Broken Promise

Honkai Infection. Su Qing'an understood what was happening to him.

Hua had once said that men like him found it difficult to survive a Honkai outbreak; women seemed to be naturally more compatible with Honkai Energy than men.

So she said that Su Qing'an, who had survived without turning into a Zombie, could indeed be considered lucky.

But only Su Qing'an himself understood.

There was nothing special about him.

The reason he had not turned into a Zombie was simple: by the time he arrived in this world, the Honkai outbreak had already ended. He had missed the period of the outbreak.

Yet even the Honkai Energy lingering in the air had caused him to contract Honkai Sickness.

On the morning of the sixth day, a light rain fell over the city, and clear pattering sounds echoed through the underground shelter.

That day was overcast.

"Hua, is there no cure for Honkai Infection?" The youth leaned against the wall, taking shelter from the rain, and asked as if making casual conversation.

Hua stared at the ripples splashing across the puddles as raindrops fell, then answered flatly, "No cure. You'll die, and then you'll become one of the monsters wandering outside."

To Hua, this was probably common knowledge.

An organization like Moth to Fire might possess medicine capable of treating it, but that was an extremely rare strategic-level resource.

Once ordinary people contracted Honkai Sickness, they could only wait to die.

"I see. Honkai really is a cruel calamity." The youth looked at the purple markings that had slowly spread from his wrist to his arm and chest, then sighed.

"Mm. Honkai is awful." Hua's words sounded somewhat childish, but they were probably her truest thoughts.

The girl who had had everything taken from her by Honkai—how many more things would Honkai take from her in the life ahead?

"Hua, you'll definitely be fine. Even in a world like this, I hope you can keep living." After a moment of silence, Su Qing'an suddenly said this.

"...Why are you suddenly saying something so strange?" The girl sounded a little helpless. Then she fixed her eyes on the youth's face and said seriously, "If I can live on, then Su Qing'an definitely can too. That makes us even, right?"

Even? That childish side of hers was cute too.

"Of course. Didn't we promise to live on together? It's a promise." Su Qing'an smiled in response to Hua's gaze and words.

"You said Moth to Fire would come rescue us within a week, right?"

"Mm. Then we'll be saved." Hua nodded.

Neither of them mentioned what it would mean if they did not come within a week.

Su Qing'an did not want to shake even the slightest bit of the spark burning in Hua's heart.

Rumble— Outside the crack, lightning flashed and thunder roared across the sky. The rain fell harder.

The clamor of the outside world poured into the shelter.

"Su Qing'an." The girl suddenly called his name.

"What is it? Hua, don't tell me you're afraid of thunder." He joked.

"I'm not..." the girl muttered embarrassedly, then said seriously, "You said we would live on together, right?"

"Yeah." The youth nodded.

"It's a promise, right?" the girl sought confirmation.

"Mm."

"You said people who break promises are awful, right?" the girl asked, as though making one final confirmation.

The wound on his back had long since gone numb. In this broken shelter without medicine, even without Honkai Sickness, he would not be able to hold on much longer.

If Hua could touch his forehead, she would find it burning hot, yet his entire body felt ice-cold to him.

He did not have much longer to live. Su Qing'an understood that result. In truth, every sentence he spoke to the girl took a great deal of effort.

But he smiled and said, "Yeah. People who break promises really are awful."

Those who broke promises did not deserve forgiveness, no matter the reason.

"Then we have to keep our promise," the girl said as she looked at him. "We have to live on together."

It was not only that Su Qing'an thought highly of Hua. Even Hua had already come to regard Su Qing'an as one of the reasons and pillars keeping her alive.

That was why she asked, wasn't it?

"Mm. We have to live on together." Su Qing'an spoke a despicable lie.

Liars were awful too.

"Tomorrow will be the seventh day. Moth to Fire will definitely come, Hua." Su Qing'an looked at the pouring rain and flashes of lightning as he spoke.

His words were so resolute, so confident, as though he had foreseen the future.

Even though Hua understood that the youth was only comforting her, a sense of reassurance still rose in her heart.

"Mm." The girl closed her eyes and nodded gently.

Night.

Though the rain was still falling, it had eased considerably. The Dark Clouds had dispersed, and moonlight shone upon the sleeping girl's face. Through the drizzling curtain of rain, Su Qing'an looked at Hua for a long, long time.

The sharp stone she had once kept hidden in her hand lay unused by the girl's feet. Was this a sign that she trusted him? At a time like this, the boy found himself happy for some reason over such a small detail.

He should have been afraid, despairing, sorrowful, and angry, yet ever since he had seen the clarity in the girl's eyes these past few days, those emotions had vanished like smoke.

If death was the destined ending, then at the very least, he wanted the right to choose.

Su Qing'an did not know whether Moth to Fire would come tomorrow, but he understood that he probably would not last until then.

The Honkai markings had begun preparing to erode his heart.

Even if he left without saying goodbye, even if he broke their promise, even if he lied and deceived her.

Even if he became the kind of person he hated most.

He did not want to endanger the girl's safety.

Much less did he want to die in front of her.

Su Qing'an crawled out of the shelter, using every last bit of strength in his body.

On that night of clear moonlight and crisp rain, the boy walked for a long, long time. In the end, he reached the rooftop of a tall building and locked the door behind him.

Perhaps because the Honkai Energy within him was already close to that of a normal Zombie, he encountered no obstacles along the way.

He turned on his phone, not to check the messages left by that mysterious presence.

He wanted to play some music—his favorite piano piece.

"Thud."

But the phone fell to the ground. It was too late.

He realized death had arrived.

In the final instant before his consciousness faded, he let out a sigh.

That doll-like girl, so slender and fragile—even in a world overflowing with tragedy, the boy sincerely hoped she could live on.

I'm sorry, Hua. I broke my promise.

Su Qing'an, where are you?

When Hua awakened, the empty shelter filled her with panic. The boy who had accompanied her through every hardship over the past six days was gone.

It felt as though a piece of her heart had been hollowed out. The weightless emptiness throughout her body left her at a loss.

Not used to it. Not used to it. Not used to it.

Not seeing that person when she woke up—she was not used to it.

Not talking to him—she was not used to it.

Being alone—she was not used to it.

It felt as though she could no longer do without that boy.

Yet she could not deny that even after Moth to Fire personnel stood before her, the girl's unease and loss could not be dispelled.

"Yo, you're still alive?" A beautiful woman with vivid red hair said this to Hua.

"Um, excuse me, have you seen a boy about my age?" she asked anxiously.

She could live now. The self that feared death was already safe. But why could she not feel happy at all?

"...You are the only survivor left in this city." The woman fell silent for a moment before answering.

The instant she heard the answer, the girl felt as if she had fallen into an abyss, her entire body turning cold.

The answer was obvious. Su Qing'an had died...?

No, no, no. Moth to Fire had come today. They had already made it through the worst six days—how could something have happened now?

Recalling how that boy had deliberately hidden his arm, the girl no longer wanted to think any further.

You wouldn't break your promise, right?

You said you hated people who broke promises, right?

Then you're still alive, right?

"Come with me. I'll teach you how to fight."

The woman extended her hand to Hua.

Honkai. Honkai. Honkai.

Within Hua's heart, an unprecedented fury toward the Honkai was born.

When the Honkai killed her parents and friends, all she had felt was grief and fear.

But at that moment, overwhelming flames of rage burned away all fear of the Honkai.

She took the woman's hand.

What awaited her, however, was a long journey spanning tens of thousands of years.

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