Black Fog

"Yay! Yay! Being a Fire Moth member doesn't come with many perks, but the concert ticket quota is pretty sweet!" Dystopia dragged Kosma through the throng of people.

"Dystopia ..." *Should I tell her to keep it down? Lots of people know about the Honkai now, but there's been no official statement. And since so many *do* know, what if they misunderstand Fire Moth…?*

"What is it, Kosma? Did you just call me?"

"Uh... no..." *Nevermind. She joined Fire Moth before me, she probably knows what she's doing.*

"Hmm... really?" Dystopia scratched her head. She *had* heard something that sounded like Kosma calling her… Maybe he was just being shy again?

A mischievous grin spread across her face. "Kosma..."

"Yeah? What?"

"What were you doing just now?"

"I didn't call you... I... I wasn't doing anything..."

"Hee hee, still playing coy!"

Kosma flushed, looking down, scrambling for an excuse. *I called the wrong person… That won't work. I was just messing around… She might hit me. I… I just wanted to say your name… Too cheesy… Just give up.*

Dystopia chuckled, dropping the subject. After much effort, they squeezed through the crowd and found their seats in the opulent, circular opera house, guided by the numbers on their tickets.

"Huh?"

"Eh?"

Two blonde girls pointed at each other simultaneously. Kosma and Aldemir exchanged bewildered glances.

"What a coincidence! You guys are here for Eden's concert too!"

"Yeah, and we're sitting right next to each other!"

Aldemir shrugged as Kosma shook his head. The boys took their seats.

"By the way, Dystopia , weren't you called back to HQ for the Meta-Morph surgery a couple of days ago? Did... did it work? You seem fine."

"Of course! Otherwise, I wouldn't be here." Dystopia flipped her ponytail, placing a hand on her hip and tilting her head upwards at a 45-degree angle.

Evangeline deflated her instantly: "So, you took special leave just to come back for Kosma?"

"Uh... no... uh... I just had some luggage to pick up!"

Kosma quickly looked down.

"Ooooh..." Evangeline drew out the word, her gaze shifting between the young couple. "Seems like Anti-Entropy is pretty generous with their leave. I heard Captain Michael is pretty laid-back, so I'm relieved."

"Definitely. With Captain Michael's spatial powers, if anything goes wrong, he can gather us all in a flash… Wait, Evangeline… relieved about *what*?"

"Huh? You didn't know? Everyone who got leave today from the European branch applied for the Vishnu ICHOR experiment. We're heading to HQ tomorrow for the procedure."

"Kosma, you..." Dystopia whipped her head around to face Kosma. She knew this experiment was different from hers. The boy remained stubbornly silent, staring straight ahead as if he hadn't heard.

Even Aldemir stared at Kosma in disbelief. He rubbed the scratches on his goggles, pursed his lips, and asked, "Why would you do that? You're so young."

Kosma didn't answer.

Just when they thought he'd respond with his usual silence, he finally spoke: "What about you? Why did *you* sign up?"

Aldemir was speechless. He hesitated, noticing the vast opera house was nearly full, the surrounding audience members casting curious glances at the two girls standing in the aisle. He sighed, shaking his head. "...Ahem! The concert's about to start, Evangeline, Dystopia . Come sit down."

Dystopia sat heavily between Evangeline and Kosma, her face grim, a whirlwind of thoughts churning inside her. She barely registered Eden taking the stage, the audience rising in applause.

Only when Eden began to sing, her voice, pure and unamplified, rippling through the 150-meter hall like droplets on water, echoing back from the bronze walls, did Dystopia lift her eyes, but only for a moment.

She seemed to lack the energy to even hold her head up. Her gaze drifted, unfocused.

Finally, it landed on Kosma's profile.

He was looking at Eden on stage, at the musicians with their instruments, his eyes filled with awe. But...

She couldn't hold back any longer. "Kosma, I understand you're eager to become a MANTIS soldier… but why this experiment? Why Vishnu?"

As the last syllable left her lips, her vision blurred. She didn't see the boy's eyelashes flutter at her words.

"..." *You don't understand. You didn't see Anna-nee turn into a Herrscher, didn't see her die right in front of me, separated by a thin barrier. How could you understand? This answer… No, it's too much. It would hurt Dystopia .*

*Why?* The boy asked himself.

Was it as he'd just thought? Unable to blame Fire Moth, Kevin, or Michael for Anna's death, he blamed fate, he blamed the Honkai. So he wanted to become a warrior, to gain superhuman strength, to take revenge. Was that it?

It didn't feel quite right. Remembering Anna no longer brought that searing pain. After all, they hadn't known each other for long. And…

Before she became a Herrscher, before her betrayals, he had already distanced himself. He had no right to avenge her.

So why?

Was it… that lifelong dream of becoming a hero?

Perhaps. To merge with the strongest Honkai beast ICHOR, to wield the power of a god to slay gods, just like Kevin, just like Michael. *And I'm different from them. They could kill Anna to defeat the Honkai. I… I will uphold the principles of good and evil, I…*

"AAAAH!!!"

A bloodcurdling scream ripped through the air, drowning out even Eden's singing. The music stopped. Eden stood on tiptoe, looking towards the back of the hall. Her movement rippled through the audience. Kosma jumped up, but even standing on his seat, he couldn't see what was happening. He could only hear distant screams.

"Kosma!"

Aldemir called out. Kosma turned to see Aldemir patting his shoulder. He hopped onto Aldemir's shoulders, precariously balancing himself.

"Wh-What is that?!" He gasped.

"Kosma, what do you see?!" Aldemir yelled from below.

How could he describe it? He couldn't find the words to express the horror unfolding before him.

A thin, black fog was pouring into the opera house. The crowd panicked. Wherever the fog touched, people collapsed without a sound, like stalks of wheat before a scythe. But even their bodies didn't last – their flesh rapidly decayed, their silk clothes disintegrating into dust.

"The Honkai energy concentration is spiking!" Dystopia cried. As the only MANTIS soldier among them, she could sense the changes in Honkai energy.

If a Honkai-free world was a clear sunny day, and the current world was cloudy or overcast, then this place was a raging ocean!

"Wait, my abilities are mental. I can briefly possess living beings." Without waiting for a response, Dystopia closed her eyes, her consciousness drifting outwards like a dream.

A second later, her eyes snapped open, wide with shock.

"What is it?"

"Gulp..." She swallowed hard. "There's… nothing…"

"Nothing?"

"There's no life inside the fog."