Though Aponia's prophecy remained unshakable, Mei didn't feel discouraged.
She continued actively searching for a way to break the prophecy.
In truth, Mei's current actions were very similar to what Aponia once did.
Aponia had also tried to resist fate in the past.
But every attempt only brought greater tragedy.
For example, to fight the Honkai, she gave her soldiers the commandment to "never give up resisting the Honkai."
But as a result—
The soldiers, in a frenzy, killed Sakura's sister, Rin.
This led to the awakening of the Herrscher of Corruption and nearly the extinction of humanity.
When players learned this, they were visibly shaken.
The tragedy of Sakura and Rin had left a deep impression—they once grieved over it.
And now, the story revealed that the Herrscher of Corruption incident happened because Aponia imposed that commandment on the soldiers? That she tried to change fate?
Which instead resulted in an even greater tragedy.
This...
Honestly, they could start to understand why Aponia ended up so twisted.
Of course, understanding doesn't mean agreeing.
As players who've seen countless characters in the story shout "There's nothing I can do,"
They weren't shaken at all. Instead, they eagerly looked forward to Mei—former champion of the "There's nothing I can do" award—giving Aponia a dose of perspective.
But before Mei could "enlighten" Aponia, she had to first reach the deepest point and face her directly.
To do that—
Mei approached Vill-V, and as the price of "opening up to each other"… ahem, exchanging memories—
She convinced Vill-V to forcibly send her into the depths.
Just before Mei set out, Raven suddenly approached—she now had a mission that [had to be her] and needed to leave the Elysian Realm.
Mei wished Raven a safe journey and handed her a vial of red liquid to pass on to Griseo.
Earlier, Griseo had said she wanted to paint a portrait of Mei.
But for a visitor like no other, she would need paint like no other.
Mei had promised to find her that unprecedented paint—and finally chose her own Herrscher blood.
"Mei actually gave her own blood to Griseo as paint?"
Seeing this, Elysia blinked. "Hmm… isn't that a little reckless? Using blood for painting… might that be too much for Griseo?"
Hokuto considered and replied, "Griseo is still one of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers. You can't treat her like a child just because she looks like one."
He paused, then added, "Griseo is definitely worthy of the title Flame-Chaser."
"Mm… that's true."
Elysia nodded softly. "Little Griseo is always so soft and adorable, I almost forgot—she's a Flame-Chaser too."
[Almost forgot—Griseo, as a Flame-Chaser, is more than just a loli painter.]
[It's her appearance. Can you imagine her fighting on the front lines?]
[Hard to picture… but it probably won't happen anyway. The other Flame-Chasers all protect her.]
[Unless something happens to all the Flame-Chasers, there's no way Griseo would go to battle.]
Protecting the young is instinct.
So even though Griseo didn't have much story presence in the Realm, players loved her.
At the very least, no one wanted Griseo to get hurt.
...
In the story, after finishing her preparations, Mei met with Vill-V and, with her help, descended into the depths.
There, she encountered Aponia once again.
Aponia struck the pose of a detective—
And began her deductions again.
She suspected a massive secret was hidden deep within the Elysian Realm, one Aponia didn't want anyone to discover.
So instead of saying she foresaw Mei dying in ten days—
It was more like she knew Mei was pursuing that secret, and thus had to "ensure" her death.
Faced with Mei's reasoning—
Aponia admitted it. She did play with words. She never actually "saw" Mei's death—it's just that she could no longer see any future for herself or Mei.
As for why such a thing would happen?
Aponia answered, "Either… I erased Miss Mei, or… I erased the [Elysian Realm] itself."
But how could it be the latter? She had no reason to do that.
So it must be the former.
But Mei immediately flipped the question back—
"Is it possible... that I erased you?"
The game entered battle mode.
But the moment it began, players noticed—
Their dolls, support skills, and Flame-Chaser abilities were all gone.
Players: ???
Their hearts tightened. This fight was going to be hard, wasn't it?
But it turned out—
Much easier than expected.
Aponia didn't seem eager to fight. She was murmuring strange things instead.
Rather than a battle, it felt more like Aponia giving Mei a therapy session.
Players frowned. This wasn't simple.
Was this really about preventing Mei from uncovering the secret?
Or… did Aponia have other motives?
In battle, Aponia relentlessly lectured Mei.
She said she once tried to defy fate, but realized fate couldn't be escaped.
Then she tried using commandments to reshape humanity—but human nature was unchanging.
Lastly, she tried to isolate humans from each other—to keep them from affecting one another—but people couldn't live alone.
After repeated failures—
Aponia came to a conclusion: If she couldn't defeat fate, then she would become fate.
And so, she merged herself with the Elysian Realm.
Kiana, watching this part, paused in her gameplay.
She never imagined Aponia was the Elysian Realm itself.
So now Mei was fighting the [Elysian Realm]?
Could she even win?
Confused, Kiana continued the fight.
And just as expected—
With help from Raven and Griseo partway through, Mei won.
But after a flash of light, everything reset—back to square one.
It had all been an illusion created by Aponia.
Mei realized: if she couldn't break the illusion, continuing the fight was meaningless.
The two returned to verbal debate.
As always, the end of battle… was talking.
This time, Aponia was much more honest.
First, she admitted the prophecy was a test—she wanted to see how Mei would respond to it.
Then, she asked: Why are you so determined to break this fate?
Mei answered: She and her companions had long been under someone's absolute control.
As for who?
Everyone in the stream knew.
[A certain unknown blond man got name-dropped again. Oops, did I say that?]
[A certain someone-who-shall-not-be-named—Otto Apocalypse—makes yet another plot appearance.]
[Some people look dead but somehow still aren't.]
"In my view, being controlled by another and being controlled by fate… there's no difference."
Mei continued.
"There are many endings we can't change. But before those endings, there's still so much we can do—and those actions can completely change the meaning of that 'ending.'"
"Even if I can't change the future, I will decide the path I take to reach it."
Her words struck Aponia deeply.
She spoke of a girl.
And the Elysian Realm's story approached its final act.
"Mei… did you know? Once... someone told me the exact same thing."
The BGM shifted perfectly on cue.
A gentle, sorrowful melody.
Players' expressions started to change.
MiHoYo's audio team never does things for no reason.
"One day, she stood before me and told me her fate was to disappear in ten days."
"In fourteen days, the new dress Eden prepared for her would be completed. Her eyes still sparkled with joy and anticipation. In sixteen days, it would be Kevin's birthday. She sang a little song and left him her final gift..."
"She walked through mud. She wore a crown of thorns. She attended her [final] party with fresh makeup…"
Everyone had the same name in mind.
Given the earlier plot—
It wasn't hard to guess.
But still…
Even if it was obvious, they fell into silence.
She became a Herrscher willingly. She chose death. All for the sake of humanity she loved so deeply.
Was this Elysia's ending?
The Pink Miss Elf who brought them countless smiles in the Realm?
Their emotions were hard to describe—but still under control.
After all, they had suspected it from the Flame-Chasers' memories.
Hearing it from Aponia's mouth just made it feel… heavier.
But—
The next part hit even harder.
Aponia opened a path for Mei, who had passed her trial, toward the place where the Thirteen Herrschers awaited.
Step by step, a staircase of light reached toward a glowing door.
Everything Mei had pursued—the truth, the meaning of the Realm, the hidden secret of its deepest point—
All lay beyond that door.
Mei ascended the steps and entered.
And behind it, was a familiar face.
"You've finally made it here. Then, allow me to reintroduce myself: Elysia, the second of the Flame-Chasers, bearer of the [True Self] Signet."
"And I'm sure you've guessed the other title by now. When you stand before the [Thirteenth Herrscher]…"
"Hi. How are you feeling?"
Elysia greeted her in her usual tone.
Mei was visibly stunned.
Players' eyes widened as well.
What was Elysia's Signet?
[True Self]?
As they processed it, the comments poured in.
[If I'm not mistaken, 'True Self' means exactly that, right? So Elysia was never hiding anything? She's always treated everyone sincerely?]
[I kept wondering how someone so pure, kind, and lovely could exist in a post-apocalyptic world. I thought she must have a dark side. But no—she's really that pure? She's the flawless crystal flower?]
[Looking back, all our doubts about Elysia… wasn't that the same thing the Previous Era did to her? She was wrongly doubted by those she loved—twice.]
[I can't… I feel like I'm about to collapse from emotional overload.]
The viewers were increasingly emotional.
Elysia noticed and, after thinking it over, spoke to soothe them.
"Everyone doesn't need to be so upset. Even if you doubted Elysia sometimes before, I believe she'd never hold it against you."
"Elysia will still love everyone just the same~~"
"..."
That line worked.
The chat went completely quiet.
A while later—
[Even if you once found every reason to doubt Elysia, she would still love you.]
[...I'm broken.]
[I regret everything. I regret it so much.]
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