Chapter Text
Honkai energy.
Coveted by some, feared by many.
The Honkai is unforgiving. It destroys all that is in its path, save for the strongest few who survive its corruption.
But with this immense destruction comes the ultimate power that any human could only dream of.
The power to manipulate time, space, even worlds, at the snap of a finger.
But for Barbatos, the Honkai—the despicable force that forced him to relive his nightmares over and over—is nothing but a 'demon' of sorts, if he's to put it that way.
He needs to put an end to the Honkai.
"Barbatos."
A tall, slender man with a tuft of white hair on his head walks up. The man being addressed—Barbatos—pursed his lips together, frowning.
"Kevin, if you're here to convince me to change my mind, I'm not."
The other man—Kevin—shakes his head.
"I know you've set your mind on this already. But I have to warn you: this is not necessarily safe."
"I know."
"You may even lose your identity. Your knowledge of self."
Barbatos grunts, glaring at Kevin.
"You said it yourself. You were willing to try anything and everything that had a potential to save humanity from this...terror."
"Yes, I know. But-"
"No more 'but's. When I said I'll be fully committed to the elimination of the Honkai, I meant it."
Barbatos clenches his fists.
"Even if it means I may die in the process."
"Then-"
"But this," Barbatos vaguely gestures to his surroundings. "This is the one chance to ensure the prosperity of humanity. I will make sure this project succeeds."
Kevin puts a hand on his forehead.
"Project ARK is the culmulation of my blood, sweat and tears." Barbatos sighs. "I have to see this to the end."
"...Alright. I won't try to stop you any further."
Barbatos settles down on a bed. This particular bed is fashioned with devices of different sizes, all linked to a single port in a helmet.
"Besides, you and Su...you two are the only two males who successfully combined with the genes of a Honkai Beast. If anyone in the team's making this sacrifice...it's me."
Kevin turns away.
"If this doesn't work out..." Barbatos smiles sadly. "Just know that I don't blame you."
He puts on the helmet, and all that existed fades before his eyes.
A light wisp of wind—a rarity in the nothingness that Barbatos is in—gently caresses his cheek.
Of course, this emptiness is to be expected: after all, the world has yet to be initialised. The initial infrastructure that he made had only the bare minimum to store genetic information: to actually test them out, he needs to make some adjustments.
Barbatos summons a screen in front of him, and he begins to type furiously into the interface. He'd revised this multiple times: the precise conditions for this experiment, that is. He couldn't bring anything physical into this world, and by extension definitely not any kind of notepapers.
If this experiment shows to him feasible results, then maybe, just maybe, humanity could be continued in such an environment.
A drop of sweat rolls down his forehead. A single wrong character could lead to all his hard work being destroyed—or other things that Barbatos couldn't imagine happening.
With the final keys being entered, Barbatos lets out a breath he didn't realise he was holding.
Except that there's something wrong.
The darkness ahead of him cracks, and a bright light washes over him.