I've already said this isn't a life simulator!

"Um... um, thank you. I'm glad you like it, [blood relative]."

"Singing? Sure~ I love the singing voice of [Blood Ties] the most."

"Will you teach me to sing? I'll try my best."

???~

On the azure sea, on the planet that has completely turned azure, only Skadi's soft and youthful voice echoes.

Epilogue: Those Once Dazzling "Stars" and "Hope" (8523)

————【Event·Listening to the Music·Part Three】————

clatter--

With light footsteps, Raiden Mei walked slowly forward.

Walking through the dimly lit corridor, passing through the fantastical space, and stepping into that magnificent "painting"... Raiden Mei was already quite adept at this.

"Hello~ Mei, it's nice to see you again~?"

"Alicia..."

Raiden Mei stopped and looked at the pink-clad girl not far away.

"How's it going? You've gotten used to it after a few visits, haven't you?"

Alicia landed lightly on the ground and moved with light steps to Raiden Mei's side.

"Hmm... Indeed, it's hard to imagine that this is the world in the painting... Everything seems so real."

Raiden Mei slightly raised her hand, feeling the breeze brushing past her fingertips and the fragrance of flowers lingering around her nose, and responded softly.

"After all, for the people in the painting, this painting is the real world, right?"

"and……"

Alicia blinked, her expression suggesting she was missing something.

"This place... isn't just a [painting], is it?"

"Ok?"

"Mei, didn't I tell you? This place is actually divided into two areas."

Alicia gently smoothed her long pink hair, then unconsciously touched the crystal flower hair accessory behind her.

"Hmm, I remember, according to your classification... most of this area belongs to 'Utopia,' while another part... belongs to 'Eden,' right? And the areas where I met [Ying Jie] and fought with them... all seem to be in 'Eden.'"

Raiden Mei nodded and slowly revealed her discovery... Although she didn't understand why the two areas were deliberately separated and given two similar names, there must be some other meaning behind it.

"That's right~ I think Mei, you must be wondering why we're making a special distinction, right?"

"really."

"Hmm... that's because our powers aren't really suited to be used in his 'ideal world'... and we don't want to cause damage to his 'ideal world' because of our own actions... but thankfully, he specially expanded an area for us to move around in~ how thoughtful~?"

"……he?"

"Ah, you haven't met him yet... That's understandable—after all, he's always protected by his blood relatives—to prevent us from hurting him or anything..."

Alicia's eyes dimmed slightly, and the smile on her lips faded a little, but she quickly regained her usual smile.

"But don't worry! You'll see him soon, hmm... let me think... around this time!"

"At this time? And... [blood relatives]?"

This title puzzled Raiden Mei, because when Alicia pronounced the word, her tone became somewhat...strange.

But soon, Raiden Mei had no time to worry about any of that, because...

???~

A melodious song drifted from the depths, carrying a radiance like flowing water and lively, bouncy notes.

A gentle breeze carries the song, and a light drizzle falls silently, washing away the last remaining clouds in the sky.

The grass on both sides of the road swayed gently to the melody, and the blooming flowers swayed along with it. Occasionally, a few petals would quietly drift out and go away with the wind.

The already picturesque scenery became even more dreamlike at this moment.

"This is... a song? Is it Eden? No, there seems to be someone else... and these musical notes... this rain..."

"Hmm~ It looks just right~?"

Alicia laughed happily.

"Sure enough, Eden always goes to see him at this time of year~ He's never missed a single one, and he's never been late~?"

"……he?"

And there he is again, the "he" that Alicia mentioned... but Raiden Mei doesn't know who he is yet.

"Yes, he... back in our time, he was on par with Eden, you know? You could say he and Eden were one of the symbols of our era, a pair of dazzling 'twin stars'!"

"Based on your previous description of Eden, and what Eden looks like to me... to be honest, I find it hard to imagine."

"Hmm... If you haven't seen it with your own eyes, it's probably hard to imagine, right? But... it's okay, you'll see him soon."

Alicia took Raiden Mei's hand and led her deeper into the area.

"Let's go see him?"

"Alicia... before we go any further, could you tell me a little about him? At least let me know his name?"

"Oh dear, I'm so sorry, lovely Miss Feihua has become so silly~ She actually forgot such an important thing~?"

"Alicia..."

"Okay, I'll tell you, but... don't laugh out loud, okay?"

"...Could it be that there's something funny about his name? Like a pun or something?"

"More or less."

"........."

Really?!

Raiden Mei's lips twitched slightly.

"However, I hope you'll take this very seriously, Mei, because it truly matches his name."

Alicia rarely wore a serious expression.

His name is—[Xi Wang/Hope].

————【Event: Offering Blessings】————

The light flows, the notes dance, the gentle breeze brings the soft rain, and also the tender song.

It resembles dripping dew, or shining morning light.

As you walk forward, you can see a large number of people... many of them are familiar faces, even Qianjie is there.

It's hard to imagine that someone like Senju would listen to a song so quietly—Raiden Mei couldn't help but think.

But Raiden Mei was also puzzled. Why was everyone standing so far apart? Why didn't they move a little closer? There were clearly empty seats reserved in front of them.

But she couldn't voice this question because Alicia was pushing her forward, and she soon understood why the others weren't getting closer.

wow-

Even though there was only a light drizzle all around, I could hear the sound of waves crashing in my ears, and a strong sense of threat welled up in my heart, as if I were being watched by something very dangerous.

If you shift your gaze, you'll see an orca swimming on the ground... Yes! On the ground!

It was as if, to that orca, this place was not solid ground, but rather the ocean where it could swim freely.

Furthermore, Raiden Mei could sense that this orca... was a Honkai Beast! And a very dangerous one at that!

More importantly, as Raiden Mei approached, it was as if she had touched a taboo. The orca swam rapidly toward her, its hostility growing stronger.

However, just as Raiden Mei was preparing to fight...

?~

A gentle melody drifted over, and after hesitating for a moment, the orca turned and swam away in the direction from which the song was coming.

Then Raiden Mei watched as the orca leaped out of the ground, just like it was leaping out of the water, creating a spray of azure water. She then watched as the orca transformed into a white-haired, red-eyed girl wearing a hunter's hat and a bright red off-shoulder dress, surrounded by several small, bright red "fish," which looked quite peculiar.

Her gaze lingered on Raiden Mei for a moment before turning to the person beside her.

Looking in that direction, one could see a man who resembled her somewhat... He also had white hair like waves, and several small blue fish were beside him. However, his pupils were not red like hers, but a brilliant gold like the stars in the night sky, which was quite similar to Eden.

It was at this moment that the singing stopped.

"I'm sorry, [blood relative]."

She spoke very obediently, with a hint of grievance, like a child who had done something wrong, which made Raiden Mei's lips twitch slightly... Was she really that orca from before?

"It's alright, blood relatives are important."

He smiled, reached out and patted her head to comfort her, and she happily squinted her eyes, revealing a comfortable expression.

"And...she won't hurt me, right?"

He turned around and looked at Raiden Mei.

"nature."

Although she didn't understand why he would specifically point this out, after interacting with other "Heroes," Raiden Mei no longer cared about such things and nodded in agreement.

"That's it~"

His tone was light and cheerful.

"Hello, Miss Mei, I hope Skadi's attitude didn't frighten you. She's just too concerned about me."

"It's alright, I just hope I didn't bother you...".

Raiden Mei glanced at Eden beside him, Skadi standing behind him, Sakura, Rin, and Gretchen's family... and silently revised her statement.

"And...you know me?"

“Of course, Eden and Sakura mentioned you to me.”