NOVEL WEB Chapter 99: Elysia is Gone
The Elysian Realm, morning. Sunshine poured in, and the paradise brightened once again. Everything was lively and full of vitality, a sign of hope.
Mei had a good dream last night, and this morning, she unexpectedly encountered Elf Ellie.
"Oh, my dear human! Meeting you so early in the morning—is this fate destined by fairies?"
For a moment, Mei felt as if she were speaking to Elysia herself. Elf Ellie's words sounded just like hers.
Unlike Elysia's constant talk of fateful encounters, Mei was more curious about why Ellie had left her post. Wasn't she supposed to guard the archives?
"Well… after you all left yesterday, I went sightseeing. The afternoon sun was so warm, and the cat was so soft and cozy…"
"Then… um… I fell asleep. When I woke up, it was nearly dark! I returned to the archives, only to find the door locked…"
Elf Ellie explained her plight with a pitiful look, frustrated with herself for being so careless. Mei noted this mentally but didn't choose to accompany Ellie further.
Today was the day she had agreed to meet with Elysia again.
Yesterday's secrets hadn't been fully revealed, but today, the final mystery would be unveiled.
She went to the agreed meeting place and waited quietly.
She waited from morning until the sun was at its zenith, from the dew evaporating in the morning air to the fire in her heart gradually cooling... but no one came.
She trusted Elysia's character, knowing she wasn't the kind of person who would break a promise. In fact, Elysia was always the one to arrive early, pretending to greet others with surprise.
Gradually, doubt crept into Mei's mind.
She began to explore the surrounding areas, searching for traces of Elysia. She checked the places they had been to and asked other sims people if they had any news of her.
After searching many locations, she finally encountered other Flame-Chasers.
And not just one, but several—Kevin, Su, Aponia, and Mobius—gathered together in a meeting.
Their expressions were grim as they scrutinized each other, their gazes tinged with caution and gravity.
It piqued Mei's curiosity. It was rare to see Flame-Chasers gather in a group, especially without Elysia present.
Mei didn't understand the reason but chose to ask about the matter closest to her heart.
After all, she had an appointment with Elysia, and with so many Flame-Chasers present, surely someone would know something about her.
Kevin, however, kept a cold expression and didn't respond directly.
Su furrowed his brow and simply said that Elysia had been delayed by something.
Mei pressed on, "Then what exactly happened?"
"She's… gone for now," Su replied softly.
"Gone…?" Mei was stunned. "What do you mean? Is she hiding?"
This was an answer she hadn't expected. A Flame-Chaser disappearing in the Elysian Realm?
"Heh—Su's words are always so cryptic. Why don't I give you the answer instead?" Mobius scoff as she looked at Su.
"The woman you're looking for, her 'gone for now' means…"
Mei looked at Mobius, her mind involuntarily recalling the days spent with Elysia, her playful smiles, and her parting laughter.
Elysia always smiled like that—eternally radiant, flawless.
In the end, Mobius spoke the three words Mei dreaded to hear:
"She is dead."
Those three words were vastly different from Su's vague response, but they revealed why the group was gathered here in discussion.
Elysia was dead.
The same Elysia who had just promised to meet her, the same cheerful Elysia who had laughed with Fairy Ellie yesterday.... she was gone.
As if to prevent the audience from misunderstanding, the screen shifted back to the main menu, displaying the interface where players could view the Flame-Chasers' memories.
In the middle of the display, Elysia's card—her portrait—shattered with a glassy, brittle sound.
A network of irreparable, translucent white cracks replaced what had once been Elysia's vibrant image. It vanished into nothingness, accompanied by Mobius's earlier declaration.
-----------
[Wait—what??]
[No way, what about the secret? She's just gone?!]
[That's it? It's that sudden? These days they don't even save the tragedy for the end anymore?]
[What? My dear Elysia? HoYoverse, how could you?!]
Like a passing breeze, the Elysia from players' memories vanished from the Elysian Realm.
---
In the Golden Courtyard,
Though Su's recounting had provided the group with a deep understanding of the Flame-Chasers' fates—and those who had experienced every Herrscher's ordeal could easily guess which one was responsible for this event, there were still voice actors who were bewildered.
It all happened too quickly, too unexpectedly, leaving everyone unprepared.
"What? What? Is he crazy? No… Luo Mo, are you out of your mind?"
The Herrscher of Sentience blurted out coarse words, unable to recover from the shock. Her rose-red eyes widened in disbelief, shifting between Elysia's shattered image and Luo Mo.
"So… so quick! Her death is at the beginning of the story?"
Kiana was also surprised. She had assumed that Elysia's fate would unfold at the climax of the story, delivering a devastating blow at the end.
She hadn't expected her death to be announced in the first part of the main storyline.
"Not many things in the Elysian Realm can kill us," Aponia murmured sympathetically, gazing at the shattered portrait of Elysia on the screen.
"Heh—who knows what it was? In any case, the Elysian Realm wouldn't allow such a thing to exist," Mobius said coldly. "Even if we were to fight amongst ourselves, Elysia wouldn't be the one to die."
Though bound by an agreement not to reveal the truth directly, those involved in the voice recordings, or even those who weren't,could easily guess what kind of force might endanger memory constructs like Elysia.
It was similar to Vill-V persistently researching weapons to counter Kevin. Elysia, no less powerful than Kevin, could only meet her end because of her nature as a memory construct. Otherwise, such a disaster wouldn't have been possible.
Still, Mobius was dissatisfied with how her own story ended. Were it not for Klein's sake...
"Indeed, I didn't expect that to show up later. Kiana, can you guess what it is?~" Elysia teased, winking at her.
"Is it… a female version of Su?" Kiana replied earnestly.
(TL: pfft... I can't blame her.)
After visiting that foe once, she had etched them into her memory, though all she remembered was that they weren't a good person and bore a resemblance to Su.
Su: "…"
This joke isn't going away, is it?
Elysia: "…"
Luo Mo covered his mouth, stifling a laugh. Did Kiana really know nothing? Or was it because Elysia taught her lessons in such a strange way?
In truth, the game had hinted at such things several times. But… it was, after all, just a game.
"Bronya is simply curious… why did they add that animation? And why completely shatter Elysia's portrait?"
Bronya, holding her forehead, inquired curiously. As a game developer herself, she was particularly interested in the role of such details.
Someday, she was determined to lead the development of a game even more engaging than this one.
Mobius was the first to offer an opinion: "Who knows, maybe they just hate Elysia~."
"Huh? Mobius, why do you have such a big issue with me?"
"Oh, you just finding out now?"
Mobius let out a cold laugh. "Look, wasn't it me who announced your death in the game? That should show you how much I dislike you."
"Death notice, huh… Well, looking at those thirteen scenes, it seems like Luo Mo is bringing quite a lot of tragedy this time. Luckily, I've already prepared myself well for it this time, hmph~."
Elysia sounded confident. After all, she was a key voice actor for this installment. How could tragedy get to her?
Besides, before Su's "death" (or rather, his transformation), he had warned that all thirteen would perish, with not a single survivor.
In any case, Elysia was confident that this time, there was no way she'd shed tears in front of Luo Mo!
Among those present, only Griseo remained unaware. She was shocked to hear that Elysia had "died" once again.
"Next up: activate the Elysian Realm Icebreaker Mode," Luo Mo murmured expectantly to himself.
"Huh?" Elysia's sharp ears picked up on it. She turned to him suspiciously, grinding her teeth.
"Oh no, I meant… the murder mystery case to find the final culprit in the Elysian Realm. It's time for Hua to shine!" Luo Mo quickly corrected himself.
"Mm-hmm, great! Finally, the old timer gets to show off, and Mei seems to trust her too—"
"So, what kind of investigative method will it be?" Fu Hua asked with a smile, her gaze sharp as she glanced at Luo Mo and the Herrscher of Sentience, who had shifted the conversation in this direction.
"Of course, it's the method used during the London investigation!" / "Obviously, it's the investigative method from the Horizon Project!"
Two people. Two completely different answers.
This time, Luo Mo absolutely had to choose the correct one.
"Really, you clearly wanted to pick that method but made me answer first. No way, you're saying it again!" The Herrscher of Sentience glared angrily, catching a glimpse of Fu Hua's darkening expression from the corner of her eye. Panicked, she hurriedly continued,
Then she activated her power on Luo Mo—
"Of course, Fu Hua is… the world's cutest!"
"Hm?—" The Herrscher of Sentience drawled, looking at him strangely. Did he catch some kind of virus? She'd better check what's going on.
The fact that her power had failed wasn't the issue—what was strange was that his failed responses always blurted out "world's cutest." Was this the precursor to a Dumb-Theresa Virus outbreak?
"Pfft—hahaha!" Elysia burst into laughter.
Even Fu Hua could only look on helplessly.
Luo Mo: "…"
Seriously, could this be an actual illness? Why did he always end up saying that phrase under control?
-------------
"If one day, pulling the trigger on me could save the majority of people… Kevin, what would you do?"
In the darkness, that question suddenly came to mind.
It was something Elysia had once asked him, and at the time, he hadn't given the correct answer.
"Kevin, have you thought about what to do now?"
He slowly opened his eyes, meeting the expectant gazes of his companions, Aponia and Su, who were waiting for his decision.
"Yeah, I've made up my mind…"
He nodded slightly, though his thoughts remained inscrutable.
A person's destiny lies in their character.
Even when Mei pressed him for answers, he responded only with four words: "It's none of your concern."
Now, he seemed strangely indecisive.
Following Elysia's death, the decision he made was… to wait.
Later, Su enlisted Mei's help, asking her to assist with an investigation. He wanted to determine whether Elysia had disappeared or been obliterated and whether any clues remained.
Mei's role was to fend off any potential obstructions.
However, the outcome was unsatisfactory. Not only did they fail to find any trace of Elysia, but they also discovered discrepancies in Sakura's data.
Kevin, too, decided to seal away the results and pursue certain matters on his own.
The next destination: the Elysian Realm Typewriter.
Perhaps there, he would find some answers.
---
Elysia was dead—
Snow-white sheets of paper fluttered down from the sky, scattering across the ground.
Upon entering the room, Mei and Kevin were met with chaos, paper strewn everywhere, a shattered typewriter beyond repair. Restoration seemed like a distant dream.
Mei picked up one of the papers from the ground. The black ink stood out starkly on the white sheet, clearly displaying some words.
Elysia is dead. Elysia is dead. Elysia is dead.
Elysia is dead. Elysia is dead. Elysia is dead.
Elysia is dead. Elysia is dead. Elysia is dead.
Elysia is dead. Elysia is dead. Elysia is dead.
Elysia is dead. Elysia is dead—
Each piece of paper bore the same words, written in a chaotic yet oddly orderly manner, as if each character had been printed from a typewriter. This eerie detail sent a shiver down Mei's spine.
Even the gentle breeze that originally carried warmth now felt cold, and the once joyful scenery before her vanished completely.
For a moment, a chill surged from the depths of her heart, spreading throughout her entire body.
On the second day after Elysia had promised to answer all mysteries, the typewriter of the Elysian Realm, renowned for its absolute accuracy, delivered the news of her death.
Every sheet of paper contained only one line: Elysia is dead.
Mei took a deep breath, smoothing out the paper in her hands before placing it on a nearby table. She then turned her gaze to Kevin.
Beside the typewriter, Kevin discovered new clues—information related to Sakura and her younger sister. These details were printed out by the so-called "absolutely accurate" typewriter.
Sakura… and Elysia, two individuals who were never meant to intersect, had their paths entangled through a series of coincidences.
Sakura's records had now appeared in this scene, providing a new lead in what was originally a perplexing case. Yet, it also felt like a dose of poison.
Kevin, calm and composed, pondered the situation without making any immediate plans.
Mei, however, felt disappointed by his inaction and decided to part ways with him. She left to seek clues elsewhere, turning to Klein or Kevin for help outside the room. Anything was better than wasting time here.
---
[She's dead, dead, we know she's dead. Stop emphasizing it repeatedly! (Sigh)]
[How could this be? My goddess, Elysia! Shattered!]
[Dead. This is all your fault.]
[As expected, the Herrscher of Dominance isn't entirely gone, huh? Lord Overseer, lead us into battle one more time!]
The community was outraged, sleepless throughout the night.
However, within the company, the Herrscher of Dominance residing in Su Lu's body had their own grievances,
"Don't blame everything on us, okay? Sure, we're a little evil, but not evil enough to kill them all! You should make the writer the Herrscher of Dominance instead. They've got way more malice than we ever absorbed!"
Following this outburst, the Herrscher of Dominance contributed their collective strength.
As for "attacking the tree," it was evident that the Overseer they relied on was no longer capable of leading them.
What they were left with was the undeniable truth of Elysia's death—staring in stunned disbelief.
---
In the Golden Courtyard,
"Who is it? Printing so many Elysia is dead messages—this is just too much, hmph~!"
"Exactly! Even in the face of major events, the typewriter usually prints just one sheet. Why so many this time? Are they targeting Elysia on purpose?"
Pardofelis indignantly looked at the damaged typewriter, feeling a twinge of pity.
If she had that typewriter… Couldn't she discover the locations of all the treasures in the Elysian Realm?!
Wow, imagine how much money she could make—shiny, round gold coins!