Hello, Kiana.

Congratulations on experiencing your second death. Your foolishness in breaking the rules and your actions before death successfully pleased the god. As a reward, before the god grows bored, each of your deaths will restart the world line, reviving you at a random point during a Honkai event.

Ah, when exactly will the god grow bored? Does the god favor fearless heroes or cowardly fools who cling to life? Does the god admire wise men who see the whole picture or madmen who break free from ordinary logic? Go on, guess. Go on, guess.

As a friendly reminder, keep in mind the fear that your next death may be your true death, and temper yourself as you move forward.

I will witness every one of your deaths.

Please take care of me. My name is Atropos.

Finally, let me tell you the conditions for clearing the game.

Clear condition: Personally defeat the Honkai that has advanced civilization by one level.

Within the boundless darkness, waves of thought were forcibly awakened by streams of chaotic information. At the same time as the soul known as Su Qing'an revived in this place without any concept of time, he also came to understand the power of the so-called god.

It had instantly carried him across the world's barriers and sent him to another world.

It had given him the soul fragments of this world's Su Qing'an after his future death.

It had controlled the concentration of Honkai Energy out of thin air, turning him into a Zombie.

And most unreasonable of all, it had resurrected him and restarted the world line.

Power that ignored logic. Motives that could not be understood.

"Atropos? What an unpleasantly pretentious name."

Atropos was the eldest of the three goddesses of fate in Greek mythology. She governed death, cutting the threads of life, and was responsible for examining the passage of time.

Paired with the words, "I will witness every one of your deaths," it could not have been more fitting. At the same time, just as Su Qing'an had said, it was a name filled with malicious amusement.

"So you're merely a witness? Then can I simply understand you as a camera livestreaming everything to the god?"

"Besides that, I will selectively inform you about the rules of the game and relevant information."

I see. So that meant the god disliked games without rules?

For a so-called god, if it did not add rules to the game it had created, then the absolute gap in power, combined with the information gap, would make the game nothing more than a boring and meaningless act of torment.

That was why explaining the rules was a necessary process for maintaining the appearance of fairness and a basic level of entertainment.

After all, the phrase "selectively inform you" already represented a certain malice.

And the existence of that malice clearly had nothing to do with fairness.

But trying to talk about fairness and human rights with such an existence was absurdly naive to begin with.

So he responded with silence.

Currently available information

1. The time and location of random resurrection are not completely random.

2. Player information

Player information? The moment the question arose in his mind, the information regarding it surfaced automatically.

Name: Su Qing'an

Sex: Male

Strength: 8

Agility: 8

Constitution: 9

Soul Essence: 39

Honkai Energy Resistance: 3 (Extremely low)

Evaluation: An ordinary, normal human male with no basic combat ability. His Honkai Energy Resistance is within the normal average range for human males. Apart from his Soul Essence, he has nothing special about him.

Message: Your soul possesses a special quality. After experiencing two deaths, it has automatically sublimated to four times that of an ordinary person. Make use of this only bargaining chip to survive in the Honkai apocalypse.

"Atropos, you should understand that I'm not actually very afraid of death. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been foolish enough to choose to violate a rule without hesitation after realizing that it had been set by a god."

"But this time, I won't die meaninglessly by turning into a Zombie again. Whether or not that Void Sword Qi manual contains that god's malicious amusement, I'm going to cultivate it."

"You're a witness, aren't you? Then witness this. Just like that god, I hate boring and monotonous deaths, even if I hate them myself. If I return here next time, it will definitely be after fighting until the final moment of my life."

In the endless darkness, this youth, who had experienced two deaths in which he was utterly powerless, made a solemn and resolute vow.

"...Then one day, I will await your return. In the name of Atropos, I will witness the beginning and end of the alternation between your life and death."

Atropos's words still echoed through his soul when the darkness before him abruptly dispersed. The world turned upside down, and time and space rewound.

November 9, 2013, 9:34 a.m.

Changkong City, inside a coffee shop.

The coffee shop, empty of customers, seemed somewhat quiet. The boy sitting at the cash register propped up his head and watched the time on his phone, a trace of relief on his handsome face.

At this time, he should still be able to meet Kiana, right?

He just didn't know whether she would still come here to work.

"Ding-a-ling~" The wind chime hanging from the eaves since summer had yet to be taken down, and it now rang with a crisp, pleasant sound.

A visitor dragged a large suitcase into the quiet coffee shop. She was a foreign girl with a rare hair color.

She wore an oversized gray hoodie. With each breath, the Hoom pattern on its chest rose and fell, accentuating the girl's excellent figure. She wore hot pants on her lower half, most of them covered by the hoodie.

Black thermal stockings outlined the beautiful lines of her legs, making them look exceptionally slender. On her feet were practical, durable black sneakers. Even such a simple and casual outfit was enough to make her stunning.

The girl's azure eyes were fixed on the menu written on the small blackboard. Her expression was cold and composed, as though she had just completed a long journey and this place was merely an inn where she could rest for the time being.

But when she noticed the boy sitting ahead, her calm heart inexplicably stirred. It felt like encountering someone or something she had seen before, or perhaps a familiar yet nameless scent from her memories. But when she thought about it carefully, it vanished without a trace.

"Give me a latte. Iced, with extra sugar."

"You're hired."

The two spoke at the same time, and the atmosphere fell into subtle awkwardness.

"Room and board included, 3,500 yen an hour." Su Qing'an continued shamelessly. His seemingly expressionless face had turned slightly warm.

"3,500 yen?!" The girl's cold expression instantly cracked.

"Yes."

"Per hour?!"

"Yes."

"And room and board are included?!"

"Yes."

"...What exactly are you hiring for?"

"...A server and cashier. This shop usually has very few customers, and most of the people who come are regulars. One person is enough to handle it." Remaining calm, the boy made himself maintain the emotions of a normal stranger.

"Are there any fixed working hours?"

"Come whenever you want. You only need to come at least five times a month. Your room is on the first floor of the coffee shop. It's sixty square meters. I'll clean it later. It'll be more than enough for you."

"Are working conditions in this country really this good?" The girl was beginning to feel shocked.

"Yes, more or less." Just a tiny bit more, Su Qing'an answered against his conscience.

"Cough, cough. This shop is under my protection now, missy." The girl patted Su Qing'an on the shoulder familiarly and said with a broad grin, "My name is Kiana Kaslana. I'm an exchange student from Germany, and I'll be attending Chiyou Academy as a first-year high school student this year. Please take care of me."

"I'm the owner of this shop, Su Qing'an, and I'm from Shenzhou." Finally, the corners of his lips curved upward. It was a warm, sincere, and cheerful smile that made people feel at ease. "Hello, Kiana."

November 9, 2013, 9:38 a.m. Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, red maple leaves danced in the air beneath a vast sky and pale clouds. Cats by the roadside crossed paths with passing pedestrians, while the swirling breeze lingered around the wind chime. Here, the boy and girl met, beautiful as a scene from a painting.