"Brother Ryn! Time to get up!"
Youyi bounced over and threw open Ryn's covers. Ryn had promised to play with her last night, but she had been kept by Bronya to handle official business and had been working until now.
As soon as she finished, Youyi immediately came looking for Ryn. However, after excitedly pulling back the covers, she saw nothing.
"Huh? Where's Brother Ryn?"
Youyi tilted her head in confusion. But since Ryn wasn't there, she should go wake Mei up.
Mei had nightmares every day and found it difficult to wake up on her own, so she needed either Bronya or herself to wake her.
So, Youyi left Ryn's room and quietly opened the door to Mei's room.
Then she froze at the doorway...
Ryn sat on the edge of the bed with his eyes closed, having just lightly pulled the blanket over his legs. Mei was quietly lying on Ryn's lap, sleeping sweetly, her drool all over Ryn's pants...
Youyi's big eyes were wide with shock. With a trembling hand, she brought up the call interface and dialed Bronya.
Bronya, awakened by Youyi's call, covered her reluctant eyes and fumbled impatiently for her phone.
Seeing that it was a call from Youyi, she cleared her throat to hide the fact that she was still sleeping and answered.
"Hello? Youyi? What is it? I'm still working over here, so please make it quick!"
"Big Sis Bronya! Brother Ryn made a move on Mei!!! Death penalty! It has to be the death penalty!"
"What?!"
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The time in a dream is always fleeting. As Youyi called out to Ryn and Mei, telling them to get up, the dream was nearing its end.
"Time's almost up. This will have to do for now..." Ryn quickly checked the state of the dream world, then reminded Kiana and Mei.
"Don't be like last time, where even for your final meeting, you only said goodbye!"
Mei and Kiana, holding hands, glanced at each other shyly.
A single night in reality, but a long time had passed in the dream...
During this time, Kiana and Mei had fulfilled many dreams they had once made but were unable to achieve.
From small things like sharing a single taiyaki, to big things like traveling the world together...
Compared to tens of thousands of years of hardship, Kiana's entire life might not have been as happy as this short period.
Kiana took Mei's hands and looked sincerely into her eyes.
Both of their faces and necks were slightly flushed. Because Kiana was a bit too eager, they had been interrupted at a crucial moment, so their clothes were still a bit disheveled...
Kiana's face was full of reluctance as she whispered, like a mosquito, "Mei... I have to go..."
Mei hugged Kiana and whispered in her ear, "Mm... Goodbye, Kiana..."
"I will always be thinking of you!"
"I will too... always, always be thinking of you. Kiana, I don't want you to sacrifice yourself for revenge...
So, in the other world, you must... you absolutely must live a good life..."
"..." Kiana was silent, not answering Mei.
This power of hers was necessary for the current Kiana to fight against 'Him', and it was the absolute point that those other selves in the Stigmata Space were waiting for, the one they had staked everything to create.
Only when the Power of the Saintess evolved into the Power of Finality would Kiana's sublimated soul be strong enough to fight against the Honkai, strong enough to bear the will of all living beings...
"Sorry... this is the only thing... I can't promise..." Kiana's voice grew even quieter. She flinched...
She couldn't bear to part, and she couldn't bear to give up...
"Kiana, you really are a jerk... Just when I was about to give up, you reappeared, cursing me with a curse called love, just like you always do..."
Mei's eyes were moist with tears. With a trembling hand, she cupped Kiana's face.
"This time, I've given you my everything, so... I will wait for you... I will always wait for you..."
"Enough, enough... I just told you to say goodbye! Not a life-or-death farewell!"
Ryn shouted, separating Kiana and Mei. They were acting like they were about to commit a lover's suicide, as if he didn't exist!
Mei sighed deeply and said to Ryn melancholically, "But after you leave, you won't come back, and Kiana can't return to this world... And I can't leave this place... To love each other but not be able to see each other, what's the difference between that and a life-or-death parting..."
"You won't have to wait long. I will end everything soon."
After speaking to Mei, Ryn paused for a moment, then turned to Kiana and said.
"Kiana, you can call for me when the time is necessary. Don't try to bear it all alone. This is our era, we can't let you predecessors be the only ones sacrificing."
"Mm... I will."
Kiana looked at Ryn and nodded solemnly, but whether she would really call Ryn or choose to bear it all alone in secret, no one knew.
Kiana and Mei said their goodbyes once more. This time, there was less sorrow and more blessings for their parting.
At the very end, Kiana waved to Mei, and waved to the world.
The world instantly began to change. Although this was Mei's dream, it was controlled by Ryn, and now Ryn had given her control of the dream, so she wanted to give Mei one last gift.
The clouds in the sky parted, revealing thousands upon thousands of stars, slowly drawing closer.
The stars echoed each other, twinkling in the sky in turn.
Then Kiana reached out and pulled the stars from the void, wearing them as a skirt as she began to dance under the starry night.
Her fingers, delicate and graceful as if boneless, slid past Mei's eyes, deeply captivating her gaze.
While Mei was still amazed by Kiana's breathtaking dance, Kiana took her hand and pulled her into the waltz.
"Kiana... I don't know how..."
"Leave it to me!" Kiana winked at Mei, leading her, guiding her, and coordinating with her to complete this divine dance.
"Mei, I told you, I will never let go of your hand again..."
"Mm. Even if you let go, I will grab your hand and make it hold me tight."
Mei and Kiana's fingers intertwined. Where emotion led, the dance was born.
The myriad stars twinkled, willing to become silent dance partners for the two small figures.
All of creation was silent, for they too were immersed in Kiana and Mei's waltz.
At the end of the dance, Ryn ignited the mountains and detonated the stars, using the resulting monumental silence from the immense roar as the final closing piece for their waltz.
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Leaving the dream and preparing to return, Kiana, at the very last moment, seemed to remember something.
She raised the Lance of Finality, her eyes cold as she looked at the boundless sky, and then threw the spear.
Although there was nothing in front of the spear, it seemed to shatter something directly...
The sky cracked like a broken mirror, gradually splitting apart and shedding countless crystal-clear fireflies.
"Mei, I bid the thunder of a thousand worlds cease, and wish you a peaceful slumber tonight. Goodbye..."