MGSFV?! Chapter 393. Join World Serpent, Embrace a Better Tomorrow—Glory to World Serpent!
"...You're saying, at this very mont, we're walking through that old man's dream?"
Though they walked separate paths, both i and Theresa's storylines revolved around one word—dream.
"That's right. It's Hare's specialty. She calls it 'Dreamcatching.'"
The two walked side by side along a dreamworld beach, gazing at the setting sun as they spoke.
It was a scene that carried a heavy sense of déjà vu.
MiHoYo was really... taking players on a full-fledged nostalgia tour.
Players: ...
Thinking about that, they couldn't help feeling tense.
They had PTSD, and it was real.
With all this emotional buildup, it felt like sothing bad was definitely going to happen next.
What? You think nothing will happen?
You don't trust MiHoYo?
Then we highly recomnd boosting your faith in MiHoYo.
Expecting the writers to suddenly grow a conscience is like expecting the sun to rise from the west.
Hokuto: ...
...
Back to the story.
i, hearing that what she was seeing ca from Hare's Dreamcatching ability, raised an eyebrow.
"Sounds like a power the Herrscher of Sentience would have."
"Right? That's why when that incident happened, the Master sent her to Taixu Mountain."
Hmm?
Co to think of it, the Sentience gremlin's still missing, huh?
Did World Serpent kidnap her?
[#Query: Current status of the Herrscher of Sentience#]
Honestly, people thinking that—do they just not understand World Serpent, or do they not understand the Herrscher of Sentience?
If Hare actually tried to recruit her, she'd probably say—
"Are you stupid?"
And if Grey Serpent was with her—
"You're BOTH stupid!"
Raven soon clarified:
"But she didn't seem too interested in Herrschers...
You know how she is. By the ti she lazily showed up, your companions had already resolved the issue."
Good thing they didn't run into each other.
Otherwise, that definitely would've ended in a full-on brawl.
The Sentience gremlin fears no one.
Not even Kevin.
"Schicksal has rotted, Anti-Entropy is useless. Among heroes, only Kevin and I stand supre."
"In combat skill, I surpass Kevin. Add in Skyfire... we're fifty-fifty."
As for what's really going on between her and Kevin...
Ahem. Let's not go there.
Back in the story—
i knew most of what Raven was telling her.
But that wasn't the issue at hand.
"Let's stay on topic. You said all this ties into the Stigmata Project—"
"Blood-soaked sacrifice has turned into gentle dreams."
—Grey Serpent, verbatim.
Within the dream, Raven began explaining everything she knew about the Stigmata Project.
—Think of it as a different kind of Elysium Everlasting.
Emphasis on different.
In one, you have the full stories of thirteen unique individuals—their virtues and flaws laid bare.
Authenticity is the goal.
In the other—
"Old humans" are linked through dreamscapes,
and ultimately beco the Stigmata of the "new humanity."
Civilization is no longer passed on through people, but through stigmata.
Just like how Vil-V once told i in a mory—
what mattered wasn't Vil-V herself, but her brilliance.
The new Stigmata Project is like stripping out "Vil-V's brilliance,"
then mixing it with sothing like "Brother Kalpas's combat knowledge,"
to synthesize sothing entirely new.
Granted, the modern version of the Stigmata Project is much more... "gentle."
It lets "old humans" retain the right to dream.
"The real world will cease to hold aning for humanity.
Eternal dreams will beco their only truth.
They will no longer think in terms of ti...
Their dreams will link together, building a miracle that transcends Finality."
[Can soone explain that? I understood like... 'a little bit.']
[It's okay to be confused now. It'll probably be clearer later.]
[Here's my take: Humanity is basically going to 'live in dreams.']
[Honestly... sounds kinda okay?]
[I don't like it...]
[Why not? (Genuinely curious)]
[Let's keep the discussion civil.]
Players clearly had mixed feelings about the new Stigmata Project.
The chat barrage grew noticeably more intense.
In-ga—
After explaining the basics,
Raven suddenly invited i to have a drink with her—
a final farewell.
i didn't decline.
Guided by Raven,
they wandered deeper into this surreal dreamworld.
In a few steps, the scenery changed.
From a peaceful seaside sunset,
to a storm of blizzards and chaotic, unnaable phenona.
The surrealism and entropy were visually stunning.
So stunning, players wondered if the writers were okay.
Whoever visualized this probably...
needed therapy.
After a while—
"Ah, found it. Right here."
Raven stopped in front of a familiar building.
"This is... Arc City?"
Seeing the structures triggered old mories for i.
"More accurately, it's Arc City as dread by certain Followers of the Serpent."
"Followers of the Serpent...
Jackal once bragged that they'd infiltrated every industry on Earth—hundreds of thousands strong.
...So she wasn't lying."
Yeah, no kidding.
In fact,
those hundreds of thousands were elite professionals.
There was even that one Bank of England executive
who wired billions to World Serpent—
then committed suicide.
So it's hard to say how a normal person would even view World Serpent.
Probably like...
a certain kind of cult.
World Serpent's dominance wasn't just about strength—
it was also thanks to Stigmata.
When the Stigma's power vastly outweighed a person's ntal fortitude,
resisting World Serpent beca virtually impossible.
[Okay, World Serpent is even scarier than I thought.]
[Obviously! Long live World Serpent!]
[Wait... OUR World Serpent???]
[Tsk. Since you've uncovered us... fine! Join World Serpent and embrace a better tomorrow! Glory to World Serpent! 🐶]
[GLORY TO WORLD SERPENT!] *n
...
Elysia saw the stream chat take a chaotic turn.
She was going to say sothing—
but Raven's next words caught her attention.
In-ga:
"Alright, enough about Jackal and Grey Serpent.
Let's head to my old spot here and share a drink."
Raven beckoned i along.
"...You weren't joking?" i blinked.
Drinking in a dream? That's... classy. ()
Raven replied casually:
"Hmm? Please, i—have I ever joked about drinking?"
That line jogged Elysia's mory—
She rembered how Raven once invited i for a drink before.
Back then, she served her a glass of milk—
claiming it was "sterilized and non-fat, perfect for underage bar hoppers."
Health-conscious drinking fairy Griseo approves.jpg
Revisiting that mont now brought a new perspective.
So scenes hurt.
So made you laugh.
But both stayed with you.
Elysia loved that feeling...
And was eager to see what i would do next.
Sure enough—
i rembered too.
So... she ordered a glass of milk.
"...Heh. You really do hold grudges."
[History repeats itself.]
[Pretty sure i doesn't even drink. 🐶]
[Is i not of legal age yet?]
[She's 20 now.]
Raven teased her—
but her hands were already mixing the drink.
Soon—
she set a glass down in front of i.
"Here you go—
Rainbow Children's Milk.
100% natural coloring, DHA-enriched with plant calcium.
Guaranteed to support your healthy growth."
This black raven...
Yeah, gotta give her props.
This was great.
More of this, please.
[Okay but real talk—
that rainbow milk looks tasty in the CG.
I kinda wanna try it.]
[If soone actually marketed this, people would probably buy it.]
[Shh, don't let MiHoYo hear that... they'll actually make rch.]
[Isn't that... a good thing? 🐶 (serious)]
As players laughed at the exchange,
i drank the rainbow milk in one go.
"The texture was surprisingly smooth."
"You can complint more, you know."
"Heh."
Their eyes t—
and i asked:
"By the way, Raven—
in a dream, is taste really sothing we feel through interaction?"
Looks like we're back in lore mode.
"...Still sharp as ever." Raven replied.
"Put simply, i—
What you just tasted was probably my sense of taste...
Or rather, the taste from my mory."
[Now we know why i's so sharp.
It's all the trauma from Elysium's riddle demons.]
[These dreams are insanely high-level.
Really impressive.]
[But that also ans...
you'll never know what it would've tasted like to you.]
...
After Raven's explanation,
i nodded slightly.
"I see.
Sharing mories and sensations through dreams...
It's a fascinating experience."
Raven smiled.
"See? Falling peacefully into dreams
can still bring a few small joys, right?"
i gave her a look.
"Raven, don't tell —
after all this,
you're trying to play spokesperson for World Serpent?"
"Of course not."
Raven shook her head without hesitation.
"You're giving way too much credit."
"It's just that..."
And then her tone shifted.
"This last drink... is almost finished, isn't it?"
"..."
"Yeah."
The BGM faded.
The dream bar fell eerily silent—
as if even the ticking of the world had stopped.
Until both glasses were empty.
They were ready for what ca next.
The scene changed.
They had stepped outside.
"Co to think of it,
this is where we first t, isn't it?"
Raven looked around Arc City and rembered.
[Damn, Flash Assault PTSD unlocked.
Grinding that fight was actual pain.]
[Honestly, I barely rember early Raven anymore.
Her later story arc completely overwrote it.]
[Yeah, after that island boom-boom event,
Raven's stock went way up. (lol)]
[Hey now—Cioara has a knife and she's sharpening it.]
Still, players were focused.
[Wait, are they gonna fight again?
Why did I say "again"?]
[Because in Honkai,
"Goodbye" = "Let's fight."]
"Probably.
But back then, we weren't focused on each other."
"...Knew you'd say that.
Typical spoiled lady who never lets anything slide."
Raven smiled, then asked:
"So?
How's life been these past six months...
dancing with serpents?"
Happiness?
Players pondered that question with i.
It wasn't easy to say...
They'd danced with serpents—
and fairies too.
So...
Yeah.
There had been monts of real happiness.
Those mories.
Those laughs.
The wild imagination of the Pink Miss Mobius...
Hard not to smile.
But—
"It's hard to say.
But at least... I made so friends."
[Even if only Raven survived (pain).]
[Why do I feel like Raven's days are numbered too?]
[Even if only Raven survived (pain).]
[Why do I feel like Raven's days are numbered too?]
[The mont i starts saying things like "at least I made so friends," soone's gonna get sacrificed, I'm telling you.]
But in the ga—
Raven didn't say anything imdiately.
She looked at i quietly.
"That's good to hear."
"After all, you've always been that kind of person."
"...?" i blinked.
"The kind who won't turn away from this world—
no matter how much pain or sorrow it carries."
"Even if," Raven continued,
"that ans you'll have to shoulder it all yourself."
That wasn't necessarily a complint.
But coming from Raven—
it held weight.
i didn't respond directly.
Just looked ahead.
As the cara slowly zood out—
the two stood side by side under the ruined Arc City skyline.
Silent.
The lighting of the dreamscape dimd again.
"...Ti's up, huh."
"Yeah."
"It's ti we woke up."
And with that—
Raven turned and began to walk away.
Just like their first eting—
without warning, without a formal goodbye.
Only this ti, i called after her.
"Raven."
The other stopped in her tracks.
"...?"
"We'll et again."
"..."
Raven turned her head slightly.
"Don't make promises you can't keep, Thunder Queen."
i didn't smile.
"This ti... it's not a promise."
"It's a wish."
——[Honkai Impact 3rd]Main Story Interlude: Dreaming Towards Tomorrow——
——END——
[...]
[World Serpent... actually has warmth in it.]
[Raven... I'm really about to cry.]
[The writer didn't throw in a death this ti—how touching is that?]
[Long live World Serpent! (tearfully)]
[Raiden i and Raven, streaming from pilipili, drinking and dreaming—cheers (crying into milk)]
[This chapter was really well done—dreams, mory, connection... beautifully written.]
[Say no more. I just want to go back and listen to Feathers of Millennium one more ti.]
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