The air felt dense, with dust in the air and you could still smell the old lab that they used to be in... Now it's nothing more than a fallen burnt tower...

Just the smell alone brings bad memories... Very rarely do those who are experimented on want to come back to this place...

Sirin was no exception whatsoever... I mean... Who would want to go back to the place that had made the living hell out of you?

Perhaps it was the Herrscher's Persona that was luring her back to this place... Perhaps the so-called God that had planned all of this...

It pissed Bella off just by thinking it... To think... such God would stand that low to set an innocent girl into the wheel of fate...

How shallow... Truly shallow...

That God will only use more innocent lives in the future to do its evil doings... They're sick... Just thinking about it is enough to make her blood boil...

And now she's here to face it...

"Well well well... Look at who we have here..." The Herrscher said as she looks down at the group...

"Does this place reminds you of anything? Do you remember when those humans inflicted so much pain on us?"

"Or perhaps did all of you don't want to remember about this place?" Shaking their head in disappointment as the Herrscher continue to stare down at the group...

Bella stood her ground... Galina and Aphora take a step backward and slowly make their way behind the Herrscher's back... And finally, Agata who took a step forward.

"Humanity is always a stubborn bunch... They brush their problems to others and then betrayed them in the end... Don't you think they're going too low?"

Unknown to the Herrscher as Aphora had split her sniper rifle in half, revealing the plasma blades hidden inside the sniper.

Meanwhile, Galina who had spun her scythe almost as if she reloaded a Winchester and revealed a small barrel at the top of the scythe and is currently aiming at the Herrscher.

"Not just human, Sirin. Every living thing in this world is always stubborn."

Just beside Bella as Agata held her sword up. A click of a button as plasma flame manifest around it turning the long sword into a claymore or in other words, a giant greatsword.

"You're only being used by that self-proclaimed God, Sirin. To them, you're nothing more than their pawn." Her arms turn into their dragon form as she readies her stance...

"Me? God's pawn? Hah! How could I be their pawn when I am their favorite?" The Herrscher laughs as she begins to gather energy around her.

"...God's favorite child is nothing but a lie..." Was the last thing she whispered before Aphora leaps at the Herrscher with her blades...

But she blocked it as if the plasma heat did not phase her, follow up was a bullet from Galina's scythe that penetrated the invisible shield.

Bella immediately flew to where the shield have been penetrated and try to grab the Herrscher only for her to teleport away.

Not letting the Herrscher take a breath as Agata did a wide horizontal swing with her greatsword but the Herrscher merely dash away and send lances at her with deadly speed.

With a click of a button, the greatsword returned to its original form and Agata parried the incoming lances by changing its trajectory and making them land just beside her and in front of her.

A mix between a regular sword and a great sword. It's a perfect weapon made just for someone like Agata.

Wanting to deal as much damage as she can while not carrying around a giant sword all the time is quite a blessing to her.

What's not a blessing, however, is the irritated look on the Herrscher's face with each blow she took.

The Herrscher know that the only one that could interact with her sub-space weapon was Bella... And yet... somehow all of them can as well...

Aphora's swords should've phased through the lance that she used to block early and got an easy kill... Not bounce off of it like she hit a wall...

And Galina's bullet... Usually, it would've been crushed when it made contact with the invisible shield... But instead, it shattered the shield like it was glass...

And finally, Agata's sword that had just parried everything...

How is it possible that these human weapons managed to block it!?

Just earlier her lances could pass through solid objects like they were nothing... Then why isn't it working!?

The Herrscher took a closer inspection at the weapons that all of them held. God damn these Suzutech!

"I want all of you to remember this clearly." The young Suzuki said as he look at the trio. Unknown to him was Bella who was leaning behind the wall eavesdropping on their conversation...

He told them that based on his information, the Honkai would turn someone into a being filled with destruction that could end humanity in the future.

And their candidate?

It was Sirin herself.

"THAT'S BULLSHIT!" Agata yelled. I mean who wouldn't when they heard that their friend is going to turn into a being filled with destruction.

"I know what you're thinking-"

"Sirin can't harm a fly! How could she become a destructive being when she is legitimately the most adorable thing in the world!?"

...Thank God Sirin wasn't there that day or else she would've dug her face into a pillow to hide her embarrassment... And scream... Don't want another of those incidents again... 

"I know." The Suzuki nodded. "I was surprised too when I realized that she is a candidate when I found this thing inside her." He said as he pulled a small gem out of his suit.

"What is that?" Galina asked with a concerned look on her face.

"This is a seed to turn one into a Herrscher." He answered. "Once there is an emotion burst for something, It will turn the host into that of a Herrscher."

Before anyone could say anything, he saw the confused look on Aphora's face that she did not understand a single word he said.

"Shiny gem inside Sirin that give her anime powers when she gets too emotional."

"Ah." That was all she said going from confused to understanding what it meant in a matter of seconds.

"Wait... If you took the seed out... Then wouldn't there be any more problem?"

"Fate is quite a bitch." Was all he said to reply to Galina...

"...What?"

"Even if I were to take it away, God of Fate or some unknown idiot would tear down the wall that I had just fixed." He said as he pulled out a spare mug from his pocket and walk to a nearby water dispenser.

A simple red mug that said "For Fox's Sake!" in bold white font... That however wasn't what surprise them... What surprised them was the cup that he pulled from his pocket...

How is it possible that men can carry around so much stuff in their pockets!?

"So, no matter what I do, fate can just hit a button and all my efforts will be in vain." He said before sitting down on a nearby chair.

"That is the fate of a world filled with destruction... No matter how much effort you put into something, it simply does not matter in the end."

"However... when it comes to changing fate... it is surprisingly the easiest." Taking a sip from his mug, someone snorted when they saw what was written at the bottom of the mug.

"Douchebag." Agata whispered the words on the mug, a slight smirk on her face.

Judging by the handwriting it must have been Miss TeRi who wrote it. Those two just love playing tricks on each other huh?

Heard he replaced half of Miss TeRi's favorite bitter melon juice with regular melon juice and cause quite an uproar...

Bella swear! They act just like old friends or heck a mischievous couple!

"On paper, it is easy, but in practice... not so much. Fate is simply a game of chess. Everything is in place and ready to be executed. So, what if I were to meddle with the board? Just a single piece missing from the board could essentially change everything..."

"However, fate is not just a simple game of chess. It's a game that not only you couldn't see or know the position of your pieces, but every move you make is nothing more than stabs in the dark."

"That's why I create multiple backups... multiple countermeasures to stop something after..." The Suzuki stops as he begins to stare down his mug.

"After what?" Agata asked.

"...After I lost a dear sister of mine..." Was all he said... That, however, had made Bella raise an eyebrow...

She only knows that the Suzuki was an only child... And yet why is he talking as if he had someone as a sibling? Could it be someone he knows to see them as a sibling? No, his behavior doesn't show it...

Just when Bella thought she would know about the Suzuki... It keeps getting more confusing every time she got her hands on new information...

"But that doesn't matter anymore." He shook his head as he looked at the trio. "What I need is your help."

"Our help?" Aphora said in disbelief.

"Of course, you're friend with Sirin after all. I don't want fate to ruin anyone's life other than me after all." He said while the trio gave him a look of concern but that was immediately thrown away what he said next.

"Just name a weapon and I will make one for you kids-!"

"We're older than you!"

"And I'll give you a custom car for free-!"

"DEAL!" Agata said immediately. She is a massive fan of cars, especially custom ones... Bring her to a car shop and she'll deem it as heaven... Kind of like a kid in a candy shop to be exact...

Bella however, had stopped eavesdropping on them as she begin to walk away and tried to figure out a way to help her friend out of this Honkai mess...

And perhaps a little bit more about the Suzuki sibling.

-Ω-

A lone girl stood near the cliff as she stare down the tombstone...

The tombstone, however, did not have anything written on it... Only a decayed white orchid in front of it... It didn't take long for the girl to realize who the tomb was meant for...

There were only two people who knew about this location after all...

Just how many years had passed when she was gone?

Years of trying to go back to this place... Only to find their own brother of all people had hung himself inside their own house... What a sick joke...

...

"Are you lost?" Suddenly a voice came to her as she looks back immediately... A ghostly younger version of herself looking up at her. "He had been waiting for you for so long... But you never came back."

"..."

"He missed you... But when you fall into the machine... Everything went downhill for him in the past 7 years." The ghostly version of her continues.

"He told himself that it was his fault and begin to overwork himself... Finding a way to bring you back... Or to find ways that could remind him of you."

"I told him to stop... But he didn't... I told him is this what 'you' wanted... My voice did not reach him..." The younger version of her stood quietly as she stared down at the grave...

"I guess... I really am the worst sibling ever... But... even if I am the worst sibling ever... I would like to make a wish..."

"A wish that I could be with him again..." Was the last thing the young girl said as she began to disappear into thin light, leaving the older girl alone...

The girl could only stand in silence trying to comprehend what had just happened... When she finished, she begins to kneel down at the tomb as she place her fingers to slide across the tomb...

But the moment when she begin to glide her fingers across the plate, the tip of her fingers begin to shine as words began to appear on the tomb almost magically.

"Hikaru Kisaragi" Is what was written on the tomb...

The tomb no longer belongs to her anyway... Not when she's still alive...

The girl began to get up as she look in a random direction before she began walking to where she was looking... Not after giving the tomb one last look...

Regret is the only thing she could feel...