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Raiden Mei was the Herrscher of Thunder.
She knew that much, from the number of times the Flame-Chaser simulations had called her ‘Herrscher’ in a derogatory tone. She had known that since the fateful day that she first took up the mantle in order to fulfill her own desires. She had known that since the second time she had come to bear such power and truly become a Herrscher at her core; for the sake of a friend.
Perhaps that’s why she keeps coming back to Nagazora. For the hope of seeing that friend again, standing there at the spot they last met and waiting for her with open arms. However, Raiden Mei knew she made her choice, and that there was no turning back from the sins she had committed. Even still, there was still that human essence inside of her that wanted to go back to the blissful life she had on the Hyperion.
Or perhaps she wants to go back even further? To the time when she had lived with her father and when she was blissfully loved; before she had ever manifested as a god-forsaken “puppet” of the Honkai. To the time when she could have lived as a normal high school girl and neither a Valkyrie nor a World Serpent mercenary.
Once, she was Raiden Mei –the daughter of Raiden Ryoma and her unknown mother; the bright, talented, and intelligent woman with the capabilities to pave the way for a brighter tomorrow. She always had been. The Raiden name meant nothing to the current world as it did when she was still in school, but it did not matter. Perhaps she would make the name mean something again, something more meaningful than it was before.
She’d seen Herrschers who longed for happiness. For an ending, the Honkai had taken away from them. But she still wishes. Perhaps she would still achieve the happy ending she had sought from the beginning, no longer watching from the sidelines as the ‘villain’ of their story.
Perhaps she could laugh and dance and sing in a happier life with her beloved friends by her side again, where the world was purged of the force that gave them naught but strife.
Perhaps she’d find herself one day; childish wishes as they may be, perhaps she may truly become Raiden Mei once again.
Mei stared at the cold, dark floor where the sim of the 13th Flamechaser once stood. In just a moment, the girl had gone from lying in Mei’s arms to being completely erased from existence. In her place, was only a singular coin. The only thing left to remember Pardofelis with.
‘I’ve always been… lucky…’ Pardo’s strained final words continued to echo in Mei’s head.
She was composed as she held the dying MANTIS in her arms, but now that she really had been erased from the existence of the Elysian Realm… it felt unreal. Like if this was all some elaborate dreamscape, and everything would be back to normal in the Realm eventually.
At least, that’s what she wished for. But she was not the same Raiden Mei back at St. Freya— the same one that would’ve cried to her heart’s content while wishing for her dear friend to come back. No, she would no longer sit idly by. She’d done that before and it’s never turned out well for her, after all.
She is not the same Raiden Mei during her Valkyrie Era. She is not the same Raiden Mei who could do nothing as the Herrscher of the Void awakened and brought ruin upon all she loved. She is not the same Raiden Mei who stood helpless before the S-Rank Valkyries of Schicksal as they took away the one thing she yearned for during that time. She is not the same Raiden Mei who could do nothing but stare out a window and lament about what she’s lost.
She was the Raiden Mei who accepted the burden of being the Herrscher of Thunder once more, along with all its sins. She is the Raiden Mei who willingly joined the World Serpent and separated herself from what she loved, for their sake. She is the Raiden Mei who entered the Elysian Realm and has bested the countless trials thrown against her to get to this point. She is the Raiden Mei who now carries their legacy with her— who will remember their names, remember their faces, and remember their bittersweet stories.
She is no longer the little girl who could only watch as she had everything taken away from her, but instead the one who’s vowed to carry the weight of her own sins just to bring it back. That’s the conclusion she’s come to, as a single tear falls from her cheek.
She’s silent, as she stands up from her position on the floor, dragging her feet towards the door that is the cause of their suffering. (She doesn’t dare to pick up the singular, gold coin on the floor, knowing that she can’t bring herself to look at it so soon after Pardo’s death.) Beyond the door is the entity that made Elysia disappear, that successfully slayed Kevin, that’s taken Sakura, Mobius, and now Pardo from her.
Mei made her promise to them, to remember them for eternity. Everyone here has made their sacrifice for humanity, both while living and now in death.
And she refuses to stand by this time.
Elysia is abnormally silent, Mei notes. The only sounds she can hear are the creaking of the swings and the ambiance of the Realm.
They both know this is the end; Mei knows she’ll never be able to step foot in here after this. She’ll never be able to visit to watch over Griseo with Kosma, to listen to Eden sing, to chat leisurely with Su… to see Elysia again.
Mei bears herself to turn and look at Elysia’s face once more, whilst Elysia does not meet the former’s gaze. The pink-haired elf is still staring off into the distance in front of the two with a smile on her face showing that she truly has accepted the fate of the Flamechasers; that she really is ready to part with her legacy.
Yet, Mei can see it— the lingering sadness behind Elysia’s eyes. She’s come to terms with this ending, but she still can’t help but still long for a future. Mei knows that feeling quite well. Elysia breaks the silence between them with a sigh and finally looks toward the woman beside her. Her smile grows at the ends of her mouth, but you can notice the small crease in her eyebrows. It’s a look that tells Mei all Elysia’s wanted to tell her; ‘It will be alright. We may be ‘gone’, but we’ll still be with you all the way.’
Mei returns the smile, truly at ease.
Kevin’s uncharacteristic as he stands in the hallway to the former Elysian Realm.
Mei’s come a long way to successfully stand in this hallway again. From her encounters with Mobius, her meeting with Aponia and the others, her confrontation with the Herrscher of Corruption through Vill-V, all the way to her final dance with Elysia.
She understands that the realm is not truly gone— The minds behind its creation most likely had several contingency plans for the Realm to carry out its overall function of preserving the memory of the bygone era. They can most likely retrieve the data and recreate it as if the Herrscher of Corruption never tainted it in the first place. But that is probably the last goal on Kevin’s mind at this point, given the said Herrsecher’s awakening. Kevin’s the last of the MANTISes with the ability to carry out the plan given to them by the former Dr. MEI. The others are all either gone or unable to complete their given plans. So with the awakening of the 12th Herrscher, Kevin has taken this as his cue to set his plan in motion— to enact Project: Stigmata as the shadow of the Honkai draws nearer.
The two of them share the mutual understanding that the end of the current story continues to draw nearer. Perhaps that is why he lets Mei go, under the pretense that they have completed their deal. He knows she wants no part in what he’s doing, but he must continue if he wants humanity to finally triumph.
The two of them are quite similar, she’s realized. Mei became the ‘villain’ of the Hyperion Crew, in order to save what she loved most. This too is what Kevin is doing, becoming humanity’s ’villain’ in order to secure their future— the future he has always wanted and was surely robbed of.
And so she leaves; takes a step forward as the story continues. As the story closes on the chapter of the Elysian Realm.