Near the Oort Cloud.
A dazzling meteor streaked across the sky at an unbelievable speed, halting before a sparse planetary belt.
Setsuna stood aboard the Eternal Snowfall, gazing at the dilapidated starship below.
As expected, the Ark had not drifted too far.
Formidable, Illustrious, Victorious, and several other carrier shipgirls had already surrounded it tightly.
By the standards of the Starsea Empire, that vessel could only be described as backward.
Its size was barely larger than a transport shuttle, and since its main function was exploration, it carried little armament.
Designed by Vil-V, it was an overall bluish-gray, shaped somewhat like a key. At its tail was a saucer-shaped floating cockpit, adorned with a three-petal flower emblem.
At the moment, it was in autonomous operation, unresponsive to all outside signals, drifting leisurely through the sea of stars.
"Commander, the fact that this thing could survive in space for tens of thousands of years is a miracle."
"Using such a ship for space exploration… well, courageous indeed."
Formidable sighed twice.
"Commander, please take note. Due to its long voyage, the Ark's structure is extremely fragile."
"Severe spatial disturbances or collisions may cause disintegration. I recommend you and the Eternal Snowfall keep some distance."
Illustrious reminded him.
"..."
After crossing over a billion kilometers and finally seeing the so-called "Ark," Fu Hua's expression was somewhat dazed.
Back in the Previous Era, it had been humanity's most advanced ship, built by combining Earth's technology and power.
But times had changed. Encountering it again after fifty thousand years filled her with deep emotion.
"Come, let me guess—inside, is it a little loli or a 36D beauty?"
Setsuna piloted a small shuttle with Fu Hua and the others, departing from the Eternal Snowfall.
They landed at the Ark's entrance.
Click—
A red light flashed in Angeloid Nymph's eyes. After a brief stall, the hatch slowly opened.
When it came to machinery and electronic components, there was nothing an electronic warfare Angeloid couldn't handle.
Setsuna was the first to step inside, followed closely by Fu Hua, the curious Senti, several companions, and the Angeloid.
Passing through a long corridor, they saw that much of the vessel's equipment had already ceased functioning.
Most of the wall lamps were dead, with a few flickering intermittently, crackling with static noise.
A decaying air lingered inside—likely the life support system had long lost effectiveness after continuous operation.
The Ark's design carried strong Previous Era aesthetics—sharp angles, with a trace of science fiction.
Of course, "science fiction" compared only to modern Earth civilization. In the eyes of the Starsea Empire, it was somewhat outdated.
Bang bang bang—
Inside, some defense robots and autonomous turrets detected the intruders and attempted to attack.
Kinetic rounds shot toward Setsuna's face, but were blocked by his energy shield.
Then, with a wave of Nymph's hand, they all ceased functioning.
Through several mechanical gates, corridors, and junctions—
The group arrived at the core chamber.
Compared to the outer sections, it was much cleaner here. Several control-like devices were scattered around.
At the center of the hall stood equipment for holographic projection and communication.
Since the Ark was meant to undertake an ultra-long space voyage, most of its functions were managed by autonomous AI.
"Why didn't they just build multiple ships like Natural Selection and Blue Space, and carry more humans to colonize space?"
Yukikaze stuck out her tongue.
"Starship Earth, huh?!"
Setsuna chuckled.
"The Ark was meant to sail for tens of thousands of years. It couldn't support humans reproducing aboard. Only fusion warriors could carry out the mission."
After decrypting the ship's encrypted system, Setsuna skimmed through the records. Most were just voyage logs.
He tossed them casually to the Angeloid for research, then pressed onward.
Beside the core chamber was a small room.
Its design was distinctly different from the others—less mechanical coldness, and more of a living atmosphere.
The ceiling of the room resembled a warm, dreamy starry sky. In the corners lay plaster models, long-dried paints, and decayed art tools.
Flowers and plants on the desk had long since rotted into mud, while the holographic screen was broken and unusable.
Only on one side of the room stood a cylindrical transparent glass chamber.
Inside it was filled with a translucent solution, within which lay a young girl dressed in a white uniform.
She had long blue hair tied into two low ponytails. Her face was quiet and cute, eyes closed in slumber.
"Oh, little Griseo."
Setsuna gazed at the tiny girl.
It seemed his catch this time was a loli, not a Jedi knight.
On the bright side, little Griseo could eventually grow into big Griseo—swinging a lightsaber around, even.
"Let's get her out first."
Click—
Nymph and the Angeloid operated rapidly on the holographic interface.
The stasis chamber's glass cover creaked open as the solution slowly drained away.
"Mm…"
The girl slowly opened her purple eyes, gazing around in confusion.
Never had Griseo thought that after who-knew-how-many years of sleep, she would be awakened by strangers.
Her eyes first fell upon Fu Hua nearby.
"Sister Hua?"
By the original flow of history, she would have had a chance to meet Fu Hua in the future…
But under these circumstances, seeing Hua board her ship with a group of unknown people was beyond her expectation.
"Ke ke ke—she's quite cute."
Senti came closer, putting on a kindly smile as she examined little Griseo.
"—?!"
In an instant, as a fusion warrior, Griseo felt that all-too-familiar aura emanating from Senti.
"Huh?"
"A… Herrscher?! What is this?!"
...
About half an hour later.
The Ark had been retrieved into the Eternal Snowfall.
Inside the spacious command chamber, Fu Hua led Griseo by the hand.
The little loli had changed into a white dress, decorated at the collar with a teal three-petal flower, and tied at the waist with a bow.
She wore a black beret on her head. Though her hair seemed short, behind her head two sky-blue low ponytails trailed down.
Barefoot, she sat on a sofa too large for her, her delicate feet dangling freely in the air.
"Sister Hua, this place is…"
Griseo looked at Fu Hua with confusion.
In a completely unfamiliar environment, only the familiar face of her comrade gave her a sense of safety.
"This is the flagship of the Starsea Empire, a civilization from another world."
"We've brought you back, Griseo."
Fu Hua gently patted Griseo's head.
"Eh…"
The little girl raised her head.
"Then… does that mean we won?"
Since the Ark had departed before the Final Battle, she hadn't taken part in humanity's decisive struggle.
"..."
Fu Hua fell silent.
"Ah…"
Griseo immediately understood the fate of her brothers and sisters.
Those who had protected her so firmly—Aponia and the others—had perished in moments unknown.
Fifty thousand years later, she once again felt the sting of grief and sorrow, arriving far too late.
Curling into herself, Griseo buried her face between her knees.
"It's okay. I'll take you to find them in the future."
Setsuna stepped forward, gently patting little Griseo.
"…Setsuna, brother."
After Fu Hua's introduction, Griseo tilted her head up.
She stared at Setsuna for a long while.
Then, in her airy, ethereal voice, she suddenly spoke:
"You carry the colors of the starry sky. Very beautiful."
"Color?"
Setsuna and the shipgirls glanced down at themselves.
Then he understood—Griseo herself was like a pure, spotless white sheet of paper.
After undergoing the Meta-Morph surgery, she had gained a strange ability:
Everything in her eyes had a "color."
When spending extended time with someone, she would gradually be dyed with that person's "color."
Whether in expression, tone of speech, or manner of action, she would slowly mimic them.
If she stayed with him too long…
Would she become obsessed with neutron annihilation, racial purity, and PDX war crimes?
If she stayed with Gudako, might she turn into Humanity's Evil?!
If she stayed too long with Senti… maybe she would regress into a three-year-old.
Of course, this wasn't without remedy.
Griseo could paint, releasing the colors from herself, and her artwork carried its own special power.
Though physically just an ordinary painting, those who looked at it would experience subtle cognitive distortions, influenced by the hidden emotions within.
"Tch, looks like I'll have to carefully arrange someone to educate Griseo in the future."
A random thought crossed Setsuna's mind.
He scanned his companions, then considered quietly.
First, exclude Gudako, Taihou, Tohru, Jeanne Alter, and other problematic personalities or chaotic elements.
That left Illustrious, Yat Sen, or perhaps simply Fu Hua herself as the best choices.
"Forget it."
After letting his mind wander, he turned back to the little loli before him.
"Griseo, you should know the situation now, right?"
"…497…"
Griseo curled up on the sofa, nodding her small head. After a long silence, she finally spoke in a faint, sorrowful tone:
"The Ark Project failed. Sister Hua saved me."
"Not me—him."
Fu Hua patted her back, gently drawing her into an embrace, and pointed at Setsuna.
"They are from another world's civilization. They found your Ark with their ships."
"Oh…"
Still unused to the unfamiliar surroundings, Griseo felt somewhat uneasy.
But with Hua at her side, she was reassured.
She nodded politely to Setsuna:
"Thank you, brother."
"So cute."
Setsuna could only think that one thing.
As the mascot of Flame-Chasers, Griseo wasn't only adorable, but also naturally airheaded.
With her white dress and bare little feet, she looked even more endearing.
"After the ship launched, did you encounter anything?"
Fu Hua asked.
"More than a thousand years ago, we lost all communication with the Ark. And you didn't seem to travel very far?"
The shipgirls also found it strange.
Voyager 1 had taken just a few decades to leave the solar system.
The Previous Era's Ark was clearly more advanced, yet Griseo had drifted for tens of thousands of years and still hadn't even reached another star system.
Forget Alpha Centauri, just four light years away—she hadn't even left the Oort Cloud.
"I… I don't know."
Griseo shook her head.
"From the moment I boarded the ship, I just kept painting."
"I painted the stars, painted the brothers and sisters on Earth. Until I painted everything I could think of… then there was nothing left to paint, so I chose to sleep."
"Everything else I left to the autonomous AI. I don't know how long I slept. When I woke again, I saw Sister Hua."
Setsuna pondered for a moment.
Even if things had gone as they originally should, letting Griseo drift for a few more centuries, by the present civilization's time she still wouldn't have left the solar system by much.
"The Imaginary Barrier, huh?"
"It seems this universe differs slightly from the others."
In the Honkai world's cosmos, at the edge of the solar system existed a barrier formed of Imaginary energy.
Like a net, it did not block vision outward, but it prevented civilizations from leaving—like an invisible wall of air.
For civilizations incapable of resolving the Cocoon of the End, escaping beyond this Imaginary Barrier was nothing but a fantasy.
Otherwise, there would be no way to explain why Griseo's Ark had drifted for tens of thousands of years and was still lingering nearby.
Even the native humans of the Three-Body world, with their primitive ships at just one percent the speed of light, could have crawled their way to another star system in fifty thousand years.
"Why not just jump out?"
Formidable scratched her head.
"I even searched ten light years away in Eridanus once, and yet little Griseo was still right here near the solar system."
"What, let them eat meat porridge?!"
Senti roared, mocking the fleet girls of the Stellaris age for not understanding the plight of natives.
"Smart—you're even using idioms now."
Setsuna patted Senti's head in praise.
Then he looked at Griseo.
"In the future, I'll find a way to return to the Previous Era and take you to see your brothers and sisters again, then resolve the Honkai crisis."
"But for now… you don't seem to have anywhere to go. Why not come with me, and see another world?"
"..."
Griseo blinked her eyes, staring at Setsuna for a while.
She tugged lightly at Fu Hua's sleeve.
"What do you think, Sister Hua?"
"He's a good person. It's fine."
Fu Hua nodded. After spending some time together, she had gained a general impression of Setsuna.
He was strong, had helped her resolve a major problem, even repaired little Cangxuan. The only odd part was that he sometimes said things she couldn't understand.
"I'll come too. If you go, I can look after you."
"This Earth's civilization hasn't grown to match the Previous Era. Staying here has little meaning."
"Oh…"
In the Previous Era, Griseo had always liked and trusted Hua.
Seeing Hua acknowledge Setsuna, she also nodded in agreement.
"Can I keep painting?"
"I want… to see the colors of another world."
"Of course."
Setsuna smiled.
"Not just one world—you'll see the colors of many worlds."
...
After a simple medical examination—
Fu Hua accompanied Griseo, helping her get familiar with the Eternal Snowfall and introducing Setsuna and the others.
The little loli was curious about the massive vessel and all the sisters from other worlds.
She often dragged over a chair taller than herself, sitting for long stretches on the bridge, staring out at the distant stars and the passing shipgirls, dragon girls, and Angeloids.
Then she would mix colors, smear paints, and draw on enormous canvases.
In her eyes, every person had a unique color.
Most shipgirls were warm yellow. Tohru carried a trace of ominous red. And the nanobot showed no color at all.
"Oh, looks like you're painting in freehand style?"
Senti and the shipgirls gathered around Griseo, peeking at her canvas.
Griseo wasn't concerned with meticulous details—her focus was on using colors to express emotion.
"What's this one?"
Senti pointed to a finished painting lying nearby.
It resembled Van Gogh's Starry Night, with a faint image of a ship like the Eternal Snowfall spreading its wings among the stars.
"This is Brother Setsuna. I want to give it to him later."
Griseo replied.
"He is the stars and the universe."
"Oh…"
The shipgirls nodded, feeling it captured him well.
"The Commander will like it."
"What about me, what about me?!"
Yukikaze's ears twitched as she leaned close.
"Can you paint one for me too, nanoda?!"
"..."
Griseo froze for a moment, neither agreeing nor refusing.
Looking at the shipgirls, she suddenly asked a strange question:
"I… I've been watching Brother Setsuna for a long time."
"Why is it that sometimes, when he comes out of a room with one or more shipgirls, you all carry each other's colors?"
Her big eyes blinked innocently as she asked.
"..."
The shipgirls and dragon girls exchanged awkward glances.
This was a bit too early for a fifty-thousand-year-old loli.
"Be good. You'll understand when you grow up."
—
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