Everyone expressed doubt about Aponia's prophecy.
In the story, Mei naturally didn't believe such inexplicable words from Aponia either.
"I never believe in fate. The future will be decided by myself."
Aponia softly replied, "Mm, Mei, it is good that you believe so firmly, but please also understand—fate is singular, and no one can escape it."
"I'm sorry to bring you such news, Mei. But I still believe... you have the right to know your own fate."
[Otto: Ah, right, right.]
[Otto: Thanks for the invite, I'm here in the Imaginary Tree, just finished creating a new world.]
[Too bad no one knows the exact process of Otto charging the Tree, or it would shock Aponia for a whole year.]
[She only said ten days, and you're talking about a whole year? (dog head)]
[Do you believe it? I sure don't.]
After Aponia finished her cryptic words, she sent Mei's consciousness back.
Finally, Mei awoke in the lounge and told Raven about Aponia's prophecy.
The two discussed it and agreed that, whether or not the prophecy was true, they could investigate Aponia first.
At this point, the story returned to free exploration mode.
Kiana once again guided the character to the Remembrance Vessel.
Playing in the Elysian Realm naturally means checking the Flame-Chasers' Remembrance Vessels from time to time—
it's the best way to understand them, to know what makes them "different."
And then... to be increasingly drawn to them?
Because of Aponia's shocking prophecy just now, Kiana wanted to check her information,
but unfortunately, [Penance's Remembrance] was still locked.
"Aponia's Remembrance isn't unlocked yet?"
"...Then let's check Griseo's."
Kiana clicked on [The Painter's Remembrance].
However... Griseo's memories weren't so much about herself as they were about her impressions of others.
The first segment mentioned "Mama Aponia."
Everyone was surprised—were Griseo and Aponia really related like that?
Later they learned it was only because Griseo thought Aponia was very gentle.
And Griseo called everyone "big sister," except she liked to call Mobius... "Auntie."
[Mobius Auntie? Hahaha, I'd love for Mobius to hear that.]
[I want to record this with Elysia's loudspeaker and loop it in the Elysian Realm.]
[Gradually understanding Elysia.jpg]
The second segment was even more shocking.
Mei asked, "Griseo, why do you always go barefoot? Aren't you cold?"
Griseo replied, "Because Kosma said he likes it more that way."
"Wow~~!"
In the livestream, Elysia let out a direct cry of amazement.
"Kosma really knows how to silently give everyone a huge surprise."
Kiana was at a loss for words: "So... Kosma is that kind of person? Seems like we really didn't know him well enough before."
[Kosma, I knew something was off with you—open up, inspection time!]
[Too much! Absolutely too much.]
[Should we... thank Kosma?]
[??? Is it you who has a problem, or me?]
The "public opinion" on Kosma in the stream began to snowball.
In the game, Kosma made his fastest decision ever.
"I don't think I've said anything like that."
Griseo: "You can't lie, Kosma."
Kosma: "..."
Griseo: "You told me that running around in shoes would dirty the canvases, and sleeping in them would dirty the bed... so I stopped wearing them."
Ah, so that was it.
The players suddenly understood—they had almost thought Kosma really had a **fetish...
...
Kiana spent some time reading through all of Griseo's available memories.
She learned a lot about Griseo, and also quite a bit about others.
Satisfied, she continued to push the story forward.
After another run through the Elysian Realm,
Mei returned to the hall and triggered a cutscene.
While still troubled by Aponia's prophecy, Mei received an invitation from Pardo—
sent by the Magician Vill-V.
[The greatest magic performance of the century, to be grandly held in the Deepest Depths... Vill-V.]
Upon seeing the invitation, Mei recalled Mobius telling her about the magician.
Pardo added, "Mei-sis, remember how there was a time when the Elysian Realm was all in chaos?
Looking back now, that must've been part of Vill-V-sis's magic show. I just came back from there—it's a total mess. There were several Snake-sis flying in the sky!"
Mei: ???
Players: ???
What? Several Mobius in the air?
Hokuto: Small scene. During the New Year, you can even see a bunch of Mobius lining up to fall into the ditch.
Perhaps due to her experiences, Mei quickly set aside her surprise.
After some discussion with Pardo—mainly about the guide fee—
once they agreed on the price, they set off immediately.
But just as they entered the Elysian Realm, Elysia appeared.
"Oh my, Mei? You just had to come in now? Things are... a little chaotic inside."
Pardo answered for her: "Hi, Ely-sis! Mei-sis asked me to take her to Vill-V-sis!"
A normal person's reply was unclear,
but Elysia's response was, predictably, very "her."
"Wow~~ Has it already developed into a three-person relationship? Mei, you're getting bolder and bolder.
Hmm, should I be careful for my own safety?"
Once again, Mei was left completely speechless.
[Beware of the Elysian Realm's princess.]
[Elysia, aren't you the most dangerous one? (dog head)]
[Mei: I have never been this speechless in my life.]
Choosing not to engage with Elysia, Mei quickly led Pardo through the next gate.
What she saw inside truly startled her—
a giant yellow Herrscher Homu?
She finally understood what Pardo and Elysia meant by the Realm being "a mess" right now.
How to put it... this change had a sort of absurd "beauty."
Was the person who came up with this setup mentally sound?
Mei pondered this while swiftly dispatching the Homu and moving forward.
The following areas were filled with over-the-top magic performances—
hat tricks, sword escapes, card magic...
On paper, these sounded like perfectly normal magic acts, right?
But in Vill-V's hands, they all became highly aggressive.
The chat was flooded with comments like [This isn't magic at all!] and [How is this magic?!]
Magic is supposed to be an art where the magician uses props and skill to create seemingly impossible miracles,
bringing the audience a sense of wonder.
But here with Vill-V...
Well, she certainly brought "wonder."
After all, no matter who it was, being suddenly dragged onstage to become part of a magic act—
one that was extremely dangerous, with blades brushing past your head—
would probably make anyone feel "wonder," right?!
Faced with this baffling, speechlessness-inducing performance,
Pardo surprisingly said, "Compared to before, Vill-V-sis's style is so plain this time..."
[Plain? I think I've just redefined that word.]
[??? Then what were her previous shows like?!]
The audience's bafflement matched Mei's perfectly.
She silently stepped through the next door.
The scene changed to a completely unfamiliar space.
Three oddly designed Imaginary Godsbane units were posed as if playing music,
as though providing background music for someone's grand entrance.
Could Imaginary Godsbane really do that kind of work?
At the same time, the in-game music grew louder.
Clap clap~~
With two claps,
Vill-V descended the steps to face Mei and Pardo.
"Oh my, splendid... truly splendid! Welcome, honored guests from afar. This [Grand Magic Show]... are you satisfied?"
After her greeting,
she noticed Pardo beside Mei.
"Pardo? What are you doing here? I didn't give you an invitation, did I?"
Pardo mumbled, "Uh, hehe, just accompanying Vill-V-sis's important guest. Klein's so busy, she might not have time to give the invitation to Mei, so I was helping."
In the livestream, Elysia suddenly spoke up in realization.
"Don't tell me—the invitation was originally for Klein to give to Mei,
but halfway there, Kitty intercepted it and used it to scam Mei for a guide fee?"
She could picture it already:
Pardo meeting the overworked 007 Klein, who was fretting over how to deliver the invitation,
and confidently patting her chest, promising she'd deliver it to Mei—
only to "help" by charging Mei for her own invitation.
Well... technically, Pardo didn't break her promise.
She just... added a small extra fee, using Mei's own invitation.
[Pardo just wants to save up some pocket money—of course we forgive her.]
Kiana, hearing Elysia's reasoning, also felt that this was probably exactly what happened.
But perhaps because she'd met so many problem children among the Flame-Chasers,
she actually found Pardo's behavior "normal."
After all, this was exactly the sort of thing Pardo would do.
It showed that not only Mei in the story,
but the players themselves had fully integrated into the Elysian Realm.
At this point, even if they were told to leave,
they probably wouldn't want to go—
they'd already taken on the "shape" of the Realm.
Though...
they had yet to see the true "Elysian Realm."
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