Honkai: Star Rail — Kamen Rider!

One lamp after another flickered to life, pushing the darkness away.

In moments, the light bathed the whole area, bright as day.

"To think… the last reserves of this planet's energy ended up being used by us."

Shunji, having switched on every light here, glanced at Sora.

"Never thought it'd be so soon—barely left this place, and now we're back."

Indeed—this was the very spot where they had once planned to burn themselves out, letting the aura of Nihility consume them.

The place could block Nihility's intrusion, and so, to some extent, it could also block Titanironia's perception.

Sora sat slouched in a chair, regaining the strength he had just spent.

"How long can this place's energy hold out?" he asked instinctively, concern in his voice.

"Relax. Just for us in this little hideout, what's left will last until this planet is completely destroyed."

"…I see." He thought for a moment, then asked, "And how much time does this place have left?"

When they'd left earlier, Titanironia had already touched the Stellaron and begun the final godhood ritual.

The entire curtain of rain in the sky had fallen to the ground, flowing toward her.

As they'd said before—that rain was nutrient fluid for birthing an Aeon. And at this very moment, an Aeon was gestating within it.

When she emerged… it would mark the moment this place was utterly destroyed.

Shunji brought up her terminal, scanning the ever-climbing energy readings.

"At this rate… less than three days."

In three days, the energy amassed there would surpass what this planet could endure.

When that happened, the ground beneath their feet would collapse entirely.

"Three days…" Sora carved the number into his mind.

"Yes. Three days is all we've got."

Shunji's tone carried a sigh. She had lived her whole life on this world—

Only to discover that every experience she had known was built on lies.

She had once wanted to destroy this planet herself—Sora had stopped her then. She hadn't expected that someone else would carry it out in the end.

The air in the hall was heavy. The other Glamoth Iron Cavalry were also quietly recovering.

Unlike Sora, they could not shrug off the pressure that came with facing Titanironia.

Even as a larval Aeon, her presence pressed down on them relentlessly.

If not for knowing Sora might be in danger, none of them could have imagined they'd ever face such a being.

"How's Hotaru?" Sora finally broke the silence.

Since bringing her back, she had been unconscious.

He'd tried to check on her, but Shunji had forced him to stay here and rest.

"…Her condition is actually a little strange," Shunji replied.

"Strange?"

"From what you described, she should have a massive wound."

Shunji projected an image for him.

It showed the unconscious Hotaru lying on a bed, brows furrowed as if caught in a bad dream.

Her Cicada Device for transformation lay badly damaged.

The fabric at her abdomen was torn open by a large hole.

"But we didn't find a single injury."

The camera panned—under the lamp's glow, her bare abdomen was smooth and pale as carved jade.

No sign of a wound at all. Yet the tear in her clothing was right there.

"Could her body have healed itself?" Sora guessed.

"We might be clones, but our regeneration isn't anywhere near the point where an injury like that would vanish in a few hours."

Shunji shot him a look.

Did he really think they could just shrug off damage like that?

If they could, Glamoth would have crushed every insect plague in the galaxy by now.

Sora frowned. He had seen Titanironia pierce Hotaru—armor and all—right through the abdomen.

And yet here she was, showing no trace of it.

"What about the hand I cut off?" Sora asked.

The moment they'd first crossed paths, he'd severed part of Titanironia's body.

Maybe they could use it to forge a weapon against her.

"Gone. We were in too much of a rush during the retreat—it must've been lost on the way." Shunji spread her hands.

Normal people couldn't even approach an Aeon, much less harm one.

Anything that could hurt an Aeon had to come from Aeon power itself—even if that power came from the Aeon's own body.

She had wanted to recover it herself, but upon arriving here she hadn't found so much as a scrap.

Her only conclusion: it had been lost during evacuation.

"…Got it." Sora nodded.

"What now?" Shunji asked, meeting his eyes.

"We still have a few days…" He thought for a moment. "First, rest. Replenish your strength, clear your head."

"When everyone's recovered, then we'll decide how to get out."

They had stayed here because of him—he had to find a way to get them out.

"Fine. I'll bring you something to eat."

Shunji rose. "You're in no shape to run around. Stay put."

"Don't even think about slipping off. We're the only ones left on this planet."

Sora gave a sheepish smile. "Is your trust in me that low?"

"What do you think?" she shot back.

Hadn't he promised before: For my health, I'll rest quietly?

And then—who had gone to face the propagating larva in person?

"…Tch." Sora shook his head.

She's not wrong.

He reached for his buckle—and vanished.

...

The reverse-flowing rain no longer pooled beneath the curtain—it streamed toward the soon-to-be-born Aeon.

From afar, the vast sphere of water glimmered with threads of gold and white, like a sovereign presence.

Inside it grew one of the rarest and most dangerous beings in the universe.

An Aeon's birth, seen with one's own eyes—no more than a handful in the galaxy could claim that.

And now, her consciousness seemed to dissolve into the sky itself, gazing down upon everything below.

Where was this place? Why could she see such a scene?

The question bloomed in her mind—she could see everything on the planet.

From the desolate, powerless towers to the smallest leaves on tree branches.

Everything lay within her vision, and she began to wonder—Where am I?

Then—she felt something strange.

Focusing, she spotted a man-shaped figure made of smoke, standing on the roof of the tallest building.

A strange familiarity stirred in her mind—along with a prick of annoyance toward him.

"So it didn't teleport me out into space, huh?"

It was his voice.

Below, he fastened some kind of device to his waist.

A flash of emerald blade-light leapt upward—slamming into her body. Nothing happened.

"Even the curtain in the sky's been reinforced like this…"

"Which means the only way out of here… is to stop her from succeeding?"

"Better hurry, then."

She watched him turn his gaze toward the sphere of water in the distance.

In the next instant, his form dissolved into smoke.

Who is he? His name…

Sora?!

Hotaru's eyes flew open. She stirred from unconsciousness.

"I… where…?"

Her gaze drifted around, unfocused—until she saw him lying in the bed beside hers.

"You're awake?" Sora greeted her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"What else? Got caught," Sora said with a wry shrug.

Wet hair clung faintly to him—a tiny detail that had tripped him up.

The moment he'd returned, Shunji had noticed something was off.

And then? That was it.

He'd been forcibly placed in Hotaru's room under twenty-four-hour watch.

If he vanished, every Iron Cavalry in the base would drop everything to hunt him down.

"…Was this really necessary?" he grumbled.

Hotaru shook off her daze, though her dream-memories were already fraying into unrecognizable fragments.

"Right now—" she began, but a sudden tremor ran through her body.

Like… a resonance.

She looked toward the source—and realized it came from her own abdomen.

Golden lines were appearing on her flat stomach.

This power…

"I know you're surprised. But it's true—you don't seem to be badly hurt," Sora said.

"…You can't see it?" Hotaru asked, startled.

"…Huh?"

Sora glanced at her, then down at the bare skin she had revealed.

"There's nothing there. What am I supposed to be looking at?"