It Started With Devils & Artefacts

As a dagger-shaped vessel left the green clouds and floated into a black void, they were picked up by a Bifrost 'highway' and launched towards a dot in the distance.

As the Dreadnought rushed towards this dot, their destination in the distance grew in size, and the people on the bridge began to understand what they saw.

"... it looks like a station."

"That's because it is. See those small marble-like objects around the top part?" Sirin pointed.

"Yes?"

"Those are Assimilators."

Hisako's eyes bulged out as she finally understood its size!

"...A-Are you saying that thing is as big as a planet!?" 

"I guess? I don't know the specific diameters." The Herrscher shrugged without care. The girls eventually saw small dot-like objects floating around the top part of the station.

Eventually, they realised that those were spaceships!

Seeing the difference in sizes was a bit humbling even for the arrogant and proud Herrscher, who kept on staring at the station, which was getting closer and closer.

The girl wonders how many soldiers this thing can produce. What about ships? Or even mass produce Assimilators! That would be… insane!

But those thoughts quickly came to a halt when her flagship passed the massive station, and she saw her fleet! Leading the front was a white and orange-gold Assimilator, painted in her colours.

"...wow…" The girl's eyes sparkled. This was her… toy! No doubt about that! 

She has seen before that Marcus uses similar colours of white and gold, but this peculiar orange gold is the same colour as her eyes! 

"...It appears he even painted it like that for you." The chef girl commented as she realised that the mothership was painted like that on purpose…

"Indeed he has~." 

As the warship flew over, it docked at one of the spots prepared for her.

The pair disembarked and went to the control room.

The very second they arrived, a hologram flickered to life. It was Quinella.

"We are still setting up the coordinates for your destination. The time flow scanning is on its way."

"...You guys are mapping it out?" Sirin sounded surprised. Didn't they just enter some coordinates…and boom?

Not that she cares. As long as there is a world to conquer and it has Honkai in it, it is good for her.

"We are doing it now; after all, Empires do have to have borders. We are doing that with timelines and the cosmos." Quinella explained that a large hologram window appeared, which looked like moving lines in a cloudy river or a nebula.

She saw many of them. Several are more or less bound together and highlighted in golden colour.

"This is our current 'territory'." The assistant pointed at the golden strand. 

"We are still developing more in-depth observation; it will take a while, but we will eventually have precise knowledge of where our 'fortifications' are in the timelines."

"...I see, and do we know where the world I am supposed to travel to?" Sirin asked about the more important stuff. The territory and all that stuff she can leave to Ship Girls, the assistant who is speaking to her right now and Marcus himself, who likes to play conqueror and expand his 'lands'... well, more like timelines…

"That's the thing. You originate from a world where some of the fundamental forces work differently." 

Quinella zoomed out and showed 'blobs' in the flow of the time stream. These blobs were like islands in rivers, detached from the main flow, or more like they had their own unique flow.

"What you are looking at is the blob you came from." The Assistant joked as she looked at the black stain on the map. It's black because they cannot perceive it…yet.

"...Do you have to say it like that?" Sirin sighed while looking at the blob.

"Are you sure it's here?" She asked with an annoyed frown.

"Indeed, it's here. We used your soul's 'taste' to locate it." 

As Quinella spoke, the blob started to lose its intensity and slowly became transparent. What they saw was a tree rising from the sea.

'That's Sea of Quanta and the Imaginary Tree!' The girl twitched for a second. She had located her home reality right there!

"It appears you know what this is." The assistant noticed Sirin's change in expression and behaviour.

"I do. But do we have a better understanding of how to enter this place? At a specific time?" the Herrscher asked with growing fervour. She wanted to go there!

"Leave it to our Creator; he is the one working on this as we speak." 

The white-haired girl slightly blushed. She wanted to run away from Marcus to get her revenge, but even now, he was helping her.

'Don't worry! I will bring something for you! A gift worthy of all the hard work you are putting into this!' 

Sirin clenched her fist as she promised to find something unique for him!

After a couple more minutes of waiting, the hologram zoomed in on the branches. The Herrscher realised that Marcus knew where to look, and sure enough, they were observing a branch.

It was Earth, with technologically advanced cities. Monsters made from white material, with purple-like veins inhabited the lands. Soon, they saw girls fighting these monsters. There were no guys, just girls. Eventually, they settled down on a specific timeline…

Sirin… saw herself…

"It appears your specific timeline was found."

"...Yes."

"That's Good to know. We will keep it safe in case Marcus needs a replacement, " the assistant teased her.

"Hmph… as if I will fail to the point that he would need to replace me. I am nothing like those maids." Sirin exclaimed with barely controlled anger.

"Ha. Maybe, maybe not. But you are ambitious and proud. You will never know with people like that."

"Do you ever look in the mirror?" the Herrscher exclaimed. She nearly looked baffled. A proud one calling another proud? The sheer thickness of this hypocrisy!

"Unlike you, I know my designation and how I was designed. My parameters never exceed the predictions placed on me. In other words, I am permitted to be arrogant because that's how I was designed." 

"...Hmph… then check it again. Last time I checked, the same could be applied to me."

For a second, the pair looked at each other, and the chef girl behind Sirin looked nervous. They won't start throwing attacks big enough to be compared to the nukes, will they?

She saw enough in Jurassic-period Earth! One could say she has a bone to pick with Marcus, who is handing strong devices to all the females, like candies!

"I don't need to, regardless. Don't mess up and break the protocol. You don't want to end up in a brig and for the troops to conquer the land in your stead?" Quinella teased her as she recalled that joke situation with Serafall.

Sirin in question furrowed her eyebrows, recalling what the assistant just meant.

"That won't happen." After saying that, she walked to her throne and sat down.

"We have everything we need, don't we? We can leave?" The Herrscher asked the crew.

"One moment, Mistress, we are calibrating Bifrost and diverting energy for the final steps before the launch."

"Fine."

Seeing that Sirin is ignoring her, Quinella turns around and disappears. She still has a bunch of things to do, and there is no time to play with her junior. Not that she will admit that if Sirin is to marry Marcus, the white-haired girl will have the illustrious title of Empress…

'Wait, wait, wait for a moment!'

'Do we even have a title next to Supreme Commander!? Hmm…'

The assistant pondered this: They really need to adopt a monarchy or pantheon-based structure. With Marcus at the top and then a bunch of girls next to him, she would, of course, sneak herself into those ranks.

After checking the database, there is nothing! It was obvious that Marcus never considered things like marrying and having kids. The guy dreams and subconsciously does everything he can to live forever and leave forever-lasting monuments behind.

'We do need to address this.'

As Quinella returns to her work, Sirin checks if she has specific tasks or objectives in this expedition. Eventually, she checks the protocol which she has to follow; otherwise, her forces will brand her as a traitor if she flops somewhere midway.

'Thankfully, I am not planning to give the command to someone like Kiana Kaslana…' 

Eventually, her eyes perked up when she saw something interesting.

'This timeline is given to me to conqueror in one shape or form. My arrival point is the previous era, but it doesn't mean I can't make it to the modern times I come from.'

A wicked smirk slowly appeared on her lips. One way or another, she will get back at her goody two-shoes side. She will enslave honkai and collect all that is valuable in that place! Only then can she get rid of her past and move forward.

"Bifrost is fully charged. We can leave at any time, Mistress." The commander of Sirin's Assimilator told the Herrscher, who snapped out of her deep thoughts.

"Then let's go." 

"Send the word to the fleet. Begin synchronised construction of the bridge! We are leaving."

The comms officers contacted the fleet, and the ships started to move and face the green moving clouds. The graviton projectors on the hulls of the ships and the mothership glowed brighter and emitted light in front of them, creating a bridge that moved towards the green clouds. Once it became solid enough, the whole armada rushed forward and disappeared into the flow of time.

As this was happening, Quinella aboard the base looked at it with an indifferent look.

"Do you think she will succeed?"

"With the military might master provided, I doubt she could fail, " the head maid replied in a similarly indifferent tone.

"Not that. I don't doubt the success of the conquest. What I am saying is if she will succeed in the trail behind this expedition."

When Grayfia heard that, her eyes widened for a fraction of a second.

"I see… so after the failure of those four, he wants to test his possible future wife if he has the chance?" 

"Precisely, who wouldn't? One timeline is more than enough to have an interstellar empire or just rule Earth as a petty King or, in this situation, a petty Queen. With the amount of power and resources she got, she could dominate the cosmos if she wanted to do so on that specific timeline."

"...True… I see your point. A conquest of the entire timeline disguises this test of character."

"Indeed."

'Don't disappoint me.' 

Quinella slightly narrowed her eyes. The assistant felt kinship with the white-haired girl, who was ambitious and proud, and his creations; on top of that, she didn't want to lose such a… family member. Something like that!

~~~~~~Meanwhile~~~~~~

"Here is your tea, Master." Belfast placed a mug on the table. The silver-haired light cruiser had a beautiful smile on her lips. She could finally serve her Master now that the greedy Herrscher was no longer around.

"My thanks, Bell." 

Her eyes gleamed with happiness that he was calling her with such a nice nickname!

"Don't mention it, sir. I exist to serve you; that is my purpose." She smoothly explained to him. It was so natural that no one even considered that what she said sounded very hardcore to a normal person.

Thankfully, only Enterprise and Belfast were with him at the time. His other two ship girls were doing…something he hadn't checked for a while. He is quite busy with the whole mapping out thing going on, and on top of that, his Sirin was jealous and horny, so she took a chunk of his time too.

 But now… his hands are free, so he took his tea…

"Ohh, this is good, very good." He praised his ship-girl maid before returning to gaze at the map. 

Mentally, he zoomed into the Honkaiverse, trying to look for Star Rail and Genshin. He found the main storyline, considering this is where Sirin came from. He could check it out himself, but for that, he is planning a proper invasion, so he needs to wait.

But then he stumbled upon a frozen world…

"...This is…"

He recalled a frozen world from Honkai Star Rail… that had a Bronya and Seele variants.

"Oh, two birds, one stone, indeed." 

Marcus pressed on the world and zoomed in to confirm. Over this world, he located a single struggling city, which reminded him of early 1900s tech and architecture… 

After checking it for a while, he confirmed that it was what he was looking for.

'I could test my terraforming and land sculpting on this world and get Bronya for my collection.' He stroked his chin before saving the coordinates.

After that, he checked the data he had on all the construction going on, and then he checked out what the Klaxosaurians were doing.

Honestly, those guys are slow. Instead of thinking about taking days, they take weeks for them. He could use a time slip, but a time slip is not designed for week-to-week slipping but for a year at minimum. 

'Well, if they take that long, I will simply have some fun in that ice cube of a world.'

"Admiral, did something good happen?" Enterprise asked him.

"You will see. Since these guys love taking their time, I will visit a place to kill some time." He stood up and walked over to the window and gazed at the world below him. He loved watching the planet's curvature and gaze where the atmosphere ends and the void of space begins; it was like being at a boundary.

"...Should we come with you?" 

"Indeed. There is no need to stick around. I can leave Bismarck and Tirpitz to watch for anything…"

He said, smiling. He could leave things to Bismarck and her Techno Dragon; she is the one being he has confidence in protecting everything.

With that much power, she could face entire civilisations alone.

"Okay!"

After setting things in motion, Marcus went to see Erina. He needed to tell her that she was coming with him. He did need his chef…

~~~

Marcus and his small group of females looked at the emerging Bifrost bridge and Marcus' personal Assimilator 'sliding in' into the atmosphere of Cretaceous Earth.

It was white with golden graviton projectors. The ship was personalised just for him.

"Once you want one for yourself, we can paint one in your colours, " the inventor said to his fiance.

"...I don't think I have use for something gigantic like this," Erina replied with a strained smile.

"Well, it will always be available for you." He shrugged as his Flagship started to fly towards his new mothership. Now, this is what he can call a 'Divine Throne'. 

A few minutes later, his Dreadnought docked in the hangar, and the hangar doors sealed behind it. Marcus and his small group disembarked and went to the Central Command. Everything was identical to the previous Assimilator, so the girls knew where everything was.

"I have sent the coordinates, so begin the preparations for departure," Marcus instructed the Mothership's crew.

"Understood, beginning to power up the Bifrost." 

"How long will it take?" 

"A couple of days, the way these 'blobs' of time are is a little bit different from the regular flow we deal with. For us, a distance like this would take several weeks to reach since we are returning from prehistoric times.

This is if the timeline has a normal flow, but we are going into a tree, not a river. The time flows are different, almost stagnant compared to how it flows for us, " he explained to them.

"So what takes us quite long is reaching the blob. Once inside… well, it won't take much at all." He slightly smirked. He sees this as similar to rivers and islands in the rivers. The islands are never bigger than the rivers, and just like water and outside water in the open air, the fundamentals work differently. This is why he is slightly concerned.

A fish doesn't work that well outside the water, and the same could be applied to him and his fleet, but that is where his Diamond Core Hearts and the suits come into play.

The nanites could alter them, once they make into the 'island' their bodies would adjust to the new fundamental laws. He would be more concerned if he didn't delve into biology and nanite tech… but now? He is more than confident that he could visit any reality.

'I should create some sort of gates that could alter upon entry…'

"Okay, so we have some time. I could prepare a good dinner before we arrive there." Erina nodded slightly as she considered what they could eat.

"Take your time. We will have a couple of days at minimum. In the meantime, I will tinker a little bit. I have a couple of things I want to do."

"Yes, then I will see you in a couple of hours~~," the cherry blonde said. She walked over to him and kissed his lips before walking away to her kitchen.

Yes, her kitchen. Aurora Bots brought all of her stuff over and is now setting up in the exact same place on the exact same floor and room.

Erina took her role as Marcus' fiance like a fish to water as someone who was living a rich life; switching into what she has now was very easy for her.

Maybe too easy…

~~~~~~

High above a frozen world of Jarilo-VI space ripple, and a rainbow bridge erupted from it, creating a tunnel from which a mammoth of an object emerged.

This was Marcus' Assimilator, which had arrived at its destination.

Inside the Command Centre, Marcus was sitting on his throne, gazing at the world below.

"It's so white… it looks like an ice cube. It's strange how the water isn't frozen solid, only the land," Erina commented as she gazed at the planet below.

"Indeed, the conceptual powers of this place are unique, to say the least," Marcus commented as he closed his eyes and spread his psionic range to the planet below—time for him to meet the Heiress.

His senses reached the only settlement on the whole planet, rapidly scanning all the people until he found the one he was looking for. 

A girl with ash-coloured hair and ash-coloured eyes was working in an office.

The inventor focused his powers on her, making her feel an urge to leave her room. 

~~~

Bronya Rand stood up from her seat and looked around. She could feel that she needed to move. It was alien, and she could not resist it. It was as if she was being guided by a puppet master.

As she took the stairs, she eventually arrived at the roof and opened the doors, exiting the building into the freezing outside.

Her gaze scanned the surroundings, ending up on a person standing at the edge of the roof and gazing at the sprawling city before him.

"Even such a frozen landscape has its beauty, don't you think?" 

His voice reached her ears. It was like he was speaking directly into her consciousness.

"...Are you an Emanator?" She asked with a guarded tone.

"...Hmm, in your terms… I would say that I am closer to being an Aeon than Emanator." He stopped staring at the sprawling expanse of the city and looked at her.

The girl's eyes trembled when she heard that statement. She didn't want to believe it, but the presence she could sense could not be underestimated. She was certain that this person was not a human. He might look like one, but he was something else entirely.

"So, what is it you are going to do?" He asked with crossed arms.

"... Are you here to gain followers? It is a fruitless effort as everyone here follows Preservation." She exclaimed with a confident tone.

"...Not at all. I am here to strike a deal with you."

His response confused her as she wondered what he meant by that.

"What kind of deal?'

"To terraform Jarilo-VI." 

Her eyes bulged out, Terraform!?

"...Who are you, really?" Her eyes slightly narrowed as she looked at him critically 

"Relax, if I wished any harm you would be experiencing by now, but as you can see, we are having a civilised conversation." He raised his hand, trying to calm her down.

"Then tell me, terraforming is something not easily achievable. To my knowledge, Eternal Freeze won't easily let up, and only our walls are keeping the coldness away from our home." She explained her perspective of things.

"True, the conceptual power is holding its grip on this planet, Bronya.

But first, I need to introduce myself. As an introvert, one could say I find this part the most awkward." 

Even though he said that she could feel his endless confidence and power in his words, it even sounded like a joke to her, but maybe what he was saying was true… to some extent. Otherwise, it would sound like a joke.

"I am Marcus Goldman, Supreme Commander of Technocracy, God-Emperor of Klaxia, the Successor to Solomon and Father of Technomancy."

'And he calls himself an introvert when he has that many titles!?!' 

The Heiress to the Supreme Guardian deadpanned at him. The guy is either a lunatic or the most impressive person she has ever met.

Being called a God and Emperor at once gives her the vibes that he has the power to back up his claims.

"Now, with that out of the way, we can discuss the proposal." 

He slightly smiled at her.

"One of my motherships is in orbit and ready to change the planet, but since you are the future leader of the only settlement in the whole world, I am inclined to ask you first." He dropped the news, which made her turn stiff; her eyes went up.

The sky was muddy like always, so she could not see a thing.

"Oh, that… let me help you with that."

He looked where she looked, and the skies cleared with a snap of his fingers.

The girl's eyes widened as she saw the starry sky for the first time. But it was quickly overshadowed by the object she saw in the orbit.

"...That…" 

It was a huge white object with glowing golden lines.

'It's the real deal…' 

Whatever he said was at least partially true, not that there was a reason for him to lie. So, is it completely true? It was far too fresh in Bronya's mind to make some sense of all of this.

"My proposal is simple: I wish to terraform an ice world, something I have never done before. There are a few things that I wish to test."

"...And what is my part in all of this? With your might, you can easily do whatever you want." The girl realises that Marcus Goldman is the leader of his civilisation; she doesn't know its size, but she does know that they worship him like a god.

Something like that, odds like that, she would never be able to beat. That leaves a question: Why bother seeing her? If he needed a leader, he could have seen her mother. 

But, then again, with how distant she is and how much Bronya does right now, it is better to see her…

"Hmm, well, I am a Conqueror too. The best kind of conquest is when the opposition joins me without raising their weapons."

"...If you think we would surrender without a fight!" The girl got all serious.

"Not what I meant. I don't want you to surrender. I want you to join me."

"...Huh?" For a second, she became confused. Why would…

This guy makes no sense to her…

"Very simple… really." He pointed at her.

"I want you. Once you are mine, you will get all the resources you need from my Technocracy. In a matter of weeks, your world will be how it was before the Eternal Freeze." He took a couple of steps forward and got closer to her.

"You want…"

"Hmm… let me explain in a more 'divine way'. Because if I say something like 'political marriage', it sounds cheap and mundane. 

I am inviting you to join my 'Pantheon'. This way, this world would become part of Technocracy without losing its independence because you would continue being its Supreme Guardian."

The girl's brain shortcircuit for a bit as she tried to understand what he was saying, for any of that to make sense.

"W-Why? Belobog is a small city by cosmic standards. You could find someone better…" The girl panicked and got anxious at the same time. The sheer idea that made her all skittish, only her training as the next Supreme Guardian, is making her not have a panic attack.

"Hah… Do you think I care about status? That is the least of my concerns. After all, I am the one who decides something like 'status'. All I care about is your drive." He scoffed at the idea of getting someone of 'status'. He made goddesses into maids and simple girls into literal future goddesses. By all means, his Erina is a future Goddess with her ability to wield time.

"...Drive?" 

"All of your counterparts, including you, have the drive to achieve greatness. You could say that is what excites me the most because I am just like you."

He smiled before looking at the city.

"I started my faction from my father's garage. I know better than anyone about limits one can achieve." After saying that, he looked right back at her.

"I am giving you time to decide your and your people's future; until then, I will come to see you in person." With that, he turned purple and shattered like glass.

Bronya's eyes widened as she realised that he was just a projection of some sort.

Regardless, her mind wandered off to what he said, and she started to recall what he said.

For a while, she just stood there and thought, but then a golden light was cast on her city.

The girl looked up and saw a massive spaceship floating above her home.

"..."

She swiftly left the roof, and her guards came to see her.

"I know; let's go and greet our guests." Bronya grabbed her rifle before leaving her office.

But then she thought about dropping the weapon, but at the last moment, she changed her mind. With the weapon in hand, she felt more secure.

Moments later, more Silvermore guards joined her.

"Lady Bronya. What is going on?" The Captain of the guard asked her. He was a blonde guy in a white uniform.

"Gepard, we have guests from space. I already spoke with the leader, who contacted me from a distance."

"...That's…" Such a reply was not what he expected…

"Anyway, let's go to an open space." The ash-silver-haired girl ordered her troops as they walked to one of the wider city squares. Since it was evening, there were not many people who could get in the way.

Before long, they saw three shuttles arrive. One by one, they landed and revealed the same person Bronya had just spoken with a few minutes ago.

Now that she could see him in person, she could honestly tell that there was something about him that made her feel pressure. He was legitimately powerful, and there was strong power under a tight leash as the air around him was heavy.

There were two silver-haired girls behind him as well. They were not simple, either. One of them was a maid, or at least that is what Bronya thinks, while the other one looked like an officer.

"Stand down. They are not here to cause problems," Bronya instructed her guards as she walked to the front. She was followed by the captain of the guard.

As the trio left the shuttle, the other three were tall and heavy-armoured men dressed in golden armours, wielding pikes from pure energy and large tower shields.

These guys dwarfed her guards just from sheer size…

Bronya looked at him for a bit. What should she say? He only gave her a couple of minutes to think!

"I expected more time to think." She said after a moment of silence. There was a small pout on her lips.

"Relax, you can think more later on." He replied with an easy smile as he looked around, behaving like a tourist.

"...I need proof; otherwise, there is no need even to consider your proposal." 

She said seriously while looking directly into his eyes.

"Oh, intriguing. It appears Admiral has found someone interesting, and we have only been in this world less than an hour." The officer-looking girl looked intrigued while looking at Bronya.

"It should be expected; it is our creator, after all, " the maid girl replied with a proud smile.

'Creator? As in… he created them!?'

The guards and the city's heir looked in disbelief. It only lasted for a moment, but it left an impression.

"I won't be solving all of your issues at once. It would give you less of a reason to accept my proposal, that is why—" he turned to one of his creations.

"Enti, if my memory serves me right, my mothership has standard issue loadout."

"Yes, the Assimilator is loaded with troops, not research and exploration." 

"I see. In that case, deploy the troops. I want the entire continent we are on to be cleared of all monsters and any other hostiles you can find." 

Enterprise's eyes widened for a second before they started to glister.

"C-Can I join? It has been a while since I did anything strenuous!" the carrier ship asked with a hopeful tone. After seeing Bismarck do her thing, she was a little bit jealous!

"Fine by me, Bell is enough." He nodded while looking at Belfast which was just standing there with a small smile.

"Wonderful! Then I will be going!" With that said, she… flew away.

The guards and Bronya just stared at how the silver-haired girl just flew away. 

~~~

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