Honkai Impact 3rd, a simulator of lifelong regret!

Although that dull mind was still unable to comprehend what had happened.

Even though the fragmented self is far behind in terms of thinking ability.

Even though his wounded heart melted away the last bit of courage under the sun.

Faced with Jiang Cheng's accusations, the girl still admitted her mistake without hesitation, lowered her eyebrows, and adopted a posture of accepting being beaten and scolded. If her hands hadn't been tightly gripping the boy's sleeve and her head hadn't been buried in her chest.

Faced with this sudden act of concern, the courage within me seeped out from my fingertips as it had before, leaving only a few remnants.

Human courage is always a burst of energy, which wanes and eventually runs out, even if one knows that not doing so will only lead to a more decadent life.

But when Jiang Cheng truly looks at it with that kind of gaze, no matter how tall the Tower of Babel is built, it will still be blown away by the wind like sand.

What's the point of an apology?

"If apologies were enough, what would we need the police for?"

The boy watched all this calmly, his gaze slightly lowered as he looked at the girl in his arms.

"I'm so sorry!"

Alicia's voice has also improved by more than one level.

If she weren't still intoxicated by the embrace of a young man and the happiness of a paradise, she might have readily performed a farewell dance on the spot.

After two years of hard work and practice, I can now express my deepest apologies while simultaneously engaging both of the boy's brains.

"Can you recognize your mistake now?"

Jiang Cheng finally bent down, no longer looking down at him with cold condescension. The corners of his mouth turned up again, and the familiar smile from his memory finally appeared.

Having finally exhausted all her courage, along with everything about the future, all Alicia could do was nod her head.

"I...can."

"Okay, very energetic."

"In that case, come with me on this trip."

Jiang Cheng's invitation followed closely behind. Even before Alicia could process what was happening, the dark gold invitation, molded and shaped using Honkai energy by gravity, floated to her side.

I was always just the one being invited to the old town, to the old swimming pool, and to the girl's bed.

This time, however, he was the one who took the initiative to invite Alicia.

"it is good……"

"Eh?"

"What did you say?"

Alicia unconsciously raised her head, her pink pupils reflecting his upturned lips—the ruthlessness in his deep blue eyes had faded slightly, replaced by a cunning light mixed with his ulterior motives.

The exquisite dark gold invitation was almost within reach, even reflecting the expression on her face—a blank, dazed look that made her appear quite foolish.

“I said since you’ve realized your mistake, then come and make it up to me. Let’s go back to the places we used to go. Maybe that will help me find some feelings, some emotions that should belong to me, whether it’s happiness or sadness.”

"Since we're going to start a new life together, we should at least clean up the mess from before. We can't escape our sins."

"I heard you clearly. Don't even think about trying to renege on your debt."

“I don’t want to stay in this state forever.”

……

Jiangcheng has extended an invitation to you, leaving no room for refusal. The invitation is already before you; you can simply reach out and take it.

[Perhaps you know you can refuse now, you can try to knock Jiang Cheng unconscious or escape, and once again make the sacrifice you were supposed to make.]

This is the best approach right now: resolve the matter quickly and grant Jiang Cheng his freedom. It's infinitely better than dragging things out and forcibly delaying things.

Because dragging it out won't change anything; it will only hurt more people and narrow the time available for choices.

But everyone in the world knows that if there were unity and solidarity, if there were no greed or selfishness, and if fairness and freedom could be achieved for everyone, everyone could live happily. So who would do that?

Even you know that if you had offered your blessings, if you had left Jiangcheng in the first place, perhaps things wouldn't have turned out so badly.

[It's true that Herrschers are jinxes, but that doesn't mean you have to pin the blame for the disaster on innocent teenagers.]

Saying and doing are two separate things. For a person, the most disconnected thing is never anything else, but simply the separation between mind and body.

When a young man extends an invitation to you with a touch of cunning, simply wanting to be with you, how can you possibly refuse?

Courage has long since slipped through my fingers like sand; no matter how hard I try to grasp it back, more will only be lost.

[You've never been a courageous person. Compared to the so-called Herrscher, the so-called goddess, the so-called saint, you've always just been an ordinary girl, an ordinary person.]

[Like a human being, feel joy; like a human being, feel loss; like a human being, feel sorrow; observe the world like a human being, sometimes elated, sometimes dejected; sometimes delighted by small things, sometimes shedding tears of sadness.]

The so-called divinity is a term created by humankind; it has been a false proposition from the beginning, so how could it possibly be implemented by humankind?

Jiangcheng now invites you to retrace your past journey, as a true couple, just the two of you, with no other travels.

[Observe how flowers bloom, how water flows, how high mountains are, how deep the sea is, how fish swim, how birds sing, instead of harboring the names of one person after another to influence or change.]

"You can finally make it up to me."

"You finally have a chance to make amends."

If this were in the past, if it only existed in your imagination, if you hadn't experienced it firsthand, you might wonder if you were qualified to do it.

Are you qualified to be by his side?

[Does a monster and a Herrscher truly deserve to be together?]

But now, as you revisit those past experiences alongside the young person, you find that all those worries and pains have vanished.

Whatever...

Tomorrow doesn't matter, the future doesn't matter, whether there's hope or despair doesn't matter; all that matters is staying in this moment.

The concepts of being a good match or not are no longer part of our thinking.

You no longer have the right to indulge in such wild thoughts.

The person who can decide this issue is never you, so why dwell on things that you can't change no matter how much you think about them?

My only thought, my only remaining thought, is to see more sights with the boy, empty our minds, and experience the existence of this beautiful paradise.

……

……

134. I am not the person you expected.

At thirty-three, you've completely shed all shackles in your life, leaving only a journey together—a journey to rediscover the person you once were.

Any further thoughts are meaningless, because you've already clearly realized that you've never been the one to decide the choices.

No matter what resolve you have, no matter what sacrifices you are determined to make, your courage will crumble under the gentle touch of youth.

[Essentially just ordinary, mediocre mortals, no more noble than the average person you'd see on the street. The emotions contained within their hearts are no different from those of ordinary people; how could they possibly rival the warmth of the heart?]

[If you weren't truly left with no other choice, you would never have even considered the word "sacrifice," and you would never have chosen to give up the warmth you have now.]

[As long as Jiang Cheng holds you in his arms, his warm breath brushing against your ear, your will and resolve melt away like bubbles meeting the sun, leaving only some seemingly beautiful ripples.]

Then let's not think about it too much.

[At least we're following Jiang Cheng's ideas.]

At least until you're caught up with the past.

[You and he greeted the dawn and the sunset together, as if returning to that warm and precious trip from the past.]

Climb the highest, cloud-piercing peaks, traverse the widest, boundless oceans, stroll together along streams, venture into misty, labyrinthine forests, searching for each other's traces, even though we possess the power to find each other instantly.

[Instead of doing so, he disguised himself as an ordinary mortal, feigning ignorance, and suddenly soared into the sky, piercing through the clouds to gaze upon the clear world.]

Even though some places have become ruins, and that beautiful scenery has become a memory for the two of you, look, the sun is shining brightly, the breeze is gentle, and after the harsh winter, new buds of hope are blooming on the scorched earth.

Even if seeds cannot survive on the ground ravaged by Honkai energy, you can still recreate the scenery of the past in familiar places.

This power, which from the very beginning only brought calamity, seems to be able to truly help you, and help the young man, in some way at this moment.

……

"It's really been destroyed beyond recognition."

"I remember it was reduced to ashes by the eighth Herrscher, the one with the destructive power to burn everything, and even the clouds turned black."

Jiang Cheng stood with his meaningless hiking stick, walking step by step along the edge of the scorching, blackened hillside in the simplest way.

Even after a long time has passed, not a breath of wind can be stirred. Stepping onto this land, you can still feel the heat that threatens to pierce your shoes and burn your feet.

In my memory, countless roses grew here, and their intoxicating fragrance, carried by the wind, could even spread for miles around.

Even if it's a journey where you travel and enjoy the scenery along the way, it's definitely in the top three, with only the Thousand Lakes Desert being comparable.

This beauty also made him and Alicia stay here for several days, just to properly appreciate the beauty of the roses covering the hillside under the light at different times of the day.

At noon, the sun is at its most intense, scorching even the bright red petals until they wilt, and the slender, thorny branches sway precariously, as if they might bend over at any moment, with countless flowers swaying.

It's even more spectacular if you come at dawn or dusk. Under the light, the rose bushes look like the red clouds on the horizon connecting with the earth. The setting sun casts long shadows, and the distant sky is dotted with twilight clouds. The afterglow of the setting sun reflects the mountain and water scenery, all intertwining to create a moving picture.

Unfortunately, too much time has passed. Now, not even rose seeds or broken petals can be found here. The flowerbeds have long been eroded into mud by Honkai energy, and can no longer even nourish the land.

It won't turn into spring mud to nourish the flowers, because even the ground itself has been corroded by Honkai energy and turned into wasteland, leaving no trace of life.

The Honkai was indeed a complete catastrophe for this world, a cruel and devastating blow to the planet itself that was almost impossible to heal.

This disaster doesn't even seem to be man-made, like the pollution and damage from nuclear explosions, nor does it resemble natural phenomena like storms or earthquakes.

These are ultimately just minor disturbances within the biosphere; as time passes, everything will be smoothed over, and the planet will heal these wounds.

The seemingly devastating damage is ultimately aimed at the fragile human civilization; even if the entire biosphere were destroyed, it would be of little consequence.

The collapse, on the other hand, is the complete opposite. Once erosion occurs, it takes root underground. Unless other means are used to eliminate the pollution, not a single life can be conceived. It cannot be worn away by so-called time.