Welt Yang

"The earliest recorded Honkai corruption in human history occurred in southern Shenzhou around 2000 BC... The earliest recorded Judgement-class Honkai beast, codenamed 'Chi You,' also wreaked havoc during this period..."

In the classroom, a thin male teacher with glasses sits at the podium, diligently performing his duties. He tells his students the history of what happened.

Mei listens carefully and takes notes.

The history she's learning here is completely different from what she learned in her past dozen years of school. The common people's world conceals the existence of "Honkai." The history she's learning now is closer to the truth, which is why she has to take it so seriously.

Of course, taking notes seriously has another purpose. Mei glances at the white-haired ball of fluff sleeping soundly by the windowsill and sighs.

That one… really…

On the other side of the classroom, Fu Hua is also somewhat distracted. Every word from the teacher stirs emotions within her. Those are her stories, but she can't remember anything.

"...So, students, as the true elite warriors of humanity, we must…"

Welt, disguised as a history teacher, is giving an impassioned lecture when he suddenly covers his mouth, coughing uncontrollably.

After a few seconds, he raises his head and apologizes to the worried students below. "I'm sorry, students. I'm not feeling well and need to rest for a bit. You may have self-study time for the rest of the period."

Then, he lowers his head, using the action of drinking water to hide his shock—what's with that sudden gravitational fluctuation? Did something happen to the two doctors?

...

"Mophead, are you sure this will work?" Tesla connects the power to the device holding the Star of Eden. She glances at Einstein, who's adjusting the parameters. "The fluctuation range of that energy is too small. Are you sure that stubborn guy will be able to pick it up?"

"Questioning your teammates isn't a virtue you should have, Dr. Tesla…" Einstein doesn't even look at her, focused on completing her tasks. She issues one command after another, waiting for the results.

The machine's hum gradually rises, then stops after several seconds.

Einstein nods and calmly announces the results, "The Star of Eden is stable and operating well. The test is a success. Dr. Tesla, you can proceed with the next step."

The blue-haired doctor's voice remains emotionless, as always—calm, like an observer of the world. "Transcribe your message into binary code, and send it out with gravity waves. Joachim will receive it. A friendly reminder that this method of communication isn't very efficient or reliable. You shouldn't be planning on using it to chat."

"...Shut up!"

...

As everyone knows, Welt is very sensitive to gravity.

Although he is the Herrscher of Reason and not the Herrscher of Earth, whose powers are gravity, he has used the Star of Eden for more than half a century. He has gained a deep understanding of its structure and powers, that it could be called perfect.

This is evident in the fact that he can use his power to construct an identical Star of Eden out of thin air.

He has truly become one with the device.

Right now, Welt uses his illness as an excuse to have a moment of peace. He carefully feels the subtle, formless fluctuations hidden deep within the space. He fully focuses on reading the information within.

Although he doesn't know what happened, the fact that the two doctors chose to contact him this way means that something important must have happened, which is why he has to understand it immediately.

Without the teacher's restraint, the classroom gradually becomes noisy.

"Students, please be quiet!" Fu Hua stands up from her seat, acting as the class monitor.

After restoring order, Fu Hua pushes her glasses up and walks to Welt's side, asking carefully, "Mr. Yang, if you're really not feeling well, would you like me to take you to the infirmary?"

"It's not necessary, Fu Hua. I'm not so weak that I need someone to support me. I can go to the infirmary myself after class." Welt waves his hand, refusing Fu Hua's offer.

Fu Hua is a little surprised since this teacher's voice sounds slightly different from when he was teaching.

She doesn't take any further action but reveals a restrained smile. "Then please get some rest, Teacher. I'll visit you at the infirmary later, on behalf of the students."

"Thank you for your concern, Fu Hua." Welt smiles, signaling that Fu Hua understood his signal, and ends their brief "teacher-student care" interaction.

Fu Hua nods and returns to her seat as if nothing happened, continuing to play her role as the "model student." Welt then begins his interrupted lesson, and it's as if everything is back to normal.

Several hours later, during lunch break, Fu Hua knocks on the infirmary door. "Doctor, how is Mr. Yang?"

"Oh, he's fine, just physically weak and not young anymore. It was a bit of overexertion. I've given him some medicine and told him to rest here for a bit." The doctor's tone is calm, as it was nothing serious.

Fu Hua nods, unsurprised. With a Herrscher of Reason's abilities, controlling his physical state and vitals would be easy.

After thanking the doctor, she walks to the room where Welt is "recovering" and politely opens the door. "Mr. Yang, I've come to visit you."

Welt is sitting on the bed, not looking sick at all. He gets straight to the point, asking Fu Hua, "Fu Hua, you're here. Good. There's something I need to verify with you."

As expected…

Fu Hua was already prepared. Her expression turns serious, her voice helpless, "Why bother? If you hadn't made it obvious, I could have pretended you didn't exist. That way, we could both avoid interfering with each other."

Fu Hua shakes her head. He's been hiding for so long. It's obvious he has some purpose. Now, pretending to be ignorant would be inappropriate, so she gets straight to the point. "Mr. Welt, is there something you need? To avoid awkwardness, I must say this in advance. It's best if it doesn't involve Kiana and the others."

Her task here is to monitor and act as the last line of defense to ensure the experiments go smoothly. This is a matter of principle, and she won't compromise, even if she respects the person before her.

"It doesn't involve the kids, I assure you." Welt nods, gesturing for Fu Hua to sit down. He knows that some things aren't appropriate to interfere with right now. "It's just that I received some unexpected information, and it may be related to Anti-Entropy, and perhaps even you, so I'd like to verify some things with you."

The information from the gravity wave communication is indeed too important. The content could have an indelible impact on the situation.

"The Key of Corruption has appeared, and its wielder has contacted Anti-Entropy…"

The Key of Corruption? Lin Wei?

The implications of this information are too obvious. The moment Fu Hua hears the words "Key of Corruption," she thinks of the man who has been missing for a year.

Now that he's suddenly reappeared and contacted Anti-Entropy, what is that audacious guy planning to do?

Tesla used concise language to tell Welt everything about her conversation with Lin Wei through the gravity wave communication, which Welt now relays to Fu Hua.

"From what I can tell, that man wants to establish a friendly cooperation with Anti-Entropy. But he has an unknown origin, which is why the two doctors and I have our doubts. So I'd like to ask Fu Hua, do you really know this person? And how much trust can we place in him?"

Given that guy's personality, shouldn't he be hiding somewhere? How did he become so flamboyant again? Fu Hua is perplexed.

As she thinks, countless thoughts run through her mind. The more she thinks, the more speechless she becomes.

After being missing for an entire year, he's back causing trouble for me?

"Yes, I do know that person. His name is Lin Wei, a resident of Nagazora City, and I did help him with a few things. But the events that I know of don't completely match the story you're telling now."

Fu Hua does her best to sound gentle. "Either your retelling of the story is distorted, or Lin Wei omitted some crucial information."

"Does that mean this person isn't trustworthy?" Welt asks thoughtfully. If that's the case, then the Key of Corruption becomes a thorny issue.

"I think it's more that he doesn't fully trust your Anti-Entropy. If I'm not mistaken, the fact that you are here asking me, Mr. Welt, is actually part of his plan. A middleman of sorts."

"..." Welt is silent, feeling both unease at being schemed against and a worry for himself.

If he's truly a resident of Nagazora City, then his mistrust of Anti-Entropy could actually be seen as a friendly gesture.

"And if my guess is correct, then the reason he sought cooperation with Anti-Entropy is likely due to external pressures. Like Schicksal, or perhaps…" Fu Hua pauses for a moment before continuing.

"And this question is obviously not suitable for me, an active A-rank Valkyrie of Schicksal, to continue getting involved in." It's a bit of a dry joke.

"Then what kind of person do you think this Lin Wei is, Fu Hua?" Welt has never met Lin Wei, but he trusts Fu Hua's judgment.

Fu Hua pauses, then begins to think carefully.

She doesn't know what Lin Wei experienced this past year, but she believes that human nature won't change easily.

She knows he has many secrets, and that the fewer people who know them, the better. So she doesn't think his selective omissions are unforgivable.

In fact, she believes that the Lin Wei from a year ago wouldn't have been that open to her if he wasn't desperate.

"In fact, I didn't spend much time with Lin Wei. I only did two small things for him." After thinking for a moment, Fu Hua slowly says, "One was bringing a survivor he found to St. Freya for treatment; the other was staying by his side when he was being corrupted by a Herrscher from the Previous Era. If he failed, I would kill both him and the Herrscher."

"...If he doesn't trust Anti-Entropy, why not choose to cooperate with Schicksal? After all, you are a Valkyrie of Schicksal, aren't you?" Welt asks the biggest question that he has in his mind.

"Perhaps it's because Otto is even less trustworthy than you Anti-Entropy people." Fu Hua adjusts her glasses, speaking as if it's obvious.

"..." You know that too! Welt complains in his heart.

"'Staying by his side, killing both him and the Herrscher if he failed'. That wasn't my decision; it was Lin Wei's request to me. Personally, I don't think that someone who can make such a decision is someone who will become an enemy."

Welt pauses, his throat tightening. He feels like he briefly understood what it feels like, that kind of desperate determination, a feeling he recognizes.

Perhaps it's worth trying to contact him?

Since they had discussed everything to this point, there was no point in adding anything unnecessary. Welt decides to send the complete information back, so the two doctors can make a decision.

But he can receive gravity waves as a Herrscher who's proficient in this, but Tesla may not. He has to find another way.

"Fu Hua, I need your help." Welt takes out a small quantum teleportation device and a storage device with a recording of their conversation, making his meaning clear.

"..." Fu Hua is speechless. Is this how you all are?

"My identity here is a bit awkward, so I need to act discreetly. In order to avoid alerting Otto, I ask Fu Hua to use this device away from St. Freya Academy, and send this information back to Anti-Entropy. This is somewhat presumptuous, but I'd be very grateful."

"Given how important this information is, isn't it a bit reckless, Mr. Welt, to trust me, someone from Schicksal?" Fu Hua doesn't understand Welt's openness.

Welt smiles, a cheerful smile, "Perhaps Ms. Fu Hua has forgotten, but Anti-Entropy remembers our past friendship and is willing to believe that it still exists."

Fu Hua looks at him expressionlessly. "You're too reckless, Mr. Welt."

Even though she says it, she still accepts the two devices with a sigh and puts them away carefully.

After all, it seems only she can help Welt and the others now.

Honestly, Fu Hua doesn't want to cause trouble for the people of Anti-Entropy, and she certainly doesn't want to be their enemy. Her mission is to "eliminate the Honkai." Her whole life is dedicated to this cause, so she finds it hard to bear any hostility towards those also committed to fighting the Honkai.

"I'm truly grateful." Welt says, happy with Fu Hua's decision, though he had expected it.

"Then, I'll take my leave, Mr. Yang. Please rest well." Having said all that needed to be said and done all that needed to be done, Fu Hua resumes her role, opening the door and leaving the infirmary.

"What reason should I make to leave the academy?" Fu Hua wonders. Welt dumped his problems on her, but he got off easily. She needs to come up with a way.

"Hurry up, Bronya! I heard they're serving borscht in the cafeteria today. If you're late, someone might eat it all!"

From afar, she hears a carefree voice shouting.

The cafeteria? Fu Hua is surprised. Does Kiana even eat in the cafeteria?

"Hurry, hurry! After lunch, I'm going out! I'm already late!"

Hearing the voice, Fu Hua remembers Kiana's recent actions. She has an idea.

Kiana, I need your help!