Milwaukee City, located northwest of Chicago, was home to the largest bird exhibition hall in North America—and even the world—the Michigan Wetland Ecological Exhibition Hall.
This magnificent hall housed hundreds of brilliantly colored bird species, from majestic eagles to massive ostriches to adorable penguins. Thanks to its rich collection, it had been featured many times in natural history magazines and encyclopedias.
It was both a massive zoo and a bird-themed park, where visitors could observe the birds up close in carefully simulated natural habitats.
Even more uniquely, it hosted breathtaking avian acrobatic performances that were beloved by tourists across North America.
But today, no visitor was in the mood to admire the birds.
Because outside the hall, the air-raid sirens would not stop.
"How could this place be targeted by a nuclear strike? This is the heart of North America!"
"Where the hell did those damned politicians put the missile defense system? Did they embezzle all our tax money?"
A little girl with a ponytail was knocked to the ground by the panicked crowd. She fell onto the pavement, crying helplessly. "Mom... Mom... wuuuu..."
With a nuclear explosion imminent, no stranger was willing to stop and help the girl find her mother.
After the crowd had long since scattered, and only birds remained in the plaza, a young girl finally extended a hand to her.
The beautiful girl wore a cool, simple white dress. Bloodstained bandages floated around her body. She looked so sacred, so pure.
A massive hole had been torn open in the exhibition hall's ceiling, yet not a single fragment fell. Every shard had been crushed into powder by the wind.
Wendy descended from the sky atop a gentle breeze and looked at the little girl.
"Tell me," she asked softly, "why are you crying?"
Because Wendy had moved too quickly, the violent gale carrying Honkai energy behind her had not yet caught up. The surroundings had not fully succumbed to Honkai corruption.
Seeing the crying girl reminded Wendy of her former self.
And so she grew curious. She wanted to speak with her.
Back then, she too had been inside this giant cage. She too had cried all the way—until she was taken away by her adoptive parents.
She did not understand the emotions she had felt at the time. Begging for pity from others was weak and useless. In the end, all she had received was deeper malice from humanity. What was the point of such behavior?
Any other choice would have been better than that one.
For example—breaking free from others' restraints and living independently.
The little girl's sobbing stopped abruptly.
She did not answer Wendy's question.
Because the moment Wendy landed, she had already turned into a zombie.
Zombies do not cry.
"..."
"Humans are truly fragile..."
Wendy left the zombie behind and turned toward the cage that imprisoned hundreds of birds.
Before her stood a vast circular dome, as though a piece of the sky had descended upon the earth. Carefully designed lighting bathed the interior in soft, bright sunlight, providing ample illumination for the ecological habitat. Beneath the dome were lush green trees and flourishing flowerbeds, forming an ideal sanctuary for birds.
Within this enormous aviary, visitors could once witness all kinds of beautiful and unique birds. Asian thrushes singing leisurely on branches, magnificent and elegant peacocks, clumsy and adorable penguins, mighty golden eagles, and vibrantly colored toucans. Some flitted lightly among the trees. Some glided low over the lake. Others searched for delicious food along the shore.
This was the kind of scene Wendy often saw in natural history magazines and illustrated encyclopedias. She could even recite the names of the birds from memory.
Wendy gently waved her right hand.
A sharp blade of wind effortlessly sliced through the iron mesh of the cage.
Yes.
This was something she had always wanted to do.
Wendy loved freedom.
She could not bear to see birds confined.
"Totori, Little Sniffle, you're free now. Fly."
At that moment, the birds inside the cage chirped and twittered melodiously, as if singing a welcome song to a visitor.
In truth, they had sensed the coming danger.
They were crying out in alarm.
Animals' instinctive sensitivity to peril told them that the cute human before them was not like the visitors who once praised them and fed them treats.
The cage had been destroyed.
Yet not a single bird flew out.
The pleasant chirping gradually faded, replaced by low, beast-like growls.
They transformed into Honkai Beasts.
Honkai Beasts only roar.
"..."
The Honkai Beasts and zombies gathered around her, submitting to the Queen of Wind who had granted them life.
"Fly," Wendy urged. "Go. You're already free from the cage—so why are you obeying me?"
The Honkai Beasts and zombies did not understand what their queen was saying. They remained motionless, awaiting her command and instruction.
"..."
A shrill gale swept through like a roaring tiger.
It swallowed the Honkai Beasts and zombies present, tearing them into shreds.
Wendy realized something.
She had merely transferred these beings from one cage to another.
They were still bound by something invisible.
She had freed the birds and animals trapped in the cage.
But they had all become Honkai Beasts—puppets of Honkai.
She did not know how to truly liberate them.
There was only one method.
To grant them release.
Without realizing it, Wendy had learned to restrain the Honkai energy around her.
When she did so, the surrounding environment would no longer be affected by Honkai corruption.
This did not mean she had abandoned the duties of a Herrscher.
She had only just been born.
She was still confused.
She needed to confirm certain thoughts of her own first.
That was important.
At the moment the exhibition hall fell silent, a security guard responsible for evacuating civilians ran through the corridor. He noticed Wendy, who was practicing restraining her Honkai energy.
"Little girl, why are you still here? Hurry to the underground shelter. Your parents must be worried..."
The guard walked toward Wendy.
After only a few steps, his expression changed drastically.
The girl began to float.
Invisible blades circled her body, shredding everything nearby into pieces.
The guard collapsed onto the icy floor in shock and drew his pistol, firing at the girl.
The bullets were sliced apart by unseen wind blades.
The rebounding metal fragments only deepened the guard's terror.
Huh... what's happening... why can I see my own back...?
Wendy looked indifferently at the guard's corpse.
Those who reached out a helping hand to the girl carried even deeper malice within.
They buried their ugliness beneath kind smiles.
They deserved death.
"Fear me, humanity..."
"Only by embracing fear can you be freed from restraint..."
"There is only one path to freedom—"
"A joyful death—"
Tap. Tap.
Wendy's bare feet touched the ground.
Like a child filled with curiosity, she walked leisurely toward humanity's underground shelter...