The crowd that gathered quickly dispersed even faster. After i issued this "final order," the Fla-Chasers, each with their own thoughts, soon vanished without a trace.
How many of them would actually go to the platform of the Second Divine Key in three hours? i couldn’t say; she had no certainty at all.
In fact... she even felt a little regretful.
After all, if she had directly ordered them to avoid the fight, no one would have complained. But now that she had made the decision to engage, soone, at least one person, would surely accompany her in this aningless struggle—and that person stood behind her now.
i turned around. Kevin hadn’t gone anywhere, nor would he.
Now, there was no third person in the command center. Even Protheus No. 17 had been dispatched to assist Vill-V with the final maintenance check on the Second Divine Key.
And so, the boy and girl who, long ago, had silently vowed in their hearts to "always be together," finally obtained the longed-for chance to be alone.
Yes, counting carefully, they were the sa age as Michael and Elysia, still not yet twenty-three, still within the bounds of youth.
If all the Honkai had been just a dream, considering the ti, they would be graduating from university around now, starting their careers, wouldn’t they?
i knew that earlier on, Kevin, and even she herself, held an inexplicable sense of "gratitude" towards the Honkai.
Because if there were no Honkai in the world, they might have been like many high school couples, forced to separate after graduation due to distance. Or perhaps they would have lived the most ordinary, mundane lives, predictable from beginning to end.
But that was only because they hadn’t lost enough in the Honkai yet.
In youth, one always fears diocrity, hoping to bear more responsibility, dreaming of becoming heroes who save all humanity.
But only when that unspeakable weight truly settled on their shoulders did they understand how naive, how childish those youthful thoughts were.
Now, she, and he, wished so desperately this was just a dream...
That there was never any Honkai in this world, i never had to beco a leader, and Kevin never had to beco a hero.
Everything just needed to be ordinary.
But the impossible is impossible; it doesn’t beco possible just because soone wishes it so.
Kevin gazed gently at i. i also revealed her first smile in three months.
She raised her hand, seeming to want to touch Kevin’s cheek, but hesitated upon feeling that touch of cold, wanting to withdraw.
But Kevin didn’t care. He gently took i’s hand and pressed it against his own cheek. For a mont, they were speechless.
"Don’t mind . Just make the decision you believe is right."
i wanted to say this to Kevin.
She knew very well, despite Kevin’s occasional aloofness or erratic behavior, he was fundantally an extrely insecure person. Rather than relying on his own judgnt and making decisions according to his own will, he preferred to directly receive i’s orders.
That might have been fine in the past, but this ti, i hoped he wouldn’t engage in this almost aningless battle because of her request.
She preferred he choose to fight, or not fight, based purely on his own will.
But the mont Kevin took her hand, i suddenly understood—
Perhaps at other tis, for other orders, he always followed her lead. But his every battle, his desire to fight, was never because of her command.
He fought simply because he wanted to protect her, simply wanted her happiness. That was all.
What more needed to be said?
i’s lower lip trembled upwards, her eyes stinging. She instinctively wanted to look away, unwilling to expose her weakness to others—it would make them lose hope to continue forward. She especially didn’t want to show her weakness to Kevin, because she... didn’t want him to worry.
But when she widened her eyes slightly, her blurry vision caught sothing glittering at the corner of Kevin’s eye, quickly spreading down his cheek.
She blinked rapidly, squeezing the tears from her eyes. In that fleeting mont of clarity, she saw it clearly—it was tears freezing into frost on his cheek.
i gently wiped the frost from Kevin’s face with her thumb, then chuckled softly.
At the true end, the so-called burdens still remained. But whether it was because she had long grown accustod to the weight, or because at this point she could cast it all aside without reservation, i actually felt a sense of relief.
She knew Kevin felt the sa.
"Go wash your face, get so proper rest... The final three hours."
......
"Whoosh—"
Cold tap water flowed from the faucet. Kevin sotis thought, if only everything in the world were as simple as turning on a tap—just twist the knob, and water would surely flow out.
Then, if one constantly believed in oneself, constantly strived, would one achieve the deserved outco?
Clearly not.
Just like water flowing from an open tap is rely a surface phenonon. Without a complete plumbing and water supply system, would twisting the faucet produce water?
Obviously not.
So where exactly did they go wrong, to be forced to face such an end?
This was the question that Kevin hadn’t been able to banish from his mind recently.
But sohow, after deciding to face Finality, this question never surfaced again.
After all, ti couldn’t be reversed, everything couldn’t be redone. Being willing to identify and summarize problems is certainly a good habit, but when the chance to try again doesn’t exist, what’s the point of summarizing?
Kevin scooped up a handful of water and gently splashed it on his face, feeling slightly more awake.
He turned off the tap and looked at himself in the mirror. Six years had passed, his appearance seemingly unchanged, yet even he found it hard to connect himself with the Kevin in a school uniform, grinning foolishly.
In the six months since lying on Mobius’s operating table for the nth ti and fusing with the so-called "strongest" Honkai Beast, Brahma, Kevin had often entered strange dreamscapes.
Most dreams belonged to Honkai Beasts, perhaps because Mobius, using Vishnu’s power, had allowed Brahma to devour the genetic factors of almost every Honkai Beast that had ever appeared.
But occasionally, he would see his forr self in dreams, see his past experiences, though those experiences were already hazy, so hazy he couldn’t even be sure if they were real.
He too was once so lively, so full of energy, a life with such burning warmth.
He found Aponia and used her Discipline to prevent himself from dreaming.
He didn’t want such dreams. They only made him realize how small, how powerless, how cold his current self was.
"If you want to make things easier for yourself, it’s best not to dwell on your past self. You’ll inevitably encounter one of two situations."
"First, you see a self far inferior to your present one. This will only lead to regret—if only I were as mature back then, would certain things not have happened?"
"The second is, you see a self far better than your present one. But since you can’t turn back ti and return to the past, you’ll only suffer more."
These were words Michael had once said to him.
But there was a second half:
"But... Kevin, wanting not to recall one’s past self might be easy for so, but not for us two."
"You love saying that phrase—a person’s destiny is their character. And our characters dictate that we are better suited to living in the past, not the present, not the future."
Kevin had to admit, besides i, Michael understood him best. Even that statent wasn’t entirely accurate.
This senior, this comrade-in-arms, who had beco a hero before he even aspired to be one, bore an almost uncanny resemblance to him in certain ways, certain actions.
So much so that he sotis wondered if he had been unconsciously influenced, if he was unknowingly imitating him?
Regardless, success or failure, Michael and Elysia had done everything they could. Therefore, whether as a junior following in their footsteps aspiring to be a hero, as a comrade who fought alongside them all along, or as an unspoken confidant...
He had to go to the Moon, to fight Finality.
Even if i hadn’t made the decision to fight, he would still do it.
It wasn’t about the world; he just wanted to say goodbye to them.
Moreover, he wasn’t without the possibility of fighting Finality now.
He looked at himself in the mirror, watched the muscles in his arms bulge, his five claws sharpen, his skin turn bluish-black, watched horn-like protrusions rise from his head, felt his tailbone extend outwards...
No, he shook his head. This power wasn’t enough.
Not enough to fight Finality, not even close to the limit of his efforts over the past six months.
He closed his eyes, no longer looking at his reflection, banishing all distracting thoughts until only one voice remained in his mind—
*"Mara..." (TL/N: Demon)
......
"Sorry."
In the n’s changing room, Kosma whispered as he helped Ato remove the bulky spacesuit.
His apology was barely audible. To soone who didn’t know him, it might lack sincerity. But for the young man to open his long-sealed heart, even to the person closest to him in the world, was no easy feat.
He wanted to convey his apology, yet was unsure of the response, so he spoke softly, hoping to be heard, yet also hoping not to be heard.
Ato, of course, understood this. So he asked teasingly:
"Oh? Then tell , what exactly did you do wrong..."
Kosma’s breathing grew heavy, but before he could answer, Ato slapped him on the head, ruffling his hair forcefully.
"You brat! Don’t go."
Kosma tilted his head noncommittally, clearly not accepting Ato’s opinion.
"Hey! I’m serious. A kid your age doesn’t need to go die."
"How can this be called going to die?" Kosma couldn’t help retorting.
"Don’t tell you think we have a chance of beating Finality?"
"How do we know if we don’t try?" Kosma insisted stubbornly. He rembered the first ti he saw a Herrscher... Sister Ana...
Kosma closed his eyes, took a long breath, burying the sorrow that hadn’t faded over the years back into the depths of his heart.
The destruction caused by Ana as the Fifth Herrscher was still vivid in his mory. Of course, tis had changed. He now possessed greater abilities and understood more clearly just how powerful the so-called Finality truly was.
Ignoring Finality’s Authority, just looking at the Honkai energy reading that exceeded the detection limit of ten million HW gave a direct sense of Its terror—this reaction level surpassed the total current Honkai energy on the entire planet.
So what abilities would Finality possess? Kosma couldn’t be sure about specifics, but if, as speculated, It occupied Michael’s body and fought in Michael’s style...
Kosma shook his head almost imperceptibly. In a sense, this battle was indeed... utterly unwinnable...
But being unwinnable didn’t an choosing to fight was "seeking death."
If possible, he preferred to describe such determination as sacrifice. Besides, doing the impossible is what heroes do. And fleeing is sothing heroes absolutely do not do.
Ato patted his head again. "Give it up. Rather than dying in such a aningless battle, fleeing isn’t a bad option, especially for a kid your age. You still have so much good to experience, you deserve your own future... At the very least, if you plan on going to the Moon, what about Dystopia?"
Seeing Kosma lower his head silently, Ato continued:
"Are you planning to let her follow you to the Moon to die, or wait here for your corpse to return?"
Ato’s words were rciless. Kosma wanted to say, "We’re not in that kind of relationship," but couldn’t even bring himself to say it.
"Alright, enough nonsense with you brat. See ya!"
Ato stepped straight over the discarded spacesuit to the door, then turned back, waving at Kosma, who was still searching for words.
Kosma’s pupils contracted sharply:
"Ato, you!"
"Well! For a little brat your age, the past is too short, the future is long. For , it’s the opposite."
Ato ran a hand through his flowing hair, the other hand already halfway turning the doorknob.
"Then what about Aunt Blanka and Griseo?"
Click!
The doorknob snapped back.
"Well, about that..." Ato smiled. "You and Dystopia, rember to help take care of them..."
"After all that talk, aren’t you just the sa as ?"
"It’s different, Kosma."
"How is it different!"
"Every era’s end needs soone to be sacrificed for it. That’s sothing people my age should do. Kids your age should be the ones who retreat, living on in our stead in the next era. Having a chubby baby with Dystopia for Griseo to have as a little brother wouldn’t be bad either!"
"Ato!"
Kosma, both embarrassed and agitated, shot to his feet. But Ato simply walked back to him and flicked his forehead gently:
"Alright, rember to help take care of them. Bye-bye!"
Just as he was about to turn and leave, Kosma grabbed his wrist tightly:
"Ato, undeniably, you are indeed a hero."
"Huh?"
"But don’t underestimate just because I’m young! I’m a warrior too! I have the resolve to beco a hero! I can’t possibly back down at a ti like this!"
"No... Kosma, what I an is, humanity has sacrificed enough, you..."
Bang!
Before they could argue further, the door was roughly pushed open.
Dystopia and Blanka stood outside, it was unclear for how long.
"Er..."
"Uh..."
Ato chuckled nervously, grabbed Blanka, and scurried away, leaving Dystopia slowly approaching Kosma.
"Uh... well... I..."
Kosma retreated guiltily until his back hit the wall. Seeing Dystopia’s red, swollen eyes, he didn’t know what to say, or if he should say anything at all.
Dystopia pressed her thin lips together tightly, staring into Kosma’s eyes for a long ti. Suddenly, she pulled an almost brand-new watch from her pocket and pressed it into his hand.
"This is..."
Kosma glanced at the familiar watch face, his eyes quickly moistening.
"Sorry, for your birthday before, I couldn’t find any good gifts, so I helped you fix this."
"Thank you."
Kosma put the repaired watch on his left wrist. It fit perfectly. But besides "thank you," he truly didn’t know what else to say to express his gratitude and... that feeling, which could be called guilt, but wasn’t entirely.
Finally, it was Dystopia who spoke first:
"I know you want to be a hero, but promise one thing."
"Mhm."
"Let go with you!"
"Huh?"
Dystopia boldly took the young man’s hand. "Aren’t we both Fla-Chasers? Only heroes who dare to face calamity head-on can be called Fla-Chasers."
Kosma’s mouth hung slightly open. He could finally understand Ato’s earlier feelings.
......
The Fifth Divine Key, Hibernation Vault.
It hadn’t fully activated yet, so i only felt a slight chill, not even as cold as when Kevin had just undergone his super-transformation surgery. But even with her physique, she subconsciously sneezed.
Sniffling, her nose already felt a bit stuffy. Glancing down at her watch, only thirty minutes remained of the agreed "three hours."
But she didn’t rush to leave. Instead, she turned her gaze back to the two cultivation pods before her. Inside the orange-juice-like nutrient fluid floated two small children with barely any hair.
"Adam... Eve..."
i instinctively placed her hand on the pod wall. The furrow between her brows slowly smoothed out, replaced by affectionate tenderness.
She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and turned to leave.
Protheus No. 17 had been waiting for her for a long ti. She followed i silently. Although she was an artificial intelligence and logically shouldn’t possess human traits like "intuition"...
She inexplicably felt that this might be the last ti she followed Dr. i...
"Has the Moonlight Throne entered lunar orbit yet?"
"Yes, but to prevent Finality from destroying it prematurely, I haven’t let it get too close..."
Noticing a figure ahead, i instinctively fell silent, but then gave a self-deprecating smile. How much need was there for secrecy now?
"What is it, Aponia?"
"I ca here just to say one thing—i, just as you and Michael agreed, the threads of fate have been severed. I looked up at the night sky just now, and I could no longer see anything."
i pressed her lips together. She didn’t doubt this, because she had Michael’s "script," it’s just that...
"However, I don’t believe Michael accomplished this alone. Because I saw long ago that this belongs to Elysia’s destiny."
"Aponia, what are you trying to say?"
Yet when i looked ahead again, Aponia had vanished without a trace. But it didn’t matter; the information she needed had arrived.
"No. 17, could I... ask you to do sothing?" i asked without turning around.
"Doctor, please speak."
Only then did i turn back, taking another deep breath:
"Do you rember our [Fire Stealer] plan from long ago?"
"I understand." Protheus nodded without hesitation.
She was an artificial life form; she didn’t understand the fear of death.
......
The Second Divine Key, originally shaped like a door. But due to Michael’s dissatisfaction, and later the rger of Anti-Entropy and Fire Moth providing ample funds to splurge, Vill-V remodeled it into a locomotive. Further optimization allowed for attaching "carriages" to transport multiple people at once.
Corresponding to its shape, Vill-V also designed a massive platform for it, resembling a real train platform. Squeezed together, it could easily accommodate tens of thousands of people.
But when i reached the platform, only Kevin stood there alone, leaning on his sword.
Their eyes t. They no longer needed words to care for each other, to strengthen each other’s resolve.
"Ten minutes left," i said.
"They will definitely co," Kevin replied firmly.
As soon as he finished speaking, chaotic footsteps sounded from behind—
First ca Hua, Pardo, and Sakura. Pardo was clearly the most frightened, but even with trembling legs, she was still laughing through tears, pulling the others along at the forefront.
Then ca Aponia, Eden, and Su. Kalpas, who had beco unusually quiet recently. Finally, Ato, with one side of his face swollen, brought Kosma and Dystopia. They stood silently behind i and Kevin.
i’s lips twitched. She glanced at the ti.
The second hand ticked rcilessly, tick, tick, tick. Until less than half a minute remained before the appointed ti, the sputtering sound of an engine suddenly echoed near the platform. Vill-V drove a large truck directly onto the Second Divine Key’s parking space.
She quickly jumped out, clapping her hands dramatically:
"Ta-da! Guess what I brought? All the Keys of Domination! I bet you haven’t fought such a well-equipped battle in years!"
However, i ignored her, asking instead:
"Where’s Mobius?"
Although she had said attendance was voluntary, Mobius’s absence was clearly unexpected.
Fortunately, Mobius wasn’t absent, just...
Vill-V pointed behind her. Everyone followed her gaze, only to see, under the dim lights, a small figure slowly walking towards them.
Screech—Screech—
The sound of tal scraping against the ground was exceptionally grating. As she drew closer, everyone realized it was the Sixth Divine Key, Abyss Flower.
Also the weapon once wielded by Elysia and Michael.
"Alright, now all the usable Divine Keys are here. Let’s go! I won’t charge for tickets this ti!" Vill-V waved her top hat and leaped onto the carriage first, without waiting for i’s command.
i chuckled softly. Just as she was about to give the order to depart, a clamor arose behind them again.
All the Fla-Chasers turned unexpectedly, their gazes fixed on the source of the burgeoning voices—
Behind them, led by Blanka holding Griseo’s hand and Rin, more and more people were gathering.
"Everyone..."
"We know we can’t help much." Blanka glared at Ato, then smiled helplessly. "But... whether you succeed or fail, we will wait here for you to return."
Whether it was Kevin or i, or the Fla-Chasers about to set foot on the Moon, their eyes moistened at this mont.
It was a poem passed down among humans since ancient tis, born in the ignorant infancy of civilization, yet now, it described their end more aptly than anything else—
Hector knew his kingdom would fall, Achilles too understood he was walking towards death.
But both n still strode onto the battlefield without hesitation.
In this story, destined for tragedy from the very beginning, not a single person ever hesitated or wavered.
As they were, so are we.
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