Honkai Impact 3rd, a simulator of lifelong regret!

Those were words that should have been beautiful, words that should have carried the blessings of others, but in the memories of ordinary people, they were burdened with indescribable complexity and distress.

Alicia always feels sad when she mentions this place, even though, in the girl's words, there is no sad meaning here at all.

The boy could only guess, blindly giving answers while harboring doubts, believing it was because Alicia felt remorse for her false memories and couldn't accept that her precious memories had been destroyed and altered.

However, if it were only because of this issue, Alicia shouldn't, and shouldn't, feel that guilty; it was unavoidable.

Crossing the boundary between life and death is already an incredibly difficult thing, so how could one expect a girl to have an absolutely perfect ending?

Until now.

Until now.

This lingering, unforgettable, and yet unseen doubt, which had been suppressed for so long, has finally revealed its true form.

All previous speculations vanished, and the stark truth appeared before us with each beautifully written character, revealing itself without any concealment.

That was the truth that the boy was unwilling to imagine, unwilling to guess, unwilling to think about, and had never even entertained the thought of before.

Because if the notes, which appear to be at least a decade old, are not false or forgeries intentionally created by someone else.

That means that the fragment rooted deep in one's heart is the real one, not a false past created by the collapse to increase hatred and resentment.

There is no such thing as a journey that belongs only to two people, nor is there such a thing as childhood sweethearts whose relationship has never encountered any setbacks from the beginning.

She had truly been completely ignored by Alicia and bullied at her birthday party, a situation that even bystanders could not tolerate.

Why would Alicia lie about something like this?

Why lie about something like this?

It is impossible for someone who has lost a lot of memories and has just been resurrected to completely deny the present based on a part of their past experiences.

It was just a birthday party. Even if every birthday party was like this, isn't the girl now feeling regretful and yearning for atonement?

As childhood sweethearts, even if they made some mistakes, as long as they are willing to repent, I am definitely not an overly harsh person.

A girl like Alicia shouldn't be lying at all. It's impossible for her to lie over something so trivial.

Even the very first thing the owner of this diary wrote, at least the very very first thing you can see, was praise for Alicia.

Could there be other things related to the birthday party that need to be hidden, things that cannot be known or investigated by oneself, or even things that one is willing to deceive?

Any one of these issues is enough to tug at your heartstrings, and you can't even erase it from your memory until you're completely exhausted by the girl.

Only at this moment did the doubts that had been lingering in my heart give way to bigger and more important questions.

what……

I once...

Am I really being stared at like this?

Can even I be looked at with such admiration by others?

They are just ordinary mortals, yet they can easily evoke emotions in others over such a small matter, and even record their feelings in a notebook.

Even though we've become friends because of your help, and we can exchange text messages, I have no memory of it.

The owner of this diary...

Who is it?

-

We were chatting today, and we've been chatting for five days in a row now. I feel like I'm getting addicted. Is this what it feels like to be able to have a good conversation with someone?

It turns out that friendship, kindness, and people who are willing to help others and be a "dumping ground" really do exist in this world.

There are indeed people who are willing to praise the actions of others, even if those actions are merely a giant leap forward in the era, advancing technology by hundreds of years, something that no one would praise or bless.

Not everyone in the world speaks ill of others simply because they are in a bad mood.

No...

I'm really getting addicted.

If things continue like this, I'm afraid I can't even imagine a day when Jiangcheng doesn't talk to me.

Someone like him will definitely end up with Alicia and live a happy life together. Chatting with this incompetent good-for-nothing is just a passing fancy. Someone like me can only stay in the shadows and watch. How can someone who is only fit to stay in the shadows ever get to the light?

……

I really don't want to...

I don't want to break up like this.

I felt uncomfortable after typing just a few words. The simple case seemed to be filled with spikes and electric current, and pressing my finger would cause blood and flesh to be torn apart.

This was clearly the first time in her life she had met a companion she could talk to.

This was clearly the first time in her life she had experienced someone praising and comforting her like this.

Why deliberately push it away?

Why do you act like a stupid hedgehog, curling up even when faced with warmth and the kindness of others, and hurting others with your quills?

Jiangcheng must find this very hard to understand.

You'll be absolutely stunned.

You must be...you must be very sad.

Yet, when you actively help and comfort others, you are rejected and hurt by them. The person you consider a friend doesn't actually consider you a friend at all.

Just thinking about the possible expression on Jiang Cheng's face made my heart feel like it was going to shut down, and I felt a tangible, almost suffocating discomfort.

—This must be done.

Such concern, such praise, such comfort—every single word came from the heart, from the beauty of one's very nature.

It's so dazzling just to look at it. If a creature like a bat in the shadows were to encounter this light, it would surely be unable to bear the darkness any longer.

Given Jiang Cheng's kindness, if word got out, he would definitely be willing to waste a lot of time chatting with me and helping me every day.

It will definitely happen.

He's the kind of person who can listen attentively even to someone as withdrawn and eccentric as me.

No.

How could I drag someone like that down?

How could someone like that waste his time on me?

-

Do not……

can not do this!

If you feel warmth and happiness, then cherish it all and hold onto this beauty firmly in your hands. You absolutely cannot give up because you feel unworthy or because you are worried about burdening the other person.

Could it be that the owner of this diary left no trace in my memory because of their inner inferiority complex, and they parted ways early on?

Isn't this way of ending things a bit ridiculous?

Jiang Cheng's fingers had already reached the edge of the book page, and he was unconsciously experiencing the emotions recorded in the notes, unable to suppress his feelings.

The dark pupils no longer reflected the aimless desire to explore that once filled them, nor the sadness that they themselves were unaware of, but rather resentment and unwillingness.

Looking at everything that happened in a different way, seeing that delicate yet self-conscious and escapist psychology from the perspective of one's former lover.

It was as if a soul was gently flickering, bringing with it all the sorrow and anger that belonged to Jiangcheng.

Only when the curled-up pages were mostly turned and the first sentence of the next page came into view did he exhale a breath tinged with emotion.

That is……

-

Jiang Cheng seems to need me!!!

I had already begun to await the final outcome, hoping that rats like me would return to the shadows, but I never imagined that he would...

"Sorry, it seems I've been talking too much to myself. I've been ignored a lot lately, so I accidentally wasted your time."

He said he'd been being ignored a lot lately, so he'd unconsciously become addicted to chatting with me and wanted to kill time with others.

In situations like this, even a rat like me can have the opportunity to communicate with someone like Jiang Cheng.

But why is this happening?

How could this happen?

Jiang Cheng should have many friends.

How could someone like Alicia possibly ignore the friends around her?

But Jiang Cheng wasn't lying at all; he really wanted to chat with someone, even if that person was an incompetent and useless guy like me.

what……

Great.

It's amazing that a bat living in the shadows could find a fragment of light.

……

Tomorrow is Jiang Cheng's birthday again, and Alicia has prepared another birthday party. This time, she is much better prepared, and that girl should not make the same mistake as last time, nor give herself a chance to take advantage of the situation.

Ultimately, someone like me, who can only hide in a corner and stay alone even when attending parties, has no chance of touching the real main characters.

To feel so much gentleness and to be showered with so much attention is already worthwhile; to find even a single fragment is enough.

Even if it's just as a return gift, even if others don't care, I still want to give Jiangcheng a suitable and good enough gift.

I've been preparing for this for several months now, and I hope I won't disappoint Jiangcheng.

This is a pendant made with a prototype of a gemstone of even higher purity than the so-called Star of the Ocean, and it took me several months to polish and design it.

Because they didn't know much about Jiang Cheng's preferences, the design of this gemstone even had the help of Alicia. Jiang Cheng's companions offered suggestions, and together they selected the final design and manufacturing method.

When making her selections, Alicia was incredibly enthusiastic, so much so that her coldness at the previous birthday party must have been just an accident.

I feel inexplicably disappointed. I'm afraid Jiangcheng won't be chatting with me anymore soon.

To feel down about something like this makes me realize that I'm just a rat in the shadows. Jiang Cheng, as a friend, is being treated properly, yet I'm not happy for my friend at all.