"When our souls pass through the cemetery, we are all equal."
Welt gently stepped on the soft, leaf-covered soil. After the rain's scouring, the ground had become soft and slippery. This should be the last rain of late autumn.
"Strolling through a cemetery, Joyce, your taste is truly unique."
Liesel lightly stepped on the withered yellow leaves behind Welt, creating a soft, dry rustling sound as the leaves crumbled. Walter took a deep breath of the slightly chilly late autumn air, a gentle smile appearing on his face, and slowly turned his head.
However, he took a few steps forward, intentionally stepping on the dry yellow leaves. "To be accompanied by these great souls, wandering in an autumn park… you could say it's my rather unique taste, or rather, it's more like Kallen… the Overseer."
"The Overseer…?"
"Yes, perhaps in your eyes, she has always been a cruel and ruthless tyrant?"
Joyce gently walked past a tombstone, his gaze drifting towards the dim yellow sky. A waning sun was slowly disappearing from view beneath the golden-red clouds, leaving behind only a faint golden light spilling across the earth.
Liesel was silent for a moment, then sighed softly, circling behind a Valkyrie's tombstone to stand beside Joyce. "I don't know. Actually, unlike Tesla, I find it hard to pinpoint my attitude towards the Overseer. I'm from the post-war generation, but my parents were both born before the war. They experienced displacement and incredibly painful wars. From that perspective, I should thank the Overseer. Without her… this human world war would have destroyed human civilization before the Honkai did."
"That's just who she is… a difficult person to judge. Just like her own character, her tangled and repetitive fate has trapped her in a past long gone."
Joyce gently stood beside a bench, his tone filled with unforgettable memories. "Actually, she has always been immersed in past memories, yet forced to keep moving forward."
Just as she told me, emotions are humanity's greatest power…
And it was this great power that kept Kallen's persistent love unchanged from over five hundred years ago until now.
Many people say, "For you, I am willing to change the world."
But only Kallen truly did it.
That persistent, eternal, unchanging love… seemed to bury all other aspects of her humanity deep within. Joyce even wondered if Kallen was still capable of loving others, still capable of the pure, innocent love and tenderness of the past.
Even just the love buried deep in his heart was enough to make Joyce feel a little bittersweet and let out a helpless sigh.
Otto Apocalypse…
What kind of person were you, to make her remember you for five hundred years, and love you for five hundred years?
"You were the Overseer's student before. You seem to understand her much more than ordinary Valkyries."
Liesel walked in front of Joyce, asking in a somewhat leisurely tone. However, Joyce could still hear the slight tremor in her voice when she said the words "the Overseer."
"…Actually, I can't really say I understand her much. Although I was the Overseer's student, she's not… the typical kind of teacher in the usual sense. At least, the number of times I could meet with her wasn't very frequent."
Joyce gently rubbed his slightly sore eyes and walked towards the road ahead. Walking on the leaf-covered sidewalk, the slightly chilly atmosphere all around made Highgate Cemetery seem very desolate and bleak in this moment.
Joyce stepped on the dry, yellow leaves, strolling with Liesel through the cemetery at dusk.
"Humans are like this, generation after generation igniting sparks, and then later generations catching the torch, constantly groping forward in the darkness. Precisely because of this, perhaps commemorating predecessors becomes incredibly precious, incredibly important."
Joyce gently caught a leaf falling from a tree, crushed it into leaf fragments. The cool autumn wind blew the leaf fragments far away, leaving only a few wisps of ash falling onto the ground.
Slowly walking to one of the tombstones, a very familiar figure appeared in Joyce's eyes.
Leanna, dressed in pure white, was kneeling on one knee on the cold stone slab covered with fallen leaves. She gently placed a bouquet of flowers in front of the tombstone, sighed softly, and slowly stood up.
"Rest in peace, friends. May you find eternal peace in heaven."
Joyce hesitated for a moment, but in the end, he still walked over, gently stopping behind Leanna. "Miss Leanna?"
Leanna turned slightly, a somewhat bitter smile on her lips. She nodded slightly to Joyce. "Hello, Mr. Joyce. I didn't expect to see you in a place like this."
"Um… there's no need to be so formal with me. Are you on vacation recently?"
Leanna simply nodded slightly, not saying anything. Liesel walked to Welt's side, looking at the blonde Valkyrie, a slightly surprised expression on her face. "Miss Leanna Brigantia? You're…"
"I just happened to have some time off, so I came here to relax… and to commemorate my subordinates who sacrificed themselves in the First Honkai Eruption."
Seeing a trace of sadness in Liesel's eyes, a reluctance to recall painful memories, Liesel didn't continue to ask. "That's quite… um, quite a coincidence. Where does Miss Leanna plan to go next?"
"Well, I haven't decided yet. The Overseer doesn't need me back for the time being. I guess I'll stay in London for a while, until the Overseer orders me to return to Vienna Headquarters."
Liesel gently tossed her light blue hair, thinking for a moment. "Then let's find a café to sit down. It's already so cold, staying here will always feel a bit uncomfortable."
"Hmm… a café, it's been quite a while since I've been to one. That sounds good. Let's go then."
============
The roaring helicopter sped towards the airspace over New York. From the open helicopter door, paratroopers with open parachute packs, carried by the breeze, descended onto the streets.
The citizens of New York watched in astonishment as infantry fighting vehicles and tanks unloaded from tilt-rotor aircraft rumbled down the streets.
Soldiers wearing the crossed double-key emblem of the Schicksal Airborne Forces, holding automatic rifles, assembled at the whistles of their officers.
"Loyalty!"
"Unity!"
The paratroopers raised the automatic rifles in their hands. Major General Wesley, commanding the 102nd Airborne Division, raised his walkie-talkie. "Hello, hello, this is the 102nd Division. Manhattan area is under control. Should we begin the assault on the North American branch now?"
"Received. This is Airborne Forces Command. The Overseer's order is: command your division to rapidly advance on the North American branch. If there is resistance, unlimited force may be used. Summary execution is permissible."
"Yes, received."
Major General Wesley reconnected the channel. "All troops, listen up. Commence the assault on the North American branch now. Strive to control the North American branch within 12 hours."
"Yes, roger that!"
Leanna simply nodded slightly, not saying anything. Liesel walked to Welt's side, looking at the blonde Valkyrie, a slightly surprised expression on her face. "Miss Leanna Brigantia? You're…"
"I just happened to have some time off, so I came here to relax… and to commemorate my subordinates who sacrificed themselves in the First Honkai Eruption."
Seeing a trace of sadness in Liesel's eyes, a reluctance to recall painful memories, Liesel didn't continue to ask. "That's quite… um, quite a coincidence. Where does Miss Leanna plan to go next?"
"Well, I haven't decided yet. The Overseer doesn't need me back for the time being. I guess I'll stay in London for a while, until the Overseer orders me to return to Vienna Headquarters."
Liesel gently tossed her light blue hair, thinking for a moment. "Then let's find a café to sit down. It's already so cold, staying here will always feel a bit uncomfortable."
"Hmm… a café, it's been quite a while since I've been to one. That sounds good. Let's go then."