I just made a post with this idea, and thought "wait I can just write the story right now", so I did ^.^
Since I put this up on AO3 I figured I'd share it here, too!
Crimson eyes met azure eyes once more. For a split second, the figure wondered if the child before it could hear the fear in its voice.
“Listen to me very carefully, and I promise that you and Natasha will not die today.”
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One era ends, a new era begins. A certain special someone is left behind with nothing but her precious memories, and she must find new meaning in this long and empty life of hers.
When the Herrscher of Finality descended upon Earth, it took merely hours for nearly everything Seele loved to be seized away from her. But in those final moments, she still had her other self, and together they made a great sacrifice to give humanity one final chance.
As she collapsed against her comrade, Seele’s hand slipped off the handle of the Abyss Flower and fell onto the broken ground. In those final moments, she could hear a voice cry out to her before being consumed by the violent cracks and rumbles of earth-shattering lighting, before the sound faded away into silence.
The light in those azure eyes peacefully dimmed to nothing, another life lost to this sudden and tragic end of the Current Era. But in a small room suspended in the void, a pair of crimson eyes frantically looked around and loud cries were left unanswered. In those final moments, Seele realized she was alone.
.
.
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“The Stigma Awakened holds remarkable value, but they’re only the intersection of stigmata and humans, and the most primitive guarantee of Project Stigma.”
When she first heard these words Seele thought nothing of them- pointless philosophy, disconnected from reality and a waste of her time. How cruel it was that these words would replay in her mind over and over like a broken record, Seele now understanding the true meaning behind them.
From the first moments she came into being, Seele knew she was an “other”, that this was not her life to live. But as they passed day by day in the orphanage, as they fell into the Sea of Quanta, as they fought through the Theatre of Domination, and as they faced Finality together, Seele began to believe that she belonged.
Even if it was not her reality, she could still see the world through the azure eyes of a gentle soul.
Without that fragile tether, the Stigma now found herself back where she belonged. A Stigma Space, a dream where time is distorted. The checkered floor that once served as a refuge now became a timeless prison, where this Stigma would desperately cling to her memories of Seele Vollerei.
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.
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When Finality brought one era to an end, it also marked the beginning of a new era. Civilization would form once more, built up by the history and knowledge of generations of humanity. Stigmata serve as records of this process, and so as humans once more walked the Earth and began telling tales, one particular Stigma once more caught glimpses of the real world.
Now that she could perceive the world as she once did, this Stigma saw just how much time had passed. She had never bothered to keep count, and she wasn’t even sure if she was isolated for a moment or an eternity.
In this new era the Stigma kept her distance, watching from afar as generation after generation passed by— though every now and then she would appear before whichever host was alive at that time, and offer a sliver of her power. She had little interest in meddling with the messy affairs of others, so many people who bore this Stigma lived their lives without ever knowing it was there.
This was her new reality, and the Stigma told herself that she was content to live this way. Even if Finality descended once more she would simply move on to another era anyways, so she didn’t care what fate befell her hosts. They were nothing more than a convenient means by which she could eavesdrop on humanity’s progress.
So it was until the moment when she felt her own fear for the first time in this new era.
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.
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“Get behind me!”
The cracks of gunshots were deafening in the ears of the crying child, but they did not scare her as much as the approaching roars of Honkai beasts. As another beast cried out, she tightened her grip on the leg of her adoptive mother.
"Shit." Natasha swore under her breath again as the rifle began to click; the magazine was empty yet not a single Honkai beast fell. She backed up until she was halted by the cracked wall behind her. Before she could even turn to run the other way, yet another monster appeared.
They were trapped.
In those final moments, countless thoughts raced through Natasha’s mind. She wondered where she went wrong, she cursed her misfortune, she fervently prayed for a miracle.
In those final moments, the crying child shut her eyes as if she were tucked in bed and hiding from the monsters in her bedtime stories. With eyes closed, she did not notice a distant gaze that fell upon her.
In those final moments, the cries of beasts gave way to silence. The air grew still, and the warmth she desperately clung to had disappeared. She slowly opened her teary eyes and saw a single figure standing alone in an impossibly black darkness.
“Am I… dead?” Still dazed from the sudden sensory deprivation, the child could only muster a gentle whisper.
No reply.
With her tiny, tender hand the crying child rubbed tears from her eyes. The child blinked once, twice, and now clearly saw the face of the lone figure.
It had her face, it had her hair. But unlike her it had crimson eyes which stared at her, as if it were peering into her soul, as if it were about to devour it any moment now.
“W-w-what are you?” The child’s heartbeat grew louder and louder in the silence as she stumbled onto the ground, breaking into tears and ugly sobbing.
Tch. How obnoxious.
With crossed arms the figure closed its eyes and took one step forward.
“You are pathetic.”
Another step.
“Weak.”
Another.
“A coward that can’t do anything to protect what she loves most dearly.”
Now a mere couple of feet away, the figure towered over the child before her. Eyes still closed, it took in a deep breath. “But this time… things will be different.”
Crimson eyes met azure eyes once more. For a split second, the figure wondered if the child before it could hear the fear in its voice.
“Listen to me very carefully, and I promise that you and Natasha will not die today.”
The Honkai beast pulled back its limb; a massive lance which would pierce Natasha clean. She held her rifle up as a shield even if it’d do nothing to soften the blow. What more could she do?
As the lance flew forward towards her, Natasha shut her eyes tight. She did not notice that the child behind her let go of her leg. She did not see the smile that crept onto the child’s face, nor the blade which began to form in the child’s hand.
One second had passed and a grinding screech rang out, a noise like the scraping of a shovel against rock.
Two seconds had passed but the lance did not touch Natasha.
Three seconds had passed and she heard the shrieks of one, two, three Honkai beasts. Natasha tensed at the sound and looked up to see what was happening.
Ten seconds had passed, and then there was silence.
Natasha usually felt no fear when facing Honkai beasts, but this time was different. She felt fear for herself, but especially for the young child which was with her when the beasts attacked… but she never imagined that she would be frightened by the child herself.
The child that was sobbing and clinging to Natasha merely moments ago now stood in place of the pack of Honkai beasts. Silicon carapaces lay around her, violently torn apart. In the girl’s hand was a massive scythe that was even taller than her; it was a dull metallic grey with red accents and what appeared to be a single bloodied eye glaring at Natasha. It seemed like the weight of the weapon should crush the little girl, yet she effortlessly held it.
Head still turned away from Natasha, the girl spoke. It was nearly the same voice that would meekly ask for a bedtime story or politely ask for another serving of cake. But there was no trace of her usual innocence in these words; instead they seemed to drip with venom.
“Listen closely, Natasha. Don’t take my help for granted.” The girl turned her head to the side, eyes still covered by the sides of her hair.
“Take better care of Seele. If you don’t, I will know. And if you let anyone or anything harm her…”
I just came to a sudden realization, and think fellow Seele fans would love (or hate) to hear this...
Red Seele comes from the stigma that Blue Seele has, right? But we also see another stigma being that's a bit like Veliona, specifically the one in the Kaslana stigmata; and that guy had all the memories of Kevin but could also appear to Theresa and Siegfried.
Then what if there was a scenario where the Current Era failed to stop Finality and got reset, and Blue Seele didn't survive into the new Era but Red Seele did?
Red Seele would be stuck in the Stigma Space by herself for all those thousands of years until this new Era's Seele appeared and met her. It'd be a repeat of Blue Seele's experience meeting her "other self" except this time Red Seele already has all these memories and life experiences with her past Seele.
Jeez, that'd suck for her wouldn't it?
I'll probably explore this idea myself someday but i've also got a bajillion other things to do, so if anyone else wants to mess around w/ this idea and write a fic or make art or whatever, go for it! ^.^
