"If this is a dream, then let me keep dreaming forever—until the moment it becomes reality."
Elysia spoke with a trembling voice.
Her eyes widened as she stared at the white-haired boy before her. Like someone afraid of losing her sight, she reached out and gently traced Elias' face with her fingers, confirming whether he was the same as the person in her memories.
"Don't worry, my dear Ely. Right now, I truly exist here—right in front of you. This isn't a dream."
Elias pressed his forehead against Elysia's, holding the pink elf's hands as he told her that this reunion was not a fleeting illusion, but a beautiful reality.
"!!!"
Feeling the presence of the white-haired boy—identical to the one in her memories—the emotions she had suppressed for more than fifty thousand years could no longer be restrained.
Crystal tears spilled from Elysia's eyes as she threw herself into Elias' arms like a swallow returning to its nest. She hugged him with all her strength, as if afraid he might disappear again.
This reunion was a miracle.
Elias and Elysia gazed deeply into each other's eyes.
The feelings between them ignited hotter than any flame.
Their heartbeats began to resonate together, more passionate than any symphony.
Their realities intertwined, more wondrous than any dream.
"This is wonderful. I can feel everything about you, Eli—your heartbeat, your breathing, your warmth. If this is a dream, then it's the most beautiful dream I've had in fifty thousand years."
"Ely, didn't I just say that this is reality? Dreams don't have warmth."
"But it's just too wonderful. I've truly seen you again. Just that alone makes me so happy that I can hardly believe it's real… Eli, can you kiss me?"
Elias didn't hesitate for even a moment. Without the slightest delay, he kissed the girl's soft pink lips. This time he was no longer gentle. Instead, he poured all his passion into the kiss to prove that he was truly here.
Elysia wanted to close her eyes and savor the moment, but she could no longer bear the thought of Elias leaving her sight. The girl lifted her arms and wrapped them around his neck.
When a faint sting came from the tip of her tongue, she finally became certain.
This really was reality.
"That's wonderful… this really isn't a dream."
"Yeah. Finally convinced?"
"Eli, I missed you so much! I really missed you! Hug me, please?" Elysia hooked her arms around his neck and lifted her feet behind her, hanging her entire body from him.
Elias immediately responded, giving Elysia a big embrace.
"Hm? Ely, why are you thinner than before?"
"Of course it's because I think about you every single day, Eli—so much that I lose my appetite!"
"Oh? Is that really so?"
Elias glanced inside the pink elf's hibernation pod and spotted donuts, little cakes, macarons, and even fan-made books about himself. In the end, he decided to pretend he hadn't seen anything.
"Right! But what exactly is going on? According to the story you told us before, Eli, weren't you supposed to appear for the first time during the Second Eruption of this civilization—in the year 2000?"
Elysia glanced at the time displayed on the lid of the hibernation pod and discovered that it was only 1991. She had originally planned to sleep until nine years later, but unexpectedly Elias had awakened her.
Still, although it was surprising, she wasn't worried. No matter the reason, if it allowed her to see the boy she loved again, then it was clearly a wonderful accident.
"Well… that's because I came here by traveling through time from the more distant year of 2014. Although I can't stay in this timeline forever, it still allows me to see you earlier."
"2014? What? That means I still have to wait another twenty-three years before reaching your time, Eli… but… you're really alive. That's all that matters!"
Elysia tightened her embrace even more.
Back then, when Elias had activated the Authority of Origin at the cost of his own life, her heart had nearly stopped.
No one understood the Authority of Origin better than Elysia. She knew that once that wish was made, death was inevitable. She couldn't be certain whether Elias would return safely to the future.
And that wasn't all.
According to the research of MEI, Mobius, and Vill-V regarding the Imaginary Tree, while the Imaginary Tree could indeed allow someone to change the world and reverse time—
It also demanded a price.
First, one had to become a pseudo-divine apostle of the Imaginary Tree. Then they had to shatter their own authority. Even reaching that stage alone could easily result in death.
And after reaching the Imaginary Tree, the person would almost certainly meet their end—an absolute death in which even their soul and very existence would be completely erased.
Even the three greatest minds of humanity could not guarantee that Elias would return safely to his own era. If he could not… then they would have no choice but to prepare to assault the Tree themselves.
The Flame-Chasers had already made their decision.
If, when they arrived in the year 2000, the Second Herrscher was not Elias, then they would immediately enact the plan—seize the position of the Third Herrscher that would appear afterward, then challenge the Imaginary Tree and create a world where Elias was alive.
Elias: "...That's a bit extreme, isn't it?"
Ely: "I don't want a world without you!"
Elias: "Uh… that's not a line you should be saying, Ely. In my heart, Elysia is a girl who loves humanity itself—and loves this world."
Ely: "Eli, didn't I already say it fifty thousand years ago? You're the reason I love this world. To me, you're more important than the world itself."
The person before her was her one and only selfishness.
The one first love Elysia would never give up.
The two of them arrived at the bedroom within the Eternal Castle. Elias immediately sucked in a sharp breath, completely stunned by what he saw.
His fan-made books had been stacked into a small mountain. There were also countless figurines of him—some harmonious, some very much not. Elias could tell at a glance that the former were Griseo's works, while the latter were Danzhu's creations.
Aside from that, there were many things he had once used—battle suits, pants, weapons, tableware, and more.
"E-Ely… these are…"
"!!!"
Elysia immediately rushed into the room and slammed the door shut behind her. A burst of clattering noises followed from inside. Less than ten seconds later, the door opened again.
Elias looked at the room that had already been tidied up—so clean and orderly that he almost suspected what he had seen ten seconds earlier had been an illusion.
"Ahem. Eli, you didn't see anything."
"..."
"Guh! D-Don't look at me with such a gentle expression! That just makes it impossible for me to pretend nothing happened! Eli, will you at least let me explain?"
Elysia somehow produced a chibi Elias plush and awkwardly held it in front of her face.
"I… I just missed you too much."
"Mm. I don't mind, Ely."
Elias raised his hand and gently patted Elysia's head, thinking once again how adorable his beloved girlfriend was.
He could actually understand.
For Elias, they had only been apart for less than two months. But for Elysia, even though most of the time had been spent inside The Great Hibernation, decades had still passed at the very least.
Perhaps even centuries. Or even millennia.
Thinking back to the more than ten thousand years he had spent on the path of time, Elias understood well that feeling of longing reaching its extreme—of needing some way to release it, or else one might go mad.
If it weren't for the trait [Eternal Heart], which kept him rational at all times, Elias was one thousand percent certain that he would have gone completely insane from missing them.
Though in some ways, being unable to go mad despite wanting to might have been even worse. Because that meant he could only experience that madness with full clarity of mind.
Pulling himself back from that memory he never wanted to relive again, Elias hesitated for a few seconds before saying something that made the pink elf's heart bloom with delight.
"Tonight, Ely… you can do whatever you want."
"Huh? Eli, what did you say?"
"It's better to release what's been built up. I'll accept anything you want to do… so go ahead, Ely."
"..."
Elysia pinched herself hard.
For a moment she thought she was dreaming again.
Looking at Elias—whose eyes were filled with nothing but affection and indulgence toward her—the pink elf's breathing grew slightly heavier.
"I-I really can? Just so you know, there are a lot of things I want to do to you, Eli! Some of them even make me feel a little dangerous!"
"Heh~ Maybe you should worry about yourself instead. Did someone forget how thoroughly she used to get defeated by me?"
Elias lifted Elysia's chin with a teasing smile.
"After all, I'm very strong. No matter what weak little Ely tries, nothing will happen to me."
"...Eli, you're actually provoking me! Fine then. Tonight I'll show you the power of the Herrscher of Origin—opposite to Finality! I'm going straight for [Reverse God] mode!"
"Five thousand—no, fifty thousand years apart and your courage has certainly grown. Let's hope you can last at least as long as an Ultraman fight scene."
Elysia looked at the white [Reverse God] before her—six wings unfurled, a halo of Imaginary divinity floating behind him—and immediately felt an indescribable, terrifying power.
Without hesitation, she revealed her own true form as the Herrscher of Origin. No matter what, her presence and appearance couldn't lose!
A pair of white wings spread out behind her. A golden laurel crown floated above Elysia's head. But the staff of Origin was casually tossed aside.
At that moment, it was as though the two of them had become the center of the world.
Elias and Elysia—embodying [Reverse God] and Origin—looked like a pair of angels descended from heaven, symbols of every beautiful thing.
"Eli, tonight you're mine!"
"Mm. Let it all out, Ely."
Their figures slowly overlapped.
That night, the fifteen ELF versions of Elysia living within Elysian Realm—as well as the Hero Elias—could all hear indescribable sounds echoing from the castle.
...
The next morning.
Elias flapped his six damp wings and looked at Elysia nestled in his arms, as well as the bedroom that looked as though a tornado had passed through it.
He had to admit—he had underestimated her.
Over these fifty thousand years, Elysia's strength had clearly improved tremendously. Perhaps it was because the Herrscher of Origin had also been freed from Honkai's restraints.
This existence opposite to Finality had already ascended to a higher realm. If she continued accumulating power, given enough time she might truly become capable of rivaling the Herrscher of Finality.
After all, their ranks were the same. Aside from authority, the only difference was that Finality possessed a massive amount of Honkai energy—enough to withstand the full firepower of fifty Moonlight Throne battleships—so vast that even Elias had to look up in awe.
"~ So? Surprised, Eli?" Elysia said proudly while resting in the crook of his arm.
"Yeah. As expected of my dear Ely." Elias flicked her nose and affectionately rubbed against her pink hair.
Even so, Elias' [Reverse God] still had the advantage.
Although his Pseudo-God authority remained shattered—meaning he no longer possessed truly infinite, undying power—his recovery ability was still nearly a hundred times greater than before. No matter what, Elysia alone could never completely exhaust him.
The pink elf looked at Elias stretching lazily with a relaxed expression, then looked at herself—barely able to move—and immediately lost her earlier pride.
The counterattack had yet to succeed. She still needed to work harder.
"I'm going to wake everyone next. Ely, you should lie down and rest a bit longer. Mm… Cecilia should be waking up soon too."
Elias picked up what remained of his clothes—now little more than strips of fabric—and sighed softly.
This outfit had been made by Eden… Ely, wasn't that a bit excessive? Aren't you two good friends?
"Huh? Eli, you're going to see everyone? And who's Cecilia?"
Elysia suddenly shot upright despite looking half-dead, her eyes wide. Clearly she could no longer continue lying down.
After Elias explained the situation, the pink elf immediately grew jealous.
(I'm jealous! But that Cecilia doesn't sound like an enemy. She's just someone Eli knows in the future… fine, I'll set that aside for now. The real enemy I need to deal with first is still...)
Elysia's blue eyes narrowed slightly. Ignoring the soreness throughout her body, she suddenly lunged forward and grabbed Elias' hand, acting spoiled.
"Eli, I haven't had enough time with you yet."
"Neither have I. So once I wake everyone, we'll make up for all the time we lost together."
"In that case I won't get to monopolize you—ah, I mean! I just want more time alone with you!"
"Uh, but everyone..."}]}
Elias truly had no resistance when it came to Elysia acting spoiled. But asking him to ignore the other Flame-Chasers was impossible.
"One day! Just one more day! Wake everyone up tomorrow instead, okay? Today your time belongs to me… and that Miss Cecilia."
Elysia pouted, looking pitiful.
Elias felt as though his heart had been pierced by a pink, heart-tipped arrow.
Was this request excessive? Not at all. It was only postponing things by a single day.
"Alright. I'll wake everyone tomorrow."
"Mm~ Thank you, Eli!"
Elysia immediately broke into a radiant smile.
Afterward, the pink elf declared that Elias should go take care of Cecilia first, as she herself still needed a little time to recover.
"Then rest well, Ely. I'll go check on Cecilia. If you need anything, contact me immediately."
"I know~ Eli is the best!"
Elysia lay on the bedroom windowsill and watched until Elias left Elysian Realm. The moment she confirmed he was gone, she flipped off the bed.
Gritting her teeth and enduring her not-yet-recovered body, she headed straight to the memory domain of her dearest best friend—Eden.
Looking at the songstress sleeping within The Great Hibernation, Elysia clasped her hands together.
"My dear Eden, I'm sure you'll understand. Just let me sneak ahead for a little while, okay? Don't worry—you won't be alone. I'll make sure everyone keeps you company!"
As she spoke, Elysia opened the control platform of The Great Hibernation, altered the password required to end the dormancy, and then locked the entire hibernation pod from both the inside and outside.
Of course, the pink elf would never harm an important companion. She simply wanted her good friend to sleep a little longer.
"Once I've had my fill, I'll wake you all up. Until then, everyone can enjoy a nice beauty sleep. Hehe~ That way, there won't be anyone in the way during this time!"
"Eli belongs to me alone!"
Elysia laughed as she imagined the wonderful future ahead.
As for Cecilia…
The pink elf confidently declared that, as the rightful queen of the Previous Era—eternal Tier 0—there was no way she could lose to a newcomer.