"Hmm? You've died again...? Well, talk about the unfortunate. No matter what happens, you always end up throwing your life away for another person don't you?" Alone and secluded in the vast empty space, a white orb remained floating as it descended onto the palm of hers.
"Of course, you will. You're too heroic and stupid to let someone in front of you die. You know you don't have the strength to fight and protect those around you, so you do the only logical solution that you can think of, using your body to shield the ones in harm." She grabs the soul in her palm and slowly squeezes it with both her hands tightly.
Multiple streaks of light leak out from any openings in her hands as she then released the soul above her. She smiled as she watched it shine brighter and brighter while floating higher. "How different will the outcome be now if you had the strength to protect those around you?" She asked a simple question that can have multiple answers to it.
Regardless, she hopes to see what wonderful data she can collect from the man in his third reincarnation. "The world you're about to be brought into is quite ruined. Worry not, I will have my assistant take care of you should anything happen. I'm sure when you reunite with everyone, they will be happy to see you..." She closed her eyes as she sees the soul slowly disappearing as it'll go back to the world of the living, ready to reincarnate.
"I hope this time, you get the happy ending that you deserve." Prometheus smiled.
-~-
"Dammit dammit dammit! Of course, I mess up!" Running through the barren desolated city, a young boy no older than 12 with red hair and amber eyes ran through the streets of St. Fountain. Behind him were many mechanical monsters who pursued him as he ducked and slid over the mass of rubble that blocked the path in front of him, it's only thanks to the small space beneath said rubble he was able to still escape instead of trapping himself. He stopped for a moment to catch his breath. Relief escapes his face—
*BOOM* *CRASH*
"Oh come on!" The blocked pathway behind him exploded as he saw Code IV - The Emperor running straight at him. Without much thought, he gripped the sword strapped to his side. The blade is special, in retrospect, the sword instead of steel is that of a futuristic and mechanical look. Although mechanical, most will believe it to not be sharp. Well... They would be correct.
*Fwoosh* *Sizzle* *Sizzle*
The mechanical sword was enveloped with a bright light. His sword glowed as it flowed with blue energy. Vibrant and intense ringing was heard from the weapon. Now...the sword is even stronger than steel and iron, able to cut through the hardest materials known to man. However don't be fooled, even it has its limitations. Regardless, his childish attitude couldn't help but make him lose concentration.
Lightsaber go!
He sidestepped out of the way as The Emperor slashed down at him. He then twirled as Code 0 - The Fool aimed to hit him with an upward claw strike by rushing him head-on. Getting behind it after it left itself wide open, he slashed at its vulnerable back and watched it fall to the ground with sparks.
He would prefer not to fight so that he can conserve stamina and not be exhausted. Even though running away isn't any better, at least he won't be fully exhausted by fighting for his life and endangering himself.
Speaking of endangering himself... He winced as he narrowly avoided his flesh and skin getting pierced through by an energy shot. He felt his skin cut on his forearm as he feels a hot hunting sensation. Code I - The Mage shot him. He frowned at the floating shielded mechanical monster as he crouched and on a whim, jumped up in the air with force. Gripping his sword with both hands he yelled as he slashed down, cleaving at The Mage as he saw his blade cleave through the shield and shatter it. With mobility and defying physics, he kicked The Mage down onto the ground with all his might.
The Mage fell with a thud as it bounced up like a tennis ball. He went ahead and dived down as he plunged his sword into its body and saw sparks. He jumped away before The Mage can self-destruct.
"Khh!" A quiet groan escaped from his mouth as he raised his sword to his exposed side and got sent flying by The Emperor who didn't waste no time in attacking him. His arms wobble, his bones rattle as he landed on the ground and knelt while gripping his left arm. "...Ngh..." He breathes out as the shock and pain he feels in his left arm hurts.
"We can talk about this...right?" He voiced out as he noticed more and more monsters were finally catching up to him. He felt their gazes as he gulped. "Haha?" He awkwardly laughed.
Why me why me why me?! His internal voice squealed as he found himself doing his best to defend himself. If there was room to attack he would, but it's not possible when there are multiple enemies giving you no break to attack.
He went to the city in the first place because it looked deserted and he can salvage anything valuable to be used. Perhaps even find canned food and whatnot... He didn't expect to accidentally stumble upon a hive mind of enemies all cradled up inside a large building.
How many minutes have passed? Is it even minutes? Or has it been seconds? He's too desperate with defending himself to know how much time has passed. All that he knows is that he has to find an opening—
His eyes widened. Of course!
He maneuvered across the enemies with desperation. His aching muscles as he twists and turns without much thought. His body is wavered with deep cuts from a few blasts and slashes that he couldn't protect himself against. He found his opening as his sword glowed vibrantly. He performs a spin slash with a tight grip against the handle, pulling all of his weight into his arm as he sends a few of the monsters flying.
"This is where we part ways." He said as he raised his sword. The sword began to vibrate more and more as it began to shake within his grasp. "Sorry!" He stabbed the sword down into the ground.
The entire area was engulfed in a blue energy explosion as the place shook. The explosion engulfed everything around them, none of the monsters escaped as they were absorbed by the explosion.
The explosion died down and in the middle of the street, the boy stood alone, slouched over as he pants heavily while gripping the sword stabbed onto the ground tightly.
Rupture Burst. Costing all of the energy from his sword's energy core as he sees the sword return to its red metallic color with no power whatsoever, leaving it to be practically weaker. The light around it is gone and he sighs with relief.
Without any warning he plucks his sword from the ground and quickly continues to run as he feared if he stayed any longer, more of the lurking monsters will invade this place in alarm by the noise and explosion he caused. He's extremely exhausted and can pass out any second by how spent he feels. He straps his sword to his side and jumps off the ledge.
"Gah!!" He feels himself fall as soon as he lands on the ground, his ankle sprained as he lays there for a moment. He's even more worn out than he thought if he's able to sprain his ankle like this. Usually, a fall that is equivalent to 2 trees is like a breeze. Despite this, his instincts to survive are stronger and so he pushes himself up. He bit his lip intensely as the pressure of his ankle immediately made his eyes widen as a tear immediately formed.
-~-
This place should do the spot... He sits down on a chair, puts his bag down and he rests his head against the table. It took a few minutes to find a place to rest, having decided to rest up at a part of St. Fountain that was far from the explosion he caused. He feels like he can pass out any second now, it's worse that he hasn't eaten these past two days due to not being able to find a source of nourishment. His stomach grumbles and he groans. He's glad that the human body can last a while without nutrition, even so, it doesn't make things good.
Slowly he rose his head and looked around the library he is staying in for the meantime until his ankle gets better. Books were scattered around, some shelves were knocked over, and the place was quite ruined. It makes him wonder how the city here was before it became a desolate wasteland. He's also interested in how the humans here were...
Humans...
His thoughts went to the human race. Where are other humans living? Are humans out there helping each other survive? Are they rebuilding the foundation of society? Or are they fighting each other to claim land and be at a higher power?
He gets up from the chair and still finds himself groaning at his ankle. He feels lightheaded as he lost a lot of blood. He's surprised he still hasn't passed out with all of his injuries. He looks down at himself and frowns as he realizes he will need to find more clothes. His baggy pants are shredded alongside his shirt, harboring holes that leave his skin exposed alongside his wounds.
He decides to look around for anything that can be important. Something that can help him. As he does so, his mind drifts towards the thought of the human species again. He has a teacher. Although to others, you can say that he's his adoptive father. He never knew his parents. He was found inside a closet where his parents put him for his safety.
The village that I came from was attacked and nobody survived... That's why my parents must've locked me in a closet so that I can survive and someone finds me. And someone did. His teacher wasn't far off from when his village was attacked. He was exploring, and his teacher, Blake Blair travels a lot. He likes traveling and when he's traveling, he likes to look for materials that can be useful for forging.
Blake Blair is a blacksmith. He forges many things. To him, his teacher is the best blacksmith in the world, that is to say, it's because he's the only one he knows personally. And also...he's the one who made the sword of his that's strapped to his side. Made to condense and utilize energy itself as a blade. Like a lightsaber.
He grew up in isolation with his teacher. Not once has he met any other human being besides that man. His teacher had to go somewhere... Somewhere that not even he could follow because it would be too dangerous. But his teacher also encouraged him to leave the house and venture out on his own.
It will be fun he said! He found himself laughing at his bad luck. These few months of traveling alone were fine. He would make sure to be stealthy and try and avoid any battles. Do you know why? THIS IS WHY!!! His body is on fire and he finds difficulty in concentrating. He shouldn't have come to St. Fountain at all! He thought he might find food and other things that can be useful...
Perhaps other humans.
His gaze grimaced as he stared down at his feet. He may be trained with the skills necessary to survive in the wild and so forth. But there's one thing he can't bear.
The feeling of being alone.
The feeling is isolation is unbearable. For the longest time he can recall, he's always been afraid of being alone. Times when his teacher would be gone as he had to go out and hunt for food, he remembers crying to his teacher to take him with him. He would always cling to man, he was the only person he knew. He was the only one who can comfort him.
The thought of that man being gone and leaving him all alone... It was terrifying.
Although he's gotten better at handling himself as he grew older, realizing he can't be clingy all the time and that he must learn to overcome his fear. It was doubtful that these past few months all alone has caused a hole within him to grow.
Loneliness is scary...
The thought of being all alone is scary...
Nobody besides me existing...is scary.
Regardless of his wavering heart, he must be strong. His heart must be strong and not let isolation break him. He can't let himself waver in such a manner. If he steels the heart, then the pain goes away. Throw away any emotions and the pain subsides...
But...if he does steel his heart...then he will be breaking the promise he made to his teacher.
"Please do not close your heart. Closing your heart is equivalent to becoming that of a machine. Although you may feel less pain, you will feel less joy as well with your actions. Closing your heart is the same as not existing at all. Will you really wanna live like that for the rest of your life?"
He still recalls the words that his teacher told him that day. It was the day he told his teacher he found a way to stop feeling pain and loneliness. Yet his excited face slowly became upset at the expression his teacher gave him. His teacher looks shaken, almost in distress. The man was quick to lecture him and promise him to never steel his heart. He promised the man that he will stop using that method. Even so, he stands here with a blank look.
If the heart is that of tin, then the pain he feels will eventually go away like it once did the first time he tried...
Will it not...?
His eyes finally caught something useful to use. With a spark of hope, he saw a communication device. His previous thoughts washed away as he quickly went ahead and grabbed the speaker and radio and turned it on. He looks on with a smile as he saw it turn on.
Yes! He grabs the radio and begins to turn the buttons to try and get the right frequency and perhaps send out a transmission signal to tell someone that he needs help and that he's injured and hungry.
He continues trying until he gets a signal. Eventually, he hears something coming from the radio and his eyes widen.
YES—
His heart dropped as he saw the radio shut off a second instantly after he just connected with whoever he was about to speak to.
"No no no!" He shakes the radio with desperation and tries to desperately turn it on only to be met with silence. He's tried a couple of times alongside taking the batteries out and putting them on again multiple times.
Minutes passed and he gave up. He left the radio and speaker on the table as he grabbed his bag and walked slowly around the library. He found a place to lay in as it was around the shelves at the far back of the library and plops down on the ground emotionless.
My luck is shit.
He grabs his sword from his side and opens his bag. He put the sword in the bag and it disappeared completely. His bag is not normal in nature. Another gift from his teacher. The bag is a pocket dimension itself, anything inside can be stored so long as it manages to fit. Infinite space that is useful and isn't heavy in weight, which makes it easy to carry around.
He sighs as he closes the bag and stares at the ceiling. It will take time for the energy core to be fully charged. What did he do to deserve such cruelty? Why does his luck suck? Has he angered the gods? Did he do something bad in whatever past life he might have had? He lies there with his back against the shelf behind him. His legs were limp and his hand fell to his side. He grabbed his stomach with his other hand and slowly blinks.
His consciousness is slowly going blank and his vision blurs. He can't stay awake any longer. He's tired...
I'll figure out what to do in the morning... For now, all he can do is rest.
-~-
How long has he been out? Have days passed?
Is he still unconscious? Everything is pitch black. Is this what the afterlife is? Just pure nothingness? With only his conscious intact? His mind still able to think? Alone with his thoughts?
"No battery. You were right."
A voice that sounded oddly clear in his mind said. He heard footsteps, multiple.
No battery? Huh? He's confused by what the voice meant.
"Knew it." He heard a sigh come from the voice as it stopped for a moment. "Now the real question is, is this person hiding here even after their signal disappeared, or did they run off?" Signal? Run off?
Wait...
My signal?!
He suddenly jolted and his vision was engrossed with a bright light. He blinks repeatedly as he feels horrible and his body aches. The voices that he heard... Are they here inside the library? He stays quiet and in place, as he feels his conscious faltering again. Regardless he continues to force himself with every bit of willpower he has to stay up and confirm he isn't going crazy.
*Creak* *Creak* Footsteps are heard—
"Is anyone there?!" He was shaken by the immediate loud voice that echoed through the library as a few seconds passed with silence. "We got your distress signal! We're here to help and bring you to safety!"
Safety? Then...he really might survive. But can he trust these people?
"Nobody's here Adam...stop yelling—"
I'M HERE! He immediately got up from the hard ground out of desperation.
*CLATTER*
He froze as he realized a bucket fell from his action which must've alarmed the other presences. He saw the bucket rollover out of his hiding spot in the back corner of the library. He let his desperation, his fear of isolation overwrite his actions and now the strangers know he's here. He heard no movements and waited a while as he realized none of the strangers moved.
Their voices were that of adults... Right now all odds are against him. But...there's not much he can do.
His eyes close naturally from exhaustion. He slowly opened them despite the heaviness he feels just from the singular action. Slowly he decides to reveal himself. If these strangers are truly who they say they are, perhaps he can trust them.
He walked over at a slow pace. He slowly reached with his hand and gripped the bookshelf as an act of support for his sprained ankle. His head popped into view and his whole body was now exposed to the four adults. He saw a woman with dark purple hair, a man with brown hair, a woman with light brown hair, and finally a woman with red hair just like his.
"A kid...?!" The only adult male from the group he heard say with shock. Even though it was a whisper, it was loud enough. He then saw the purple-haired woman and the light-brown hair woman freeze for a moment causing him to feel confused.
"F-F/N?"
He was shocked at the light brown-haired woman muttering his name. How did she know his name? Even so, he kept a stoic expression to keep calm.
"...How did you know my name?" He couldn't help but ask, just speaking with his dry throat hurt. He saw the woman who uttered his name alongside the dark purple-haired one to widen their eyes.
*FWOOSH*
F/N felt himself get swooped as he was embraced in a hug by the light brown-haired girl. He would move but his muscles were all tired, so he stood there emotionless with confusion as to why she was hugging him. "It's you... It's you..." She repeated those words towards him leaving him to be confused.
"What are you—"
"I'm calling someone."
He heard the adult man get interrupted by the dark purple-haired woman who pulled out a phone and stared at him with a strained look.
Is it because of his condition? Is he that pitiful to look at? Does he look that bad?
His gaze would look at the woman who hugged him then slowly towards the others and trying to analyze them to the best he can with his vision which couldn't concentrate without blurring every few seconds.
His heart ached for a reason as he felt the woman's touch on him. Why does he want to cry? Why does he want to reassure her everything is alright?
His gaze left the others as his attention then focused on the quiet redhead of the group. He saw her gaze meet him as she held what seems to be a photo. "Br****" He couldn't hear her correctly. Her voice slowly disappeared as his ears picked up a deafening noise that rings through his ears. He sees her eyes widen while looking at him.
F/N saw the dark purple-haired woman speak which looked to be towards everyone as she put her phone away as he blinked repeatedly. His eyes continued flickering as everything began to go dark and he felt himself go limp. He knows what this is...
I'm passing out again...
That was his last thought as the pain flowed through him and he couldn't hold his consciousness anymore despite wanting to stay awake. He falls limp into the woman's hands as he feels her shake, probably startled as he finally passes out.
"..."
-~-
Here it is. The spin-off series from the 2-part Omake that I did in my other Honkai story. Starting off the prologue is what happened and how things escalated before Mei and the others managed to find the reincarnated Captain wounded and in the city from our protagonist's viewpoint.
This is Post Honkai What-If in which what were to happen if the Captain were to have died instead of surviving from getting his chest punctured. For those that want to read the Omake that only read this story instead of the other, it's in my other Honkai story which has 2 parts. You can read them in Chapters 41 and 42.
That will be all for now. I thank you for reading and hope you continue to support me as always! Until next time, bye.
Word Count: 3,864