Just as players inwardly raged at the writers—
In-ga, Kalpas's flickering silhouette began to fade, and a heartbreakingly familiar BGM started to play.
Veteran Captains imdiately recognized this tune.
It had been used in many poignant scenes before—like Starfall.
Truly, it was the writers' "happy" little track.
(OST from v3.6 Scarlet Nightshade: Volu 3)
Aponia noticed the anomaly.
"...Kalpas?"
"Oh."
Kalpas's tone was unchanged, but he could no longer hide his weakness.
"So this is my end? What a joke..."
He took a long breath, suppressing the frailty in his voice—he didn't want Aponia to grieve for him.
He didn't need it.
Heh.
"If you've finished watching, then leave. If the one watching die is you... it's just disgusting."
If Mobius was the undisputed queen of denial, Kalpas must be the king.
Players, already emotional, completely broke when they heard his final words—still thinking of others.
[Brother Kalpas, don't go!!]
[Your first non-hostile conversation... and it has to be on your deathbed?!]
[Actually, it's not the first ti. They got along back in the sanatorium too. Kalpas really treasured those days... what a sha...]
"..."
Aponia remained silent for a long while, then shook her head resolutely.
"No..."
"At least let preserve your final thoughts... After everything ends, I could still try..."
She suddenly paused.
Her gaze slowly dropped to her hands—those sa hands that had just touched Kalpas—
Were now engulfed in the sa shadow.
A deep sigh escaped her lips.
Kalpas understood what that ant. So did the players.
And if they imagined it from his perspective... the heartbreak was unbearable.
He had tricked everyone, flipped the table, unmasked the culprit, and pulled the trigger.
Just this once—this one ti—
He handed the truth to the one person he couldn't forgive, nor accept: Aponia.
And what was the result? What was the point?!!
Kalpas clearly froze.
He never imagined that the one he found most incomprehensible—but also most invulnerable—Aponia...
Would follow him into the abyss.
Aponia even said:
"The place you're going... I'll join you soon."
Their Aponia. Their Brother Kalpas.
Writers... could you really not give Kalpas just a little more gentleness?
By now, swaths of players had collapsed—eyes blank and lifeless.
"..."
After a long silence, Kalpas finally responded to Aponia's words.
With his uniquely gentle and very Kalpas-style tone, he growled:
"Hmph, that's right. You and I both belong in hell."
"Let's see if you can still ask for anything when we're there."
"...But don't co too soon. I don't want to ride the sa bus as you."
The mont he said that—
Players were already reaching for tissues beside them.
Don't ask why people prepare tissues for watching ga story scenes.
It's standard protocol.
And don't ask why they keep watching despite knowing the pain.
That's standard too.
[Brother Kalpas is too gentle, AHHHH!!]
[MiHoYo!! Can't you treat Kalpas a little better?!]
Aponia naturally understood the warmth hidden beneath Kalpas's sharp words.
"Mm, alright... I look forward to it. Until then, goodbye, Kalpas."
"Wait!"
Kalpas stopped her—unprecedentedly making a request:
"Promise one more thing."
"Hmm?"
After taking a deep breath, Kalpas said:
"This ti... I cleared Sakura's na, didn't I? My body... is the proof."
The players and livestream viewers felt their noses sting.
"She... was never a traitor."
"Tell them—tell every last one of them!"
"This innocence—I traded for it with my own hands. It's not so charity they gave!"
Even now.
Even at the brink of death.
What kept him crawling to Aponia…
What kept him alive till this mont…
Was just this: to prove Sakura's innocence. To prove there was no traitor among the Fla-Chasers.
Even… if the cost was his own life.
Because... he had always harbored one regret.
When the Herrscher of Corruption descended, he couldn't clear Sakura's na. He couldn't protect their "ho"...
He always despised "second chances," but this ti, fate gave him one—
A second chance to prove Sakura's innocence with his own hands.
A second chance to protect his comrades, his ho.
Just as he told the Herrscher of Corruption:
I should thank you—for helping understand what she ant back then... the possibility of a second life.
In this mont—perhaps—Kalpas found his redemption.
This man, always strong, finally accomplished sothing.
Sothing he once failed to do in life.
"..."
Aponia solemnly promised: "Yes, Kalpas. Sakura is no traitor. Not then. Not now."
"Now it's ti for to atone—for the debts of the past... I'll repay them all."
Hearing this...
Kalpas let out a breath: "Hmph. As long as you know you owe a debt... get lost."
"Let ... be alone for a while."
Saying so, he slowly turned around—choosing to die standing, alone.
It was his first ti choosing quiet.
The endless flas of his fury… finally extinguished before death.
And the players, watching Kalpas's final act, suddenly understood sothing.
No wonder Kalpas had a unique turning animation.
MiHoYo!! You really had this planned, didn't you?
Just how long had the writers been setting this up?!
...
Aponia gazed at Kalpas with deep sorrow, and slowly reached toward his head.
She had decided to use her ability again—this ti, to craft a perfect final illusion for him.
A world where nothing was lost, where everything he wanted remained, no regrets.
But...
As her hands neared him—
"Get away!"
A harsh roar stopped her.
That man, who should've lost all sensation, suddenly stirred.
"I don't need... your illusion..."
All his life, he rejected pity and charity. He despised falsehood and masks.
To him, a final illusion was nothing more than betrayal—of mory, of truth.
So he would never escape reality.
Never flee to comfort.
No matter how cruel the truth was—or how sweet the dream.
He would always choose reality. Always fight this unjust world to the end.
"Kalpas... I understand... you don't have to keep speaking."
"Shut up...!"
His voice was faint but resolute:
"What I truly wanted... I knew I never deserved..."
What he wanted... was simply a place to return to.
"But this ti... this ti... did I..."
"Did I really protect sothing...?"
All he was doing now… was to prove the aning of family.
"Answer ... you... answer ..."
Aponia hadn't spoken yet—but the chat exploded with responses:
[You did!! Brother Kalpas, you did amazing! Truly!!]
[You did it—you unmasked the true villain and cleared the nas of your comrades. You did it! You're a hero!]
[Brother Kalpas… your voice is fading… It doesn't sound like you anymore… Kalpas...]
[You ca from beyond the stars, and you return with honor. (prayer)]
"..."
Aponia's voice trembled, tinged with sobs: "Yes... you did it..."
"Sleep now... you won't lose anything ever again."
That one trembling sob—
Shattered what little composure the players still had.
[Waaahhh! I'm crying so hard!!]
[This world isn't beautiful at all… (pulls out the Herrscher of Sentience core)]
[It's all knives. All knives!!]
[Lord Overseer! Lead the brothers to charge the Imaginary Tree again!!]
Players wiped away tears, flooding the screen with ssages—
Watching Kalpas remain upright.
Just like Kevin, long ago, who had once propped up Kalpas's broken body on the moon.
[I fight no one, and those who fight , I scorn.]
[I ward my hands by the fire of life. The fla died, and I am ready to go.]
—But this man was never like that.
He fought everyone, so that those long gone would not be forgotten.
He didn't need to reach for fire—he was the fire.
Now, the fla had gone out.
Just like that, it faded away.
The eternally angry, eternally furious man… had gone still.
The players, too, fell silent.
They finally understood why this chapter was called The Funeral of Heroes.
But the realization ca at far too great a cost.
"Kalpas… lived up to the na of a Fla-Chaser..."
The speaker wasn't Elysia—but Kevin.
"Kevin…"
Pardofelis's voice was clearly strained:
"Brother Kalpas did everything he could. I don't even know how I could do better than him."
"Yeah… still so damn stubborn to the end."
Mobius's voice hadn't changed much.
"Mobius, seriously? You're in no position to judge Kalpas. I doubt you'd do much better,"
Vill-V was the fourth to speak, taking a jab at Mobius.
"Hmph, as if." Mobius snorted in denial.
The group spoke a few subdued words.
Then Mobius noticed—one person hadn't spoken.
She quickly asked: "Elysia, why aren't you saying anything? Don't tell you muted to cry again?"
"..."
"I… didn't, really."
Elysia's voice finally ca through: "I was just thinking... Kalpas finally did what he wanted. He fulfilled his regret. As sad as it is... I also feel comforted."
"Well, if you're still okay—shall we continue with the main story?"
Mobius wasn't rushing her—just subtly checking in on her state.
If Elysia didn't want to push on right away, she could wait "a little."
"Continue... huh?"
Elysia looked at the ga screen, hesitating.
Today, she'd already broken down twice.
This main story...
Sothing wasn't right. Really not right.
She had no doubt there were even worse things ahead.
"If you need ti to brace yourself..."
"No." Elysia took a deep breath. "I think I'll keep going."
"They're blooming… so I can't stop here."
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