Acknowledgement

Lin Wei tried to lift his head but couldn't. He chuckled awkwardly.

"Uh… could you untie me?"

Fu Hua stared at him for a few seconds, then nodded, pulling the bedsheet that bound him.

No rope? Bedsheets worked just as well.

The "martial arts god" saw everything as a tool. As long as it worked, it was fine.

No wonder Rin was so furious. Lin Wei thought with amusement.

"Thank you. I appreciate it."

He rubbed his wrists, wincing as he stood up, his body aching.

The room was clean, the bed piled high with bedding, soft and inviting.

She'd clearly put some effort into this. He was grateful.

Given Fu Hua's usual disregard for comfort—she'd once strolled through a crowded city wearing nothing but a shirt, a hood, and bare feet—this was unexpected. It was a sight to behold.

If left to her own devices, she'd probably have just found him a place to lie down, regardless of comfort.

"It was nothing," Fu Hua said dismissively. Then, she went straight to the point.

"What happened to the Herrscher? What happened in there?"

She knew Lin Wei couldn't have defeated a Herrscher, even a weakened one. He must have made a deal. She needed to assess the risk.

She'd fought the Herrscher, had a sense of her power.

But a Herrscher was still a Herrscher, an agent of the Honkai. She couldn't be too careful.

She hadn't unsheathed her crimson blade, nor had she returned it to Lin Wei. She needed answers before she decided whether to end this unexpected journey or kill them both.

She awaited his answer, her judgment pending.

This was the best she could do, torn between friendship and duty.

Lin Wei smiled. He understood her concerns. It was his duty to allay them.

He stepped forward, spread his arms, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. The answer was within him. She could see for herself.

Thought moved at the speed of light. But in the real world, it was only a few minutes.

Reading a few minutes of memory wouldn't strain her.

Fu Hua nodded, seeing his openness. Some of her apprehension eased.

She raised a hand, and a pink feather drifted down. She would confirm it herself.

A gentle light bloomed between them, then faded.

They opened their eyes simultaneously.

Lin Wei smiled, anticipating her reaction. It was one of his many perverse pleasures.

Fu Hua's expression tightened. She glared at him, her voice filled with anger.

"Lin Wei, are you insane?!"

It wasn't a question.

She didn't understand her own anger, the unexpected fear that amplified it.

She just knew she was furious.

"You're just a human, an ordinary human from another world, with no experience with the Honkai, and you dared to confront a Herrscher? Do you even know what a Herrscher is? Do you understand the difference in power?"

"No, you do! And you still did it… Lin Wei, you're a madman! How could you? How dare you?!"

Her voice was a mix of anger at his recklessness, disbelief at his audacity, and a chilling disappointment.

She didn't want another Otto Apocalypse in her life, let alone as a friend.

"But I succeeded, didn't I?"

Lin Wei's smile faded. He sighed, a wry smile touching his lips.

The atmosphere was tense. He stepped back, sat down on the bed, and leaned back with a sigh.

He ran a hand over the soft bedding, closing his eyes, murmuring,

"This is what it feels like… to be alive…"

Then he sat up, his playful demeanor gone, his expression serious.

"Fu Hua, I ask you, if you were in my position, with zero Honkai resistance, poisoned by the very air you breathe, the Honkai infection spreading, alone, with no one to help you… would you just lie down and die?"

"I hate this feeling, this constant threat of death, having to fight a Herrscher to survive. Do you think I wanted this? That's a Herrscher, a god to a mortal like me! I'm nothing but an ant to her. Killing me would be no different than swatting a fly!"

His voice rose, his emotions intensifying. But he didn't want to sound like he was accusing or lecturing her. That wasn't how friends talked.

He took a deep breath, calming himself, relaxing his posture, then sighed again.

"But I had no choice. I refuse to die like this! I want to live, and that was my only option. Fu Hua, I had no choice…"

"I had to defeat her. It was my only chance. Even if it meant certain death, I had to try. I had to use every means, every trick, to win. Because I had no choice."

He sighed again, his voice pleading.

"All I wanted was a quiet, peaceful, safe place to live."

"But I had no choice. Fu Hua, please understand…"

He didn't want to lose this friendship, one of the few he had in this world.

He didn't blame Fu Hua. Their last confrontation had been during their first meeting, when he'd approached her with ulterior motives.

He'd been forced into it, but he'd still done it, and now he had to face the consequences.

Fu Hua hadn't been obligated to help him, yet she had. He owed her an explanation.

It was a matter of respect.

Fu Hua had been observing him closely. She sensed that his erratic behavior was a facade, that his soul was surprisingly simple, almost childlike.

But it was too simple. Was he being sincere, or was he acting?

Or perhaps… a sincere performance?

That was his specialty!

He'd even managed to outsmart a Herrscher. She had to be cautious.

"Is that so? Your little 'redirect the anger' trick was quite impressive."

She spoke with a mix of sarcasm and amusement.

Making the Herrscher take out her frustration on her? Did he think she wouldn't notice? She'd figured it out while observing Rin!

He was quite the schemer.

But her suspicion had lessened. He was too weak to be a threat. His "trick" was just a desperate attempt to avoid getting beaten up. There was no malice.

And he had defeated the Herrscher, awakened Rin's humanity. That was the best outcome, wasn't it?

Besides…

She touched the blade at her waist, the one he'd given her, along with his final request:

"If I fail, kill me with this."

He'd been prepared to die, minimizing the risk, gambling on a slim chance of survival. That was all.

She remembered him almost giving up because his plan posed a threat to her and others.

She'd seen his struggle, the agonizing choice between life and death.

It was the first time she'd seen his true kindness, his sincerity. It had made her want to help him.

Before that, she'd been fulfilling an agreement, a transaction, just like with Otto.

She thought about how they'd met, the report Otto had given her, the strange man it described.

A man who'd withdrawn from the world, only to expose himself by posting strange rumors online.

"Because I want to live, and I want others to live. Laughable, isn't it?"

She remembered his words, his defiant yet humble attitude.

And his subsequent remark:

"Kindness is always rewarded…"

Indeed. If it weren't for his seemingly foolish, yet undeniably kind actions, he wouldn't have caught Otto's attention, wouldn't have crossed paths with her, wouldn't have had this chance.

Coincidence? Perhaps. Or perhaps, good deeds were rewarded.

She realized she was now viewing him in a positive light, almost instinctively. She could analyze it further, but she didn't need to.

This bias itself was an answer.

She smiled, unsheathed her blade, examined it, then returned it to its scabbard, offering it to Lin Wei.

"This is a powerful blade, imbued with immense power. But it carries a dark history, a heavy taint. Do not draw it lightly, lest you be consumed by its bloodlust."

She paused, remembering his surprisingly strong will, the one that had subdued a Herrscher.

A strange thought crossed her mind.

"And… you are weak, unskilled in combat. You cannot control this blade. Drawing it recklessly will only harm yourself."

"I think you're overthinking it, Fu Hua. I'm hardly a threat to anyone."

Lin Wei chuckled, sensing her goodwill.

Always pushing his luck, Fu Hua thought, but her expression remained serious.

She was disciplined, principled, strict with herself, her rich inner life hidden beneath a stoic exterior.

It made her seem unapproachable.

But beneath the surface, she was still a girl, her spirit undimmed after fifty thousand years.

Lin Wei listened to her advice, then blurted out a question.

"Elysian Realm… want to go together?"

He already knew the answer, but he wanted to give her a choice.

Fu Hua paused, a long silence hanging in the air. She opened her mouth to speak, then hesitated, shaking her head.

As expected.

Lin Wei sighed inwardly. His suspicion was confirmed.

In the millennia since the Previous Era's fall, the surviving Flame-Chasers had awakened, walking the earth as pioneers.

But none of them—Kevin, Su, Hua, not even the free-spirited Griseo—had ever returned to the Elysian Realm. Not once.

Perhaps they didn't want to disturb the peace of their fallen comrades, or perhaps they didn't want to worry them.

Or perhaps, it was simply too painful.

They never spoke of it.

Perhaps the Elysian Realm was a symbol of "home," a place they needed to protect.

But a home they could never return to.

It belonged to the heroes of the past, not the pioneers of the present.

Even Fu Hua, with her fragmented memories, made the same choice.

"There's something I need you to do for me."

She summoned a feather.

"I saw glimpses of the future in your memories. It's not good for me to know these things. I want you to hold onto this part of my memory. Return it to me when it's over, or when the future changes, when this information is no longer relevant."

Lin Wei was surprised, not by her decision, but by the trust she placed in him. It was humbling.

"You don't want to interfere?" he asked.

"I'm quite satisfied with the future I saw. I don't want to change it. To prevent myself from interfering, I have to forget."

Fu Hua smiled, then continued.

"Besides, it's better for the Herrscher of Sentience to be born from me, rather than becoming some other uncontrollable threat. It's better for everyone."

Then, she sighed.

"Of course, your presence and interference might change everything. But the future should be left to the future, not manipulated by the present."

This Fu Hua was too principled.

Couldn't she be a little more flexible?

Lin Wei sighed inwardly, but nodded in agreement.

Fu Hua smiled, understanding his thoughts, but offering no explanation. Her expression turned serious.

"The future… is in your hands."

The feather glowed, and Fu Hua's eyes glazed over as memories were extracted, flowing into the feather.

She blinked, staring at the feather in her hand.

She sensed it contained important memories, memories she shouldn't possess right now.

What were they? Her curiosity stirred, but she suppressed it.

This was her choice.

She looked at Lin Wei and sent the feather floating towards him. It touched his forehead and vanished.

"My task is complete."

She spoke with a sense of finality. This journey had been… fruitful.

Then, Lin Wei spoke.

"There's one more thing…"