Aleph's itinerary two months ago was hectic, to say the least. He was either with Mobius, Vill-V, or Mei researching something. That, and clearing out unauthorized laboratories and sporadic small-scale honkai eruptions.
That was the time the frequency of eruptions lessened. More than half of the combat teams were out doing reconnaissance as to why it became like that.
It was naturally caused by the "hacked" Cocoon's influence. It chose to gather its strength for a stronger major eruption such as now.
That was something Aleph discovered during that time.
Since he already had this discovery, his time with Kevin and Sakura were more of relaxation than anything else. It pushed him to know Sakura better… and vice versa.
'...No. I swore to myself to become his blade… and not…'
In the end, Sakura did not mention what went through her mind. She remained silent as she received a dark-gold blade from Aleph. According to him, its name was "Bind". It possessed characteristics similar to a Divine Key in the form of a weapon.
Things went swiftly after that.
"Take care."
"Um."
Along with his disappearance was the emergence of the confusion in Sakura's heart.
*****
Unlike the desolate institutes raided by high-level MANTISes and honkai beasts, the First Institute remained unaffected. They were the only function institute at this time, thus the pressure they bore became ten times heavier.
Spreading honkai alerts, analysis of their estimated numbers…
The role of a fully-functional backline support lied on them.
In the middle of hastily moving people was Mei. Her mere presence ensured they would not lose composure and act in an organized manner. Her skills when it came to practical commands was already proven way back in the fifth eruption.
She was about to issue a new set of commands when she saw a familiar person.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
The world lost its sound. Each step he took silenced the noisy voices further until it became completely silent.
"...You changed a lot."
"One month of sleep does this."
"Sleep… It's been a while since I slept."
Their conversation started casually. Aleph's arms naturally wrapped around Mei as he felt her warmth.
'Heh… I missed this.'
Aleph's mind entered a tranquil state.
"I dealt with the Herrschers already."
Hearing that made her relieved.
"Dealing with the aftermath is all that's left…"
"I am not done yet."
Aleph's words came off as a surprise.
"I will go to the Moon."
He said these words several times today. It was a simple—perhaps even fanciful—idea. Most would find it as such.
Only the ones who knew the truth understood what Aleph planned to do. Naturally, every single one of his close friends knew about it.
"Are you planning to deal with the Cocoon? Isn't this too fast?"
"It's too fast, yes… but it has to be done. It will be more troublesome if it hurts the people close to me…"
"...What are you hiding?"
Mei's words halted his explanation. She was the first one who confronted him.
Kurumi knew about his "peculiarity" and chose not to ask further. The same went for Elysia.
Kevin noticed something strange but was forced to accept the reason Aleph gave him.
Sakura did not even question his actions and simply believed in him.
As for Mei, direct confrontation was inevitable. That was just how she was.
"I knew you'd notice." He said. "I left the explanation to my ELF…"
Aleph explained how he used his Information Imprint to leave a portion of his memories to his ELF right before he left the third institute. He also did the same to the information attached to the prior four people he talked to.
"It's mainly about Hua. She's the center of this major eruption."
"Yes."
"The Cocoon did something to turn her into one. Her will won't break that easily."
Distance was no longer an issue to the current Aleph. He could "see" the other side of the world as long as he wanted to. It was one of the advantages brought by the completed Sephira Crystal and the Blank Pathway. It enhanced his elemental sight to a godly level, no longer suffering from the sense of distance and the likes.
Through that, he instantly knew Hua's peculiarity.
"It pulled a version of Hua from a parallel world. That was what induced her to "turn" into a Herrscher." Aleph slowly explained. "That parallel world is based on ours."
"A parallel world… wasn't it a branch of the possible futures?"
He could see Mei's interest growing towards the topic.
"That's right. As to why she became a Herrscher, it should be related to the 'future' she came from."
Mei went silent after that. Glints of light appeared inside her pupils. It took a while until she understood Aleph completely.
"Is it holding her hostage?"
"...Yes. Things will become unpredictable once I resolve Hua's problem. After that… I have a feeling I'd be forced to go to the Moon."
"..."
Pure reason tells it was a bad idea. Mei would not choose to risk Aleph, humanity's current strongest, to save the life of others—even hers. However, she already learned that pure reason does not suffice in certain circumstances… that it was better to act on emotions sometimes.
'He won't back down.'
Mei knew Aleph would not abandon any single one of his close friends, more so when Hua is one of his girlfriends. The meaning she held was an entirely different thing.
He was like that.
Even if she, Mobius, or Kurumi was the one in danger, he would not hesitate to act.
A turmoil of emotions consisted of warmth and worries rose from Mei. Her reason suppressed them, but they were there.
"...Goodluck."
"Um."
The two hugged each other. She did not know how much time had passed.
When Mei came back to her senses, everything was back to normal.
"Aleph…"
*****
Boom-!
A loud explosion went off not far away from the second institute. Everyone watched as swathes of metal humanoids drove straight to the hordes of honkai beasts. They self-destructed with every opportunity they had.
Each of their nuclear reactors was more than capable of setting off an explosion that could blow half a city at least. When their output turns uncontrolled, it's not difficult to match a clean nuclear bomb in terms of firepower.
Boom-!
Bam-!
Rumble-!
As the ground shook, the numbers of honkai beasts started to thin out. One particular person was watching everything unfold with relish.
"How ingenious. I should add that function—"
"You better not add that on the battlesuits, Vill-V."
"—Hey?!"
She was startled to see Aleph standing behind her.
"Oh, it's just you."
Her comical reaction made it clear which personality she was.
"Since when did you have the ability to silently appear behind my back?"
"Just now. I gained the ability to travel long distances."
A stem of light blue flower appeared in Aleph's grasp.
"Spirea… It experienced natural growth from the looks of it. This is found on the other side of the world." She mumbled. "So, you can bring people to the Moon?!"
Unintentionally, her words felt extremely ironic to Aleph.