Honkai Impact 3rd, a simulator of lifelong regret!

If I had to point out the only difference...

That is the warmth of the girl's soft, boneless palm that you can feel in your fingertips right now, and the hot breath she exhaled as she ran.

The sweet scent lingering in the air was just what the boy, who was only half a body behind, happened to catch, hitting his nose and the corner of his mouth.

If it were a birthday party, it would be difficult to even get a little closer, let alone get this close, let alone shake hands.

And now...

The boy's fingers and the girl's delicate, fair fingers were tightly intertwined, and they would not loosen their grip even in the wind or when the fingers were swaying.

It wasn't a voluntary grip; the hand that Alicia had once chased relentlessly but could never touch was now being held tightly by Alicia, who wouldn't loosen her grip even slightly, as if she were afraid that if she let go, Alicia would disappear.

—It has changed a lot.

The houses on both sides of the road are not as neat as they used to be, and they have countless architectural styles, as if people from all over the world live together.

Running on the ground felt more comfortable than I remembered. The path paved with pebbles on the dirt was exceptionally smooth, without any discomfort underfoot.

Jiangcheng still feels the natural adhesion produced when the stones melt, smoothing out all the rough edges and preventing anyone from tripping or feeling discomfort under their feet. The road builder must have put in a lot of effort, carefully polishing and controlling the temperature bit by bit.

I wonder who built this road. They've taken care of even the smallest details. They must have been a very gentle and kind person.

……

There's no need to run with the wind; the act of running itself is chasing the wind. Thinking that even though twenty years have passed, the wind still chases after her just as it always has, until she surpasses this gust of wind from the past and transcends the sadness of the past, her tight steps finally slowed down a bit—Alicia gently pointed to the private swimming pool that still holds a place in her memory.

"Look……"

"That's the swimming pool we used to stay in."

"I remember back then you loved to dive down to the bottom of the pool in one go, then roll over and stay there for a little while, then look up at the streetlights by the pool."

"Ah."

Jiangcheng's swimming pool is still well preserved and has not been made into a typical small town. It remains in a private room.

His dark pupils flickered gently, reflecting a yellow light. An inexplicable emotion compelled him to speak, proving that the boy had indeed surpassed the wind of the past.

"The warm yellow light flowed along the light blue water, and the exhaled bubbles floated up like jellyfish before disappearing. The scene was like a dream... even though this usually happens after you fall down."

[Based on fragments of memory that almost spontaneously surfaced, completely unlike anything you had searched for, you gently pointed to the place where you once lived together, the place that, theoretically, held your only happiness.]

Ultimately, your interactions with Alicia have never been particularly pleasant; only the first few years were relatively harmonious.

Almost twenty years later, you've returned here once again. Perhaps this signifies that you've transcended the winds of the past.

"Has it surpassed the winds of the past?"

"It seems I've finally caught up with that breeze, instead of just standing there exhausted and feeling something blowing on me."

It's not the tragic loss of emotions like a Herrscher, nor is it the constraint and shackles of memory and self, serving only the twisted desires of one person.

Jiang Cheng could clearly feel this suppressed warmth, the warmth he felt for the first time from human interaction after Wilvi died in the collapse, amidst endless struggles and exhausting work.

This warmth should have existed only in Vilvie, and should have been obtained only from that one and only person.

But at this very moment, it appeared on the girl who had first brought him coldness and indifference.

perhaps……

This time...

—Alicia has really changed.

Whether it's the genuine emotions she's expressing now, or the despair she felt when she first knelt down and wept, almost to the point of death.

These are absolutely not false facts. At least the young man who acquired some of the talent from Vilvie through imitators can clearly distinguish whether this feeling comes from the depths of his heart.

Yes.

When Alicia looked directly into her own cold eyes and cried, she truly looked like she was about to die.

Yes.

When faced with my unintentional question earlier, my expression and posture at that moment were definitely not fake panic.

They didn't know what the girl had gone through, or why it was so difficult for her to fill in the gaps in her memory, and why she even showed a fear-like demeanor. It was a fear that even someone as self-conscious as Wilvi would only show in very rare circumstances.

Strictly speaking, it is unreasonable and inappropriate to call it a singular limitation of any one emotion; its essence is a complex of multiple emotions.

The closest example is probably during that birthday celebration, when Wilvi was pointed out by herself to have actually been allowing others to harass her all along.

The mistakes that were buried deep in one's heart were pointed out by others.

Discovered by the person you love most.

In that instant, the self-conscious girl seemed to be on the verge of death; her face was pale, her body trembled, and she was in a state of despair, her mind and thoughts on the verge of collapse.

She wanted to escape, literally wanted to escape, and even her fingertips were already lightly pressing on the doorknob. The fear in her heart made the girl unable to imagine what she would experience after doing this.

Unable to accept the possibility of losing the person they love most.

Unable to accept that their most despicable side has been discovered.

It's unacceptable that all this beauty is about to vanish like smoke.

It wasn't even a bubble suddenly disappearing in the sunlight, but rather that I deliberately popped this dazzling bubble because of my own foolish behavior.

A girl who is kind at heart and even saddened by the harm caused by her own weapon is not shameless enough to calmly face others pointing out her mistakes.

And don't go so far as to find out that the person who points out her mistakes is the person she loves most.

The breakdown that was revealed at that time.

—The same as Alicia's face just now.

If someone is so terrified simply because it was mentioned unintentionally without any conscious intent, it must not be a pleasant experience.

Contrary to expectations, the girl did not gain anything useful on that journey.

Otherwise, that flawless young girl should absolutely not have done that.

She was a goddess who could give her life to unite humanity, who could shatter the threads of fate with everything she had, and who loved everything.

What kind of cruel and terrible things did they go through?

It's unlikely that he lost everything that was by her side for some reason, and even suffered a huge blow to his relationship, to the point that he broke down and sought out his long-forgotten childhood sweetheart.

At least this performance doesn't seem like a mere fleeting thought that would lead to abandoning oneself once again after being resurrected.

Let's assume a conservative stance for now.

after all……

Tragedy or something.

It is truly difficult to let one's guard down.

Even now, the description of this simulation as the birth of a tragedy during the settlement still evokes a sense of inexplicable fear in Jiang Cheng, as if he were actually there.

Even Vilvie has left, so nothing worse should happen, right?

……

You can now clearly recognize that what is being shown now is your past, something deeply etched in your memory.

[The wear and tear on memories caused by the limitations of time and human wisdom in the past are being repaired in the process of becoming a Herrscher.]

Aside from what's lost, what you already have becomes incredibly clear, even forming a stark contrast in your mind.

[Do you remember when you used to catch fish barefoot in the stream? Perhaps because you were too young to coordinate your extraordinary abilities, Alicia would always slip on the moss on the rocks, spin around, and fall into the water, lying on her back. The sound of the stream was crystal clear, the orange sun was hidden by white clouds, and the azure sky was unobstructed.]

At times like this, you would always invite the girl to play and splash around in the town's only swimming pool, saying that you were already soaking wet anyway.

[But this behavior is actually just you trying to comfort the girl who bumped her head, even though she wouldn't cry about it at that moment.]

【ah……】

Is this what the emotion called nostalgia is?

You vaguely feel a breeze blowing through your hair, even though everything is so calm, not even the roadside grass has swayed.

"Jiangcheng..."

The voice beside you interrupted your deep thoughts, as if all your reminiscences had been abruptly cut off. The images lingering in your mind were like clouds gently blown away by the wind, leaving not a trace in your thoughts.

A strange feeling, which should be described as dissatisfaction, welled up inside you, until you turned your head, wanting to ask yourself why you had been disturbed.

"What's wrong...?"

【…】

……

Jiang Cheng's discontent suddenly subsided. His head, which had been slightly turned to the side, froze in place, with only his hair still swaying slightly. The air seemed to stand still, and even the sound of water dripping on the grass sounded excessively clear.

Before he could even finish uttering the words, his mouth, which had been slightly open, closed again, and his dark pupils reflected Alicia's image from not far away.

The overly ornate dress that symbolized her as a Herrscher had been replaced without her noticing, and in its place was an excessively revealing swimsuit.

The proportions of her ample hips and slender waist, concealed by the pink mini-skirt, were so perfect that even the most demanding critics could not find fault with them; it was almost unimaginable that they could coexist on one body.

Her delicate navel seemed deliberately displayed, restrained by the thin ropes on both sides. At the end of the knot, the edge of the short skirt, barely covering the top of her legs, was buried, making one yearn for it.

Her full thighs were gently bound by lace ribbons, leaving a captivating indentation in the soft, mushy flesh that seemed to have been cooked through.

It's simply unimaginable how amazing the soft, kneaded texture can be.

"This outfit is... I prepared it especially for Wei."

"I wonder how you feel?"

……

what……

Even though his emotions should have been sealed off in theory, and he was a puppet controlled by others, the boy inexplicably felt his heart beating.

It was as if this so-called constraint and puppet were only limited to other things, and would never have the slightest impact on the girl in front of him.