Floating Life Like a Dream

Part 1:

When she opened her eyes once more, it felt like waking from a dream. The past seemed not so far away from her, yet it was already beyond reach.

"Mm..."

The girl opened her eyes. Brilliant sunlight pierced her pupils, crisp birdsong rang by her ears, and the fragrance of unknown flowers filled her nose.

"I... where is this..." The girl gazed blankly at the scenery around her, a sight she had seen countless times before. But when civilization had been on the verge of extinction, there had no longer been flowers or birdsong in the world.

She examined this world, then lowered her head to look at her hands, confirming her condition.

"Elysia... is that really you?" Eden's voice came from behind the girl. She turned around and saw an old friend from whom she had parted not long ago. Though she had never seen the clothes Eden wore, they were unmistakably her style.

"Eden?" She called out her old friend's name. "Why are you... and why am I...?"

She could not understand the situation. She remembered choosing to return to Honkai, to end the cycle of fate and leave hope for the next generation... Mei had also told her the consequences of doing so: she would very likely be unable to retain an independent personality.

Even so, she had made that choice.

Saying she was not afraid of death would have been a lie. There were still feelings she had not conveyed to that person. She had not seen him yet... But she also wanted him to embrace a new future...

"Feng... he really kept his promise..." Eden pulled Elysia into her arms. "Welcome to a new era. Welcome to a civilization that has blossomed anew, Elysia..."

Elysia was still somewhat lost. It was not until Eden brought her back to World Serpent and she saw her former comrades that she realized she had truly returned to the world she cherished.

Pop!

Confetti burst open within World Serpent's headquarters. Pardo and Vill-V each held a simple party popper, and Pardo said with a smile, "Welcome back, Sister Elysia!"

"It has been a long time, Elysia. This farewell of yours lasted rather too long, but thankfully, you came back." The original Vill-V smiled as well.

"Hmph... Don't look at me. I have nothing to say." Qianjie leaned against the doorway and looked away.

"But the moment you heard the news, you were clearly ready to go verify it yourself." Sakura stood with her arms folded, looking at Qianjie.

Qianjie merely snorted and offered no rebuttal.

Then Sakura turned to Elysia. "Welcome back, Elysia."

"I told you. The newly appeared Herrscher signal was the same one previously observed to belong to you. He never breaks his promises..." Mobius seemed entirely unsurprised by her arrival. "Forget it... It's good that you're back... Klein, come with me to the Elysian Realm."

Mobius hurried away, as though staying another second would have been a waste of her time. Watching her and Klein's retreating backs, Elysia suddenly remembered certain things from the past. She smiled at Eden and said, "Mobius... she's still so unstraightforward."

"Perhaps. Or perhaps she was afraid that if she stayed any longer, she would not be able to stop herself from showing another expression... She has always been a stubborn person." Eden's expression suddenly became a little strange, but Elysia did not notice it at that moment.

On the way back, Eden told her what had happened afterward. The remaining Flame-Chasers had faced Finality together, ultimately succeeding in holding back Finality's march to reset civilization. And now, it was already fifty thousand years later.

"It really is little Elysia..." The now-grown Griseo looked at Elysia. After thinking for a moment, she imitated the tone she remembered and said, "Mm... Hi~ Did you miss me?"

"Of course I missed you~ My adorable little Griseo." Elysia walked over and hugged Griseo. "But now, it seems I've really become the little sister... Griseo has grown up too."

Elysia's gaze fell upon Aponia. Smiling, she opened her arms and said, "What about you, Aponia?"

Aponia smiled and stepped forward to embrace Elysia as well. "At this moment, too many words would hold no meaning. What I wish to say can ultimately only be expressed by one sentence: welcome back, Elysia."

Elysia looked around and asked in confusion, "Where are the others? Kevin, Kosma, Su, Hua... and Feng? Where did they go?"

Everyone's expressions became somewhat unnatural at that moment. They exchanged glances, and in the end, Eden stepped forward to explain. "Kevin... A thousand years ago, he insisted on carrying out the Stigmata Project. To stop him, Su sealed him in the Sea of Quantum. Kosma was the one guarding him. As for Su, he always felt guilty for betraying Kevin, so he sealed himself within the Sumeru Mustard Seed and continued carrying out the Hengsha Project. Hua, meanwhile, used Feather Dust too many times for various reasons. She retains little of her past memories now, and her current identity makes it inconvenient for her to come here. You can visit her later. I believe she will be very happy to see you."

Elysia listened to Eden's words, yet she had not heard the news she cared about most. A vague unease rose within her. But if everyone was here, then that person must still be here too, right? After fifty thousand years, was he still unwilling to see her?

But at the very least, she wanted to know how he was doing...

After hesitating for a moment, Elysia asked, "Then where is Feng now? If Kevin wanted to carry out the Stigmata Project, it should have been easy for Feng to stop him, right? Did something happen back then?"

The atmosphere suddenly froze.

After a moment of silence, Eden spoke with a sigh. "Feng... he already... disappeared along with that past era."

"What?!"

"Finality was too powerful. Without him, we likely would have paid a terribly heavy price." Vill-V said, "But fortunately, we had him. However... in the end, he went to do something that only he could possibly accomplish."

Why did that sound so familiar?

Elysia vaguely guessed something, but her heart refused to believe such a possibility. She merely looked at Vill-V and pressed, "What did he... go do? Did he succeed?"

"He succeeded." Vill-V looked at Elysia with sorrow in her eyes. "What he wanted to do, the result he wanted to see, is already standing before us."

Elysia froze, then immediately looked around. "Where?"

How could it be? In the end, he still hated her, right? How could he possibly...

"Don't look, Elysia. What he wanted to do was give you a second life in the new era." Eden walked behind Elysia and gently embraced her. "We were all wrong. We thought he hated you, but he never did... In the end, he wagered everything just so you could see this era. He succeeded... and you succeeded too, Elysia."

"Decades ago, the First Herrscher appeared: the Herrscher of Reason. His birth was proof that you had succeeded, Elysia. He was the first Herrscher to fight for humanity by his own will." Vill-V said.

"Even after he perished, the Herrscher core he left behind was accepted by his successor. The Second Herrscher of Reason has also continued fighting for humanity." Sakura said.

Yet Elysia showed no joy at all. She should have been happy—happy that this era had finally produced a Herrscher like her who fought for humanity, happy that she had done it, but...

Sorrow gradually spread through her heart.

"When he left, was there anyone who witnessed what he was going to do?" Elysia asked.

"Kevin was the one who walked the final stretch of the road with him," Eden answered.

"I want to see him," Elysia said.

Eden froze.

"I want to see Kevin," Elysia repeated.

Part 2

"I would lay down everything for you, only to grant you a second life, Elysia..."

"Feng, the hibernation of all things is ready. It is expected to activate in twelve hours. Thanks to you, Finality will be unable to act for seventy-two hours. That gives us enough time to prepare and analyze it." Kevin stood beside the white-haired young man. "We will defeat Honkai. We will."

The young man stood upon the ruins of civilization, gazing at the lone bright moon hanging in the night sky. "Mei... In the end, you did not leave behind any regrets, did you?"

Kevin fell silent for a moment before saying, "Perhaps our only regret is that the time left to us in the end was too short."

The two of them remained silent for a long time.

Kevin tried several times to speak, but each time, he swallowed the words before they left his mouth.

"I'm leaving," the young man said.

"Why? If she were still here, she certainly would not want you to do this." Kevin said. "And we would surely find a way to deal with your body..."

"Kevin." The young man softly interrupted him. "I know that consciousness can be transferred. Even though my body's lifespan is already nearing its end, Mobius does have a way... But I no longer have the courage to face the future."

Kevin looked at the young man.

"Lilith and the others are gone. Elysia is gone too... I failed to protect everything I once wanted to protect. Perhaps there can be new possibilities in the future, but I really am... tired." The starlight filling the sky reflected in the young man's eyes. "Sorry. In the end, I still threw everything onto you all. This should be the last time I act selfishly. Forgive me, Kevin. I cannot welcome the future together with you."

"So... during all that time in the past, you discussed your idea with Vill-V and Mobius, then said goodbye to everyone once, didn't you?"

"In the end, I'm the one being selfish." The young man shook his head with a bitter smile. "Kevin, do you know? I originally had nothing in this world. It was Elysia who let me see the world. I have always owed her a life, and now, I finally have a chance to repay her."

Kevin remained silent.

"She was so flawless. She loved this world, loved every person in it. She lived every day earnestly and was always full of expectations for tomorrow. Her life should not end like this." The young man continued, "As for me, after Lilith and the others died, I had already lost most of my attachment to this world. Really, I was never particularly passionate about this world... She deserves to live more than I do. Besides, even if everything begins anew in the next civilization, Kevin, the one you meet will merely be another individual with the same model as Mei. The Mei in your memories will forever remain only a memory. It is the same for me. Sorry, Kevin... I'm truly tired. I want to rest. Sorry. In the end, I still left the burden of everything for you to bear, even though you also lost the person you loved most... I'm sorry."

"I'm used to it, Feng." Kevin said. "And all along, the ones who carried the most have always been you and Elysia. What I have done... is not worth mentioning."

"But from here on, you may have to bear everything alone for tens of thousands of years..." the young man said.

The two of them fell silent once more.

Only after a long time did the young man speak again. "If, in the future, you see her, then if possible, I want to ask you to let her visit the Elysian Realm of the Past, so that the me there can know... that I succeeded."

"But the you in the Elysian Realm of the Past is not truly you."

"Perhaps. You can decide what to do when the time comes," the young man said.

Kevin was silent for a long time before finally nodding. "...I understand."

After another stretch of silence, the young man looked at Kevin and said in a deliberately casual tone, "There's still some time before Finality awakens. What I need to do can only be done at the moment Finality awakens. Before then, let's have noodles together one last time. I saved a little. I think there should be enough for the two of us."

"Hmph... I'm very particular about my food."

"That sounds utterly unconvincing coming from you."

The two returned to the base. One seemed to have cast off a heavy burden, while the other remained expressionless.

Eleven hours later, before Thousand Worlds.

"You..." The young man looked in surprise at all the other Flame-Chasers who had come.

"We cannot stop you, just as we had no way to stop Elysia from leaving back then. But at least, in the end, let us properly say goodbye to you." Eden spoke.

"Elysia always regretted that when the Fourteen Schicksal were formed, no one came together for a group photo. But this time, if you truly mean to bring her back, then at least leave behind a photograph. As... the final gift you leave for her." Vill-V said.

The young man hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "All right."

After the photograph was taken, the young man and Kevin traveled to the moon through Thousand Worlds.

At the moment of parting, the young man suddenly took out a recording pen and handed it to Kevin. "I had not planned to do this, but in the end, I left some words for Elysia in it. When you see her, help me give this to her."

Kevin accepted the recording pen and nodded. "I will keep it safe."

The young man nodded, turned around, and walked toward his end.

Kevin watched his disappearing figure. Before returning to Earth, he made a promise to the young man, who had already gone somewhere unknown: "No matter the cost, humanity will defeat Honkai."