Everything was dark for Kouga at first. His mind felt heavy, his body weighed down as though he were drifting in a vast ocean of shadows. Then—voices began to pierce through the fog.
"Kouga-kun!" Mei's gentle yet urgent voice called out."Kouga-senpai!" came Kiana's louder, worried tone.
He stirred, groaning as consciousness slowly returned. His eyes fluttered open to see Mei and Kiana kneeling beside him, both wearing anxious expressions. A few feet away, Bronya was already on her feet, her holographic display projecting faint blue light as she scanned the surroundings. Himeko lay unconscious next to him, still breathing but unmoving.
Kouga sat up, wincing slightly. "Ugh… Where are we?"
Mei shook her head, her brows furrowed. "I don't know. I remember a giant monster coming out of the ocean, and then—" She paused, her eyes widening slightly as realization began to dawn. "Wait… could this be…?"
Before she could finish, a flash of radiant light filled the chamber. The group shielded their eyes as a familiar figure materialized before them—the same woman who had emerged earlier from the XuanYuan Sword. The blade itself floated beside her, humming with faint golden light.
Everyone immediately stood on guard. Kouga's hand went for his Driver, ready to transform—but the mysterious woman raised a calming hand.
"Young warriors," she said, her voice carrying an ethereal echo, "you are now inside the body of Chiyou. I apologize for involving you in my battle."
She glanced at them with a look of both sorrow and respect before continuing. "Now, I shall pass whatever remains of my power to you."
The XuanYuan Sword glowed brighter, its shape collapsing into a sphere of golden energy no larger than a hand. It pulsed once—then split into three shining gems, each streaking through the air and attaching themselves to Kiana's dual guns, Mei's katana, and Bronya's Project Bunny cannon.
When the light faded, the woman's gaze turned to Kouga. Her expression softened with apology."My apologies… This is the limit of what I can do. I cannot share my power with you."
Kouga simply shrugged, brushing it off with a small smile. "Don't worry about it. I've got more than enough tricks of my own."
The woman nodded, her form beginning to flicker. "Then listen well… Chiyou must be sealed again."With those final words, her body dissolved into fading motes of light—vanishing completely.
The cave fell silent.
Kiana, Mei, and Bronya stared at the spot where she'd stood, still processing what had just happened.
Kiana finally broke the silence, her voice trembling slightly. "Was that… a hologram?"
Bronya, still staring at her data readings, replied flatly, "Sensor readings indicate it was not a hologram. Though Bronya is reluctant to admit belief in the supernatural… Bronya is forced to categorize that entity as a ghost."
"Eeeek! I'm scared!" Kiana shrieked, clutching Mei's arm.
Kouga turned toward her with an unimpressed look. "Hey—one of my forms literally turns me into a ghost."
Kiana pouted defensively. "That's different! I know you!"
Mei sighed softly, stepping between them. "Calm down, Kiana-chan. I don't think that 'ghost' means us any harm."
Her attention shifted to her weapon. "Besides… these gems from the XuanYuan Sword are now attached to our weapons. Do you notice any changes?"
Bronya examined her cannon's readouts. "Energy output has increased significantly. Bronya cannot analyze the internal structure of these gems here. Further analysis must be performed at St. Freya. However…" Her expression grew thoughtful. "Bronya hypothesizes that these gems are composed of Soulium."
Kiana tilted her head. "Soulium?"
Mei smiled faintly. "Kiana-chan… we learned about it in class. Soulium is an extremely rare metal—Schicksal found fragments of it around the world." She looked at the gem on her katana, its faint glow reflecting in her eyes. "We should confirm it once we return."
Kiana straightened up, trying to act composed. "I—I knew that! Finding Soulium here is just… unexpected! Let's report this to Theresa!"
Mei's smile faded. "…We can't. Chiyou's body is blocking our signals. Contact with Principal Theresa is impossible."
"Oh. So we're not getting any support?" Kiana asked, frowning.
Bronya replied calmly, "The physical density of Chiyou differs by region. Locating an area with lower density may allow us to re-establish communications."
Kiana perked up, her determination returning. "Great! Then let's snoop around!"
Kouga stood, adjusting Himeko's position on his back to carry her comfortably. "Before that…" he asked, scanning the dim surroundings, "…does anyone see that Anti-Entropy girl—what's her name again? Ah, right, Sin Mal. Anyone seen her?"
The group exchanged uneasy glances as realization set in.
Sin Mal was nowhere to be found.
Looking around for a while, they couldn't find Sin Mal anywhere. Deciding there was no time to waste, the group agreed to move on—first to re-establish communication, then to search for Sin Mal along the way.
As they walked through the strange interior of the beast, they began to notice something unusual: the ruins scattered throughout Chiyou's body looked oddly like parts of an ancient city.
Kiana said, gazing at the stone walls, "Say, if we stack all these rocks together..."
Mei finished her thought, "We'd be able to build a whole city..."
Bronya analyzed the surroundings, "In the legends, Chiyou devoured lands and cities of Shenzhou and grew bigger. It probably ate these city walls."
Kouga, still carrying the unconscious Himeko on his back, gave a low whistle. He thought to himself, It's still impressive to hear about a monster that big.Even though he'd traveled through worlds where beings could swallow entire planets like snacks, creatures of that scale were still far from common.
Kiana looked around in awe. "Wow. I don't see any modern Honkai Beast with such powers."
Suddenly, the ground trembled violently beneath their feet.
Kiana exclaimed, "Why is it shaking so violently?"
Mei's voice trembled with worry, "Is Chiyou on the move? Is it going to eat another city? No way! We gotta stop it!"