In chaotic nations and turbulent times, life is not worth much.
And among those worthless lives, orphans are perhaps the most worthless of all.
With no one to protect them, they are like weeds by the roadside.
Every year, Schicksal takes in a number of children as cheap as weeds.
And then, sends them to the laboratory.
Like those who signed "voluntary experiment" agreements to cure their illnesses, only to become test subjects, the final destination for these orphans is often a straw mat and a shallow grave.
A girl with long purple hair sat in a room that was more prison than living quarters, silently weeping.
The girl sobbed, letting tears stream down her face, smudging it.
Words like those of a demon echoed in her ears.
"Hey! Is the scrap disposed of yet?"
"Hurry back and continue the experiment, I don't want to waste any more time on this trash!"
Her last friend, Bella, was also dead.
Just like Agata and Avrora.
She and the other test subjects had buried them, under the direction of the researchers.
The girl named Bella had suffered alongside Sirin for many days, but in the end, she couldn't withstand the pain of the experiments and let go.
Only her friends were left to weep quietly in the dark.
Perhaps they were crying for Bella's departure, perhaps for their own plight, or perhaps for the pain of the daily experiments...
Will I die like this, too?
The girl, who had survived repeated experiments, likely because she was a Herrscher-compatible subject, wondered.
Die like Bella, or Agata and Avrora?
She didn't want to die like this.
Before the iron bars of her cage, the purple-haired girl's hands gripped the insurmountable wall that bound everyone's freedom.
Her nails dug into her palms, hurting.
The girl's actions were ultimately a meaningless expenditure of energy.
Glistening teardrops welled up in her eyes, then traced a path down her cheeks to the floor. Her purple eyes were now shrouded in a thick mist.
She wanted revenge.
Power...
If I had power...
If there really is a God, please grant me the power to take revenge...
"God" smiled upon her.
A faint golden light began to flicker in her eyes.
However, she did not yet know how to use this power.
But that didn't matter.
Before long, she would instinctively learn to control Honkai energy and then unleash a one-sided slaughter upon the researchers.
The girl, still unaware of how to use her Herrscher powers, had exhausted herself after her emotional outburst.
The long-term human experiments and confinement had severely stunted her physical development.
There were still more experiments to come, and she might even be transferred to another area.
I should go back and get some sleep, or I won't be able to hold on.
Perhaps because she had vented her emotions by crying for a while, the girl, who had managed to pull herself slightly out of the mire of grief, released her grip on the iron bars. She returned to her simple bed and closed her eyes.
Then, a strange voice sounded.
"Although they can't compare to the folks at the Clock Tower, the researchers here are still first-rate scumbags."
The voice, which appeared as suddenly as a ghost, shattered the purple-haired girl's attempt at sleep.
Who's there?!
The girl, No. 52, whose real name was Sirin, snapped her eyes open, nearly jumping to her feet.
Then, her golden eyes met another pair of equally golden eyes.
"Looks like you've awakened earlier than recorded," the boy, whose eyes had turned golden due to a past Herrscher transformation, muttered as he looked into the girl's eyes.
What is this guy talking about?
Sirin stared at the person who had somehow appeared in her "room." If not for the fear of being punished by the researchers for making a loud noise in the middle of the night, she would have screamed.
A newcomer, assigned to my room because there's not enough space?
No, that's not right.
People died in Babel every day. There was never a shortage of "rooms" to lock people in.
And this guy...
The girl, who was wearing only a simple white lab gown, looked at the person who, despite being dressed casually, wore a very expensive pocket watch and ring. A strong sense of vigilance arose in her heart.
This guy was no test subject.
"Who are you?" the girl asked, her wariness growing as she looked at the boy who had entered this world by some unknown means.
"Don't be so wary," the boy said, a troubled expression on his face. For some reason, he reminded Sirin of the word "kindred." "Such strong vigilance is a very bad development for me, who is trying to do something improper."
These words made Sirin's eyes widen.
To speak so openly of having improper intentions?
She was so shocked that for a moment, she even forgot to ask how this guy had gotten into her room.
"Is it strange?" Li Zihan asked the girl, who was clearly stunned by his statement. He spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "You're very cute, aren't you?"
"It would be strange for a man not to be interested in a cute girl."
Cute?
Hearing such a compliment, Sirin couldn't help but recall her own appearance.
Her hair was a mess because she hadn't taken care of it.
Her skin was sickly pale from the long-term confinement and experiments.
Her body was so thin that there were no feminine curves to speak of.
She wasn't very tall, either.
Would anyone really be interested in me? the girl, who was actually very beautiful and would have grown up to be a first-rate beauty if she had developed normally, wondered.
"Are you a pervert?"
Perhaps because there was something familiar about the person in front of her, Sirin felt no sense of apprehension and spoke her thoughts bluntly.
"More than one person has said that," the boy, who had indeed been called a pervert by more than one person, said with a shrug. "In fact, your future self, or rather, your other self, will curse me for being a pervert every night, and several times at that."
"Sometimes, she'll keep cursing until her legs go weak."
My future self? My other self?
She curses this guy for being a pervert every night?
She curses him until her legs go weak?
What kind of nonsense is this guy spouting?
Sirin, unable to comprehend the guy's words, widened her beautiful eyes.
"Who are you, really?" Sirin asked again, unable to understand this strange person.
Then, she froze.
"I'm your future husband."