Honkai: It’s broken, I have become the Herrscher of Corrosion?

"Thank you."

"So, has the time come?"

Kevin stared into the distance. Su could see that he had been waiting for too long.

"It's very close. Mobius will create a loophole for us, where the power of the Herrscher of Corrosion will decline to a level that we can break. We... need to wait for Hua's signal."

"So what now, what should we do?"

"wait."

The white-haired man nodded, and did not continue to ask questions, but turned slightly and continued to look at the scenery in the distance. It was also at this time that Su noticed that the reason why Kevin's posture was a little strange just now was because of his current action.

And when he looked into the distance along the line of sight, he gradually began to realize that this place... was so familiar.

"This is... Changkong City?"

"Ah."

"...That's right, you...are the original 'master' of this illusion. But...I never thought that the scene you wanted to see the most would be..."

As he had noticed before, this city had obviously been ravaged by the collapse. Even the unrestrained "fantasy", the disaster that had changed their lives, had not been erased artificially.

"No, the scenery here is always changing. ...But it's all my past."

(…A person’s destiny…is his character. Therefore, a person’s destiny may only be one. Even if there is no collapse, something else will appear and push us to the situation we are in today.)

(Kevin… Many people would think that he is a man trapped in the past and controlled by it. But he is not. This man does not need to go back to the past. From the beginning to the end, he has not changed at all. To this day, he still uses everything he has to try to practice his past "jokes.")

The sun in the sky suddenly grew bigger in front of them, quickly dyeing the entire sky red. The two looked at each other and nodded.

[If one day, you can save "most people" by just pulling the trigger like this... Kevin, what will you do? ]

"It has nothing to do with the future of mankind, and it has nothing to do with the ideals of the masses. This time, I put my life into the barrel of the gun... just to save "one person."

Kevin raised the Holy Judge of Heavenly Fire in his hand high up, and Su's figure behind him became fainter and fainter until it completely disappeared.

"Skyfire, unsheath!"

In the eternal paradise, a blazing fire penetrated her chest, bursting from the inside out. The brilliance was like a star disappearing. The two people who had been fighting here for a while finally saw its full appearance.

——That was a blow that no one could stop, a blow that clearly stated what “destruction” meant.

——That was the blow that once led everyone to cross the "end".

"Ah ah ah..."

The flames burned her whole body. This was the greatest pain Ling had ever suffered since her rebirth. However... she smiled despite the pain.

"Uncle Kevin...thank you..."

Seeing that Kevin's attack was effective, Hua did not hesitate and injected all her strength into Yu Duchen. Soon, her figure disappeared with the wind like the other Yingjies, and a flaming sword appeared in the air and pierced through her body.

(Switching to Raiden Mei's perspective...)

The world begins in white. The endless "white" envelops Mei and takes her to a realm that cannot be said to exist, nor can it be said to be non-existent.

Scattered thoughts drifted in the void, converging into a road with no beginning and no end. Mei gradually woke up on this pure white road.

"This place... is my "memories"..."

Tiny dots of light surrounded her, flickering, and mottled sounds rang out from them -

"Just like when the paradise was first built in the past, I will let your thoughts unfold in the paradise in the form of memory... no, in the form of memory space, just like Yingjie did."

"Only in this way can we...bring back Alicia."

Then, the voice gradually faded, almost inaudible... In the end, only Mei was left. She wanted to search for every moment she spent with "her", describing it with memories, patching it up with thoughts, until this "white cloth" was filled with the colors of a girl. In the end, a "memory" that had disappeared was reproduced.

"Riding a roller coaster and eating peanuts with your eyes... I have to admit, it's a very apt metaphor. ... Let's go."

She took a step forward, but soon stopped in front of some big doors.

"Behind these doors, are all the memories of "her" in my mind? ...Which part could it be?"

Mei gently placed her hand on the door.

"A lot of things have happened before I knew it. So... let's start from the 'beginning'."

Behind the first door was the scene when she first entered the Paradise of the Afterlife and saw Alicia sitting on the sofa.

[Ailishia]: "Then... do you remember who I am?"

[Mei]: "...Miss Pink Fairy!"

[Alicea]: "No way! What is that? A nickname for me? Are you such a frivolous person?"

"...From what you did later, you obviously like this "nickname", don't you? I'm kidding... Of course I remember it. A name that everyone mentions, a person who can't be avoided in everything... If it were you, you would not forget it. "Alicea"... Just as I saw, she is indeed a beautiful girl who lives up to her name. And her heart is as pure as this name."

Behind the second door is Mei's memory of her first battle with Alicia during the trial.

[Alicea]: "Hi, how do I look? This should be the first time I take out a weapon in front of you. How about it, does the bow suit me well?"

"No wonder Enosia showed that expression after the battle. After learning that you are the second of the Thirteen Heroes of Chasing Fire, a fusion warrior whose strength is only slightly inferior to Kevin's, I realized that the battle was not even a "small fight". I'm afraid that to her, it was really just a "date."

"I didn't have time to answer then - the bow does suit her very well. However, I also want to see her use other weapons."

Behind the third door is the memory of the first time Alicia gave Mei a gift after a trial.

[Alicea]: "Just think of it as a small gift, as a commemoration of your temporary graduation from Alicea."

"So, she also gave me a crystal flower, the same one that Eden and Vivi had. I should have thought of it earlier. She always has this habit. In the paradise, the "crystal flower" can only represent one person..."

"At that time, you said that in the following journey, I would receive various "gifts" from other heroes, about the paradise of the past, about the secrets I was looking for..."

"And now, I have met every hero and accepted their inheritance. What about you? Will you give me a commemoration of "official graduation" at the end of this journey?"

The memory behind the fourth door is...

"Ah... I really want to touch her horns... I really care about her, I really care about her!"

Mei's emotions, which were originally growing, were instantly interrupted at this moment.

"Uh... I knew it would appear here sooner or later. She also has this side, willful, self-centered, and does everything according to her heart... but she is impossible to dislike. If... we could meet again..."

"No, let's skip this one."

Soon, Mei arrived in front of the last door.

"It's...very close..."

The eternal memory space seemed to have suddenly been blown by the wind, just like the night before the girl disappeared. Everything was so similar to the memory, as if everything here was brewing the girl's return. Mei calmed down and pushed open the door that was so close to the girl.

...But there was nothing behind that door.

"……how come?"

The light disappeared. All that was left was nothingness. The girl's laughter seemed to float by my ears, but I couldn't piece it together into a complete picture.

"…Is my memory fuzzy? Or is it because…I don't know everything about her…?"

At the same time, a strange tingling pain began to spread. The feeling came from deep in the brain and could not be shaken off. Mei did not stop, but continued to move forward.

"I'm almost there... I have to... The door... is disappearing? My memory... is fading away from me?... No... Don't..."

The pain made all other senses dull. When everything in front of her gradually became blurred, the picture hidden in her heart became more and more vivid. The past events emerged one by one, and she saw the backs of the heroes gradually fade away.

This is a maze with no exit, but they opened a way forward for Mei at the cost of their own lives, because the end of that road is what she has always wanted.

The innocent girl came along with the last rays of the last day, lighting up the dark night with her consistent "true self". Because of her existence, at the end of the dark era, there is always a flame burning.

After 50,000 years, this flame has been preserved to this day. Its future should exist in a more distant place, and her story should not have ended so hastily. This road was not paved by herself, of course...

“It shouldn’t end here…!”

"Clap!"

It seemed as if a drop of raindrops fell into the white world. Then, a brilliant ocean rolled up.

"Sorry for the wait, Miss Mei."

"...Eden?"