MGSFV?! Chapter 424. Grave; Master of Conversation: Fu Hua
The moment Fu Hua and Kevin met...
It instantly gave rise to unease.
After all, who could say what Kevin was thinking?
Even the players wouldn't dare claim they fully understood Kevin now.
This man, who had carried the burden of the Previous Era to the present day—
had long since frozen his heart in eternal ice.
There was likely no one left who could thaw it.
Fu Hua... most likely couldn't either.
Although to be honest, the players wanted to believe in the class rep.
But considering she couldn't even handle someone as easygoing as Hokuto—
Expecting her to convince Kevin?
Even Hokuto—who could manipulate minds and create dreams—wouldn't dare dream something so absurd.
Hokuto: "That old fossil? So lame."
Hokuto: "You forget, you got played by that 'lame' old fossil."
Hokuto: "??? Stop bringing that up! You're terrible at conversation!"
...
Back to the story.
After a long silence between the two—
Kevin finally spoke first:
"So you did know I was here, Hua."
Fu Hua replied:
"Su told me, by accident.
It was... over two thousand years ago."
[Su, forever living on in conversation o>_
"During our respective missions as 'Pioneers'...
There was one meeting you missed.
Su told me... every year on this day—
No matter what else was happening, no matter what strain activating the Second Divine Key placed on you—
You would come alone to this place on the Moon."
"You would stand here, gazing at the remains of the Herrscher of the End—for an entire day."
Every year? Kevin came here every year?
So then... what kind of day was today?
That question lingered, both confusing and intriguing.
Hopefully the writers would explain it later.
Of course—
They would reveal the truth eventually. Just... not yet.
And so—
Kevin, as usual, replied concisely—like a proper "Riddler."
"It was a promise I must keep."
After that, he fell silent again.
Then slowly stood, the cloak on his back billowing in the wind.
He was not in his Doombringer form while facing Fu Hua.
[Wait, didn't Kevin already turn into Doombringer? Did his clothes regenerate too?]
[Can't he have a second outfit?]
[Honkai energy works in mysterious ways. Don't overthink it.]
Kevin's cold voice continued.
"But... you shouldn't have come—this was unnecessary."
"You saw it earlier.
During the Stigma Project, World Serpent prepared a place of rest for you."
Still got that old war-buddy care! He even gave Fu Hua VIP treatment!
Kevin hadn't forgotten their bond.
But...
Fu Hua nodded, then shook her head.
"That was a Taixu Mountain even more beautiful than the real one."
"But... you know well that I've never been one to long for seclusion."
"It was simply a habit from the past—nothing more."
[Translation (dog emoji): Fu Hua: I'm tired of eating steamed buns with longevity greens.]
[Be serious. Don't you feel the tension between Kevin and Fu Hua is getting... weird?]
Indeed.
By this point, Kevin knew exactly what Fu Hua's rejection of that 'Taixu Mountain' meant.
He understood all too well—
And so replied:
"Regardless... if possible, I do not wish to fight you."
In other words—
If forced, he would raise his hand against her, even with their bond.
It was clear now:
They were standing at a crossroads.
"Do you think I came here to stop you?"
"Like... Su once did?"
[Class rep... you're really something. Just gonna drop Su's name like that? Brutal.]
[The ghost of the Flame-Chasers' past attacks again.]
[Herrscher of Emotional Damage: Fu Hua.]
Elysia: "..."
"Hua..."
Even Elysia couldn't help but sigh.
"Even if you didn't know how to defuse the tension—
You could've at least avoided bringing up such a painful topic..."
What Su did back then—
To Kevin, it had undoubtedly left scars.
Not because Kevin was saddened by Su's lack of understanding—
But because...
After that event, Kevin spent thousands of years in the Sea of Quanta.
When he returned, Su had already passed.
He... never saw his best friend one last time.
...
Naturally—
Kevin's frosty breath paused for a moment, though he gave no other reaction.
If this girl before him weren't a former comrade, he might have taken her words as a mental assault.
It showed...
Fu Hua's "honesty" had hit deep.
But don't forget—
Of the two here, Fu Hua's not the only one who speaks bluntly.
"Hua. The Elysian Realm is no more."
[...]
The moment the players heard that line—
Their expressions froze.
But the real blow—
Came from Fu Hua's response:
"...?"
"It seems I've forgotten some things from our past... things that were important."
That one sentence—
Tightened the chest of everyone who heard it.
Fu Hua... forgot about the Elysian Realm?
This...
[I just took an emotional hit.]
[That hurts more than I expected.]
[There's this... deep, indescribable sadness all of a sudden.]
The players originally thought:
Knowing Fu Hua remembered the Realm's destruction—
That the memory clones of her comrades had all returned to dust—
Would be pain enough.
But no.
The writers pulled out something even worse—
She forgot it.
[Writers! You're truly heartless!] ×n
"Mr. Otto, why did you make Hua forget the Realm?" Elysia couldn't help but ask.
"Hold on," Hokuto replied calmly.
"She forgot the Realm, not the Flame-Chasers."
"Huh?"
Elysia looked doubtful.
Still—
She turned back to the screen, sensing something more to come.
...
Kevin slowly shook his head—
As if unsure of what he was about to say.
"It's fine. For the you of today, it no longer matters."
His tone, as always, held no emotion.
But from a player's perspective—
He probably meant that Fu Hua now had new bonds in this era.
And that's why...
"It no longer matters."
Maybe—
That was Kevin's way of offering a blessing.
But how much he meant by it...
Only Kevin himself knew.
He wouldn't say.
After all, Fu Hua was a block of wood.
And Kevin? A block of ice.
The elder stays silent, the younger doesn't ask.
Unsurprisingly—
Kevin looked ahead and directly changed the subject.
"...Look. This is the most ordinary scenery in the universe."
The camera panned forward—
Revealing a desolate, barren landscape.
The true face of the cosmos—
Nothing like the dazzling stars people gaze at from Earth.
Just a bottomless darkness, so cold and piercing—
You could feel it through the screen.
"A barren place... like a grave."
That was Fu Hua's take on the scene.
Kevin answered only with silence.
Fu Hua: "..."
"Come to think of it... though this may sound harsh..."
"Kevin—
In your eyes, the people of this generation, though the same species,
aren't really your kind anymore, are they?"
She thought of some once-living, now-extinct species—
Like a strange, precious fish.
The world still teemed with life.
But nothing could understand its language anymore.
Its loneliness couldn't be dispelled—
Just like the unyielding frost.
Yes—Honkai Impact 3rd sometimes featured such strange, poignant metaphors.
Like...
Cold-faced hottie puffed up like a pufferfish.
No dad, but you still have me.
Riding a rollercoaster while eating peanuts with your eyes...
All irresistible bait for players to poke fun at.
But this—
This was different.
Much heavier.
"No, Hua.
It's not hard to see them as kin...
What's hard...
Is letting go."
"That, I understand.
That's why I came."
"For them?"
"No.
First and foremost... for you.
At this moment—
I believe you need someone who can understand your words."
[So Fu Hua came just to talk with Kevin?]
[Afraid Kevin would go off the deep end and came to reason with him—Fu Hua is so gentle.]
But...
Was it a case of good intentions, bad delivery?
Or just—Fu Hua wasn't good at comforting others?
Think about it:
She comes to talk.
First brings up Su (ouch).
Then says she won't live in Kevin's Taixu Mountain (rejects his arrangement)—
So...
Elysia: "..."
Elysia would now like to dub Fu Hua the Master of Conversation.
"Still, Fu Hua did come to be by Kevin's side..."
"Even if she says nothing.
Even if they argue.
Even if..."
Her voice trailed off.
She focused more intently on the exchange between Fu Hua and Kevin.
Would things improve from here?
Would there be any relief?
Of course...
Not.
Unfortunately.
Even though Fu Hua claimed she just wanted to talk—
Kevin felt they no longer had anything to discuss.
Or maybe—
He didn't know how to speak with the Fu Hua of today.
His last comrade had become part of this new era.
But the civilization that once stood tall—
Now left only one gravestone behind:
Kevin.
Fu Hua had a future.
He had only the past.
He was happy for her—
But would not grieve for himself.
...
Kevin and Fu Hua looked up toward the pitch-black sky—
Those once-familiar names...
Whether she remembered them,
Whether he forgot them—
None would ever return.
[Years from now, when the girls are gone—
My songs of them will still echo.]
A gentle melody seemed to sound within everyone's hearts.
A familiar voice.
It was Eden.
[Even if you take all my songs—
I only need one living girl to walk toward me.]
—That singer from long ago had already perfectly captured the feelings of the two standing here.
Kevin: "..."
"If seeing me reminds you of the departed...
Then... why not tell me of your final dream?"
Clearly, just as Hokuto said earlier—
Fu Hua had not forgotten the Thirteen Flame-Chasers.
She had only forgotten the project called the Elysian Realm.
Maybe...
To her, the Chasers had long since departed.
But to Kevin—
Their traces had only recently vanished.
[This part is so suffocating...]
[#Check Kevin's mental state#]
[So all the earlier fun was just to lower our guard... now it's just knife after knife. No break at all.]
[Fu Hua + Kevin = All Blade, No Chill.]
Honestly—
If this were just a heartfelt chat about the Previous Era, that'd be one thing.
But this...
Both Chasers from that time.
One found the future.
The other...
Chose to bear everything, silently.
A contrast with no clear right or wrong—
Only added to the oppressive atmosphere.
Kevin—
Savior of the Chasers—
Was... truly tragic.
"...Kevin.
Are you searching for your own 'burial place'?"
Kevin: "..."
This time, his silence wasn't hesitation.
It was best interpreted as...
Resignation.
The strongest warrior of the Flame-Chasing Epoch—
At last, he was tired.
And simply wanted to rest.
Like this story Leave a review ; it would really help me out a lot.
Want to Read Ahead in Advance?
Join my Patreon!
+75 Chapters
Support me in
Patreon.com/BestElysium