Fifty thousand years. It has been fifty thousand years. This legacy, marked by civilization, ends here.
But I'm sorry, Sirin, you still need to walk the final path with me.
As for Kiana… Kiana… you are ready to face me now, aren't you?
Then, defeat me. Defeat the End…
Fifty Thousand Years Ago:
?: "Bai, Happy twenty-second birthday! I've already prepared your gift. Do you want to guess what I got you ♪."
"If it's Aili Xiya… a handmade pink fairy doll?"
?: "Ah! ♪ ヾ(´∇｀)ﾉ I didn't think Bai would think that! I'm happy, but no, it's not ♪."
"…"
"Sorry, I really can't guess."
?: "Oh, Bai is so cute ♪. But the gift needs to be opened before midnight tonight, so, I'll have to trouble Bai to wait patiently for a bit ♪."
"Alright, I guess that's Aili Xiya for you. Then I can only look forward to it."
"But Aili Xiya is really so gentle, yet her ending…"
"MiHoYo! You—!"
?: "…"
"… …"
"Kevin, you've been staring at me, blocking me here for a long time. You, you're not going to assault me, are you? Σ(°△°|||)"
?: "…"
?: "… …" (Hands over a gift box)
"Phew~ You scared me to death. But it really is Kevin; even giving a gift has to be so serious. Thank you! (◍´꒳`◍)"
?: "…"
?: "Happy birthday." (The man turns and leaves.)
"Kevin really is something. So gentle, but later he…"
"MiHoYo! You—!"
?: "Heh heh ✧(≖◡≖✿)"
"Whoa!!! (๑ʘ̅ д ʘ̅๑)!!!"
"Dr. Mobius!? You, where did you come from?"
?: "What, you don't want to see me? Xiao Bai Bai, you're getting cuter and prettier."
"Um, Dr. Mobius, I have something to do, I'm leaving now, goodbye!"
?: "Stop." (Grabs someone)
?: "Here, your gift."
"Is this a scale? It's not from your body, is it? No! You're not a Fusion Warrior yet, so it shouldn't be."
"It's not poisonous, is it!!!! ∑(°Д°ノ)ノ"
?: "Heh heh, Bai is getting more and more fond of joking. Am I really that untrustworthy?"
"Not poisonous? Then it's a sleeping drug! (°-°〃) Or at least a laxative! Σ(っ°Д°;)っ"
?: "… … … … Bai, do you want to be my Little White Mouse?"
"Goodbye! And thank you for your gift."
… … … … … … … … … … … … … MiHoYo! You—!
"Dr. Mei? Dr. Mei?"
"Bai!?" The long-haired beauty with round glasses and a white lab coat was roused from her daze.
"I'm sorry, Bai, I was distracted just now." She rubbed her forehead, looking a bit tired.
"It's okay. I brought the data you asked me to bring. It's about the Fusion Warrior.
"But! I didn't peek, I saw it by accident. It's all Kevin's fault! He blocked me for so long! (~￣△￣)~"
Dr. Mei's tired face couldn't help but show a hint of a smile, but then she quickly thought of something else.
"Oh! Right."
Patting her forehead, Mei picked up an exquisite gift box nearby.
"Happy twenty-second birthday, Bai."
"Thank you (◍´꒳`◍)"
She took the gift, but her eyes quickly met Mei's clearly tired ones, and her mood couldn't quite lift.
"Dr. Mei, is something on your mind?"
"Is it about… the Fusion Warrior?"
Mei paused, then nodded bitterly.
"I'm sorry, Bai, did I ruin your good mood?"
"However, you guessed right. Humanity can no longer fight the Herrscher as it once did. The Fusion Warrior is the only way to prolong life now, but I…"
"But Dr. Mei, you don't have any certainty. The Fusion Warrior project will kill many people, and Kevin, he'll be the first to rush to support you, because his trust in you is absolute. Yet you yourself don't have that absolute confidence."
"Am I right?"
Mei was silent. After a long silence, she nodded with a bitter smile.
"Yes, Bai, you're absolutely right. I don't have absolute certainty, but…"
"Let me do it."
"What?" Mei looked up at the person in front of her.
"Bai, are you going to replace Kevin and become the first Fusion Warrior?"
Mei's voice was uncertain, but she saw the person in front of her nod.
"Yes, but please also take out the power within me."
These words were like pressing a pause button, making the scene quiet once more. After a long silence, Mei shook her head and spoke.
"Bai, if you do that, you might die. I can't…"
"Dr. Mei." She interrupted Mei.
"I have power far exceeding a Herrscher within me. You told me that yourself, Dr. Mei. And I believe, Dr. Mei, you can use it."
"And…"
"I don't belong to this world, nor do I love this world. But, Aili Xiya, Kevin, Mobius, and you, Mei. I know this sounds absurd, but if I can be the anomaly that changes everything, then let me do it…"
… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …
"Dr. Mei…"
"I'm sorry, Bai."
"Did the experiment fail? It's okay, I'm not afraid of death. You don't need to blame yourself."
On the cold experimental table, she reached out, wanting to comfort Mei beside her, but found her arm shrinking, little by little, still continuing, like rejuvenation.
This scene made her a little lost, but Mei showed no surprise, just shook her head weakly.
"I know saying this might be an excuse, but it succeeded, it should have succeeded. The Honkai Beast genes fused very well with you, and I also got that power from your body, but at the very end…"
"I don't know what happened, Bai…"
"You gave everything, but I, I kidnapped you."
"I tied your life forever to twenty-two…"
… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …
"Aili Xiya, it's past midnight."
The exquisite gift box was gently placed on the experimental table by the pink-haired girl. It was a gift from the pink fairy lady, a surprise to be opened only at midnight, at the very end of her birthday.
But now, midnight had passed, and she could only place this gift on this cold experimental table, listening to Mei recount everything that had just happened.
"So that's how it is? But I should have known, Bai, she would make such a choice, but I didn't expect such a result."
"The shackles of twenty-two, how painful that must be."
"But why today, of all days? Today is your birthday, the day the pink fairy lady was supposed to bless you…"
… … … … … … … … … … … … …
"Oh, Kevin, you're so strong as a Fusion Warrior, you actually defeated the Seventh Herrscher. You're truly like a hero."
"…"
"Huh? Why are you looking at me like that? Have you finally been moved by Aili Xiya's beauty?"
"Where is Bai?"
"Oh? Does Kevin know something?"
"The sword Mei is developing, that power, it should have been inside Bai."
"Is she dead?"
"No… Kevin, you should already know. She's not dead, but it's more painful than death."
"I don't understand. That power, Bai would use it better than if it were made into a weapon."
"But Kevin, between herself and Fire Moth, and us, she chose the latter. Bai, her trust in us far exceeds her trust in herself, far exceeds everyone else."
The girl stepped forward, placing the gift box in the man's hand.
"Kevin, there is no Bai left in this world. There is only the nameless Fusion Warrior, and the original Elysian Realm Hero."
"At least Aili Xiya herself will never forget her, and Kevin, you…"
"Will you promise me one thing? In the future, if you see her, please give her my gift. But remember, it's a gift that can only be opened at midnight on her birthday."
"…"
"Aili Xiya, that doesn't sound like something you would say. Why won't it be you who sees her in the future?"
The girl smiled, clasped her hands behind her back, and shook her head.
"It's a secret."
History seemed to have undergone subtle changes. The Thirteen Flame-Chasing Heroes, yet they represented fourteen people. The extra one, the original and nameless Elysian Realm Hero without a seat.
But, those three nuclear bombs would still bloom on this land, and the End would eventually arrive.
With the arrival of the End, civilization finally reached its limit. Humanity used everything it had, the Moonlight Throne combined with the strongest warrior's full-power strike, yet it only extended human civilization by twelve hours.
The remaining humans hid in underground hibernation pods, waiting for the End to depart.
Everything seemed unchanged, except that at this moment, within the Fire Moth base, a small figure was walking forward.
She skillfully opened one door after another, finally arriving at the familiar laboratory, only to see Mei lying on the ground, barely alive.
Draped in a tattered piece of cloth, the girl walked forward barefoot. At only five years old, she seemed a bit naive, but her eyes gleamed with a look that did not belong to her age.
"Bai, you're back…"
"Yes, long time no see, Dr. Mei."
The girl showed a hint of a smile, picked up Mei, and held her in her arms.
"I finally understand kidnapping, and everything about twenty-two. The moment I pass my twenty-second birthday, my body will regress, returning to childhood."
"If I die, I will randomly appear somewhere in this world. My age will be between one and five years old."
"It's amazing. I have infinite life, but in the end, I can't change anything."
Mei leaned quietly on the girl's shoulder, listening to her story. At the end of her life, the only thing she could do was hold the girl's hand, giving her a touch of warmth, the only warmth for the next ten thousand years.
"Following time forward, yet a reincarnation unique to you alone, Bai, you must be in so much pain."
"But I'm so sorry, Bai, in the end, I failed your trust."
"No." She shook her head, looking at Mei, whose life was nearing its end in her arms, her face revealing an unconcealable sadness.
"That's not your fault…"
In her arms, Mei died. The girl gently held her tight, closed her eyes, and felt the last warmth of the person in her embrace.
"Is that you, Bai?"
After an unknown amount of time, the man's cold voice behind her woke her up.
She turned around and met the man's gaze, a long gaze.
"Kevin, Mei is already…"
"I know."
The man's cold voice interrupted her, but she still felt the heavy sorrow on this cold man.
"I had anticipated this day, but I didn't expect you to return."
"Bai… you've changed a lot."
Another long gaze, finally met with a soft laugh from her.
"People always change, Kevin, you are like that, and so am I."
"However, you shouldn't stop here. Your child is over there, and your mission is not yet complete."
Kevin saw the letter, saw his and Mei's child, and also, that sword, that sword that was never completed from beginning to end.
Looking at the longsword in his hand, which Mei had been forging until the very end, complex emotions flickered in the man's cold eyes, finally settling on the person in front of him.
"It should have belonged to you."
She shook her head.
"No, it belongs to Fire Moth, to Mei, to you, Kevin."
Stepping forward, she came before Kevin and gently grasped the sword's scabbard.
This sword was actually completed long ago, but the day it was sheathed, no one could ever draw it out again.
And now, as the girl grasped the scabbard, the longsword was slowly drawn out.
In Kevin's hand, the sword struggled, trying to break free from Kevin's control. But when the girl gently placed her hand on the blade, the longsword became eerily quiet.
Under Kevin's gaze, the girl raised the longsword, placed the tip against her heart, and spoke with a smile.
"Kevin, we will meet again in the future, but promise me, when that time comes, you must hold this sword and have the ability to kill me, okay?"
A drop of blood slid down the sword tip, across the blade, and finally merged into Kevin's wrist. And this longsword, which had been resisting Kevin, now completely quieted down.
"Bai, what exactly are you doing? What has happened to you all these years?"
She shook her head without answering, her eyes calmly meeting Kevin's.
"Okay, I promise you."
Receiving Kevin's answer, the girl stepped back, giving him one last smile, and walked out of the laboratory without a word.
Note: This is a later addition: Sirin will appear in Chapter 3, transforming into the adorable Little Sirin at the beginning of Chapter 5. The cute and tsundere Little Sirin is waiting for you to cuddle! ヾ(❀╹◡╹)