Chat Group : Another Fate From Honkai

Strictly speaking, there were three consciousnesses residing within Inori Yuzuriha's body:

Her own, Mana Ouma's, and that of the Apocalypse Virus.

However, due to the virus having deeply infiltrated Mana's soul, the latter two had nearly completely merged, forming an entirely new entity.

In theory, the consciousness of the Apocalypse Virus should not be able to manifest outside Mana's soul independently.

Yet at this very moment, as the Origin Stone devoured the Originium, something changed.

When the purple crystal from the Origin Stone penetrated the core of the Originium and made contact with a mysterious, unresolvable quality within it.

Something that Nagami himself couldn't analyze—the Origin Stone let out a joyful resonance.

That resonance awakened the fused collective consciousness slumbering within Mana's soul.

Evolution.

The Apocalypse Virus is a living organism. And as a lifeform, it naturally possesses the potential to evolve.

It originated from outer space and had likely visited other planets before arriving on Earth.

In the world of Guilty Crown, the virus had not yet reached its final form.

Throughout its long journey, it had never encountered an opportunity to push itself to the next stage—until it drifted near Earth.

It was drawn to Earth by the collective will of elimination—the consciousness of natural selection itself.

In exchange, the virus struck a deal: through triggering the Apocalypse on a global scale, it would forcibly accelerate the evolution of all life on Earth.

At the same time, by merging with countless human souls, it sought the means to evolve itself to the next level.

Thus, while it had been summoned by this elimination consciousness, it was not a creation of it.

Their relationship was one of mutual benefit.

Both were seeking the same goal—evolution.

And now, for the first time, the Apocalypse Virus had found a clear, promising path forward.

Without external interference, it might never have been able to evolve this way.

But thanks to the chemical, genetic, and spiritual disruptions caused by the Originium, it had sensed an opportunity.

If it could devour enough Originium, there was a strong chance it could evolve.

Its ability to corrode souls proved it was far from an ordinary lifeform.

The evolution it pursued wasn't simply a result of natural selection—it was something else entirely.

To put it plainly, it was more like a Digivolution than traditional evolution.

"Not just the Apocalypse Virus—the Originium itself is changing… is this evolution? Or fusion?"

Several purple hexagrams glowing with a pure radiance emerged and enveloped the Originium infected by the virus.

Nagami's Alpha Stigma Eyes analyzed the changes.

At the contact point between the Originium and the void-infused crystal, both materials were undergoing a special transformation.

However, due to the Originium sample being too small, the transformation couldn't be sustained.

If Nagami didn't actively control the Void through the King's Power, the Originium would be completely overrun in an instant.

"…Forget it. Let it devour it. This little bit of Originium won't yield anything conclusive anyway. I'll need to run more tests back on Terra."

With that, Nagami released his control over the Origin Stone.

In the next instant, the orange-yellow Originium was completely converted into a pure, gleaming amethyst.

At its core, a faint, barely perceptible streak of violet-gold shimmered.

"Huh? What's this…"

Nagami immediately sensed it.

The hexagram sigil that had vanished before briefly reappeared—only to fade again just as quickly.

"There's just not enough… I can't see it clearly."

He pushed himself up with both hands resting on his knees, then casually tossed the crystal back to Kal'tsit and stretched his arms.

A wave of fatigue washed over him.

Gentle morning light poured from the sky, bathing the world in a warm glow.

The sky was a boundless expanse of blue without a single cloud in sight.

Birds soared overhead, their cheerful cries echoing in the air.

A breath of fresh air filled Nagami's lungs and refreshed his mind.

"It's almost six. Time to head back."

He casually picked up the Origin Stone.

Any researcher familiar with it would have been utterly shocked—this was like directly touching Originium bare-handed on Terra.

A reckless, suicidal move.

But naturally, there was a protective layer: highly erosive Honkai energy, which made for the perfect defense.

Without it, simply exposing the Origin Stone to the air could have flooded Tokyo with infection cases.

Activating optical invisibility, Nagami floated down toward the suite below.

Once inside the bedroom, he glanced at the sleeping pink-haired girl on the bed.

Then back at the dazzlingly glowing Origin Stone in his hand.

His brows furrowed slightly.

Despite having pulled an all-nighter conducting intense research, Nagami wasn't tired—after all, he was a Herrscher, and C.C. body was still on Honkai world resting.

"…I hope I'm just overthinking it."

He summoned a sealing device using Herrscher power, sealed the Origin Stone inside it, and casually dropped it on the floor.

Then he lay down on the bed.

His gaze drifted toward the girl lying with her back turned to him.

His eyes traced from the long, delicate neckline revealed by her parted hair, to the snowy expanse of her smooth back.

Her slender shoulders curled slightly in her sleep, and the arch of her spine emphasized the gentle curves of her shoulder blades.

Every line of her form was graceful and mesmerizing, glowing faintly pink beneath the morning light.

Large swathes of skin, white and flawless like porcelain, stretched out before Nagami's eyes—pure, untouched by even the lightest speck of dust.

This stunning sight reflected clearly in his pupils, lifting his mood as he slowly closed his eyes.

He wasn't sure how much time had passed.

With a gentle, steady breathing filled the air.

Inori Yuzuriha who once quietly asleep, stirred softly and shifted her delicate body, turning her gaze toward the boy who appeared to be sleeping beside her.

Her amethyst eyes shimmered with a soft, dreamlike glow as she slowly sat up.

Her gaze drifted toward the Origin Stone, which lay tossed on the floor like a discarded trinket.

Her expression was clouded, like mist weaving through her eyes.

She reached out toward Nagami with her pale, slender hand.

But just as her fingers were about to brush against him—she froze, stunned in place.

"In the same way that the word defeat doesn't exist in a blank dictionary, the word illusion doesn't exist in mine."

Nagami opened his eyes—now glowing with a six-pointed purple star—staring directly into the pale face just inches from his own.

"I didn't expect this. You've actually managed to separate a portion of yourself from Mana Ouma's soul… That was truly unexpected."

"Apocalypse Virus."

Yes—this was only a fragment.

Mana Ouma's soul had already fully fused with the Apocalypse Virus.

Even the virus itself could not detach from her completely.

Mana was the virus's Queen. That was an unchangeable truth.

Were it not for the stimulus left deep within her genes and soul from the Origin Stone's devouring process, even this tiny sliver of the virus's consciousness couldn't have separated itself.

Her crystalline eyes were like violet gemstones, calm and deep as an ocean.

This wasn't the arrogance of a superior being, nor indifference to the world around her. It couldn't even be described as cold.

It was a gaze filled with emotion—but tinged with something divine.

"Why don't you appear in Mana Ouma's form when speaking to me?" Nagami asked, his tone curious as he studied her serene expression.

"Answer: The Queen cannot decide our future."

Her once ethereal voice now sounded as though it had been overlaid by countless others—shattering its purity.

"I see… You lack authority."

Although both were forms of hive minds, the Apocalypse Virus was different from something like the Zerg. The Queen did not rule all.

In fact, the Queen's position was chosen by the virus itself.

As shown in the original story, Mana Ouma was not even allowed to die until she fulfilled her role as Eve.

That decision came from the will of the entire Apocalypse Virus.

But the Queen was not a puppet, either. She still held the highest status and greatest authority among all individual viral entities.

"You came to me because you want this, didn't you?"

Nagami retrieved the Originium that Kal'tsit hadn't claimed—a stone so deeply eroded by the purple crystal that its original properties could no longer be identified.

His eyes narrowed slightly.

"You want the Originium?"

This development was… unexpected.

"Answer: Confirmed. Collective consensus reached—requesting transaction with holder of King's Power. Do you accept?"

"A trade, huh?"

Nagami's interest was clearly piqued.

He stared into the virus's eyes—those solidified, crystal-like purple eyes that shimmered like gemstones.

Technically, he could use the C's World to divide the collective consciousness and then use Geass—just as he had done to control the Honkai Will—to take control of the Apocalypse Virus.

But there was a problem.

If the virus's will ever coalesced enough to awaken its own "God" like the Honkai did, it could easily break free from the Geass.

And if it succeeded in evolving after absorbing Originium, there was almost a 100% chance it would slip from Nagami's control entirely.

He couldn't forget—Void power was inherently spiritual and emotional in nature.

And any being aligned with soul and mind could resist mental-type Geass.

Even now, with the full awareness of the Apocalypse Virus before him, Nagami wasn't certain he could completely control it.

Originally, his plan had been to use Geass on Mana Ouma alone—the Queen.

That much, he could handle.

But now, the Apocalypse Virus stood at the precipice of evolving through the Void's power.

And if that evolution succeeded, it could drastically increase the success rate of his artificial "Anti-Honkai Alaya" project.