Lights in a Starless Sky - A Honkai Impact 3rd Fanfiction

Act 30: Reburn

2PM: Shicksal Vimur Labs, North Africa
EVE OF THE ARC CITY EVENT

Perceval didn't like sand that much as it always got in his clothes and irritated his skin, the Knight could deal with it but he still wasn't too fond of it. He sat against a broken wall, Zagreus embedded in the ground beside him as he hummed softly. Durandal had her Eos Gloria lance also embedded in the ground, resting against it in her Valkyrie Gloria battlesuit. For several days, all the two warriors had done was fight the Quantum Shades that the Second Divine Key kept creating through Otto's tests. Frankly, Perceval was exhausted. Five-thousand nine-hundred and twenty-eight, the exact number of Honkai Beasts he had killed alone in the forty-one tests that had been done so far. The Knight dusted off the edges of his Night Sky battlesuit jacket as he stood up and stretched his arms. "Test number forty-two... And we've done nothing about ARC City..." Durandal's expression softened as she looked back at Perceval, hopping off her lance. "Perceval, I know you're worried about Kiana but please, leave it to the rest of the Immortal Blades." The Knight could almost taste bile in his mouth. "Having trust in the Immortal Blades with regard to Kiana  is a hard ask, Bianka. The last time I tried to stop Theresa from getting diced up by Rita... Well..." His voice quietened to a whisper, knowing not to touch on the subject of his exile due to the promise he made with Durandal. The Valkyrie took hold of Perceval's right hand, entwining her fingers tightly with his and stepping closer to him. "I understand, Perceval. But... Please, just this once, have faith in them." The Knight looked down at the ground and back up at Durandal, nodding shakily. "Al... Alright..." Durandal leaned forward and planted a gentle kiss on his lips before pulling away and ruffling the Knight's hair, a small smile curling on her face. "Besides, if they go against your wishes, you can still reprimand them." Perceval's eyes widened slightly. "Oh, that's right. I'm not the Assault Leader anymore, I'm Vice Captain." Durandal nudged Perceval softly, giggling lightly as she drew her lance from the pavement. "Come on now, we've got work to do." Perceval grabbed Zagreus and drew it from the concrete, igniting its blade and coating its edge in scarlet flames. "Right. Showtime." 

"Attention all personnel, the forty second activation of the Second Divine Key is commencing in  five minutes."

The sight never got old, after the blaring alarms and rumbling of the ground that kicked up the dormant layers of sand, a giant pillar of purple Honkai energy erupted into the sky. Where the beam stopped, a portal opened that revealed hundreds of thousands of stars; the same stars they had seen after the Divine Key Incident. 

"Divine Key Activated, Entering Phase 1."

Right on que, black shadows poured out from the portal and spilled out into the testing grounds; time and space almost shattering in their wake. Durandal tapped Perceval on the shoulder. "Try and keep up." She leapt into the city, the sand flying from under her feet as she touched down on the ground. Perceval smirked, breaking into a sprint and flipping forwards off the ledge of the building he stood on. As he touched down, several Quantum Shades appeared in front of him. As he was about to swing, Durandal dashed by; covered in flames as she slammed her lance into them, their bodies disintegrating into Quantum Power. "You're a bit slow, Darling!" Perceval chuckled, running in the opposite direction of her towards a crowd of Shades. "Hey, you're gonna ruin my groove!" A single slash downwards, like a knife through butter, the Shade dissipated. Perceval spun and dragged his blade across the concrete, flinging a wave of flames at the crowd of faux Honkai Beasts. He blitzed forward in a trail of flames, dashing from one enemy to the next and cutting each one down with a single precise cut. 

"Perceval, slice!" 

A giant Shade was flung in the air over to the Knight from the other side of the testing grounds, Perceval held Zagreus like a baseball bat with its edge outwards. He swung forcefully, and with a satisfying 'shwing'; cleaved it clean in two.