I Am Honkai

Far East region, Japanese archipelago.

Nara Prefecture, Osaka, is a basin area, surrounded by mountains on all sides. The narrow hills enclose the entire city. Within its jurisdiction, the northern part of the Nara Basin, Mount Yoshino, is famous for its cherry blossoms, which are renowned as the best in Japan.

The cherry blossoms of Mount Yoshino are divided into four parts, and by every April, the blossoms open in the order of 'thousand at the foot of the mountain', 'thousand at the mountainside', 'thousand at the mountaintop', and 'thousand in the mountains'. The scene is spectacular.

Unfortunately, it is autumn now (the time of the Kolosten Town incident: after October 13, 2017), neither the best season for cherry blossom viewing nor the winter for observing snow scenes.

The scene of "cherry blossoms filling the mountain in spring" cannot be seen for now.

From the sky, the autumn red maple leaves are mixed with the bare cherry trees, creating a somewhat desolate appearance.

But why are the cherry blossoms here so brilliantly blooming? Why do the cherry trees here possess far greater vitality than elsewhere? This is not merely due to the environment.

What no one knows is—

Here, lies a warrior who fought for humanity her entire life, yet lost her last remaining close kin because of humanity, ultimately growing disillusioned and dying in battle, as brilliant and fleeting as cherry blossoms.

In front of her grave, the strongest warrior, who bore the inscription [Deliverance], once made a vow to his comrades and to everyone on this scorched earth: no matter the cost, humanity will definitely defeat Honkai.

And fifty thousand years later, because of the Twelfth Herrscher, the Herrscher of Corruption, manipulating the launch silos, the earth, completely destroyed by nuclear bombs, had already been reborn, with traces of life scattered all over it.

Is this the power of time? Or the resilience of life?

Perhaps the bodies of the fused warriors nourished this land as nutrients, allowing the cherry blossoms here to be so dazzling and beautiful.

Born here, returning to its roots, giving back to it.

Within Mount Yoshino, Kinpo Mountain Temple.

Tick-tock～

A man wearing a hooded cloak and black hoodie pushed open the door. The somewhat aged door latch emitted a creaking sound.

The interior of the building was a very elegant Heian period style, but now the entire entrance hall was in disarray. Wooden windows, broken furniture, and expensive carpets and incense burners were scattered everywhere, torn to pieces, and ashes were scattered all over.

The man stepped through the open wooden door, and his boots made a crunching sound on the wood chips.

"Have they been here...?"

On the floor, there were still some traces of blood, and massive footprints from heavy objects deeply embedded in the wooden boards, leaving clear and visible marks.

After entering the back courtyard of the Kinpo Mountain Temple, the cherry tree, standing at the center of the courtyard, came into view.

Under normal circumstances, the cherry blossoms in this season should still be buds, but the cherry tree in the temple courtyard had bloomed unusually.

"It's been a long time, Sakura [Setsuna]."

Stopping not far from the cherry tree, his voice was hoarse and deep. Amid the rumbling sounds from the Osaka city circle around Mount Yoshino, the sky reflected a fiery red color.

"In this era, without a doubt, humanity has still failed."

The dark hood wrinkled, and the man raised his head. On the bone-white mask, beside the crossed black daggers, his only remaining right eye emitted a red glow from the operation of his bionic eye.

It was none other than the Gray Serpent.

He bowed deeply to the cherry tree—honoring a fallen hero, a warrior who had killed him countless times... a former 'friend.'

Although that 'friend' didn't think so, having tried to kill him multiple times and even destroyed the organization he founded, the Gray Serpent's consciousness, controlling multiple different bodies, ensured that he never truly died.

For some unknown reason, Gray Serpent seemed to have developed an unusual attachment to the [Setsuna] Sakura, which had repeatedly tried to kill him.

When Sakura died fifty thousand years ago, Gray Serpent, with his 'bodies,' had paid his respects at her grave, regretting that Sakura could not witness this moment herself (a conclusion Gray Serpent had drawn from his long travels: humanity needed a leader).

But now, Gray Serpent had come to retract the words he had spoken fifty thousand years ago.

"For the future of humanity, humanity needs a leader. However, Dr. Mobius has disappeared, and the Lord seems to have failed... No, it should be said that Kevin Kaslana has failed."

His gaze shifted upwards, and after so many years, this cherry tree still remained as beautiful as ever, exuding a solitary, noble aura, like the only lit torch in the darkness, still as striking as before.

The flowers were unusually beautiful, with snow-white petals tinged with a hint of pink, and golden stamens clustered together like golden threads, seeming to emit a faint glow. Each flower was delicate, blooming in the gentle breeze, showcasing its own brilliance, appearing so lively.

"He who failed is not worthy of being the leader of the World Serpent."

In the past, whenever Kevin Kaslana was mentioned, Gray Serpent would always appear with the face of a devoted believer, respectfully calling him 'Master.'

But this time, from Gray Serpent's mouth, his words seemed to carry no respect for Kevin Kaslana. On the contrary, he appeared especially indifferent toward the deceased Kevin, even harsh and ruthless.

"He broke his word and did not fulfill our agreement," Gray Serpent seemed to be speaking to the cherry tree.

Indeed, an agreement.

Gray Serpent adhered to the spirit of business and would always fulfill the agreements he had made, even if they were forced.

Why was Kevin able to become the leader of the World Serpent?

One very important reason was that Gray Serpent's creator, and the first will Gray Serpent chose to follow, Dr. Mobius, had disappeared.

Gray Serpent's birth was truly the result of an irreplicable stroke of luck. He was not the human cybernetic body modifier Robert had originally envisioned.

Because he was never human.

Gray Serpent was a byproduct born during Dr. Mobius's testing of a new technology. After Mobius confirmed that the technology was viable, he discarded the original Gray Serpent into the disposal pool.

However, the next day, when Mobius checked again, he found that while over 80% of the organic material had been corrupted, 'it' was not only still alive, but had also undergone an astonishing 'evolution'?!

"The process of evolution is not beautiful. On the contrary, it is extremely ugly, horrifically ugly. But only after going through this ugly process can we truly understand... the beauty of life." — Mobius

In its ugly eyes, the will to survive erupted, the light of existence for the sole purpose of survival... Mobius had never seen such a creature.

So, Mobius decided to give 'it' a chance... a chance to live.

'It' left Mobius's laboratory and began its 'experiment.' It organized a cult worshipping machinery, a mutual aid society that viewed the Honkai as a baptism, and a mafia group hoarding Honkai energy weapons...

In this process, 'it' gradually underwent changes, making it seem more and more like a human.

Thus, Gray Serpent was born.

Surviving, Gray Serpent believed that the freedom he had now was a generous gift from his creator, Dr. Mobius, and so he had to give it value.

And it was this 'value' that drove the non-human Gray Serpent to do something.

Later, Gray Serpent met Kevin, a comrade of Dr. Mobius, promised Gray Serpent: humanity would definitely defeat the Honkai! For this, he was willing to pay any price.

The Progenitor Project—'Stigmata Project'—which Kevin was responsible for, also showed Gray Serpent the possibility of humanity adapting to the Honkai.

Out of a need for self-actualization, and a sense of gratitude to Dr. Mobius, Kevin and Gray Serpent hit it off. After the dawn of the current civilization, Kevin was made 'Master,' and Gray Serpent reorganized his own group into the World Serpent.

Dedicated to helping humanity adapt to the Honkai, and realizing the 'Stigmata Project.'

But all of this was now history. The once deeply believed pursuit of 'Master' and Gray Serpent's belief that Kevin could help him realize his value were now in the past.

Now, Kevin had breached his promise. Gray Serpent wouldn't shout out in anger, wouldn't mourn for Kevin, nor would he feel sorrow for Kevin's death.

Cold and ruthless, willing to sacrifice everything to achieve his goals, and to use everything that could be used. These were the true nature of Gray Serpent.

After finishing his words, Gray Serpent fell silent, and only the rustling sound of the breeze brushing through the cherry tree could be heard in the courtyard. After a moment, without hesitation, he turned and walked away.

Now, Kevin is dead, the heroes are either dead, missing, or surrendered, and Gray Serpent had already done everything he could.

Despite being relentlessly pursued by the Imperial Army and having dozens of his bodies killed or captured, Gray Serpent still chose to return to the burial site of Sakura and bid her farewell once again.

As for everything else, he gathered the technological blueprints from the past and present generations of civilizations; abandoned most of the forces to survive on their own; used the laboratory left by Dr. Mobius to issue a public announcement to all surviving shelters, declaring the failure of the present generation's battle against the Honkai...

Doctor, can you hear me?

Humanity has once again failed in the face of the Honkai... how much longer will the next generation need to wait? How much longer will it take for humanity to defeat it...?

Doctor... where are you?

With these questions in his mind, Gray Serpent stepped out of the gates of Kinpo Mountain Temple.

Looking down from the mountain gates, the surrounding city had lost its once peaceful atmosphere. The colorful neon lights and street lamps, which usually only flickered on at night, had already lit up early, forming long streaks of light across the sky.

However, the 'neon lights' and 'street lamps' were not just beautiful—they brought death!

All military bases, police units, and municipal halls had encountered disastrous destruction. In a single day, over a hundred thousand people had become homeless... trembling in fear under the ravages of war.

Boom——!

The terrified crowd was thrown into complete chaos, fleeing in all directions to escape.

In the city, another district erupted in an ear-splitting explosion. Which direction was it?

Gray Serpent's right eye flickered with a red light. The location where the explosion had just occurred—if he remembered correctly—was one of the World Serpent's bases in Osaka.

As he was thinking, whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

In the sky, several Caestus Assault Ram roared as they flew into the mountains. Due to their low-altitude flight, the jungle below was instantly flattened like rice or wheat fields.

The Caestus Assault Ram is one of the types of assault crafts used by the Sacred Selene Empire. It is smaller than the Thunderhawk, but larger than the Shark Assault Boat.

These aircraft are used in void battles to quickly deploy jump troops directly onto enemy ships. The Caestus Assault Ram is also one of the most commonly used jumpcraft by Astartes warriors, praised for its speed and exceptional durability.

It can carry up to ten fully armored Astartes warriors into combat, with enough space for them to wear power armor or Terminator power armor.

On both sides, it is equipped with a Whirlwind missile launcher and two twin-linked heavy blast autocannons.

"Report: Enemy identified. Based on database comparison, it is Gray Serpent, a high-ranking officer of the World Serpent."

Inside the assault craft, the pilot, looking at the black-robed figure on the screen, raised his voice to report.

"Is it him again? How many times is this? While this is the first time our legion has encountered him, other legions and even other battle zones have records of him being killed."

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