Chat Group : Another Fate From Honkai

Her fiery-red hair blazed like a living flame, and a few fleeting traces of pain crossed her pale, strikingly beautiful face.

Sweat trickled down her cheeks, sliding along the curve of her neck.

Murata Himeko on the other side gasped for breath, her arms trembling as she braced herself against the wall, forcing her body to move.

The staircase stretched endlessly downward.

'What is going on here…?'

She narrowed her eyes, reaching out—only for her hand to pass straight through another version of herself, as though through a hologram.

Yet it didn't quite feel like an illusion… more like they were separated by an endless gulf of space, time, and dimensions.

Everyone's gaze instinctively shifted toward Kanami, their eyes filled with uncertainty.

"The Imaginary Tree," Kanami began, raising one slender finger, "is the birthplace of all truths and laws. It nurtures countless worlds. Even the Tree itself doesn't have two identical leaves… but similar leaves? Those exist, and there are many of them."

"What you're seeing right now," he continued, "is a projection of spacetime information from another world, cast into our current reality."

"In a normal physical world, bending spacetime requires an immense mass or energy. To project it across realities takes even more."

"Normally, this only happens beyond a singularity—deep within the Quantum Sea or the roots of the Imaginary Tree."

He paused briefly, lips curling in a faint smile.

"But… maybe my sword earlier accidentally tore open an imaginary-space rift, and with the Dominance Herrscher Core going berserk, the two energies combined. Causing a phenomenon like this wouldn't be impossible."

Countless six-pointed stars shimmered in his clear eyes as he looked through layers of folded space, his gaze settling on the collapsed, black-hole-like Dominance Core.

That Core… was the singularity.

His voice carried the faintest trace of gravity—so subtle it was almost missed.

"If this isn't handled properly… we could face an Imaginary Invasion."

"Um… what's an Imaginary Invasion?" Mei raised her hand like a diligent student asking a question she didn't understand.

"In essence," Kanami explained, "it's when ordinary space is corroded and assimilated by imaginary space. If left unchecked, it will spread—eventually consuming the entire world."

He glanced at the group, whose faces had paled noticeably, and suddenly lightened his tone.

"Don't worry, everyone. For me, cleaning this up is a piece of cake~"

"…Please finish speaking in one go next time." Durandal let out a long breath of relief, still visibly shaken.

She was the only one here who consistently addressed Kanami with such formality.

"Then why haven't you acted yet? Are you… hesitating?" Fu Hua frowned slightly, a rare trace of curiosity breaking through her calm demeanor.

Kanami didn't answer directly.

Instead, his gaze shifted to the struggling figure of the other Murata Himeko.

"If I'm not mistaken," she said, "that's the Himeko-sensei from another world."

Mei followed her line of sight to the crimson-haired figure. "She looks… badly hurt."

"Don't look at me. I have no idea what's going on in that world," Himeko shrugged, sensing Mei's questioning glance. "If you want answers, ask Kanami."

"You'll understand if you just keep watching."

At Kanami's prompting, everyone turned their attention back to the battered figure.

This Himeko wasn't too concerned—getting injured was part of a soldier's life, after all.

She had no idea why her other self was in a Schicksal lab, but she had been through enough battles to know injuries were nothing unusual.

———————————————————————

At last, the otherworldly Himeko reached the lowest level of the lab.

Light followed her down, spilling across the chamber and revealing its shape—like a grand, solemn cathedral.

Lining the walls were suits of armor—many missing from their places while at the far end, imprisoned behind reinforced restraints, stood a suit of crimson armor.

"So this is the end… Is this what you wanted me to find, Fu Hua?"

———————————————————————

The name was unexpected.

Himeko turned to glance at the real Fu Hua beside her, who looked equally surprised.

Scarlet feathers drifted lazily through the air, and a white-haired, red-eyed figure of breathtaking elegance appeared before the other Himeko.

"That's… the power of Fenghuang Down…"

Fu Hua's brows knit tightly.

What had happened in that other world? Why had she given Himeko one of her feathers?

Gazing at that achingly familiar face, Fu Hua—no, the Crimson Immortal—felt a momentary daze.

———————————————————————

"You've finally made it…" The Immortal's voice was light, yet tinged with gravity.

"This is what you need—Otto's hidden secret. His other trump card: the God-Slaying Armor, Vermilion Knight: Eclipsed Moon."

"This is our only weapon left to fight the Herrscher of the Void. It doesn't belong to this era—it's a relic from the Previous Era civilization."

———————————————————————

"I've heard of it from the Overseer," Durandal explained to the others. "All of Schicksal's other God-Slaying Armors were modeled after this one."

———————————————————————

"Otto devised a mad plan," the projection of the Crimson Immortal continued.

"He linked the Gem of Haste to this armor, creating a weapon capable of fully replicating the power of the Herrscher of Flames.

Before Kiana's experiment began, he ordered all S-rank Valkyries—should anything go wrong this weapon would be the final measure against the Herrscher of the Void."

———————————————————————

"Kiana's… experiment?"

Because the evolution of the 'Herrscher of the Void' in this timeline had gone so smoothly, Mei had no idea there had even been any kind of experiment involving her.

Tilting her head toward Kanami, Mei caught the look that said, I'll explain later, before turning her gaze back to the scene before her.

———————————————————————

"…I can't use it right now." The Crimson Immortal's voice carried a faint note of sorrow. "You're the only one I can turn to for help. But in the end, the choice will still be yours."

"Heh, don't say things like that." With a faintly disdainful tone, the golden eyes of Himeko blazed with a resolve as sharp as a blade forged from iron and stone.

"I made my choice a long time ago!"

"…Then I'll help you put it on." Fu Hua stepped up to the armor and extended her hand. "Once you wear this suit, the Herrscher Core will begin to erode your mind. I'll do my best to hold it back—but the most important battle will be yours alone."

"Fu Hua… who are you, really?" Himeko's gaze locked onto the Crimson Immortal's, searching for answers.

———————————————————————

At the same time, in another space and time, Himeko's question made everyone—except Kanami—turn their eyes toward Fu Hua.

"Class president, who exactly are you…?"

From their fight against the Herrscher of Domination, everyone present already knew Fu Hua wasn't an ordinary person, but the urgency of the moment had left no time for explanations.

———————————————————————

"I'm just a failure. Someone, like you, who wanted to change the way things are."

———————————————————————

The Crimson Immortal answered before Fu Hua could, and her words drew a bittersweet smile from Fu Hua herself.

"She's right. I'm just a failure. I only got lucky… lucky enough to meet—"

Fu Hua turned her head.

The first thing she saw was the bright smile of a white-haired boy.

She shook her head helplessly.

In her mind, the little Herrscher of Sentience was shouting things like 'Dad is invincible!' at the top of her lungs.

———————————————————————

"…I see."

On the other side Himeko take a deep breath, as she stepped into the armor's chamber.

The last voice she heard came like a final salute:

"Major Himeko, thank you for all you've taught me. If fate allows… let us meet again in the future."

The quiet laboratory echoed with the crisp click of high heels on steel.

The crimson warrior clad in God-Slaying Armor radiated heat hotter than flame, her eyes blazing with a fire that could consume everything in its path.

Light spilled over her, and just as it had when she arrived, the brilliance embraced her as she departed—holy as the dawn… and just as fleeting.

———————————————————————

The sight of her departing figure, burning bright like a living flame, held every gaze until she vanished. Only then did someone finally speak.

"Kanami, tell me—what exactly happened in that world?"

With a look of grave seriousness, Himeko fixed her eyes on the boy whose gentle gaze had followed the crimson warrior's departure.

"It's a bit complicated—too much for words. So… I'll just send it to you directly!"

The moment Kanami's voice fell, a flood of memories surged into everyone's minds.

Sirin. The Herrscher of the Void. Kiana's capture by Schicksal…

The raid on Schicksal HQ. The battle against Rita and Fu Hua, ending in unconsciousness…

Receiving the HSN-b46 serum from Fu Hua, delivering it to Tesla to forge the God-Slaying Spear…

And then—arriving here.

"So… that's how it was…"

The words slipped out in a murmur.

Himeko swung her fist at the air beside her, but it passed through the projection.

"Damn you, Otto!"

She could feel the unshakable resolve of her other self from that world—the determination to burn herself away just to light the road ahead.

If she had never met Nagami… perhaps this really would have been her fate.

Looking at it that way… it didn't seem bad at all.

No—there couldn't be a better way to bow out.

To fall, wielding the strength of your students—that was the most romantic ending a teacher could hope for.

"Himeko-sensei~"

Her name rolled off Kanami's tongue as he smiled, eyes reflecting the image of Himeko's silent, clenched fists.

"I think I told you before~"

That easy, sunlit smile… that confident voice like a blade cutting through despair—

"I'm the best!"