Chapter 01, rewrite #3 of Comet of Miracles.
Send your complaints and/or feedback to variablenotset on Discord or unsetvariable@proton.me.
“The right man in the wrong place can make all the difference in the world.”
— G-Man, Half-Life 2 (2004) by Valve Software
Takes place after Part 1.5 of Honkai Impact 3rd.
Warning: Lore inaccuracies may arise as I have yet to finish Part 1, let alone Part 1.5 as I began writing.
Partially proofread by my brother (sleepderived07 on Discord).
[…]
…where…am I? She questioned, trying to move her body…but to no effect, it remaining still like a doll. What’s going on?
Empty void in all directions, with not even the presence of air, was all she could feel. Her eyes refused to open, staying shut as if they were glued together.
“We thirst for the seven wailings. We bear the koan of Jericho.” A faint, echoing voice suddenly whispered to her.
Who-?! She questioned. Or rather, almost blurted…but nothing actually managed to come out.
The mechanical noises of a train car slowly faded in, raising more questions than answers…especially with what happened so far.
“It was all my fault. My decisions…and everything they caused.” Another voice, clearer and more feminine, spoke out, sounding like its owner was just right there in front of her. “It had to come to this for me to realize you were right all along…”
Her eyes suddenly snapped open, all her senses returning to her at the same time. She tried moving her body yet again, but same as before, no results.
This isn’t going to work… Finally giving up, at least for the time being, she decided to step back for a bit - much as she can like this anyway - and look around at her surroundings.
A strangely plain train car - almost alien so - with not even a single advertisement or stain in sight. Rather unnaturally pretty blue sky and pink skyline extending far off into the distance.
But most concerningly of all…the blue-haired girl right in front of her, in some kind of administrative looking uniform dress…tainted with trails of red near her heart. Is she…hurt? But the girl in question doesn’t seem to mind the injury or whatever that is. Not one bit.
“…I know this is very shameless of me, but I must ask for your help… Sensei.” The injured girl continued. “You’ll forget these words, but it won’t matter. Even without your memories, you’ll probably make the same decision under the same circumstances…”
Without my memories? Did something happen…? …why did she call me “Sensei”?
“Which is why…what matters are the choices we make, not our past experiences. There are choices only you can make.”
…choices only I can make? What…does she mean by that?
“I’ve spoken of responsibility before. I didn’t understand it back then…but I do now. Adulthood, responsibility, obligation…the choices you make that extend beyond those ideals…even the meaning behind them.”
Responsibility… A word all too familiar to Sensei…with a weight behind it she’s not sure she even has the words for. …am I really the right person for this?
“…sei?” Another, sharper and more firm voice calls out from somewhere beyond, yet this other voice seems ever so slightly wavering somehow.
“…you’re the one I trust, Sensei. Only you can free us from this twisted, distorted fate…” The girl trails off, her voice becoming more faint, as is Sensei’s own sense of touch…
Wait… Wait- I still-
“…ensei, wake…” That sharper voice calls out again.
“and find the choices that will lead us to a new reality. So, Sensei, please…” Her voice fades away almost entirely…
“Wait, I still have-“ Sensei suddenly called out to her-
“Kiana-sensei!”
“Ah!” Sensei jolted awake, her eyes again snapping open…but this time somewhere else, her head hurting from…something. What…just happened? She questioned, while slowly catching her breath.
“You must have been exhausted. I didn’t expect you to fall asleep while waiting, let alone have trouble waking up.”
The voice draws Sensei’s attention, and she turns to face her. Blue eyes behind a pair of thin glasses, white uniform dress with matching overcoat and blue tie, along with…
…is she really carrying a gun on her belt?
“I’ll go over the situation again. My name is Nanagami Rin. I’m an officer of the General Student Council of the academy city of Kivotos. And you’re the teacher we have summoned here…or so it seems.”
Academy city…? Kivotos? What is she talking about? When did I even get summoned here…?
Rin seems to have noticed Sensei’s confusion somewhat. “I understand and apologize that this must be very confusing for you…however I would like you to follow me for now. There’s something I need you to do…something that…could determine the very fate of Kivotos.”
…something only I can do…that could determine the fate of Kivotos? Every one of her words only brings up more questions, not a single answer in sight.
She steps over to an elevator, gently tapping on the control panel. Before long, a car arrives at their floor. “We don’t have much time, Sensei. Again, please follow me. We…don’t have much time.”
Sensei takes one last look at what’s happening just beyond the window, all the chaos and panic…
…before making up her mind on what to do. “…let’s go, Rin.”
[…]
As if right on cue, the elevator arrives at their floor, two women stepping out of it - one being Nanagami Rin, Acting President of the General Student Council…and the other, a silver-haired adult none of them quite recognize.
“Who’s that adult next to you-?” Yuuka asked, but…
“I’ve been waiting to see you, Chief Officer.” Hasumi-
“I’m here to meet with the General Student Council President. The Head Prefect is demanding answers.” -and also Chinatsu cut in before she could get her answer to that.
“This is rather inconvenient timing…” Rin grumbled while turning away, barely managing to not break her composure, before finally turning back to them.
“Hello, guests representing academies’ student councils, disciplinary boards, and those with otherwise too much time on their hands. I’m well aware why you important representatives have come today – it’s to hold us responsible for what’s happening in the Academy City, no?” She greeted the four - “greet” being a strong word - anger ever so slightly slipping into her voice.
“You-“ Yuuka blurted out, but managed to hold herself back from lashing out just in time… “If you’re aware, then do something! You represent the whole GSC! Thousands of academies are on total panic, not to mention our wind generator shutting down just a few days ago!”
“Public safety isn’t being properly enforced as well – there has been a sharp increase in the number of thugs attacking our students on their way to school.” Suzumi added in…
“Illegal distribution of tanks, helicopters and other weapons has increased by at least 2000 percent. Ordinary school life in Kivotos will just be the past at this rate.” …followed by Hasumi.
Rin fell silent.
“And what’s the President even doing?! I need to see her-“ Yuuka demanded-
“She’s missing!”
Well, that’s sure…a first encounter, ain’t it? Hi, welcome to Comet of Miracles. UnsetVariable here.
This is my first fanfic, first concepted over a year ago (wait, May 2025 was how long again?!) and only now started to come to fruition.
“How I got here” is a bit complicated. I wasn’t originally intended on writing this all the way back then, but uh, to summarize, I got lost in a rabbit hole of fanfics, and before I knew it, uh, here I am.
Thanks for reading all this, and have fun! Let me know if you have any feedback about this. (Partly because, uh, to be honest, I’ll need all I can get…)