Honkai Impact 3rd, a simulator of lifelong regret!

Even now, it has awakened the already perfect boy once again, making him forget his beloved girl, with whom he wanted to be buried even in death.

At least for now...

Perhaps Alicia can change something.

Even though the boy's emotions might simply be a special remnant of his own desires.

Although this behavior is considered filthy and despicable, it is probably only in the toilets of slums that one can find the most foul and disgusting desires.

Isn't this good enough?

It doesn't matter how dirty it is, it doesn't matter if this love is insulted.

Anyway, isn't he himself a Herrscher who harms the world?

At least for this moment...

—The boy belongs only to me now.

Alicia raised her head, gently curving her soft, cherry-colored lips, and looked into those eyes that, though still cold, conveyed a deep empathy and gentle warmth hidden beneath the polar regions once all else was removed.

"Jiangcheng."

"Please come with me..."

……

"—Please kill me."

……

……

……

?

?

?

???

Looking into the boy's pure, cold, and untainted eyes, the girl's face, which had been perfectly composed due to the memories, suddenly paled once again, and her warm and expectant voice broke down completely.

"you say……"

"what?"

—The girl lost her voice again.

Her pink pupils contracted sharply.

Her delicate lips were bleeding.

The gentle tone distorted and became unnatural almost instantly, as if the voice was about to be destroyed, and the already broken emotions were about to be stirred up again.

But before the tragedy occurred, a familiar warmth came from above. As if sensing that the girl was likely to enter another emotional entanglement and self-isolation, the boy immediately used his max-level head pat.

"Then forget it."

……

Jiang Cheng tilted his head, his expression remaining calm, as if what he had just said was as ordinary as what he was going to eat tonight.

"I may have made some extreme demands. The main reason is that my current consciousness is simply a miracle. I am essentially still a Herrscher, a tool used by the Honkai to destroy the world. Who knows when I will destroy the world?"

"This world is still beautiful. The mountains we once walked together, the hillsides covered with roses, are bathed in a yellow glow at sunset."

"Although I have forgotten the person I may have loved the most, I still have you, my last family member, the Doctor, and everything that I and Wilvi left behind."

"Wouldn't it be such a pity and a terrible thing to just destroy it like this?"

"But..."

"It's something that's been forgotten all along."

"It seems I have a more important task to accomplish now."

……

"what……"

"That's so unfair..."

Alicia seemed to have no strength left to refute, and simply lowered her head, letting her pink hair cover her fair face.

The girl's wish was truly fulfilled. Even knowing that the boy in front of her was a rag doll that had been abused, and even knowing that this was not love from the heart, the girl still felt a response to love.

This level of understanding is simply too much of a cheating tactic.

How could anyone possibly refuse such gentleness!

Exhausted from the wind and rain, the traveler's shoes were covered in mud and sand, and there wasn't a clean spot on his body. Then, a kind person on the roadside helped him by brewing a pot of hot tea and washing his body with hot water.

When you're so exhausted that every muscle aches and you feel like you might disconnect at any moment, it's wonderful to be able to sleep comfortably in a big bed.

Even the next day, you can still enjoy warm and delicious food, a perfectly timed cup of hot milk, and wear clothes that have been drying in the sun all day.

what……

This is absolutely wonderful.

It's like a dream.

This may not seem like much, just a small act of help, a little understanding of the other person's predicament, and thus choosing empathy and tolerance.

For those who are born with this ability, they may simply consider it a trivial matter.

It is precisely this feeling that washes away one's own fatigue, that makes one feel understood and accepted, and that no matter how disheveled, how terrible, or how full of complaints one is, others will listen attentively.

—It is a kind of beauty that many people may never obtain in their entire lives.

……

"Being more moderate isn't necessarily a bad thing."

Why be so aggressive and verbally abusive towards others, even resorting to insults?

"Actually, there are only a few people to whom I show tenderness: you, Velvi, and Dr. Mebius. Based on my vague, instinctive feeling, I think none of them are bad people at heart."

"Even the doctor known as the devil scientist has humanity and feelings. At least I can sense that Mebius once gave me a gift."

"Um……"

"She's all bark and no bite."

"If I'm surrounded by people like that, how could I possibly be any worse?"

Jiang Cheng remained seated on the ground, chatting to himself, uttering words that were almost incomprehensible and inexplicably surging from his body.

It's as if a certain part was deliberately left untouched to please others.

—It's a really strange feeling.

Is this how Alicia feels?

From God to Man.

I experienced the poison called emotion.

It's really addictive. This warmth that flows through my whole body is unimaginable. If Wilvi were still alive, how would I feel?

It will be very, very amazing.

"so……"

"Since you have given up on the idea of ​​dying."

The boy gazed at the girl, who had completely given up on herself and was kneeling in a lake of tears, and gently extended his fingertips.

"My dearest Ellie~?"

"—Would you like to embark on a completely new life with me?"

……

Seventeen years later, you have received an invitation once again.

Looking at the boy's right hand gently extended towards you, his palm, once scarred from overwork and the corrosive effects of Honkai energy, is now as white as jade, without a single wound. Purple blood seeps from his lips, pale to the point of being unrecognizable, and a gentle smile plays on them.

It felt like stepping back into the days of living in a secluded little town, like returning to the moment you made your first choice.

This time...

—You didn't make the wrong choice.

Option 1: Isn't this what you've been chasing?

Option 2: Isn't this exactly what you've been longing for?

Option 3: Isn't this what you wanted?

It's another classic example of an option where you have no choice whatsoever. There are supposedly three options, three branches, but they all just tell the same story.

From the initial tension that determined the slightest difference to the later lack of choice, it all essentially boils down to the same thing. Now, the three options can simply be merged into one choice.

It seems that ever since that birthday party, the scope of the girl's decisions has become smaller and smaller.

Perhaps it's because my emotions are becoming increasingly extreme.

The options are essentially thoughts that arise from oneself and choices that one might make.

It is impossible for a completely kind and gentle person to choose to commit a massacre, or for an extremely evil person to choose to help others; both are essentially against the will of that person.

The options are essentially just slight adjustments; they can only determine the direction of progress, not whether to go backward or change course.

When a train reaches a dead end and there's no way to change direction, the joystick in your hand that determines the direction becomes nothing more than a meaningless toilet peg.

—Although it doesn’t really matter anyway.

This exact same feeling of empathy...

what……