!!-EDITED 12/30/24 (Only have some slight adjustments and some few additions)
Disclaimer: I don't own Honkai Star Rail and any of their characters. All belonged to their rightful owners - Hoyoverse.
+++====+++
"Is he alright?"
"So young…what is he doing here, on the ground of all places?"
"Who would do such a thing to a kid?"
"Poor boy."
"He's been unconscious for how many minutes now?"
"It's been only five minutes since we've found him. Do we think we should call Miss Natasha?"
"She seemed very busy with the mess back in the mines recently. I doubt she can find time to come here."
"Maybe we should carry him there?"
"Wait, look! He's opening his eyes!"
Ugh. My head. I hissed. And what are those voices? God, they sound so annoying, can't they see someone is sleeping—
I paused that thought. Wait, no I wasn't sleeping.
Memories flashed through my mind before a realization struck me. That's right! The Portal! How could I forget about that? It seemed whatever that portal did to me after I got sucked in hit me pretty hard right into my head. As my vision finally cleared, I finally got a good look at the surroundings.
Suffice it to say I was shocked and preferably more confused.
Who the fuck are these people? Their faces were awfully filled with concern that was somewhat aimed directly at me. Which was odd.
And where the fuck am I? I noticed the place to be quite dark and very unfamiliar. What part of Belobog am I in? Was it already nighttime?
No. That couldn't be. I just slept!
.Where did that portal take me through?
So many questions ran through my mind and I had no way of answering them in the current moment.
And where the heck are March, Dan Heng, and Stelle? Shouldn't we at least be in the same place? This was starting to not make sense.
I tried wrapping my head around and calmed myself internally. No need to panic. If somehow something happens that's out of my control. I could just escape unscathed using my lightform form. Why fight? When you can run away at lightning speed.
"He must be hurt and confused"
"Hey, dear, are you alright?" An old woman spoke to me softly. I stared at her as she approached.
Seeing her expression, something was definitely odd about this. I was sure of it. Before I could say anything. That's when I heard a scream from one of the bystanders.
"Finally he's here!"
"Thank goodness. I thought he would be late again."
"Hey everybody! What seems to be the problem?" I lifted my face and saw a red-haired boy with a mechanical arm approaching the group.
"Well, we found a young man here on the ground. He was unconscious a moment ago, but he seemed to get right back up fine," the old woman who tried to help me earlier explained to the red-haired boy, who nodded in understanding.
"I see. Don't worry, I'll do my best to help," the red-haired boy said.
"Thank you, Luka."
"No problem; it's my job, after all." He turned his gaze to me and smiled. "Hello, You can call me Luka!"
Luka, Huh? I inspected his outfit. He was awfully fond of red it seems. Aside from that, he was wearing some kind of ripped shirt over another one. I diverted my attention to the surrounding people around me. Judging from their faces, I could already tell this guy was something of a celebrity himself. The fact that the green-haired girl at the side was staring at the red-haired boy like she was experiencing love, at first sight, gave it out.
I often wondered what was up with his iron arm. I guessed that maybe he was a fighter of sorts. The outfit he was wearing gave me that kind of vibe.
"Hello," I responded back with the most greeting that I could think of. I then realized something. Why does my voice sound strange? It sounded too high-pitched.
Before I could determine what it was, the red-haired boy let out a hefty laugh. "No need to worry, kid, I'm here to help." He gave me an assuring smile, yet I sent him an odd look. Something about his words really irked me.
"Kid?" I thought, eyes narrowing at him. Doesn't he see that I am, in fact, older or maybe the same age as him? Is he blind? Why the kid?
Seeing I was going to stand up, he lent a hand.
I shook my head. "Thanks, but I can do it on my own."
He stared wide-eyed at me, then grinned. "Already got that spirit with you, huh?"
I dismissed what he said and stood up. As I did so, another wave of confusion hit me.
Wait, why am I shorter than him? Not the kind of short where the other is just a tad bit taller, but rather the red-haired guy was really taller than me, like I was half his height with my head just leveled down on his stomach.
What the fuck? How–
It took me a moment to process as my eyes widened in a horrifying realization right after.
Am I a kid? Adding to the voice and my current height. It was the only explanation. In order to prove it, I quickly inspected my body which I should have done prior.
And I was right. I turned back to a kid.
That thought was enough to make my mind go blank. How? Why? But most importantly, HOW?!
Especially due to the fact that when I looked down, I also saw my clothes had also shrunk back to fit my size, it added another layer of confusion. How the fuck is that possible?
Okay, I get that de-aging can shrink your body, but can it do the same to clothes?
As my thoughts swirled around the impossibility of de-aging and somehow my clothes in that matter, I felt a palm on my head, which brought me back to my senses.
"No need to be sad, kid, a smile would do you fine! See!"
Now, I was hella annoyed by his assurance. I sighed. Now that I think about it, why should I be confused by the concept of de-aging if I somehow experienced what they call transmigration, aka Isekai, which was terribly more impossible by normal standards? Knowing that straight-up monsters and gods and powers existed here, maybe reverting back to a kid again was possible.
I somewhat calmed down after coming to the conclusion that whatever was happening to me right now had something to do with my watch. With that thought in mind, it soothed me enough to relax. That's right, I could ask Jarvis later if I found a space to be alone. For now, I have to deal with this mess right now.
With the unwanted hand on top of my head, I pushed it away much to the guy's surprise.
Please, it was just weird.
"Where am I?" I asked directly at him, pressing my lips into a flat line.
"Where are you? You're in Rivet Town. Where else could you be?" He replied, just as confused as I was.
On my part, I wasn't geographically good at knowing the places of Belobog, but I was sure of one thing. I wasn't in Belobog anymore. I'm pretty sure because the sky itself just gave it off. Even if it was night in Belobog, I doubt it would be that kind of dark. I eyed the ceiling above. Not to mention, the buildings here were far different from the buildings I saw earlier, which made me assume I wasn't in Belobog anymore, or maybe rather I was in a different part of Belobog.
"..." After compiling my guesses and thoughts, I came to one logical conclusion.
The Underground.
I must be somewhere underground, judging that the sky was not a sky but rather a rock like in a cave. A big cave. I don't know how I arrived here, but somehow, I am here.
Civilizations must have existed underground. After all, it is a good place to set a civilization to keep away from the cold.
"Wait, don't tell me…You have amnesia?!" Great, the red-haired boy is now making assumptions. Before I could say anything about it, the old woman spoke up.
"Poor dear, you do remember your parents, right?" She sounded concerned.
I blinked, not knowing how to respond to that.
The old woman gave me a sad look. "I see." Eh? Did she assume I don't remember?
Technically, I did remember my parents, but the previous owner of this body was dead early on in his life. Only his uncle, who was dead later on, raised him. While mine, on Earth, were, well, never found. So we're both similarly never met by our parents.
Honestly, when you think about it, it's coincidentally sad.
Luka seemed to be thinking of something as he gave a short nod "Alright. I've decided that I should bring you to Nat for any other medical concerns."
I tilted my head. Medical?
"Don't worry, kid. She's pretty good at health stuff, more than I am, so you'll pretty much be A-OK, got it?" He pulled a thumbs up.
I gave him a flat stare.
"That's a good choice, Luka. Miss Natasha always knows about other people's needs like there's no tomorrow," the old lady agreed with Luka.
"Yeah! So how about it, kid? Want to go with me?"
I considered his offer for a moment. If I refused him, I doubt they would settle for leaving me idly all alone, and it would be very troublesome to convince them since I was basically a kid now. Second, the place was just too unfamiliar, and I was pretty sure I would get lost without even noticing, so having Luka as some sort of guide would be helpful.
Having these thoughts in mind, I took a breath. I decided to comply.
"Okay," I gave him a nod.
"Great!" he exclaimed happily, turning to the group "Well then, thank you for all your help, folks. I'm gonna handle everything from here onward."
"Do take care of him, Luka," the old lady reminded, lifting her frail old face to see a smile forming on her face.
"Don't worry, granny, I will. Trust me on that."
"Bye, Luka!"
"I love you!"
"Love you too, folks!"
I shook my head at the scene. Geez, is popular that much?
And I wasn't jealous of his fame.
"Please let me be your girlfriend, Luka!"
Nope, not one bit.
"Hey kid, you know, you haven't introduced yourself yet," Luka said as we started walking. With his hands behind his neck, he eyed me curiously. "You do remember your name, right?"
"Ethan," I answered calmly, looking straight ahead before continuing "Call me Ethan."
++++====++++
A few minutes passed, and I was slowly getting tired of this guy.
"So kid—I mean Ethan, sorry I forgot. Ahem, have your memories come back yet?" Luka was rather persistent in asking me some questions concerning my well-being. It was more annoying than helpful. How was I feeling? Did I break any bones? Something along those lines. All were met with a firm "no" from me. The only thing I was feeling at the moment was tiredness. Can you blame me?
First, Sampo and his annoying little charade. Second, that battle with Captain Gepard. Third, the betrayal by that bitch. Now the final nail in the coffin? I've somehow turned into a kid.
What a fucking day is it to be alive right?
I actually kinda regretted my decision to join the express now after experiencing what hell I would get myself into. Of course, I had my guesses of what shit I would get myself into but man I was not prepared for it as it somehow surprised me even more.
"I told you, I'm not a kid," I repeated the same thing for the fifth time ever since we started walking. Just how far is this clinic?
Luka seemed unconvinced as he just brushed it off with a shrug. He really can't be convinced, can he?
That honestly prompted me not to explain my situation right away to him or any other people in that manner. The last thing I wanted was for them to think I was mentally ill. For now, I will see where this situation goes.
Thankfully, we reached the clinic.
"Here we are," Luka announced as we stood outside the door. On the door, there was a sign that read: "Natasha's Clinic." Below that, there was another sign that read: "Please come here for any serious emergency ONLY. Those who do not follow the rule will be EXPELLED."
What an ominous message. I shuddered. I had a feeling this, Natasha, was going to be pretty strict.
"I hope she isn't that busy," Luka muttered as he pushed the door open.
I gave him a look. Shouldn't he knock first?
The inside of the clinic was surprisingly small in contrast to how it looked from the outside. On the side was a heater similar to the one I saw right after I arrived in Belobog. The place had tables, chairs, and benches with a few people sitting on them. Regarding the people, there are only a few of them in the clinic at present. There were multiple beds with plastic sheets for privacy. Neat.
"Nat!" Luka shouted, bringing the attention of a certain person and several others. I could clearly see some surprised faces.
"Is that…"
"The boulder champion?"
"What is he doing here?"
Boulder champion... I couldn't help but wonder what that meant. Clearly, it was aimed at Luka.
"Luka?" A woman who appeared to be in her twenties or early thirties looked at us in surprise. She had blue-gray hair tied back in a ponytail and was wearing what appeared to be a medical outfit, fitting for a doctor.
"Why are you here?" the woman, Natasha I presume, asked Luka, who was scratching his head.
"Uhm, I have a favor to ask."
"If it's that favor again—" The woman's eyes narrowed at him, her lips flattening thin.
"No! It's not that." Luka quickly denied it. "Trust me, it's different, and it's something more important, yeah important," he confidently told himself.
Natasha raised her brow, and her eyes landed on me. In her eyes, I saw traces of confusion, surprise, and finally, acceptance. She then faced Luka. "Why don't we talk elsewhere? Outside."
Luka and I shared a look before nodding.
"Luka, if you had told me you'd have a child, at least tell me beforehand rather than surprising me like this," Natasha began when we found ourselves at the side of the clinic building as she drew a deep sigh.
Luka blinked. I blinked.
EH?
"No! You got it all wrong, Nat!" Luka cried out for the second time.
I shook my head, not saying a word. It's better for Luka to explain.
"So, he's not your child?" Natasha pointed at me with a questioning look.
"No!" Luka denied. "We found him—I mean, the folks in Rivet Town found him unconscious on the ground. One of them came to me—"
"You were in Rivet Town for what purpose exactly?"
"Uhm, nothing," Luka whistled under Natasha's stern gaze. Clearly, he was caught off guard by that question.
I feel like I'm missing some context here, I thought as I listened more closely to their conversation.
"Ahem, back to the topic." Luka cleared his throat. "So, they approached me and asked for my help. Of course, I would oblige and go there. And, uhm, since—I mean, bringing the kid—Ethan here would be a good choice too, you know? To check up on him for injuries and whatnot."
"I see."
"Also, he has amnesia."
Natasha grew surprised at that. Without a word, she shot me a pity look.
"Oh, you poor thing," Natasha smiled sadly and shook her head, patting my head and I resisted the urge to slap that hand away. It was really weird on my part. "What you did was good, Luka. He needs a proper checkup after being found unconscious on the ground."
"I'm smart after all" With a smug grin, Luka praised himself
"Yes, Luka, you are smart," Natasha rolled her eyes.
"I knew you all would find out sooner or later. Now, I just need Seele to agree with that," he mumbled the last bit of the sentence, appearing to be lost in thought.
Natasha shook her head. "So what are your plans after this?"
"After this?" Luka tilted his head at that question.
"Don't tell me you have no plans on what to do with him after I go through his checkup." Natasha raised a brow, crossing her arms. "I didn't expect you to be that irresponsible, Luka," she mused.
Luka blinked. "Ah, of course not!" He profusely shook his head. "I'm not like that. Of course, I would find a way for him to go back to his family."
Natasha just stared at the red-haired boy and turned to me. "Why don't you sit on the nearby beds inside, dear," she smiled. "I have something to talk about with Luka here, privately."
I glanced at Luka, who looked quite scared judging from his expression. Why does he seem scared? With a metal arm like that, I doubt anything can scare him.
I gave Natasha a quick nod to show I understood.
"Thank you. You can be anywhere on the beds and be comfortable while you wait, okay? Just ask the assistant if you need any help."
"Okay,"
+++===+++
Once inside my newly acquired privacy, I finally had the time to check up on a few things especially..
"Orion, you there?" In the depths of my head, I asked, hoping he would respond this time.
[Yes, Ethan.]
I breathed a sigh of relief after hearing his voice.
"Orion, what happened back there?"
[Can Ethan please specify the question?]
Disbelief flashed through my features. "Huh? You don't know?"
[Can Ethan please specify the question?]
"Orion, listen. You literally left me hanging back there. You wouldn't even respond!" I yelled at the back of my mind, feeling frustrated. If all went wrong right back then, I would have gotten captured or worse, killed. "Orion, can you please scan yourself to check if anything is wrong"
[Affirmative.]
[Initiating scanning…]
[Scanning complete.]
[The powerband is fully functional. No abnormalities were found.]
"..."
"So you're telling me, nothing was wrong with the watch back then?" I was not convinced. Was it my imagination? It certainly didn't look like it.
[According to the current data, the watch was operating at optimal condition. No signs of abnormalities were found]
"...." Yep, something was definitely wrong here. However, I had the feeling if I questioned it again, he would still insist there was nothing wrong.
I instead asked another question. "Orion, do you have any idea how I turned out to be… like this?"
[The system may need Ethan to be direct.]
"..."
"My body, I've turned into a kid. Do you have any idea how it turned out to be like this?"
[.....]
[The system doesn't detect any abnormalities with Ethan's soul.]
"Orion, I'm not talking about my soul," I replied bluntly, drawing an annoyed sigh. "I'm talking about my body and how the fuck I am a kid again."
[Understood. Initiating a scan for any abnormalities found in Ethan's physical structure.]
[Scanning…]
[Scanning complete.]
[No abnormalities found.]
"Seriously?" I furrowed my brows in contemplation. "Double-check."
[Scanning…]
[Scanning complete.]
[No abnormalities found.]
"Orion, I'm literally shrunk to half my size," I pointed out, annoyed at that mention.
[From the variables found in Ethan's physical structure, everything appears to be working in optimal condition]
Well, even my AI is no help. I let out a long sigh. "No, that has to be wrong. I've turned back into a kid. How is that normal?" I began to think. Maybe everything that happened before could be related to this. I began to connect the dots and it wasn't hard to connect to begin with. Everything was too far coincidental. The mysterious light and me turning into a kid? It seemed to connect and I don't even need to be a genius to find out.
"Orion, did you detect any abnormalities in my mind like an hour ago?"
[Scanning previous data…]
[Scanning complete.]
[Abnormalities not found.]
"Again?" It started to annoy me. How the hell does Orion not know what happened? Isn't he the system? In fact, he should be the first to find out. "Double-check."
[Scanning…]
[Abnormalities not found.]
I draw a tired sigh. Something was wrong. Something was definitely wrong.
"Orion, let me ask again, is there something wrong with the system?"
[The system operation is fully in perfect condition and functional]
"So everything is in order?"
[Affirmative]
Despite this, I was left unconvinced. I lifted my head to the ceiling. There it was the infamous white ceiling.
"Do you have any way to turn me back?"
[The system didn't find any abnormalities with Ethan's spiritual and physical structure, thus restoration is not needed.]
"...." Do I really need him to get a mirror to see that I was a kid?
"I know this is a dumb question to ask, but can you see? Like how eyes work you know?"
[Negative.]
[ The system is built with hyper-awareness of the surroundings to detect any danger and abnormalities. However, the system is not built for human senses.]
I stayed silent. I guess it's only up to me now.
"Sweetie, are you alright in there?" A soft voice interrupted my thoughts. The curtains were pulled, revealing Natasha, who wore a warm smile on her face. In her hand was a small rectangular metal box.
"I'm fine, Miss…" I began to say but paused. Should I call her Miss? Is she married? Or should I call her ma'am?
"Just call me Natasha, dear, no need to be so formal." She giggled as she placed the metal box on the table situated beside the bed. She pulled out a stethoscope from the box and planted it firmly on my chest. "Now, do me a little favor and breathe in."
I did what I was told.
"Right and slow… good… hmm, alright." She then picked another piece of equipment from the table. It was a stick, or what appeared to be. "Now say 'ah.'"
I opened my mouth and let her do her thing. For the next few minutes, she did various checkups on me, mostly focusing on my physical status.
"Alright." She nodded and placed her equipment back on the table. "So far, you're doing well. No injuries so far. Luka mentioned you had amnesia. You don't remember anything that happened before they found you lying on the ground?"
"I–" I was hesitant. I had a feeling that if I lied, she would see through it. I decided to stick with that feeling. "I don't know how I got here." It was the truth. I really didn't know, aside from my few guesses.
"I see." She nodded, placing her hands on her lap. "Your name was… Ethan, correct?"
"Yes," I nodded, then found her face to be… deep in thought. I couldn't help but ask, "Is there something wrong?"
"Well, three people came by here not too long ago and asked if I saw a person named Ethan. Since you have a similar name to the one they were looking for, I couldn't help but be reminded of it," she responded.
Eh? Three people? Don't tell me…
"Mhm, well, they were looking for someone around their age, so it might not be you," she concluded with a look.
"Do you know they went off too?" It's either they might be searching for me or they got into some mess again which is highly likely gonna be the case. I had a feeling they tried contacting me but with my phone back at the Express, I doubt I'd receive them. This problem would have sold already If I had my phone with me. A simple text would do.
"Why do you ask?" She asked, blinking.
"Uhm, no particular reason. I'm just curious" I respond, keeping my voice as leveled as possible to avoid any possible suspicions.
Natasha chuckled, "Let's just say they're pretty busy in the mines."
" The mines?" I tilted my head, curiously. It was not surprising that the underground had mines. It's literally under the ground.
"Mhm, there has been an issue going around there." She replied. I swore I saw a frown forming on her lips as she mentioned that but disappeared in a flash as she placed a finger below her chin "But that's not really something you need to worry about. What you should really worry about is yourself, got it?"
"Got it" I nodded firmly. For a short moment, I was tempted to tell her the truth but would she really believe me? I would really hate that they would deem me crazy when I somehow explained my situation.
On the other hand, I had some time away from them which was kind of good on my part. It keeps me away from all the BS they pull themselves into. I knew or had a feeling that later down the line they would eventually find me.
"Anyways, Luka and I talked about what to do with your situation after. We decided that Luka will be the one to take care of you."
I stared at her as she continued "Luka suggested that I would be the one to take care of you. While I would love to, I'm pretty busy at the moment. It would be irresponsible of me to leave you here all alone with no one to look after you. On the plus side, if you go with Luka, he can help you find your parents and perhaps you might reignite some old memories on the way."
"..." It's not like I hate to be with the guy; he was, well, nice. So there was that.
Seeing I was not responding, she added, "If you're worried about Luka, don't be. He's a good guy, and kids adore him. I'm sure you will too."
He's good with kids, huh? But I'm not a kid. Mentally. On one side, going with Luka means I have the freedom to go and look around the place. If I could time it right, maybe I could leave Luka's and go on my own. Though there are some risks to that it will be something I will consider probably later on.
I smiled at her "Okay."
"Great!" She clasped her hands. "With your checkup done, why don't we get some snacks? I've got juices here and some bread. Would you want that?"
Who was I to deny free food? "Yes, please."