Elias raised his arms and embraced the Herrscher Queen before him.
He had rushed over as soon as his body regenerated, but by the ti he arrived, it was all over. The first thing he saw was the Herrscher of the Void falling from the sky, and the others questioning her motives for destroying the world.
Feeling it might be awkward to interrupt, and curious about the Queen's rationale, Elias turned himself into a quantum ghost to listen quietly until their conversation finished.
And then he heard it.
The Herrscher of the Void wanted to destroy the world—for his sake! After hearing her entire confession and reasons, Elias was both stunned and deeply moved.
A queen who chose to destroy the world just to ensure he would never be hurt, to live freely and without chains...
Setting aside moral and ethical concerns—Elias was beyond touched!
The Herrscher of the Void's hysterical, overwhelming feelings for him, her hatred of a world that dared to hurt him because of how much she loved him—left Elias speechless.
Reject her? No way!
He'd have to be out of his mind to reject a queen who loved him so much she'd defy the entire world!
As she spoke those words, Elias' heart had been pounding nonstop. He had truly fallen for her.
And the result was—
Elias was instantly conquered.
"Thank you, my Queen, for being willing to defy the world for . But there's no need for that anymore—because now... you're also soone I've decided to protect."
Elias rested his cheek on the Queen's fragrant shoulder, taking in her scent while marveling silently.
It was undoubtedly Kiana's body, yet sohow, it felt a little different from hugging the paracium. Different—but just as enjoyable!
He had already decided to hold the Queen in his heart as well. For soone like Elias, who he fell in love with was important, but even more so—who loved him.
For the forr, he'd give 200%.
For the latter, he'd do absolutely anything!
"I'm... soone you want to protect now?"
The Queen's golden eyes widened in surprise.
The mont Elias embraced her, her brain practically short-circuited.
For soone who had secretly admired Elias for over a decade, watching him only through mories and observation—to be hit with a direct confession and a searing hug was like firing a cannon at a mosquito. Way too powerful!
"No... no! I can't beco one of your weaknesses! You mustn't think like that!"
Despite her protest, her heart was racing uncontrollably.
The Queen had assud her very existence would be loathed by Elias. She had resolved to create a world where he would never suffer from protecting others, even if it ant being hated.
That resolve was incredible.
But it also ant she'd never even considered the possibility of being loved by Elias—or what that would feel like.
And now she knew.
Even though she knew she shouldn't be loved—because it would make her hesitate—she couldn't stop herself from feeling happy.
"Ahaha~ That's impossible. If it were any other emotion, maybe I could restrain it. But love? Love is irrational. Once it takes root, there's no way to suppress or ignore it."
"How could this happen..."
The Herrscher of the Void felt both joy and despair.
She had beco what she hated most.
She had beco another chain binding Elias. How utterly absurd!
"Don't make that face," Elias said with a smile, shrugging. "Didn't I say it before? The reason I'm strong is because you all exist—because I have people I want to protect. Without you, I'd just be an ordinary, unremarkable guy."
Had he ever once regretted gaining his power?
No. Not once.
All he ever felt was joy—that he no longer had to stand by helplessly as a re bystander. He was no longer so dumb janitor doing flying splits. He could finally rewrite this imperfect story into the one he wanted.
He could now snap every single taphorical knife the damned Mihoyo scriptwriters had crafted. He could change every tragedy once deed inevitable!
Even if that ant he beca the blade in those tragic arcs—he didn't mind.
"By the way, I'm not actually that strong. If I lost any one of you, I think I'd be completely devastated. My heart would shatter."
He rubbed his cheek against the Queen's.
"..."
She fell silent again.
The Queen couldn't help but think—if that was the case, could she really still destroy the world?
Probably not.
Her love for Elias was pure, even if her actions and thoughts were twisted and extre.
She could accept being hated by Elias.
But she could never accept becoming soone who hurt him.
"...You're too unfair, Elias."
Raising a hand to touch his cheek, the Herrscher of the Void spoke helplessly. With things like this, how was she supposed to destroy the world? She might as well resign from Team Honkai.
(Honkai: Oh co on, not again!)
"You're always so kind. Can't you just stop saving others? Every ti, you put yourself in danger."
"Really? I feel like most of it's within my control. And... if getting a little hurt ans I can stop tragedy from befalling the people I love, then that's a bargain I'd take any day."
Elias patted his chest where his heart lay. He wouldn't die from re injuries now. There wasn't even a scar left on his body anymore.
If a little blood and a bit of pain could resolve everything perfectly, he thought it was more than worth it.
But the mont those words left his mouth—
Not just the Herrscher of the Void, but the others nearby could no longer stay silent.
"Ahh, you're always like this, Elias! Always!"
"Even when you're covered in wounds, you still smile at us so gently."
"You saved . You saved all of us. But you never once considered your own safety!"
The Herrscher of the Void, Raiden i, and Sirin clenched their fists, staring at him with pained expressions.
"But... this is sothing only I can do."
Their emotions overwheld Elias, and he involuntarily took a step back.
"I understand everything you're saying! But how do you expect us to endure this?!"
The three girls rushed forward and embraced him tightly.
Tears shimred in their eyes as they clung to him—like they truly wanted to beco chains that would bind him, stopping him from doing anything that would put himself in danger.
"All I know is—in my heart, more than us, more than the world itself—you are what matters most!"
"..."
Their heartfelt, sincere emotions slamd into Elias' soul. The sheer honesty of their words seed to rip his heart out. A wave of indescribable emotion surged through him.
Tears sparkled in his eyes.
"I'm sorry... for making you all worry all this ti..."
"Idiot. Then start treasuring yourself more. Stop always thinking about saving others and keep so of that love for yourself. Be a little selfish for once."
"That sounds really hard... I'm not good at that. Honestly, my life now already feels like a dream."
Elias let out a wry laugh. To him, life in the Valkyrie dorms was blissful every single day.
If he had any selfish desires left—
It would be to break more of those taphorical knives and rewrite even more tragedies.
"Idiot! Elias, you hopeless idiot!"
As if they could read his thoughts from his eyes, the Herrscher of the Void and the others clenched their teeth in sorrow.
They wished so badly he could be just a little worse, think about himself a little more before worrying about others.
Other people's tragedies had nothing to do with him... Though, even as they thought that, they could already imagine his reply.
Elias would surely smile helplessly and say, "Now that I know, I can't just ignore it."
"Sorry, I guess I'm not very good at taking care of myself. But it's fine, right~?"
"Elias, what are you talking about?! How can that be fine?!"
"Because I have you all."
Elias smiled, his gaze filled with warmth and reassurance as he looked at the girls in front of him.
"You'll take good care of , won't you?"
"...!!!"
The Herrscher of the Void, i, and the others all felt their hearts jolt violently. They didn't know what to say.
But at the sa ti, they felt Elias made a lot of sense.
Yes. If he wasn't good at caring for himself, then they would do it for him!
They would return the love he gave them tenfold, a hundredfold, a thousandfold! Ah yes—that was all they needed to do!
Not only that, they would grow stronger. Strong enough so Elias wouldn't need to take risks. Strong enough that he would never again have to bleed or suffer.
Actually, the best solution might be to lock him in a little black room for life. Elias had a tendency to charge into danger and save others without a second thought. To avoid any accidents, maybe locking him up was best.
Chain him up, never leave his side, never let him out of their sight again.
They could take care of the daily chores for him.
In fact, why not let him go completely to waste?
Just pamper him into a spoiled, helpless ss.
Even if he beca a complete dependent, unable to do anything himself, their love for him wouldn't decrease even a billionth.
And then every day... do this and that with him... hehe... guhihi~
"Uh... why do I feel like sothing's wrong with the way you're all looking at ? Am I imagining things?"
Elias swallowed hard. It felt like there were pink hearts in their eyes—and that was not okay!
Suddenly, his future seed very bleak.
"Of course not (you're imagining things)~"
"Yeah, Elias, you were right earlier."
"Don't worry. From now on, we'll love you properly and make up for everything you neglected."
"This is the best solution."
The girls bead at him, smiling like they had just solved a great puzzle.
But Elias found he couldn't smile back. In fact, he felt a chill—an ominous premonition.
"Uh... maybe I'm overthinking it."
He shook his head and decided to just ignore it (or give up thinking altogether). Then he turned back to the Herrscher of the Void.
"So, from now on, could you give up on destroying the world... and, um, side with humanity—no, with ?"
"Hmph~ Fine, for your sake, Elias, I'll let those foolish humans off the hook."
"Thank you so much. Oh, and Herrscher of the Void, could you try to get along with Kiana from now on? As for the body situation... how about we do the sa as with i and the others?"
Using his Authority, Elias would create a body identical to Kiana's, and the Herrscher of the Void could transfer her consciousness into it. That way, she could move freely.
As for power and Authority—the two would just share them.
"Whatever. I don't care."
The Queen waved it off like it was a trivial matter.
In truth, she had long grown used to staying inside the paracium's body and living as a shut-in. She might not even need the body Elias made.
In the ntal space, anything Kiana had ever interacted with could be recreated. The Queen never found it boring. Her daily life consisted of gaming, binging shows, watching Elias, and sleeping. She didn't care one bit about the chaos of the outside world.
With that, she smoothly returned control of the body to Kiana. It seed she really held no attachnt to the outside—or maybe she was just holding back her emotions to the limit, eager to retreat into the ntal space and roll around to vent.
"!!!"
Kiana's personality suddenly surfaced, dazed and confused.
She felt like a theater spectator who had been abruptly dragged onstage.
Utterly lost, she opened her mouth several tis before finally managing to speak.
"Elias, I'm back."
"Welco back, Kiana."
Her dazzling golden eyes had returned to their pure blue, now brimming with tears.
"Sniffle... You're okay... That's such a relief!"
Seeing the white-haired boy truly safe and sound, Kiana felt like she had finally awoken from a nightmare.
She buried her face in Elias' chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart. In that mont, she thought there was no sound more beautiful in the entire world.
Elias raised his hand and gently patted her head.
At last, it seed they had reached a happy ending.
Then he turned to the two girls standing nearby.
"It's been a while, Sirin, Bella."
"!!!" x2
The mont they heard him say their nas, the two could no longer contain their emotions. Like fledglings rushing back to their nest, they threw themselves into his arms from both sides, tears glimring in their eyes.
"Master, you finally called my na again."
"I knew you weren't lying, Elias. I've grown stronger. From now on, I'll protect you."
"Mm! This ti, we won't be separated again."
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