Li Sushang was currently watching how the members of MOTH fought. Ein even sent her a VR head set so she could see it like the fight happened in person with complete surround sound.
Even the initial barrage of weapons and techniques were god like to her. "That's just the start, how much more powerful are they when the fight starts for real..." She was out of her depth and realized that her mastery of eminence was so shallow. She is just a frog in a well. And the outside world is an apocalyptic hell scape that would vaporize her instantly.
She then saw Ein summon a gigantic planet from nowhere. And the gentle looking Sakura sliced it to pieces, while the elegant and kind Eden punched it and the whole thing exploded.
"My goodness. Am I really that weak? Even the young looking blue haired girl can summon an army that unleashes death and destruction aplenty." Sushang was having an existential crisis and thought she would never achieve something like that in her lifetime.
"No! I can't give up just like that... Ein-sama told me to have purpose, yes. I already have one, but I guess it's too weak... So that's what he meant." She had an epiphany from seeing her master's friends fight. They were above and beyond what she could imagine and she knows what to do now.
"Mom... I understand what he meant now, my purpose is paltry compared to the strength that I want. And it seems there is nothing I can learn here anymore." Sushang's will was steadfast and Suyi nodded in satisfaction.
"It's surely a sad thing to see you take your first steps to greatness little one... But be free, I know that you will achieve great things there. Do not worry about me Sushang, I approve of your decisions. Make mom proud." Suyi hugged Sushang and she called Hua. Informing her that her daughter had a realization.
Hua teleported at Taixuan and raised a brow at Sushang. "So? Did you learn something Sushang? Ein doesn't need to waste his time on childish things like disciplining you. And Aponia doing that would be bad." She whispered the last sentence and looked at her disciple.
"Master Phoenix. I can not learn from you to achieve my goal, only Ein-sama could lead me to ultimate power. And I would do anything for him to teach me! Please take me to him! If you don't want to, then I will master eminence first until you are satisfied!" Sushang bowed deeply and threw her pride away.
"Hahhh. Troublesome, you do know that training under Ein would feel like all your bones are breaking and your muscles would burn from extreme fatigue?" Hua asked, his training was brutal after all.
"I don't, but if that's what I need to be strong. Then so be it." Sushang looked at her in the eye and Hua nodded. "I'll be taking Sushang to the base Suyi. You don't want to come?" Hua asked her mother. It would surely be hard for her to not see her daughter.
"Thank you for the offer master. But I have known from a long time ago that I am not destined to be an earth shattering expert. Sushang can would have to do, behave yourself there little one. Send me letters frequently okay?" Suyi gave a smile to her daughter and Sushang hugged her tight.
"Thank you mom. Wait for me, I will be the 2nd strongest person in this world." Hua then took her to the base and they searched for Ein.
"Hah, they grow up so fast... Godspeed Sushang, you will be a great person with your new determination." Suyi prayed that her daughter would succeed in her endeavors.
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Sushang and Hua were now in front of Ein and the young lady was groveling. "Ein-sama! I have learned the error of my ways. And I understood one thing... That is to achieve my dreams, I need nobody to teach me. Except you." She said fervently and Ein sighed at her.
"You've got a great look in your eyes. But how do I know you'll be worth teaching hmm?" He tapped his boot on the floor and Sushang was stumped.
"I... I'm like the great wall! It wasn't built in a day Ein-sama. And look when it was done, it helped Shenzou tremendously in fighting against the beasts." She was coping at this point, but he liked the comparison.
"I see... Then you must be prepared huh? Wear this for now, don't take it off except when you bathe. I will break you down and build you up." He gave a 500kg suit that would distribute weight in key areas. He didn't have someone that fights in pure and raw martial arts yet. And he will make her a practitioner of the 8 inner gates. Able to surpass even Aponia and SAKURA in a short time at her peak. As it is impossible for her to reach her dream of being the 2nd strongest.
"Thank you Ein-sama! I will not squander this chance!" She jumped in delight and put the suit on. But Sushang almost face planted from the weight shift in weight.
"Good, now run a 100 laps in the oval. This will be the start of your journey, to be the peak in martial prowess." He gave her an arduous task that would surely break normal people in two.
Sushang slowly jogged and Hua sighed. "That's pretty high difficulty already, won't she give up?" Hua looked at the wobbly Sushang and thought she might give from the back breaking training.
"Everyone starts somewhere. And if she does, then she clearly does not have the guts to train my new technique that I just made up. The 8 inner gates." Ein tapped Hua's forehead and she got info on what it was.
"That's insane. You'll be adjusting her training regimen infinitely? That's like torture... But if she does complete it, she might be able to fight Aponia or SAKURA equally for a short while." Hua saw the exponential explosion of strength it gave, but training in it was absolute torture.
"I'm excited on seeing her reach that point. But enough of that, did Ottilie contact you for your services?" He was curious on what she would want Hua to do.
"Yes, it seems that she still lacks the firepower and people to deal with emperor class honkai beasts effectively. Also hordes are a big problem, she wants me to exterminate them in exchange for giving Shenzou some food and patrols." She stated Ottilie's offer, obviously they didn't need it.
"Hmm, accept it. You aren't the best at this, but infiltrate Schicksal and gather information if they see more stigmata bearers. We will need as much of them as we can, I saw that she had an orphanage called Saint Michael's abbey. Locate kids as much as possible, we will be enacting project Stigma. Honkai corruption is still a big problem after all."
He would naturally and artificially disseminate stigmatas as much as possible, creating new stigmata bearers and slowly phase out humans without them. Weakening the influence of honkai on humanity as much as possible and strengthening the race as a whole.
"Okay, I don't have much to do here now anyways. Even Nuwa and Fuxi are calling me a NEET. Although Xuanyuan is relaxing much more and reading manga all the time." She chuckled at the yellow emperor that was lazing around, reading manga and watching anime at the lounge.
"Hey! I heard that! It's for inspiration, inspiration I say! They have great techniques in these shows you know!" Xuanyuan yelled at her and protested.
"Ahhh, she's now a woman of culture. Good job Nuwa, our comrades grow day by day." Ein nodded in satisfaction and Xuanyuan gave a thumbs up.
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Hua went to Vienna to take care of the troubles Schicksal were having. She was tasked to kill an emperor class beast that the valkyrie order can't beat. Not after losing Eleanor and Kallen.
She was now meeting with Ottilie and they discussed the agreement they had. "Wait, my representative want to see it first." Hua said to her and Ein appeared, wearing a suit. He was curious about Kallen's friend that was able to make a cure for the honkai plague.
"Ahem, I will be now looking at the agreement." He fixed his glasses and Hua deadpanned at his disguise. Speaking to him telepathically. "You don't need glasses, why are you even wearing one."
"It's for the look woman. Don't I look smarter in one?" He replied and quickly looked over the papers. Meanwhile, Ottilie remembered him back in Shenzou and thought of how a westerner got the celestial's trust.
"Pardon me, but aren't you the one from back then?" Ottilie asked, curious about him. "Why yes, yes I am. Forgive me for not introducing myself, my name is Einheri Aesir. Pleased to meet you Ottilie Apocalypse." He gave a business smile and shook her hand.
'So she's obsessed with Kallen huh? She's prolonging her lifespan in order to research on how to revive Kallen.' He read her mind and she was finding ways to try and revive Kallen.
"Good to meet you as well, but aren't you from the west? I expected someone from Shenzou to accompany her. So this is quite surprising." She was probing, Ein fixed his glasses again and looked at the blonde with a glint on his lens.
"Why the sudden interest Ms. Apocalypse? Are you ready for the consequences when you find out who I am?" He gave a smile and Ottilie felt that he was clearly someone not normal. And she also has a bad feeling about him, like Ein did something really bad. But she can't put a finger on it.
"No no, just curious is all." She put a note in her head to investigate him. Ottilie smiled and gestured him to continue his work. Ein quickly revised the contract and gave it to the blonde, she reviewed it. As expected, the contract was flawless and she nodded in satisfaction.
"Thank you for your cooperation. I wish we could continue this for a long time." She smiled and shaked their hands one last time. "It's nothing. It is beneficial for the both of us and we will surely get more from this exchange." Ein gave a smile and Ottilie got goosebumps from it. She didn't rely on her gut feelings. But she thought something really bad would happen.
"Farewell Ms. Apocalypse, it's nice doing business with you." Ein stood up and Hua followed behind. When they were completely gone, the operatives of Aesir corp ransacked every place that even had a hint of gifted children. And they were gone like the wind.
"Who is that man? The celestial followed him when he left. And that's no fluke, I must be careful of him." She called upon loyal servants to try and get as much information on him and Hua. She got some clues on a certain material called Soulium that will help buy more time for her to research a way in reviving Kallen.
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"Is it fine? She would surely suspect something from your words and actions Ein." Hua didn't live a long time for nothing. She noticed that he was clearly her superior in the earlier exchange. And the shrewd overseer of Schicksal would surely notice that.
"Kekeke~ We'll play a game Hua. Of course I gave that away, but she won't find anything on me except Aesir corp. And she'll be going circles to try and unravel my mystery, pretty good game if I say so myself. I'll give her a chance to try and unmask Kallen's secret identity. She's a good friend of hers before it all went crashing down. She isn't that bad honestly, Mobius has done much much worse and you know it."
Hua cringed when she remembered how Mobius used to experiment on people without regard whatsoever. She only mellowed out when Ein stopped her obsession with immortality and redirected her interests on him.
"Right... She doesn't listen to anyone but Elysia and Eden." The only one she would listen to were the two. The uncrowned heads of his harem, while SAKURA and Aponia can stop her. They don't really care about what she does as long as it doesn't involve them.
"Let's go. We have some new recruits to welcome." They went to an alley and disappeared. Someone was tailing them and they were instantly stumped. Losing the mysterious two immediately.
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Hua and Ein returned to the base and saw Li Sushang keeping up her training, sweating heavily, panting, absolutely haggard. But she was a trooper and kept going at it as much as she could.
"Good, you haven't given up Sushang. Keep that up for some months, I will then teach you the 8 inner gates." He gave her a bottle of water that contained the necessary electrolytes to make her energized. And she got excited, hearing a secret technique that sounded cool.
"Yes Ein-sama! Don't worry, I won't give up that easily." She jogged enthusiastically and Ein told her to go to the hot spring that he made that would heal her completely and take the fatigue off her body. And another set of exercises awaited her after. She was to work out like hell for five days and her days off were the weekends so she won't get burned out.
Aponia already indoctrinated the children to lead good lives and train diligently to be the future of humanity. Their genes were then altered so when they make a big family in the future, they would overpower the flaws of the human genome currently. Eliminating weak honkai adaptability and making a new dominant human race. Bad eggs were also disciplined by Aponia, the last thing they needed was a conflict that would be born from discrimination of the "lesser" humans.
They would also release vaccines that were actually gene splicers for people incompatible with stigmata. Leaving no stone unturned, as for anti-vaxxers... They would be a great example.
Kallen went up to them and decided to ask them how Ottilie was. "Ein, I heard you met up with Tilie? How is she? I read the reports, she's now the overseer of Schicksal. I still can't believe that Aponia lead me to go to the east to find you."
"She's looking fine and dandy, a bit obsessed about you though." He gave her some of the blonde's memories and Kallen frowned. She didn't change and still only cared about the idea of Kallen being the holy maiden. She even experimented on Eleanor's body, Kallen might have come to blows with her. But she was still her junior that was an unfortunate victim.
"I see, I can't see her like that. She hasn't seen the error of her ways and she probably won't for a long time. My father must be rolling in his grave right now." Kallen wasn't pleased one bit by her friend's actions.
"You know Kallen. She's going through a phase, Mobius is worse than her you know? You just haven't seen her go bonkers yet. Maybe you should meet her later, that is if she manages to get clues you're alive." He told her of his plan and Kallen nodded.
"I don't know, but I'll try. She just isn't the person I knew back then, the brilliant inventor who wanted to save the world with me. People do change, and she changed to someone that would forsake everything in the world for me. I don't need a person like that in my life." Kallen was adamant that she won't see her eye to eye. Making him sigh, Kallen had a point and he wasn't one to force people against their principles.
"Okay, it isn't a big deal anyway. I just thought you maybe wanted to see her or change her ways." He shrugged and Kallen thought about it. But she was busy with her job, doing what she loved. Save people, even though she didn't get any recognition for it.
"I'll focus on protecting the people. She chose that path. And I chose my own. Tilie knew what she was doing behind my back. She burned the bridge of our friendship and I have better things to do than console a grown woman Ein." She spoke her thoughts and he patted her head.
"Atta girl. I've definitely rubbed on you huh?" He smiled wryly as Kallen definitely changed over the years. Still compassionate, but more realistic about her goals.
"You did, she was such a sweet girl back then. Now look at her, showing no mercy for the ones that betrayed her." Hua chuckled and thought this Kallen was much better than the suicidal shounen protag in the past.
"Well, it's sad because she had to betray you to please your ideals Kallen, so try to make up with her later okay?" He patted her head and Kallen pouted at him.
"I know I was stupid back then alright? Don't need to rub it in. Hmph, but she was stupid too! What did she thought would happen? I'll cry tears of happiness when I find out what she was doing? I now know I'm not a saint, I'm just a human as well. And some things are unforgivable, plain and simple. I might have forgiven her if she told me about it, but things aren't that simple." She ended the topic and Ein gave her a cookie to calm down.
"Alright alright, Kallen grew up so fast. She doesn't think oh trouble! And go in and want to die anymore." He shed a tear and Hua laughed. Kallen glared at him and pinched his side.
"You're so mean! I demand compensation for your damages!" She puffed her cheeks and Ein took out a table, giving her tons of food that made Kallen drool at the sight.
"Umu, you are forgiven." Ein and Hua chuckled while she ate with gusto. "She's still simple huh? Not that it's a bad thing." Hua said with a smile. "Don't change Kallen, don't change." He kept on giving her some food.
"Hey! I heard that you know? Now give me another!" She had a drumstick on her hand and was chewing like a hamster. Cheeks stretched to the max, offsetting her annoyance with food.
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Thanks for reading, I will now slowly skip time. Maybe a hundred years a chapter, there are no major things that would happen now after all until the 1950's with anti-entropy entering the fray. Anyways, ciao.