Death Under the Cherry Blossoms

March 11, 2014, 11:23 AM.

Qingyue Temple, the most ancient temple in this land. Despite numerous renovations, one can still feel the weight of history when admiring it, its cultural heritage a treasure of humanity.

The time-worn bluestone slabs reflected dazzling arcs of light under the sun, only to be immediately trodden underfoot by passersby. The temple, built along the mountain, with its streams of tourists, and cherry blossoms occasionally falling into the pond, all painted a scene of peace and tranquility on this clear, cloudless day.

Spanning fourteen hectares, Qingyue Temple could be considered a rare large-scale attraction in this country. At this moment, on a secluded stone bridge, Kiana was ungracefully sprawled over the railing, her fingertips brushing against a pale pink cherry blossom, like a childish child playing with a toy.

Her pure, sapphire-blue eyes gazed at the clusters of cherry blossoms on the branches, sleeping embraced, occasionally falling. She seemed somewhat lost in thought.

In her short sixteen years of life, she could recall few days spent out for leisure with others.

She had no memories before the age of eight. Her father said her mother had passed away. The four years spent with her father were the happiest days of her life.

Although Siegfried Kaslana was a man who enjoyed drinking and lived a messy life.

Although his frequent, battle-scarred returns from fighting Honkai Beasts were worrying, Kiana still felt he was the best father in the world.

Even though this man had left her without a word four years ago, Kiana still believed so.

That stinky old man is probably still fighting the Honkai somewhere in the world.

Hmph, abandoning his adorable daughter so casually.

If I find him later, I'm definitely going to punch him in the face.

Kiana gritted her teeth, secretly making a vow.

Her fingertips, inadvertently applying pressure, dug into the stone railing. Su Qing'an, standing nearby, broke out in a cold sweat. He seemed to have patted this white-haired girl's head before.

"Kiana, what are you thinking about? If you crush this railing, we can run away immediately."

"Sorry! (ﾉ○Д○)ﾉ I didn't mean to! No, no, it wasn't me."

Hastily retracting her strength, the girl quickly covered her hands behind her back, like a weasel that had stolen a chicken and, upon seeing the coop owner return, earnestly covered the bloodstains around its mouth with its paws. However, the scattered chicken feathers behind it silently betrayed it.

Su Qing'an glanced at Kiana's "evidence" and said speechlessly, "Kiana, you idiot. This bridge probably hasn't been renovated in recent years. I don't know if crushing it completely would count as destroying cultural relics, but at the very least, you'd have to pay for your ice cream for the rest of your life."

"...Do I look this frail and cute (๑•.•๑)? If people see this, they'll blame the Shopkeeper. So, to prevent the Shopkeeper from having to spend money on ice cream and my salary, we should just run away."

Logical and convincing.

Saying that, Kiana grabbed Su Qing'an's hand and ran forward.

Before he could even speak, he felt himself being pulled by an irresistible force. His intuition told him that if he didn't follow, the resulting recoil might dislocate his fragile arm. Thus, Su Qing'an ran, following his instincts.

"Ki-a-na! Where-do-you-think-you're-run-ning-to!" After running for a while, Su Qing'an's out-of-shape body made his breathing ragged.

"I don't know, wherever we end up, I guess! Hahahaha."

Kiana inexplicably laughed into the wind, the corners of her lips curving into a beautiful arc. Her eyes sparkled at that moment, and her steady, effortless breathing made one wonder how such vitality could be contained within her slender, petite body.

Finally, in an area where the crowds were gradually increasing, Kiana slowly reduced her pace and stopped.

Gasping for air, the boy, bent over with his hands on his knees, began to plan his future exercise regimen. In a world shrouded by the Honkai, this body, corroded by years of idleness, was undoubtedly inadequate.

Whether it was running away or cultivating Void Sword Qi later, physical strength was an essential factor.

But for now, casting aside the future, which was either dark or bright.

The fresh air that entered his nostrils, the melodious wind swirling around him, his reflection on the bluestone path, the gentle sound of water being scooped from the stream, and the girl's radiant smile amidst the falling cherry blossoms and the perfect sunshine, all brought him peace and joy.

"Do you feel much better now, Shopkeeper? When I'm in a bad mood, I like to exercise. The relaxation after physical fatigue stops me from overthinking."

"The Shopkeeper seems to have a lot on his mind today. I know some things are hard to talk about, but we're friends. If you have any trouble, I'll help you."

When she said the word "friends," the usually carefree Kiana was uncharacteristically shy for a moment, but she quickly regained her composure and added:

"Even if a hundred thugs came to smash our shop, I could beat them all away."

Her expression as she said this was both earnest and a little smug.

This scene reflected in Su Qing'an's eyes. For a moment, he felt as if his heart had been struck by a hammer.

An unfamiliar warmth spread through his chest. An emotion more irrepressible than despair, helplessness, loneliness, sadness, or anger stirred his tear ducts. At that instant, he felt an urge to cry.

No, Su Qing'an, you can't be this fragile just because you came to a strange world and died once.

To avoid shamefully revealing his unusual emotions, he desperately suppressed them deep down.

As expected of the harem king, Kiana. I almost got seduced.

He quipped internally, easing his emotions.

"Thank you, you idiot Kiana."

"(▼皿▼＃) Why add 'idiot'?! Shopkeeper, are you in elementary school? So awkward!"

"Let's go see that Moonlit Waterfall. It's the most famous attraction in Qingyue Temple." Abruptly changing the subject, Su Qing'an pulled Kiana towards the temple.

"Hmph."

What was called a waterfall was actually just mountain spring water flowing down three stone channels, forming small streams. Legend had it that these three streams represented health, marriage, and academics, respectively. Drinking the spring water and making a sincere wish could make it come true.

The two of them took long-handled ladles from the water vat.

Cannot find the book title, you can try searching for the author, maybe it has been renamed!

"Shopkeeper, the internet says you can only drink from one stream, otherwise it won't work. Which one do you want to choose?" Kiana, who was earnestly explaining useless knowledge, had clearly calmed down.

"Health." Although superstition isn't advisable, in a new world, Su Qing'an decided to embrace the mystical and made a simple, earnest choice.

"Huh, surprisingly straightforward," Kiana quipped while using a wooden ladle to scoop water from the stream representing health.

"After all, health is more practical than anything else. Besides, you chose the same one."

Amidst the bustling crowd, the sound of the stream flowing into the pond was exceptionally clear. The young man and girl spoke of the most ordinary things. Though the cherry blossoms in March weren't as abundant as in April, they were still beautiful enough. Green mountains surrounded the temple, as if witnessing these ordinary, heartwarming years.

The wooden ladle tapped against the bluestone railing with a crisp sound, causing the water's surface to ripple.

The young man and girl raised their heads simultaneously to drink the spring water.

It was as if time froze, or perhaps it happened in the span of a thousandth of a second, but Su Qing'an's world changed.

Before the pain that shattered his reason could reach his nerves, his central nervous system was torn apart by an incomprehensible wavelength. His unconscious body began to disintegrate. The remnants of his sight and reason allowed him to understand.

This was a scene he had already experienced.

Turning into a Mortal amidst dense Honkai Energy.

"As expected," the organs in his throat were still intact, but the voice that emerged was hoarse and unpleasant. The young man turned his head to face Kiana, who couldn't comprehend the current situation, and said, "Ki...ana, run... And... I'm sorry..."

Run, this place will be very dangerous next.

I'm sorry for dragging you here with me, even though I knew something incomprehensible might happen.

I'm sorry for using your kindness and gentleness to indulge my willfulness.

I lied to you, I'm sorry.

You don't have many friends, do you? That makes it even more of an apology.

I'm sorry for making you watch your very, very few friends die before your eyes.

The once peaceful scene was brutally shattered by an unreasonable, powerful force. A scene of demonic revelry covered everything.

Except for a few females with Honkai Energy resistance, other humans were quickly transformed into Mortals by the violent Honkai Energy.

Kiana stood there, stunned, watching Su Qing'an, who was rapidly turning into a Mortal, tell her to run and that he was sorry.

"Su Qing'an?" Kiana hugged the young man, whose body was already largely destroyed, "You'll be okay, right?"

Speaking words she didn't believe herself, the girl, in her panic, began to ramble incoherently, "I'll help you farm all the equipment in Houkai Gakuen! I won't break plates clumsily at work anymore! I swear I'll never curse you for not getting good drops again, so, so... you're not joking, right?"

Having fought the Honkai alongside her father since childhood, she knew all too well. She knew that ordinary people beginning to transform into Mortals were like souls falling into hell.

What a fool, Kiana.

Compared to the other humans who instantly became Mortals, Su Qing'an's death was significantly slower. After more than ten seconds, he could still barely control his body. This was probably a god's punishment, allowing him to witness his own descent into death more fully and profoundly.

But perhaps this was for the best. At least he could do what he wanted to do.

He estimated he had about twenty seconds left before he completely lost control of himself.

He shoved Kiana away forcefully. While his body was already heavily damaged, his strength also became unrestrained and powerful as his self-imposed limits broke down. This was good, otherwise, he wouldn't even be able to leave Kiana's embrace.

Su Qing'an tore off his left arm with his right hand, then unhesitatingly smashed his remaining right arm against a bluestone pillar. Finally, he used the hardness of the railing to shatter his own teeth.

In less than ten seconds, the unrestrained power and his now fragile body allowed him to perfectly remove all his weapons.

In the past, even without feeling pain, he wouldn't have understood how he could do something so decisive and insane.

But, who made Kiana such a fool?

This was Su Qing'an's last act of tenderness towards Kiana before his death.

Ah, why, why, why.

Kiana was sobbing uncontrollably, tears blurring her vision.

Even when her father abandoned her, she had never cried like this.

She knew why.

Because she believed her father was still alive somewhere in the world, so she could persevere, she could follow clues step by step to find him, she believed she could one day punch him in the face and then show him how much she had grown. She could look forward to the future.

But now she understood.

She would never see Su Qing'an again.

Distraught, she crouched down and hugged the mangled young man. She looked at his face, its skin ravaged by Honkai Energy, his mouth devoid of teeth, and the blood flowing uncontrollably, making him look somewhat terrifying. His eyes gradually faded, and just before they went out, Kiana heard a voice as faint as a mosquito's hum.

He was speaking, "Stupid Kiana, you... live well." It was like a final echo. After this, his face contorted into a ghastly, ferocious expression, and a sound, not human, but a meaningless roar, came from his throat.

Su Qing'an was dead.

Kiana was speechless.

"Honkai, Honkai." An unprecedented surge of brutality, anger, and sorrow threatened to tear her soul apart. A golden hue began to spread like ink in Kiana's azure eye.