Honkai Impact 3: Deadwood

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...

Those sapphire-like eyes radiated vitality and life, which re-appeared the brilliance of the dim starry sky in the boy's eyes and allowed the boy who had suffered so much hardship and pain to briefly reveal a soothing smile.

He will eventually take this step, eventually he will have to start from here alone and change the future that he absolutely cannot accept. For this, he will suffer.

But now, because of the girl's sincere and ardent love, he still has a little time left to meet her here, laugh, and then... make a choice.

"Long time no see...Aili..." This time, Zhi took the initiative to speak and whispered a greeting to the girl next to him.

"Hmm~ Long time no see, my dear Xiaozhi~ Did you miss me~?"

The girl nodded expectantly, her eyes shining, as if expecting the boy to give a positive answer, but Zhi did not respond immediately as the girl wished.

Looking at the two teacups on the table, each of which was filled with tea...in addition to the two teacups in front of himself and the girl, there was an empty teacup left on the plate. Zhi's face showed confusion for a moment, but soon he understood everything from the girl's eyes.

"Ellie, don't you want to pour another glass?"

The boy asked this, while casting his gaze towards the other end of the table opposite the girl, which seemed to be empty.

"Well, now...it's okay~?"

"Is that so... It seems that it is not the right time yet..."

The young man picked up the teacup with a sense of loss, wanting to savour the familiar, reassuring taste again, but in the end, the cup just stayed at the edge of his lips and teeth, without moving forward at all.

He still has important things to accomplish, and the people he cherishes are waiting for him to save them. Now, he has no reason to sit here alone and be at ease.

"Ellie...I..."

"I know...but..."

As if she could see through her beloved's thoughts, the girl stroked the ring on her left ring finger, her eyes full of pity: "Before we set off, it's okay to rest for a while...?"

"..."

Zhi was speechless for a moment, looking at the girl's charming water-blue eyes. He still sat there quietly as the girl said, and was no longer in a hurry to ask to leave.

Time passed by second by second, but the girl in pink didn't care at all. She just took a sip of the black tea in the cup occasionally, and then continued to look at the boy nearby with her eyes full of love.

The dark starry sky reflected the dreamy face of a pink girl, who looked like an elf in a fairy tale. Zhi's gaze moved slowly, and finally stopped on the silver ring that embraced the girl's slender fingers.

The ring, which was originally a pair and engraved with beautiful patterns and inlaid with a pink gem in the middle, was given to her by several of her friends at that time. From design to material selection to production to finally engraving the blessing on the inside of the ring, every link condensed their efforts and blessings.

"May the flowers and leaves remain forever, and may spring come to the withered branches"...

In order to pray for the happiness of their best friends, they tried their best to offer their precious thoughts even in an era when the end of the world was approaching.

It's a pity that the ring that belonged to him was accidentally lost when he was sealed in a meteorite by the "Hersher of the End" 50,000 years ago. It fell into the boundless deep space of the universe and there is no possibility of finding it again.

"what…"

Driven by the long-forgotten memories, a murmur unconsciously escaped from Zhi's lips. Hearing the sound, the pink-faced girl couldn't help but giggle softly.

"what happened?"

"Hmm~ Let me guess, do you remember what happened at that time?"

"Um... Sorry, Ellie, I lost the ring."

The precious gifts that embody the thoughts of friends have disappeared into the distant time along with the lives of those friends.

Although Zhi is no longer sad about this, but the situation where the person he cherishes is right in front of him still makes Zhi's heart a little upset, but the girl shook her head without caring at all:

"It's okay, it's okay. Compared to the ring, the memories themselves are more important, right? Everyone's thoughts, including mine, have never left you, okay?"

"But... the flower you entrusted to me has been taken by me..."

"I know... I know everything... always..."

The girl responded gently, reaching out her hand and stroking her beloved's face back and forth: "You have made your choice, haven't you?"

"..."

"As for me, no matter what choice Xiaozhi makes, I will support you~?"

"But I don't know if what I'm doing is right for this world and for the people of this era."

"The answer is always in your heart."

"...?"

"In this world, there are many people who love you and whom you love. They give you the courage and strength to make choices, and you decide to respond to their will and become the "hope" in their eyes. In fact... everything is so simple."

"Hope... then, I, who have failed you, have become your hope now?"

"This is it~"

The girl pretended to be hesitant and changed her tone of voice. She put her index finger on her cherry-colored lips and raised her devilish smile: "Kiss me and I'll tell you~?"

"..."

The response seemed unexpected yet expected. The boy, who originally had a little loss on his face, looked at the girl in front of him who was pouting her lips and closing her eyes, waiting for something. He smiled helplessly, seemed to have given up resistance, and leaned forward to peck the girl on the cheek.

"Hmm? No, no, not there, it's here!" The girl pointed at her lips and emphasized again, but Zhi did not do as she wished. He just looked at her and smiled gently.

"Twig..."

Staring at the beautiful and special black eyes, the pink girl stopped being naughty and seemed to suddenly understand something: "Xiaozhi... I feel like..."

"?"

Just when I thought the girl was about to get serious, she suddenly stuck out her tongue and smirked, "You've turned into a wooden block who doesn't understand romance!"

“…I’ll give you one more chance to organize your words.”

"Hehe~ Okay, okay~" The girl propped up her chin with both hands, squinted her eyes and smiled:

"Xiaozhi, you have become a reliable adult."

This time, they were genuine words filled with attachment and love.

"Well, so..."

When these words reached the young man's heart, a white door appeared not far from the two of them. It stood quietly in the pure white, waiting for the destined person to open it.

So the boy stood up, the sticky smell of blood once again climbed up his nostrils, and the pain brought by the many scars began to torture his broken body again.

"Ellie, I'm going to...leave."

"Well, yes...it seems that it is time."

Controlling his numb limbs, the captain slowly walked towards the door that belonged to him. But when he reached the door and was about to reach out to turn the handle, he suddenly heard the reluctant call of the girl named Alicia from behind him:

"Twig—"

"..."

The outstretched hand paused in front of the door handle, as if silently representing the captain's hesitation.

He knew she wouldn't stop him.

But he also knew that she would be sad about it.

This emotion was not due to her betrayal of her expectations of her, she just... really didn't want the person she loved to suffer.

"Ellie, did you just ask me if I missed you? Do you know why I didn't answer you immediately?"

"Twig..."

The captain slowly turned his head. His face, covered with scars and blood, still had that gentle smile that moved her heart, made her nostalgic, and made her feel at ease: "——Because, we have never really been apart."

Then, his frail fingers grasped the handle in front of him with great determination and turned it. The door of fate called "The End" slowly opened before the captain.

"Thank you, Ai Li, for reminding me of the taste of the black tea you brewed back then."

“…That’s not right~” The girl shook her head, her long cherry-colored hair falling like a waterfall fluttering slowly with her movements: “You can remember its smell because you have never forgotten it (me), Xiaozhi.”

……

……

Thus, she was the only one left in this pure white world.

"Really...at least, say goodbye to me..."

Looking at the empty door not far away, crystal tears welled up in the girl's blue eyes. She lowered her head, gently stroking the ring on her ring finger with her fingertips, and finally returned to the table and sat down somewhat lonely.

"He's right in front of you, but you don't say a word to him."

Not knowing who she was talking to, the girl took out the remaining teacup from the tray, brewed a cup of tea, and pushed it across the table: "It seems like he noticed you from the beginning?"

"————————"

"Oh? Haha~ That's right, is this what they call the connection between family members?"

"————————"

"Me? I'm very happy~? In this world without us, there are still so many people who believe in him and cherish him from the bottom of their hearts. In this way, even if he encounters some small setbacks along the way, he will definitely be able to overcome them all together with those children."

"————————"

"Aiya~ I'm not crying, I just... hope that he can at least relax a little before he goes back, after all..."

After all, there may never be a time that can be called "relaxing" for that person again...

"Silly... You clearly said... You would say goodbye to me properly..."

The girl raised her head, and tears could be vaguely seen in the corners of her eyes between the ends of her pink hair:

"There must not be another meeting like this, Xiaozhi—"

……

……

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