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

No... I... I refuse... such hope... such hope is simply unacceptable...

"Sister..." Rin finally spoke, "Let's... go back..."

"Being able to come this far... Rin is already... very happy... Rin has never been this far from home before..."

Yae Sakura's tears flowed for the third time. Her small fists were clenched tightly, as if she wanted to crush this terrifying thing.

"I'm sorry... it seems we still can't keep our promise..."

"Rin..." Yae Sakura's voice trembled, "Don't you...don't you want to go see the cherry blossoms with your sister...?"

“But…” Rin seemed to be touched as well. Her small face, which was filled with tears, froze. Her mouth opened and closed slightly, as if she had something to say but couldn’t say it.

"I'm asking you! Do you want to go see the cherry blossoms with your sister!" Sensing the words Rin had never been able to utter even after countless reincarnations, Yae Sakura seemed to ignite courage and hope within her, asking loudly, "There are so many things in the outside world... We can go see the big city together, see the tall tower together, see the sea together..."

“Sister…” Rin’s face was also covered with tears of the same pain.

Tell me! You want to leave this place with me! Let's go...to our future!!

The father abruptly pulled Rin away, staring at Yae Sakura with icy eyes: "Stop talking nonsense. No one can defy the destiny ordained by the gods!"

But at this moment, Rin finally spoke, uttering the words that had been buried deep in her heart for so long, the dream she had always wanted to shout out but never had the courage to say, and truly, sincerely shouted them out: "I want to..."

Tears streamed down her face like a river bursting its banks.

"But...I still...I still want to..."

"I want to leave this place with my sister! Let's go together... let's go together..."

"To see the cherry blossoms!!"

"Then don't give up!! Your sister will! She will definitely take you... to our future!!"

"Don't be foolish!" The father suddenly pulled Rin behind him. "God's will cannot be resisted!"

"I don't want to serve such a god!" Yae Sakura's anger burned like fuel.

This was the first time in this dream that Yae Sakura had the courage to stand up against her father.

"Such a god... there's no point in serving him at all!!" Yae Sakura suddenly rushed towards her father. At that moment, she wasn't thinking about anything else; she was just instinctively thinking that if she were willing, if she had the courage, if she really dared to refuse...

If I dared to reach out to that person who stood in my way like a mountain, and push them away with all my might...

That mountain will collapse with a roar!

"If such a god truly exists... then I will kill it!"

"No one...no one can stop my future!!"

Her father vanished like a bubble, but Yae Sakura showed no hesitation or confusion. She took Rin's hand and ran up the mountain without looking back.

The whole world seemed to be collapsing and shattering, like a mirror cracking open piece by piece, revealing a darkness deeper than the night.

But the only thing in this world that didn't break was that mountain.

On that mountain, cherry blossom trees cascaded down like waterfalls, growing wildly.

True despair is never a hopeless situation where one is powerless to resist...

Rather... it's the moment you truly give up resisting...

As long as you don't give up...

One day...

The sunlight will pierce through this seemingly impenetrable darkness...

Hope will shine through... this seemingly inescapable despair!

……

Yaezakura seems to be able to see the petals falling under the cherry blossom tree.

She could almost feel the warm breeze carrying the scent of cherry blossoms.

In that boundless darkness, the cherry blossom tree seemed to be shining with a light as bright as a lighthouse.

"Rin! We're here!" Yae Sakura turned around excitedly, only to suddenly realize that the person following behind her was someone else.

"Yes, you did it, Sakura..." The girl, about the same age as her but with white hair, smiled, her face streaked with the same tears. "You... still didn't lose to yourself... Now, wake up from your dream... Your future... isn't over yet!"

The cherry tree suddenly burst into dazzling light, its rays like sharp swords piercing the boundless darkness, seemingly illuminating the entire world.

Yae Sakura instinctively closed her eyes, but when the light faded and she was finally able to open them, she was met with a hellish scene.

Yae Village was engulfed in flames. A gigantic fox with five tails roared amidst the fire. A thick shimenori rope was tied around its neck, and its eyes seemed to have been etched with narrow lines by scarlet blades. The three tomoe patterns on its head emitted an eerie light. Flames swirled around it, devouring everything in their path.

"It would be enough if you just kept living a dream inside my body that you would never wake up from... providing me with an endless stream of pain and despair..."

"Why...why do you keep defying me!" The giant fox spoke in human language. "Fine...I've already got what I wanted!"

"You who have no value left, then turn to ashes!"

Like a tidal wave, the flames surged toward Theresa and Yae Sakura, who were still in a daze and Theresa, who had no power left, were powerless to resist.

Chapter 100: The Dawn

The fireball reflected in Theresa's pupils grew larger and larger, and in this dream world, with her tendons in her hands and feet already severed, she had no way to dodge.

Especially when Yae Sakura next to him was still stunned and didn't react at all.

"So... I was still powerless to resist..." Theresa closed her eyes with a bitter smile, but the expected pain did not come.

"Whoosh!" A blade of light, seemingly capable of cleaving through space, suddenly appeared in the air. Two figures, as swift as lightning, flashed out from the ripples in space. The first figure collided with the flames and exploded violently, but the flames were also scattered considerably by the explosion.

The second figure, wielding a long, swift sword, like Moses parting the waters in legend, actually cleaved the flames in two, and the fireball flowed past them as if the water had been diverted by a channel.

Theresa opened her eyes in surprise and doubt, only to see a familiar figure from behind.

"Mei? What are you doing here?" Mei was wearing an unknown black and red samurai armor. If it weren't for her dark blue hair, which Theresa found very familiar, she probably wouldn't have been able to recognize her from just her back.

“It’s not just Mei.” Kiana’s slightly tired voice came from Theresa’s side. Theresa looked in the direction of the voice and saw Bronya in her school uniform and Kiana in a tight-fitting outfit that looked like a nun’s habit.

“It seems Bronya’s analysis is correct. The dream space does indeed have loopholes and weaknesses in its rules. As long as we can cause a sufficiently large energy fluctuation at that singularity, we can escape that endless cycle of reincarnation that cannot be escaped by conventional means.” The heavily armored bunny behind Bronya held up its shield in front of everyone.

“We’ll talk about these things later. Anyway, this big fox is the enemy, right? Let’s take care of it first, then we’ll discuss the details!” Kiana twirled her pistol, and she and Mei flanked it from the left and right. “We’ve fought this big fox more than a dozen times…”

"You actually managed to escape that dream? Impossible!" The giant fox roared to the sky, its flames gathering once more. "But even if you escaped, so what! You will all die here today!"

"Stop talking big! We've beaten you up more than ten times already, one more time won't make a difference!" Bullets from Kiana's pistol rained down on the fox spirit, sparks flying like metal clashing. "Damn it, how can this guy be so tough!"

Kiana's attack had no effect on the fox spirit. It raised its huge claws and slammed them down towards Mei.

Mei's figure flashed to the side like a ghost, leaving behind a series of afterimages. These afterimages moved with Mei's body and eventually condensed into a semi-transparent blue entity. The fox demon's claws pressed down hard on the afterimage, which suddenly exploded, releasing a large number of sparks that wrapped around the fox demon's claws.

Mei, who had just finished dodging, suddenly stomped her foot, her speed increasing dramatically, and flashed behind the fox spirit like lightning.

"All conditioned phenomena are like bubbles, illusions, dew, and lightning... thus should they be viewed!"

"Hundred and Eight Styles - Swift Shadow Slash!"

Mei's blade clashed violently with the base of the fox demon's tail, sparks flying from the point of contact. The fox demon before them seemed to be on a completely different level from the one they had faced in that cycle of reincarnation; their attacks couldn't even break through its fur.

Seeing that its attack had missed, the fox demon slammed its hand on the ground. A surge of energy gathered beneath the surface and then erupted, sending pillars of fire shooting into the sky, seemingly about to reach the heavens.

"It's useless! In this space that I control, I am the absolute god! You can't possibly harm me!" the fox demon roared furiously. "It's all for naught! Prepare for your demise!"

The pillars of fire kept exploding, compressing Mei and Kiana's space to dodge and slowly forcing them to Bronya's side, who was protecting Theresa and Yae Sakura.

Boundless flames gathered in the fox demon's mouth. It suddenly lowered its body, like a cannon, and unparalleled flames shot out from its mouth, charging straight towards the five people with invincible power.

"Stand behind Bronya." Bronya's pupils contracted, and the Heavy Bunny's shield slammed into the ground, protecting everyone behind her. The raging flames were split in two by the rock-solid shield, flowing past them like a divided river.

"It's no use!" The fox demon's voice boomed across the heavens and earth. "Die!"

The flames exploded as if they had come to life, and the rolling heat waves blasted everyone away. Their clothes were burned with large holes, and their bodies and faces were deeply marked with burn marks.

"Is this... the end...?" Theresa felt herself being thrown into the air, the intense pain and high temperature scorching her senses.

The fox demon slammed its fist heavily on the ground again, and the ground where everyone landed immediately began to stir. Exploding flames raged underground, threatening to engulf everyone at any moment.

Finally, the flame exploded, engulfing everyone.

Theresa held the dazed Yae Sakura, despair slowly eroding her.

But suddenly, without any warning, a golden light burst forth from the crowd, and a shield of light radiating unparalleled brilliance enveloped them. Its light was so intense that even amidst the pillars of fire, its dazzling radiance was still incredibly brilliant.

It was like a blazing sun!

"This... is impossible! You're already dead! Why are you still here!" The fox demon's furious yet terrified roar jolted the confused crowd.

"It's...you?" Yae Sakura's voice rang out, filled with surprise and grievance. "Why...why are you here..."

"Didn't you already leave...?"

"Didn't you already abandon me...?"

"Aren't you... supposed to protect other people too...?"

"Why...why did you come back..."

The cross pendant that Kiana had been wearing around her neck ever since she and her friends entered the first consciousness space and encountered the dying Kallen was now shining with a dazzling light, just like the sun, right in front of Yae Sakura.

Yae Sakura reached out, gazing longingly at the cross: "Or perhaps..."

"Actually, you..."

Yae Sakura's tears fell onto the cross.

"Never left..."

Theresa's gaze also focused on the cross, which held an aura she knew all too well, but she didn't know who that aura belonged to.

On that cross, a figure slowly appeared in Theresa's eyes.

That was... the light I had seen in countless dreams.

Why... why trust this person so much without needing to say a word?

Why...why do I yearn for this person so much without needing an explanation?