MGSFV?! Chapter 363. The Story After This is Sweet.jpg
Mei lowered her head and looked at the invitation letter.
Beside her, the fairy Elysia who had been watching the memories with her asked,
"At the end… she finally found the answer, didn't she?"
"But… what a heartbreaking answer it is..."
As she spoke, the fairy Elysia's body began to flicker visibly.
So much so that Mei couldn't not notice it.
"Fairy Elysia… you…"
"Aiya… I've been found out."
Fairy Elysia's voice carried a trace of reassurance: "It seems like I've gotten a little... transparent?"
[???]
[Don't flicker, don't flicker, I'm scared.]
[No way... even the puppet gets a knife?!]
[They're really going to hit the support character too?! Seriously???]
In the game—
A look of confusion clearly appeared on Mei's face.
Fairy Elysia began to explain.
"Think about it. I'm just a vessel of memory formed by the Flame-Chasers' thoughts of Elysia."
"And now, those thoughts are slowly turning into your emotions."
"Which means... I'm becoming a part of you."
[Eden: Then I'll become a part of her forever—surely that's... a very romantic thing, isn't it?]
[No way?! Even Fairy Elysia too?!]
[Familiar lines, familiar development...]
You "Elysian Realm folk" need to stop turning into people's "parts" every time!!
Truly...
A wave of emotion suddenly flooded the players' hearts.
Some even wanted to pause the game just to take a breath.
And yet, in the story, Fairy Elysia just smiled.
"Don't worry about it too much. I won't disappear. Because... I'll become me."
"The me remembered by everyone. The me you tried so hard to find. That's still me, without a doubt."
"So don't be sad, don't look back. Watch my story to the very end, okay?"
Players: "..."
Don't be sad? Don't look back?
How did she know they were thinking about running away right now?
This kind of scriptwriting? They'd rate it 82 out of 100.
[Playing psychological warfare now, are we?]
[Relax, the rest of the story is sweet, laugh a bit (I'm almost at the end myself)]
[??? I wasn't worried at first, but now you're making me nervous.]
[Why are you nervous?]
[Because you jokers are terrifying, that's why.]
...
In the story—
"…Okay."
Mei softly agreed.
Hearing that, Fairy Elysia immediately smiled.
"Don't worry! I'll stay with you until the very end. After all, I've long known that lovely humans get lonely very easily."
"Just like you, right?"
That line clearly had layered meaning.
She was saying Fairy Elysia was that "you."
And that "you"—Elysia—was also a lovely human who feared loneliness.
The one disguised as Fairy Elysia only seemed to understand the second layer.
So she beamed with joy.
"Haha, can't deny it... Then let's open the envelope quickly!"
"After this, Elysia heads toward her ending—her final banquet."
"Look... she's already sent you an invitation."
With that—
What appeared ahead was no longer a Crystal Flower, but a pure white door.
The game smoothly transitioned to free movement.
The players looked at the white door, looked at the direction keys, moved Mei forward a few steps—then paused.
They could feel it—this was truly the final step.
Their emotions were complicated…
A bit nervous, a bit hesitant, but also—quietly—hopeful.
It was hard to describe.
In front of the white door, they paced back and forth for a while.
Then took a deep breath.
Murmured in their hearts: Let's go.
Finally, they moved the character through the white door.
Elysia's voice rang out in their ears.
"After that... I thought for a long time."
"Maybe I really was a Herrscher?"
Whether she was talking to herself or someone else, it wasn't clear.
"That would make sense, otherwise a lot of things wouldn't add up."
"Though I did hold on to a bit of naïve hope... I mean, I'm not like the other Herrschers. I didn't become one—I just appeared, right?"
"But now, I have to accept the truth…"
Elysia paused, then continued, a little unsure.
"But if that's the case, what's my power?"
Yeah?
What exactly is Elysia's power?
What is the Herrscher of Human: Ego?
This was, arguably, the final and greatest mystery of Elysian Realm.
Were they finally about to learn the truth?
But before revealing it, Elysia couldn't resist being her playful self.
"No one's ever told me. No one's ever asked me to do anything, either."
"Hmm… let me think. Aside from being just a little bit cuter, a little bit smarter, a little bit more perfect than most..."
"I'm no different from an ordinary person!"
[You ARE human, Elysia!]
[Objection—"a little bit"? It's a billion times more!!]
[Serious theory (pushes glasses): Her power might be... 'extroversion'?]
[Whoever posted that last one, I can't stop laughing.]
[Don't ruin the mood with these kinds of comments!!]
But the story quickly turned solemn again.
"..."
After her playful line, Elysia paused.
"So… this is the answer, isn't it?"
She had finally come to understand.
"To look like a human, to act like a human."
"To breathe like one, to live like one."
"To be joyful at times, sorrowful at times, lost at times, and motivated at others. To be reluctant about the past, yet willing... to let go of the future."
"Then my name must be... the Herrscher of Human: Ego, right?"
"The Herrscher of Humanity. The Herrscher of Mankind."
"..."
From the sound of it, was Elysia's power... humanity?
Some of the Honkai scholars felt like they were starting to understand.
When they considered the differences between Herrschers of this era and the previous—
First came realization.
Then… solemn silence.
Because…
If things were truly heading where they seemed to be heading—
Then the cost would also be exactly as they feared.
The story continued to unfold naturally.
After defining herself—
Elysia decided to do something only a human would do.
To let go of the past, and also... to release the future.
This was her final curtain call.
Her choice.
The final banquet that had been hinted at repeatedly in earlier chapters.
And before the banquet—
She wanted to put on some makeup, to appear at her best.
The scene changed to a young girl's bedroom.
In front of the mirror, the girl quietly combed her hair.
Spread across her vanity was a chaotic array of makeup, proof of the intense "battle" she'd just fought.
"Ugh... I still don't think it looks right."
She wanted to apply the perfect look.
But in practice—it wasn't going well.
"Is the eyeshadow uneven? Wait, are the blush placements asymmetrical too…?"
"Sigh... should've asked Vill-V for more tips. I didn't expect this to be so hard."
[Makeup? Vill-V can do that too?!]
[It's not surprising Vill-V can apply makeup. What can't she do?]
[Fun fact: Only Vill-V and Mobius wear eyeliner in Elysian Realm.]
[Fun fact 2. The Seven Thunders of Retribution has a lipstick form—designed by young Vill-V.]
["Elegant STEM Girl"]
"I am good at makeup."
Elysia paused slightly. "Mr. Otto's characterization is a little off."
"..."
"Then what do you think made the supposedly makeup-savvy Elysia spend so long fussing over herself?"
Hokuto turned his head slightly and posed the question slowly.
"..."
Elysia went quiet, not answering.
But the story already gave it away.
Time quietly passed.
She continued to fuss.
"Ah, my lip line's crooked…"
"Hmm… should I use highlighter…"
"Ah! My eyeliner smudged!"
...
[Why is her eyeliner smudging?!]
[…Everyone, don't think too deeply about that last comment! Don't go there! (coughs blood)]
[If you keep this up, the assassination list's going to include more than just the writers (sharpening knives)]
...
But finally—
"Aha~ All done♪"
Elysia smiled at her reflection, then turned to the twelve invitation letters on the vanity.
Twelve. She'd even written one for Sakura.
But in the end, she never sent them.
This was already a subtle hint—
That the so-called banquet was just a beautiful euphemism.
In reality, it was a mission.
A campaign against the Herrscher.
"After all... I told a very big lie."
"Once a Crystal Flower shatters, it can never be pieced back together. Just like a person's true heart, right?"
"The beauty of humanity… is in how dazzling and fragile it is."
[I'll buy 502 glue and fix it for you!!]
[But the Flame-Chasers' trust in Elysia has never shattered.]
[The flawless 'human'.]
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