The atmosphere in the stream gradually turned heavy.
Elysia, who was currently streaming, decided to say something to lighten the mood.
"Sigh~~ When I was dubbing this scene, it was really hard for me to get into the right mindset."
"After all, for someone like me, loneliness might be an emotion I've never really experienced."
Eden responded gently from the side, echoing Elysia's sentiment.
"That's not the reason."
Elysia refuted her: "It's just hard for me to imagine everyone being 'fragmented.' It always felt like everyone only seemed unharmonious on the surface, but deep down, they must have still acknowledged the Flame-Chasers, right?"
"Hmm~~ Eden, don't you think this might be Mr. Otto misleading us? Maybe everyone does acknowledge the Flame-Chasers… they're just too embarrassed to say it?"
She continued speculating in her usual optimistic tone.
"Sigh, so many of them aren't kids anymore, yet one is more shy than the next. Why won't they just honestly face their own feelings?"
"Elysia, your perspective on the story is unusually optimistic." Even Eden couldn't help but remark.
"Hmph, I believe I'm not wrong."
Elysia hummed playfully: "Who knows? Maybe there'll be an animated short in the future where all thirteen Flame-Chasers face something together."
"After all, didn't the story say so? The thirteen never fought side by side. Maybe that's a regret they'll resolve."
[Hearing Miss Elf speak so cheerfully really lifted my mood.]
[Honestly, it doesn't have to be so sad. Even if they didn't get official approval, the Flame-Chasers were still formed, and so many who visited the Elysian Realm acknowledged and thanked them. Their stories live on.]
[Even though Mobius said they were 'fragmented,' she still acted as one of them, right? Snake-sis is just stubborn. Definitely.]
[You guys in front still won't drop that 'hardest object in the Realm' joke, huh?]
[It's love—deep love—for Snake-sis. (manual sarcasm)]
Seeing the chat liven up again, Elysia pushed the story forward.
In the game.
Elysia finished telling Mei about how the Flame-Chasers struggled to come together at first.
She then asked Mei what she thought of the Flame-Chasers.
Mei thought for a moment and replied, "It's not something I can answer in a single sentence. I may need to reflect a bit."
Elysia didn't push: "That's fine. Standing here too long gets dull anyway. Why don't we… go take a walk and revisit the 'beginning'?"
"After spending so long here, getting familiar with every place, going back to where it all started will surely stir something in you, Mei."
"After this, you'll get the answer you seek… and leave this place."
"It's a little lonely. No matter how much time passes, I can never get used to saying goodbye."
[Why does it feel like a flashback all of a sudden?]
[Elysia: Mei, in the end, you're still going to leave.]
[Is the Elysian Realm arc ending already? Nooo! I haven't spent enough time with Elysia!]
[Elysia, Chef Kalpas, Snake-sis, Griseo… I'm not ready.]
[Please… just a little longer!!]
...
With Elysia at her side,
The two walked deep into the Elysian Realm from the hall.
Everything that happened here before—every Flame-Chaser they had encountered—became irreplaceable memories at that moment.
Belonging to Mei, and to all the players.
Whether it was "overenthusiastic host" Kalpas.
Or "still can't figure out how he sees with his eyes closed" Su.
Or "trusts in his gut estimates" Eden.
Or "the one who got beat down by Miss Mei" Mobius.
Or "got his horns touched by Elysia" Kosma.
...
Each of them left a deep impression on Mei—and on the players.
With just a little thought, you could recall interesting stories about the Flame-Chasers.
Looking back, everyone had truly walked a long road with Elysia and the Flame-Chasers in the Realm.
They'd made so many fond memories.
This part of the story was beautiful, sweet, full of jokes and joy. But...
[Why does it feel like a life montage??]
[Writer, don't do this—my heart can't take it! I might just keel over!!]
[I sense something ominous approaching. (knives maybe)]
The story continued.
Elysia and Mei unknowingly reached the end and returned to the Elysian Realm.
"So? Do you have your answer now?" Elysia asked.
"Yes." Mei nodded this time.
"And… what is your answer?"
Facing Elysia's question, Mei gave an honest response.
Perhaps the Flame-Chasers couldn't be called "good people" in the conventional sense, but they shared one belief—
The will to fight for something.
Suffering forged over fifty thousand years had shaped who they were now.
What the world saw was merely the tip of the iceberg, not nearly enough to define the fullness of their lives.
What later generations chose to "believe" during their exploration would determine what they would "gain" at the end.
That was the meaning of the Elysian Realm's existence.
After hearing Mei's answer,
Elysia smiled. "I think… the Mei right now can face my ending without fear."
The screen shifted, revealing a CG of Elysia so beautiful it dazzled the eye—so breathtaking it felt like seeing life anew.
A breeze blew past. Countless sakura-like petals fell from the trees.
Bathed in the pink glow of dusk, they draped gently over Elysia.
Revealing her innocent brilliance in full.
[So beautiful! This shot is stunning!]
[A girl as lovely as dancing blossoms~♪]
[Truly, no other character has ever moved me the way Elysia does—beauty from inside and out. It's breathtaking.]
The viewers were genuinely awestruck by the CG.
Seeing it, Elysia was also moved.
"This CG was drawn by Mei herself."
"For her to make me look this beautiful, she must've poured in a lot of emotion, right? Could it be... she's already fallen for beautiful Elysia~?"
"Mm-hmm, must be."
After that brief sentiment, she continued tapping.
When Mei heard Elysia ask whether she could face the ending of the Thirteenth Herrscher,
At that moment, she still didn't know what that ending would entail.
She simply replied calmly: "I hope so."
Then, almost like casual conversation, she added: "Though I was a bit surprised. You've never liked lying, yet you told a small lie about being a Herrscher. The Thirteenth Herrscher… you didn't need to hide that from me for so long."
Elysia looked toward the pink sun slowly descending in the distance—her sun.
From Mei's angle, she couldn't see that Elysia's smile had already faded.
"Oh… you're right. Maybe… I told a really big lie. My one and only lie in life."
"After all… I get scared too."
"If Mei knew I was the Thirteenth Herrscher… maybe… she wouldn't smile and greet me the way she used to."
"Would you doubt me? Would you… push me away?"
"Am I… kind of disappointing?"
[No! Absolutely not!]
[I'm a girl, and I just want to hug Elysia right now—is that normal?]
[Look at how Mei responds. You're very normal.]
In the story, Mei said bluntly,
"The fact that you'd even think that disappoints me."
"So what if you became a Herrscher… I'm one too, aren't I?"
"Is that answer… good enough?"
Hearing Mei's words, players couldn't help but cheer.
Mei is so strong!!
[This scene makes me want to become a Herrscher and cuddle Elysia too.]
[I can't do much, but Herrscher of a Thousand Snuggles has an opening (just kidding)]
[C'mon, let's input the transformation chant together: THIS WORLD WAS NEVER KIND!!乆乆乆!（dog head）]
They could still joke around now.
Soon… they'd be doing nothing but thinking.
And once the thinking ends—
They'd pull out the Herrscher of Sentience Core.
This world is not kind!!
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