MGSFV?! Chapter 471: Spiral?; A Popsicle Melting Under the Sun
Many, many people appeared before Bronya.
And finally, came the very first one.
The first Herrscher of Reason—Welt Joyce.
The predecessor that girl admired; the origin of all this inheritance.
In the past, he was someone she—and even Joachim—knew they could never reach, yet still strove toward.
Now, they finally stood side by side—
"I'm sorry. To reach tomorrow, Bronya overturned the past you left behind."
Welt Joyce: "..."
Joyce gazed at her gently, saying nothing.
"But, as the Herrscher of Reason, Bronya does not regret it. After all…"
Bronya paused and stood upright, like a student preparing to hand in her proudest answer to her mentor.
"The only unchanging truth of humanity—is that humanity's truth will inevitably change."
"This world has never been truly perfect, but I am willing to take it from your hands and keep striving—to shape it into the version we hope for."
Welt Joyce: "..."
As always, Joyce said nothing.
But this time…
The smile on his face was brighter than ever. A silent affirmation louder than words.
"..."
And once Bronya saw the smile on his face—
That acknowledgment gave her courage.
She became much more resolute.
"Goodbye, Welt Joyce."
"Bronya is honored… to bear your legacy."
With those parting words—
She finally took the last step.
What followed—
Was transcendence!
Joyce "departed."
With the last trace of "restraint" gone, the Herrscher Core instantly absorbed everything around it.
Those 300,000 thoughts—the final fragments left in this world…
All disappeared, drifting away completely.
But there was no hesitation left in Bronya's heart.
If one cannot accept the loss of something, then they are not truly worthy of possessing it.
This is something Bronya once said.
Only the future can defeat the present.
The 300,000 thoughts of the Herrscher of Reason ultimately belong to history's echoes.
They cannot solve every unknown problem.
When we scale time and space—this truth becomes even more obvious:
Those who shut their nations off could not understand the ever-changing Industrial Revolution;
The brave Zulu warriors still could not defeat the merciless tongue of machine guns.
When a civilization is frozen in a moment, it loses the strength to overcome the future.
And for the Herrscher of Reason—
If she remains trapped in the past, she will never gain the strength to rival Project STIGMA or "Divine Adam."
Therefore—
To defeat the present, she must not cling to past power.
To step into the future, she must truly bear the legacy of the Herrscher of Reason in her own way.
Bronya spread her arms.
The will of her predecessors, the trust of her comrades, countless hopes gathered as one…
The Herrscher Core, reborn through transcendence and reconstruction, touched the girl's chest and radiated a dazzling blue light.
Music began at the perfect moment, pushing the atmosphere to its climax.
Like streams of blue data, the light spread outward from her chest, transforming into new components one by one.
And Project Bunny once again unveiled a brand-new form.
It was a type of mech that should not exist by any theoretical standard.
Previously, Bronya was unable to achieve this.
But now, she was the true Herrscher of Reason.
She had complete freedom—
And became wholly herself.
From beginning to end, she had challenged the unreachable limits of humanity—
And now, in the name of truth, she would once again surpass those limits!!
Even if—
The path she chose is one of constant change, never a one-time resolution.
One day—
She will deny even the version of herself that exists now.
But still…
The brand-new armor shifted form in Bronya's hands.
It followed her will—
Her weapons took shape.
"This is Bronya's answer."
"Humanity's legacy—defined by today's choice."
In Bronya's gray eyes burned firm resolve.
Her side armor panels sprang open, and blue particles gathered from every direction.
Ride on!
Full arsenal deployed!
Bear witness—to the crushing force of the stars!
Blue torrents burst forth, soaring upstream—
With overwhelming, unstoppable power, they shattered the illusory world that Hare had constructed using the power of Project STIGMA.
[!!!!]
[The Reason form of the Schariac Stigmata… now, face the true Herrscher of Reason!!]
[Duck: This is the complete Herrscher of Reason—the complete Bronya—the complete me!!]
[Senti: Do you guys not have your own lines or what?]
Hahaha.
Gotta say, that Senti line is truly universal. No matter where you use it, it fits the mood perfectly.
Like a brick—you can move it wherever it's needed.
[Mech! Gundam!!!]
[Bronya has a new form! Project Bunny has a new form! Double the joy.]
[Project Bunny has evolved again. Suddenly feels like the future's full of hope. Will we get more new forms in the future?]
Of course we will.
Truth has no limits.
So neither does Project Bunny (seriously).
[Joyce, Joyce... leader of Anti-Entropy, the first Herrscher of Reason—it seems this really is your final curtain call.]
[Old Joyce, this is your end—can't you say something?]
[Is it because he has no VA? ᶘᵒᴥᵒᶅ]
[Has Joyce found a VA today.jpg]
As for past Honkai Impact 3rd history, Hokuto doesn't know.
But he can get a voice actor. His original one, even.
Still...
He "personally" thinks Joyce not speaking here might be the better choice.
After all, to be honest, Joyce's portrayal in Honkai Impact 3rd has already begun leaning toward "divinity."
A slightly off metaphor:
If God came down and started chatting with you, that'd be… kinda weird, right?
...
While the livestream chat exploded with banter—
The story continued.
—The battle was decided.
Bronya, now free of Hare's constraints, turned her gaze back to her.
This exhausted and defeated opponent didn't appear particularly upset.
"Haha..."
In fact, Hare even smiled faintly with what looked like joy.
"???"
That made Bronya pause.
Now fully composed, she quickly reviewed everything that had just happened.
And then—
Her brows furrowed. She sensed something wasn't right.
"You... did you do that on purpose?"
[Hare did it on purpose? Honestly, I'm not even surprised anymore. Given the history between Hare and Duck… there's still something between them.]
[Hare gives off this vibe now like… anything she does just feels right. (Academy Head Theresa eating candied hawthorns.jpg)]
[Yeah, even if Hare sliced herself in half one day and said it was to save someone, I'd probably just give her that "Of course you did" look.]
[The one above—I get what you meant, but what a bizarre metaphor (cry-laughing)]
[Alert: The "Master of Weird Metaphors" virus is spreading fast in this stream.]
Elysia: ???
Back to the story.
"Oh? What are you referring to?"
Facing Bronya's question, Hare asked in return, as if the words "I'm guilty" were written on her face.
"..."
Bronya didn't respond immediately to Hare's obvious behavior.
She instead focused again on sensing her Herrscher Core.
Compared to her comrades, her own transcendence had gone surprisingly smoothly.
And of course, she knew why...
"'Only through utter darkness comes true genesis'—just as Bronya devised a surefire strategy before the battle began, you also laid out your plan, didn't you?"
"Oh?"
Hare's tone was casual: "You remembered that line I said offhandedly? It even rhymes, right?"
[Rhymes? Seriously?]
[Is Hare telling a cold joke?]
[Hilarious (seriously) (cool)]
[My review: Not as good as a popsicle melting under the sun.]
Upon hearing Hare's "cold joke" (?),
Bronya reacted about the same as the players.
Bronya: (ᗜ‸ᗜ)
She looked a bit speechless.
What's with this sudden switch to goofball Hare?
[Duck's expression—so iconic.]
...
"Bronya just gave one example. Just like that line's meaning… even as an enemy, you seemed to constantly, consciously or unconsciously, give Bronya the right guidance."
Bronya continued thinking aloud:
"—And thus, led to the present."
Her conclusion was… not far off.
Everything Hare had done thus far—
Before she seized the Herrscher Core using the power of Project STIGMA, Bronya's usage of the Herrscher of Reason's power…
Put simply? It's like Bronya inherited a supercomputer from Joyce and Old Yang that contained all kinds of laws—like Newton's First Law—that could automatically run and solve problems.
So she could operate the Herrscher of Reason's abilities smoothly.
Which is great, usually.
Like having a calculator—you stop doing mental math.
But when Bronya met Hare, things changed.
Because—
Newton's First Law has limitations. It breaks down at relativistic speeds.
Trying to use it to solve modern problems—like Project STIGMA—is like solving relativity with classical physics.
No matter how many times you compute it, you'll never get a valid result.
And so… Duck couldn't use her power anymore.
What then?
History already taught us the answer:
When existing knowledge can't solve new mysteries, what we must do—after inheriting the wisdom of the past—is to continue forward, with a scientific and rigorous mindset, to discover new methods.
It's just that—
Bronya's mindset all this time…
She respected Welt Joyce's legacy too much, to the point where she couldn't bring herself to question it.
She was falling out of step with the times.
So Hare mercilessly beat up Bronya while she was still the Herrscher of Reason, telling her:
"The Herrscher of Reason is nothing more."
Forcing the hesitant Bronya to finally make a decision.
Which is why, when she faced Joyce later, she said…
"The only unchanging truth of humanity—is that humanity's truth will inevitably change."
There's no such thing as an eternally correct answer.
Only those who dare to deny the past can courageously walk toward the future.
...
"Pfft~~"
And when Hare heard Bronya's speculation, she chuckled and waved a finger.
"Don't overthink it. Making this happen just so I could get beat up? I'm not the same me from ten years ago—I don't have weird fetishes anymore."
[???]
[So you did have weird fetishes ten years ago (?]
[Actually true—wasn't Misteln obsessed with self-destruction back then…]
"Oh right, you probably don't know this, do you?"
Hare continued lightly: "I'm the second-generation Hare created by Project STIGMA—
Strictly speaking, not the same pitiful and hateful existence you saw in your memories."
"But speaking of that… I'm actually a little curious. How did humans manage something like this?"
[Hare doesn't know!?]
"You mean… reconstructing the Herrscher of Reason's core?" Bronya asked.
"Yeah…"
Hare was full of curiosity: "Did you—rather than using the core—engrave all 300,000 thoughts into your own will?"
"Or… did the Herrscher Core respond to your will, and automatically complete it for you?"
Bronya: "..."
Based on her experience just now—it was probably both.
She wanted to replicate the core with her will.
And those who shared her belief made the same choice on their own—
Making her transcendence exceptionally smooth.
In the end—
She responded with a somewhat vague answer.
"If the Herrscher's core has a set capacity, and I want to carry an ever-growing past while still moving toward the future..."
"...then Bronya must become another core herself."
[Only by creating opposition can we reach unity (brilliant), the Spiral applauds you (confetti)]
"Spiral? I do feel there's a kind of inheritance between Reason and Vill-V,"
Elysia suddenly spoke.
"Huh? Explain that one to me,"
Hokuto was genuinely curious—he couldn't guess why Elysia would say such a thing.
"Ahem,"
Elysia cleared her throat,
"It's obvious..."
She said seriously: "A spiral ponytail is a kind of 'spiral' too~~"
Hokuto: "...?"
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