Elysia's Extra Story: The Unreachable One

She looked at the young man with an expressionless face and said, "Feng, why are you also starting to go for that cold, cool guy route like Kevin? You're one of the faces of the Fusion Warriors now, so it's not good if your persona overlaps with Kevin's. Smile a little, okay?"

In her memories, even though he didn't smile often, his expression was always gentle, not stiff and cold like Kevin's now. Compared to Kevin's melancholy, his gaze was downright chilling.

The young man froze for a moment. Then, as if trying to curve his lips upwards, he attempted a smile, but that kind of expression... it was truly hard to describe.

A forced smile would have looked better than that expression.

She furrowed her beautiful eyebrows, stepped forward, and pinched the young man's cheeks. Then, she took half a step back and said with satisfaction, "Now that's what I call a smile! What was that expression just now? Could it be that a side effect of your surgery made you forget how to smile?"

The young man maintained the expression, reaching up to touch his face as if trying to memorize it. His gaze towards her softened, and he said, "Yes... I forgot how to smile. What a terrible side effect... Thank you, Elysia."

"You're welcome! We've always been friends, after all!" she said with a smile. She wanted to tell the young man that their relationship would absolutely not drift apart just because he shyly hid away at the European branch for nearly a year.

The young man looked at her, his gaze gentle, just like he used to look at her. But she felt like something was missing.

"So... Elysia, is there something you need from me?" he asked.

"Oh, right, I almost forgot." She took an invitation and placed it in the young man's hand. "To encourage Kevin's speedy recovery and help him overcome his depression, I've specially organized a banquet for Fusion Warriors!"

The young man looked down at the invitation. His smile turned somewhat helpless, and he said, "I understand. I'll attend. After all, Kevin can't just stay dejected like this forever."

She looked at him with some suspicion and said, "Feng, why do I feel like some parts of you are different from before?"

"Are they?" The young man blinked. "Maybe... I've finally matured? Or perhaps the Fusion Warrior surgery made me even more handsome?"

She appraised the young man and said, "You are a bit more handsome than before..."

But something still felt off...

Oh, right. Before, when he saw her talking to Kevin, his gaze was a bit strange, and he spoke to Kevin with a bit of a sharp edge. After returning from Europe this time, he went to apologize to Kevin first. Are their relationship good now?

Feng has indeed matured.

She thought to herself.

"Then you must be sure to arrive on time~" she waved goodbye to the young man and then went off to find the next Fusion Warrior to deliver the invitation.

The young man watched her with a smile, remaining silent.

On Kevin's birthday, the young man arrived as promised. The gift he prepared for Kevin was a pair of exquisitely crafted bracelets, one for Kevin and one for Mei. She was a bit surprised. "Feng, when did you get such good taste? They're such beautiful bracelets."

Kevin, whose face had been expressionless, showed a hint of surprise. He said, "Feng, you..."

"Please accept them," the young man said, placing the gift box containing the bracelets into Kevin's hands. "May you and Mei face every difficulty and overcome every obstacle hand in hand."

"Thank you, Feng," Kevin accepted the young man's gift solemnly. "These bracelets must have taken you a lot of effort, right?"

The young man froze for a moment, then said a bit sheepishly, "Well... it wasn't me who put in the effort. I only paid for them. The items... I asked Lilith to pick them out for me. I've never been confident in my own taste. I'll be relieved if you both like them. I'm sorry, they weren't my choice..."

Lilith was the deputy he brought back from the European branch.

"It's alright. Mei and I have truly received your thoughtfulness," Kevin said, placing a hand on the young man's shoulder and looking at Mei.

Mei also nodded gently, indicating that the young man didn't need to worry about it.

She suddenly remembered the gift the young man had given her over a month ago and said, "Feng, that necklace you gave me before, did Lilith pick that out too?"

"Y-yes," the young man replied. "What's wrong? Do you... not like it?"

She quickly said, "How could I not? Lilith has excellent taste. I really like that necklace~"

Although... she would have preferred a gift picked out by the young man himself.

"That's good then," the young man nodded.

After that, until the end of the birthday banquet, the young man simply stood in a corner, watching everyone chat and laugh, remaining silent. After all, he had always been shy and disliked speaking in such lively gatherings.

This won't do. I must organize a birthday banquet for him next time, and strive to turn Feng into a sunny boy as soon as possible. She thought to herself.

But in the end, she never got that chance.

During the Eighth Herrscher incident, Lilith fell into a deep sleep, affected by the Eighth Herrscher's mimic weapon. During that time, she watched the young man repeatedly seek out Mobius to find a way to wake Lilith up. Honestly, she felt a little unhappy, though she didn't know why.

She still remembered the scene of the young man confessing to her.

Speaking of which... should she give him a response? But she felt the time wasn't right yet. She wasn't even sure if she had feelings of "love" for the young man. A hasty response like that would definitely not do.

After Lilith awoke, under the guise of repaying him, she held a birthday banquet for the young man, which she was also invited to.

However, what she didn't expect was that this would be the only birthday banquet of the young man's that she would attend afterward.

Because after this, at Lilith's suggestion, the young man formed the Thirteen Fallen Angels, and his birthdays became internal team-building events for the Thirteen Fallen Angels.

She had expressed her dissatisfaction to the young man. He replied with some difficulty, "I... I don't really like overly lively atmospheres, so if there are too many people, I'll feel uncomfortable. After all... if I were to invite people, there would be too many I'd want to invite."

Then why not just invite me? She wanted to say, but ultimately didn't. Because what the young man said made sense, and besides, they didn't have any special relationship...

"I'm sorry, Feng. I... I can't give you an answer right now. Can you give me some time?"

"Is it because I'm not a hero like Kevin?"

"Why would you think that? Feng, you are you. You don't need to become anyone else."

"But... I understand. I'm sorry, I was too forward."

"It's alright, I don't mind."

"But I will still strive to become a hero. After all... I really like you, and I want to get more of your attention, just like Kevin does..."

"Hmm, how about this then? We'll make a promise, and I'll keep watching you until you become the hero you want to be. By then, maybe I'll know my answer."

"...I understand."

And so, as promised, she truly kept watching him, paying attention to every piece of news about him.

She was happy for every victory the young man achieved. However, it was a bit regrettable that he was always on a mission during her birthdays, but his gifts always arrived on time.

Sometimes, when they chatted, she would tell him about things she had seen in the places he was sent on missions. When he returned, he would bring her a souvenir from that place.

One time, she jokingly said, "I heard that place is famous for its sparkling gemstones. A lot of Eden's collections come from there. Why don't you bring me one back?"

Unexpectedly, he seriously replied from the other end, "Okay."

Then, he really brought her back a gemstone of excellent quality and appearance.

For all her jokes and whims, his choice was always to indulge her. She once asked him why, and his answer was: "Because you are worthy of it."

She thought that if things continued like this, perhaps one day she could confidently respond to his feelings.

It wasn't until after the Ninth Herrscher incident that she saw Lilith, dressed in her finest, walk alone towards the garden. Driven by curiosity, she followed and saw him, who rarely attended any banquets, and Lilith confessing to him.

It was just like how he had confessed to her back then.

She thought he would refuse, because he had made a promise with her. But... she remembered that so-called "promise." She hadn't actually given him a definite promise, and he had only said he understood, without agreeing to anything specific. Furthermore, there was a difference between his saying "you are worthy of it" and "you are worthy of me doing this."

In other words, the latter could be understood as him doing it because she was the person he liked, while the former was because she was Elysia.

Suddenly... she lost the confidence to watch any further...

"Besides, eavesdropping on someone's confession is not a good behavior," she told herself.

But just a few days later, she saw him and Lilith wearing the Sun and Moon earrings, his on the right, hers on the left.

She wanted to ask him why he had agreed to Lilith's confession, but she didn't know what position she should take to ask. After all, if he and Lilith truly liked each other, what right would she have to question him?

"Although Lilith has spent more time with you, I don't think my understanding of you is any less than hers," she thought with a hint of defiance.

Next came the Twelfth Herrscher incident, which hurt her the most.

It was the first time he had opposed her, stubbornly leading the Fallen Angels to execute Vill-V's plan. To stop him, she had to find other Fusion Warriors and decide to launch the operation ahead of him.

As long as they could defeat the Herrscher of Restraint faster than he could escort the innocent civilians to the battlefield, they could stop him.

One should not gamble innocent lives on a plan that was only theoretically viable, because countless realities had already proven that theories might not be correct.

But a small sliver of hope still remained in her heart. This was a battle where no one knew if they would survive. If he still cared about her... he would surely rush back, wouldn't he?

As it turned out, he did rush back, and in doing so, he completely buried all their past.

The Fallen Angel Squad was almost wiped out in this battle; only he survived.

He sat alone in the morgue where all the Fallen Angels were laid out, spending the entire night there. At first, she wanted to say something to comfort him, but he only said in a tone that was almost cold, "Elysia, please... just let me be alone for a while."

She wanted to stay. At least... she was still his friend... right?

"Let's go, Elysia. Let Feng have some peace alone," Kevin said, pulling her away with an unusually firm attitude.

After that, she never saw him again. Or rather, she never saw herself in his eyes again.

And after that, his birthday gift, which she had sent him, was returned to her, unopened, for the first time.

To replace the Thirteen Fallen Angels and continue to be the hope for the remaining people, she proposed the establishment of the Fourteen Schicksal system, but it was ultimately rejected, and only the Six Schicksal were allowed to be established.

Later, he stepped forward to negotiate with the higher-ups, and the Fourteen Schicksal was finally established. The establishment of the Fourteen Schicksal was not simple either. He refused to become the leader she proposed, and he wasn't even prepared to be the deputy leader.

He also consistently refused to meet with her; all news was relayed by Kevin and Mei.

At least... he agreed to the Fourteen Schicksal system, wasn't that right? She thought to herself.

Soon, it was her birthday again. She wondered if he would still send her a gift, even if he couldn't be there in person, just like before.

The sky that day turned dark unusually early. She waited from sunrise to sunset, watching the clock announce the end of the day. In the end, she didn't receive anything from him.

What followed was the Twelfth Herrscher incident, the event that made her completely understand her feelings.

He was protecting Ling when the soldiers, crushed by despair, used Honkai energy interference rounds on him. This aggravated his already riddled body, bringing him to the brink of death.

It was only then that she realized the pain he had been enduring all along, that there was someone who had needed more comfort than Kevin once did, and that... she loved him.

When she finally saw her feelings clearly, and looked back, the young man she once knew was no longer in his place.

She placed her hand on the operating room window, wanting to touch his pale face with its closed eyes, but it wasn't just the glass window that blocked her; it was the vast distance that made it impossible for them to get close again.

Qianjie and Sakura left. She didn't know what they were going to do, nor did she care. She watched the various instruments in the operating room, never so strongly resisting someone's departure.

But precisely at this moment, there was nothing she could do but watch.

After personally witnessing his vital signs return to normal, she, who had stubbornly stood outside the operating room for a day and a night, finally left. She didn't go to rest but chose to come to the outside of the Fire Moth base, looking up at the starry sky they had once gazed at together.

"Elysia... you... need to rest," Eden's voice came from behind her.

"It's alright, Eden. He finally has a chance to rest properly. Compared to him... this is nothing."

"Elysia..."

"Please, let me be alone for a while, Eden, can you?"

Standing alone beneath the starry sky, she thought of many things.

She remembered the birthday banquet she had held for Kevin. She had also thought that his side effect wasn't simply forgetting how to smile, but... Mobius strictly forbade any attempts to access his various indicators, only telling her that it was part of Project: Ascend to Divinity and that she had no need nor authorization to know.

But... why was Lilith allowed to...?

She thought about it all night until dawn broke. Sunlight pierced her eyes, and she made up her mind, deciding to hold "The Final Banquet."

She wrote thirteen invitations but only sent out one. Because no matter what, she wanted to see him, even if he no longer responded, even if he hated her, she had to tell him her belated answer.

She couldn't even hand this invitation to him herself.

She spent a very, very long time dressing up carefully. At the venue for the "banquet," she set up fireworks they had once promised to watch together again. She meticulously prepared a crystal flower with the same color as his imprint.

Then, she waited for the guests to arrive.

Vill-V, Aponia, Eden...

And finally, Kevin, who arrived with his invitation. When she saw the invitation in Kevin's hand, her heart shattered. Why wouldn't he agree to see her again?

Whether he loved her or hated her... she just wanted to see him one more time.

"These are his words to tell you: 'Those who attend do so because they believe in Elysia, and those who leave do so because they refuse to attack because they believe in Elysia.' He has always believed in you," Kevin said.

She didn't need him to believe!

She just wanted him to appear here!

In the end, she wanted to give the crystal flower, which belonged only to him, to Eden, asking Eden to pass it to him on her behalf, but she gave up.

"You all, at the end of the story, did I... become human?"

"Of course, isn't the answer obvious?"

"Tonight, there is no Thirteenth Herrscher here."

"There is only the proud warrior of Fire Moth, who sleeps here forever."

"Flawless One, Elysia."

"Yes... because I became human, I have someone to love, and because of that, I feel sadness and shed tears... You all, will he shed tears for me like he did for Lilith back then?"

"..."

"Ha... I know, he won't cry for me, because I'm the one who killed Lilith and the others... a Herrscher... But when did it start, when did he leave me? Wasn't he the first one I liked, the first one I met?"

"Elysia (Eli)..."

"...After that, until now, I've never truly met him again. What a shame..."

Their distance was once so close, but in the end, he became unreachable.