"Weak forehand, sloppy backhand, loose footwork, sluggish reactions—not a single decent move!"
"Awoo—!"
"How exactly did you manage to defeat my Armed Puppet?" Kevin asked his descendant, puzzled.
"Huh? He has short arms. Literally."
"..."
In the small World Bubble, a white-haired youth stood before a golden-haired girl, teaching her swordsmanship with a branch carved into a crude sword. The girl, who sat upon the Divine Throne, was being thoroughly trounced by her own ancestor in a pure display of swordsmanship, leaping and dodging frantically.
The scene echoed what had once unfolded on the rooftop of Senba Academy in Nagazora City, now playing out again beneath the sakura tree in the World Bubble. Yet unlike Raiden Mei, who had been completely overwhelmed, the golden-haired girl managed to land a few occasional counterattacks.
"That's the difference experience makes, kid," Su murmured, sitting beneath the tree trunk, a bowl of hot noodles in his hands. He squinted as he slurped the steaming strands with his chopsticks.
"Hmm... this 'Crossing-the-Bridge Rice Noodles' dish is quite good... Kevin has been fighting for millennia, after all. You can't possibly match his experience, girl."
The silver-haired youth sat nearby, sipping the broth, contentedly watching the old man and the girl begin a game of "ring around the rosie" around the sakura tree—and himself.
"So, is this a case of exploiting seniority or bullying the young? Oww—!"
The golden-haired girl, wooden sword in hand, retorted to her nominal ancestor. But Kevin swiftly closed the distance, and a moment's lapse in her guard resulted in another strike landing on her arm.
"Hmm... I think this might be some kind of retaliation..."
"Huh?"
"We Predecessors, to overcome the Honkai, endured tens of thousands of years of hardship. Our comrades and like-minded friends fell one by one along the path..."
"And now, someone appears before us... telling us that our plan no longer needs to be carried out, because humanity has already produced someone equal to the Honkai..."
"Isn't that a good thing?!" The golden-haired girl, finding herself unable to outmaneuver her Old Ancestor around the tree, leaped straight up into its branches.
"That's over! I have the high ground! Kevin!"
Kevin watched Snow, who had scrambled up the tree and showed no sign of coming down anytime soon, scoffed a few times, and then set down the wooden sword in his hand.
"But the mission that everyone entrusted to us—the very purpose we were meant to fulfill—has suddenly become irrelevant. There's bound to be a sense of loss in that."
"...I see. Well, I have a very amusing proposal. Would you like to hear it?"
-
"You're suggesting... we all play Overseer Otto Apocalypse?" Su murmured, pressing his right hand to his lips as he lowered his head in thought.
"...Wouldn't that be interesting? I, for one, can't wait to see Father apologize to each of us personally." The golden-haired girl perched in the tree, a gleeful smile curving her lips, her gaze so unnerving even Kevin couldn't help but shudder.
"It sounds like an intriguing proposal. But resurrection... Kevin?" Su's narrowed eyes met Kevin's gaze.
This man's eyes had witnessed opportunities beyond mortal dreams and endured the grief of all things falling to ruin.
Yet all that he had seen, all that his eyes had borne witness to, had been forged by an extraordinary will into two merciless, indifferent blocks of ice.
Even reuniting with old friends and meeting his descendants only melted a fraction of that frozen resolve. This man remained a warrior, a warrior marching ever forward.
"Otto Apocalypse, haunted by the tragedies of his past and his own actions, sought to alter the course of history, to rewrite the world's narrative. But I... I have no regrets."
"—Su, I have never regretted anything... I feel countless emotions about her leaving me—perhaps sorrow, perhaps regret—but never remorse... She was tired... Let her rest."
Unsurprisingly, Kevin rejected Su's implication. This man had truly sealed his heart, or rather his love, in the distant past.
Even if they had vanquished the Honkai and freed him from being immersed in his past vows, he would only lift his head and continue forward, eager to witness humanity's Golden Age, to see the moment when human civilization finally reached for the stars.
"...If that is your choice, I respect your decision—Kevin." Su nodded.
-
In the end, Kevin Kaslana accepted the invitation from his descendants. The Predecessors, having temporarily lost their purpose and feeling adrift, decided to find something to occupy themselves—even if that something seemed morally dubious and wickedly satisfying.
-
"Achoo—! Who's talking about me...?" Otto's Soulium-forged body inexplicably sneezed, sending a prickling unease crawling up his spine.
"Probably Snow..." Otto shook his head helplessly. "I wonder what that girl is up to in the Sea of Quanta..." He continued reviewing the reports—his grand plan was about to officially begin.
-
Night at St. Freya Academy, in the Valkyries' dormitory.
"Almost a year has passed... Snow, you haven't just stepped out for a while..." In their shared room, Kyuusyou hugged her Homu plush, gazing around the space that felt so empty without its missing occupant.
A tapping at the window interrupted her thoughts. Looking toward the sound, she saw a black raven pecking at the glass, as if trying to enter.
"...?" Driven by curiosity, Kyuusyou opened the window, allowing the raven to fly inside.
"Lady Houraiji Kyuusyou, you may call me Huginn, the Creator's messenger. She has sent me to inform you of revisions to a certain plan..." The black raven fluttered onto the bedside table and addressed the purple-haired girl in human speech, its tone filled with deep reverence.
"...Snow? Where is she?" Kyuusyou raised an eyebrow, gazing at the raven before her.
"My Lady is currently journeying through a World Bubble alongside Predecessors from the previous era, and cannot return to the Prime World for the time being."
"The Lady has conceived an even more intriguing plan, and has granted me the Authority to enter others' dreams and weave illusions."
"Enter others' dreams? Wait... what is she planning?" Kyuusyou's eye twitched.
"The Lady intends to... force-ripen, I believe it's called? She plans to force-ripen the mental maturation of an individual named K-423." The raven tilted its head, its black eyes fixed on the girl before it.
"Force-ripen... Wait a minute? She wants Kiana Kaslana to experience everything that will happen later, but in a dream first?" Kyuusyou's eyes widened as a sudden realization dawned on her, staring intently at the black raven before her.
-
"Alright... I agree. When does she plan to start?" Kyuusyou asked after a long moment of contemplation, finally consenting to the new plan.
"After the Moonlight Throne is retrieved, my Lady said..." Raven shook its feathers, scattering dust and sand onto the cabinet.
"...Ugh, I just cleaned this room. Never mind... Huginn, do you need to eat anything normally?"
"If you wish to feed me, my Lady, I wouldn't mind..."