Tap—Tap—Tap—
Drip—Drip—Drip—
Iron-studded boot soles splashed into waterlogged ground. Droplets seeped from the cracks between the bluestones, falling intermittently. A mixture of crisp and dull sounds echoed endlessly in the dim, seemingly endless tunnel.
"Aaaah—" A low groan escaped Pardofelis's throat. The invisible sound waves bounced back and forth, quickly becoming as drawn-out as the tunnel itself.
"Boss Michael, why do we always have to walk so far before entering the Realm? Aaaah! We've been walking for almost a day... feels like we could've walked around the entire Brindisi city wall..."
"Firstly, we've been walking for less than thirty-three minutes in total. The reason you feel it's long is simply because the scenery hasn't changed, your vision constantly repeats itself in the darkness, stretching your perception of time. That's all."
"Besides, this isn't really a road. The Elysian Realm is a paradise existing between the data world and the real world. If described in more 'data-oriented' language, this tunnel is like the loading bar before a game starts. Generally speaking, the more there is to load, the longer the loading time. For information amounting to nearly an entire world, like the Elysian Realm, a loading time of over half an hour is already the fastest achievable, built upon the Twelfth Divine Key... Vill-V really delivered an incredible piece of work in the end..."
"Aiyah, I know, I know!" Pardofelis waved her tail and hand simultaneously, accidentally tangling them together. Fortunately, separating them wasn't difficult.
"Boss Michael, at a time like this, you don't need to speak so formally... I was just casually complaining, nya~ Didn't you already tell me all this last time you came to the Elysian Realm?"
"..." Michael kept his head down and continued walking forward. After about two minutes of silence, he spoke: "Sorry, Pardo. It's not that I want to say these things, but besides this, I have nothing else to say."
Pardofelis tilted her head, not quite understanding the meaning behind Michael's words, unsure what he meant by having nothing else to say. But she could hear the sadness in his voice and understood that perhaps silence was better right now.
After a short while, Michael broke the silence again: "Pardo, you've been in Australia for nearly a thousand years. Do you have any plans for the future?"
"Meow..." Pardofelis grasped her tail, gently stroking the fur. "I don't really know where to go next... Hah! Actually, anywhere is fine. As long as it's not like England, raining all the time so I can't sunbathe, I can tolerate it. After all, isn't sunbathing just sunbathing wherever you are? Maybe do some fishing sometimes, what a wonderful thing. If Can wouldn't steal my food, that'd be even better!"
As she spoke, the cat doll hanging at her waist emitted a gentle white glow. The next moment, the doll came alive, scrambling up her limbs in a few bounds to perch on her head.
"Hah, you never answer when I call normally, but mention your name casually, and you spring back to life... Hey! Can, get off my head! You're gonna break my neck!" Pardofelis released her tail and lifted the round, fat cat off her head, vigorously rubbing its white belly.
"Anyway, anywhere is fine, whatever, Boss Michael, you can just arrange it."
"Anywhere is fine..." Michael repeated, then changed the subject: "Pardo, saying 'anywhere is fine,' doesn't that actually mean 'nowhere is fine,' right?"
"..."
"When there are many options, but only one correct answer, choosing 'anywhere' or 'whatever' only happens when you can't find the right answer. It's just expanding the less desirable options to seem 'correct,' masking the awkwardness of not finding the single right choice."
"Aiyah, Boss Michael, you always talk so mysteriously. I haven't really thought about it that much... But now that you put it that way, it's not entirely wrong. I really... can't think of anywhere else to go. Five thousand years, I've pretty much been everywhere I wanted to go. Went sightseeing in Egypt with Sis Mobius, toured Shenzhou with Sister Hua, monitored Big Bro Kevin and Big Bro Su alone in Europe, fought llamas for sunshine in the Americas, and finally spent a thousand years with kangaroos in Australia..."
"I've been to almost every sunny spot. The remaining South Pole and North Pole would just freeze me into a cat popsicle, not interested at all."
So that's how it is. The so-called "anywhere is fine" was simply because there was nowhere left on this planet she truly wanted to go... Michael had recently told Hua that among their group, only Pardofelis was least affected by the erosion of time.
Similarly, having possessed little in the past, Hua cherished everything she had now. But Pardofelis was different; she remained carefree, only wanting a place to sunbathe and fish, plus endless cans of food...
But that was just the surface.
The erosion of time is invisible and inescapable. No matter how carefree or cheerful, doing the same things day after day, year after year, seeing similar scenery—ordinary people couldn't stand it for a few years, let alone five thousand.
"Say, Big Bro Michael, what do you think of this place?"
"This place?" Michael instinctively looked up. The dark ceiling of the tunnel was barely thirty centimeters above him. Instead of pure darkness, there was a faint, blurry, fluctuating watery light, like an overly sparse spiderweb upon closer inspection.
"Are you going back into the Realm? Or..."
"Anything's fine, whatever, it doesn't matter..." Pardofelis tossed her head nonchalantly. "Honestly, I've practically traveled this whole world now, but not the past one. Sunbathing in the Realm... that's not bad either! Maybe pop out once in a while, hang around Brindisi... Sigh, unfortunately, Twilight Street is buried who knows where now... I buried all my precious treasures on Twilight Street before, tried digging them up later, couldn't find 'em at all!"
"Meow—" Oblivious to its owner's words, Can chimed in with a casual meow.
"Mm... I understand." Michael reached out, rubbing the cat ears on Pardofelis's head, then gave Can's bottom a supportive nudge. This cat, purely formed from memories, was simply too fat; Pardofelis struggled to hold it with both hands.
"This... is pretty good too! Outside, only Sis Mobius and Sis Sakura visit me occasionally. Big Bro Michael, you've barely come a few times! Back in the Realm, everyone's there. I can go restock at Sis Eden's room, swipe Big Bro Kalpas's door panel, follow Big Bro Kevin around in summer to cool off, and usually play with Little Rin and Sister Hua..."
Michael pursed his lips, unsure how to respond for a moment.
Indeed, Pardofelis had grown tired of everything outside over the past five thousand years. Changing locations, especially to the Elysian Realm filled with past memories and familiar companions, seemed like a good idea.
The question then arose: fifty thousand years had passed since Michael reset the world. Pardofelis spent the last five thousand years wandering outside. Where did she live for the previous forty-five thousand years?
If five thousand years made her weary of the outside world, then wouldn't her weariness towards the Elysian Realm, where she once lived for forty-five thousand years, be at least as profound?
Perhaps even more so. The Realm, being the sum of past memories, was beautiful but lacked the potential for creation and change. The outside world, regardless of anything else, at least held a future.
And in the Elysian Realm, the only thing worth looking forward to were the... family members... she once lived and fought alongside.
"Oh right, Boss Michael!"
"What is it?"
"I heard lots of people with that whatchamacallit thingy come to the Elysian Realm to train?"
"Stigmata?"
"Oh yeah, yeah, yeah! Stigmata! Anyway, what if I opened a shop in the Elysian Realm? Do you think those visitors would patronize it?"
"Probably... But your merchandise..."
"Of course, I'll restock the old-fashioned way! I'm not scared, nya~ Sis Ely's got my back in the Realm anyway!" Pardofelis stuck out her tongue playfully, her heterochromatic eyes reflecting the minuscule light, sparkling like stars in the dim tunnel.
But she quickly realized her slip-up and silently linked her arm through Michael's right arm. "Um... Big Bro Michael, I didn't mean it..."
"Hm? What did you say?"
"Huh?" Pardofelis cautiously looked up. The surrounding light was dim; she felt Michael looking down at her with a questioning gaze. "N-nothing..."
She laughed awkwardly twice. Maybe she was just being too sensitive.
As she thought this, the cat ears on her head were patted twice more. Feeling the dry, warm palm, Pardofelis became even more unsure of Michael's inner thoughts.
"If I may say, did you forget there's another you in the Elysian Realm?"
"Huh?" Michael smiled helplessly. "Don't forget, there's a memory imprint of you in the Elysian Realm. This kind of business opportunity, she probably discovered it and acted on it long ago, right?"
"Ah... Ah... Is that so..." Pardofelis laughed awkwardly again, silently hugging Can tighter. If it weren't for this fat fellow, she really would have forgotten about the memory imprint.
"Sigh... Boss Michael, how much longer do we have to walk..."
"We're here."
Caught off guard, her cat ears were ruffled twice more. Then, Pardofelis saw a tiny point of light in the distance.
The light seemed extremely far away, but once it became the focus, the flow of time accelerated drastically. As if in the blink of an eye, the insignificant point of light expanded into a large golden gate. Before she could examine it properly, Michael took her hand.
"We're home." Michael smiled slightly and stepped first into the Elysian Realm.
After a wave of dizziness so faint it was almost negligible, Michael appeared alone in the center of a magnificent, golden hall.
His left hand remained in a grasping posture, but held nothing—Pardofelis was different. She had left a memory imprint in the Elysian Realm. Upon returning, due to quantum entanglement manifestation, the two 'hers' would appear in a "superposition state." Colloquially, when she entered the Realm, she would be automatically transported to the location of her memory imprint, becoming externally identical to it.
Michael, having left no memory imprint, appeared in the center of the courtyard like countless other visitors.
"Screech—" Michael dragged the tip of his boot slightly. The water-slicked iron nail scraped across the smooth floor, creating a long, piercing sound, proving this place existed as a real world.
He looked up, gazing silently at the massive stargate not far away.
When inactive, it presented a contradictory state of being both shattered and whole, floating silently in mid-air. Just meeting its gaze evoked an indescribable attraction, as if someone whispered softly in one's ear, urging the visitor to touch it, to step into the world within the stargate...
"Ahem!" Human interactions vary greatly. Frequent coughing might annoy others, but some people's coughs sound pleasant even so.
Michael slowly turned his head towards the sound's source. He hadn't even clearly seen the speaker before a smile touched his lips.
After all... given his familiarity with that voice, why would he need visual confirmation?
In the rest area to his left, Elysia reclined languidly on a sofa, her right arm draped over the backrest, right leg crossed over her left. She seemed to be waiting here expectantly, yet also simply resting as usual, their reunion now just another chance encounter.
"Hiya! After all these years, you finally decided to come see me!" She pouted petulantly, then frowned, complaining mournfully, sounding just like the girl she once was...
Michael bit his lip. Perhaps what he told Hua earlier was wrong. If there truly was someone in this world who could resist erosion, someone who could remain utterly unchanged for fifty thousand years...
"Perhaps it could only be you, Elysia."
"Eh? What did you say?"
"Just talking to myself." Michael forced another smile. He walked slowly, leisurely, to the sofa and sat down close beside Elysia.
Elysia reached out and lightly pinched his thigh, continuing her relentless questioning: "Tell me, tell me, you didn't come see me for so many years, what were you busy with?"
"That's not true..." Michael leaned back on the sofa as well, propping his head up with his left hand, explaining expressionlessly: "Five thousand years ago, on Eve's birthday, didn't I come visit once?"
Elysia shook her head. She didn't complain further but wrapped both arms tightly around Michael's arm, then gently rested her head on his shoulder.
"Don't move, okay? Just let me lean on you and rest for a bit... alright?"
Michael clenched his jaw twice, pulled his arm free from Elysia's embrace, and gently pushed her body away.
But the next moment, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, lowered her upper body, and let her head rest lightly on his lap.
"This is more comfortable." After saying this, he pressed his lips together firmly, seemingly determined not to speak again. But his hands weren't idle; he continuously stroked Elysia's fluffy hair, his gaze fixed on her profile.
It seemed words weren't necessary. They were an old married couple; this was enough.
Michael slowly closed his eyes. For the first time in fifty thousand years, his heart found a moment of peace.
At this moment, there was no sadness, no regret, and certainly no numbness.
Everything was just warm and calm. Perhaps everything should have always been like this.
The only slight imperfection might be the absence of wrinkles on their faces and white hair on their heads.
"Speaking of which... where is everyone else?" Michael looked around the vast, empty hall. Even Vill-V's workshop was silent.
"What? You want them here watching?"
"No..."
"I don't want them here either, so I told them to stay away beforehand!"
Michael's hair-stroking motion froze. His smile became somewhat strained—That shouldn't be right. His visit to the Elysian Realm was somewhat spontaneous. He had only told Pardofelis, and she had been with him constantly for the past day, making it impossible for her to notify Elysia...
"Don't forget, I am..." She interrupted herself with a gentle smile.
"Did someone tell you what happened after?" Michael's expression flickered with panic and guilt.
"Not at all. But, from the endless stream of successors, one can deduce some things, right? Besides, if you had won fifty thousand years ago, the Elysian Realm wouldn't need to exist anymore, would it?"
"True." Michael managed a strained smile, but this didn't answer how Elysia knew of his arrival in advance.
"Ehehe!" Elysia covered her mouth with a light laugh, rolled over, wrapped her arms around Michael's neck, and placed her other hand gently on his chest, feeling the non-existent heartbeat.
"I told you, I am the first Herrscher, the Herrscher of Origin."
Michael blinked. He wasn't surprised Elysia knew this; after all, the memory imprint was created the day before their wedding. By then, both had made their resolutions. Michael didn't yet know he was Finality, but Elysia already knew her identity as Origin.
And the Elysian Realm was essentially a complete world. Within this world, she naturally possessed the Authority of Origin, manifested through the core of the Twelfth Herrscher.
Michael didn't interrupt her, continuing to listen.
"So... I can also sense the aura on you... Michael, in the end, you did become Finality, didn't you?"
"Mm."
"It seems things are more complicated than I expected, hmm?" Michael becoming Finality, yet the Honkai not being defeated—that alone spoke volumes.
"But you don't need to feel guilty, Michael." Elysia gently stroked his chest, gazing into his pink eyes.
"In the prime world, Origin and Finality have become one. The real me exists within your body. We are fused together. And as a memory imprint, due to entanglement, I can also sense some of the thoughts deep within your heart..."
"So, Elysia, are you going to stop me?"
"No, quite the opposite. I know what you want to do. Go ahead and do it! Five thousand years ago, on Eve's birthday, I wanted to tell you this, but you came and went so quickly, I never had the chance."
Michael bit his lip until it bled. His vision blurred instantly.
For the first time in fifty thousand years, he shed tears. It felt just as bittersweet as he remembered.
He wasn't sad, of course. Emotions like sadness could no longer breach the fortified defenses of his heart. But Elysia, with just a simple "Go ahead and do it," had somehow inexplicably shattered his composure.
"Remember that song of Eden's we listened to together? If you truly believe you can meet me again in the future, then you should fly high without hesitation, along the path we forged, fly towards the future, fly towards that true future where we can meet..."
She sang softly, her voice exactly the same as fifty thousand years ago.
She gently wiped away the tears from the corners of Michael's eyes, as if removing a mask he had worn for fifty thousand years. She sat up and, in turn, embraced Michael.
"Elysia... What if... what if, for that future, I first need to hurt many people?"
"How can people avoid hurting others forever? Isn't the essence of human interaction mutual harm and mutual companionship? If there are truly irreversible mistakes... then just reverse them along with the weight of these fifty thousand years at the very end, wouldn't that be fine?"
She cupped Michael's face, whispering softly in his ear, "So, go ahead and do it, Michael. My story ends here for now, but it's not over, because my story will continue within you. And I believe you will create a future where you and I can reunite..."
"Just, if you get too tired, don't push yourself too hard. You can always come back and visit more often! I'll be right here. We'll all be right here. When you don't want to move forward, just come chat with me! We can talk for as long as you want, until you feel energized again, then continue moving forward!"