Flipping the Script (Honkai: Star Rail - Stellaron Hunter AU)

Chapter 6: Svarog Vs Sam

Svarog's robot settlement was the remains of an industrial city that had seen better days, originally designed as a bustling hub of mechanical and robotic activity.

Over time, it has fallen into disrepair and abandonment, with many of its robotic inhabitants left to rust and deteriorate. Those that hadn't wandered around without a master; connected to Svarog's network.

The settlement was filled with dilapidated buildings, malfunctioning robots, and a general atmosphere of neglect and decay. Despite its current state, it held remnants of its once vibrant and advanced technological past, making it a place of both historical significance and eerie desolation.

This greatly interested Firefly, who was making her thoughts known.

"This place is so cool," she said, as they walked through the ruins, "It's like a big, rusted robot graveyard!"

"I suppose it's kinda neat," replied Caelus, "but we ain't here to sightsee. We need to find a way to get an audience with Boss Svarog."

Caelus, leading the charge as he has been entrusted to do, remained with Firefly and Blade. In the distance, they saw a camp of vagrants and miners that had settled there, but decided not to approach if not necessary.

"These people must have lost their homes to the fragmentum..." Blade mumbled, "Pitiful."

Firefly swallowed, her hand on her heart.

"I know this is none of our concern," she said, "but I do hope that this planet will be able to recover. I can't stand to see another world be swallowed up by the Destruction."

Caelus decided not to ask what she meant by that.

"Finding the Stellaron and getting it out of here will be a big step in doing that, I'd like to think," he said, "But I wouldn't hold my breath just yet; this world is still under the Destruction's influence, and they seem keen on keeping it that way, for now. But you don't have to worry about these people, they are all former colonists and have learned how to adapt and live in harmony with the robots. The ones that didn't are now under the control of the fragmentum. They're not like the rest of us."

He turned to his teammates.

"We should split up," he suggested, "Blade, go east and look for any clues that could lead us to Boss Svarog. Firefly, take the north. I'll head south."

"Right!"

"Very well."

Blade and Firefly set off, leaving Caelus behind.

The Galactic Baseballer decided to search the southern cliffs of the settlement.

The air grew cold, and he felt chills in his bones. He kept going, determined to find anything that would lead them to the Stellaron, or to Svarog's location.

He was looking through an old mining complex when he heard a voice.

"Well, well, well, what brings YOU here?"

The voice sounded unsavory, so Caelus poked his head around the corner, trying to see who it belonged to.

He saw three figures. Two of them were the vagrants he'd seen at the camp, wearing wooly hats and masks. But it was the person they were backing into a corner that interested him.

He saw a young girl with long, white hair and reddish-pink eyes. She was barefoot and wore a large red overcoat with a large, braided tassel attached at the front and a white fur hem at the bottom. A large, white pompom dangled from the top strap. On the back, a hood was attached to the coat with pointed ends, resembling cat ears. Underneath the overcoat, she wore a beige sweater and white clothing.