Honkai Impact 3rd, a simulator of lifelong regret!

just now……

The boy reached out his hand.

Even knowing that all of this is largely false and is the result of one's own desires.

Even knowing that this so-called atonement is nothing but self-deception and burying one's head in the sand.

When the victim, Jiang Cheng, reached out to her, willing to accept and acknowledge the past and give himself a chance to repent for his heinous mistakes.

Do I really deserve it?

Do I still deserve it?

"Can I still throw you a birthday party?"

……

"--certainly."

"Not in Vervi's way, but in Alicia's own way, throw a party to celebrate that I am still alive in this world."

……

136. Stop imitating Vervière.

"Not in Vervi's way, but in Alicia's own way. Please hold a party to celebrate that I am still alive in this world."

This will be a banquet just for you, a banquet just for the two of us, without needing or having anyone else involved.

Please fulfill your desires to the fullest.

If you want to atone for your sins, I'll give you that chance.

Let's at least give this offensive journey a proper ending before it all comes to an end.

"Okay?"

"—My dearest Alicia."

……

The last rays of the setting sun shone on Jiang Cheng's outstretched fingertips. Even at the last moment, the smile on his lips still shone brightly. His pupils reflected the girl like a mirror, but could only reflect the dark color of one person. A gentle breeze brushed his hair, and the world naturally bestowed upon him the most suitable radiance at this moment, distinguishing the most perfect realm of light.

Even though time rolls forward relentlessly and cannot be stopped, at this very moment, sparse light and darkness combine to form shadows like tree branches, causing the tips of hair to tremble gently along with the blinking eyelashes.

The shadows of the past stubbornly continue to prove their existence, as if time has played a joke, allowing the ash forest of the past to reappear before our eyes, with a boy reaching out his hand to the wind, to the night, and to the flowers.

But the gentleness in his eyes and the smile on his lips contained sadness, helplessness, and a sense of powerlessness, rather than tenderness.

It was hidden so well.

Or perhaps it's simply that I don't think there will be any sadness.

Alicia raised her head and quietly gazed at the boy who was so close to her, her eyes almost squinting to make her observation more detailed.

It wasn't until the back of her hand, raised in shock and incomprehension, gently touched the corner of her lips that the blissful smile that had been stirred up brought everything back to reality.

original……

Laughter requires no physical action.

No practice or preparation is required.

When you feel happy, the corners of your mouth will naturally turn up.

……

"Of course."

"The most adorable river city in the world."

……

Today, for the first time, you realize that retracing your past journey wasn't a futile effort, nor was it a matter of passively accepting whatever comes after being unable to make a choice.

[A beautiful, warm red sunset, magnificent, continuous mountain ranges, and a young man whose life is far more captivating than the other two combined.]

Although the scarred earth was not as vibrant as the flower-filled hillsides of Eternal Paradise, and the breeze did not stir up blackened dust, countless petals of blooming flowers swayed in the air, like butterflies dancing to the beautiful music played by willow branches and green leaves.

Although the setting sun cannot compare to the dreamlike glow cast by the great tree you planted in Eternal Paradise, enough to envelop the entire town and add a touch of fairytale beauty to the already colorful streets.

As long as Jiang Cheng is by your side, as long as you can see that familiar figure standing beside you, there is no such thing as beauty or ugliness.

It's not that the teenager's abilities can change everything; it's just that at this moment, you will lose all ability to judge and will only feel sweetness.

Humans are inherently subjective beings; even the smallest things can lead to drastically different perspectives among different people.

Some believe that the sunset is too melancholic, symbolizing the impending darkness, while others see dusk as a prelude to tomorrow's hope.

[Is it understandable that someone like Jiangcheng would feel happy simply because he's surrounded by amusement parks, and that being in those parks would bring him joy?]

Even fairy tales don't strictly define what paradise truly is, so why set standards for something that doesn't even have standards?

[At least after all the masks are torn off, as Alicia alone, you have the chance to savor this happiness that you are never meant to experience, a happiness so wonderful that it feels like you're about to drown in it.]

The boy also seemed to be becoming more and more normal, no longer just being mild-mannered, but also able to sigh and feel excited about the scenery he had traveled to in the past.

Sometimes you can't even tell if the other person has regained their emotions, their memories, and is no longer controlled by the Honkai.

You even made a promise with the boy to watch the meteor shower together, to see just how beautiful that supposedly extremely rare sight really is.

Even though you could easily bring about this natural phenomenon with your own power, you still made a decision that seems somewhat unnecessary.

If there's anything wrong with your peaceful life right now, it's that you always feel Jiangcheng seems to be shrouded in some kind of melancholy.

There must be something buried deep in my heart.

No matter how hard Jiang Cheng tried to hide it, the sadness hidden in his brows was still undeniable. When he looked at you, his eyes would always involuntarily drift off into a daze, his thoughts falling into some deeper realm.

[Her dark eyes, like countless stars lit up in the night sky, were eternally lonely and distant, yet somehow too empty.]

Although the past may have been gentle, and as fixed as a photograph, the tenderness it contained was by no means fake.

【Now……】

【ah……】

If one had to choose a single word to describe the look in those eyes, only the word "sadness" could do it.

At first, this feeling of sadness wasn't much, but it grew stronger and stronger over time. At one point, the boy even locked himself in his room, not venturing out until the next day.

[What was originally a relaxed pace suddenly became unusually urgent that day, just like you in the past.]

[It was as if the other person was also being chased by something, about to be caught, but then seemed to realize something and became powerless.]

Is it also because of the Honkai Impact 3rd?

[After all, the Honkai's development has been too rapid. Even with just a few individuals, Time Herrschers have been created, possessing the ability to control consciousness and erase individuals mentally, without even needing to construct defensive barriers.]

[Almost none of the physical defenses were effective against the new Herrscher. Even the humans, who had all been transformed into Fusion Warriors, suffered a severe blow, with three cities destroyed in just three seconds.]

It seems that the existence of the Honkai is the nemesis of all civilizations; the Herrschers were created solely to deliver a fatal blow to humanity.

Just like the Second Herrscher possessing the power of space, who could directly behead a fully armed and impenetrable human headquarters.

[The defensive shield created by Jiang Cheng, under your adjustments as a tester, has been given new life by Mebius. Even a Judgment-level Honkai Beast cannot cross the outermost layer of defense, not even by a single step.]

[The previous Herrscher of Flame, who burned an entire continent the moment she was born, could only cause a disaster smaller than a city. She couldn't even break through the city's third layer of defense before you arrived and killed her without any chance of retaliation.]

Even if the outermost defenses are breached, even if humanity truly has to confront the Herrschers, it would be impossible to inflict a devastating blow against any human who has been completely transformed into a Fusion Warrior with extremely strong vitality and whose potential is equivalent to that of an Emperor.

[Because of you, previously scarce materials have been supplied in large quantities, ranging from the most common Assault-class, Chariot-class, Knight-class, Temple-class, and Honkai Emperor-class to the higher-level Emperor-class, Judgment-class, and even the End-of-Dharma-class.]

The sheer abundance of materials is enough to arm all of humanity. Ignoring potential for growth and combat effectiveness, simply maintaining the success rate of the first fusion surgery can skyrocket to an unimaginable level.

Although the success rate of the subsequent experiments was still low due to Mebius's limited energy, she had done her utmost in terms of widespread adoption, thus preventing the Honkai from being considered a complete catastrophe.

This change might be because purely destructive Herrschers are no longer an insurmountable threat to humanity.

[In Jiang Cheng's notes, it has been confirmed that the Honkai energy changes with advancements in human technology, and its upper limit is unknown.]

Since energy itself can increase with technological advancements, then the Honkai's creations—the Herrschers—should also be capable of launching targeted attacks against humanity.

Is this Herrscher, possessing the ability to control consciousness, born this time because she absorbed the mistakes of the past, thus lacking any physical form and able to directly bypass defensive layers to attack?

For human civilization, which had already reached a relatively comfortable state, the news of the destruction of three cities was already earth-shattering.

Even if he had already embarked on a journey into the past, even if he had arrived in a desolate place, it was not incomprehensible for Jiang Cheng to learn of this news.

[A top scientist who, as a former guardian of humanity, inherited Velvet's legacy and developed one technology after another to combat the Honkai.]

The thought that one's achievements have been shattered, denied, and trampled upon can indeed be a painful reminder of past glories.

[Just a special kind of Herrscher...]

Will it really make Jiangcheng's emotions become so strange?

……

They have clearly committed such selfish and greedy acts.

Jiangcheng is so broken that it has lost all feeling.

Even though she only showed endless tolerance, endless forgiveness, and endless gentle smiles, she would never bring up the sadness of the past.

But is it really so that I can bring up past mistakes again, giving me a chance to address issues that are theoretically impossible to resolve?

The absence of feelings doesn't mean the loss of everything. At least under my greedy desires, I can retain something related to me.

Joy, sorrow, happiness... loss means unfamiliarity, and the instinctive fear and escape from the unfamiliar is what we should truly choose.

Just because he wanted to atone for his sins, Jiang Cheng deliberately reopened his wounds, gave up escaping, went against the gentle advice that offered the best option, and unhesitatingly revealed the only pain he could feel?

For me...

what……

I no longer want to be forgiven.

I no longer want to be treated so gently.