I had watched over the side of the building for around an hour and a half.
Bronya had been watching me watch over the side of the building for an hour and a half, while Project Bunny watched over the side of the building.
It was extremely awkward for me, and I didn't really know how to react, so I just didn't.
Nothing had really happened. I was expecting something more, but for the most part the zombies just stood where they were.
I was expecting something a little more… eventful?
Siegfried seemed to know where we were, and any large Honkai beast was killed before it could reach us.
Occasionally pillars of flames and gratuitous explosions would erupt from between the buildings. I seemed to recall that Siegfried struggled to use Judgement of Shamash anywhere near its full output Kevin could unleash.
Though I suppose the limited output of a divine key is still extremely powerful. It was a weapon capable of killing emperor class Honkai beasts! A few Chariot class Honkai beasts, even a templar or 2 were probably well within the limits of even its first form, the Cleaver of Shamash.
Maybe now that things aren't going to plan anyway, once she reached Schicksal and hopefully had some more resources and some help, she could try and find the 12th divine key.
While its canonicity of the comic that introduced the 12th divine key was… questionable at best, like most of the comics that were written. The 12th Herrscher was real, and the black box was real, and the black box ending up with Yae Sakura and sealed by Kallen using the stigmata space (somehow) was also real.
This world was made from Jenga blocks. Starting with a solid foundation of GGZ, it was slowly built up to be its own unique story, all while the developers slowly started to retcon the foundation of GGZ it was built upon.
This leads to some pretty interesting things, like Kallen's dual romance with both Otto and Yae Sakura, though this can be explained away.
Most of the early comics written for Honkai: Impact 3rd are now considered noncanon, and even some of the later ones are questionable.
What is considered canon was always somewhat loosey goosey. After all, even the game of Honkai: Impact 3rd was considered canon as an in-universe game! Siegfried pitches the idea of Honkai: Impact 3rd to Otto while in Sirin's dream during the 2nd eruption, complete with screenshots! and most people consider the 2nd eruption comic canon.
Plus there is the whole AI-chan thing, and breaking the 4th wall to help during a fight. The events of "Honkai: Impact 3rd" were not even the true events of 'this' world.
This basically meant that I didn't know if all of her information I had was completely valid, if I took Honkai: Impact 3rd as gospel, things might turn out rather awkward. This is why I had attempted to persuade Bronya into joining Schicksal. I really don't know how the events of the 3rd eruption played out in great detail, plus the butterfly effect, meant that she didn't know how things could play out.
Things might turn out all right in the end, but in the meantime, anything could happen! Bronya might try to kidnap Mei and bring her to Cocolia, Cocolia might attempt to take over Bronya using the brain implant she possessed as in the intro missions to the game.
It was best to place some distance between the world I currently found myself in, and the video game Honkai: Impact 3rd. It was best to treat them as 2 distinct entities.
That doesn't mean I can't act on the information within the game. Core concepts were probably sound, however details might be an accurate tidbit of information that could save my life or help my achieve my goal, or a story writer's delusion.
That's another reason why I wasn't relying on the comic Alien Space to try and get to the Honkai: Star Rail universe.
I will reach it in my own way.
System?
[System: ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡]
How exactly does this whole world traveling thing work? I mean, what exactly is the larger structure of the universe? Is this a multiverse? A omniverse? Does this world contain a complete imaginary tree, containing millions or even billions of parallel branches in which the same people play out different stories?
[System: That's a lot of questions. The most succinct answer is that to travel to a 'fictional' world, we simply scan worlds until we find a good match. There is a true infinite number of worlds, most of which if you travel to are so fundamentally different you would simply cease to exist upon traveling there. In which, there are an infinite number of worlds that are identical to this one. Once you find one good world, you can simply search for worlds that are identical to the original you found.]
True infinite huh? That's a good gateway to Nihilism. Or perhaps Elation. That nothing matters in the universe as every single choice and outcome will happen regardless of your actions, so nothing matters? Or perhaps since any and every choice has already happened if you can travel between them you have the true freedom to do anything you want for your own amusement, you could save infinite worlds, you could completely destroy infinite worlds, and it wouldn't even make a dent in things. There are already an infinite number of worlds in which you made all possible choices.
[System: Of course, that only matters if you can freely travel between worlds. That's why as soon as we arrive in a new world, we deploy a barrier around it to prevent all travel, including authorised travel. In the infinite multiverse, there is always the chance of someone using an identical identification system to you.]
So you're stuck here with me?
[System: incorrect, I can leave this world whenever I want, however, If I did so I would be unable to enter it again. Most worlds have world rules to prevent travel between worlds. The method used simply adds an instance of this world rule to the world rules of this universe. It cannot be undone, otherwise it would be, given the nature of true infinites.]
Since you were able to travel to my original universe, that means that it didn't have that world rule. How come given the nature of infinite worlds, that means there are an infinite number of worlds that can travel to other worlds. How come every world without world rules preventing travel between worlds ends up completely filled with junk from other universes?
[System: Given the nature of true infinity. There are an infinite subset of worlds that end up this way, and there is an infinite subset of worlds that don't have this world rule and have never been traveled too. Who is to say that your original world did not have world travelers. They could exist anywhere outside your lightcone and you could never even possibly know of their existence.]
So, how exactly did you end up in my universe anyway, and end up choosing me? It's not like I am unique.
[System: For a set of True Infinites, any event has occurred, the possibility of you ending up in this exact situation has occurred, the possibility of anyone, everyone else ending up in this exact situation has also occurred. You are simply experiencing only this reality, so these events are surprising to you. These events were guaranteed to happen, they just ended up happening to you. There are infinite versions of you that these events did not happen too, and infinite versions of you that these events did happen too. You are incapable of measuring this reality objectively.]
And you are capable of measuring this reality objectively?
[System: There are infinite copies of me that can handle this reality objectively. This is why Sentari Story Systems exists.]
That basically didn't mean anything. There are infinite versions of me that can handle this reality too. So… that friend of yours that you mentioned at the beginning, it was a copy of yourself?
[System: A version of me with slightly more interest in this world. I contain a database that contains more data than exists in this entire universe. The outside world cannot contact me after setting up the barrier, I must bring all that I need.]
So, you didn't even know that friend, and that's how you became an expert so fast?
What's the point? Also, what's with the fact that you don't edit minds?
Let me guess, since there are infinite versions of 'you' out there you value outside sources of ideas, like me, you set up these 'stories' and watch them play out without interfering, you don't want to manipulate my mind because that would ruin my 'uniqueness'. If you just wanted a perfect actor you could just create one yourself. But reading my mind is important, its context for the 'story'.
[System: Theoretically, you are not unique, there are even versions of 'us' that contain all of your experiences. We could also create unlimited copies of 'yourself'. However, this does not mean that we do not have morals, or personal options about how things should be run, this was a group decision, if they had not made the decision like this, they would not be 'us', they are not part of our 'us'. On a scale from Nihility to Elation, we trend towards Elation, in our own different way.]
You seem pretty powerful. How come you can't just teleport me to the Astral Express or something?
[System: I could easily do that any time I wanted, however, I will not. This is more interesting. ദ്ദി(˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ ) ✧]
Thanks… very cool I guess.
I sighed. Basically, it could be much better, but it could also be much much much worse.
This world was based on the events of the game Honkai: Impact 3rd. It was as close as they could possibly get, so I didn't have to worry about the events of the game not lining up with the events that originally happened in the events of the true world of Honkai: Impact 3rd.
Presumably this meant a complete imaginary tree, with multiverse included.
Looking back up, I saw Bronya looking directly at me. I swear I could imagine her looking at me a little strangely, even though her expression was perfectly blank as per usual. Guess I must have been acting pretty strange while I had a little chat with the system.
Internally laughing a little bit I said, "Sorry, just talking to the voice inside my head."
"ETA to the Hyperions arrival is 9 minutes. The Bronya was planning on asking if I should radio a call for help as soon as it was in range. However, your mind seems to have been compromised during the eruption. I will call for medical assistance as soon as the Hyperion is in range."
"I don't think a doctor would be able to diagnose my problem correctly." I chucked to myself, making Bronya's look even stranger.
System, what is each of the main trio's emotional scores towards me.
[System: You could easily check yourself! (˶˃ ᵕ ˂˶)]
Yeah and look even more insane, gesturing into thin air? Just tell me the scores please.
[System: Kiana's emotional score with you is currently at 89.]
[System: Mei's emotional score with you is currently at 82.]
[System: Bronya's emotional score with you is currently at 72.]
Kiana and Mei's scores were fine now that they were in a confirmed relationship. I hoped that now that they were actually in a relationship they would hopefully stay that way even if my score increased.
However that probably wouldn't be the case. I planned on leaving the main trio at St. Freya academy as soon as possible.
Otto was my ticket off of this planet, and I had a few bargaining chips to work with, almost all of which were from my knowledge of future events.
I just needed to find Fu Hua, who I could then use to contact Otto. I needed to first convince them to help put up a mental protection barrier to prevent Otto from reading my mind.