MGSFV?! Chapter 502: Who Are You Calling a Tool? The Moon Can't Make Me Overtime, But Earth Can
Since Vill-V said she had all the Flame-Chasers in the Elysian Realm give it a try—
Then it's almost certain Kalpas tried too, right?
Honestly, while people were very curious about how Kalpas would fold paper, the more pressing question was...
How did Vill-V even get Kalpas to agree to try?
There's no way Kalpas was just interested in origami, right? The idea of a rough exterior but a girlish heart…
More likely, Vill-V offered him a deal he couldn't refuse. That would be much more realistic.
Vill-V: Wanna know how I got Kalpas to agree? It's simple. Just change your thinking.
Someone: Change your thinking?
Vill-V: Why should I go persuade everyone one by one? If I can get Elysia interested in the task, then she will take care of convincing them for me. She can get things done way faster—and with less effort on my part.
Someone: Well… gotta admit, you really do understand Elysia.
Vill-V: Of course. No one knows her better than I—
Oh, Eden's here. Talk later.
To be clear, none of this was some headcanon.
Hokuto and Vill-V had actually had this conversation in the Golden Courtyard.
It's just that the "thing Kalpas and the other Flame-Chasers agreed to" in that conversation… wasn't the in-game "restoration origami" puzzle.
So to Elysia and Vill-V, it seems this part of Hokuto's storyline was inspired by real-life events?
...
Back to the main story.
After Mei obtained the compass left behind by Vill-V—of course, crafted by Vill-V herself—it turned out the compass also had… a voice-recording function.
Inside was a message from Vill-V for the visitor.
"Ah, did I get off-topic?"
"Anyway, triggering the treasure hunt requires a particular kind of difficulty. And as your reward for clearing it, I'll now take on the guide's role and lead you out of here."
"The mechanics of all this are hard to explain, but you can remember one thing—"
"—If I can create fantasy from reality, then of course I can pave reality with fantasy."
"..."
"But—don't get your hopes too high, okay?"
And with that, the recording ended.
The compass in Mei's hand suddenly emitted a bright glow. Wrapped in the light, she felt slightly dizzy.
Then, the pink dream slowly faded from Mei's dazed consciousness.
The surrounding scenery began to shift, and the outline of St. Freya Academy emerged—clearly, Mei was returning to reality, still holding the compass, that token Vill-V had given the Sigil bearer.
[Professor V really is dependable. Even after being off-screen so long, still such a hard carry.]
[You never know how many backdoors v2v left.]
[Because maybe there are backdoors inside the backdoors? (Dog head)]
[V-GATE!!!] *N
That collective shout of "V-Gate" from the livestream viewers was definitely heartfelt.
But… they didn't seem to notice something?
Vill-V's final words…
"Don't get your hopes too high, okay?"
Everything had gone smoothly—so why say something like that?
Just being humble?
Hmm… maybe someone else would be, but Vill-V?
If she didn't exaggerate her "masterpieces" a thousandfold, that would already be considered "unusually modest" for her.
She's the kind of person who lives for the aesthetics of "surprise"—
Telling people not to expect too much? That doesn't sound like her.
Unless…
Something's coming that even she had to preemptively warn about with a sheepish (…?) disclaimer.
As for what exactly might happen...
"Stay tuned"?
Vill-V: Watch out or I'll charge you royalties!
Hokuto: I've never shorted you, okay?
...
Ahem. In any case, let's save that for later… for now, we focus on the present.
Thanks to Vill-V's help, Mei returned to the real world—St. Freya.
And was immediately sensed by a certain Herrscher present there, who arrived just in time.
"Elysia… Vill-V…"
Mei abruptly opened her eyes as if waking from a long dream.
Looking at the Herrscher of Sentience who stood by her side, she murmured:
"It feels like… I just had a really long dream?"
"More than just a dream," the Herrscher of Sentience rolled her eyes while checking on Mei, "you literally disappeared without a trace for half an hour."
Disappeared—without a trace—for half an hour?
Mei was stunned. She quickly realized how much impact her sudden disappearance might have caused.
"Are Kiana and Bronya okay?"
"No major issues…" Sentience waved a hand,
"They did experience hallucinations while searching the area—but thankfully, Durandal reacted quickly and stopped them from following in your footsteps."
After that, she proactively examined Mei's condition.
Once she confirmed that nothing was wrong—
She also chatted with Mei about why she, Kiana, and Bronya might be at risk of sudden disappearance under the effects of the Stigmata Plan.
On this matter, she had more authority than anyone.
After all, her existence was clearly different from the original trio.
She was… more like a tool.
Who are you calling a tool!?
Ahem—a better way to put it: the Herrscher of Sentience didn't have a physical body, only existing as a consciousness bound to a single feather of Fenghuang Down.
Naturally, that's because she's the Herrscher of Sentience.
For her, breaking the boundary between mind and matter—
In other words, what Mei had just experienced—being turned from a physical being into a spirit due to the influence of the Stigmata Plan—
That was basically second nature for Sentience.
If not for her being limited to a single feather, she could probably shape herself a whole body out of pure thought—maybe even add a few optional parts for fun.
[So basically, due to the Stigmata Plan, Herrschers might be rejected by the Imaginary Space and lose their physical form in the real world? Like how Seele once vanished into the Sea of Quanta? But our great Herrscher of Sentience, because of her special nature, is totally unaffected.]
A player posted that summary in the livestream.
[Honestly, you didn't even need that last sentence. The first half was enough.]
[Herrscher of Sentience has overridden your input. You now feel it's absolutely necessary to praise her greatness a hundred times! (Dog head)]
[All hail the great Herrscher of Sentience!]
[Long live the great Herrscher of Sentience—three years old and thriving!]
...
As for the "great Herrscher of Sentience" being praised—
Once she finished everything she had to do and say…
She stretched lazily, then turned decisively and looked ready to leave.
"Go find Kiana and Bronya yourself. I've got other things to deal with."
[Senti really is reliable when she's serious.]
[Wait—is she really that busy now?]
[Didn't she once say something like…]
["The moon can't make me work overtime, but Earth can." (Dog head)]
But…
Had they ever considered—that the "other things" Senti had to do… might not be what they imagined?
"You all know plenty of scientists—leave the complicated stuff to them."
"After helping you this long, it's about time I took a break."
Yep.
The "other things" she had to do…
Were actually: going to rest.
Just like always, the Herrscher of Sentience waved her sleeve and vanished.
[Didn't she say she was busy?! And now she's just gone off to rest???]
[Being busy with rest is still being busy! (Senti: points finger)]
[When you think Senti's off to handle serious tasks, she'll tell you she's actually busy going on break (Dog head)]
[As expected of the Herrscher of Sentience.]
And so, Mei and Senti went their separate ways—their conversation concluded.
"..."
Mei stood there silently for a moment, then clenched the compass tightly before putting it away.
The reunion she had in that dream may have been brief, but it meant everything.
Through it, they might find the backdoor left behind by the Previous Era, and use Vill-V's beacon to accomplish crucial steps.
"First things first—gotta find Kiana and Bronya."
Mei quickly collected herself and set off to find her two partners.
The players expected this to lead into the classic "walk around to find characters" segment.
Instead…
The game camera suddenly shifted.
A cutscene started playing.
Huh?
A cutscene?
Everyone instantly focused their attention.
They watched closely.
In the scene: Mei was shown hurrying toward a certain part of St. Freya.
Then: a shot of Kiana and Bronya pacing through various corners of St. Freya, searching for someone.
Finally: Kiana and Bronya meeting up after a fruitless search, exchanging a slow shake of the head.
Notably—there wasn't a single line of dialogue in any of these shots.
It was all conveyed through body language and framing—like cinematic storytelling.
[This is a solid cutscene. Didn't expect Honkai Impact 3rd to drop something this fresh out of nowhere.]
[Even after all these years, it still feels new every time (Dog head)]
[Truly—age doesn't dull spirit. (Tactical lean-back)]
...
"This part had my directorial input, you know~~" Elysia said, sounding quite pleased.
[For real?]
Someone dropped that comment.
"This time—for real."
Mei backed her up.
After all, Elysia had already made several short films. She also had Eden—a bonafide superstar—coaching her in her spare time, passing down all sorts of practical tips.
In this area, Elysia really did have the chops.
So when Hokuto was putting this cutscene together, he actually consulted Elysia—and followed her advice, deleting all the dialogue and turning it into a silent sequence.
And clearly, the effect exceeded expectations.
[Guess I underestimated you, Elysia.]
That comment seemed to come from the same person who'd doubted her earlier.
"Mm-hmm~♪"
Elysia hummed cheerfully.
Wasn't that only natural?
Three days apart and one must look at someone with new eyes.
Especially since she'd spent these past years with miHoYo staying quite busy—learning a lot, picking up all kinds of new skills.
[...]
That same person posted a string of ellipses. You could practically imagine the eye-roll on the other side of the screen at Elysia's smugness.
Elysia blinked—she knew exactly who had posted that.
So she let the matter drop.
She refocused on the game.
After that cutscene ended…
In the story—
Unable to find Mei, Kiana and Bronya were regrouping to plan their next move—
Tap—tap—
Tap—tap—
A crisp set of footsteps sounded nearby.
Both Paramecium and Flat Duck turned simultaneously—
Their faces lit up in surprise.
"Mei!!"
"Sorry for worrying you…" Mei jogged up. "Kiana, Bronya."
"Well… as long as you're okay."
Bronya's gaze swept Mei up and down. Seeing nothing wrong, she quietly exhaled in relief.
"Yeah." Kiana folded her arms.
"The underhanded tricks of the Stigmata Plan… You really can't let your guard down for even a second."
"Mm."
Mei nodded softly, then shifted the topic—she had something important to share.
"But crisis often comes with opportunity. During the earlier incident—"
"I may have discovered a backdoor the Previous Era left for us."
Mei then recounted her entire dream experience to the two of them:
Guide Elysia, the four of them exploring the theme park, her final moments alone with Elysia, and ultimately the surprise discovery of Vill-V's backdoor.
Everything—honestly and in full detail.
She then turned to Kiana, watching for her reaction.
"I see…" Kiana pondered for a long moment.
"I think… Dr. Tesla would be very interested in this."
Mei: "..."
That… was not the response she'd expected.
"Dr. Tesla?"
Why bring her up?
Was there anyone in Mei's retelling who would especially pique Tesla's interest?
Hmm… maybe just Vill-V. Both were mechanical geniuses.
If Vill-V and Tesla ever met, they might really hit it off.
Actually… more than hit it off—they'd probably start a war of gadgets within five minutes.
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