Honkai Star Rail: Path of the Burnout

Allegiances

Grift awoke to find himself in a dimly lit space, the only sound the steady drip of water. He shifted on the hard bed beneath him, the cold surface confirming his surroundings. With a glance around, he noticed the looming presence of metal bars and a hole in the ground.

Grift sighed, recognizing the familiar setting.

Grift: "Mr. Jailkeeper, you've got the wrong guy. I swear, I was just passing through."

A voice responded from the shadows.

Mysterious Voice: "So you weren't the man who impeded my investigation and put a hole through my chest?"

Grift snapped his attention to the man speaking, his gaze fixing on Gepard as he entered the room.

Gepard's smile cut through the dimness, his words carrying a hint of familiarity.

Gepard: "More comfortable than that park bench you used to sleep on, no?"

Grift felt a pang of emotion as memories flooded back, but he quickly composed himself. He had shed enough tears.

Grift: "Kid-... Captain, y- your chest. Are you okay?"

Gepard's expression softened.

Gepard: "We have highly skilled healers here. Fortunately, you missed anything critical that couldn't be treated. You were holding back, weren't you? I guess I should thank you for that, or we wouldn't be talking now."

Grift glanced down at his hand, still marked with dried blood.

Grift: "Gepard, I..."

Gepard: "Save it. It just means I was strong enough to survive. No reason to apologize. Anyways, I decided to give you a day. Give me any lead you can, and I will investigate it. If I find something of merit, I will hear you out. Otherwise, I will chase you down like a wild dog and end you myself."

Grift smirked slightly, acknowledging Gepard's bad poker face.

Grift: "You're still a horrible liar. But then again, so am I. I suppose it's a trait you learned from me."

A somber expression replaced Grift's smirk as he remembered the seriousness of the situation.

Grift: "If you're serious about investigating this lead, that's great. It saves me the trouble of doing it myself. But, and I am not joking, you need to be VERY careful on this one."

With a sense of urgency, Grift slid a document from a hidden compartment in his coat through the bars of the cell to Gepard. As the captain opened the document and read its contents, his expression shifted from curiosity to horror.

Gepard: "If this is true..."

Grift: "Yeah..."

Gepard: "How did you come across this document?"

Grift: "Well, I guess I'm already in jail. I stole the document from the Supreme Guardian's personal vault. Used Private Richard's uniform to sneak in. Oh, I didn't kill him. He should be waking up in the underworld infirmary right about now."

Gepard: "I suppose that works out." He read through the document a second and third time. "That's exactly where you're going to be until this thing blows over. I'll check your lead as a courtesy and verify this. Then, I'll come find you. That's when the real battle begins. Whether it be as allies or enemies."

Gepard took out a key, unlocked the cell, and tossed Grift a cloak to conceal his presence. "I'm sure you won't have much trouble sneaking into the underworld. After all, you've already done it once before to escape your duties as captain."