-"I believe you already know who I am, but just for politeness' sake, allow me to introduce myself. I'm Eno, Mobius' assistant."
-"I'm Mei, a student."
-"It's a pleasure. Your presentation was quite fascinating, so I wished to ask you a few questions. I hope you don't mind."
-"Of course not. Please, I'll try my best to answer."
I nodded and started to ask what I wanted to. At first, I only asked about what she mentioned on the stage, trying to understand her thought process that led to her ideas, but later, as we entered even more advanced parts, I subtly guided her with questions, trying to impart my understanding of the concepts that touched upon other dimensions.
As our discussion took more and more time, we moved to one of the empty tables, sitting down without interrupting our conversation. Mei did her best to answer my questions as she promised; even when she didn't know an answer, she would try her best to propose possibilities. I must say that this was truly a pleasant conversation, allowing me to better understand what kind of person Mei was.
-"Fascinating."-I smiled, preparing to end our talk.-"I have one last question. You seem to possess quite a contentious view of the current mainstream direction of advancement; why so?"
-"This…"-Mei seemed a little surprised by this question, looking away as if unsure how to answer.-"It comes from a thought I had when I was young."
-"Oh?"
-"Sir Eno, what do you think of stars?"
-"Stars?"-I raised my eyebrow.-"I believe that we share fate with stars."
-"Eh?"
-"Since ancient times, people sought answers from stars; later, we used stars as a guide; now we understand that life exists thanks to the stars. Our future depends on them, so it's not a stretch to say that we share fate."-I explained my belief away, not entering the details, touching on magic.
-"I see. In my eyes, the stars are the enemy looking at us from above, silently waiting to strike us down."-She sighed slightly.-"The universe is a dark forest fraught with danger, and the stars dare to shine brightly in it."
-"So you believe that we shouldn't explore stars?"
-"No, I hope that we can be more prudent. Rather than pursue speed and innovation, we should first make sure this world we call home will be safe for future generations."
-"Legacy over glory."-I nodded, understanding her point of view.-"Having feet firmly on the ground is a value I respect."
I stood up and prepared to leave, but before that, I handed two business cards: one with my contact information and one with Mobius'.
-"I have high expectations for you, and I believe Mobius will share my opinion, so if you are ever in need, you can contact us. While our fields of study are not exactly that close, I'd love to read your research when it's ready."
-"Thank you."-She stood up and bowed to me in gratitude.
-"You deserve it."-I smiled and walked away.
Stepping outside, I instantly noticed a familiar pink figure, but I couldn't help but sigh in exasperation at what she was doing. Stopping a few steps from her, I asked just to be sure.
-"What are you doing?"
-"Taking photos?"-I looked at a quite long line of people standing nearby.
-"Then may I ask why there is a queue to take a photo with you?"
-"Well…"-She subtly avoided my gaze.-"At first, I just photographed some interesting places, but then someone asked for a photo together, then the next person, and… It just happened."
-"Is that so?"-I asked, only half believing her story.
-"Yes! Don't worry, in my heart, there is only you."-She tried to act cute.
-"It better be full of blood, and keep my name far from your acts."-I pushed her away.
-"Common, don't be such a bore."-She continued trying to hug me.-"At least take a photo with me."
-"Sure, just don't mess around."-I rolled my eyes, but allowed her to take a series of selfies.
As I was about to step back, I felt a slightly wet touch on my cheek and a camera flash from the corner of my eye. As I looked at her to understand what had gotten into Elysia again, I noticed her sending that photo in a chat, directly to Mobius.
-"You…"
Looking up from her phone, she smiled and showed me Mobius' last message.
[Just wait, Pink Fatty.]
Sighing silently at the way the two of them got along, I decided to ignore that black-bellied creature and started to return to the hotel. Of course, noticing that I started to walk away, my 'guard' had to follow, so it was only when I entered my room that I got a moment of peace.
After returning to Mobius' Lab, I resumed my assistant work, but I slowly started to branch into my personal research. Mobius' focus was on evolution using Honkai as the catalyst, while I started to get more interested in Honkai directly, wanting to understand more of its properties and origins.
I found Honkai somewhat similar to Originium, both being a power that can, and is, destroying a world, yet they are essential in the development of the respective worlds' civilizations. What interested me most was the seemingly picky nature of Honkai, targeting only humanity and their creations, ignoring other animals and nature in general. Had Originium possessed similar properties, Terra wouldn't have become such a wasteland.
Of course, the main issue in both is exactly that they can affect and kill people, but as Terra's history shows, no matter how great a monster something is, Humanity can overcome it; just look at Feranmuts and current progress with Originium industrialization. As such, as my first project, I decided to mirror progress from Terra and develop an inhibitor that would at least slow down the progress of Honkai sickness.
Since this objective was still close to Mobius' knowledge, she happily agreed and even shared some of her previous discoveries to help me, letting me make quick progress on the first stages of the research. But as soon as I was happy about my progress, I encountered an issue that proved to be quite a bottleneck.
-"Another failure, huh?"-I looked at a petri dish now glowing purple due to Honkai energy.
-"Not surprising."-Mobius also looked at my results.-"The more we analyze your blood, the more anomalous it becomes."
-"I'm also quite shocked by all the results we get."-I showed a somewhat troubled expression as I could feel Mobius looking at me as if I were some interesting specimen.-"I was expecting some strange outcomes, but the properties of my blood are indeed abnormal."
-"The Honkai immunity was one thing, but the fact that it's rejected by all human blood types, as if being the opposite of the golden blood, alone is something worth investigating. Add to that its tendency to 'combust' when exposed to the surroundings, causing it to quickly lose all the Honkai-suppressing properties…"-The gleam in her eyes grew stronger with her every word.
-"Sigh, yet I'm unable to do anything with it."-I shrugged as I slowly dripped some blood onto a new petri dish.-"Unique and special is good, but if it starts to elude understanding, it's where fear and covetousness begin."
-"Don't worry, I won't let anyone touch you."-She understood my meaning instantly, calming down and showing a serious expression.
-"Thanks, but both of us know that no matter how we try, sooner or later my uniqueness will come to light."
-"So, how do you plan to deal with it?"
-"Turn from passive to active."-I smiled, turning to look her in the eyes.-"Will you stand by my side?"
-"Sure, not only did I bring you here, but you are a member of my lab."
-"Then I'll have to use your results to get into their 'good graces'."
-"How so?"
-"What are things they desire the most?"
-"Money."-Mobius answered instantly.
-"No."-I shook my head.-"They have all the money they need; of course, they will take money if given a chance, but they desire what many can't buy: absolute safety, long life, and health."
-"So you plan to give it to them so that they can back you up?"
-"That's too short-sighted. I'll give them a subscription to health, a promise of long life, and finally an image of safety."-I smiled, but that smile was even colder than Mobius usually shows.-"When they depend on me, they will do what I want, and when the time comes, they will never expect their perfect 'safety' to fail them."
-"What do you need?"
-"A chance and an accident?"
-"Be more specific."-She rolled her eyes, not one to play those political games.
-"A chance for my product to enter their eyes, and an accident to make them sure that they have me under their control."
-"Hmm… The first one won't be hard; just make something satisfactory, and I'll have it accidentally leak to their informants, but the second one…"-Mobius looked troubled.-"I have no idea how to make it without making a big mess."
-"What if there was an attempt to steal a Herrscher Core?"-I quickly came up with an idea.-"An overly eager researcher trying to avoid their eyes and some proof of his naivete, along with some minor but possibly serious mistakes?"
-"Won't that make your position precarious?"-She looked worried.
-"It will, but only that will make them 'trust' me. Then, while I'm in their spotlight, I'll need you to find their weaknesses."
-"Like some dirt on them?"
-"No, that will appear as soon as they need me; I mean their source of funding and influence. No matter how much of a handle I can get on them, if I can't get it to the people holding their lifeline, then it's worthless."
-"Just make it public."
-"That'll only create panic and anarchy. No matter how rotten they are, Fire-Moth is necessary if we want to face Honkai."
-"Have it your way; I'll help you."
-"Count me in!"-Suddenly, a familiar pink figure appeared.
-"Sure."-I nodded to her, aware that she was eavesdropping.
-"So, what's my job?"-Elysia tilted her head.
-"Make sure all warriors will follow our lead in the future."
-"Yes, sir!"-She saluted me and ran out of the lab.
-"Won't she..?"
-"Give our plan away? No."-I smiled slightly.-"While I can't understand her, I know that she is trustworthy."
-"Tsk."-Mobius looked away.-"Assume I believe you."
I nodded and returned to work. With the plan in place, I needed to make all the necessary preparations.
Before I knew it, three months had passed. Many things happened during this time, but the most noticeable was that Mobius and I started implementing my plan. About a month ago, I made my 'attempt' at getting to the Herrscher Gem, and after failing, I got called before the tribunal of Fire-Moth higher-ups. There, I was given a choice: accept being under their 'direct management', or else.
I chose the former, and in exchange, I got my own lab, an assistant, and a guard- or, to be more exact, a warden. My assistant was a young girl named Nuwa; on a side note, her older twin sister, Fuxi, got assigned to Mobius after I left; to describe her in one word, it would be cheerful, but her excellent talent in sciences, together with exceptional artistic flair, was a rare combination that I quite appreciated.
She also created quite a contrast with the guard I was assigned, a cold and stoic woman codenamed Forget-Me-Not. Without my Empathy, it took me some time to get a grasp on her personality, but from occasional clues, I could be said to somewhat understand her: a cold outside and warm inside woman, deeply caring for family.
Aside from that, my name was now somewhat famous, not only in Fire-Moth but also in the scientific circle, thanks to my development of two drugs named Soma and Haoma. While short of their legendary namesakes, Soma could extend one's life, though it couldn't restore lost vitality, and Haoma could grant a healthy body and strength approaching the absolute limit of a human.
Both were quickly designated as top-tier secrets, but I was allowed to publish partial and more theoretical work on them so that I could officially receive a PhD in the fields of biochemistry and pharmacology. Sadly, while I tried my best to also create a Honkai Limiter, I wasn't able to research anything concrete, only managing to find some possibilities that needed more work.
And that's what brought me back to Nagazora, where one of the most renowned physicians and researchers of Honkai Disease lived and worked. Over the past two days, we exchanged our understanding of Honkai Disease, making some trials on the samples I brought to weed out wrong ideas. But as everything was going smoothly and according to my plan, the universe had to mess something up.
On a quiet morning, as I was checking the results of some tests, I felt the air around me change. It was as if the whole atmosphere was suddenly charged, creating an electric field enveloping the whole city. At the same time, all the devices measuring the Honkai radiation that were used in my research started to go off, alarms ringing to warn me of the danger.
Without caring about the people around me who couldn't understand what was going on, I quickly ran to the window, from where I could see a spectacular scene. Near the center of the city, a tower of light appeared, illuminating the dark sky with an ominous purple glow, arcs of electricity jumping between it and the surrounding skyscrapers.
As I watched the literal descent of the apocalypse, my emotions were somewhat mixed; on the one hand, I was rather glad to get direct experience of the Eruption, as this would give me much-needed data and experience; on the other hand, with my warden watching everything I do, it was somewhat troubling that I would have to play it safe so as to not alarm anyone.
Sighing silently, I turned to the now-panicking people and spoke up to calm them down.
-"It seems that the 3rd Eruption has just taken place. I ask you to proceed to the evacuation points as quickly as possible. Forget-Me-Not, can you contact Fire-Moth?"
-"No, all communication is cut off."
-"As expected. Does anyone know if the city has an old broadcast station and/or old war sirens?"-I asked the local researchers.
-"Yes, in the center of the old district."-An older gentleman answered.-"It's near a school. The broadcast system there still operates on rather ancient but rugged equipment, encased in grounded, rigid steel conduits."
-"Good. Forget-Me-Not, Nuwa, two of you will come with me to take the station over, as your Honkai resistance is high enough. With it, coordinating the evacuation and first response will be much easier."
-"Sir, my task is to protect you…"
-"Then you better follow me, as I'm going there."-I shrugged and started to walk away.
Forget-Me-Not looked at me, her expression hidden beneath a mask, but she quickly caught up to me, fully alert to her surroundings. Nuwa also followed, looking somewhat worried, but like me, she wouldn't escape without at least trying to help with the crisis.