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

He wore a plain white kimono, standing on osmanthus trees. His pale blue eyes were as gentle as a blue lake. The boy lowered his eyes to look at her, his long, pure white hair falling naturally, a few strands landing on Fox Palace's cheeks, tickling her.

"I once promised you that we would hold the grandest party before our cherry blossoms ripened."

Qing Nuoyan said softly.

"And I did it... I found all the guests—"

Those dark blue eyes reflected the gradually fading Fox Palace.

"Only you are left. My friend."

I don't understand, I don't understand...

Fox Palace could not understand the boy's words.

But for some reason, one could sense a reassuring aura emanating from him, a feeling that was both long-lost and unfamiliar, like a jar of old wine that had been reunited after a long separation; a sip was enough to make one feel slightly tipsy.

Hana Sanri... She finally closed her eyes, her thin lips moving slightly.

“This name…is not bad,” she said.

"Sleep soundly in your dreams," Qing Nuoyan said with a smile. "I'll watch over you."

The cherry blossoms have eventually faded, but spring will come again. Because the flowers have dissolved into the soil, the earth has recorded their memory.

In the correct historical record, the Fox Palace truly died, truly died, but the scattered flowers will eventually return.

"Four hundred years later, we will meet again."

Qingnuoyan withdrew his gaze and looked towards the sky.

The calamity came from beyond the world, high in the sky, as if it would destroy the entire Narukami Island.

Qingnuoyan understood what the calamity's goal was: to destroy the Divine Cherry Tree.

In the correct historical account, the Divine Cherry Tree should not exist; therefore, history should be revised.

To survive, it must weather this final correction.

Qingnuoyan gazed at the calamity that spread across the entire sky, and facing the vast and boundless frost, drew his divine sword.

"My heart remains unmoved, my loyalty will endure for a thousand years."

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.

The deepest part of Yingxiang Mountain is where Qingnuo Rock once sat for a thousand years.

Unlike a thousand years ago when the mountains were barren, now the wildflowers are in full bloom.

This is the beginning of the journey, and this is also the end of the journey.

[To Miss Ying, four hundred years later]

After writing this letter, the mailbox was now full, and I had finally reached the end of my journey.

Today is New Year's Day again. The sky is very clear tonight, and you can see the stars. The starry sky four hundred years ago is no different from the starry sky four hundred years later.

When you read this letter, if you can also look up at the stars, then we will be enjoying this view together.

Qing Nuoyan put down his pen, leaned against the tree, raised his eyes, and looked up at the sky.

The last rays of the setting sun faded away, along with the faint red glow of the evening sky. Night fell, and shooting stars streaked through the clouds, leaving long, dazzling trails, like silver minnows chasing each other in the twilight sea of ​​clouds.

Beneath the pure white stars, the cherry blossoms were in full bloom, their falling petals adorned with starlight.

Those starlight also fell on the letters, on the paper and pen of Qingnuo Rock.

He lowered his head and continued writing. As he wrote, white cherry blossoms slowly fell, covering his knees and forming a thin layer of frost.

I have forgotten many things, and I have lost everything.

As he wrote this, Qing Nuoyan coughed softly, and a boiling-like low murmur came from the depths of his soul. The curse of Kanria and the injuries caused by Tianli shrouded the depths of his consciousness.

He was injured.

But I regained what I had lost.

I am truly content now.

In Qing Nuoyan's hand, he still clutched a piece of red string, the red string given to him by Da Tengu Ti ​​Baihe. This red string connected his longing, and by relying on this red string, he could find his way back in the long river of time and return to the future.

The red thread has now broken; a thousand years of time have worn away the longing, making it difficult to find a place for the future.

Qingnuoyan no longer needs the red rope.

Because he was already very sleepy.

There were no flowers on Shadow Mountain in the past... I want to plant the first flower on Shadow Mountain, so that every flower you pick in the mountains in the future can be considered a gift from me.

But I failed; I couldn't plant a mountain full of flowers for you.

【Feel sorry】

Over the course of a century, his injuries continued to worsen.

After returning from Kanria, he struggled to heal the wounds inflicted on him by the laws of nature, planted the Divine Cherry Tree, merged his true consciousness with General Thunder, fought against the Second Calamity, and guarded the Divine Cherry Tree for nearly a hundred years... He was exhausted.

I couldn't plant a mountain full of flowers, I only planted one. Whenever you look up at the starry sky, you will see cherry blossoms everywhere, divine cherry blossoms swirling like clouds, that is me coming to see you.

He's about to fall asleep.

Good morning, good afternoon, good night.

He wanted to rest.

"Are you very tired?" came Ti Baihe's voice from behind Qing Nuoyan.

Tengu was still very young, not the frail old man he would become later. He wore a plain white samurai outfit, and his long hair cascaded down to his waist.

He gazed at Qingnuo Rock.

This familiar yet unfamiliar old friend.

Lily learned many things: the secret of the Divine Cherry Tree, the origin of Qingnuo Rock... and her dream of Yixin.

"I want to take a nap." Qing Nuoyan put down his pen, raised his eyes, and smiled at Ti Baihe. "I've been walking for over a thousand years and I want to rest. I can't run anymore."

"We..." Lily's eyes flickered, as if wavering, and she whispered, "Can we ever meet again?"

"Four hundred years later, we will meet again."

Qing Nuoyan slowly stood up.

The cool starlight covered his silhouette and shimmered on the blade of the divine sword.

The blade, bathed in divine blood, trembled slightly, emitting a faint glow. Dreams resided within the divine blade, and the consciousness space was engraved between the blade's patterns, flickering at this moment.

The entire mountain seemed to respond to that shimmering light; the wind was muted, and the leaves of the forest rustled softly.

Kiyono Iwa inserted the divine shard into Inazuma's earthen mound, and thunder rolled across the plains, roaring most deafeningly from the deepest part of the clouds—

His consciousness also merged into this land.

The sky was first white, and the whole mountain and field was filled with pure white light.

The pure white world is gradually fading, and the colors of the world are slowly warming up.

Like mountains, clouds piled up on the mountain peaks, with clouds and mountains overlapping each other. The clouds were gray, and the mountains were green. In the space between the gray and green, between the clouds and the mountains, a new crimson color burst forth.

Crimson...door.

Or rather, the crimson torii gate.

Beyond the torii gate lies the shrine.

The divine cut transformed into a doorway, into a torii gate. By passing through this torii gate, one could reach the consciousness space of Seinoiwa and reach his dream, Ichishin.

Arriving at that space of blurred time.

"Four years from now, we will meet again." Qing Nuoyan said to Ti Baihe behind him, "Please send the 'me' from that time to this place."

"And tell him what to do."

"Please keep this secret and leave this world far away."

Qing Nuoyan used this door to travel from the present back to the past, and he left a door in the past. His past self paved the way for his future self, thus forming a closed loop in time.

With the help of dreams, we can return to the past, leave our dreams behind in the past, and let Qingnuoyan of the present return to the past.

Ti Baihe's eyes flickered, and he gazed at Qing Nuoyan before slowly nodding.

Kiyono Iwa leaned against the torii gate, exhausted. Calamity was eroding his body, and he could fall into a deep sleep at any moment.

He had a faint smile on his lips, like the afternoon sun in winter.

There was a girl.

He said softly, a faint smile playing in his azure eyes, "She has... golden hair, is very nagging and greedy, but she's very cute... Four hundred years from now, she'll still be by my side, and that's when you'll see her."

“I buried many letters in the cave, so many letters.”

Qing Nuoyan paused, then coughed violently a few times. "Four hundred years from now, there will be a gathering. If I fail to return on time, you will give those letters to her."

"...Won't you come back?" Ti Baihe stared into Qing Nuoyan's eyes.

"I need to get some sleep. I need to find a place where no one can find me and get some proper rest."

Qing Nuoyan said softly, "I'm very sleepy. Maybe I'll sleep for a hundred years, maybe for four hundred years... maybe I'll never wake up again."

Lily lowered her eyes and remained silent.

There was silence for a long time.

Qing Nuoyan straightened up with some difficulty. The injuries left by Tianli were still throbbing. He took out a roll of cigarettes from the lining of his kimono, rolled some tobacco, lit it, took a light puff, and continued coughing.

“Qingnuoyan…Qingye Leiming.” After a long while, Ti Baihe looked at Qingnuoyan, “You will come back.”

"Four hundred years later, we will meet again."

He knew what Qingnuoyan had endured, and he deeply understood the significance Qingnuoyan bore... It was a true thousand-year vigil.

“What we’re going to deceive…” Qing Nuoyan paused, then smiled at Ti Baihe and said, “is the whole world.”

"You will leave the mortal realm and spend four hundred years... I will do the same."

"Lily, you're the fastest runner... I can never beat you."

He watched the thin wisp of smoke dissipate into the cold, starry sky. "This time, I will lose to you too."