The story had come to this point.
Players instantly perked up.
Elysia also straightened her posture and focused more intently on the plot.
Because the Gem of Haste was the Herrscher Core embedded in Murata Himeko's battlesuit—Vermilion Knight: Eclipse.
After Final Lesson, it fell with Himeko into the Imaginary Space.
In a sense, finding that gem meant finding Himeko.
To finally learn whether Himeko—onee-san—was alive or dead.
Actually, there had been countless theories circulating online for a long time.
Some said she died.
Some said she didn't.
Some speculated that the Herrscher of Flames from the Previous Era looked identical to the captain—so the yet-to-appear Flame Herrscher must be Murata Himeko.
Some predicted...
But all along, players had hoped—hoped Himeko could still be alive.
And today!
For the first time in the main story, her fate was formally brought up.
"I read World Serpent's search report on the Gem of Haste—word for word," said Mei.
"..."
Kevin said nothing.
Unbothered, Mei continued:
"But the report concluded there were no findings."
"That's right."
Kevin's two short words confirmed that what Mei saw was true.
"That's impossible. Even if it fell into the Imaginary Space, a Herrscher Core would definitely leave traces—it couldn't just disappear."
——Neither could Himeko.
"The Gem of Haste is a part of Sirin. I can't let it fall into anyone else's hands."
Kevin immediately saw through Mei's hidden intent.
"You already know the answer."
"She's dead."
Kevin stated flatly, without emotion.
"What...!?"
A sharp pang struck Mei's heart.
And the players' hearts missed a beat too.
Even Elysia inched closer to Himeko—though Himeko subtly avoided it.
The comment feed in the livestream chat instantly went blank—not a single new comment floated by.
Only Kevin's icy words echoed:
"She couldn't survive in the Imaginary Space. World Serpent found nothing."
Mei said nothing, trying to find any flaw in his words.
But Kevin's frigid tone gave his statement the weight of cold iron.
"That's the truth."
That was the last thing Kevin said.
Mei didn't accept it.
She continued to investigate through every channel available to her.
But what she ultimately got—
Was a reply even more ruthless than that day's silence.
After watching this part, everyone fell into a deeper silence.
The facts seemed clear.
Kevin had no reason to lie to Mei about the Gem of Haste.
So World Serpent really found nothing...
[Hime——ko——onee-san!!]
[Hold up! If the Gem of Haste wasn't found, and it's missing, then based on the "missing ≠ dead" theorem, we're safe!]
[I think Himeko already became the Herrscher of Flames and left the Imaginary Space. That's why World Serpent couldn't find her. As for why she hasn't shown up—it's probably because her consciousness is unstable post-transformation?]
[Himeko: I'm done being human, Mei!]
...
Players refused to accept Kevin's words at face value.
World Serpent couldn't find her = she's dead?
They didn't buy it!
Kevin had to be wrong this time!
Hmph—
When Himeko onee-san shows up, they'll make a full set of memes slapping Kevin's face with "Himeko dual-wield rebuttals."
Players came up with a thousand ways to poke holes in Kevin's words.
In the livestream room, Kiana and Himeko exchanged hesitant looks.
Elysia noticed and asked:
"Is there something you two want to say?"
Kiana and Himeko exchanged glances, then lightly shook their heads.
Hokuto had specifically instructed them: no spoilers during today's plot.
"It's nothing... just thinking... the coming story will be even better."
Kiana chose her words carefully.
"Even better?"
Elysia blinked, suddenly struck by déjà vu.
She felt like she'd heard this same line before.
Hmm...
Probably just her imagination.
She thought hard for a moment, but couldn't remember how, over a year ago, when she first got overly excited during the Queen's debut, she'd asked Mei how Chapter 9 would go—
And Mei had given almost the exact same answer.
It'll get more exciting.
"Really? Hearing that from you, Kiana, makes me even more excited."
Elysia picked up the tablet again.
In the story:
Mei woke from her memories, likely hoping to find comfort from Raven.
She asked Raven a question.
"Raven, I want to ask you something. It might be a bit presumptuous. If you don't want to answer, that's fine."
"Go ahead."
"Would you... hope your brother was still alive?"
The question was heavy.
Naturally, Mei in the story didn't ask questions like the ones spamming the live comments now—
Such as "When did you buy your island villa?"
Or "How much more do you need to rebuild your private island?"
Raven fell silent for a moment, then pulled her Koenigsegg to the side of the road (yes, Raven is really rich) and took a walk with Mei along the beach.
She told Mei about meeting her "brother" in Vancouver.
"I was driving to meet a client. At a red light, a man who looked exactly like my brother walked right past my car."
"My mind went blank—I couldn't think at all. By the time I came to, he'd already turned the corner. I immediately got out of the car and gave chase."
Hearing Raven's story, players began to feel a PTSD trigger...
Was this about to become another emotional gut punch?
"I chased him for a long time. But there was always some distance between us—
A red light, a crowd—
I kept him in my sight the whole time. His running posture, the way he sidestepped pedestrians... it was exactly like I remembered."
Raven lowered her head, staring at her feet like she was recalling the feel of that chase.
"But I never caught up to him."
"How could that be? I'm the number one mercenary in North America.
Stealth, tracking—that should be a piece of cake."
"Then I realized—
It wasn't that I couldn't catch up.
It was that I didn't want to.
I was afraid.
Afraid of what he'd say when he turned around: [Sorry, you've got the wrong person]."
Raven was afraid of disappointment.
Afraid it wasn't really her brother.
Afraid of having her fantasy shattered.
So she kept chasing and never caught up.
What held her back wasn't the crowd or the red light—
It was herself.
This scene had no knives, yet it left a deep, inexplicable sadness.
That helpless hope... was perfectly conveyed to the players.
[This part is so cinematic.]
[Raven: I can't do anything.]
[I'm this close to crying—does miHoYo hand out emotional damage like candy?]
[Ever consider that Raven couldn't catch up because her brother's actually the strongest in the world? (troll face)]
[??? Can you not kill the mood??]
...
"That day felt like a hazy dream. No substance. I just went back to my life—
Ran the bar, worked as a mercenary, risked my life for money—"
"And finally gave myself a dream—
Buy a little island, build a big house. I've wandered too long. I want a home to return to."
Raven looked out to the distant horizon, as if her island lay just within reach.
"But that's just a fairy tale from yesterday."
Mei: "..."
"I'm sorry..."
The viewers, a little heartbroken from Raven's story,
Involuntarily recalled Sora's old lines:
"Teacher pacing around the room... running, rolling..."
Their lips curled up uncontrollably—
Smiles began to spread across their faces.
What can you say?
A truly tragic story.jpg
They knew they shouldn't laugh...
But they couldn't help it.
And just as their mood started to turn...
The plot continued.
Raven said she no longer cared about her island villa.
The past was the past.
The atmosphere with Mei became more relaxed.
She even took off her hat in front of Mei, revealing her full face.
The narration added:
"The tuft of hair on her head stubbornly refused to bow, standing out from everything else."
So poetic.
But in plain terms?
It's just an ahoge.
"I used to never wear hats around people. It was impolite.
But somehow, people always treated me like a child—looked down on me.
Until one time, I forgot to take it off, and the negotiations went surprisingly well."
"Pfft~~"
Mei chuckled at that.
"You can laugh now, but I'm not showing you a second time."
Raven rolled her eyes, annoyed.
Then she softly called: "Raiden Mei."
"Mm?"
"We've all got to let go of the shadows of the past."
"Yes." Mei nodded gently.
"But I still believe in the 'happy ending' you mentioned.
At least to some extent."
"Thank you."
[Raven x Mei ship sailing! Let's go!]
[That ahoge took ten years off her age (confirmed).]
[First we had "Mei with World Serpent," now it's "Kiana with Anti-Entropy." (lol)]
[Raven: Just ditch the paramecium already, Mei. Let's pair up—spare everyone from the awkward Fu-Kiana tension. (troll face)]
...
"Hehe~~ Kiana, what did you think of that scene?"
Elysia seized the chance to stir things up, tossing the question to Kiana.
Kiana: "..."
"It's just Raven and Mei healing each other—
Don't overthink it."
"It's a good thing, isn't it?
Having someone who can heal Mei."
Kiana spoke quietly.
Elysia looked at Kiana, who was clearly not her usual self today, and couldn't help but remark:
"Kiana feels especially gentle and composed today."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"Maybe it's just... today's a special day."
Kiana's reply was a bit cryptic.
Elysia touched her cheek with a finger, not quite following.
"What do you mean by that...?"