In the bar, under the dim lights, two chairs faced each other. The magician looked across at Orion who she invited to join her attack.
"Do you want to help me with this mission?" she asked.
Orion rested his chin on his hands, deep in thought.
The magician looked at him hopefully. With his skills and sense of justice, he would be a great ally.
"No."
Orion's answer surprised her, and she felt disappointed.
"Are you afraid? I can get you the gear you'll need. Even someone like me could break into a heavily-guarded base. You could definitely handle it!" she urged.
Orion shook his head. "It's not about fear. You don't understand the full truth yet."
He saw that she had good intentions and was fighting against the Honkai threat in her own way. But she didn't realize there were deeper issues at play.
Orion's gaze grew cold. He had found a needle in a hidden room in the basement—a symbol of something far more complex.
There was only one group capable of dealing with the Honkai energy: MOTH. This organization had many powerful people secretly involved—the wealthy, politicians, all curious about the potential of Honkai energy. Could they control it? Could they gain powers beyond normal humans? Could they live forever?
Their experiments on people showed their desire for these powers. Stopping one or two bases wouldn't change anything. To really fix things, change had to start from the top.
Orion glanced at the magician, understanding her disappointment. She didn't have all the information he did, and her approach seemed naive. Still, her determination was admirable.
Change, after all, was important. It might not always be right, but it affected the world and the people in it. Whether it succeeded or not, future generations would decide.
"Looks like I won't be drinking this," the magician said, swirling her glass in boredom. After a pause, she revealed her name.
In a flash, a card appeared in her hand. The card was black with "Vill-V" written in gold letters.
Orion took the card and looked at the needle on the table. "I'll keep this safe," he said.
Vill-V seemed uninterested. "Alright, alright. A magician never forces her audience. I guess tonight's performance ends here."
She put on her hat, turned to leave, and left one final message: "You'll come. My intuition is never wrong."
Her purple eyes sparkled with mystery as she leaped into a hidden hole, disappearing from the bar.
Orion flipped the card in his hand. On the back, he saw three small dots.
"Three days later...?"
He leaned back and lifted the glass Vill-V had left behind. "Orion can't go, but maybe a kind stranger can help this magician out."
He downed the drink. The strong alcohol burned his throat, but he felt calm.
The MOTH's top brass had surely approved these secret experiments. But if his job was to fight Honkai, did he really belong in an organization like this anymore?
The night slowly turned to day, but the city's shadowy corners remained the same.
...
Skydrift City was a coastal city with many villas and small islands nearby. One of the islands, though beautiful, secretly housed a hidden organization's base.
The only way to get there was by yacht or ship, making it a private and secure location. As the sun set, the glow reflected off the coconut trees, creating a peaceful scene.
The soldiers stationed there were bored. One yawned, holding his gun.
"Who'd try to attack at this hour?" he asked.
"Yeah, even criminals need to eat," his partner joked.
Recently, MOTH's intelligence network had reported a mysterious saboteur. The attacker used fireworks and other stage-like effects as a distraction, while secretly deploying dangerous weapons. Several bases had already been destroyed, forcing the organization to tighten security.
What they didn't realize was that on this stormy night, the magician and a helpful "audience member" were already plotting their next move.