Chapter 1190

Honkai 3.

Li Ta was holding a pot of freshly brewed black tea and snacks, preparing to have afternoon tea with You Lan Dai Er in the garden. Suddenly, her footsteps stopped at the turn of the corridor, and without making a sound she retreated half a step, simultaneously reaching out to block You Lan Dai Er behind her.

"Li Ta?" You Lan Dai Er lowered her voice, raising her eyebrows in confusion.

Li Ta didn't speak, merely using her gaze to indicate ahead.

You Lan Dai Er followed her gaze and saw two people sitting on a bench deep in the garden: one was Bishop Ao Tuo, the other a half‑transparent phantom.

Although somewhat blurry and hard to make out, one could still tell she wore a nun's habit unlike that of this era, with long snow‑white hair hanging over her shoulders; her hair tips swayed in the evening breeze, a few strands passing through Ao Tuo's shoulder, yet he seemed completely unaware.

Ka Lian·Ka Si Lan Na

You Lan Dai Er certainly recognized that face. The archives of Heaven's Mandate held her portrait, an amber‑colored visage almost identical to hers—but the portrait and the clone ultimately differed greatly from the real thing; seeing the actual person in soul form seated there was a shock of another order.

"How long have they been here?" You Lan Dai Er asked in a low voice.

"Not exactly sure. Since Lady Ka Lian·Ka Si Lan Na's soul appeared, Bishop Ao Tuo has been continually taking her around the Heaven's Mandate headquarters."

Li Ta set the teapot and snacks on a nearby table, arms crossed, her gaze slipping through the gaps of the rose arbor to fall on the two figures sitting side by side. "The power from heaven is truly amazing—it can even do something like this. Although it isn't a true resurrection, … it does somewhat make up for some of Bishop Ao Tuo's regrets."

"By the way, Lady You Lan Dai Er, do you know what expression Lady Ka Lian·Ka Si Lan Na had when she saw amber?"

You Lan Dai Er blinked: "What expression?"

"It's hard to describe." Li Ta rarely showed a troubled expression; she reached out and plucked a fallen petal from the railing, turning it between her fingers. "If we liken death to a great dream, after sleeping for five hundred years Lady Ka Lian·Ka Si Lan Na suddenly awakens to find her childhood sweetheart not only alive but having created a clone identical to herself. If it were you, Lady You Lan Dai Er, what expression would you wear?"

"I……"

You Lan Dai Er wore a dazed expression; she had never considered such a complicated question.

"Well, if it's hard to answer, Lady You Lan Dai Er doesn't have to reply." Li Ta smiled, glanced at her wristwatch, and said, "One hour and seven minutes—that's how long these soul manifestations have lasted. I'd say this will be the most unforgettable hour of Bishop Ao Tuo's life."

——

"Then… what about you?"

Senatos calmly said: "It bears the half‑body of death; I carry the fate of 'refusing death,' and at the moment of my birth in the human world I proclaimed myself dead. Thereafter, the Titans ceased to exist in the world. The cycle of life and death is severed; souls have no chance to meet the divine, only to drift as silt in the river of the dead that ebbs and flows."

Speaking, Senatos gave a self‑mocking laugh: "How ridiculous… my selfish intent was to save lives, yet for you and this world I have written a fate heavier than death. Then I, the lingering reason of Bo Lu Qian Ya, remain only in the underworld."

"Day after day I tend the fresh flowers, watching them grow into a sea of blossoms… chewing on life and death, parting, and the endless loneliness."

"Fate really is absurd," Xia Die said. "Our lives are like palms facing each other… even so, we still converge despite different paths—we have walked different roads yet tasted the same flavor."

Senatos murmured softly: "I had thought, at least you could live well in this life…"

Xia Die gently shook her head: "My life has not been wasted. To me, you have not missed anything."

"\"Even… if I impose the power of 'bestowing death' upon you, a stranger to me? \""

"\"In this long journey, my shoulders have already been burdened with too many imposed missions. I have also been confused, even resentful…… but only recently did I realize: without your blessing, I could not understand where those feelings come from, nor comprehend my own mission—let alone reach this place to reunite with my fated half‑body; to share our past together and the scenery before us. \""

Xia Die turned her head, gazing at her warmly: "Besides, there is the meaning of our two existences."

Senatos lowered his head: "The meaning of existence…"

"\"This flower sea grows on barren ground; we sow it with parting and water it with the tears of loneliness… yes, all that death can create is nothing more than flowers blooming in blood and tears. Therefore, Senatos cannot shape all things at will, nor can the 'Ashen Hand' seize the fate of every living thing——\""

"\"Because the life and death of mortals ought never to be subject to any will. \""

——

fate/Warcraft Front Babylonia

The night was as dark as ink; on the inn's terrace, Yi Shi Ta Er and Teng Wan Li Xiang sat side by side, beneath them the sunken city of Wu Lu Ke lost in dreams, above them an extravagantly splendid netherworld flower sea.

Yi Shi Ta Er sat at the edge, bare feet swaying lightly in the air. Her eyes stared unblinking at the boundless flower sea overhead; she was utterly still and quiet—a stark contrast to her usual arrogant, overbearing goddess self, more like a child who has written envy on her face.

"What a beautiful flower sea… if only the netherworld could be filled with this many blossoms." The latter half was spoken softly, the trailing sound melting into the night wind like a petal drifting to the ground.

"What did Miss Yi Shi Ta Er just say?" Teng Wan Li Xiang suddenly leaned in, "Um… what was that about the 'netherworld' and such? Sorry, I didn't quite catch that…"

"I didn't say anything! I didn't say a thing!"

As if caught red‑handed, the girl's face flushed from her neck up to her ears.

"I… I just… uh…" She unconsciously twisted the tips of her hair, her gaze drifting absentmindedly toward the distance, "I just feel that the netherworld of Weng Fa Luo Si is really beautiful. Ahaha… I was just talking to myself… just talking to myself!"

Just as she was speaking, a sudden chill wind blew up, making Yi Shi Ta Er's nose itch.

"Ah—choo——!"

Her smooth black twin‑tails instantly turned golden—then, in the next second, reverted to their usual black; although the whole process lasted only a brief second, Li Xiang still managed to catch it.

"Eh——!" Teng Wan Li Xiang's mouth twitched uncontrollably.