1 Chapter 1 transmigration

Opening my eyes, I found myself in an unfamiliar place, immediately making me wonder where I am. The only thing I remembered is that I was sleeping inside an empty classroom, taking advantage of the air conditioning inside. and, I'm not even alone inside that class room.

"Is this a prank?" I muttered to myself, only to be surprised that my voice sounded childish.

Opening my eyes wider, I sprinted in front of a mirror and saw my younger self. There were my chubby cheeks, a little tummy, and I was wearing an oversized shirt. Maybe I had regressed back to my 12-year-old self. How nostalgic; my original body had drastically changed when I reach the age of 14 or 15.

My true age is 16, but I didn't bother to remember the changes in my body. I knew my tummy had turned into muscle, and my chubby face had become above average when I reached the age of 14 because that's when I started my part-time job at my stepfather's company.

"You're awake," a woman's voice said as she entered the room and observed me closely. She was incredibly beautiful, with a seductive body.

"Ara, you're blushing. Am I really that beautiful?" she teased, speaking to me as if I were a child.

"Yes, you are. Please stop teasing me. I'm only around 16 years old after all," I replied, unable to meet her gaze.

I couldn't look into her eyes; she was too beautiful for my comfort.

"You're such a cute kid, but I thought you'd be younger. Maybe I'm wrong," she said, coming closer and patting my head. "I'm Cocolia, the director of this orphanage. What's your name, kid?"

"I'm Aron Laserna. Nice to meet you," I answered, still glancing at her face and quickly looking away.

"A Spanish name. Are you Spanish?" Cocolia asked, looking at me.

"No, I'm Filipino," I replied, intending to ask her where I was.

"Did you come to this place on vacation with your parents? No, no one in their right mind would allow people to visit this place with a Honkai Eruption corrupting the area," Cocolia said loudly enough for me to hear.

"Can I ask where I am, big sister?" I asked, looking up at her. Due to my small stature and her height, she appeared much taller than the average person from my country.

"You are in the Cocolia Orphanage, in the country of Russia," she said, patting my head.

What the heck? How did I end up here? I was only sleeping inside the classroom, and now I'm in Russia. I bit my lip, feeling scared because I had no idea how to get home, no money, and no knowledge of their currency.

"Alright, don't cry. You can stay here in the orphanage, and I will help you get home," Cocolia said as she hugged me. "Can you tell me your parents' names and contact information or something like contact numbers?"

'She smells wonderful,' I thought to myself as I heard her question. "Yes, I remember their names and contact information."

As I wrote down my parents' phone numbers and names, Cocolia showed me around the orphanage and introduced me to some of the kids.

But my honest question was, why is everyone here so cute and beautiful? Even some of them were around my age.

After Cocolia left, I was left alone in the playground with the kids.

"Uhm... Hello, I'm Seele Vollerei. Nice to meet you," a cute girl with a shade of dark blue and black hair introduced herself to me.

Cute was my first thought upon seeing her introduce herself to me. I think I'm falling in love.

Just kidding. I had just broken up with my girlfriend because she cheated on me, so starting another relationship wasn't on my mind.

"I'm Aron Laserna. Nice to meet you, Seele," I replied as I shook hands with her. "Do you want to play?"

Hearing my question, she nodded her head meekly with a smile, pulling me along with her. Having my hand pulled made me blush, but I quickly calmed myself, thinking she's just a bit shy.

_ _ _

(Cocolia's POV)

Looking at the kid I found in the middle of the snow, I couldn't help but wonder how he ended up here. He didn't exhibit any traits of being half-Russian, but I could see that he was of half-Spanish descent.

Checking the phone number we discovered on him, I was surprised to find that they didn't know a single thing about him, not even his name. It was strange. Could he be lying? No, I could usually tell if someone was lying or not.

"Hello, are you sure that you don't know anyone by the name of Aron Laserna?" I asked once again, using the English language since it's the Philippines' secondary language.

"I'm sorry, but we don't know anyone with that name. However, I recall my late husband mentioning that he wanted to name our child Aron if it was a boy. Unfortunately, I gave birth to a daughter, so I'm afraid I can't be of much help."

I see. Wait, did he come from the Sea of Quanta? No, that's impossible. Wait! I remember that he has a tattoo on his back. I noticed it when I changed his clothes. Maybe it's some kind of Stigma.

Or could he be a former slave? But I don't recall seeing a slave with a marking like that. Perhaps he gave himself that tattoo, but it doesn't seem that way.

While contemplating various theories about the kid, I watched him playing with the other children, which reassured me. I could tell he was a good kid.

_ _ _

(Aron's Perspective)

I was having a blast playing with Seele and the other kids. But there was something special about them – their stamina. We ran around for three whole hours, and they didn't even break a sweat. Were these kids secretly trained soldiers or something?

"Hey, Aron-oniisan, you should work out more," Seele teased, playfully hitting me. Little did she know that despite my chubby appearance, I had pretty good stamina. It was these guys who were like stamina machines. But yeah, maybe I should consider some exercise.

Right when we were catching our breath, Cocolia showed up. She called Seele over and then turned her observant eyes on me. I've always been good at sensing emotions, and it seemed like she was hiding something.

"Aron, I'm sorry, but it seems I can't reach your family," Cocolia told me. She was trying to keep something from me, but I could sense it. It felt like she was hiding the truth to protect my feelings – you know, like a white lie.

I tried to reassure her, "Don't worry, Cocolia-oneesan." Then I had another favor to ask, feeling a bit shy about it. "Um, could you maybe help me find a job?"

Cocolia smiled warmly, patting my head and hugging me as she said, "You don't need to worry about a job right now. You're still young, and I know you're only 13. No need to lie about your age."

I felt lucky to have her looking out for me.

But then I couldn't help but tease her a bit, "Cocolia-oneesan, you should let go. I'm a growing teenager with all these hormones."

She giggled at my reaction, hugged me tighter, and messed up my hair. It was already a challenge keeping boner-kun, under control, and now she was adding fuel to the fire.

"Okay, let's go. I want to introduce you to another kid around your age," she said, taking my hand.

In the end I can't fully trust her because she's a complete stranger.

I followed Cocolia, still trying to process the strange situation I found myself in. 

I was far from home, surrounded by kids who seemed extraordinary in more ways than one.

Something about this orphanage felt off, and Cocolia's warm demeanor, while reassuring, it eve raised more questions.

As we enter a cozy room where Seele was taking care of a Silver hair girl who sleep peacefully at the bed.

_ _ _

(Unkown pov)

Lying flat in the snowy land, I waited quietly for my target. I needed to stay still, no sudden moves. 

I had to stop thinking, make sure she couldn't find me or hear my breathing.

After a while, she relaxed her guard. 

I couldn't feel fear or pain. 

Now, as she let her guard down, it was time to fire.

Suddenly my target looked at my direction with a smirk 

Seeing that smirk I immediately squeezed the triggered. But she vanish from the spot she was standing and now she was gone and missing.

I lay in the snow, I was surprised that my target disappeared. Her smirk had been a trick, and I fell for it.

I looked around using my sniper, but she was gone, like she was never here.

Then, I heard her voice, cheeky and taunting, "Do you think I hadn't noticed you, little sniper?" It sent a shiver down my spine. 

I quickly left my cover and ran towards her, with a knife in my hand. "GO TO HELL WITCH!" I shouted before lunging at her.

But she just calmly responded, "You're too soft. Take a little nap." Everything went dark, and I lost consciousness.

Feeling something soft on my forehead, I reacted quickly and grabbed the hands there, pulling them.

"Eh?" I heard a voice, and it turned out to be a kid.

Opening my eyes, I saw a kid around my age on top of me, and I had his arms in my grip.

"Let her go if you don't want more pain," my target Cocolia warned as I released the kid's arms.

Cocolia turned to the kid I had grabbed and asked, "How does it feel to be pulled by a cute girl?"

The kid replied calmly, "Sorry, big-sister Cocolia, but I'm not into that stuff," with a smile he wiggled his arms. It seemed I had squeezed his hands too hard and hurt him.

"Are you okay, Big-brother Aron?" a girl who appeared to be a few years younger than me asked the kid, looking at his arms.

"I'm alright, Seele," he reassured her with a smile and patted her head.

Watching them, I wondered how it felt to have such a simple, caring bond.

But my thoughts were interrupted as my target, Cocolia, stood next to me.

"What's your name, little sniper?" she asked, as her gaze fixed on me.

"Bronya," I replied.

"Then listen up, Bronya, I have some unfortunate news for you. Your entire squad that was dispatched to assassinate me has been decimated by yours truly."

"So why didn't you kill me?" I asked, my curiosity getting the best of me.

"I'm not the type of person to kill a child."

"Do you wish to be my new owner?" I asked, as everyone in my squad had sinister intentions for me, viewing me as a weapon or worse.

"Owner? What era do you think we're in, and what have your trainers done to you?" She responded with an odd expression. "I'm not your owner, but I would become your mother."

"Mother? What is that?" I asked, genuinely not understanding the word.

Cocolia sighed softly, saying, "Hmm... You will come to know sooner or later. But for now, you should eat your food at the table." She gestured towards a table brimming with food. "Oh, the other plate was for you, Aron. I know you still haven't eaten anything. As for you, Bronya, rest assured that you won't go to the battlefield ever again."

_ _ _

In the year 20XX, Siberia suffered a Honkai attack, leaving many orphans behind. A majority of them were adopted by the army and raised as cold-blooded killing machines. To save these orphans, Cocolia left the army and established the Cocolia Orphanage. In this orphanage, shaped by the fires of war, the fateful meeting of three children that would set the stage for this story.