The Realm of Quanta

??? POV:

"You are aware of the futility of your pursuit, right?" I nervously asked the arachnid before me, just a while ago, I was thinking about effectively splitting my fastly dwindling rations when suddenly, out of nowhere Persophonea emerged and ensarned me in her web.

"What the —" Before I could even let out a word I felt my world going upside down as I was hanged on the ceiling by her as she looked at me with a certain gaze, that caused shivers down my spine.

'What the hell is she plotting now?' I grimaced inwardly bracing myself for the worst. Yet, fortunately, she didn't seem to be interested in me, but rather in my earpiece, the earpiece I had was a storage device which I had plundered from an intelligent monster a while back.

With a swift and graceful motion one of her limbs took possession of my earpiece as she immediately began to look through my stuff, I wondered if I had anything that would interest her.

And, to be brutally honest, the answer was probably none, however, I was proven wrong as she came across a booklet, which I have been using to write some theories of mine.

Well now that I think about it, the theories I have written were just some thesis and were not factually proven, however, as the arachnid kept on reading the booklet, for some unknown reason, she began to get excited.

She approached me and pointed at a specific topic that was labelled - "Kugelblitz" which caused me to gulp in fear, as I had a bad premonition of where this was going.

She asked, "Hey tell me does something like this exist and can it be made?" she asked, her demeanour resembling that of a curious child. Though I wanted to chuckle at her demeanour, I knew that my head would not be in the place where it was right now, so I just nodded.

"Excellent! Let's try creating one," Persephone said with a smirk, 'Yep, I am doomed,' I inwardly thought as I prepared myself for the childish shenanigans of the arachnid.

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"!!?"

With a jolt, Autumn's eyes opened as a sense of dizziness washed over him. -"Argh" Autumn yelped as he felt a splitting headache on the back of his head. 

Autumn tried to touch the area where he was feeling uncomfortable, only for his hand to greet a warm liquid substance, which on investigation, he found out to be his blood.

'Did I fall when I entered the dimensional fracture?' Autumn thought as the pain didn't show any signs of ending. Heck, it was even harder for him to keep his thoughts organized.

{Autumn you have possibly the worst luck in existence,} Whisper's voice rang out which caused another splitting headache for Autumn. "Huh? You followed me even here?" Autumn replied coping with the pain.

{You are my host, of course, I will follow wherever you go,} Whisper replied as a matter of fact. -"That sounds creepy" retorted Autumn.

{Oh shut it, you know very well that I follow the rule of; "survival above everything else", right?} Whisper answered back to which Autumn just shook his head as he was still trying to cope with the pain.

{By the way, the reason for the pain you are feeling right now might be due to the creature you are on top of,} Whisper hinted as Autumn looked at the ground and couldn't help but voice out, "What in the living tarnation is this?"

Autumn beheld a creature of honkai belonging to the realm of quanta - a Quantum Honkai Beast, its form draped in the darkness of a star-studded void, an eerie stillness enveloping its presence as if the very essence of life had been extinguished within it.

Yet, what captured Autumn's attention most were the spikes jutting from its body, each one a menacing protrusion. One such spike had pierced the back of Autumn's head, which was the cause of his head bleeding.

"..."

Autumn was momentarily left speechless as he processed this information. Despite the wound inflicted upon him being fatal, he remained calm as his skill: [Alchemia Chaos-Flux], was already working to mend the injury.

"Mm..." Autumn's voice trailed off, his thoughts drifting inward as he analyzed his surroundings. 'The gravitational pull here is a bit stronger, approximately 2.403 times that of Earth's. However,' he mused, his words laced with nostalgia, 'Why does the air here carry a turbulent quality that stirs something within me.'

****

Real World...

"My task is complete," Luna murmured, her gaze fixed upon the space once occupied by the dimensional fracture.

"He would've only hindered me," Luna muttered, her voice carrying a hint of self-justification that one would say to console themselves out of guilt.

Luna retraced her steps away from the scene, yet a nagging thought pierced her mind: 'Was this truly necessary?'

Though accustomed to her decisive actions, this particular choice weighed heavily upon her conscience. Afterall, the place where she had banished Autumn was no ordinary realm but the unforgiving expanse of quanta - The Sea of Quanta.

Fully aware of the realm's merciless nature, Luna had purposefully aimed for a location with lesser gravitational pull, just so that Autumn could be preoccupied but not dead. Still, doubt lingered: 'Did I go beyond the bounds of necessity?' Looking back at the spot, she questioned herself, "Were my actions beyond reason?"

****

Sea of Quanta...

Deep within the depths of the Sea of Quanta, within the shelter of a dimly lit cave, wisps of smoke curled lazily from its entrance, illuminated by the flickering glow of fire within.

Inside, a delighted voice echoed through the cavern, tinged with surprise and satisfaction. "These are quite the delicacies. Who would have imagined that these darkened Honkai beasts could hold such flavour?" Autumn remarked, savouring each bite of the creature that had succumbed to the impact of his descent earlier.

{Hmm, these Honkai beasts possess quite an intriguing structure,} Whisper mused, its voice barely a whisper as it sought to comprehend the anatomy of these enigmatic creatures. {It's akin to how photons of light coalesce to form a beam, with small clusters of residual Honkai energy bound together,} it pointed out.

Autumn also added his insight while taking another bite of the roasted Honkai beast. "It's almost as if the creatures on the verge of metamorphosing into Honkai beasts were unable to complete their transformation, instead they were subjected to prolonged exposure to radiation, resulting in their darkened forms. Undoubtedly, the process must have been excruciating for them."

"... . . -- ... / .- -... --- ..- - / .-. .. --. .... - --..--" The OO concurred with a simple yet affirmative response, affirming the validity of their deductions.

"Hmm, it seems we're on the right track, but is it appropriate to refer to these creatures as Honkai beasts?" Autumn pondered aloud, voicing his uncertainty.

"Well, considering their origin is intertwined with Honkai, it seems fitting," Whisper responded, initially agreeing. However, a new idea sparked within its circuits. "Yet, if their energy behaves akin to photons, perhaps 'Quantum' would be a more fitting descriptor. How about we call them Quantum beasts?"

"Quantum beasts, huh? That has a nice ring to it," Autumn acknowledged with a nod. However, internally he couldn't help but muse, 'I must say the residual Honkai energy acts as a perfect dry ager, essentially preserving these creatures for perhaps centuries so they can develop such succulent taste.'

As Autumn continued to indulge in the savoury meal, savouring each bite of the Quantum beast, a synchronized thought resonated between Whisper and The OO: '{Glutton!}', '--. .-.. ..- - - --- -. -.-.--' Yet, they ensured that their silent commentary remained concealed, allowing Autumn to relish his meal undisturbed.

To be continued...

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A/N: I hope you enjoy this chapter, and please feel free to comment. Your thoughts and criticism are valuable in helping me improve and stay motivated to write more.