Clear Mirror Sword Heart... Completely Intact.

Fu Hua reached out and pinched the boy's cheek, and whispered:

"Lies are disliked."

Hearing the words that shattered like rain on Mind Lake and intertwined with this symphony, Su Qing'an lowered her eyes and her lips moved as she spoke:

"Sorry."

The girl's expression darkened. She pulled him into her arms and whispered in his ear:

"But I can't hate you, and I can't blame you."

"Because it can't possibly be Master Su's fault."

"You've already tried so hard and worked so hard, you've never done anything wrong, yet... you still have to go through this."

Su Qing'an felt the softness of her face against his collarbone, the cool air that filled his nostrils, the breath that escaped between her lips, the warmth he received from being embraced in her thin arms, the tenderness in her eyes, and the gentleness in her voice, and remained silent.

These intimate moments, which usually feel cloying, seem like they're separated by an impenetrable icy lake, offering no solace whatsoever.

Even though she couldn't find any soothing emotional support, Su Qing'an still wanted to hug the other person back, comfort her, and tell her that she was fine.

In the instant the palm is extended, the feeling of the sword piercing Seele's heart, the image of her embracing herself and murmuring softly, and the despair of the inverted consciousness of the crimson world all slowly unfold, perfectly replicating and reproducing the senses, like an inescapable nightmare.

The boy trembled uncontrollably. His superhuman abilities and the State of Still Water derived from his sword heart were now reduced to nothing by his collapsing emotions and aftereffects.

Su Qing'an silently stared at his trembling fingers, unable to use them to hug the other person back.

The negative emotions that had been barely suppressed before surged back up, permeating my soul.

He was silent for a moment, then said:

"I killed her."

Su Qing'an seemed dazed. He paused for a moment, then muttered to himself in confusion:

Why would I kill her?

The most obvious reason is not hard to find: the overdrawn [Stigmata] began to break down as the body decayed, allowing the power to take advantage of the situation. It may also be related to the perfect Stigmata that exists in his current body.

But is it possible that he decided to kill the other person based on his own will, and then attributed it to the other person's wishes—a despicable and cunning act?

Did I foresee that the so-called perfect Stigmata would be obtained in this form, and therefore I couldn't wait to treat it as a tool?

Su Qing'an understood that such ugliness could not have been born from her own thoughts, but in her chaotic mind, non-existent delusions and illogical speculations kept swirling around, destroying her basic judgment and rationality, and causing her emotions to suffer pain and sorrow for the illusory possibilities.

The ensuing guilt and remorse spiraled out of control, making Xinbing grow ever darker and darker, plunging him into a deathly silence.

Not long after the real Seele Fulei died, the boy's mental state had already begun to deteriorate. After he killed another Seele Fulei with his own hands, this subtle crack began to spread wildly in all directions with the force of reality.

His unwavering will prevented him from collapsing after the first blow, but the daily routine of interacting normally with the Herrscher of Death gradually tormented his personality to the same end.

Now, the Herrscher of Death's decision is like melting all the floating ice in the shadows at once, causing the rising Seawater to capsize the wooden boat, making it sink into the ocean and suffocate.

Seele Fulei hoped to find relief for Su Qing'an in this way, yet she deeply understood that even with his gentle nature, he would still feel sad. Therefore... she made the planned arrangements that day.

Fu Hua felt the trembling of the person in her arms and didn't know what to do.

From the moment the boy awoke, the joy that should have been there was completely washed away by the facts that Kenshin perceived.

His swordsmanship is shattering.

Su Qing'an's initial instructions and teachings resonated in my heart, stirring up waves of emotion.

He once said that after mastering the Void Sword Qi, one needs to cultivate one's mind, and this applies to the sword mind at any stage.

Because once the sword heart is shattered, all the efforts accumulated over the years will be in vain and completely dissipated.

From this point on, the external channels established with Qi will cease to circulate, and all conveniences and spiritual awareness will vanish, potentially even causing some degree of backlash on the body.

Fu Hua was determined not to let the other party reach such a tragic end.

Su Qing'an had always been strong and composed. Apart from the vulnerability he showed when they first met, she had never sensed his emotional breakdown to this extent in the days that followed.

How can we stop him from being sad and breaking down?

Unable to find an answer, the girl tightened her arms around him slightly, pressing her skin close to his, hoping for some warmth and comfort, and whispered:

"No, it's not your fault."

"Seele left a letter before she left, saying that she had chosen this path herself."

She said she did something very wrong to you, and she's sorry.

"So it's not Master Su's fault."

Su Qing'an came to his senses. He didn't know how to face this complicated and tangled situation, nor did he understand how to deal with his gradually declining will and self.

The shattering of the sword's heart is terrifying.

In that flower shop, he first understood that the special nature of the Void Sword Qi was not limited to giving [Stigmata], nor was it about giving other basic combat power, but rather about bestowing upon him the gentleness and cruelty of retaining memories after the reboot without being affected by the self-correction of the world line.

If the sword's heart truly shatters, past memories will gradually fade and eventually disappear.

The backlash of the divine version of the Void Sword Qi is completely different from that of the normal Void Sword Qi, so it is not surprising that it might even erase the memories experienced in this timeline.

Murphy's Law always seems to apply more in bad times, but even though we understand that this is an outcome that should not be accepted and cannot be accepted under any circumstances, human tolerance still has its limits.

After enduring countless hardships, his core will seamlessly absorbed half of the Herrscher of Death's power into his soul, enduring a full half-month of torment and suffering.

Therefore, upon waking up now, facing the approaching reality and the outburst of emotions, Su Qing'an could no longer be as resilient as before.

Even the option to Soul Scale all memories was chosen to be erased because of consideration for the other party's wishes.

Just as Kevin said, this might be his limit.

After that, Su Qing'an was unable to step onto the battlefield, unable to wield a sword, and unable to continue the fight.

Even if one gains power and immunity to Honkai Energy, the disintegration of the [Stigmata] and the Clear Mirror Sword Heart means losing the qualification to fight against Herrscher.

This is what defeat is all about.

The gods' goal of creating beings above heroes was never suitable for them.

Su Qing'an was originally an ordinary person. He was unable to study hard, nor could he pull himself together to escape the shadow of his relatives' deaths. He couldn't live life seriously, nor could he maintain a regular lifestyle or cherish his health. He was indulging in his comfort zone, unwilling and unable to step out.

The boy was so mediocre and weak that he could neither change nor accept reality, and could only choose to confine himself to his own little world and waste his time.

The fact that Su Qing'an has become who he is today is a result of overcoming countless insurmountable limits; perhaps the realm beyond that was simply beyond his reach.

Amidst the overwhelming sorrow and suffering, this young man, who had never intended to give up from the very beginning, experienced the thought of giving up for the first time in history.

It is on the verge of collapse and at its limit, enough to cause the towering buildings that have been erected in the past to crumble.

Acknowledging one's own cowardice, not rejecting one's own incompetence, and choosing to escape into oneself.

Su Qing'an listened to the sound of memories slowly cracking, and before everything settled, she whispered:

"I haven't told Hua about Seele's past before, have I?"

"From the very beginning, her life was predetermined in order to fulfill the visions of others, and she lived a life devoid of any sense of self."

"Seele Fulei has no parents or family. Her dwelling is a monotonous world of white and iron gray. The sky she can see is a projection of virtual technology. The only people she comes into contact with are the experimental personnel who treat them as props and her peers who could die at any time because of the experiments."

Su Qing'an recalled the adorable way the girl clung to his clothes, hiding behind him, and whispered:

"When I brought Seele back, I thought that even in a world like this, I might be able to give her a different life and a different kind of value."

"I want to show her what the outside world is like, I want her to witness many things firsthand and then use her own thinking to determine right and wrong, I want her to go to school, make many friends, have her own social circle and hobbies, I want her to have a normal childhood and a bright future, and there are many other things I've thought about."

"I have no family left in this world, so I think if that encounter was fate, then perhaps it's okay to consider her as real family. And if she is family, then it's only natural to consider her feelings, right?"

"But, in the end..."

"She used herself as a prop, betraying my original intentions and wishes, trampling everything about herself to this point, all for the sake of granting this power and Stigmata."

Su Qing'an said softly:

"I can't bring myself to hate her, but I can never forgive myself."

Fu Hua was stunned and speechless. She should have felt sorrow and pain from this self-narration. The reality and darkness revealed in it could have easily made her experience the cruelty of that little girl.

His shattered dreams and the weight he carried extracted even more negative emotions that affected his brain. At this moment, however, how to stop the major event of the other party's sword heart from shattering completely occupied all his thoughts.

Fu Hua wasn't unaware of what the best approach was, but for Su Qing'an, it was far too cruel a decision. If there were other methods, she, who understood the pain of such constraints, would never willingly impose them on herself.

But everything right now suggests that there is no other way.

She closed her eyes, her lips parted slightly, and whispered a magical utterance in his ear:

"Seele wrote in her letter that her last wish is for you to abide by the punishment for breaking the promise and to unlock the Fourth Ending. Before that, you must not give up no matter what."

These seemingly ordinary words, which should have been completely incapable of preventing the sword heart from shattering, held a profound significance for Su Qing'an that was enough to overturn his current personality.

He placed extreme importance on promises from the very beginning, to the point of being distorted to a pathological degree. This stemmed from his blood relatives Broken Promise their promises to him in the beginning, which gradually developed into a personality that developed intense self-loathing when promises could not be kept.

Aside from the self-destructive tendencies that gradually emerged later, this is where he deviated most from the concept of "normal".

[I've already broken my promises so many times, but for Seele's sake, it's okay to try a little harder.]

So, it's agreed.

The Herrscher of Death perfectly inherited everything from Seele Fulei, so she could sense the regret and solemnity in the boy's expression when he uttered those words.

It must have been very, very important for my brother to make a promise with someone.

Yet, faced with his own actions, he, possessing such gentleness, could not help but turn a blind eye.

It was destined from the beginning that Su Qing'an would break this agreement and become the faithless person he despised most. As long as he still cared about Seele Fulei, he would be unable to truly keep his promise.

Seele is really cunning; she perfectly exploited the boy's gentleness and personality, allowing everything to proceed smoothly to its current state.

So the little girl also understood that there were still things she could use in the end.

That was Su Qing'an's guilt towards Seele Voller, his extreme self-loathing, his remorse for breaking the agreement, and even his distorted emphasis on the agreement.

By combining all of these, one can obtain a perfectly distorted shackle that is powerful enough to restrain a teenager's self-destruction.

As an outsider who understands both sides, Fu Hua can comprehend some of the implications, which is why she hesitates about whether to speak out.

Seele was unable to provide any real healing to alleviate the other person's emotional distress.

Because her own death is an unchangeable fact, this means that the concept of Seele Fulei truly disappears and ceases to exist.

Regardless of Su Qing'an's own perspective, it doesn't prevent him from feeling sorrow and pain because of it.

The Herrscher of Death naturally cannot turn a sorrowful reality into a false happiness. Therefore, the only way she can ensure that Su Qing'an does not truly collapse and choose to use this legacy is to impose a stronger shackle on this sorrow through greater distortion.

The core reason for repeating the agreed-upon actions that day was to achieve this goal.

So, just like the letter Seele left behind, she really did something very, very wrong to Su Qing'an.

This is not just about forcing the other party to kill him with their own hands, but also about... the current situation.

Su Qing'an's expression was blank, his dark pupils seemed to be losing their light, appearing even more empty. He remained silent for a long time, or perhaps he was just resting for a moment, his lips moving slightly:

"Yes, I 'Broken Promise my promise, more than once."

Those who Broken Promise... must be punished.

The suffering has not ended, the sorrow has not ceased, the hatred has not been extinguished, despair remains, and regret persists as always.

The silk threads, which are almost pure white, are different from those dark crevices. As they continue to extend and give birth, they bring all forced constraints back to their original state.

The cracking, shattering sound, like a torrential downpour, miraculously ceased.

The Clear Mirror Sword Heart... is now completely intact again.

The boy's expression was neither sad nor happy. He looked at his hands and said softly:

"I will get through to the Fourth Ending."

There is no the Fourth Ending in the game.

However, if the Fourth Ending truly exists, it would likely be a perfect ending, different from the world-ending endings of the first and second, and also different from the world-saving ending of the third.

That... a perfect ending where the world can be saved without using the Dream Spike on the nun.

However, the number of endings in the game is fixed from the very beginning; a so-called perfect ending is impossible.

Therefore, the true constraint imposed by Seele Fulei is, in a realistic sense, a perfect ending where all those she cherishes achieve happiness.

However, given that she was already dead, this was an impossible outcome from the very beginning.

Therefore, the punishment Su Qing'an faces is that she can never... never give up.

This is both a great curse and an enduring blessing.

But this is perhaps the only event that deviates from Seele's own perspective. In her view, the perfect ending in reality is enough: protecting Sister Hua and bringing about world peace. She cannot ask for anything more.

However, for Su Qing'an, who possesses the possibility of restarting, the so-called perfect ending does not have the limit of being constrained by the current reality. The definition of perfection has thus become completely different, and this difference makes this punishment have an extraordinary and special meaning.

This means that even if there is a next restart, this curse or blessing will continue to be passed down endlessly, leaving no trace.

Fu Hua nervously patted the boy's head, while the Little Feather beside him persistently scratched his collarbone, as if it would cheer him up.

After sensing that the other party's sword heart was no longer shattered, the young girl did not feel relieved; instead, she felt even more saddened. She whispered:

"You must be very sad."

"I'm so sorry to have put so much on your shoulders."

The girl's clear eyes shimmered with moisture, and she could clearly sense just how pathological the form of the sword Mind Lake was.

Fu Hua pursed her lips, unable to suppress the overwhelming sense of helplessness and sorrow. She held back a sob that almost escaped her throat, stroked the boy's head, sensing his still-present, subtle trembling, and whispered:

"I should have told Master Su that it's okay not to work so hard, not to try so hard, not to be so strong, but I still made you have to force yourself like this just to put my mind at ease."

"Sorry."

In the sunlit room, Fu Hua's apology and the boy's trembling fingertips, unable to meet, were like parallel lines that could never intersect, so sorrowful and hopeless.