Siberia, the border region.
Late at night, at the B-17 Military Supply Station.
A young female officer in a green uniform with a single ponytail, blonde hair, and violet eyes hurried through the snow.
Her appearance was youthful and beautiful, and her uniform added a touch of heroic spirit to her demeanor.
Following the trail and clues on the ground, Cocolia arrived at a somewhat remote warehouse.
With a click, she forced open the door and shone her flashlight on the dim shadows inside.
"Freeze! Everything in here is national property."
"Your act of theft is enough to send you to a military tribunal."
She moved her flashlight around.
The room was filled with military-standard weapons—rifles, rocket launchers, and more.
If her guess was right, she had caught someone smuggling military supplies—an insider.
Her strong sense of justice made her both angry and proud.
"Captain Cocolia..."
The man, who had his back to her, hesitated before slowly turning around.
Cocolia's pupils widened in shock.
"Colonel Alexei?! How could it be you?!"
"You've been stealing supplies and selling them to the black market all this time?!"
She couldn't believe it—the person guilty of selling military assets was her superior officer.
"Listen to me, there's a reason for this. It's an order from the higher-ups..."
"Don't get involved. Just pretend you didn't see any of this."
Alexei tried to persuade her earnestly.
"No!"
Cocolia drew her pistol, resolutely choosing righteousness over loyalty.
"I must arrest you. Save your excuses for the military court."
...
One month later.
Inside a heavily guarded military prison in the region.
Cocolia sat crouched in the corner of her cell, deep in thought.
"Damn it!!"
"...Why am I the one who ended up in here?!"
"Ah!!!"
She took a swig from her vodka flask.
At the military tribunal, she realized how naive and inexperienced she had been.
This wasn't something Colonel Alexei could have done alone—the entire military hierarchy was corrupt from top to bottom.
The smuggling of weapons to the black market was orchestrated by generals at even higher levels.
They colluded, denied their crimes, and shifted all the blame onto Cocolia.
"Tch..."
As she gazed absently out the window, heavy footsteps echoed outside. Colonel Alexei stood by the cell door, sighed, and called out to her.
"It's me, Alexei."
"Cocolia, I'm sorry. I told you not to meddle."
"The military has always been like this. Everyone does it. You're still too straightforward. If I hadn't pleaded for you, you'd be facing more than confinement."
"Hmph."
Cocolia snorted and turned her head away.
"So you're saying I should give up? Or join you?"
"I can't stand people like you. It's because of people like you that this country..."
She gripped the bars tightly, her voice filled with conviction.
"Because of your corruption, the orphanages can't even get enough funding!"
"Do you know how many orphans are starving—just like I did when I was a child?..."
"Enough."
Alexei interrupted her shouting.
"Cocolia, think about it carefully."
"I know you send money to the orphanage every month. Those kids mean a lot to you. You need money, don't you?"
"Sometimes, to achieve your goals, you have to abandon certain principles."
"If you're willing to join us, I can have you released anytime. Think about it."
"..."
Cocolia stared blankly at Alexei's retreating back.
The country was falling apart; once-righteous men had become corrupt and rotten.
She slumped against the wall, torn between ideals and reality.
"Impossible..."
"It's because of people like you... that things turned out this way..."
Days, weeks, months passed...
Cocolia knew clearly that during her imprisonment, arms smuggling continued rampant as ever.
It wasn't only in her own unit—similar incidents must be happening elsewhere as well.
Her superiors hadn't killed her, but they wouldn't release her either.
Unless she agreed to join them in their corruption.
"...No."
She gripped her hair in frustration.
"Without me, those children..."
She refused to abandon her principles, but thoughts of the orphanage children tormented her.
It had been so long since she last sent them money—she wondered how they were doing now...
"..."
"Uh... I guess this is expected?"
Aboard the starship.
Setsuna watched the imprisoned Cocolia below with an awkward expression.
Originally, she should have escaped soon after being framed and imprisoned, amid the chaos caused by the Second Eruption.
But since Sirin had been rescued, the Herrscher of the Void would not appear for now—and Siberia had not suffered a catastrophic Honkai outbreak.
Not to mention, Anti-Entropy had never even been established.
The resulting chain reaction meant Cocolia would probably stay in prison until her death.
And from the looks of it, she wasn't the type to compromise.
"Wow, she's really different from the impression I had—young Cocolia's got quite the fire in her."
Grey peeked over curiously.
Unlike her later, notorious self, this Cocolia was still a captain in the army—sharp, righteous, and full of youthful spirit.
Moreover, according to the Sophon's report, she often donated to orphanages—showing genuine compassion.
"Wait, I have a question."
Setsuna tapped the table.
"What about Bronya and Seele? I remember they both lost their parents during the Second Eruption and were later adopted into Cocolia Orphanage, right?"
"Now that there's no Second Eruption, and Siberia's peaceful, with Cocolia imprisoned... what happens to the future?"
He rubbed his temples.
"Well... I suppose everyone's lives would be better? Not as tragic as in the original storyline."
Grey grinned, checking the Tree projection.
"Don't worry, no one will go missing. But we'll need to rescue Cocolia—she's crucial to this world's development later on."
...
"Lord..."
Inside the prison, Cocolia leaned against the wall, praying out of habit.
Day after day.
Each day in that place passed in restlessness and unease.
Rationality told her she would never be released unless she gave in to her superiors' demands.
But her sense of justice and conscience refused to let her.
"Ah..."
As she gazed absently at the night sky—
"?"
She noticed several figures descending toward her window—
They had pure white wings and angelic faces, shining brilliantly in the darkness of night, captivating to behold.
"What is that? Angels?..."
The next moment—
[High Electromagnetic Interference Ready]
Zzzzap—
Boom, boom, boom—
All electronic devices in the military base were disabled instantly.
High-energy weapons sliced through the prison walls as easily as cutting butter, leaving a clean, gaping hole.
"Ah?!"
Cocolia instinctively crouched in the corner, trying to reach for her weapon, only to realize she had been disarmed.
Clack—
Amid the rubble, Ikaros landed gracefully before her, extending a hand.
"Target confirmed: Cocolia. Unharmed. Mental state stable."
"Master wishes to see you. Come with me."
...
"Ababa..."
Even after boarding the starship, Cocolia remained utterly bewildered.
She pinched her cheek—it hurt.
Not a dream.
From the moment the Angeloid pulled her out of prison to her arrival aboard the ship—it had taken less than ten minutes.
The sudden twist of fate was too much to process.
"Hm?"
Cecilia, Kallen, and several Valkyries turned to her with curious gazes.
Cocolia, still in her military uniform, looked completely out of place among them.
"Yo, Cocolia, nice to meet you."
"Due to some timeline adjustments, we had to take a more direct approach to get you out. Hope you don't mind."
Setsuna smiled as he spoke.
"Eh?"
Cocolia was still in complete shock.
Who am I? Where am I? What's happening?
What was this ship? Why did they rescue her?
It wasn't until she saw the insignia of the Starsea Empire aboard the starship that she finally understood.
"You're... the rumored..."
Although the Starsea Empire's actions mostly involved Schicksal, the military had heard whispers and kept some records.
"That's me."
Setsuna nodded.
Grey stepped forward and extended an invitation to her.
"Simply put—want to join us? We'll have missions for you in the future."
"Cocolia, you don't really want to go back to that prison, do you?"
"Eh?..."
It took Cocolia a long time to recover from the shock.
She realized she had been rescued by a civilization that had previously only existed in rumors—a super-civilization.
"You want me to join you? Huh? Why?"
"I still don't even know who you people are or what your goals are."
Her instincts as a soldier made her uneasy.
Their technology was far beyond anything on Earth, and their motives were unclear.
"We already know about your situation down there, Cocolia. Don't tell me you want us to send you back to prison?"
Setsuna joked casually.
"Of course, if you insist, the Angeloids could handle that too. We could even rebuild the prison for you—and adjust everyone else's memories while we're at it."
"???"
Cocolia felt like she was listening to mythology.
She truly had nowhere to go. Now that she knew the dark secrets of her superiors, her only options were to either join their corruption—or rot in prison until death.
Perhaps it wouldn't be long before she "accidentally" died in custody.
"As for who we are... well, we've had quite a few new arrivals lately. I'll let someone else explain things to you—and help you get familiar with the environment."
Setsuna waved a hand dismissively.
Every time they rescued another Earth native, he had to go through the same explanation again.
From Jingwei, Kallen, and Einstein to Cecilia—they had all gone through the same thing.
A few times was fine, but after many, he felt like a tour guide. So he started assigning others to do it instead.
"Miss Cocolia, please follow me."
An Angeloid gestured politely.
"I will brief you on the Starsea Empire and answer any questions you may have. The Commander bears no hostility toward you, so please rest assured."
"Oh..."
Cocolia thought for a moment. She really didn't have much choice now.
The starship was hovering in outer space—where could she possibly run?
So she cautiously followed the Angeloid, touring the ship and receiving the Starsea Empire's "education" for locals.
"This vessel's weaponry is incredibly advanced... and their attitude is ambiguous... they could be a threat to Earth..."
"Hm?"
While walking around and thinking to herself, she suddenly noticed something unexpected—the ship had a lot of children.
"Mom!"
Cecilia and Kallen were dining with a group of little girls. The children clearly adored them, especially Sirin, who clung tightly to Cecilia's side.
"These are the children we recently rescued from the Babylon Labs. If you're interested, I can explain the general situation."
The Angeloid spoke softly.
"Babylon Labs?"
Cocolia frowned.
"You mean that strange facility out on the Siberian tundra?... It was destroyed recently because of a reactor explosion, wasn't it?..."
Her troops had been stationed in Siberia, so she knew about that isolated experimental base.
It was under the control of a powerful organization—Schicksal—but no country had the authority to interfere in its internal affairs.
"A reactor explosion? Heh, that's the official story Schicksal gave the public—a very polished lie."
The Angeloid shook her head.
"If you want to know what really happened, I'll tell you later."
Although Cocolia still had some doubts about the Starsea Empire, seeing the children walking freely aboard the ship eased her tension significantly.
Then—
Under the Angeloid's explanation, her expression shifted from confusion to shock, until finally she could only stare blankly and mutter, "Ababa..." as she listened to one impossible, futuristic concept after another.
...
"Commander, Cocolia has completed her orientation."
A few hours later, the Angeloid reported back to Setsuna.
"She has a general understanding of the Starsea Empire's basic structure. However, the impact was quite severe—she's still in a state of mild mental disorientation."
At this age, Cocolia knew almost nothing about the Honkai—let alone the concept of another world entirely.
Her comprehension ability still fell short of scientists like Einstein or Edison—after taking in too much advanced knowledge all at once, her brain temporarily shut down. She would need some time to process it.
"How does Cocolia see us?"
Cecilia asked curiously.
"She... after learning about what happened at Babylon Labs, holds quite a grudge against Schicksal and her former military unit."
The Angeloid answered honestly.
"She seems to blame herself—why she hadn't noticed Schicksal's abnormal activities earlier, why she didn't go to the lab to investigate sooner."
"Hmm, that sounds like her. Let her rest for now."
Setsuna smiled faintly.
That mindset was exactly what the current Cocolia would have.
But even if she had found out sooner and charged into the lab driven by justice, the result would've been worse.
She didn't have Cecilia's or Kallen's ability to single-handedly take on Schicksal's troops. Against those unethical scientists, it would have been suicide.
Boom—
After settling Cocolia, the starship performed a high-dimensional shift, continuing forward along the spacetime axis.
Setsuna glanced at the branching world-tree projection—the Research Division had simulated countless possible futures.
Even after saving Sirin, if they hadn't extracted Cocolia, her dying in prison had been within expectations.
With the Second Eruption as the divergence point, the Honkai world's future had split dramatically.
The Babylon Labs was wiped out, and the Herrscher of the Void was never born.
Bronya remained an ordinary girl, born to Colonel Alexei's family, both parents alive. She likely would never become the "Silver Wolf of the Ural."
Seele was the same.
In the original timeline, she had been orphaned by the Second Eruption, which led to her meeting Bronya at the Cocolia Orphanage. Now, that meeting would never occur.
Cocolia's disappearance caused a brief stir in the military but was quickly covered up.
The upper command searched a radius of several hundred kilometers, found nothing, and gradually forgot the matter.
After all, who would believe a mere army captain could threaten the interests of the entire military? Even if she appealed to the commander-in-chief, it would make no difference—they were all the same.
"The justice Cocolia sought... we'll help her fulfill it in the future."
Setsuna said lightly, instructing the Sophon to continue recording everything below.
"Wait, what now?"
"Are we really going to keep rescuing them one by one?"
Gudako frowned as she looked at the world map, dotted with locations of individuals scattered across the globe.
"Hmm..."
Setsuna fell silent in thought.
The good news was that all tragedies tied to the Second Eruption—Cecilia's death, the final lesson, and others—would never happen.
The bad news... who knew what kind of world the future would become, or how the fates of the Three Houses would change.
"Don't worry."
Grey said confidently, reviewing the predictive report.
"According to our simulations, history will eventually converge. Everything is still within expectations."
"And Theresa will be the key figure to stabilize the worldline."
"Oh?"
Setsuna shifted his focus toward Theresa.
After receiving Otto's orders, she had been working tirelessly on an uninhabited island in the Far East, building St. Freya Academy.
"Hmm..."
Theresa scratched her head in frustration as she reread the Archbishop's instructions.
"Train S-rank Valkyries... and also teach them aerospace knowledge for future space exploration..."
"So troublesome..."
Training S-rank Valkyries was no easy task. It required strict physical and mental conditioning, as well as exceptional talent.
Moreover, Schicksal's new initiative was to cultivate "Interstellar Valkyries"—not just to combat the Honkai, but also to prepare for possible conflict with the Starsea Empire.
Thus, they needed multi-skilled individuals.
"Hmm... capable of mastering Valkyrie power and understanding aerospace engineering... do such people even exist?..."
After pondering for a long time, Theresa decided to begin her global search for suitable candidates.
Using Schicksal's influence, she launched a worldwide selection program.
Every day, countless profiles and applications came flooding in, and Theresa carefully reviewed each one.
Whenever she found a young girl with strong Honkai adaptability, she personally went to recruit her.
Her gentle sincerity was irresistible, and coupled with the noble dream of fighting the Honkai, most girls willingly joined the academy.
"Hmm?..."
One day, while reviewing the incoming data, something caught her attention.
Within the intelligence files gathered by Schicksal's network, she noticed a particularly outstanding individual.
A fifteen-year-old genius who had already completed her university education and applied for a Ph.D. in Interstellar Propulsion Dynamics at Caltech.
"Wait—there's no one more perfect than her!"
Theresa exclaimed in excitement.
Excellent Honkai adaptability, stellar academic performance, and a specialty in interstellar propulsion—the perfect match for St. Freya Academy's mission.
Shhh—
She carefully reviewed the girl's profile.
A red-haired girl with a high ponytail and vibrant energy.
"Murata Himeko—it's you!"
"Let's explore the sea of stars together!!"
—
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