Second Key (7)

Durandal POV.

'My friend, Rita... Ever since you woke up, we have been acting together for over a thousand years, I promise to always be by your side. We explore these lands and look back on a new civilization of mankind.'

With the Herrscher of the End that Kouro had defeated, the human race of the new Era did not have to worry about the end of the world.

We as the People of the Previous Era only need to observe the current Era and slowly help their civilization develop.

But after ------ told you about the future humanity would face, you suddenly made the decision to immediately implement Project Stigmata.

'You knew that Project Stigmata would destroy their future.'

You have strayed from the right path Rita....

I have no choice but to stop you.

POV End.

...

"It's over, Bianca. Time to stop."

Rita with the Judgement of Shamash in her hand looked up at Durandal in front of her who was staring at her warily while panting.

They were currently in the Seed of Sumeru created by Durandal using the Second Key which aimed to trap Rita and thwart her plans to carry out Project Stigmata.

"Why are you doing this Rita? The human race of the Era now has the right to decide their own destiny!" said Durandal while panting.

Rita looked speechless at her words, she closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again, "I know, but the enemy they will fight will be stronger than the Herrscher of the End... I also know very well that you are against Project Stigmata, its methods, and its means. But this is the only way. You cannot change my mind."

"I will still continue the project even if my hands will be covered in blood." she continued in a determined voice.

Rita then turned around and walked away alone with her back looking lonely.

Su then appeared behind Durandal in a transparent form and whispered to her.

["This is the final test, Bianca. You must save the world from your best friend. Every choice you make will be painful."]

["Time to activate the Second Key and seal it."]

Durandal looked down and thought hard before quickly asking Rita.

"I'll ask you one last question. Would you regret your choice if the risk was too great?"

Rita then answered loudly, "No, I will not regret my choice. We must defeat the enemy no matter what."

Hearing Rita's answer, Durandal seemed to pause for a moment before walking over to her slowly.

"Then it's time for me to make my own choice, Rita. "

When they were facing each other, Durandal raised his head and took Rita's hand.

"I will support you, no matter what it takes. My only wish is to be with you. I won't let you carry that burden alone!"

"What? "x2 Rita and Su said simultaneously with a look of confusion.

"Wait, Bianca. Why are you doing this?"

Durandal then placed both hands on Rita's shoulders before saying with a determined expression.

"Rita... It's true that I'm against Project Stigmata, but... I will never allow you to suffer in great guilt and pain! I made a promise to Dr. MEI, and... I don't want to fail again in helping a friend."

While saying the last part, Durandal remembered Kouro. The last part she remembered most was his lonely-looking back, alone without anyone to help him.

Rita also fell silent, she unconsciously remembered the beginning of the reason why she and Kouro were enemies.

...

"Kouro! Why are you protecting her? She is Herrscher! She has killed all the humans in this city! A quarter of humanity has been wiped out because of that Herrscher!"

Rita along with several heavily armed troops angrily stared at Kouro in front of her who was facing them alone.

Kouro's appearance at this time also looked terrible, his right hand was missing, his body was full of wounds, he was breathing heavily, even so, Kouro but stood tall to face them.

Kouro looked pale and felt dizzy and his vision was starting to blur, he was currently lacking blood and the wounds on his body made it worse.

But he remained calm, wounds like this were nothing new to him so he was used to it.

Hearing Rita's angry shout, Kouro raised his head slightly to stare at Rita with his bright purple eyes.

"Haah... Hah... She's someone precious to me, Rita. I'll do whatever it takes to save her... Hah… hah.... Just like you, no, just like all of you who also have someone precious."

He then shouted, "Rita! If your precious person became a Herrscher would you kill her?"

Rita was silent when she heard his words, she could not reply to Kouro's words, because as he said, she would definitely protect the person she valued even if it meant that the person she valued became an enemy of the world.

Kouro breathlessly gulped and pointed the iron crowbar in his hand at them.

"... If saving her is a sin, then I'm glad to be a sinner. "

__

Durandal then opened her eyes, seeing an unfamiliar but simultaneously familiar sight made her blink a few times before hearing Su's voice.

"Congratulations Miss Bianca, you passed all the tests I have given you." Su said while clapping his hands.

Durandal then stood up while recalling the dreams shown by Su.

"I think... I understand a little about what you want to show."

She stared at her palm before continuing, "We are just like puppets repeating the past. Right and wrong, good and evil... We don't have the power to impose a certain definition of those Concepts."

Durandal subconsciously recalled Kouro replacing the role of a world savior who had been erased from history.

Durandal also knew the reason why the savior was erased from the history of mankind was because he had committed grave mistakes such as betraying mankind by trying to protect Herrscher, murder, and... massacre.

Even the title 'World Savior' was only known to a few people like Su in front of her, as the savior had no other brilliant achievements other than saving the world by defeating the Herrscher of the End.

Even then, not all humans of the Previous Era believed in the story and regarded it as nonsense.

After all, they all saw for themselves how Kevin or you could say Rita who replaced his role as the strongest human warrior could not do any significant damage to the Herrscher of the End.

But an ordinary human could defeat Herrscher of the End?

'Even a child wouldn't dare to make up a story like that.' That's what they had in mind.

But Durandal knew that the story was true and the one who became the savior of the world was said to be called the....

The Herrscher of Shadows.

"... The savior of the world showed me... Even if there is a being equivalent to a god planning something... I will take that plan as advice and find my own way."

Durandal then raised her head and looked at Su with a determined expression before continuing.

"I believe it is our duty as humans."

She then pointed at Su and said in a loud voice.

"The point is... Your life has too many rules, Mr. Pioneer."

Su somehow smiled at her words, he gazed at a green leaf in his hand before saying calmly.

"Huh... I guess you do have a point. You are indeed amazing, Miss Bianca. I believe you have the same traits as myself back then."

Su then lifted his head and raised his hand letting the leaf be blown by the air and fly freely.

"Now I realize that you are endowed with a more burning spirit, and there is a difference between us."

"Our era doesn't have much of a choice, no, someone had given us a choice and unfortunately we were stupid enough not to choose it."

Su recalled his long-dead friend who became the 'Savior of the world'.

"But your Era has, we told you that you must decide your own destiny. But we also felt compelled to force this as your problem."

He then recalled Hanagami Kouro who replaced KOURO's role, the two of them somehow seemed to fit together like looking in a mirror.

"... Perhaps people like me have lost their sight due to the long wait. Maybe I'm the one who needs to take that test." He continued.

Su then smiled in relief as if the burden he was carrying had disappeared.

"You are the only person I trust to hold the Second Key. But before that let me give you one more gift."

 As Su said, Durandal's body seemed to be enveloped by an uncountable amount of green leaf-shaped energy.

__

At Schicksal Headquarters.

The portal opened by the Second Key in the sky began to look unstable, making Rita and the other Valkyries on guard wary and worried.

"Stay alert!"

Rita sensed the presence of someone coming out of the portal, seeing the silhouette of the person her eyes widened slightly before quickly running over and hugging the person.

"Durandal-sama!"

Seeing how worried Rita was, Durandal smiled warmly, "I'm fine, Rita."

Moments later, Otto came over to the two of them.

"Bianca, you spent 65 minutes inside that Bubble Universe. Enough time for me to analyze its structure... Give me 60 more minutes and I can get you out of there."

He then continued after seeing that Durandal was unharmed, "I'm glad that you're okay. Rita, was very worried about you."

"Thank you, Overseer Otto."

Otto looked at the new battlesuit worn by Durandal before rubbing his chin and asking.

Durandal was currently wearing a golden armor surrounding a dark blue top and a short dark blue mullet skirt, this battlesuit worn if in the game is known as [Dea of Anchora].

 "Can you tell me what's going on in there?"

__

"Miss Bianca, the Bubble Universe inside you is unstable. The Seed of Sumeru will help you control that Bubble Universe. Think of it as a reward for taking my test." 

Durandal tried to use the power of the Bubble Universe inside her by summoning the battlesuit [Dea of Anchora], and indeed as Su said, she could control it more easily now.

"Now you can use that power to leave here." Su said.

"You gave me the Seed of Sumeru? But what will happen to you?" asked Durandal.

Su with a casual smile then replied, "I will sink along with this Bubble Universe into the Sea Of Quanta. My duty is done and it's time for me to leave."

He then caught a yellow leaf before continuing, "I have found the solution to Project Valuka, the humans of this Era have the freedom to choose their own path, the courage to start, and the strength to see it through."

For those who don't know, Project Valuka is one of the Projects that aims to observe the Bubble Universe using the Second Key to see if there are other worlds that had won against Honkai.

"In order to see more worlds, I accelerated the observation process... And that pushed my body to its limits. I did what I could, but I was running out of time. You showed up at just the right moment."

The yellow leaf in his hand then floated up while glowing before giving it to Durandal, "This leaf contains important records from the parallel world you previously saw. Take it to your leader. It will help you guys when fighting the [Herrscher of Shadows]."

(A/N: I'm just reminding you that Herrscher of Shadows and [Herrscher of Shadows] are different people. The former is KOURO, while the latter is Herrscher who will invade earth for Kouro's System.)

Hearing her words, Durandal came to know how important this yellow leaf in her hand was so she nodded his head with a serious expression.

"I will definitely give this leaf to him."

"*Cough!" *Cough! *" Su seemed to suddenly cough up blood.

(E/D: Junior!)

"... Hah... Hah... It's good that it's time to say goodbye." Su said with his eyes open and smiled peacefully.

__

"... This leaf is the leaf given by that Pioneer. "

Durandal gave Otto the yellow leaf that Su had previously given her.

Otto stared at the yellow leaf in his hand before his eyes widened as he heard the voice and saw the knowledge within.

["As the master said, the answer you seek is on the other side of the 'tree'. To reach that place you need the Second Key intact."]

"Durandal-Sama, look!" Rita shouted while pointing at the portal, distracting them all and following her gaze.

"That star…"

The star behind the portal had disappeared, then hundreds of stars appeared, then thousands of stars shone.... Then hundreds of thousands of stars appeared from the portal until finally infinite possibilities appeared behind the portal.

Durandal subconsciously remembered the image of Kouro in the alternate world who looked more mature.

"Kouro..."

....

"It seems that Miss Bianca has delivered my message. Otto has the answer, I just need to show him the way."

Su was currently sitting and leaning against a tree that had lost its leaves while looking up at the starry night sky.

"People saw Otto as a disaster, but Bianca saw him as hope. That trial exposed the strong bond between them... Not to mention that person, Kouro."

Su then stood up and stared at the puddle reflecting the silhouettes of Kevin and KOURO before muttering.

"Maybe we also have the same... Bye Kevin, this might be the last time you see me. We'll let the humans of this Era do what they do best. Humans like us and Otto are just the trial in this game."

"This bubble universe will disappear- *Cough!* *COUGH!!!"

Su coughed violently until his body lay leaning against the tree weakly while spitting out a mouthful of blood.

"Here you go my friend, it looks like I'll be looking for that answer... If another life... does exist..."

Su felt his eyelids feel very heavy so he closed his eyes, his rapidly beating heart lost its beat.

'This is the time... '

...

If you look into the Abyss, then the Abyss will also turn to look at you.

An Infinity of possibilities ebbs and flows in the great gap far beyond your sight.

An existence beyond human understanding.

Su suddenly opened his eyes with bated breath, he looked at the place he was in before muttering in a voice trembling with shock, "This place... It turns out to be true... "

The place he was currently in was like an enormous chessboard that was infinitely large, he also saw a chess piece beside him that was immeasurably large and he could see the silhouette of the universe from the piece.

"[Really... Since when has my place been frequented by a human...]"

Su heard a voice that echoed directly inside his mind.

He raised his head but could not see anyone.

"[Congratulations, chosen one, you are the sixth person to come to this place after achieving enlightenment in seeking the truth.]"

Hearing the voice, Su then muttered, "Sixth... That means there are people who came before me... Wait, don't tell me..."

"Tell me! Is there someone named KOURO who also got here before me?"

"[He has indeed been here... Moreover, he was the first to reach this place... He also previously recently returned here to answer someone's question."]

"Wait... Don't tell me, KOURO is still alive?!" said Su with widened eyes.

"[Now humans, let's entertain ourselves with human games... Win this round... And I'll tell you... The answer... Just like I answered KOURO's question...]"

Su's perspective suddenly turned into a third person like a god, he finally understood that the place he stood on was a chessboard of infinite size.