Honkai Star Rail: The Archiver

"[Archive]"

Once Yuuto uttered this word, a stream of information instantly invaded his brain. The white energy that escaped his fingers flowed through the Engine of Creation. 

Capturing its internal structure from the circuits, frame, and control center. Everything that was within the machine was formed into a memory.

But why do this in the first place? Yuuto could have just used the machine and operated it based on the blueprints he had seen before.

However, this way didn't arouse the slightest interest in him. What did was the idea of a certain Supreme Guardian from many years ago.

"Alexzandra has my full respect." 

Yuuto thought back to the notes she left behind in that cave. There are multiple entries, all focusing on the issues bringing down Belobog.

From the analysis of how the corrosion worked to the logs of times her team attempted to fix the Engine of Creation. Ultimately failing due to the wave of monsters appearing.

All of these notes, desperately trying to find a light within the predicament they found themselves in. Yuuto could feel the emotions engraved in her writing.

And these very notes brought a crazy idea. 

Yuuto laughed in his head and felt oddly curious about how Alexzandra would react if she knew her notes would be used this way. 

'Shit, this hurts like hell…'

Yuuto clenched his jaw as his head began to throb and his vision turned blurry. The influx of information was too large considering the size of the machine underneath him.

Threatening to tear his mind apart.

But he held on. Piece by piece, the memory being created through [Archive] gradually formed. Visualizing the alloys that extended throughout the whole body and the flow of energy released by the Geomarrow within it.

Yuuto's mind imprinted this very memory into his library stored within the [Memory of the World]. 

Sweat dripped from his face and exhaustion engulfed him. Yet the smile that formed on his face showed his excitement in archiving the Engine of Creation.

Cocolia watched this and felt a sense of danger when she noticed Yuuto's smile and urgently looked up at the storm of spears she made.

"{Fall!!}"

Her hand swung downwards and the thousands of deadly spears came raining down on the mountain underneath her.

"Let's take care of that first."

Looking at the storm gradually falling onto them, Yuuto wiped the blood pouring from his nose and placed his palms on the head of the machine.

A surge of silver energy exploded from his body and streams of moonlight poured down his arms. Instantly, the Engine of Creation formed a network of glowing silver veins flowing throughout its structure.

The golden power given by the Geomarrow now had a tinge of silver as moonlight fused with its energy.

'I can still extend it since the new conduits at the arms are empty.' Yuuto continued to power the machine and used his mind to follow a path unused by the machine.

His body acted as a conduit and all that was left was for the machine to showcase its new power.

"Stelle!"

"You don't have to tell me twice!!"

Stelle had a vicious grin on her face as she operated the controls and moved the Engine of Creation upwards. The large body creaked but that didn't stop it from following her orders.

The machine's arm began to glow a soft silver before a blinding gold energy mixed into it.

Its large arm pulled back and what followed was a rapid swing upwards. The moonlight and Geomarrow flowing through its circuits condensed and a mixture of silver and gold appeared on the fist's surface.

A spiral trailed from the fist and connected with the rain of spears above.

—BOOOOOOOOOOM

A large explosion broke into the sky and instantly ripped through Cocolia's accumulation of spears. Creating a shockwave that rippled outwards, sweeping away any remnants of spears in the air.

The mountain went silent as the clear night sky held a shimmer of silver and gold in the air. 

But that silence was quickly broken by a sudden rush of wind cascading down the sky. The four standing on the mountain were still basking in the scene they saw.

Yet the sight of snow, ice, and shards plummeting down quickly brought them out of their trance.

"Hold onto something!!"

Dan Heng urgently shouted and cleaved the ground in front of him. A deep pit formed and he stuck his spear into the hole to create a hold for him to grab. 

Seele followed along and March formed a large barrier for the three around her.

Managing to brace themselves in time, the aftershock from the explosion pressed onto them and they put on their best effort to not get swept.

The shock lasted a few more seconds but it felt longer than it really was. The snow settled and the previously clouded mountain was now clear of any obstruction.

Dan Heng and the others behind him looked up and what they saw brought their jaws to the floor.

The Engine of Creation that was turned off was now glowing bright gold alongside silver lines streaming down its body. The blue and gold banners near its chest fluttered and on its head was a long river of moonlight flowing downwards.

The machine looked alive with the silver light appearing as a cloak dancing behind its body.

–CLICK

The sound of a camera shutter brought a few heads to turn in the direction and March awkwardly froze seeing the stares she was getting.

She coughed and placed her camera aside. Unable to bear the stares.

"Seeing that robot made me think of Mr. Yang." March turned her head. "I remember that he talked about some sort of robot when I was bored before…"

"So I thought this would be a good thing to show him once we got back."

Dan Heng slowly nodded at her reason but placed them to the side as they were still far from returning to the Express. Considering that Cocolia and the Stellaron were still active.

"{How…?}"

Cocolia at the moment was unable to form any words as the scene that just happened brought so many questions.

How were they able to operate the Engine of Creation? What is that silver light? How did that single punch break apart her attack?

All of these questions were left unanswered.

And the culprits of all this continued their next steps seeing Cocolia frozen in place.

"Try and attack the monsters from below first and then focus all your time on Cocolia," Yuuto said as he looked up at the sky. "I still have one-third of the moonlight I gathered."

Supplementing that one punch brought a lot of his reserves down but seeing the moon hanging above him brought a sense of relief.

'Let me just focus on acting as a supply for this thing.'

Yuuto closed his eyes and grasped the moonlight shining around him. It felt soft but considering the quantity he tried to gather, it began to feel like controlling a heavy wave.

He cloaked his body with this light and using the memory of the [Engine of Creation], he followed the paths within to adjust the energy needed.

"More exp for this lovely me~!"

Stelle hummed and moved the torso forward. Since the Engine of Creation still had a faulty lower body, the torso was the only way to move it. But the sheer size of the machine seemed to make up for it.

The gigantic arm came crashing down on the mountain and the monsters summoned by Cocolia saw a shadow gradually growing over them.

Some were able to move away but the majority were clueless when a metal fist flattened them to dust.

"{Again!! Why must you be so persistent!?}"

Cocolia's thundering voice shook that air and her face distorted. Her composure was nowhere to be found. 

Her preparations were single-handedly foiled and she needed to do something urgently. Finding her support now gone, Cocolia decided that she needed to handle the ones causing her the most trouble.

She already anticipated that her enemies would prevent her from fully accepting the Stellaron's powers based on the countless interruptions beforehand. 

So a brief power up and destroying the new variable that showed was needed to even have a chance in breaking through with her plans. 

She floated backward and released a deep chill from her palms. Her arms began to bulge trying to contain this ice. This lasted for a few seconds but this was enough for her.

"Shit, did she…" Yuuto frowned when he felt the burst of energy getting released. 

Preventing Cocolia from going into her Stellaron form was something he needed to prevent to make this confrontation easier. So seeing the energy coming off of her was not something he wanted.

However, before he could do anything, Yuuto noticed that a large transparent circle began to appear in front of Cocolia. Six smaller ones followed and Cocolia's form was slowly shown.

She still looked the same albeit her blonde hair was now a mess. But her arms were now replaced with skin that resembled the ice she used.

Yuuto let out a relieved sigh but his eyes narrowed seeing the circle glowing brightly.

"So she entered a semi-transformed state." He concluded gazing at her body and revving up the amount of power the Engine of Creation was now using.

"Prepare to block this."

"Is it going to be a large-scale one?"

Stelle also noticed Cocolia's different appearance and held her gaze. Yuuto paused for a bit before shaking his head.

"She's not paying attention to anyone else except for us."

Yuuto's skin crawled, feeling her mad eyes land on him, and seeing the light growing bright, he anticipated that she wanted them gone as soon as possible.

After hearing him, Stelle moved the Engine of Creation and raised its bulky arms in front of its body. Feeling the machine move, Yuuto guided the energy to the back of the hand and condensed it once more.

But this time it was used for something else. The silver light rippled on the surface and formed into a large shield that covered their entire front side.

Cocolia didn't hesitate even after seeing their effort and clenched her hand. The circles in front of her exploded and a large spear spanning 15 meters suddenly appeared.

It floated for a brief moment before gradually spinning. Feeling satisfied, Cocolia flung her hand forward and launched the spear at the machine.

Stelle felt nervous seeing the spear heading her way but after seeing Yuuto calmly look forward, she regained her composure.

'So she can send this type of attack that fast…'

Yuuto placed more moonlight into the shield he made and decided to add some precautions. He stimulated the Stellaron inside him and released [Mother's Embrace].

A blue and gold light was added to the silver shield increasing the density it initially had.

The spear got closer. Ripping through the air in an attempt to destroy the obstacle its maker ruthlessly wanted gone. 

"How strong is this thing!?" The silver veins the machine had glowed in a thick light trying to supply the shield it made.

Yuuto clicked his tongue at the amount of energy being used since it was more than what he expected. 

But predicting the amount of damage the Engine of Creation would take if the spear pierced them. He felt like this was reasonable.

The attack persisted and spun even faster trying to pierce the large shield it had. It trembled, but the combined effort of two people seemed to overwhelm it.

Stelle moved the arms feeling like the speed at which the spear spun was slowing down and swung the right fist to the side. She felt the torso shake as it absorbed some of the shock.

Still, it wasn't enough to worry her. She knew that the man surrounded by silver light would handle it just fine.

With its attempt, the shield covering the body shattered and exploded. 

Syncing with the movements the arm brought, the force from the explosion propelled the spear off the mountain. Sinking its tip towards the foot of the summit where it would disappear. 

The specks of light floated in front of Yuuto and he felt like he should return the favor.

"Stelle, you've seen me fight before right?"

Stelle raised her eyebrows at his strange question but still answered regardless. "Yeah, it's a bit too flashy sometimes." 

"Move the machine as if it was using my sword." Yuuto smoothly ignored Stelle's comment and closed his eyes to focus.

She didn't mind as it was pretty exciting using a machine to fight and visualized Yuuto fighting in her mind. 

The way he swung his sword was fast and decisive. Always aiming at his opponent's weak points using his speed. But Stelle glossed over these points. 

What really caught her interest was when he would strike his sword and a sudden influx of moonlight would come crashing down.

"I always wanted to try that."

Stelle moved the machine as it followed her wishes and placed the hands together as if it were holding a sword. The arms moved upwards before falling. 

She was skeptical but what came next was something she would never forget.

A ball of light formed within the palms of the machine when it had its hands above its head and erupted forming something similar to a large sword.

It grew larger before it condensed and caused the air to shake as it tore the air apart. 

"{No! Stop–!}"

Cocolia shouted and tried to move out of the way but a sudden assault of arrows stopped her from moving. Its pink ice gripped her body and rapidly spread around her. 

Her body was now trapped, a large force pushed her from behind, and was forced to confront the large sword rapidly descending. Her purple eyes gazed at the light and felt it engulf her entire body.

The force behind the swing and the amount of power held within the sword caused her to crash downwards. Forming a large crater where she lay lifelessly at the center.

"Mother!" Bronya shouted and shot some monsters that were left on the mountain. 

She moved to her left and dodged an ax aimed at her and used the blade on her gun to stab its torso. The others followed along but she didn't dare keep her eyes off Cocolia.

Finally reaching the crater, her worried eyes locked onto her mother's body which was surrounded by a light pink ice. 

She was startled that the injuries she expected were not as bad and wondered if it was due to the Stellaron's energy supplying her body.

"{Ugh…}"

"Mother!"

Bronya heard Cocolia mumble and immediately brought her focus onto her. Although they were on opposite sides at the moment, she was still her dear mother who raised her.

"{Wh…w..y..}"

"Hmm?" Bronya brought her face closer as she tried to make out what Cocolia was saying. "What is it?"

"{Why?... I.. just…wanted to.. help..save…}"

"...."

"{The.. preservation has… failed…}"

"If that is the case then why must you act as God and force a new world?" Bronya clenched her fist."Even if it looks bleak, we must follow through with the path we pave."

"Why must you do all this..? Why..?"

Cocolia turned silent and looked at Bronya whose hair covered her face. Even if it was just a whisper, Cocolia felt the frustrations and anger held within her words.

She turned her gaze away from Bronya and looked at the empty night sky above her. Her thoughts roamed and wondered why she did it.

'I'm not sure anymore.'

This thought clouded her mind and took one last glance at Bronya as if she wanted to burn her image deep within her eyes one last time.

"URGHH!?"

"Mother–!?"

Cocolia's body began to shake and the ice surrounding her blew apart. 

Bronya flew backwards and landed on her rear but her eyes didn't move away from what was happening in front of her.

Striking yellow lines crawled from Cocolia's chest and reached the distal ends of her limbs. Her body began to shake and the lines reached up to her eyes.

"Wait!"

Bronya attempted to move closer but was untimely pushed back once more as surges of power formed a barrier preventing her from approaching.

"Wait! It's getting dangerous!"

"No! I need to get closer to her! She's in trouble."

Seele and the other two tried to pull Bronya back but she persisted that she needed to go. She slammed her fist onto the barrier and watched as Cocolia's eyes began to glaze over.

"No! No!...No.."

Bronya wanted to break down the barrier but anything she did failed to work. She watched helplessly as the lines began to grow thicker and slowly covered Cocolia's entire body.

Gradually bringing her towards an outcome that Bronya didn't want to see. 

"[Break]"

"Huh…"

Her fist that kept on hitting the barrier suddenly shattered and a look of shock broke onto her face.

She looked upwards and noticed that a pair slowly descended and landed beside Cocolia who was shaking in pain.

Bronya locked eyes with Yuuto who met her gaze before he looked downwards.

"This is the only way so don't blame me for anything…."

It might have been a murmur but Yuuto said something before placing his hand on Cocolia.

To be more exact, her chest.

"Ah."

"I better not hear a single word from you," Yuuto quickly said to Stelle.

***

I'll release another one tomorrow since the initial chapter was way too long.