8:08 AM.
The flight had landed an hour back. A flight to Nagazora City.
The city was an extremely advanced city, technologically speaking. And of course it was. How could it not be ? After all, Massive Electric Corporation or ME Corp for short, was stationed here.
An advanced metropolis.
Or well, it seemed like an ordinary advanced city at the ends, then became more and more mesmerizing as you went deeper into the commercial hub.
There were many things Arata Kurokami experienced when he arrived at Nagazora.
The bustling streets, even at such an early time of the day.
He saw the birds fly overhead, a normally rare sight in such a large city.
Arata sighed, and ruffled his own hair while waiting for the lights to turn red, so that he may cross the road.
Arata was a handsome young man, with deep raven-black hair that appears to have a natural blue sheen under sunlight. It is slightly long and layered, reaching past the nape of his neck. His bangs fall over his forehead, framing his face while leaving one eye slightly more exposed than the other.
His eyes are his most distinctive physical feature.
To any that see him, they appear to be deep crimson with subtle concentric golden rings around the pupils.
His eyes were mesmerizing to look at. They were such a unique but beautiful pair of eyes that one could easily get lost staring into its abyss.
And he was dressed nicely too, for this occasion.
But despite his wonderful get-up, the raven haired teens' normally handsome face was ruined by a not-so-pleased scowl. One could tell at a glance, that he was impatient, especially with how he was tapping his feet on the ground over and over.
After all, as the saying goes: "Nor every person who is seen wandering about aimlessly on the streets is lost."
"But I sure as hell am."
Because unfortunately, as fate has ordained, Arata Kurokami has an absolutely horrible sense of direction.
Which can't even be blamed on him, since it was a trait that he sacrificed or rather, lost.
"No, no. That was totally your fault. You did this to yourself~" A chipper voice told him on the phone, which made him flinch and let out an irritated sigh.
'Meet my dilemma — Otto Apocalypse.'
Because on the other side of the call, was none other than the man behind all the machinations of Schicksal.
He was a nice-looking, seemingly harmless, green-eyed, golden-haired, five century old Kallen enthusiast and simp, who was simply, wholey dedicated to his one and only childhood sweetheart— Kallen Kaslana.
A scheming man that Arata considered a partner-in-crime and a kindred spirit. A manipulative friend that Arata did not trust in the slightest. A colleague that aided Arata in every way possible, in return for aid when asked. An employer that obeyed his employee, because he could grant him his only wish.
Business partners that annoyed each other whenever the opportunity presented itself — that would be a very apt description of their relationship.
Black-hearted friends that are simply using each other shamelessly with no intent on hiding their own respective intentions.
"Hush, Otto." He grumbled.
"No~" Otto denied, irritating Arata further.
"If you were more moderate about the use of [Adi Parashakti], then you wouldn't have lost your sense of direction." He said that in such a suave tone of voice that it irritated the generally calm boy.
"I will shiv you." He stated irritably, making Otto laugh on the other side of the call.
"I'm counting on it." He casually said, make Arata sigh tiredly.
"Alright then, could you kindly point me to my destination ? I'm afraid I can't read any maps." He begrudgingly asked, making Otto blink and tilt his head in amusement.
Getting a chance to play around with Arata like this was not one that he got regularly. So, as anyone one else would do in his shoes, he decided to take advantage of this one-of-a-kind chance to annoy the hell out of him!
"Why not ? Surely your non-existent sense of direction can't be so bad that you can't read a map anymore, right?"
Arata couldn't tell if Otto was being rhetorical or not, which became yet another source of his dilemma.
"Grr!!" Arata growled like an angry house cat.
"Alright, alright! I'll stop." Otto raised his hands in surrender and sent an image to Arata's phone.
"Hm? What's this?" Arata raised an eyebrow and questioned.
"It's a map of Nagazora City. As horrible as your sense of direction may be now, I figured you could still make use of this. It shows your exact location and maps out the best routes to your destination. Just follow it, and you'll get there in no time."
Arata stared at his phone for a while, standing in that location without moving, staring into the map was given to him. His scarlet eyes tracked the numerous streets and corners that this godforsaken city had and where they all led.
He could faintly see the reflection of those gold encrusted ruby eyes of his on his phone.
He quickly pinpointed his location destination and the quickest path he could take to get there. After tracking that path, he smiled and nodded his head with satisfaction.
"I need to turn the right corner here and then make my way..." He deducted and walked, turning the corner and entering a different street.
During his little excursion, Arata turned his head over to look at the skies. The battered, destroyed skies. That large, fractured celestial body that was almost always visible from any part of Earth.
The moon.
The Eternal Moon.
It was daytime, yet it was still visible. Or rather, its outlines were. Each piece of the fractured moon shone with dense purple energy, radiating through the atmosphere in a wonderful light show. The moon itself was fractured, literally. Fragments of the moon floated around in space, all held together by pure energy of creation.
The fractured moon was a bizarre object orbiting the Earth. By all intents and purposes, it shouldn't even exist. Its very existence is anomalous and defies every manner of modern physics.
It has always been there. Since before the dawn of human civilization in this era, that moon has always been that way. It has always been fractured. Always containing weird energy.
It directly affects the gravity of the Earth and the tides, except it is completely uneven and irregular. Occasionally, fragments of the Eternal Moon get too close to the earth's atmosphere and generate storms within the planet's surface, all of which were identified to be storms of honkai energy.
The moon was an unexplored body. There was never a successful moon-landing expedition. There were many, many attempts, of course. But none of them were successful. The most they could manage, were sending rockets and drones into certain fragments of the Eternal Moon, but no more. They couldn't land on the main body of the moon, the large cracked celestial body that had a large chunk shattered off it.
The closer they got to the moon, the farther it seemed. No matter how much distance was covered, it was impossible to get closer to the moon. It always looked like the moon was a fixed distance away, and anyone that travels, even after centuries of travel, would realise that they have made zero progress and travelled a grand total of zero metres. And yet, despite the passing centuries on Earth, they grew not a second older.
According to scientists, the energy that surrounds and holds the moon together — the energy that's preventing the moon from crashing into the Earth — was the reason for this anomalous reaction. This energy seemed to completely defy the laws of physics. It warped space and time, ignored physical laws and blocked phenomena.
They dubbed it — Adishakti; the "Supreme Power".
Many studies have been done in order to discern the true nature of Adishakti but no progress has been made. As such, many came up with numerous theories in order to explain its paradoxical existence.
Some believed it was a former alien base that was once stationed on the moon, which was destroyed. Others think it was an alien base that is trying to prevent humanity from learning about it.
Maybe the Adishakti is a result of a god's power. The power of a true, almighty God.
Maybe it is some kind of incomprehensible cosmic phenomenon that can be understood and studied, but humanity lacks the necessary advancements required to do such a thing.
Maybe it was the fundamental source of energy from which all things come from — creation, destruction and everything in between.
Maybe it was something left behind by a former group of humans, in an era of humans before the current era of humanity. An era of humanity that were allegedly wiped out by the honkai.
There were entire websites, studies and even professions dedicated to these conspiracy theories.
"Today's the first eclipse of April..." Arata noted, making Otto hum on the other side.
"Yup~"
A solar eclipse. Or rather, a new moon, if you will. It was a unique event that happens every ten days. During those ten days, the Eternal Moon will move to blot out the sun. Even though it is shattered, no light can pass through the cracks — Adishakti prevents it. This leads to a solar eclipse that lasts for roughly one hundred and eight minutes with a time interval of two hundred and forty hours between each eclipse.
During these one hundred and eight minutes, the sky turns as black as tar. Nothing is visible. No sun. No moon. No stars. No natural light.
The first eclipse of the month of April, in the year 2013, happens today. On the day of Arata's arrival in Nagazora City.
"Why don't we actually get on with business, Otto ?" Arata's voice sharpens and his expression turns serious.
"About the Black Box, you mean ?" Otto enquired rhetorically.
"Yes. Retrieving the Black Box is of utmost importance!" Arata stated with a firm sense of determination, which the effect of his beautiful eyes encircling within.
During the Previous Era's war against the Honkai, Dr. MEI and Vill-V created a powerful sealing artifact powered by unknown energy to serve as a "lock" to contain threats.
Several millennia later in the late 1400s, the box fell into the hands of Schicksal, who conducted horrific experiments—including sacrificing young girls—trying to unlock its power or find a cure for a rising plague.
After discovering these inhumane experiments, a Saintess, Kallen Kaslana stole the Black Box from Schicksal and fled eastward to find a way to seal it permanently. And that moment is what marked the beginning of the end and became the source of all changes until the modern era.
"You will return the Black Box to me after retrieving it, won't you?"
"Sure... I have no need for the seal after I've assimilated [Dhumavati]."
Arata's gaze swept across the streets. Within the motion-filled cornea of his eyeballs, the golden circles moved around in gear-like motions so fine that it couldn't be seen unless one looked closely. The effect of golden clockwork dipped in a sea of red.
"And you certain in your ability to do that ?"
"Assimilating THEM through the box is but a simple task. Doing it outside the box is far more complicated, since that means I would have to physical fight and kill THEM first." Arata's mind wandered as he explained the source of his urgency, slowly looking back at his own non-existent memory to envision a giant white humanoid-yet-monstrous silhouette.
"And you're certain you can handle that too ?" His question made Arata go silent, staring listlessly forward, before choosing to answer.
Can he handle [Dhumavati] ? Can he handle a Mahavidya-Class Honkai Beast ? Was Otto really asking him that ? Who else but him could?!
"I'd rather it not come to that. [Dhumavati] has no host, at the moment. THEIR host body perished 536 years ago in the Far East. You of all people should know that. Which means, should it ever be freed, THEY will manifest as a honkai beast, in its true-est state and true body. An undesirable outcome for all."
Arata grimaced at the thought of that monstrous creature breaking free and running rampant. Without a specially made "human host" a powerful Mahavidya-Class honkai beast will bring ruin to the world. He of all people, he better than anyone, knew the type of horror that such an ordeal foretold.
"But doesn't [Dhumavati] possess only eight percent of [Mahakali]'s source ? Amongst the lesser segments, so it shouldn't be a threat for a powerful fusion warrior who wields Adi Parashakti, right?"
Otto didn't really seem all that worried like Arata was. Why would he be ? Arata's presence there was his win button, after all. Though, that lack of worry may also be because he doesn't fully understand what a Mahavidya-Class honkai beast truly is.
He could never understand the true scale of it. Not without seeing it with his own eyes.
"A Mahavidya's power is not necessarily marked by the portion of the source. Firstly, no living thing can withstand a Mahavidya's power within their mortal bodies unless they're a fusion warrior created for that sole purpose. This naturally means that a host cannot output nearly as much power as the true body of the honkai beast."
"Facing a Mahavidya, in video game terms, it's basically like facing a two-phase boss fight. First you beat the host, then you fight the real boss." Arata explained a little more, no longer paying attention to the direction he was going in and taking a left.
"It's like the difference between a pseudo-herrscher and a true herrscher. A Mahavidya Host has limits with what they can achieve with their abilities, even with the added buff of being a fusion warrior hand-crafted for the purpose of being a host. On the contrary, a full honkai beast possess no such restrictions. They have their true body, full authority, and can draw out infinite honkai energy from the Imaginary Space."
"[Dhumavati] specifically is a tricky one to deal with if done in an area containing life. [Dhumavati], upon manifesting, will immediately rip the souls out of every living thing in Nagazora in under a second. THEY will continue to do this until THEY have assimilated the entire world into THEIR abyss. The land, the earth, the skies and even the souls of everyone will be devoured and erased." Arata explained the true seriousness of the predicament they find themselves in right now; which Otto seems to not take as seriously as he should.
"I see. That truly isn't desirable. But I trust that you can handle it if it comes to that ?" Otto asks, his eyes shining with trust towards the young boy.
Arata sighed and ruffled his own hair. "Yeah, yeah... I can handle [Dhumavati], but the collateral will be immense. If possible, I'd rather avoid an actual confrontation with THEM."
No one will actually die though. He would not allow it.
Collateral damage ? Can't be avoided. But casualties ? Not on his watch!
Arata, to his knowledge and based on his limited memories, had never faced any Mahavidya or seen one for the matter, yet his knowledge of [Dhumavati] comes from pure memory — soul memory. Not even he understands why he knows what he knows.
"But as long as it is contained within the Box of God, it cannot wreak havoc, right?"
"That is true. But a proper awakening, followed by a large supply of honkai energy, will awaken it. So essentially–"
"A Honkai Eruption." Otto finished his sentence for him.
"...yes. That would be enough to awaken THEM."
"In that case, you better find it quickly." Otto quipped playfully, making Arata grumble.
Why on earth does this blonde simp thinking he's here ?
Each recurring conversation with Otto recently had left him feeling more and more irritated. Was that man even fulfilling his part of their deal ?
"Are you even sure it's here in Nagazora City?" He snapped back.
"According to my sources — Yes, it is in the area."
That reply made Arata narrow his eyes. "Too vague... I won't question what sources got you that kind of information, but there's nothing I can do with it."
He could only hope that Otto was correct. Because if he was not right, and [Dhumavati] somehow awakened at a different region, the casualty count would be uncountable.
"All I know is that it is in or around Nagazora City. It could be in the epicenter, or in the outskirts of the city. It could be in the commercial hub, or the train station. It could be inside a building or in a high tech vault. It could be in one of the mountainous regions outside the city. It could be under the possession of some large organisations or corporation or just some rich person. It could have been found by a normal person. It could be on the side of the streets somewhere. It could be in a garbage heap or the sewers. It could be buried somewhere underground. It could be underneath the roads. It could even be under your foot right now. It's up to you to find it!"
Otto starts rambling and rambling, making Arata stop walking and just stare at the sky with a dead expression on his face.
So this blonde-haired moron genuinely had no idea where the box was and he had to do everything himself, again! This cunning man hadn't changed one bit, not even after five hundred years!
"How wonderful... So you're just sending me on a wind goose chase to find one box in a city, and you're telling me it could even be buried underground?!" Arata had visible veins across his face, an unstable energy pouring out of him as rage started to build up within him.
"It could also be underground inside a mountain outside of Nagazora City~" He added playfully, making Arata snap at him angrily.
"YOU'RE ENJOYING THIS AREN'T YOU??!"
'How the hell am I to find it without literally ripping the city and everything around it open?! Screw you Otto! I hope you step on a small lego!!'
"This is going to take forever..." Arata tiredly sighed, his body deflating like a balloon.
"Yeah... That's why I've arranged something for you!" He sounded more chipper now. For some reason, that made Arata feel very uncomfortable.
I don't like that tone of his...
"Okay... And what might those arrangements be ?" Arata questions with a careful and hesitant tone of voice.
"Arata Kurokami... You're going to school!!" Otto declared loudly across to phone, making Arata state forward dumbly.
Arata Kurokami: (???)
"Remember that test I made you take earlier ?"
"The one with those college level questions ? I was wondering why you made me take that test." Arata spoke in a low voice now, clearly displeased as he slowly recalled those numerous test papers Otto randomly threw at his face one fine day.
"Yes! Turns out you did so well in that test that you garnered a lot of attention! Just a few strings pulled from me, and I enrolled you into Chiba Academy through a sponsorship from Raiden Ryoma, the head of Massive Electric Corporation."
...
One.
Two.
Three.
That silence persevered for three seconds.
Before–
"YOU WHAT?!!"