Late at night in the Valkyrie Dormitory at St. Freya Academy, Kiana lay sprawled on her bed in an undignified pose, clutching her Homu plush after a day of grueling "training." The sheets and blanket had been kicked off the bed, testament to her restless sleeping habits.
"Ugh... my head hurts..." the girl mumbled in her sleep, drifting into a dreamscape meticulously crafted for her long ago. Outside her window, a jet-black Raven perched on the sill, its obsidian eyes glowing with a faint crimson light.
The white-haired girl's consciousness plunged into the boundless realm of dreams—
"This is St. Freya?!" Kiana exclaimed, gazing in astonishment at her surroundings. Amidst this bizarre setting, an eerie, nameless laughter echoed through the air.
"Hehehehe—Huh?!"
The eerie laughter abruptly cut off, like a video tape suddenly snapping, and the scenery before Kiana began to rewrite itself. The European-style St. Freya Academy was now blanketed in vast stretches of ice and snow.
"This is... Siberia? Achoo! Isn't this a dream? Why am I so cold? Achoo—! If only I had a Valkyrie Battlesuit right now."
The white-haired clump shivered, and as if responding to her fervent wish, a Valkyrie Battlesuit materialized on her body.
"Eeh? So in this dream, I can just wish for things and they come true? Then I want to beat up ten Class Monitors and Kyuusyou—!"
No response came. The desolate snowfield remained utterly deserted. After all... if you can't win in reality, you can't magically win in a dream either. Not everything comes true just because you wish for it...
"Ehh?! Fine, then I want a guide at least! How am I supposed to navigate this endless white expanse?!"
Kiana crossed her arms, glaring resentfully at the surrounding whiteness. This time, her call was answered.
"It's like a dream, yet not a dream... It is your dream, yet not your dream either. This is the reenactment of the past, a reflection of the future. Child, come forward. Witness the history that belongs to you and forge your own future."
Before the girl stood a figure clad in a black and white combat suit adorned with golden accents. A black hood concealed their face.
The only visible part of their face revealed a black V-shaped mask, from which strands of pale gold hair cascaded. The slight rise and fall of their chest suggested they were female, but what truly captured Kiana's attention wasn't the combat suit itself, but the massive golden greatsword slung across their back.
It was the Judgement of Shamash, once wielded by her father—yet it wasn't the pistol or cross-shaped greatsword she remembered. Instead, it was a uniquely shaped, colossal greatsword, its design utterly alien. Kiana could only barely recognize the shadow of the Judgement of Shamash in this bizarre weapon.
"Come forward, descendant of the Kaslana bloodline. Witness the beginning of it all and decide your path forward... I am Hermit Omega, and I will guide you on this journey—"
The woman's voice seemed composed of a thousand voices—old and young, saintly and sinful, both sublime and profane.
"Hmph, all mysterious and secretive! I can tell you're up to no good. Take this, you hag!"
Seeing the Hermit ahead radiating an oppressive aura, the White-haired Clump decisively launched a flying kick at her.
Unsurprisingly, the Omega effortlessly caught the attack—or rather, she seized the girl mid-air.
"Let me go!"
Suspended in mid-air, the White-haired Clump struggled fiercely, but couldn't break free from the mysterious woman's arm, which gripped her like iron tongs.
"Alright—"
The Hermit released her grip, and Kiana crashed to the ground, half-buried in the snow.
"Pah! Pah! Pah!"
Crawling out of the snow, the girl spat out mouthfuls of icy slush and glared at the Omega, clearly plotting how to land a solid punch on her.
"Let's go—"
The Hermit glanced at the girl, who was still spitting out snow, then turned and led the way.
"And why should I listen to you?!"
The White-haired Clump glared at the woman, who had paused at her challenge. If she didn't provide a good explanation, the girl wouldn't budge an inch.
"Because this place—entombs your mother's life, buries your father's past, and conceals your birth..."
Having given her answer, the Hermit paid no further attention to the girl behind her and strode forward.
"What—?! Hey! Wait for me! Explain yourself properly, Miss!"
Kiana, stirred by the revelations about her mother and father, eagerly chased after the retreating woman.
She sought the answers of the past, she wanted to reclaim her lost memories, but the truth—more often than not—proved cruel and unsatisfying.
"Huff... Huff... Hey! Do you know the story of my jerk of a father and my mom? Tell me now!"
She's just walking, so why does it take me forever to catch up?! The girl, breathless, finally caught up to the Hermit and fired her questions urgently.
"Asking me? Child, why don't you see for yourself—"
Kiana followed the Hermit's gaze and looked up. In the distance, amidst the snow-covered plains, a towering spire pierced the sky, standing at the very heart of the base.
"This is midnight on February 1, 2000, in Siberia. And before us stands what was once Schicksal's most crucial Honkai Laboratory—the Babylon Laboratory."
"And that towering structure bears an ironic name—the Tower Reaching the Sky, the Babylon Tower."
"The birthplace of the Second Eruption... Let's go. Don't you want to know what happened inside that tower?"
Hermit quickened her pace toward the towering structure, forcing Kiana to scramble to keep up with Hermit's strides.
"Hey! Can't you slow down a bit?! Wait for me!" Kiana shouted, chasing after Hermit. Hearing this, the woman finally slowed her pace, allowing the white-haired clump behind her to catch up in a panting trot.
"Huff... you really walk fast... Why isn't there a single guard or researcher in this entire base?"
As the pair stood before the massive gates of the Babylon Experiment, Kiana couldn't spot a single guard or staff member. The entire base was as silent as a dead city.
"Because they're all dead. Is there a problem with that?" Hermit said.
As Hermit pulled open the heavy doors, a white-robed researcher toppled forward. She sidestepped, letting the man's corpse fall stiffly to the ground. His face retained a twisted expression of pain and terror, his body still supple, not yet stiff. When touched, his skin retained a faint warmth.
Hermit retrieved a card from the researcher's body, then stepped over his remains and headed toward the Tower of Babylon's freight elevator.
"Miss Hermit... are you saying they're all... dead?" Kiana stared in disbelief at the corpse before her, the lingering terror and agony on his face triggering a visceral unease in her.
"At midnight on February 1, 2000, in the Schicksal Babylon Laboratory in Siberia, the entire 322-person research team—along with the A-rank Valkyrie Squad stationed there—"
"—were completely annihilated. Most of their remains vanished without a trace, and even that lucky soul at your feet didn't escape intact—his internal organs were ripped out."
"That red stain on the snow? Those are his entrails."
"Ugh—" Kiana finally vomited.