A Love That Never Was

"Mmm… uh…"

When Elysia opened her eyes again, she was greeted by a dark green light.

"This is…?"

A cold, hard sensation beneath her suggested she was lying on a metal bench.

She sat up, seeing a girl dozing in the corner, clutching an ice-blue katana. The scabbard was covered in fine cracks, as if someone had squeezed it with their bare hands.

Elysia stared at the cracks, her gaze tracing their paths, one after another, until it felt like time itself had flowed through her numb consciousness countless times.

"Elysia? Elysia?"

A distant voice startled her, and she realized—time had just begun to flow again.

And with the return of time, memories of the recent past flickered through her mind, frame by frame.

"Mei… is that you, Mei?"

Elysia looked at the girl approaching her, wearing a lab coat.

"Yes… we met in Ruruye…"

Mei bit her lip, each word seeming to require immense effort.

"So, this is Mobius's lab?"

Elysia closed her eyes before Mei could answer, shaking her head slightly.

Only Mobius would be so fond of this dark green.

Mei adjusted her glasses, unsure what Elysia's head shake meant.

"How long has it been?"

Mei paused, realizing Elysia was asking about the time.

"Over ten hours. The Fire Moth One returned to Shanghai to pick up some support team members and is preparing to return to base… And there's still no sign of the 3rd Herrscher."

"…"

Elysia didn't reply, and Mei remained silent.

After a moment, she asked hesitantly, "Do you want to see him?"

"…"

Mei listened to Elysia's suddenly heavy breathing, unsure what to do.

Receiving no response, she thought Elysia hadn't heard her, but she hesitated to repeat the question, fearing it would only cause more pain.

"I'm sorry, Mei…"

Elysia's voice was quiet and hoarse. Mei didn't understand why she was apologizing. Was it just because of the silence?

Elysia gently shook Sakura awake. As Sakura instinctively reached for her katana, Elysia squeezed her wrist, and she released her grip, wincing.

"It's me… Sakura, let's… go see him."

Mikael's body, still covered by a white sheet, lay on a simple metal table, untouched.

Mobius sat beside him, pretending to read a book when she saw them approach.

Ignoring Mobius, Elysia reached for the sheet… but her hand stopped just short of touching it.

"Are you sure? Once you see him, there's no going back."

Elysia's fingers gently gripped the sheet, but she didn't move.

She could feel Sakura holding her breath beside her.

It was always like this. Even when you knew the outcome, you still clung to a sliver of hope—

What if he's not dead?

What if, when I lift the sheet, he suddenly sits up, grins at me, and says:

"Ta-da! Gotcha! How could I possibly die? Hey! Did you cry? You didn't actually cry, did you…? Huh? You're crying? Don't cry, don't cry! I'm sorry, I won't tease you anymore! Mobius, get my pants! I'm getting out of bed!"

Elysia sniffled, her vision blurring, a strange itching sensation on her cheeks.

The itching reached her lips, and she tasted salt.

She wiped away her tears, took a deep breath, and lifted the sheet.

There was no doubt.

It was Mikael.

The purple markings of Honkai corruption and the fine cracks of his disintegrating body intertwined on his face.

"So… so ugly… Mikael…"

Elysia laughed and cried at the same time, tears dripping onto Mikael's face, absorbed by the cracks.

She imagined him frowning, his facial muscles twitching from the falling tears.

But nothing happened.

Only those who had experienced death firsthand understood this suffocating despair.

You could have countless fantasies, countless hopes, even hallucinations—

But none of it would happen. Ever.

What did death mean?

The end of all possibilities.

The deceased no longer possessed any possibilities, nor were they encompassed by any.

Death was a fixed point—the cold, unyielding reality of the corpse before her.

And soon, even the intact body wouldn't remain.

Elysia closed her eyes, trying to control her breathing. She hadn't realized how close loss had been until it was too late…

No, was it truly lost…?

Had she ever truly possessed it…?

Elysia wasn't sure.

She had never truly defined her relationship with Mikael. They had always been close, so close that it felt natural, so close that she had never considered the possibility of him not being there.

And that was why she had sometimes been oblivious to his subtle hints.

Like…

"Liar! You promised… we would get married…"

She had heard him clearly, but why hadn't she responded?

Now, she couldn't even confidently say she had had him.

And this regret confirmed one thing—she loved everyone she encountered, but her love for Mikael was different, deeper.

The difference between love and being in love.

But had this love truly existed? She didn't know.

It was a love that seemed to have existed, might have existed, perhaps had existed, but hadn't yet had the chance to truly be.

But regardless, Mikael wouldn't want to see her cry. He would want her to live on, smiling, strong, to defeat the 3rd Herrscher, to lead humanity towards a brighter future, right?

Elysia stopped crying, her resolve hardening.

"Where's the core?"

Mobius shook her head.

"What do you mean? His Herrscher core?"

"Elysia… when Sakura found him, the core… it was gone…"

Seeing Mobius's reluctance to speak, Mei explained.

Elysia gently pulled down the sheet, revealing Mikael's chest, which, aside from the cracks and purple markings, seemed unharmed.

"The wound is on his back. Judging by its shape, he was probably holding the 3rd Herrscher when he died. He must have tried to take her down with him, but she took his core… Well, what is a core, exactly? We didn't find a designated space for it within his body. It's as if it existed in another dimension, yet the 3rd Herrscher extracted it through physical space…"

Mei, as usual, went off on a tangent.

Elysia's grip on the sheet tightened, then loosened. Her expression softened, and she gently poked Mikael's cheek, a familiar gesture from their six and a half years together.

When Mei looked back, Elysia was gone.

Mei glanced at Mobius. "Doctor, do you need glasses? I haven't seen you turn a page in a while…"

Mobius slammed the book shut.

"Mei, first, we're equals now, you don't need to use honorifics, though I do appreciate it… second, you can leave now. Your boyfriend must be waiting. And if you have time, could you check on Klein for me?"

Mei left quietly.

Mobius sat alone beside Mikael's body.

She narrowed her eyes, her hand gently tracing the contours of his face…

A strange smile spread across her lips.

"Death? Perhaps…"

The dark green lights in the lab suddenly turned blood red.

An alarm blared three times—

A Herrscher had emerged!