Honkai Impact 3rd: I picked up a Seele at the start of the game.

……

He was shocked to find the arrow piercing his chest; the blood from his ruptured internal organs warmed his body, even making him feel comfortable. His consciousness gradually faded; he could only desperately keep his eyes open, staring at her face, trying to call her name, to demand why…

Finally, everything returned to nothingness, and there was no more feeling.

The corpses were crushed into mud, their hearts merging into one pool. Quietly, quietly, in an instant it was as if heaven and earth had just been created, and Pangu had fallen and brought humanity into being.

But these scenes did not bring new life; instead, they left only the shattered desolation of Erinis. It was as if... the corpse remained in the present, while the body traveled to the past.

……

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Timeline: Three Reincarnations, the Pre-Civilization Era, the Beginning of Alicia's Birth.

Subheading: Elysia

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It was a remote border town called Vostok-51, so remote that it even needed to be named with a number.

Fortunately, precisely because of this, the town has both benefited from the technological age—people are well-fed and clothed—and retained some of the customs from before the technological age—the customs from nature.

This is a romantic town, and naturally, it will nurture romantic people.

A hardworking gardener found a little girl with pink hair sleeping peacefully under the tallest ash tree outside the town, like a daughter of nature.

The gardener took the girl back to town and sent her to the orphanage next to the church.

The girl was lively and adorable, always smiling and affectionate, and the residents of the town all loved her.

In the season when the spring snow begins to melt, she stands at the church entrance, offering fresh flowers she has picked to every passerby.

In the warm, sunny season, she and the children from the welfare home weeded the orchard, looking forward to this year's harvest.

In the season of falling leaves, she learned to speak, pasting leaves of various colors into pictures and weaving stories to read to everyone.

In the season when everything is covered in silver, she draws the shapes of musical notes on the snow and sings softly in the winter forest.

The girl was like a gift from the forest; no one knew where she came from, yet everyone accepted her. Her innocent smile always touched the softest part of people's hearts.

It's a pity she doesn't have a name yet. Everyone wants to give the girl a nice name, but they haven't found the perfect one yet.

"..."

"I think 'Alicia' would be a great name."

His gentle voice resonated in the precocious girl's heart. When he uttered 'Alissia,' a mix of emotions seemed to swirl around him—reminiscence, anticipation, joy, regret… This piqued the girl's curiosity.

In her childish voice, she asked, "Does this word mean? A name is very important, and I must give myself a name I like the most!"

His soft laughter drifted away, but he didn't answer. The girl was used to his presence and didn't find it strange.

……

A year after the girl arrived in town.

This day was considered the girl's birthday, so the woman in charge of the orphanage prepared a cake for her and attached a picture book to the cake.

"Wow—(laughs) Thank you, Mother Seria!"

The girl hugged her first gift in life tightly, shared the cake with everyone, celebrated the day, and then quietly went to the rooftop to open a picture book by the winter moonlight.

"Wow……"

It was a fairy tale adapted from an ancient legend, which mixed many classic elements of fairy tales to form an extremely absurd—in other words, an extremely wonderful story.

Legend has it that at the edge of the world lies a paradise. Just as a rainbow appears after a storm, and at the end of the rainbow lies gold.

The protagonist embarks on a journey in search of paradise, but everyone along the way says that paradise does not exist.

The protagonist did not give up. He continued to travel and explore, enduring countless hardships, and finally arrived at the end of his journey.

But there was nothing there—the legendary paradise really didn't exist.

But the protagonist did not give up; he stood at the edge of the world and shouted—

"If paradise doesn't exist, then I'll create one myself!"

Thus began his journey, which was longer and more arduous than before.

His goals changed several times, and the process was full of twists and turns. But because of this, more and more people gathered around him.

People who share the same dream move together toward their dream's destination, until the very end...

They cheered, embraced each other, and sang to celebrate the realization of their dream.

They created paradise with their own hands. It's there, at the end of this journey. People cheered and shouted its name—

"Wow……"

The girl's eyes widened.

The dark clouds dispersed, and moonlight fell on the paper. Whose gaze fell upon this spot? Even after experiencing this story a thousand times, one still couldn't help but smile for her.

"This is it……"

“A flawless paradise… an everlasting land…”

That word becomes especially sacred in the context of the story, embodying the efforts, expectations, and dreams of the protagonist and his friends.

"Alice".

The girl's name is "Alicia".

She skipped and hopped across the entire town, excitedly announcing her name to everyone, who responded with smiles and praise. Finally, she arrived in the forest, and under the ash tree where she was "born," she raised her head and shouted:

"Can you hear me? My name is Ai, Li, hope, Ya, Ai Li Xi Ya!"

A gentle voice sounded: "Hmm, it suits your name very well."

"Hey..."

The girl smiled somewhat foolishly. After sharing the good news with him, she returned to her small town to continue spreading her name.

At that moment, she completely forgot that the protagonists in the story had gone through countless hardships before they finally found their dream paradise.

Just because something is called "paradise" doesn't mean you can actually find "paradise".

……

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Timeline: Before the Civilization, after the team led by Hen searched the town

Subheading: God's Daughter

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"Later, a man with light blue hair, just like Gretchen, led an army to surround the town and carefully checked everyone. In the end, he found nothing. The man then left." (Hen)

"However, the girl named El'yanis vaguely sensed that they had come to find her."

"So, after thinking it over for a long time, the girl finally chose to leave the town, not wanting to burden everyone."

"Her friends prepared souvenirs for her, her mother from the orphanage sewed her a bag by hand, and the residents of the town did their best to give her gifts as they said goodbye to the girl."

"Thus, the girl who had embarked on her journey in fear received people's blessings and became fearless."

And so, amidst the blessings and farewells of the crowd, the young girl shouldered her pack and embarked on her journey.

She took her first step toward the place where the sun rises.

Birds sang for her, flowers bloomed for her, and even the streams and the breeze played melodious tunes. The forest protected her on her journey, guiding her on her way.

"..."

Little Ellie wasn't surprised at all. In her eyes, the one who protected her all the way must be the [Forest God] who brought her to this world, right? That ash tree must be his true form, otherwise how could it have grown so tall?

As she was about to leave the forest, she turned back and stood there, hesitating for a long, long time, before sadly calling out, "Goodbye, Grandpa Forest! When I grow up, I will definitely come back to visit you!"

grandfather……?!

He choked on his food, and in an instant, the weather changed dramatically! Although it was the edge of the forest, a deep, purplish-black mist suddenly appeared, enveloping the girl!

A large face, formed from mist, appeared before her, smiling fiercely like a demon from a story.

"Hehehe... Cute girl, do you think I'd let you, this delicious lamb, leave here?!"

Little Ellie stared blankly at that terrifying big face for a long while, then her little mouth twitched and she burst into tears.

The large face panicked instead. The mist dissipated, the sun shone brightly, and the forest returned to normal. He said irritably in her mind, "I'm not the god of the forest! And you're not allowed to call me grandpa!"

At most, I could call her 'Mom'... Scratch that!! The idea and the phrase "severing time and space in the name of the supreme god" have never even crossed my mind!

The next second, Little Ellie stopped crying, put her hands on her hips triumphantly, and said, "Haha~ I knew it! You were just trying to scare me, weren't you?"

"...(helpless/doting)"

He cherished his last vestige of consciousness and said gently, "In short, I've always been watching you, and I'm not some lowly forest god. Also, you can call me whatever you want, but you're not allowed to call me grandpa."

"Then...Mom?"

After hesitating for a long time, Little Ellie finally called out cautiously.

puff! ——

Okay, after all, Alicia knows her origins and identity are questionable. If she's his "daughter," then it seems there's no problem? After all, he said "Forest God" is beneath him, so he must be some other powerful "god"?

Although theoretically there is no problem, I always feel that something is wrong.

"..."

He didn't reply, so little Ellie cautiously asked again, "Mommy? Or Daddy?"

"...Never mind, just call me 'you'. There is no one in this world who can communicate with me except you."

"All right……"

Little Ellie felt both regret that he wasn't her father or mother, and a secret joy that "this is my own secret."

Urged on by him, she left the forest and continued on, climbing the highest hillside outside the town.

As if the reader had just opened the book cover and a captivating story was unfolding before them, the endless glittering lights revealed a dazzling world to the girl.

"So... so beautiful..."

She used dry, lifeless words to describe the most powerful emotions. He sighed, and flashbacks of memories surfaced in his mind.

Desert, ruins, sewage. This is the final end for this world.

"..."

"...What did you just show me?" Little Ellie asked.

Those flashback scenes also appeared in Alicia's mind. Perhaps it was his mistake, or perhaps it was intentional.

He sighed again, unwilling to reveal the truth, yet never refusing Alicia's questions, replying, "This is the end of this world."

Little Ellie glanced again at the endless stream of human activity below the hillside, comparing it with the ruins in her memory, and for a moment, she felt somewhat lost and helpless.

After a long while, she suddenly clenched her fists and asked with a determined look, "So, I was born to save everyone and prevent such a future?"

"..."

Perhaps Alicia believed she was the daughter of God, born into this world with a mission.

It's just a story from a fairy tale. She's definitely still a little girl.

He said, "Yes. You will lead everyone to a flawless paradise, an eternal haven, in the name of Alicia. There, everyone will live happily ever after, until the end of the world."

El Innis, I did not lie.

Little Ellie smiled happily, a smile so innocent and radiant.

……