Genshin Impact, I, a mere mortal, cannot accompany you to the very end.

You don't actually need to do this.

The voice of the Human Reasoning System echoed in Kiyono's ears:

[The filth can never be eradicated; new generations will emerge every year. You are already old, and you can do nothing anymore. Your new body is not yet mature. Continuing like this will only harm yourself; it's pointless.]

Kiyono paused after hearing what Hitoshi said.

"Meaning, what is meaning?"

He stood amidst the corpses, took a cigarette from his sleeve, lit it with a flint, took a gentle puff, and felt the smoke swirling in his trachea.

"Renri, what do you think is the meaning of Kiyono Raimei's life?"

...

[Fulfill your mission to protect humanity]

[But you've already succeeded, and now you're old.]

"No, that's not the meaning of Qingye Leiming. That's the meaning of your system."

The human system fell silent.

Kiyono extinguished his cigarette, and in his vision, even more filth rushed out.

Bloodshed, horror, resentment, power—a thick, surging wave of hatred threatened to engulf the old man's body.

That's a giant snake.

The giant serpent's resentment.

He gently closed his eyes.

The stench of blood so close at hand transported him back to the battlefield of his prime. His heart pounded with boiling blood, his lungs exhaled powerful breaths, and his soldiers stood beside him, with the people of Inazuma behind them—

He was not a decrepit old man; he rediscovered a vivid, alive feeling.

"The death that Kiyono Raimei seeks is to die of old age alone."

"But he didn't want to die in his bed."

"He didn't want to die amidst the weeping of his loved ones, nor did he want to be watched as he died."

"He didn't want to spend his days by the fire, eating and sleeping, living a mundane life, and eventually growing old and bedridden, dying in a wretched state."

"He was ambitious his whole life, he was proud his whole life, so he didn't want to die an ordinary death."

Kiyono opened his eyes. Before him lay an overwhelming torrent of resentment, a mountain of vengeful spirits, and blood staining half the sky crimson.

He slowly gripped the scabbard that hadn't been drawn in ten years, and his aged heart pounded like thunder for the first time in a long time!

"Kiyono Raimei should have died on the battlefield."

The mountain of filth gathered together, revealing a faint outline—a giant snake.

"To die like thunder, to streak brilliantly across the night sky, for that brief moment, and then vanish like a dream."

"Lei's life was meaningless and short-lived, and he could not change anything. The night was still dark, and Lei was as insignificant as an ordinary person, just like my life."

He held his sword horizontally, his silver-gray eyes reflecting the lingering resentment of the demon god.

—"But after Lei dies, thunder will resound throughout the valley."

He laughed, his face, though no longer young, revealing a youthful smile.

“Even if you kill all the filth, it will rise again sooner or later.”

"If you ask me what the meaning is—"

"The meaning is that, long afterward, when the snow melts, when I am no longer here, when the shadow leaves the Pure Land of the Heart, at that time..."

Kiyono Raiming laughed, a laugh unique to the Great Pillar of the Nation—bold, unrestrained, and inspiring.

Although he was covered in blood, his lungs were convulsing in pain, and a chill was penetrating his bones.

"She can see a clean and flawless spring. Days without filth must be beautiful."

"The young soldiers who cleaned up the filth can go home, and there will be no more sacrifices this winter."

"The wife can be reunited with her husband, and the children can see their father,"

"May the people of Inazuma have a happy and harmonious New Year."

That was the last gift I gave them.

Kiyono Raimei's last 221 days—

That's the significance of those days.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

That's pretty intense, everyone's really intense.

Yesterday, the number of recommended votes was nearly five thousand...

Since everyone's playing so well, I can't spoil the fun.

Starting next week, I will update twice a day.

Volume 1: A Limited-Time Bounty

At once.

Last night's recommendation votes reached 6,000...and then we got third place on the monthly vote ranking and first place on the recommendation ranking.

I'm just a little curious about everyone's abilities.

I'm so curious! Wow, how could it be so powerful?

So I'm going to be a little reckless and offer a reward, starting tonight, from 8:30 pm to midnight.

from now on,

One update for every 5,000 recommendation votes, one update for every 20,000 cat cookies (all gifts are welcome, except for razor blades), one update for every 300 monthly votes.

A little bit of suspense can be enjoyable, but too much can be deadly.

Because it's a limited-time bounty, with only four hours, there are quite a few entries, with a maximum limit of three chapters.

All chapters with bounties will be released tonight at midnight.

that's all.

Volume One: Chapter Eleven Iron Horses and Icy Rivers Enter My Dreams

call.

call.

A long, drawn-out breath.

"call...."

He exhaled a thick white breath, which gradually grew thicker and thicker until it almost solidified, surrounding Qingye Leiming and contracting with the rise and fall of his chest and the twitching of his nostrils.

The atmosphere was as heavy as a pavilion before a thunderstorm; the clouds were low and the sky was dark, the wind filled the west tower, and layers of heavy clouds rolled with the sound of thunder.

The surrounding snowflakes were stirred by this breath, scattering and dancing around the chirping insects in the clear fields.

His left hand remained on the scabbard of the snake-cutting sword. He bent over, took a step back with his left foot, lowered his center of gravity, and the white ferret dragged on the ground, moving on its own even without wind.

'Unmoved'

This is one of the highest states of mind in Inazuma Kendo, alongside "no-self," "emptiness," and "no-thought." Only by reaching a state of no-mind can one fully utilize all one's skills to achieve victory. The concepts of no-mind, unmoved mind, no-self, and emptiness refer to relinquishing the consciousness of the self.

If one develops self-awareness, various distracting thoughts will arise, making it impossible to concentrate and unleash one's abilities and potential.

Narukami Musou's single strike was the pinnacle of this clear and tranquil state of mind.

In the vast expanse of heaven and earth, only

He has a sword in his hand.

"call..."

There was nothing more in Kiyono's silver-gray eyes.

In the vast white world, only the thread in my hand and the point in front of me remained.

A single line is a sword, a single dot is a snake.

It was an enormous serpent, the embodiment of the lingering resentment of the demon god Obaros. The serpent coiled above the mountains and forests, its scarlet tongue flicking out, its vertical pupils wide open, reflecting the figure of Kiyono in its blood-red eyes.

A standoff, between God and man, separated by the vast wind and snow.

The atmosphere was extremely tense and oppressive.

Thick snowflakes piled up on Kiyono's shoulders, soon forming a thin layer on his body, but he remained motionless, almost frozen in place.

This was a very, very long time; after who knows how long, the balance was finally broken.

The giant serpent's gloomy eyes glanced lightly at the snake-slicing blade in Kiyono's hand. It slowly raised its neck and retreated, causing the forest to tremble as it moved. The metallic, tough black scales rubbed against the treetops, making a grating sound. Finally, the giant serpent shook its tail, turned around, and slithered away, disappearing into the air.

The giant snake left.

Kiyono released his sword from its sheath, his momentum waning, and he coughed with some difficulty.

This time, we actually encountered the lingering remnant of a demon god that had been dormant for hundreds of years—it had never appeared before.

The voice of the human reasoning system echoed in my ears.

Do you still want to continue? You're lucky to be alive this time.

"I came here to kill it." Kiyono slowly shook his head, his silver-gray eyes fixed on the direction the giant snake had gone.

"For hundreds of years, do you know why the defilement of worshiping gods has never been completely eradicated?"

[Because the lingering attachment to the gods remains rooted in the land of Inazuma, no matter how many times it is expelled, the defilement belonging to the gods will regenerate.]

"Yes."