Chapter 207: The Sky People

"... Since when did you realize it?" Kouro asked with a surprised expression.

He was indeed surprised by the information provided by Ashborn, but what surprised him the most was that he realized that he was not 'Hanagami Kouro'.

'Why is Ashborn mentioning this now? Is there something he wants to explain or something he wants to know?' Kouro thought.

Seeing his surprised expression, Ashborn then said calmly while sipping his tea.

"... Do you know, the power of shadows can only be controlled by those who possess the will of the Herrscher of Shadows, like Sid and me. Even so, I wonder why you can't control that ability yet."

Kouro was silent at his words because the reason he came to this world was to activate the power of the Herrscher of Shadows within him.

"So, what are you going to do? Tell the others that I'm not Hanagami Kouro?" Kouro asked with his eyes staring at his teacup half-filled with black tea.

His acting skills allowed him to fully control his expressions and emotions.

"No." said Ashborn before taking a sip of his tea.

"Huh?" Kouro immediately raised his head with a confused expression.

"No matter whether you are Kouro or not, you are still Kouro in the end." said Ashborn with a calm expression.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Kouro, feeling confused by his words, unfortunately Ashborn did not answer him again.

Seeing Ashborn not answer him, his brain immediately thought at high speed creating theories and conspiracies.

'Hm? Wait a minute, is it possible that 'System' is actually the will of the real Herrscher of Shadows and I'm a soul from another world who coincidentally took over the body of 'Hanagami Kouro'?' this baseless thought crossed his mind before he immediately dismissed it.

After all, it was obvious that he had the memories of both Kouro from the Current Era and the Previous Era including his memories from his previous life.

'Wait! Does that mean Shadow and Ashborn have memories of their previous lives too?' Kouro thought with a serious expression, fortunately the expression was not noticed by Sakura and Ashborn as his face was shielded by his cup.

Sakura who heard the conversation between the two of them couldn't help but ask as she felt the atmosphere around the two of them had become strange.

"Umm... It seems like your conversation is very important, I'd better get going-"

"There's no need to rush." Ashborn said and picked up some sugar before putting it into his tea and stirring it.

"The information I just told you, is not very valuable to most people." he continued calmly.

"Not very valuable? If Otto knew that those who can use shadow abilities are able to revive someone...' Kouro thought with a wry expression.

He could already imagine countless clones of himself being created by Otto.

Kouro didn't know that Otto was actually good friends with Ashborn, he probably would have known a little bit if he had previously listened carefully to Sakura's story.

The atmosphere was temporarily silent apart from the occasional sound of sipping tea.

Kouro stared at his empty cup before raising his head and asking, "...There's something I don't understand."

"Say it." Ashborn said in a calm tone.

"You said before that it's impossible to make clones with shadow abilities in large numbers because only I, you, and Shadow can use shadow abilities... "

"Right." Ashborn nodded her head.

"Then, why is it that my father, despite not having the will of the Herrscher of Shadows, can turn into a Pseudo-Herrscher of Shadows?" continued Kouro with a puzzled expression.

Hearing his question, Ashborn then pointed at Kouro or rather towards his chest.

"Because he received recognition from the Herrscher of Shadows' Core. " he said.

"It's that simple?" said Kouro with an incredulous expression.

"Of course it's not that simple, to get the recognition of the Herrscher of Shadows' Core, you are required to meet KOURO in the [Elysian Realm] and get a Trial from him." Ashborn replied.

"Ah, you do know the [Elysian Realm], right?" he asked.

Kouro nodded his head.

From what he knew, the [Elysian Realm] was located in a secret place in the [Serpent World], it was created from the Previous Era to store the remaining 13 copies of the consciousness of the MANTIS who had memories and some super secret information.

The place was only entered by those who were truly chosen or those who wanted the truth, unfortunately very few people managed to meet the other copies of the MANTIS consciousness.

It's just that, Kouro really didn't expect that KOURO's consciousness was also copied. This really proved that KOURO was really a person who had a secret or important role.

"What was the Trial given to my father?" asked Kouro.

Ashborn filled his empty cup with tea and took some sugar before taking a sip, only after sighing he then answer.

"I don't know."

"Huh?" a big question mark appeared above Kouro's head.

"You don't know?" asked Kouro trying to confirm.

Ashborn nodded his head, "I asked Sagaki about the Trial once, but he didn't answer my question, so I didn't ask again. "

"I see... Then, can I enter the [Elysian Realm]?" Kouro asked in a calm tone.

"No." Ashborn immediately rejected him, not even giving Kouro time to give a reason.

"Why?" asked Kouro curiously, he was a little disappointed to be rejected, but he understood that Ashborn must have a reason for rejecting him.

"You are from another world, you belong to another world. I also think that the history of our world and yours is not too different, so I suggest that you ask Mobius from your world instead of this world."

"Hmm..." Kouro hummed with a slightly dim expression while filling his empty cup with tea.

He understood the meaning of Ashborn's words, as someone who came from another world, his destiny did not belong to this world, moreover what Ashborn said was true, it was better to enter his own world's [Elysian Realm] rather than another world.

Seeing his dim expression, Ashborn then said, "Do you know? There have actually been countless talented people from various times who entered the [Elysian Realm] in order to obtain the power of Shadow."

"Just imagine that someone like Leonidas, the Pharaoh king, King Solomon, and other historical figures have come to the [Elysian Realm] in order to obtain the power of Shadow. People with that great history, all of them without exception failed to complete KOURO's Trial. And Sagaki was the only one who succeeded."

(E/D: The Holy Grail War… My excuse for all the damage is gas leaks.)

Kouro raised his head to stare at Ashborn with a dumbfounded expression.

"Really?"

Ashborn nodded his head solemnly.

"I'm not lying to you, Ms. Klein told me all this. Now do you understand how great your father is?"

Kouro blankly nodded his head. A feeling of pride rose in his heart at the thought of his father.

It was such a pity that his parents had died in the original world.

'Kouro of this world... I hope you can love your parents and always support and help them...' Kouro thought with a small smile remembering his other self from this world.

Sakura who had spent several cups of tea silently listening to their conversation then realized that Kouro and Ashborn were currently looking at her which made her nervous.

"Wh-What?"

"Did you accept Ashborn's offer to revive Higokumaru?" asked Kouro.

Sakura seemed to have a thinking expression for a long time, the tea in her cup had stopped steaming and was cold.

In the end, Sakura nodded her head heavily, she unconsciously looked at Ashborn with a complicated gaze.

Feeling her gaze, Ashborn simply said, "Let's just say that reviving Higokumaru is my way of atoning for my sins. By the way I'm planning to revive him tomorrow morning, is that okay?"

Ashborn said calmly as if it wasn't him who would be sacrificed.

Sakura nodded her head and stood up, she looked at the two of them one last time before turning to Ashborn again, she remembered the girl who looked like her little sister before and couldn't help asking him.

"Ashborn... That girl who was guarding SAKURA... Is she... " Sakura didn't manage to finish her words due to fear, confusion and so on but at the same time there was a glimmer of hope in her heart.

"What do you think?" Ashborn asked back, not answering her question directly.

Sakura stood still for a moment before nodding her head, she then said a few words to Kouro before leaving.

Seeing that Sakura had left, Ashborn turned to look at Kouro while taking a sip of his tea and said, "Before I die, you can ask me anything, I will try my best to be able to answer your questions."

There were so many questions Kouro wanted to ask, he didn't know where to start.

"... What is the purpose of our creation?" asked Kouro after thinking for a long time.

"I don't know much, but in my opinion, we are the remnants of the regrets KOURO had during his lifetime." Ashborn replied.

Kouro raised his ears and listened attentively.

"I, Ashborn, am regret, Shadow is inferior, and you, Kouro are fear." Ashborn continued.

"In the Previous Era, KOURO might have regretted the choices he made that eventually led to the deaths of everyone he cared about... He also lacked great talent and may have felt inferior to Kevin and the others in [Fire Moth]. And then... There's you, Kouro." Ashborn said while pointing at him.

'KOURO is afraid of the future he sees, he who knows that future feels hesitant to change it because of regret and a sense of inferiority.' Kouro thought with a dreamy expression.

Maybe... Higokumaru's intention at that time, KOURO sacrificed those three feelings to become a [Higher Being] and defeat the Herrscher of the End. Then because he didn't want to lose those feelings again, KOURO kept those feelings inside his Herrscher core which eventually became a 'Will'.

Kouro did not know if Shadow and Ashborn had KOURO's memories or past lives just like him, but if not then...

'Is this the real reason why I have the memories of KOURO and Hanagami Kouro even from my previous life as well?'

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That had indeed answered his question but then why was it that out of Shadow and Ashborn, only he had the 'System'?

At the very least, as a fellow Herrscher of Shadows, the two of them should also have their own 'System', but from what he could see they did not.

Was the Herrscher of Shadows someone who showed favoritism?

Hmm... It was better to skip this question because it might offend Ashborn.

"Is there anything else you want to ask?"

... 

"Since when, did you realize that I am not Kouro?" he asked this to lighten the mood.

Ashborn took a sip of his tea before saying, "When you touched the core of the Herrscher of Shadows and had it absorbed into your body. "

"Ahaha~ So it's been that long." Kouro laughed awkwardly in response to his words.

After that, Kouro asked several things, whether Kevin was still the same as the original plot trapped inside the [Sea of Quanta], where Vill-V was actually located and so on.

Answering his questions in order, although there is a slight difference in the process, Kevin is still the same sealed inside the Sea of Quanta due to the clash with Su, then for Vill-V herself...

Ashborn took something out of his pocket before showing it to Kouro.

"This?!" Kouro's expression changed seeing the object in Ashborn's hand.

"Looks like you recognize this thing." Ashborn said, seeing his expression.

In his hand was a small robot smaller than his palm in the shape of a blood-red octopus.

'The Lover! ' Kouro thought with a serious expression.

[The Lover] One of the troublesome enemies in the game in a special event [A Post-Honkai Odyssey (APHO)] set 8 years after Honkai was successfully sealed on the moon.

The enemies are different from the Honkai Beast and others because they are from outer space, in other words, Aliens!

These alien creatures are called 'Sky People'!

"Sky People... I see... So Vill-V-san is elsewhere investigating these robots..." Kouro muttered.

'Mhn? Don't tell me Vill-V is at the [Sugars Fortress]?'

[The Sugars] is an alien organization whose goal is to stop the Sky People. They live in [Sugars Fortress] who move in a higher dimension.

Their bodies are shaped like cotton candy balls.

It seems to be customary for them to seek out human mates and assist in their efforts to defeat invading armies or Honkai. When assisting a human partner, they can lend extraordinary strength and semi-immortality due to their immense cell regeneration power.

He remembered that Shub-Niggurath bonded with one of The Sugar which is the reason why she had such an incredible regeneration factor.

Unfortunately Kouro could not sense [The Sugar's] presence from her, so he thought they had left the earth because of [World Serpent].

He also didn't know much about them except from the comics he had read in his previous life.

But if the plot hadn't changed, in the next 5 years, Murata Ryusuke, Himeko's father becomes the biggest reason [The Sugars] stay away from planet earth and no longer help humanity against the Sky People.

It was also the reason why Himeko became a Valkyrie.

Thinking of all this, Kouro then sighed helplessly at how many enemies were targeting the earth.

 "Last question." Kouro said, he first took a sip of his tea until the cup was empty before setting it down on the table with a bang before finally asking.

"Ashborn-san... Are you my grandfather?"

Hearing his question, Ashborn's movements halted for a moment before returning to normal, he raised his head and looked at him, instead of giving a direct answer, he asked him back.

"What do you think?"

While saying this, Ashborn did not forget to fill Kouro's empty cup.

Staring at his cup that was already filled to the brim with steaming tea, Kouro raised his head to see Ashborn already thrusting his cup at him as if to make a toast.

Staring at Ashborn's cup for a moment, Kouro finally smiled and toasted him.

Although Ashborn did not answer his question, the act of toasting was already Ashborn's confirmation of his question.

"Grandfather, tell me about your meeting with Father."

"Hahaha~ that would be a long story."

"It's okay, I'm ready to listen all night."

Under the moonlight that penetrated through the glass window, Kouro and Ashborn were smiling and laughing together like a harmonious family.

__

The next day, in the morning.

In a room that was dimly lit but not enough to interfere with one's vision.

Kouro, Ashborn, Sakura, Shadow, Sagaki, Mobius and Aponia were standing around Higokumaru's body on a long table covered with a soft mattress.

They all did not speak at all making the atmosphere tense and suffocating.

Shadow's eyes were slightly reddened with sadness.

Ashborn turned to look at Sakura before nodding to each other and then stepped closer and placed her hand on Higokumaru's forehead before closing his eyes.

The shadow energy inside Ashborn's body began to move, but unlike what they thought, the energy moved in reverse inside Ashborn's body.

Normally this would result in a backlash and damage the internal organs, this was evident from Ashborn's sweaty and increasingly pale face.

Sagaki, as the creator of the ability, looked at Ashborn with a worried expression.

After all, even though he created the ability, he never used it at all because the side effects were too severe!

Ashborn's aura then appeared to envelop Higokumaru's body, an invisible vortex was created from Ashborn's shadow, as the vortex became clearer the paler Ashborn's face became.

...

Higokumaru POV.

Darkness, the cold boundless darkness that surrounds me. I couldn't move or even speak, I could only think.

'Where is this?' I thought in confusion.

Just as my mind felt empty, a sudden flashback flashed through my mind making me realize.

Ah, I'm already dead.

A boring place like this... Is this place the final resting place of a Herrscher?

Strangely, after knowing that I had died, I didn't even feel anything... Is it because I'm no longer attached to my body or is it rather the brain that produces some enzymes that create emotions?

Staring at the boundless darkness around me, will I remain here forever, unable to move?

As that thought crossed my mind, a slight feeling of dread came over me.

"..."

I don't know how long I've been in this place, making me wonder if time in this place runs the same as earth.

Whenever I thought, my mind would feel slowed down, similar to daydreaming not paying attention to the things around me, long past memories would play in my mind.

'KOURO...'

Time then continued to pass.

"Mhn?" I felt something, something akin to a tug.

Is it just me?

*Swreeet*

NO! It wasn't just a feeling, something was pulling me from below!

I couldn't escape because I couldn't move.

The attraction was so strong like a Black Hole that I was sucked straight down leaving this boring place.

...

"Where is this?" my mumbling voice buzzed inside a space, the soft feeling under my body made me sleepy, my slightly blurred eyes slowly came into focus.

Seeing a face that was very familiar to me, I immediately put on a dumbfounded expression.

"Kouro? Sakura? Mobius?"

POV End.

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