“This really is hard to find~” Elysia repeatedly checked the map before finally confirming that the little town at the far end of the country road was indeed her destination.
There was clearly a reason Falco had approved this place as the settlement for Kosma and the others.
Even with an exact address and navigation active, Elysia had nearly wandered into a mountain ravine and gotten trapped there.
In the end, she had only found her way out by following the suspended threads of the Cocoon of Finality.
Wherever there were people, there would be threads.
Naturally, wherever the threads gathered densely, there would be a settlement.
Elysia hummed softly as she entered the town.
It was no different from the countless other small towns scattered across the European Union, with its azure sky, refreshing breeze, neatly arranged single-story houses, and people strolling leisurely through the streets.
Far enough removed from the clamor of the outside world, the townspeople still maintained a relaxed pace of life.
In the future, as one Honkai Eruption followed another, the order here would gradually collapse.
Eventually, the entire town would be destroyed by a casual strike from the Fourth Herrscher.
The Flame-Chaser of Daybreak—this was where his journey began.
Several children came running toward her as they played.
Elysia gently called them over, then seemingly conjured a large handful of candy out of thin air and distributed it among them.
“Once you’ve taken my candy, you have to answer my question~” Elysia asked warmly.
“Have you seen Kosma?” “Do you mean the big brother who wants to become a hero?
I know him.” One of the children pointed out the way for her.
After thanking them, Elysia left.
At a courtyard on the very edge of town, she spotted a distant figure diligently swinging a sword.
Kosma had wanted to become a hero ever since he was little.
Perhaps he had once read the legend of a hero in a storybook, or perhaps he had seen a brave passerby subdue a criminal in the street.
He could no longer remember where his dream had begun.
He simply wanted to become a hero.
In heroic epics, heroes always traveled through many nations, defeating one powerful enemy after another as they gradually grew stronger.
In the end, they would arrive at the most prosperous royal capital and shoulder the responsibility of protecting the entire country.
Kosma did not possess ambitions quite so grand, but at the very least, he wanted to protect this nameless frontier town.
A frail body clearly could not fulfill such a dream.
Therefore, Kosma had exercised of his own accord ever since childhood.
He called it hero training.
Today, he held a wooden sword he had carved with his own hands and swung it forcefully at a wooden post again and again, leaving cuts of varying depth across its surface.
Only when sweat drenched his head did he finally stop, panting as he wiped his forehead.
Clap, clap, clap.
He heard applause.
When he turned around, he discovered a pink-haired girl sitting on the fence and watching him with a smile.
Sunlight traced a halo around her, making the sight seem almost dreamlike.
“…” What a beautiful girl.
He stared at her in a daze.
As everyone knew, Kosma had absolutely no resistance to children.
“Hello~” Elysia greeted him with a brilliant smile.
“Are you training?
You’re working very hard.” Kosma was startled by the sudden, enthusiastic greeting, and a faint blush rose to his face.
He was not very good at dealing with such direct praise.
“Nice to meet you.
My name is Elysia, and I’m a traveler journeying around the world.” She swung her legs freely, her smile radiant.
“…Kosma,” he answered quietly.
After hesitating, he raised his voice and repeated himself.
“My name is Kosma.” Kosma of Daybreak.
From childhood, he had set his heart on the lofty ambition of becoming a hero, and for the rest of his life, he never ceased putting that conviction into practice.
During the Fourth Honkai Eruption, Kosma nearly died from a casual blow by the Herrscher of Wind.
After Kevin saved him, he joined MOTH to fight the Honkai, later fusing with Vishnu to become one of the first MANTISes.
Within MOTH, both Ato and Kevin served as his guides and held extremely important places in his heart.
However, during the Ninth Honkai Eruption, Kevin ordered Ato to restrain the Herrscher of Earth, ultimately leading to Ato’s death.
Kosma broke with Kevin from that moment onward.
Overcome by boundless fury and helplessness, he entered an Active Honkai Reaction and transformed into a monstrous calamity.
After leaving behind his badge, he departed.
Even so, he continued hunting Honkai Beasts from the shadows to protect others, until Mobius eventually found him and brought him back.
He was not a leader, but without question, he was a warrior worthy of respect.
Chosen for Project ARK, one of the initiatives under Project S.A.V.E., he relinquished his place to Griseo and instead took to the battlefield against the Herrscher of Finality, where he ultimately died in battle.
“…’World’?
That’s a name with a wonderful meaning.” Elysia pushed herself off the fence with both hands and landed gracefully.
“Watching you practice has made me want to join in.
You may not believe it, but I happen to be a martial artist too.
Could you lend me your sword for one swing?
Just one~” “…Oh.
Okay.” He obediently handed her the sword.
Under normal circumstances, he should never have lowered his guard so easily around a complete stranger.
Yet when facing her, he found himself trusting her instinctively.
The instant she took the wooden sword, Kosma sensed a subtle change in Elysia’s aura.
She remained gentle and warm, yet there was now an unmistakable edge to her.
Elysia lightly brushed two fingers along the blade, settled into a stance, and swung.
The sharp sword wind sliced through several falling leaves, while the remaining force carved a deep mark into the wooden post.
She could not use any more strength, or the sword would break.
Kosma stood beside her in silence for a long while, but the gradual brightening of his eyes made his thoughts perfectly clear.
“Are you wondering how I did that?” Elysia read his intentions with ease.
Kosma gave an almost imperceptible nod.
“Hard work, diligent practice, and the tiniest little bit of talent.” She held two fingers close together to indicate a minuscule amount.
“Given enough time, you’ll be able to do it too~” She was not making an empty promise.
Certain warriors with exceptional Honkai adaptability could have their physiques strengthened to an unimaginable degree by the Honkai.
Before the Third Honkai Eruption, for example, Kevin had been little more than an athletic boy who was good at basketball.
Yet while escaping Nagazora, he had knocked down a Honkai Beast three stories tall and weighing dozens of tons with a single swing of a club.
Kosma, who could withstand Vishnu’s ICHOR1, was naturally one of those people.
After returning the sword to him, Elysia walked over to the wooden post.
“However, with proper instruction, you’ll be able to reach my level much sooner~” Her expression became slightly more serious, and Kosma immediately straightened his posture without thinking.
“First, look at this cut.” Elysia pointed to one of the sword marks he had made earlier.
“The shallow section is smooth, while the deeper section is rough.
That means your follow-through lost its force.
Although it was a horizontal slash, the cut slopes slightly downward, which means your posture was wrong when you exerted strength.
Likewise, the intersection of the cut surfaces is too low because your movement deformed during the swing.” With every sentence Elysia spoke, Kosma’s shoulders sank a little lower.
By the time she finished, he could barely hold onto his sword.
“Still, the opening motion was quite good.
I can tell it came from diligent practice,” Elysia added in consolation.
A little color gradually returned to Kosma’s ashen figure.
“Understanding these things will help you do better next time.
Swing your sword.
Remember the points I just mentioned and feel where your shortcomings lie.” She walked to one side, placed her hands on her hips, and winked.
“I’ll help correct you from here~” With proper guidance, Kosma felt his energy multiply.
Swinging the sword became easier as well.
Elysia periodically corrected his posture and adjusted his movements from the side.
Gradually, he began to understand the technique, and his swings grew increasingly fluid.
What had begun as wild, random hacking slowly developed into something resembling proper form.
By the time he came back to his senses, the sun was already setting.
Kosma was astonished to discover that even after training for most of the day, he still had strength to spare.
“Your exertion posture was wrong before, so naturally your muscles were being overworked,” Elysia explained.
“You need to mobilize your entire body when you swing.
That will make it easier.
Treat your whole body as the sword’s hilt, rather than relying on a single arm.” “…Thank you,” Kosma said softly.
Elysia glanced at the sky.
“It’s getting late.
You’ve worked hard training all day.” She clapped her hands and asked with a smile, “Something must be supporting you if you can persist through such grueling practice.
Would you tell me what it is?” Kosma remained silent for a moment.
Then he took a deep breath, raised his head, and met Elysia’s gaze for the first time.
With complete seriousness, he said, “I want to become a hero.” Such was the heart of a young boy.
Elysia looked into his eyes and smiled faintly.
“That’s a very noble dream~” “Then whose hero do you want to become?” “…The hero of everyone in this town.” “I see…” Elysia paused for a moment before continuing.
“Then suppose I could give you an opportunity to venture into the wider world and learn to protect even more people.
Would you come with me?” “…I…” Kosma was suddenly at a loss.
Normally, hearing such words from someone he had known for less than a day would have been an unmistakable sign of malicious intent.
Yet deep within his heart, he strangely felt no suspicion or wariness whatsoever.
He believed without question that she meant every word.
She genuinely wanted him to enter a wider world and become a greater hero.
Kosma turned and looked back at the town.
He had never stepped beyond its borders.
This place was his entire world, and everything outside it was far too unfamiliar.
He had no idea what awaited him there.
“I…” He faltered, unable to find the words.
Clenching his fists tightly, he shamefully realized that he was actually afraid.
“In that case, I won’t force you~” Elysia promptly offered him a way out.
“It won’t be too late to set off once you’re ready.” “…Oh.
Okay.” He felt as though he had been granted a pardon.
“Don’t feel ashamed of your hesitation,” Elysia comforted him.
“Ultimately, I was the one who brought it up too suddenly.
Sorry about that.
Will you forgive me?~” She leaned closer to Kosma and blinked pleadingly.
“…It’s fine.” Kosma blushed slightly and could not help averting his gaze.
He’s still far too young, Elysia thought.
She possessed more than twenty years of memories from her previous life, while Vill-V herself had been a precocious genius.
As a result, Elysia had unconsciously overlooked the fact that most of the Flame-Chasers were still immature children at this point in time.
What she was doing now amounted to forcing him to shoulder a responsibility that did not yet belong to him before he had even matured.
This isn’t like Miss Pink Elf at all…
She sighed.
“Then we’ll leave it at that.
Remember what I taught you today and keep practicing.
Sooner or later, you’ll become a hero~” Elysia walked to one side and looked up at the threads that had now completely vanished.
Then she waved to him.
“Goodbye.” Since that was the case, she would protect their world until they grew up.
The afterglow of the setting sun fell behind Elysia, gilding her in a soft halo that was bright without being dazzling, just like her smile at that moment.
Kosma stared at her in a daze.
He felt as though the abstract, symbolic heroes from stories had finally taken on a real and perfect form before his eyes.
Is this what a true hero is?
A trace of yearning arose within Kosma’s heart.
The country breeze stirred Elysia’s pink hair as she gazed toward the distant sunset and recalled a conversation she had shared with Falco before leaving.
“I would like to invest in you.” Falco stood beside the window with his hands clasped behind his back, gazing at Lamington City’s nighttime skyline.
The glow of the neon lights spilled across the room and reflected in his eyes, while Elysia stood beside him and listened in silence.
“It is true that my word is law in this city, but at the same time, this city is also my shackle.
My reach cannot extend too far, and now it appears that certain gangs outside the city have begun disregarding the rules.” “So you want me to become your outpost and break their hands?” Elysia asked.
“Naturally.” He turned and looked down at her.
“Should you agree, I will teach you everything I have learned.
You will come to understand every detail of how the European Union’s underworld operates, as well as its hidden connections with those so-called important figures in the world above.
You will learn how to deal with them, exploit them, and control them.
I will endorse you and provide you with a considerable amount of starting capital.
So, what is your answer?” Half of Falco’s face was concealed in shadow, outlining features as hard and unyielding as a cliff.
His gaze was sharp, like that of an eagle.
“May I ask why you chose me?” “Instinct.” Falco said nothing more and offered no further explanation.
Elysia considered it briefly, then met his gaze and gave a slight nod.
At that moment, her life embarked upon a completely different path.
“Ah…” Recalling this, Elysia sighed softly and gazed into the distance.
She could almost see the endless cities nestled among mountains and plains, and beneath their steel forests gleaming with cold light lay tangled webs with roots extending everywhere.
Countless people were trapped within those webs, rising and falling with the tides of the mortal world.
“Now comes the real task~” She smiled faintly.
Intra-Chromosomal Honkai Gene Repeats / Hypervariable Factor