MGSFV?! Chapter 410. Fear-the-Door-felis
Actually, it wasn't just the players.
While Seele may not have jumped to wild conclusions like they did—
About things like a pre-pre-previous civilization, how many times Earth had already been destroyed, or even ancient alien visits to Earth...
Players, being players, ran with every possible theory.
Among the chaos, there were always a few guesses that sounded halfway plausible, even hitting the mark.
With so many people in the stream chat, it wasn't unusual for someone to stumble on the truth.
That is, unless they were citing sources like they had a time machine and could list reasons one through five—
Most other players wouldn't pay them too much mind.
Besides, after some brief serious discussion, the stream chat—as expected—veered wildly off course again.
Like how Prometheus looked so much like Bronya, or how even AI had twin-drill hair—
Because that's just how anime-girl mobile games work.
You never know what bizarre detail players will obsess over—
Until they blast it into the chat.
Anyway—back to the story.
Much like the players, Seele was also drawn to Mei and Prometheus' conversation.
Instinctively, she stepped closer.
But the moment she did—
The images of Mei and Prometheus vanished.
"Huh... they disappeared?"
Seele looked around.
The figures were completely gone. Not even a trace was left.
At that moment, Durandal noticed something unusual on her end.
"Seele? I just detected a sudden energy fluctuation from your location. Did something happen?"
"Just now... I think... I saw remnants inside the world bubble..."
Seele recounted what she'd just witnessed.
"...I see."
Durandal paused, then relayed Li Sushang's findings.
"Sushang reported seeing three people who appeared to be scientists..."
Probably Mei, Mobius, and Vill-V?
Hard to say.
After all, aside from Mei's look, Mobius and Vill-V didn't exactly look like scientists.
Especially Vill-V... Sushang might've thought she was performing in an opera.
"They were speaking in a language she couldn't understand, then vanished shortly after."
[Lmao—Sushang can't speak foreign languages.]
[Wait—is this about not understanding, or not comprehending? Did Sushang even go to school?]
And there it was.
The stream chat had pivoted to whether or not Li Sushang ever went to school.
[According to the lore in Chronicles of the Severed Sword, she trained under Cheng Lingshuang, wielder of the world's strongest "Free Sword," learning Taixu Sword Qi from childhood—
So… she just put all her points into combat.]
[High EQ: She min-maxed for martial arts.]
[I think this actually means she couldn't understand the Previous Era's language, not scientific concepts.]
[Wait—does this mean "Honkai-verse universal language" isn't Shenzhouese?? (shocked x3)]
[...]*n
...
"Seele, on the other hand, seems able to understand the language of these mysterious figures."
Durandal's words confirmed the players' theory.
Apparently, Li Sushang really couldn't understand the Previous Era's language.
Meanwhile, Durandal had a guess about Seele's case:
"...It might be due to your strong synchron—resonance—with the world bubbles. That resonance could be helping you instinctively grasp their thoughts."
[Damn. I've been saying "resonance" wrong my whole life.]
[So it's resonance huh.]
[Seele just unlocked another cheat code.]
[Now this is what it means to be the Quantum Sea's favorite daughter.]
[This isn't even that OP—Schrödinger can do this too. She read quantum data in that VN story.]
In short, since Seele's body had previously undergone quantumization,
she could naturally interpret lingering data within world bubbles, without the usual language barrier.
So Durandal adjusted their approach.
From now on, Li Sushang would take point, and Seele would follow behind to extract information—
Improving their efficiency.
It worked.
Li Sushang soon discovered a new world bubble.
Durandal opened the portal, and Seele entered—
Triggering the second recorded scene.
Mei, Vill-V, and Prometheus.
[It's Vill-V!!!]
[Now that Vill-V's here, can Elysia be far behind?]
[Are we going to reunite with Elysia in the Quantum Sea?!]
The chat couldn't help but speculate.
As for Seele—
She approached, visibly puzzled. She clearly didn't know these three towering figures from the Previous Era.
Which reminded some viewers—
Would Seele and the others eventually meet characters who did know the Flame-Chasers?
Mei, Fu Hua?
Hmm... well, the "old relic" might've forgotten, but Little Xix sure wouldn't.
Where was she, anyway?
They were already at the lunar climax. Surely Little Xix would show up?
Surely the writers hadn't forgotten her?
If Hokuto had known what players were thinking,
he would've confidently pounded his chest and said:
"Forget? How could I ever forget the great Herrscher of Reason?"
She'd be getting plenty of scenes.
All iconic. No exceptions.
...
Back to the memory scene—
Mei, Prometheus, and Vill-V began their conversation.
Mei: "By the way... how is the Refuge Plan progressing?"
Vill-V: "The engineering proposal passed Mobius' internal review.
Only issue left is..."
She spread her hands and said two very familiar words:
"Funding."
Even with the world ending, they still had to worry about funding?
Well—here, "funding" probably meant materials and equipment, not literal money.
And honestly, with Eden on their side, there was no way Flame-Chasers would be short on cash.
Vill-V explained her solution:
She'd come to Earth specifically to bring back lunar rock samples to support her funding request.
But Mei told her not to bother.
"You can tell them this—
According to my project proposal, the Refuge Plan is a prerequisite for the Flame-Chasing Project."
"Huh? So the Flame-Chasing Project... finally has documentation?"
Vill-V looked pleasantly surprised.
"Actually, no." Mei shook her head.
"Nor does it need one.
But that doesn't stop us from preparing for the next generation."
[The Flame-Chasing Project is so mysterious.]
[Feels more and more like Hua only carried out a fragment of it.]
[Wait—what do you mean "no plan"?]
[Sounds more like: left behind some tools, held hope, and trusted the future.]
Indeed.
The Flame-Chasing Project was feeling increasingly grand, increasingly mystical.
Vill-V looked a little disappointed—
Not upset, just no longer surprised.
But Mei had left more than that for the future.
She glanced toward the ever-silent Prometheus.
"Hopefully, our other project will also go smoothly in the worst-case scenario...
Wouldn't you agree, No. 17?"
The game camera shifted to Prometheus-17,
letting players get a good look at her design and expression.
And she looked... a bit blank.
"Huh? ...Me?"
Was she still in the early stages of her programming?
[Kinda cute tho.]
[I mean... this design... I know it's not Bronya, but those joints, that frame... s—er, never mind. Just saying, give OG Bronya this as a skin.]
[Or heck—just make a new character already.]
[Okay, maybe don't dream too hard.]
[So that "other project" Mei mentioned—must be that "Invade the Honkai" plan, right?]
As players continued discussing—
The second memory ended.
Seele relayed what she saw back to Durandal via Sumeru Seed.
Durandal coordinated with others to analyze the intel.
Despite their hard work, most conclusions were still just speculation.
They were missing key data.
So the team pressed onward.
Soon, Seele found the third memory.
This one took place just before the Final Battle, when the eight Flame-Chasers reached the Moon.
It was coming.
Finally.
A certain familiar BGM played in the background.
Players: ???
Why are you suddenly playing such sad music?!
miHoYo, calm down!! Don't you dare!!!
The first on screen were Vill-V and Prometheus.
"...We've arrived on the Moon, No. 17."
From her tone, this was clearly Ego Vill-V.
"Yes. According to the plan, we will now face the Herrscher of the End."
Prometheus continued:
"However—
Objectively speaking, I do not believe we stand a chance."
[Kalpas: Victory doesn't require odds.]
"Yeah."
Vill-V didn't disagree.
"None of us do."
"..."
Prometheus fell silent.
As an AI, she couldn't understand why they would carry out a plan with no chance of success.
But perhaps—
Doing what cannot be done is a kind of human "romance."
Even if the mind knows there's no hope—
The heart refuses to yield.
Like Lu Xun once said:
"Young people fight on the premise that light will come eventually.
But I hold no hope.
I merely want to raise hell in the darkness."
Vill-V added:
"We just want to do something that must be done."
[So... choosing life through death?]
[More like choosing death... for the sake of life.]
[With this atmosphere, this BGM... Don't tell me we're about to see Vill-V's pocket watch.]
[Old wounds incoming. Brace yourselves.]
Hmm...
This kind of emotional assault—
Might be a little different from what they expected?
Because it wasn't Vill-V who got hit first—
While she and Prometheus were talking,
Pardofelis suddenly came bounding into view.
She waved at Vill-V with a carefree smile, almost like she was here on vacation.
But reality?
Prometheus watched Pardofelis fade into the distance and said:
"She's always been the cheerful one, hasn't she."
"Maybe.
But did you know?"
Vill-V's voice softened.
"Today, she has to take on a duty...
one that guarantees her own death."
Players: What did you just say?! Say that again if you dare?!
Writers: Not only will we say it, we'll explain.
"Guarantees her death?"
"Yes.
At the very moment the Herrscher of the End awakens,
she'll wager all her luck—
to open that door."
Players: ????????
[Again with the door?
Didn't we already suffer through that once in Elysium? Writers, have mercy!!]
[Another knife for our poor cat??
If you're out of characters to kill, maybe let us bite a lighter or something.]
[Can you please stop tormenting the cat? I'm actually crying.]
[Three times. THREE.
How does anyone die to the same door three times?!]
"Ah..."
"You always said Pardofelis was lucky, but now... again, it's the same..."
Even Elysia was struggling to stay composed.
The cat...
She always dies to the door.
"Maybe this is just fate.
Nine lives weren't enough to change it."
"Fear-the-door-felis."
Elysia: ???
Did she just hear something truly outrageous?
The stream chat certainly thought so.
[???]*n
[Fear-the-door-felis?? Do you even hear yourself??]
[This is the most cursed joke I've ever heard.]
[Legend. The devil himself would get that tattooed.]
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