Keqing had always kept her emotions tightly restrained.
But the moment she saw the person she loved most in her entire life, everything broke.
She couldn't hold anything back anymore.
She had waited for so many years…
Every day had been filled with disappointment and pain…
She had gotten so used to enduring it that she thought she would eventually break.
Maybe that was why she kept dreaming of Kael.
Every time she saw him in her dreams, a small spark of hope would flicker back to life.
Those tiny sparks were the only reason she was still able to keep living.
Keqing sat on the bed hugging the blanket, crying so hard her voice cracked.
"We promised… you said we would see each other again… You would come back to me… Right? I can still see you again, right?"
Kael watched her tears soak into the blanket and felt a sharp pain in his chest.
From her words alone, he could imagine what kind of life Keqing had lived after his death.
She had clung to that vague promise he'd made before leaving… and waited for him with no hope in sight.
How many years had she spent drowning in despair?
Wanting to believe, yet unable to see even a trace of light…
Kael moved closer and wrapped his arms around her.
"Keqing, it's really me. I'm Kael. I'm alive. I'm right here with you."
Keqing felt the warmth of his arms around her, the solid strength in his embrace.
She froze.
Why did this dream feel so real…?
Seeing the confusion on her face, Kael tightened his hold.
"Do you feel it? This isn't a dream."
Keqing pulled away in shock, her hands trembling as she reached up to touch his face.
The warmth under her fingertips made her dazed expression slowly shift into pure joy.
"Kael… Kael!!! Is it really you? You really came back to me?!"
Keqing cried like a child, sobbing so hard she could barely breathe, as if releasing years of pain all at once.
"Kael… I've waited for you for so long… Nobody believed you would ever come back to me…"
"But I believed it… I had to believe it…"
"If I didn't, I wouldn't have been able to survive…"
Kael gently wiped the tears from her cheeks with his thumb.
"Keqing, I'm alive. After I died, I came to this world. This isn't the Teyvat you live in. It's another space entirely."
Keqing blinked at him through her tears, stunned.
She was smart—she understood immediately.
"So… what does that mean? I'm in another world now? In another version of my own body?"
"Yes."
Kael nodded. "I'm alive, but I'm living in another world."
Hearing those words, Keqing's tears started falling again.
If that was true… then Kael hadn't really come back to her.
When she returned to her own world, she would still be alone.
But… Kael was alive.
He was truly alive.
Her heart was torn between pain and joy.
One moment she felt like she was breaking, the next she could barely breathe from relief.
In the end, the relief won.
This was the best news she had heard in all those years.
Her beloved wasn't gone forever.
He wasn't by her side anymore, but still—
"As long as you're alive, then there's still hope, right? I'll have another chance to see you again, won't I?"
Her tear-filled eyes were shining with hope.
"Yes. We'll meet again. I'll find a way to return."
Kael made the promise.
And it wasn't empty. He truly believed it.
The System's entire goal was to make him run more life simulations.
Kael had already noticed a pattern: whenever he wanted something, the System would give it to him one way or another.
When he needed Attribute Points, the System unlocked Pain Value conversion.
Whenever he wanted Talents, items—anything—the System provided it.
All of it was meant to keep him motivated.
If he wished for the ability to return to the life simulation world, the System would eventually give him that too.
There might be a price—maybe more simulations, maybe a huge amount of Attribute Points.
But one way or another, he would get what he needed.
Keqing's eyes lit up once more. Hope returned to her completely.
"Alright. I believe you."
The lover she thought she had lost forever was now right in front of her.
That alone filled her with peace.
Even if she had to return to her own world… it didn't matter anymore.
Because now she knew—she would see Kael again someday.
That was enough.
She no longer needed to wait in despair.
She could live on with that hope in her heart.
Kael stroked her hair gently. "You haven't been doing well these past years, have you?"
Keqing snapped back to clarity. She realized her earlier words had worried him and shook her head quickly.
"No, I haven't been doing badly. I've been working hard."
"It's just… sometimes I really missed you."
"But Liyue has grown a lot these years. I'm happy there."
"You don't have to worry about me."
Kael could tell she was lying.
When he first saw her, her eyes had been lifeless.
As if all the vitality had been drained from her.
That wasn't the look of someone living well.
But he didn't call her out. He lowered his gaze to hide his own sadness.
"Just like you said, as long as we're alive, there's hope. Keqing, you have to live well and wait for me to come back."
Keqing gave him a sincere smile.
"I know. I'll wait for you."
She lifted her head and slowly pressed her lips to his.
The familiar warmth spread between them, soft and comforting.
Their kisses deepened. Their movements grew more intense.
But Keqing stopped first.
She pulled back slightly, breathing unevenly, her eyes shimmering as she looked at him.
"This… is enough. The rest… belongs to the me of this world…"
"If she's also me, then she'll be drawn to you too. She'll love you just as deeply as I do…"
"I can't take away her memories. They're hers to treasure."
"What you owe me… you can repay when you come back for me."
Kael looked into her eyes and nodded solemnly.
"Alright."
They lay together, holding each other tightly and savoring the last moments they had.
They hadn't seen each other in so many years.
Keqing had so many things she wanted to tell him, so many questions she wanted to ask.
But her eyelids were growing heavy, exhaustion washing over her.
Her consciousness was fading.
Keqing knew she was about to leave. She reached out and gently wrapped her fingers around Kael's warm, steady hand.
"Kael… I think… I have to go back now… I love you… I've loved you since I was just a foolish little girl… You have to… come back… for me…"
Her voice grew softer and softer until it disappeared.
Kael watched her close her eyes and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead.
"Wait for me."