Chapter 238 Auntie Himeko of the Previous Civilization? Fu Hua's Tragic Past!
In the game, Kiana felt a sense of profound disbelief after hearing Lin Zhaoyu's narration.
["Mhm, the Celestial is ageless and immortal. Twenty years later, she was resurrected and sought out her disciples one by one... that is the ending, though I haven't finished the tale."]
Lin Zhaoyu's expression seemed somewhat lonely.
["Karmic cycles? Retribution? None of that matters anymore... it's just a story."]
After recounting the Celestial's past, Lin Zhaoyu urged Kiana to rest. Kiana had spent the entire day searching for feathers and viewing so many memories; her spirit was exhausted.
Once the stage ended, another memory belonging to Fu Hua opened as an extra stage. This memory recounted the beginning of the drastic upheaval in Fu Hua's life...
The Honkai attacked Canghai City. After an unknown number of days, Fu Hua was placed in a cabin. Just as she was spiraling into wild thoughts, wondering if humanity had gone extinct, the woman who had saved her in Canghai City walked in.
A woman with long red hair appeared at the hatch. Her appearance made many viewers in the livestream freeze, followed by an immediate outcry—
[Hi-Himeko? Auntie Himeko?]
[Eh?? Is that Himeko?]
[No, wait. Although she looks like Auntie Himeko, she can't be Himeko. This is Fu Hua's memory of the Previous Civilization. Chronologically, she definitely isn't Himeko.]
[Maybe it's a relationship like Sakura and Yae Sakura? No direct blood relation, but the faces are identical...]
Although the first reaction of many was "Why is Himeko here?", they soon realized this red-haired woman merely shared Himeko's appearance. However, she had rescued Fu Hua from Canghai City... What happened to Canghai City? Could it be...
The mature woman inquired about Fu Hua's condition with concern. Fu Hua was desperate to know the situation outside. The woman told Fu Hua that she was no longer in Canghai City; this was their base, and she was safe here.
Canghai City was gone. The disaster had almost entirely destroyed the city. They had rescued a small number of survivors, and Fu Hua was one of them. The woman told Fu Hua that since she was the one who saved her, she would take responsibility for her protection.
First, survivors would be sent to Australia, where they could apply to go wherever they wished; travel expenses would be covered. However, they couldn't go just anywhere. The scale of this disaster was immense, and this would be a very long war...
Hua barely processed the later words. She still couldn't believe it. Canghai City was... gone. Her school was gone as well.
["you're still thinking about school? Forget it. For the rest of your life, stay far away from Canghai City. Forget it entirely."]
["Believe me, life always brings unexpected upheavals. you have no other choice; forgetting is the best medicine... Where are you from?"]
The woman tried to change the subject, but when Hua mentioned her hometown, the woman froze. Almost all of East Asia had been impacted by the disaster. Hua's hometown... had no survivors either.
Learning this, Hua was struck by a profound shock. Realizing she had nowhere left to go, she asked the woman what she could do now. The woman told her not to rush and to think it over carefully.
["...I've had this conversation with many people. They always ask me for 'hope.' I understand. Their previous lives were brutally erased; without hope, they don't even know how to live, or if they want to live."]
["But 'hope' isn't that simple. I won't give it to everyone, and I can't afford to. I can only give you a tiny spark. How you make it burn is your business."]
["If you understand, tell me tonight. I will let you know the truth. In exchange, you will carry its weight for the rest of your life."]
The woman gazed into Hua's eyes.
["...I've also had this conversation before, little girl. I also once faced this choice. So, think clearly—alright?"]
The silence felt long, long enough for the woman to turn and prepare to leave. But when Hua spoke, it felt short. She wanted to know the truth of everything. A trace of approval appeared on the woman's face.
["Follow me. There is a place for you."]
Although the woman's name wasn't mentioned in this fragment, viewers who had seen Fu Hua's previous memories immediately guessed her identity. She was Hua's savior, her captain, and... one of the Herrschers to be crusaded against later.
Watching this woman who gave Fu Hua her "spark," looking so valiant and heroic in the frame, many viewers sighed. They already knew her ending.
"Still, the Old Antique is truly remarkable," Senti said with some emotion. "Her life just went through such a massive upheaval, yet she recovered so quickly... If it were me, knowing the truth, I might have been depressed for a long time."
Otto focused on another important detail. Pointing at the screen, he said: "It seems the Honkai of the Previous Civilization was even more powerful than we imagined. This Eruption directly destroyed East Asia, leaving almost no survivors in its wake..."
"The terror of the Previous Civilization's Honkai is something we caught a glimpse of in Kevin's memories..." Fu Hua shook her head. "When crusading against the Herrscher of Corruption, the last three human cities were destroyed by nuclear missiles. One can imagine that by the time Kevin and the others went to the moon to fight Finality, there weren't many humans left on Earth..."
In Fu Hua's view, the population of the technologically advanced Previous Civilization was likely even larger than the current one. It was impossible to imagine what a horrific hell the world became when the Honkai struck. The group's expressions were solemn as Senti continued the game.
In the next stage, after a night's rest, Kiana and Bronya continued searching for feathers. In the next memory, Kiana saw Hua during her school days. Hua saved a girl who looked exactly like Carole; that lively, cute girl became Fu Hua's first friend at school. In several subsequent fragments, this girl was often by Hua's side. They bought clothes together, played at the arcade, and shared everything... She even picked out many outfits for Hua, dressing her up beautifully so she could surprise everyone when she went home.
However, just as Hua got off the plane, before she could even see her parents—the Third Eruption occurred...
This memory left the livestream viewers feeling a sense of deep sorrow. Hua had finally made a good friend, her youth was beginning to bloom, and then the Third Eruption descended. The unreasonable Honkai took everything from her—family, friends, everyone she knew and everyone who knew her died in the catastrophe.
Compared to those who died, Hua was undoubtedly "lucky." But the viewers who knew what Hua would endure later knew better. Perhaps dying in that disaster would have been a form of mercy. After all, the life Hua lived afterward... it was too bitter, like a cup of pure black coffee. Perhaps there were a few sugar cubes mixed in, but they eventually dissolved in the long ages, forgotten along with her memories...
In the next memory, to attend a banquet, both Hua and the Captain (HIMEKO) wore qipaos. The Captain teased Fu Hua, saying she might become the focus of the ball. However, Fu Hua couldn't bring herself to be happy. To eliminate the Sixth Herrscher, Fire Moth had lost three branches; this had just happened.
Though they achieved victory... seeing a ball being held, Hua couldn't let it go. How could everyone forget the past, the sacrifice, and the sorrow so easily? The ball reminded Hua of her fallen comrades. She couldn't understand... how could people hold a party as if nothing had happened?
["Hua, there's a phrase I often say; you're probably sick of hearing it. But it's true: Forgetting is a bitter but necessary medicine."]
["No one chooses to forget for no reason. Forgetting is a tool; we use it to vent pain and find joy."]
["you must allow people to forget, allow them to be happy. especially in wartime. Soldiers with low morale cannot fight."]
The Captain's teaching wasn't wrong. In that environment, without choosing to forget, humanity could not move forward to fight the Honkai. If they remained drowned in the grief of their comrades' sacrifice, the outcome of the war would be certain.
It had been a year since Hua joined Fire Moth. In that year, two Herrschers had arrived and been killed. To fight the Herrschers, people died constantly—even those who had helped pick out clothes for Hua and the Captain were gone... This was Honkai; this was war.
In the next feather memory, when the Twelfth Herrscher—the Herrscher of Corruption—descended, Hua was fighting in the Fire Moth base. She used her power to protect those in the base, and when she found Kevin, he was sitting dejectedly by a wall.
Seeing Hua, Kevin told her the Twelfth Herrscher had been sealed. It was all thanks to Sakura; otherwise, no one in the base would be alive. Then, Kevin delivered shocking news: the Herrscher of Corruption had controlled nuclear missiles to destroy the last three remaining human cities... Hua found it impossible to accept, sliding down the wall to sit on the floor.
["It's always like this, isn't it? you aren't even that surprised."]
["Humanity always achieves pyrrhic victories—paying a massive price for a tiny win. And the Honkai's offensive just comes and goes, each more terrifying than the last. we held out until the twelfth..."]
["But everyone knows... they've known for a long time: all victories are just disguises for failure, to make us look less pathetic."]
["Humanity has lost, Hua."]
Kevin spoke softly, his voice light as if in a dream.
["Heh... but that is a 'fact' we must never treat as the truth."]
Kevin's statement startled the viewers. In their impression, Kevin was a ruthless avenger who would stop at nothing to get revenge on the Honkai. His time in the Sea of Quanta hadn't eroded his will; if anything, it had hardened it. They never thought Kevin would have such a side. To say "humanity has lost" in front of Hua.
In-game, Hua looked at Kevin with surprise.
["I didn't expect you to say that... I thought anyone might give up, but never you."]
Kevin self-deprecatingly shared his true thoughts. He didn't give up because he never actually "held on" to those lofty goals. Kevin didn't care what the Honkai was or what happened to humanity. He didn't join Fire Moth to save the world or protect peace—it was never about that.
["I can't admit it to anyone... I can't admit it to her, especially not her."]
["...I thought I was an irredeemable piece of trash."]
Kevin lowered his head. Since they met, Hua had never seen him so fragile, as if he would crumble to dust with a touch. Hua shared her own heart with the fragile Kevin, saying that no one is born a hero; they are just ordinary people who happened onto this path. She herself felt lost, often questioning if this was really what she wanted to do. She had been following others—first her Captain, then Kevin—even though she could have chosen to stop. Despite her dislike for it, she chose to continue. No matter what decision was made, no one had the right to blame Kevin.
["...But I do."]
["Hua, I haven't given up. I won't give up."]
["Humanity will surely win."]
Kevin stood up, his back straight. In this moment, he returned to being the strong warrior, walking ahead of everyone, leading the way. No matter the pain, Kevin and Hua ultimately chose to shoulder the burden.
"Even the strongest warrior, Kevin Kaslana, is still human," Otto Apocalypse sighed. "No matter how strong a person is, they have a weak side... Kevin had just lost his comrades, the last three cities were gone, and twelve consecutive battles with Herrschers had pushed Fire Moth to its limit... As the strongest warrior, Kevin knew exactly how dire the situation was."
"But I think Kevin isn't as 'trash' as he says he is," Senti shook her head. "He calls himself selfish, but I see the opposite. It's because he cares so deeply for his comrades that Sakura's death hit him so hard..."
END OF CHAPTER
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