For the blessings of this wonderful world.
"Um… It seems this Penacony isn't as wonderful as it looks on the surface." Darkness crossed her arms, her armor clinking crisply. "There are even Pepeshi committing suicide. The pressure of life in these sweet dreams must be really heavy."
"Hey hey hey, can this kind of high-intensity daily work really be called a sweet dream? I think it's more like a nightmare within a nightmare, right?"
Kazuma thought back to when he and Aqua had just arrived in the new world. He had thought they were about to start a wonderful isekai adventure, but instead it was starting with a single bowl and all equipment earned through part-time jobs… Forget subjugating monsters; just finishing a day of work left him exhausted, to the point where he even ended up sleeping in a stable with Aqua.
Sure enough, these so-called wonderful worlds were only wonderful in appearance… Kazuma felt a little more balanced inside, which made him completely give up on his longing for Penacony—even if he went there, he'd probably just end up doing part-time work somewhere else.
"But why did Miss Acheron say that when one becomes addicted to ease and pleasure in the dream, death becomes inevitable?" Aqua looked at Kazuma and asked in confusion. "Isn't that quite wonderful?"
"I don't really understand it either… but it's probably related to human nature, right? If someone feels very happy when drinking, but drinking every day will eventually make them numb. They might start seeking better and more wine? In short, the happiness of people in this dream isn't fixed. It will gradually inflate with each satisfaction until—'bang!' The entire Penacony explodes?" Kazuma made a gesture of something bursting open.
"Well, although it seems like you didn't understand Miss Acheron's meaning at all, it does sound somewhat reasonable. It's rare for such profound words to come out of your mouth…"
——
["…Miss Acheron, allow me to share a story with you?"]
[Welt recalled: "In my homeland, there was a man who, when the world faced wounds that were difficult to heal, made a decision. He wove together the dreams of everyone in the world, connecting people's dreamscapes to one another, and bore it all on his own body. From this, he created a giant—a [Spiritual Adam]."]
["From then on, that giant stood between heaven and earth, becoming the pillar supporting the continued existence of the entire world. As the price, those who could not move forward, those unable to advance… they would forever lose their future."]
["They slumbered in dreams without disaster or suffering, living peaceful lives in the ideal paradise created by the man. And the [Spiritual Adam] would become indestructible because of these people's wish to never awaken…"]
[Acheron said calmly: "But you stand here now, which means… that man failed."]
[Welt nodded: "Because people must always walk toward the future. Even if the weaknesses of human nature make them stop, when they truly cannot move forward… humans will definitely try to save themselves."]
["And that man… he was never a failure. Like everyone in that world, he kept the possibilities of humanity in his heart. He was the sun-chaser of myth, flying toward the heavens, and achieved his final victory through his fall."]
——
Honkai Impact 3rd.
"So in the end, I lost?"
Inside the World Serpent base, Kevin looked up at the Celestial Screen. He quietly gazed at Welt's face, carefully and repeatedly recalling the words he had just spoken.
It felt like something had seeped into his heart. The temperature was not scorching, yet it carried a long-lasting warmth that made one's heart palpitate—like sunlight that had crossed fifty thousand years, shining upon a hard and cold place deep in his heart.
Although he had imagined the failure of the Stigmata Plan, he had never dared to believe it—until Welt on the Celestial Screen personally said it, only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.
His shoulders sank slightly, as if he had shed invisible shackles, and even his always-straight back relaxed a little.
What surprised even himself was that after learning the "answer," his brain went blank for dozens of seconds.
"..."
The successors would give better answers. This meant the road ahead was no longer lonely and eternal perseverance, but that someone would take over the inscription of "saving the world" and lead the world to a better future.
"Lord, you…"
Raven widened her eyes in surprise, because she saw the corner of Kevin's mouth actually curve into a faint arc. It was not a sneer or mockery, but a genuine smile. This smile was so unfamiliar, like a new sprout breaking through permafrost, that it made her dazed for a moment.
Kevin slowly stood up.
"Lord, where are you going?" Raven asked from behind.
"I have already received the answer I wanted, so…" Kevin's voice was unlike his usual tone, like melting snowflakes gently falling to the ground.
"…I want to see them."
——
[Acheron said appreciatively: "Very much in line with the Trailblaze spirit of the Nameless."]
["Thank you, Mr. Welt. I know what you want to confirm. There are countless similar yet different worlds in the universe. In these worlds, there are also countless similar yet different people."]
["I have also embarked on journeys and encountered people with similar appearances—[old acquaintances]—in different worlds, witnessing their fates follow familiar trajectories. Therefore, I will tell you… although not entirely the same, the story you described… overlaps with my past. And in that bottomless dream…"]
[Acheron said word by word: "…I ended that man's life, alone."]
[Welt sighed regretfully.]
[Acheron shook her head: "I am not the person you know, and my homeland was not as fortunate as your world."]
["…I am very sorry."]
["It's fine. If this can dispel your doubts, I don't mind."]
["But I still want to know, under the appearance of [The Hunt], Miss Acheron, what kind of 'power' exactly drives you to walk alone until now." Welt said.]
["…Mr. Welt, before answering this question, I want to continue the previous topic." Acheron said, "I quite like your metaphor. Indeed, birds are born to fly, but in the distant past, their ancestors could only look up at the sky from the ground."]
["They saw that distant light from beyond the heavens piercing through the clouds and illuminating the earth. So time and time again, generation after generation, birds spread their wings and flew high, trying to touch the zenith, simply because the sun was there."]
["Then, if the last bird finally flies into the sky and sees that the end of the light is not the sun, but a black sun (a black hole that devours everything)…" Acheron looked up at Penacony's star-studded night sky.]
["Then what exactly… are we walking toward the light for?"]