Shadow Project

'Shadow again, shadow again, but why shadow?' Kouro thought as he took a sip of his tea before looking at Fu Hua.

"Shadow Project?"

"Well, I know it sounds weird because the name of this project feels unrelated to any other project. It's because this project was created after you died."

"Who made it?"

Fu Hua took a sip of her tea before saying with an expression reminiscing about the past, "Dr.Mobius. "

"Oh right by the way, she's one of the living MANTIS."

'Mobius? That snake-like woman?' Kouro raised his eyes, recalling his past memories.

He still remembered this because Mobius was the last Valkyrie he got in the game before reincarnating into this world.

After thinking like that, Kouro then looked down while narrowing his eyes, 'But... The name Shadow was even used in a project... Is this word just a symbol or does it have some meaning? '

"Kouro?"

"Y-yes?" Kouro raised his head and blinked.

With a serious expression, Fu Hua said to him, "You have to be careful if you meet Mobius. She's like a snake, if you let your guard down you will immediately fall prey to it."

Hearing Fu Hua's words, Kouro was silent for a moment before nodding his head.

After that, Fu Hua started to tell the things she remembered, starting from how she protected Shenzhou with her friends and disciples to where she lost her memory.

Even though the story Fu Hua told was a sad one, Kouro could still feel the longing for the past from her.

Kouro thought about Fu Hua's past.

Fu Hua is a MANTIS who will not grow old no matter how much time passes, even though she becomes very strong.

This also makes her feel empty in her heart, even more so seeing her friends who are getting older with the passage of time.

The feeling of loneliness and sadness that gnawed at her made her choose to be alone, because she didn't want to feel sad anymore when she saw her friends die.

Let her keep this feeling of loneliness to herself, at least, seeing the smiles of the people she protects is enough to make her keep fighting.

Until that day happens.

In the 15th century on Taixuan Mountain, Fu Hua was betrayed by her Disciples for unknown reasons.

She was seriously injured, lost her immortality, strength and most of her memories, making her an ordinary girl.

This left her with no other choice but to make a deal with Luocha (Otto) at that time.

The content of the deal was that Fu Hua would give her allegiance to Schicksal and in return Otto would protect Shenzhou.

Moreover, in the game, Fu Hua had an important role in the future, so if Kouro could, he wanted to at least reduce the burden that Fu Hua would carry.

Kouro's eyes shone brightly after thinking about this.

Currently they were talking about interesting things that might not have been recorded in history.

To be more precise, Kouro listened to Fu Hua tell about the things that had happened to the her past.

A few hours later, just as it was midnight.

Fu Hua glanced at her watch before standing up and saying, "Ah! It's time for me to return."

"Want me to take you home?" Kouro said after placing his empty cup on the table.

"Thank you, but no need, my dorm is closed." Fu Hua politely declined.

Fu Hua lives in the student dormitory which is a few hundred meters from Himeko's house.

...

In front of the door, Fu Hua put her shoes back on, before turning to look at Kouro.

"That was a pleasant talk Kouro."

"Yeah, it was fun."

Just as she was about to open the door, as if remembering something, Fu Hua then turned around, but this time with a very serious expression on her face.

"I almost forgot. Kouro, you are now being watched by Overseer Schicksal. Remember to be wary of this guy as he is a dangerous person, even so he doesn't seem to do anything to you because you were already being protected by someone."

Kouro wasn't surprised that Otto was watching him, after all having superpowers without having the stigmata, was a very rare thing.

But he really didn't expect that someone would protect him from Otto's interference.

"Someone? "

'Did uncle do it? No, even though uncle was an influential person, uncle was just an ordinary person, he couldn't possibly ask Otto not to bother me for no apparent reason, then who could do it? '

"Good night Kouro."

Kouro snapped out of his daydream and quickly said goodbye. "Oh right! Good night to you too Fu Hua."

Kouro waved his hand slightly while looking at Fu Hua's back, before closing the door.

He went back into the living room before sitting down on the sofa.

Kouro held his chin and thinking about Fu Hua's words earlier, he subconsciously raised his head and looked at the photo of his parents.

Looking at the photo, Kouro then showed a pensive expression.

 __

On the same night, on the coast of Guangzhou, Shenzhou city.

The dark blue sea waves on the coast, coupled with a light breeze that carries the smell of the sea, create a beautiful quiet atmosphere.

The moonlight in the sky reflected Sakura and Higokumaru who were walking along the coast.

After a few minutes, they then stopped before turning towards the sea, on many kilometers away, a huge purple flame blazed in the middle of the sea.

The fire is like a lighthouse that shines so brightly that it looks very conspicuous.

Sakura and Higokumaru stared at the fire with serious expressions.

"I thought at first that Herrscher's birth happened again, so the concentration of Honkai energy here was high, but it turned out to be because of the fire."

"What a powerful fire." Sakura commented.

Higokumaru looked at it rubbing his chin while putting on a thoughtful expression, "This fire is weird, it can actually still burn even on the surface of the ocean. Hmm... It reminds me of that 'golden sword'."

"Golden sword? You mean the sword in the legend of the Yellow Emperor?" Sakura asked.

"Yes, that sword, it's just that I really didn't expect someone to be able to wield that sword, even to the point of exerting this much power." Higokumaru said as she glanced at the purple flames.

"Higokumaru, you didn't bring me here just to confirm this, did you?"

Higokumaru didn't answer, she just stared at the purple flames before saying.

"Do you remember what I said after we met that guy?"

"You mean the one who controlled the shadow? Yes, I remember."

Sakura remembers Higokumaru's words when they managed to escape from Dr. Mobius and the guy a few months ago.

...

Near the ruins of a house on the outskirts of Nagazora.

"Haah... Haah... Higokumaru, why did you run when you saw that guy?" Sakura said breathlessly.

Higokumaru still looks shocked, looks like she was very surprised when she saw Shadow.

"Higokumaru?" Sakura called out in a worried tone.

This was the first time she had seen Higokumaru put on that expression.

"No... No way... That guy really looks like Kouro... Mobius... She... She... Completely finished that project..."

Seeing Higokumaru like that, Sakura held Higokumaru's body before swiftly slapping his cheek.

*Slap! *

Higokumaru regained her senses and touched her right cheek before with teary eyes saying, "Sakura... That hurts you know!"

"S-sorry, it's reflex. It's the first time I've seen you like this anyway, so I subconsciously panicked and did that."  Sakura said apologetically.

Higokumaru sighed before saying, "It's okay, I just... I'm just surprised that Dr. Mobius has accomplished her goal."

Hearing this, Sakura raised her eyebrows, "If that's the case, doesn't that mean our pursuit of her is meaningless now?"

"You could say it like that. But the person controlling the shadow…"

Sakura suddenly cut in and repeated her question , "That's what I wanted to ask, why do we have to run from the person who can control the shadow?"

Higokumaru fell silent before saying softly, "In the beginning there were only two people I knew could control shadows, the first was Herrscher of Shadow and the second was Ashborn the heir of Herrscher of Shadow."

Sakura's fox ears twitched slightly after hearing the word "Ashborn".

Higokumaru continued, "The first that Herrscher of Shadow died before passed his powers to Ashborn, and now there's someone else who can control shadows. Moreover, that person is with Dr. Mobius."

"It means... "

Higokumaru continued Sakura's words, "Yes, there are now two shadow power users on Dr. Mobius' side. Now do you understand how serious the situation is now?"

Sakura nodded her head quickly.

"Should we ask the official organization for help? Should we contact Kouro and Theresa?"

Higokumaru shook his head, "Not yet, it's not the time yet, as long as they don't get it, we don't have to ask for help."

"It?" Sakura asked.

"I'll explain later, we should go first."

After saying that, Higokumaru stopped talking.

 Sakura didn't say much, their 500+ year friendship was no joke.

Sakura believed Higokumaru had reasons not to say so.

...

After remembering it all, Sakura then looked at Higokumaru.

"So you're finally going to explain it now?"

Higokumaru didn't immediately answer Sakura's question, but asked, "Sakura-nee do you know how many Divine Keys have been created?"

Even though Sakura didn't know what this question had to do with her question, she answered it anyway.

"There were 13 divine keys that were created in the Previous Era. Wait a minute… Don't tell me the golden sword is…"

Sakura turned her head to stare at the purple flame that shone like a beacon in the middle of the blue ocean.

"Yes, that sword belongs to the Divine Key, to be precise, the 10th Divine Key that came from Herrscher of Domination PE."

Higokumaru then proudly put her hands on her waist and raised her chin before saying.

"And I, as the only Divine Key that Herrscher of Shadow has ever used, have one duty to protect the 13th Divine Key from the remaining MANTIS."

"Protecting? Is the 13th Divine Key that strong?"

"Absolutely powerful! Enough to destroy this planet, no, enough to destroy this universe. And to be more precise, what is protected is something that is sealed within the 13th Divine Key." Higokumaru said as she clenched her fists in front of Sakura.

"And the one who can break the seal is a person who has the power of shadow or can be said to be someone who has been recognized by the Herrscher of Shadow."

Hearing this made Sakura very curious about the thing that was sealed in the 13th Divine Key.

"What kind of thing is it that it has to be sealed in such a way?"

Higokumaru looked left and right and even after making sure no one was around, she still felt insecure, so she looked at Sakura before linking their thoughts together.

Higokumaru as a Herrscher of Corruption plus more than 50,000+ years of life experience, she is probably the longest-living Herrscher.

Herrscher of corruption's have varies of power, but the point is, she can manipulate viruses both physically and digitally freely.

But because she had been sealed in the purple box for a long time, her powers had now weakened, so she was bound to Sakura as her vessel.

This allows them to read each other's minds, but this ability is usually disabled by Higokumaru out of respect for Sakura's privacy.

["Sakura can you hear me?"]

["I can hear you clearly."]

["Fine, the thing sealed within the 13th Divine Key is..." ]

With a serious expression, Higokumaru looked at Sakura.

["Herrscher of the End's gem shard."]