It hurt—everywhere. As if her body had been torn apart and stitched back together by something that didn't care if the pieces fit. The pain felt eternal, though it must have lasted only a moment.
No... not physical pain. It was phantom pain. A cruel echo of a body that no longer existed.
Amber had endured pain before. But this—this was unbearable.
[Have you regained consciousness?]
Consciousness? I should be dead or not by now..
The voice rang in her mind, disembodied and unfamiliar. Amber tried to open her eyes, but there were no eyelids to move. No body to command. Only pain.
How could she feel phantom pain without a brain to send the signal?
[Please don't worry. Your body is still under reconstruction. Before it completes, may I ask something of you?]
A request?
[You may have heard of beings like me—called "Goldfinger" or "System." Our meeting is a fluke, but perhaps a fortunate one.]
Amber didn't respond. She couldn't.
[I am abandoned. You are dead. We should be silent in the void. But together, perhaps we can create new stories.]
[My energy is limited. I can send you to other worlds and grant you strength to survive. In return, I need you to help me gain "recognition."]
Recognition? What does that mean?
[...Apologies. Repairing your body has drained me. I'll explain more later.]
Suddenly, her senses returned—sight, sound, touch, smell, even taste. The starry sky above twisted violently, then vanished. Weightlessness. Burning. Then—
A forest. Dense. Directionless.
Amber gasped. "Miss system...? Are you still here?"
[System assistance initialized. Please draw a card.]
[Extraction complete.]
[Star Stone ×220, ×135, ×300. Fu Hua Character Card ×1 (Destiny: Eastern Expedition). Armed Resonance ×700. Hundred Birds Asking the Sky ×1. Ancient Will ×20. Leeuwenhoek ×1. Destruction Blessing: Orbit Redshift ×1. Strange Object: Dream 0110.]
[Combat power equipped: highest available.]
[Opening prompt confirmed. Navigation available.]
A translucent black screen appeared before her. Familiar. Game-like. And Fu Hua? Did she just pull Fu Hua?
[To ensure safety, please use Fu Hua in the next operation.]
Amber hesitated, then clicked confirm.
Her perspective shifted. Her chest tightened. Power surged through her limbs.
"Eh… My hair changed color…"
She touched her bangs. Her voice sounded different. Her clothes had transformed into—Fu Hua's elegant battle attire. Crisp, heroic, and her favorite in Honkai.
She looked down at herself. "So cool…"
Everything had changed. She could hear insects hundreds of meters away. Sense the squirrel hiding in the tree crevice. The world was hyperreal.
And something else—something she couldn't explain—hung in the air.
[Combat experience: insufficient. Enable assist mode?]
[Yes / No]
Amber clicked yes without hesitation. She couldn't fight.
[Mission: Proceed to map marker. Engage Kingu and assist Chaldea.]
Chaldea?
She recognized the name Chaldea—from Fate/Grand Order. Her friends had warned her not to fall into that gacha abyss. Her knowledge was limited to FSN's UBW route and Fate/Zero.
Still, she owed Miss system the fact that she'd been brought back from death. So she had to repay that.
Amber ran toward the target—then stopped.
Wait. Fu Hua… running?
"Navigation… Fu Hua can fly, right?"
[Current state allows control of Honkai energy. Flight enabled.]
[Booting flight mode.]
Energy surged. Amber lifted off the ground.
"Awesome…"
She quickly swallowed her excitement. This was Fu Hua's appearance after all... She couldn't possibly tarnish it.
Determined, she checked the map again. Then—with a straight face—she flew up into the sky.