MGSFV?! Chapter 348. Elysia's Response
A long time passed.
And then—suddenly, as if a floodgate had burst open, the comment barrage exploded.
[???]
[???]
[???]
First came waves upon waves of question marks.
Then followed lines filled with disbelief.
[Bravo, really, bravo MiHoYo! clap clap clap I can't help but applaud—mmp.]
[An emergency brake at a moment like this?? What is this, fried dough?!!]
[I'm bitter now. I actually popped the champagne at halftime just now???]
[I don't believe it! MiHoYo wouldn't be this heartless! Honkai Impact 3rd is supposed to be a beautiful story!!]
["Healthy, sunny, positive, uplifting"]
Players felt like their hearts had stopped—but a sliver of hope remained.
Maybe it was just a fakeout? Maybe Elysian Realm's bandwidth couldn't handle it? A little lag, maybe?
But…
No.
The light disappeared.
What remained before them was pure void.
The girl's light-hearted laughter still seemed to drift by their ears, but it was impossible to piece the image together again.
The emotional drop-off was crushing.
At the same time, thoughts began to churn—
[What are we missing… Why can't Elysia appear before us?]
"…Is my memory failing me?"
"Or… is it because I still haven't fully understood her…?"
At that moment—
A strange pain began to spread.
It came from the depths of the brain, a lingering sting that wouldn't fade—
"Ugh…" Mei clutched her head and shook off her prior thoughts. "No…!"
"This is… the Herrscher of Corruption…"
Mei's own memories alone wouldn't be enough to fully reconstruct Elysia—there wasn't enough time.
Even with the Flame-Chasers sacrificing themselves one after another to buy time, it was still far from enough.
This gave the Herrscher of Corruption her chance.
With a desperate gamble, she finally caught up to Mei.
[So it was… the Herrscher of Corruption sabotaging things from behind?!]
[Herr·sch·er·of·Corr·up·tion! (grits teeth) Can you just GO AWAY already!!]
[She really just won't go away! Won't go away!!]
Unfortunately, no matter how furious the players were, they couldn't stop her actions.
In the story—
The mental sting relentlessly attacked Mei, continuing to erode her mind.
Even if she couldn't be corrupted, the Herrscher would still be there.
"No… I can't stop now…"
Even faced with this perilous situation, Mei refused to give up.
Gritting her teeth, she looked toward the door ahead.
"Just a little more…"
If she could just open that door…
Then surely—Elysia would…
Mei didn't stop. She pressed forward.
The game now let players take control again.
Naturally, they didn't hesitate—they made Mei sprint toward the door.
"Just a little more…"
But, but—
Just as Mei painstakingly got close to the door, before she could do anything—
The door suddenly vanished…
And what lay before her—was emptiness.
??????
No! Don't pull this on us now!
Worse still—
If players tried to move Mei forward again, they would realize…
She couldn't move anymore.
They couldn't do anything…
"No, no…"
It had been so long since Mei, now a Herrscher, had looked this shaken.
"No… it's not supposed to be like this…"
As everything before her blurred away, the images in her heart only grew clearer.
One by one, memories resurfaced—she saw the Flame-Chasers' backs fading into the distance.
They had sacrificed themselves to pave the path forward for her…
Even with no BGM playing, the atmosphere grew tragically solemn.
That pure-hearted girl once walked through the twilight of doomsday, illuminating the dark night with her unwavering True Self.
Because of her, even in that bleak era, a single flame never ceased to burn.
Its future was meant to lie far ahead. Her story—was never supposed to end so abruptly.
This path wasn't one she built alone.
And of course—
"It shouldn't end with me…!"
"Ely… sia…"
The name trembled from Mei's lips, soaked in sorrow.
It stirred unease deep within.
Was everything truly about to fall into the abyss?
[Am I… really powerless to do anything!?]
[Mei… Elysia… I'm panicking, and there's nothing I can do.]
[No! I don't believe it! Elysia will answer Mei—she has to! There's no way this is how it ends!]
Whether out of disbelief or pure hope—
Players were still waiting.
Waiting for Elysia to respond to Mei.
Because…
This was Elysia.
The one who would always, always—
In fact—
Mei's call was answered.
"Hi there, my cute human. So this is where you've been hiding~?"
Only…
The one who answered Mei—was Fairy Elysia.
Players: ...?
Mei: ...?
Stunned reactions, both in and out of the game.
Fairy Elysia?
How was she even here?
Mei hadn't even had time to voice her confusion—
Fairy Elysia was already talking on her own: "Good thing I heard your call for me! Otherwise, who knows how long you'd have kept hiding!"
"Really now, you said we were playing hide-and-seek together! And then all of you just ran off! Poor us had to search forever!"
"Us…?"
Mei was growing increasingly confused.
"That's right! I've got help too~ Look, she's right here—!"
Fairy Elysia nodded, speaking cheerfully with her usual upbeat rhythm.
The mood, previously stretched thin with tension, finally lightened a little.
Then—
A totally expected surprise appeared.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Miss Mei."
Eden!!
It was Eden!!
The moment players heard that gentle and reassuring voice, their eyes lit up.
Their emotions had been running so high, they had nearly forgotten—Eden hadn't shattered yet…
If Eden was here…
As hope began to flicker, that spark was quickly tempered.
They all knew the reason why.
No need to spell it out.
Come on then, go ahead with the final stab.
They were ready for it—no matter how helpless it made them feel.
"..."
"Mr. 'Otto,' is it too late to switch narrators?"
"…What did you say?"
Hokuto looked at Elysia, confused.
"I mean…"
Elysia hesitated, then slowly said, "Never mind. I'll handle it myself…"
She silently tugged the tissue box a little closer to herself, picked up the device, and continued pushing the story forward.
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