The night was thick with unease. Noira stood atop the citadel's northern tower, watching as aurora-like bands of spirit-light swirled across the atmosphere. The aftermath of Velmira's departure hadn't faded—it had deepened, coiled into everything. Even the stars seemed more distant.
Below, Flame Academy shimmered under protective wards. Within it, Rei sat alone in the Grand Hall of Echoes, a chamber designed to archive every major resonance event since the academy's founding. Now it whispered with silence.
Eirenne entered quietly, a basin of cool water in her hands. "You haven't slept."
"I don't think I can afford to," Rei replied. "Something changed last night."
She sat beside him. "Velmira?"
"Not just her. Me."
Fragments Remembered
Rei had begun seeing things. Not hallucinations, not visions—memories. Of times he had never lived, yet felt within his soul. A man with white hair like fire, leading legions of spirit-bearers. A battle in a place with no sky. A choice to break a song that had grown too powerful.
"They weren't just echoes," he said. "I was part of something… before."
Eirenne's hand found his. "And you still are. Maybe that's the point."
They sat in silence, until Liora arrived, floating in.
"The Archive is ready," she said gently. "It's time you heard your own beginning."
The Symphony's First Note
Deep below the academy lay a sealed chamber: The Cradle of Source. Only Sovereigns could enter. With Liora's guidance, Rei walked through walls of harmonic glass, each pane showing fragments of his soul's journey.
In the center: a crystal throne, cracked but glowing.
When Rei sat, the room darkened, and a voice—not Liora's—rose.
"Designation: Proto-Sovereign Rei-Alpha. Design uploaded. Faultline chosen. Purpose granted: To weave reconciliation from ruin."
Scenes flooded his mind:
The birth of the Spirit System.
The first Honkai Pulse.
Rei, not as a man—but as a force, willingly shattering his form to embed himself into human life.
So that one day… he could heal it from within.
Convergence
When Rei returned to the surface, everyone waited. Mireille, flanked by holographic projections of incoming Faultline activity. Noira and Eirenne, each adjusting armament scripts. Liora, quietly glowing at his side.
"The Faultlines are converging," Mireille reported. "All nine zones. It's not random. Someone is calling them."
"Velmira?" Eirenne asked.
Rei shook his head. "No. Someone older."
A silence fell.
Then Rei turned to his team. "The Sovereign Core is no longer just a healing device. It's a signal. And it's been heard."
The Message
That evening, the sky tore open above the Western Reach. Not an attack. A broadcast. A vast projection appeared—a being cloaked in resonance-warped armor, surrounded by a council of indistinct silhouettes.
"Children of this broken cadence… We are the Remnant Court. We remember the Song Before. And we reject the Silence You Are Building."
It ended with coordinates. A place beyond any known map.
Rei looked at his team.
"We go."
Noira nodded. "Of course."
Mireille whispered, "They know us now."
Liora simply held Rei's hand. "Then let them hear us louder."
Prelude to the Unknown
That night, Rei wrote a letter. Not to be read by any one person. Just words, placed into the archive.
"To whoever finds this: Know that we did not march to war. We sang toward understanding. If we fall, let our echoes build something better."
He sealed it.
And for the first time in weeks, he smiled.
Tomorrow, they would travel beyond maps.
But tonight… they were still whole.