[The scene playing on the sky screen suddenly paused. The crystal files representing the Thirteen Flame-Chasers reappeared in the corner. The card engraved with Kevin's pattern seemed to want to fly out of the light screen, then, under countless gazes, it shattered bit by bit until all file data disappeared without a trace.]
[Boothill]:"Well I'll be damned, you little cutie are doing this on purpose, aren't you?"
[Qingque]:"Such beautiful files... they couldn't possibly exist just to shatter, right?"
[Stelle]:"So that means we're going to watch the remaining eleven files shatter one by one, just like with Elysia and Kevin?"
[March 7th]:"N-no way, it can't be that brutal, right?"
[ ]:"Hehe, wanna guess?"
[The scene shifts to outside the Elysian Realm—
The city under the cover of night always exudes a dangerous yet captivating aura. Beneath the swirling undercurrents, certain secret seeds are beginning to sprout. "Sigh..."
Raven, who was called out for overtime, couldn't help but sigh. "Another dark alley...
I'm developing a psychological shadow at this point."
Somehow, Raven found herself worrying about Mei who was far away in the Elysian Realm. At that moment, Raven spotted the distant Gray Serpent. She knew—Contact Number 1 had arrived. "You're here."
An unidentified Gray Serpent said. "Here, what you asked for."
Raven reached out her hand, signaling to take the item. "All identity information is here. From now on, your name is Papyrus Greenfield, and I am your beautiful assistant Hypatia. We will visit the Neville Industrial Laboratory at 10 AM tomorrow."
Raven and Gray Serpent seemed to be searching for something, and both Schicksal and Anti-Entropy had noticed, so they had to find 'that thing' before them.]
[Theresa]:"Not good! Judging by this, the Herrscher of Corruption already exists in reality too!"
[Honkai Star Rail·Welt]:"No, according to records, it was after the Herrscher in the outside world died that the Herrscher in the Elysian Realm began targeting the Flame-Chasers."
[Silver Wolf]:"Seems like it. Remember that anonymous chatroom at the beginning?"
[Bronya Zaychik]:"Bronya remembers now. The chatroom mentioned that they first lost perception of the outside world, then began proliferating within the Elysian Realm."
[After learning of Kevin's death, like the other Flame-Chasers, Mei's first reaction was complete disbelief, even suspecting she was still dreaming. It wasn't until Eden called her name several times that Mei snapped back to reality.
The other Flame-Chasers had already known about this matter in advance, hence the previous commotion. Under such high pressure, Eden unusually took charge to maintain order. But due to the existence of the [Traitor]—whether real or not—the Flame-Chasers found it difficult to trust each other. Eden sighed: "It seems we must admit that a veil of [broken trust] now drifts between us. I'm afraid... this is also a situation the [mastermind] of this conspiracy would be pleased to see."
What each Flame-Chaser cared about differed. To prevent further confrontation among them, Eden suggested they split up to protect what mattered most to them. While traveling with Eden, she asked Mei to find Vill-V and inform her of the current situation. However, Mei was somewhat surprised by the current state of affairs—that Eden would choose to become a leader. To this, Eden smiled sadly: "Is that so? Indeed... it doesn't match the impression I usually give, does it?"
"Yes, Miss Mei... even I can have moments of [uncharacteristic behavior]."
Eden reached out toward the distance, golden light blooming from her fingertips... "What is this?"
"A beautiful flower, isn't it? Just like [her]."
"I always carry it with me. It reminds me of her appearance, her smile... her love for everyone."
Eden gazed tenderly at the crystal flower in her hand: "And now, just as I was nearly overwhelmed by the sorrow of [parting with her again]... this light once again showed me the way."
"It said to me... step into the spotlight, unite everyone, just as she once did."
"Otherwise, everything she left behind... wouldn't it all disappear?"
Mei's soft murmur reached Eden's ears, pulling her out of her emotionally vulnerable state.]
[Stelle]:"Eden's... so intense! I almost thought I was seeing Mr. Yang's black hole!"
[Honkai Star Rail·Void Archives]:"Stelle, who do you think originally controlled the Star of Eden?"
[Elysia]:"I never knew my dear Eden cared about me so much~ I'm really happy, truly~♪"
[Stelle]:"As expected of the Lesbian Queen of Elysian Realm! See that, Kiana? Take notes!"
[Kiana]:"...Actually, actually Elysia isn't that annoying after all."
[Bronya Zaychik]:"Bronya friendly reminder: Tsundere doesn't suit you, paramecium."
["I never doubted you."
Mei stared at the crystal flower before her, somewhat curious: "It's just that crystal flower... I feel like I've seen it somewhere before.
Is it a protective charm that every Flame-Chaser here has?"
"No... this is a [secret] shared by only a few Flame-Chasers. I apologize, but I cannot reveal everything without their permission."
"Rather than a protective charm, it's more like a token, a key... sealing a little-known past within this brilliant color."
During their exchange, Mei also told Eden about the time she spent with Elysia in the Elysian Realm. Then, they analyzed the clues that had emerged so far. But Mei could clearly sense that Eden didn't believe there was a true [Traitor] within the Elysian Realm. After exchanging information, Mei began making her way to Vill-V's workshop. Before she could even get close to Vill-V, she found herself caught in the Great Magician's performance venue. "My oh my, not only rushing backstage during a performance but even threatening the magician... this audience member is really..."
"Enough, Vill-V... now isn't the time for lighthearted jokes."
"Why, because Kevin died?"
"You... already know?"
Mei was somewhat surprised. To this, Vill-V seemed completely unconcerned: "Ah, don't look at me like that. Those papers falling from the sky were scattered everywhere—it'd be hard not to know."]
[Silver Wolf]:"Great, looks like we won't learn what this crystal flower represents until the very end."
[Pardofelis]:"Gotta say, that's so Vill-V... just so carefree?"
[Qingque]:"Looking at it this way, Vill-V seems somewhat suspicious."
[March 7th]:"Probably not the traitor, but very likely could be the mysterious person who discussed plans with Kevin!"
[Stelle]:"Familiar with Kevin, very clever—Vill-V is indeed highly possible. Plus she has multiple personalities, maybe one of them collaborated with Kevin."
[March 7th]:"In that case, couldn't Vill-V simultaneously be both the mysterious person helping Kevin and the [Traitor] betraying the Flame-Chasers?"