Honkai Impact 3: Deadwood

“HOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!”

After an indeterminate number of fierce battles, the captain once again used all his deadly sword skills, severing all of his opponent's limbs in the blink of an eye.

In the bright light flashing as sword energy exploded in all directions, the captain stepped on the body of the "Imaginary God's Skeleton" that was several times larger than himself and fell towards the end of this journey together. Raising his arms almost tremblingly, the captain stabbed out with a sword with all his remaining strength, and the cross light cone representing the "Imaginary Principle" that was inserted in the center of the opponent's body broke into two pieces.

"Hehe, so... you... can't repair it, right?" The captain squeezed out a little sound from his throat full of fishy foam, his eyes blank, and said to the "Imaginary Divine Skeleton" under him with a smile.

In the repeated confrontations and victories, even though his attention had become distracted, the captain gradually discovered the opponent's secrets.

Every time the "Imaginary Divine Corpse" was broken or even chopped into pieces by him, the first part of the opponent's body to begin repairing itself was always the cross light cone in the central circle of the body.

If the light cone is intact and only the limbs are damaged, the light emitted by the light cone will become stronger for a moment, and then the limbs will be repaired.

The majestic body is but an empty shell, and the imaginary destiny is only hidden within it.

If his speculation was correct, as long as he destroyed the light cone with something that was not affected by the power of "time", and then blocked it there to prevent the light cone from repairing, he could directly stop the "Imaginary God's Skeleton" from activating the power of time reversal.

As for the things that are not affected by the power of "time", it just so happens that the "Key of Space" that normally switches back and forth between real space and imaginary space is one of them.

"I've already told you... this piece of junk should just...get the hell back!!!"

The moment it fell into the light spot below, the cold clockwork creation and the surrounding hyperspace were shattered, and the dimension in the captain's eyes was shattered again...

Perhaps it was an illusion, or perhaps it was a mockery from the gods, but in the world that passed by his eyes like fragments, he seemed to see himself shattered along with the world.

He saw that after her sister fell into a long coma due to a serious injury, Millie cut off her long golden hair that she usually took great care to maintain, and replaced it with the same short hair as her sister, and continued to stand together with Hyperion with the will of her family;

He saw how Misha had completely developed a stress disorder after suffering a series of blows and stimulations, and had given up his job to take care of his family at St. Freya's Hospital, and gradually fell into despair while waiting for his family to wake up and for the impossible return of a certain person;

He saw how Bronya, after he went missing, still tried her best to take over his mantle despite the bitterness, and fought against the Honkai together with Theresa as the temporary commander of Hyperion until the last moment;

He saw that after Mei's sacrifice, Theresa, who took all the consequences and accusations alone, buried her armor fragments and relics under the ancient tree in the center of St. Freya Academy, and personally engraved her name on the monument.

After several years of fruitless searching, his name and Himeko's were gradually engraved on the tombstone. In the end, even Bronya and Theresa's names appeared on it.

Is this the future they will face after I chose to escape and left them behind?

The moment he touched the "edge of the world" again, the captain saw such a sad scene...

There is really no worse story than this...

"But that's why you're here, isn't it?"

When the last candle of life was completely extinguished and consciousness was about to dissipate along with the soul, someone's gentle words were whispered softly in the captain's ear.

Those distant and ethereal whispers were questions that went straight to the deepest part of the captain's soul.

……

……

"Yes, I promised Mei that I would take Kiana and everyone back with me, back to Saint Freya..."

Like a star that lights up faintly in the dark sky, this tiny bit of light that is enough to attract the attention of all living beings is the last struggle of a tiny human being.

"Because they all believed in me and supported me, so this time... I must... be with everyone..."

Ten broken fingers grasped at random in the deep darkness of nothingness. In order to grasp the only hope, humans stretched out their hands towards the light in front of them with all their strength: "Together with everyone, let's go back to the place...that belongs to us!!!"

The moment his fingertips touched the light, the pain that had been tormenting the captain's body disappeared, and the soft light flowed through the human's hands, gradually shining and shining, turning into a dazzling brilliance that completely covered his world.

"..."

At some point, the smell that entered the boy's nostrils with his breath was no longer a strong smell of blood, but a fresh fragrance. The fatigue and numbness that were tightly entangled in the boy's soul also quietly disappeared.

"Well…"

In the infinitely stretching pure white, the captain only felt as if someone was holding the hand he stretched out desperately and interlocking their fingers.

"Hmm~Hmm~Hmm~?"

sound…?

who is it…?

Do not…

A sweet girl's voice humming a cheerful tune. He didn't even need to think about the owner of this voice. The answer appeared in his mind the moment he heard it.

As the dazzling white light gradually faded, the girl's innocent face, like an elf in a fairy tale, slowly came into the boy's eyes: "Oh~ Did I wake you up? You can rest a little longer~"

The girl pretended to be apologetic as she spoke, but her mirror-like eyes narrowed into two crescents, and she looked very excited.

As his vision returned, the captain realized that he was lying on the other person's legs, and his outstretched hand was being gently held by the girl, as if it was her silent response.

The girl let her hand be held tightly by the human in his arms, while she used her other hand to hold the teapot and pour warm black tea into the exquisite teacup with engraved patterns on the small square table next to her.

"Ai…li…?"

"Hmm~ Is it a surprise?"

"...!!"

The dark pupils dilated instantly, and many emotions converged in Zhi's heart in an instant, turning into huge waves that almost broke his will, but the waves only lasted for a moment before turning into gentle water waves, no longer causing any waves.

Taking the initiative to let go of the other person's hand, Zhi slowly stood up and looked around. Except for the girl beside him and a white square table with tea sets on it, there was only pure white as far as his eyes could see.

"Where is this...?" Zhi asked with his back to the girl, but the girl simply picked up the teacup filled with black tea with her index finger and pushed it next to the boy.

"Rather than that, how about a cup of exquisite black tea made by the world's most beautiful girl? Don't miss it if you pass by~?"

"..."

Hearing this, Zhi had no choice but to lower his head and turn around. He silently moved a position and sat down next to the girl. The other party still had a smile on her face and poured tea into another cup.

Maybe it was because I felt guilty for destroying the flower that was full of the girl's love, or maybe it was just that the journey of thousands of years made me too calm now...

Perhaps, the moment I woke up and saw her, I should have hugged her and cried with joy regardless of everything...

That's the right thing to do...

And now?

Picking up the teacup in front of him, Zhi took a sip. Along with the warm and silky tea, the mellow and clear aroma immediately spread in his mouth, making him feel an inappropriate relaxation.

At that time, whether at the base or at home, the girl would always invite a few of her good friends to have a tea party. After the two of them moved to the small house, the task of preparing tea and snacks to entertain the guests fell on her, and she enjoyed chatting and playing with her friends more than before.

Looking at his slightly lost face reflected on the surface of the dim red liquid in the teacup in front of him, Zhi finally couldn't help but raise his head and quietly cast his gaze to the pink girl in a white dress beside him. However, the moment he raised his head, he found that the other party had been looking at him gently.

They looked at each other in silence.

After tens of thousands of years, this undiminished yearning finally has a chance to be shared with each other...