🚨 Important Note : For the continuity of this story consider to Support us on Pãtreon/Flokixy to access advance Chapters and To Support The Daily Update
Mikazuki opened his eyes, the blinding sunlight making him squint.
Soon, adapting to the light, Mikazuki stood up and found himself lying on a piece of barren land.
"This is... Barbatos?"
As Mikazuki surveyed his surroundings, he discovered Barbatos, which should have been dilapidated but was now perfectly intact and kneeling behind him.
Its overall blue and white color scheme, sharply angled head with two yellow antennas resembling wolf ears, light green eye monitors that could project images into the cockpit, and a red sensor integration block on its chin, made the entire mobile suit resemble a lone wolf.
He frowned tightly, looking at Barbatos, which was identical to how it looked when he first piloted it, recalling what had just happened.
"I should have been... while covering everyone's retreat. Why am I here? And Barbatos is fine too. What's going on?"
Mikazuki got up and surveyed his surroundings again, his brows furrowing even deeper. He and Barbatos seemed to be on a battlefield that had ended long ago.
The area was littered with metallic wreckage, clearly identifiable as various MS parts: hands, heads, legs, armor, weapons. All sorts of destroyed MS components were scattered on the ground.
"This isn't Mars. Where exactly is this...?"
However, the next moment, Mikazuki's expression turned to one of shock. He stared blankly at the right half of his body, his right leg, right arm, and he blinked his right eye...
"I can move, I can see... What... what's going on? I should have..."
The right half of his body should have been taken by Barbatos. Only when connected to Barbatos could he regain the sensations and vision of the right half of his body. But now, he wasn't connected to Barbatos.
He carefully observed Barbatos. It wasn't in its Rex form either; it was in its initial, original state when he first activated it. Next to it was a hammer-mace, his favorite weapon, stuck in the ground.
Looking at his right hand, moving freely.
"What exactly... is going on?"
He, who had always been disinclined to think, was now bewildered. Even if he wanted to think of nothing, he felt something was wrong.
He had clearly been fighting on Mars against Gjallarhorn, gravely injured and on the verge of death, with the right half of his body paralyzed. Why was he now perfectly intact in this unknown place?
"Is it Earth...?"
Since it wasn't Mars, it could only be Earth. But how did he get to Earth? And he was in a battlefield.
Mikazuki approached the chest of an MS-like wreckage. He pulled open the damaged cockpit's armor plating. A skeleton, wearing a pressure-resistant pilot suit, sat there.
The war here seemed to have ended some time ago. Mikazuki frowned and jumped out of the MS wreckage, walking towards Barbatos.
Indeed, no matter how much he rubbed his eyes, Barbatos was not the Rex model; it didn't have sharp claws or a tail modified from a Mobile Armor.
Mikazuki jumped to Barbatos's cockpit, pulled open the hatch, and the pilot's seat in Barbatos's chest rose. Mikazuki sat down.
He took off his sweat-soaked shirt, revealing the nanotech Alaya-Vijnana System on his back.
Mikazuki had three tubes on his back, a result of undergoing the Alaya-Vijnana surgery three times. For most children, just one surgery was enough to make them never want to endure it again, as the surgery's mortality rate and risk of going mad were simply too high.
The Alaya-Vijnana System connected to the cockpit's connector, and a massive data stream surged into Mikazuki's mind.
"Ugh..."
Blood flowed from his nose. Mikazuki's body stiffened. This sudden influx of data had happened once before, when he first boarded Barbatos, but never since.
And now, the situation from back then was repeating itself. What was going on?
However, Mikazuki had experienced this once before, so the feeling of his head about to explode quickly disappeared.
After a few deep breaths, Mikazuki's state returned to normal. He raised his hand and tapped the screen in front of him.
The pilot's seat lowered, the cockpit sealed, and Mikazuki opened his eyes inside the cockpit, speaking softly.
"Initiate retinal projection."
Outside, Barbatos's somewhat dim, light green eyes flashed heavily, then brightened to a normal level of illumination.
The multiple screens Mikazuki saw turned into a full, unobstructed, omnidirectional view. In other words, Barbatos's eyes were his eyes.
He observed the mobile suit's self-check results displayed on the screen.
"Fuel full, all parts good, unit functions normal... But... what is this...?"
Mikazuki frowned slightly, looking at a symbol in the upper right corner of the screen. He was too familiar with this symbol; it was the symbol of Tekkadan, the never-withering iron flower.
"I remember this symbol wasn't there originally... Did Old Man Naze add it when he programmed the system?"
He reached out and tapped the symbol. The external projection in Mikazuki's eyes suddenly went black.
"Hm? What's going on?"
Mikazuki tapped the blacked-out screen a little frantically, but there was no response.
"Damn it... Is it broken? Hey, Barbatos!"
Saying this, Mikazuki even somewhat foolishly patted the screen twice.
"Hey, Mikazuki, are you trying to break me?"
A frustrated voice echoed in the cockpit. Mikazuki's expression froze. That voice...
The previously blacked-out screen lit up. The Tekkadan symbol, the iron flower, filled the entire center of the screen.
"Mikazuki, why aren't you saying anything?"
Mikazuki stared blankly at the screen in front of him, his voice filled with uncertainty.
"Orga...?"