Kael saw Yanfei's tear-filled eyes. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something.
But… what could he say?
Tell Yanfei he wasn't going to die?
He knew very well there were only three days left in this life simulation.
A lie like that—he couldn't bring himself to say it.
Seeing Kael standing there, unable to refute her, Yanfei shook her head and staggered back a few steps as if she couldn't bear the weight of it all.
Her tears kept falling with every movement, streaking her face until it was covered in wet trails.
"Why…? I was only gone for a few days! Just a few days! Why did it have to turn out like this…?"
Yanfei's father looked at his daughter, his gaze softening with helpless pity.
But he was an Adeptus, someone who had lived for thousands of years.
He had seen too many partings in the mortal world, too many lives cut short.
He patted Yanfei gently on the shoulder.
"Compared to us, a mortal's life is incredibly short and fragile. The moment you chose to be with him, you should've been prepared for this."
Yanfei's eyes were red from crying. "I was prepared. I know he'll leave before me. I've already made peace with spending the rest of my life carrying his memory, living alone."
"But… but the time we've had together—it's just too short… There's still so much we haven't done together…"
"There has to be a way! Father, there has to be a way!"
Yanfei clutched her father's arm tightly. "Father! What about the Lord of Geo? Where is he? Can he save Kael?"
"I'm willing to make a contract with the Lord of Geo—to guard Liyue for the rest of my life! Whatever it takes… I'll climb blades, dive into fire, do whatever dirty work needs to be done… Father, please! Tell me where the Lord of Geo is…"
Her father glanced at Qiqi, who stood silently to the side, and slowly shook his head.
"The Adepti once tried to revive a little girl together. But a mortal soul simply can't withstand the wash of Adeptus power. In the end, the energy rampaged through her body. She lost her mind."
"To stop the chaos, Mountain Shaper had no choice but to seal her inside a piece of amber."
"That is the punishment for going against the natural order. Even we Adepti cannot reverse life and death on a whim."
"Do you really want to see this friend of yours meet such a fate?"
Yanfei stared blankly at her father. "So there's… really no way?"
"There's no way." Her father gently wiped the tears from the corner of her eye. "All you can do now is stay with him, spend these last days together, and don't leave any regrets."
Yanfei turned to look at Kael, who was sitting on the bed. Her heart was full of despair.
How could she not have regrets?
This was the only person she had ever loved in her long, endless life as an Adeptus.
They hadn't even truly lived together yet, and now she had to lose him.
How could she possibly have no regrets?
Kael looked at Yanfei's devastated face, and his heart felt like it was being sliced apart.
Yanfei had always lived freely, happily, without worries.
She loved freedom, hated being tied down by contracts.
But now, just to save him, she was willing to sign a lifelong contract with the Lord of Geo.
Willing to bind herself to Liyue for eternity.
How could he not be moved by that?
[Detected: Host's emotional levels have reached their peak, exceeding physical tolerance. Host, please stabilize your emotions immediately, or your usable time will be further shortened.]
Hearing the system's warning, Kael took a deep breath, forcing down the turmoil in his heart.
"Yanfei, it's okay." Kael gave her a gentle smile. "Like your father said, let's just treasure the time we have left."
Yanfei threw herself into Kael's arms, clutching him tightly, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Kael… I don't want this… I don't want you to leave… Don't leave me… This time is too short… There has to be someone who can save you… There has to be a way…"
Watching Yanfei sob in his arms, Kael's eyes turned red too.
[Warning: Host's emotional fluctuation is too high. Please stabilize your emotions immediately! Warning: Host's emotional fluctuation is too high. Please stabilize… Warning…]
The system's shrill alarms echoed in Kael's ears.
He wanted to control his emotions. He really did.
But with Yanfei crying like that in his arms, so broken and desperate, how was he supposed to stay calm?
Blood welled up in Kael's eyes, slowly trickling out. Soon, his nose and ears began to bleed too.
Yanfei, trembling in his arms, suddenly caught the smell of blood.
She lifted her head and saw streaks of blood running down Kael's face.
Some of the blood slid along his chin and dripped onto Yanfei's stunned face.
Realizing what was happening, Yanfei let out a sharp cry. "Kael! You're bleeding!"
Kael's vision spun. He almost collapsed back onto the bed.
Yanfei's father rushed over, quickly checking Kael's condition.
"He's reaching his limit…"
Qiqi, who had been standing silently to the side, pulled out her little notebook and flipped through it.
"Oh… Baizhu said… if Mr. Kael starts bleeding… I should go to the library and inform him…"
"I'll go get Baizhu now."
Qiqi walked out of the room with her usual slow, unhurried steps.
Kael looked at Yanfei, who was panicking, and tried to comfort her in a soft voice. "Yanfei… it's okay… don't…"
Before he could finish his sentence, the world went black and he passed out on the bed.
[Host's emotional fluctuation has exceeded maximum threshold. System is activating protection mode. Switching to Text Mode.]
"..."
Kael's vision shifted. He found himself back at his house in Mondstadt.
Even though he had left Sensory Mode and Yanfei was no longer in front of him, his heart still throbbed painfully, each beat like a sharp twist.
Good thing the system switched him out in time.
Otherwise, he could only have stood there, powerless, watching Yanfei suffer.
Now that the mode had changed, he finally had a moment to calm down and think.
He needed to figure out… how he was going to face Yanfei.