MGSFV?! Chapter 444. To Survive or to Perish; Praise Be to Elysia
As the old saying goes: unsolicited kindness hides ill intent.
Hokuto had just appeared on screen for a short while, yet already she'd clearly laid out the framework of the Stigmata Project, and even helped Mei and Bronya remove their mental shackles.
Not to mention she kept sending flirtatious glances at the Duck.
Did she ask Seele for permission...
Ask Seele? Hokuto's even planning to flirt with Seele next when Bronya isn't paying attention.
Ahem. That's... not the point right now.
Back to business.
Anyway, most players genuinely felt they couldn't trust that Hokuto wasn't harboring some ulterior motives toward Bronya.
This woman—is definitely suspicious! Duck, stay sharp!
...
And within the story.
Hokuto's response only further confirmed what everyone was already thinking.
When Bronya looked up, she found Hokuto already staring at her. The two locked eyes. Hokuto blinked calmly and smiled with serene composure.
Everyone instantly concluded: It's no illusion. Hokuto is definitely still hiding something from us.
"Bronya?"
Kiana's voice came with a gentle call of concern.
"It's fine. Bronya is okay."
Bronya returned to herself and shook her head. "But rather—Kiana, Mei, are you two ready?"
The girls paused, then shared a knowing smile.
—Of course.
[!!!]
[It's finally time.]
[Let's gooo!]
At this point in the story.
It was clear—the trio was about to face the Sovereign of World Serpent: the final warrior of Fire Moth—Kevin Kaslana.
They would attempt to conduct in-depth discussions over whether the Stigmata Project was truly open, fair, and impartial. They would aim for strategic collaboration, leveraging both sides' respective strengths, pursuing complementary advantages to enhance their core competitiveness...
Alright, enough corporate speak.
"..."
In short.
Thinking of what was coming, the players instinctively sat upright, eyes fixed, attention fully focused.
Let's go. They were ready to be shocked.
...
The scene shifted back to Kevin.
He stood still in silence—just as he had for the past fifty thousand years.
In the past, he let the waves of memory and thought wash over him, chewing again and again on a past with no trail to follow... over and over for millennia.
Now, when the river of time had already emptied into the ocean, he needed only to wait in silence.
"It's over?" Kevin asked.
"It's over," Hokuto replied.
"Good." Kevin was succinct as ever.
Hokuto: "..."
[Be cautious of the spreading meme virus: "punctual clock-in."]
[Every time it switches to Kevin, the entire tone shifts—cool in every sense of the word.]
[This is what you call aura (doge)]
[Honestly curious if Elysia ever touched his ears and horns.]
[Anyway, Kevin's outfit is really hot. I literally couldn't look away.]
[...?]
[Must be because Kevin is just that big. So big he can't fit on one screen.]
[Big...???]
And though Kevin didn't seem eager to chat, Hokuto still asked one more question.
"Aren't you curious about what I've done? You seemed at least slightly surprised when I came to find you."
"No need." Kevin remained concise.
Hokuto: "..."
No denying it—this man was an expert at killing conversations.
She'd heard Kevin used to have a decent sense of humor.
He'd even say things like "I'll be your one and only hero," or "Your smile is beautiful"...
Now, he just looked like a walking ice cube.
Kevin...
"You may go. They're about to arrive."
Kevin's soft voice snapped Hokuto out of her thoughts.
She gave him one last glance, then quietly left.
...
Gameplay resumed with free movement.
Kiana and her team appeared at the edge of the map—Kevin stood not far ahead, back turned, radiating silent pressure.
Because of Hokuto's special design for this sequence, the final path was not only handed over to the player, but slightly optimized.
That man stood with his back to everyone, exuding an overwhelming sense of presence.
Players: "..."
Whether it was the BGM, the scene, or something else...
They truly felt a moment of hesitation.
Kevin's oppressive presence was much stronger than expected.
And now Kiana's team was supposed to walk upstream against that pressure?
Facing Kevin wasn't something easy—on the contrary, it required serious psychological fortitude.
Thoughts swirled in the players' minds. Their fingers gently pressed the movement keys. The characters began moving forward.
One step. Another.
Slow and resolute, they reached Kevin's back and stopped.
Sensing their approach, Kevin slowly turned around.
And spoke first: "Let us clarify one thing. Fu Hua is not here."
...Fu Hua??
As the one who knew Kevin best among them, Mei immediately noticed the difference in how he referred to her.
Normally, Kevin only called her "Hua."
Calling her "Fu Hua" now probably meant something.
Kevin continued, "She is my only comrade left in this world—and a respectable opponent."
"But the Stigmata Project has no need for such things. That's why I didn't mind using my own way... to let her rest for a while."
"...Just like what you did last time in North Africa, correct?" Mei asked.
North Africa...
That was a long time ago—back when the Queen was still around.
Kiana had been on the verge of losing control. Kevin had shown up intending to take her away.
He was stopped only because Otto shot him, and the consciousness-bound Fu Hua intervened through Feather Dust, helping Kiana escape.
Fu Hua was then captured by Kevin (and later handed to the Herrscher of Sentience).
"...As long as she's okay," Kiana finally sighed in relief.
"She is. And more importantly... just as I did with her, I will not refuse any request for battle from you."
Kevin's tone was cold. Yet... he actually sounded far more reasonable than expected?
Honestly, some players had assumed Kiana's group would jump straight into combat.
Talks? Actual negotiation?
They began to hope—maybe, just maybe...
"Kevin, I know all the history. I understand why you had to make the choices you did—so this is not a duel. It's a conversation."
"You may ask questions."
"..."
Mei fell silent for a moment—Kevin's familiar speech style catching her off guard.
Bronya, however, spoke: "『No matter the cost, humanity will overcome Honkai』—in your eyes, does that cost include humanity itself?"
"You're mistaken, Herrscher of Reason."
Kevin's voice was grave. "Humanity will never perish. Even if the humans of today cease to exist, civilization will carry on. Just like dinosaurs evolved into birds."
"Even if it means pushing today's humans to extinction?"
"Every species must choose between extinction and stagnation. Humanity is no exception."
[But... there's a big difference, right? The logical forms clearly don't see themselves as human.]
As Mei and Kevin's conversation began, the livestream chat exploded.
[Yeah, birds don't consider themselves dinosaurs. Humans don't see themselves as apes. Human society isn't dinosaur society reborn.]
[But... does it matter whether the bird calls itself a dinosaur? Isn't it more important that extinction is avoided?]
[Anyone heard that news story? "Due to deforestation and road construction, rare apes are nearing extinction." Society clearly sees humans as humans, and apes as apes. So if only logical forms remain, humans are extinct.]
[But aren't there still some awakened Stigmata survivors?]
[If it's just about preserving a handful of people, Schicksal's island operation, or the Pre-Civilization cryo pods, could've done that.]
Kiana and the others also had many counterpoints to Kevin's beliefs.
But this wasn't a debate.
They wanted to know—was there still any room for compromise?
Kevin was willing to talk—but his conviction was firmer than they imagined.
So much so that Mei couldn't help but raise her hand to her temple.
She decided to ask something else.
"Kevin, there's something I've long been wondering... Finality—what exactly is it?"
The man looked up. Through the thin veil of Honkai energy, he gazed into the infinite darkness above.
And slowly spoke: "『One day, It fell from the sky. People looked up—and saw the stars.』"
Wasn't that from the Book of Ament...?
Ahem. No, not really. That line first appeared in the Elysian Realm. According to that scene, it was a record discovered on the moon by the Flame-Chasers.
It also wasn't nearly as long as the full version of the Book of Ament.
As for how it became the widespread version known to all Honkai players...
Well, you'd have to bring up "Pope Ament" Eden—she's suspected of writing the rest herself.
After all, Elysia did say...
"Be sure to praise me often! I'll be very happy."
Eden loved Elysia so much—of course she'd write poems for her.
Besides, Elysia deserves it.
...
Alright. Back to topic.
Kevin recited a "classic" line.
Then he began to explain the ultimate conclusion of the Previous Era.
Finality is not of Earth. It's a mechanism capable of manipulating fate—a device that forces humanity's civilization into loop after loop—
All to help its creator find similar beings.
In other words, Finality is a terraforming device inserted into Earth by a high-level—let's say advanced—civilization with collective will, designed to seek kin.
It uses Honkai's filtering mechanism to produce Herrschers of Finality.
These Herrschers observe Earth's development. If the civilization fails to meet the creator's standard, they use their authority to reset it.
As for how the Stigmata Project can overcome Finality—some people might wonder. It's not like it can surpass a time-controlling mechanism.
But the reason it can—is because its results align with the creator's expectations.
Essentially, humanity finally built a satisfactory tool at the workbench. So naturally, there's no need to dismantle it back into raw parts.
"So... this is why the Stigmata Project is guaranteed to succeed?"
"Yes. It targets Finality's weakness—controlling it in a way it cannot refuse."
[!!!]
[Even though I was mentally prepared, the info dump is insane.]
[...Not gonna lie, I didn't really get it (genuine). Isn't Honkai the filter?]
[Yes. Some civilization used Honkai as a filter to create Finality, which loops until Earth matches that civilization's ideals.]
[In short, there used to be many ways to defeat Honkai—but once that civilization intervened, Earth was left with only one solution.]
The livestream erupted with discussion.
Hokuto also "helpfully" offered from the side:
"Elysia, do you need me to explain the plot to you?"
"Eh?"
Elysia blinked. "No need, right? I think this chapter was pretty easy to follow."
"Huh?"
"Is there a problem?"
"Uh..."
How should he put it...
Technically, no problem—but it was a bit surprising?
After all, Hokuto had reworked this chapter a lot—adjusting pacing and structure. But none of the core plot was cut—if anything, it was intensified.
To use a very Honkai metaphor...
The way this chapter dropped the truth about Finality and the Stigmata Project was as fast as Li Sushang charging SP.
Raven: ??? Is that even a valid comparison?
Raven: I won't stand for this online slander!
Hokuto: Apologize to Miss Natasha. Be serious.
Raven: ...
Anyway.
Despite this massive data dump, Elysia—who usually struggled with story logic—claimed to understand all of it completely.
Which, ironically, made people doubt whether she actually understood.
Maybe she was just pretending?
"?"
"Mr. 'Otto,' are you thinking something impolite right now?"
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