After hearing Pardofelis's cliff-jumping voice line, a slightly surprised Elysia walked to the cliff edge and adjusted the camera to look down.
Only to discover—it wasn't a game bug. She had just jumped wrong.
She didn't overthink it. After all, who would've guessed someone put so much thought into this section?
She fixed Mei's jump angle.
This time, she landed correctly on the lower platform.
The treasure hunt of Mei and Pardofelis continued!
"Mei-neesan! When you're free, come explore with me again! Let's set off toward more treasure chests—no wait, farther regions!"
Pardofelis's excited voice was infectious.
At this moment, the game switched to the main interface of the new story chapter.
Pardofelis introduced a few of the main menu functions: map exploration, weapon cards, story mode… Flame-Chaser Files.
Among them, what interested Elysia the most was the Flame-Chaser Files.
She clicked it.
Thirteen crystalline Flame-Chaser cards appeared in a neat row.
"If they're crystal-style Flame-Chaser files…"
Elysia clearly liked the design.
"Judging by your tone, wasn't that your suggestion?" Eden asked with a hint of curiosity.
She had assumed it was Elysia who proposed making the files crystal-themed to Hokuto.
"Mm, not at all," Elysia replied.
Then she paused, guessing.
"It's probably because 'Otto'-san thought the crystal material looked nice, so he designed it that way."
"Crystal is beautiful, but it also feels so fragile…"
Eden stopped halfway through that sentence.
Elysia tilted her head. "What is it, Eden? What were you going to say?"
"Nothing, Elysia. Let's keep going with the main story."
Eden clearly had no plans to say out loud the strange thought that flashed across her mind.
"Hmm…"
Elysia didn't press her.
She tapped each Flame-Chaser card in sequence, reading the text aloud softly to imprint it on herself—and the viewers—before moving forward in the story.
...
The main story shifted perspective to Eden.
She walked along a dark, lightless path.
Her footsteps echoed rhythmically in the vast emptiness.
Abyssal Depths—this was the name of the place she was currently in.
Though neither now nor before had she ever liked that name.
It reminded her of alleys behind the stage, places far removed from performance and spotlight, filled only with empty bottles left behind after the alcohol was gone.
"Sigh, how long has it been since I last came here?"
[Last time she came here… must've been the last time.]
[2333, netizens never fail to deliver.]
Eden stepped deeper.
Looking at her surroundings, she mused, "Still as dark as ever."
She gazed ahead at a certain someone: "Then let me bring a bit of light to this place."
With a gentle wave of her hand, the darkness around her was scattered by the light she summoned.
From within, Aponia's silhouette emerged.
Players recalled the earlier storyline—Eden had said she was going to meet an old friend.
So Eden's old friend was Aponia?
[Wait, if Eden knows the Abyssal Depths so well, why didn't she take Mei there earlier? Why make Mei go ask Elysia instead?]
[Yeah, and that led to Mei getting her horns touched by Elysia.]
[Yikes, is there some shady collusion going on here? Did Elysia and Eden team up to set Mei up? (sarcasm)]
[What are you people even talking about? Did the Elysian Realm turn you all into cryptic lunatics?]
[All I'll say is—those who know, know. Those who don't… it's complicated.]
The players were laughing it up in the comments.
Meanwhile, Elysia was watching the story seriously.
Eden and Aponia's conversation was about Elysia.
The focus was a golden crystal flower that Eden presented—she called it a key.
Aponia explained that everyone who once attended Elysia's "banquet" received a crystal flower.
Once all the crystal flowers were gathered, a certain secret would come to light.
What kind of secret?
Ha—do the Elysian Realm's cryptic elites ever give you answers right away?
Keep dreaming.
After that riddling dialogue, the story returned to Mei's perspective.
Elysia, who had previously left with Kevin, finally returned to find her.
"Hey, Mei! Over here, over here."
"Elysia? Finally! She's back. Just as well—I've had enough wandering around."
"Sorry to keep you waiting. I'm sure… you must be eager by now, right? Come on, let's walk and talk. I'll take you somewhere special."
Elysia said she wanted to bring Mei to a good place.
Mei didn't refuse, naturally falling into step behind Elysia.
Along the way, they encountered several people from the past—men, women, young, old.
Just like Elysia had said, they and the buildings here were all part of her cherished memories. That's why they were preserved.
"See, Mei, they're all as I remember them. And I'm as they remember me. Some are older than me, some call me their big sister."
"I made sure to remember them all… didn't I?"
[Am I imagining things, or do I smell angst incoming?]
[Don't be scared. We've seen every kind of emotional bomb already, haven't we?]
[You say that every time… then get wrecked every time. (doge)]
The players were joking nervously, but the mood stayed relatively light.
After all, nothing terrible had happened—yet.
No need to psych themselves out.
In the story, Elysia brought Mei to the Archive Room.
Inside was a machine capable of pulling up all Elysian Realm data—a gossip-generating typewriter.
And the operator of this machine was…
"Tada! The fairy archivist of the Elysian Realm!"
The camera shifted.
A sleeping Elysia doll appeared before Mei.
For some reason, the BGM turned playful and full of mischief.
Players, upon hearing it, knew something funny was coming.
"You're not about to tell me… this one's also a… Flame-Chaser?" Mei asked hesitantly.
Elysia replied instantly: "No way. Are you hoping there are fourteen members in the Thirteen Flame-Chasers? That'd be a betrayal of trust, Mei~"
[The Four Heavenly Kings… with five members!]
[Five-color Sentai teams always have at least six. That's called a bonus ranger. (lol)]
[You're joking—I only care if the Elysia doll becomes a support ELF! Want it!]
[Same! Who wouldn't want to pull for that?!]
["Please" don't do this in the barbershop.]
Such a cute Elysia doll—and yet only two people accepted it?
According to Elysia, there were thirteen dolls in total. But strangely, only Eden and Aponia had taken one.
Players were puzzled. The doll was so adorable—even if not all thirteen accepted, surely more than two?
The reason was simple.
To activate the doll, you had to say… the activation phrase.
Which most of the Flame-Chasers couldn't bring themselves to say.
"This manager's been motionless since the beginning—is that okay?" Mei asked.
Elysia explained, "That's because Mei hasn't said the activation phrase. She's still in sleep mode."
"Activation phrase?"
"Mhm~♪"
With a smile, Elysia wrote something on a blank archive slip.
Mei took it.
After one glance, she fell silent.
"..."
"..."
Mei's expression naturally made players even more curious—what exactly did Elysia write?
Surely it was something embarrassingly sappy?
Most players already assumed so.
Eventually, under Elysia's persuasion—something like, "Mei-san, you wouldn't want to miss the chance to uncover the truth, would you?"—
Mei mustered her courage.
She took a deep breath.
The players leaned in.
Elysia stared at Mei, full of anticipation.
"D-dear…"
"Mm~? What did you say?" Elysia leaned in.
"..."
"Dear… Elysia…"
Mei turned away shyly and forced herself to say it.
But nothing happened.
Mei immediately suspected she'd been pranked again.
"What's going on? It didn't react at all."
Elysia smiled. "Oh my~ Why could that be? Maybe… your voice was just too soft, and it didn't hear you?"
Mei: "..."
Elysia teased, "Guess you'll have to say it again."
Mei inhaled deeply.
And with gritted teeth, she enunciated: "DEAR—ELY—SI—A!"
"Oh my~"
Unlike Mei's seething tone, Elysia was absolutely delighted.
[The activation phrase is "Dear Elysia"? No wonder the others wouldn't do it.]
[Captain Mei: Why does this feel illicitly exciting?!]
["Through gritted teeth."]
[Elysia is just too much.]
[Also, Mei's voice acting here is top-notch.]
"Mhm, Mei's delivery was perfect," Elysia agreed cheerfully.
"I'm going to clip that audio and save it."
[Gonna make it your ringtone, aren't you?]
"Oh, not quite."
"Just Mei's exclusive ringtone."
Elysia answered playfully.
Eden interjected from the side, "If that's the case, Miss Mei may never dare to contact you again."
"Why?"
"Because every time she calls you, it'd be public humiliation all over again."
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