Elysia spoke resolutely as she tapped the screen.
Though she'd already suffered significant emotional damage due to every Flame-Chaser dying in their own way, even someone like Pardofelis—who just "didn't want to die"—still did her part in the story.
So how could she fall here?
In the story…
Aponia wept softly, praying for the departed Kalpas.
It was then that Eden, standing nearby, noticed an ominous dark green spreading across Aponia's body.
She realized that something even more terrifying had been left behind.
"Aponia, your body…"
Aponia took a deep breath, trying to ease the grief in her heart.
"Yes… sorry. Kalpas used his life to reveal the enemy's location to us, and also allowed me… to complete the Contact."
[Aponia!! Are we losing another one? Sob sob sob.]
[Eden, you have to survive!]
[So, who was the first one infected by the Herrscher of Corruption that Mei brought in?]
[Don't tell me it was Elysia?! Don't tell me it's because she touched Mei's horn?! Is this foreshadowing too?!]
Some players proposed routes that hadn't been considered.
Of course, the actual story hadn't laid foreshadowing that deep.
Or rather, the infection of other Flame-Chasers by Corruption might have happened even earlier.
Back to the point.
"As for the abnormality on me…"
Choking up, Aponia revealed the enemy's identity to Eden—the Herrscher of Corruption.
And she gave Eden her final commandment, which was also her blessing:
Please, do not come into contact with that being.
She urged Eden to go to the final token holder—Vill-V.
Thus, the chapter concluded.
The game screen once again shifted back to the heartbreak-inducing Flame-Chaser Archives.
Kalpas' character card.
Right before everyone's eyes, it shattered with a crisp crack, irreversibly.
After Kalpas' card shattered, players noticed a bizarre change in the Elysian Realm game interface.
Because the very foundation of Elysian Realm—Aponia—had been corrupted by the Herrscher of Corruption…
The entire main menu had changed from pink… to purple.
At this point, no one had the mind to question why it was purple and not green—or some other color.
They stared at the flickering modules, as if they were data errors.
As if the entire Elysian Realm was on the verge of collapse.
A chill ran through their hearts.
"Our menu's been corrupted too?!"
Elysia stared at the suddenly transformed game UI and voiced her doubt.
[??? Don't tell me the entire Elysian Realm is going to vanish in the end?! Please, no?!]
[Suddenly I remembered Aponia's prophecy… that Elysian Realm would disappear in ten days. I'm afraid…]
[No! I don't believe MiHoYo would go that far!]
[You naïve fool. Precisely because it's MiHoYo, they'll absolutely go that far.]
…
Players showed genuine concern for Elysian Realm's future.
Elysia stared at the Elysian Realm interface for a long time, confirming it wasn't just her imagination.
The entire Elysian Realm panel… really had been corrupted.
Elysia: "..."
As for MiHoYo's trademark attention to detail, providing them with a full 4D experience—
She truly didn't know what to say anymore.
Silently, she tapped forward to the next part of the main story.
Raven's chapter.
The opening was Raven's line:
"I still find it hard to believe…"
"The Herrscher of Corruption… has already been born."
It turned out that the childhood brought back from Nivale Industries Lab by Raven and Gray Serpent No. 10426 was, in essence, a mutated guidance robot.
A unique being called the Herrscher of Corruption had descended into this robotic body.
After a period of investigation and elimination, Raven and Gray Serpent identified all backups connected to Childhood and further confirmed the location of its main body.
Because World Serpent had acted early, the newborn Herrscher hadn't had time to learn or grow, and so was easily restrained.
As Gray Serpent put it: "After all, this Herrscher of Corruption is just a newborn infant."
Yes. This Herrscher… was indeed newborn.
However, Gray Serpent also warned that if they failed to eliminate all corrupted backups—
If anything slipped through the cracks—
Then a Herrscher who understood death might end up, like the one in the Previous Era, doing something insane to survive.
Of course, their plan was airtight. Theoretically, there would be no surprises.
Unless… the Herrscher of Corruption found another way to transcend reality and possess a new vessel.
Players: "..."
They fell into silence reading this.
Sure enough—any time something is theoretically foolproof, there's always a twist. At least in fiction.
Next, unaware that Mei had been possessed, Raven and Gray Serpent continued their task of cleaning out the corrupted backups step by step.
Soon, they reached the final step—
Eliminating Gray Serpent No. 10426, who had been in contact with the Corruption, to prevent revival.
Gray Serpent: "It's time to say goodbye, old friend."
Players: ???
No way, no way—MiHoYo, are you actually going to knife Gray Serpent too?
Raven's voice turned heavier: "...At least tell me what your wish is."
"..."
"Forget it."
Gray Serpent hesitated, then shook his head.
"If I say it out loud…"
"…I'll end up not wanting to die too."
[I wasn't even that close to this Gray Serpent, but hearing that line really hit me hard. This writing is… honestly impressive.]
[They're even knifing Gray Serpent?! The writer's blades have reached a new level. I'm seeing double.]
[They packed all these knives into one chapter—no breathing room. I'm in full emo mode now.]
[All in one? Hah. How can you be so confident? How do you know there won't be knives in the next chapter? I have a feeling the next one will be even worse.]
[Maybe there were just too many knives, so they had to split it into two chapters to fit them all.]
Just when the players had recovered slightly…
They got stabbed again.
Elysia, too, furrowed her brows.
Even her finger hesitated slightly before tapping forward.
"Whew~~"
She let out a deep breath, then continued.
The Herrschers outside Elysian Realm were destroyed easily because they didn't understand death—but the one inside…
Was fighting with everything she had to survive.
The game's perspective returned to Elysian Realm.
But the story didn't continue with Aponia. Nor with Mei.
Instead—it shifted to the perspective of the "newborn" Herrscher of Corruption.
It turned out… her birth was merely an accident.
She was born from a "casual" conversation between Mei and the Will of Honkai.
From nothingness, she received information.
From that information, she gained choice.
And the first choice the Herrscher of Corruption had to make—
Was…
"What… is this?"
Elysia looked at the two choices on screen and murmured in confusion.
They were just too outrageous.
[Corrupt 'Herrscher of Thunder'?]
[Corrupt 'Will of Honkai'?]??
Players were equally stunned.
The second option… how dare she?
Seriously, this Herrscher must've been born yesterday.
[Whenever you feel dumb, just remember: a newborn Herrscher once tried to corrupt the Will of Honkai.]
[And whenever you feel dumb, also remember: a Herrscher once tried to convert Paramecium and accidentally created her own dad.]
[Herrscher of a Thousand Faces: ??? Herrscher of Corruption: ???]
…
Everyone was left speechless by the in-game options.
After thinking it through, Elysia made her choice—like most players.
[Corrupt 'Will of Honkai']
Of course, her reason wasn't curiosity.
It was because…
She didn't want the Corruption to target Mei.
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