Amid the audience's shock, the screen dimmed.
The prison cell from Sunday's memories surfaced.
Lady Bonajade stood outside the door, carrying her usual mystery and calm as she said, "You are free now. A chosen who tried to overstep your role, break your own wings, descend to the human world, walk upon the earth, and witness the true face of this world."
The recollection shattered.
Sunday looked at Wonweek and said calmly, "She only left me with those meaningful words. As for whether I can repay the price of freedom… at the very least, I must first know what that price is."
The oppressive feeling of Jade was mostly reflected in moments like this.
After Sunday finished speaking, Wonweek rubbed his chin and put away his usual frivolous attitude.
That woman was not someone easy to deal with.
A price without a clear definition is always the most expensive.
Yet for Sunday, he never had a choice to begin with.
"Let's go."
"You insisted on coming back, are you really willing to see the shield?" Wonweek gathered his thoughts and spoke to Sunday.
"Yes." Sunday nodded, looking at the familiar scenery of the street.
"A tie should rest along the shirt's line of buttons. A shirt must not show beneath the vest. And one should always be orderly and composed at the entrance of the Penacony."
"And when bidding farewell to one's hometown, it should be the same."
The two continued walking together. Just like the most ordinary pedestrians, wandering through Penacony's large and small streets.
Soon after, they arrived at the Clockie Theatre. Because of the residual effects of the Stellaron, the park had developed some problems.
Nothing major, even if the two ignored it, the Bloodhounds could handle it quickly.
However, for Sunday, this Clockie Theatre held extraordinary meaning.
This was the place where, as a child, he first received authority from Gopherwood and began his "governance."
Wonweek was curious. "You rose step by step afterward. Looks like you did pretty well here, huh?"
But Sunday shook his head. "On the contrary, it was a complete mess. This amusement and theater park eventually became deserted, that was the first failure of my life."
According to Sunday's account, his first actions as a child were completely disastrous.
Once Gopherwood bestowed him the right to govern, every word he spoke within this perimeter carried the weight of law.
Because desserts were extremely popular, long lines often formed and even caused chaos.
So he set down a rule: no scrambling, take desserts in order.
Performers were too popular and constantly faced overzealous fans, so he also established regulations to protect them.
And then there were strange rules like "you can't throw trash into the trash cans."
Judging them alone, some of these rules were still barely understandable.
But when it came to enforcement, six-year-old Sunday revealed his methods for the first time.
Anyone who violated these rules would be forcibly corrected through powerful tuning.
Those who scrambled for desserts would vomit them back out.
Anyone who stepped onto the stage would be expelled all the way to the park entrance.
...
: Damn, was this because of Sunday's misuse of authority?
: This is why people call Sunday a born vessel of Order.
: His methods were too iron-fisted. That's real Order, my words are law.
: To be fair, definitely iron-fisted.
: So in the end, this evolved into the very foundation of Penacony's citywide rules?
: What's funny is that all the rules he made came from good intentions, those problems really did exist.
...
As Sunday revealed more details of his childhood, the audience's scrutiny of this idealist grew deeper and clearer.
And at this moment, standing outside the park, Sunday was also scrutinizing his younger self.
The rules he created back then made the park utterly terrible, even though he later realized his mistakes.
Yet those rules were passed down through people's mouths, word by word, until today.
Under the Harmony's influence, these rules were further distorted.
Taking desserts in order became twisted into: all foods except hamburgers must not be eaten.
"I once thought this failure was a lesson."
"That I would learn from it and grow."
"But now that I've returned to this old place, I finally realize, I've always been trapped here, never taking a single step forward."
Sunday spoke softly.
Looking back at everything through the eyes of a failure, the core of this matter was no different from the Dream of Order.
So where did the problem lie?
If his childhood self never found the real mistake, could he find it now?
"Let's go. We need to resolve these distortions."
"If we encounter something I can't handle, I'll still need your help."
Sunday led Wonweek into the park.
Through their combined effort, the park's aberrations were soon completely cleared.
And this time, Sunday tried not to set any rules at all, just to clean up the distorted ones.
Everything returned to the park's original state.
No special rules.
If you like sweets, eat them.
If you like chasing the actors, then chase.
In the past, this was what Sunday hated most, the chaos he believed was the root of disaster.
Because it was too free.
Before the Dream of Order, he would inevitably think:
If desserts become too popular and lines get too long, won't that cause tension? Would impatient people start pushing or attacking those ahead?
Would people with status use their identity to pressure those who waited properly for their treats?
Fairness, oppression, the strong versus the weak,
He would ponder all these things from just one incident.
But now, he simply chose to do nothing, and let everything be.
Sunday didn't gain any particular enlightenment from it. He still hated this chaos, because chaos breeds wrongdoing.
But this time, he tried to accept it, rather than forcibly twist it back into shape.
"The park's rules were twisted and distorted."
"So… is what I call 'order' just another form of distortion?"
The confusion in Sunday's eyes deepened.
But he didn't linger on it too long. After adjusting his mood, he continued his journey with Wonweek.
And many audience members, their eyes lit up after seeing this part.
....
: I knew it. Since Sunday came running out, Mihoyo definitely wouldn't let him come out for nothing.
: Does this mean he's about to have an epiphany?
: If after today's incident in the park, Sunday understood the distortion and chose to restore order, then I would've simply thought he just broke out of prison.
: But he actually chose to let go, chose to accept this chaos, this imperfection he used to hate so much. Now that's interesting.
: Huh? Is Sunday going to abandon his ideals? Is his character about to collapse?
: No, the character of Seven Sundays, the sense of willingness in him was forged by cause and effect! How could it crumble so easily!
: Not only that, we might even see some Chinese philosophical ideas next. Knowing this guy Sunday, he might go for a fusion of East and West, maybe even a path of harmony between heaven and man!
: I don't understand a thing, but it looks insanely cool!
...
Some of the audience already had many thoughts forming in their minds.
Sunday, as a character, currently has extremely high popularity in Honkai: Star Rail.
His character has already been analyzed thoroughly.
And the three universally recognized flaws in his original design,
The first is that he pursues a perfect world far too much.
He wants everyone to live a good life.
But what he thinks in his heart is one thing, when he tries to practice his ideals, his actions carry a strong sense of escapism.
His ideas were born from his childhood experiences, whether it was the hardships of his wandering years, or the heavy pressures he faced later after taking charge of Penacony.
All of it only made his ideals more resolute.
He wanted to become the reliance of all people, aiding the weak with strength, and preventing injustice from inflicting pain upon others.
Yet the irony is, this grand wish "for everyone" is, objectively, a direct result of his extremely narrow experience.
There are many people in Penacony, but can they represent the entire galaxy?
After seeing a few problems in Penacony, he assumed the entire universe was the same.
So when Robin cried and begged her brother to wake up again, it was because only she knew, her brother could not see beyond the leaf in front of his eyes.
He needed to open his eyes and truly see.
He needed to personally step down from his godlike position, and from a human perspective, re-examine his ideals and the world.
Instead of drowning in his own idealism.
In the park, when Sunday chose for the first time to accept what he saw as chaos, he had already taken the first step.
And what the audience were most interested in was, when Sunday walks far enough, will that "perfect world" finally fall from his mind?
Because only by seeing more will he understand, the real world is far more messed up than what he experienced in Penacony.
When that time comes, if Sunday chooses to reconcile with the world and acknowledge its imperfection, it means he has completely abandoned the foundation of the role he held in the audience' hearts.
In their eyes, he would completely collapse.
And the final step, also the hardest, but what the audience wants to see most is reconciliation with himself.
That would mean Sunday accepts his own limitations and the boundaries of what he can carry.
Under the audience' expectations, Sunday and Warwick continued strolling around Penacony.
But when they arrived at the Golden Hour, they saw an unexpected figure.
Welt, leaning on his cane, was standing in front of a street shop with great interest.
It was a children's toy shop. Inside, the centerpiece was a strangely shaped, gigantic robot.
"The Nameless?"
"Judging by the timing, shouldn't they have already continued their journey?"
"Why are they still here?" A flash of caution appeared in Sunday's eyes.
As a fugitive, and someone who had already clashed head-on with the Express, he knew it was best not to provoke that group unless necessary.
If they spotted him and started yelling about friendship bonds or whatever, dragging the whole Express crew to beat him up, that would be a bit embarrassing.
Just as Sunday and Warwick were cautiously preparing to quietly leave, Sunday's body suddenly froze, stopping in place. He stiffly said, "I was being overly optimistic. May I at least explain myself?"
The camera shifts.
A second ago, Welt had been standing at the shop window. Somehow, he was already behind Sunday.
The cane in his hand emitted a dangerous black-red glow, gently touching Sunday's shoulder.
Despite its light appearance, Sunday felt a crushing pressure, he could barely move.
Welt adjusted his glasses and said calmly, "You may. Put your hands behind your back and answer my questions in short sentences."
...
: Damn, this scene is so badass!
: He's just a middle-aged guy with glasses, but he has this much overwhelming presence?!
: The tension in this scene is incredible.
: 'Hands behind your back. Answer in short sentences!' That line is amazing!
: Hahahaha! Sunday really underestimated Welt!
: Sunday: Uh… can we reconcile?
: At this point, that's definitely not what he should be saying, lol.
...
The audience spammed jokes in the comments.
Even more exciting than Sunday's epiphany was seeing these two former enemies meet again.
Welt subdued Sunday easily. With just a few simple actions, he forced him to tell the truth.
But when Sunday said he had no malicious intentions, just wandering around after returning home, Welt didn't buy it at all.
'Come on. You, someone who almost became an Harmony Choir, say you're just "going home"?'
'Do you think I, Welt Yang, am that easy to fool?'
But Welt's expression didn't change, and he continued to question him.
Only when Sunday finally admitted that it was IPC's Jade who released him did Welt withdraw his hand.
If it was The IPC, then while he still remained cautious, at least it wasn't enough to make him immediately hostile.
"But for safety, you must accompany me until I personally watch you leave Penacony completely." Welt pushed up his glasses and stated.
"I have no objections." Sunday nodded. "Thank you for understanding. I thought you wouldn't understand this feeling."
Welt shook his head. "When I left my homeland, I did so in great haste as well. It's not a feeling I fail to understand."
"But for safety's sake, I still need to confirm a few things."
Sunday nodded. "Of course. But may I ask, why is the Express still in Penacony?"
Welt hesitated. But in the end, he didn't hide it.
"Because of an unusual passenger."
"A passenger?"