Morning.
On the Eternal Snowfall, in a room off the bridge's living quarters—
Griseo opened her eyes and slowly sat up from the bed.
Every companion aboard the Eternal Snowfall had their own room.
Under Setsuna's orders, little Griseo's bedroom had been preserved as closely as possible to her original style.
Looking up, the ceiling showed a sea of stars, just like her imprint, "Stars."
The room's arrangement was cozy yet futuristic, with brushes, paints, and canvases neatly stacked in one corner.
For a moment, Griseo thought she was still alone on the Ark, drifting endlessly.
Only when she looked out the porthole and saw the Eternal Snowfall's armed wings stretching thousands of kilometers below did she realize—this was another ship.
The Ark Project had already ended. Now, her next journey was about to begin.
After washing up, she put on her white dress, wore her beret, went barefoot, and opened the hatch.
She wandered through the starship, quietly observing every detail of the colossal vessel.
Its size dwarfed the Ark countless times over. To measure it by foot would be as hard as walking around the moon.
But Griseo didn't mind. She wanted to take her time, to feel everything about this ship.
The Eternal Snowfall roamed the sea of stars, carrying numerous Bulins, research lolis, Angeloids, and shipgirls.
Most were very friendly. Toward this little loli who had drifted in the cosmos for tens of thousands of years, everyone showed the warmest kindness.
Before long, she bumped into a little shipgirl.
"Today Yukikaze-sama will take you to breakfast, nanoda!"
"Hurry, or there'll only be stargazy pie left, nanoda!!!"
The white-haired, beast-eared shipgirl didn't give her a choice, dragging Griseo by the hand at a run.
"I'm not hungr—"
Before Griseo could finish, she was pulled into the dining hall and pressed into a seat.
Calm by nature, she didn't know how to resist the lively little shipgirl's boundless energy.
"Here, here, try some Donghuang baozi!"
The hospitable Ning Hai stuffed several buns onto her plate.
"Sardinian pizza!"
"Iron Blood bread and sausage!"
"Eagle Union fries and burgers!"
"Sakura Empire rice balls…"
From the shipgirls crowding around her, Griseo felt a warmth she hadn't known in ages.
"Royal Navy stargazy pie!"
Cheshire suddenly dumped a steaming hot pie, with several fish heads poking out, onto her plate.
The little loli stared in horror, locking eyes with the dead fish heads.
"Throw Cheshire out!!!"
Everyone else panicked.
"Northern Parliament vodka! Davay, comrade, let's liberate the universe together!"
Tashkent clinked her glass against Griseo's.
The Northern Parliament shipgirls were the most numerous there, crowding Griseo with endless questions. A faint smell of alcohol hung in the air.
"Davay… comrade?"
Griseo looked at them, feeling as though she was being dyed with strange new colors.
An image began to form in her mind.
She pulled out a board and quickly painted a red background. In the center, she used gold paint to outline a hammer-and-sickle shape.
"Eh? What's this?"
Griseo blinked in confusion at her own work.
When she painted, she only projected the colors inside her—she didn't fully understand the meanings.
In her head, though, a strange melody echoed:
"…The blood in our hearts is boiling, to fight for truth we rise!"
"…The old world smashed to pieces, slaves awaken, arise!!"
"???"
Tilting her head, Griseo instinctively muttered:
"'The Internationale will surely be realized'? What does that mean?!"
"!!!"
"Davay! Comrade-chan! You're perfect for the Northern Parliament fleet!!!"
"From now on, propaganda work will be yours!!!"
The Northern shipgirls rejoiced.
They were about to give Griseo an official post in the fleet.
"Let little Griseo rest."
Setsuna smiled and waved to stop them.
"How is it? Are you getting used to living aboard the Eternal Snowfall?"
He turned to Griseo.
"If you need anything, just tell me. Most of your requests, I can fulfill."
"..."
"Thank you."
The little loli nodded, her voice airy:
"I don't really want anything. This place is wonderful… so many colors, I need to paint often…"
Griseo was like a blank sheet of paper, easily dyed with the colors of those around her.
On the Eternal Snowfall, with all the shipgirls, dragon girls, Angeloids, and others together, each carried their own story and color.
By staying among them, Griseo often found strange bursts of inspiration for her paintings.
After breakfast—
Setsuna took Griseo to tour the Eternal Snowfall's command chamber.
Naturally, he held her small hand, introducing one by one the starship's systems and internal sections.
Because of her role in the Ark Project, Griseo's knowledge was half that of an engineer. Yet when faced with an interstellar-era warship, she still knew almost nothing.
Quietly, she listened as Setsuna explained weapons capable of extinguishing stars, shattering suns, as well as faster-than-light travel and warp jumps—powers beyond imagination.
After their walk—
Setsuna sat on the sofa, using the holographic projector to display information about the Starsea Empire, explaining the empire's structure.
"Oh…"
"It's a civilization even stronger than Earth's was…"
Griseo listened intently, like a child hearing a story, unconsciously leaning closer to Setsuna.
By his side, she felt the same warmth she once felt near Aponia.
"Oh."
Setsuna was struck by how cute she was.
She looked so soft and adorable—especially when gazing up at him with those big eyes. Her slight airheadedness made it impossible to refuse any request from her.
Also, whether it was just her habit or something else, Griseo often went barefoot.
Even while walking around inside the starship, her delicate little feet swung in and out of sight, constantly drawing his eye.
"If only we had someone as strong as Brother Setsuna back then…"
Griseo's voice held a trace of regret.
"It's fine. You don't need to carry the burden of the pioneers or the Ark Project anymore."
Setsuna gently pinched her cheek.
"Leave the rest to me. From now on, I'll save the world for you. You just need to do what you want to do."
...
"Thank you…"
For the second time, Griseo thanked Setsuna.
After fifty thousand years of solitude, she felt a sense of home.
Though the Eternal Snowfall wasn't truly her home, and most of the Flame-Chasers were gone—
Fu Hua was still here, and the people aboard this ship offered her gentle care of a different kind.
She liked it here.
"Brother Setsuna, does everyone else call you Commander?"
The little loli tilted her head.
"Mm… the Azur Lane shipgirls call me Commander. Heroic Spirits call me Master. Some call me Admiral. You can call me whatever you like."
Setsuna smiled as he answered.
"..."
Griseo thought for a while, then raised her head, her purple eyes fixed on him.
With a soft, airy tone, she said:
"Commander-brother."
"Hiss—"
Setsuna felt like he'd taken a critical hit straight to the chest.
It reminded him of when Unicorn called him Onii-chan while in his arms.
Little Griseo was simply too perfect.
Beside them, Fu Hua looked on in disbelief.
That Griseo and Setsuna were getting along well made her happy—
But this was a bit too well!
Back then, it had taken her a long time to befriend this quiet, painting-loving "strange child."
Yet Setsuna seemed to understand her even better than she did.
Though nearly fifty thousand years old, Griseo was still essentially a child. Setsuna clearly knew exactly how to care for her and make her happy.
"You're good with kids, aren't you?"
Fu Hua asked curiously.
"..."
Setsuna snorted:
"You think raising three million lolis and that many shipgirls was for nothing?"
"My child-raising proficiency has long been maxed out!"
...
Little Griseo began her new life in the interstellar era aboard the Eternal Snowfall.
She quickly became the beloved mascot of the Starsea Empire.
On the other hand, with her permission—
The dismantling and study of Griseo's Ark had also begun.
The Juggernaut carried its own shipyard, capable of simultaneously constructing and repairing starships during interstellar voyages.
Hundreds of Bulins and Angeloids, wielding various tools, carefully pried open the Ark's outer shell, searching inside for anything of value.
By the standards of the Stellaris era, this sub-light primitive ship was extremely backward.
After drifting through space for tens of thousands of years, many of its parts had aged and failed.
Had the Eternal Snowfall not found it, Setsuna doubted it could have lasted much longer.
Even so, the repair teams of Angeloids and Bulins managed to uncover some remarkable things.
"Commander, inside the Ark's database we found stored genetic samples of humans and all Earth animals, as well as complete copies of all technologies from the Previous Era."
Two days later, Grey reported to Setsuna on the discoveries of the Angeloids.
"The genetic samples were meant to be used for seeding new habitable planets. But since the voyage was too long, most of the frozen samples have already degraded."
"As for the technology copies from the Previous Era… well, they really crammed a lot in here."
As she spoke, she directed the Angeloids to bring over several devices shaped like mainframe units.
"Ah, that's the Ark's database?"
Griseo immediately recognized it.
"Yes, we found it stored inside the Ark. Fortunately, the preservation medium was decent, so it's not completely destroyed."
"Even after fifty thousand years, we can still recover its contents."
Grey tapped a few times on the interface, opening a holographic display.
Shua—
Like a library catalog, a massive projection unfolded before them.
Thousands upon thousands of entries filled the air.
[Research and Application Hypotheses of Stigmata Technology…]
[Chimera Project Experimental Report…]
[MANTIS and Honkai Beast DNA Compatibility Studies…]
[…]
"This is Dr. Mei—no, the Previous Era's Honkai research data?"
Setsuna muttered in realization.
He randomly tapped on one entry, finding it filled with dense documents, data calculations, and some video files.
The technical details were beyond his comprehension, so he swiped down casually.
He found even more.
From farming techniques onward, the storage contained every technological achievement of human civilization—from its birth until the destruction of the Previous Era.
Including ancient technologies like iron smelting and steam engines, to modern medicine, nuclear energy, electronic information sciences, aerospace technology, and countless cutting-edge fields.
The database was richly illustrated, with abundant video explanations.
There were also comprehensive records of mathematics, chemistry, physics, and other fundamental sciences.
From simple to complex, in exhaustive detail, every human achievement in science up until then had been preserved.
"This… is a complete technological archive of the Previous Era?"
Setsuna was stunned.
"Yes."
Fu Hua sighed, as if recalling old memories.
"The purpose of the Ark Project was to allow humanity, upon finding a new home, to rebuild civilization from scratch."
"It carried the accumulated fruits of the last era. Without Honkai interference, even starting anew, humanity could have quickly reached near-Previous Era levels using this database."
In the worst case—if surface civilization was destroyed by the Final Herrscher, and the Project Sanctuary failed—the Ark would have been humanity's final fireseed.
Naturally, newborn human society would regress to a primitive state. The Ark needed to carry as much technology as possible to ensure rapid advancement.
"..."
Thinking of a mere child like Griseo bearing such a heavy burden, everyone felt a touch of sorrow.
"All of it's technology?! Is there anything in here we can actually use?"
One of the research lolis poked her head in, far more concerned with practical issues.
"Basic sciences are useless to us—things like farming techniques, electronics, spaceflight. The Previous Era is far behind us there."
Grey swiped away part of the holographic display.
"But their Honkai energy research, that can save us some trouble."
"Our main goals in the Honkai world are twofold: finding people and studying Honkai energy. The Ark contains all the research results of the Previous Era on Honkai energy."
"Whether applied, untested, or purely theoretical, all of it is here."
"They probably hoped that future humanity would inherit their research and continue resisting Honkai."
Setsuna skimmed through it casually.
Not only were there practical technologies like MANTIS, artificial Stigmata, and the Key of Blankness, but also many of Dr. Mei's theoretical studies on Imaginary Space.
She had recorded her life's work here, hoping to aid future civilization.
"Wow!!!"
"This is a huge help, Commander—or rather, Griseo!!!"
Kayo Senju, who was responsible for Honkai energy research, gave little Griseo an enthusiastic hug.
The loli clearly wasn't used to such passion, letting out an awkward sound as she tried to escape.
"We've been researching Honkai energy and Herrschers, but since Honkai is new to us, we could only reverse-engineer it through the Divine Keys."
"That was basically retracing the Previous Era's steps. It's been slow and inefficient."
"With the Ark's data, it's like we've instantly obtained the whole tech tree!"
The research lolis flipped excitedly through the files.
"Now, all we need to do is stand on their shoulders and push a little further."
"Oh."
Setsuna understood.
The Ark had carried this technology to rebuild a new home, and now he had picked it up for free.
This was an unexpected harvest from salvaging Griseo.
Above all, the Honkai research compiled by the Previous Era's geniuses would save the research division countless detours.
"The Ark's original purpose was to help humanity rebuild civilization…"
"If someone can build on this research and go even further against Honkai, Dr. Mei would be glad…"
Griseo fell silent for a moment, then looked up at Setsuna.
"Commander-brother, please make good use of it."
"Of course."
Setsuna ruffled her hair.
"When we go back one day, we'll give her a surprise."
...
The research division lolis spent some time studying the legacy of the Previous Era, integrating the data into the Empire's database.
As the last gift of the Previous Era, the Ark's archives were detailed to the extreme…
Even down to every single experimental report. By following its instructions, everything could be reproduced in short order…
Fu Hua also provided some insight to aid their research.
A few days later—
Kayo Senju and Grey once again stood before Setsuna.
"Commander, we've successfully restored all of Dr. Mei's and the other scientists' research results from the Ark."
"Among them, we found some very interesting things."
Shua—
The nanobot projected several complex blueprints in the holographic display.
"First, a familiar technology: MANTIS. They fused Honkai Beast DNA with human DNA to create super soldiers—like Hua or little Griseo."
"The strength of a MANTIS depends on the class of Honkai Beast fused. If using Emperor-class or higher, their power could rival Hua herself."
"Of course, there's a flaw—fusion with Honkai Beast DNA causes bodily damage. But with our advanced genetic tech, we can fix that easily."
Setsuna nodded.
Until now, the Starsea Empire's genetic tech had relied on parasites and gastro-beasts. With this, they could move to far stronger Honkai Beasts.
"Oh, and here's a more outrageous one—the Chimera Project. They fused multiple Honkai Beast DNAs into a single MANTIS. The Previous Era already tested this."
"The result was MANTIS clearly stronger than normal."
Grey continued.
"If we follow this path further… we could try gene modification for everyone, granting multiple Honkai Beast compatibilities. Wouldn't that make everyone into Chimeras?"
"Pfft—"
Setsuna nearly laughed out loud.
"So you want everyone to rival Kevin? What imagination. Fine, give it a try."
The research division was already preparing to advance boldly, aiming to mass-produce Chimeras.
If successful, it would mean a great leap in the Empire's average power.
"Sounds good."
Formidable suddenly raised her hand.
"But where do we find Emperor-class or higher Honkai Beasts?"
"Well… some Honkai Beasts we can reverse-breed using biotechnology, extracting DNA."
Kayo Senju thought aloud.
"For example, extracting Hua's DNA could give us Garuda. Extracting little Griseo's DNA could recreate her fused beast…"
"If we ever get the chance to travel back in time, we might even grab some DNA from the Judgement-class Chiyou?"
"???"
Fu Hua was speechless.
The beasts humanity had fought so hard to slay, these people now wanted to mass-produce like livestock.
"And also, don't Herrschers spawn Honkai Beasts at birth? Plus they have the authority to command them."
The nanobot's eyes slid toward Senti, who was quietly snacking.
Stepping up, it patted her shoulder:
"Hey, little Senti, why not summon us a few Honkai Beasts to play with?"
"??"
Senti blinked blankly.
"Are you insane?"
"No, wait—you're all insane?!"
—
—
40 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon:
Patreon.com/DaoOfHeaven