Honkai Impact 3rd, a simulator of lifelong regret!

People often mistakenly believe that a certain moment can last forever—a conversation with friends, a dinner with family. But when they look back much later, they realize how fleeting that moment was and how quickly the beauty vanished.

what……

Knot……

ended?

ended.

It's definitely over.

It was just a chance encounter, a journey that started with a sudden request, so how could it possibly stretch into eternity, or be so long as to have no limit?

"there is none left……"

"This is all of Chiba Academy."

The last word was uttered with difficulty, as if taking her life with it. The girl's delicate face turned pale in an instant, her fingertips hovering in the air, as if she was still unwilling to stop her journey like this.

Raiden Mei instinctively didn't want to face all of this, but the truth in her eyes was too overwhelming, leaving no room for gradual acceptance.

No matter how you choose to escape, no matter how much you pretend to be stupid, it's meaningless. Unless you die at this moment, time will inevitably continue to move forward.

Even the most beautiful stories eventually come to an end. The question is whether the people involved can continue the story and start a new chapter from another beginning.

How can someone who only has one source material to rely on from beginning to end possibly write a new story?

"Jiang... Jiang Cheng, are you free tomorrow? Just one hour... half an hour each day is enough."

"It's nothing much, it's just... are you interested in the buildings around this city? Like the shopping streets or the Sky Tree in the center of Changkong City, if so, I can help you... ah..."

The girl's hesitant voice and timidity prevented her from even making her own request. She was aware of her own clown-like absurdity, and the abrupt end of her voice seemed like a final act of mercy for this pathetic and laughable situation.

It wasn't that her dignity, which had already been trampled into the mud and seemed not yet broken, was acting up; it was simply that she didn't want her ridiculous performance to disgust Jiangcheng and leave a bad impression even at the moment of parting.

Even though the next moment is about to fall into the abyss, after experiencing light and hope, one will return to absolute despair and cruel darkness.

The girl hoped that the person named Raiden Mei, who was just an incompetent passerby and wouldn't even leave much of a mark, could leave a good impression.

At least don't leave Jiangcheng with a bad impression until the very last moment, and don't let the thought of this stranger remind you of Wuli.

Until, just like the first time we met, that unpretentious voice entered my heart.

"--OK."

……

"what……"

The girl suddenly raised her head, and in her eyes, as dark as night thunder, was reflected the boy's outstretched hand, bathed in light, as if holding the afterglow of the setting sun, like a god selflessly bestowing light and hope.

The last rays of the setting sun shone precisely on Jiang Cheng's outstretched fingertips, as if kissing the young man in this moment. In the final moments before his twilight years, the gentle smile on his lips still shone brightly.

His dark pupils reflected the girl like a mirror, and only reflected one person. The wind brushed his hair, and the world naturally bestowed upon him the most suitable radiance at this moment, distinguishing the most perfect field of light.

Neither the voice nor the appearance was fake; it was undoubtedly that boy.

And now, just as he had done at the beginning, he extended an invitation to the girl.

"It just so happens that I don't know much about this city either."

"If you'd like, I'd also be happy to learn more about this city in the Far East."

……

Jiang Cheng still remembers the girl he saw when he went to the appointment that day.

Despite being a friend and a waiter, the fearful expression on his face suggested he had anticipated the worst possible outcome. He pursed his lips, clasped his hands together, and hugged his bent legs, seemingly never having held any hope that he would be helped, even though it was an agreement already made.

Perhaps because she had never found any light in the past, and the betrayal and cruelty of countless people had made the girl instinctively afraid to pray for, imagine, or hope for any good fortune to happen to her.

But when he actually went there and lifted the branches to greet her, the change in his expression was almost indescribable in any language in the world; it was just like that of Velvi after she was invited and accepted.

No matter how you look at it...

Judging a character solely based on the plot is too narrow-minded.

A complete individual cannot be described solely through words. Top-notch writing and well-developed character settings can highlight a multitude of traits, but it is impossible to narrate every detail and every experience in detail.

Just like Velvi and Alicia, what you learn from the game's plot alone cannot be the complete person; at most, it's only a part of them. The amount of text in those plot passages could never possibly depict a complete person.

Perhaps it's just a small, overlooked matter, a few words written in the background, or even some details casually mentioned by others, but for the person involved, it can be a huge difficulty that spans almost a lifetime.

It's possible that overcoming this difficulty came at a great cost, or that we haven't overcome it yet, or that we haven't reconciled with that matter—all of this will only occupy a small portion of the plot.

Rather, it's more accurate to say that the idea of ​​turning a perfectly normal straight woman into a lesbian under the tutelage of Raiden Ryoma, forcibly transforming a perfectly normal person into someone whose sexual orientation is theoretically entirely determined by birth, and who is born different from ordinary people and has a natural affinity for lesbians, is something that could never be so easily dismissed from the beginning.

Being bullied is like the sky falling down; at least for the person involved, every day, every minute, and every second is like hell.

Elementary school students might feel devastated for not wearing their red scarves, middle school students might be terrified after failing an exam, and high school students might commit suicide after failing their college entrance exams, believing that nothing in the world could be worse than this.

Although looking at it from the perspective of adulthood, not sending a red scarf is not a big deal. It's just an ordinary exam, and it doesn't matter if you fail. The college entrance examination is not the only direction in life. Life is a wilderness, not a pre-marked track that can only go forward.

This idea and understanding are essentially due to time, to becoming more mature. However, human growth is essentially due to repeated experiences, to repeated seemingly ridiculous fears.

If you've never been taught what's important and what's right.

Using methods only for elementary school students.

So……

Even adults would feel fear if they didn't wear their red scarves.

Moreover, what Raiden Mei experienced was never just simple school bullying.

That was the imprisonment of his once revered and worshipped father, the shattering of his glorious image; the loss of his once prosperous family overnight; and the sudden transformation of all the friends who had gathered around him into enemies who kicked him when he was down.

From the mind to the body, from intimacy to estrangement... everything reversed overnight. It seemed as if the whole world suddenly disliked girls, as if everyone in the world suddenly began to hate them.

Friends, family, relatives, classmates, teachers, even strangers passing by, and shop owners who have always treated her kindly.

This is a genuine abandonment, an abandonment by the entire world, an abandonment by everyone who has seen it, and by everyone I have experienced growing up to this point.

Many people feel bad simply because they are disliked, or because they are annoyed by one or two people who like to cause them trouble. But Raiden Mei is experiencing a more powerful version: everyone in her world dislikes her.

Even if no one can bear all of this, even the most determined person, a person without feelings cannot accept the trouble that is about to come.

Tortured both physically and mentally, the girl was as if she had been pushed underwater, left with no chance to breathe, and could only suffocate to death.

While wind and rain can help plants grow and absorb nutrients, a strong storm can uproot young plants.

They must be saved.

Once it begins, it must end.

If someone jumps into the water without permission after another person has fallen in, and tries to rescue them even though they know lifeguards will be there, then that person who jumped in without permission is a sinner, burdened with the weight of a life lost, if they can't at least prevent the drowning person from getting to shore.

Since they replaced Kiana and provided assistance in advance, they at least couldn't do worse than the lifeguard who was originally supposed to be there.

Otherwise, it cannot be called help; it is merely the incompetent acting recklessly, making everything worse, and could even be classified as egregious.

He's not in a good state right now. Maybe it's not limited to the school. Going to other places or going further away might help him relieve his strange emotions.

The best way to suppress certain emotions is to shift your focus elsewhere and fill the time available for reflection with trivial matters.

"You just need to tell me the time. If we want to explore outside the school, then there definitely won't be enough time between classes. After all, it takes a lot of time to go back and forth to the school, and I don't have an apartment to rent here."

"Please let me know what time it is so I can arrange my time accordingly. I've been in this city for so long, but I haven't really had a proper look around Changkong City."

……

what……

Perhaps because she was too shocked, even now, Raiden Mei is still not recovered. Her purplish-red eyes are filled with a daze, simply reflecting and capturing the boy's face.

I never imagined that I would be made such excessive demands. In essence, it was just a product of desperation, because I was unwilling to lose the last ray of light, unwilling to fall into darkness without any hope.

At that moment, his body went limp involuntarily, as if all his strength had been drained away, as if even his bones had been shattered and ground apart, and all his meridians had been brutally pulled out. Only his hands still reached out subconsciously, as if he was trying to grab the hem of his clothes to pull him back. For this, he even unconsciously uttered a request that was theoretically impossible to be granted.

The moment she uttered the words, she realized how foolish her request was. Only after she had spoken did the girl belatedly realize the outrageous things she had said in her fear.

Inviting Jiang Cheng to visit Changkong City is something that can't be dismissed with the excuse that introducing the school is essentially helping a junior. No matter how you look at it, from any perspective, it's more like a date invitation.

As people of the opposite sex, going shopping together in other places, just the two of them... that's only possible with a so-called male best friend.

It's like asking someone you've only known for half a month to go on a date, especially for people from the Far East who are also influenced by Confucian culture and value subtlety and tact.

what……

It's beyond just being offensive.

If it's a man, then he's a pervert; if it's a woman, then she's a lesbian.

There is absolutely no room for leniency. Even using such an excessive term would not be inappropriate in the slightest, because people who do such things are essentially dissolute and completely lack self-discipline.

Not only did she not expect her demands to be met, she was even worried that Jiang Cheng would think she was a promiscuous woman for saying these things.

What normal, ordinary girl would ask someone out after knowing them for only a few weeks, especially if she were the one initiating the invitation?

They had already resigned themselves to being rejected, or even to being treated differently.

However, this self-indulgent decadence seems rather foolish.

—Agreed. The extremely offensive proposal has been approved.

They've only known each other for a few weeks. As someone who feels absolutely unable to lose someone, can you really accept such a dissolute request?

Or……

Jiang Cheng really just wanted to get to know this city.

It's just me... This guy is thinking way too far wrong.

……

Raiden Mei gazed into the boy's deep blue eyes, which, apart from a few hints of surprise, held only composure, like the sky reflected on the sea at night, occasionally rippling with waves, adding a touch of approachable luster, and twinkling like stars, reflecting the determination to do something.

No matter how you look at it, you can't see anything wrong with it. Even when it's deep in thought, it still exudes a reliable yet detached aura.

Tiny individuals and stars, silent as eternity, radiant and noisy, seemingly unaware that they are being looked up to. Like mayflies and the vast ocean, each has its own measure.

It seemed so distant and unattainable, just like countless times before. Even though I was standing right in front of him, the boy was thinking about something else. No matter how close my gaze, body, or breath got, he seemed so far away.

what……

I really misunderstood.