"Hey, Mihoyo, you fucking doing this on purpose?!"
"Three stabs in a row, and you even gave us a close-up! Are you fucking insane?!"
In the live stream, Little Bear watched Firefly being stabbed three times in a row by the Memory Zone Meme "Something Unto Death," totaling five stabs in the scene. Before he could even feel sad, he erupted into furious cursing.
We knew there'd be a knife scene, but five stabs? And why the hell did you have to zoom in on Firefly's face, showing every agonizing expression?!
"********Little Bear's Profanity*"
In his rage, Little Bear had long forgotten his grief, completely losing control. He unleashed a torrent of profanity, wishing he could drag out every ancestor of this culprit and give them a thorough beating.
Lumina: Meow meow meow?
[What's the point of this knife scene other than to disgust players? One stab would have been enough. Two stabs for a follow-up attack, even three, I could have accepted. But five fucking stabs? How terrified were you that Firefly wouldn't die?!]
[Waaah! Seeing that blade pierce Firefly's body, seeing the tears streaming from her eyes... I can't even bear to imagine the agony Little Firefly must have endured in that moment! (Collapses into hysterical sobbing)]
[If Mihoyo loves knives so much, I won't hold back either. (Sinister smirk)]
[Come on, I've already booked my ticket to Shanghai. Any bros wanna join the group?]
[Has no one noticed the flash of green light right before "Something Unto Death" pierced Firefly's body?]
"Green light? Hiss... now that you mention it, there was something." To avoid getting his live stream shut down, Little Bear quickly calmed his slightly "agitated" emotions. He squinted at the comment, carefully recalling the moment, and realized there had indeed been a flash of green.
"Could it be that Lumina saved Firefly?" Little Bear ventured a guess, the only explanation that came to mind. After all, only one person in all of Penacony possessed green-hued features.
As Little Bear voiced his theory, the Comment Section fell silent for a moment before the discussion took a sharp turn. The conversation shifted from lamenting Firefly's "death" and criticizing Mihoyo to praising Lumina.
[You're right, but that's just Lumina for you. Though she didn't even show the hem of her robe, she accomplished what none of the three people present could.]
[Ah~ Praise be to the Saintess! (worshipful)]
[Compared to that idiotic and deranged culprit, Lady Lumina is practically an angel!]
[Heheheheԅ(♡`♡ԅ) Lumina in my left hand, Firefly in my right... This life is more bliss than I can handle! ԅ(♡`♡ԅ)]
[No more words needed. I'm off to dream, hoping for visions of my favorite wine pool...]
"Ugh..."
In Penacony, an unfamiliar region, Firefly felt a gentle touch on her head and let out a soft groan before slowly opening her eyes.
"You're awake~"
"You're already the mother of ten children, you know?"
Lumina smiled tenderly as she watched Firefly slowly open her eyes while lying on her lap, then delivered a line that instantly jolted Firefly awake.
"!"
However, Firefly wasn't startled by the words themselves, but by the sudden appearance of Lumina's voice.
She scrambled to her feet, putting some distance between them, and summoned the SAM Transformation Device into her hand, her eyes narrowed warily at the figure before her.
"Miss Lumina...?"
Upon recognizing Lumina, a flicker of confusion crossed her features. Her wariness eased slightly, but lingering doubt remained.
If Lumina is here, that means she knows that being killed by "Something Unto Death" doesn't mean true death...
Knowing this, why would she help me?
Firefly gazed at Lumina, her mind swirling with questions. Though Stelle seemed to trust her implicitly, Firefly couldn't fathom Lumina's true motives.
"Being slain by 'Something Unto Death' doesn't result in true death, but you still feel the agonizing pain of its blades piercing your body."
"I saved you for no other reason than to spare you that soul-searing agony."
As if sensing Firefly's confusion, Lumina, still feeling the lingering warmth of Firefly's presence on her lap, withdrew her leg, rose gracefully, and explained with a gentle smile.
Of course, there was another reason too: to subtly boost Firefly's affection for me.
Nothing too ambitious—just enough to establish contact.
"Hmm?" Firefly blinked in surprise, completely taken aback by Lumina's explanation. She had never imagined that Lumina would intervene for such a reason.
After a moment of stunned silence, the wariness in Firefly's eyes softened considerably, and she deactivated the SAM launcher in her left hand, tucking it away.
"Thank you."
Though she couldn't comprehend Lumina's thought process or the deeper meaning behind her words, Firefly acknowledged that Lumina had undeniably "saved" her.
Therefore, regardless of Lumina's reasons for saving her, as long as it was done with good intentions, Firefly owed her a word of gratitude.
Though Firefly didn't quite believe Lumina's explanation...
At least, she didn't believe it was the complete truth.
There had to be something more to it—some hidden identity or symbolic meaning.
For example, I simply didn't want to see a beautiful girl suffer such heart-wrenching pain...
These were merely Firefly's speculations. She didn't need to know Lumina's true motives.
Lumina was someone Stelle trusted, a "disruptor" in Ellio's Script, and an Emanator of the Abundance. There was no point in engaging in pointless conflict with her.
"You're welcome," Lumina replied. "Since I witnessed it, I naturally couldn't stand by and do nothing." Seeing Firefly's adorable demeanor, Lumina felt an overwhelming urge to pull the girl into her arms and cherish her tenderly.
But remembering Firefly's current low favorability towards her, she reluctantly refrained.
If she actually acted on that impulse, it would likely provoke intense disgust—perhaps even a nine out of ten on the scale.
Hmm... come to think of it, if I transformed into Stelle's appearance and approached Firefly, wouldn't it be much easier to... achieve this?
Lumina gazed at Firefly's adorable face, thinking to herself.
But she quickly dismissed the idea.
Why settle for scraps when I could have the whole cow?
I'm the Pure Love War God—one slice, one kill!
Firefly, oblivious to Lumina's rapidly shifting expressions, which changed several times in just a few seconds like a Sichuan opera face-changing performance, began looking around, observing her surroundings. She realized she was exactly where she had suspected: buried beneath Penacony's Dreamscape, in the most primal, chaotic realm of the Memory Zone—the Land of Exile.
Upon this realization, Firefly immediately wanted to return to the Dreamscape's hotel and inform Stelle about this place.
"Miss Lumina, I need to leave now."
Although she shouldn't leave her "savior" alone, Firefly had urgent matters to attend to and couldn't afford to worry about proper etiquette right now. She would repay her debt later.
"Wait," Lumina called out, stopping Firefly in her tracks. Under her puzzled gaze, Lumina pulled out her phone.
"Let's add each other as friends."