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

Engulfed by the explosion of the twelve Honkai fusion missiles ordered by Otto, it disappeared along with the Second Herrscher into the boundless snowfields of Siberia.

From that day on, Theresa faced the reality she had always been unwilling to confront: Otto had always used the Valkyrie as a consumable and a tool. It was precisely because of this that she made up her mind to pursue that seemingly ridiculous dream.

That was also Cecilia's dream: to establish an academy specifically for training Valkyries, to teach those children how to become warriors who cherish their own lives, so that these children would no longer perish on the battlefield as expendable resources.

“How pitiful… just like Sakura…” In the blood-red space, Otto’s hand gently caressed Theresa’s face. “Both of them had their most beloved’s life taken away by their closest relatives, and both of them were bound by so-called power…”

Theresa’s eyes flashed with rage. She raised a hand and slapped Otto’s face, but Otto grabbed it halfway through.

Otto brought his face close to Theresa's: "Hate? Want revenge? But you don't have enough power to resist, do you?"

"So...accept me...accept my power. If we cooperate, killing those you hate...will be a piece of cake!"

"It's as simple as... crushing an insect!"

“Kill…the person you hate…” Theresa’s gaze gradually became vacant as she listened to the low murmur.

“Yes, kill him! Kill everything you hate! With your spear…” Otto took a small step back, shouting in a surprised tone, opening his arms as if to welcome something, “…pierce my chest! Complete your… revenge!”

———————————————————————————————————

"Sorry, I mistook you for someone else!" Keng Huo suddenly jumped up from Yae Sakura's lap pillow and sat up straight. "Now that I look closely, I realize you look completely different from that guy."

The Yae Sakura in front of him did not have fox ears. She was wearing casual home clothes and was kneeling in front of Keng Huo.

Yae Sakura's gaze shifted slightly to the left, her trembling shoulders seemingly trying to suppress a laugh.

Finally, having calmed down, Yae Sakura turned around seriously and said to Keng Huo, "Actually... I've also seen your memories..."

"what?"

"Pfft... I'm sorry, please let me laugh a little longer." After saying this seriously, Yae Sakura turned her face away, her big eyes curving into crescent moons. She covered her mouth with her hand, her shoulders trembling, and suppressed laughter escaped through her fingers.

"...Are you done laughing?"

"Okay..." Yae Sakura turned her face back, but burst out laughing again the moment she saw Keng Huo's face, "Pfft..."

Keng Huo touched his face with a black line on his face and checked his clothes.

"I'm sorry... I just remembered what happened in your memories... and I found it... very interesting... Now that I've seen you, I couldn't help but think of it..." Realizing her rudeness, Yae Sakura forced a smile and straightened her face.

"...How come you've seen my memories?" A barely perceptible hint of wariness flashed in Keng Huo's eyes, but it was suppressed by the confused expression on his face.

"You've seen my memories in your dreams too, haven't you?" Yae Sakura tilted her head slightly, seemingly puzzled. "So it's not surprising that I can see your memories here as well, is it?"

"And... I also remember what you did to me in Changkong City. Doing such lewd things to a girl is really too much..."

"Wait! I only smeared chili powder on your face! And you tried to stab me with a knife! I'm the one who lost out!"

“That’s a scabbard… Never mind…” Yae Sakura sighed softly, “But why are you here? Are you… dead too?”

"Wait, it wasn't you..." Keng Huo subconsciously wanted to ask back, but he couldn't bring himself to say it.

What he really wanted to say was: Didn't you take this picture of me here?

But what if Yae Sakura herself was photographed in the shot...?

Wait, this is all so confusing! If the Yae Sakura in front of me isn't the Yae Sakura who killed me, then who is that Yae Sakura?

Noticing Keng Huo's hesitation, Yae Sakura frowned slightly, tilted her head to the side, and looked puzzled, waiting for Keng Huo's explanation: "?"

"Who are you?" Keng Huo posed a variation of a philosophical ultimate question.

"Yae Sakura," Yae Sakura answered honestly.

"No, no, no, I mean... if you are Yae Sakura, who was the Yae Sakura who killed me before?"

"...You accepted your death quite easily..." Yae Sakura muttered, then feigned sudden realization, slamming her right fist onto her left palm. "I understand what you mean!"

"The one that invaded your consciousness space... was also Yae Sakura."

"...Are you having a split personality?" Keng Huo looked at Yae Sakura in horror, subtly taking a step back.

After all, people with schizophrenia are the kind of people who can suddenly develop symptoms at any time.

“Um… it’s that…” Yae Sakura didn’t understand what Keng Huo meant by the word, but she tried to gesture, “It’s… I saw the person who invaded your mental world, she is Yae Sakura, and I am also Yae Sakura…”

"???"

“It’s that…” Yae Sakura found it difficult to articulate her understanding, “but she’s also called Hishiyomaru, or rather, the two of us together are called Yae Sakura… no, that’s not right, before she existed, I was also Yae Sakura…”

"Wait, wait, wait! Let's go through this! Let's start from the beginning!" Keng Huo, who was getting dizzy from Yae Sakura's gestures, stopped Yae Sakura's movements. "What do you mean you were Yae Sakura before she even existed?"

"Oh, so at the beginning, there was no her, only me..." In an era before the term "split personality" existed, Yae Sakura couldn't find a suitable word to describe her state. "She is the demon in my heart, another consciousness born from within me after I was influenced by the 'Demon in the Box'... She calls herself Hisagomaru, but I think we should all be called Yae Sakura, but she insists on being called Hisagomaru and I can't stop her..."

Keng Huo fell into deep thought.

"Holy crap..." Keng Huo rubbed his temples, looking utterly bewildered. "Now that you mention it, the situation has become even more complicated..."

At first, Keng Huo thought that the consciousness controlling Theresa's body was Yae Sakura.

Then, when he saw Yae Sakura in this sea of ​​consciousness, he thought that the one controlling Theresa's body was the "Will of Collapse" from the "Black Box" that he had seen in Yae Sakura's memories.

But now this Yae Sakura is telling him that the consciousness controlling Theresa's body is actually her split personality! And she even has a stage name, Higokumaru!

Little princess, you could put on an entire show all by yourself...

But... then where did the biggest mastermind... the [Demon in the Box] go?

Yae Sakura was still trying to describe her relationship with Hishimaru: "...She and I are like twins, but I was born first. She has all my memories, as well as her own feelings and thoughts, but she seems to hate others more easily... Can you understand what I'm saying?"

"Yes, I understand," Keng Huo replied subconsciously.

"Great! Let's start the fusion now!" Yae Sakura seemed excited as she got up from her kneeling position and crawled toward Keng Huo.

"Wait!" Keng Huo was terrified. Yae Sakura suddenly appeared in front of him, looking like she was about to kiss him. Feeling that his chastity was in danger, Keng Huo scrambled backward in a panic. "Let's talk this out! What the hell is this fusion?! It sounds like two slimes combining and evolving! What the hell will it evolve into?! A super giant slime?!"

"Hey, don't run away! Fusion is fusion..." Yae Sakura reached out and grabbed Keng Huo's trouser leg. "Don't you still have someone to rescue? You can't beat Hiyomaru anyway. If you just eat me, I think you can beat him..."

"Can you please stop using such awful words! What do you mean by 'eat you up'?!" At this moment, Keng Huo felt as if he were handcuffed. He couldn't break free from Yae Sakura's grip on his trouser leg unless he took his pants off. "What are you! A Snickers bar?!"

But a real man doesn't lose face, so how could he do something like taking off his pants and running away!

Of course, the more important reason is that Yae Sakura has already grabbed his ankle along his trouser leg, and unless he makes a brave sacrifice, he has no way to escape.

"Don't move!" Yae Sakura seemed a little angry, forcibly flipping Keng Huo over, pinning him down, straddling his chest, and immobilizing him. "It'll be over soon. Don't you still have things you want to do? I see such a strong will to live in your mind. Wouldn't it be better to accept me and live on?"

"Are you out of your mind?!" Keng Huo roared. "Anyone who heard what you said would run away! Don't climb up like a crazy woman! Hey, that posture looks familiar..."

"Please," Yae Sakura said with a very serious expression, "can you do me a favor?"

"Well said, but I refuse."

"Accept my power, and then go and save the people you want to save..." Yae Sakura's tone seemed somewhat anxious, and her body began to emit a faint light. As the light grew stronger, her body seemed to slowly disappear.

“We can’t afford to waste any more time… Hiyomaru is corrupting your mental world. If this drags on any longer, this place will become her domain…”

"So...go...please...go save the person you want to save, go..."

"Bullshit!! Stop talking so righteously! You clearly just want to slack off and get away with it all!!" Keng Huo's body suddenly unleashed an astonishing power, sending Yae Sakura flying.

"What do you mean, 'with your power'?! You clearly just want to die! And then dump all the heavy work on me!" Keng Huo stood up, pointing at Yae Sakura's nose and cursing.

Just now, during Yae Sakura's ascension, Keng Huo finally caught a glimpse of the look in Yae Sakura's eyes, which had been hidden beneath her serious expression.

That was a feeling of relief, finally free from all constraints...

The look in the eyes of someone who wants to die.

To give up entirely.

……

"What do you mean, 'save the person I want to save'?! I don't care about that shorty at all! You clearly want to save her, but you're too lazy! That's why you're trying to trick me into doing chores!"

Yae Sakura was so shocked that she couldn't speak. The person in front of her had such a unique way of thinking that she couldn't even understand what he was saying for a moment.

"If you want to do something, just do it yourself! Why are you asking me? Are we that close?"

"But what can I do now!" Yae Sakura finally couldn't take Keng Huo's barrage of spittle anymore and shouted in a fit of rage, "I'm just a ghost, a soul, and I can only watch helplessly from here!"

"Don't talk nonsense! This is the Sea of ​​Consciousness! Isn't this the best place for the spiritual body to exert its power!"

“But this is your sea of ​​consciousness… I don’t have permission to pass through here. If you want to use my power, I have to erode your sea of ​​consciousness and transform it into my territory… At that time, your sea of ​​consciousness will be divided by me and Himeko, and you won’t even be able to preserve your own consciousness. Is that what you want?” Yae Sakura retorted.

Keng Huo fell silent, and the two stared at each other for a long time.

Keng Huo believed that Yae Sakura was telling the truth, but he also believed that she was definitely not telling the whole truth.

"So you're going to give up your life? Your future, your hopes, your little fantasies about tomorrow, all of which you're going to entrust to someone you've only met once, and let him fulfill them for you?"

"You don't even know if he can accomplish it, yet you blindly entrust your dreams to him?"

"Yae Sakura, is your life... so worthless? Is your future... so cheap?"

"Those who promised to wait for you in the future... they are so despicable that you don't even want to see them..."

"Shut up!" Yae Sakura's sudden angry shout interrupted Keng Huo's sharp words, which made one want to chop him to pieces. "Kallen... Kallen is not despicable!"

But her tone immediately softened, as if the angry shout just now hadn't come from her: "But..."

"But she's already dead..."

"I have no future! My future was burned up five hundred years ago! Only I am left! Only I am left alone! To live forever in this hell!"

"Then why don't you just die! Show me how you self-destruct!" Keng Huo suddenly grabbed Yae Sakura by the collar, his angry eyes almost touching her face. "Since you want to die so badly! Why didn't you die sooner! You should have died five hundred years ago! Why did you have to wait until now!"

"Because you hope! You hope you can live! Even if you don't want to admit it, you want to see what tomorrow's sunrise looks like! You want to see what a sea of ​​cherry blossoms will bloom next year!" Keng Huo's tears streamed down his face. These words were not so much spoken to Yae Sakura, but also largely to himself. "Man lives because of hope, but will never die because of despair! Because the only thing that can truly kill a human soul is himself!"

"Since you still remember Karen! Do you know what Karen's last words were before she died after leaving the Far East?!"

Keng Huo took a deep breath, recalling the scene that day when Kiana was by his bedside, trying her best to imitate Kallen's tone.

"Karen said..."

"Please carry with you a heart full of happiness..."

"Live freely, unburdened by anything external, under a free and azure sky!!"

Even though she was on the other side of the world, the person she thought of before she died was still you! She was afraid you would suffer loneliness, she was afraid you would be burdened by the world, she was afraid you would be tormented by self-blame and guilt, she was afraid you would not be able to break free from the shackles of the past and find the life that truly belonged to you!

Yae Sakura's tears flowed like a river bursting its banks, her sorrowful face seeming to tell a final, desperate plea: "No...she's dead...my future...my future is empty! There's no one left...no one will be there waiting for me anymore!!"

"Then go and reclaim your future! Make that bastard who stole everything from you pay the price! Throw your blade into its heart, unleash all the resentment you carry upon it! Make it pay for everything it owes you... all the things you cherished so dearly that it took from you..."