Honkai Impact 3: Deadwood

The flames from the sword swung by an ordinary human being at God, in the light that was like a supernova explosion, instantly exceeded the limit of the space that was jointly formed by the powers of the two "Keys of God".

The flames that burst out from the shattered "space" instantly invaded the entire "Destiny Third Airport" which was still silent in the rainstorm. A huge column of flame rushed into the sky from the inside of this floating island with a radius of several kilometers, tearing through the dark clouds and rainstorms, and dispelling all the darkness that shrouded the sky and could not be dispelled by humans.

The exploding sky flames tore through the darkness while easily burning and penetrating all the man-made structures on the island. The flames flowed out from the anti-gravity foundation at the bottom of the "Third Airport".

Under the incredulous gazes of the people on the Destiny battleship who were still resisting the offensive of the remaining Honkai beasts outside the headquarters airspace and the thoughtful and calm gaze of a certain blond man, the giant floating island named "Destiny Third Skyport" fell, disintegrated, and shattered in a light brighter than daylight... and finally... disappeared completely.

……

……

…………

In the pure white space, the girl, hiding in her soft purple hair with her arms around her knees, heard the slow footsteps of someone who did not belong here, but she did not look up.

It was not until the footsteps stopped in front of her that she asked in a low voice to the young man holding the invisible blade in front of her in a very disappointed tone:

"Are you here to destroy me...human?"

“……” The other party did not say anything.

Seeing that the other party seemed to be too disdainful to respond to her, Xilin laughed bitterly at herself: "Oh... It's okay... I know... You didn't come here for me..."

"..."

"You're not going to talk? Then I have nothing to say. Hurry up and do it... and then... go and save that stupid girl as you thought..."

"..."

what…

You didn't say anything, and you didn't do anything. Now that things have come to this, are you still pretending to pity me? ! !

Unable to endure the silence any longer, Xilin suddenly raised her head and was about to vent her anger at the young man in front of her, but when she raised her head, she met the hand that was stretched out to her by the other party.

"...?"

Feeling the warm touch coming from the top of her head, the anger that Xilin had nowhere to vent in her heart suddenly disappeared completely, without any trace left.

The young man in front of her had an apologetic look on his face. He squatted down and gently stroked her head back and forth: "I'm sorry, Xilin."

"...?"

"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you then."

Eh…?

what are you talking about…?

The golden eyes were shaking violently. The girl, whose head was being stroked by the hand that was much bigger than hers, looked at the boy in front of her at a loss.

Although she tried her best to deny human emotions, she could tell that those words were indeed full of self-blame and sincerity.

"I know... you have suffered a lot of injustices that others cannot imagine. You have been deceived, tortured, and betrayed by others. In the end... you lost everything you wanted to keep. All the good luck and beauty in the world have not favored you. That's why you want to return the pain you have suffered to the world twice as much."

"..."

"But... I think that's wrong... I'm closing myself off because I'm afraid of being betrayed again, and I'm denying the good things I've hoped for countless times because I'm not sure they exist."

"If you rely on the thought of revenge and throw away all chances to start over, pretending to sneer at everything, then in the end... the chain of hatred wrapped around you will only tighten until you can no longer breathe, can no longer move, and become completely numb."

The captain spoke gently, slightly withdrawing his hand that was stroking Xilin's head, helping her to push away the long hair on both sides of her cheeks and supporting her soft cheeks.

"You said before that I have never suffered the pain you have suffered, and I have always been a lucky person living in a comfortable environment surrounded by others, so I can't understand your pain, right?"

"Then...what happened..."

With her cheek held by the other party's warm palm, Xilin turned her head slightly and averted her gaze, but did not move her face away from the captain's hand.

"I just thought that I should be able to understand that feeling a little bit."

"…Eh?"

Hearing this, the girl slowly shifted her gaze back.

"Being deceived, betrayed, and hurt by others, losing all the people and things you once wanted to protect, but feeling helpless about the indifference of the world and despairing about this unfair world, it sounds pretty pitiful, right?"

"you…"

"But even so, after losing everything, I still met, met many kind people, people who were friendly to me, people who cared about me, people who loved me deeply... I got a lot of precious things from them."

“Even if those things are taken away and betrayed again, as long as I don’t forget the touches those beautiful things once brought me, then that beauty is real to me.”

“No matter how hard it is, no matter how many times we lose, if we share the good things we have gained from others with others, we will surely encounter more good things in the future.”

“We are born into this world. No matter how tortuous the process is, as long as you open your arms, the world will embrace you again at any time.”

The invisible blade in his hand, which was supposed to end the girl's fate, gradually turned into a book with a colorful cover that was just the right size for the girl's small hands to carry and read under the boy's will.

Then, he handed the book made up of countless memories from his childhood to the present day to the girl in front of him.

"Xilin... I know that you have never had the opportunity to fully experience the "beauty" that I have talked about but cannot see where it exists, so I want to give you this book, this book that carries all my stories and memories."

"!!"

Xilin reached out to take the book that carried all the sadness and beauty in her boyhood memories. After knowing what was recorded in the book, she suddenly felt the slightly heavy weight of the small book in her hand.

“Although it may be a bit long and it will take a lot of time to read it, I hope you can take a look at... my memories, all the good or bad things I have encountered in this world so far.”

"Why…?"

"Ok?"

For some reason, the tears she shed fell on the untitled book that the boy gave her. The girl, unable to control her emotions, felt that a torrent of countless emotions was impacting her heart.

Xilin, who still didn't fully understand why the boy did this, could only ask while sobbing.

"Because... I want you to know that it is the memories accumulated over countless years in this unreasonable world that have made me who I am today."

Finally, the captain helped the girl wipe away the tears that were falling from her eyes. He stood up reluctantly and said, "Xilin, after you have read the memories that made me, tell me your answer. Do you still want to destroy this unreasonable world, or do you want to try to touch the beauty that you have never been able to touch before?"

Then, the captain turned around and no longer looked at the girl who was still sobbing behind him.

"If you choose the former, then I will not hesitate to defeat you once again with all my strength... and destroy you, but if you choose the latter... then no matter how long it takes, I will definitely stay by your side."

...?

……Eh?

...ah...that sentence...

The words this person said to me sixteen years ago...

So he hasn’t forgotten it until now…?

So, until now, that promise is still valid...?

Holding tightly in her arms the little book that brought her warmth, the girl named Xilin finally burst into tears, just like when they first met. But this time, the boy who used to hold her tightly in his arms when she cried would never hug her again.