Work Text:
The fight….is set!
Receive Divinity.
Unnecessary.
Receive Divinity.
Unnecessary.
The fight….is set!
Receive Divinity.
Unnecessary.
RECEIVE DIVINITY.
UNECCESSARY.
Vale…to send you!
Savour it for me.
Battle Over
Blade let out a sigh, heavy as his past self’s finely crafted weapons – the astronomical weight was not to be handled lightly. The poor swordsman was aware of his true identity; not Yingxing but a 5-star Wind DPS, adorned with horrendous peacock-esque relics more suited for that ‘damned gambler’ (he memorised from Dr Ratio’s rare ramblings) he often saw sauntering around in their waiting lobby with that irritating smug ready for trouble. When the user didn’t include him in their team comps, he usually hid in the darkness, reluctant to mingle amongst the abandoned 4-stars and underbuilt 5-stars. Both parties incessantly ranted about their lack of purpose, never failing to cause a self-deprecating laugh from Blade who knew all too well what it feels to wander the world without a clue what his future holds. Now burdened with the knowledge that his character was simply a game character crafted for fans to indulge in, felt sickening…perhaps it was the way of fate telling him that his time of living was not up just yet. How disappointing indeed.
Ever since the surge of new Penacony characters, Blade’s ranking descended like his reputation as a DPS had been impaled with Jingliu’s sword – it wasn't exactly the death he wanted but who was he to complain? Less battles meant less interactions with the other chosen characters…especially a certain blond-haired, enigmatic healer that will bother him until his deaally.
th (literally). Why did his creators make his kit so intertwined with Luocha? They never met in canon nor had some sort of connection apart from the blondie’s snarky remark about him when they were teamed up. Who gave him the right to tease him about his future, sweet burial where Blade could finally taste the glory of death? The audacity was astonishing – what had Jingliu taught this guy?
“Good evening, Blade, I just wanted to say well done on the recent conflict, we were all aware that the user was not in the greatest spirits and therefore the boss battle took far longer than it should have,” oh speak of the devil, the healer had shown up out of the blue, invading his space like a sneaky parasite!
“....It was nothing, now go,” Blade dismissed his teammate, unwilling to prolong the futile conversation.
Luocha simply smiled politely like he always did, concealing any sort of feelings. It was getting annoying, the swordsman had to admit…not that he cared that much. It was natural to notice when the user glued him to the blondie like peas in a pod.
“I gladly will…after all, another battle awaits me,” Luocha let out a light sigh of fatigue which Blade picked up on. It was no secret how used the 5-star healers were, Huohuo and Bailu included but the poor merchant was on another level of overworked, all because of his incredible talent of auto-healing, not to mention how often it was abused on Blade.
“Well…good luck I suppose,” whatever tempted Blade to even leave him with a comment, he didn’t know. Was he getting too soft for his liking, or was his strangely relaxed mood finally affecting him?
“Ah, thank you, Blade. May we meet again.”
The days appeared to linger for eternity as the sight of the unchanging cosmos was the only backdrop to the character’s shared lobby space. Apart from the extravagant additions of Aventurine’s furniture and a stage for Robin to entertain other characters in the meantime, it surely didn’t matter to the dozing wind DPS, nestled on his favourite chair – mahogany wood adorned with soot black cushioning. With his unspoken reputation of napping away the time until he was awoken with a battle to assist in, the title of the Dozing General could be easily snatched from the exuberant Jing Yuan, considered to be quite popular with the other characters due to his easy-going manner.
If only it wasn’t for the darkest, worst part of Blade simply being Blade – the sheer amount of other users that picked him as a support in the golden and crimson calyxes. Were they simply too attracted to him? Were they unaware that there were far better characters to use, or did they just want to torment him, use him as a virtual punching bag? The amount of alternate Luochas he had encountered also struck his nerves to the core, seeming to establish the truth that Blade was meant to be with Luocha, a universal agreement with all the users. Indeed, it was hard pill for all the Blades to have swallowed. It was no different for him, however, he found his Luocha to be more tolerable, considering how his user was some maniac who had him maxed out to E6, which may seem advantageous but for the swordsman’s insatiable hunger for death, he’ll be forever starving with an invincible Luocha by his side. Was Yingxing’s sin so severe that his punishment would last outside of the Honkai universe in the form of his user making it practically impossible for him to die?
‘Out of five people, three must pay the price’ no, scrap that! Everyone should pay the price, including his user, the other annoying characters, Luocha–
“I noticed you haven’t had dinner,” the healer offered a plate of sizzling steak with a kind smile. When did he get back from battle?
“Oh…thanks,” Blade replied blankly, feeling like a dumb fool being lost in his spiral of catastrophic thoughts once more.
“No problem…it’s good to keep track of your diet, after all, being healthy will only mean better damage output in battle,” yeah, no shit , Blade pondered miserably, not like his user even liked to use him for anything but fighting Jarilo VI robots in an ugly shade of blue accompanied by its exploding minions and pesky robot traffic lights.
“And what about you?” the Stellaron Hunter asked with a sharp bite, “Surely you will follow your own advice, fool.”
“I– what do you mean by that?”
Blade scoffed, dumbfounded at the healer’s obliviousness to his own predicament and yet, had the nerve to lightly remind him of his self-neglect.
“You’re always off into battle, do you even have time to care for yourself?” his jabbing question was met with contemplative silence. Blade was surprised that he was even listened to.
“I…well, I suppose not to be honest,” the healer sighs with a pensive smile, “Though it cannot be helped, I must do my duty and I am proud to be the line of defense for my teams.”
Blade observed him silently, acknowledging that Luocha was undeniably a hard worker and despite the mystery looming over him, everyone had their secrets to keep, whether for the better or the worse. Deep in his heart, did he develop a budding curiosity to know about the healer? Perhaps he did. Will he act upon such irrelevant feelings? Absolutely not.
“I see…well just…take care of yourself too, healer, you are a key character to my team, even if I hate to admit it,” Blade mumbled, avoiding eye contact thought he could imagine a surprised yet pleasant look on the other’s face.
“I will, thank you, Blade,” the tenderness in Luocha’s voice touched a spot in the cold Stellaron Hunter, sensing the true gratefulness.
“You know, despite all the teams I am paired in…yours is still my most cherished.”
Well, unexpected was an understatement for what Blade thought of his words, “And why is that?”
“Isn’t it obvious enough? We’ve been together for the longest, even if we may not be the most ideal team combination for damage I…still quite appreciate fighting by your side.”
Blade chuckled in disbelief before his face deadpanned, “You’re unbelievable, you know? Saying that to me out of every character, are you jesting?”
.
“I’d like to think I’m quite honest, Blade, don’t take me for a fool.”
“Ha! As if, but I can’t stop you from believing whatever you believe,” the swordsman softens for a moment, a peculiar feeling of peace soothing his bandaged soul, “Just, stay by me whenever you can, alright? I’m not asking for much, am I?”
“Certainly not, I’ll be more than glad to accompany you, Blade. Whatever our user may choose to do with us in the future, I’ll surely see you around, alright? You’re not one to easily forget.”
“Is that a good or bad thing?” he teased, a rare playfulness coming from someone eager of death. It was laughale.
“I’ll leave that up to you,” the healer smiled before giving a small wave as his body slowly faded away, signalling it was time for him to start a battle.
Whether he saw a smirk on Blade’s face or not, he surely didn’t give a reaction.
Oddly enough, the Stellaron Hunter was midly disappointed. Foolish feelings lead to foolish actions , he reprimanded himself. And yet…he couldn’t help but want to feel this way.