Somewhere in Nagazora City.
A woman clad in a Russian-style military uniform sat at a high-tech command console. Draped over her shoulders was a red-and-white fur-lined cape.
Her amethyst eyes shimmered beneath long golden curls that flowed freely down her back.
Reclining in her chair, she rested her long, slender legs on the table.
Despite the girlish features of her face, it was hard to believe she was already in her thirties.
Unfortunately, this woman was a madwoman.
Since the earliest outbreaks of the Honkai, one fact had become widely known: women exhibited a far greater adaptability to the Honkai virus than men.
As a result, while women were more likely to survive these disasters, they often faced a crueler fate—human experimentation.
Young girls, in particular, became prime targets for ambitious individuals, due to their "growth potential," mental plasticity, and ease of conditioning.
Neither Schicksal nor Anti-Entropy had clean hands—both had engaged in human experimentation.
Admittedly, Anti-Entropy was slightly less egregious.
Unlike Schicksal, where the iron will of Overseer Otto dictated all, Anti-Entropy was a coalition.
Each major member retained independent authority, and even though Welt was the leader, he had limited control over the operations of individual Executors.
At most, he could oversee and supervise.
But such a structure had its flaws.
A single bad actor could ruin everything—just like now.
And that bad actor was Cocolia, a former Russian captain and the most radical of Anti-Entropy's Executors—a textbook example of rot in the ranks.
She was the only known Executor in Anti-Entropy conducting human experimentation—at least on the surface.
During the second Honkai eruption, Cocolia established an orphanage, gathering children who had lost their homes to the disaster.
She played the role of a kind, gentle mother.
To be fair, there was real emotion behind her actions.
But that was precisely what made her so revolting—performing experiments on the very children she cared for.
She wasn't a monster entirely devoid of feelings.
But her twisted love made her even more grotesque.
Like mixing sweet, delicious chocolate with dog feces—it was worse than the filth alone.
She told herself the experiments were necessary—if her children were to survive in a world overrun by the Honkai, they needed power.
And so, the X-10 experiment was born.
In August 2013, a quantum experiment in a deep-sea lab beneath the Sea of Okhotsk cost her dearly. She lost one of her daughters: Seele Vollerei.
And it didn't stop there.
Another child was crippled.
Her legs were ravaged by Honkai energy and rendered useless without an exoskeletal frame.
Even her brain's emotional center had been damaged, leaving her unable to feel like a normal person.
Unable to bear the loss and suffering her experiments had caused, Cocolia snapped.
She swore she'd bring Seele back—no matter the cost.
Even if it meant sacrificing millions of lives.
One of her reasons for orchestrating a third Honkai outbreak in Nagazora City was to study a natural Stigmata wielder.
Raiden Mei, and her transformation into a Herrscher. Through that power, she hoped to pull Seele back from the quantum void.
Casually, she issued orders to her subordinates, dispatching mech units around the outskirts of Nagazora City.
As she flipped through the intel her men had gathered, a name caught her eye:
Nagami Kazomu. Father: Japanese. Mother: Far Eastern. Age: 16…
The report was stunning in its detail.
It even included the name of the classmate who had sat next to Nagami in kindergarten.
Had Nagami seen this report, he would've been overjoyed.
He had no recollection of this world's "Nagami," and such comprehensive data would've been a godsend for fleshing out his persona.
"A coincidence?"
Cocolia muttered the words, her fingers resting against her smooth chin as she sank into thought.
There was nothing particularly abnormal about Nagami in the report.
The only notable detail was the drastic change in his personality after the death of his parents.
But the psychological profile built from this data confirmed that such a reaction was entirely expected under the circumstances.
The possibility of forged data was almost nonexistent.
Every trace of Nagami's life had solid evidence behind it—details that couldn't have been fabricated out of thin air.
Still, the timing of his contact with Raiden Mei was far too convenient.
Cocolia couldn't afford to ignore even the slightest anomaly.
This experiment was too important.
Nothing could be allowed to go wrong.
Eyes half-closed, she gazed at the screens and reports, the corners of her lips lifting in confidence.
Victory was already within reach.
And the reason she hadn't taken action against Nagami yet was simple—strategy.
From the current intel, Nagami was just an ordinary boy—not worth her time.
But from another angle, he might be quite useful.
If his emotional bond with Raiden Mei could be rapidly strengthened, and then—right in front of her—if he was killed…
The emotional backlash could very well be enough to trigger Mei's Herrscher awakening.
She was willing to sacrifice millions for this experiment.
Why would she hesitate to kill a single ordinary boy?
With that in mind, Cocolia reached out, her pale fingers gliding across the control panel.
She sent an encrypted message to her daughter, instructing her to temporarily shift focus to monitoring Nagami—someone else would keep an eye on Mei.
Then, with a languid stretch, she leaned back into her chair.
A reply arrived seconds later:
[Bronya: Understood.]
--------------------
It was Nagami's 32nd day at Chihane Academy—and a Sunday.
Right now, the Nagami household was unusually lively.
The clicking of game controller buttons echoed through the room as Nagami stared intently at the 4K screen.
Where tiny humanoid cells leapt and tumbled across the display. A faint, contented smile curled at the corner of his lips.
Despite the game running incredibly smoothly, his focus wasn't really on it.
"Go easy on the sugar here, C.C. If you want it spicier, then… like this… and this…"
With her sleek, deep-purple hair tied into a high ponytail, Mei's delicate, fair neck was exposed as she leaned over the counter.
A gentle, serene smile graced her face as she lifted her slender hands to patiently guide C.C. through the colorful spread of ingredients laid out before them.
"Ohh, I see! Mei, you're amazing~" C.C. responded with a soft smile, her eyes fixed on the beautiful face just inches from her own.
There was something about Mei—her gentle, nurturing aura, the perfect picture of a graceful homemaker—that C.C. simply couldn't resist.
Meanwhile, Kiana was sneaking around near the kitchen entrance like a cartoon thief.
Her twin braids hung naturally down her slender figure as she crouched against the wall, hands gripping the doorway, a lock of pure-white hair poking around the corner.
She craned her neck just slightly, peeking inside with wide, ocean-blue eyes darting back and forth like she was casing the joint for a heist.
Seeing Mei and C.C. chatting so closely, laughing and getting along so well, Kiana scratched her head in distress, her face wrinkled with frustration.
She hadn't expected Mei to show up at Nagami's place today.
It wasn't weird for friends to hang out, sure—but for Kiana, who had been teetering between Mei and C.C. like a romantic tightrope walker, seeing them both in the same room was nothing short of agonizing.
And what made her even more uneasy… was that something felt off between those two.
Kiana, with her unfortunately underpowered brain, couldn't exactly describe what it was—but it felt like… like a bird trying to fly away with its wings tied in a knot.
Of course, this discomfort made sense—because C.C. was Nagami.
After pacing in circles for a while, Kiana suddenly remembered the time at Mei's house when Nagami had pulled a clever stunt.
Given how long Nagami had lived with C.C., an idea struck her like lightning.
Her eyes lit up with mischief.
She spun around and skipped off toward the living room, hopping behind Nagami and placing her soft little hands on his shoulders.
With a suspiciously sweet smile, she began massaging him.
"Nagami~ You must be exhausted after gaming for so long. Let me help you relax~"
"…Huh?"
Nagami's hands paused mid-combo.
He turned his head slowly, giving Kiana a strange look.
Then he recalled how C.C. had definitely seen Kiana sneaking around the kitchen earlier.
In an instant, he realized what this sneaky little freeloader was up to.
"Well, I am feeling a bit tired. And to think Kiana would offer something like this—I'm truly touched. I'll leave it to you, then~"
Smiling lazily, he nodded and turned back to continue his game.
Kiana was clearly fishing for advice—she wanted him to help her navigate the emotional landmines between Mei and C.C.
But since he was C.C., solving that little problem would be effortless.
So really, letting her work for it with a free massage didn't seem like too much to ask.
"Hah… ha… n-no problem~"
Kiana's voice trembled with barely restrained rage as she glared daggers at the back of Nagami's head.
'If you don't cough up a good plan after this, I swear, I'm going to bite you to death!'