As soon as Aponia's wish left her lips, the scene changed again.
The story shifted into a memory—one related to Vill-V.
In the Spiral Workshop, Kosma had come to Vill-V with an idea of his own.
Kosma wished to split off a portion of his own consciousness to contain the effects of Excessive Hyperadaptation, so as to lessen its burden on his main body's mind.
But Vill-V responded:
"Your idea is certainly interesting, but the truth is... the rational segment of consciousness simply cannot be reawakened. I've already tried similar methods. Model Five is the result."
"As you can see, she's not exactly what you'd call approachable."
"...Alright then."
Hearing this, Kosma prepared to leave.
Vill-V casually suggested he try Aponia or Su instead—but to her surprise, Kosma revealed he'd already gone to them first.
So she was the third choice? Even after Aponia?
That lit her competitive spark.
Vill-V immediately changed her tune: "I'll help you."
"...??"
"You just said it wasn't possible," Kosma replied.
Vill-V shrugged with both hands. "What I meant by 'not possible' was something else entirely."
"It's not that your idea can't be implemented. It's that I wasn't sure if I had the resolve... to kill a comrade with my own hands."
Everyone instantly recalled her iconic line:
"If I will it, then I can."
As arguably the only character in Honkai Impact 3rd who constantly boasts "I can do anything" and actually backs it up, never stumbling, always the MVP—
That kind of "arrogant confidence" was strangely reassuring.
Even the equally cocky Herrscher of Sentience would cry with envy.
When will she get her moment of glory?
She's ready to solo ten enemies!
...
Back in the scene.
Hearing Vill-V's statement, Kosma said bluntly: "Stop beating around the bush..."
Vill-V set aside her dramatics with a sigh. "—And this is exactly why you're better suited as an assistant, not an audience member."
Compared to Pardofelis, Kosma always seemed to deflate the mood.
Putting him in the "audience" role didn't mesh with Vill-V's "surprise" aesthetic at all.
"Now then... where should I begin..."
"Ah yes, you've probably heard the rumors: in Elysian Realm, what happens if one memory kills another?"
Kosma answered, "From what I know, it doesn't have any real effect."
Vill-V nodded and elaborated.
In Elysian Realm, since the Flame-Chasers are all memory constructs, and due to their importance, every memory leaves a backup, or save point, every 4.1 seconds.
However!
Kosma was special. Vishnu's influence on him wasn't just episodic—it was a constant corruption.
So Vill-V proposed a plan: split Kosma's current mind and create a backup save of it.
From that point forward, Kosma could let Vishnu's erosion run its course.
And when the day came that he completely lost his mind, he could return—by restoring this backup copy of himself.
The price?
He would lose everything he experienced after that save point, as the backup wouldn't auto-refresh. In essence, he would have died that day.
This was different from Hua's case—Hua had experienced things she couldn't remember.
But Kosma wouldn't have experienced them at all.
To put it plainly...
If Kosma agreed to Vill-V's plan—
Not only would he have to switch from auto-saves to manual saves, but when he "dies," he'd lose everything he had "played" through.
The cost was enormous.
Many players at this point started to feel something was off.
First, in a plot moving at this pace, a sudden memory flashback was never random.
Second, the content of this memory... felt like foreshadowing.
Writers, what are you planning now?
As suspicions stirred...
Vill-V summarized her proposal in-game:
"Once you make this decision, you willingly give up everything that comes after."
"In other words... the 'you' who remains in the body after the split... can no longer be considered alive."
"...So it's another 'lesser of two evils' situation?" Kosma asked.
Vill-V nodded. "Yes. Would you rather live on as an empty shell, or become a monster someday while clinging to everything you have? Think carefully—this really is a tough choice."
She paused, then added, worried her next words might seem cruel.
"After all, there's no such thing as a perfect outcome. In fact... more often than not, we end up with the worst of both worlds."
This tied directly back to Kosma's memory in Sunfire – Metamorphosis.
Some players even recalled the exact phrasing...
It went:
That day, the power—curse—later known as Excessive Hyperadaptation...
First appeared in the world.
And the boy who paid the price to become the first...
That young, naïve boy who chased the ideal of a "perfect outcome"...
In the end, gained the worst of both.
What he wanted and what he got were complete opposites. How cruel.
And now, the narrative had touched upon Kosma's greatest regret.
Well then.
Players' hearts collectively sank.
???
What's going on here?
This was obviously another emotional warning shot.
[Oh no, not this again?!]
[Writers! Enough already!!]
[Fine, whatever, stop warning me. Just hit me with it already! (slams desk) (despair)]
Well...
Since that's what players were asking for.
Naturally, the always-"considerate" story would shift again.
Just as Vill-V was about to perform the mind-splitting procedure and considered bringing in Kevin as backup (in case Kosma went berserk and needed a quick stab)...
Kosma refused—and claimed he had thought of a way to achieve the perfect outcome.
Then—the story cut back to the perspective of the Herrscher of Corruption.
"Don't worry, Sakura. As long as I haven't died, you can always exist."
And surprisingly, this wasn't a lie.
Even though everything else in the scene contradicted it.
Motivated by her learned concept of "love," she brought everything before her to an end.
On the surface, this scene seemed simple. The writing was "plain."
But!
Given all the emotional groundwork laid by the Herrscher of Corruption, just seeing her face now was enough to make players feel their blood pressure spike.
In-game.
Sigh~~
With a long exhale, Sakura's full data was finally absorbed—completely claimed by her.
For Sakura, that final moment—that single instant—vanished forever.
The Herrscher of Corruption, mentally calculating how much time she had left, didn't act immediately.
Instead, she leisurely began constructing a beautiful illusion for Sakura.
"A safe, unbroken world... a sister alive and well... a spring afternoon with cherry blossoms in full bloom..."
A sweet, beautiful dream.
One entirely false.
It didn't take her long to create. Like every other Flame-Chaser, Sakura's true wish could be described as small.
And even those small dreams—they never got to have them.
Players: ...
They choked up.
Right.
As a Flame-Chaser, Sakura's dream was just a quiet, peaceful place.
What she wanted was so little—like all those who fought to their last breath.
So little that it hurt.
But that didn't mean players were happy that the Herrscher of Corruption had given Sakura a "dream come true."
Because...
It was completely against Sakura's will.
Would she really accept such a dream?
This wasn't salvation. This was insult. This was torment.
But the Herrscher didn't see it that way. She even thought she'd done something good.
"There, Sakura. Isn't living like this more benevolent?"
"I don't get it. I'm Elysia too... just like her. My goal is to let you all live on..."
"Preserving yourself along with others—shouldn't that be called a perfect outcome? Why do you all have to be so stubborn?"
Perfect outcome? This was worst of both!
You call this living?
Everyone could see it plain as day—
Except the Herrscher of Corruption herself.
She couldn't understand why the Flame-Chasers chose to die willingly.
"..."
She thought about it for a while, couldn't understand, and decided not to bother trying anymore.
"Alright. I shouldn't let everything I've done go to waste. Sakura, I'd better get moving."
"To maintain perfection, I really shouldn't admit this, but..."
The Herrscher muttered to herself, "They weren't wrong. That is a method that could destroy me."
"But don't worry." She smiled again. "I… we will be fine."
["We"?! Who's "we"?! Get lost!]
[You're not allowed to smile with her face!!]
[**** This chapter drained two lifetimes of my emotional energy.]
Players were seething, desperate to scream their feelings in their hometown dialect.
But before they could vent properly, the game yanked their attention elsewhere.
Because—
The story suddenly shifted again.
The cutscene ended, and the game returned to interactive mode.
But the character they were now controlling was...
The Herrscher of Corruption???
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