"Bronya, I'm only telling you that the hand you need to reach for is no longer mine."
That gentle utterance was both an answer and a farewell.
His soft gaze lingered on her for a moment before Bai Heng gently withdrew his hand from the girl's grasp.
Step by step, he walked toward the Stellaron, meeting the howling winds and terrifying waves of energy head-on.
He had done all he needed to do, said all he wanted to say, and seen the one he longed to see.
He had even heard that one word he never dared hope for—'Teacher'—ringing clearly in his ears.
What more could he possibly want?
Well... if he were truly honest, there was still one regret.
That he never got to apologize to you, Bronya.
How selfish he had been, forcing all those harsh lessons upon you.
How selfish, coming here alone... and now, leaving like this, just as selfishly...
Why did he do all this, anyway?
For Belobog? No, that wasn't it.
Perhaps long ago, he had truly intended to bring light to this frozen land. But when had that changed?
It must have been that night—when you, bathed in moonlight, reached out your hand to me in the darkness.
Yes, Bronya. Perhaps from that day on, it was never Belobog I wanted to protect.
It was... you.
This was the confession of a lone traveler at the end of the world. Neither Bronya nor anyone else in that scene could hear it.
Only they, the audience beyond the screen, could hear every word clearly.
A heavy feeling settled in their chests, and the unfolding scene pulled taut on their already strained nerves.
On the screen, a dark golden glow began to radiate from Bai Heng's body. He drew closer to the Stellaron, but each step grew heavier. The destructive energy spilling from the core threatened to tear him apart—yet he never stopped.
Through the agony of tearing skin and rending flesh, Bai Heng finally stood before the Stellaron. Gritting his teeth, he drove the Lance of Preservation firmly into the ground!
Clang!
The moment the blade struck earth, the power of Preservation erupted from him at its fullest.
Starting from the hand gripping the lance, crystalline rock rapidly spread.
His arm, his torso, his legs—in mere moments, his entire body had turned to crystal. But that was only the beginning.
As the dark golden light expanded, more crystalline structures rapidly formed around him, spreading outward from his petrified form.
Everyone stared in stunned silence.
Before their eyes, a colossal golden barrier took shape, growing more solid as the light around the man with the lance intensified.
It was the flawless light of Preservation—an absolute bastion forged from the powerful belief in protecting someone.
Perhaps, so long as that belief remained strong enough, this barrier could withstand anything.
In that instant, far at the edge of the universe, the golden giant paused mid-swing, its city-building hammer hovering still for a brief moment.
This was the Aeon of Preservation itself, acknowledging the strength of that unwavering belief.
The next moment, light erupted. The radiance of the Stellaron burst forth before Bai Heng. Just before the brilliance consumed him, he turned his head slightly, his gentle gaze falling upon the girl not far behind him.
Silver-gray eyes met dark brown ones. This moment had become their final farewell.
What is a final farewell?
It is death. It is irreversible. It is a hand you can no longer hold, a warmth you can no longer feel, an "I'm sorry" you can no longer speak.
But the man seemed to have one last trick up his sleeve.
Though the violent explosion drowned out all sound, his lips moved slightly, carrying a soft whisper to the girl's ears.
He said:
"I'm sorry."
BOOM!
Scorching light swallowed the earth, washing the whole world in blinding whiteness.
By the time the terrifying radiance faded, it had taken the gloom from the skies with it. The warm winter sun rose, heralding the dawn.
Under the gentle light, dark golden dust drifted in the air.
And where Bai Heng had stood moments before, only a broken lance remained, still planted firmly in the ground.
Witnessing it all, a dazed Bronya collapsed to her knees.
--+--
[The man turned himself into a barrier against the Stellaron's radiance, protecting everything he wished to protect.]
[For someone born into the suffering of the underworld, who struggled tirelessly on the path of salvation, he understood nothing of love or joy. He only knew one thing: he wanted to guard her, protect her. That was all.]
As the screen dimmed and these words appeared, everyone in the live stream felt a complex mix of emotions.
When they saw Bai Heng and Bronya fighting side by side, they had thought the story was turning for the better.
That the two would reconcile—even if their relationship couldn't return to what it once was, at least it wouldn't end in drawn blades.
But the sudden eruption of the Stellaron had shattered that hope, steering the ending toward a tragic extreme.
—Bai Heng had turned himself into a barrier, shielding the girl he always wanted to protect from the Stellaron's devastating light.
And in his final monologue, the audience finally received an answer to the question they'd long wondered about:
Just how much did Bai Heng care for Bronya?
With their god's-eye view, they could clearly see the mutual affection between the two.
But long ago, Bai Heng's favorability toward Bronya had stalled at 80, refusing to budge. Even until the very end, that number never changed.
It was something that had always puzzled them.
From previous stories, they knew that 80 was a stage beyond friendship but not quite romance.
Yet what Bai Heng had done for Bronya… surely that was worth not just 80, but 90, or even 100.
It was only after the system's recent explanation that they understood why.
--+--
Kiana: 「So it wasn't that Mr. Bai Heng's affection for Bronya stopped growing... It's just that for someone who didn't understand love, 80 was already the peak...」
Paimon: 「Yeah... He only knew that he wanted to guard her... protect her...」
Himeko: 「And that's exactly why Bai Heng chose to bear all the sin himself. He knew Bronya was meant to carry the hopes of many, to lead Belobog into the dawn. A figure like that... can't be tainted by even a hint of darkness.」
Himeko: 「He helped Bronya grow in his own way. Though it came with pain, she truly became the person she hoped to be.」
Raiden Mei: 「Will the Bronya in that world ever know how Mr. Bai Heng felt...?」
Black Swan: 「I believe she does. Before Mr. Bai Heng left, with his final lesson, Bronya had already gone back to calling him 'Teacher'.」
Black Swan: 「Without a doubt, in that moment, the knot in her heart was undone. She will carry this last lesson with her forever.」
Keqing: 「But in the end... Mr. Bai Heng still left. I really thought this story would have a happy ending...」
Stelle: 「It's all fake! None of it was real! So there were no alternate branches, no good endings! Himeko! I can't tell—I really can't tell what's real anymore!」
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.