In The Honkai World: Transforming Into An IF-Route Valkyrie

Fu Hua turned around. Her gaze landed on Fuxi and Nuwa, and a flicker of confusion — and something she couldn't quite name — crossed her eyes.

"You're... awake."

Irene had kept Fuxi and Nuwa's awakening a secret from Fu Hua, and so this was the first time the three of them had officially met again.

"We are. Slept for quite a long time, actually." Nuwa nodded, light on her feet as ever, and drifted over to Fu Hua's side, gently pulling her close.

"But I never imagined that when we finally met again, you'd have forgotten even us." Fuxi looked at Fu Hua steadily. Fu Hua saw the regret in Fuxi's eyes, and the guilt in her own chest only grew heavier.

"Even so, Irene told us everything you did. We can't blame you for any of it." Nuwa patted Fu Hua's shoulder. "It's you who suffered the most."

When all was said and done, Fu Hua had never truly been the right fit for Project Ember. From the very beginning, the intended executor of the plan had been Elysia.

Not because Elysia was more powerful — in terms of raw combat ability, Fu Hua could beat her within a certain range, and possibly even at longer distances too.

But Elysia possessed something Fu Hua simply did not: a quality that compelled people to believe in her, to follow her — something that could only be called faith.

Even in the age of peace, when countless stars bloomed across the sky all at once, Elysia had dominated them all. A single person, she became the world's unified idol, reaching into the pockets of every soul on the planet.

Even in the later days of the apocalypse, her performances and her very presence were enough to steady the hearts of the people. That magnetism made her the one and only candidate for Project Ember's executor — not one of many, but the only one. Elysia's charisma meant she could earn trust under any circumstances, paving the way for Nuwa and Fuxi to carry out their educational mission.

And yet, Elysia had chosen not to take on that role herself. She had passed the responsibility to Fu Hua.

"But... I don't remember any of it." Fu Hua shook her head, a distant look in her eyes. Fuxi gently guided her to a seat nearby. "It's alright. The lost memories — we'll find a way to recover them."

"Mmhm. There'll be a way, there always is." Nuwa nodded along. "And if nothing else works, we can always take a trip back to the Realm."

A bit backwards, perhaps — but having Fu Hua's mental projection sync a portion of her memories back to Fu Hua's main body should theoretically be possible, shouldn't it?

The Fu Hua in the Realm often had to prune her own memories just to maintain her mental state, but her recollections of the Previous Era ought to still be largely intact. A sync could at least give Fu Hua some sense of who she once was. As for the memories of the Current Era — those were beyond their reach. Memories burned away by the Fenghuang Down were almost certainly unrecoverable.

But that was alright. They were all still alive. And as long as they lived, they could make new memories. There was no need to dwell on what was lost — even if it was still a little sad.

"Oh, right — don't let us hog all the attention." Nuwa reached out and pulled Lixue, who had been standing quietly to one side, into the circle. "You should pay attention to this child too, you know."

"She's not the Lixue of this world, but she's still your disciple. Don't leave her out in the cold — ah, wait, you already did that once."

"I..." Fu Hua faltered, staring at Lixue — a girl who looked as though she'd been carved from the same mold as herself. She wanted to say something, but the words wouldn't come.

Even though she'd already learned about this, when the moment arrived and she actually had to say something to Lixue — she still couldn't manage a single word.

Lixue, for her part, simply looked at Fu Hua and called out softly: "Master. It's alright. Lixue is here. Being able to walk by Master's side again — that's more than enough."

"...Mm."

A little further away, Irene watched both scenes unfolding before her, and a look of pure, unguarded bliss spread across her face. Yes — this was exactly what she'd wanted to see.

And considering that Cecilia alone had already given her this, she could only imagine the similar moments waiting for her with Theresa and Durandal. Her expression grew even more radiant.

"Alright, my dear — rein it in." [Irene] gave Irene a gentle nudge. "It's getting late. Mei should be done on her end by now. We need to head back."

"And don't forget — we still need to take everyone to the Realm."

"Oh come on, let me be happy for just a little longer." Irene rolled her eyes at [Irene], though she did concede it was time to focus. She turned to Kiana and Sirin.

"Alright, you two — time to go. Mei's finished. We need to get back."

"That fast?" The words tumbled out of Kiana's mouth before she could stop them. "I barely got to hug Mom at all!"

"Then go." Sirin, arms still wrapped around Cecilia, glanced up at Kiana and waved her off. "You head back and deal with everyone. I'll stay here with Mom a little longer."

At those words, a small vein popped above Kiana's head. Why did she have to be the one to go out and face everyone? Sirin got to stay and cuddle Mom? That was completely unfair.

So Kiana simply hooked her iron grip onto Sirin and gave Irene a curt nod, then physically dragged her along. Under Irene's guidance, the two of them returned to their own space.

As for what sounds Sirin made during the process — well, for the sake of Sirin's dignity, let's not get into that.

Before withdrawing her consciousness, Irene glanced over at Fu Hua, Nuwa, and the others. They were chatting pleasantly enough — though Fu Hua could only nod along, since she didn't remember a single thing that Nuwa and Fuxi were talking about.

"Shouldn't be long now. Once Little Senti comes out, it should all be resolved."

---

Deep inside a research facility within Schicksal, the room was dark. The only light came from the instruments lining the walls, blinking in a slow, rhythmic pulse — like something breathing. At the center of the room, a medical pod glowed with a faint, quiet luminescence.

This was Schicksal's most advanced life-support medical pod. Submerged within it, almost any wound could be healed.

It was also clear that this particular unit had been modified from the standard model — its performance noticeably upgraded, fine-tuned to better accommodate certain... special individuals.

And floating inside that pod was none other than Fu Hua — or rather, Fu Hua's body. The one who'd had a hole drilled into her skull by Otto not long ago.

Though the hole was long since repaired. Fu Hua lay like a sleeping beauty now, eyes closed, drifting silently in the pod's specialized fluid.

The room was so quiet that the only sound was the steady beeping of the monitoring equipment tracking her heartbeat — until the room suddenly flooded with light, the door swung open, and Otto walked in.

"Still hasn't woken up today?" Otto stepped forward and began working through the panel in front of him. "Strange. The heart that stopped beating has long since resumed. All vital signs are normal. So why won't she wake up?"

He activated the brainwave scanner and studied the readings — fairly active. "The readings are climbing. It seems you're in the middle of a dream, old friend."

"You've been unwilling to wake up for so long now... is it a pleasant dream? Or a nightmare you keep struggling against?"

Otto murmured to himself, watching the brainwave fluctuations. "Old friend — if your brainwaves weren't still active, I'd almost wonder whether you'd used the Fenghuang Down to leave the moment I shot you."

"Listen to yourself." Void Archives materialized nearby and drifted onto Otto's shoulder. "You shoot her, then you heal her. Is there anyone in this world more contradictory than you?"

"Aren't you afraid that once Hua wakes up, she'll punch you straight in the face?"

"If my old friend needs to punch me in the face, I'll lean my cheek right in." Otto shrugged. "If that's what it takes to help her calm down."

A Soulium face, after all, was nothing to him. If Fu Hua wanted to tear his entire body apart, he'd happily provide her two extra bodies to dismantle. They could always be reassembled afterward — as long as it helped his old friend settle down, he'd take whatever she gave him. Besides, once she'd vented, she'd leave on her own.

And once Fu Hua left, she would almost certainly go straight to Theresa and the others — which meant the team he'd been quietly assembling for Theresa would be more or less complete.

There were only a few more things left to verify. Then he could finally let go. An unreadable emotion passed through Otto's eyes — but it was gone as quickly as it came.

"Old friend. You'll know my purpose soon enough." Otto tilted his head back and looked through the glass at Fu Hua, floating silently within the pod.

What he didn't notice was that the brainwave monitor he'd just switched on was showing a pattern growing rapidly more complex — more and more activity, wave after wave.

---

[Look at him. He still hasn't the faintest shred of remorse.] An indignant voice rang through [Fu Hua]'s mind. [For the sake of his precious plan, he shot us in the head. Point blank.]

A second voice, calm and measured, rose alongside it: [Stay composed for now. This medical pod requires his authorization code to unlock.]

[Ha! We don't need that at all. That kind of lock is nothing in front of us — we are invincible. That glass? One punch and it's gone.]

"..." [Fu Hua] raised her head. Her grey eyes opened, fixing on the glass in front of her. She flexed her fist.

Her condition was... extraordinary.

Every inch of her body was broadcasting signals — strength, exhilaration, joy. The state of this body was nothing short of magnificent.

No — rather, how long had it been since her body last felt this good? The last time she'd felt this full of power... when was that, exactly? It had been a very, very long time.

But that wasn't the point right now. [Fu Hua] pressed her palm flat against the glass, applied force — just once — and the pane shattered outward from her hand in a spiderweb of cracks, fragment by fragment.

"Oh..." Otto took a single step back, brushing the glass splinters from his sleeve with a casual sweep, and watched Fu Hua emerge from the life-support pod. The smile never left his face.

"Old friend. You're looking well. Though there was really no need to break my glass."

[Fu Hua] stepped out of the pod, her bare feet landing on the cold floor without the slightest flinch, glass scattered all around her. She regarded Otto in silence. How exactly did one greet a bastard like this?

"Not going to say hello? Well, I suppose you've only just come to, haven't you?" Otto smiled pleasantly and gestured toward the rack beside the wall.

"Your coat, by the way — I had it repaired. It's over there."

[Fu Hua] glanced at the clothes on the rack. Her previous taste in fashion really had been abysmal. How could she have worn something so dreadfully plain? How was that supposed to reflect her capabilities at all?

"It really is wonderful that you've woken up, old friend." Otto kept his gaze on Fu Hua. "Though I do owe you an apology first. After all — I did shoot you."

[This man has absolutely no shame! He even dares to bring it up himself!]

[In all our long memory, people like Otto are extraordinarily rare — shameless, vile, steeped in wickedness, yet utterly unaware of it.]

The twin voices — fury and calm — echoed through [Fu Hua]'s mind, and the memories of everything that had led to this moment surfaced alongside them. Including those words.

[Celestial Fu Hua. I have not lied to you.]

"Mm, old friend, how are you—"

Otto didn't get to finish the sentence. [Fu Hua] slammed him into the wall before he could.

The solid Soulium groaned and creaked under the pressure of her grip, metal warping and protesting beneath her fingers. [Fu Hua]'s lips curved into a smile — one that had never appeared on this face before. She bore down harder. Otto's face began to emit the sounds of metal deforming under tremendous strain.

Hm. She'd found one thing she appreciated about Otto: the texture was genuinely excellent. Especially when it started making those wonderful grinding sounds.

Though she suspected the sound could be even better. [Fu Hua] drew back her other fist — then released her hold on Otto, letting his body drop.

But his feet never touched the ground. Before they could, her fist was already pressed against his face — and with that force behind it, she drove clean through.

A single sharp impact. Otto's head exploded. His body crumpled at her feet.

[Fu Hua] pulled back her fist and looked at it, and a smile curled at her lips — a smile that the original Fu Hua had never once worn.

Yes. This was the power she was meant to have. Power that could sweep through the world, suppress all of eternity, and stand as an army of one. This was what true Fu Hua looked like.

At that same moment, alarms began blaring across the entire floating island. [Fu Hua] raised her head. She could already sense a familiar presence closing in.

Ah — who was that again? Oh, right. Durandal. The one who supposedly held the title of Schicksal's strongest Valkyrie. Hmph.

[Fu Hua] cracked her knuckles. It was time to show Durandal what "strongest" actually meant. She was already heading for the door when she suddenly remembered she was still wearing nothing but what she'd had on inside the pod.

[Fu Hua] instinctively turned back and looked at the old, drab outfit hanging on the rack. She curled her lip.

Black feathers began to swirl and coil around her body. Layer by layer, they wove themselves together — and from within that shifting lattice of plumage, a brand new outfit emerged: a sleek black combat suit adorned with feathered accents. [Fu Hua] gave herself a once-over and nodded, satisfied.

Now this was what she should be wearing. She genuinely could not fathom how her previous sense of style had been so hopelessly outdated. Was that really just what happened when you lived too long?

[Fu Hua] looked up — through the hole she'd punched open — at Durandal on the other side, spear in hand, eyes sharp and wary.

Might as well collect a little interest first.

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