MGSFV?! Chapter 397. i: How could a Kaslana beco the Herrscher of Finality!?
Kevin never brought up those "insignificant" details to i—like how he and Su had skipped class to attend Eden's concert.
But i, watching Kevin earnestly and carefully answer her rather abstract question, was reminded of sothing else—
A continuation of that "date" they once had under the starry sky, previously ntioned.
Back then, Kevin had also been utterly lost in the face of i's sudden… profound topics.
So i had asked:
"I'm curious about sothing."
"What is it?"
"You don't seem like soone who'd be interested in these topics, yet you've been listening this whole ti. Do you actually think this conversation is aningful? I hope you'll be honest."
And Kevin's response…
Hard to believe it ca from the sa man who now wears a frozen face.
If you're curious, you could…
Ahem, never mind—I'll just say it:
"…You asked whether it's aningful, but I really don't know."
"Because I probably understood half of what you said. Maybe even less than half."
"But… the way you talk about these things so seriously—it really draws in. So… I want to keep listening."
Plenty of players probably wondered how Kevin and i ended up together.
These lines might help them understand i x Kevin a little better.
All thanks to the Kaslana family's signature direct-attack flirting style, jpg.
Back to the present.
i, coming out of her mory, looked at Kevin and asked:
"This kind of 'just this once' answer… that was so like you. I bet you said this next, didn't you?"
'"After all, I'm still a high school student! Living a little naïve, a little happy—that's what makes who I am."'
This line was also sothing Kevin once said to i.
A wish of his—
A wish that never ca true…
But no one can stay in the past forever.
"Everyone's changed," Kevin said quietly.
Then quickly shook his head, "No—i, you're the only one who's never changed. Just like the truth you've always pursued."
i: "..."
[Kevin hasn't changed either. He's held on for fifty thousand years.]
"If truth could change like a person, maybe this world would be a little more beautiful."
"Kevin, to , the most beautiful thing about life is that although it's born of truth—it can, by its own power, co to understand and grasp truth."
i's sentint was undeniably beautiful.
Still, so players in the livestream felt that such a calm, analytical tone when discussing dreams… was a little off-putting.
After all, dreams are inherently romantic.
To dissect them with rationality and then explain why you want to pursue them—
It leaves a sense of emotional dissonance.
"i is still the sa as always."
Elysia sighed as she followed the story.
"Still the sa?" i-san asked curiously.
"She just gets a bit… 'too invested' when talking about things she's passionate about," Elysia explained.
"Hmm…" i considered it. "But that's not necessarily a bad thing, is it?"
"Of course not."
Elysia replied without hesitation, "Being earnest and straightforward is a killer combo~~"
"Yeah."
i's voice carried a smile. "Just like you, Elysia."
"Uh..."
Elysia clearly hadn't expected the topic to flip onto her.
But she recovered quickly:
"Ahh, i-san has gotten so direct and understanding lately—it's cheating!"
"But I'd love to hear more~~ I'll listen carefully to everything you say."
Seems not just anyone can trigger her "paper-thin defense."
"…R-Right, maybe next ti."
i, catching on, quickly reeled in her emotions and replied with a hint of helplessness.
Elysia just chuckled, smoothly letting the topic slide.
...
Just as Elysia said, once i starts talking about what she loves, she gets a bit too invested.
Her next thoughts grew increasingly abstract, even unhinged:
Why does she have life?
Why must she be i—why not Kevin instead?
Perhaps the universe does have reincarnation, and each consciousness is rely a variant state of a "shared soul."
Truths are eternally seductive because they can never be fully mastered…
Ideas like these, wild and untad.
They helped players construct an ever-clearer image of i.
Though… they weren't sure why the writers were doing this.
"—Well then."
"Your girlfriend—has she turned out a little more insane than you imagined?"
At the end of the mory, i looked softly at Kevin and asked.
[Didn't understand a word before, but this line? So sweet. (serious face)]
[Kevini sugar is hard-core. My teeth hurt.]
[I've had these thoughts too, but I wouldn't recomnd diving too deep—leads to unhappiness. (lol)]
[Rechecking the writer's ntal state—how are they writing all this cosmic madness!?]
Maybe it's because…
Hokuto had easy access to source material?
After all, i and the others really do exist.
Just chatting with them would yield loads of knowledge—
Ahem, no—just a mountain of question marks (honestly speaking).
When it ca to "serious topics," these scientists really did out-complex each other.
[Let's be honest—did Kevin even understand what i was saying? Their entire relationship is Kevin listening to her lecture.]
[But watching soone you love go off like that is romantic in its own way!]
After all that, the scene ended on high sweetness.
The players were delighted.
This sugar was absolutely delicious.
But—
Just as excitent peaked…
The mory ended.
The ga screen shifted back to that dim, bleak world.
And Kevin's cold voice rang out:
"After all… our world itself… is just that insane."
A pang of sadness swept over everyone.
Because—
Kevin had endured too much…
Just to reach the point of saying those words.
Players reached for their keyboards, wanting to say sothing…
But were interrupted by a change in the ga.
A brilliant white light appeared ahead—so striking in the darkness.
???
What was that?
Everyone had the sa thought.
They all moved their characters toward the light.
As they drew closer, they realized it was a glowing white door.
No way… another door? PTSD triggered.
They hesitated.
But curiosity burned stronger.
What lay behind that door?
What would make Kevin cross this eerie world, endure so many traumatic mories… to reach it?
Eventually, curiosity won.
They clicked [Enter].
Kevin stepped through the glowing white door.
The scene transitioned—
A boundless pure-white space.
A mass of chaotic light floated in the center.
Kevin walked toward it, looked up, and said:
"I've co."
[What is this? Sothing big's about to happen?]
[Wait—isn't this the sa background as when Otto t the Will of Honkai!?]
[Oh crap—it really is… Are they about to—]
[About to what!? Speak clearly!]
[I've got a wild theory… But let's keep watching.]
In-ga—
After Kevin spoke, the light responded.
"****, ****"
The subtitles showed only garbled characters.
"You've done well—preserving your self across countless derivative minds. Even for you, that could not have been easy."
But Kevin seed to understand perfectly.
[Encrypted dialogue, huh?]
[So what did the light say?]
[What even is this light? Maybe it's a beautiful girl inside?]
[Why does everything have to beco a beautiful girl!?]
[Ahem, have you forgotten? Honkai Impact 3 is a beautiful-girl raising ga!]
Now that soone brought it up—no one was sleepy anymore.
They all chid in:
[I say HI3 is 12 ]
[Whether you believe it or not—I believe it now.]
[Yes yes yes (dismissive)]
Clearly, the "light girl" theory hadn't won universal support.
Back in-ga—
Because the light's speech was garbled, Kevin seed to be talking to himself.
"No matter. The [Plan] only needed [you] to appear here. Even if you'd remained dormant until now—you've fulfilled your role."
"They certainly have the chance to prove themselves, but they also—must understand what they're truly challenging."
"This is undoubtedly an unstable variable. I'll go greet [her] personally."
"Yes. As per our plan, I'll gradually shoulder the power of [Finality]… and walk the final path destined for us."
"Fifty thousand years of waiting is over—well done, [Number Seventeen]. From here on… rest in peace."
The players: ???
Did Kevin just say sothing really serious??
He's going to shoulder Finality?
Herrscher of Finality—is it Kevin!?
[Wait WHAT—so Kevin took the power of Finality and beca the Herrscher of Finality???]
[Kevin: We shall seize the rights of the gods (lol)]
[Otto stole from Binding, now Kevin takes Finality?]
[Not like Otto—more like Elysia.]
[Has no one rembered—"Number Seventeen" is Protheus, the PE AI, right? I'm not wrong, am I?]
"Kevin? The Herrscher of Finality???"
Elysia's voice trembled with disbelief.
"Elysia, we don't know yet. Maybe Kevin's only 'borrowing' Finality's power," i added.
She paused, then continued, "A Kaslana becoming the Herrscher of Finality… hard to imagine…"
(Since this world has neither Post-Honkai Odyssey nor Honkai Impact 2.)
"Hmm, everyone's theories sound plausible. Let's keep watching,"
Elysia said, clicking forward.
...
The scene shifted—
Back to Theresa.
Switching perspectives again?
...Actually, no surprise at this point.
If the writers didn't end the chapter here, players would think soone else hijacked the script.
Suppressing their thoughts, they focused on the story again.
Theresa Apocalypse scanned the surrounding darkness.
As the vessel of Vishnu, she had devoured seven layers of dreams—yet remained trapped in this lucid one.
St. Freya, Schicksal HQ, Kolosten, Sea of Quanta, Skydo, Nagazora, Siberian snowfields…
Scenes flashed and vanished.
The surrounding darkness grew heavier.
—All of them were echoes of her and her students' turbulent lives.
So what did this empty darkness represent?
"Nice to et you, Theresa Apocalypse."
A cold, yet faintly warm voice ca from the darkness.
Huh?
That voice—it couldn't be…
Elysia's mind imdiately thought of Kevin.
No—
She shook her head. The tone didn't match! It sounded more like synthetic AI speech?
She wasn't wrong.
The "Kevin" speaking to Theresa now was, in a sense, indeed an AI.
Kevin and Theresa appeared on-screen.
"I am Kevin Kaslana's shadow—an artificial consciousness born from the Kaslana stigma," it said.
"For convenience, you can call 'Will of the Stigma.'"
That na!!
Theresa instantly recalled it—Siegfried had once ntioned it.
No wait!
Why was this so-called "Will of the Stigma" appearing in her dream?
After all, to her, it was only a rumor…
[So how does this fit the story?]
[Didn't soone ntion before—sothing about the dream?]
[Did you understand what they said? (highly doubtful)]
[Based on Dudu's earlier story, Theresa t this Will because she also has Kaslana genes, right?]
With the earlier clues, players started piecing things together.
[Oh right! I forgot—Theresa has Kaslana DNA too. That ancestral white hair.]
[Kaslana family's genetic traits: originally blond, gained high Honkai adaptability via albinism, passed down the sa face for generations. Dudu's blondness may be reversion from treatnt after head trauma (serious) (lol)]
[Isn't it because of soulium avatar treatnt suppressing Kaslana genes, making Shaniat genes dominant? Hence the blond hair?]
So players were once again focused on bizarre things.
Naturally. They always are.
Back to the story.
Unlike the players, Theresa lacked many key pieces of information.
The more she thought, the less she understood.
Distressed, she raised her hand to her forehead.
Noticing her confusion, "Kevin" spoke again:
"...It seems you don't understand how things have co to this."
"You've devoured seven layers of dreams and reached the edge of consciousness—but this remains a journey without a destination. You still haven't realized why you're trapped here."
He paused—to highlight that he's clearly not Kevin.
"…Very well. Let show you how it all unfolded."
He actually explained things directly!?
[THANK YOU FOR EXPLAINING!!! (I was so lost)]
[Thank you, 'Kevin.' Thank you, Will of the Stigma.]
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