"Xin Yu, I'm not the kind of bastard who would complacently accept whatever others do for me without feeling anything in my heart. I saw every moment you helped me, I could see your sacrifices made without expecting anything in return. If you were doing this with a purpose, that would be one thing, but you don't seek any reward, don't ask for any reason, just selflessly dedicate yourself, helping everyone in a way that's almost self-destructive."
"I admit that my feelings for you contain a sense of indebtedness and also pity for you. But the so-called beginning of love often just starts with the other person's appearance, their temperament, their conversation. So-called love at first sight, in the beginning, is often just attraction sparked by appearance."
"Only through continuous interaction does that pure desire in our hearts transform into true love. Xin Yu... I thank you for everything you've done for me. The sacrifices you've made for me are precisely the source of the emotions I'm expressing to you now."
"...Can you give me a chance? Xin Yu?"
(Is this how you cope with the void? Useless. What's false is ultimately false.)
Kiana extended her hand towards Xin Yu. Xin Yu silently watched Kiana reaching out to him. At this moment, he felt his lips were unusually dry, his throat a little itchy, and an inexplicable emotion churned within him. He opened his mouth and said in a small voice, as if trying to escape:
"I have a lover. Although she has passed away, if it's possible in the future, I will use my abilities to bring her back... Kiana, let's just forget it, I..."
"It's Yae Sakura, right? I have memories of her, of everything she suffered before history unfolded, and also of her as recorded in the historical documents after it happened..."
"Yes..."
"Xin Yu, can you... count me in too?"
Kiana knew she must be saying something incredibly crazy right now. But from what had just happened, she could sense that Xin Yu was actually not alright.
That "Xin Yu" in the depths of his consciousness... there must have been something he hadn't said.
Although Kiana didn't know if doing this was right or wrong, her intuition told her that Xin Yu was extremely vulnerable at this moment. If she took this opportunity to confess her feelings, it would definitely leave an extremely deep impression on his heart.
(Tsk.)
Xin Yu looked at Kiana in disbelief. She... she's... How am I supposed to continue this conversation?
Kiana looked at Xin Yu, who was hesitating, still unwilling to act. She smiled helplessly, took the initiative to step forward, and, to his slightly bewildered expression, grasped his hand.
Kiana held Xin Yu's hands with both of hers. Xin Yu could even feel the warmth from Kiana's hands spreading through his own and into his body, bit by bit.
"Xin Yu, perhaps you don't understand what I mean by saying these things now, but I want to tell you that everything you've seen has already changed, changed by your own hands. And this is the real world, no longer those illusory works you've seen..."
"Perhaps in your perception, I was always supposed to love Raiden Mei, and love her for a lifetime without any change. But this is reality..."
"The changes brought about by everything you've done have already altered that."
"...Xin Yu, it's precisely because you acted, precisely because you changed things, precisely because you saved me from almost all the tragedies of my past life, that I fell in love with you..."
"Perhaps you don't love me right now, perhaps you're very confused about everything that's happening, but please remember, I love you. So, could you please also try to love yourself a little? When you're making sacrifices, please think that there will be people who will cry because of your sacrifices, people who will feel sorrow because of your pain... You are so kind, can you really bear to see those who love you cry and grieve because of the sacrifices you make?"
"So, before you fall in love with me, please love yourself first."
Xin Yu looked at Kiana, who was gazing at him with gentle eyes, at the love contained within them, at her face as beautiful as a goddess.
Something from his past was touched within his heart.
Scenes appeared in Xin Yu's fragmented memories.
It was Kiana in Valkyrie armor, leaping down from a great height. It was Kiana with wings of light unfurled on her back, like a moon goddess. It was Kiana afterwards, wandering, her long hair loose, her eyes one gold and one blue, matured and grown. It was Kiana who had faced her past, wielding a greatsword ablaze with fire, carrying everyone's wishes, forging a future ahead...
Those faces, each symbolizing a different period of Kiana's life, finally converged into the Kiana who was now smiling gently, looking at him.
This is the girl I watched grow up in another world.
(Through the screen.)
Instantly, those complex feelings from the past, those fragmented memories of bygone days, all transformed into sharp blades that completely shattered the defensive lines within Xin Yu's heart.
(Take it. This is the past you wanted. Go and love, love to your heart's content! Haha, you can't hear me anyway, how boring.)
He pulled his hand free from her grasp and opened his arms, embracing the Kiana before him.
"...Sorry, Kiana, for making you worry. It's true that I don't love you enough right now. I will try to correct my way of thinking, I will try to change my mindset bit by bit, learn to love myself, respect you all, and stop myself from casually hurting myself anymore."
"But I also have to tell you, I still want to try and change those tragedies. Of course, not in the same bottomless way as before. Although I don't know where this ability comes from, nor do I know its limits, since I have this ability, I want to try."
"Thank you for your love, thank you for everything you've said, thank you for once again giving me a home in this world... I am lucky, I am incredibly lucky, that you could fall in love with me."
"But the future I've changed isn't enough yet. Believe me, it might cost a great deal now, but as I continue to grow in the future, I will save your mother, Raiden Mei's mother, and many of those who died, at a very small cost and without harming myself."
"I told you, I will bear your sins, I will take responsibility for your mistakes. I will rectify all the wrong measures you took in the past, I will save everyone you once hurt. I will make you truly happy, with no trace of shadow in your heart, living the life you want."
"...Meeting you, I am also very happy. This is the luckiest thing that has ever happened to me in my life."
The two embraced, feeling each other's heartbeats, the warmth of each other's bodies.
Yae Sakura spent 200 years teaching Xin Yu what love is.
And Kiana shattered the hidden darkness in Xin Yu's heart, giving him a true anchor in this world, allowing him to once again love a real, existing person.
At this moment, Xin Yu had the most stable anchor in this world. He would no longer be lost in space-time, nor would he be swallowed by the void again.
(After all, I returned myself to you... Damn it, why did Kiana Kaslana of all people have to notice? Is this the luck written into the settings? This forced me to change my plans at the last minute.)
The kite that had always been drifting in the sky finally had its string grasped.
(We'll meet again in the future, Xin Yu, though that won't be the me of now.)
If the string were to break again, the kite would probably fly even farther and higher. But what kind of powerhouse could kill the Herrscher of the End?!
"...Wait! Kiana, you're the Herrscher of the End???"
The young man, who had been lost in a blissful embrace for an hour, only now remembered what the young woman had said earlier.