I've already said this isn't a life simulator!

While muttering to himself, he unpacked the package and found several other items scattered inside.

Two small terminals, a matching headset, a bright yellow sapphire with a beautiful, golden luster, a framed decorative flower with pale pink blossoms, and two letters.

The first letter was from Xi Wang. He first greeted Xi Lin in the letter and said that his song had arrived in her life as promised, along with a shooting star. In addition, he had included some other songs and hoped that she would like them. He also mentioned that the decorative flower was made for Xi Lin by a friend and hoped that she would accept it.

The second letter came from a woman who claimed to be Xiwang's friend. She had learned about Xilin's situation from Xiwang and decided to send her a few songs, which led to the second terminal... Of course, since it was a request made on her own initiative, she added a gem as a "meeting gift." Although they had not met yet, the necessary etiquette still had to be observed.

At the same time, she heard that what impressed Xiwang most about Xilin was her beautiful purple hair and golden eyes. Therefore, she hesitated for a long time between amethyst and citrine, but finally chose the citrine that she preferred. After all, she also had golden eyes like Xilin, so she hoped that Xilin would like this gift.

"........."

Upon learning the situation, Celine opened her mouth, speechless with surprise... Even though she didn't know the price of gemstones, she could sense the preciousness of the citrine from its beautiful color and shape.

It seems that when we meet again, I'll have to properly thank Brother Xiwang and his friends—that's what Xilin thought.

After a moment's hesitation, she picked up the terminal that Xi Wang had described, put on her headphones and connected it to the terminal, then played the first song stored on it—according to Xi Wang, this was the song he had written for Xi Lin.

First, a soft, somewhat light piano melody entered her ears. Xilin was very familiar with that feeling and was certain that it was Xiwang's song, because the music Xiwang played in the room was just like that, light and cheerful, with a joyful mood.

Then, on a certain beat, the sounds of other instruments naturally enter, setting the rhythm and evoking emotions.

It was a feeling that was light and gentle, warm and soft, like... someone was comforting you.

"I have a gift I'd like to present to you~"

From the very first line of lyrics, Xilin was stunned because the voice... sounded somewhat like Xiwang's, but it was different from the voice he had hummed before. However, according to the name written on it, the singer was indeed Xiwang, which left Xilin somewhat bewildered.

Clearly, for Xilin, who had never been exposed to Xiwang's other songs, this versatile voice still gave her a little shock.

But soon, she was drawn to the meaning behind the lyrics.

"The gift"...is it this song? —Cirin thought to herself.

"That was on a night when I was unbearably lonely?"

"It will still shine brightly in the distance~?"

"A sky full of stars~?"

Xilin was a little stunned. She turned her head slightly and looked out the window at the night sky.

The stars remain.

The singing continued, transitioning to the next section with the rhythm and melody.

Even though our hands are empty...?

"Yet this allows us to be so closely connected?"

"Don't feel lost when you're alone."

"Because I will never let go, no matter what."

Xilin instinctively curled up, shrinking into the chair and wrapping herself in the blankets, clutching the last remaining photo and the terminal that was playing music.

Her gaze remained fixed on the view outside the window, on the starry sky, never looking away.

Is it just my imagination? I keep feeling like I can see my parents' stars, like I can feel them watching me from afar, looking at me through the stars.

A gentle interlude begins, accompanied by tender harmonies, like a fireplace slowly burning beside you, radiating warmth, like a blanket wrapped around you, soothing your heart.

The familiar and comforting scent seemed to reappear, gentle and warm, like the scent of mother.

A strange yet familiar feeling quietly rose up again; it was sweet, the taste of Dad.

"........."

Xilin blinked. Her vision was already blurry, her eyes were filled with tears, and she should have been a good girl and not cried, but this time, Xilin did not wipe away her tears.

Surprisingly, I didn't feel very sad... just warm, with a little bit of happiness and joy.

Because... she seems to have found her parents' stars.

Because... she seems to be able to sense her parents.

They were right beside me, holding me gently and tenderly, whispering comforting words in my ear.

Tears flowed silently, sliding down her face, leaving warm and damp traces, and then falling silently onto the bedding, adding a few water stains.

Even though our hands are empty...?

"Yet this allows us to be so closely connected?"

"Don't feel lost when you're alone."

"Because I will never let go, no matter what."

The song continued, and Xi Wang's gentle voice continued, as if he were right beside me, softly humming this tender song.

Celine's gaze remained fixed on the stars outside the window, never looking away.

Because she found the star of dawn.

It was a bright star, shining alongside another equally bright star.

"I have a gift I'd like to present to you~"

In the headphones, Xi Wang's voice flowed gently into my ears like water and wind.

"That was on a night when I was unbearably lonely?"

"It will still shine brightly in the distance~?"

"A sky full of stars~?"

Just then, as if by divine intervention, the two stars that Sirin had found, representing her parents, gently streaked across the night sky, leaving faint trails in the darkness. They vanished in an instant, but Sirin still managed to catch a glimpse of them.

"……Thanks."

As the song's final melody and gentle harmonies played, Xilin smiled softly, tears streaming down her face as she buried her face in the blankets, carefully savoring the things and scents left behind by her parents that surrounded her.

They...are around me.

"Thank you, this gift... I love it the most."

She murmured this again, as if that would convey her gratitude to Xiwang.

Immediately, she gently adjusted the terminal and played the song again, then again, in a continuous loop.

She...likes this song.

Finally, by the warm fireplace, to the gentle melody, and under the watchful eyes of the stars, Celine was embraced by her parents, closed her eyes, and slowly drifted off to sleep.

She... was finally able to sleep peacefully and happily at night.

--------

The next day, Celine gave the yellow gem to her aunt, hoping she could take her uncle to a city hospital to recuperate... After all, her uncle's condition was getting worse, and it would be better for him to recuperate in the hospital. As for money... selling the yellow gem would surely cover most of it.

The proprietress was somewhat surprised, but after Celine's explanation, she accepted the yellow gemstone... There was no other way; her husband's condition was indeed starting to worsen, and he needed to go to the hospital for a checkup... However, she still remembered to bring Celine along, hoping that Celine could accompany her to town.

[Cirin refused, saying she would live well on her own here... and that her parents' stars had already fallen, but they would be back soon, and Cilin would wait for them to come home.]

The landlady couldn't persuade her otherwise, so she said she would come back to visit Celine from time to time to check on her. Celine was very happy and readily agreed.

After seeing her aunt and uncle off, Xilin quietly stayed at home, even going out less often. She preferred to wrap herself in her blankets, sit by the window, listen to the song Xi Wang wrote for her, and gaze at the stars. Then, under the starlight, she would gradually fall asleep.

[But without her noticing, the purple markings on her neck... became more and more pronounced, and gradually spread throughout her entire body.]

But Celine didn't care at all; she... would soon be reunited with her parents.

Another day passed, and Celine fell asleep surrounded by stars. As the morning sunlight shone on her face, she seemed to realize something in her hazy state... In her daze, she could see the twinkling stars and her parents reaching out their hands to her.

[In a blur, Sirin smiled and reached out her hand to them... Then, an inexplicable power surged, enveloping everything around her. After a shift in space, her slender figure landed on the pure white snow.]

Pure white snowflakes fell, her beautiful purple hair intertwining with the snow, but Celine didn't feel cold... Her mother's blankets were on her body, her father's scent was beside her, she hugged their photograph, and a gentle melody lingered in her ears.

[Cilin...is very happy]

[Immediately... a strange surge of energy appeared, and countless "monsters" began to materialize out of thin air. However, their forms were quickly torn apart by a shift in space, along with the surrounding snow, trees, and even the falling snowflakes.]

[She... no, it, aside from a few things around it, everything around it was torn apart, space was shattered, and then reformed, just to eliminate those noisy sounds.]

It was as if it was simply to create a quiet place, a place... where it could rest in peace, nothing more.

Meanwhile, an alarm sounded in a place called "The Moth Chasing the Flame."

The "Second Great Collapse" has occurred.

--------

"Oh dear... what a... sleepy little girl!"

A girl with long pink hair similar to Sakura stood at the edge and slowly withdrew the bow-shaped weapon from her hand.

Her name is Alicia, a girl as beautiful as a falling flower, and now... well, she's a soldier, I guess.

"But... even your unintentional actions can leave others helpless. You're really amazing~?"

Alicia, stepping through the snow, slowly approached it, approaching the "Second Herrscher"... This being, wielding the power of "space," had troubled Flamemoth for quite some time. After all, anything that approached would tear the space itself apart, and attacks at the edge would be constantly disrupted, ultimately failing to hit the "Herrscher" herself. Fortunately, she was an exceptionally powerful being, and although it took some effort, she still managed to help Flamemoth resolve this crisis.

On the other hand, although the "Second Herrscher" caused widespread Honkai, it erupted in an uninhabited snowfield and did not cause too many casualties. Compared to the chaos and casualties caused by the "First Herrscher," the "Second Herrscher" can be considered a different kind of "harmless."

Although it's hard to understand why this "Herrscher" would appear deep in the snowfield, well... whatever, people's research on [Honkai] is still very shallow, and there's no way to study this strange situation. In short, it's fortunate that it didn't cause widespread casualties.

However, when Alicia came to its side and looked at the things around it, she was stunned for a moment.

It was a carefully protected picture frame and a small terminal held tightly in the palm of one's hand; one could even sense residual energy fluctuations around both objects.

It's clear that this "Herrscher" was still subconsciously protecting these two things even when she was being attacked.

"……Ugh."

Looking at the photo in the frame, Alicia sighed helplessly... It was clearly a photo of the girl and her mother, something she had always cherished. This was evident, and it was precisely because of this that Alicia felt helpless and regretful.

But what is the other small terminal?

Out of curiosity and a desire to preserve something important, Alicia picked it up and kept it, intending to discuss it later with the researchers from the Firemoths whether these two items had affected the "Second Herrscher," thus causing it to become so "harmless."

Thus, the "Second Great Collapse" came to an end. Compared to the "First Great Collapse," the casualties during this operation were only in the double digits. The environment was extensively damaged, but most of the damage was confined to the depths of the snowfields and did not cause significant losses.

More importantly, the number of civilian casualties directly caused by this "Great Collapse" was zero.

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Just focus your attention on me more~ (5271)

[Thanks to a lovely girl named Alicia, the Firemoth resolved the "Second Great Collapse," but in return, she obtained something strange from the "Second Herrscher"—a terminal containing your songs.]