Regarding the question of whether one thousand lives are enough to beat Honkai Impact 3rd.

The image above depicts a girl sitting in what appears to be a café, examining the coffee in her hand. The sunlight falls on her beautiful face, only accentuating the melancholy hidden in her faint smile.

The painting depicts herself.

In this lesson, Sato Yuno wholeheartedly imitated Su Qing'an's every stroke, which resulted in this painting.

Sato Yuno's feelings were complicated, and she whispered:

"Did I... draw this?"

She does have a certain level of artistic skill, but she didn't have that level before.

Moreover, this was done without a complete frame of reference or any mental composition, simply by following the other person's brushstrokes in sync.

It was as if invisible hands were holding the paintbrush with her, correcting all the crooked paths and tuning them onto the same wavelength.

That's why it can proceed so smoothly and logically.

The girl wrapped a scarf around most of her face and neck, her lips, hidden within, moving slightly.

"What an incredible teacher..."

She carefully put the painting away, then picked up her tools and walked to the front of the classroom.

The blackboard had already been pulled open by Su Qing'an, and what came into her view was a huge canvas.

The vibrant and exquisite colors and delicate brushstrokes depict the exact same scene.

The dazzling golden sunlight; the realistic backdrop of the café; the various details of the girl's unidentified school uniform; the subtle melancholy hidden in her smile; the color and curve of her lips; the slightly dim emerald green pupils beneath her long eyelashes; the purple hair falling onto her slender, fair wrist...

What a nice view.

Perhaps this feeling seems like self-praise after assuming that the teacher used herself as the model, but it was Sato Yuno's first thought.

In those captivating strokes of her brush, it's as if she's looking at Sato Yuno from another time and space.

Resilient yet fragile, lonely yet sorrowful.

A scene that she instinctively felt matched suddenly flashed through the girl's mind.

In the desolate ruins, her bones were shattered, her blood drained, and she walked towards the Hall of Hell, treading on thorns and white flowers.

But then someone inexplicably overturned the deepest hell, and so she took the opportunity to reach out and grab that hopeless future.

Thus, it was reborn from the ashes.

This is an intense emotion that cannot be conveyed by a single painting.

Very strange.

Because it was so vivid, the intense empathy left Sato Yuno standing there for a long time, unable to recover.

After she fully regained consciousness, she revealed a wistful smile.

Teacher Su is truly a remarkable person.

It's as if there's another version of myself who's very familiar with him.

He was so familiar with the painting that he incorporated all the relevant elements into it.

That's... utter nonsense.

Sato Yuno smiled, shook off her thoughts, and chose to leave.

Before leaving, the girl took a picture of the painting with her phone.

She then pulled the blackboard back to its original position, obscuring all the scenery.

To the very end, Sato Yuno failed to notice that her name was clearly written in the lower left corner of the scroll.

……

……

Su Qing'an cheated.

From the perspective of the course results, cheating was surprisingly effective.

The young man succeeded for the first time without using "momentum" as a medium that indirectly utilizes the essence of the soul. Instead, he used the pure essence of the soul to create an atmosphere between himself and Sato Yuno, maximizing his learning efficiency.

The same is true of that painting.

It is not infused with one's own martial spirit, but with emotions integrated through the bridge of the soul's essence.

The more Su Qing'an understood Sato Yuno, the more his paintings of Sato Yuno captured her essence.

He himself may not have realized that the reason he chose to draw Sato Yuno from that period was partly because he believed that only someone like her was more suited to live in that era.

Su Qing'an saw in her the Sato Yuno before the collapse.

Every detail of their actions, the warmth conveyed in their words and smiles, was exactly the same.

So... reincarnation really does exist.

After meeting Lin Xinchan and Xi'er, Su Qing'an gradually became certain that this strange phenomenon was not the only case, but he still couldn't determine the essence of this phenomenon.

Because he wasn't very familiar with Lin Xinchan, and he had never met Xi'er directly from that era.

Sato Yuno was one of Su Qing'an's few friends, and she was the only one he was absolutely certain was the one.

It was not a coincidence, nor an accident.

It's not just a matter of similar appearances, nor is it simply a repetition of names.

She was Sato Yuno, whom Su Qing'an had once known.

If everyone's soul has a unique aura, then that should explain why Su Qing'an received such a certain answer at first glance.

As his soul essence grew stronger, he had instinctively memorized these unique auras from his past interactions with those people.

Therefore, Su Qing'an felt sad that even her subconscious doubts did not exist, because the answer was already certain without any verification.

"What should I do?" the boy murmured to himself.

Just like in Changkong City before, he still couldn't save her family.

Su Qing'an would witness firsthand the growing despair in her eyes after seeing the world's broken state.

At that time, the unventable hatred in the girl's chest will be the greatest torment of her remaining life.

How long did the total war between the pre-civilization and the Honkai last in the original timeline?

According to records at St. Freya Academy, it is very likely that after the complete outbreak of the Third Honkai Impact, humanity will be utterly defeated in less than twenty years, and will have to place its hopes for victory on the next civilization.

Su Qing'an gripped the pendant in her pocket tightly, her gaze icy.

Perhaps dying early from Honkai infection is the easiest fate.

Having the talent to survive but lacking the qualifications to take revenge on the Honkai, this state of being suspended in half, empty and powerless, is the most painful and desperate state.

He himself knows this best.

Even if Sato Yuno could become a pseudo-Herrscher like her 55,000 years later, and even be able to perfectly control this power, the despair and sorrow she experienced would not be reduced in the slightest.

At that time, she was accepted by St. Freya Academy, which had the best atmosphere, and the six months that allowed her to heal her inner wounds stabilized the resentment that remained in her temperament.

However, in a previous civilization, there would be absolutely no room for maneuver.

"The result is... there's nothing we can do but temporarily pin our hopes on the fact that she won't be chosen by the Honkai Will to become a pseudo-Herrscher this time."

Su Qing'an couldn't guarantee whether Sato Yuno could withstand the erosion of the Honkai Will again, and if things progressed to an irreversible point...

His hand, resting on the doorknob, trembled slightly. Even the calm and stillness that was ingrained in his bones seemed unable to suppress the shudder caused by the fear that originated from within.

Finally, Su Qing'an closed her eyes.

The boy suppressed his turbulent emotions and silently arrived at the only answer.

By that time, Sato Yuno would no longer be Sato Yuno.

He could only...

The three seemingly light words fell like a heavy hammer into my heart.

He stood helplessly at his doorstep, remaining silent for a long time.

Take a deep breath, Sword Heart Technique.

All those things that had once been invincible and allowed Su Qing'an to control her emotions time and time again had lost their effectiveness.

Even now, he still displays indecisiveness and foolishness in matters like this.

What finally pulled Su Qing'an out of this state was the door that was opened from the inside.

It's Seele.

Her expression was indifferent, with only a hint of worry visible in her dark blue eyes.

The little girl didn't say a word; she simply tugged at the boy's clothes and pulled him into the living room.

Su Qing'an watched the way that tender little hand was twisting the fabric, and then noticed Xi'er's reaction.

The gloom on the boy's face dissipated, and he revealed a faint smile.

I'm fine.

He was just about to say that.

"Don't tell me you're fine." She glanced at him, interrupting Su Qing'an's prepared words.

Seele gestured for the boy to take off his shoes, and then handed him a pair of slippers after he obediently did so.

How long Su Qing'an stood outside the door was how long she stood on tiptoe and looked through the peephole.

However, Xi'er didn't want to say these things directly. She felt embarrassed to have been watching Su Qing'an for so long and then revealing them.

There's only one reason why they let him stand there for so long.

That is, Xi'er felt that Su Qing'an needed time to calm down and be alone. In her opinion, this was the same as when she was a child and had a lot of blood drawn from her, and she would cry silently in her blanket.

Everyone needs their own space to vent, but when she was little, Xi'er chose to vent by crying quietly, while Su Qing'an chose to stand still and remain silent.

But Seele broke his solitude because his condition had not improved over time; in fact, it seemed worse.

The boy placed the lesson plan on the living room table, thought for a moment, but still didn't say anything.

It is selfish to confide your worries and stress to this child.

Having just escaped that world, Su Qing'an has always strived to maintain a state of silence, avoiding any topics that might bring up those issues.