A young man with short dark opened his eyes, revealing a beautiful pair of obsidian orbs glittered with amber and light green dust resembling a starry night star. Dark hair danced playfully as the young man stumbled from his seat, a throne of amber and stone that was worn and torn. 

"I can never go back," the young man lamented as he looked at the image in front of him. Time flowed for everyone but him and once more, he was left behind. 

A pair of bright lights erupted from the young man's chest, causing blood to flow from his eyes and elbows. A soft amber glow produced a rook chess piece that glowed with primordial power while the soft green light produced a circular crystal that shattered, losing its luster. 

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" 

[Your body submits] The voice that haunted him for so long echoed in his mind.

The young man's obsidian eyes snapped open

[Your heart succumbs,] The voice echoed out once more 

Through sheer force of will, the young man forced himself to stand up

[So why does your mind resist?] The voice echoed, its hostility long gone only replaced by curiosity.

'I don't know...' The young man thought as he used his numb hands, crawling back to where his throne was. 'But.' Images of an energetic young woman appeared in his mind followed by two people, his brothers. 

[It has been a long time, they have all moved on while you alone remained unravaged by time,] The voice echoed out. 

Pushing himself and positioning himself on his throne, the young man's tired obsidian eyes no longer had the star-like mist that covered them. Closing his eyes, the young man opened them once more.

"I can't go back..." the young man whispered tiredly as he saw it. His whole life remained untouched for the last decade and yet his family and friends lived theirs. 'But I won't give up...' 

Very well.

 He was no longer on his sealed throne. 

The young man looked around as he saw himself in front of a mirror, a reflection of himself. 

Dressed in a black suit with golden accessories and pants with a gray shirt and black stripes, the young man loosened the red tie around his neck and unbuttoned the top part of his collar. 

"Where am I?"

 I am Akavili, Aeon of the Trailblazers. Former Joyful Lord of the earth

Hearing the title he used to have, Rex tensed as he focused his powers before frowning as he only formed a brittle replica of his spear. 

Be not afraid, I am here to offer you a contract

Hearing the word contract, the young man raised his brow as he let his hair run free, reaching his shoulders. 

"What contract?" The former joyful lord of the Earth asked as he lowered his spear. 

I want you to travel with the Nameless.

"Nameless?" 

My followers, rather the followers of myself from another reality. 

"I'll bite. What do you need me to do?" 

I want you to live. 

"Pardon me?" The young man asked, his amber spear 

You have sacrificed your power, your entire being to the unknown, cutting your life short. Even now, your body and heart succumb with your mind only surviving through your will. 

Flinching, the former joyful lord of the earth looked down on his hand, looking at the pink lines that 'corrupted' the amber insignia on his hand. 

I will give you a chance. Nihilistic preserver of life, you alone can choose. Will you blaze your trails across the unknown like you did or will you stay?

The young man froze as he looked at the 'eyes' he had scattered around the world. He had seen them, bits and pieces of the lives his friends led, all echoing in the recesses of his mind, even now. 

All of them were happy, and he loved it. Seeing his sacrifice be worth it...

While he was stuck in a timeless limbo of stagnation on a throne of stone.

"They don't need me anymore," Rex whispered as he remembered the memory of his older brother, Reve, and his wives. All of them smiled happily, unlike the smiles he had seen. 

He had seen his adorable niece and nephews. 

"My gnosis will seal the Honkai away and my vision will pacify them," Ren said as he gazed at the symbol on his arm, the symbol of Geo. "I don't have the powers I used to have, my gamble paid off." The young man said as he looked at the symbols on his throne, once he gets up, he will never be able to call upon his Gnosis and visions again. 

What is your answer? Rex Crozzo? 

The young man paused as he remembered one thing, blue eyes shining with tears as he pushed their owner, a woman with white hair, away from the gate. 

"We both know, you'll cry when you're alone. Take care of yourself, and don't give the others too much headache. Also, please try and look out for my brothers for me, *****. We both know how they get." The woman reached out as he entered the gate, crying out his name as tears fell from her eyes. "我爱你, *****,"   

Rex remembered how she looked, no matter how faded she looked. He did not remember her voice. Her name was gone from his shattered mind. Only the memories of the time they spent and his beloved brothers remained. 

"I will go, but call me Cerberus," Rex, Cerberus, said as he stood up. The young man felt his powers get cut off from him. 

'This is for the best, I can never return back to those times,' Cerberus thought as memories of him with others appeared in his mind. 'Nor can I go back and force myself into a puzzle that has no space for me,' 

The young man watched as a statue of a man wearing a white robe holding a cube in his hand appeared on the throne. 

"Akavili," Cerberus said. "This contract, I do solemnly accept-!" 

A bright light erupted from the statue and before he knew it, A pair of weapons appeared in front of him, a black bayoneted rifle and a black sword 

A small bright light came out of the shattered crystals of his vision, revealing a simple revolver in all black with golden accents.

"Rex! Come here! I want you to learn my gun kata!" The woman with white hair said, a smile on her face with her blue eyes shining with excitement. 

"But, isn't gun kata exclusive to your family?" 

"yep! But you're my best friend! In exchange, I want you to give me Lucky!" 

"Didn't you already claim Lucky as your own?" 

"Yep! But I want to make it official," 

"Fine," 

"Yay! Come on! The sooner you learn, the sooner I get to eat ***'s food!" 

"Come on, how about my food, *****?" 

"***'s is better!" 

A lone tear fell from Cerberus' obsidian eyes before they hardened. 

'The memories of the past should never sway you from a contract,' is the philosophy he created when he became the former lord of geo. He might not live long after this, but it was enough, his Gnosis had formed a seal and his vision will pacify the Honkai. 

"Go," The young man whispered at the rook chess piece. "Find a better owner, one that will embody the element of geo. One better than a failure like I am," 

As if it heard the order of its former owner, the rook chess piece glowed dimly for a few seconds as if it never wanted to leave until it disappeared from view. 

Holding the final gifts of his Gnosis, the young man felt the power of Geo on the sword and the Anemo on his new rifle. 

Very well, Cerberus

A portal opened in front of him, revealing the gate towards a train. 

Without hesitation, Cerberus approached the gate before taking one last look at his throne and the planet that it observed, his homeworld of Earth. "This is for the best," Cerberus whispered as he turned around, his mind as strong as the element he once ruled over as he stepped toward the gate. 

'I won't be able to go back here,' 

Before that, here is a gift for you, my trailblazer. 

Cerberus felt a weight appear over his shoulders revealing a white jacket with armor on the shoulders and upper back with a red interior. Before he knew it, Cerberus found himself in a location overlooking a window that showed the vastness of the cosmos. 

"Woah..." Cerberus let out as he noticed something, his Honkai infection was gone! Holding onto his weapon of choice, the bayonet and rifle for its resemblance to a spear, the young man's eyes widened as he saw a group of four exits from... the elevator? 

"Major Himeko?" Cerberus whispered as he saw the woman with... 'Nah, she's too lady-like to be her,'

Acting on instinct, Cerberus raised his rifle and aimed it at a... dragon?! 

'Fuck, I'm still recovering from my seal,' Cerberus thought as twirled the bayonet like a spear and glared at the dragon-like creature as soon as it landed, the young man jumped off the platform and delivered a thrust aimed at its head. Sadly, the seal he had been trapped in, caused him to lose most of his power and instead of crushing it, it only left a huge dent and a crack. Pulling the trigger, a blast of wind erupted from the barrel, causing the shell of the creature to shatter and acting on instincts honed by combat and memories from the first lord of geo, Cerberus ripped the bayonet and kicked off the dragon while twisting his body mid-air and taking several potshots with bullets made of concentrated wind. 

The young man then landed on the ground with a crouch as he held a girl with gray hair in place just as the monster screamed in pain. Moving quickly, the young man raised his bayonet and rifle, parrying a claw from the dragon-like creature before pinning it on the ground and pulling the trigger, crushing the shell in one movement.

"Rules are made to be broken!" Hearing the sound of a bat caused Cerberus to see the girl he held in place use her bat to bat away the other claw. For a split second, Obsidian met with a pair of yellow before Cerberus fired his rifle and pushed back the claw hearing towards her and gave her a nod. 

Noticing the look-alike of his instructor, the young man jumped back and cleared the way for her. With one last attack from the gray-haired girl, the dragon-like creature fell on the platform. 

"It's not over yet! Kill it before it can recover!" Cerberus shouted as he focused on the creature the same way he used his gnosis before, but sadly he did not have it anymore. Instead, the sleeves of the jacket he wore became a pair of steel wolf-like heads that lashed toward the dragon-like creature, ripping chunks apart. 

Suddenly, Cerberus noticed how the cracks from the monster suddenly healed. 

'Healing factor, huh?' In less than a moment,  Cerberus had already jumped back, landing near the group. 

"Are you okay?" Cerberus paused as he heard the voice of his not-instructor/major Himeko. 

"Yeah," Cerberus whispered as he suddenly fell to his knees, vomiting blood. 'Shit! I pushed myself too much!' Wiping the blood off his mouth, Cerberus noticed the numerous beams of laser approaching them and moved as fast as he could in front of the group. Ignoring the cries of the others, the young man spread his arms. 

Gathering the remaining Geo element within him, the young man felt... different. Gone was his affinity with the element of Geo, yet. 

"So, you're a tank, huh? It fits you! Sir, Rexley Crozzo, shield of Humanity!" 

"That sounds lame, *****," 

"Solidify," Cerberus whispered as a shield formed in front of him, shielding him and the group with a soft amber-like glow. Obsidian eyes glowed a bit as the shield remained despite the blood that leaked from his mouth and eyes. Sadly, weakened by the seal caused Cerberus to get thrown back and hit the wall with enough force to dent it yet he still remained conscious. 

'no... I can't give up...'

"...this shield..."

"...ssed out..." 

"Rex, What are you-"

"U-uncle Welt?" Cerberus whispered as he looked at the face of the former Herrscher of Reason, When did he?

"I got you," Yellow eyes met with Amber-tinted obsidian once more.