Dragon Raja——
Shinjuku, Japan.
"No wonder they're related—this mother and daughter are identical in both looks and personality," Caesar said, leaning back into the soft couch. "Hmm… no, there's a difference in personality. Qingni's clearly softer… probably because she has such a strong-willed mom."
"Didn't you previously think Yukong was an unreasonable patriarch?" Chu Zihang asked calmly. "Changed your mind now?"
"Well, I still think Lady Yukong is a bit stubborn… but I respect the reasons behind her stubbornness."
Caesar shook his head. "If it were me, I'd make the same choice as her—but where we differ is that I don't think I could truly stop that girl. No matter what, she's going to become a starskiff pilot."
"When someone truly wants to do something, you can't stop them. In my opinion, Qingni isn't suited to die quietly in a hospital bed. She's like a flint… rather than living in obscurity, she yearns for that moment of blazing glory, right?"
"Is that a metaphor you picked up from the poetry club at the academy?"
Chu Zihang said, "Dying in battle isn't as grand or poetic as you imagine. As long as Qingni can accept that she might end up as a pile of charred flesh, I don't see a problem."
——
["'The brain is a strange organ. After living for over two hundred years, I've forgotten most idle chats… but that one mundane conversation, I remember every word clearly.'"]
["'Because it was my last talk with Caiyi.'"]
["The Celestial Screen shifted again, the backdrop changing from the Luofu to a battlefield shrouded in smoke and raging with gunfire."]
["The war-torn land churned up blackened soil, like gums chewing on shattered starskiffs, charred corpses, and tattered clothing no longer recognizable to their owners."]
["Yukong cradled a Foxian woman growing colder by the moment."]
["'Caiyi… hold on, Caiyi! Open your eyes, Caiyi…'"]
["'Cough, cough…' Caiyi's breath was faint, like a string about to snap, sounding its final note. 'Thank you, Yukong… I had a good life. But don't let Qingni walk this path, don't let her… become a starskiff pilot…'"]
["'She's your daughter! Tell her yourself! Help is almost here, just hold on a little longer—Qingni's waiting for you!'"]
["Yukong felt her blood run cold, her teeth chattering uncontrollably. 'Guangyuan is already gone… Qingni can't lose you too. Wake up, Caiyi! Caiyi! Caiyi…'"]
"Perhaps this is just a few strokes in the long history of the Xianzhou, but for an ordinary Xianzhou citizen… sigh."
At a café outside Sumeru's Akademiya, Tighnari watched the Celestial Screen—roaring flames, scattered corpses, and Yukong's anguished cries. The wars recorded only in books seemed to come alive in an instant.
Even through the distant screen, they could almost smell the sickly sweet stench in the air, like rust mixed with overripe fruit, enough to make one gag.
"It's probably what the Archon War a thousand years ago looked like, right?" Kaveh said, still shaken.
"No, it was likely far less brutal than the war Yukong and her comrades endured. The Archon War involved innocent people, but it was ultimately a battle between Archons… mortals had little room to intervene," Alhaitham said.
"And the Xianzhou's battles were fought by people like Yukong," Alhaitham continued, thinking of Jing Yuan's "one in ten survived" remark, his expression heavy as he sighed.
When war unveils its true face to mortals, even the most ordinary scenes… are beyond what those living in peace can bear or imagine.
["'That day, as I crawled out from the burning wreckage of a starskiff, I saw a sky unfiltered by atmosphere, belonging to that bloodless, tearless planet.'"]
["'It was the most beautiful sky I'd ever seen, but all I felt was unbearable sorrow. I could only crawl on the ground like a damned ant, staring up at it helplessly.'"]
["'In my dreams, I died that day.'"]
["Yukong looked up, as if the ashes settled in her irises suddenly reignited, threatening to burn a hole through the Luofu's azure dome. Countless wails and cries echoed in her ears, desperately pulling her back to that smoke-filled battlefield thirty years ago."]
["'This is the first time I've heard you talk about this… But, Mom, I'm not a naïve child anymore. Becoming a starskiff pilot is a brutal path, and I'm prepared for it…'"]
["'But I won't back down because of it. I'm not afraid of walking the same path as her… If my sacrifice can bring happiness to the Xianzhou's people, I'm willing to face death gladly!'"]
["Qingni suddenly raised her face, her resolute expression like an unyielding spark."]
["But Yukong's face showed little relief."]
["'You're so much like Caiyi. That's why, the more outstanding you became over the years, the more terrified I was. I know you're ready… but I've never been ready…'"]
["'But do you know how we ultimately won that battle that took Caiyi… and hundreds of thousands of our comrades?'"]
["Qingni was no stranger to this Abundance War. When Yukong asked, she answered immediately, 'It was… the Reignbow Arbiter's divine arrow…'"]
["'Yes,' Yukong said, her eyes filled with indescribable desolation. 'The Reignbow Arbiter's mighty grace wiped out those abominations with a single strike! But to merely slow their advance, we paid the price of hundreds of thousands of lives!'"]
["Yukong turned, looking solemnly at Qingni. 'If crushing those enemies was as easy as breathing for the Reignbow Arbiter… then what was our sacrifice worth?'"]
["'In the face of an Aeon's power, mortal sacrifices are like a joke… nothing… nothing at all…'"]
Frieren: Beyond Journey's End——
"Oh? Is that Yukong's view now?"
Serie let out a soft sigh. "It seems she can't heal that scar. Well… it's not surprising she thinks this way."
Sense looked up at Serie, puzzled. "Lady Serie, do you disagree with Lady Yukong's view?"
"Heh, of course I do. But before I answer your question, Sense, let me ask you…" Serie's lips curled into a faint smile. "In the presence of someone like me, who can easily wipe out demons… do you feel your existence has value?"
"Of course," Sense said without hesitation. "Though you're powerful, Lady Serie, you can't be everywhere on the continent to eliminate demons. The task of dealing with ordinary demons is better left to us."
"Exactly. If you compare me to an Aeon, the similarity is… we're both suited to be the ultimate weapon, stepping in only when humanity faces an enemy it can't handle. But maintaining everyday peace still relies on the defenses built by ordinary people."
"So, Yukong and her comrades' sacrifices weren't in vain—they created a buffer for the Aeon's power."
Serie shook her head slowly. "No one's sacrifice is without value. Without the delay caused by the Xianzhou's hundreds of thousands of pilots… the Hunt's arrow might not have arrived in time, and the Xianzhou would likely have been devastated."