Origin of The End

Warning — this is just a rough draft.

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Author's Note: My brain asked me to work on this instead of perfecting the side story, and... well, considering that I'll be busy for a while, and since I have yet to get myself a proofreader for the story... eh, you know how it is. Anyway, here you go; a rough draft of the chapter. Or not... yeah, pretty sure that there are still a lot of mistakes that I need to fix. Details to add, facts to crosscheck, and so on, and so on. Not the best, I know. I mean, the whole chapter is subject to change. Maybe I'll replace the ice by having Black Swan join the fight, if only ever so subtly. Haven't even gotten the chance to put the chapter through G-doc, so don't expect the grammar to be anything decent. With that said, I'll be working on this chapter again in a few weeks. For now, it's bedtime for me~

Disclaimer: Honkai Impact 3rd belongs to miHoYo; Honkai: Star Rail belongs to miHoYo; Worm belongs to Wildbow.

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Proofreading and Editing by –

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They came at her screaming, a chaotic symphony of madness and rage... or at least, two of them did.

The woman called Shatterbird was the first to react, dozens of razor-sharp fragments shimmering in the dim light before she launched them with a wave of her hand; they whistled through the air, their crystalline edges singing like a siren would a deadly lullaby. Fool. A slight adjustment of her grip, and the man's body twisted in her grasp, his form posed as a makeshift shield moments before the shards arrived.

*Sshrrrkk*

His reaction was immediate. A strangled gasp — not one of pain — escaped from his lips, blood staining his shirt in a dark, and spreading bloom.

"You bitch!"

She ignored the woman's outburst, focusing instead on the trajectory of the next attack. A slight movement at the edge of her vision drew her attention to the presence of another. A female child — blonde, barely older than ten. Bonesaw. Biothinker. Murderer. Victim. Despite her innocent appearance, Acheron knew that she was no different than the rest.

The girl's smile had long since faded, the light of innocence replaced by something far darker in her eyes. Cold, frigid wind swept across the area as she flicked at her wrist, unleashing upon the field a group of biomechanical spiders. Small and vicious, they skittered about, spindly legs twitching with malevolent intent before a scream tore itself out of the girl's throat.

'...'

Without nary a sound, the Emanator extended her hand, crimson lightning crackling to life at her fingertips. Electric serpents darted forward, lashing through the tide of blackened steel. Each strike was accompanied by the hiss of fried circuitry, leaving behind an acrid stench akin to the aftermath of a storm; the spiders twitched and sparked, their mechanical bodies seizing before collapsing into heaps of smoldering scrap.

"Stand down, Child," firm, yet soft, Acheron's voice cut through the din, calm demeanor unbroken even as she dodged another barrage of glass. "I do not wish to hurt you."

"Shut up!" Her response was a high-pitched snarl, her face twisted in fury. The Biothinker hurled a scalpel in Acheron's direction, a blur of silver cutting through the air.

Tilting her head just enough for the blade to miss by a hair's breadth, she allowed herself a moment of detached observation. The girl's rage was raw... unrefined — the anger of a child lashing out in fear and frustration. It mattered little. The Emanator continued to move with a fluid precision, a graceful dance interspersed with brief moments of stillness. Her eyes flicked from one threat to another, noting the positions of her foes and the tools at their disposal as they began to join in.