The Fire-Chasing Herrscher Who Destroyed the World

"Who is it?" - Mikael did not ask such a boring question, nor did he feel angry or confused because of the man's strange words. He just turned around calmly and looked at the person behind him. A man whose body outline and facial features are blurred.

The man looked like a human-shaped mosaic, and nothing could be seen clearly. The only thing that could be identified was his casual and ordinary clothes and the length of his black hair.

In the blurry mosaic, Mikael saw that the man looked down at his own shape, and then waved his hand with some apology:

"Ah, I'm sorry, I don't want to see people in such a hidden way, but this is not determined by my will - after all, I have traveled through countless space and time to get here. Although it is just a projection, It’s been so weakened that I can’t show my true appearance at all.”

"So, what is your purpose."

Mikael asked calmly.

He raised his head again and looked at the bright and gorgeous galaxy, which should not have appeared in this imaginary space, and asked:

"But no, that's not fair to you."

"Um...are you so unwilling to see us appear?"

"The light that illuminates imaginary numbers is not starlight, but spans a distance farther than time. It comes from the yearning for beauty of people in this world and another, or even more worlds. They are not flawless, let alone brilliant, but Because of this, the brilliance of humanity that blooms because of them has the power to turn everything around.”

Mikael covered his forehead with difficulty.

However, the cheek that was poked by the index finger swelled.

Mosaic tilted his head and continued:

"It's a bit troublesome to explain specifically, but in terms of results, these stars...well, that is, a ray of consciousness of all the people who have seen this story, were indeed integrated by me...uh, no, by me...ha , I guess you were led here."

The brilliance of humanity in the sky falls in the form of starlight, fate and time are quietly moving, and a certain inconspicuous branch on the tree of imaginary numbers is also twisting silently, it is crazy like a maggot It was twitching and twisting in place, as if something was blocking it from moving forward.

Mikael picked up the question that he had interrupted before.

"Include your story... no, it's not as simple as including."

"I didn't expect that I would be able to fully understand the truth of the world at this time. If you had come earlier, my plan for my ending might be different from now."

Ellie felt something was wrong with him, so she held his hand tighter.

Mikael's Adam's apple kept rolling up and down, and his lips trembled and moved upward, but he was speechless.

"Well, we will meet again eventually."

"Don't look at me like you're crazy. Don't you always look like this yourself..."

There is no more appropriate sentence to describe the scene than this.

"..."

Her nose seemed to be blocked by something, and her speech was muffled. Because of the close distance, Ellie's face became clearer. Mikael only saw her suddenly burst into laughter and pointed at his nose.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Is this so..."

Doubted see tears in their eyes, even Yuning choke.

Mikael quickly realized that he accidentally got a big snot bubble from his nose. He could only cover his nose with his hand and suck in. At the same time, he felt embarrassed and felt that this scene seemed familiar.

"So, what are your plans?"

"Uh...forgive me for talking, what are you going to do?"

Mr. Mosaic raised his head and pointed at the bright stars in the sky.

"How should I put it..."

"Mikael, you probably forgot one thing - the person you are willing to betray the world for is also willing to do the same thing for you."

"It seems that you really don't like this...but it's not something I can decide."

"That's right..."

Mr. Mosaic crossed his arms in front of him, obviously not surprised by Mikael's decision.

Mosaic scratched his head in embarrassment, because Mikael and Alicia were facing each other, holding hands, neither responding to his words nor saying anything to each other.

The man who could be called [Mosaic] covered his forehead and said a series of strange words.

"Uh... In terms of results, it's like this."

Mikael sneered, unable to tell whether he should be happy or unhappy.

He raised his right hand tremblingly and slowly poked Ellie's cheek with his index finger.

"That's right. The situation at that time was indeed dangerous for Kiana and the others, but I just used the remaining final power to swallow up a large number of imaginary numbers to give it a final try. As long as they persist for a while, until The final power remaining in my body is no longer enough to control such a large amount of imaginary internal energy, and they will naturally win without your help.

Mikael's body trembled, and a bitter smile spread at the corners of his mouth, which soon turned into a hesitant pull.

"I'm definitely not a god anymore. If I were a god...well, well, actually I still think it's quite unreal. After all, in my own world, I'm just an ordinary person who can't be more ordinary. I have super powers. I don’t have it, and I don’t have the ability to do it. At most, when others are doing practical things, I will be in a daze and think about some stories that are not there... Now it seems that those stories may not have been ‘thought’ by me, but just based on the ‘Imagine’ a story that exists in another world observed in this way.”

"Ah, I see - you're angry that we interfered in that battle, right?"

But that look wasn't asking for advice.

His response was like floating duckweed, but the next moment, he held Alicia's hand tightly, and his voice became firm and loud again——

Mosaic nodded hurriedly, and then, he stepped aside, revealing the person who had been hiding behind him - in fact, Mikael's vision had long been blurred due to lack of strength, so that he did not notice the figure behind Mosaic at all. .

"Just like you can't violate the rules of imaginary numbers even if you are the end, I am not free either. It is not me who breaks the dimensional wall, but another person, including me who can use part of the time power here to Talking to you in this way is also the gift of that power. I said that in my world, I am just an ordinary person with neither superpowers nor money abilities, and the arrival of us breaking the dimensional wall. In a sense, it's 'something that will definitely happen'. Oh, by the way... I almost forgot that in your memory, the memory of "Honkai Impact III" is actually only "the story that exists because of you". 】Bar?"

Even now, the outline of the figure is only slightly clearer than the mosaic.

"Many scholars believe that the reason why late Homo sapiens were able to stand out and establish civilization was because they had the ability to tell stories. Through stories, they developed religion and then updated the form of social organization, thus having the ability to defeat other animals and human species. But these are too far away. If they are closer, aren't they based on stories? But if you want to be unhappy... I do have some. "

"forget it……"

"Equivalent exchange is one of the unchanging laws on the imaginary number side. The authority to modify the imaginary number tree is a threshold for entry, and behind the threshold is a scale. Theoretically speaking, as long as there are enough chips placed on one side of the scale weight, you can replace it to get the results you want.”

"Quick thinking, bold conjectures, and careful verification... Really, you may be a little different from what they have in mind."

"joke?"

"Hey! Mikael, I'm very angry right now. Tell yourself, how should you compensate me?"

When it came to business, Mikael quickly came to his senses, but because Ellie was by his side, he just stared at Mr. Mosaic in confusion.

But how can people born in a peaceful era really look at this warrior who they keep calling weak, but who has actively turned his life into bullets and pressed them into the barrel of his gun countless times, and who has walked on the edge of life and death countless times.

"Then...there are some other things. You don't need me to remind you, right? Because the [bodies] of Shiyuan and Zhenyan have been replaced by Mei and Kiana, so after leaving here, you and her are both Ordinary people. In addition, since the ending you want includes [the continuation of our era]... I don’t know what the world will be like in the past, but there is a high probability that what you are familiar with will be. The heroes and heroines will probably all follow their hearts and return to their original life trajectory. The only exception is Hua, who is deeply involved in modern civilization and is a herrist. But because of your existence, she may also return to the possibility of the past. This means that once this happens, your time is limited. What do you think? It's still too late to regret it."

Even though he knew that Mikael was now at a level where he could knock down any adult with one punch. He could no longer even walk to the nearby tree of imaginary numbers with his own strength.

"So, when I put my memory of this story on one end of the scale, what actually serves as a weight is the fate of countless people in another distant world. Although we are all ordinary people without superpowers, our fate may It’s also insignificant, but the long distance, countless dimensional walls, and world barriers have magnified these deviations of fate countless times, and the power within them has also been magnified countless times, which is enough.”

They were about to forget each other, holding each other's hands tightly and looking at each other, as if they wanted to completely melt each other's existence in their eyes.

"Ah……"

Before he could react, the left cheek felt slightly cold, and it was Alicia's index finger that gently poked his face.

Mosaic scratched the back of his neck, looking a little guilty. Even if he couldn't see his face clearly, you might as well make a bold guess that cold sweat was dripping from his face.

"Do you want to continue to resist [destiny]? I thought that since Alicia sacrificed herself, you have gone from resisting fate to promoting fate."

"Huh? I would have liked to have met him, but there probably wasn't - not even in a dream. Uh... but it's also possible that I dreamed about it but forgot about it."

"After helping Kiana and the others solve my problem, everything in this world has returned to normal - no, not yet, but as long as I finish the last thing, everything can truly return to normal. On track.”

"No……"

"What's wrong, Mikael, you...don't you want to live?"

"This story is quite important to me. This is not the first story that I have 'observed', but it is the first story that I have put into words from beginning to end... You know what this means Does it mean that I am the first person to observe your story, I..."

Mikael narrowed his eyes calmly.

"The person who saves the world is not me, but all the people in the past, present and future who have seen it and hope that this story will have a happy ending.

Mikael pursed his lips and looked at Ellie beside him.

In front of his eyes was a pink color that was constantly walking towards him. Against the background of the blood-like sand, the pink color did not become blurred, but instead became clearer.

But Mosaic still didn’t understand the atmosphere and was making unnecessary explanations:

"The so-called [other person] is actually her. After all, we come from another world that is too far away. It is almost impossible to observe a complete story by our own will. Even if we can do it, Among countless possibilities in countless worlds, how could it be exactly this one?

Mikael's time was not imprisoned, but he was stunned and motionless.

Ellie closed her eyes, raised her chin, and brought her face up. As long as Mikael lowered his head slightly, he could easily kiss her. Even Mosaic understood this and even took the initiative to cover his face with his hands. , turned around.

"Putting it into words... Wait, you, a guy who can't speak clearly, must have written this into a novel..."

This is the most confident and proud thing Mr. Mosaic has said so far.

It seemed like a long time passed before Mikael sniffed and spoke first:

"You obviously had your suspicions when you heard me say 'resorting to words', so why should you pretend to be surprised now?"

Mikael laughed twice, his smile full of loneliness, disappointment, and... a renewed and fleeting fighting spirit.

He said.

"Well, but..."

"Then it'll be the same as last time - we won't say goodbye. Because... we will meet again eventually."

"I believe that most people will forget it soon after reading your stories, because they still have too many stories to read and their own stories to create. But one day, when they face When making certain important or unimportant decisions, they may inadvertently think of you and your stories, or they may regard you as a negative example, or they may gain the strength to move forward from your stories. In short, your stories. It has long been entangled with the fate of the people who have read this story, and they will never be able to get rid of it.

"Then what do you think - hide the memory of all this from you, yourself, and everyone who knows you except the Herrscher whose memory cannot be modified. Because the power of the origin has already existed and has been replaced by Mei, so Alicia will forget all this, and you and she will be strangers to them. Only you can recall everything that has happened so far without being reminded. Only then will everyone's memories return, and we will also have the opportunity to observe this story again - of course, if you want us to observe this story, you may need to make some efforts on your own, so you should be able to accept it. Right? We will turn the ending into something good but not perfect, and it’s up to you to make it perfect.”

"You guy...couldn't..."

"No, I...I do want to continue living. To this end, I am willing to give up my principles and accept help from forces outside the world. However, I also do not want such help to be unrequited. For the same reason- - This will make me instinctively hope that you will come back and help me at any cost when I encounter difficulties in the future.”

Mosaic thought about it for a long time, but it seemed that he couldn't find the right words to express it, so what he finally said was a bit weird and jerky.

Just a long look at each other.

Mr. Mosaic laughed silently - even though his face was distorted by the large mosaic and could not be seen clearly, both Mikael and Ellie could feel his smile.

"I am willing, and I think they are willing too. Only in this way can this story have a perfect ending."

Ellie rarely ended her words with a sneer, but Mikael giggled while letting cold sweat continue to flow from his forehead.

Mosaic shook his head quite hard.

Mr. Mosaic sighed softly, and then walked alone to the Tree of Imaginary Numbers not far away.

"This is Mikael!"

If I had known that sometimes I would behave more normally, I don’t know if those details would be observed or expressed in words.

"Who knows, at least my heart just started beating again."

"So, is that 'higher dimensional being' that Su saw before, also you?"

"What you are doing is completely interfering in the critical moment when the chicks are hatching. It will only make them unable to help but expect miracles to appear again when they encounter insurmountable difficulties in the future, instead of trying to persevere and relying on their own strength." power to win.”

"Yes, during the 50,000 years you carried the pain and tried to save her, her personality preserved by you never gave up observing outside for a moment, and that kind of observation is equivalent to asking for help. Because she knows how you are As a person, you always like to prioritize your own life as a bet in battles from the beginning. How could she not guess the way you use to save the world and atone for your sins?

"Do you still remember the first sentence I said - you can't walk this last section of the road. If you go down that road, it will be a bad end. We are not here to help Kiana, Mei and Bloo Nia's victory over you is just an act to confirm the power behind the dimensional wall. We only came here at her call, and there is only one thing we want - to let this unhappy story have its own ending. Happy ending...uh, are you listening?"

"I'm sorry, this time I made my own decision. If I can really recall all this, I will apologize to you."

"Don't get me wrong, I don't want to see you. I don't hate the act of observation. I have observed countless worlds in world bubbles, and I have also observed many branches and leaves on the tree of imaginary numbers. When I observed those worlds, I was not In order to seek some kind of answer or meaning, I was just bored and wanted to read a story.

"Okay, okay, there's no need for this..."

If you ignore Kevin who was pushed down on the sand but still kept smiling and reaching out.

"I would like to make another exchange based on the first exchange - using something of mine in exchange for the possibility of you observing this story again."

Mosaic did not move. He stared closely at the man in front of him who was completely in the wind, as if he was carefully examining Mikael, but his subconscious movement of half a step back revealed his fear.

If all my life, if everything I did was watched by everyone, it would not be uncomfortable, but I would feel a little... embarrassed.

"One thing, Su may have told you, or maybe not - when a being is farther away from the world he observes, his knowledge becomes broader, but the interference he can make is smaller. When the distance is extremely far, Unless it happens to be observed by some being in this world, he can't make any interference at all.

“Including my story?”

After a full two or three minutes, Mosaic put his hand on his chest and waved it as if he had just woken up from a dream. He quickly pressed his chest with one palm and sighed with a breath of air:

"If I had known better, I wouldn't have made such a joke with you. It's a bit too much..."

"But we do."

"As I said, this story is very important to me, and it is also important to them."

"So, what is the purpose of your presence here."

"If I forget this story, the world line I am in will also change. After all, I am the first person to observe this story. If I forget this story and never put it into words, not only my own The fate will become completely different, and they will not observe all this. In this way, the fate of too many distant worlds will change.

"I think both of these terms are unfair to describe me."

"Yeah, yeah."

Mikael was a little relieved, but also lowered his head a little sadly.

"...Is that really the case...Then should I call you [Father] or [Mikael]?"

Although Mikael's tone had always been calm, Mosaic, who knew him well, seemed to find some disgust in those concealed emotions.

"Even if it is just a novel that hits the street, it itself has a certain power as a retelling of your story. It does not mean that people who have read your story will definitely understand something or find any meaning. This is naturally impossible. Nor was my intention in putting this story into words.

"Ah, I'm sorry, just think of it as my own emotion."

"Okay, that's enough."

After a while, Mikael raised his head and said:

Mikael frowned slightly. He looked at the blurry mosaic, his lips parted for a moment, and then he quickly clenched them.

Mikael tilted his head, and a disdainful smile emerged from the corner of his mouth.

Mikael smiled, and Alicia smiled too.

"Um?"

But in the end, the branch finally broke through the invisible shackles and extended towards the unobservable future.

It's just that the disgust doesn't seem to be directed at [beings] like him or them.

"Actually, I woke up when you handed me to Mei Yi. It looked exactly like 50,000 years ago. It took me a long time to catch up, but as soon as I came I heard what you were saying, 'I can no longer catch up.' I love her', haha..."

But Mikael just smiled and took a step back, touched his nose, scratched the back of his head, and said like a fool:

"I...I will listen to you."

"No matter how you look like this, you don't look like a god from a higher dimension."

"If I feel correctly, this is the force from outside the world that defeated me before. I know Ai Hyperion Λ, although I have not communicated with her, but as a person born in a time crystal Life, I don’t think she has the ability to actively break the dimensional wall, so... is it you?”

Ellie opened her eyes, pouted dissatisfied, then took Mikael's arm briskly, turned around and leaned to his side, gently supported him, and waved to Mosaic:

"Mr. Author from another world, I will trouble you for the next thing!"

"How did you come."

Mosaic shrugged awkwardly.

"I want to live! I want to live...but..."

With that simple movement, it was as if electricity flowed from Ellie's fingertips and instantly penetrated his body. As his whole body was excited, all the memories merged together, and his vision couldn't help but become blurred again.

"Of course I understand this, but... since it is to correct all the sins I have committed, my existence itself is the most suitable thing to put on the scale. Apart from this, I have nothing and can't find anything to replace it. "

Ellie's eyes were a little dim, but she did not deny Mikael's decision, but asked:

"That is to say...Mikael, after this, we will not know each other for a long time, right?"

Mikael nodded slightly, then forced himself to stand up, putting his arms on the shoulders of Kevin, who stood like a popsicle because of the time pause.

Mikael frowned, the man in front of him... Mosaic, he seemed to know him quite well. Not to mention how in-depth it is, but at least some of his habits are quite familiar and commonplace - just half a sentence is enough to get so much information.

But colors don't lie.

At this point, a story has truly come to an end, but what follows immediately is a new beginning.

Will they meet again?

Will they still love each other?

In the last moment before the memory disappeared as promised, Mr. Mosaic looked back. Next to Kevin, who fell to the ground with a smile and stretched out his hand, they hugged each other tightly.

Of course they will meet again, they will meet again, they will meet again in any corner of this world that still exists and will continue to exist, and then, towards a better tomorrow - (End of this chapter)