Honkai Impact 3rd: My Days as a Captain in Schicksal

The deity slowly opened his arms, as if to embrace something that did not exist in the air. His tone gradually changed from low to high, filled with boundless excitement and eagerness: "Finally... this day is finally coming!"

"Once this ritual is completed, Yae Sakura's body and soul... will belong entirely to me!"

"Revenge... my great revenge is just around the corner!"

Perhaps the will of Honkai deliberately unfurled its influence on Theresa's mind. At this moment, countless memories she had forgotten suddenly flooded Theresa's mind. Only then did she realize that ever since she entered this dream, her thoughts had been secretly influenced and controlled by the will of Honkai.

She forgot her destiny.

She forgot about the Valkyrie.

She forgot who she was.

Even under the other party's deliberate manipulation, I never even had the thought of doubting why I had forgotten so many things.

“A broken…will…” Theresa murmured, the daze in her eyes widening, but she quickly regained her composure, realizing the whole story. She glared fiercely at the God, shouting, “Your wish will not be granted! I will not let you get away with this…”

Before Theresa could finish speaking, the God had already appeared in front of her, stretched out his right hand like a pair of pliers and pinched Theresa's cheek hard, clamping her jawbone and interrupting her speech: "Now that things have come to this, do you still think you have a chance to turn the tables?"

"If the invasion had just begun, I might have been somewhat afraid of you, but now this space of consciousness has become my territory entirely. Here, I am the supreme god! And you, your power has been sealed by me, and your memories are like a lump of mud, at my mercy..."

"How dare a mere mortal shout at the throne of a god?"

The two red lights behind the fox mask flashed with a crazed expression. Ordinary people would be unable to help but fall into boundless hatred and resentment simply by looking at those two red lights.

But Theresa, whose memories were unlocked by the broken will, is not one to sit idly by and wait for death. Even if she loses her limbs, she will use her fangs to make her enemies feel pain.

The god casually withdrew his right hand, which was bleeding profusely from Theresa's bite, and intentionally or unintentionally provoked Theresa's nerves: "Oh, right, I forgot to tell you, if you die here, your body in the real world... will also die..."

"When that time comes, you, transformed into a suicide soldier, will go on a killing spree, slaughtering every living thing you see and destroying everything that moves..."

The god dodged to the side, revealing Yae Sakura, who was holding a sword, walking up to the altar behind him.

Theresa stared in astonishment at the expressionless Yae Sakura, whose cold and indifferent expression she had never seen before. Yae Sakura looked down at Theresa's eyes as if she were looking at a fish on a chopping board.

"Alright, Sakura... use the spirit sword in your hand to sacrifice her to the gods!"

Yae Sakura slowly drew her spirit sword from its sheath. Her hand trembled slightly, as if the sword weighed a thousand pounds, and it seemed as if she had to use all her strength to draw it.

The kneeling girl before him seemed strangely familiar; the scene he had witnessed before kept flashing before his eyes, slowly overlapping with Theresa's image.

“Rin…” Yae Sakura’s indifferent expression finally wavered slightly, and tears of pain slowly streamed from the corners of her eyes. But she couldn’t stop herself from doing so. Her villagers were still waiting for her to save them—their lives, their hopes, their… their fervent expectations of her…

Yae Sakura finally drew her sword. Under the blood-red moonlight, the snow-white blade seemed to be shrouded in a layer of blood. She pointed the sword at Theresa, but could not bring herself to strike.

“Sakura…” Theresa’s voice was filled with weakness as she looked at Yae Sakura with pleading eyes, as if placing all her hopes on her. “Don’t be fooled, it’s all an illusion…”

"Tsk..." The god waved his hand impatiently, and the struggle in Yae Sakura's eyes intensified.

"Is there really no other way..." Yae Sakura's sword tip slowly lowered. "We...we can find a way without sacrifice..."

"Oh? So what's your solution?" The god appeared behind Yae Sakura like a phantom, whispering in her ear, "You mean you'll kill the monsters so the villagers can go up the mountain to gather food? But don't forget... after all this time, you've only killed one monster out of weariness, and the villagers still can't go up the mountain..."

"Are you going to make them wait any longer, waiting for your empty promise, waiting for a vow that you may never fulfill? Even if you can kill all the monsters, how many villagers will be left? And who will be responsible for their lives?"

"This is all your fault..."

"All those who have died are your sins..."

"The only way to atone for your sins... is to kill this little girl, to offer her blood as a sacrifice to the gods, and to appease their wrath... Only in this way can your people be saved!"

"No...I...I can't do it..." Yae Sakura staggered backward, her eyes glazed over, as if gripped by fear. "Sacrificing the innocent to save others...that kind of thing...I..."

“But the villagers are innocent too…” Yae Sakura’s backward body fell right into the priest’s arms. The priest gently reached out and hugged Yae Sakura from behind, whispering in her ear, “It’s okay, I’ll help you… just like Rin did that time…”

The god's hand covered Yae Sakura's hands that were gripping the hilt of the sword, pointing the tip at Theresa: "Look, this little girl's tendons have been severed. Even if you don't kill her now, she can no longer live. From now on, her life will only slowly wither away in loneliness and pain..."

"You're not trying to kill her, you're trying to save her... Sakura..."

"Go, protect your people, save them, and save her too!"

"Only by offering sacrifices to God will He save you!"

"Only in this way can everyone be saved!"

"Go, Sakura! Don't forget Rin's expectations of you!"

"You must become... an excellent shrine maiden who can protect everyone..."

The light in Yae Sakura's eyes finally vanished completely.

"Sakura! Don't lose to yourself..." But Yae Sakura seemed to no longer hear Theresa's cries. She returned to her cold expression and, without even letting Theresa finish speaking, cleanly and decisively severed the shimenawa ropes binding Theresa's hands, and deeply pierced Theresa's heart with the spirit sword in her hand.

A mouthful of blood welled up in Theresa's throat, filling her lungs and causing her to cough violently.

With the last of her strength, Theresa slowly and laboriously approached Yae Sakura, enduring the blade that was embedded deep in her body.

With her last bit of body heat, she gave Yae Sakura a hug she hadn't felt in a long time.

“Sakura…I can see…your kindness…your gentleness…”

"I can see...your pain...and your struggle..."

“I don’t hate you…and I don’t resent you…I know…you made…the right choice…”

“But…” Theresa’s tears mingled with blood, her vision blurring, yet she held Yae Sakura tightly, as if using all her remaining warmth to soothe Yae Sakura’s cold heart. “Your gentleness and kindness… are so beautiful… please don’t let them…”

"Please don't lose to yourself...and please don't...please don't lose to resentment..." She struggled to lift her face and meet the gaze of Yae Sakura's empty eyes. She placed her blood-stained hand on Yae Sakura's cold cheek, as if trying to melt Yae Sakura's icy expression.

But Theresa's body could no longer support her to continue speaking; her eyes were gradually losing their luster, her hand embracing Yae Sakura was slowly slipping away, and her voice was gradually fading.

Her life is slowly slipping away.

The deity stood at the edge of the altar, wearing a mask stained with Theresa's splattered blood, like a director inspecting his work.

Everything here is its puppet, everything here is its stage.

Whoever it wants to dance alone on this stage, suffer, struggle, and die, must endure this despair and torment. No one can resist it, and no one can refuse the fate it has arranged.

As if playing a prank, the god snapped his fingers, and Yae Sakura gradually regained her senses with that snap.

But what she saw first was a pool of blood in front of her, and a girl lying in her arms, her body temperature slowly fading.

She could even remember Theresa's last smile before she stopped breathing.

That was the person she had promised to protect.

She was someone who shared a similar fate with her sister.

Like her sister Rin... she became a helpless sacrifice, became...

They became innocent victims...

Yet another victim...

"Am I really protecting my villagers...?"

"Is this method... really protecting them...?"

"If I had worked harder and killed those monsters sooner... none of us would have gotten hurt..."

"It was clearly my fault...it was clearly my sin...why did it end up like this..."

"But in the end, someone else has to bear this pain..."

"I...or rather...actually I..."

The warm little body in Yae Sakura's arms shattered like a mirror, dissipating into a shower of petals.

"Ah, how sweet, how profound the pain and despair!" The god embraced himself, stroking himself up and down, as if enjoying some supreme comfort. "Doubt woven from trust, despair built from hope! What a satisfying enjoyment this is! And the hatred born from it is the ultimate treasure! Sakura... has your hope... finally been extinguished at this moment!"

“That’s right, Sakura, you are neither kind nor gentle…” The god finally took off its mask, behind which was a deep, dark hole. Its shape also changed, becoming eight parts similar to Yae Sakura. In the end, apart from a pitch-black face and a pair of narrow fox ears on its head, it was no different from Yae Sakura.

It gently embraced Yae Sakura, as tenderly as if embracing its most beloved. It rubbed its face against Yae Sakura's cheek and whispered venomous words in her ear: "...You're just trying to escape your responsibilities..."

"You are selfish and unwilling to atone for your sins, which is why you have provoked God's anger..."

"You failed in your duties as a priestess, which is why you were forced to sacrifice an innocent girl..."

"You hate yourself, and you hate the villagers who respect you but forced you to sacrifice your sister to bring rain..."

"That's why... you've been so negligent in exterminating the monsters..."

"No... I didn't... I didn't..." Yae Sakura's hoarse voice was filled with self-doubt. She clutched her arms, her sharp nails digging deep into her snow-white skin. Her body resembled a cracked porcelain doll, countless cracks covering her exposed skin. "I tried so hard to search... I really tried so hard to protect everyone... I searched the mountain every day..."

"And what about at night? You did go during the day, but you didn't go at night... You're lazy, you're selfish, you don't want to catch the monster, you want the monster to kill everyone in the village!"

"No...no...I..." Yae Sakura's cracked skin shattered like porcelain, revealing a hollow space inside.

Inside her body, there was only darkness, as if the body was just an empty shell.

In the center of that empty shell, a faint pink light flickered, but as time went by, the light grew weaker and weaker, seemingly unable to continue.

Finally, its radiance was stained with an inky black, as ugly as an ink stain that ruins the beauty of a fine work of art.

"Give up... You are selfish, hateful, vicious, and heartless! You are a stain abandoned by this world, a traitor despised by everyone, a wanderer destined to be alone..."

"Inside my body... dream a painful dream from which you'll never wake... Sakura..."

Yae Sakura's body shattered inch by inch, and the light spots in that empty shell seemed to vanish as well. As Yae Sakura broke apart, the figure that had been gently embracing her slowly filled out and became fuller, and a face exactly like Yae Sakura's appeared on its bottomless, deep face.

"The only one who can stay with you in this hell... is me... Sakura..."

Chapter Ninety-Eight: That shorty is always dragging me down.

Keng Huo leaned silently against the wall, listening intently to the sounds coming from the second-floor floor.

“Location complete…” Keng Huo closed his eyes, took off his glasses, and felt the restless power within his body.

"I've already communicated with Himeko; she's on her way back. Before that, I must hold Theresa back and prevent her from entering the academy and wreaking havoc... But if she continues to grow stronger, I absolutely won't be able to hold her back any longer... I only have one chance; this punch must be delivered with all my might..." Keng Huo's heart entered an unprecedented tranquility, casting aside all distractions and clearing away all thoughts, focusing solely on feeling the operation of the Golden Core in his mind. "My first battle in the Golden Core stage... I hope it won't be the last..."

The golden core formed from will is no longer subject to the limitations of the original badge. As long as the user's body is not destroyed by this powerful force, it can unleash its full potential without restraint. At this moment, the three clusters of will that have formed the golden core are being driven by Keng Huo with all his might, like a silent engine, penetrating the power into every muscle and bone of Keng Huo's body.

Keng Huo landed on all fours, having already taken off his shoes and stepping barefoot on the cold floor. His toes and fingers gripped the ground tightly, compressing their strength like fully charged springs.

"Now!" Keng Huo suddenly opened his eyes, his pupils shining with golden light. His bones and muscles rubbed together, emitting a roar like that of a beast. All the blood in his body poured into his limited muscles, and every inch of his muscles swelled up as if washed by blood. In that instant, his whole body almost swelled up.

"I am... the blade that slays demons!"

His power originated from his toes, and the kinetic energy was propelled from the muscles of his feet upwards, layer by layer, like a sophisticated engine that unleashed every bit of power without reservation. The tendons in his muscles could not withstand such intense force and broke one by one.

That unstoppable force traveled up his legs, merging with their power before reaching his waist. His spine creaked and groaned as the power from his waist surged into his upper body, merging with the power from his chest to form a surging torrent. This torrent eventually swept over his entire right arm, the bones of which groaned under the strain. Finally, this impact transformed into an unstoppable thunderbolt, all of it pouring into his right fist!

"Roar!" The dragon's roar rang out without warning.

His right fist broke the sound barrier almost instantly, and the sudden sonic boom nearly robbed Keng Huo of his clarity. However, Keng Huo, in the released state of the Beast Trapping Talisman, would not let this external factor affect his attack. At this moment, he only had eyes for the ceiling!