CHAPTER 474: THE POWER TO "MAYBE CHANGE SOMETHING"

"Where is this..."

The three of them jumped down through the opening in the floor. The drop was only about a person’s height. Himeko even had to duck her head to enter the hidden laboratory.

After descending a few steps, Himeko could finally stand up straight. She casually surveyed the lab... though "storeroom" seemed more fitting. It was crammed with all sorts of dilapidated equipment. A light touch of her finger across a surface immediately coated it in a thick layer of dust.

But it was precisely because it was tossed amidst this pile of what could only be called junk that the fiery red Valkyrie armor, along with its matching crimson greatsword, stood out so starkly.

Himeko only needed one glance to be completely captivated by the crimson hue. She walked toward the armor in a daze, step by step, until she stood before the cold, unresponsive suit. Following a primal instinct, she reached out to touch it.

"Wait!"

Tesla’s sharp voice stopped Himeko.

"Just to be safe, it’s probably best not to touch anything randomly. Besides... this armor, why does it look so familiar?"

Tesla lowered her head, frowning in concentration. Himeko snapped out of her strange trance. Though she could still feel her body’s compulsion to move forward, she chose to trust Tesla and lowered the hand that had been reaching for the armor. However, she didn’t step back. Was it the inexplicable urge that made her reluctant to leave, or something else entirely? She didn’t know.

After a moment’s thought, Himeko spoke up. "You think this armor looks familiar, Dr. Tesla? Could it be a design you left behind before you left Schicksal?"

"Huh? Of course not. Bird’s Nest and I specialized in physics. Valkyrie armor may look like an exoskeleton, but it’s actually a combat system designed to work with Stigmata. It’s all about maximizing a Stigmata’s power; the armor itself is just auxiliary. To be precise, it falls under the field of biology."

"That does make sense..."

While the two adults chatted idly, Bronya explored on her own. She finally found something odd on the table next to the Valkyrie armor.

She boldly moved aside the junk piled on the table and swept away the thick layer of dust with her arm. This wasn’t just any ordinary table; it was clearly a control console!

Before Tesla could stop her, Bronya pressed the console’s activation button. With the crackle of electricity flowing through circuits, the space above the table flickered twice. Then, a holographic projection of the armor’s concept art appeared, thoughtfully accompanied by explanatory text.

"In 1933, an archaeological team sent by Schicksal’s European HQ, along with a Shenzhou team, discovered a massive Previous Era ruin on the Tubo Plateau. As the plateau had been designated as Shenzhou sovereign territory in a prior demarcation agreement, Schicksal’s team was only permitted, with official Shenzhou approval, to take back a select few materials deemed ’worthless.’"

"Among them was a set of armor blueprints named the ’Key of Blankness.’ The blueprints were incomplete, and Schicksal at the time lacked many key technologies." Furthermore, according to the descriptions, the Key of Blankness itself possessed no power. Its only characteristic was its ability to connect with any Herrscher Core and briefly replicate the Herrscher’s power. But at the time, not a single Herrscher had even been born in the Current Era, so the blueprints were naturally ignored."

Bronya read the first paragraph in a flat, even tone, then glanced at Tesla.

The latter tugged at her hair, as if that could pull the memory from deep beneath a mountain of information. It seemed the words Bronya read had indeed triggered a "keyword." It didn’t take long for Tesla to find the corresponding memory.

"I see now! This is the thing they restored from the blueprints... no, repaired is more accurate!"

"What do you mean?" Himeko asked.

In response, Tesla pointed to the text that followed on the holographic display.

"In August 1945, a joint exploration team from Schicksal’s Southeast Asia and Oceania Branches discovered a submerged island ruin during an exploration of the Previous Era’s Mu continent ruins. The site appeared to be a major Previous Era base where an exceptionally fierce battle had occurred. The entire island was split in two before sinking to the seabed during tectonic shifts."

"Within the surviving ruins, the team discovered a fragmented Key of Blankness. The left and right leg armor, left arm armor, and torso section were all missing. Only a damaged right arm piece, a portion of the back armor, and the core housing on the chest, designed to hold a Herrscher Core, remained.

"On New Year’s Day, 1952, the First Honkai Eruption occurred in Berlin. On January 2nd, Overseer Otto ordered the activation of the Key of Blankness restoration project. By the time of the Second Honkai Eruption in 2000, in addition to the fully repaired Key of Blankness, six experimental samples had also been created."

"After the Second Eruption, Schicksal took possession of three of Sirin’s six Herrscher Cores: the Core of the Void, the Gem of Desire, and the Gem of Serenity. The Core of the First Herrscher was returned to Anti-Entropy."

"Given that both Anti-Entropy and Shenzhou had been deeply involved in the battle to suppress Sirin, Overseer Otto gifted the two remaining Herrscher Cores, the Gem of Conquest and the Gem of Haste, to Anti-Entropy’s Sovereign, Welt Yang, and Shenzhou’s Mount Taixuan matriarch, Azure Empyrea, respectively."

"In 2000, the Core of the Void was implanted into ’K-series’ clones based on the genes of the Second Herrscher and Kiana Kaslana (original) for experimentation. All failed, except for subject K-423, Kiana Kaslana (current).

"In 2003, Shenzhou declared its research on the Gem of Haste complete and returned it to Schicksal.

"In 2006, the Gem of Serenity was stolen in Berlin. It was later verified to be the work of Anti-Entropy’s Cocolia.

"In 2012, the Gem of Desire was sent to the Oceania Branch for artificial Herrscher experiments.

"In the same year, the sole remaining Gem of Haste was inserted into both the repaired and experimental versions of the Key of Blankness. In the end, only the ’A-Model,’ repaired from the original fragments, was successful. The following year, it was designated the 4th-generation Godsbane Battlesuit, Vermilion Knight: Eclipse.

"In 2015, due to a prolonged failure to find a suitable user, the battlesuit was ordered to be sealed by Overseer Otto.

"P.S.: The Gem of Haste connected to this battlesuit corresponds to the Seventh Herrscher of the Previous Era, the Herrscher of Flame, whose Authority is the most destructive. The armor was originally purple and white, but was instantly dyed red by the Authority of Flame upon connection with the Gem of Haste.

"Addendum: The corresponding Divine Key, the 7th Divine Key, is also extremely destructive to its user. The Gem of Haste connected to this battlesuit is the Herrscher of Flame’s core, and its Authority is more complete than that of its Divine Key form, the Judgement of Shamash. While attempting to replicate this ultimate destructive power, the user must be mindful of their physical condition.

"Addendum 2: This battlesuit does not need to be used in conjunction with the 7th Divine Key. Furthermore, the 7th Divine Key was taken by the traitor Siegfried Kaslana. The current complementary weapon is from the Godslayer series—Surtr."

Reading such a long block of text would make anyone’s head spin. It wasn’t physical discomfort, but the sheer amount of information inadvertently revealed in the armor’s description. Both Himeko and Bronya needed time to process it. Only Tesla, who was already familiar with many of the details, wasn’t as shocked.

Of course, even between Himeko and Bronya, their points of focus were entirely different.

The former stared at the armor, which seemed to fit her perfectly in every way, and slowly tightened her grip on the serum in her hand.

The latter’s eyes scanned the text and quickly locked onto the keyword: "Kiana."

The small space, which could be either a storeroom or a lab, fell silent. Even Tesla was lost in thought.

Compared to the other two... she knew they were each engrossed in their own way. As the only one who didn’t need much time to accept and digest the information, she had to do some more meaningful thinking.

For instance, what was Otto’s goal in all this?

Rita’s hint earlier had been as clear as day. The idea that she had given it of her own accord didn’t quite add up. At the very least, it didn’t explain how she knew about the lab beneath the cell.

The fact that their temporary prison was coincidentally placed right above this lab was also not something Rita could have decided.

Or perhaps this wasn’t Otto’s doing, but, like the HSN-b46 serum, an arrangement by that man, Michael?

It wasn’t impossible, but Tesla felt it was unlikely. This was Schicksal HQ. She remembered this Key of Blankness; she had already been working at the North American Branch when the blueprints and fragments were discovered. Although she wasn’t involved in the project, both events had been reported in Schicksal’s internal newspaper at the time, which was why it felt familiar.

Here at Schicksal HQ, who besides Otto would have the authority to access this Key of Blankness? Tesla believed that, given Otto’s personality, he would never entrust such a dangerous item to a collaborator of unknown origin.

"Hah... let’s not think about this for now. It’s pointless, right?"

After a long silence, it was Himeko who finally broke the stillness.

"Since Rita hinted for us to find this place and this so-called Key of Blankness, I don’t think we have any other choice."

"Sigh..."

Tesla understood this all too well. For one, if they wanted to do anything, they had to escape first. But Rita had confiscated their weapons—Himeko’s Valkyrie battlesuit and greatsword, and her own mechanical half-arm. Without weapons, they had no chance of getting out of the cell.

And as far as weapons went, the Key of Blankness, or rather, Vermilion Knight: Eclipse, was the only "weapon" here.

But who would wield it?

Tesla wasn’t a Valkyrie. Bronya might be able to, but considering the accompanying greatsword, Surtr, it was obvious who the battlesuit was truly meant for.

"Major Himeko, are you sure about this... Your body..."

"Hm? Don’t I still have the serum Michael gave me? Besides, look at the dimensions of this Key of Blankness. It looks like it was made for me, don’t you think?"

Himeko walked over to the floating display case holding the armor, flicked the breastplate lightly with her finger, and made an ill-timed joke.

"Come on. It’s a Divine Key. That part’s definitely made of Soulium; it can adjust to the user’s size. As for that serum... true, amputating before the Honkai corruption reaches your torso gives you a good chance of survival, but are you sure... Forget it. My words are useless anyway."

Tesla stopped her persuasion halfway through. She knew it was a lost cause.

"However, I don’t think you should have high hopes for that serum. Anti-Entropy did receive intel that Otto has been developing a Honkai-suppressing serum for the past few years, but I can’t be certain the one in your hand is the real thing. It could be an experimental version, or just a vial of saline solution. By standard procedure, we should do a skin test first to determine its efficacy... Anyway, just so you understand."

"Mm... I understand. But, Dr. Tesla, do you remember what I said earlier?"

"Huh?"

"When I first became a Valkyrie and accepted the Artificial Stigmata, I knew that I might one day die from Honkai corruption. But I wasn’t scared then. In fact, I felt happy, even smug, because I had obtained the power to ’maybe change something’... And now, Dr. Tesla, I think I’m feeling what my ten-years-younger self felt again."

With that, Himeko reached for the Key of Blankness. This time, she didn’t hesitate, and no one interfered with her choice.

BOOM!

Two minutes later, the door to the confinement cell was smashed open by Surtr. When the three of them rushed out, they found the outside world had changed. The most obvious change, of course, was the Hyperion hovering above their heads.

"Is this... a coincidence?"

"Rather than a coincidence, I’m more inclined to believe that Rita told the Hyperion our location. Of course, that’s just a guess. Don’t take it as fact."

After they boarded the Hyperion, the reason quickly became clear.

"Azure Empyrea ran into my... Otto. Otto told her where Mei, Kiana, and Michael are. It’s the same location where we detected the bomb in Mei’s heart and the anomalous Honkai energy readings. She’s already heading there. The Hyperion had to maneuver to the south side of the Helheim district to avoid anti-air fire, so we were going to rescue Bronya on the way, then attack Michael’s position from the south. I didn’t expect you two to be captured and locked up here after you lost contact..."

A large hole was torn in the port-side armor of the bridge, and the corresponding energy shield was slowly regenerating. The whistling wind made it a bit difficult to hear Theresa’s words.

But they got the gist of it. It really was a coincidence.

"What is Durandal doing? She dealt with that stupid dragon when we first got here. Why is she still tied up with it?"

"Indeed. Logically, after losing the pseudo-Herrscher core supplied by Sirin, Benares’s intelligence should have regressed to a bestial level. It shouldn’t be this difficult to handle."

"Perhaps my... Otto doesn’t want Durandal deeply involved in this. I haven’t had much contact with her, but my impression is that she’s a very prim, stubborn, and somewhat airheaded girl. I don’t think she would appreciate the things lurking beneath Otto’s polished exterior. Otto probably doesn’t fully trust her either."

After hearing Einstein’s words, the strange feeling in Theresa’s heart grew stronger. She tried to form a hypothesis, but waves of strangeness kept washing over her mind until she could no longer bear it. The question finally came to the surface.

"Dr. Einstein, Dr. Tesla... during the Second Honkai Eruption... if I remember correctly, you arrived at the battlefield last... You shouldn’t have seen Benares, right?"

At her words, Einstein and Tesla exchanged an imperceptible glance, then both sighed in unison.

"I knew it. We fought side-by-side during the Second Eruption, and I thought your attitude was a bit off from the start, Theresa. It seems that son of a bitch Otto must have altered your memories somehow."

Theresa blinked, clutching her head.

Could memories truly be altered? Once the keyword was spoken, scenes from the past flooded her mind uncontrollably.

"So that’s how it was..."