Honkai Impact 3: Deadwood

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——October 2016, 10——

——05:14 am——

"..."

Consciousness gradually recovered from the chaos of a dream...

The cold rain hit the boy's scarred face, accelerating his awakening.

…This time, the captain did not have that dream again, nor did he see the starry sky that he and she had seen together in the distant past.

"Ms. Mei, your time is up, run away!"

The anxious cry echoed in the dark corridor of the boy's consciousness, as if reminding him that he must open his eyes immediately.

But what really woke him up again from a certain point in time in this slightly changed world... was not the urgent calls echoing in his ears at this moment, nor was it the cold raindrops that kept falling on his face.

Rather, it was something that was madly devouring his body and even his soul, bringing him extreme pain that was unbearable for a human being...

"Ahem! Uh-huh!?"

The moment he opened his eyes again, his body subconsciously took a deep breath, and the moist air with a hint of blood rushed into his lungs, giving the captain, who was almost suffocating, a little comfort. But immediately, the pure pain that struck the depths of his consciousness and soul and manifested in his body in the form of "collapse" made the captain fall awkwardly on the ground covered with rain and stains, and began to twist and curl his body uncontrollably.

“Ahem, ugh! Ughhhh!!!”

Even though he had prepared himself for the worst before setting out, the double torture of the purgatory-like pain and something with a clear "will" constantly devouring his soul and consciousness still made the captain, who had just "returned to the present moment", feel unable to bear it for a while.

It was as if his body and mind were being torn into pieces in an endless hell of karmic fire, and he was in so much pain that he had no time to care about his already seriously injured and frail body...

The communicator beside his ear kept sounding shrill alarms, and the silver armor, which had little energy left, was running at full speed to automatically repair a penetrating wound that had appeared out of nowhere on its owner's abdomen.

The captain was wriggling back and forth on the ground of the third air port, breathing heavily, trying to adapt to the pain that could no longer be described as torture. The tactical eyepiece in front of him showed various information about two missing ribs in his chest and internal bleeding in his abdomen.

The captain, who was suffering from both physical and spiritual pain, reluctantly opened his eyes. His blurry dark vision passed over the complicated information. Through the tactical eyepiece, he saw the "Third Airport" in the rainstorm, which had not yet seen the dawn, and the still dark red sky above his head.

Here...am I really...back?

After realizing this, the captain immediately ignited a blazing flame of hope in his heart. That flame even dispelled some of the haze brought about by the erosion of the captain's body and mind by "Honkai".

But even though hope was burning in his heart, the captain did not dare to relax at all. This was not only because if he was not careful, his consciousness would be swallowed up by the will of something that really existed, but also because he knew that he had no time to waste.

After taking a look at the time information displayed on the corner of the tactical eyepiece, the captain, enduring the pain, twisted his body in the rainstorm, struggled to get up, and cast his gaze towards Hyperion who was confronting Sirin in the distant sky.

Immediately, the starry sky in his pupils suddenly shrank, and the captain's gaze was fixed on another girl not far from Xilin, who was wrapped in lightning but looked like she was about to die.

"Bud...!" Turbulent emotions suddenly surged in the boy's chest, turning into almost choked words stuck in the captain's throat. But before the captain could open his mouth, the white-haired "Hersher" twirled his fingers first and issued a cold announcement to everyone on Hyperion.

"Things created by humans should disappear along with humans!"

The moment the crisp snap of fingers sounded, dozens of sub-sky spears shot out from the golden holes beside the "Herrser" and flew towards the bridge of Hyperion at a high speed. The girl who was about to lose consciousness cried and screamed, turned into lightning and flew in front of Hyperion, desperately shooting down the deadly spears that wanted to take the lives of her companions behind her.

So that's how it is. This is the whole picture of the tragedy that happened before I woke up...

As the captain's armor gradually disappeared, revealing tattered clothes, several Sub-Sky Spears turned into shadows, broke through Mei's defense, and flew straight to Hyperion's bridge.

"Doctor, everyone!!!"

Feeling extremely desperate for her own negligence, Mei screamed with all her might and tried to chase after those Sub-Sky Spears that she had not shot down, but it was obviously too late.

Inside the bridge of Hyperion, the silver-haired girl saw the deadly spear coming straight at her. Even though her brain realized that her body would be completely pierced in the next second, her limbs had no time to react.

"Misha!!!!"

Driven by the instinct to protect her family, Mia, who was only a few feet away from Misha, jumped up from the chair and rushed to her important sister.

"…Eh?"

The indigo vision reflecting the sharp spears outside the bridge was eventually blocked by the bodies of his relatives. Even if it was only a brief moment, Misha knew the tragedy that was about to happen.

don't want…

Don't... take my family away...

Don't ever... become like that...!

Anyone can...anyone come...save my sister...!

The girl, who was held tightly in the arms of her most cherished family, prayed desperately, begging someone to change the tragedy that was about to happen...

But no matter how much she prayed to the gods, the only person the girl wanted to ask for help from deep in her heart was always the figure of a certain boy...

……

The tragedy that the girl imagined did not happen after all. The Sub-Air Spears that were about to penetrate the protective windows of the Hyperion bridge were completely intercepted by the sword shield formed by several weapon blades at the very last moment.

Sparks from the collisions flew up in the rainstorm, and after a few sharp and piercing collisions, the Sub-Sky Spears that were blocked by swords and shields flew powerlessly everywhere, while Hyperion's bridge remained unscathed.

The thread of fate that had already been twisted into a strand was pulled by someone who wanted to weave fate again...

"What!?"

There was some surprise in her golden eyes. Xilin turned her head to look in the direction where the sword and shield were flying, but she saw a black-haired boy at the edge of the third air port, dragging his seriously injured body and standing in the storm, staring in her direction.

"That idiot... can actually stand up?"

Looking at the boy's tattered clothes soaked with blood and his frail body trembling in the rain, Xilin was surprised and puzzled. She should not have used such heavy hands when fighting him before...

Just when Sirin was still puzzled, Mei, who had just confirmed that everyone on the bridge was safe, suddenly became weak due to a moment of relaxation and no longer had the strength to stay awake and continue fighting.

"Captain... Sir... You are okay... It's... So good..."

Mei felt relieved knowing that the person had woken up safely, but the exhaustion brought by such relief completely deprived her of consciousness in the blink of an eye.

The lightning wrapped around Mei gradually disappeared, but the countdown of the restraint device did not stop. She no longer had the energy to fully gather the power in her body. She could only let her body fall into the void and onto the cold sea in the countdown to death.