The setting sun cast the trembling silhouettes of cherry blossoms across the desk. From the rest room's window, Ryan watched as the last few students bustled about, dragging luggage behind them.
The campus, once teeming with life, had fallen eerily quiet. With the official holiday beginning and power restrictions scheduled to support the upcoming experiment, even the most dedicated students had been forced to leave. Whether they wanted to or not, everyone was gone—everyone except a handful of faculty members, and those stationed at the physics lab, which remained bright and alive with activity.
Ryan lifted his coffee, took a slow sip, and gazed down at the little garden outside. A couple sat on a bench.
The girl, her hair tied neatly in a ponytail, was reading an experimental report with a serene and focused expression. Beside her, a white-haired young man gently offered her dumplings, careful not to disrupt her concentration. His movements were tender. His gaze never left her face.
Burp—
Ryan belched, unexpectedly full—despite having skipped dinner. This display of affection had thoroughly fed him enough "dog food" to last the week.
Somehow, his thoughts drifted to the reader who had once commented about moving to Nagazora City for work.
Impossible. Probably just some guy pretending to be a girl online.
Ryan's rational mind crushed the brief flight of fancy. Propping his chin up with one hand, he frowned.
"If not for that damn Honkai… with my skills, I'd be living the high life right now."
That thought flared briefly—then flickered out. There was no turning away from the path he'd chosen. Still, as he continued watching the two below, something in his expression twisted.
Unable to bear the scene any longer, he grabbed the black duffel bag leaning against the table and strode downstairs.
There was Kevin—feeding Mei dumplings, offering her water, peeling her an apple.
Ryan scoffed. My coffee's going cold, and this guy's practically turned into a personal butler?
"Hey," Ryan called as he approached, "can you two take a break from your public display of affection? Spare a thought for us poor single souls."
"Ryan! You came!" Kevin looked up mid-slice, holding out an apple slice. "Want some? Did you eat yet?"
"Nope. But I'm already full—from all this dog food."
Ryan cleared his throat. "The experiment starts in thirty minutes. There's a good spot behind the garden—usually no one goes there, we can—"
"Let's go!" Mei stood abruptly. Her breathing hitched for a moment, but she quickly composed herself, the flush in her cheeks fading.
"Kevin," she said softly, "you'll be busy for a while. The experiment will probably finish around eleven. Let's take a walk afterward."
Kevin beamed, nodding. "Okay. I'll wait for you."
"Alright," Ryan smirked. "Get this experiment over with, and you two can go honeymoon for three days."
He led them into the lab.
The blast-proof doors slid open, revealing the control room, bustling with researchers in white coats. Status screens glowed, while beyond the glass stood the massive circular accelerator.
"Dr. Mei, preparations complete."
"Power initialized. Pre-operation diagnostics nominal."
Reports rang out one after another. The quiet, scholarly girl from earlier had vanished—replaced by the calm, calculating researcher. Mei reviewed each report with unshakable composure, signing off on every detail.
"Are you seriously staying to observe this?" she turned to Ryan, who was now sipping his coffee with maddening leisure. "What's in that bag?"
"Gym gear," he replied smoothly. "Planning to get some exercise after this."
"You're impossible. You won't even see anything. It happens in a millisecond."
Ryan shrugged. "I'm not here to see. I'm here to feel. Maybe that tiny spark will inspire something."
"You're a weirdo."
Laughter broke out in the room. Everyone knew Ryan's lazy habits—equally well-known was how his bizarre insights often pointed them in the right direction.
Ryan chuckled along, but truthfully, staying in the control room bored him. Besides, when the particles collided and released Imaginary Internal Energy, he wouldn't need a detector to feel it. His body would respond long before any data came in.
Descending into the main chamber, Ryan took a seat at the base of the stairs, slipping on his headphones.
"Begin."
The moment he gave the word, the air shifted. There were no lights or explosions—only the deep hum of turbines spinning to life, like the rumble of a train far below.
Hum… hum… hum…
Power surged. Coolant systems roared. Particles raced along spiraling tracks. Ryan leaned forward, staring at the central vacuum tube.
Almost there.
He'd witnessed this dozens of times. He imagined the collision: particles slamming together at near-light speed, releasing an invisible burst of energy, just long enough to brush against the edge of Imaginary Space.
Normally, that spark vanished in an instant.
But this time—
"…Something's wrong."
His pupils shrank.
The Honkai energy—he felt it. Not vanishing, but growing. Dense. Familiar.
Too familiar.
It was him. He was the source.
Red lights flared across the control room. Alarms screamed.
"Experiment out of control! Energy spike beyond limits!"
"Accelerator breach! Detection systems offline! No data incoming!"
"Dr. Mei, look!"
No sensors were needed.
The vacuum tube was blooming with red light—ripping itself apart. The metal walls, built to withstand catastrophic pressure, began to melt under the surge.
"What… what is this?" Mei's voice trembled. This wasn't supposed to happen. A collision this small couldn't possibly—
But it had. Something—something—was tearing the microscopic veil open. And it wasn't closing.
"Evacuate immediately!" Mei snapped back into command. "I'll take full responsibility—just move!"
Panic ensued. The researchers fled toward the tunnels. Mei stayed last, plugging her headset into the console.
"Ryan! Get out of there!"
His voice came calmly, too calmly: "Too late. This isn't a simple accident."
The temperature was rising—fast. At this concentration, Imaginary Internal Energy could cause mutations in minutes. Ryan stood slowly, unzipping his bag.
"Are you insane!? You'll die in there without a suit!"
"I'll be fine," Ryan said quietly. "This level won't affect me."
There was no time to investigate. No time to argue. The Honkai was forming—everywhere. Not just in the lab, but above the campus.
A full-blown catastrophe. Bigger than anything from the shack district. Bigger than anything they'd prepared for.
"Put on your protective gear, find Kevin, and get off campus."
"What are you—"
Click—clack.
The black spear slid together piece by piece, the head striking the metal stairs with a cold clang.
Ryan's grey eyes were laser-focused.
BOOM—
The wall exploded.
A hulking Honkai Beast—two meters tall—burst through, debris scattering like shrapnel. Its presence distorted the air, its body a roiling storm of energy.
They don't grow. They just… appear. When the Honkai is thick enough, they're born fully formed.
Mei stared, paralyzed.
This wasn't science. This was something else entirely.
The beast charged.
She didn't scream.
She didn't need to.
Because a crimson vortex tore through the lab. With a thunderous crash, the Honkai Beast was flung against the wall—pinned, shrieking.
At the other end of the vortex stood a man, spear in hand.
His coat flared in the hot wind. His face calm, deadly.
And then, she heard his voice.
Cool. Confident.
"Naturally," Ryan said, "as the lead researcher… I'm here to clean up the mess."