"Your mission has changed," his tone was flat but every word carried weight. "Protect this child, Yae Rin.
"Until the crisis is resolved, or I, or other designated personnel come to pick her up."
Anna was stunned. She looked at the girl who seemed like she would shatter at a touch, then at the box of clearly combat-oriented equipment—a lightweight but highly protective suit, a strange-looking but obviously powerful energy pistol, several emergency medical kits, and communicators.
"Protect... her?" Anna repeated, somewhat at a loss. "But, Mr. Joachim, what exactly happened? The crisis... what does it refer to? What kind of enemy do we need to face?"
The mission briefing she received was vague on this, only emphasizing top priority and absolute obedience.
Since then, she had received no further instructions, and even when she proactively contacted them, she got no response.
She only remembered that when she left the City of the Future, the entire city abruptly went into high alert. There were more security mechs on the streets than she had ever seen in her life, and all the buildings in the city emitted a terrifying red light.
All traffic seemed paralyzed. There were no shuttles flying in the vacuum tubes, and no hovering vehicles on the roads, all making way for the security mechs.
At that moment, the only vehicle moving through the entire city was the one she was in.
Joachim was silent for a moment. His gaze swept over Anna's confused face and finally landed on Yae Rin. A deeply complex emotion flashed in the depths of his eyes—concern, determination, and perhaps a hint of imperceptible guilt.
"The enemy..." he slowly spat out the word, his voice as low as a rolling boulder. "Could be an existence beyond your comprehension. It could be monsters, natural disasters, or maybe... someone you once knew well."
Anna's heart sank. This vague and terrifying description sent chills down her spine.
She subconsciously clenched her fists, feeling a chill rise from the soles of her feet.
"No more information can be provided," Joachim interrupted any further questions she might have raised, his tone leaving no room for doubt. "You just need to remember, your mission is to use all means necessary to ensure her safety.
"This is more important than your personal safety, than me, than everything happening or about to happen outside. Do you understand?"
He emphasized the last three words. Those eyes, which always seemed wise and gentle, were now sharp as an eagle's, staring tightly at Anna with the weight of a thousand tons.
Anna felt a suffocating pressure.
She didn't understand, didn't understand at all!
But the rigorous training of the City of the Future and the bloodline of the Schariac family that kept promises allowed her to straighten her back even in extreme confusion.
She took a deep breath, suppressed the myriad questions in her heart, and responded in a deep voice, "...Understood. Mission guaranteed."
Joachim nodded and said no more.
He walked up to Yae Rin, squatted down, and tried to meet her gaze.
"Rin," his voice softened a lot, carrying a rare gentleness. "This sister Anna will protect you. Listen to her, okay?"
Yae Rin finally looked up. Those big eyes were filled with anxiety and fear, but she bit her lower lip tightly, didn't cry or make a fuss, just nodded vigorously and replied softly, "...Mhm. Rin will be obedient."
She didn't know what was happening, but she could feel that the brother Joachim, who had always been gentle, now emitted an aura that frightened her, and the new sister was also very nervous.
She only knew that she wasn't with her sister now, so she had to be good and not cause trouble.
This sensibility beyond her age and the suppressed fear made Anna's heart feel like it was being squeezed by an invisible hand.
She didn't ask any more questions and silently began to put on her equipment and check her weapons.
Every movement was standard and quick, but her slightly trembling fingertips revealed the stormy waves in her heart.
Joachim took one last look at this temporarily formed pair of "guardian" and "guarded," turned around, and left the safe house without hesitation.
What he had to face next was definitely not this small safe house, but the entire Sapphire City.
The sound of the door closing wasn't loud, but it was like a sluice gate, dropping the heavy future completely.
Inside the room, only the cold clinking of metal equipment, Anna's slightly disordered breathing, and Yae Rin's almost inaudible suppressed sobbing while hugging her doll remained.
Countdown—
Five minutes.
Kallen stood in the fierce wind. The dust on the Arahato armor had been wiped away, leaving only the scratches from battle.
Himeko checked the energy magazine of her gun for the last time. She looked at Yae Sakura beside her, whose eyes were dead, and instructed briefly, "Follow me closely. Only by surviving can you see your sister."
Yae Sakura didn't respond, just gripping Sakura Fubuki, her knuckles turning white from the force.
Fu Hua stood quietly in the center of the field, her eyes half-closed, her aura connected to the entire martial arts school.
The Seven Swords of Taixu—Lin Chaoyu, Su Mei, Ma Feima, Cheng Lingshuang, Jiang Wanxi, Jiang Wanru, Qin Suyi—stood quietly behind her, like seven ancient swords sheathed in their scabbards. Their sharpness was concealed, only the sword qi flowing silently around them, waiting for the moment to be unsheathed and drink blood.
Behind the Seven Swords, all the disciples of the Taixu Martial Arts School, led by Cheng Lixue, stood quietly, silent without a word.
A middle-aged man with a face somewhat similar to Fu Hua stood at the very back of the team, holding the hand of a puzzled Li Sushang.
Beside him and Li Sushang, Anna gripped the energy pistol tightly, her breathing slightly rapid.
Chen Tianwu stood beside her, clumsily checking the weapon in his hand, his eyes filled with a complex mix of confusion and determination.
Natasha's hand pressed lightly on the cold armor of a Titan Mech, like soothing a giant beast about to go to war.
Joachim's fingertip tapped lightly on the holographic map of the city, and several key locations on the map lit up.
...
In the Pearl of the Sea, the cheers of the audience were about to overturn this iconic building.
Yun Feng stood in the shadows beside the curtain, looking at the stage that was ready and plunged into the final darkness before the brilliance, silently clenching his fists.
Everyone here was shouting "Yun Mengxi." They screamed, wantonly expressing their excitement and love for Yun Mengxi.
The spotlight focused here. Everyone's eyes were fixed on the pitch-black stage, waiting for the shining star they pursued to twinkle here. They came for this, and for nothing else.
Then, the moment the stage spotlight lit up, the moment Yun Mengxi appeared on the lifting platform from below the stage—
The Honkai descended.