"Yo."
In the cramped shelter, the hatch suddenly opened. A familiar, fiery-red-haired woman appeared at the entrance, looking at them with great interest.
It was the woman who had saved them in Changkong City that day. Her name seemed to be Himeko, a person who, like her brother, exuded a sense of warmth.
"…Hello."
"Heh, what's with the formality? It looks like none of you are hurt. That's good."
Hua shook her head and asked anxiously, "Excuse me, what's happened outside?"
"Outside?" Himeko seemed a bit surprised, but then nodded as if she remembered something.
"You mean Changkong City, right? You're not there anymore. This is our base. You're safe."
"I know this is hard for you, but we'll talk about those things later. I don't have time to waste listening to you all cry your eyes out, understand?"
"So, do you want to hear it?"
Himeko's tone was quick and casual, but it stunned the two girls, though not Fu Li.
The three of them exchanged a look, then nodded in unison. "We want to know. Please tell us."
"Mm." The woman sighed and made a long story short. "Changkong City is gone. The disaster covered a huge area, and we were only able to save a small number of people."
"I'm the one who saved you, so I need to make sure you're mentally stable. Afterwards, we'll send you to Australia. Someone there will take care of you for the rest of your lives."
"As for the war… it will last a very long time, but it won't have much to do with you anymore."
"Changkong City… is gone," Hua said, finding it hard to believe.
"The school… no, does that mean everyone at school too?"
Himeko nodded, then changed the subject.
"Trust me, accidents happen in life. Forgetting is the best medicine. Time and the earth will eventually bury everything that has happened."
Hua didn't speak, merely tightening her grip on Fu Li's hand.
Fu Li looked at her with a pang of sympathy, gently patting her shoulder.
"I want to know what happened," Hua said suddenly.
"Oh? Why?" Himeko asked in return.
Why?
The word echoed in Hua's mind.
She remembered that when the alarm sounded, they had been playing outside, preparing to go home the next day.
But when the siren blared, her first reaction was to rush back into the city.
Why was that? What did she want to do? Who did she want to save?
"I want to know… what I can do." A thousand thoughts and feelings converged into a single sentence as Hua voiced her question.
"Is that so?" The woman stared at Hua, then looked at the other two. "What about you? Do you feel the same?"
Fu Li and Carole both nodded.
"Hah." Himeko let out a breath. "I've had this conversation with many people. They want me to give them [Hope]."
"But hope isn't cheap, and I can't afford to give it away. All I can offer you is a tiny flame. How you make it burn is up to you."
"This is a choice that will affect your entire life. So, give me your answer tonight. You need to think it through carefully, alright?"
The silence felt long. It stretched until the woman turned to leave, until Fu Li was growing bored in his mind. Finally, Hua spoke.
"I want to know the truth."
"Sigh… And you two?" Himeko turned back, a smile of approval gracing her crimson lips.
"I will always protect Hua," Fu Li gave his answer.
"I want to know the truth, too," Carole said, her voice equally firm, some of her usual vigor seemingly returning.
"Very good." The admiration in the woman's smile deepened. She turned and gestured for them to follow.
"Come with me. There's a place for you, lucky kids."
---o---
[That day, you watched as Hua and Carole accepted the truth about the Honkai. After communicating with their families, they decided to join The MOTHs Who Chase the Flame.]
[Before officially joining the squad, you all underwent the MOTHs' rigorous training.]
[On the surface, you were an ordinary soldier of the MOTHs, but in reality, you were a scientist second only to Mobius and the secret mastermind behind the organization.]
[Six months later, your training was complete. During this period, the Fourth Honkai Eruption occurred.]
[You, Hua, and Carole joined the Fifth Squad, led by Himeko. Your designations were MSA-208 'Li', MSA-209 'Hua', and MSA-210 'Carole'.]
[You did not rush to inform Mobius about the MANTIS project ahead of schedule, because the ethical lines that surgery had to cross were not something the people of this era could yet accept.]
[After joining the Fifth Squad, the first major mission you encountered was to investigate the situation regarding the Fifth Herrscher, the Herrscher of Ice.]
---o---
"All units, be advised. We are approaching the center of the Honkai energy reaction. Maintain high alert."
"Dammit, why are there so many Honkai Beast limbs here? Did something kill them? How is that possible?"
"Enough. Quiet. Focus on the mission."
Crunch… crunch…
The soldiers held their rifles at the ready, carefully advancing through the snow.
Until a day ago, this had been a city in the middle of summer. But in just a few short hours, it had been transformed into a frozen plain.
Aboard a helicopter, Fu Li knelt on one knee, holding a heavy sniper rifle longer than he was tall, silently surveying the brutal scene below.
Through the scope, the mangled remains of countless Honkai Beasts were scattered about as if torn apart by some savage predator. The sight alone sent a chill down the spines of many soldiers.
However, looking at this familiar scene, Fu Li, despite appearing tense on the surface, was quite relaxed on the inside. He even found himself thinking about Aponia.
After taking control of the MOTHs, he had secretly arranged for people to support Aponia's sanatorium and had distributed the Anti-Honkai Agent to the children there.
As for Kalpas, after killing the Fifth Herrscher, he should have already fled to Twilight Street.
Once Aponia found Kalpas, Fu Li would just need to order the Toxic Chrysalis not to clean up the sanatorium. When the time was right, he could simply bring them both back to The Deep End for protection.
While calculating these matters in his head, Fu Li pulled the trigger, blowing the head off a Honkai Beast that was trying to ambush Carole.
For a Flame-Chaser-level MANTIS from the Previous Era like him, this level of combat was truly, utterly boring.
...…
Meanwhile, at the sanatorium, a nun was surrounded by a group of small children, holding a storybook and reading softly.
"Once upon a time, there was a priest. He fooled fate, but was then fooled by fate in turn."
"But even after being fooled, he did not submit. He bravely drew his sword against God, but because he was no match for God, he was reduced to His puppet."
"As a puppet, he raised his blade against his former companions. But just as he was about to kill the nun he loved, he finally regained a sliver of his past self and, in the end, raised his sword and took his own life."
"The priest died in the nun's arms. Before his last breath, he looked at the nun and spoke the three words, 'I love you'."
As she spoke these words, the storybook was slowly closed. Aponia gently stroked a few small heads, her gaze drifting into the distance. A flash of red flickered in the depths of her eyes.
The memories of the cycles had not vanished. They lay dormant deep within a person's spirit, and only psychic-type warriors could awaken them at will.
And this story actually had one final passage, which she did not read aloud.
The moment the priest died, the nun made a vow. She would never again let the priest… escape from the palm of her hand.
Even if it meant abandoning humanity. Even if it meant living this life all over again.