"Sigh! If Kiana found out, she'd probably say I was being reckless again, not taking care of my body."
Xin Yu sat on the same bench as before. His face was somewhat pale, and his body looked slightly thinner than before.
However, this time, he couldn't really be considered to have been too reckless. Because it didn't involve the nature of time and space, his lifespan hadn't decreased. It was merely that his energy consumption had been a bit too excessive, reaching the point of overdraft. Even the small heart within his crystal core had stopped beating.
He would probably need to recuperate for a while to return to his previous state.
Was it really worth it? Even if you say you did all this, not many people would believe you now. You merely learned a little about the Will of Preservation from the remnants of those past souls. Why go to such lengths?
Is unrewarded effort worthwhile?
But I never expected a reward in the first place.
After Xin Yu gave this answer to the voice that inexplicably sounded in his mind, he suddenly felt the scene before him transform. He seemed to appear in a boundless starry sky. A figure vaster than a star, a figure possessing an almost bewitching charm, held an ear of wheat in Their hand. Their eyes held pity and compassion for the suffering of all sentient beings.
That gaze, full of love and compassion, fell upon Xin Yu. Subsequently, another surge of energy was added to what Xin Yu already possessed. This energy did not conflict with the Void or Honkai energy in any way. It symbolized endless vitality, symbolized the salvation of myriad beings, symbolized pure life.
As this life-symbolizing energy took root and sprouted within his body, the small heart that had stopped beating began to beat again. Simultaneously, tiny, blood vessel-like networks appeared inside the crystal core.
Xin Yu's originally pale complexion regained its ruddy glow, and his somewhat stooped and frail figure returned to its previous healthy state.
Xin Yu bowed deeply to the Aeon symbolizing Abundance from afar, expressing his gratitude. He then returned to the bench, as if everything just now had been an illusion. But the abundant energy within him and his current healthy body told him that it was definitely not an illusion.
That deity was the Aeon in this universe symbolizing Abundance, salvation, and selfless dedication. They were the personification of life, a deity who pitied all sentient beings.
Xin Yu guided the new energy to merge with his cultivation power. The process was exceedingly smooth. After effortlessly assimilating that life energy, his cultivation power began to take on life-affirming properties.
"...Now, I can also heal the sick and save people like a doctor. I can truly mend damaged bodies, cure those tormented by illness... This means I can help even more people in need, and it also means I have more methods when facing difficulties."
After finishing the transformation of his cultivation power's nature, Xin Yu leaned back on the bench, watching the people on the streets cheering, watching children take off their coats and run freely and happily on the streets, watching the elderly gaze at the brilliant sky with tears in their eyes.
He could see the happiness on people's faces, see their heartfelt smiles, see the hope for the future in their eyes.
Actually, I'm not selfless. Because the reward I seek is precisely this: to see people genuinely happy, just as they are now.
Xin Yu smiled and stood up from the bench. He walked into the joyous crowd.
...
"All the snow has melted, and even the Fragmentum that was about to engulf all of Belobog has disappeared! This... this is truly the blessing of a deity..."
Bronya stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, watching the miracle unfolding outside, her expression still one of dazed disbelief.
"This... Could it be that Qlipoth has manifested?"
March 7th looked outside incredulously. Even from here, she could see plants growing in the crevices of the street corners, many of them even with blooming flowers.
"This doesn't seem like the style of the Aeon of Preservation. It's more like that of the Aeon of Abundance."
Dan Heng frowned slightly. He couldn't shake the feeling that this strange event was related to that self-proclaimed transmigrator.
Xing said nothing. She looked at her Flame Lance, which had returned to its calm state, no longer burning with fire, its temperature back to normal.
...
Aboard the Star Rail, Xin Yu looked around curiously. After all, this was his first time encountering a vehicle capable of navigating the cosmos.
"Hello, Xin Yu. I'm Himeko, the navigator of this train."
Xin Yu turned towards the voice and saw a beautiful, mature woman with fiery red hair smiling and greeting him.
"Hello, Ms. Himeko."
After Xin Yu replied politely, Himeko smiled and handed him a teacup containing a brown liquid. It looked like coffee?
"Would you like a cup of coffee?"
Xin Yu didn't refuse. He accepted the coffee. Just as he was about to drink it, he suddenly noticed the two people behind Himeko had rather strange expressions. One was March 7th, who looked at him with extreme pity. The other, Xing, had her hands clasped behind her head, her eyes darting elsewhere, whistling.
As for Dan Heng, who was usually calm, he didn't even look this way, turning around as if he couldn't bear to witness a tragedy.
Xin Yu somewhat understood. Perhaps, just like Kiana was terrible at cooking, the coffee brewed by this Ms. Himeko probably didn't taste very good either.
However, Xin Yu made no attempt to evade it. He calmly picked up the coffee cup and took a sip.
Under Himeko's expectant gaze, March 7th's pitying look, and Xing's gloating expression, Xin Yu smiled calmly and said, "It is indeed a bit too bitter. Perhaps for others, adding more sugar might make it more acceptable."
Actually, it wasn't just bitterness; there were many more chaotic flavors mixed in. However, for Xin Yu, who had once binged on bitter foods simply because bitterness was all he could taste, to the point where the bitterness reached the limits of human physiological tolerance, this kind of taste was still manageable.
Although his sense of taste had now recovered, the past impressions hadn't faded. So, Xin Yu's tolerance for various extreme flavors was still quite high.
This included some of the bizarre dishes Kiana had made during their eating contest.
Kiana had originally just wanted to play a prank, but she hadn't expected Xin Yu to actually endure the strange taste and eat it, even seeming to enjoy it.
After confirming multiple times that Xin Yu truly had a sense of taste, and that it was normal for a human, Kiana couldn't help but ask him why he could actually eat it.
"The taste of the food might not be good, but the person who made it is more important than the food itself. Besides, one shouldn't waste food, nor should one waste the results of your hard work, right?"
"If you want to practice your cooking in the future, it's alright. I'll always be able to eat whatever food you make."
Kiana: ...This is a charmer.
"That's great! Finally, there's someone on this train who can enjoy coffee with me."
Himeko smiled, expressing her welcome to Xin Yu's arrival. Then, a middle-aged man wearing glasses walked up.
"Hello, I am Welt."