The sun on the horizon was gradually sinking into the sea. The lingering glow of sunset remained dazzlingly brilliant, dyeing the ocean a crimson gold as though an entire sea of molten gold had caught fire.
It was a sight someone could remember for a lifetime.
Luna stared at it all in a daze, feeling as though this sunset were the countdown to her own life. In her current condition, she probably wouldn't even last until nightfall.
After enduring an entire day beneath the blazing sun, compounded by the soul-deep thirst and unfulfilled craving for blood, it wouldn't be long before she, a vampire, reached her finality.
For the first time, Luna was so close to death.
She found it terrifying, yet she could calmly accept it.
Because right now, she was lying in Elias' arms. That alone made Luna feel as though nothing else mattered. And this was already a thousand, even ten thousand times better than the ending she had imagined for herself.
Today, she had seen what the world looked like. She had experienced the happiest day of her life. She... was about to enter eternal slumber in this person's arms.
For a vampire, this was an extravagantly happy ending. In her short twelve years of life, Luna felt that this single day was the only time she had ever truly lived.
Luna couldn't help recalling everything she had experienced today.
9:00 a.m. I wandered around the city with Human for a long time and learned about many things. In the end, we decided to go to HOMU Amusement Park.
10:00 a.m. I played the shooting game with Human. I'm terrible at shooting, but Human patiently taught me.
11:00 a.m. I went to the haunted house with Human. The haunted house was terrifying, but Human held my hand tightly and kept comforting me. He's really brave.
12:00 p.m. I went to the HOMU Restaurant with Human. The black-truffle chocolate steak with chili powder was delicious, and Human becomes incredibly tempting when he eats spicy food.
3:00 p.m. I continued playing with Human and discovered that someone was holding a wedding ceremony in the amusement park. I caught the bouquet the bride threw. Wedding dresses really are beautiful. I really want to wear one someday...
Now... I'm riding the Ferris wheel with Human. The scenery from up here is beautiful. The world really is vast. Human really is so gentle.
I want this to continue with him forever.
Luna reluctantly closed her eyes.
Before much longer, she would turn to ash and completely disappear from this world, as though she had never existed at all. Even so, Elias would remember that she had once been here.
Luna suddenly remembered something she'd once seen in a book of poetry, apparently written by someone named Tagore.
There was a line that went, [If you shed tears when you miss the sun...] Uh, no, not that one. It was... [Let life be beautiful like summer flowers and death like autumn leaves.]
Even now, Luna still didn't understand what it truly meant.
After all, only this one day in her life had truly felt like living. She had learned that summer was a hot season, but she had no idea what autumn would feel like.
Yet instinctively, she felt that perhaps she had managed to live out those words today. At the very least, as long as she possessed the memories of this day, her life hadn't been meaningless.
"Human, it's almost time to say goodbye. A book I read before said that even if people die, they can reincarnate, and one day they'll return to this world again."
"I'm a vampire, but today I didn't drink anyone's blood. I spent today just like a human, so maybe I'll have a chance to reincarnate too."
"When that happens, I'll do my best to remember today's memories and refuse any suspicious soup an old woman offers me. I hope that in my next life, I can become an ordinary person... and meet you again."
Thinking about it that way made death seem a little less frightening.
But Elias had already reached the limit of what he could endure.
"No. That's not how it is, Luna. It may not sound very convincing coming from me, but once any life dies, it disappears forever."
"Eh?"
"There is no creature in this world more afraid of death than humanity. Generation after generation, we have always been eager to deceive ourselves with lies, believing in some so-called next life, believing that consciousness is eternal. We disguise the world as though death does not exist, but in reality... death truly is the dissolution of consciousness. It is the end of everything."
Elias gave a bitter smile as he spoke. He too had once believed in reincarnation and rebirth, but the truth was that all of it was merely wishful thinking.
He himself was proof, because Elias had once stood before the Imaginary Tree and learned the truth of the world. He knew that death truly meant the end of everything.
Although he referred to his homeland as his previous life, strictly speaking, Elias had never reincarnated or been reborn. His physical body had simply crossed into this world.
"...So that's how it is."
Luna froze. For someone whose life was already nearing its end, it was an unbearably cruel truth, and the vampire girl couldn't help showing a bitter smile.
"It's okay, Human. Even so, I'm still completely satisfied with my life... with today. Thank you for showing me this world. I'm already very happy."
"...Maybe you are. But Luna... I'm not satisfied yet." Elias shook his head, as though he had made some kind of decision.
"Eh?" Luna couldn't help freezing.
"I still want to take you to more places. I still want to show you more things and tell you more about the world. So... I absolutely refuse to accept an ending like this."
An unquestionable will burned within the young man's beautiful mismatched eyes, as though nothing in existence could overturn his decision.
He would make Luna live.
She didn't need such a tragically beautiful ending.
The Herrscher of Reason's authority activated, and an exquisitely crafted silver knife, sharp enough to resemble a work of art, appeared in Elias' hand. Luna instinctively sensed something bad.
Even though her body had already become unbearably weak, she somehow squeezed out enough strength to raise her hand and grab Elias' right hand holding the knife.
"Human, w-what are you trying to do?"
"I want to fulfill our promise."
"But our promise has already been fulfilled..."
"No. It hasn't. Not even close!"
Elias shook his head with grave seriousness as he denied her words. But the next second, his expression softened back into tenderness. With his other hand, he stroked Luna's white hair and continued,
"Silly girl, it's only been one day. You haven't even finished seeing a single city. You've only learned about one HOMU Amusement Park, and you already arrogantly think you understand the world? Luna, you still know absolutely nothing about it."
"In truth, the world you're living in is only a tiny bubble within an infinite sea. Though it is real, it's merely a reflection of the Proper World."
"This world is truly, truly enormous, far beyond anything you can imagine. I once traveled through every city in the world with a girl over twelve cycles, and even then, there were still countless unknowns left."
"So... Luna, don't die."
Living was like painting. Upon a blank sheet of paper called the world, every living person had to turn their own life into pigment and paint the life that belonged to them.
But the canvas called the world was always fading. Once your color vanished completely, it meant there was nowhere left in this world bearing any trace of you. At that moment, you would be truly and utterly dead.
That was why one had to leave behind colors that would never fade, to make this forgetful world remember their existence forever. In Elias' eyes, that was one of the meanings of [living].
And so, he would not allow Luna to die.
This vampire girl had only truly lived for a single day, and that was far too short. She hadn't even had time to leave much of her own color behind. If she died like this, the world would soon forget Luna completely.
Of course, Elias himself would never forget her, but... in the end, he did not belong to this world. He would leave before long.
So...
"Luna, live!"
The vampire girl's strength was nowhere near enough to stop him. Elias drew the silver blade across his wrist, and instantly, irresistibly enticing blood began flowing down like a vivid red thread.
"H-Human, no!"
Luna hurriedly covered her mouth. An unbearable thirst surged up from the depths of her soul, and her blood-red eyes locked onto Elias' wounded wrist.
It was simply too cruel. She had finally resolved never to drink blood again and to spend her final day as though she were human.
Yet he had deliberately cut open his own wrist, tempting her, saving her, insisting that she live on even as a vampire.
(Ahh... Human's blood... it smells so good... I want to drink it so badly... I really can't endure this scent anymore... But I can't... Please, Human... don't keep doing this... I still don't even dare remember the taste I had yesterday... because your blood... really will drive me insane!!)
Tears uncontrollably streamed from Luna's eyes.
For someone already trapped in an extreme state of bloodthirst, Elias' blood was the deadliest temptation in the entire world.
Merely catching the faintest trace of its scent made Luna tremble all over, nearly losing her reason.
The corners of Elias' lips lifted high. He didn't choose to forcibly shove his wrist into the girl's mouth, instead allowing his incomparably precious Holy Blood of Salvation to drip onto the floor of the Ferris wheel cabin.
It was an act even more wasteful than skipping priceless gemstones across a lake, because Elias' blood contained far too much—genes from hundreds of thousands of Honkai Beasts, Schariac Holy Blood of the highest possible purity, and his own DNA.
His blood could create a pure land free from Honkai.
It could save countless people suffering from Honkai sickness.
And at the same time, it contained an unimaginably vast amount of energy.
Otto of the Proper World had once considered using Elias' blood to create a clone of him.
But by now, there was almost nothing left in the world capable of making Elias bleed, so that plan had naturally fallen apart.
"Luna, if you don't drink it, my blood is just going to be wasted. If this keeps up, I might even die from blood loss. So... hurry up and save me. As soon as you're no longer thirsty for blood, my wound will heal."
Luna's eyes filled with complicated emotions.
"...I finally managed to make up my mind, but you still want to give me even more. Human, if this keeps going, I'm really going to become an insatiably greedy vampire."
"That would be wonderful, Luna. Life itself is insatiably greedy. So... live, and experience even more beautiful things."
"!!!"
Luna could no longer endure it. She opened her cherry-red lips and covered the wound on Elias' wrist. The instant that sweet Holy Blood flowed down her throat, an indescribable sense of fulfillment surged through her.
She had not lost her reason. This was not instinct.
It was a choice made by Luna herself.
Rather than become a maddened blood-drinking monster and uglyly devour this person's blood, she would rather accept Elias' kindness as Luna.
And therefore...
This wasn't feeding.
It was salvation.