"Ely, this wish... let me be the one to make it."
Elias's right hand, imbued with the power of the Herrscher of the Void, had already reached into Elysia's chest. At the same time, his [Reverse God] form began to crumble—the crown-like horns upon his head were covered in cracks, and the six white wings behind him shed feathers one after another.
This was because Elias had forcibly ignited his power. Still severely injured, he recklessly triggered an artificial cascade, unleashing his Herrscher authority without restraint.
The backlash was immense.
Yet Elias held nothing back.
He didn't know what would happen once the power of the Herrscher of Origin was fully released—what unimaginable strength Elysia might wield. But to stop the girl he loved most from making a wish that would cost her very existence, Elias knew he had to act.
He had to unleash his full strength in an instant—beyond what anyone could imagine—and rip out her Herrscher Core before she could complete the wish.
However, this desperate burst of power came with a price: his [Reverse God] form would only last a few seconds, and the already fractured Core of the Herrscher of the Void now cracked even further—far more than the Herrscher of a Thousand People's Core ever had.
But...
"What? How... how is this possible?!"
Elias's eyes widened in shock. His entire body trembled. His hand, which had reached into the girl's Imaginary Space, found nothing—no matter how he searched, he couldn't find Elysia's Herrscher Core.
"Eli, your wounds are getting worse... please, stop. Don't hurt yourself anymore."
Elysia looked at him with pained eyes and wrapped her arms around him, ignoring the hand that had pierced her Imaginary Space.
She had known he would do this.
After learning the nature of her power, Elias would undoubtedly try to seize her Core—to take her place and bear the price himself.
But...
"I'm the Herrscher of Origin, Eli. The counterpart to the Herrscher of Finality. Just like that god, my very existence is my authority. So... I don't have a Core."
Elysia smiled bitterly.
Though her strength couldn't compare to the Herrscher of Finality, she existed on the same conceptual level. From the moment she was born, Elysia was already a Herrscher.
She was the embodiment of her power.
There was no Core for Elias to take.
"No... no, it can't be like this!"
The [Reverse God] form was disintegrating, Elias's breathing faltered, and the savior who had once led humanity through the Honkai now looked utterly terrified—as if the world itself was slipping from his grasp.
"Ely, don't make the wish! We can find another way—there has to be another way!"
Elias clung to the girl before him with all his strength, terrified she might vanish if he let go. It was the first time he had ever held Elysia so tightly—so desperately, so roughly.
Yet Elysia didn't resist. She accepted his embrace, her voice soft but unwavering.
"Eli, do you remember when you told me the story of yourself fifty thousand years in the future? You spoke with such pride and joy that even I couldn't help but admire you. Your future was so radiant—so beautiful."
"But all of that is only possible because Herrschers retained their humanity—because they broke free from Honkai's control. That's why... I have to make this wish."
"And you, my Eli—you saved the world I love. You worked so hard, changed everyone's fate, and brought our era the happiest ending possible."
"So now... let me be the one to save you. I won't let the Honkai steal away your shining humanity. I'll protect your right to live as yourself. I won't let your future turn into nothing."
Elysia held Elias tightly, her tone filled with unshakable resolve. This was the final day.
After today, Elias would return to his own time.
If she didn't make the wish to free Herrschers from the control of Honkai—what would become of his future self? Elysia couldn't, and wouldn't, imagine it. The thought of that boy—stripped of humanity, turned into a messenger of destruction—was unbearable.
Such a future was too cruel.
Such a fate... too merciless.
How could fate ever allow this boy—so full of humanity's light, so determined to fight for everything beautiful—to become the one who destroys the world he loves?
Elysia would never allow it. She would protect his future.
Because…
"I love you, Eli. Thank you for giving me such a beautiful life. Every day, every hour, every second with you has been filled with happiness. My name, my humanity, my journey—I've gained so many precious things from you that I could never count them all."
Elysia could no longer hold back her emotions. Crystal tears streamed down her cheeks.
Meanwhile, in the floating courtyard above the Elysium Everlasting, a large photo album lay open, its pages fluttering gently in the wind. It was a chronicle of every day Elysia and Elias had spent together.
From the first day they left the little town of Vostok with their packs on their backs, to this very moment—each page held a memory, a photograph of the two of them smiling side by side.
Just the night before, Elysia had stayed up all night, hugging that album, flipping through page after page—but dawn had come long before she reached the end.
There were simply too many memories to count. Even an entire night wasn't enough to relive a tenth of them.
"Eli, I want to tell you... meeting you was the greatest miracle of my life. My story exists because of you. It's because of you that I wanted to become human, not a Herrscher."
"Now that our journey is reaching its end, can you tell me... have I become human?"
Her voice trembled with both hope and fear.
She had been born as something divine—an existence as far removed from humanity as the Herrscher of Finality herself. But through a single boy, she had seen the beauty of the world and the warmth of humanity—and for the first time, she had wished to become one of them.
It was a wish her power could never grant.
It was a path she had to walk on her own.
Tears glimmered in Elias's eyes as well.
"Do you even need to ask? To me, Ely, you've always been human. You've always been the most beautiful person in this world. You're the second of the Flame-Chasers—a girl radiant as falling petals, the flawless one who bears the Signet of [Ego]—Elysia. You're the one I love most in all existence."
The boy who had once faced the Herrscher of Finality alone, who had crossed death itself dozens of times without shedding a tear—now looked simply like an ordinary young man. Vulnerable. Human.
"Ahh... that makes me so happy..."
Upon hearing his words, Elysia's smile grew even brighter—but so did the tears flowing down her face.
"Elias..."
"Elysia..."
"Elias..."
...
Around them, the other Flame-Chasers began to cry as well.
They watched in silence as the couple held each other tightly.
Elias and Elysia had always been everyone's light—their pillars, their hope. Everyone who had ever known them had been touched, comforted, or saved by them in some way.
They were the Pure One and the Flawless One.
They were, truly, the most beautiful people in the world.
None of the Flame-Chasers stepped forward to interrupt. They simply watched and let the remaining moments—so precious and fleeting—belong entirely to the two of them.
"Ah... how did it turn out like this? Sadness doesn't suit our ending. I told myself that, in the very end, I must smile when I say goodbye to you, Eli."
Elysia buried her face into his chest. Though she was smiling, the tears kept falling without end.
"Please, Ely... don't say goodbye. I don't want to be apart from you. We promised, didn't we? That once we defeated the Honkai, we'd travel together again—to see every place we've never been. Don't break that promise. Don't... leave me alone."
"I'm sorry, Eli... I might not be able to keep that promise. I guess I'm awful, huh? We promised to never leave each other, to always stay together, and yet..."
Elysia lifted her hand to cup his face. Then she pressed her lips to his, as if engraving her very being into his heart.
"My journey has reached its end. But yours still stretches far ahead. So... take this kiss with you, and live on—for both of us. Go and witness all the beauty that's yet to come."
"Oh, right... there's also this."
As if suddenly remembering something, Elysia took out a sheet of paper and handed it to Elias. When he looked down, he realized—it was a partially filled marriage application.
"This is my heart, Eli. But don't you dare try to submit it. I'll be leaving soon, and I shouldn't become your burden. So... just keep it as a memory, okay?"
"Ely, you should've given this to me sooner... then we could've had more time—so much more..."
Elias clutched the paper tightly, trembling. He wanted to fill in the remaining space, to write his name beside hers.
"It's okay. You'll be fine, Eli. You're strong—so strong. Even without me, I know you'll keep moving forward. And though I really don't want to, though I hate the thought of letting go... the others will take care of you for me."
Elysia turned her gaze toward Mobius and the others. Her eyes were full of conflict and sorrow—but also firm resolve.
Her meaning was clear. She was entrusting the boy she loved most to the others. It was all she could still do.
"Foolish Ely... no one in this world could ever replace you. Please, stop using your power. I'll think of another way, I swear. I always do, don't I?"
Elias spoke bitterly, his mind racing desperately for a way to save her—but...
"It's alright, Eli. I've already done it. My wish should've already reached the Honkai by now."
Elysia shook her head gently. She could already feel her existence fading away—but she felt no regret.
"I don't know if it'll work. Because I'm a Herrscher, maybe I can. But because I'm human... I will."
At that moment, somewhere beneath a strange and infinite starlit sky, the unseen threads of destiny began to unravel.
Those threads—once immutable—were slowly fading into nothingness.
It was as if countless unseen hands were gently erasing the predetermined future, rewriting the fabric of reality to create new possibilities.
...
It was a story from long, long ago.
One day, She fell from the heavens.
People lifted their eyes and, for the first time, saw the stars.
The stars and moon sent down the Daughter of God—who chose to walk beside humankind.
The winds became her chariot, the oceans her garden.
The birds carried seeds of kindness, and the flowers wove songs of love.
Thus, she descended into the world, walked upon the earth, grew alongside humanity, and blossomed with the world itself.
And now, the time of return had come.
Elysia: "This is goodbye, Eli—my dearest love, and my beautiful world.
"From now on, there will be stars that shine—because I once lived.
"From now on, there will be white flowers that bloom—because I never truly left.
"Eli, please... take my arrow, my flower, and my love. Weave them into new seeds of life. Carry them into the distant future—and let them bloom into the eternal, flawless flower of humanity."
The girl's body began to fade away, yet she felt no pain. Her gaze, soft and tender, lingered on the white-haired boy. She wanted to etch every last detail of his face into her memory.
Elysia thought herself lucky.
Once, a Fire Moth soldier had said: "I don't care about the truth of the world or our final victory. I just hope that when I die, someone will hold me."
Now, she lay in the arms of the one she loved most, surrounded by the warmest memories—and she would soon return to the realm of stars and moonlight.
Elias's white bangs hid his eyes, but his body no longer trembled. His expression had become calm.
Elysia breathed a little easier. She didn't want him to grieve, didn't want their ending to be quiet. She wanted to hear his voice one more time.
"Ah~ right, Eli... you still haven't told me your final secret. We promised, didn't we? I've already told you all of mine. So... will you tell me yours now?"
"...Yeah. We did promise."
Elias nodded. Beneath the fringe of his white hair, his golden eyes burned with an emotion so fierce it could set the world aflame.
"System—prepare for reincarnation."
[Acknowledged, Master.]
A beautifully crafted hourglass appeared out of thin air, landing gently in Elias's hand. Within it, grains of golden sand trickled downward in a steady stream. Judging by the flow, the sand would run out completely by the end of the day.
"Eli, what... what is that?"
"...Ely, I wasn't planning to use this."
Elias tightened his grip on the hourglass. At that moment, Elysia finally saw his eyes beneath the fringe—and her heart skipped a beat.
She recognized that look.
It was the same one he always had when he was about to overturn the table of fate, when he decided to defy destiny itself—no matter the cost. The look that always broke her heart.
"Like you said, Ely... I've done well, haven't I? I've saved the world. Saved so many people."
"Even if it's not perfect yet, I can be proud, right? I can keep moving forward toward the future, can't I?"
Elias took a deep breath. His body trembled again.
He had planned to end this journey here—without using [Rewinder].
After all, he had already done enough. He had saved the world, again and again. Everyone of this era owed him their lives. Civilization itself had endured because of him.
Even though many had died in the previous Honkai Eruptions—so what? No one in this world had the right to demand that he return to the beginning and start all over again.
He also missed everyone back at St. Freya Academy. He had been traveling for so long—he just wanted to go home.
But...
"It seems... I can't go back. I have to return everything to the beginning—to the moment we first met."
"Eli... what are you saying...?"
Elysia's voice trembled. She didn't yet understand what he intended, but her instincts screamed at her to stop him—that whatever he was about to do would only hurt him again.
But Elias simply smiled. He reached out and gently brushed his hand through her long pink hair.
"I'm going back to the past. But this time, I won't be saving the world."
He looked at her with that same soft, unshakable tenderness.
"This time... I'll be saving the girl I love most."
"So wait for me, Ely. No matter how many times I have to start over, I'll find a way to change this ending—to let your life reach the future, and to give every Herrscher their humanity."
Elysia instinctively reached for the hourglass, desperate to stop him.
But Elias had already turned it over.
"Eli, what are you doing?!"
"Remember what I said before? That compared to this world... you matter more."
He smiled faintly, his golden eyes filled with light.
"Because... Ely—"
"You're the reason I fell in love with the world."