Upon hearing these words, Shenhe paused slightly, a blissful smile once again spreading across her face.
Tears streaming down his cheeks, he laughed joyfully and embraced Elliot tightly.
"I love you too."
"Thank you for choosing me."
Elliot stroked her soft hair and whispered, "We chose each other."
"Mhm." She nodded in Elliot's embrace, feeling the warmth—that familiar, comforting warmth.
After twenty-seven years apart, even the closest relatives felt like strangers upon reunion.
Now, those lingering, faint traces of unfamiliarity vanished completely.
Shenhe felt as if she had returned to the past.
She clung tightly to Elliot, savoring this first warmth in twenty-seven years.
"It feels so good. I love being held by you." She cooed like a child.
"Good girl~" Elliot was equally delighted to hold her.
"There's only one thing I regret in this lifetime," she said.
"What is it?"
"Having a child."
"......" Elliot fell silent.
"That way, our little world of two could become a family of three."
"But it's okay. Master Hu of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor said there's reincarnation, right? We'll have a child in our next life."
"I've been very happy in this life. Having a little regret is only natural—after all, no one's life is without regret."
"Being with you makes me feel like the happiest person in the world."
They sat at the edge of Celestia, Shenhe resting her head on Elliot's shoulder as they watched the sunrise gradually emerge from the abyss of the sea.
She slowly turned her head to look at Elliot, who instinctively met her gaze.
"Husband, it's time for us to depart," she said.
"Mhm." Elliot nodded.
She rose slowly, a dagger formed of blue ice appearing in her hand.
"Let me do it." Elliot reached out to stop her.
"But..."
"Cutting your neck will hurt." Elliot explained.
Hearing his words, Shenhe smiled: "You're still so gentle."
As she sheathed the blade, she opened her arms wide, as if embracing him.
"Come find me soon, I'll be waiting."
"I'll be right there." Elliot raised his right hand, and a crimson light erupted from his palm.
This was the power of death, capable of directly stripping away life. Unlike the power of time, it left the corpse unchanged.
In an instant, Shenhe collapsed, still smiling.
Elliot stepped forward, cradled her body, and gently laid her on the ground.
He stared at Shenhe's lifeless form, frozen in place.
The brilliant morning sun bathed the entire Celestia in golden light.
Against the already sunlit, unobstructed sky, absurdly, rain began to fall.
But before the rain fell, Elliot's tears came first.
Drop after drop landed on Shenhe's face.
His features contorted in anguish as tears the size of beans fell relentlessly like a torrential downpour.
The brilliant golden hue gradually faded beneath darkening clouds, and the azure sky grew somber.
After the wind arose, the rain followed.
Splash... splash...
"Why...."
Elliot, who had endured nine lifetimes of reincarnation and countless separations, had never shed a tear.
Now, at this very moment—
the thread that had held him together finally snapped.
"Why... why is this happening..."
"Wasn't my fate supposed to be happiness? Why is this happening...."
"I just wanted to live an ordinary life.... Why is it so hard...."
"What did I do wrong? What did I do wrong!!!!"
"Why do I deserve this treatment!!!!"
"Why!!!!"
CRACK!
His hysterical outburst echoed as a colossal thunderbolt struck from the heavens.
It briefly illuminated the boundless darkness, only to fade instantly.
The string that had held for millennia snapped—
and in that instant, the very cosmos trembled.
Clutching Shenhe's body, he wept.
Utterly broken, he could no longer even cry out.
His mouth gaped open, his throat clogged, not a single sound escaping.
His face contorted like a demon's, tears streaming more fiercely than the torrential downpour.
The rain fell for seven days and seven nights.
Elliot wept for seven days and seven nights.
By now, the Abyss had reached Celestia.
"Why.... why....."
He resembled an elderly man in his twilight years,
a flickering flame trembling in a raging storm.
He had asked "Why?" countless times.
Like a discarded robot, he could only utter a single, fixed phrase.
His tears had long since dried up, leaving his eyes an unnatural crimson.
Bloodshot veins covered his whites, leaving only his pupils black—like those of a rabid beast.
"I can't understand.... What did I do wrong...."
He retrieved the shovel Hu Tao had once given him to dig his own grave.
Leaning heavily on it, he managed to stand with great effort.
His steps were unsteady, his body hunched over.
Even standing upright had become an arduous task.
Using the shovel, he dug a large, deep pit and gently laid Shenhe inside.
"I think I still prefer joyful burial."
"If life and death are a cycle, then my death means I'll find you in the next life. That's something to be happy about."
As Elliot lay down beside her, ready to die together, Shenhe's words from the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor suddenly surfaced in his mind.
"Joyful burial..." he murmured.
Elliot climbed back out of the grave.
After a long pause, a warm green light burst from his palms.
In an instant, over a dozen magpies materialized.
"This time, I'll accompany them to bury you."
Elliot smiled again—a genuinely joyful smile.
He followed the rules of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, performing the rites of a joyful burial.
He danced and sang joyfully, surrounded by the cheerful chatter of magpies.
"My name is Shenhe, born under a solitary and deadly fate."
"A mortal resting place is but a luxury to me; I've long grown accustomed to companionship with mountains, rivers, and beasts."
"Good morning. The morning dew is sweet—would you like a taste?"
"I've always been waiting for you, waiting for your return…"
"This is our home..... How beautiful..."
"I willingly pledge to take Elliot as my husband, to live with him forever. No matter the circumstances, I vow to love him, follow him, trust him, protect him, and cherish him for life. I will not form emotional bonds with others. I swear this oath."
"As long as you return, no matter how long it takes, I will wait for you."
"After all, you are my most beloved husband~"
"Thank you for choosing me."
He laughed through his tears, and cried through his laughter, as tears long since dried up welled up once more.
The most despairing and sorrowful person held this funeral in the most joyous and celebratory manner.
This was a Joyful Burial.
After the funeral, Elliot lay beside Shenhe, using his spatial abilities to gather all the surrounding earth around them.
"I'm sorry for bringing you both to this world of despair."
"Please forgive me."
Elliot offered his final apology to the dozen magpies, then buried himself completely beneath the earth.
A jagged rock pierced the pitch-black ground, ending Elliot's life once and for all.
[Guiding in progress…]