A single warning comment blended into the flood of bullet chats discussing "the cat," barely noticeable and causing no ripples in the stream.
Most regular viewers didn't catch it.
But Elysia, who could always spot messages from Mobius or others amidst the chaotic stream of messages, didn't miss this one.
"Splitting up now?"
"Feels... a bit bad, no?"
Really…?
Hmm… come to think of it, yes.
In detective dramas, when people split up at times like this, the one who isn't the protagonist is often the one who gets into trouble.
At that thought, her expression subtly shifted.
She looked at Pardofelis, busy at the locked mirror, and a strange unease rose in her heart.
After hesitating for a bit, she had Mei initiate dialogue.
"Pardofelis?"
"Mei-nee, just a moment~ I'm almost done unlocking it~~"
After a brief exchange, the game prompted the player to go check other areas.
But Elysia didn't move right away. She stood still.
Until the bullet chats started asking:
[What's wrong with Miss Elf?]
[Miss Elf disconnected or something?]
Only then did she reluctantly have Mei start walking away from Pardofelis and approach another mirror.
Before triggering the next scene, she rotated the camera to make sure Pardofelis was still safely working at the mirror.
With that small reassurance, she tapped into the next memory.
Don't panic. As long as Mei stays close to Pardofelis, nothing will happen.
The new memory fragment was from the time of the Constraint Tragedy.
At that time, Vill-V had bravely entered the Constraint Domain and used her multiple personalities to share the pain, barely withstanding the torment.
And from that, she deduced that the so-called "constraint" indeed had a "limit."
It was likely thanks to Vill-V's research that Mobius later ordered the swarm tactic approach.
To players, the memory was packed with information—but for Mei, it was still of little help.
So, she withdrew in time.
But then the unexpected occurred.
Mei was suddenly struck by an indescribable pain.
"This pain… what is happening?!"
"..."
"Unbelievable. Just by viewing this memory... I actually feel it myself."
"This kind of pain... even within someone else's memory, could I be affected by the Constraint Domain because I am a Herrscher?"
"Or is it that... in these memories, I'm not just a bystander—but Vill-V herself?"
Mei looked at Pardofelis, still unlocking the mirror, and shook her head.
She decided not to dwell on it.
For now, she would go farther and see more memories—those of Vill-V before undergoing hyper-evolution surgery.
With that in mind, Mei examined more fragments:
Vill-V's memory of performing a magic show.
Vill-V's invention blowing up the Helical Workshop again.
...
And throughout this, Mei gradually moved farther and farther from Pardofelis.
Eventually, Elysia stopped in front of a mirror and rotated the camera—realizing that Pardofelis was no longer in view.
Her heart skipped a beat.
"Is Mei... too far from Pardofelis?"
Worried, Elysia triggered the next memory.
This memory was from after Vill-V had undergone hyper-evolution surgery, during the creation of the "Conductor" personality—when the "The Villain" first emerged.
The Conductor decided to allocate half of her mental capacity to house all of Vill-V's malice.
Every time Vill-V had wicked thoughts, she would shove them into this vessel.
In this way, a Gu was raised… for 50,000 years.
By the end of this scene, not only Elysia but the audience too began to realize something was wrong.
"That locked mirror… is it the cage imprisoning the 'Extreme Evil'?"
"Then… isn't the one unlocking it—Pardofelis—in grave danger?"
[Pardofelis! Don't tell me something's going to happen to her?!]
[No way, right? They wouldn't kill off two characters in one short segment?]
[Miss Elf, maybe we should go back and check on the cat?]
Seeing the viewers' comments, Elysia thought for a moment, then had Mei rush back.
She quickly returned to the locked mirror—Pardofelis was still standing safely.
But clearly, no matter how hard the player tried, no dialogue would trigger now.
Elysia had no choice but to return to the main story.
The next memory took place on a small island labeled "P-21."
Vill-V had just been brought back to MOTH by Elysia and was imprisoned there.
Mobius came to the island to inform Vill-V of her final test.
If she passed, she'd be released and officially join MOTH.
If she failed, she would remain imprisoned forever.
During their conversation, Vill-V shared an experiment she had conducted.
By chance, a monkey on the island had begged her for something.
So she gave it weapons.
After gaining weapons, the monkeys broke into conflict—and wiped each other out.
But Vill-V wasn't done.
With complete indifference, she told Mobius she planned to hand over a nuclear bomb of her own design to humanity.
At first, it didn't seem like much—maybe even a gesture of goodwill.
But in the context of the monkey experiment, everything took a chilling turn.
It was a kind of madness—unspoken, yet undeniably present.
A madness whose origin was unknown—belonging to one Vill-V or another.
This short scene delivered horror and shock in overwhelming waves.
Like a giant hand tightening around your throat.
[Vill-V is even more insane than Snake-sis???]
[At least Mobius has flexible limits. Vill-V seems to have none.]
[Compared to this, Mobius actually feels normal. Truly, everything is relative.]
...
Then came the next and final memory.
It followed directly after the island segment—Vill-V's last test after being freed from the island.
"You should understand—Elysia vouching for you isn't enough to save your life."
"What?! Mobius, you didn't say this review would be led by you personally!"
The two discussed how Vill-V had once built mechanical creations to resist MOTH.
Vill-V admitted she had studied machinery for only three months before crafting technology far beyond her era.
"As long as I want to—then I can."
What confidence.
The players were stunned.
"This isn't a genius... this isn't even human anymore!"
And this was before her hyper-evolution surgery!
But the plot didn't leave much time to be shocked.
Suddenly, Pardofelis's panicked voice rang out from afar:
"You… you?!"
"Ah…!!"
Players: ???
They had a vague feeling during the last few cutscenes that Pardofelis might be next.
But foreboding isn't acceptance.
"Felice! Mei is on her way—hang in there!"
Elysia rushed Mei forward at full speed.
Any monsters in the way were instantly defeated—her control far more precise than usual.
You could feel her urgency.
She charged up the platform and returned to the locked mirror.
The lock had been undone by Pardofelis.
And Pardofelis...
...lay collapsed before it, her fate unknown.
Elysia had Mei approach her.
Staring at the motionless Pardofelis, her fingers hovered without input.
"Felice…"
She said her name gently and inhaled deeply.
Then reached out to tap...
But didn't.
Instead, she took another breath, trying to suppress her inner panic.
Over and over, until finally, she painfully had Mei lift Pardofelis into her arms.
The screen changed to a CG.
Pardofelis flickered with distortion—half her body covered in hazy static, seemingly ready to shatter.
She lay in Mei's arms.
Her eyes were filled with painful tears.
It was displayed in front of every player.
A scene far more harrowing than any previous mere text or message.
The stream erupted:
[Caaaaaat—!]
[WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO THE CAT?! She's the cutest, most harmless, most grounded one in all of the Flame-Chasers!!]
[What did the cat ever do wrong?! WHY HER?! I don't get it!!]
[I braced for Kalpas, or Aponia, or even Vill-V… but not the cat. Never the cat.]
"Yeah… why was it Felice."
Elysia's voice trembled.
"She never hurt anyone…"
...
"Mei…uh…"
Pardofelis's body was fading, and even speaking a single word became a struggle.
Mei immediately tightened her hold.
"Don't panic..."
Her heart ached terribly, but she forced a smile to comfort her:
"...It's going to be okay."
But those very words—meant to ease her—only tightened Pardofelis's chest.
She convulsed, then curled up from the pain again.
"No… I can't…"
"Mei… Mei-nee... we have to leave... fast!"
Her agonized voice clutched the hearts of everyone listening.
The voice acting in this part was flawless.
Players broke down.
"Not again! Not like this again!!"
"That memory... it's of when Boss Kevin vanished...!"
"The one who killed Boss Kevin was... was..."
Even saying a word was painful.
But Pardofelis still tried to tell Mei the truth—to protect her.
Even now, she was thinking of others.
"I understand now, Pardofelis. You don't need to say more…"
Mei couldn't bear to see her suffer like this.
The truth was already clear.
This was Vill-V's memory space. The scene of Kevin's disappearance.
Who else could the culprit be?
"...Thank you."
Pardofelis's face was twisted in pain, but when she heard Mei's gratitude, she managed a smile.
She had helped.
That was enough.
"Heh… hehe… I'm good at this, after all..."
She kept speaking, haltingly:
"So… let's go… together… okay?"
As if she were still in perfect shape.
"..."
"Mm…"
Mei gently nodded:
"Don't worry. If anything dangerous happens—I'll protect you."
"Just like always, okay?"
Pardofelis smiled faintly:
"Okay… okay…"
But her voice was getting weaker.
"Mei… Mei-nee… maybe… don't say things like that…"
"People always say… it's a… what was it…"
"Like it's really gonna happen... don't scare me…"
"There's no way... right…"
At this point, Elysia's hands trembled so hard she couldn't press anything.
"Mei… Felice… can't they be saved…?"
She stopped.
Because she knew deep down...
Pardofelis was already...
"I can't do anything..."
She tapped the screen with shaking fingers—carefully, like she feared it would make Pardofelis shatter.
"I've always… been so lucky..."
Pardofelis gripped Mei's sleeves tightly.
With all her strength, she made her final wish:
"Mei-nee…"
"I… don't want to die…"
The words echoed from the game—and Pardofelis vanished into shards.
MiHoYo even made a dynamic CG for it.
Everyone was stunned.
Memories of her filled their minds.
"Hehe, I'm Pardofelis! You can call me Pardofelis, or Felice~"
"I'll call you Mei-nee! I've got tons of fun trinkets!"
"Mei-nee, let's go treasure hunting! I'm super lucky, I'll find lots of cool stuff."
"Mei-nee, can I touch your horns?"
"Mei-nee, let's stick together!"
"Mei-nee, I'm not strong—you have to protect me!"
"Mei-nee, leave this to me. Let me help just a little."
"Mei-nee... I... don't want to die…"
Every memory. So vivid.
She never had grand ambitions.
She just wanted to live.
What did she do wrong?
Why did she deserve such a painful end??
"Writer! Did you think this was funny?!"
[I know someone had to fall eventually, but not her. I can't accept this!]
[I understand the themes, but how am I supposed to endure this?!]
[I can't do anything. I truly can't. Why was it the cat? I can't accept this.]
[So this was the big knife... I wish I could go back and slap myself for jinxing it earlier. I can't take this pain.]
For the first time, players found themselves unable to articulate their grief.
And in that moment, as the bullet chats raged—
Elysia and the others fell into absolute silence.
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