MGSFV?! Chapter 544: I Could Tell at a Glance He Wasn't Human – Notes by Xinshi; Best Answer: "I Don't Know"
Although… and yet.
Even knowing what lies at the end, some still choose to bravely walk toward their own conclusion.
In reality, such behavior is deeply irrational.
But… perhaps it's precisely this irrationality that allowed human civilization to continue to this day.
Fifteen thousand years ago, a fractured but healed human femur—
It was a sign of civilization.
Back then, a broken femur was a death sentence. Unable to flee or find food, one could only wait in place, to be eaten by wild beasts.
But this femur healed—
This person survived.
It meant someone treated their wound.
Someone brought them food and water.
Someone protected them from wild animals.
If this were processed through machines and logic, the result would be simple:
Abandonment is the more cost-effective solution.
But people of that era didn't abandon—
They chose to help each other.
And it was this cooperation, this solidarity, that allowed humanity to survive and preserve the flame of civilization.
Now, that same fractured femur is laid once again before us.
What will people do?
What should they do?
Of course, they can't know what those "ancient people" were thinking back then.
But—
They can make a decision that belongs to themselves,
To modern humanity…
To this civilization.
Didn't that old man just now say it himself?
It's time everyone saw the backbone of humanity!!
...
And so—
The abyss of radiant light was no longer silent.
In the endless blackness, tens of thousands of dreams surged and stirred, like a massive beast awakening from slumber, stretching its colossal body.
Then! At that moment!
A small glimmer of light wavered upward—
Breaking free from the mass, rising toward the dark sky.
Within the glow, the hues of pink and blue shimmered like a soul.
And soon after—
More and more lights soared upward.
Like scattered stars forming a broken Milky Way—
They vanished beyond sight.
"Wh-Wh-What's happening?! Is this an earthquake?!"
Rosaliya's panicked voice rang out.
The dream around her was shaking violently—
A sign that the dream was about to collapse.
"Idiot, it just means we're finally leaving these dreams."
Liliya pulled her panicking sister back with an exasperated look.
"Mmh, let me take you to a safe place."
Seele, the elder among them, took responsibility for protecting the twin troublemakers.
"What about Theresa?" Liliya asked.
"I still have follow-up work," said Theresa.
"These dreams are just beginning to unravel… we still have to do more. We need more people to join this effort."
"Then we're coming too!"
"For once, Liliya agreed with Rosaliya without hesitation."
Even though, judging by their track record helping Bronya recharge back in Kolosten—
The twins together were probably only worth a quarter of Seele in combat power.
Still, come to think of it, it really had been a while since they got to shine.
Just Kolosten and Elysian Realm.
Then again—
The Elysian Realm really did accompany everyone for such a long, long time.
"..."
That said, the twins are still much stronger than the average person.
So if they're volunteering—
Of course Theresa wasn't going to turn them down in a time like this.
And so, the dream-liberation task forces multiplied—one team after another.
What players saw in the game—
Were many squads of Valkyries and volunteer dreamers, all carrying the same unwavering determination, taking their first steps forward into the dreamscapes, doing what they could.
Everything… seemed to be on the right track.
...
[United in purpose, working together. Humanity has always moved forward this way.]
Players watching this scene couldn't help but feel moved.
They finally let out a small sigh of relief.
Only—
Maybe they relaxed a little too soon.
The Stigmata Project was never that simple.
Many had likely forgotten:
From the very beginning, humanity was never part of the Stigmata Project's equation.
Its goal was to preserve civilization—its idealized form, its conceptual essence.
The Stigmata Project's purpose was never to let people dream sweet dreams—
It was to help civilization outlast the Honkai.
To do so, it absorbed all of humanity as its fuel.
The dreams were nothing more than… a side effect.
At best—
They were "honeyed traps" offered in the hope that humans would be more obedient.
Just look at the fallen Gold Serpent.
The Stigmata Project never really cared whether people were enjoying their dreams or not.
Otherwise, so many wouldn't have become aware they were in a dream in the first place.
What happens once they realize it?
Hmm…
Slacking around feels great—
But slacking for a thousand years? Ten thousand?
Where there's no internet?
And even if there is internet, what does it matter?
A dream that never changes has no new games, no new anime, no new novels…
Spending millennia here?
Eventually you'd be as miserable as someone locked in solitary for eternity.
When that time comes and you want out—
There might not be another Theresa coming to say "We can help you leave."
So—
If the Stigmata Project is essentially a trap for humanity,
Would it really let them leave just because they want to?
Obviously not.
Stigmata Project:
Come and go as you please? You think this is your backyard!?
Stigmata Project:
You don't want to dream anymore? I don't agree!
Thus—
Even after all the Valkyries' efforts, and even after the dreamscape had finally begun to show signs of loosening—
Before anyone at Schicksal or Anti-Entropy could even start to celebrate…
That loosening suddenly reversed.
Dark shadows—unclear, undefined—began to restore the dreamscape.
All the dreams that had tried to break free were once again bound.
Like fruits forcibly tied back to a tree branch.
Everything they'd fought for—
Turned to ash.
[???]
[Unknown shadows? That word "shadow" makes me think of Kevin's shadow.]
[So was it Kevin?]
...
Definitely not.
Let's be clear:
The Stigmata Project is the Stigmata Project.
Kevin is Kevin.
They may be nearly one and the same now—
But they're not entirely equivalent.
At the very least—
Kevin doesn't view current human beings as mere fuel.
He carries far deeper expectations.
Players might not realize that yet.
But in time, they'll understand.
Back to the story.
After Theresa finished her arc with the three dreams—
The narrative shifted back to Kevin, who had previously followed her into the children's dream.
Everything here seemed calm.
At least while Kevin was examining the abstract "rocket" the children built after being inspired by Theresa, or when he exchanged a few words with them—
No quakes.
No unstable dream.
No Valkyrie squad charging in and bumping into him.
Nothing dramatic.
But—
That doesn't mean he encountered nothing.
As he prepared to leave the children's dream,
He stumbled upon something "strange."
Seriously—
Why does this dream have so many "weird" things?
Hmm…
Maybe this one was brought in by Kevin himself.
It was a dream that shouldn't exist—
Yet because Kevin entered, it appeared.
As for what effects it might have—
There were no precedents, so no one could say.
But…
Something so "useless and possibly dangerous"—
Best not to leave it behind.
So Kevin reached out—
Ready to destroy it.
In gameplay, this meant the player controlling Kevin approached the strange object and pressed the [Destroy] button.
Upon destruction—
A cascade of memory fragments shattered outward like broken glass.
Each surface reflected different scenes.
Looking closely—
Every scene's protagonist was Kevin.
And if you arranged them like puzzle pieces, they formed a complete story.
Thus, the story used this moment—
To offer players another glimpse into Kevin's long-lost past,
Through a unique perspective.
...
New CGs unfolded one after another on screen.
Even after so many times, players were once again struck by awe—
The quality screamed budget explosion.
They couldn't imagine what kind of work schedule miHoYo's art team operated on.
Was the artist an octopus with eight arms?
Seemed like it.
Even Mei, the lead art director at miHoYo, admitted—
She didn't quite understand how Beidou could keep pulling out so many polished CGs.
Or models. Or 3D engines. Or... tons of useful assets.
To be honest, she'd even wondered—
Boss, are you secretly running another studio?
Ahem.
They once suspected that.
But quickly gave up the idea.
Because—
Even with that tacit understanding they shared since Beidou took over the project—
They'd notice if he was hiding something that big.
But no matter how closely they observed him—
Nothing. Not a single clue.
So...
As unscientific as it sounds—
Maybe Beidou really did do it all himself.
Shocked.jpg
"I could tell at a glance he wasn't human."
—Notes by Xinshi
Beidou: ...
...
Back to the story.
The game screen shifted—
Ancient Greece.
Kevin once again visited that old philosopher.
But this time, it had been a long while since their last meeting—
The one where the philosopher spoke of two kinds of heroes.
How did they know?
Because that once-energetic man, who used to speak to crowds—
Now looked frail. Near death.
Dying Philosopher: "Forgive me… I… I don't remember you."
"Kaslana," Kevin said, simply.
"Kaslana?" The philosopher shook his head. "Never heard of it."
"I've attended every one of your speeches," Kevin replied—
In his usual, direct style.
[Su: I was always in the back… slacking off.]
Indeed—
As the game's visuals showed—
Players realized that Su had been following Kevin each time he visited the philosopher—
But never stepped forward to join their conversations.
[Why was Su always following Kevin? I mean, even best friends don't stick together that much.]
[If it was reused CGs, I'd say it's asset recycling. But miHoYo went and drew new ones each time. Definitely deliberate.]
[Hmm... This must've been when Kevin was considering initiating the Stigmata Project? Su must have noticed and was observing his mental state.]
[So Kevin was in a transitional phase? Is this whole arc going to show us Kevin's emotional journey?]
Players speculated—
And watched closely.
The story continued.
"Every one?"
The philosopher glanced at Kevin's youthful face—
Then shook his head.
"Hah…"
A man about to die.
No one who'd heard every one of his speeches should still look so young.
But—
Instead of pointing that out—
The philosopher gave a curious response.
"Why?"
He didn't know what kind of motive Kevin had for saying such a thing.
Didn't know what goal he meant to achieve by it.
But since he said it so confidently, he must've been sure it couldn't be disproven.
So now he was curious—
What kind of elaborate excuse Kevin would give.
"I don't know."
Kevin answered calmly, surprisingly—
With blunt honesty.
Why did you attend every one of his speeches?
Best answer: I don't know.
And because of that—
It felt all the more real.
More real than any carefully prepared speech about inspiration or life-changing quotes.
Philosopher: "..."
Is it possible…
That the man before him really did watch every speech?
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