Honkai Impact 3rd, a simulator of lifelong regret!

—I was even alone before I died.

—I didn’t even receive a single visit before I died.

I didn't want to leave like this either. I only know that before I die, I'm preparing the last gift I can leave for you.

At least a year has passed between the time of Vilvie's death and her own despair and eventual death. What exactly was that girl doing during that year?

What exactly is the girl doing?

What could possibly make a girl unable to even glance at him?

What exactly is this inexplicable love?

What exactly is this inexplicable feeling?

The boy couldn't accept it.

He could understand that he didn't hold a high position in the other person's heart, because a flawless fairy and a free wind were destined not to stay for one person.

But he absolutely could not understand, absolutely could not accept that the wind actually liked him.

That Daofeng was even willing to go to any lengths to resurrect himself after his death, especially since he was well aware of how difficult resurrection was.

This world allows consciousness to match new containers, but does not allow containers to collect dissipated consciousness; this is a fundamental law engraved at the very bottom of the world.

What price would it take to resurrect someone who has been dead for several years?

What would it take to revive someone who has lost the will to live?

--have no idea.

Jiang Cheng had no idea.

The boy during this period was a complete dead man.

Without consciousness, without senses, without perception, the only thing one can experience is the burning and sweet love felt in the instant of resurrection.

It doesn't matter what happens.

'I don't care what happens.'

'You are her only wish.'

The girl was willing to do anything to revive herself, even making a wish to the rules of the sea, using the authority of the Herrscher of Death, and using her innate power to guide the Cocoon of the End to descend and contain the vessel that would carry her soul.

—This is hilarious.

Jiang Cheng knew that his emotions might be unfounded and that the girl might genuinely be unable to see him because of some special reason.

He just felt it was ironic.

It was an irony that seemed to insult himself and Vervière.

But now, compared to this emotion, the real problem we need to face is far more terrifying. It is the most extreme and tragic outcome that, if it cannot be solved, could result in total failure with just one or two mistakes.

—The rulers of pre-civilizations have no self.

Before the shackles of fate are broken, the Herrscher is merely a tool, possessing only a minimal, or even nonexistent, sense of self.

Now that she is the new Herrscher, she will suffer the same fate as Himiko, becoming a heartless tool under the Honkai's command.

It may even be the most powerful outside of the origin.

The most useful tool among the Herrschers that can be summoned at the end.

Even the Herrscher of Flame, who could burn down an entire continent, could not compare to this tool.

A Herrscher born under the blessing of the sea, whose heart is engraved with the desires of quantum mechanics, if this power is not controlled.

It is entirely possible that it could destroy the world.

Möbius, and those who might still be alive...

Perhaps those who have survived disasters before will once again face a disaster far greater than they should have been able to cope with, simply because of their existence.

For the first time, Jiang Cheng felt disgusted by his own resurrection and his increased strength.

He already regrets participating in the revival round.

No matter how much the rewards will increase with this resurrection, the feeling of destroying the world from a first-person perspective is a burden that absolutely no one is willing to bear.

The reason most people can go on a killing spree in games is essentially because the individuals in the game are just emotionless code, making it difficult for them to feel much empathy. Many of them don't even have models; they are just numbers.

However, if the individual characters in those games were designed with a little more care, and had their own story, with small mechanics like those of ordinary people.

Many people would probably feel guilty about their actions, or even become hesitant to act.

This simulation cannot be simply called a game.

It's like being truly reincarnated into a different world, with the only constraint being that you can only make choices in certain situations.

Even with these limitations, the sense of immersion it provides is far from enough to describe as being there in person.

He could only watch.

They have no control over their bodies whatsoever, nor any independent thought; perhaps they can only regain a semblance of self-control during the most intense moments.

At least for now...

Those eyes, which were originally as bright as the night sky, had now turned into a deep blue like the ocean. They were clear, eerie, and as if they had been filtered through the largest blue filter, shimmering with blue, like the starry sky of the Milky Way.

Not a single trace of it...

--emotion.

……

……

You have successfully resurrected the boy; you have successfully restored hope and light to this world that had utterly lost its luster.

[You've fallen into an abyss, yet you still manage to grab onto a straw in the endless water, even though the recoil dislocates your hand.]

[Having fallen into the deep sea, you escaped the ocean floor just before being completely submerged and crushed, managing to surface once more, breathing in the air, and feeling the warm sunlight that had never shone on your face before.]

Even if your heart still bears the wear and tear from stress and the flood of emotions, even if you can no longer live as happily as you once did.

[Given all the mistakes we've made, it's good to be able to make amends even a little bit.]

As for Jiangcheng...

You won't run away from your mistakes.

[Throughout your years as a voyeur, you've also learned one of the special skills that was once Wilvi's most proficient and known to be the most useful.]

[—All ○ warriors, please bow.]

Even if you're brutally beaten, trampled underfoot, or paraded through the streets with a rope, it doesn't matter. Whatever special play the boy enjoys, even displaced torture, is acceptable. Whatever the experience, as long as it comes from the boy, you are willing and happy to accept it.

Living in a cruel world devoid of warmth, you would rush headlong into even the slightest bit of warmth that might burn your skin.

You are no longer the same as before. Whether it's the so-called beauty or flawlessness, the way you smile has become hollow, and even your ability to empathize seems to have become stiff due to excessive numbness.

The only thing that has increased is that the self-blame brewing within you has, in a sense, maxed out your masochistic tolerance and tendencies.

Only repeated solitude and endless torment will terrify you; otherwise, any treatment is indifferent.

Having already fulfilled your ultimate wish, you could theoretically face anything that comes your way with a smile.

—Until you see this scene before you.

78. Please don't... don't look at me like that.

what……

The smile on his lips vanished in an instant, and his body, which was ready to perform the full-body kotatsu, froze in place. Any joy or happiness he felt because of his despicable behavior vanished in an instant.

Why?

He's clearly gone mad.

She had clearly thrown away even the last shred of her purity.

She even went so far as to disturb the already dead boy once again.

Knowing it's wrong, yet still doing wrong things, just like countless times before, step by step, the beautiful paradise that was within reach, which already existed beside us, is pushed away and shattered.

The only difference is that this time they didn't even bother to embellish or cover it up, completely tearing away the hypocrisy that only existed on the surface, and thoroughly admitting their shamelessness and despicableness.

This is the reward after sacrificing the last bit of justice and love. Shouldn't we cherish this moment and savor it as a youth that belongs only to us?

Shouldn't this be the time to rediscover paradise and find a reason to exist again in this cruel world?

Why is this so?

Why can't I smile?

Could it be that within this despicable, filthy heart of the Herrscher, there remains a trace of nauseating, hypocritical beauty and virtue?

No.

People who have made so many mistakes cannot claim to have morals or virtues.

That would only make others feel that he is shameless, ridiculous, and that he is unwilling to admit his actions until the very last moment.

The girl, who had completely gone mad, would no longer pursue these meaningless things.

Even if it was the boy's resurrection that awakened his soul once again.

Even after emerging from the deep sea again, panting heavily, their bodies are once again able to receive fresh air from the world.

The removal of the relentless pressure emanating from all directions does not mean that the girl can become as kind as she once was.

The numbness is over.

The numbness has disappeared.

The marks left by this pain remain, the damage from this fall still exists, and the soul is still in a state of being cut and shattered.

It only ignited a tiny bit of hope, a tiny bit of motivation to keep living.