If-Line Ending 4: A Fleeting Dream

When she opened her eyes again, it was like waking from a dream. The past didn't seem so far away, yet it was already beyond her reach.

"Mmm..."

The girl opened her eyes. Bright sunlight pierced her pupils. Crisp birdsong reached her ears, and the scent of unknown flowers filled her nose.

"I... Where is this..." The girl looked around at the scenery she had seen countless times before, confused. But when civilization was on the verge of extinction, there were no longer any flower scents or birdsong in the world.

She surveyed the world and then looked down at her own hands, confirming her state.

"Elysia... is that really you?" Eden's voice came from behind the girl. She turned and saw a familiar face, one she had parted with not long ago. Although the clothes she wore were unfamiliar, they still had Eden's signature style.

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

She couldn't quite comprehend the current situation. She remembered choosing to return to the Honkai, to end the cycle of fate, to leave hope for the next generation... Mei had also told her the consequences of doing so: she would likely lose her independent personality.

Even so, she had made that choice.

To say she wasn't afraid of death would be a lie. She still had unspoken feelings for someone, feelings she hadn't conveyed. She hadn't seen him yet... but she also wanted him to embrace a new future.

"Feng... he really kept his promise..." Eden held Elysia close. "Welcome to a new era, welcome to a civilization reborn, Elysia..."

Elysia was still a bit disoriented until Eden brought her back to World Serpent. Seeing her former comrades, she finally realized she had truly returned to this world she cherished.

"Pop!"

Fireworks burst open at World Serpent headquarters. Pardo and Vill-V held simple party poppers, and Pardo said with a smile, "Welcome back, Sister Elysia!"

"It's been a long time, Elysia. Your farewell lasted quite a while, but it's good that you're back." Original-Self Vill-V also smiled.

"Hmph... Don't look at me, I have nothing to say." Qianjie leaned against the doorframe, averting his gaze.

"But you were ready to check as soon as you heard the news," Sakura said, crossing her arms as she looked at Qianjie.

Qianjie merely snorted at her words, offering no rebuttal.

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

"I told you, the newly appearing Herrscher signal is the same one we observed belonging to you before. He never goes back on his word..." Mobius appeared completely unsurprised by her arrival. "Whatever... it's good that you're back... Klein, come with me to the Imaginary Tree."

Mobius left in a hurry, as if staying even a second longer would be a waste of her time. Elysia watched her and Klein's retreating figures and suddenly remembered some past events. She smiled at Eden and said, "Mobius... she's still so tsundere."

"Perhaps. Or maybe she's afraid that if she stayed any longer, she wouldn't be able to help but show other expressions... She's always been a stubborn person." Eden's expression suddenly became a little strange, but Elysia didn't notice it at that moment.

On the way back, Eden recounted the story that followed. The remaining Flame-Chasers fought against Finality together, successfully delaying its reset of civilization. And now, it was a world 50,000 years later.

"It really is our Elysia..." The now grown-up Griseo looked at Elysia, thought for a moment, and then, mimicking her memory of Elysia's tone, said, "Hmm... Hi~ Did you miss me?"

"Of course I missed you, my adorable little Griseo." Elysia walked over and hugged Griseo. "But now, I really seem to have become the little sister... Griseo has grown up too."

Elysia's gaze then fell upon Aponia. She smiled and opened her arms. "And you, Aponia?"

Aponia smiled and stepped forward to embrace Elysia as well. "At this moment, too many words are meaningless. What I want to say can ultimately only be expressed accurately by one sentence: Welcome back, Elysia."

Elysia scanned her surroundings and asked with some confusion, "Where are the others? Kevin, Kosma, Su, Hua... and Feng, where did they go?"

Everyone's expression became a little unnatural at that moment. They exchanged glances, and finally, Eden stepped forward to explain. "Kevin... a thousand years ago, he insisted on executing the Stigmata Project. Su, to stop him, sealed him in the Sea of Quanta, with Kosma as his guard. As for Su, he has always felt guilty for betraying Kevin, so he sealed himself in the Sumeru mustard seed to continue the Sandstorm Project. Hua, due to various reasons, used Feather Dust too many times. She doesn't retain many memories of the past now, and her current identity makes it inconvenient for her to come. You can look for her later; I'm sure she'll be very happy to see you."

Elysia listened to Eden's words but never heard the news she cared about most. She felt a vague sense of unease, but if everyone else was here, that person must be here too, right? After 50,000 years, was he still unwilling to see her?

But at least, she wanted to know his current situation.

Elysia hesitated for a moment before asking, "Then where is Feng now? If Kevin was going to execute the Stigmata Project, it would have been easy for Feng to stop him, right? What happened then?"

The atmosphere suddenly froze.

Eden was silent for a moment, then sighed and said, "Feng... he has... disappeared along with that era of the past."

"Huh?!"

"Finality was too powerful. Without him, we would have paid a considerable price," Vill-V said. "But thankfully we had him. However... in the end, he did something that only he could do."

This sounded so familiar.

Elysia vaguely guessed what had happened, but her heart refused to believe it. She just looked at Vill-V and pressed, "What did he... do? Was he successful?"

"He succeeded." Vill-V looked at Elysia with a hint of sadness. "What he wanted to do, the result he wanted to see, is already standing before us."

Elysia froze, then looked around. "Where is he?"

How could this be? He hated her until the very end, didn't he? It was impossible...

"No need to look, Ely. What he wanted to do was to give you a second life in this new era," Eden said, walking behind Elysia and gently hugging her. "We were all wrong. We thought he hated you, but he never did... In the end, he gambled everything, just so you could see this era. You succeeded... and you succeeded, Ely."

"Decades ago, the first Herrscher, the Herrscher of Reason, her birth was proof of your success, Elysia. She was the first Herrscher to fight for humanity with her own will," Vill-V said.

"Even though she perished in the end, her Herrscher core was accepted by her successor, the Second Herrscher of Reason, who has also been fighting for humanity," Sakura said.

On the top right corner of the page, there are functions such as "Switch Simplified/Traditional Chinese," "Adjust Font Size," and "Reading Background Color."

Elysia, however, showed no joy. She should have been happy. Happy that this era finally had a Herrscher who fought for humanity like her, happy that she had achieved it. But...

Sorrow gradually spread through her heart.

"When he left, were there any witnesses to what he was doing?" Elysia asked.

"Kevin was the one who walked the final path with him," Eden replied.

"I want to see him," Elysia said.

Eden paused for a moment.

"I want to go see Kevin," Elysia repeated.

Part 2

"I will lay down everything for you, just to give you a second life, Elysia..."

"Feng, the stasis system is ready. It's expected to activate in 12 hours. Thanks to you, Finality will be immobilized for 72 hours, giving us enough time to prepare and analyze," Kevin said, standing beside the white-haired youth. "We will definitely defeat the Honkai, we definitely will."

The youth stood on the ruins of civilization, gazing at the bright moon hanging in the night sky. He said, "Mei... you all didn't leave any regrets in the end, did you?"

Kevin was silent for a moment, then said, "The only regret, perhaps, is that the time left for us was too short."

Both fell silent for a long time.

Kevin tried to speak several times, but swallowed his words before they could be uttered.

"I'm leaving," the youth said.

"Why? If she were still here, she wouldn't want you to do this," Kevin said. "And we can definitely find a way for your body..."

"Kevin," the youth gently interrupted him. "I know consciousness can be transferred. Even if my body's lifespan is nearing its end, Mobius does have a way... but I don't have the courage to face the future."

Kevin looked at the youth.

"Lilith and the others are gone, Elysia is gone too... Everything I once wanted to protect, I couldn't. Perhaps the future holds new possibilities, but I'm truly... tired." The youth's eyes reflected the starlight filling the sky. "I'm sorry, but in the end, I'm leaving everything to you all again. This should be the last time I act selfishly, please forgive me, Kevin. I can't face the future with you."

"So you... discussed your thoughts with Vill-V and Mobius during that past time, and then said goodbye to everyone, is that it?"

"In the end, it's still me being selfish," the youth said with a wry smile, shaking his head. "Kevin, do you know? I originally had nothing in this world. It was Elysia who showed me the world. I still owe her a life, and now, I finally have a chance to repay her."

Kevin remained silent.

"She was so flawless, so passionate about this world, about everyone. She lived every day earnestly and was always full of anticipation for tomorrow. Her life shouldn't have ended like this," the youth continued. "As for me, after Lilith and the others died, I no longer had much attachment to this world. Truthfully, I never had much passion for this world... She deserves to live on more than I do, truly. Besides, even if everything restarts in the next civilization, Kevin, you will only encounter another individual with the same model as Mei. The Mei in your memories will forever remain your memories. It's the same for me. I'm sorry, Kevin... I'm really tired and want to rest. I'm sorry for leaving all the burdens to you to carry in the end, especially when you've also lost the one you loved the most... I'm sorry."

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

"But from now on, you might have to bear everything alone for tens of thousands of years..." the youth said.

Both fell into silence again.

After a long while, the youth spoke again, "If, in the future, you see her, if possible, I'd like to ask you to let her visit the Previous Era's Elysian Realm. Let her know... I succeeded."

"But the you in the Previous Era's Elysian Realm is ultimately not you."

"Perhaps. You can decide when the time comes," the youth said.

Kevin was silent for a long time, then finally nodded. "...I understand."

Another silence. The youth looked at Kevin and said, feigning casualness, "There's still some time before Finality awakens, and the thing I need to do can only be done at the moment of Finality's awakening. Before that, let's have one last meal of noodles. I saved a little, I think it should be enough for both of us."

"Hmph... I'm quite picky."

"That statement coming from you is completely unbelievable."

The two returned to the base. One seemed relieved, while the other remained expressionless.

11 hours later, in front of the Thousand Worlds.

"You guys..." the youth looked at all the other Schicksal who had arrived with surprise.

"We can't stop you, just as we couldn't stop Elysia from leaving back then. But at least, let us say a proper goodbye to you at the end," Eden said.

"Elysia always regretted that everyone didn't take a group photo when the Fourteen Schicksal were formed. But this time, if you're really going to bring her back, then at least leave a group photo. As... your final gift to her," Vill-V said.

The youth hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Okay."

After the photo, the youth and Kevin passed through the Thousand Worlds together to the moon.

As they parted, the youth suddenly took out a voice recorder and handed it to Kevin. "I didn't plan to do this, but in the end, I left some words for Elysia inside. When you see her, please give this to her."

Kevin took the voice recorder and nodded. "I'll keep it safe."

The youth nodded and turned towards his end.

Kevin watched his disappearing figure. Before returning to Earth, he made a promise to the youth who had already vanished without a trace, "No matter the cost, humanity will definitely defeat the Honkai."