"Tasteless Parting Gift"
["...Pretty tasteless for a final gift."
"Really... Because it's more important that I asked Eden for this mask."
"Hmph, it's no wonder. I don't get this lady's aesthetic. The only practical thing is the top that was designed for Kevin. What sorta ark is this... you really want to go still?"
"...that's where my responsibility lies."
"Well go on then."
"...Kalpas, before leaving, I have a question. How did you... overcome the pain?"
"Is that something that still needs overcoming?"
"... When I first joined MANTIS, even though I eventually learned to heal myself from trauma, the pain remained unavoidable. It took me a year for me to grow used to it. I want to know how you dealt with it?"
"I learned to love it." The man laughed out loud. "If there is no pain... How can I know for sure I'm still alive? But... since you asked, it means that one of us will soon feel pain, right?"
The answer was clear. Standing a few steps away behind the man was no longer the boy who came to say goodbye, but the shadow of the person that could no longer be identifiable. And the gaze with which he looked at the man... was full of hunger. That devilish instinct once again invaded his sanity.
"Ha...hahahaha... it's still the same as last time... Apart from the Honkai Beast factor, those like me can also eat it... right? Alright... alright! This time... I will only use half of my strength. If you really have the ability to devour me... Then take me... as a parting gift."]
"That's enough, you two, save your strength for later", says the Man whose presence instills literal chill, wielding a Greatsword of Incandescence.
"Everyone, we'll have to depart now, although this is quite embarrassing, let's not get rowdy now shall we?.", a kind melodic tone announced, from
"An enormous horned Golden Whale, already able to fly, but also wielding the Star of Eden's Authority of Gravity, how bizarre isn't it, so if you can, please don't suddenly stomp on her okay dear Kalpas~", a Slit eyed Lady comments mockingly.
"I suppose that's reassuring enough Mobius", an Androgynous Man interjects,
"Just shut your mouth... Auntie Mobius~ ", Kalpas replied with sarcasm.
"Kosma, you'll fly with me, you shouldn't transform yet... Hua?.", says Kevin.
"If Pardofelis would also, I shouldn't stay here", says Hua,
"!"
"It's alright Su, let her be",
"Right, Kevin...", Kosma replied reluctantly,
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Upon arriving somewhere on a barren outpost filled with craters, and besides its horizon lies what used to be an abundant orb of blue, now being razed.
Somewhere else, a silhouette of a lady with two tails is running on the surface of the Moon. She is carrying a strange box, but it promised something.
"Alright Pardofelis, we just have to deliver this box towards the Beacon! Then a Door of hope would open, right Prometheus?!" This time I'll be brave, I won't flee!"
"Pardofelis, please throw me if you can't go near it, this place we'll go to is intensely hot. Please understand you're not as cool as Kevin or as durable as Kalpas, but thank you."
("YEAH THAT'S WEIRD WHY ISN'T KALPAS OR KEVIN DELIVERING THIS BOX? WHAT ABOUT FU HUA")
"It's because they trusted me, and they have something just as important to attend to, at least for me, I can get a chance to help them with this right Promya?"
"Yes, Pardofelis... How are you..."
"It's because they trusted me, --SO FOR THIS FAVOR I'LL LET YOU SNEAK IN, SINCE IT'S INEVITABLE ANYWAYS, IT TRULY IS A SHAME IT WASN'T EVEN FU HUA DELIVERING YOU, RIGHT PROMYA?"
"Thank you, Pardofelis...",
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"Ha...hahahaha... About Pardofelis, I respected her resolve, so how about you take my fist as a parting gift instead, Kevin."
"!"
"OH MY, I SUPPOSE, A GATHERING OF FORMIDABLE FOOLS GRACES ME WITH A DETERMINED WELCOME. HOW FILTHY."
Their banter was then interrupted, as these bands of remaining Elites would face the Nemesis of whatever remained in their Civilization, the Final Daughter of the End in their Era.
Their surroundings was then swirling with Hellfire and Niflheim's Breeze opposed to the malevolent hue of purple blight.
"Everyone, the Last Herrscher of this Samsara's here!", Kevin declared, as Feathers of light emerges and recedes.
The first to charge was a Madman laughing, in his left clean hand, he wields a Dark sword embedded with a Red Gem of what used to be his Adjutant, and his bare barbaric limbs.
"So... it's all because of YOU!"
Kevin revert his Greatsword into the form of Twin long barrelled pistols as his stomps from each strides, and hand gestures conjures numerous edge of condensed frost, Kosma throws pebbles and morph his arms with Bladed wings and claws.
"IF YOU'RE WORRIED WHETHER PARDOFELIS SUCCESSFULLY DELIVERED PROMYA TO THE COCOON, I ALLOWED HER, YOUR CIVILIZATION'S END IS INEVITABLE ANYWAYS, AS FOR YOU~"
Intrigued, SHE manifest an Authority of Gravity to grab Kosma by telekinesis, to which he gives in, to counter attack with transforming his Honkai Beast arm with a different attribute.
"Hahahahahahahahah! Should I be the one to deliver it instead?!", the Madman roared,
"I'M SORRY BUT I PREFER CUTE HELPLESS GIRLS RECEIVING A SHARD OF MY AUTHORITIES~"
Kevin manifested a wall of ice between HER & Kosma but,
"Out of my way, bastard!",
it melted as Kalpas stomps through it with his feet already Infernal.
"ARE YOU THAT DESPERATE FOR ATTENTION?", SHE smiles as she comments it indifferently.
Kevin transition his Judgement of Shamash into a Cleaver but Kalpas punched it away. Multiple Dark flying Swords in Red hue chases, to which they pierces through her, but reappears against them.
Kalpas punches, and kicks as he recall a sight of a colleague, a girl well versed in Martial Arts, vigorously with the after images of his limbs, and sheer pressure of his strikes phasing through a portal and hitting his fellow men and himself instead, but he just laughs it off while the ground beneath him is weighing further.
"You beast!", Kevin muttered angrily, as he delivered an explosive Slash, SHE redirects it curiously as Kosma devours it instead.
As SHE floats further, the refined surface of the blighted moon around, envelopes her akin to a Titan shifting.
SHE saw what seemed to be an odd space shuttle somewhere else passing by the bright side of the Moon, then she sways her Towering Statuesque hand emitting a shockwave towards it.
Roaring, Kosma emerges as an equally large Dragon blocking it, then a satellite from somewhere else suddenly shot two giant pillars of Soulium steel. But SHE instead suspended it, then crumbling into shards of raining needles against them.
Then various Honkai Beasts also emerges from the surface impeding them, but sentry turrets remotely open fires against them.
Streaks of black light also pierces through the horde of Honkai Beasts, forming into a large screen of loud and melodic dark Musical notes appearing before the Chimera Dragon to which it roared raising its volume into melodic sonic booms.
A huge wall of frost emerges but a pillar of flame dissipated it into mists competitively, as numerous flying dark swords parries alongside a sharp great torch and hacks through, in reminiscent of a pink haired Swordmaiden's prowess.
The blighted Moon's surface protrudes into Eldritch tentacles to which continuous shockwaves of melodic gold symphonies and cacaphonies reverberating, alongside radiant flames, and toxic green lightning streaking across the boundless dusts of blight.
Kalpas halted as he noticed the Blades he wielded is degrading unlike the others, he sighs and stabbed the remaining intact around him before disappearing.
The clouds of dusts subsided as the Dragon's wings sweep against HER to wrestle, but got its amalgamation of numerous shifting monster limbs teared down brutally, and decaying, then Kalpas reappeared right besides Kosma unrealistically throwing him away from HER, falling to a rubble.
The Songstress's Concert persisted along, as a winged Girl with Golden Sword continues hacking through the skies with golden light, then retreating behind Kevin persevering with a see through wall of frost as he also cleaves through with frost and flares.
A Giant Cerulean Peacock, and Dark Naga with Green hues witholding a Staff, and Toxic Green Lightning recedes to their human form. A long haired Buddhist Doctor that can be mistaken for a woman, if it weren't for the grieving manly tone, then a Serpentine Lady.
"Griseo, please be safe", Kosma muttered weakly,
*Chuckles* "I suppose, you're wasted by now, Kosma", the Serpentine Lady mocks,
"Get lost already Mobius, as a Proper Doctor, I can reassure him enough", the Androgynous Bodhi interjected.
"You can go on Su... Let... Me... Rest for a bit... Kalpas... He saved me...", Kosma replied strongly,
"I'll see for myself", Mobius replied with disgust,
"Griseo's safe, and far away by now, the real Vill-V installed a safer SIM of herself to accompany her alongside Mr. Knight, thanks a lot Kosma, and everyone too..." Su reassures,
"Get Lost already Su, I don't want to eat you if stayed with me any further!...", Kosma laments,
"I'm sorry...", to which Su left reluctantly, but
through the Fenghuang Down Feather floating besides Kosma, he heard a soothing Elegy evoking hope.
"Thank You, Eden... You too Fu Hua, keep your Focus on the field", As he disintegrates.
Throughout all of this, Vill-V is multi tasking, with instructing remaining personnels, keeping in touch with Dr. MEI for real time "prompts remotely by her inventions". Through Fu Hua's mystical Fenghuang Down Feathers, being also her invention, she also setted off Griseo's departure for PROJECT: ARK and also fended against the horde she encounter by herself. As for the Hypocrite Nun Aponia, their agenda happened secretly on Earth with Kevin & Mobius before the current onslaught at the Moon.
Mobius, and Su joined, fending through the hordes to give space for anyone else. Su partially transformed with bladed Wings and claws, wielded the Divine Lance of Abyss Flower, redirecting hits into shockwaves as rejuvenating aromas from fauna sprouts on the Moon's surface.
Mobius blitzes around with protruding static clawed limbs and spikes from the shadows she casts as something that resembled a large Naga with Green accents.
"You'll just interfere if you tried to possess him again Su.", Mobius commented reluctantly,
"Are you worried about him now Mobius?", said Su,
"Go babysit our girl Hua instead, Doctor, can't you see your bestfriend busy?.", says Mobius,
"YOU DAMNED APES!",
Great Molten Pillars of Oblivion comically larger than the madman flying haphazardly akin to a Dragonfly's hunt, with protruding torches at his back, elbows and calves, are being made, torn from the chasing Blightmoon tendrils were thrown back unto HER, bashed and impaled with, while a Soothing Hymn echoes, the crevices formed on the Moon is already torn apart with the spontaneously exaggerated violences.
The rest have retreated away from the still increasing shockwaves exchanged by Kalpas and HER, but Kevin stayed attempting to freeze his horizon with every sighs, and his shadow behind growing larger contrast to the Great Flames before him.
Then Kalpas, barehanded, tore through the large statuesque nape revealing the Herrscher.
"IMBECILE, VENUSIAN, SPAWN, HOW YOU CAME TO BE ALONGSIDE THEM SURE ARE INTRIGUING."
"You scared herrscher?", his asked coldly.
"ME, FEAR?! I SUPPOSE YOU TRULY ARE A MADMAN. I'LL BE SURE YOU'D BLEED MORE, AND YOU'LL OWE ME FOR IT, UNABLE TO SAVE ANYONE JUST AS IT HAPPENED TO THAT BOY, AND EVERYONE ELSE, AFTERALL YOU'RE SO BAD AT IT, EVEN IN THE NEXT SAMSARA OF THIS WORLD, NOT THAT IT'D BE YOU TO BEGIN WITH."
As he landed a fist on her face but, something tried to block it made from the remaining Titan's flesh, an amalgamation of the Cultfolks where he first descended, Children of Sundown Alley, Sakura, Rin, Aponia, Emile, Pardofelis, Kosma, & Elysia's husk, he didn't stop until his arm slips through a rift and devoured him.
"DISGUSTING, BUT I SUPPOSE SOME REMNANT PEST CONTROL IS URGENT BY THEN, AFTER ALL."
Containing his fading essence it Morphs to resemble his Infernal husk, disintegrating as SHE felled it away. The Titan's refined form was reconstructed, hiding the avatar's flesh that's unable to heal. HER gaze now shifts to the Man with a Great Torch.
All of those madness happened within a great span of five minutes upon engaging combat with the Final Herrscher. But that gave an opening for Kevin fully charged to Deliver his Full Might, engulfing half the surface of the Moon to bought half of the day retreating to their Earth, and hiding underneath the repurposed weapon of mass destruction to a life-sustaining flame. 'The Suspended Key; The Great Hibernation', to which those that entered would Pioneer.
It also gave an opportunity for Elysia's and Prometheus's consciousness to hack through the Cocoon of Finality channeling the Herrscher of that Era to retain the humanity of future Herrschers, and retain the sequences of their Impact to be the same as they encountered.
Although the prejudiced reset of their civilization was inevitable. The Serpent's Master and the Songstress could've also been a Pioneer, but they chose to bask in blight, with pride, guilt, and hope weighing their regrets, dying with their Era.
As for the Madman, scarred, his horizon changes into shrieks of countless gigantic Bugs, and cries of people on a strange Gigantic Ship floating in the stellar seas.