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

This will always be the case, whether in the past, present, or future.

Himeko Murata sensed her future amidst the torrent of memories. The friends who were laughing and talking beside her gradually faded from her mind, leaving only an ever-growing echo in her heart, as if making a serious and devout promise to someone.

"Himeko, where are you going after you graduate?" someone asked at that moment.

The girl's red hair shone even more brightly under the refraction of the light. She thought for a moment, then curled her lips and said:

"Who knows? Maybe I'll join Anti-Entropy to continue my current research project, or maybe I'll participate in the test a month from now to become a trainee Valkyrie at Destiny."

She gazed at the rising sun, remained silent for a moment, then smiled and said:

"But... I don't know why, but I seem to want to go to that academy called St. Freya and become a teacher there."

It was as if someone was waiting for me there.

She felt a bit bewildered by the answer she instinctively gave herself, yet she also seriously considered that, in any case, the future would provide the answer.

...

...

2013 12 Month 6 Day.

A coffee shop in Nagasora City, Japan.

Su Qing'an was grinding coffee beans as usual, a snow-white cat nestled at his feet, and the light spots cast from the French windows gilded the scene with a golden arc.

The girl was patiently making cake bases not far away. Her fair face seemed to have been partially smeared with flour, but her apron with pink cat paw prints was exceptionally clean. Her blue eyes were lowered, and her thick eyelashes were clearly visible in the soft light, like a timeless painting.

a long time.

Fu Hua placed the unfinished cake base into the oven, patiently waiting for time to allow it to rise. She winked at the quiet person beside her and said:

Is this enough?

"Will there be a lot of people coming today?"

Su Qing'an mentally calculated the number of people and answered the question:

“I prepared a table full of dishes in advance and put them in the Soul Hall. Even if seven or eight more Kaslanas came, they wouldn’t be able to finish them.”

He finished speaking.

The wind chimes by the door swayed.

This once quiet coffee shop has welcomed many guests. The warm hustle and bustle has broken the original atmosphere, making it even more radiant against the sunlight streaming through the window.

"Happy birthday."

The next moment, accompanied by the firing of numerous cannons and the cheers of the little girls, the entire room was filled with colorful streamers.

Kiana nudged Raiden Mei's waist, her azure eyes gazing at the boy in the distance, a sincere and gentle smile playing on her lips.

Sara Nishikujo habitually took out a cigarette, but Yuu Kambara, who peeked out from behind her, took the lighter away. Yuno Sato, standing next to her, rubbed the little head of the justice-bringer, while her left arm was taking care of a gray-haired girl of similar age.

Bronya's small hands were holding the silver ornament as she carefully adjusted the screen on her phone, ready to play the unified blessing message she had received after battling countless guilds.

Cheng Lixue held the white sparrow in her hands and solemnly placed the gold-threaded wooden box on the table, clearly taking her master's rare birthday party very seriously.

Jiang Rongyue followed suit and placed her wife's recently published autographed book next to her. Li Shishi, who was standing next to her, was caught off guard. She gritted her teeth and pinched Jiang Rongyue's waist, her beautiful face flushed.

Himeko Murata placed the gifts she brought on the table, her expression radiant.

In this timeline, she is no longer a warrior of destiny, but she is still St. Freya's teacher.

At this moment, Rin, who had returned to her home world from another distant place, tugged at her older sister's sleeve and walked into the coffee shop. In her other hand, she held a gift bag, and her expression clearly showed joy and nostalgia when she looked at the face she hadn't seen for a long time.

On the other side, Otto, who had stepped down from his position as bishop, arrived at the venue shortly afterward with Kallen and Theresa, looking like a family of three.

Kevin and Mei were the last to enter the venue. As they looked at the scene, their lips parted slightly, but when they saw Mebius adding sugar to his black tea in the distance, their smiles lost some of their sincerity.

As the birthday party progressed, an uninvited maid presented a strawberry cake to another, more dignified white fluffy creature, making the atmosphere even more lively.

Su Qing'an looked at Xi'er, who was showing off the cake she was holding in her hands. Her pure face was filled with a resolute expression, and her eyes held a smile and blessings. Her dark blue hair swayed, interspersed with a few strands of black and red, which was also witnessed by the Herrscher of Death who survived through the Holy Mark.

Fu Hua stood beside the child, her gaze gentle as she looked at him, her blue pupils shimmering with light.

He was somewhat dazed at this moment. The scene before him was almost identical to the dream given to him by the Eighth Herrscher, like a fantasy that was intersecting with reality.

but……

This is no longer a dream that will eventually fade away.

Su Qing'an, certain of this fact, revealed a gentle smile and said softly:

Thank you.

Thank you for being there for me.

Author's Closing Remarks

It's finished.

Although there will likely be a series of side stories, updates will be irregular and may even be released annually.

However, the fact that there will be a side story is just to leave something to look forward to.

Well, thinking about it carefully, almost two years is really a long time. For me, as the story progressed, especially the last volume, it had reached a stage where I had lost my passion and desire.

This is one of the reasons why the update, which was said to be unstable last month, has indeed become very unstable.

Of course, the fact that subscriptions are almost identical between those that are updated and those that are not is also a reason why the ending arrives more slowly.

But the main reason is that I've lost my enthusiasm.

After all, the romance and marriage the author wanted to write about, the heart-wrenching and sweet moments, were mostly completed in the marriage volume. Originally, the story was supposed to end with the reverse entropy chapter.

But at that time I thought about it and realized that, according to the plot development, it would be difficult for the Anti-Entropy chapter to restore the previous relationship and daily life with those familiar characters and Su Qing'an.

Thus, a volume featuring cyberpunk, a corrupted immortal, a paradise of the past, and a chaotic mix of world lines appeared.

Its existence was an impromptu idea, without an outline or a main plot in mind. It was simply a way to bring out these familiar or evolving characters, so the ending was just a barely smooth landing, without any particularly amazing plot twists.

The "Darkened Immortal" volume exhausted my last bit of enthusiasm, which made the subsequent anti-entropy storyline feel like just going through the motions.

However, Su Qing'an had already been invincible since two volumes ago, so the plot conflicts and emotional fluctuations could no longer easily go down or up.

Or rather, doing so would make the novel even more unwieldy and add more unnecessary fluff.

Therefore, I personally think it's perfect to end here.

There are some shortcomings, such as not writing about Seele and Su Qing'an's reunion, not writing in detail about Su Qing'an's daily life at St. Freya Academy, and not writing about what happened after the ascension, or even the unresolved plot about the trials of the gods.

Regarding the former, I think the side story can make up for it.

Regarding the latter, I don't think it's the subject of this book.

I wrote about the initial draft of this book in my book launch notes. Essentially, it was an event that S/F website and Honkai Impact 3rd collaborated on. You could get 300 crystals for writing a few thousand words of Honkai Impact 3rd fanfiction. So I wrote a few thousand words of filler, and a few months later, I started updating it on Hedgehog Cat because I was bored due to the pandemic.

At that time, the female lead was Kiana, but later, for many reasons...

For example, Uuz fans say that Kiana is the only female lead and they only watch Captain Destiny.

—So later it became a story with two female leads.

In short, after writing tens of thousands of words, the book was changed to a single female lead, Fu Hua. For this reason, the beginning was changed, and the flag that Kiana had planted in the middle was removed.

—Actually, I'm a Kiana fan!

It gradually evolved into the form you see before you. There was no outline or main storyline at the beginning, so there are bound to be loopholes and shortcomings.

This is my first book, and the writing style in the beginning and the subsequent plot clearly show signs of immaturity, imitation, change, and maturation.

I think I will continue to write novels, but it's unlikely I'll ever write another one like this, one that completely reflects my own personality and disregards the market and its success.

In short, please subscribe if you like it.

Su Qing'an's story came to an end on March 7, 2022.

See you in the new book!

Postscript: The Best Future.

London, England, early March, springtime.

The girl looked at the reflection in the shop window and ran her slender fingers through her hair.

—Her eyes were clear and bright, her shoulder-length hair gradually turned a deep blue against the black background, and her exposed skin was fair and delicate, making her look as cute and exquisite as a porcelain doll.

Seele, seventeen years old.

A first-year student at St. Freya University.

Currently, at a shopping mall in Westminster, the instruments are being checked for the fourth time to determine if there is any error.

She took out a beautiful silver pocket watch.

—This is a birthday gift my brother recently gave me.

Time management is very important; today is the day I'm accompanying Sister Xiaohua to look at wedding dresses.

Seele murmured to herself:

"Hmm, about five minutes left."

Because she had boasted a few years ago when she was still in high school that she would be her brother's bridesmaid, she not only had to help Fu Hua with her wedding dress, but also tried to pick out a bridesmaid's dress herself.

In fact, this kind of thing will probably be repeated many times in different places.

Although the two had been engaged long ago with their parents as witnesses, some elders felt that such a major life event should be celebrated in several different ways to make it more perfect.

Principal Theresa and Aunt Himeko are still considering marriages in the Far East and China, respectively, based on local customs and clothing. It is said that several teachers who were quite familiar with the brother in the past are also involved.

For example, there was Ms. Yae Sakura, who used to teach kendo, and Ms. Nishikujo Sara, who was the school doctor but also taught equestrian classes.

In short, it seems that many people are very interested in the couple's wedding.

This is likely related to the large number of shippers who flocked to the academy forums to ship the couples.

Once she thought of this, Xi'er realized that even though Su Qing'an and Fu Hua didn't have many relatives, the wedding scene could still be incredibly lively.

"Seele? Why are you here ahead of schedule?"

Upon hearing the familiar voice, the little girl glanced at the pocket watch, then looked up at the person who had entered. She tucked the watch into her pocket and said with a smile: