If-Line Ending 2: The Never-Ending Story

He returned to where he came from, heading towards his true homeland. Even if they met again and he had long forgotten her, she would still remember the promise she made to him under the starry sky.

The colossal figure of the Herrscher of Finality dissipated into the universe, signifying the end of Honkai, a disaster that had accompanied civilization since its birth.

The Moon.

"Did... we win?" Pardo stared blankly at the battlefield where the Herrscher of Finality was nowhere to be seen. She looked at Sakura and asked, "Sakura-sister, did we win?"

Sakura pressed her arm and let out a relieved smile. "Yes, we won!"

"Hmph, Finality, nothing more than that!" Qianjie lay in a massive crater on the Moon, surrounded by the Dominion Keys standing like tombstones.

After a moment of silence, Qianjie let out a long sigh. "That Feng guy... Hmph, you got lucky this time. This is what the strongest Fusion Warrior should look like..."

"Qianjie, need a hand?" Kosma appeared at the edge of the crater, extending his hand to Qianjie.

"Hmph! Unnecessary!" Qianjie snorted coldly, trying to sit up. He found that his body's repair was not yet complete, and he couldn't stand on his own for the time being.

After a moment of silence, Qianjie reached out and took Kosma's hand. Kosma, enduring his own severe pain, pulled Qianjie out of the crater.

"I almost thought I was going to die..." Vill-V supported her forehead. "The pressure from Finality was indeed more terrifying than I expected. Fortunately, we won in the end."

"Heh... you should thank Yu Feng for pulling you back and preventing you from becoming space debris," Mobius said with a cold laugh. "But I think you'd be better off as space debris."

"Even in this state, Mobius, your mouth is still as sharp as ever," Vill-V said with a smile, squatting down to pinch Mobius's cheek.

"Vill-V, let go of me!"

"Oh, we finally won, let me pinch you. What's the harm? Elysia has pinched you so many times."

"When did I ever agree to that?!"

"We won. It seems I also need to compose the grandest symphony for this battle," Eden looked at Aponia. "Aponia, your so-called destiny appears not to be unconquerable."

Aponia remained silent. She merely cast her gaze towards the direction where that person was.

Hua watched the joy of everyone, then shifted her gaze to where the youth who delivered the final blow to Finality was.

She saw Kevin and Elysia walking towards the youth.

At the same time, others also began walking towards the youth's location.

"He's going to be thrown high up and then caught, right..." Hua thought, and with difficulty, she took a step forward, walking towards the youth.

Where Finality had vanished, the black-haired youth stood quietly, holding the Black Abyss White Flower, which could now be considered scrap.

Elysia, leaning on her weapon, was the first to reach him. She smiled and said, "You looked so cool at the end~ Feng~"

"Is that so..." The youth looked at the blue crystal ball in the distant universe. "I... did it, didn't I?"

"Yes, you did it," Elysia reached out and supported the youth. "Next, we're going to have a super, super magnificent banquet. You're not allowed to skip it this time! I'll be angry!"

There was no response.

"Feng?"

The youth slowly turned his head to look at Elysia. Elysia was shocked to find that the youth's pupils had lost their focus.

"It seems my time has come..." The youth raised his hand, as if to touch Elysia's face, but stopped in mid-air because he couldn't see.

"Elysia..." he called out.

"I'm... I'm here," Elysia reached out and held the youth's hand, pressing it against her face. "Don't say foolish things. We'll all go back. We'll go back together..."

"Thank you, Elysia..." the youth's voice began to grow faint.

Kevin stood behind them. The step he was about to take was ultimately retracted. He looked back at his approaching companions.

"Yu Feng-ge! We won..."

Pardo shouted excitedly, but Kevin made a shushing gesture to her.

Everyone looked at the two, who seemed to have entered a state of stillness.

"Feng... look, everyone is alive. They've all come. We're all here." Elysia reached out and turned the youth's head towards the direction where everyone was coming from.

The youth squinted his eyes, then looked at Elysia again and said, "Elysia, you're crying."

"These are tears of joy! Do you understand? Don't let them... turn into other kinds of tears... okay?"

"I'm sorry..."

"I don't want your apology! I want you to come back with us!"

"..."

The youth opened his mouth, as if to say something, but he eventually gave up.

"Most of the cities on Earth have been destroyed. We still need to rebuild our homeland and civilization. When the time comes, you'll join me, and everyone else... to witness the future of civilization..."

"..."

"I still have so many things I want to tell you... Didn't you say the same? Didn't you have things you wanted to tell me too? Come back with us, okay?"

"..."

"Feng?"

The hand resting on her face lost its strength. The youth's head, which had never lowered even when facing Finality, slowly drooped. His body gradually turned into starlight. He closed his eyes and disappeared before everyone's eyes.

Elysia reached out, but could no longer touch that person.

Kevin turned around and reported to Mei in a low voice, "We've won. Finality... has been confirmed completely silent. We've won..."

This news was immediately broadcast by the command center's announcer.

"We've won! The Fire Moth Schicksal have won! They've defeated the Finality Herrscher, humanity has defeated Honkai!"

The message echoed through every shelter. The announcer repeated it over and over, her voice hoarse, but she still persisted in delivering this exhilarating news to every shelter.

"That's great!"

"We've won!"

"Long live the Schicksal! Long live the heroes!"

People in the shelters embraced each other, their eyes filled with the tears of excitement after surviving disaster. In their pupils, there was confidence and hope for the future.

Earth Command Center.

"Dr. Mei, we won!" Su came to Dr. Mei's side. Even the usually calm Awakened couldn't hide his excitement this time. "Feng and Kevin, they actually did it!"

Mei's expression showed no joy. She asked Kevin, "Kevin, your voice..."

Kevin's low voice echoed in the noisy command room. Compared to the clamor, his voice wasn't loud, but everyone could hear it:

"The Finality War is over. Survivors... eleven."

"Weren't there twelve Schicksal who went to the moon?" someone muttered subconsciously.

"Feng... he's gone."

The command room immediately fell silent.

After a long pause, everyone stood up straight, clenched their fists, placed them over their hearts, and lowered their heads.

"Soon... it will be time for the final Herrscher, the Finality Herrscher, to descend."

"Yes, but because you're here, our chances of winning have increased significantly."

"Is that so... Elysia, I..."

"After this battle is over, let's... come here again."

"Why?"

"Of course it's because..."

The girl smiled playfully at the young man.

"It's a secret~"

"...That's a very fitting answer for you."

The young man smiled helplessly.

"Feng, how long... have we known each other?"

"About ten years, from before the Third Herrscher descended until now."

"It's been so long... without realizing it, I've gotten used to you being by my side..."

"Me too, time really flies."

"Feng..."

"Yeah?"

"I..." The girl swallowed the words she was about to say and changed her tune, "I still remember during the Seventh Herrscher incident, you and Kevin secretly signed up to be Fusion Warriors without telling me."

"I remember I apologized."

"I also remember that if I hadn't pressed you repeatedly, someone wasn't planning on telling me about his side effects and intended to keep it as a little secret between you and Mobius!"

"I... I already said, I didn't want you to worry. After all, Kevin's condition was much worse than mine."

"...You're always like this. Can't you just say what's on your mind honestly?"

"I'm not you, I... can't do that."

"..."

"Elysia?"

"Actually... I'm also very timid. I have secrets I'm afraid to speak of too."

"..."

"Perhaps you already know, but I still want to tell you in person. So... let's make a promise, after this war is over, we'll come here again, okay?"

"Okay, I... I've also always had something I wanted to tell you."

"Then... shall we make a promise?"

"Mm."

When... did she fall in love with Feng?

She rescued Feng from the ruins, and a year later, they met again. He joined her team and had been by her side ever since.

Sometimes he would also get inexplicably moody because of himself. This situation was especially apparent when Kevin appeared. He would become even more silent, then stare at Kevin without speaking.

After the Sixth Herrscher incident, she found him standing alone in the ruins, lost in thought. He told her, "I will also become a hero."

Occasionally recalling this, she would think that he might have been jealous.

He definitely was, because... she had also been jealous of him... At that time, she felt like she was the same as him.

If you find this book good, remember to add it to your bookshelf so you don't lose it next time.

The Seventh Herrscher incident, the birth of the Fusion Warrior. He participated in this experiment, which was practically a death sentence, without her knowledge.

After the surgery was completed, he didn't even have time to say a few words to her before heading to Australia with Kevin.

Their friendship seemed to have begun there. After that, they became inseparable best friends, their relationship so close that she felt jealous.

The first time she experienced jealousy was probably when he hid the side effects from her, going to Mobius every day to suppress them, and then falling into depression because of Kevin, he still had to accompany Kevin. During that time, the time she spent with him became very little. Every time she tried to ask him what he was doing when he went to Mobius, he would say, "That's my private business."

Private business... Although it was indeed private business, she was still unhappy. Several times, when he was chatting with her, Mobius would come over and just say, "Come here," and call him away!

Is Mobius more important than me?

She had that thought for the first time then, but she couldn't ask him directly. After all... he had said it was his private business, and she had no right to ask.

It was also around that time that she suddenly understood the expression on his face when he saw her chatting with Kevin.

In the end, she was too concerned and secretly found a way to eavesdrop on his conversation with Mobius to find out.

She felt that their relationship was mutual, that they should both know, but... she was also a little unsure.

She was afraid of guessing wrong.

After the Sixth Herrscher incident, she hadn't seen him being jealous of her much anymore... Instead, she had been quite jealous herself.

For example, when Vill-V took him to Mu Continent for a "magic tour," or when he took a nap with Phyllis, or even more so when he went out fooling around with Kevin...

During the Ninth Herrscher incident, he went to battle with Kevin again, even though he was her deputy! And he almost died in the Ninth Herrscher's self-destruction...

At that moment, she finally realized what her feelings were for him. Had he... felt this way before?

She had thought about confessing, but the book said that if the other person didn't feel the same, confessing would only distance them.

She didn't want him to leave, so... she chose to remain silent, choosing to think of various excuses to stop him from running around.

He had always indulged her, no matter what excuse she gave, he chose to believe it. Later, she couldn't even be bothered to think of excuses anymore; she could call him back with just a single sentence.

It was also because of this that she felt he must understand her intentions. She had always thought that as long as he confessed, she would definitely agree.

And this guy never said it until the very end!

No, at the very, very end, he seemed to want to say something. Given his personality, he probably chose not to say it because he was afraid of causing her psychological burden.

But, Feng, it's precisely because of this that I can't accept your departure even more. Our story shouldn't end like this...

She stood alone under the starry sky, thinking this.

Suddenly, the surrounding scenery shifted, and a giant tree appeared before her.

"Son, time to get up!" Her mother's voice rang out. The boy lying in bed slowly opened his eyes, alertness in them at first.

His consciousness cleared in an instant, and he sat up, looking at his hands, then at the familiar yet unfamiliar surroundings.

He remembered, this seemed to be his room?

"I'm back...?" He lay back down on the bed. "I should have died back then. Is it because my initial wish when I transmigrated was fulfilled, so I came back?"

"Still not up?" His mother's voice sounded again.

"I'm up, I'm up!" He responded helplessly.

It had been so long since he'd heard his hometown dialect. Who knew what he'd gone through in the early days after transmigrating? The whole world was speaking a language he couldn't understand. It was only later, with a translation earpiece, that he realized it was the universal language of Mu Continent...

He was forced to learn a foreign language that was useless in his own world.

He finally remembered that he was now just an ordinary high school senior, studying at a key middle school, with average grades.

The habits he developed during his time with Fire Moth had carried over to the present. He finished breakfast with extreme efficiency, then put on his backpack and went downstairs.

He stood at the intersection, stunned for a long time.

Which way was the school again?

He tried to walk towards his high school, which was nearby, following his now somewhat blurry memory.

Dawn was just breaking.

"Hey, Yufeng, what a coincidence!" a girl's voice rang out.

Elysia?

Zhu Yufeng was startled and turned his head, realizing it was Bai Siyu, his childhood friend.

He had to admit... her voice was really similar to Elysia's. And if you looked closely, her appearance was also quite similar. He wondered what she would look like if her hair color and eye color were changed.

Alright, he no longer had to figure out where his classroom was himself; he could just follow Bai Siyu.

Speaking of which...

"Why are you here so early today?" he asked, somewhat confused. He vaguely remembered that Bai Siyu basically never entered the classroom before the bell rang.

Despite his casual attitude towards studying, his grades were breathtakingly excellent.

"Trying to wake up a little earlier, isn't that exactly what I bumped into you for?" Bai Siyu winked playfully.

"A whim?" Zhu Yufeng understood. If it were the old him, he might have thought Bai Siyu wanted to see him. Now, thinking as an adult, Bai Siyu probably just acted on a whim.

And also... even if the voice sounded similar, he had already...

Elysia, I...

He inexplicably remembered another lively girl, just like Bai Siyu. He had managed to pull her out of a certain death fate, and he didn't know how she was doing now.

The fourteen Schicksal of Fire Moth...

Arriving at the classroom, Zhu Yufeng fell silent again. Where did he sit?

He really couldn't remember where he sat.

He had to ask Bai Siyu, "Siyu, I didn't sleep well yesterday, my mind just went blank... Where did I sit?"

Bai Siyu looked at him like he was an idiot. "You... you forgot even that? You didn't sleep at all yesterday, did you?"

He chose to remain silent and then sat in the spot Bai Siyu told him.

Opening the textbook on his desk, Zhu Yufeng was confused again. Woc, I don't recognize Chinese anymore!

Okay, he still remembered a little... it just seemed a bit difficult...

It was fine. High school knowledge was child's play for him now, assuming the laws of physics in both worlds were the same.

When he was with Fire Moth, he had to know all of this. He was Mobius's experimental assistant, Vill-V's magic assistant, and so on...

Or perhaps when sniping Herrschers, he had to calculate trajectories and such...

Then... let's start by reading some English in the morning.

His long-honed focus allowed him to get absorbed in reading English. The commonly used rapid memorization technique helped him quickly recall English words he had forgotten long ago.

When he entered the classroom, he had paid attention to the class time, so he didn't care when the early self-study bell rang, as he was still reading English during early self-study.

The homeroom teacher, Old Pei, came to patrol as usual. Seeing Zhu Yufeng engrossed in memorizing English, he nodded with satisfaction. This brat had finally started to apply himself.

Zhu Yufeng spent a few days living a relatively peaceful life. For him... no early morning training, no terrifying experiments or actual combat, no worrying about humanity's future tomorrow... yes, it was too peaceful, he wished this kind of life could last a few more days.

And... Elysia, at the end, did she say what he thought she wanted to say? Although their relationship was just one step away from being officially declared.

Suddenly, he felt a bit hesitant, a bit lost in life.

From the perspective of those around him, it wasn't like that. The teachers were surprised to find that this intelligent student, who had never applied himself before, had started to do so. Moreover, his speed in answering questions in class surpassed all other students, and he could even correct the teachers' mistakes.

In the eyes of his classmates, this guy had started to become less communicative, often standing alone by the window after class, gazing into the distance.

With reactions from both sides, Old Pei clapped his hands, thinking his student might have psychological problems. He immediately contacted Zhu Yufeng's mother, and they had a small parent-teacher conference in the office.

Zhu Yufeng felt like crying and laughing. He couldn't possibly say that he was already a stranger to his current classmates, could he? He could only say that he had a change of heart and felt he couldn't slack off like before. Staring blankly into the distance was just his way of resting.

Old Pei still suggested that he communicate more with his classmates.

Then, he moved Bai Siyu's seat next to him. Actually, they were sitting next to each other before, but these two loved to talk so much that they even spoke openly in class while the teacher was lecturing. This made Old Pei suspect they were dating secretly and immediately separated them.

But did that make any difference? It was too easy for Bai Siyu to find him. Their families had visited each other so often when they were young that they were already familiar with each other...

Not long after, in a monthly exam, Zhu Yufeng, whose grades were not outstanding, shocked all the students who came to check their answers after the exam.

Math, all correct. Physics, all correct. Biology, all correct. Chemistry, all correct...

Except for Chinese, where the answers were debatable, and English, which required essay revisions, with these grades, he could already be in the top five, or even top three, of the class.

The teachers were also stunned. They even suspected Zhu Yufeng of cheating, but after the Chinese and English scores came out, his Chinese performance was normal, and his English score was close to perfect. The English teacher even guaranteed that it was impossible for him to have cheated, as Zhu Yufeng had often approached him for grammar questions during this period, and his essays were definitely not plagiarized.

Bai Siyu, sitting next to him, watched him check answers with others, lost in thought.

When the results were announced, Zhu Yufeng ranked first, and was immediately dragged out by Old Pei for questioning.

Zhu Yufeng could only say that he was too lazy to work hard before. Old Pei then hit him hard on the head and said, "You brat!"

At this time, Zhu Yufeng had already self-studied high school English. When he applied to the English teacher to read full English novels during evening self-study, the English teacher told him to finish the distributed test papers first.

At this point, Zhu Yufeng had undoubtedly become a "king of studying" in the eyes of his classmates, studying himself and all his classmates to death.

Zhu Yufeng just felt... he was just escaping. He had lost his goal, he had no desires.

He was escaping from life, escaping from this too ordinary life that made him almost at a loss.

During breaks in evening self-study, he often walked alone on the sports field, recalling memories that seemed non-existent.

He liked Elysia, undoubtedly liked her.

When he was not yet mature, he had even been jealous because of it.

Later, he just came to terms with it. He didn't need to restrict Elysia or himself because of it, because Elysia was that kind of girl, free and unrestrained.

He really didn't expect that Elysia would later be jealous of him.

In the end, he originally wanted to say to Elysia, "I love you," but after thinking about it, he gave up. He knew he was going to die, so... rather than adding to the sadness, it was better not to say it.

"Yufeng, I'm not really sure about this problem, can you teach me?" Bai Siyu's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Ah, sure." Zhu Yufeng took Bai Siyu's notebook and only saw, "I like you, Feng~"

He was stunned for a moment, then realized these were the characters of the Mu Continent. He looked at Bai Siyu, who had her hands crossed, the backs of her hands resting against her chin. She spoke softly in the Mu Continent language he hadn't heard in ages, "You finally remembered, Feng?"

Zhu Yufeng: "???"

He tentatively asked in the Mu Continent language, "Elysia?"

The other party's eyes crinkled into a smile. "I've finally waited for the moment you remembered all this. It's been a long time, Feng. How do you feel?"

After a moment of silence, Zhu Yufeng smiled and said, "Just like the first time we met, Elysia. I like you too, I always have."

The classmate sitting behind them: "???"

Wai-bi-ba-bu? What were these two talking about? What language was this? Had they already gotten so engrossed that they started learning multiple languages?

"Our story hasn't ended, and it won't end, will it?"

"Yes, it has just turned a page."