In the first-person perspective, every subtle expression and smile of Kafka's was vividly captured.
Though visibly heartbroken, she still spoke to Caelus with unwavering gentleness.
The moment Kafka on-screen uttered the words "for me,"
half the audience had already surrendered,
believing that letting Kafka endure such sorrow was nothing short of blasphemy.
Yet,
some held firm against her plea, shaking their heads resolutely.
"I won't stay."
Kafka exhaled deeply. "Then, I'll ask you the same question again.
It's not that I wish to persist, but I understand all too well—in this seemingly vast world, genuine choices never truly exist, nor do they hold meaning."
Another refusal. "I won't stay."
Kafka then appealed to both reason and emotion, her words almost breaking the fourth wall: "You know why I'm stopping you… If you leave, the story that follows will truly vanish from your future. It'll become an unchangeable past, with no room for regret."
—
"I can't do this anymore, bros! I can't keep refusing Kafka!" One audience member clutched his chest.
"Every time I shake my head, my conscience aches! I look into Mama Kafka's eyes—I can't do it! I really can't!"
"Hold on! We've come this far—we must endure!" another shouted, straightening his back.
"Remember when Kafka first appeared? Everyone called her a villain, so she must be lying… right? Sniff… I'll… keep refusing!"
Those on the verge of giving up steeled themselves, repeating the same motion—shaking their heads.
"I won't stay."
A trace of sorrow flickered across Kafka's face, her voice laced with confusion.
"What are you clinging to? The 'right to choose'? Or is it just defiance?
Don't you see? Even this right to resist is bound by predetermined possibilities."
"I won't stay."
"Ellio said you'd help me. Who knows in how many possibilities he glimpsed that truth…"
"I won't stay."
"..." Kafka fell silent. The audience could now see tears glistening at the corners of her eyes.
—
The entire Scalegorge Waterscape square was plunged into despair.
"AHHH!!! I'm a monster! I made Mama Kafka cry! I can't take this anymore!"
"I can't test my limits anymore—this is too much!"
"Give up, bros. We're attempting the impossible!"
"I surrender! I'm done!"
At a glance, nearly 90% of players had already quit.
Only a handful remained steadfast.
"Keep going…!!! KEEP GOING!!"
"How?! You shake your head once, I shake mine ten times?!"
"Hey! You—wanna fight?!"
"Calm down, calm down, calm down."
"STOP ARGUING!!!"
One audience member pulled a cookie stick from his pocket and bit into it.
"Don't know if I can hold out!"
Then he took out his phone and dialed a number.
"Hey, Zhen? It's me. There's something I've wanted to tell you for a long time."
After a brief silence, the voice on the other end replied, "Go on."
"All-Chinese team will prevail!"
He hung up, his eyes filled with the determination of someone ready to join the Party.
He shook his head.
—
"I won't stay."
Kafka's expression returned to its initial calm, though her gaze remained tender.
"If you're thinking, 'What else will Kafka say?'—don't. Every choice has consequences, and we must bear them."
"I won't stay."
Kafka fell silent again, this time with an expression few had ever seen—
a mix of sorrow and relief, for she knew everything had taken effect aboard Herta Space Station.
Caelus had truly forgotten it all.
She spoke solemnly:
"Then, one final reminder: I respect your decision, irreversible as it is. If you walk away, I'll save Blade and leave the Xianzhou, but none of it will involve you…
I don't know what future awaits… In this, I'm as blind as you, for Ellio never shared a word with me. Long ago, he told me: Free will doesn't truly exist. Choices are just exhaustions of possibilities.
But if you believe you have the right to choose… If you insist, and it truly comes from your heart—
then perhaps I'd be glad. I hope you can rise above fate. Maybe one day, 'you'll change me.'
Have you decided?"
"I'll leave."
"Alright…" Kafka turned away. "Goodbye, Caelus."
—
"Pfft—" The steadfast player spat blood. "I can't hold on!!!"
Just then,
cheers erupted from the crowd around him.
"Hang in there, big bro who can shake his head!"
"You've got this, man! You're our last hope!"
"Keep going—you're the only one left!"
Hearing the rallying cries, he knew he was the final stand.
He turned resolutely toward the mission's end.
—
Following the quest marker, he exited through the door. The mission concluded.
Yet,
the scene reset instantly.
Kafka and Blade were gone. By the windowsill, a hastily scribbled note lay in a flowerpot:
"Ellio can foresee the future but cannot interfere with your choices. We are all 'slaves to destiny,' but I hope you aren't. If you truly possess free will, hold onto it. Reach that ending by your own will—that's the you I adore."
Reading this, the player's heart shattered.
To make it worse, his in-game phone buzzed—another message from an unknown woman:
"Trailblazer, it's Kafka."
"Just wanted you to know—despite the hiccups, I'm fine."
"Does free will exist? I'm unsure, but you made a choice, turning a faint possibility into reality."
"For slaves of fate like us, it's… beautiful."
—
The player ripped off his VR headset, utterly broken. "Kafka's so kind… Even after all those hurtful words, she still messaged to reassure us. Sob…"
"I'm a monster!"
But that wasn't all. At the video's end,
Blade reappeared, barely containing his fury. "She must've done everything to keep you alive, brat!"