Himeko:"About time~" *Giggles* "Sexual content is included in this chapter."

Elysia:"One more thing readers, I have my own Spoiler section now! Don't read it if you wanna be surprised!"

UNKNOWN LOCATION. UNKNOWN TIME.

NARRATOR P.O.V

The captain was starting to wake up. He expected to feel the cold stone on his back. Instead, he felt the comfortable bed sheets and a cushion on his head.

He was not on his suit. Nor on his outfit. He was dressed in a far more suitable clothes to sleep. They were almost like pijamas. When the captain finally opened his eyes he scanned the room.

A king-sized bed, a nightstand with a cup of coffee recently made and a wardrobe with his captain outfit. He noticed how it's too clean, almost as if he never wore it when he fought Serin.

Y/N looked at himself. He has a black shirt, pants and socks. He noted the weird emblem on the shirt. It looks familiar yet he can't recognise it.

Next to the coffee was a small piece of paper. Someone left him a note. He grabbed it and rode it.

Y/N:"Hope you like coffee. Your friend is safe, she's sleeping. Come talk to me when you wake up. From 'E'. Who's E?"

He left the note, grabbed the cup and decided to adventure into the unkown house while taking a sip of the coffee.

He watched the place with awe, really liking the looks of this place. Sadly, there's much more important things right now than that.

Y/N spotted a girl across the room sitting in a couch. She was messing with the cube. The captain leaned on the wall, drinking his coffee while staring at the girl. The captain felt... safe around her. He can't explain this feeling but he does know something. Whoever she is no harm will fall on him.

Y/N:"If you're done touching my cube I'd like to get some questions answered."

???:"Ah, I see you're finally on your feet!"

The girl turned her head and looked at Y/N. He widened his eyes, knowing who she is.

Y/N:"You're the girl of my dreams..."

???:*Giggles* "Well I also think you're very handsome but I'd like to know you better captain~"

Y/N:"That's not-" *Shakes head* "Your name. Is Elysia, right?"

Elysia:"How do you... I see, of course. Kevin, am I right?"

Y/N nodded, not saying anything else. He slowly walked towards the girl, drinking his coffee. He now noticed his shoulder is a little sore from the wound. Ignoring the pain, he sat next to her and stared at the cube that looked out of power.

Elysia:"I suppose you have many questions, am I right?"

Y/N:"Indeed. Let's begin with an easy one. Where's Himeko? How is she?"

Elysia:"She's resting in my dormitory. Do not worry, Himeko is in good condition, give her time to rest."

Y/N:"Where are we?"

Elysia:"Well that's a complicated one. I'll try to explain it at the best of my abilities. You see..."

Elysia lifted one finger and made and used her magic abilities to make a pink line in the air. Y/N followed her finger with his eyes.

Elysia:"Consider this our perception of 'time', a road that can only go one direction. Forward. There's no way of going back nor stopping. You can only keep going forward. Well..."

She made a circle above the line.

Elysia:"We are here, in a place outside of time and space. A realm where time is not a thing."

Y/N:"You mean time is stopped here?"

Elysia:"Indeed."

Y/N:"How did we get here?"

Elysia:"Through the cube of course. Thanks to the energy around the sea of quanta which is the place Serin teleported you to the cube overloaded, letting me use it's energy to open a portal. Sadly, the cube is broken now."

Y/N:"Can you fix it?"

Elysia:"I'm sure I can do something. There's a catch. For the cube to properly be fixed we need someone to be back in the flow of time. I can get you two back there, but..."

Y/N:"But?"

Elysia:"Due to the cube's limitations is hard to know when will you two appear." *Giggles* "You're going to be a time traveler Captain!"

Y/N:"Can you predict how much time are we 'skipping'?"

Elysia:"Hmm..." *Grabs the cube and inspects it* "...months. 6 months."

Y/N:"That's too much."

Elysia:"It's the best I can do."

Y/N:*Sigh*

The captain left the now empty cup on the table and went to explore the place he's in. The first thing that grabbed his attention is an altar of sorts with various sigils. Every sigil belongs to a different person. One was for Elysia that he does know. The rest are empty.

Y/N:"Who are you exactly? Or what?"

Elysia:"What?" *Giggles* "I'm human Captain. Yeah, I'm human..."

Y/N glanced at her for a moment. She had a sad smile.

Y/N:"I know you're human. I can see that."

Elysia:"I'm a Flame Chaser. A hero if you will. As for what I'm doing here, well, our dearest Kevin managed to use the cube to store the souls of his allies in here. I was the only one with conscience here so I decided to spend the time building a realm of my own."

Y/N:"I suppose you want my help to awake your friends?"

Elysia:"Some are already awake. You met two of them."

Y/N:"Have I?"

Elysia:"As for the rest..." *Sigh* "I hate to say this but they're all expendable. They are not a part of Kevin's plan."

Y/N:"No man left behind Elysia."

Elysia:"I won't force you to do so."

Y/N:"You said Flame Chaser. Is that a Valkyrie group?"

Elysia:"Long before Valkyries even existed, there were MANTIS. A group of genetic advanced soldiers. I will spare you the details but the most powerful ones (and some of the few remaining) created a group. The Flame Chasers."

Y/N:"I see. How is it possible that only you gain awareness?"

Elysia:"That I do not know. Was it all thanks to Kevin? Am I just... special? I don't know."

The captain nodded and kept exploring the place. He founded an enormous computer with a big screen. It was showing a real-time satellite image of planet Earth.

Y/N:"What is this?"

Elysia:"I had to keep track of you and my dear humans so I created this. By typing a name, I can see what are they doing. That way I will always know if I have to step in and avoid an end of the world scenario."

Y/N:"I see..."

Y/N typed the name Kiana Kaslana. An image of Durandal, sleeping on her bed in a now repaired Schicksal HQ was brough to the screen. She had a couple of tears on her eyes. The girl was hugging a photo of she, Y/N, Mark and Joshua.

While the image made Y/N a little sad, he was also confused.

Y/N:"Elysia, are you sure this works?"

Elysia:"Yes Y/N. It works perfectly fine."

The captain typed the name once again with the same result. Realisation came to his eyes. Now he understands what Cecilia meant a couple of years ago.

Y/N:"Found you..."

Elysia:"All good captain?"

Y/N:"Yes Elysia do not worry. It's all great."

He kept investigating the place with now a smile on his face. The captain saw three cores floating on their own respective altar. One attracted him a lot. He wanted to grab it. Before Y/N could do so, Elysia grabbed his hand and shook her head.

Elysia:"Not yet captain. You ain't ready."

Y/N:"A-Are these..."

Elysia:"Yes. Your own Herrscher core. Along with your brother's."

Y/N:"I...want to know more about them. About me. What am I?"

Elysia:"Your a perfected version of a MANTIS. You're me, but better. You were supposed to at least. Dr. Mei couldn't finish the preparations. But that doesn't mean you can't become one."

Y/N:"We were created?"

Elysia:*Sigh* "Yes Y/N. You were not born. Dr. Mei made you in a lab. You were designed to be our hero, our saviour. Sadly Dr. Mei didn't had enough time to finish the project. I on the other hand..."

She guided Y/N to the last place he didn't explore. A door with a green color in it. The name 'Moebius' was in it.

Elysia opened the door and went inside with Y/N. The room is one big laboratory. She made Y/N sat on a leather chair and stood in front of him.

Y/N:"What are you doing?"

Elysia:"Tell me Y/N, if I told you you have the chance of becoming a MANTIS and get stronger, would you believe if me?"

Y/N:"So far I've seen things that escape my comprehension. I do not have a reason to not do so."

Elysia:"Do you trust me?"

Y/N:"Yes. Now what are you going to do?"

Elysia walked towards a control panel, typing commands on it. A machine appeared around Y/N, putting a helmet on his head. The helmet had a visor that shows many lines of code to Y/N. He saw the same name repeated in many occasions.

Project_soldier.

Elysia:"Close your eyes captain, and sleep. It won't hurt but I need some time. Once we're finished you will have to rest for a day. Then, you can take the core with yourself."

Y/N:"Why didn't you told me earlier? About the cores?"

Elysia:"I did not know which one was yours. Now I do. The blue one."

The captain felt sleepy. He slowly closed his eyes and fell asleep, not fully knowing what Elysia was going to do.

Timeskip brought to us by Elysia carrying Y/N to the couch with a proud smile on her face.

After an hour or so, Y/N opened his eyes. His head was resting on Elysia's lap. The first thing he saw was her face, staring at him. She was caressing her hair. Also, Himeko was finally awake. She was sitting next to her, dressed with similar clothes as he. The girl was pouting since she wanted to caress Y/N.

Elysia:"Ah, hello Captain! How do you feel?"

Y/N:"I feel great. Renewed."

He sat up and stared at Himeko who stared back.

Y/N:"Guess we did made it in the end, eh?"

Himeko:"Yeah..."

Y/N:"Come here."

The captain grabbed Himeko's arm and brought her for a hug, one the girl immediately returned. Elysia giggled and left the room, walking inside the lab. She wanted to give the two some privacy.

They were holding each other very tightly as if at any given moment, the other could dissapear. Even a single tear fell on Himeko's eye.

Himeko:"I-I... I truly thought it was our end. T-That we were going to-"

Y/N:"It's okay... it's okay. We're alive. I'm here Himeko."

Himeko:"I love you Y/N..."

The two stared at each other. Himeko placed her hands on Y/N's cheeks and kissed her beloved. Y/N kissed back, genually happy with her advances. Their kiss only lasted for a moment. Himeko wanted to hug Y/N again.

Himeko:"Elysia already filled me in. It's... a lot to take in."

Y/N:"Yeah..."

Himeko:"Do you feel more powerful?"

Y/N:"I don't feel exhausted anymore yet I don't feel a change in me."

Himeko:"Perhaps we need to resume time?"

Y/N:"I guess..."

Himeko:"How do you think... Kiana is doing?"

Y/N:"Poorly. She idolatrised me. You were a role model for her. She can't be taking this very well."

Himeko:"We have to go back. No matter if it's 6 months later, 12 or 18. We must return."

Y/N:"I agree. But for now, let's rest. Just a day."

Himeko:"Okay..."

The door to the lab opened. Elysia came out of it with Y/N's core in her hands. Both separated knowing whatever Elysia has planned for the captain, it is very important.

Elysia sat next to Y/N and gave the core to him.

Elysia:"You are ready. You won't be able to use your Herrscher powers for a while not become one."

Himeko:"Then what's the point in doing this?"

Elysia:"As soon as he gets used to the core the captain will have to get used to it. The sooner the better."

Y/N looked at the core a little worried. Slowly, he placed it on his torso. The core went inside him, a blue light emanating from him.

WHAT SHOULD Y/N'S AFFINITY BE?

FIRE.

LIGHTNING.

ICE.

Elysia:"How do you feel?"

Y/N:"Nice I guess? I felt nothing."

Elysia:"Understandable. Until you get back in time, the core and the MANTIS augments will not take any effect."

Himeko:"So... what now?"

Elysia:"Give me some time and I'll repair the cube. In the meantime, why don't you try to fix Miss Himeko's suit? I don't really know what to do with it."

Himeko:"Where is it?"

Elysia:"In the-"

An alarm started to sound around the building. It was coming from the computer Elysia uses to spy on us. The three of us approached it to see a name in red.

Y/N:"Bronya? Is she in danger?"

Elysia:"Let me see."

She typed her name. Instead of a video of her, an error message appeared.

Elysia:"Scenario 167. Failed to retrieve valuable resources for our cause..."

Y/N:"Elysia, what's going on?"

Elysia:"Let me think, let me think..."

Himeko:"You said we were out of the flow of time, correct? Can you use this machine to see in the future? Or the past?" *Mumbles* "This is so complicated..."

Elysia:"Yes, I can. Let's see..."

Elysia opened an administrator tab and started typing commands. After a couple of minutes of just waiting, Elysia managed to see what was the cause of the alarm.

Elysia:"January 23. 2003. Bronya Zaychik, Kallen Kaslana, Theresa Apocalypse and The Twins travel to The Eye of the Deep. Bronya manages to get into the Quantic Realm and saved Seele Vollerei. Bronya failed to retrieve the Gem of Reason."

Y/N:"Great. How can we fix this?"

Himeko:"Can't we intervene?"

Elysia:"Yes but..." *Sigh* "Y/N, think you can face Kevin?"

Y/N:"What?"

Elysia:"Kevin wants to retrieve the gems. He gave you orders, right?"

Y/N:"Yes but if Bronya manages to get the gem- hell, is she can use it to become a Herrscher I'm not letting him hurt Bronya."

Elysia:"You won't be able to fight him in your state."

Y/N:"I don't need to. Himeko, get me Shamash. I hope he accepts this trade..."

Elysia:*Giggles* "He will."

Himeko nodded and went to look for her weapon. Even is she's left without a sword, she would gladly give it away to save her student.

Y/N:"Why is Kevin attacking Bronya now? He told me to get as many Herrschers and cores as possible. It doesn't make sense."

Elysia:"Kevin is not a god. He's not omnipotent. He doesn't know if you can get there in time or not so he rathers take the gem for himself and use it."

Y/N:"I see. Then is not that big of a deal."

Elysia:"By his eyes yes, it is not a big problem. I do not share his view. Humanity needs the power of the Herrschers on their side. Even if he's The Hero of Humanity, the gem will be more useful on Bronya. 'Until the Truth is revealed to her, she must listen to Reason'.

Y/N:*Chuckles* "You're gonna spit prophecies on me?"

Elysia:"I have more. 'She who's one with the Void, she who will walk with the Flames shall be the Honkai's big Finale.' You like that?"

Y/N:"I don't really know what it means but yeah, they're cool. I guess."

Himeko returned with her sword. She gave it to Y/N and nodded.

Himeko:"Whoever that Kevin is, don't let him hurt her."

Y/N:"I won't. Elysia, how can I get there?"

Elysia:"I can force the cube use what little energy it has to make a link to the Qunatic World. As soon as the energy depletes you will immediately brought back here. There's enough for roughly 10 minutes. Also, you will have to wait more until I fix the cube."

Y/N:"Doesn't matter. Do it."

Elysia:"Very well. Oh, and be careful. Once you step through the portal both the core and the MANTIS augments will take effect. Be careful."

Y/N:"Right."

Elysia grabbed the cube and used her powers to open a portal. The captain, with Shamash on his hand sighed and walked forwards, going through it.

As soon as he did he widened his eyes and gasped, grabbing the part of his chest where the heart resides. The augments took effect all at once.

After a couple of seconds he shook his head and looked at his surroundings. He was on a platform made of rock. It was floating in a world made out of blue. In the far distance, one can see an enormous tree but it seems there's no way of getting there.

Suddenly a girl was launched towards him. Y/N caught her, smiling.

Y/N:"Long time no see."

Bronya:"C-Captain?!"

Y/N:"You've grown so much. Heh, I leave for a day and-"

Kevin:"Hmm..."

Kevin walked towards us and stood a couple of meters away. He stared at me with an eyebrow raised.

Kevin:"Now this is a surprise. Shouldn't you be waiting until the cube is ready? That doesn't look stable."

Kevin glanced at the portal behind Y/N. It almost looked like it was trying to suck the captain in.

Y/N:"I have a proposition to make."

Kevin:"Speak."

Y/N:"The gem for Shamash."

Y/N thrusted the sword in the ground, leaving it there. Kevin looked at it and sighed.

Kevin:"There's no reason to leave the gem with her. I can-"

Y/N:"There's nothing to debate. It's either this or I take Bronya with me."

Y/N holds Bronya tighter, in a defensive manner. Kevin thought about it for a minute.

Kevin:"Was it Elysia who convinced you?"

Y/N:"I'm just following orders."

Kevin:*Sigh* "Very well."

Kevin walked towards the captain and grabbed Shamash. He turned around and placed the greatsword on his back.

Kevin:"It's nice seeing you alive."

He turned around and left, leaving Bronya and Y/N alone. Bronya was hugging Y/N very tightly, ignoring the conversation that was unfolding. Tears were on her eyes. She was sobbing aswell.

Y/N rubbed her hair and sang a tune, one he usually sang to make her sleep when Y/N "adopted" her.

Bronya:"P-Please... tell me the Bronya is not dreaming. Tell me you're real!"

Y/N:"I am Bronya, I am. Don't worry, I'll return. One day."

Bronya:"What? Why can't you come with me? You-you can't leave me again!"

Y/N:"Remember what you told me Bronya? The promise? I'm still waiting. So, wait for me, okay?"

Bronya didn't answer. After a couple of seconds, she nodded.

Y/N:"Where's your friend?"

Bronya:"...waiting."

Y/N:"Then go with her. Get out of here and wait. Please, don't tell anybody about this okay? They have other things to worry about."

Bronya:"Okay. I-Is subject Himeko alive too?"

Y/N:"Mhm. She's fine."

Bronya:"That's nice..."

His hands started to turn pink at the same time the portal got smaller and smaller.

Y/N:"It's time for me to go Bronya."

Bronya:"N-No! I didn't had enough time! The Bronya wants to tell you I-" *Shakes head* "Let me go with you!"

Y/N:"No Bronya. You must wait. Don't worry. We will see each other again. I promise. Please, take care of Kiana and Mei, okay? It's time for you to step up and protect them." *Turns pink* "Farewell..."

He closed his eyes and opened again. The captain was back at the Elysian realm, without Bronya.

Y/N:*Sigh* "It is done."

Elysia:"That conversation was beautiful captain..."

Elysia had teary eyes. Himeko was leaning on the computer with a proud smile.

Elysia:"Sadly now I need more time to fix this. One day. Two perhaps. So you better get comfy."

Tired, he sat on the couch and looked at the ceiling. He closed his eyes, wanting to rest a little. The sudden boost of energy along with the pain in his shoulder was killing him.

Himeko:"Rest captain, you must be tired."

She kissed his forehead and went to her room leaving Elysia and Y/N alone, both minding their own business.

Timeskip brought to us by Himeko, putting on fancy clothes.

The captain opened his eyes once again, this time, to find himself sleeping on the couch. There was a jacket on him keeping him warm.

Y/N sat up and yawned.

Elysia:"Wakey wakey captain. You really like to slack off~"

He looked to a corner of the room to find Elysia sitting on a table, messing with the cube. She was really focused.

Y/N:"Hello to you too. Where's Himeko?"

Elysia:"Still in her room. I think you should go visit her. You're gonna like the surprise~"

Y/N:*Sigh*

A little curious to see what she meant the captain stood up. He yawned once more and walked towards Himeko's room.

Y/N:"Himeko we should form a plan to-"

When he opened the room the captain was surprised by one pleasant view.

Himeko:"Ah, h-hello captain. I see you're finally up!"

With a single nod the captain walked inside and locked the door behind him.

Y/N:"My oh my. I knew you were beautiful but you managed to surprise me Himeko."

Himeko:*Chuckles* "Ain't ya a smooth one..."

Y/N:"What's the occasion? And where did you get that dress?"

Himeko:"Elysia gave me this dress. It fits me. As for the other question..."

Himeko walked towards her bed and sat there, looking at Y/N with a small blush.

Himeko:"I kinda wanted to resume our date. Remember?"

Y/N:"The one that was interrupted by World Serpent? I do."

Himeko:"Also..." *Sigh* "Many times have I wondered how my life is going to end. I always came to the conclusion that, no matter what, I'd like to die with you."

Y/N:"Better if we avoid that outcome."

Himeko:"Mhm. I was ready to die back there with you. But now we're here! Alive. I think that's something to celebrate, don't ya think?"

Y/N:"I agree. It is."

The captain walked towards Himeko and sat next to her. He grabbed her hand, softly caressing her hand.

Himeko:"S-so... what were you saying?"

Y/N:"Nothing important. Let's just focus on you and I for now on, okay?"

Himeko:"In that case..." *Blushes* "I-I have an idea on how we can celebrate our survival."

LEMON INCOMING... I'm running out of jokes, I need someone to give me ideas for this...

Y/N:"Go on."

Himeko nodded and slowly sat on Y/N's lap. Both were looking at each other with love and need in their eyes. Himeko's dress was not doing a great job at hiding her features which didn't go unnoticed by the captain.

Their heads slowly moved closer and closer until their lips finally touched. Their small kiss quickly turned into a make out season, their awkwardness quickly dissapearing.

Himeko's hands move under the fabric of her captain's shirt. She explored his torso, touching every part of the man she loves. Her left hand moved to his nape, supporting herself on him.

Y/N was also feeling his lover. While his left hand was on Himeko's hip her right hand went to her legs, slowly going up and up until it went underneath her dress, groping Himeko's back.

Their shows of affection succeded in making the other more aroused. Himeko separated her lips from Y/N's to plant kiss his neck instead. Y/N softly moaned and grabbed Himeko's ass, bringing her more into his torso.

Himeko:"Y/N... I want you... I want you..."

Her cold hands traveled to Y/N's pants, caressing his member through the fabric. It didn't took it too long to get hard.

He followed her steps and started to tease her too. His hands moved her panties to the side. They touched and massaged her lower lips, making Himeko moan.

Y/N inserted his fingers inside her, forcing Himeko to hide her face on his neck to not show her shyness. She hugged him, pulling her hands back from his pants. She fully submitted to her captain's will.

Himeko:"P-Please captain... don't tease me... I want you."

Y/N:"Of course."

Y/N pulled his fingers back and got his pants down. The captain grabbed his member and aimed it to Himeko's crotch.

Himeko:"Do not worry I don't... well..."

Y/N:"It's okay."

He inserted his member inside Himeko making her moan very loudly. The boy immediately started pounding her. He couldn't control himself any longer.

The sight of Himeko, moaning, with that sexy dress was too much for Y/N. He grabbed her hips and kept going, enjoying the sight. For Himeko, the pleasure got to her head, clouding her judgement. She pushed Y/N to the bed and jumped on his member.

Y/N pushed what was hiding her nipples aside and groped her breasts, making her moan even louder. When he got enough Y/N grabbed her hips and turned them both around, now Y/N in between her legs.

Liking this position even more, Himeko hugged Y/N very tightly, kissing him aswell. The boy kissed back while he thrusted, going as fast and hard as he could.

The need to cum arised. But Himeko did not want him to let him go.

Y/N:"H-Hime, I'm about to-"

Himeko:"Do it..."

Y/N:"But-"

Himeko:"Remember what we talked? Wha-what better-" *Moans* "What better moment than now, eh?"

Y/N:"...I love you."

With one last thrust, he came inside her. Himeko gave one last loud moan, cumming with him.

Once both stopped, they were extremely exhausted. Y/N fell on top of Himeko and planted kisses on her neck.

LEMON'S OVER. SFW CONTENT AHEAD.

Once their fun was put to a stop both Y/N and Himeko got up, walked to the bathroom and got cleaned. The boy got a change of clothes while Himeko got dressed on her Vermillion Knight suit. It was fully repaired now.

Y/N was sitting on her bed, checking Himeko out who was looking in a mirror.

Himeko:"Looks fine right? I didn't miss a spot. I think."

Y/N:"Almost looks factory new."

Himeko:"Yeah." *Leans on the wall and looks at Y/N* "When you came in you wanted something else."

Y/N:"Besides having fun with my precious Valkyrie?"

Himeko:"And lover. Don't you forget that." *Giggles* "Now really, what was it you needed?"

Y/N:"We need to form a plan Himeko. If we used the cube to make a time jump of 6 months and wasted the energy I'm sure we're gonna land a year after our fight in Schicksal HQ. Or even more."

Himeko:"Makes sense. What do we do?"

Y/N:"First we should use Elysia's computer to form a plan."

Himeko:"What are we waiting for then? Let's go."

The captain got up and walked out of the room. Elysia glanced at the two and smirked.

Elysia:"You must be really good captain~"

Himeko:"Shut up..."

Y/N:"Mind your own business Elysia."

Elysia:*Giggles* "Don't be so rude Y/N, I'm just joking~"

Y/N:"You mind if we borrow your computer for a while?"

Elysia:"Not at all. If I have to take a guess you want to see how the world's gonna be when you return, right?"

Y/N:"Indeed."

Elysia:"In that case, look for 13 months into the future."

Y/N:"Got it."

Himeko:"Very well. Time to see how our friends are doing."

Let's just hope everyone's alright...