[ ] "I think that person's gotta be in trouble or something. Watch the way they're walking, aren't they injured? Maybe it's nothing, but I'd rather risk being a little rude than neglecting someone who might need help."
——————
(Excerpt from Artificial Stigmata Implantation Improvements - Theoretical Basis and Grant Proposal,
by Estelle A. Schariac. Document archived per protocol for denied grant proposals.)
"Stigmata" (or "stigma") is the general term for a class of honkai-based para-physical alteration integrated into human bodies. As this process is only possible without significant health concerns in human bodies that already possess a sufficient level of honkai adaptability
1, the scope of this document will be limited to such humans.
Humans with implanted stigmata who have undergone the commensurate meta-biological changes (henceforth referred to as "valkyries") display a largely shared set of characteristics:
- The ability to generate honkai energy to power their abilities through no clear source.2
- Increased physical capabilities across all athletic benchmarks.3
- Increased honkai resistance, reducing the level of physical degradation suffered due to honkai radiation over time.4
- Unique but classifiable honkai-based para-physical abilities, specifics varying based on the valkyrie.5
- Susceptibility to Valkyrie Identity Fragmentation Disorder.6
There are three generally accepted classifications of stigmata.
True Stigmata are exceedingly rare and manifest spontaneously in their bearers, without an inciting honkai incident. Many of these stigmata
[INFORMATION CLASSIFIED UNDER LEVEL ALFHEIM RED].
Triggered Stigmata are more common,and begin as a difficult-to-detect stigmata seed. This seed can be triggered as an immune response to a significant rise in honkai radiation, activating the stigmata seed and causing the near-immediate formation of a full stigmata.
Artificial Stigmata are created directly by humans in the form of a stigmata seed, then activated via targeted increases in honkai radiation. Current technology levels mean that those receiving artificial stigmata are damaged by the implantation and awakening process before full adaptation occurs.
The process of artificial stigmata implantation has a quantifiable and direct decrease on the lifespan and quality of life on Schicksal valkyries. This paper documents methodologies by which this impact could be mitigated in the implantation, awakening, and/or post-operation care procedures.
1 Dupond, Usha A. "Stigmata Implantation in Low-Adaptability Subjects,"
Paris Journal of Valkyrie Biomechanics, no. 62 (2033); 34-37. Classification:
NIFLHEIM GREEN
2 Kaufmann, Flavia. "Honkai Energy Generation in Valkyries: A Meta-Study,"
Mumbai Journal of Applied Para-Physics, no. 25 (2036), 12-18. Classification.
MIDGARD WHITE
3 Sokoloff, Eusebio M. "A Longitudinal Study of Valkyrie Health Conditions,"
Schicksal Shanghai Medical Journal, no. 102 (2021); 19-31. Classification:
HELHEIM BLUE
4 Ibid.
5 For a general treatment, see Kristiansen, Erva and Alehi, Che.
Stigmata Powers: A Compilation: Fourth Edition (London, United Kingdom: Schicksal Western Europe, 2034). Classification: Varies.
6 Sokoloff, 25-26.
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Hibiki was out of her chair before her brother even finished his sentence, trotting over to the cloaked individual. The figure looked up slightly - not enough that Hibiki could see more than locks of red hair - and tucked her hands into her hoodie pockets. Although she'd only caught the briefest of glimpses, something about them had seemed distinctly…
off.
"Excuse me, but can we help you?" she asked, slowing to a stop a few paces away, Haruki right behind her.
"Just… catching my breath," the figure said, the deep exhaustion infusing her voice intermixing with a vague irritation. "I'm fi-" she stood upright from her leaning position, and what must have been a spike of pain interrupted her. "I'll be fine," she corrected, a bit lamely, hood askew.
We just saw that, though! "But you don't
look okay..." Hibiki frowned. Something was nagging at her, something familiar about the woman. "Are you sure you're not hurt? You can tell us, it's okay." Maybe she was just nervous about admitting weakness?
Haruki dutifully picked up on her cue, but even without looking at him Hibiki knew that he was probably rolling his eyes at her bluntness. "How about we escort you to a clinic? I know there's one just a couple blocks from here. Or, if you're not comfortable with that, we could call someone--"
"No!" her denial was far quieter than a yell, but was as forceful and emphatic as one nonetheless. "Don't call anyone. I'll… go there on my own. Just let me catch my breath and I'll be on my way." She made a cutting motion with her hand, a denial, and her hood, fell the rest of the way off.
Wild red hair, evidently only barely constrained by the hood, sprung up immediately, almost like a bird's plumage. Her face had taken on an unhealthy pallor, leaving her skin a distinctive chalk-white that was highlighted by a pair of dark red eyes, but the alarming tone of her skin didn't hamper Hibiki's flash of recognition. "No way! You're-" The woman's hand shot out with inhuman quickness, muffling the girl's mouth within a split second.
"Shh," she instructed before she removed her hand, and Hibiki nodded mutely.
Haruki, who had been caught embarrassingly flat-footed, paused awkwardly in mid-stride and backed off as he realized that his sister wasn't being attacked.
"You're Kanade Amou! Oh my god I love your music so much!" Hibiki repeated, this time in a loud whisper. "But you're…" she trailed off. How did you tell someone they were supposed to be dead, officially declared killed in action by Schicksal? Valkyries, for all their gifts, couldn't come back from the dead.
"Wait, where do I know that name from?" Haruki muttered.
Hibiki stomped her foot impatiently. "Remember, Zwei Wing?" She tactfully refrained from teasing him about back when he would sing their songs in the shower.
His eyes widened. "Oh! But wait, if… then… aren't you supposed to be..." He trailed off.
Kanade grimaced, pulling her hood back up. "Hey, I get it. It's confusing. But I'm trying to stay incognito here. On a mission. Look, give me your number, and after it's all over, I'll explain anything that I can. Right now, though, I need to get moving."
Hibiki's eyes widened with excitement, and she pulled out her phone. "Sure, of course I can give you my contact info!"
A secret mission!? That's so cool
!
Kanade smiled a bit awkwardly, reaching into her own pocket. The phone she pulled out was some sort of foreign model, not a brand Hibiki recognized offhand. As she moved to unlock it, though, something flashed onto the screen. Bold red text, like a warning. Her head whipped around, and her whole posture changed, going to catlike readiness in an instant.
"You two, go get to the nearest shelter, there's-"
Whatever she was about to say, Hibiki didn't hear it. Something washed over her, like nothing Hibiki had ever experienced. Pressure, crushing her from every direction at once. A shock of cold, like she'd been dunked in ice water, and a burning heat in her core. Nausea, and a morass of emotions, too muddled to even begin to identify.
She staggered even as the rush of sensations began to fade and she started to come back to herself… and then the heat in her chest bloomed and grew, plunging her into searing white pain. It was like she was on fire, every part of her, like every cell in her body was its own individual furnace. Agony beyond description coursed through her nerves and consumed her, and then finally, after what seemed like an eternity, began to subside, leaving only a heat in her chest.
"...must have awakened their stigmata," she heard, dimly. There was a siren in the background, a tone she dimly recognized as the honkai incursion alarm. Something reeked of ozone and burning plastic. She opened her eyes, groaning. Kanade was crouched next to her, mumbling to herself. One arm of hoodie seemed to have been burnt away, revealing an orange-and-white outfit beneath it.
"Can you hear me?" Kanade asked, and Hibiki nodded dimly. "Good. Take your brother and get out. You need to get to shelter, before more beasts appear."
Hibiki struggled to her feet, still a bit unsteady, and Haruki followed suit, leaning against the wall. "More? What just...?" she asked, staring blankly.
A complicated cocktail of emotions ran across Kanade's face. "We don't have time for this. You need to get to a shelter, there's-"
Screams began to echo from the street, and all three of them dashed to the end of the alley. It had cleared somewhat, presumably while Hibiki and Haruki had been insensate, but chaos still reigned.
The lights on the street showed the way to the shelters, and some had followed them, but not all. An elderly man struggled along slowly, cane slowing him, only barely avoiding being knocked over by the press of the crowd. A middle-aged woman lay trapped under her stall. A toddler curled up against a bench, crying, oblivious to or overwhelmed by the chaos. A boy flat on the ground, surely no older than Hibiki, clutching at his leg next to a shattered window.
There was a crashing noise and a creature, twice the height of a man and the telltale white-with-purple of the honkai, crashed through a storefront, directly into a person. Hibiki's eyes widened. He was going to die.
Or would have, had not a giant spike of ice burst forth from the ground, impaling the creature and holding it in place save for a few twitches. Kanade gestured at it, and a bolt of lightning shot from her hand to the creature. The man panicked, stumbling and running away as the dead honkai beast dissipated into purple light.
Hibiki gasped, turning to Kanade, and found her doubled over, coughing blood.
"You two need to
go," Kanade said as she straightened, tone brooking no argument. "I'll try to hold them off until people can get in the shelters, but I can't do that if I'm protecting
you."
Hibiki and Haruki exchanged glances, no words needed between the two. No matter how dire things were, they couldn't just run and save only themselves. They would go to the shelters, but they'd help someone first.
But how?
[ ] Stay safe, stick together.
[ ] Split up to help more people.
And who? Choose one (in the event of splitting up, the top two will be used)
[ ] The elderly man.
[ ] The toddler
[ ] The woman trapped under her stall
[ ] The boy with the injured leg
