Chapter 123: Self-Narration
Gepard remains silent.
He doesn't want to see Serval forced to do something against her will.
Yet, the things she's needed for concern the future of Belobog.
Caught in the middle, it's an uncomfortable position.
He wants to respect her choices, but as a Landau, he feels she should step up when Belobog needs her.
Deep down, he's even more reluctant to let her leave.
Through March 7th's photos and stories, Gepard has gained a rudimentary understanding of the vast universe.
If she leaves, who knows how long it'll be before they meet again.
A trace of melancholy begins to emanate from Gepard.
Seeing him lost in thought, Stelle quietly nudges Leon's arm with her elbow.
(Before I boarded the train, how do you usually handle family farewells like this?)
(Nothing special. We just witness, not interfere.)
(Is this a special case?)
(It's not.)
(What counts as one?)
(When the world can no longer sustain their existence, or when there's no choice left, we might say a bit more.)
(Hmm… like if the world's about to end and staying means certain death?)
At this point in the team's conversation, the camera pans to Leon's profile.
In that moment, his eyes carry a mix of sorrow, weariness, and nostalgia.
Players can tell something's off right away.
Stelle feels it too.
She's standing right next to Leon, closer than Gepard.
The heavy aura emanating from Leon subtly seeps into her emotions.
If it hadn't been so fleeting, she might've thought it was an illusion.
(Uh… did I say something wrong?)
(No, I just remembered some old memories…)
(Is it something I can hear?)
(It is. The reason I boarded the train was because my world was on the verge of destruction.)
!!!
Stelle's reaction syncs with countless players.
Leon's voice is soft, carrying a hollow, lingering tone as he recounts.
(Back then, I could barely remember much. One of the few things I still recalled was keeping an oath.)
(But Himeko said something to me—)
(Only by living can you give meaning to the past.)
(After that, Himeko and Welt turned to leave.)
(I could sense they looked back at me three times. Later, I realized that was their silent interference.)
(They didn't want me to die meaninglessly, yet they respected my choice.)
(I thought, perhaps the person or thing I was waiting for had already arrived, or perhaps it wasn't them.)
(But that didn't matter anymore, because I remembered fragments of my past and made a choice… to break my oath.)
(I spread wings that had been still for a thousand years and soared into the stars, chasing that rainbow train, leaving my collapsing, disintegrating world behind.)
(I boarded the train, searching for my past, my lost history, and a chance to break free from my fate in this endless journey.)
(Now you understand, don't you? What we call interference is really just helping someone see their own heart clearly.)
The hollow tone in Leon's words gradually fades, returning to his usual demeanor.
(A qualified therapist can't miss that Serval is carrying an unresolved knot in her heart.)
(She needs to fully bid farewell to her past and understand herself to make a decision she won't regret.)
(The Astral Express has always been this way with passengers who wish to board.)
Stelle's emotions grow complex.
For countless players, hearing this feels like being hit with Garen's silence.
Leon's tone is deeply evocative, as if transporting listeners into that past, stirring their curiosity.
Compared to what they've learned from Welt, Leon's own words don't reveal much new information.
But their weight is undeniable.
What was the oath he broke?
What caused his world's destruction?
What is this lost past, and the fate he's mentioned more than once?
Leon once told Dan Heng he wanted to break the Sky Haven Clan's fate, but he's never clarified what it is.
The Sky Haven Clan is a descendant of an ancient lineage—how ancient, exactly?
How long has he been alive?
Looking back at all the information about Leon, players realize with hindsight:
He's carrying far more than they ever imagined.
"Leon said the Sky Haven Clan is a special long-lived species. Could he have lived for thousands of years?"
"No, no, thousands might be too low. Maybe tens of thousands isn't out of the question."
Plot analysis bloggers are especially fixated on this.
Normally, not many would care about a four-star character's past.
But Leon is anything but ordinary.
His face practically screams, "There's a knife hanging over my head, and I'm probably doomed later."
On top of that, he's a steady, reliable, ultra-heavyweight guy.
He's definitely been through something to develop that "heavy" trait.
Despite only recently meeting the protagonist, the little raccoon, there's no reason he'd protect them with his life.
Yet it's a fact.
Leon transferring his wings to the protagonist to take a fatal blow in their place is a real, undeniable event.
What's maddening is that he does these things silently, refusing to explain why.
To those unaware, it might seem like Leon's a saint.
But anyone who's followed the story knows he's far from that.
He's the first playable character to kill someone on-screen, even if the victim absolutely deserved it.
Through March 7th's words, we know that as a doctor, he doesn't always save lives—sometimes he might even kick someone when they're down.
His skills and voice lines show he's not joking.
No matter how you look at it, Leon feels more like a chaotic neutral straddling the line between good and evil.
Yet he's unconditionally good to the protagonist and his companions.
His healing winds probably burn his own life force, yet he's used them on the train crew.
From what Dan Heng said, it sounds like he's done it quite often.
With all this, how could anyone not be curious?
Thinking of all this, Ah Xian slumps back in her chair.
"Family, you know what I want to ask, right?"
[Exactly what you're thinking. If you'd picked Dan Heng or March, you'd only learn this backstory through someone else's plot archive.]
[I don't get it. Just how much baggage is Leon carrying to be this deeply tied to the plot?]
[His plot is indeed hefty.]
"Though I'm a Leon stan now, I've gotta be objective."
"Almost every main cast member is deeply tied to the plot. Leon's heavy plot isn't an exception; it's just the right time to reveal his part."
"Look at March 7th—she's the most mysterious, with zero known past."
"I know some of Dan Heng's closed beta plot; Xianzhou will probably reveal a chunk of it."
"Himeko's a given—she fixed the train. Welt's background is the most transparent."
"The protagonist? No need to say—Mommy Kafka dropped a ton of hints at the start, waiting to be unraveled."
"But, but—"
"Only Leon's covered in traces of knives, meow meow X!"
"If I could trade his plot depth for no knives, this Leon stan would be thrilled."
"Because I really don't want him getting knifed halfway before the finale."
"From what we know, that possibility's not small, and it's worrying—"
"—Wait, what? His Character Story II unlocks after hearing this narration?!"