He must become a Fusion Warrior, become Satan. This is his will. Unless Kalpas kills him, Lumine will still go to the operating table to become a Fusion Warrior.
She couldn't change his fate, but... she could change the process. At the very least, she wouldn't leave him to face his destiny alone anymore.
"Hey, Brother Kalpas, Brother Kalpas, calm down! We have other ways to find Brother Lumine!" Pado quickly stepped in to smooth things over.
Kalpas then looked at Pado and said, "You speak!"
"We can find Sister Vil-V, she definitely knows, and she appears on Twilight Street from time to time. We can wait for her here!" Pado said. Brother Kalpas will be responsible for bringing Lumine out, and she'll take him along to live as chivalrous thieves—a win-win situation, right?
"That woman?" Kalpas thought for a moment. "Alright, I'll let you off this time, Aponia, next time…"
"Um... Brother Kalpas, have you thought about where you'll stay while you're waiting for Sister Vil-V?"
A thousand eons of silence.
"You can work here as a porter, just like before. There are empty rooms available," Aponia said. Kalpas glared at Aponia fiercely, then went to find the room he had lived in in his previous life.
"Phew... Sister Nia, you really have to thank me for saving the day this time." Pado wiped the cold sweat from her forehead. "Kalpas is still as scary when he's angry..."
Aponia didn't answer. She simply looked up at the setting sun and thought to herself, "I can't save you from that eternal quagmire, but this time, Lumine, I won't let you sink into it alone."
In the distance, Vil-V watched the whole process and muttered to herself, "So everyone has been reborn, which means Elysia might also be reborn... Hmm, does that mean I'm going to have to compete with Elysia for his affections?" On one side is the person she likes the most, and on the other side is her best friend. What should she do if she wants both?
Suddenly, her gaze shifted, and her entire demeanor turned malevolent: "Hmph... So what? She missed her chance before, that's her problem. We're all on the same starting line now. Besides, if Lumine was also reborn, he and Elysia would have even less of a chance!" Unlike others, Vil-V's rebirth brought with it eight personalities, though her control over their emergence wasn't as strong, often resulting in sudden switching. The personality currently appearing was the "[Evil]," which was originally sealed away—all her arrogance. As for why it wasn't sealed, that was, of course, due to someone who persuaded her to allow Extreme Evil to emerge.
Vil-V looked in another direction.
That was the entrance to Twilight Street. Eden, surrounded by bodyguards, walked towards the orphanage where Aponia was located.
A noodle shop in the Far East.
Kevin and Su sat facing each other. One had a blank expression, the other squinted. Both were reborn, and both carried the habits from their previous lives, especially Su. He was used to closing his eyes and would often do so unintentionally, but now, not being a fusion warrior, he obviously couldn't see anything if he closed his eyes. So he had to settle for squinting; although his field of vision was reduced, at least he wouldn't see nothing at all.
As for Kevin, he was just used to maintaining this blank expression as a hero, and besides, when fighting the later stages of the Honkai... how could he possibly laugh about all that trivial stuff?
Lumine is an exception; his situation is different.
The thought that person could still laugh despite enduring the constant agony of being encased in lava, and the thought that person couldn't laugh after the tragedy of the Restraint...
Kevin always hated himself for not being strong enough to defeat the Honkai as everyone had hoped for him.
"Kevin, what are you planning to do?" Su asked.
"When the Third Honkai occurs, just like before, I will join the Firemoth with Mei, and then… I'll have him join my team. If possible, I'll try to prevent him from meeting Elysia," Kevin said. He knew, of course, that Elysia liked Lumine, but… he also knew that Lumine's initial reason for fighting the Honkai was for Elysia. If Lumine hadn't fallen for Elysia in the first place, would his later suffering have been lessened? But if Elysia was also reborn… she probably wouldn't let go so easily.
Su paused for a moment, then said, "So, before the Third Great Honkai occurs, are you planning to do nothing?"
"What can I do?" Kevin countered. "You and I both know that the Honkai occurs randomly, and the Herrschers are also randomly born during the Great Honkai. With our current abilities, we simply cannot stop the Honkai from happening."
"You're right," Su sighed softly.
Kevin looked down at the bowl where the noodles were gone and said, "Su, you didn't participate in our battle against the End, so you probably can't understand how we felt back then… Lumine stood there alone, and even after burning out all his life, he didn't fall. Only when I promised him, promised that humanity would defeat the Honkai, did his eyes close and his body slowly dissipate… Do you understand how I felt back then?"
"I understand…" Su's narrowed eyes closed completely. He was thinking about the Twelfth Herrscher incident. Aponia said it was her sin, that the tragedy occurred because she had placed a "command" on Lumine, forbidding him from harming members of the Fire Moth. But Su knew very well that Aponia's commandment was ineffective against Lumine. That meant that at that time, the reason Lumine did not resist was not because of the commandment, but because of his own will.
Su didn't tell anyone about his discovery; he didn't want to intensify the grief and anger of others.
This is a truth that even Enlightened One cannot let go of.
Both of them fell silent.
A certain mansion.
The bloodstains on Sakura's blade signaled the completion of her mission and the receipt of her desired reward—in the area where the collapse had recently occurred, she was now merely an assassin, not a member of the Fire Moth. In her previous life, she had joined the Fire Moth after her failed assassination attempt on Mei. Nagazora City was now safe and sound; the Third Collapse had clearly not occurred.
She only cares about where that person is.
Now that everything has been reset, she will absolutely not allow the tragedy of the Twelfth Herrscher to repeat itself, for Rin's sake, and for his. This time, she will join the Flame Chaser ahead of time and fight alongside him.
"Lumine, this time, please let me protect you..."
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