a silver-haired, blue-eyed man slowly opened his eyes.
"So… they've come."
He rose from his prayer-like pose and stood.
"We still can't understand each other… can we?"
He wore a sleek black-and-white combat suit, trimmed with teal—a clean, minimalist design, full of quiet discipline.
As the cherry blossoms fell around him like a gentle storm of petals, he caught one in his hand and softly crushed it.
"No matter what kind of enemies we face… the Serpent fears nothing. Because I once swore beneath this very tree…"
He looked up at the endless sky of chaos above.
"…that humanity will overcome the Honkai."
The Serpent came from a time long forgotten. A relic of the civilization that existed tens of thousands of years ago, before it was destroyed by the Honkai.
It inherited the hatred of that annihilation, the memory of a world lost.
And ever since, it had slumbered in the Sea of Quanta, gathering its strength, waiting for the moment to erase the Honkai from existence.
When it came to fighting the Honkai, there was no clear good or evil.
The Serpent was simply walking its own path—carrying out an ancient vow that had weathered millennia.
But… was that really the whole truth?
Now, destiny began to ripple.
Ever since that silver-haired girl set foot in this realm… everything had started to change.
The serpent stirs. The storm rises.
Cherry blossoms scattered in the air as Kevin stood beneath that same eternal sakura tree from millennia ago.
His eyes, sharp as a hawk's, fixed on the approaching figures in the distance.
'You will understand me, girl from another world.'
'Because only I… can bring this world a future free from Honkai—'
No matter the cost.