Author Notes:
Oh boy, I think I just burned myself out for a bit there, it's like 2 AM over here kek
But what can I say? Writing brings me joy and I can't stop when I got into the mood.
So, don't forget to enjoy the chapter, and don't forget to stay tune for the sheer wonky stuff I cook when I have a coffee mug on hand. Most important of all, take care of yourself! Don't be like me!
Peace!
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Ein Taixuan:
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Our shared meal was a heartwarming one. Fuxi and Nuwa, bless their kind souls, brought forth the very delectable and ultimately nostalgic morsels of steamed meat dumplings and actual tea.
I totally didn't surprise the entire table and caused a few heartaches when I suddenly shed silent tears upon tasting the nostalgic treats.
Jokes aside, it's weird to be on the receiving end of their sincere and pure sympathetic gazes. After the meal, Hua drove home the reality that this was an entirely new world for me with a calming pat on my shoulder.
Now, I would have offered to help clean up the dishes, if not for Hua and Fuxi advising me to sit still and rest before heading straight into the hot spring. Being the good girl that I am, I followed their advice and am now taking a dip inside the healing water, but only after I took a shower to deal with all the grime and blood. A brief activity can be heard on the other side of the screen that separates the hot spring area from the rest of the Taixuan complex. That is probably Xuanyuan, who is kind enough to bring me a change of attire after I took a dip in the spring.
As for my dirtied Battle Dress Uniform and my wargear, they're all safely stored inside my inventory. A moment of clarity in the meal earlier has reminded me that I would need my gear to stay dirty when I eventually returned to the Warhammer universe. Continuity is important, of course. That said, I can't exactly not take a bath in the indefinite amount of time I will be spending in Hua's world. I guess that when I return to the good fight, I will need to roll around on the ground a few times to regain my battle-worn appearance.
...
...
...
Ok, what the hell should I do now?
I mean, I appreciate the warm embrace of this hot spring, that's for sure. Yet, now that I finally taste a peace long thought to be lost, I am actually getting all restless as, most of the time, my body is put under constant alert. Even while I am asleep in a supposedly safe space, I tend to do so with one of my eyes open. So used to being active that my mind is reeling from this newfound asylum from all the grimdark business, is what I am trying to say. Perhaps I can acclimate myself better if I can find something to do in the spring. Having thought of that, I turn inward, pondering idly for a bit before actively calling upon the power that is my Abyss Totem Stigmata. Unlike the many times before, I decide to let the Stigmata visually manifest itself on my body.
The Stigmata appears all glowing blue just above my breasts. It's an elaborated, elegant design, which is best defined as:
Three crossbows are pointing outward in the 2, 6, and 10 o'clock directions, respectively.
The butts of those three crossbows then come together around a singular, central white dot.
In the 12, 4, and 8 o'clock positions, there are three arrowheads.
The crossbows and arrowheads are encapsulated by three rings of varying radius.
In between the gaps of the rings, there are glowing runes of undecipherable meaning.
Lastly, in the gaps formed by the crossbows and arrowheads, smaller dots exist unevenly, seemingly trying to depict the galaxy.
The Stigmata itself is white, but there's a soft blue outline around the details.
Overall, I like the visual aesthetic of the Abyss Totem Stigmata, albeit it's a bit of a shame that my purple eyes present quite a contrast to its light blue glow. Regardless, I find the Stigmata growing on me with each passing day despite the frightening and absurd presence hiding in it. Even though there has been little practical usage of the Stigmata ever since I got it, its presence remains my best trump card yet, evidenced by how it came in clutch when I rescued the pinned pilot. Now that I am in Hua's world, though, I may finally get the chance I need to go all-out in exploring and training my mastery over the Stigmata. I am quite eager to figure out the limit of what I can do with this supernatural skill.
I smile at the thought before trying to get myself to relax by flexing my more intangible muscles. I first hold up an open palm, condensing a ball of water from the hot vapor in the air. It is as expected that making something out of something is less of a mental chore than creating something out of nothing. Afterward, I do the stupid thing of trying to create a spark, a fire, inside the ball of water. Understandably, this is quite a hard thing to do, as there exists no proper fuel inside a ball of water for the flame. While it's nowhere near an issue with my quite robust mental faculty, it's indeed a noticeable drain on my mind, trying to do something that, for the most part, is scientifically foolish. Yet, with a bit more forceful a nudge, and a tad shinier glow from the Abyss Totem Stigmata, I manage to conjure a floating ball of fire inside the watery enclosure. The flame is flickering, but it's burning on nothing but my willpower and imagination, alright. From a small spark, it starts generating enough heat to boil the floating ball of water from the inside out. Ever so slowly, the water enclosure evaporates into hydrogen and oxygen, leaving behind a docile ball of flame with a slight bluish tint.
Feeling the warmth of the fire licking my palm, I tilt my head before curiously condensing the fireball, an action that is quite easy to do. I then decide to add fuel to the fire, quite literally so, by pulling up on my chemistry knowledge and the Abyss Totem Stigmata. I use my control over the winds, trying my darn best to feed the flame with a gradually increasing dosage of hydrogen, all the while doing my best to contain the increasing volatile fireball. From the initial yellowish blue, I turn the fireball to a shimmering white orb the size of a golf ball. It's hot on my palm, like even hotter than the hot spring is currently, although it's quite a dumb comparison if I do say so myself. Anyway, I get a feeling that this thing will be leaving a good, good burn on something or someone unprotected, but it will be near worthless against anything 40K. When combined with a suitable blade, however, I can see this white flame being able to do some damage.
But is a flaming blade dance truly the best method of killing at my disposal? Obviously not. My expectation is that, depending on the quality of a blade, I can infuse a variety of different elemental powers into it. Something like ice to freeze off the enemy's limb or lightning for a potent electrical discharge that can overwhelm a mechanical contraption. Or, like any true Astartes Librarian, I can spellcast and go fisticuffs at the same time. More critically, it may even be possible for me to alter the condition of the battlefield, obfuscating the enemy's vision or breaking the enemy's attack posture with the Stigmata's myriad of possible usages. Or more subtly, I can use it as an assassination method, a hidden killing blade, so to speak. However, perhaps the most important function of the Abyss Totem Stigmata is its potential for defensive use. Some time ago, I discovered the benefits of the Stigmata for conjuring defensive barriers, either made out of ice or dirt. It's also quite useful in digging a foxhole as well. That said, the light element, or Spectro, since it's upgraded, takes the cake for being perhaps the most durable as a defensive curtain. Spectro is also one of my more efficient elements in terms of expenditure and manipulation, beaten only by water and ice.
Thinking this far, I slowly snuff out the white orb of fiery death by slowly suffocating it, cutting it from the fuel it needs. As the heat dissipates from my palm, I decide to play around with the Spectro element, creating a light show of sorts with its resplendent gold light. On a whim, I condense the light into a 1:1 replica of the Abyss Totem Stigmata, matching even the white color and light blue outline. Gazing at the replica, I flick it with a finger, making the replica spin midair. I then lean back on the edge of the hot spring, my mind once again at work to hypothesize more about my acquired skills and perks. Speaking of that, I should get around to taking a better look at the stuff I got from Nicolae. So lost in my thoughts like that, I fail to realize that someone is about to join me in the hot spring as well.
I am only shaken out of my mulling when the pitter-pattering of multiple footsteps finds its way into my ears. Turning around, I come to see that it's the whole martial family coming in. Hua, Fuxi, Nuwa, and Xuanyan, all of them are here with nothing but bath towels covering their delicate places. And no, I am blushing because of the heat, not because I am momentarily captivated by their forms.
Being distracted by their arrivals, I forgot that my Abyss Totem Stigmata is still glowing on my naked chest and that I have a replica lazily spinning midair. The strange sight first grasps the interest of the keen Hua and Xuanyan, but then Fuxi and Nuwa notice it as well. While the rest regard my Stigmata with surprise before realization, it's Nuwa who voices her confused question.
"Ein? What do you have over on...! Hold up! Wait a minute! Isn't that a Stigmata!?" Nuwa's shout destroys the tranquility inside the hot spring.
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After the revelation about me having a Stigmata, which is apparently something extremely rare, with only Xuanyan being the first case they came across, yet another information exchange is conducted. This time, I share with them what I know about the Abyss Totem Stigmata while Hua and the rest explain to me what a Stigmata really is. Subsequently, I am subjected to a crash course about Honkai energy and whatever else that are linked to that subject, which is to say, a lot.
I sigh, habitually massaging my temple as I digest the deluge of information I receive right after the dip in the spring. "You know, perhaps it ain't wrong to say that the current, fragile peace I am seeing here is built upon mountains of sacrifice, where even a sneeze from the Honkai risks making everything utterly meaningless."
"Didn't you just say that when you first got here?" Fuxi tilts her head, commenting on what I said in exasperation.
I deadpan. "I said it twice for added emphasis. It's a damn miracle that this many of you made it all the way to this point."
"Even I must concur with that assessment... Small mercies." Hua sighs as well.
I look at my Master for a bit before reaching out to pat her across the table. "For what it's worth, I think you have fought admirably already, sister Hua."
Mirroring my action, Xuanyan nods eagerly. "Un! Un! Jingwei, Fuxi, and Nuwa, you all are heroes, or well, heroines?"
Hearing Xuanyan's momentary confusion, we all share a chuckle before Hua changes the subject.
"Now that you are confirmed to possess a Stigmata, Ein, it does change a lot of your future training itinerary. The specifics of which will have to be determined after Fuxi and Nuwa perform their research on the Abyss Totem Stigmata, however."
Fuxi, ever so serious, nods. "Theoretically, Stigmata needs both Honkai energy and mental power for all kinds of manipulation. From our point of view, Honkai energy is the fuel, while mental power is the sparkplug for the Stigmata. It's surprising that the only drawbacks that you have are the consumption of mental power, however. Which then raises the question, where did you get the fuel for the Stigmata, or even any of your skills, from?"
Nuwa adds, glancing at where my Abyss Totem should be beneath my new attire with a hot gaze that... The gaze holds various meanings by the look of it. "I hypothesize that, instead of a limited pool of fuel, or Honkai energy, you instead have a direct connection to an unlimited source of power, something like the Imaginary Space. And regrettably, the only examples we know of about personages with a characteristic like you, well, they all were quite keen to destroy our civilizations."
I frown at that, speaking in a low tone. "Herrschers..."
Everyone, even Xuanyan, loses their smiles. Hua saying. "Yes... But even though we fight the Honkai for what it is, we can't say to be understanding of everything about it, much less the wider world. It's also possible that, instead of Imaginary Space, you are pulling your energy from somewhere else that is not connected to our universe, even though the Stigmata could have a link to here."
I smile at Hua's attempt to reassure me of a grim possibility. "Thanks, sister Hua..."
Then I look her in the eyes. "But if there exists even the slightest chance of me turning against humanity..."
"... Kill me."
My grave request is met with not shock or surprise, but with sadness and understanding from those around me. Hua nods, answering my conviction. "Understood."
That brief, one-word sentence contains enough suppressed feeling in it for me to understand that Hua doesn't want such a possibility of me turning Evil to exist. And although Debuff Immunity should help me prevent something like that, I think it's better to tone down my expectations and have a failsafe in the form of Hua and the Emperor.
"Enough of this doom talking, geez! Business later, it's a get-together now!" Nuwa slams the tea table, standing up before pointing an index finger at me. "Ein, I order you, as your older sister, to do something interesting! Like telling us some cool stuff about you! Or show us something otherworldly, yeah!"
As if the previous grim atmosphere never existed, we all return to our prior, more gentle expressions. I giggle at Nuwa's expressiveness and her demand.
"Sister Nuwa, are you treating me like Doraemon? But well, perhaps I should acquaint you all to my skills and perks, like Debuff Immunity and Skillshare, for once. Oh, and I have this cool sword and a special ticket that can upgrade it into something more wonderful, yeah..."