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

The woman repeated softly, "...It's all connected now."

Whether it's Qingye Leiming or Qingnuoyan, it's always been the same; it has never changed.

"That tofu shop you mentioned," the woman paused, "where is it?"

When the woman arrived at Konta Village, dusk had already fallen. She walked along the street covered with red maple leaves and finally saw the little shop at the end of the alley.

'Qing Ye Tofu Shop'

She finally arrived at this place.

Everything has returned to square one.

When Kiyono Kazemura died, she met a peddler in Mondstadt. One of the peddler's remarks left a deep impression on Rosalind.

"Letters give memory shape, food gives memory flavor, and encountering flavor is like encountering a person."

Kiyono Raimei is the place where Rustan once left his unique scent.

If they could meet again, if they could taste it, would she then be able to understand?

She wanted to learn about Rustam.

Rosalyn walked down the street, feeling the raindrops on her skin and breathing in the atmosphere of Konta Village. She savored every cluster of late-blooming cherry blossoms at the street corner, every colorful scale on the fish-dragon flag, and the red lanterns and the "Fu" (good fortune) couplets.

This is the land Rustan once visited, the land Rustan once loved, the land for which Rustan gave his life... and the land trampled and ravaged by the Fools...

For the first time, she wanted to understand all of this.

but.

Looking from afar.

The red lanterns hanging in front of the tofu shop were taken down, and the woman gradually realized what had happened.

It's closed.

Or rather, it has closed down.

She stood in front of the wooden door of the tofu shop and knocked, but no one answered.

Seeing her like this, a passing villager kindly reminded her, "The tofu shop is temporarily closed. The owner left Narukami Island and closed the shop; it won't be reopening."

"Why?"

"Because of that executive officer."

The villager said matter-of-factly, and the old villager was filled with righteous indignation when the topic of the foolish crowd came up.

"Such a high-ranking executive went and hunted down the shop's young apprentice, which angered Lord Miyaji so much that he left Narukami Island and went straight to Inazuma Castle... Without the boss, the tofu shop naturally had to close down."

"The door will not be open for a long time."

...ha.

what.

The woman murmured softly, her face expressionless, "Is that so?"

what.

Oh, it's always like this.

"Go home early, it's raining." The old man gave the woman one last look before leaving. "It's not too late to come back next time."

It's not too late to come next time—but there won't be a next time.

He reunited with everyone he knew, except you.

The woman remained expressionless, seemingly calm. Once the old man's figure had completely disappeared into the rain and mist, she was once again all alone in this vast, white world.

She knocked on the wooden door, but there was no response from the other side.

An envelope that will never be seen, a wooden door that will never be opened, a memory that will never be tasted, a heart that will never be touched.

We will never meet again.

Rosalind leaned against the door, sat on the long steps, her cheek resting against the cold, thick old wood, feeling the rotten smell of the old wood. Rosalind took out the hourglass.

The surface of the broken glass container was covered with spiderweb-like cracks.

The sand in that container had long since leaked out.

The sand has long since left, just like the wind, never to return. The wind died in the place closest to spring, while the sand was scattered over five hundred years. Neither the wind nor the sand can return.

Only regret.

Only the teardrops, falling from the hourglass, smashed against the bottom of the glass bottle, their shattered light as scattered as the broken glass.

The hourglass stood still for five hundred years. The sand did not complete its journey of five hundred years before it dispersed. Only the teardrop, in an instant, crossed the end point that the sand could not reach in hundreds of years.

-

P.S.: Time for bed! Goodnight!

Chapter 136 "Barzebu, I Have Ascended to Godhood"

"I can no longer obtain the wines made in the past. Would you like to try the wines made now?"

'It's a promise.'

All friends must come.

As Qing Nuoyan fell into a deep sleep in the castle tower, his consciousness was hazy and detached, as if he had detached from his heavy body. As if guided by some force, he continued to fall downwards.

He saw a sea of ​​floating clouds.

The desolate sky spreads out gloomy clouds, dusk paints the clouds with warm, hazy colors, while the barren earth remains an endless expanse of cool hues. As the setting sun sinks into the earth, the two colors blend together, blurring and mingling with each other.

Qingnuo Rock stands atop the hazy, yellow clouds.

This space is absurd and magnificent. Time is meaningless in the space of consciousness. Past, present, and future all exist simultaneously in this spacetime.

Qingnuoyan was somewhat lost in thought when he noticed a seed at the far end of the twilight horizon.

Those are cherry blossom seeds.

Clean and translucent, it resembles a gemstone more than a seed, radiating a faint glow...like the purest thing in the world.

Qingnuoyan tentatively touched the seed with his fingertips, feeling its cool touch.

[Having reached the point of realizing my dream]

[Agreement fulfilled]

[Obtain the 'Seed of the Divine Cherry Tree']

Renli's voice rang in Qingnuoyan's ears, and the latter's pupils dilated slightly as he stared at the seed in his hand with some disbelief.

The Divine Cherry Tree...?

Of course, Qingnuoyan knew what the Divine Cherry Tree was. It was one of the pillars that allowed Inazuma to survive to this day. In that era of filth and corruption, it was the Divine Cherry Tree that cleansed and purified Inazuma and protected this land from the dark years.

No one knows when the sacred cherry tree was born; it seems to have existed here since ancient times.

Why do the seeds of the Divine Cherry Tree exist in this space of consciousness?

The Great Tengu said this space doesn't belong to Raiden Shin... so who is its true owner?

He collected the seeds, and suddenly heard the faint sound of swords ringing out again.

Qingnuoyan looked towards the source of the sword's cry and discovered that it was another adjacent space of consciousness.

That was also a desolate and barren land.

There was a swordsman.

Wearing plain white wooden clogs, her purple hair, adorned with hydrangeas, fell naturally to her waist, and the long collar of her kimono trailed on the ground, revealing two smooth, white wrists, in which she held a slender naginata.

Her expression was calm and aloof, or perhaps lonely. Her pale purple eyes were empty, with only the naginata before her. With each rise and fall of the naginata, a faint clanging sound rang out, silencing any other noise.

The female swordsman looked exactly like General Thunder.

She is the embodiment of thunderous films... she is the true ruler of Inazuma.

He was also an old friend whom Qingnuoyan wanted to invite.

Still AFK practicing swordsmanship here... Qing Nuoyan thought to himself, Inazuma, what kind of offline monarch system is this... No wonder the Fools are so rampant.

But for some reason, when he looked at Lei Yingdian and at this Lord Narukami, he felt a strange sadness.

Qing Nuoyan could sense Lei Yingdian's power, but strangely enough, despite being such a powerful deity, Qing Nuoyan felt that she needed help.

She seemed to be trapped.

In the endless expanse of time and space, she stands alone in the desolate universe, wielding her sword again and again. As red maple leaves fall and the sun sets, she seems to melt into the end of the sunset.

Nuoyan tentatively walked towards her, but was blocked outside the Pure Land of the Heart, unable to take another step. He knocked on the invisible barrier and waved to Lei Yingdian, trying to get the latter's attention.

"Boom."

The two consciousnesses were so close, so very close, yet no matter how hard Qing Nuoyan tried, he could never open the door to Lei Yingdian's heart.

"Boom."

"Boom."

.

'Boom. '

The sky was overcast, with distant rumbles of thunder.

Lei Dianying heard the thunder again.

'boom'

This time, it's so close.

—It seemed to be right at the door.

A deep rumble of thunder fell through the gaps in the clouds and landed on the barren land, echoing only faintly.

She listened to the lingering echoes above the clouds, and for some reason, her heart fluttered slightly.

Ying raised her eyes and looked at the leaden sky, but all she saw was the oppressive and gloomy twilight, with thick smog piled up densely, like the feathers of a crow.