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Kiana's POV
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we set up camp near the ruined village, Durandal and the other had found and waited for reinforcements. when they arrived, they came in force as Auntie Theresa brought battalions with her and whole lot of heavy equipment. we quickly expanded the camp to fit everyone before immediately coming up with a plan to find Hua

we couldn't rely on Seere nor Bella for reasons they won't say and with so much interference on Mt.Taixuan, we were going with the old fashion way with manual search. due to the extreme amount of Honkai energy in the area and multiple groups and hordes of Honkai Beasts all around the place, the normal soldiers would be staying behind to guard the camp while groups of Valkyries would be doing the searching

thanks to Auntie Theresa, both expert A-Rank Valkyries and Valkyries in training have been brought to help in the search and there were quite a few squads that seemed quite good at tracking, however, our target was possibly a Herrscher, if Hua was found and attacked the other squads while we were far, we'd have little chance to help them and the scenarios varied in badness

to ensure the safety of the other squads, Squad 6 and Durandal's Immortal Blades would be split up amongst the other teams, to ensure they at least had extreme professionals with them and to also make sure we could contact each other immediately if Hua was found

it was a fairly basic plan but it was a good enough of a start to get a search going and once we assigned the squads to the sectors they'd search, all that was left was to get the preparations done and to get the other squads ready

Theresa:remember everyone, our priority is finding Fu Hua  ut it is also top priority to keep our junior Valkyries safe and sound, am I clear

Durandal:do not worry Principal, they'll be safe under our guard

Kiana:yeah, between all of us, they should all be safe. question now is, where do we even begin to search

Bronya:according to Subject Seele, Subject Bella has occasionally been spotted flying to a specific sector of Mt.Taixuan. The Bronya believes, this is her keeping tabs on the Class Monitor for Subject Seere

Rita:then that should be a good place to start our search

Himeko:problem is, there's no way for us to get to that sector

Theresa:that area is cut off by a bridge that seems spatially warped, according to our analysts and bringing resources to make a new one is a no go either as there's no way our teams could bridge that gap safely with so many Honkai Beasts in the area

Mei:leave it to us principal, we'll find a way

Theresa:I hope so, remember, we want her alive and safe, even if she's a Herrscher, you 3 are living proof that even Herrschers can have a heart

Kiana:we'll get her back, even if I have to drag her back here myself

Himeko:you better, she I will have a long talk about this when she's back

Theresa:then that settles things. get your teams ready and head out immediately, the sooner we find her, the better

Everyone:right!!

with everything settled, we left the camps command tent and headed to our squads. as I walked, the strong gust blew as I saw Bella fly in the sky with extreme speed, flying towards the sector we had just discussed about

I had personally seend fly towards that directions at least 4 times now and it was very suspicious but nothing concrete could be said about her actions as we couldn't reliably contact her. Seele seemed to be the only one who could call her over as she had done so before and Bella did respond quickly but she has not done it again in a while, most likely not wanting to bother her

truthfully, I didn't want to bother her either. mostly because of the fact that Seere seemed pretty protective of her and I don't want to mess with him but the other fact was that she seemed quite keen on following her orders of keeping interactions to a minimum

whatever the case was with Seere and Bella, we couldn't rely on them for this, we had to find Hua on our own and we weren't going to stop until we did as I met with my team, double checked on preparedness and headed out immediately

Timeskip brought to you by my lack of motivation to write

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Seere's POV
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everything seemed to be going as expected as I stood before the imaginary tree. another branch had fallen off and dissipated into the Quantum Sea only for a new branch to take it's place. it was breathtaking and mind boggling at first but once you've seen it enough times, it's just another sight to see

for Me, however, it was my sworn duty to look after it and make sure it was safe as well as all of Sea of Quanta and everything living in it. this includes all the branches on the tree and all the worlds on it, curiously, the Tree and the Sea seemed to have taken a liking to the new space themed universes it had thought up. though I had seen the original timeline of the alterations be formed, it was still a long time until it would affect my world and many others

in the meantime, all my world and it's protectors had to worry about was the soon to be full awakening of a new Herrscher that they would need to turn into an ally. many scenarios of varying success had happened at this point due to the Herrschers unique ability but I had full confidence in the girls and Bella would step in if things go bad as I have ordered

I hoped it wouldn't come to it as I watched Kiana and the others go around Mt.Taixuan, looking for their lost friend but the natural course must be maintained and the guardian, I must be the one to maintain it

Vern:How long are you going to monologue in your head for

Seere:for as long I choose to, Vern. what is it?

Vern:are you sure that Shicksal and Anti-Entropy groups can actually make a weapon to beat Tlaloc

Seere:in other worlds, it's our main heroes, specifically Bronya with the help of the Core of Reason that brought down that beast. the situation is different behind the scenes however. Tlaloc is not weak by any means and the Core of Reason shouldn't be enough to bring it down under normal circumstances

Vern:I know that already

Seere:under that knowledge, that would indicate that the Tlaloc we're facing is full powered up and beating it is still a big mystery for the Guardians and their Shadows

Vern:where's the connection you're drawing

Seere:the connection and the lesson to be learned is, if YOU can't deal with something, find SOMEONE who can, or at least, someone who can help you

Vern:and you think they can?

Seere:don't underestimate them, I gave them an extremely enticing reward for a reason, Otto and Welt have no reason to hold back in our little competition because they know full well that I'm capable of upholding my end of the deal

Vern:you seem to have good faith in them but what about the girl

Seere:Bella or Seele? choose your next words carefully

Vern:the Honkai Beast, you never showed interest then, why now

Seere:................our version caught my attention. unlike the others, she was compatible with Quantum Energy. this was an occurrence that we had never seen before in ANY Honkai Beast. given the opportunity, I HAD to see if I could make new route, one where we may find the answers to the truth about the Honkai's Nature and origin

Vern:so she's a means to an end

Seere:.......................................................I never said that

Vern:you known damn well, you can't keep her

Seere:....................

Vern:if you don't get rid of her by the time the Sea says it's time for her to go, I'll be the one to do it

those words went through my ears like any other sound but, they triggered a response unlike the others, it was in a single blink of a moment but the Undine's Tale was in already in my hand and the blade was already on Vern's neck. even I couldn't believe my reaction but that emotion wasn't proper right now as I stared into Vern's eyes, my own body charged with Quantum energy, ready to defend what's mine

Seere:I don't think I need to remind you who the Cast is here

Vern:I don't need to remind you that, You.can't.keep her

Seere:.........

Vern:get done what you need of her. when the Sea says it's time, it's time for her to go

Vern left without another word afterwards. he was right about the Sea's rules but he still doesn't understand the fact that the Sea has long lost it's control over the Guardians. in the past, Vern's words were true and the Shadow's and Sea's rules and orders were law but that has long since been changed

the Sea and it's laws were never perfect and they still aren't. after the Guardians revolt in previous era against the Sea itself, even it had to realize that the rules that were set were flawed, hence why there is only one Guardian per generation and why almost all domain and power are granted to them

though I am loyal to the Sea and accepted the duty to protect and uphold it's laws with my life, I am still the one in charge, if I disagree with the Quantum Sea then I only need to prove myself right. and I'm sure as hell not giving Bella so easily, whether to Vern or the Sea 

Seere(mind):I do truly wonder. has my actions warranted your intervention or do you simply think that I've crossed a line 

I looked up to the "sky" of the Sea of Quanta, seeing the endless glowing dots amidst an endless darkness, each one a world of it's own, destined to live or die in the eventuality of time. the "sky" glowed with bright colors, the Sea was never one to not answer my questions but it's answer this time was incomprehensible, there was nothing to make out, simply yelling Me that it had heard but does not wish to answer

I sighed to myself at the response, even the Sea itself doesn't know what to answer. whether that was good or bad is yet to be seen but I will be ready if it tries to take what's mine. curiously, as I thought of that to myself, that same loyal dragon I was just thinking about makes a connection with Me to talk

Bella:Master

Seere:what is it Bella, something urgent

Bella:no, Shicksal is proceeding with the search as planned and moving forward at the same pace as predicted

Seere:good, what about Seele

Bella:minor dangers and no sustained nor critical damage taken

Seere:at this rate, they'll find her in no time. though this means they'll find Hua much faster than in other worlds, the overall outcome will be the same

Bella:any changes to my orders?

Seere:hmmm, continue to monitor them, the squads should be split up from our main duo by the time they make it to the final sector and no interference should arrive to help, to ensure continuity 

Bella:understood, proceeding as planned then

Seere:take care of yourself out there Bella and don't over exert yourself, last thing I need is you out of commision due to lack of energy. remember, no combat unless it's to protect Seele

Bella:understood, I'll report if anything happens

Seere:good, I'll hear from you soon

with that, the connection was cut and I could only assume that Bella returned to the task at hand. as for Me, I sensed Tori come up behind Me, carrying a piece of paper that he quickly gave to Me. reading the note, I could only sigh to myself as I had more work to do

Timeskip brought to you by Sumeru's desert, the biggest pain in my ass right now and ultimate delayer of chapter updates

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Bella's POV
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all movements and proceedings were going as Master had expected. the investigation of the mountains was going well for the Shicksal Squads and significant progress was being made by all teams.

by estimation, the squads would not have enough daylight to find their friend within the day but are likely to find her by tomorrow or the day after, significantly faster than other worlds as Master had said.

if everything continues to go smoothly then there will be no need for Me to intervene as I kept watch over the area where the Herrscher resided. their power had not fully released yet, as such, they were forced to use illusions and tricks in order to buy time for her regeneration

the "locals" that the squads had encountered in their search were all life like to the originals, however, if they had any sense of the history of this place, they should already know that these people have long since died of age or other means

based on the info given to Me by Master, the Herrscher is attempting to convince the squads that she is the friend that they are searching for, however, the Queen's host will be able to differentiate the Herrscher and her friend from one another, plunging the Herrscher into rage and locking the two into combat. in the end, the Hosts of the Herrschers will be victorious and the friend will be saved

though this is the correct sequence of events, the Master's actions have changed the factors of which the sequences have to use. the Queen's host was not meant to have this much support in her search nor was Shicksal's presence meant to be here, as such, my task is facilitate the sequence of events and ensure that they play out correctly as intended without changing nor affecting the known factors in play already

the line was of "what can be" and "what cannot be" was gray as my Master said, this was a test to see my ability to make my own decisions based on my own skill, knowledge and emotion. I had to decide on my own if "I should do it" and "if I should not" then decided whether I was right or wrong

 based on the rule set I was given, My interference and actions have been limited and minimal in scope and size to ensure that I am not drawing attention to myself. although Master's Sisters has taken notice Me and my presence from time to time, she has not made any effort to pursue Me while I work, which is to my advantage as I watched them proceed with their search.

as I watched, I felt a presence loom over Me from behind, attempting to seem overbearing or intimidating but their attempt was futile as I was more than confident in the powers I was given despite my inexperience with it as I turned around to see, who was behind Me

there I saw a girl with gray hair and red eyes, wearing a black, white and gold outfit with a cape like extension near the waist

her presence was powerful but far from anything that could stagger Me as I looked at the being that was the target of Master's friends. she had a confident and arrogant smirk on her face, as if she had already won a fight that not even started yet. despite that, I could tell that she was being cautious of Me, even being smart enough to keep a good distance to avoid the Quantum Energy around Me

Bella:you...I thought you were still rejuvenating

???:hah, Me? and why would I be doing that?

Bella:you're clearly not fully awakened nor have you fully grasped the control of that body, if you had, you would've been bold enough to strike Me while I was still unaware of you

???:hahahaha, you think I'd need a surprise attack for someone like-

Bella:you're being cautious of Me and keeping you're distance, you had sensed that I was Herrscher but I wasn't aligning with that party that was searching for you, so you had come to Me to talk and sway Me to you're side but upon closer inspection, you realized that I wasn't a normal Herrscher, nor would I be swayed

the girl was silent, her smirk was gone, replaced with a neutral but seemingly annoyed frown. her eyes were serious and looked like she was about to attack Me at any moment, however, she remained still, seemingly waiting for Me to make a move as I turned my back to her

Bella:you should go back

???:huh? don't turn your back to Me!!

Bella:you're not going to attack Me and you need to rejuvenate before they find you. beside, I have no quarrel with you nor have I been ordered to interfere with the search or with you directly, so just leave already

???:haha, hahahaha, ahahahahaha, you think you can just turn your back to Me and tell Me what to do? who hell do you think you are

Bella:.............

turning around again, to face the girl, I distorted the space around us as my eyes glowed,charged with Quantum Energy. fractures in the air appeared around, tearing through space and time until the entire area around us collapsed, landing us both in the Sea of Quanta as I stood before the Imaginary Tree and the girl before

her eyes widened in a panik, she knew she had bit off more than she could chew. turning around in a hopeless attempt to find an escape, she only saw the endless stretch of dark blue space, littered with floating rocks and the occasional odd flora and ruins

amongst those floating rocks, stood 2 figures, 1 was the Master himself, wielding his weapon above his shoulders as he wore a small smirk on his face, the other was his shadow with his vibrant red feature that contrasted his owners as he wore a wide smirk and a devilish expression while controlling 6 massive claws. 1 was on my level, the other was far beyond Me, both were absolute threats to the girl

soon enough, the space around us repaired itself, returning to the mountainous landscape that it was before. I personally would have finished the job then and there but I had my orders to follow and it would go against my Master's wishes to remove the girl from life

in a burst of hasty wind, the girl left Me to my own devices, seemingly not looking for anymore interactions with Me as she returned to the abode she was staying at prior, continuing her regeneration

looking to where the search parties were at now, everything was going according to plan and prediction and sooner or later, The Queen's host and her short emotionless friend will find their way to the girl and save her

I continued to watch over them as they proceeded forward but stopped as my attention was taken by the sound of Master's voice in my head as he spoke softly with an amused tone 

Seere:you handled her pretty well

Bella:thank you, Master

Seere:you're also getting very used to your new powers, you fractured the space around very efficiently and very controlled, I'm proud of you

Bella:I only learned thanks to you

Seere:give yourself some credit Bella, I did teach you but you were the one to learn

Bella:even so, I couldn't have learned quickly if not for a good teacher

Seere:yeah, yeah, alright, I'll let you get back to your task but I do need to warn you about something

Bella:what is it, Master?

Seere:I've been observing your core a bit and I've found that I may have overlooked a few details in it's creation, it shouldn't hamper your combat abilities nor should it be anything major but better be safe than sorry, if you're not feeling well or feel strange, tell IMMEDIATELY, understood

Bella:I understand, thank you for the warning

Seere:alright then, I'll let you get back to it, stay safe out there

like the winds around Me, Master's voice was gone in an instant and I returned to observing the Herrscher of the Void and the Herrscher of Reason as the continued on their search, following the right path

Bella(mind):........................an oversight on my core?......................*holds chest* perhaps I should tell him about the Red Sparks soon 

Author:I'm still alive, still writing, albeit very slowly but still doing it though. hope you all enjoyed and look forward to the next one

Shadowgamer254 out