Honkai: Starting to Wander with Kiana

"Sis Bronya, what's the sea like?"

Seele and Bronya sat side by side, holding a well-loved fairy tale book called The Little Mermaid. Seele had read it so many times that the edges of its pages were worn and tattered.

"You've never seen the sea, Seele?"

"Nope. I've been in the orphanage for as long as I can remember." Seele gave Bronya a sweet smile. Though she was an orphan, she never felt alone. She had Cocolia, her "Mom," and Bronya, her "Sis," both of whom cared deeply for her.

"How do I describe it?" Bronya thought for a moment, gazing into Seele's eyes. "The sea... it's the color of your eyes, Seele. Oh, and summer is almost here. How about we go see the sea together?"

That was the promise Bronya had made to Seele a week ago. But now, Seele couldn't keep her end of the deal. Yet, before she disappeared, she wanted to see Sis Bronya just one more time...

Seele clutched the songbook tightly as she sped across the sea, her quantum powers propelling her at breakneck speed. The sonic booms trailing behind her left deep craters in the water, rippling endlessly in her wake.

"Experimental subject has breached the containment barrier and escaped the laboratory."

"Target has exited the Sea of Okhotsk region!"

"Currently heading southwest at extreme velocity. That direction leads to Lady Cocolia's orphanage!"

"Seele... what are you doing?!" Cocolia's voice was tense as she observed the signals on her instrument panel. After a moment of hesitation, she waved her hand. "Deploy the tactical mechs immediately. Stop her at all costs!"

Bronya believed that anyone who had seen the sea would fall in love with it.

Its vast embrace nurtured everything, offering peace and warmth beyond compare.

But when the life it protected was in danger, the sea would rise, unleashing its immense power.

Along the coastline, row upon row of tactical mechs appeared, their weapons trained on Seele. Gunfire and explosions filled the air as they tried to intercept her.

Undeterred, Seele swung her scythe with fierce precision, slicing through the machines as if they were nothing but paper. Each swing decimated a line of mechs, but their overwhelming numbers began to take a toll. Missiles rained down, striking her relentlessly.

"Don't... don't get in my way!" Seele's voice was filled with determination as she pressed forward, her body bearing the scars of countless attacks. She knew her time was running out...

Finally, Seele reached the orphanage. Through the door, she could see Bronya sitting there, waiting.

But just as Seele reached out to push the door open, her hand began to dissolve into shimmering quantum particles. The glow of quantum energy spread rapidly, engulfing her entire body.

"No... no! I was so close... Bronya!" Seele's voice trembled with anguish.

Bronya, sensing Seele's cry, turned to look—but the only thing she saw was Seele's hairpin. It passed through the door, landing softly at her feet.

Bronya picked it up and felt its lingering warmth. Though she had never seen this hairpin before, something inside her knew—it belonged to Seele.

Tears welled up in Bronya's eyes. Clutching the hairpin tightly, she let out a heart-wrenching cry.

Rain began to pour from the sky, as though even the heavens mourned Seele's disappearance. Cocolia trudged back to the orphanage, soaked to the bone. She had failed again. Another child lost... and this time, it was Seele.

Watching Seele's final moments on the laboratory monitor, Cocolia had assumed she had gone berserk, intent on destroying the orphanage. She had sent out the tactical mechs to stop her—but Seele's only intention had been to see Bronya one last time.

Not only had Cocolia forced Seele into the experiments, but she had also ensured Seele disappeared in pain and despair, right before her beloved sister.

Cocolia stood in front of Seele's room, rainwater dripping off her clothes. She wanted to step inside, to look at Seele's bed, her clothes, any sign of her existence—but she couldn't summon the courage.

Finally, she reached for the doorknob, intending to push the door open. But it wouldn't budge.

On the other side, Bronya leaned against the door, her fists clenched tightly around Seele's hairpin. She refused to let Cocolia in.

"Cocolia Mother..."

"Bronya? I wanted to talk to you about the experiment." Cocolia paused, suddenly remembering that Seele and Bronya had shared the same room. "Where's Seele? I can't find her..."

"...Seele... took my place in the X10 experiment. But... it failed. Her body was destroyed when she broke through to the subatomic level. She's... she's no longer in this world."

Bronya's grip on the hairpin tightened. "No... no! Seele is still alive. I know she is. She was here. I can feel it!"

"You're right. Seele is alive—but only in a quantum state now. She can't reach us, and we can't reach her."

"Then let me take the experiment! If I undergo it, I can enter the quantum level and find Seele, right?!"

"That's impossible!" Cocolia's voice was firm. "Even Seele, with her superior adaptability, failed. I won't allow the experiment to continue."

Bronya's mind filled with images of Seele. If Seele was alone... that crybaby would surely cry every day...

"Then what about Seele? Are we just going to leave her alone in that place?"

Cocolia fell silent. Finally, she said, "The experiment is over, Bronya. Staying alive is what's most important. Think about it—why did Seele join the experiment in the first place?"

The door creaked open. Bronya stood there, holding Seele's hairpin in one hand and a knife to her throat in the other. Her eyes glowed faintly red.

"If you want Bronya to live... let me take the experiment!"

Cocolia hesitated, then let out a heavy sigh. "Fine..."