MGSFV?! Chapter 470: Mom Beats Daughter—Mist; The True Herrscher of Reason
[Why is she Yamabuki Armor again?]
[Duck: Is she hacking!?]
Although everyone had already suspected something unexpected would happen, no one expected that Hare would so easily revert Bronya back to her base form.
[As effortless as a father disciplining his son.]
[Correction: It's 'mom' disciplining 'daughter'.]
[...]
Compared to the surprised players outside the game, what kind of feelings would the in-game Bronya—who truly got overturned—have at this moment?
Bronya: "..."
She said nothing and just pondered quietly in her heart.
'This time, she didn't reclaim those thoughts...'
'In other words, she deceived the core's upper limit with three hundred thousand false thoughts?'
Earlier, Hare summoned those Reason Seeds and allowed them to be absorbed by Bronya, letting her gradually recover the Herrscher of Reason's power...
So it was all part of the plan?
"That's right."
Once again rendering Bronya unable to use the Herrscher's power, Hare raised one hand toward her.
"In this battle, you indeed caught my weakness."
"But if a weakness can be easily corrected... it only becomes the key to a counterattack."
She spoke as if she had already secured victory.
And then she said something truly...
"In front of Project STIGMA, the history and glory of the Herrscher of Reason... are not worth mentioning."
[The Herrscher of Reason, is nothing more.]
[Feels like Hare has some personal grudges behind those words.]
"These can't be lumped together at all. The final proof... is precisely you yourself."
Hearing this, of course Bronya couldn't remain completely unresponsive.
But facing her rebuttal, Hare didn't deny it.
Instead, she acknowledged it.
"Of course... I understand my own limits. But generation after generation of Herrschers of Reason—weren't they also limited in the same way?"
Misteln was bound by the salvation ideals of the Schariac bloodline.
And in her view, the Herrscher of Reason was also shackled by an overly blazing belief.
Bronya: "..."
Bronya remained silent, but she didn't think Hare was right.
There exists one kind of collective: those 'dominated by the same concept'—like the Herrscher of Dominance.
Herrscher of Dominance: ??? Please stop beating the dead horse.
There's another kind of collective: those 'sharing the same belief'. That is what the Herrscher of Reason truly is.
The Herrscher of Reason is a collection of 300,000 thoughts, but they didn't gather because they were influenced by some belief.
On the contrary, they already had shared ideals and goals—so they willingly came together.
The force driving them forward comes from their own hearts.
Therefore, when the time comes to make a choice...
The comrades within this collective often make the same decision without prior discussion.
Even without communication, even if their gender, personality, life experience... were all vastly different.
"Face reality."
Hare looked at Bronya, who could no longer fight.
"I only seek victory. I won't harm you. And you... don't need to give everything either."
She said so.
A segment of Project STIGMA, like a torrential and illusory river, instantly submerged Bronya.
Three hundred thousand among seven billion were indeed like a drop in the ocean.
Not to mention that the three hundred thousand were even part of Hare's design.
Up to this point in the story, players couldn't help but worry for Bronya, who now seemed to have no strength left to resist.
But... truly powerless?
Was that really the case?
"You're right. It's time—to face reality, Misteln."
Bronya made her final decision.
She cast aside hesitation and... fear.
How to put it—
Sometimes, even when you know what needs to be done, if that choice will cause the thing you revere to vanish forever, then you'll still hesitate—you'll know what to do, but not have the 'courage' to do it.
...
But... in the end, Bronya was not someone without the resolve to make that choice.
So, as her voice sounded in-game—
The screen shifted.
The inevitable had come.
An animated cutscene began.
The opening resembled the style of "Will of the Herrscher"—countless memory fragments floating in a dreamlike space.
Once before, Bronya had dragged her battered body across this space to seize the Herrscher Core at its center, becoming the Herrscher of Reason, and defeating Tlaloc.
Of course, this time Bronya looked somewhat disheveled, but still far better—far stronger than last time.
Even though what she would face next... might be an even tougher decision.
She stepped forward.
The thoughts of 300,000 surged from the core.
Though transformed by Hare into Reason Seeds, the stories within them were not false.
[He was a survivor of the First Eruption.]
[Back then, all of Berlin was reduced to ruins.]
[When Schicksal found him, he was at the very center of the Honkai.]
[That was Joyce, the first 'Herrscher of Reason'.]
He was the hero Bronya admired.
Also the first Herrscher of the current era to fight for humanity.
However...
His brilliant life was painfully short.
Only because...
Joyce's former pen pal, "Clown α"—now Schicksal's Overseer, Otto Apocalypse.
Then, those five hundred years of darkness descended upon him and his friend without warning.
Surrender, or destruction.
Two extremes were placed before him.
But the Herrscher of Reason refused to yield to fate, and completely disrupted the tyrant's plans.
As a final act of revenge, Otto launched a Honkai Fission Bomb at the city where Welt was located, determined to wipe out all potential threats.
If the bomb detonated, the entire city of New York would be obliterated.
To protect the people—
Joyce didn't hesitate. He activated his Herrscher power with his life, creating a barrier to shield the whole city.
And passed on the will of Welt…
["The name 'Welt' is not a burden to discard. Staten Island, Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Manhattan... do you see these cities—Ada? He—is Welt!"]
That was the meaning of the name.
Joyce was truly happy to receive the name "Welt" from Einstein.
Even though after accepting it, he only lived for one short month.
Yes.
The life that truly belonged to Welt Joyce was so fleeting.
Only the time spent with them (Einstein, Tesla...) was real and vivid.
He could act like a normal boy and shout: "Girls are justice! Girls are always cute!"
This seemingly ordinary and 'real' boy carried out, without hesitation, the meaning of the name he received from her—with his life.
Welt. The world. Protect this world.
In the end, he concluded his story as a hero...
From meeting Einstein on October 20 to parting on Thanksgiving, just one month.
That was the entirety of Welt Joyce's own life.
He simply spent one night watching the stars—and decided to become one.
Simply received a little kindness—and chose to sacrifice himself to protect the world.
He once had eternal life to witness the whole world, yet faded at the very beginning.
Was it enough? Was it satisfying? Was it worth it?
Bronya lingered before this 'story' for a long time.
As the third Herrscher of Reason, she always wanted to ask him those questions.
The answer...
Perhaps, was inevitably a resounding yes.
...
[He inherited the name of the world.]
[Anti-Entropy's current leader and successor, guardian of humanity—Mr. Welt.]
[He carried the world on his shoulders, moving forward step by step. No matter the hardship ahead, he never let go, never backed down.]
[Many said, he was always like that—putting others' happiness first, seldom thinking of himself.]
[Maybe, just like Dr. Tesla said... he's an 'absolute fool'.]
[The second Herrscher of Reason—once Joachim Yang, now Welt Yang.]
He was Bronya's respected teacher and elder.
When he was still a child, in the city Joyce saved with his life, he inherited the Herrscher Core from Joyce.
(Although everyone jokes about Old Yang, it seems Tesla was actually robbing the cradle...)
But for a child—
The burden of protecting humanity was too heavy. He once felt lost, even chose to run away.
Yet when he ventured out and met many ordinary people bravely facing fate, he came to understand the source of beauty and faith.
The boy realized... the name "Welt" was never a painful burden to be cast aside.
Having inherited the Herrscher of Reason's core, he finally fought sincerely to protect humanity's beauty.
In the decades that followed, Welt Yang became the leader of Anti-Entropy.
Together with like-minded companions,
He fought tirelessly to defend the world.
During the Second Eruption in 2000, as the Herrscher of Reason, Welt Yang represented humanity in the challenge against the Honkai.
He wielded the Herrscher's power to construct weapons from human civilization and dealt a heavy blow to the Second Herrscher.
But the Second Herrscher received divine aid on the moon.
Under "God's" power, humanity seemed pitifully small.
Even so, to protect his comrades—and the world—
Welt Yang never faltered.
[Again and again] he risked his life in battle.
Because what he represented...
Was the name "Welt"!
Was the three hundred thousand thoughts within the Herrscher Core!
Was the essence and brilliance of human civilization!
["Again and again"]
[I was watching seriously, and then I lost it.]
[That's the gold standard of Welt Yang sitting up again!]
[Old Yang is a man who can offer up his life repeatedly（]
...
Among the three hundred thousand thoughts, the heaviest stories—that of the first two Herrschers of Reason—flashed before Bronya's eyes.
And when she thought of what she was about to do next, her heart grew heavier still.
But just then...
After the stories of Joyce and Welt Yang—
Many scattered voices entered Bronya's mind from all directions.
"A child like us? She... inherited the Herrscher of Reason?"
"She inherited the name 'us'?"
Bronya stopped. She looked up and around.
But there were no figures for the voices she heard.
"She once hesitated."
"But she overcame her inner confusion."
"She once feared."
"But she conquered her inner cowardice."
"Perhaps… she really can bring new hope to humanity."
Bronya: "..."
Can she... really?
Facing the predecessors she deeply respected, she opened her mouth—unable to hold back the urge to pour out her final hesitation.
"Never yield to the Honkai. Never bow to gods. That is our shared 'will'."
But a solemn voice arrived before she could speak.
Then, a second voice—filled with trust—followed.
"No, there's no need to say more. She is already prepared."
"..."
"..."
Bronya said nothing. But her steps forward grew firmer.
Yes.
Not just her—everyone had already been prepared long ago.
The first Herrscher of Reason, Welt Joyce—he was a native Herrscher, yet chose to fight for humanity, stopping a falling star and saving a city.
The second Herrscher of Reason, Joachim Yang—he inherited the name Welt, dedicated his life, saving humanity again and again from crisis.
No one ever asked them to do it. They chose the world themselves. They chose to stay true to the name "Welt."
So...
Finally, she arrived at her destination. Floating ahead in the air was the Herrscher of Reason's Core.
Bronya raised her hand and slowly grasped the core.
"Here, the third Herrscher of Reason—Bronya Zaychik."
"Will, by her own will..."
But before she could finish—
Dazzling lights suddenly flared all around.
"This is..."
Bronya was confused.
Why were the thoughts of three hundred thousand already dispersing… before she even acted?
"'Welt' is just a name."
"Whether or not that name is passed on, we believe you will continue forward on the path they forged."
"So... let us become, a small cornerstone to protect the world."
Bound by Project STIGMA,
They could exert their utmost power—but only on themselves.
Still, when the moment of choice came—
Those who shared the same belief would choose the same path.
Gathering sparks, building a tower from grains of sand...
Just like in that earlier scene, the moment of Joyce's birth.
Countless people appeared. Countless people vanished.
They... they kissed, gave their blessings...
They prayed for her. Their hands touched her forehead one by one.
They passed on their wishes, and everything they had, transforming into a sail that lifted her soul—and sent her onward.
And with their disappearance, the Herrscher Core seemed freed from its restraints and began to shine with true brilliance.
It began—to construct a brand-new existence.
One that belongs to humanity, belongs to civilization...
The true Herrscher of Reason.
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