If-Line Ending 4: Fleeting Life, Dreamlike

Turning her head abruptly, she realized all she had left were memories of him. She could embrace the world once more, but would never be able to return to the past and embrace that youth.

Elysia looked at Kevin, who seemed even colder and more solitary than he had fifty thousand years ago. The thousand years of imprisonment in the Sea of Quantum seemed to have left no mark on him.

Kevin crossed his arms and looked at Elysia, saying, "Welcome back, Elysia."

Elysia simply stared at him, and after a long pause, she spoke, "I heard from Eden that you and Feng walked the final path together… Kevin, you were his best friend. Tell me, did he… say anything at the very end?"

Kevin looked at Elysia, fell silent for a moment, and then said, "No."

"Kevin, you're lying. You were never good at lying. I heard from them… Before he left, he did one last experiment with Mobius, participated in Vill-V's magic one last time, counted the stars with Griseo, listened to Kosma tell stories of heroes he admired, had a serious fight with Qianjie, ate his last bowl of noodles with you, listened to Eden's performance for the last time, accepted Aponia's prayer for himself, paid respects at Ling's grave with Sakura, took one last lazy nap with Phyllis, entrusted his hopes for the future to Su, and encouraged Hua to forge her own path…" Elysia said softly, "If he truly gave up everything just so I could see this era, then… he must have left something for me."

Kevin remained silent.

"Thinking about it carefully, I was the one who knew him first… But why, in the end, was I the only one who had nothing?" Elysia's gaze drifted past Kevin, as if looking at a figure already left behind in the past.

Kevin finally spoke, "Elysia, if you want to ask why he did this, then I can tell you. He said you are a girl who fears loneliness. You abandoned the world and friends you cherished, returning to Honkai alone. The world you opened, the world you longed for, you can never see. It was too cruel for you. Your end should not be like this; your future should continue to extend… The end of one tragedy is the beginning of another hope. He does not fear loneliness; he is accustomed to it. He does not love the world either, so he wanted to put his life into the gun's chamber, to exchange it for your second life. His story began with you, and it should also conclude for you. He was tired too, and needed to rest…"

Elysia was taken aback.

"Despair and darkness will be carried to the other shore by him. Light and hope will extend to the future because of you," Kevin lowered his gaze. "He did leave something for you, but I don't think you have the capacity to receive it right now."

"Kevin!" Elysia stared into Kevin's eyes. "That was from him to me!"

"But he entrusted it to me," Kevin said calmly. "Elysia, he placed all the decision-making power in my hands. If I deem it unsuitable to give to you, then I have the right to let it remain in the past forever."

Elysia looked at Kevin and saw his unwavering resolve. She could only ask in a low voice, "...Why?"

Kevin did not reply.

Elysia turned and left. Kevin watched her disappear from his sight, and Kosma, who had been silently standing as a background character, spoke, "...If I'm not mistaken, what Feng left for Elysia was a voice recorder, wasn't it?"

Kevin glanced at Kosma, offering no comment.

"Why didn't you give it to Elysia?"

"I don't know what Feng would say in it. But if Elysia continues to fixate on finding that past him, then no matter what Feng said inside, she might not be able to sort out her own feelings to accept… a world where she can no longer see him except through memories," Kevin said.

"She's not the type to linger on the past," Kosma said. "I believe she'll cherish everything as memories and then continue living with Feng's expectations."

Kevin looked at Kosma and said, "If it were the old Elysia, I would naturally think so. But have you considered that Elysia might have other special feelings for Feng?"

Kosma was stunned.

Kevin said no more, choosing instead to continue his deep slumber in the Sea of Quantum.

Upon returning to World Serpent, Elysia went directly to the Elysian Realm. She knew Feng had left his memory core there, but as she approached the Elysian Realm, she hesitated.

Even if it was his memory core, even after fifty thousand years…

"If you're wondering if he'll see you, then I can tell you that a long time ago, the you within the Realm has already met him," Mobius said from behind her. "If you want to say something to him, I've already told the him inside that you'll be seeing him."

Elysia fell silent, then put on the connection device and entered the Elysian Realm.

After a brief sense of dizziness, the entrance to the Elysian Realm from her memories appeared before Elysia. She walked in, and in the virtual lobby, the him from her memories was standing by the bar, wiping a valuable wine glass. Beside him was another glass, as if he had recently shared a drink with someone there.

"Feng…" she called out.

The youth turned his head, looked at her, and after a long pause, nodded and said, "Elysia."

Elysia walked over. She instinctively wanted to embrace him but stopped herself. She halted a few steps away from the youth.

"How is the outside world?" the youth asked. "Although it hasn't been long since Mobius told me the news, Eden and the others must have also briefly told you about the current world, right?"

"Why… did you do this?" Elysia asked.

The youth lowered his head and continued wiping the wine glass, saying calmly, "I just felt that compared to me, you should be the one to see this world… I'm different from you. A few days before 'The Final Banquet,' you were still preparing a birthday gift for Kevin and looking forward to the clothes Eden was making for you… You always held hope for the future. As for me, I never thought about what I needed for my future, nor did I have the courage to face a future that was unfamiliar to me, so I decided to be selfish one last time. This is all I know from being within the Realm."

Elysia lowered her gaze and then said, "What did you leave for me at the end? You gave it to Kevin, but Kevin doesn't want to give it to me."

The youth paused, then put down the wine glass he was holding and turned to face Elysia. He looked into her eyes, and after a long moment, said, "I didn't sync any related memories. At least, not 12 hours before Finality awakened, I didn't entrust anything I wanted to give you to Kevin. Perhaps it was a spur-of-the-moment decision by that me."

"Meaning, at first, you… really didn't prepare anything for me?" Elysia asked again.

The youth looked at Elysia's expression and said thoughtfully, "So… is that how it is? After all, I never thought back then that you… had those feelings for me."

"I never thought I'd have those feelings either… But by the time I understood everything, I could no longer see you," Elysia said with a touch of sadness. "I wanted to dance with you one last time, just like we did at the beginning. I wanted to watch the fireworks with you again. I haven't even received the gift you promised, the one that's better than Eden's…"

"The me in the Realm is, after all, not the real me. It's merely the residual echo of the person named Zhu Yufeng left in this world," the youth lowered his gaze. "So I cannot tell you the thoughts of that me when the impending end arrived, nor can I answer all of your current questions."

Elysia was silent.

"Elysia, I have a question," the youth said. "What does the thing 'I' left for you mean to you? In your heart now, has he become a tie that prevents you from moving towards the future? If so, then I cannot give you more answers."

"I just wanted… I just wanted… to reconcile with him, to return to yesterday. I always just… wanted that."

"But the reason yesterday is called yesterday is because it has already passed, becoming the footprints we've walked," the youth said. "Letting go of yesterday allows us to better welcome the future, doesn't it? Elysia will be sad, will be confused, but for her, these are just temporary setbacks. She will always tidy everything up, and then, with a smile, continue to welcome every approaching tomorrow, won't she?"

"Because she has never loved someone so deeply…" Elysia said softly. "That person would always indulge her, always believe in her, and give up everything for her… Perhaps earlier, before she even realized it, she had grown accustomed to his presence. Even if in the end he no longer wished to see her, at least he still existed in this world, and she could still hear his stories from others, instead of like now, where he forever remains in the past, and the stories she hears will never have a new chapter…"

"Elysia, I don't want you to be like this," the youth said. "What's in the past is in the past."

"I'm just… unwilling to accept it…" Elysia's gaze fell on the badge on the youth's chest. "This badge, I remember, I personally put it on you when you first joined my team and became an official warrior of the Fire Moth headquarters, right?"

The youth remained silent.

"But, where is this badge now in reality?" Elysia said as if to herself. "They all received your final gifts, while I am left only with memories of you… I can embrace the world once more, but I can no longer embrace you."

The young man looked at Elysia, and after a long while, he said, "Perhaps, the last gift I left you was that in a brand new era, you could still see your old friends, and you would still have a home to return to."

Elysia gave a wry smile and said, "Indeed... it's a very romantic gift... But, it sounds so romantic, why... do I want an item that belongs to you more? Even a bracelet, a necklace... to let me know that no one else was involved in our meeting and acquaintance... to let me know that I once possessed..."

As Elysia spoke, she looked at the wine glass by the young man's hand and said softly, "Not afraid of loneliness, not in love with the world... once upon a time, there was such a person, clearly such a person, who chose to watch over the dawn in darkness, who fought the entire world for me, who gave up everything for me... and in the end, he said he was tired, he wanted to leave and rest... I never told him the answer back then, never conveyed my feelings to him. Why did he do this?"

"Because... you are worth it," the young man said.

"But no one would think he did all this as a matter of course."

The young man looked at Elysia for a long time, then turned and walked towards the entrance of the Elysian Realm. Before leaving, he turned his head and said softly, "Elysia, Kevin not giving you his last gift might have his reasons. We, the Schicksal of the Elysian Realm, are not without ways to help you. However, before that, you, who are trapped in obsession with the past, need to undergo the trials of the Fourteen Schicksal like other visitors and gain our affirmation. I will also give you my acknowledgment, and then take it to see Kevin. At that time, he will surely give it to you."

Before disappearing, the young man added, "As for your birthday gift, I had actually prepared it... As for what it is, I'll tell you after you've passed all the trials."

"We will meet again, on the other side of the imaginary, in the abode of souls... Even if you have forgotten everything, even if fifty thousand years have erased our past, I will hold your hand again, and embrace you again..."

"Elysia, a new game was released today. Mei, Bronya, and I are going to queue up. Do you want to join us?" Kiana waved to the pink-haired girl. "After that, you can watch me show off my skills. I won't lose to Bronya this time!"

"Silly Kiana, only Elysia can compete with Bronya," Bronya said expressionlessly. "Up until now, silly Kiana has lost to Bronya 137 times."

"Oh my, a beautiful girl's invitation is always hard to refuse~" Elysia said with a smile. "However, I already have plans today, so I can only do it next time~"

"Wow, you have plans?" Kiana thought for a moment, then glanced at Mei beside her, and punched her fist. "Did you meet a girl as pretty as Mei? Or is Teacher Eden preparing something good for you again? I want to..."

"Kiana..." Mei placed her hand on Kiana's shoulder with a kind expression. "Elysia has her own things to do, we shouldn't interfere, understand?"

"U-Understood..."

Elysia watched the three girls playfully leave, her smile gradually fading. She let out a soft sigh and returned to her residence.

She went to her vanity and took out a voice recorder from the drawer. Kevin had finally given this to her.

"He... may not necessarily have disappeared," Vill-V's voice echoed in her mind. "It's just that if he truly took your place and did what you did before, then now... he has returned to Honkai in your stead. Even if he's still here, he might not retain his independent personality. And fifty thousand years is enough to wear away all his memories... In other words, we might see him again, but the him in our memories may never return."

Elysia pressed the play button on the voice recorder, and the voice from fifty thousand years ago came out:

"Hmm... it seems to be working normally, so... let's begin. Elysia... Honestly, if I had to say it, I still don't know how to tell you. We haven't seen each other since the Tragedy of Binding. I don't hate you, because that was indeed the choice you would make. You had the resolve to die, fighting the Herrscher of Binding with others. No one can blame you... not even me. But, I still can't forget how they looked when they passed away. No one's life should be sacrificed. Should Lilith and the others... have been sacrificed?

"I believe in Aponia's so-called destiny, but I don't accept fate. Don't misunderstand, I'm not blaming you, I just can't let go... I don't know what I'll say to you when we meet again, and I don't want to see your guilty expression because of it... Perhaps, after the Herrscher of the Sixth incident, we truly went our separate ways... But I really don't regret meeting you. You showed me this world. I always remember the light that shone into the ruins, and the hand that reached out to me at that time. I am fortunate that when I was lost and confused, you appeared by my side.

"There's one thing I've never told anyone. I... am not from this world. I'm just an outsider. I had no attachments... I'm sorry, in the end, I still didn't fall in love with this world like you did. The only one I fell in love with was you. Long before we met, I already knew all the stories, knew your unwavering resolve across countless worlds. You love everyone, you love everything in this world. But in the end, when everything is reborn, when flowers and birds and love bloom on the withered land, when the era of your dreams arrives, you, who laid the foundation for it, can no longer see it... It shouldn't be like this, it shouldn't be like this...

"I tried my best, and for that, I didn't hesitate to fall into eternal damnation, just so you could live well in the end. But I still failed, and you still made that choice... However, I also proved that fate is not invincible. I protected all the Schicksal. When you return to this world again, there will still be people who love you who will say to you: 'Welcome back, Elysia.'

"Now, there is only one last thing I need to do. I need to bring you back, and for that, I will sacrifice everything. I always remember our promise back then. I said I would become a hero like Kevin, but... I couldn't even protect you... I don't know what I'll face next, but death is almost inevitable. To say I'm not afraid is a lie. The reason death is feared is because no one has ever returned from the other side. I am not afraid either, because I am about to do what all the people who were moved by you in the world where I came from wanted to do.

I finally remembered that I am also just one of the countless people who were moved by you back then... Perhaps it's all just my self-indulgence, but... as long as you can come back, it's all worth it. Oh, right. For your last birthday, I had actually prepared a gift, but I never had the courage to give it to you. I put it in a time capsule along with Pardo's treasure. If you don't mind, you can open it and take a look, provided, of course, that it wasn't reset along with the end. Also, Vill-V and I designed a new magic trick together, and she will show it to you alone then. Oh, right, Eden... although it might sound presumptuous, I also participated in the creation of the song she gave you. Thinking about it makes me a little embarrassed...

"Ah, I've unintentionally said so much nonsense... Sorry... So, at the very end, as a warrior who was granted the name of Schicksal by you, I still want to say this: 'Welcome back, Elysia.'"

Elysia put down the voice recorder and said softly, "We will meet again, we definitely will. Then, it will be my turn to say those words... It's okay if you forget me. We can get to know each other again, in a new world, once more..."

"Now, we have enough time to witness the future of humanity, and our future, together."

He was bound here.

As a mortal, he dared to transcend destiny. He trampled on the majesty of the gods and struck down their thrones. For this, he paid his price.

This was a space without time. There was no one and no sound except for him. Even he himself was almost forgetting his own existence. How much time had passed, he didn't know, because time could not be counted or was meaningless here. But he didn't care, because he had accomplished what he set out to do.

She finally got to see the new world, to witness the infinitely extending future of humanity.

That was enough.

It was just that he had chosen to sink, yet in the depths of his being, it seemed as if someone was reminding him not to forget himself.

Therefore, he woke up countless times and fell asleep countless times.

Suddenly, something pierced this space and directly entered his mind.

"This is Kiana, the Herrscher of Flamescion of the new era. I'll tell you quietly, she simultaneously wields the powers of the Herrscher of Void and the Herrscher of Flames. She's the strongest Herrscher of this era, and also the first Herrscher of this era to sublimate from human will. Isn't she cute?"

...Did the weed bug turn into a firefly?

"This is Mei, the Herrscher of Thunder of the new era. She's really so gentle. 'I will fall into darkness to exchange for your return to the light.' How romantic, just like you~"

...I'm not like her.

"This is Bronya, the third Herrscher of Reason, born from the will of three hundred thousand people. The first Herrscher of Reason, Welt Joyce, was the first Herrscher born in this era, and also the first Herrscher to fight and strive for humanity until the end. I still envy the Herrscher of Reason's ability to create anything they can think of."

...Besides repeatedly failing, the Herrscher of Reason is indeed omnipotent.

"And these..."

"Everything you wanted me to see, I've seen it all~"

...That's nice.

"Now, I have only one last wish. I want to, together with you, witness the future of this era."

"I want to tell you the answer to that question you never answered back then."

"I love you."

"???"

"I truly love you. I want to embrace you one more time, dance with you again, and do so many, many things together."

"...Elysia?"

"You once abandoned the world for me, so I am willing to abandon the world for you once more. Even if there's only a one in a hundred million chance, I won't give up, because I love you."

"...Huh?"

"Elysia, in countless worlds, she loved everyone and never changed her resolve. However, the only Elysia who fell in love with you is me."

"..."

Memories of the past began to flash through his mind. His once chaotic vision gradually became hazy. He saw a pink figure constantly running towards him.

She kept running, but the distance between them never changed.

He struggled and reached out his hand.

At that moment, the distance that should have been infinitely far was suddenly infinitely shortened. His outstretched hand clasped the other's fingers, and then he was pulled into her embrace.

His voice hoarse, he called out her name, "...Elysia."

"Welcome back, Feng."

"...Yeah, I... I'm back."