vicissitude.

@immortalempyrea​

The joking manner of speech and the elegance of a butterfly, Elysia’s steps are as light as they could be as she strolls down the halls while humming a sweet tune to herself. The day is wonderful and the future is still unknown. Mobius is stuck once again in her lab and Eden is resting after a mission, Kevin is with Dr. MEI as per usual and she has nothing else to do! All others seem to be scattered around the base or on the mission of their own, she’s getting bored of this silence. The people who meet her smile and wave at her, the young maiden as beautiful as a blossoming flower under the sunlight waves back and smiles, reminding others of the love goddess that will be here to protect them from the sadness of reality. 

The sight of the beauty renders her speechless for a moment, her grin widening at the familiar sight of blue eye and that silky hair. A fellow MANTIS, a fellow fighter, a delightful young maiden who’s been brought to this place so long ago. She remembers the nervousness of the other, it was so cute. Beyond any words, truly! Elysia giggles as she approaches the girl with a skip in her step, hands behind her back with her heels hitting the floor every so often. Bubbly and jumpy, the playfulness oozes off her with the same sweet voice:

“ Hua~ Are you free? Let’s hang out! I haven’t talked to you in so, so long. I’m sure Mobius won’t be that mad if I steal you for a day or two~ ” A flicker of mischief appears in the other’s eyes, she knows the serpent cannot do anything to her. And why would she? They’re bestest of friends! Not that the laboratory occupant will agree with it, but the send of Flame Chasers takes everyone as her friends, wonderful and sweet like a taste of sweetened peaches. “ Ah, don’t worry. Kevin wouldn’t mind either. He’s having a little date with Dr. MEI~ So, what do you say? ”

She hears Elysia long before she ever sees her.

Unlike Hua, who had the air of a shrinking violet who blended into the background without even trying, Elysia possessed a naturally charismatic presence that seemed to effortlessly draw the attention of others whenever she went. Once Hua hears the stirring of chatter and happy greetings drifting over from across the hall, she knows it must be Elysia - because although many flame-chasers were well-known, perhaps only one or two of them could claim to be well-liked enough to inspire such cheerful reactions. 

She turns with a greeting at the tip of her lips, but finds herself surprised when Elysia comes to a stop right in front of her instead of just walking past like Hua had assumed she would.

“I'm not busy at the moment, though Dr Mobius told me to come lend her a hand later...” But it seems that Elysia had already anticipated such an answer, and Hua can’t deny that spending some time with Elysia sounded like a much better option than setting foot in that lab again. 

In the privacy of her own mind, she can even admit that this is an entirely welcome excuse for her to escape having to spend any more time to with Mobius. “I suppose she won’t mind if it’s you, Elysia,” Hua relents without much protest and tilts her head slightly, offering the older girl a small, shy smile. “So, um, what did you want to do?”

    Kalpas pauses, lifting the book from his lap to show off the cover. It’s one of the several books Elysia published about him. “Found this lying around, figured I’d read what Elysia thinks about me.” Not that he could argue against how effective they were, Elysia was pretty good at guessing how he’d react in certain situations.

“Is it...accurate, then?” she asks, unable to help her curiosity. “Elysia insisted that it was a must-read.” 

@immortalempyrea

Kalpas pauses, looking up from the book he’s skimming to glance towards the other as they walk into the lounge. Kalpas had only decided to sit there to avoid running into Mobius, but he never expected to see Fu Hua there.

However, he’s not going to say anything. Just grunt as a form of greeting.

...Oh. The lounge isn’t as empty as she’d expected. Briefly, Hua considers turning around and leaving, because surely Kalpas would prefer to be left in peace, too – but that would be awkward. And rude. 

Not to mention that she’d seen Mobius walking around outside, which is the entire reason why she’d ducked in here in the first place.

@immortalempyrea​ liked for a starter!

“Bronya has a question.” She turned her gaze up to Fu Hua, hands cupped under the parts of a Makarov pistol she was creating with her core. “If Class Monitor had a choice, would you still choose this path?”

...Oh? That is a sudden, if unexpectedly heavy question. Fu Hua is quiet for a moment.

“I mean, I could-…I could try to get us there using my powers,” Sirin mused, a thoughtful look forming on her face as she hummed. “…of course, if things in this world aren’t in the exact same locations, the results could be disastrous.” She made a face, sighing as she lifted a hand to push her bangs back out of her face for a moment. “And who knows if my abilities will even work here.”

Shifting, she turned her attention back to Fu Hua, offering a shy smile. “I haven’t had dinner yet. Perhaps we could grab something and head back to my room at the inn? I know we both have a lot of questions for each other.” The more she looked at her, the more she noticed subtle differences in this Fu Hua. The woman looked a bit more tired, more worn down, but still just as determined. 

“Thank you. I don’t blame you. It’s clear from your reactions that you had some reason to distrust me. Trust has to be earned.”

“Given the circumstances, I would prefer to play it safe for now. Let’s wait until tomorrow.” There’s the issue of geographical location, as Sirin mentioned, but Fu Hua has also considered that there’s no telling how skilled this version of Sirin is with her Void Powers anyways. It had taken Kiana quite a bit of practice to transport people properly. The power of the 2nd Herrscher is capable of great things, but missteps can be disastrous too.

And then...there’s the fact that she’s Sirin.

"Whatever my preconceptions may be, it would be unfair for me to judge you for something you haven’t done.” It’s hard to disconnect the horrific memories of their world’s Sirin with the fairly harmless-looking girl in front of her who technically hasn’t done anything yet, and the reality is that Fu Hua cannot separate her impressions of them right away. Still, she makes a valiant effort. “You have my word that I will treat you fairly from now on.”

With vigilance, yes. But fairly.

There it was. It was something that could only be called a monster. Obviously it wasn’t something the young martial artist ever prepared to deal with, but the case seemed to be different with this girl, who suddenly revealed such a technique Jo couldn’t help but be mesmerized by.

He blinked quite a few times. So this girl was hiding that kind of power, and chasing down this kind of enemy.

“Damn,…” speechless…

...He’s not moving? Is he in shock?

“Hello? Are you alright?” Fu Hua repeats, more loudly this time. This isn’t over - there are more Honkai beasts in this town, and she’d already wasted far too much time trying to lure this young man away. “You have to leave.”

“This shit’s bigger than a raccoon…” he really didn’t want to keep the girl in this potential danger, as he reached for his jacket.

“It seems to be getting closer.”, he claimed in a low voice, as he wanted to keep a low profile if they were the slip away from this.

Fu Hua quickens her steps, trying to hurry them along, but she can tell that they’re not going to make it in time. The Honkai beast is fast approaching - it must have zeroed in on their presence, and if they don’t confront it here, they might end up leading it into the main city instead, which would be many times more disastrous. Heaving a sigh, she reaches for her gloves and pulls them back on, flexing her fingers.

When the Honkai beast finally attacks, leaping out of the shadows, Fu Hua is fully ready for it. Pivoting her heel, she meets the full weight of the monster head on - it may be the size of a small car, but she effortlessly knocks it back with a single punch, then spins and drives her foot into the vulnerable section between its carapace.

The beast shudders and collapses with no further sound. Fu Hua turns back to the young man.

While this woman wasn’t the Fu Hua from Sirin’s universe, she was just as blunt. No tip-toeing around the unsettling or inconvenient truth. It was something she always valued in their friendship. Even Bella did things to try to protect her feelings, though that was out of genuine concern.

“I need you to take me to-…to wherever Anti-Entropy has a way into the Sea of Quanta. I need to go back. I have to get back,” she insisted, distress visible on her face despite the way she was clearly trying to keep her cool. “Kiana needs me, and if I can’t get back in time, she might try going in after me.” The thought alone terrified her. She knew her current situation was far from the worse fate you could meet in the Quantum Realm.

“If- if you can just get me there, then maybe my scanner can pick up the signal and get me back home.” Back to my Fu Hua. Admittedly, it hurt more than she expected it to, seeing someone identical to one of the people she cared for the most treat her with such suspicion and disdain.

“...I understand. I will take you back to Anti-Entropy’s base.” The priority will be to explain this to Dr. Tesla and Dr. Einstein. They may be tempted to ask Sirin questions, and having a traveler from another world is a wealth of opportunity for gathering information...but this Sirin looked shocked enough about everything as is, and it sounds like the history of her world had been much kinder. Maybe it would be for the best if she can leave without learning more.

Over the horizon, the sky darkens. Unfortunately, there are no flights or trains available overnight in such a small, backwater town.

“The soonest we can book a ride out of here would be tomorrow. I will explain your situation to the doctors ahead of time so they can be prepared when we get back.” Fu Hua exhales softly. “For tonight, I’m afraid we will simply have to wait.”

She looks back at Sirin. It’s strange to see the Second Herrscher like this, all deflated and despondent – but then again, if this was another Sirin, maybe she shouldn’t even think of her as the Second Herrscher anymore. They certainly didn’t have very much in common. If her story is to be believed, then this Sirin is a victim of circumstance, isn’t she?

The realization of what must have happened seemed to strike Sirin at the same time as it hit Fu Hua. She doesn’t know Bella? Using Kiana’s body? No- it’s not possible..! Yet… It was the only answer that made sense, and it was a nightmare scenario she had never considered.

“I-…I didn’t know the details of it, but Overseer Otto and the Sovereign were working together on searching the Quantum Realm for a way to defeat the Honkai,” she explained slowly and quietly, a feeling of numbing dread settling in her stomach. “To see if we could get information, like a universe where they defeated the Honkai.”

“I’m not home, am I?” She murmured, swallowing hard as she met the other woman’s eyes. “This isn’t-…this shouldn’t be possible, I didn’t go that deep, but-…” But that damned snake chased me off the track. Who knows what direction counts as going “deeper” there? “Where- where am I, Fu Hua?” What could have gone so wrong in this world that she sees me as a threat..?!

To some extent, this was the answer she’d expected to hear. It was also the only answer that would make sense in their current situation, but...even so, Fu Hua finds herself hesitating, and she likely would have hesitated longer if not for the buzz of vibration from the cellphone she still had clenched in a vice-grip, signaling a text from Kiana’s number.

>sorry i missed ur call! had pvp w bronya >want me to call u back? :)

Slowly, Fu Hua slips her phone back into her pocket, feeling a bit numb. She takes a deep breath as she processes it all, trying to take into account the mountain of complications that are just starting to sink in.

“If you are being completely honest with me...then I’m afraid that you are very far from home indeed, Sirin. As I’m sure you already know, the Quantum Realm can lead you to bubble universes that are entirely different from your own.”

There’s less open hostility in Fu Hua’s gaze now, though she still looks wary. “No such experiments have occurred here. The situations you describe and the familiarity you show towards me are out of place. I am not the Fu Hua you know.”

Her eyes widened at Tai’s fading form and quickly shook her head, “No way!” the brunette then places her hands on Shadow’s shoulder, “Believe it or not, this little guy is a Greater Spirit. He’s the Shadow. The only thing that’s changed is his appearance and for the fact that he’s a Spyrite.”

The Greater Spyrite, as though in cue, makes eye contact with the other and in the attempt to communicate with the other, he speaks telepathically. 「S̵̮͋p̶̮̚i̴̱͌r̴̟̊i̸͔̎t̴̮̒ ̵͊ͅo̴̧͂f̶̮̈ ̴̡̎S̸̘̚e̵̪̓n̴̘̒t̵̪̑i̵̛̯e̵͎͒n̴̩̆c̸̩̎e̸̟̿,̸̦͝ ̷͍̌i̵̙͂f̴͈̒ ̸̨͌y̷̩͐ó̴͜u̶̡͛ ̴̤̃w̷̬̓i̴͎͊s̵̹̒h̸̰͝ ̴͔͘ẗ̶͔́ò̸̫ ̸͖̈́r̸̳̽ḛ̵͒t̷͎̏a̴͖͐í̷͕n̴̛͈ ̶̢̂y̵̥̏o̶̜͘u̷̖͌r̸̪̍ ̷̥̅p̴̯̓h̴̻͐ŷ̷̯š̴̼i̵͇̕c̷̪͑a̷̡̓l̴̖͝ ̶̻̿f̴̼͐õ̵̮r̴̺͑m̷̗̾ ̷̡̆a̷̳͆s̸̩͆ ̵̳̍y̸̗͂ȍ̷̤u̸̱͊r̶͍͌ ̴̭̿ć̵̩ù̵͔r̷̈́ͅṙ̴͖ȇ̸̦n̴̰͘ṭ̶̈ ̴̢͝f̶̭͂o̸͐ͅr̶͙̀m̶̤͌.̶̱̆ ̸̹̓T̷́ͅh̵̢͛e̶͔̊n̷̼͂ ̷͇̓f̷̧̽ǫ̵̐r̷̪̿m̴̼̿ ̸̣̈́ä̸͖́ ̴͓̈c̷̥̾o̶̧̊ñ̷̯t̴̬̋r̵̪̚a̴̧̎c̴̈́ͅt̷͘͜ ̸̥̎w̸̮͝ï̷̧t̷̜͐ẖ̶̓ ̷͓́ẗ̴̪h̶̖̀ḭ̵͠s̶̼͂ ̴̥̾c̷̀͜h̴͔̏i̷͐ͅl̵̪͊d̶̈ͅ.̶̟͋」

As Shadow attempts to communicate with the other Spirit, Leia tries to explain what Spyrites were. That they’re technology under development, which would revive a spirit through the infusion of mana. The process is far more friendly for spirits compared to spyrixes, and thus far more humane and eco-friendly.

「I̸n̷ ̷t̸r̶u̷t̶h̶,̶ ̴c̸i̶r̶c̴u̵m̸s̸t̸a̴n̵c̴e̴s̴ ̴r̸e̷q̸u̵i̵r̵e̷d̸ ̵m̴e̶ ̷t̵o̴ ̷t̶a̴k̶e̶ ̶o̷n̴ ̷t̴h̷i̸s̷ ̵f̸o̷r̵m̶.̸ ̷H̵o̴w̴e̵v̵e̴r̴,̸ ̶y̶o̵u̸ ̷h̸a̴v̷e̸ ̷a̵ ̶c̴h̶o̴i̶c̵e̴.̴ ̶W̷h̸a̵t̶ ̷w̵i̵l̷l̴ ̸y̶o̵u̵ ̸d̶o̸?̶」

Leia’s explanation goes practically in one ear and out the other as she turns her attention to the Great Spirit speaking telepathically to her instead. One-on-one contracts aren’t something she was accustomed to making, even back there were others who could perceive her presence. But...although she’d resigned herself to a certain fate hundreds of years ago, maybe she didn’t want to disappear just yet.

“Leia Rolando,” she speaks abruptly. “There isn’t enough mana in this place for me to sustain myself for much longer. Shadow has suggested that I form a contract and tether myself to you, in order to prolong my existence.”

She holds out a flickering, translucent hand.

He smiled, quite embarrassed. He couldn’t let someone worry about him like that, despite his thoughts. Ah, such a conundrum to be in. He had barely met this woman, but he couldn’t bring himself to lie to her.

“You sound like a kind person. I…” not knowing how to answer, he fumbled his words, until something felt off for him.

“!” his feet promptly stood apart from each other, his gaze focusing elsewhere. “Huh,” it was like sensing someone, but something, either size or movement, was diferent from a person.

“A wild animal?”

It seems like she was finally beginning to get through to him. Fu Hua waits eagerly for the young man to respond, ready to wrap up this issue and resume her real mission. Until–

Dammit, why now? A chill runs down her spine as she senses a honkai beast starting to close in on their location. They must’ve lingered in the area for too long. What’s surprising is that she isn’t the only one to have noticed the unnatural presence.

He stops. This was too much worry from just a random stranger. Maybe this girl was just that kind of person, but her insistence on this topic seemed quite… off to the young martial artist.

“Did something happen to you? Did you know someone or something?” there was a bit of “personal experience” radiating from her last words.

Oops, she might have come off a little too strong there...it had been difficult to strike a balance between her “normal civilian” act and the point she’d wanted to make. But now she’s taken that step, she might as well follow through.

“I’ve known certain people who tended to push themselves too hard...and perhaps, too far. Unknown circumstances contain unknown risks, and thus should never be approached lightly.”

“You’re really going for some uncomfortable words there, huh…” at some point he couldn’t just dismiss all of it. But why was this girl being so serious about it. “I get it, I really do, yet…”

“More than just not wanting to miss training… knowing there’s some guy or thing out there,… I kinda would want to see their strength. It’s what gives me drive to get stronger, you know? You never felt anything like that? Wanting to rise above and surpass no matter the cost?”

“...No, I can’t say I have,” Fu Hua’s voice dips, becoming quieter. “There will always be a point when the cost becomes too much.”

The question is, where would you draw the line? Fu Hua had sacrificed many things throughout her life, and she doesn’t regret them, even as those precious memories burned away with Fenghuang Down and left only tinges of regret lingering in her mind. But some individuals are willing to bear much greater costs than that. They would forsake the world, or even their own humanity...

...That probably isn’t what the young man is referring to, though.

“ Oh, c’mon don’t be such a stick in the mud! I wanna talk with you, you’re more important than some dumb homework! “ After giving her a pout, Kiana manages a small, teasing smile.. even if she’s nagging her, it’s not like she’s doing it on purpose to sour the mood.

“ Yeah, yeah… I’ll get back to work on it after we chat. How about that? “ A good compromise! She can work with that, right? It’s not that Kiana wanted to continue procrastinating (okay maybe she does), she just wants to be able to chat with Fu Hua. Food can wait ‘till later… maybe.

“ Besides, we don’t get to talk much. It’s usually always work work work for you, and you always seem so busy. I think you could benefit from a little bit of time off, y’know? “

A good compromise indeed. “Sounds like a plan.” Fu Hua smiles slightly, tilting her head at Kiana’s next words. It’s true that she doesn’t tend to hang around the rest of the girls in a casual setting, but...her presence here hadn’t been for a carefree school life in the first place. Not that anyone needs to know.

“There is always more work to be done. It’s the best use of my time.” Maybe this is the kind of response that tends to get her called a ‘stick in the mud,’ but it’s true. Otto tends to assign her extra tasks, too. “Besides, I do get days off, every now and then. I would use those opportunities to...”

To read. To go through her training exercises. Wait, those are probably boring answers, aren’t they...

He stopped for a second, eyes in the distance as he went through scenarios on his head.

“Humm… I guys with knifes are pretty easy to deal with, a lot of them only use them because they don’t have any technique to begin with, same with trying to overwhelm you with numbers, and with guns, huh…”

He kept thinking about it, deeply. At the level of a master, he could probably predict from someone’s movements enough to just avoid everything while closing the distance, but he didn’t want to claim that as something he could do at least yet. In truth, he didn’t really know what it meant to be in danger yet.

Instead of simply relenting on the matter, the young man seemed to give her hypothetical scenarios some serious thought, like he’s going to start coming up with strategies for each one. Not exactly the reaction Fu Hua had been hoping for.

“That sounds pretty dangerous, after all. Wouldn’t it better not to take the risk?" Why is he being so stubborn about this? Most people tend to back down pretty fast when faced with the risk of getting shot – but then again, most people also tended not to take risks seriously enough until it was right up in their face, either. Maybe she should start trying to think of a plan B.

as the former star she was, eden was in no way unprepared for people to curiously peer at her during her performances. it was a normal for her, even if it had become rather rare as of late… in one way or another. fingers paused against the piano tiles, amber orbs glancing from the corner of her eyes to glance at young hua. a nervous hatchling, she was, so cautious and curious. such caution should be present around fellow flame-chasers; they were friends.

“hua.” gold’s gave a soft huffing smile, turning her body so she could grant hua her full attention. “you aren’t interrupting anything at all. did you need something?” there was a slight pause. “why don’t you come closer? i don’t mind an audience.”

Hua shakes her head. Aside from her own whims, she had no particular reason to be here, which is why she’d felt so tentative about intruding in the first place. But Eden’s invitation is enough for her to lose some of that hesitation, and she steps closer with curious eyes. Briefly, Hua reaches out as if to touch the piano’s polished surface, then seems to think better of it and quickly retracts her hand.

“I was just passing by when I heard you playing.” Her smile is a small, bashful upturn of the lips. “Before I knew it, I found myself wandering this way.”