SWNOVELXO Chapter 25: Chapter 25
August 2013, Siberia – Cocolia Orphanage
Cocolia was testing the children's abilities.
Once a top officer in the Soviet Union, Cocolia earned numerous medals for her military achievements. After the Soviet collapse, she moved to Siberia, married, and had a daughter, enjoying a peaceful and happy family life. She also founded an orphanage to care for children left parentless by the Soviet turmoil.
Whenever she saw the children's smiles, Cocolia felt her soul heal. But the Second Honkai Eruption destroyed everything.
Before the outbreak, Cocolia exposed her commanding officer, Colonel Alexey, for smuggling weapons. However, Alexey colluded with military authorities to suppress the scandal, leading to her being placed under house arrest for a month.
"To achieve your ultimate goal, you must abandon some principles."
This was the last thing Alexey told her before her confinement ended. When the Honkai beasts attacked, the facility housing her confinement was destroyed, and Alexey perished in the chaos. Cocolia managed to escape.
As soon as she emerged, Alexey's words resonated deeply.
Once, harming innocent people and children had been her unshakable bottom line. But now, holding a gun to the head of Alexandra, a pregnant woman grieving her husband, she demanded silence and obedience.
The children at the orphanage needed her. She had to escape, no matter the cost.
That day, Honkai swept across Siberia. Over half a million Honkai beasts appeared across the Siberian plains as the Herrscher unleashed their power.
Tragically, fewer than a hundred people—including Cocolia and Alexandra, whom she "rescued"—survived the devastation of Siberia.
When Cocolia returned to the orphanage, she found only ruins. Her husband, her daughter, and the children of the orphanage—all gone. She collapsed, weeping in front of where the gate once stood.
At that time, she didn't yet understand the Honkai, but she knew she had faced the harsh reality of the world. On the snowy plains, she encountered Welt Yang, who explained the Honkai to her. She then joined Anti-Entropy.
Cocolia quietly resolved to defeat the Honkai. She would avenge her family and ensure no child would be left homeless again.
Later, while leading a squad to eliminate Honkai beasts in the snowy plains, she found an infant. Searching the ruined home, she learned the child's name: Seele Vollerei. The baby's parents had been completely consumed by Honkai corruption, yet she had survived.
This encounter made Cocolia realize there were still many children struggling to survive in the frozen wastelands. With Anti-Entropy's help, she rebuilt an orphanage in the tundra and named it Cocolia Orphanage. She took in many survivors of the Honkai, offering them a home and hope for a better life.
However, fate had its own plans. Children who survived the Honkai naturally possessed high adaptability to Honkai energy, a trait that gave them the potential to become Valkyries—superhuman warriors.
Thus, Cocolia separated these children from others, training them in combat and teaching them to wield Honkai energy. She never forced them to become soldiers, but she hoped they would learn to protect themselves.
People change. Driven by vengeance against the Honkai, Cocolia had changed profoundly. She maintained a loving facade for the children, but to the outside world, she had become a ruthless and merciless figure.
As a radical in Anti-Entropy, she conducted human experiments to help orphans with poor Honkai adaptability. To achieve this, she initiated Experiment X-10, sacrificing a few for the survival of many, hoping to create humans who could fully adapt to Honkai and thrive in its chaos.
"Use your imagination, Seele. You can control it," Cocolia instructed a group of girls, directing the already adorable young girl named Seele.
With eyes closed and focusing her energy, Seele used Honkai to shape mercury into a massive sickle in mid-air. But just as she was almost finished, Seele peeked open one eye to sneak a look at Bronya Zaychik, who was still cheering her on.
My mom Cocolia loves me, but she rarely praises my sister Bronya. This is a chance for her to shine! Mom will surely give her lots of praise.
Seele secretly reduced her power, causing the sickle to fall apart and shatter on the ground.
"I'm sorry, Mom Cocolia..." Seele felt guilty, too afraid to look at Cocolia.
"Never mind. It's alright. Seele, this was just a test. Don't be upset. You're next."
Cocolia's gaze was sharp. She could see right through Seele's thoughts. But she wouldn't expose her. Cocolia didn't want Seele to do experiments. Seele was too weak and easily worried, always clinging to someone—either Cocolia or Bronya. But that was just an excuse. The real reason was that Cocolia had raised Seele since she was a baby. Seele was her favorite child. Whenever Cocolia looked into Seele's blue eyes, as clear as the ocean, she felt calm. She always thought she was being saved.
"Seele is such a useless idiot."
Next was Sin Mal. She mocked Seele the moment she stepped up. Sin had different eye colors—one gray, one gold—and her hair was dyed two different colors, too—pink on one side, purple on the other.
She closed her eyes and focused on using Honkai energy. Soon, the mercury turned into a clever-looking clock.
The other kids cheered and applauded. Even our dear Mrs. Sin seemed a bit pleased with herself.
"Heh-heh. It's easy for me, a member of the von family. You should've seen that, stupid Seele."
Sin Mal was born into a wealthy Russian family and lived in a large mansion. Her life seemed like a happily ever after fairy tale. But one day, burglars broke in and killed her parents right in front of her.
In her despair, Sin's eyes suddenly changed. When she looked at people, they didn't seem human anymore. Instead, they turned into twisted versions of their worst sins. Greedy people became warped piles of money, while gluttons turned into ugly, gaping mouths. It was like seeing the evil spirits born from the seven deadly sins.
This sudden change in how she saw the world drove Sin mad. In her frenzy, she killed the burglars in an even more brutal way.
When people found Sin, there were no traces of the burglars. They only saw Sin holding the murder weapon and her parents lying in a pool of blood. The police couldn't find any signs of the burglars breaking in, nor did they find the bodies of the murderers. It was as if the burglars Sin talked about had never existed.
Although it was hard to believe a young girl could kill her parents, rumors started spreading. Sin became feared and avoided. Finally, two distant relatives agreed to take her in and care for her. Although things seemed to go back to normal, the fairy tale was over.