Chapter Text
TEARS OF HONKAI: REIGN-CARNATION
When the sins of one become the sins of many...
Will you be able to help them bare them all?
Become the one attendant that can rule them all!
DEMO PRESENTATION AVAILABLE IN ROOM 21-B.
Caelus stared up at the poster, slowly blinking as he took in the sight. There was a man in the center who took up most of the space. It was obvious that he was the main guy that the developers wanted the players to be interested in. He had long, black hair with a single stripe of red. His teal eyes were filled with anguish as he hugged himself tightly, tears threatening to spill down his soft cheeks. The thing that really got Caelus’s attention was the pointed ears and the translucent horns that matched his eyes.
As a connoisseur of the 2D, the inhuman characters always managed to get his attention. He had a barracks full of them in one of his other games, all of them with varied costumes ranging from swimsuits to formal gear. Just looking at the poster made him want to go online and play some more of his games. But he already did all of his dailies before coming so he had no reason to open the apps until tomorrow.
“Caelus! Why are you still in the trash?!”
Oh, right. He forgot he was still arms deep in there. He was looking for the phone charm that March had bought for him during the first day of Honkai Con. She went to look back towards the previous booths that they passed on the way while Caelus decided to dig into the trash cans just in case someone found it and threw it away instead. And then he happened to get distracted by the poster that happened to be hung up in front of it.
Caelus pulled his hands from the trash, turning around to face a rather impatient looking March. In one hand, she held the familiar phone charm that he was looking for. It was a golden ticket that resembled the one that was going to be used in another upcoming game within the Honkai Universe which, much to his delight, would be a gacha game. In return, he had gotten March a pin that resembled a four leaf clover that had her favorite three-colored gradient on it.
“Jeez. You’re seriously something else...” March looked at him fondly, meeting him halfway before hooking the charm to the zipper chest pocket of his coat. “Keep it here so you don’t lose it this time.”
“Thank you...” Caelus mumbled. He reached out to hug her but she quickly stepped away, covering her nose.
“Nuh-uh. Don’t even think about it until you clean up. At least go wash your hands!”
Caelus pouted. “But March... I’ll be standing in line forever.”
“Good!” March smiled brightly. “I’ll go grab us some seats before the Reign-carnation presentation starts. I’ll text you!”
Caelus watched helplessly as March ran off again. She’d been looking forward to the game for a while now. It was a continuation of a series she’d been interested in since she was in middle school according to her. It hadn’t gotten a sequel despite leaving on a cliffhanger until now. And much to March’s excitement, it involved a timeskip. Caelus’s only role in here was just as moral support since romance games weren’t exactly his speed.
Deciding to go ahead and get it over with, Caelus took out the brochure from his back pocket and began to analyze the map on the back of it. The nearest bathroom was only a short walk away from his current position so that was a relief. All he’d have to do is push through the crowd and hope the line wasn’t all that long.
He slipped past plenty of cosplayers and attendees, doing his best to not bump into them. Caelus didn’t really like dealing with crowds. He much preferred to keep to himself. But March was determined to make sure that he got out as often as possible which he did appreciate, even if she did disrupt his late afternoon naps.
As he neared the bathrooms, the crowd started thinning out more and more. When he arrived at the door, he saw that it was a unisex bathroom with “Staff Only” on the sign. That explained the lack of a line but sometimes rules were made to be broken. Caelus looked left and right to make sure the coast was clear before he put his hand on the handle. Just as he was about to pull, the door opened by itself.
A purple haired woman stared down at him and all Caelus could do was stare back, already feeling himself beginning to sweat as his brain went into overtime to try and come up with some kind of excuse.
But all she did was give him a knowing smile before she slipped past him.
“Thank god...” Caelus whispered under his breath before he slipped into the bathroom, locking the door behind him.
What greeted him was the cleanest Con bathroom he had ever seen. Maybe it was because it was for the staff only that allowed it to be as such. The toilets were all as clean, the floor was freshly mopped, and the mirrors didn’t have a singular speck of grime on them. It was amazing!
Caelus pulled out his phone and began immediately texting March.
CAELUS
just found the world's cleanest bathroom
MARCH
WTF??? WHERE????
CAELUS
the answer is...
MARCH
????
MARCH
QUIT GATEKEEPING!!
Caelus chuckled under his breath before pocketing his phone yet again. He’d keep her in the dark for just a little while longer. He’d share it with her eventually. But for now, he really had to get his hands clean. He could feel the remnants of whatever sticky drink that was thrown into the trash already beginning to sink into his skin.
He rolled up his sleeves before he pumped the soap from the dispenser into his hands. Foam! His favorite. The scent was familiar, one that he missed. The scent of fresh laundry, specifically of the detergent that his sister often used. He rubbed it into his hands, not missing even the crevices of his fingers, before spreading it up his arms. When he was satisfied, he turned on the warm water and began to rinse.
Once the soap was washed away, he began to shake his hands dry. He paused as he looked over his appearance in the mirror. He leaned in a little closer to get a better look at himself. He fiddled with his bangs a little bit to make them a little more presentable, licked away some residue frosting from a snack he had earlier, and then flicked his charm that was attached to the zipper pocket.
But then something caught his attention.
The charm, instead of falling back into position after the flick, simply stayed lifted up from his jacket. Caelus attempted to push it down but it stayed in place. He then began to realize that it was being pulled from his jacket. Specifically towards his own reflection.
The pull started off light at first but then it began to get stronger and stronger until it was pulling him towards the mirror as well.
The lights in the bathroom began to flicker. The mirror began to ripple like water.
He held onto the sink for dear life, doing his best to keep himself from being pulled in as well. Just as he had the idea to simply unhook the phone charm from his zipper, his grip on the sink slipped away.
And just like that, he was dragged towards the mirror. But instead of meeting hard glass, he fell through the mirror.
Caelus wanted to scream. Actually, he was sure that he was screaming. But he couldn’t hear it at all as his body fell into a black void.
Finally, his phone charm snapped off of his jacket’s zipper. Caelus felt his heart drop in his chest. He reached his hand out and desperately grasped onto it, not wanting to lose it again. Once it was held tightly in his hands, a bright light appeared in front of him and enveloped him entirely.
And despite being consumed by the light, for Caelus, everything went dark.
The first thing that Caelus did when he finally gained consciousness was cough up blood. It was worrying. Terrifying, even.
But not as scary as being in a dark room with an older woman gently cradling his face, whispering words he could hardly understand in an attempt to be comforting. At least... he thought it was supposed to be comforting. She was a rather soft-spoken woman and her tone reminded him of his own mother.
“Can you... speak?” The woman asked him. Caelus blinked.
“Yes,” Caelus spoke. His voice was scratchy, his throat aching as if he hadn’t talked in years. The woman let out a small sigh of relief.
“I did it,” whispered the woman. “I really did it.”
“Can you let go of my face?”
The woman did let go of his face, awkwardly clearing her throat. “My apologies. I’m blind. It’s the best way I can see you.”
Oh.
Shit. Now he feels like an asshole.
“Sorry.”
“Don’t apologize. Can you stand? Move around?”
Caelus looked around yet again, realizing that he was laid out on the floor. He forced himself to his feet. Despite some stiffness in his joints, he could get up just fine. He even stretched some of his limbs to make sure all was well.
“Everything is good on my end.”
The woman got to her feet as well, looking in his general direction but not directly in his eyes.
“You must be confused. I am Dan Shu, the Chief Alchemist of the Alchemy Commission.”
Caelus blinked. “The who?”
“And after much research, I have brought you back from the grip of death.”
“The what ?”
Dan Shu tilted her head to the side a bit. “I suspected some confusion, but not something of this caliber. Do you not remember your own death?”
“No!” Caelus squeaked. “Last I checked, I was very much alive not even five minutes ago. Where am I?”
The woman bit her lip before she approached him yet again, placing her hands on his face. Caelus stayed still and let her touch him, doing his best not to feel awkward about the whole thing.
“I... don’t understand. You are Wuming, are you not?”
“N-No...” Caelus clarified. “I’m Caelus.”
“Caelus?” Dan Shu blanched. “But... You have the same face. And the same voice! Your hair is a little different but... You have to be him.”
“I’m not though.”
Dan Shu’s shoulders sagged. “Just what is going on here...” She mumbled to herself.
“That’s what I’d like to know.”
“Did I do something wrong?”
“It’s not you, it’s probably me. We must see other people...” Caelus said, slightly amused.
Dan Shu reached her hand out to him and Caelus quickly took it on instinct. She stepped a bit closer to him, angling her head so he could see her face.
“I’m sorry for all of this. I’m going to do a bit more research to figure out what happened. In the meantime, do you mind staying with me for a little while so I can investigate?”
“Do I have to pay rent?”
“No...?” Dan Shu sounded a bit confused. Nonetheless, despite the scary situation he found himself in, this was certainly more ideal than having to worry about rent money.
“Deal! I am in your care, Lady Dan Shu.”
For once since he first met her, Dan Shu actually giggled. “Thank you. Alright then, I can take us back to my place. Just hold onto me for a bit.”
Despite Caelus being the one that held onto her, Dan Shu was the one who was gracefully leading the way despite her blindness. As they left the dark room, a brighter room rested just past it. But they did not stay too long there either. Dan Shu just kept going. They left the building that they were inside of, going into the streets instead. Caelus looked up at the sky with wonder.
The architecture was unlike anything he’d seen before. Well, that wasn’t entirely true. It almost seemed to resemble the buildings he’d seen in pictures of Liyue. And they seemed to be permanently floating in the sky. The airships that flew overhead had an odd shape to them that only made Caelus want to see them up close. He wanted to ride one!
“Lady Dan Shu, everything is so...”
“Is it different from where you’re from?”
“ Very different.”
Eventually, the both of them found their way into a simple house. It wasn’t too big nor too small either. When Dan Shu let go of his arm, Caelus made his way over to the couch and sat down. He thought about telling March about all of this. If she found out, he’d have been very freaked out.
“Only you would find yourself in this kind of situation,” she would say.
But when he pulled out his phone and turned it on, he found that his phone was completely dead. He frowned. This was cool and all but how in the world was he going to end up getting home? March was probably launching a full blown search party for him right about now. How long had he been out? The presentation was probably over by now, wasn’t it?
The feeling of warming beneath his chin snapped him out of his thoughts. A cup of tea was being handed to him by Dan Shu. He carefully took it into his hands and took a single sip. He wasn’t a tea kind of person but it was still tasty. He felt a little guilty that he didn’t offer to help her make the tea even though he didn’t know how to make it. Nonetheless, Dan Shu took a seat right beside him with her own cup of tea.
“You may be here for a while. So I think it’s best that you learn what you can.” Dan Shu said before taking a sip of her own tea. “I will do my best to take care of you in the meantime. I promise.”
Caelus glanced over at Dan Shu before looking down at his own reflection in the dark, murky tea in his cup.
“Thank you.”
For now, he’d place his trust in Dan Shu and do his best to survive in the brand new world he found himself in.