"I understand... Elysia, thank you." Michael pulled away from Elysia's embrace. His tears dried instantly. He rubbed his face vigorously with both palms, resuming his usual stern expression.
Looking at his emotionless profile, Elysia pursed her lips, then suddenly reached out and gently poked his cheek.
"..." Michael's mouth twitched slightly. Elysia covered her mouth and burst into laughter.
"I know what you're thinking." After laughing, Elysia put her arm around Michael's shoulder and whispered, "Just now, when I poked your face, did you, for a moment, think I was her?"
"...Mm." Michael's Adam's apple bobbed. He ultimately gave an affirmative answer.
"Sigh..." Elysia sighed softly, then poked Michael's cheek several more times consecutively. "You know, you clearly look like an adult, technically fifty thousand years old, yet sometimes you're as childish as a little kid. Look, this question of whether I am her or not, you've been struggling with it since fifty thousand years ago and still haven't reached a conclusion. But for others, does the answer to this question really matter? Hmm, perhaps only Hua would ponder this question like you? Though she'd be more decisive than you."
"Then... Elysia, for yourself, do you think you are her, or not her?" Michael leaned forward, his gaze vacant, staring at his own feet.
His counter-question was met with Elysia's laughter once more. She kicked the ball back to Michael: "What if I am her? What if I'm not?"
"..." Michael took a sharp, deep breath, a flicker of melancholy crossing his features. "Elysia, tell me... if I firmly believed you are her, that you're still alive, in this way... then everything I've done for the past fifty thousand years, the very reason I reset the world, would be entirely unnecessary, wouldn't it? In that case, I wouldn't need to continue down this path. While I can't make the Honkai disappear directly, I can control it, until the day humanity can fully master its power. A single thought's difference leads to a completely different outcome. Would such an outcome be better? Would it better meet her expectations?"
"Yes, yes, you're right." Elysia used a rare, perfunctory tone, followed by another long sigh. "Sigh... Michael... don't you understand yet? Dwelling on this is meaningless. Since you've already chosen your current path, haven't you already given your answer? Of course, it's not too late to change your mind now, but you're not that kind of person. Michael, you're just so stubborn. You easily get stuck on a problem, agonize and hesitate for a long time, but once you make a choice, you become obstinate to the extreme. In my opinion, what you've done, what you're thinking, the sins you repent for, so what? Mistakes made with the Authority of Finality, can't they just be rectified in the future with the Authority of Finality? Why dwell on it?"
"...Heh, you're right too." Michael closed his eyes, a rare smile appearing. "Indeed... there's really no need to dwell on these issues... I've just been living in the past, always thinking if I had made different decisions back then, the present outcome might be completely different... But the past cannot be changed. Such thoughts might not be wrong, but they are certainly futile and meaningless. Besides moving oneself, nothing will happen."
"Heehee! Looks like you're not hopelessly dense after all!" Elysia gently patted Michael's head, as if comforting a small child.
"Ely... I'm an adult..." How could Michael not sense her attitude? He felt both amused and exasperated.
"Perhaps, but I think your thinking is still stuck at a childish level."
"Firstly, that's a personal attack!" Michael grabbed Elysia's hand as she reached over to ruffle his hair again. "Secondly, childishness is a human definition. No one ever set a quantitative standard for what constitutes childishness, nor did anyone ever say adults absolutely cannot be childish."
Elysia tugged slightly, trying to pull her hand back, but Michael held firm. She soon gave up, letting him rest her hand across his lap.
She knew Michael wasn't this vulnerable outside. Even during that era which now seemed incredibly immature, the face he showed others was never so fragile.
How could humans not be vulnerable? Without vulnerability, strength loses its meaning. Without childishness, maturity loses its meaning.
Humans cannot erase their vulnerability and childishness; they can only choose whom to show these aspects generally deemed negative by societal values.
Obviously, no one would be foolish enough to reveal such an不堪 (unbearable/shameful) side to insignificant people...
People only cry in front of those closest to them; it's likely as simple as that.
She flicked her other hand, a meaningful smile playing on her lips, yet her tone held a hint of helplessness: "Yes, you're right. But... in a girl's eyes, her lover is also her child, just a big child!"
"Heh... True enough." He squeezed Elysia's left hand tightly with both of his, then stood up abruptly with a swish.
"Alright, Elysia. As you said, let the meaningless things end here."
"Are you... leaving?" Elysia's voice dropped slightly. Michael turned his head away, not letting her see the reluctance in his eyes. But besides his gaze, that emotion overflowed from every pore of his body; any attempt at concealment was ultimately just self-deception.
"Reluctant?" Elysia thought for a moment and pointed it out directly.
Michael hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded truthfully.
"Then... stay by my side a little longer? Didn't I say? If you feel tired, if you temporarily don't want to move forward, you don't have to force yourself. Michael, we always have enough time. What difference does it make if you stay by my side for a few more days?"
"Perhaps..."
"Huh?"
Perhaps. If Elysia hadn't said that, perhaps Michael, in a moment of weakness, would have truly immersed himself in the false beauty of the Elysian Realm, staying for years, who knows.
But when she generously offered first, "You don't have to force yourself to do what you don't really want to do right now," and "If you're tired, just rest well by my side," Michael, conversely, became unwilling to linger.
Viewed this way, was Elysia's "consolation" not also a remarkably effective form of encouragement?
The human heart is sometimes like that. Constant encouragement, constant 'chicken soup for the soul,' only leads to annoyance, draining the strength needed to continue forward.
But if someone generously tells you at that moment, "It's okay to be tired, why force yourself to keep going? Come rest here," then that feeling of slackening gradually fades, becoming nil, until finally, one can grit their teeth and continue on the path.
And Michael, at this moment, was exactly like that.
Although he was incredibly reluctant, although he knew Elysia's true intention in saying this was genuinely wanting him to rest longer, and he knew leaving now would surely disappoint her...
But he had to move forward now. To not betray the past fifty thousand years, to not betray all the mistakes committed, and to not betray her love at this moment.
Elysia revealed a wry smile. She too was reluctant for Michael to leave, but she knew she couldn't keep him. And as a memory imprint, the effort she could contribute for him, for this world, ended here.
Still, after waiting fifty thousand years, finally obtaining a ten-minute period alone with Michael, she momentarily didn't know whether to feel bitter or happy.
"Then... where are you going next?" Elysia stood up. Before Michael could answer, she gently covered his mouth with her hand. "Shh! Don't speak. Let me guess... Are you going to find dear Mobius?"
If this were fifty thousand years ago, Michael would undoubtedly twitch his lips, clear his throat, and then spend half an hour thoroughly explaining the "necessity" of seeking out Mobius, until finally, Elysia covered her mouth and nodded, only then would he guiltily take a step.
But times had changed. He was no longer the youth who couldn't even skip a stone across a river...
Just as Elysia said, mistakes made with the Authority of Finality could be rectified in the future with the Authority of Finality. Along with that, mistakes not made due to the Authority of Finality could also be corrected in the future using the Authority of Finality.
Since they could all be corrected in the future, the rightness or wrongness of the present moment didn't seem so important anymore.
Is that really true...
As if knowing Michael's thoughts, just as he lifted his foot to leave, Elysia grasped his hand again.
Michael turned his head in surprise. He thought Elysia wanted to keep him, but unexpectedly, she said nothing, just bit her lower lip.
Her brow furrowed slightly, her eyelashes trembled bit by bit. The meaning in her eyes, Michael understood perfectly—pity.
She had something to say but didn't intend to voice it.
Michael also knew what she wanted to say. It was something predictable without needing the Authority of Sentience, based solely on their understanding of each other:
"Michael, all your suffering actually stems only from... your own almost fragile kindness. If it were someone else, someone utterly unscrupulous, past mistakes would be directly covered up using various authorities. And future mistakes, erased by the predetermined outcome of future correction, wouldn't bring any psychological burden. Only you... you firmly refuse to believe that buried or erased wrongs cease to exist, thus putting immense pressure on yourself, always feeling like some irredeemable sinner..."
"But think carefully, how many people have you actually hurt? And how many have you saved? Of course, this kind of calculation, balancing merits and demerits, is probably unacceptable in your eyes too, right? It's indeed a very, very childish and fragile way of thinking, but... it doesn't matter. I don't dislike it. I love you, precisely because I love this vulnerable you."
She squeezed Michael's hand slightly, seemingly hoping some of the force she applied could transfer to him, providing even a minuscule amount of support.
"Because this vulnerability is proof of the inherent goodness in the human heart. And conversely, the future you are willing to bear such heavy pain to reach must be an incredibly beautiful, perfect, and eagerly anticipated future, right?"
"Mm." Michael squeezed her hand back, answering firmly, "For anyone, that is an incredibly perfect future. This wish alone is the only thing about me that hasn't changed in fifty thousand years, I promise you."
They smiled at each other. Michael's figure quickly dissipated like mist.
Elysia, the Elysia in the Elysian Realm, remained standing there, her left hand still in a grasping posture, only slowly clenching after two or three minutes.
"What a pity!" Crisp laughter echoed in the empty hall. She took two steps back and sat down gently, slowly, back onto the sofa.
"Such a pity, really such a pity..." She turned her head, staring blankly at the shattered stargate, her voice level yet sorrowful: "No matter what, as a memory imprint... I cannot walk towards that future."
"He was here?" A familiar voice sounded beside her ear after a short while. Elysia nodded silently.
MEI didn't say much, just gently pushed up the glasses on her nose, as if everything was within expectation.
...
"That's roughly the situation, Kevin." Having laid out all the information received from last night until now in one breath, Su felt his brain slightly deprived of oxygen.
Intermittent busy tones came from the other end of the communication. Su waited a long time without receiving Kevin's response.
"Ahem, Kevin, are you still there?"
"Clang!... Wait a moment, later... Bang! I'll talk to you!"
"Sigh..." Su leaned back. The bamboo lounge chair swayed, emitting a continuous creaking sound.
He began counting silently in his head. Only when he reached the two-hundredth second did Kevin's call come back through.
"It's me, Kevin. Can you repeat that?"
Su sighed deeply, calmed his emotions, and recounted the situation as concisely as possible.
"So, it's now completely certain that Michael is alive. He even visited the Elysian Realm five thousand years ago, left a message predicting you'd see it five thousand years later? And he arranged a fight with us in Kolosten? Hmph!"
"Things are getting more complicated..." Su rubbed the space between his eyebrows. The area was visibly red and swollen; it wasn't hard to imagine how many times he had repeated this action. "I can't figure out what he's trying to do..."
"No, actually you, actually we, have always known what he wants to do."
"Huh?"
"We've always tried to deduce his purpose based on his actions. Since his actions are too unpredictable, we naturally couldn't reach any conclusions. But, Su, a person's character is their destiny. Put yourself in his shoes, think from his perspective. Do you really not know what he wants?"
Su remained silent for a long while before bitterly uttering two words: "Elysia..."
But he quickly refuted this himself: "No, precisely because I understand his character, I know even better. He certainly loves Elysia, but he's not the type to completely disregard the world for her sake. Besides, if he really did that, that wouldn't be what Elysia wanted, right?"
"Perhaps. But do you have any other explanation?"
"No..."
"Then let's just assume everything he does is solely for reviving Elysia."
Su was momentarily speechless. He could feel the deep resentment in Kevin's words, but whether this resentment was directed at himself or Michael, he couldn't say.
But overall, he could roughly understand Kevin's thinking: Michael wanted Elysia alive; didn't he, Kevin, want MEI alive? MEI's situation was equally complicated. From his and Kevin's perspective, the cause of MEI's death was undoubtedly the Judgment of Shamash Kevin unleashed. But if Michael hadn't rashly become Finality and reset the world, how would any of this have happened?
Su even felt that Kevin certainly wasn't sure if Michael's actions were solely for reviving Elysia, but he hoped so. It would make him envious—didn't he also want to desperately seek the possibility of reviving MEI? But the weight he carried made it impossible for him to be "desperate."
"Then... regarding what he said, about the battle in Kolosten, what do you think, Kevin?"
"He wants a fight? Then let's fight."
"No... Kevin, you..." Su rubbed his swollen brow again. He had moved past the initial state of excitement, so he felt increasingly that this battle was unwinnable.
Fifty thousand years ago, Kevin, with the support of the SELENE and Hua, briefly entered the so-called [Deliverance] state, managing to land a blow that severely wounded Michael.
Now, the SELENE was long destroyed, Hua's stance was unknown, possibly even leaning towards Michael. Kevin's body suffered irreversible damage from that excessive ICHOR overload, making him unable to re-enter that state. And current human combat strength was still too weak.
Under these circumstances, what were the chances of victory against Michael?
"I know what you're thinking, Su. But do you think Michael chose now for this battle for no reason? My condition has recovered significantly now. Why didn't he make a move during the previous fifty thousand years?"
"Er..."
"That battle fifty thousand years ago, perhaps he himself was severely injured and has only recovered somewhat now. At least he believes he has recovered enough strength to suppress you and me..."
"No, Kevin, there's no evidence to prove what you're saying..."
"...I know. But we must fight. Do you think there's any possibility of hiding?"
Su shook his head. He felt Kevin was being too impulsive now, but he was also right. Fight or not, the fight was coming. Besides trusting selectively, what else could they do?
"What's your plan?"
"Combat is just a process of adding weights to a scale. He thinks his weight combined exceeds ours. Then we'll find other weights and catch him off guard."
"You plan to find..."
"I'm in Australia. Just repelled a girl holding the Key of Domination. I should be able to see Hua soon."
"..." Su didn't know how to respond.
Even if, even if Kevin successfully pulled Hua onto his side, then...
"Kevin, haven't you forgotten about Mobius?"
Su asked this, but received no reply for a long time. Only then did he realize Kevin had already hung up.
Looks like he plans to be stubborn till the end.