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Inside a purely white room, two people were sitting right next to each other.
"Are you out of your mind or plain stupid, Vill-V? This calls for the project to be shut down rather than a cut in the budget.", A woman with long dark purple hair and indigo eyes muttered to the frowning "Expert".
They were looking over two brand new Divine Keys which got some… mixed reactions to say the least. It seems the budget wasn't enough to stop one of the bubbly personalities of the creator.
Dr. MEI could swear she saw some mischief in her pink eyes before getting down to talk, but she couldn't care enough to comment at this point.
"Yeah…", She scratched her light brown hair. "I had an accident with one already and the other is already volatile by nature, I am pretty sure…"
Both sighed but with different emotions.
"Seal them before they understand more of their situation.", Her superior concluded and left.
Divine Keys were tools, weapons to be used against Honkai Beasts or Herrschers. However, some of them put too much of a strain on the user before they hit their maximum potential.
They're already dangerous no matter how much you try to bend the truth. Making them is a clear sign of desperation and they know it.
But adding sentience to them? It's not about taboo or anything like that. Something made from a Herrscher core and with a will cannot be trusted this close to their whole operations.
There's no other way than to forget about them ever being made and continue fighting like before. No point in creating possible enemies rather than eliminating said possibility.
"Ugh.", Vill-V hugged her knees on the couch. "I wanted to make some more though…"
Alas, it was her mistake to even attempt.
-
1465 CE
A vast field of wildflowers stretched across the rolling hills, their vibrant hues painting the landscape with a dreamlike beauty. At first glance, it seemed like an endless sea of golden yellow, but upon closer inspection, delicate bursts of blue, crimson, and soft pink peeked through the swaying stems, hidden treasures nestled among the more dominant tones.
Above, the sun blazed with unrelenting brilliance, casting its golden light across the land without the slightest hint of retreat. It hung high in the cloudless sky, watching over the earth like a guardian. Birds flitted from tree to tree, their joyful songs harmonizing with the whisper of the wind that rustled through the tall grasses.
Nature, in all its abundance, seemed to celebrate the moment, an unspoken promise that the day ahead would be bright.
In such a place, a small person stood out.
A simple ponytail, but also long hair spread from their head, almost masking the boy's carefree smile. He wore a vibrant sky-blue shirt, adorned with bright pink and white hibiscus flowers and simple black pants.
Whether it was a matter of money or choice, all of his clothes were excessively torn.
Yet he casually stood on a piece of wood resembling a chair and looked over the increasingly less white cloth in front of him. The paint would occasionally grace his skin through the holes, but it didn't seem to affect his mood in any way.
Swish... swish…
A soft brush whispers across the canvas, each stroke a gentle exhale. His attention was solely on the painting and location to capture every possible detail to his ability.
The outline of the ground, the flowers, the trees, the sun… The list went up as time passed with no sign of anything disturbing him.
CRASH!
Until an asteroid wannabe crashed and destroyed the whole scenery like it was another Tuesday.
The dirt started sizzling and nature started hiding itself behind the numerous trees the forest had to offer. This place, Austria, has seen countless wars, but the animals knew.
This was not made by human hands but by a higher predator. One hell bent on destroying anything and everything until it meets its end.
"Ah…", He muttered while his eyes widened with shock. "I can't remember how that tree looked already…"
Of course, everything that he owned was already gone. Even his clothes almost gave up against the heat produced and started to show his colorful skin untouched by scars.
It was rather strange for a human to focus on his hobby rather than life in this current moment, but there was no one to comment on that except the hulking beast waking up right now.
It had a floating, quadruped white form with two prominent forelimbs and smaller hind limbs. Its head was angular with glowing pink features, and it sported large wing-like appendages extending from its shoulders.
"You're weirdly tall, mister.", The boy went back to smiling as if nothing mattered again. "My name is Fritz and I would like to apologize for wa-"
One of its hands moved faster than he could blink and before he knew it, Fritz was halved horizontally. Rather than the beast being careful with its prey, he was that fragile against it.
But then again, who wasn't? There are obvious exceptions, but meeting it head-on with no backup or equipment was the end of your story.
Still.
There was no scream, no dramatic pause.
The corpse still carried the same grin even after the Grim Reaper sought its soul.
It was a plain simple death which gave the Honkai Beast a weird sense of satisfaction.
And with that…
A gentle touch brought its head looking down to see the human again.
So gentle as if he had met an old friend after so long.
So gentle as if he was a mother cuddling her baby.
So gentle as if he was embracing his lover late at night.
"Goodbye, mister.", His mouth was still curved upwards, but.
Is Fritz smiling still, as he always has during painting?
.
.
.
Of course, he is.
Later after that…
A simple rose laid on top of the crater.