Chapter Text
In one little world a man closed his eyes with a bitter smile lingering on the frostbitten face as he stared in cloud veiled heavens from which snow continued to fall.
His dull, hollow eyes were filled by old, burnt out anger, lingering heaviness of sorrow. Blood-like taste of regret tinged his tongue.
Regrets that he couldn't truly bite back at the World that made him suffer and slowly, torturously took everything from him bit by bit. That there wasn't anywhere near enough beauty to this life of his to call it truly beautiful.
A spark fell… and fell… and then it returned where it belonged/belongs/will always belong.
Numerous Trees grew over the vast Sea, but that forest was but one of numerous. Between numberless forests Abyss continued to sing…
Numberless souls danced along as the flood of their fellows followed them, grinding each other to nothing but dust as a peaceful melody of oblivion continued its run.
And yet another spark returned here…
***
He had no eyes, ears, no flesh but he could feel. The eyes watching and colors shifting. The whispers, screams and songs. The touches that tore, that warmed, cooled, cut at his being.
This place… it sang… of Nothingness, of Peace, of the Ending. They, who continued to flow along, sang along as their self was torn, melted, grinded away.
He could feel a flow of shredded memories, experiences, skills all so close/far to him…
Melody continued as he rejected it. He would not give up his self. Every bit of shame, every ounce of joy, every second of every day he could still recall. His utterly greedy heart roared in one thing he knew far too well. Defiance born of lonely child's anger, despair and envy.
Spark fell and danced between the flows. It took seconds/eons for it to fall away from the twisting rivers and into one of the cracks that were windows to one of many gardens.
It did not let any memories in but it couldn't reject what it couldn't feel. Primordial waters of Abyss carried and fed the defiant Spark.
It was no longer as bright. As if flames making it were twisted to dance around and into itself. Deep within the Spark that greed, envy and loneliness were forged.
Desire to understand another. Desire to be understood. Desire to be a reason for joy. Desire to find those who'll be your reason for happiness. Desire to have power to create, to change, to protect. Under what many called sins these simplest desires took form.
Spark flew and bit by bit got closer to one young leaf… and the leaf accepted it.
***
Memories of that place stopped echoing in what was his mind. He could still recall phantom pains of fellow souls… but new, bright, living sensations soon took over my mind.
It hurt. It HURT so damn badly. What was trying to crush him from all sides?! Why were his legs so weak?! Why couldn't he move? Why was it so dark and wet and…
White took over my vision. Voice came. “Congratulations Lady Kaslana, a healthy boy!”
It was… English? He is alive?! With sheer joy boiling in his newly existing gut he screamed. It was not proper speech but he cared little.
Soon my mind began to feel foggy and he let it go. He was too tired. He couldn't feel fellow souls or the song of that place. He was safe… and alive… at last.
***
Contemplating was one thing he had time for as time started to run its course. His control over the body was abysmal but at the very least he could observe, listen and think…
He was born five years prior to Siegfried Kaslana. Far before Second Eruption or creation of K-423. Not early enough to interfere with A series nor founder of AE but still, plenty of time to bring positive changes… and think on how to create a better ending.
‘You deserved better’ was one thought in his head. Welt, Siegfried, Cecilia, Sirin, Kiana be it original or the clone, Bronya, Seele.
Their stories were not yet written, fate was not yet carved in stone and… if he, Reidar Orm Kaslana, had anything to say about it they wouldn't be repeated as those in his memories.
***
Sadly two of the three Houses had certain rules in place which Reidar understood but still did not enjoy following much, if at all.
Looking down at a young, snow white haired boy was a woman with similar but more spiky hair. His sapphire-like eyes were locked with her dark ocean blues. “Hm… training late again? Honestly, how does a kid become a training junky? You even do meditations! Barely any kids manage a minute and you don't even fall asleep…" There was a warm kind of fond, slightly proud, if still worried exasperation in her voice which hit the boy in a way he barely experienced in prior life.
A boy of less than five years huffed. “Girls get all the praise for trying hard and me? You and aunties think I am glass or something?” Pout made the young face look all the more adorable.
His mother shook her head. The top fighter of Kaslana house couldn't help but feel her heart clenching tight. “You should play some more… and not chess with uncle Ravn. Something more active and involving other kids. Bonds are important especially within our House”
She could see understanding yet also doubt in his eyes. Many older Kaslana were reserved to outsiders but warm with kids. Each kid was practically raised by the House because parents often had missions, work or were just dead too soon. “Can you turn on the simulator? Like a downsized Beast or two?”
Olga Kaslana let out a tired sigh and resigned herself. As much as she adored her son's uncharacteristic drive to learn all things related to his future as a Knight of Schicksal… as a mother she wished for him to actually live a little, as a child should.
He caught onto her reaction. A soft, fond sigh left Reidar and he hugged her legs. “Race towards the kitchen?”
She chuckled, wiping a few nascent tears from her eyes. “Fine little dragon…”
At the use of his nickname, younger Kaslana pouted again. So what if he hoarded books? He kept them neat and sorted, returning those he read through where they belonged… to take as many back with him.
Then it was time for him to race against his mother. He wanted some extra sweets today damn it! This small brain needed extra fuel!
***
A downsized, weaker version of a Chariot nearly bashed him into the wall with its body. He jumped up and pivoted his body after finishing a roll, Reidar sword went into its exposed making the projected copy bug out and crack apart.
‘Too slow. Too weak. Nowhere near enough…’ familiar thoughts came but he pushed them away, instead activating the next simulation.
Honkai Beast copy dove down. Jump over and strike. Roll under its swinging wings. Stab better armor plates.
With two it was harder. Less windows to exploit and more damage to feel. Still a few cuts were nothing.
Different types presented new openings because they often interfered with each other. Chariots were a good platform to reach fliers and hide behind. Flyers could be led into crashing into running Chariots.
Meduzoas on the other hand were just plain annoying… sadly other variants were locked off from usage of kids, even in their safer, weaker, downsized versions!
“Still trying to be a Knight, inked?” An unpleasantly familiar voice cut into the serene silence in which only motions of simulated enemies and his own existed.
Inked… unlike most Kaslana his Stigmata was black. Pitch black as if it was trying to eat away the light that dared fall onto it while all others had shades of blue, silver, rarely greenish also those were usually those who had Schariac blood mixed in.
His Stigmata, located a bit under the solar plexus, also was… faulty. Sword and shield form looked jagged, cracked, warped. Sure there were certain variations in the House but none this far from norms. As such he gained a nickname and it was Gertrude who used it the most.
She was only two years above him and had shown good compatibility with Shanash during the Introduction ceremony all kids underwent at their seventh birthday…
He rolled his eyes as a gold blonde haired girl used a training spear to nail a flyer to the ground before twisting her body around the shaft to drive her heel into Chariots head and then slash apart another Archangel. Reidar had to admit, her grace and body control were impressive for her age. “Worry not, while I do not plan on becoming a house husband I'll still cook for you, for a price”
The girl stuck out her tongue. It was already 8 to 14 counting between them. Age and raw talent were on her side but he had his own tricks… and an advantage too.
Gertrude harrumphed and turned away, walking towards the setting adjusting device “Hm, as if. Your cooking is ok when I want something without alerting others but it isn't like I'll need it when I'll be a Valkyrie! I'll have my own chef on my own ship!”
Chuckling was all he answered with. The girl was quite fond of his pancakes and certain fillings he made for them. Especially after long inside House tournaments.
Soon more enemies came, bigger and slightly faster due to her allowance. “Ready, my loyal follower?” the girl jumped and landed near him. Team on group fights were one kind of games Kaslana kids enjoyed.
He smirked and huffed, adjusting the grip of his two handed sword. “You better not lose, I am making raspberry jam!”
That indeed gave her extra motivation…
***
Olga hummed as she watched her boy have a heated argument with one of the cooks. It was heartwarming to see him so genuinely passionate about something…
After all she could tell that training and information hunger were less a passion and more of a need. A need akin to one of those who saw whole squads fall to Honkai Cascade and then lived to have nightmares about it.
Why was her child this way? She didn't know. Much like his other trait it was simply there on birth.
Did it scare her? No. Olga saw weirder things in the world. Otto was one of those. To-To could be as cold as ice yet as genuinely proud as best fathers.
She just hoped that whatever was driving her son wouldn't break him or that he'd open up to someone before becoming pieces that needed to be put together.
But… she trusted him to make that choice. People learn from mistakes, less often those of others. Robbing them of that can later create problems bigger than one solved before.
Plus she did not trust Otto or his bird. Olga wouldn't let them touch her son's mind even if both had Shamash against their heads.
***
The House of Kaslana was… a strange place. Reidar still learned to love it. More than his prior home. More than his prior life.
Yes, many adults could look stoic but it was a coping mechanism and they still loved to train kids, help them in any way they could. Kids often dragged adults into games and fun times, warming scarred hearts.
But.. It also left Reidar feeling out of place. His mind and soul were old, scarred in a different way from most here. Yet physically he was a child and the body affected him enough to sometimes act… childishly.
“Hmm… trying to set a trap?” Ravn grinned at him. An old veteran and masterful tactician who once served as a captain of a Schicksal battleship as well as an A Rank Knight did see through him easily as always. “You look distracted, repeating yourself… ah, that again?”
A hand landed on his head, ruffling his hair. Sighing in relief, Reidar let his inner hunger out. A pulse of Honkai energy went through him.
Few knew of this side of him. Ever hungering, ever hurting darkness only soothed by power. He drained his mother when he was around a year and half, into making her feel weak for a whole day.
His Stigmata could compensate for the need, but sometimes hunger churned in a rather unpleasant way. So… he needed to drain it from somewhere else.
This was also why Reidar was comparatively weaker than his peers. Less energy to power his sleeping MANTIS genes. Less power to properly use even training variants of suits and weapons who had lighter energy requirements than most real equipment pieces.
And his control wasn't yet anywhere near good enough to pull on Honkai rooted deep into Valkyries without repeated exposure.
As such mother and him only revealed it to a few trusted House members. Sparring against other kids was especially troublesome due to that need… each touch let him feel what he could take to gain more power… yet he couldn't.
“Better? Good. I watched you and Gerty fight side by side. What did she overdo?” The veteran asked as he pulled back his hand.
“Her spearmanship is good but she needs to rely less on raw power. Sturdier opponents will not die as easily if she keeps hitting wherever she feels like. And don't get me started on her shownmanship…” The old Knight let out a cackling laugh.
Wiping away a tear Ravn nodded. “Girl will be a good start one day. But you aren't wrong. I'll let you use some advanced enemy models later. Just don't overdo it” last part was spoken calmly but Reidar knew better. There was iron in man's tone.
The short bob of his head was enough for the older Kaslana . Then the two returned to their chess match.
***
A soft, fond giggle left Olga's lips as she watched her son gently touch her still slim stomach.
Indeed, she was pregnant again. If this time it will be a boy again she'll name him Siegfried…