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

In their hearts, His Majesty the Pillar of State has become a symbol... just like an eternal symbol, no matter how dark the times, as long as the Pillar of State is there, Inazuma will be there too.

Zhu Guo has been with them for so long that they have forgotten that Zhu Guo is also a mortal, and that one day he will leave them.

They all take it all too for granted.

"...You won't." She lowered her head, her eyes slightly red. "You'll be alright."

"Is she still not planning to come out?" Kiyono asked with a smile.

Ayaka Kamisato lowered her head, bit her lip, and remained silent.

The 'she' he was referring to was Inazuma's lord, Narukami Balzebu, Lord Raiyo.

They hadn't seen each other for a hundred years—that was his only regret.

All of this stemmed from the 'Isolation Law' and the 'Eye-Hunting Law'.

Lei's film issued a national isolation decree, which Kiyono opposed. From that moment on, a disagreement arose, and the two drifted further and further apart.

Or even earlier, their differences had already begun with the death of her sister.

In the last hundred years, the situation has escalated. With the intervention of the Eastern Kingdom, the Eye Hunting Order was implemented. Kiyono finally openly defied Narukami's orders and even resigned from his position as shogun in a fit of pique.

One side was sulking, and the other side joined in the sulking. Lei Movie never saw Qingye again, nor did he ever leave the Pure Land of One Heart.

Little did she know that her stubbornness would last for a full hundred years.

This childish brat.

Does she still think she's a healthy young man?

He's going to die.

How can you hold a grudge for a hundred years?

Human beings are both wondrous and tragic. A hundred years ago, he was full of vigor, but a hundred years later, he is old and frail and enters the grave.

Seeing that His Majesty the Pillar of State remained silent, Ayaka Kamisato became even more flustered. She waved her hand anxiously and hurriedly explained:

"That's because... General, she doesn't know your current situation. If you just tell her, she will definitely come to see you..."

Shenli paused, unable to utter the words "last time," before finally saying in a heavy voice:

"She will definitely come to see you."

"I'll go see His Excellency the General right away, I'll go right away..."

"Ha, just a dummy. Why bother looking for her?" Kiyono snorted softly.

silence.

"For a martial artist who seeks eternity, a hundred years is so short and so insignificant."

Kiyono said, "I won't bother her, because this is her dream, and I don't want to hurt her."

"Promise me you won't tell her about me."

That's just one reason. Another reason is that he didn't want to die with someone watching over him by his bedside.

Then they won't want to leave.

This way of dying is too pathetic.

Kamiri clenched his fingers so tightly that his nails dug deep into his skin.

Kiyono took out a letter from his pocket. "If she asks about it after I leave, please give her this letter."

“...Okay,” Kamisama said sadly.

"Don't be sad, girls should smile more," Qingye said with a smile.

"I am satisfied. This body has fulfilled its mission. I have no regrets, whether for her or for Inazuma."

The snow outside the window is falling heavily again, swirling and swirling.

The snow pressed down on the pine and cypress trees, gradually sliding off and dropping a large chunk of melted snow onto the mottled white weeds, where it slowly melted.

"Let me grow old and die alone," he said.

Volume 1: After Chapter 3, no one will make tofu for you anymore.

After Miss Kamisato left with the letter in her hand, her eyes slightly red,

Kiyono Raimei took out a roll of tobacco from the lining of his kimono, folded it, wrapped it in cigarette paper, struck a match, and lit it.

A wisp of smoke drifted in the slightly chilly air.

He usually doesn't smoke in front of children, and besides, the gods wouldn't let him smoke.

He took a light breath, somewhat lost in thought.

Looking at the clump of fresh snow on the grand eaves, the fine snow pressed against the eaves, and the newly cleared winter sun drooped over that clump of snow, small like a lazy white cat lying on the tiled roof, basking in the sun and yawning.

The light snow gently washes away the snow's gloom, and the new spring slowly arrives, leaving behind traces of snow.

He suddenly wanted to turn into a snowflake, lazily lying there, doing nothing, waiting for the warm sun to melt him, melting him into a puddle of snow water that would seep into the earth. Such a life would be quite interesting.

It's better than him running around like this.

"Are you satisfied with Kiyono Raimei's life?"

Suddenly, the voice of the Human Principles System echoed in my ears.

"What's the point of being satisfied or dissatisfied?"

Kiyono took a puff of tobacco, coughed a few times, and stubbed out the cigarette.

After saying this, he slowly rose, closed the screen, and his reflection was seen in the bronze mirror on the desk:

The person in the mirror was wearing a snow-white kimono, with a black cloth bag tied around their neck, the edges of which were decorated with plum blossoms and bamboo. They were walking on osmanthus trees, and their hair was as white as snow.

He was a charming older man; judging by his appearance alone, he was at most in his thirties or forties.

But he was already five hundred years old, and his hair was snow-white.

The once bright, silvery-gray eyes are now covered with a thin layer of pterygium, like frost, hazy, relaxed, and powerless.

Kiyono gently patted his cheeks, and an incredible change occurred.

That weak and powerless heart was revitalized.

It was throbbing violently, throbbing energetically.

As his kimono fell away, he slowly straightened his spine, his skin becoming firmer and more taut, white and clean, revealing the contours of his muscles, which undulated gently in the cold wind. The patterns of bamboo and chrysanthemum draped over his body, and he stepped tentatively forward on the osmanthus tree.

Her long, pure white hair fell naturally, and her purple-brown eyes were like pools reflecting the setting sun.

Looking at the boy in the mirror, the youthful vigor unique to young people is overwhelming.

This is his new body.

He took another tentative step forward, his steps unsteady, clearly not very comfortable with it.

[Humanity System Activated]

Name: None available

Position: None

Age: 18

[Level: 1]

Element: Wind

Status: Healthy

Martial Arts Skill: Mortal Level

[Talent: Unwavering Mind (Demon God Level, learned from Inazuma Narukami Babuzel)...]

Note: This body is a newly formed body, which can only exist for one hour a day. It can only continue to exist in the world after the old identity has completely died.

Please proceed to Mondstadt.

Kiyono lit another cigarette, and this time he stopped coughing.

The 'Human Principle System', whose full name is the 'Human Principle Survival System', is based on such rules.

Its purpose is to 'preserve human civilization and correct all factors in history that could have led to the destruction of humanity'.

Kiyono was its host.

He came to Inazuma, and when the filth invaded, Narukami left, and the crisis of Kanria arrived, he protected Inazuma and guarded it for five hundred years.

Human lifespan has a limit, which is a cruel thing.

He cannot exceed the balance prescribed by the laws of nature, and whenever his lifespan is nearing its end, he needs to use this method to 'shed his skin'.

When Kiyono dies completely, he will be reborn with a new life.

And go to new places to solve new 'factors that could destroy the survival of humanity'.

Of course, by then, he will be a completely new person.

He was going to give up everything about Kiyono Raimei, including his feelings and his fate.

Shedding one's skin must be a complete shedding of one's skin; a completely new life must be born into the world, with no further connection to people or things from the past, and all ties with the past must be severed completely.

Start all over again—this must not be revealed to anyone.

Otherwise, it would disrupt the rules governing the natural order.

To give an analogy, he is like an illegal immigrant, smuggling himself from one life to another. Naturally, he cannot make a fuss about it, otherwise he will be caught by customs officials.

Kiyono Raimei is destined to die of old age.

His current near-death period is called the 'molting period,' during which the old body slowly dies and a new body is born.

He will also experience this death, this separation; everything is real.

Kiyono Raimei's emotions were real, Kiyono Raimei's life was real, Kiyono Raimei's existence was real, and Kiyono Raimei's death was real—this five-hundred-year-old bond was all real.

Death is a painful and unpleasant experience.