As the Zeroth Power of numerous Divine Keys struck down alongside the combined might of multiple Herrscher authorities, the False God's resilient divine body began to fracture with countless cracks.
The golden Imaginary halo behind him was also covered in fissures. With [Infinity] no longer present, it could no longer repair itself endlessly as before.
Finally, when the Imaginary halo shattered completely, Elias regained his freedom. The invisible collar of the Imaginary Tree around his neck broke apart along with the False God's authority.
Crack! Crack! Clatter!
At the same time, the Imaginary Space that had been created from his mental landscape began to collapse rapidly, fading like a dream about to end now that it had lost the False God's power.
"Finally... it's done... All that's left now... is to reach that place..."
The divine mask shattered, revealing the handsome face of the white-haired youth beneath. A serene, satisfied smile appeared on Elias' lips—leaving Otto, Gray Serpent, and Durandal momentarily stunned.
The next second, the three of them were expelled from the Imaginary Space.
Then, the remaining twenty or so Elias clones smiled faintly as they gradually faded away, their powers returning to the true Elias' body.
"Let's go... to the Imaginary Tree."
Elias spoke softly to himself.
Following the residual link between himself and the Imaginary Tree, he stepped forward—toward the end of time.
...
On Schicksal's floating island—
When Durandal, Otto, and Gray Serpent came to their senses, they found themselves back in their original location.
The memory of that divine battle replayed endlessly in their minds. Yet what lingered most vividly was not the overwhelming power of the False God, nor the thousandfold struggle...
But the final, gentle smile of the white-haired youth.
"Where... did he go?"
"Did our lord... succeed?"
Durandal and Gray Serpent asked in quiet awe.
"He went beyond the world—to the end of time itself. As for success..." Otto chuckled faintly, looking down at his own body. "Of course he succeeded. The very fact that I still exist is proof that the Deliverer triumphed."
Cracks began spreading across his soulium body—small at first, then multiplying rapidly, just like the False God's body had moments before. He was about to meet complete disintegration and eternal rest.
Yet Otto Apocalypse smiled in pure joy.
Before the operation began, he and Elias had made an agreement.
If Elias succeeded in reaching the Imaginary Tree, he would kill Otto. But if he failed, the puppet strings binding Otto would dissolve.
In that case, Otto—still alive—would seek another path to the Imaginary Tree and complete what Elias could not.
"But it seems that won't be necessary anymore. Truly worthy of the Deliverer—he never lets hope fade."
"I, Otto Apocalypse, Archbishop of Schicksal, hereby offer my deepest respect to Elias, leader of the Flame-Chasers."
"Though... it may be nothing more than the respect of a despicable clown."
Otto laughed self-deprecatingly and sat down heavily on the ground, allowing his body to crumble apart.
After a moment of silence, Gray Serpent finally spoke.
"Our lord said that if you were to die, I should relay a message to you—'Otto Apocalypse, the fool who acts in the name of love was never a clown. And I, too, am a fool.'"
"..."
Otto's eyes widened in astonishment. Then he covered his face and began to laugh—not in mockery, but in genuine amusement.
"Hahaha... A fool, yes... a fool, not a clown... Then, my long-held wish—let it pass to you, noble and kind Deliverer."
The light faded from his green eyes, and his soulium body ceased to function.
Thus ended the life of the man who had cast himself into the mire of sin for the sake of a single, beautiful dream.
Though his wish remained unfulfilled, at that moment, it had already been passed on—to another fool.
And so he died peacefully, smiling still.
Durandal: "What should we do now?"
Gray Serpent: "Uh... our lord said to build this man a tombstone and pour a bottle of red wine over his grave—but keep the bottle. If he comes back to life, hit him with it."
Durandal: "...Alright."
...
Meanwhile, in a place no one had ever reached—
Following the coordinates to the Imaginary Tree revealed through the Cosmic Juggernaut, Elias arrived in this strange realm of Imaginary Space. What met his eyes was a dim sky and blood-red sands stretching endlessly beneath his feet.
He didn't know what the crimson sand represented, but he sensed it might be time itself—each grain symbolizing a fleeting instant. If that were so, then at the end of this desert would lie the end of time.
"Cough... cough... It should be just ahead..."
The broken remnants of his False God Authority guided his way.
Elias looked up, realizing that the Imaginary Tree—the place that could grant his wish—was waiting before him.
And so, he took his first step forward.
Huff... huff... huff...
He was grievously injured.
To defeat his False God self, the thousand clones had fought with the same ferocity they once used against Finality.
It had been necessary. To break free of the Imaginary Tree's control, he first had to shatter the False God's Authority—meaning he had to utterly defeat himself.
For Elias, it was the most severe injury he had ever sustained short of death. His life force was hanging by a thread.
Though his abilities had returned to his body, recovery in such a short time was impossible.
Worse still, the entire Imaginary Space now rejected him. The world itself was resisting the white-haired youth who dared to walk toward its root.
Each step required immense willpower—without it, he would be expelled back into reality.
But...
Elias: "Heh... this level of rejection won't stop my steps!"
Through countless trials, cycles, and battles, his will had long since become unbreakable steel. Bearing the crushing pressure of the Imaginary, Elias pressed forward resolutely.
His footprints marked the crimson sands, and in this windless void, they would never fade.
After walking for what felt like eternity, Elias finally saw his destination—a colossal tree beyond description.
Just one glance was enough to tell him instinctively: this was the origin of all things, the law of existence, the end of space and time.
"Finally... I've found you, Imaginary Tree... huh?"
He was about to quicken his pace—
But in the next instant, the rejection of the Imaginary Space intensified. From the blood-red sands rose countless Imaginary puppets, their number seemingly infinite, blocking his path.
They stood as the final wall between him and his ideal.
Elias took a deep breath and began to run, pushing forward under the crushing weight of the world. In his right hand was the Judgment of Shamash, and in his left, the Abyss Flower.
"Don't... block my way!!"
Without hesitation, he charged into the swarm, swinging the divine weapons in both hands. The holy spear and greatsword cut through the tide of foes, tearing a path forward.
"Abyss Flower—Sanctum of Creation!"
He thrust the spearhead into the sand, and in an instant, a lush oasis bloomed amidst the desolate Imaginary expanse. Flowers and grass sprouted, and countless vines emerged to entangle the advancing puppets.
In the brief moment their movements stalled—
"Judgment of Shamash—Shamash Assault!!"
A sea of flames erupted, illuminating the Imaginary Space like a second sun, burning as fiercely as the Tree itself.
Most of the puppets were reduced to ash in an instant—but the next second, even more emerged from the blood-colored sands.
They surged toward him, determined to drive out the intruder who dared trespass where none should tread.
However—
"Reverse God—Ascent!!"
Six pure-white wings unfurled behind him. Golden dragon horns crowned his head, pointed elven ears rose, and a serrated tail whipped through the air like a chain, striking down the oncoming puppets.
Forcibly activating the Artificial Cascade, Elias gritted his teeth and shot forward, smashing through the puppets that blocked his path.
But the spreading darkness across his body was clearly visible—a creeping corruption of the Imaginary was trying to turn him into one of those very same puppets.
"Just a bit more... I'm almost there!"
Ignoring the corrosion eating away at his body, ignoring the attacks of the Imaginary puppets striking from both sides, Elias focused solely on clearing the way ahead.
Yet the number of puppets was simply overwhelming.
It was like a swarm of demons trying to defile an angel who had fallen into hell.
But before the overwhelming advance of the [Reverse God], the puppets could only wound him superficially. His blood flowed freely, yet his pace did not falter for even a moment.
Then, countless puppets merged together to form a massive Imaginary Honkai Beast, towering before him, blocking his path.
"I said... DON'T block my way!!"
The six wings of the [Reverse God] flared open as Elias accelerated sharply, driving straight through the massive beast and tearing it apart.
The Imaginary Tree was now within reach. Elias instinctively stretched out his hand to touch it—
But the next moment, agony coursed through his entire body.
"Gah!!"
The white-haired youth cried out in pain.
Several barbed Imaginary chains shot from behind him, piercing through his body. His six wings were impaled, bleeding profusely, and his outstretched hand froze mere inches away from the Tree.
More chains came, mercilessly stabbing into him. The barbs hooked into his flesh as the puppets pulled, dragging him back toward the abyss.
As his consciousness began to fade...
Within his mindscape, a saintly girl imprisoned deep within his spiritual world wept as she drove her weapon into the ground of that space. The sudden psychic pain jolted Elias back to awareness.
"Thank you... Misteln."
Elias smiled faintly, then clenched his teeth and turned sharply, swinging the Judgment of Shamash to sever the chains. In the same instant, he unleashed another Shamash Assault with all his might.
Breaking free of the bindings, he beat his bloodstained wings and soared toward the Imaginary Tree once more.
Finally, his hand touched the trunk.
In that instant, every Imaginary puppet ceased movement, frozen in place as they bore silent witness to the youth who had reached the root of all existence—then slowly began to fade away.
"Finally... I made it..."
Elias smiled brightly, looking up at the vast Imaginary Tree before him. In this moment, even pain seemed to vanish.
Before him stood a miracle beyond words—the tree of eternity and genesis, whose branches were countless worlds and civilizations, whose trunk flowed with the light of stars and the stream of time.
It was the eternal moment, the origin of the end.
"World... become the way I wish you to be."
Elias leaned gently against the Imaginary Tree—
Like a white-tailed kite resting upon a branch.
He spoke his wish aloud and reshaped the world.
From that moment forth, the parallel world in which he stood would no longer suffer from Honkai's threat. It would become a peaceful, ordinary, and beautiful world—the only paradise in the vast multiverse.
At the same time, he transferred several girls from that world into his native one. Elias didn't know what form the Imaginary Tree would take to fulfill this wish, but he knew that under his will, it would be realized in the best possible way.
Even if the first wish somehow failed, it didn't matter—for Elias had left behind a clone of himself in this parallel world and activated shared capability.
If Honkai ever returned, that clone would lead this world to overcome it. That was his insurance.
"But I doubt it'll come to that. After all, you're omnipotent, aren't you? Still... maybe someday I'll use that clone's coordinates to visit this world again."
After all, the price was merely one Thousandfold Core.
Elias gazed upon the Imaginary Tree in admiration.
Light flowed along its branches. Though no new boughs were born, the existing ones changed shape—and at that moment, the Imaginary Tree bloomed with a radiant, ethereal brilliance.
Bathed in that radiant light, the white-haired youth seemed to have been acknowledged by the Tree itself.
"Alright... now, I should return..."
Elias whispered softly to the Imaginary Tree.
His mission in this parallel world was complete. Because of him, this world would become a better place. Now, it was time to embark on the journey back—fifty thousand years into the past.
The Imaginary Tree could indeed rewind time. Whether five hundred or fifty thousand years, it was possible. But the cost of such an act would be the world's present—used as fuel.
And such an act, in essence, would mean erasing every life that currently existed.
However, even if Elias chose that path, no one in existence could stop him. His deeds thus far might even be enough to outweigh the sin of such selfishness.
But...
"No... everyone wouldn't like that version of me."
He would not choose that method.
Elias didn't want to become the kind of man the girls he cared for would despise. Just thinking about it made him shake his head in mild disgust. Even Otto hadn't stooped to that level—he certainly wouldn't either.
"Let's stick with the original plan. Hmm... I wonder how long this time journey will take."
Murmuring to himself, Elias once again placed his hand on the trunk of the Imaginary Tree, releasing from within him the bubble world that contained all the Honkai energy of the Herrscher of Finality.
He wasn't going to rewind the world's timeline—but rather, to create a passage within the seams of reality itself. A path where time would flow backward, leading him step by step toward the past.
Using the Herrscher of Finality of the Previous Era as the coordinate—and her Honkai energy, infused with temporal authority, as the material for the passage—he would construct a road vast enough to return civilization to its primordial state.
With the Imaginary Tree supplying the potential, it was enough to forge a path that would take Elias back.
However...
Compared to burning away the present, this approach would take much longer. He would still reach the past—but only by walking it, step by step, along the long road of time.
"Well then... it's time to depart."
Before him, the Gate of Time appeared.
The path home had been completed.
Without hesitation, the white-haired youth pushed open the gate.
Wearing a radiant smile, Elias stepped onto the road leading fifty thousand years into the past—just as he once had with a certain pink-haired girl, when they left their small town to begin their journey across the world.