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

"Wow, Roca."

"Do you mean you want me to ride on your back?"

The white wolf responded in a low voice, its hard scales on its back spreading out like feathers, creating a comfortable environment for the child's body. The scales on its sides spread out in a parallel manner, like steps, providing footholds for the child to easily climb up.

The girl blinked her eyes, curiously stepped onto it, and then lightly landed on the top, like a swallow returning to its nest, landing on that soft area.

"Great!"

Sirin rolled around playfully in this strange little world, only to be carefully pushed back by the scales controlled by the white wolf. Distracted for a while, she suddenly remembered the game Elena had mentioned, grabbed a nearby scale as a rein, and said:

"let's go."

"After only a short while, Elena had already disappeared."

In response, the white wolf howled and manipulated the layers of scales on its back to form a raised circular fortress centered on where Sirin was, blocking out the wind and snow. It also deliberately left a small hole so that the child's little head could peek out and observe the surrounding scenery.

Celine was quite intrigued by this change. She touched her cold arm and said happily:

"It's so warm. I wish I had slept on your back earlier."

"Let's go find some other friends to play with."

The white wolf patiently responded to every little thing the girl said. Its massive body strode through the snowy forest, gradually accelerating until it moved as freely as the wind, causing Sirin, who occasionally peeked out, to have her hair ruffled and to reveal a delighted smile.

A few minutes later, the petite and graceful snow fox came into view, and the girl excitedly called out the name she had given it.

She gazed at the distant scenery, feeling as if she were getting closer to that unreachable white tower, which resembled a castle from a fairy tale, possessing a natural romantic and fantastical quality.

During this rather chaotic time, this building, which blends into the wind and snow and almost reaches the sky, is like a lighthouse at sea, serving as a beacon that occasionally reminds her that she has not completely distanced herself from the area where humans exist.

So, much like these "friends," the White Pagoda itself was a special existence that made her feel not completely isolated from the world, slightly easing her loneliness.

But subconsciously, Celine was also somewhat afraid of the white tower.

Because compared to humans still alive in the world, animals seem to treat me more gently.

Who knows if there might be bad people there?

Even if that weren't the case, she is now unwilling to easily meet with her compatriots again.

The girl gazed at the rapidly receding scenery around her, and curiously touched the nearby transparent shield with her fingertips. She felt the strong wind blowing in her face being filtered out, only disturbing the stray hairs on her forehead. The fierce wind, which was like a knife and tended to sting, no longer hurt her cheeks.

This was clearly also due to Roca's care.

Xilin pursed her lips, her interest in the trip growing even stronger. She recalled the bedtime stories her mother used to tell, those fairy tales always featured magical creatures or elves like Elena, Loka, and Belle, who would help well-behaved children.

Is that the white tower in the distance? Perhaps there are no bad people inside, only hot springs made of chocolate, houses made of candy, more lovely and friendly friends, a warm and beautiful fireplace that isn't filled with garbage, and a dining table laden with delicious food...

She was suddenly filled with an expectation that shouldn't have arisen, but her attention was quickly drawn to the scene before her: the other "friends" running together.

Celine could call them by name one by one.

These animals, whose food chains are in conflict and who are natural enemies of each other, are running towards the distant white pagoda, as if they are engaged in an interesting race.

The white wolf the girl was sitting on howled softly, as if it were saying something. She understood what it meant, blinked, and asked:

"You originally wanted to go on an adventure together, but didn't Roca know what was inside that white tower?"

"So I'm also very curious."

"Let's go together then, maybe there will be lots of delicious food inside."

The white wolf responded with a long, enthusiastic howl, and together with its companions quickened their pace, completely crossing another spruce forest and arriving at a more expansive snowfield. Running freely in nature, its four paws felt as light as if it were treading on clouds. With each step across a layer of land, it was as if it had broken free of a shackle, becoming increasingly free and unrestrained.

Xilin's past experiences were very repressive. This was the first time she had embraced nature in such a free environment. The emotions she felt, and the feelings of being moved by her "friends," were incredibly genuine.

The girl's eyes were slightly upturned, and she let her hair blow wildly in the wind, as if she had shed the confusion and gloom she felt when she first arrived ten days ago. The hatred and bitterness in her chest seemed to have eased, and she smiled.

The beautiful white tower drew ever closer, as if confirming that it was about to reconcile with something.

Amidst the swirling wind and snow, the animals approached the other buildings before the white tower, which resembled a checkpoint or surveillance post. In the distance, the soldiers standing tall appeared as inconspicuous black dots in the vast white world.

In her subconscious, Celine suddenly realized that the white tower was not such a beautiful thing, and that all the expectations and imaginations she had arbitrarily painted upon it were foolish mistakes.

The girl clutched the front of her dress, her heart pounding, unable to suppress the inexplicable unease and panic that had arisen within her. She hurriedly grabbed the scales beside her, signaling the white wolf beneath her to stop, and called out again:

"Loca! Elena!"

Let's go back!

The purple glint in the eyes of the white wolf and the snow fox flashed, and after taking a few more steps forward, they slowly obeyed each other's will and stopped. They each let out a low howl, causing the other animals to stop as well.

Before Sirin could even show a relieved smile, the alarm at the distant military supply depot suddenly blared. Almost the instant before all the animals turned to leave, they were categorized as Honkai Beasts that needed to be eliminated, and a hot war was immediately launched.

She saw the bear named Bell standing in front of her, its hard, armor-like scales blasted into charcoal by heavy weapons, revealing its soft, snow-white fur, which was then pierced by powerful, spear-like firearms, with a blood-like substance meandering out.

The polar bear's body was tattered like a torn sack, full of eerie and terrifying holes, yet it still stood there, as if guarding something more important than death.

"..."

The Honkai Beast named Bell continued to gaze at Sirin, its gentle purple eyes gradually becoming empty and unfocused. It let out a whimper, using its last strength to embrace the white wolf in front of it, effectively using its own corpse to protect Sirin beneath it.

The snow fox's body was riddled with holes from the overwhelming blows. It staggered along, letting out a few low howls from its jaws amidst the vast snowstorm, before finally nestling beside the carcass and gradually losing its life.

The other animals followed suit, dragging their bodies in front of her as a final shield.

It was a truly cruel and brutal scene. The hail of bullets drowned out any hope for fairy tales, tearing one friend after another, whom she had named, to shreds. The scattered corpses and flames ignited her small world, burning away all the remaining beauty.

The girl's consciousness was blank. Protected by the scales that stretched and spread above her head, she could see nothing but hear the roar of gunfire and the mournful cries of farewell.

"No, no, no..."

"Why? I only have these left, and these are all I need."

Tears welled up in Xilin's eyes as she stroked the soft flesh beneath her, which was growing colder. She clutched the scales that were so hard they cut her palms, oblivious to the pain, letting the blood drip down her face. Stubbornly, amidst the hopeless darkness and deafening clamor, she cried out in pleading.

Even when the roars of beasts outside faded away like stars disappearing in the daytime, until they were completely extinguished, this fragile and humble plea went unheard and received no response.

She curled up, clutching her head, as if trying desperately to escape from this situation. But the despair of losing the only thing she could hold onto completely capsized the ship of her soul, plunging it into an endless sea of ​​bitterness, where specks of darkness spread across her retina, slowly swallowing her whole.

Xilin stopped crying in silence, as if all her tears had dried up.

She smelled the scent of blooming blood, roses withering amidst gunfire, and red mud falling like rain. A chilling air rushed into her chest from the outside, causing an even more piercing pain. The Honkai energy from the corpses of those Honkai beasts was being slowly absorbed by this young body, brewing a tsunami.

When all expectations are gone, when all emotions are as cold as ice.

This young Second Herrscher reaped the fruit of despair.

At this point, the uncontrollable sorrow and hatred seemed to ache and itch in his very bones, and the dusty memories gradually broke through their shells, blooming into poignant flowers.

……

"Cilin, Mommy has sewed the teddy bear back up, okay? Don't cry anymore, okay?"

"...Yes, thank you, Mom."

"Look, the broken glass bead has become the little bear's new eyes, isn't it cute?"

"Yes, it's very cute!"

……

“We will live in a big house in the future, and then Mom will go back to work and try her best to buy you candy and chocolate.”

"Will I be able to go to school then?"

"Yes, it definitely can."

"Great!"

……

"Have you heard? That crazy woman Levana set fire to that drunkard and his cronies, leaving nothing behind."

"And what about her? Did she burn to death inside too?"

"The house was sealed off beforehand without a single crack. The fire department had a lot of trouble to pry open the door when they arrived. The dead are definitely dead, but it's unclear whether they were burned to death or killed by those people before they died."

"...I remember there was a child in that family."

"Isn't that right? I guess she did it because of her daughter. After all, if those people hadn't died, the post office would never have delivered those withheld mails."

"……Ugh."

……

That night, Celine did not keep her promise.

She held the tattered teddy bear, staring at the house reduced to mere ruins, her pupils reflecting the long-gone embers, her expression dazed.

The words of others felt like cold knives piercing my throat, and the cruel truth felt like ice picks drilling into my heart.

Mom is gone...

Mom is dead...

How could that be? Didn't they make a promise?

The girl stood in the cold wind for a long time, lost and dejected, until she reached a deserted and desolate graveyard in the increasingly dark night.

She searched for a long time and came to a simple, even bleak, tombstone. There were no white flowers around it, and the remains buried inside were just a handful of ashes.

——Lewanna.

Apart from her name, there is no trace of her here.

But that's how death is; once you're dead, nothing remains.

But it shouldn't be like this. Why would such a gentle person die like this?

The girl placed the worn-out teddy bear next to the tombstone and whispered:

"Mommy, I don't want the teddy bear anymore."

"Please come back."

I kept thinking about it, but there was no response.

Xilin's lowered eyes were empty, as if they were filled with the fire of hatred, evaporating all her tears. The Qi of heaven and earth roared out a storm, raging through the shattered layers of space.

She didn't know what was happening to her; she was simply immersed in a gradually collapsing mental world, accumulating enough fruit to distort herself in the negative emotions stirred up by her crumbling will.

next interest.

The Herrscher of the Void's power, following this will to escape herself, took her away from that town.

Only the lonely little bear leaned against the tombstone, its glass bead eyes reflecting the desolate moonlight, flowers blooming among the textures, seemingly representing the moon's name and telling a story...