A journey of Shadowverse and Honkai Impact 3rd

"You've grown up, Sierra."

"On behalf of everyone at the workhouse, thank you."

75. Miracles of the Night

Mana surged, and the azure color was mixed with a hint of hidden new green. In the quiet room, the simple-looking Green Bud Staff appeared, emitting a silent glow in the girl's hand.

It is now late at night. When everyone has fallen asleep, the wind and snow outside are still blowing endlessly, dyeing the world pale white.

But after tonight, sickness will vanish from the asylum, overcome by the magic called healing.

Thoughts and feelings intertwined, and abundant power seeped into the ground beneath the first floor, touching the peaceful earth. Through this, Sera saw the seeds of destruction buried in the soil.

Evil energy radiation also exists, and something called Honkai energy is permeating everywhere, even the thick earth is occupied by it.

However, facing this level of Honkai energy, Sera has never felt any pressure at all due to the scale of her mana that has grown to this point. Even if the extended mana is constantly being depleted, she can still hold on.

"call."

Holding the Green Bud Staff in both hands, Sera's precise manipulation transformed every drop of mana into soldiers of order. In just a moment, the Honkai energy in the ground of the orphanage was cleared, making it possible to successfully weave a large-scale healing ritual.

But for the disciples of the sage, if possible, they can reach it directly.

Whispering softly, immersed in the pure and meditative mind, in the calm and peaceful lake of the heart, multiple magic circles of diffusion, healing, stability and defense are compiled and formed. In the vast circle, spiritual secret codes flash, and miracles are turned into reality in an instant.

The Dharma Ring was imprinted in the invisible earth, and the rising gentle breath penetrated the foundation and floor, bathing everyone in the orphanage in it, just like a school of thirsty fish that had returned to the water and finally received nourishment from the sea water.

The generated mana continuously penetrated into the underground magic circle through the Green Bud Staff, using its own will to maintain the continuation of the magic. Sera, who planned to continue for the entire night, looked calm, and her dark blue eyes showed an indifference that was not affected by the outside world.

A night of peaceful sleep came quietly. Although the relief home, which was isolated from the outside world due to the snowstorm, was actually an isolated island, the isolation and quietness on this island had warmed up and turned into a peaceful and quiet life like living in seclusion in the mountains.

Tranquility without stress is the nourishment for the soul and nurtures a strong inner self. In their respective rooms, the children close their eyes and have a sweet dream of their own at night, while the tired caregivers have a rare opportunity to relax their tense nerves.

They will not know who brought all this, and Sera does not need any actual gratitude. In the endless, cold and lonely night, the girl who turned into a watcher held up a large umbrella for protection and silently waited for the dawn to come on the first floor.

As time went on, the snowstorm that flooded the relief home suddenly intensified. What seemed to be a spontaneous gathering phenomenon was happening blatantly in Sera's perception. The tide of energy was slowly and steadily flowing towards the relief home.

Diffusing in the atmosphere and seeping into the snow, the invisible collapse energy gathered from high concentration to low concentration and touched the mana that constructed the magic ring. In an instant, the increased consumption was fed back to Sera's spirit, and it also secretly revealed the mastermind behind the blizzard.

It was not a natural evolution, but a manifestation of malice. When Sera realized that the celestial phenomena had become tools, she added another layer of external reinforcement to the complex magic circle, making the towering concrete building even more solid.

In addition to distorting living beings, will it also bring suffering in the form of celestial disasters?

I have a deeper understanding of the manifestation of Honkai energy. Sera stands still and silent, but in her small body, as solid and still as the earth, mana is constantly being generated. With her regular breathing, it is injected into the ground and even expands outward.

There is no doubt that this is a fight. On an invisible level, the two energies of Honkai and Mana began to clash fiercely, just like an orphanage that stood firm under the impact of a blizzard. The invisible tug-of-war creaked in the snowy night, shattering the tranquility of the town with phenomena such as broken branches, collapsed walls, and overturned cars.

It's reached its limit.

The possibility of expanding outward to occupy more space was evolving into an impossible challenge. Sensing the increasing intensity of the blizzard and the arrival of the tide of Honkai energy from the outside world, Sera gave up her tentative thoughts and turned to all-round defense, holding on to her own little piece of land at the orphanage.

The celestial phenomenon's desire to attack slowed down a bit, perhaps because the intensity of the battle between the non-expanding mana and Honkai energy was not as high as before. During the personal contact, Sera also consciously thought about the existence form of Honkai energy.

Similar to mana, but different. If the energy flowing in the world and the stars should have corresponding attributes, then the forest is a thriving, broad and tolerant heart, peaceful and gentle.

As for the Honkai energy that exists in the real world... although she feels that this characteristic is a bit wrong, Sera still defines it as the malicious intent of invasion.

The experience of being induced to have negative emotions impact one's true heart is still deeply engraved in the mind. Even a strong mind that has faced a tragic past will feel particularly disgusted by it. The manipulated and intensified hatred is enough to make a person lose his mind and deviate from his original kindness.

Using the listening skills she learned in the forest, although the sounds were not as clear as the forest's, the wind direction flowing in the world still brought vague sounds to Sera.

Creaking... like the sound of gears turning, the sound is piercing the ears. The unstoppable trend is accompanied by countless tightly fitted gears pressing forward, making all resistance disappear in vain and turning into an insignificant speck of dust in the history of the planet.

Crushed by the sound she heard, her spirit fell into a painful situation, and her heart was stirred up a little. The consequence of temporary deafness appeared on Sera, and then was healed by the healing technique in her body.

Sera couldn't say what she heard, but the feeling of being oppressed was very real. If she didn't stop in time, there might be more terrible consequences. However, perhaps she still discovered something unusual while listening.

——The faint sound of resistance points to the ancient times of the earth, and its origin, in terms of physical sensation, comes from the earth beneath our feet.

Or rather, the planet itself, named Earth.

Admittedly a little frightened, Sera collected her thoughts and began to quietly maintain the magic circle engraved in the land, letting time pass until dawn.

At this moment, the miracle accomplished in just one night has become a reality.

76. Small town legend

A new day has arrived. Sera, who has been standing all night, has a calm look in her eyes. After a night of exhaustion, she now feels a little uncomfortable.

But compared to the surging curiosity in his heart, this mental fatigue was nothing. Even the pain that came with the trial could easily defeat the fatigue accumulated over the night.

Adjust your breathing to follow the flow of mana, and naturally maintain your body and mind in a harmonious state, so that your ears and eyes are clear and your steps are powerful. When Sera removed the input of mana, she keenly heard the sparse footsteps in the hall on the first floor.

The morning sets the tone for the day. Although groggy after waking up from sleep, it was just a normal mood for waking up. Disturbed by hunger, everyone went to the cafeteria as usual, bringing the bustling but not noisy life back to the relief home.

However, this made it difficult for the chef to cook. Perhaps because he had just recovered, his clamoring body was calling for the brain to eat quickly, so the appetite of everyone coming and going was much bigger than usual, and the workload increased by at least one third compared to the past.

In addition, after ensuring that everyone in the orphanage was out of danger, Sera also went outside to see the situation and see if he could help other residents of the town.

As for eliminating the blizzard, Sera currently has no way to do it. After knowing that the cause of the disaster is Honkai energy, she is now more concerned about what caused the accumulation of Honkai energy.

There are two guesses. One is that the strange space discovered in the mountains and forests before is different from the discrete Honkai energy in the atmosphere. The Honkai energy there exists in a visible solid form, and there are also exaggerated monsters lurking at the bottom of the deep sea.

Another guess is herself. Although she is unwilling to believe that she is the cause of the disaster, the inevitable conflict between Mana and Honkai energy seems to be proof of this.

Spatial fluctuations spread, and once transported to the vast ice and snow outside, Sera had to use wind magic to protect herself from the wind and snow.

The roads in the town had disappeared, and the houses were buried under thick snow. If it weren't for the conspicuous bulges on the snow, Sera really wouldn't be able to tell that there was a car parked in the snow.

The first place Sera went to was the convenience store and supermarket in the town, which served as a storage place for supplies. Although the door was submerged by the wind and snow as expected, the sufficient food inside could last for a long time until rescue arrived.

After locating the exact spatial coordinates, Sera began her diligent rescue work, walking and teleporting on the snow with only buildings as references. Relying on her perception and understanding of life, she found people in difficult situations, healed their pain, and teleported them directly to supermarkets and convenience stores where there were few people.

"It was a shapeless shadow, on a raging snowstorm morning, or night... Sorry, I really can't remember when it was. At first I just thought it was just a normal snowfall, until I was trapped at home and couldn't get out."

"...Okay, okay, let me think back. It was indeed an indescribable shadow. It suddenly appeared in my home, gripping my body like a ghost, controlling my mind, and causing me to sink into a terrifying, distorted vision... Afterwards, all I remember was that I suddenly found myself in a supermarket in town."

Annotation: Unknown Honkai creature, appearance unknown, tentatively identified as a tall and thin humanoid creature, suspected to have the ability to control minds.

—Excerpt from the results of a post-Tianming investigation conducted by a young man from a small town.

"Others said it was a shadow, a demon, but I don't think so. It must be a messenger from God. It brought light to my wife and me when we were most helpless, and used divine power to lead us to the supermarket in town."

"Can you imagine, child? The blizzard outside was so terrifying, and when everyone was just waiting to die, suddenly, the bright and holy Him appeared beside us. At that moment, I felt my ears and eyes clear, and my movements were powerful. It was as if I had become twenty years younger!"

Annotation: Appearance unknown, suspected to have the ability to control the mind and space teleportation. After multiple tests, the old man's physical function level is higher than the average level of the elderly of the same age group.

—Excerpt from an elderly man’s gesticulating speech at the Tianming post-investigation.

As for the legendary true person in the future town, Sera, who had finally achieved the feat of rescuing all the people in need, finally breathed a sigh of relief and walked towards the mountains and forests outside the town when she had time. She wanted to find out whether there was any involvement of another space behind the phenomenon of the gathering of Honkai energy.

The extended perception contacts the waveform of the surrounding space, and the reflected scene of the world is presented in a way that is very different from normal senses, which puts a considerable burden on Sera's mind.

It is like swimming upstream, resisting the ocean currents and moving forward. As time goes by, the multi-dimensional spatial perspective becomes increasingly difficult to understand, which is due to the unbearable weight of the truth.

In the end, Sera's search in the forest yielded nothing. Apart from sensing a decrease in the concentration of Honkai energy, she did not find the location of the previous alien space node.

Since no spatial node was found, there are two explanations - the closure of the alien space or the abnormal movement of the alien space. However, this indirectly indicates that the cause of the Honkai energy accumulation phenomenon is her existence itself.

From the town as the center outward, the concentration of Honkai energy showed a decreasing trend, and the blizzard also weakened. At a long enough distance, in the mountains and forests where Sera was now, only a few sparse wisps of snow were left scattered by the wind.

A complex light flashed in her blue eyes. In a short period of time, she could not find any more reasons for the gathering phenomenon. After realizing that she might be the source of the disaster in some sense, Sera could not help but feel depressed and sad.

So, should we leave town now, before everything becomes irreversible?

Breathing the quiet and cold air in the forest, she sat silently against a pine tree in the white world. Her slightly melancholy blue eyes were still beautiful and transparent, as bright and charming as sapphires. During the silent rest, the girl thought a lot.

From the hardships of being an experimental subject to the warmth of being treated as a child, it can be said that she was saved from a desperate situation accompanied by the good and evil of human hearts. If she had a choice, she would also like to stand in the light.

The cold wind howled, causing pain on people's skin when it blew against their bodies. Sera, who was not wearing a cotton hat or scarf, pursed her lips. As her mind moved, tiny bits of ethereal mana fireworks ignited around her, driving away the coldness on her body.

Slowly, the day faded away and the night came, and as if to verify a certain conclusion, the wind and snow came.

Sera stood up and suddenly disappeared into the desolate forest.

At least, go say goodbye to the priest and the others.

77. External Rescue

Sera returned to the town at night.

There are no stars in the sky, nor lights in the town. Everything is dark. The nameless settlement is like a wandering ghost, helpless and alone in the world, immersed in the coldness of winter.

Sera returned to the orphanage, but instead of entering through the gate covered by snow, she was directly teleported to her room.

There is a folded quilt piled at the end of the bed, and its neat appearance silently tells of its owner's attention to detail.

A patched Homunculus doll sat at the head of the bed. It looked no different from the previous one, reflecting the girl's exquisite craftsmanship.

Parked next to the bed is a wheelchair that has not been used for a few days. Its brand new workmanship still reveals the enthusiasm and confidence that Sera had when she first came with it. No matter where it goes, it is convinced that it can bring a comfortable experience to the disadvantaged groups, and Sera thinks the same way.

As for the rest, they are standard features of an orphanage room, a small single desk and chair for people to read, write, and draw, adding color to the time they have experienced.

The dim light of the mana lamp illuminated the entire room, making every corner bright and beautiful. After a short search, Sera found what could be called the last trace she left here.

——I used my pocket money to buy some sweets, but unfortunately there was no ice cream, mostly jellies with fruit pulp.

There were very few left, only three of them, namely yellow peach, lactic acid and tangerine flavors. It was probably because Xilin had eaten most of her own stock when she was in control of her body. She clearly didn't let anyone else see when she bought them.

Pursing her lips, the girl neatly opened the package of the tangerine-flavored jelly. After taking a bite, she immediately tasted the smooth texture and sour sweetness. Then, all the remaining stock was transformed into three separate residents of the trash can, enjoying an exclusive and uncompetitive position in the garbage bag.

The trash can in Sera's room is always clean.

Leaving the room, the silent corridor was filled with a different kind of noise than before. Although there was no electricity, the candles used for lighting also illuminated the way forward with their flickering candlelight.

People were talking and laughing with each other, and all the people coming and going, regardless of their height, were holding a considerable amount of supplies in their hands, which surprised Sera a little.

How come the relief home suddenly has more supplies?

Sera's not-so-great trick of confusing light and shadow to make her presence disappear in front of everyone was slightly different from the one she used to save people before, but in the dimly lit night, no one could tell that an invisible ghost had appeared in the cold room.

She walked to the priest's office, but her intention to knock on the door was immediately stopped by the sound of conversation coming from inside. With a little perception, Sera was able to clearly sense an aura that was much stronger than that of an ordinary person.

"You've been doing pretty well since you retired. How's that going? Are you interested in going back and meeting your old friends?"

The hearty female voice was very pleasant to the ear, and contained a free and unrestrained heroic spirit. Even without seeing her real appearance, Sera felt that she must be a strong soldier.

In other words, they were a special force to deal with Honkai, called Valkyries. Silin had complained to herself before, saying that they were not good people.

"It's been several years, and my skills are already rusty. If I go back, I won't be able to rely on myself, but on you guys, so forget it."

Father Capeton's response revealed his relief towards his old friend, as well as a certain helplessness. It seemed that he had no intention of accepting the invitation to return.

Well, if the priest leaves, everyone will be sad.

After giving a thumbs up to the priest's response from outside, Sera continued to quietly nestle against the wall, boldly listening to the conversation inside. The girl felt quite excited.

"Okay, you're right. Anyway, whether I'm working as a maintenance worker or a priest here, I can realize my own value."

There was a hint of regret in the Valkyrie's exhortation, but she still told the priest something, hoping that he could fulfill the wish of a friend.

"But Chloe is coming over this time too. Don't you plan to meet her?"

"Some things, no matter whether the result is good or bad, at least there is an end, right?"

She inexplicably imagined the woman winking and making crazy hints. From her words, Sera keenly sensed the existence of gossip, and it seemed that she had the natural ability to grasp the key points at once.

Is it a lover, or a secret crush or something? Ugh, I kind of want to figure it out.

"Ugh."

The priest's sigh was particularly obvious. It seemed that even though he was not young, he was also a bit weak in matters of love.

"I see. She must have told you this many times."

"Yeah, you're right. Everyone wants to pair you up. These days, it's getting harder and harder to find attractive boys."

The sound of footsteps as graceful as the wind let Sera know that the conversation was over. Although it didn't last long, it did sound interesting.

The door of the office opened, and a young and beautiful woman walked out. Her leather coat combined handsomeness and beauty. Her figure and temperament were indeed good. Especially when she glanced at her position inadvertently, Sera realized the sharpness of her intuition.

Regarding the magic of concealment, do I need to study it more in the future?

Watching her getting farther and farther away from the office until she disappeared around the corner at the end of the corridor, Sera walked into the office and faced Father Capton, who was now a little troubled.

"Father, are you having any relationship problems? If you tell me frankly, I might be able to give you some good advice~"