Honkai Impact: The Dream Keeper

Long Qiao stood before the five Orphnochs, a sharp blade in hand. His yellow mask glowed, and the red photon blood on his body shone brightly in the darkness.

"You're Faiz?! The five of us haven't hurt anyone, you...you stay away!" one of the Orphnoch leaders said in a terrified voice.

"So what? I don't care if you've hurt anyone or not. If I find you, you're going to die here..." Long Qiao said in a low, cold voice, her tone filled with a hint of tyranny.

After speaking, Long Qiao pressed the accelerometer on his left hand. Within the 30-second time limit, Long Qiao had already killed an Orphnoch with a single sword strike in the blink of an eye. Then, he leaped forward and quickly approached one of them, kicking it into the sand with a side kick. Long Qiao turned his head to look at the remaining three, swung his blade horizontally, and in the blink of an eye, all five Orphnochs were killed on the spot.

Just as Long Qiao was sheathing her sword, she was suddenly interrupted by a purple energy cannon, and a purple protozoan appeared in front of her.

"Protozoa? Ha... I didn't even come looking for you, yet you dare to come looking for me? Kabuto!"

After Long Qiao put away the Faiz belt, the Kabuto Insect Device was seamlessly connected. Then, Long Qiao transformed into Rider Mode by breaking through the armor. After that, the two of them attacked each other frantically in the Time-Rising Domain. Theresa on the rooftop could not even see Long Qiao's figure.

As the two exited their Ascension state, the Protozoan was in a half-kneeling position, while Long Qiao was only slightly agitated and not seriously injured. After the Protozoan stood up, it was moving away from Long Qiao step by step, but Long Qiao did not make any move. When the Protozoan was about to reach the exit, the corner of Long Qiao's mouth under his mask couldn't help but turn up. A black light blade slashed across the Protozoan's body, and the Protozoan was cut in half the instant it made contact.

"If I'm not mistaken, you must be the Mo Ye that Long Yuyang once told me about, right?" Long Qiao said to the person in front of her after she deactivated her transformation.

The next second, a young man in a black trench coat walked over. His face was expressionless, as if he were a robot.

"Yes, you must be Long Qiao?"

"it's me."

"Come with me and explore this world. Once I've fully recovered my Orphnoch form, we'll travel together."

"Ah."

Afterwards, Long Qiao led Mo Ye back to the rooftop and introduced them to Theresa and Mo Ye.

"Long Qiao, I have something to say to you," Mo Ye said to Long Qiao.

"Okay, Theresa, wait for me a moment."

The two then went to another place to chat privately.

"Long Qiao, your killing intent is very strong."

"and then?"

"I need to remind you, don't let murderous intent control you, or you'll be doomed." Mo Ye looked at Long Qiao with a serious expression and said in a deep voice.

"Heh... How could that be? How could I let this thing control me? I am Long Qiao, and those things I fought were all bad. I will eliminate all the monsters of the Orphnoch, leaving none alive!" Long Qiao looked at his palm, then a wicked smile appeared on his lips. His golden eyes stared at Mo Ye as he spoke excitedly.

"Besides... those monsters can't possibly be kind. As long as they're Orphnochs, they'll be Orphnochs forever, and they all deserve to die. I can't possibly show them any mercy!"

Unbeknownst to both Mo Ye and Long Qiao, Long Qiao's golden pupils, which had been shining brightly, were gradually dimming, and a few traces of blood red were silently staining them, as if trying to taint the golden light.

"...Fine..."

After their conversation, the two walked over to Theresa again, and Long Qiao asked Theresa a question in her mind.

"Is that all? Is this enough for your wishes?"

“That’s enough. That’s my wish… no, her wish. She just wants to understand what the world is like now, not the descriptions in books, but real cities, lights, and people… Although she also wants to taste ice cream and touch the face of the Houmu doll… but this is enough. I’m already very satisfied,” Theresa said.

After Theresa finished speaking, the boy took out a vanilla popsicle and a Houmu doll from somewhere and presented them to Theresa. When Theresa looked up at Long Qiao, she saw the boy looking at her with gentle eyes and a smile on his lips.

"you……"

"Didn't you say you wanted to try some ice cream and touch some plush toys? Here, take it."

Theresa's hands seemed to obey her will as she took the things the boy handed her, opened the popsicle wrapper, took a bite, and then said...

"So delicious... So this is what ice cream tastes like..."

Upon hearing this, Long Qiao unpacked the Houmu doll and placed one hand on Theresa's left hand on the doll, while Mo Ye took photos and recorded the scene.

"So... the Houmu doll feels so fluffy to the touch, it's so comfortable."

"If you like, I can take you to other places. By the way, let's meet here tomorrow night?" Long Qiao said, resting one foot on the rooftop railing and enjoying the breeze as she looked at the girl.

"...No...I don't have much time left. I have to leave this city tonight."

"Why?"

“Vampires… are things that shouldn’t be in the light, and… the more humans there are, the harder it is for them to control themselves… She is such a tragic creature,” Theresa said in a somber tone.

Long Qiao and Mo Ye listened quietly to everything Theresa had to say.

Theresa told the two her story—

"The girl was a doll created by her grandfather. From birth, her life had no meaning except for a room filled with books, like a cage... Her grandfather gave her nothing. Only her grandfather and her sleeping sister were occasional conversational partners. She was required to drink blood packs frequently and, every two weeks, to drink her sister's blood. It was all her grandfather's wish, so she continued this life because she was born for this purpose, because she was needed, because her sister would wake up after each blood-drinking session and give her a very gentle smile... Only at these times could she feel the meaning of her existence. Even so, she still had a wish: she wanted to go out and see the world described in the books, even if it was just for a glimpse. With her sister's help, she escaped the village she had never left since birth. However, she had underestimated everything. The outside world was the human world... She found it increasingly difficult to control the urge to drink other people's blood. She desperately tried to suppress it, but her body's instincts easily shattered her efforts."

"But when she came to her senses, only the fresh bloodstains at the corner of her mouth could tell her, in place of her memory, what she had done..."

At this point, the girl slowly raised her head, her face expressionless, while several cigarette butts appeared at the feet of Long Qiao and Mo Ye.

“Now… do you understand? She is gradually losing her human emotions, and even… doesn’t know how much longer she can be herself…” Theresa said.