"Before this, did you ever try to escape this endless loop?"
While Kiana was frantically searching for a weapon to fend off the rampaging Honkai Beasts, Hua Yi was speaking to Kallen.
He had noticed itstarting from the hazy borders of the city, annihilation was spreading. Everything was slowly vanishing. It wouldn't be long before this place reverted to cold data, only to be rebuilt as a stage for the same performance to begin again.
Hua Yi's sudden question left the frantic Kiana stunned. Even now, that blockhead hadn't realized that Kallen was different from the other virtual personalities.
Kallen gave a faint, weary smile, looking toward a Honkai Beast that was slowly drawing closer.
"I tried. I tried to stop Otto ahead of time, and I tried to dodge the fatal blow from the beast that always kills me. But I failed. Outside of the 'correct' time, I cannot do anything extra. I wanted to stop Otto, only to find I couldn't even touch him before today. I wanted to dodge that lethal strike, but the attack simply repeats until I am exhausted and powerless to resist."
Even though she had noticed the abnormalities, Kallen never once considered simply ignoring the Honkai Beasts and running away.
The distant beast drew closer. Kallen, despite having strength left, did not stand up. She remained sitting on the ground, looking exhausted.
"I wonder when it started... when I realized the people and things around me were just acting out a pre-written script. At the end of the script, I am killed by a Honkai Beast. When I wake up again, I'm back to the day before, having just been captured by Schicksal and thrown into a cell."
The Honkai Beast was now inches away, yet Kallen ignored it and kept talking.
"After countless cycles, I realized I was just an actress in a repeating show. I wanted to change it, but I never could. Not until you appeared. Hua Yi, Kiana... you made this cycle different. Thank you."
Turning her head to look at the familiar claws that represented the end of her life, Kallen closed her eyes.
For a brief moment, she hoped Hua Yi and Kiana would appear in the next cycle, but she quickly dismissed the thought. She was merely an unknown entity trapped within this city, a being whose life never exceeded two days. The memories that came from nowhere had become blurred and strange through the constant repetitions.
The Far East, Yae Sakura... those were places and people she had never truly seen or met.
The real Kallen's story was magnificent, but her own story ended here. Hua Yi and Kiana likely had no interest in reading a short, repetitive story over and over. It was time for them to leave.
Feeling the gust of wind from the beast's swinging claws, Kallen gave a small, gentle smile behind her closed eyelids. This one "different" story would become a memory she would never forget. After all, it was the only thing she had truly experienced.
"What I want to give you isn't just one different cycle. It's time to write a new story, Kallen."
Hearing Hua Yi's voice and feeling the sudden disappearance of that lethal wind, Kallen snapped her eyes open.
There, she saw a weapon in Hua Yi's handa tachi that was influencing everything around it in ways invisible to the naked eye.
The space had been on the verge of total collapse. The distant crowds, beasts, and buildings had already vanished. All that remained was the small area where Kallen sat and the beast that was meant to end her. Once she died, everything would return to nothingness for the next loop.
But the Jizo Mitama changed everything.
The name "Jizo" refers to the one who presides over reincarnation. Since its master willed it, it would rewrite the cycle.
The [Jizo Mitama] was a Divine Key left to posterity by the previous civilization, a weapon against the Honkai crafted from the Herrscher Core of the Herrscher of Corruption. Although the [Jizo Mitama: Void] held by Hua Yi seemed to carry a different meaning, within this collapsing virtual space, it was the true [Jizo Mitama].
Corrode, then seize control.
The power of the Herrscher of Corruption within the [Jizo Mitama] began to consume the fragile, dying space. The stable programs were powerless against such overwhelming strength. When a controller with higher authority appeared, the entire world began to be rewritten.
The beast destined to kill Kallen vanished into thin air. While the annihilation continued in the distance, a ten-meter radius centered around Hua Yi and the [Jizo Mitama] became a sanctuary, untouched by the destruction outside.
Kiana was left staring blankly at the incomprehensible turn of events. Hua Yi reached out his hand to Kallen, who was looking up with an equally dazed expression.
"I don't know what your true nature is, but I am certain you are not a virtual personality like the others here. You are special. Do you want to see a wider world? Perhaps I can take you there."
Staring at the hand held out before her, Kallenwho had been prepared for deathfelt a flicker of hope ignite in her eyes. Her hand trembled as she reached out, and Hua Yi's voice continued.
"You might fall into a long sleep, or you might remain confined to a small area for a while because I can't perfectly control this weapon yet. Its form of existence is quite unique. But I promise, it won't be like that for long. So, have you made up your mind?"
Kallen's hand paused for a fraction of a second in mid-air before she lunged forward to grasp that unknown but certain hope. A smile broke across the girl's face.
"Yes. I do."
In a story that lasted only two days and had been repeated countless times, it was the first time the girl had ever shown a pure, genuine smile.
It was beautiful.
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