A Question for the Heart

"Are you... leaving?"

"Heh... what kind of conversation starter is that?"

'Seraphis' laughed in exasperation. Did this guy have negative emotional intelligence?

"Way to kill the conversation. Forget it, let me start."

'Seraphis' composed himself.

"Tell me, where did you come from?"

"To be honest... I don't know."

Sera shook his head.

"Though I've been called a genius, I'm only a fake."

"I was found among a cluster of flowers when I was born. That sea of flowers was pink, and I can still remember their fragrance.

The villagers of Aedes Elysiae found me.

They said..."

"This child must be a blessing bestowed by the Titans!"

"Because embroidered on the cloth wrapped around me was a six-winged angel.

And my name... Seraphis.

So the villagers of Aedes Elysiae took me in, just as they did Cyrene.

From the moment I became conscious, I had the mind from my previous life. I looked around curiously. I was keenly aware that I was different from ordinary people... perhaps I'd died once.

That frightened me, too. Had I gotten myself into some intractable problem?

I hated trouble, and I hated the world.

Until the biggest trouble of all came knocking on the door of my heart, day after day.

So..."

Sera smiled.

"My answer is simple. I was born from 'love.'"

"Then what are you going to do?"

"Hmm..."

"To be honest, what I want to do is simple. I want to protect everyone I love, everyone who loves me, and those...

Who choose to fight to protect others and give everything for it.

I'm not particularly fond of tragedies, even though they touch people's hearts far more deeply than happy things do. But at the very least, I want there to be fewer tragedies in reality.

I know full well that I can't protect everyone. So the path I'm going to take is one called 'hope.'

I want to sow the seeds of love and courage across this disaster-stricken galaxy.

It isn't the path of a Savior who walks alone ahead, high above everyone else, and it doesn't need followers trailing behind. It's a path walked alongside people, alongside all living beings.

Hope may be small, but its fire will never go out."

'Seraphis' said nothing more. She simply smiled.

"Will I see you again?"

"Don't you already know? We'll meet one last time aboard the train that crosses Finality."

'Seraphis' began to fade away.

"Goodbye, my other self. Goodbye, my Herrscher consciousness. Goodbye, my... obsession."

"Yes, goodbye, Sera. Remember your answer today, and put it into practice for Them to see."

'Seraphis' embraced Sera from behind.

He became the wings with which Sera broke free of his cocoon.

Here, we celebrate the Finalization of the Herrscher of Corruption.

Yes, Sera had resolved his obsession and understood his true heart.

It was all thanks to Shuhu, who had awakened the self deep within Sera who had once hated the world, awakened... his obsession.

It was precisely because of this that Sera had the chance to steel his conviction and emerge as a butterfly.

"It looks like it's time for me to go."

A smile hung on Sera's face.

"The person here to pick me up has arrived."

"I found you again, little Sera♪~" Cyrene's pleasant voice rang out.

"Yes, you found me again."

Sera spoke softly, stood up, and walked toward Cyrene, picking up speed before embracing her.

As always, Sera's biggest trouble had found him. The little fairy had said that no matter where he was, she would find him.

And just as the little fairy had said, she had found him.

Their fingers naturally intertwined, but...

The scene before Sera's eyes flickered.

A gray-haired girl appeared opposite Sera, her golden eyes seemingly set ablaze.

"Your eyes are really bright."

Sera's words caught her off guard.

"..." Stelle held her forehead. She had just been about to speak, but Sera's words made her swallow what she was going to say.

"So... my next choice determines the end, right?"

"Mm."

Stelle wasn't surprised. After nodding, she said what she wanted to say.

"Nice to meet you, Sera. I'm Stelle."

"Heh..."

Sera chuckled as he looked at the girl putting on a serious face before him.

"Nice to meet you, Stelle."

"So... you who reversed the wheel of time, tell me, why isn't she/he here?"

"Because of... you."

Stelle hesitated for a moment, but spoke nonetheless.

"Mm, just as I thought." The idea in Sera's mind was finally confirmed.

"Just as I imagined~"

Sera slowly spoke six words.

"Am I right?"

Stelle nodded.

"Then, when is it?"

"You'll find out, but not from me."

Stelle shook her head.

"It's time for you to go. Just as you said, your fate will be decided by you alone.

So, reach the end through your own will.

Go and make this imperfect world into what you want it to be."

"This time, it really is time to go♪~" Cyrene took Sera's hand and started forward.

In the beginning, the world was a mass of chaos.

Then, the children of humanity lit the flame.

And there was the first light.

Just like the two who continued forward, heeding the guidance of their hearts, needing only to step ahead.

The world, too, was illuminated by humanity.

"This is the place."

The two exchanged a glance, then, hand in hand, leaped high and kicked their way into the end.

"Very good... you've passed the trial of Binding. Come, the authority of Finality, the power known as time."

Everyone had just breathed a sigh of relief, only to tense up again.

The Herrscher of Finality seemed to sense something, and the corners of her mouth curved in an almost imperceptible smile.

A vortex appeared behind the Herrscher of Finality, and Sera and Cyrene landed steadily.

Yes, the Herrscher of Finality had merely descended through Sera as a medium. Rather than taking over his body, she had sealed him within her own.

Sera didn't hesitate.

A spear appeared before him. He grasped it with his right hand, then shielded everyone behind him and leveled its tip at the Herrscher of Finality.

Even if the Herrscher of Finality was the endpoint of Honkai, the Seraphis of this moment was the Herrscher of Corruption, whose corruption could truly penetrate anything!

The weakened, mass-produced Finality was just within Seraphis's power to overcome. Thanks to the Power of Finality he had torn away, his level was temporarily equal to hers.

"It seems my mission is complete."

The mass-produced Finality, whether aware that she was no match for him or having truly completed some other mission, extended her right hand to Sera.

"Come forward and complete the final crossing with me."

Sera reached out and accepted Finality's invitation.

The two arrived in a special space.

"Nothing to say?"

The Herrscher of Finality looked at him with a smile.

"What else can I say?"

Sera rolled his eyes.

"Using an alternate self as a medium to send down a wisp of consciousness and disguise yourself as a mass-produced Finality to conduct a test. You really are something, Kiana Kaslana."