MGSFV?! Chapter 364. Huuuuge Sugar Drop!

The Flame-Chasers truly made the choices everyone had hoped for.

Just as Vill-V had said earlier in the story:

"Those who left their seats did so because they believed in Elysia and refused to join the hunt; those who remained did so because they believed in Elysia and chose to attend the banquet."

The flawless person gave her heart—and received others' in return.

Therefore...

Elysia's ending should never be summarized as a "tragedy."

It wasn't sorrowful, though the emotions it evoked were certainly hard to describe.

"If being a Herrscher no longer means farewell,

If every Herrscher has the chance to regain their humanity…"

"Then people would no longer face such impossible choices.

Humanity… might finally gain a chance to find hope."

Even the slower players realized it now—

What Elysia had done with her Authority.

"So, if 'humanity' is my Authority,

If the beautiful things of mankind are what make up the entirety of Elysia…

"Then at the end of this story, let me bring them back to where I was born."

And for the faster crowd—those already ahead of the narrative—they simply grew more solemn.

They listened quietly as Elysia whispered:

"Then, I'll scatter flower seeds across the withered earth…"

"I believe, if it was human civilization that raised me—

"Then I will surely let it bloom once more...

Flawless, and everlasting."

That's what Elysia did.

At the cost of herself...

She sought a spark for humanity—a "negligible" possibility.

She granted every Herrscher the chance to reclaim their humanity.

Even if...

It would still require them to struggle for it on their own. Even if having humanity didn't guarantee they'd stand on the side of mankind...

Because human nature was too complex—not everyone would be as kind and radiant as Elysia.

Even after understanding the world, she still loved it deeply.

Yet...

Elysia still chose to believe.

This world wasn't beautiful, but one day—someone, someone would stand up and shape it into something worth living for.

So she wanted to gift humanity this possibility, more precious than victory itself. A gift for the future Herrschers who wished to resist.

That was the one thing people always hoped for in the end-times, yet never dared to reach.

[!!!!!!]

[My scalp is tingling.]

[So that's it! That's why current-era Herrschers can retain their humanity?! Elysia rewrote the destined tragedy, making resistance meaningful—not just hollow despair.]

Say what you will…

Many still remembered the Flame-Chaser era storyline of the Herrscher of Corruption.

Right after the Herrscher of Corruption was sealed, she desperately launched every nuclear missile silo.

That was the end of human civilization.

Even if MOTH had won every war against the Herrschers…

[Elysia chose to sacrifice herself to grant humanity to all Herrschers… So couldn't every current-era Herrscher be called a Herrscher of Human: Ego?]

[All modern Herrschers are Herrschers of Human?! Oh… suddenly I'm a little...]

[Wait, does that include Herrscher of Dominance and Herrscher of Corruption?]

[Of course it does. Humanity isn't all good—there's a darker side too. Still doesn't stop me from wishing the Herrscher of Corruption would just scram already.]

...

Countless thoughts churned in players' minds.

At this moment, Elysia's memory came to a pause.

Mei stood before Fairy Elysia, lost in thought.

"The invitation that was never sent… that wasn't really a banquet at all, was it?"

"From the beginning, it was a mission. A mission to defeat the Thirteenth Herrscher..."

Fairy Elysia replied:

"But Elysia arranged it as a banquet, because she wanted her ending to be beautiful and brilliant."

"Still, she never sent those invitations."

Mei's voice darkened:

"She was afraid her truth wouldn't be accepted.

Afraid that her only lie would hurt those she cherished."

Now, the invitation that was never sent was in Mei's hand.

It sparkled like a poem, a confession, waiting for someone to open it.

Anyone else would've eagerly done so by now.

But… what Mei did next shocked everyone.

She let go.

She let the invitation drift away with the wind—vanishing into the distance—without a word.

"Eh?!"

"Wh-What are you doing?!"

Even Fairy Elysia broke character.

"Dearest human, why…?"

Yes, why?

Players wanted to know too.

There's no way Mei was rejecting Elysia's banquet… right?

Of course not.

Mei gave her answer:

"There was never a Thirteenth Herrscher... was there?"

"If the sender never existed, then what meaning does the invitation hold?"

"Even if they didn't receive an invitation—didn't the real-world Flame-Chasers still make the same choice as I did?"

[Oh? Whew, you scared me, Mei…]

[Mei's emotional intelligence skyrocketed after this Elysian Realm journey.]

[Still, Mei didn't have to toss the letter like that... I was kind of curious what Elysia wrote in it.]

Of course, Mei had her reasons.

Even though Elysia never sent the letters, most of the Flame-Chasers still refused to fight her.

In the end, only four witnessed her conclusion.

To Elysia, that must've been a small regret.

Because...

A finale surrounded by everyone—that would've suited her sense of beauty far more.

So Mei decided to use her own memories to weave a story that had never happened before.

To weave… a perfect banquet.

Honestly, when Hokuto wrote this scene, he already pictured the Flame-Chasers applauding around Elysia.

Ah, MiHoYo… this got me in tears.

Of course, that's Hokuto's sentiment.

Players in this world could appreciate the moment with pure emotion.

[Is this Mei's idea of romance?!]

[So sweet, too sweet.]

[Are we about to get a huuuuuuuge sugar drop?!]

[Definitely! No doubt about it!]

"But… is something like this… really possible?"

Players: ???

Who the heck is dampening the mood right now?

Like this story Leave a review ; it would really help me out a lot.

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MGSFV?! Chapter 365. Honkai Impact 3rd's Signature 'Pure Sugar'

"Is something like that… really possible?"

Fairy Elysia thought her last line didn't come out quite right, so she said it again—cough cough, or maybe not.

What the players quickly realized was: that was Fairy Elysia's voice.

"I don't know."

To Fairy Elysia's doubts, Mei gently shook her head.

"But… I have to try. I promised Vill-V—I would do my best to create an ending that is... the final one for everyone."

If it's for everyone, then of course she couldn't leave out the most beloved person in the Elysian Realm…

"This is the wish of the Flame-Chasers—and also... my wish."

[Now v2v exists only in dialogue.]

[Mei is still so gentle. Mei really is always Mei. Changed, yet unchanged.]

[Mei! Turn this imperfect story into what we long for!]

[Mei-One, my superhero!]

Hearing Mei's words rekindled the players' spirits.

"But..."

Fairy Elysia still hesitated. "The memory data of the Flame-Chasers is already gone."

"Are you going to recreate all twelve of them... by yourself?"

[Come on, Fairy Elysia, why the constant cold water?]

[No 'but'! No more buts! Don't say anything! (shouting)]

They were just yelling at Fairy Elysia... and would soon regret it.

Very soon—

...

In the story.

Mei heard Fairy Elysia's concern, and replied with gentle clarity:

"That truly is an impossible task."

"So now, I can only invite the last person in the Elysian Realm to join this final banquet… and that is—"

She paused, raised a hand to her chest. "Myself."

"Since this all takes place in my own consciousness, adding in a bit of my own memory as flavor shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"If the traces of the past can become hope in a far-off future…"

"Then the future she created can also become—hope returned to the past."

Mei was… eloquent now.

She had grown a lot. In the Elysian Realm, she had grown so much.

Many players felt this deeply in their hearts again.

But…

They didn't even have time to type these thoughts into the chat before Mei suddenly turned to Fairy Elysia and asked—

"You think so too, don't you?"

She gazed toward Fairy Elysia, and the words that followed made everyone collectively freeze.

"—Elysia?"

...Huh?

What??

...WHAT????

Fairy Elysia is Elysia?

Players were instantly floored. Brain buffers overloaded.

A moment passed before the stream chat finally exploded:

[What? Fairy Elysia is Elysia??]

[No wonder I kept thinking something was 'off' about her.]

[I just yelled at Fairy Elysia earlier, I… writer, how are you this good at plot twists...]

[Elysia's always got a surprise up her sleeve.]

[Wait, Fairy Elysia's flickering… are we saying goodbye again? Was this planned?!]

Whether the MiHoYo writers planned it or not—

The fact was, players really were saying goodbye to Elysia one more time.

The story continued.

"Mei…"

Fairy Elysia—no, Elysia, as her name on the dialogue subtitles now showed—didn't laugh it off like before.

She asked quietly, "When did you find out?"

"From the moment you called yourself Elysia, instead of the mature me."

"Wasn't that... the very beginning?"

"After all, your childhood tales never read like secondhand stories… They had that heavy layer of fairy tale sparkle."

Elysia twirled her wand playfully, making a cute little gesture—even though her cover had been blown.

"Just some literary devices! The content was real, I swear."

Mei didn't doubt her, and responded softly.

"Of course. I won't doubt you anymore."

Many players nodding along with Mei felt the same.

So much had happened since entering the Elysian Realm.

No one doubted Elysia's True Self anymore.

She truly was the Immaculate One—exactly as the title suggested.

If anything, some felt regret for ever doubting her at all.

"What I saw... was your True Self. And the things you said along the way—those were your true feelings, weren't they?"

"Just like the twelve invitation letters that were never sent. You were scared… scared that I wouldn't accept the truth about you."

As Mei spoke on—

Many little questions from earlier in the story were answered.

Like—

Why did Fairy Elysia panic so much when Mei threw away the invitations?

If it was really Elysia... it made perfect sense.

After all, how much courage must it have taken for her to finally send that letter, something she had failed to do so many times before?

And then Mei just threw it away. Of course she was frantic. Of course… she was afraid.

"But even though you were scared… you still bared your entire past to me."

"Borrowing the appearance of Fairy Elysia, sticking close to me in nervous silence, watching how I would react…"

At this point, Mei couldn't help but laugh a little.

"So much for being a Herrscher—you were just an ordinary girl."

An ordinary girl.

That line struck Elysia right in the heart.

Her lips couldn't help but curl upward into a smile.

The players, seeing this, wanted to smile too—but the moment they saw Fairy Elysia's model flickering onscreen—

Their smiles froze.

This story was sweet—so sweet. It was undeniably the sweetest arc of this entire segment of the main story.

But if you asked whether it was totally free of pain...

Well, that's where the sting lay.

Their emotions were now complicated and layered.

It was, as the saying went—

A blade made of sugar.

[Sweet sweet sweet—but, huh... why am I crying?]

[It's just the tears of emotion. Really.]

[I get it now. Pure sugar—but that doesn't mean no knife.]

[Only Honkai 3 can make sweetness hurt like this. It really hits different.]

Since they all felt they'd achieved enlightenment—

Surely they were ready for the climax to come.

...

"You really did see right through me, Mei…"

Elysia smiled faintly.

"But I'm only part of Elysia—the corner of her that you awakened first."

"So now, I can fade away peacefully, and become a part of you, Mei."

"We'll part for a little while here… and then, you'll awaken the complete Elysia, right?"

"…Mm. I will."

Mei nodded earnestly.

"Thank you for opening your heart to me. And thank you..."

She looked at the armored doll before her, smiling gently as she said in a soft voice—

"For staying with me all this way."

"I should be the one thanking you—for accepting everything about me."

Elysia replied, pausing just a moment.

Not wanting to let the mood get too heavy, she decided to lift it her way—

That familiar flavor~♪

"Mei… if we're going to say goodbye, shouldn't we use the proper phrase? Something that mirrors the activation word... like the Fairy Admin's deactivation command."

"Ehehe, someone as clever as Mei must know it, right?"

"..."

"…Goodbye, my dear Elysia."

Mei responded without hesitation—unlike her earlier awkwardness.

Because the moment was right.

And when the players heard Mei say those words, they no longer felt amusement or whimsy.

Only—"That's good. That's really good."

And in their hearts, a strange contradiction bloomed—an urge to say something… while also feeling no words were needed.

…They had thought they were just onlookers, but now the emotions felt real. (moonhalo)

Stranger still, everyone seemed to feel this way.

The stream chat, once buzzing, had gone calm.

They just watched in silence as Mei stepped onto the final platform.

As she was about to walk into Elysia's story—

Their palms dampened slightly with sweat. Their feet curled unconsciously—

Eager anticipation tinged with nervous awe.

"Come, Elysia. Show me everything from that banquet."

"And… show me everything about you."

...

[...]

Before the next scene began, the screen lingered on ellipses.

Already tense, the players felt an instant jolt of trauma.

Stop it with the ellipses already, okay?

If you're going to do it, just do it!!

Very well—let's just do it.

The game screen cut—

Under a night sky filled with stars, there were only two people.

Elysia's voice followed.

"This is all of me. I felt I had to tell you before everything ended…"

"…Mei."

Mei??