Making Honkai Impact lll In A World Where Kallen Exists [Continuation]

True to her word, Pardo led Su to where Kevin was, without much trouble along the way.

If there was anything worth mentioning, it was that in Su's eyes, even without her memories, Pardo was no different from the girl he remembered.

Pardo still loved shiny treasures, stocking up supplies, and lazily basking in the sunlight. Whenever she talked about doing these things freely here, her eyes would narrow like a real cat.

But right now, seeing Kevin was more important.

On a crimson arched wooden bridge, stray sheets of business paper clung to the surface. A figure with white hair and a cold demeanor stood silently, gazing at the gloomy sky, waiting for someone.

He believed his companion would come.

And Su, living up to his trust, arrived as expected.

"You're here, Su," Kevin said in a low voice, turning to look at him calmly.

Su was momentarily startled, but what caught his eye was a fleeing figure vanishing quickly into the distance. Turning his head back, he focused on his old friend.

"Kevin…"

Su felt slightly relieved. Kevin still looked the same as before, his memory intact.

It was still him.

The fact that his close friend hadn't lost his memory like Pardo brought some peace to Su's heart. But as he realized this, a sense of guilt began to surface.

Because for Kevin, losing his memory like Pardo might not have been a bad thing.

He was too tired.

Carrying the heavy burdens on his shoulders, walking forward step by step, he was the hope of everyone and thus couldn't afford to stop.

"Uh… hahaha, well, since you've already met, I'll just… be going now?"

"Wait, Pardo."

Sensing the heavy atmosphere, Pardo let out a nervous chuckle, then quickly tried to slip away, ignoring Su's attempt to stop her.

"Let her go. What we need to do next has nothing to do with her."

Kevin spoke indifferently.

Su's instinctively raised arm relaxed and fell.

But a faint, bitter smile appeared on his lips.

"I'm afraid that's not entirely true, Kevin…" Su said.

Vill-V's plans were always precise. In other words, everyone who entered had their role to play. For example, Su was here to assist Kevin, to help him unleash that unstoppable, overwhelming strike at the right moment. Kevin had already endured the corruption for far too long.

But that moment was not yet upon them.

For now, all they could do was wait.

It was then that Su realized that the surrounding scenery and illusions were shifting with the passage of time. This was Longsky City after the collapse—visions from Kevin's past.

It reminded Su of Kevin during their student days, a time before the chaos of Honkai.

"A person's character is their destiny."

Kevin… to anyone observing, he might seem like a man trapped in the past, defined by it.

But he wasn't.

This man didn't need to return to the past, he had never changed from the beginning.

To this day, he gave his all to uphold his promises, even if it caused unbearable pain.

He never avoided his past.

"So… will the ending be different this time?" Su asked softly.

It wasn't a demand for an absolute answer, just a casual question between friends, a form of concern.

"If it's Elysia we're talking about, probably not," Kevin replied ambiguously, though his tone carried deep trust.

MEI had once said that becoming a hero to everyone was far easier than being a hero to just one person. Kevin understood this profoundly.

Her words became prophetic. In the past, he had chosen to follow rather than walk beside her, and that choice led to such disastrous consequences.

He had failed to save the one he wanted to save.

"But at least... we won't have the same regrets as before, right?" Su said earnestly.

"Mm. After all, this was supposed to be her ball…"

(He meant Elysia)

"This time, let's make sure the host stays until the very end."

(He meant Raiden Mei)

Kevin crossed his arms and spoke quietly, gazing at the fading illusions of his memories in the distance. His eyes flickered faintly.

From beginning to end, neither of them mentioned Pardo again, nor did they talk about the plan. They simply waited in silence for the right moment to come.

They trusted their companions and accepted their choices, just like always.

"After all... no matter how many times we repeat this, a person's choice doesn't change—we've already proven that."

Su spoke softly, gazing alongside Kevin at the familiar scenes of Longsky City, a city of fragmented memories, calm in the moments before a storm.

A place buried in the past, perhaps… it wasn't so bad after all?

-------

[So… none of them have changed?]

[Following, walking alongside… is that why you envy Otto so much? Otto… envied you just as much.]

[Wait, the last part, could it be… No, my cat-cat!]

[She runs, she chases, she's cornered?~]

-----------------

"Sigh, suddenly… well, maybe not suddenly, but Su and Kevin really have a great relationship," Elysia remarked, her jade-like index finger gesturing idly in the air.

"Even when Kevin was chasing MEI, it was Su who acted as his advisor…."

"And as for MEI's response, it was brilliant! 'If you can be a hero to one person, you can be a hero to everyone.'~"

She mimicked MEI's tone with utmost precision, repeating her words with admiration. Her praise was evident, a playful smile curling her lips.

Though her voice was lovely, to be honest, it didn't quite match MEI's delivery.

Kevin cast her a cold glance, then indifferently shifted his gaze, clearly uninterested.

"Speaking of which, Su, do you boys always need help from others to come up with plans when pursuing someone? It's such a pity… I wasn't around back then to help you two out."

Vill-V sighed in mock regret.

How delightful—Kevin back then could still get embarrassed, not the icy block of today.~

"…" Su didn't quite know how to respond to that.

He hadn't actually offered much advice in those matters. In contrast, Kevin had changed drastically since then—growing day by day.

Even in his youth, naive and inexperienced, Kevin had marched forward courageously. That bravery was worthy of respect.

After all, from the start, their personalities and lives had been worlds apart.

"Still, Kevin has indeed changed a lot. Initially, he was entirely MEI's little follower. Now, he's leading the next era of humanity," Mobius said indifferently. The story moving forward didn't involve her, so she could sit back and enjoy.

-------------

Pardo scratched her head, staring blankly at the sudden apparition of Vill-V before her, her expression full of confusion.

"The final step? Boss, I don't quite get what you mean…"

The next moment, excitement lit up her face as she exclaimed, "Do you have some hidden treasures? If so, I'll grab them right now!"

"…Enough, Pardo. Stop playing dumb," Vill-V said, narrowing her eyes as she stared at Pardo, whose animal tail was now gone. Her words mercilessly tore through the façade. "My purpose as a backdoor here is to ensure you can retain your sense of self."

"And it worked, didn't it? When Su called your name the first time he saw you, you weren't surprised at all, were you?"

She smiled lightly, her grin unwavering as she spoke.

This was why Kevin retained his memories; it was the normal state of things. As for Pardo, her memory loss wasn't real, it was all an act.

It was only after Su met Kevin that he pieced this together.

Yet, Pardo continued to stammer and deny it, muttering about not understanding or being too busy with stocking goods.

Vill-V interrupted her, choosing to lay out the stakes clearly:

"Although this 'customer' is rather special, I need you to guide it."

"It's Kevin's all-out strike, with devastating power beyond doubt. But if it's unleashed blindly, it will only destroy irrelevant fragments of data, failing to strike the critical point."

Vill-V's tone was serious as she laid everything bare.

"Right now, only you can open the path to the outside world, allowing this strike to land where it truly matters."

Her words carried a gravity not often seen in her usual flamboyant demeanor.

Pardo continued to mumble nervously, backing away step by step as though trying to escape this troublesome scene.

She protested that she didn't understand any of it, suggesting they find someone else to handle it.

As she shuffled away, ready to flee just like before—

"Alright, goodbye then."

Vill-V waved her off with a beaming smile, as if she hadn't been the one pressing the matter a moment ago.

"Ah—?" Pardo froze mid-step.

The nonchalant attitude threw her off, making her halt and glance back at Vill-V, who still wore a calm expression.

Vill-V shrugged, her tone light but firm as she stated, "My role here is solely to ensure you remain yourself. Beyond that, whether the plan succeeds or fails has nothing to do with me. I can't force you."

"You don't need to do what you're supposed to. Just do what you want to."

Her gaze held a deeper meaning as she watched Pardo retreat further.

Pardo paused briefly, seemingly hearing Vill-V's words, but she ultimately turned and walked away without looking back.

For someone who longed for an ordinary life, becoming a hero felt incredibly distant… yet it was closer than she realized.

The girl named Pardofelis didn't seem like the kind of person who had resolved herself for such a fate.

----------------

In the Golden Courtyard,

"Go do what you want to do... But next time, can't Vill-V explain things more clearly?"

Pardofelis muttered a small complaint.

After all, she was the one suffering now.

"Little Pardo being the final piece of Vill-V's plan? That's truly unexpected… But, I believe in you, Pardo~"

"Pardo, you know..."

Elysia deliberately elongated her tone, speaking sweetly, "You're such a helpful and warm-hearted person."

"Ugh, sister Elysia, please don't pressure me... It's so hard being a hero."

Pardo sighed helplessly, deeply feeling that she was never meant to be the heroic type.

She couldn't even remember how she got persuaded to face the End… Could it really have been her own decision to embrace death?

Unlike her counterpart in the Elysian Realm,

Now, after glancing at some files, or rather, just from looking at the data others investigated—she saw her name on the list of those who faced the End, alongside the words died in battle.

She was stunned, yet also secretly relieved.

At least she could stand alongside the Flame-Chasers as a comrade, right? She… wasn't as disgraceful as she had imagined.

But when dubbing the records, her feelings grew even more complicated.

Both her past self and the parallel world's future self made the same choice?

Death…

Even though there were options for survival all around, it seemed like she only saw that one path.

"Being a hero… isn't something you need to force yourself to do. Like Vill-V said, just do what you want to do."

Kevin murmured those words. It was something he often said in his youth, and yet now, the phrase felt unfamiliar, even distant.

He… had failed to fulfill his promises, neither becoming someone's hero nor saving the world.

"Do what you want to do..."

Pardo hesitated, drawing out her words and muttering softly, "I just want to bask in the sun and stock up on goods… Doesn't sound very heroic, does it?"

Elysia chuckled gently, watching Pardo's conflicted expression.

Of course, soon enough, it would be Pardo's turn to make Elysia wear that same conflicted look.

-------------

On the increasingly distant path, Pardo mused to herself.

If only she hadn't bothered with that person from the start. She sighed lightly, but her steps grew heavy, as though her usual nimbleness had disappeared for some reason.

Her pupils lacked focus as she wandered aimlessly, as long as it wasn't toward that place—that door.

Besides… besides… hadn't she already made her contribution?

She helped Brother Su find Boss Kevin, didn't she?

"Seriously… Why does it have to be a fight to the death?"

"Living in an illusion like this isn't so bad, is it? After all, we're… just data, aren't we?"

She grumbled to herself, her face visibly etched with bitterness and fear.

The question of life and death loomed before her, but she was just an ordinary person who always yearned for a stable and peaceful life.

Everything here matched her expectations. Of course, her experiences in the Elysian Realm had been the same... If she were the only one left, carefree survival or painfully embracing death, any fool would know which to choose, right?

Her heart tangled in indecision, tormented by the dilemma.

No one forced her, no one made the choice for her… At this moment, how she wished someone would drag her forward and make the decision for her!

Yet… life and death, comrades and herself, balanced on either side of the scales, leaving her to decide.

"But..."

"Even though everything here seems perfect… why… why do I still feel unsatisfied?"

(TL: because it's not real)

Pardo murmured, clenching her fists tightly as every part of her body trembled.

In the past, when she stood before her comrades' graves with offerings in hand, she had felt a similar emotion.

It appeared without reason and lingered for a long time, hard to dispel.

"..."

After a long silence, her gaze turned both sorrowful and resolute. "Alright… Alright, if this is something only I can do..."

"Just this once! The last time!"

She gritted her teeth, never expecting to replicate a storybook scenario herself one day.

She never wanted to be the one making sacrifices.

Like… what kind of merchant willingly takes a losing deal? She struggled to find a fitting analogy.

But she still sprinted toward the critical point, moving far faster than her earlier, hesitant steps.

"Guide with the divine key, then escape immediately!"

Pardo thought to herself, using her powers to open up the space, guiding Kevin and the others to their path.

Then, with a lightened hand, she swiftly prepared to flee.

Having seen Boss Kevin's attacks before, Pardo knew that even the slightest contact would turn her into charred remains.

But before she could take a few steps, the black hole she had opened began collapsing in on itself.

The scale was too large to sustain itself.

She froze, slumping to the ground.

"...I don't care, I don't care."

"My dream life is so simple… just a place to bask in the sun and take naps…"

"Do I really have to risk my life over and over just for this?"

She asked herself, convincing herself she wasn't being greedy.

What ordinary person wouldn't make the same choice for an easy life without challenges?

If she stayed to maintain that passage, standing directly in the path of that strike... her fate was clear.

She feared death above all.

She envisioned her real-world self, someone so scared of dying and yet so lucky. As long as she didn't actively seek death, surely she could have survived, right?

Facing the End, why would it require her to stand up against it?

Surely, her chances of survival were high.

So… her real-world self must have made this same decision, right?

Pardo's steps never stopped as she fled.

"But… but..."

Why did her escape lead her back to the passage instead of away from that vortex?

Pardofelis pursed her lips, staring at the familiar passageway in the distance. She answered her own question, offering herself a reason,

"But... since I'm just a mere mortal... making a foolish mistake once in a while is forgivable, right?"

"Sister Elysia, I've never done a losing deal before."

"You... must come back, okay?"

She extended one trembling hand forward. Though her hand quivered in her vision, the passage, which had been dimming, finally stopped fading away.

"I know… If not for sheer luck, I wouldn't have been chosen, wouldn't have become one of you..."

"Nor could I have stayed here with everyone."

"So, sister Elysia... at the very least, I can't let you regret your decision back then."

"When you return, make sure to praise me again, okay?"

She ultimately made the same decision, even though no argument could truly convince herself.

At the same time, the air grew scorching, the temperature rising on a strange curve.

Kevin's attack was about to strike.

"That will... definitely hurt a lot, won't it?"

Thinking of the flames about to engulf her, her trembling intensified.

Yet she didn't retreat, not even a single step.

She didn't want Elysia to regret this, and she didn't want to regret it herself—especially when there was something she could do.

"It's fine, no need to scare yourself… Maybe nothing will even happen. After all… my luck has always been good. I mean…"

She spoke as though trying to comfort her trembling arms and legs, those parts of her body that refused to obey her.

"I... I'm Pardofelis."

"I'm..."

She gritted her teeth, closed her eyes, and awaited the final strike.

"…one of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers!"

She had always been proud of that title and grateful to Elysia.

So, when she was needed, she... would not back down.

-------------

Elysia was stunned, watching as Pardo, who had been prepared to flee, ultimately stood firm.

She opened the passage for Kevin's attack with her own life.

Fittingly, this death was also related to a "door"... Pardo really seemed to be cursed when it came to anything involving doors.

Especially seeing her muttering about wanting to prove herself to sister Elysia and looking forward to being praised again afterward, Elysia couldn't help but raise a hand to her eye. It felt like something was clogging her nose.

She blamed Kevin's attack… The smoke from the screen must have gotten into her eyes.

"Pardo..."

"You really… make me cry. Someone who's always so afraid of pain, yet this time you risked so much to keep the passage open."

"You died for me… again."

Elysia's voice trembled, her tone carrying the weight of tears.

Compared to those like her and the others who had faced death countless times as warriors, the deaths of "protected" individuals like Griseo and Pardo were far more heart-wrenching.

Mere mortals... isn't every hero's origin also that of an ordinary person?

"S-sister Elysia, no need to be like that. I mostly just didn't want to regret it..."

Pardo scratched her head awkwardly, forcing a sheepish smile.

"How about... you praise me and give me some gems too? I… I definitely wouldn't mind!"

A hopeful expression crossed her face. This way, not only could she stock up for the day, but she could also cheer up the grieving Elysia.

Wouldn't that be killing two birds with one stone?

Hearing this, Elysia shot her an aggrieved glance. Her rising emotions had been completely interrupted by Pardo.

But the real culprit behind it all… was clearly Luo Mo, squatting nearby to enjoy the scene.

Luo Mo was, of course, watching them while silently marking another tally in his mental notebook. This was a moment he had long anticipated.

"...Luo Mo, don't you have anything to say?"

Elysia blinked her tear-filled eyes, a pitiful sight.

"Hmm... If I have to say something, I'd suggest removing the door to Pardo's room," Luo Mo answered after a moment of thought.

"…?"

Elysia slowly typed out a question mark, then casually remarked,

"You're interested in Pardo? Planning a midnight raid?"

"Ah?—"

Pardo looked at her in confusion, then glanced at herself. What kind of sudden accusation was this?

Wouldn't that mean her collection would lose a layer of protection?

"You see, every time Pardo opens a door, she dies. If I recall correctly... in the previous era, it also had to do with opening a door. As expected, cats and doors just don't mix," Luo Mo remarked with great conviction.

One day, he would make sure this notice was planted all over the Golden Courtyard.

"...Completely unfounded superstition," Bronya muttered, clearly unimpressed.

"Uh…" Pardo opened her mouth, unsure how to respond. She honestly didn't know this herself.

The record only said "killed in battle."

As for maintaining a passage and interpreting that as "a door"... well, that wasn't entirely wrong either.

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