Honkai Impact: Dreams and the Holy Grail, but the Servant is Rei.

"As a member of the Cloud Cavalry, a disciple of the general, I carried so much on my shoulders, how could I fall here..." In the very end, the boy's regretful voice echoed from the dissipating light.

The assassin, Kafka, who had been slightly crouching behind Archer Yanqing, slowly rose, retracting her crimson longsword from her right hand. Her entire body was enveloped in a faint cherry-red magical aura, a captivating yet dangerously deadly presence.

She didn't look in the direction of Meng Weiyu and Mimi, but instead focused on Saber [Yun Li], who was holding a heavy sword not far away.

The black iron heavy sword exuded surging magical power, but the fair hand holding the sword was trembling uncontrollably.

Archer's last words were like the sharpest blade of the Hunt, shattering the cage that sealed away part of his memories.

"As a member of the Cloud Cavalry, a disciple of the General, I bear a heavy burden, and I am destined to bear even more..." Under the clear sky, starships sailed by. She turned her head to look at the young man beside her, pointing to the [Competitive Edge Ship] and telling her his story, "Only when I wield my sword can I feel myself letting go of everything. I love the me who throws a sword forward with all my might, charging ahead without hesitation. I wield my sword for that version of myself!"

"Tomorrow, as the bells toll and the cannons fire, Yanqing will represent the Immortal Ship [Luofu] Cloud Cavalry on the arena to accept challenges from brave warriors from all directions..." he said.

“I…I don’t have the same dream as my little brother Yanqing. The reason I’m challenging the reigning champion is simply because I promised my grandfather I wanted to win the precious sword he gave me for the martial arts ceremony,” she said.

"You're always thinking about swords," Yanqing complained.

“Isn’t it the same in your head?” she retorted.

“Whenever I encounter someone whose virtue is unworthy of a sword, I can’t help but feel an itch to snatch the weapon from their hand. Well… Brother Yanqing is going to defend the arena for this martial arts ceremony. I’m kindly stepping in to prevent the precious sword from being entrusted to the wrong person.” She taunted him, hands on her hips.

"What do you mean by entrusting the wrong person? Explain yourself!" he said indignantly.

"Brother Yanqing, you did a great job! I've never seen you use that last sword strike that knocked down Hu Lei before." She looked at the astonishing sword strike the young man unleashed in the face of death, revealing a rare, straightforward concern.

"Do you want to learn? I can teach you. But I have to wait until I've recovered from all these injuries..." he said with a weary smile, despite his serious injuries.

"Damn it, he got away with it." She thought to herself through gritted teeth...

It's true, I thought it was just an ordinary thing back then...

"Miss Yunli is joking. This was won by Yanqing while defending the title. Thinking that you (we) are about to part ways and won't see each other for a long time, I thought I should bring it over for you to touch, to ease your regret." He deliberately teased her, and his usually calm and composed face now showed a mischievous smile that only a young man would show when flirting with a young woman.

"Listen carefully, once you've recovered, remember to bring your sword to Zhu Ming to find me. I'll forge you a fine sword as compensation... But you know the rules, you have to meet me with your sword and win it fair and square. How about it? You can't not come!" She blurted out all the words she had prepared for a long time as they parted.

Tears streamed down her face as an unprecedented surge of energy emanated from Saber [Yun Li], yet she remained completely unaware of it.

Chapter 25 A fit of rage for a man

Before Meng Weiyu transmigrated, during his leisure time or after get off work, after completing his daily game tasks and beta test missions, he would often browse forums, chat in groups, and engage in online PvP with others.

As the main storyline and companion quests of the [Luofu] Immortal Ship in the game were continuously updated, the image of Yanqing, the genius swordsman, gradually became more vivid and three-dimensional...

At that time, there was a heated discussion on the forum about whether this gifted young man could surpass his master, Jingliu, who wanted to cut down the stars (Star Gods).

Meng Weiyu didn't really care about this kind of PVP debate, like Guan Yu versus Qin Qiong or Zhang Fei versus Li Kui, until he noticed a question-like answer:

Both are exceptionally talented, but what kind of experiences must a brilliant young man, dressed in fine clothes and riding a spirited horse, who only occasionally suffers setbacks at the hands of the older generation of powerful figures, go through to surpass his master who has been carrying a deep-seated blood feud and has been training on the battlefield for hundreds of years in an attempt to plot against the Star God?

At that moment, he instantly conjured up a tragic story of a lonely yet invincible swordsman who, burdened by destiny, sent his master away, lost his beloved in war, and finally took her sword to seek revenge, eventually becoming a hunting envoy.

At this moment, the scene she had once fantasized about was now unfolding before Meng Weiyu's eyes as if she were witnessing it live, only unexpectedly, the protagonist had changed...

Perhaps because their original selves are still alive and well outside, Meng Weiyu doesn't feel any liking or hatred towards these two Servants who inherited some of her original selves' memories and were once her sworn enemies. Instead, she feels more of a sense of shared fate, like two people who are "fellow sufferers on the same stage."

But is this arrangement truly enjoyable? Meng Weiyu wondered.

That makes sense. If every grand performance consists only of comedy and unpredictable, quirky antics, then after experiencing so much "joy," one might feel like something is missing.

Facing life's uncertainties with a smile is a positive way of embracing a joyful destiny.

Composing himself, Meng Weiyu pondered the new entry he had acquired:

Although the "Escape Sword" is only a blue-colored item, its strategic value to Meng Weiyu is no less than that of the purple "Battle Continuation".

However, how should she play a better role in the battles to come... Meng Weiyu thought as she flew.

He manipulated the projected "wings," or rather, gliders, which he had gradually mastered, and landed on the top floor of a nearby building. His body, which had been transformed into a sub-Servant, briefly regained some of the keen vision it had lost during that time thanks to the magic power provided by the Caster [Xi Lian].

It's a pity that his physical abilities can't be greatly enhanced, otherwise he could have been like the Caster Master in the Fifth Holy Grail War, that teacher, who could launch a surprise attack on Servants who didn't know his true strength. Thinking of this, Meng Weiyu couldn't help but shake his head with a wry smile.

"Friend, do you know the story of what Saber and Archer went through before?" At this moment, Mimi jumped off his shoulder and transformed back into the pink-haired girl in the purple dress.

"Hmm." Meng Weiyu nodded. Having transmigrated before version 3.5 of the game, he was unaware of some of the secrets of [Xi Lian].

"It's finally back to normal." Meng Weiyu thought to herself.

He quickly gathered his thoughts, and with practiced ease, intertwined his fingers with [Xi Lian]'s, transmitting to her all the past events concerning Saber [Yun Li] and Archer [Yan Qing], as well as his memories of related discussions he had read offline.

When Xi Lian first met him, she referred to herself as "a pioneer from beyond the realm, my partner," so there was nothing to hide.

This could be considered a different kind of mana replenishment, Meng Weiyu thought to herself.

In a proper Holy Grail War, the Master would also need to replenish the Servant's magical energy through methods such as bodily fluid exchange and magic circuit transplantation.

For some powerful casters, the sources of [magic] are more diverse. Apart from some inhuman methods, some can even defy the laws of nature.

But what exactly is this so-called "magic"? Sensing the fluctuations of "magic" coming from not far away, Meng Weiyu felt a sense of curiosity for some reason.

The scene at this moment could be described as an eerily quiet one: Caster [Xi Lian] beside him had his eyes slightly closed, seemingly savoring all the past experiences of Saber [Yun Li] and Archer [Yan Qing], as well as the judgments of the people in Meng Weiyu's world about the two of them.

Assassin [Kafka] still exuded a very faint cherry-red [magic power]. Holding a knife in her right hand and a gun in her left, she stared at Saber [Yunli]. The expression on her face was indifferent, fearless, or perhaps mixed with a trace of barely perceptible pity.

Saber Yunli stared slightly off-focused at the spot where Archer [Yanqing] had disappeared. Tears streamed down her face and onto the ground, while the rising [magic power] emanating from her was clearly noticeable to Meng Weiyu, who was not far away.

With the Caster [Xi Lian] by her side, due to the advantages of her class, she is more sensitive to the appearance and fluctuation of [magic] than other classes, which also benefits Meng Weiyu who uses her magic.

In the escalating tensions, [Xi Lian] suddenly spoke:

"How is 'me' in [Onfaros] doing now?" She turned to [Meng Weiyu] and suddenly asked this seemingly irrelevant question, but with a rare serious expression.

“Yes, and that ‘you’ is probably a very powerful hidden person. ‘You’ said it was a romantic story unlike any other.” Meng Weiyu looked at her seriously and said.

He then reached out and intertwined his fingers with Xi Lian's again, showing her all his memories related to Xi Lian and Weng Faros.

To some extent, this can be considered a way to complete one's memories. Unfortunately, when he transmigrated, Onpharos still had four major versions of the main storyline that had not yet ended.

After a moment of silence, Meng Weiyu noticed with some concern that the magical energy fluctuations around Saber [Yun Li] had reached an unprecedented level of intensity.

The assassin [Kafka], who was not far away, obviously did not see [Yunli] in this state as an opening to attack!

"Leave it to me, I'll persuade her." A phantom, transparent ritual sword materialized in [Xi Lian]'s hand, its crescent-shaped tip pointing directly at Saber [Yun Li] not far away.

Countless fragments of memories flooded Yun Li's mind. Meng Weiyu noticed that the expression on her face changed from extreme sadness to bewilderment and confusion, and finally to self-mockery and a complex emotion that was hard to describe.

“So… he and I were both fake. So… the real us are actually still living very well.” Saber [Yun Li] turned her head and looked at Meng Weiyu and [Xi Lian] not far away.

But the surging magic power within her did not weaken; instead, it intensified like a fusion process, seemingly about to erupt!

“Yes…neither he nor I…are the Yun Li and Yan Qing we knew…” Saber [Yun Li] said softly.

"But... not long ago, he didn't kill me, and he even... saved my life!" The girl slowly raised the greatsword!

The powerful magic erupted completely at this moment, and everything around Yun Li began to collapse and break down, rapidly spreading outwards.

Xi Lian did not show Yun Li the memories from before the time rewind; the latter simply recalled them on her own amidst her profound sorrow!

Chapter 26 Dramatic Irony (Part 1)

The earth began to crack, and buildings not far away began to shake. Even as a Servant summoned by the Assassin class, [Kafka] could sense the surging anger and killing intent of the white-clad, green-skirted girl wielding a greatsword not far away.

Perhaps it was because the real Kaffa was born on the emotionally deprived planet "Tianyiwu" that she, who inherited some of her memories and abilities, did not show much change in expression, Assassin [Kaffa] thought silently to herself.

Like her original self, she was incapable of feeling fear, even though she was acutely aware that she was in grave danger...

Of all the corrupted Servants, Assassin [Kafka] knew most of the truth about the Holy Grail War from the very beginning, and was even fully aware that she herself had been corrupted by the Holy Grail:

From the moment she gained consciousness, she felt herself being eroded by something, her memories were fragmented and unclear, and even when she was thinking about certain things, her thoughts would be slowed down by something.

Both she and her beloved trench coat were stained with indelible, dark "mud"...

"[Listen to me]: You will remain clear-headed, remember who you are, where you are, where you are going, and what your purpose is." She used the power of words to give herself psychological suggestion.

The erosion and pollution could not be eliminated, but through repeated attempts, she regained most of the original Kaffa's memories!

She even gained additional knowledge about the Holy Grail War, just like Caster [Xi Lian].

She not only learned that she was an assassin and the characteristics of the corresponding job, but also gleaned a crucial piece of information from this knowledge:

If she wins this Holy Grail War, the Holy Grail will grant her one wish as an Assassin!

And her wish... her wish seemed to have been set long ago (in the game of dreams and the Holy Grail):

She hopes the Trail Blazers' journey will be fruitful.

That pioneer… even after repeatedly using incantations to mentally suggest things to herself, she still couldn't recall all the information about him…

The real Kafka, following Elio's prophecy, implanted the Star Core into the Pathfinder's body, using etheric editing technology and the Star Core to create the Pathfinder and send it onto the Star Train, supposedly to foreshadow the final war of the gods...

In her memory, the real Kafka even orchestrated a series of events in the early stages of the Immortal Ship, all so that the Pioneers could receive support from the [Hunter] when they encountered a crisis in the future.

For a moment, Assassin [Kafka] didn't know whether to envy the Trailblazers or the original body that gave her the exact same memories and personality.

And that so-called Holy Grail that grants the wishes of others, an existence that would drive countless organic and inorganic life forms mad, was something she cared about and didn't believe in at all...

She possesses Kafka's memories and knowledge as a Star Core Hunter, knows that there are many things in the universe similar to the "Holy Grail," and has witnessed or heard about the countless tragedies that these things ultimately caused...

She certainly had a heartfelt wish: to leave this place, to see the world she remembered, to see the person she remembered, to see her companions, and to see the pioneer with whom she had a deep bond.

But she knew perfectly well that it was an impossible dream.

This place is like a giant stage, with a script already written. Only, the scriptwriter isn't Elio… Through repeated self-suggestion, she can even recall a piece of information etched deep in her memory that doesn't belong to her—information stating that she came here using Silver Wolf's portal because of her feelings for the Pioneers…

This does not correspond to her actual birth.

As soon as she left the contaminated area, she saw Rider driving a huge mech developed by the company, swaggering through the city in the distance. The man inside the mech, known as Scott, was full of openings, but she had no intention of fighting him.

If the meaning of everything I do is merely to put on a good show on this fictional stage, then what is the point of fighting?

This is probably why the owner of memories walks the path of "nothingness".

"Are you really content to live as an Assassin, spending only one Holy Grail War before disappearing?" A calm male voice suddenly rang out, as if someone were reciting lines from a narrator without any emotion.

A young man with a mask on the upper half of his face appeared out of thin air. He was dressed in spotless white clothes, like an elegant scholar from ancient times or an immortal who was detached from worldly affairs.

The spell, which possessed the power of hypnosis and control, was activated instantly, but the assassin [Kafka] felt no joy, because she could sense that the crimson threads were wrapped around countless intangible and uncontrollable laughs at the other end.

The young man shook his head slightly, showing no anger or dissatisfaction with her actions, as if nothing had happened.

The traveler of [Joy] destiny... or even a messenger? She was slightly startled.

"Are you the big shot behind the scenes?" Assassin [Kafka] smiled meaningfully.

"No, I'm just His lackey." The young man smiled politely.

"What brings you here?" Her smile seemed to widen even further.

"He said you have two choices: one is to obtain the Holy Grail and have one wish granted." Then the young man deliberately stopped and did not speak again.

"And the second one?" Assassin [Kafka] narrowed her eyes, concealing the murderous intent in her heart.

"Secondly, become my Servant. That way, even if you die during the Seven Holy Grail Wars, you won't disappear. You can leave at any time during the war, and I won't use Command Spells to command you." The young man looked directly into Assassin [Kafka]'s eyes.

“I choose the first one,” Assassin [Kafka] said bluntly.

"Okay, thank you for your choice." The young man didn't show any surprise; instead, he seemed relieved.

"Snap!" He snapped his fingers, a faint smile appearing on his face. "This is a gift for you!"

A new panel appeared in assassin [Kafka]'s mind at this moment:

[Servant]: Kaffa

[Job Agency]: assassin

[Strength]: C

[Magic]: B

[Durability]: C

[Lucky]: A

[Agility]: A

[Noble Phantasm]: The Trembling at the End of Tragedy (This Noble Phantasm cannot be used in this Holy Grail War)

[Inherent Skills]: [Scent Concealment A+], [Siren's Silence A+]

The young man appeared out of thin air and then vanished just as suddenly, leaving only Assassin [Kafka] standing alone in the same spot.

The next second, several buildings nearby collapsed with a deafening roar. A phantom image of roses appeared above the collapsed buildings, but she paid no attention, simply clicking on an entry in the panel—

[Siren's Silence A+]: After dealing damage to an enemy in each battle, there is a chance to instantly defeat the opponent. (This effect does not apply to Trailblazers.)