Honkai: Fire Moth Herrschers

As Mikael returned to the Golden Courtyard, night was just beginning to fall.

As expected, Su was waiting for him on the rooftop.

"Is Hua alright?"

"She's fine… I'm sorry, I lost my composure back there."

"No need to apologize to me. I was asleep. And certainly no need to apologize to Mobius. She wouldn't accept it anyway."

"I see…"

Silence fell between them.

Mikael walked over to Su, leaning languidly against the railing, gazing at the nightscape.

The night sky alone wasn't beautiful, even a bit dull. Just salt sprinkled on a black cloth.

But the night sky with humanity was beautiful.

Towering buildings punctuated the horizon, neon lights painting half the sky a purplish-red. Wave-like clouds layered upon each other, like ripples surrounding the softly glowing moon.

Both Mikael and Su looked at the moon, that celestial body that had held humanity's fascination since time immemorial.

The cratered lunar surface bore the marks of time, but…

"Su, who do you think was the first human to look up at the moon? How different were his thoughts and feelings from ours? And when did the moon first illuminate the night for humanity? If she had consciousness, would she feel lonely? Looking down at the scurrying humans, what would she think? Contentment? Disdain? Or nothing at all?"

Su shook his head, his voice flat. "Mr. Mikael, your question is like asking which grain of rice makes a pile of rice a pile. No, that's not quite right either. To dwell on this question is to miss the point."

"But once you start, such thoughts are endless. And humanity has reached this point through countless moonlit nights—generations come and go, but the moon remains the same."

"Beautiful poem."

Mikael chuckled, making a face. "Not mine!"

He waved his hand, and five suitcases appeared at his feet. Su, still pondering the sudden grimace, sighed.

Then, Mikael opened a suitcase and presented it to Su. "See? This is the serum that cures the Honkai sickness. Something you could only dream of, I imagine."

Su picked up a vial, examined it briefly, then put it back. "If I didn't know it was extracted from the bodies of a thousand patients, I would be overjoyed… but now…"

Mikael patted his shoulder. "I understand. I felt the same when I first learned the truth. It's hard to accept, but you can't deny its value."

Su remained silent, holding the vial.

"But I eventually accepted it. To let a few live, many must die. All I can do is be one of those who die."

Su placed the vial back in the suitcase. He looked at Mikael, whose eyes still shone brightly in the darkness, but… Never mind.

Mikael didn't seem to notice his gaze, or perhaps he did but couldn't decipher its meaning.

"You can inject Seele and the children tomorrow. Oh, and Su…" Mikael handed him another suitcase filled with serums. Su understood without him having to explain.

"Su, I don't know if there are more victims, but if you can find them… consider this compensation from me, on behalf of Seele's parents."

"Seele's parents… Sigh… Oh, by the way!"

"What is it?"

"Speaking of those people, I asked Dr. Fal to examine a few more… He's more observant than I am. There's something you should know, Mr. Mikael. Some of them are experiencing mental problems."

"Oh? What kind of symptoms?"

"Not all are the same. Some show signs of schizophrenia, while others have memory loss, so severe that they're practically different people."

Mikael bit his thumb, a sense of unease washing over him. Lucien had agreed to his terms too readily. Perhaps because of the threat to his life, or perhaps he considered it a fair exchange…

But it all felt too smooth. He'd initially tried to interfere with his thoughts, yet readily agreed to the trade…

He's hiding something!

Is it related to their mental state? No… could this change be due to Mitrá?

Mikael couldn't figure it out. Usually, he could choose to "not think" about it, but today, the more he tried to put it aside, the more it lingered.

Su's voice broke through his thoughts. "Mr. Mikael, I actually have a request."

Mikael shook his head. "Just say it."

"I…" Su hesitated for a moment, then spoke with renewed conviction. "Mr. Mikael, can I join you?"

"Hmm…" Mikael hummed, looking back at the night sky.

Su mistook the sound for agreement, but Mikael asked, "Not going back to being a doctor?"

He turned to Su, a shared smile passing between them. "You can be a doctor anywhere. The world never lacks doctors."

"Because studying medicine can't save the world."

"So, do you think studying medicine can save the world?" Mei mumbled, her face resting on her damp sleeve on her cold desk.

She seemed to be talking to herself; she was alone in the room.

But she received a reply, a slightly mechanical, detached voice that was neither male nor female. "With all due respect, Doctor, no profession can save the world. If the world is determined to be destroyed, if destruction is its fate, nothing humanity does can change that outcome."

"Ha… Ha…" Mei let out two weak syllables, then fell silent, as if asleep.

"Doctor, according to my calculations, you are currently experiencing sadness and guilt. If you feel guilty about dismantling Fire Moth One and leaving me homeless, there's no need. I've found a new home here."

"Don't flatter yourself…" Mei muttered with a wry smile. But she realized the AI wasn't being self-serving, but trying to comfort her. It just wasn't human and couldn't fully understand human emotions, resorting to platitudes based on its algorithms.

"Have you been reading about fatalism in the database lately?"

"Yes, Doctor. I don't understand why you humans create such a despairing concept. What is its purpose? No…"

[Simulated brain circuits crashing… Rebooting… 10%… 57%… 100%… Reboot complete: Switching from philosophical thinking mode to combined scientific-philosophical thinking mode. ]

"I apologize, Doctor. I overlooked something. Humanity's prospects are bleak. Even without the Honkai, limited by lifespan, unable to leave the solar system, you will inevitably face resource depletion within a few thousand, or at most, tens of thousands of years…"

"Even if humanity could utilize all the resources in the solar system, the sun will eventually go supernova in about five billion years, destroying everything…"

"Even if humanity could leave the solar system and find new homes, the universe itself has a finite lifespan. When the universe collapses back into the singularity from which it exploded, all traces will be erased. All human endeavors would be for naught. So, humanity does live in despair."

"You're right." Mei put her glasses back on and stood up. "Compared to the inevitable end, the despair of human-created fatalism is insignificant."

"But humanity must still struggle, because even if fate exists, even if the end is predetermined, the path towards it should be our own to choose."

"And even if fate dictates not just the end but the entire journey, so be it. We will walk that path with our own feet, overcoming obstacles, cutting through thorns, appreciating every flower, bandaging our wounds by the streams… until the end arrives."

"Humans are such creatures, fragile yet resilient, rational yet emotional. Terrified of death, inherently selfish, yet always striving to do things beyond our capabilities…"

"I know you still don't understand. What I'm trying to say is…"

"Can studying medicine save the world? I don't know. But it's through my medical knowledge that I've been able to advance the Fusion Soldier project to this point. If this project succeeds, then the thousands of lives lost in the past week will not have been in vain."

"So, your simulation has already finished, right? Can you tell me the results?"

"Yes, Doctor. Based on a model constructed from 7,846 samples, among all Fire Moth members, those with a Sesa gene compatibility exceeding 0.01%: none. Yaksha: none. Parvati: one. Mitrá has not yet been tested."

"The person compatible with the Parvati genes is…"

"Fifth Squad Captain: Kevin. Gene compatibility: 43%. Automatically calculating surgery success rate… Calculation complete: 7.5873611% under current conditions…"

"…" Mei shut down the AI.

She turned off all the lights in the room.

She suddenly understood why Vashak and Lucien preferred the dark.

To simulate the blackness of night, devoid of stars, devoid of the moon, devoid of distractions.

In the suffocating darkness, all one could do was to contemplate in silence.

Are our actions worth it?

Will our sins ever be absolved?

Can we truly defeat the Honkai?

*When everything reaches its destined end, regardless of success or failure, will the person we care about most stand by our side, accepting the final judgment?

The answers to these questions were already predetermined, known only to fate itself.

So, might as well sleep…

Mei opened a hidden cabinet, swallowed a sleeping pill with warm water, and lay quietly in bed.

The medication should induce sleep within thirty minutes. But an hour later, she opened her eyes, glanced at the alarm clock, and sighed.

Numbly, she walked to the cabinet, swallowed another pill, and lay back down.

Thirty minutes…

One hour…

Two hours…

Mei couldn't sleep. She lay there, eyes open, until dawn.

- End of Volume IV: Year of Anti-Entropy (part 3) -