[I have a bad feeling about this. This development... I smell that familiar scent of bloodshed...]
[FFS, miHoYo isn't really going to treat Twilight's setting seriously, are they?!]
[Twilight dying of old age or something... Don't let that happen!]
[You like the limited lifespan trope, huh? Damn you, miHoYo, let me shoot you a few times and see how much lifespan you have left, okay?]
[Marisa... Quick, go to Gensokyo and summon Master Spark Buddha Marisa!!!]
[Play heartwarming games, become a cyber widower.]
[Used to joke about being like Kevin Kaslana, now I really am Kevin—but why did I inherit the dead waifu part instead of the OP power and cool factor?!]
[First Firefly dies, then Twilight... Haha, I'm starting to understand everything. Everyone dies eventually anyway, we can all meet up in hell!]
[Let me see, who was it that was cursing Twilight for not saving Firefly earlier? Now Twilight's gone too, happy now~?]
[What happened to the female lead? Who said miHoYo doesn't kill off female leads? My waifu!]
[All this crying and sniffling, have some decorum! Have you forgotten the great, merciful Yaoshi, the Abundance?! When Yaoshi makes their move, everything will be alright!]
[Got it, Yaoshi is the Honkai: Star Rail Marisa who defeats the limited lifespan trope.]
[Then after receiving the Blessing of Abundance, she conveniently transforms into an SSR form to sell another banner. I totally see miHoYo's scheme now.]
The player reactions on the forums were intense. One faction was resigned, wailing that given miHoYo's track record, Twilight would likely face a tragic end; there were plenty of precedents... They felt it would be a victory if Twilight could at least die peacefully.
Another faction was firmly defiant, believing miHoYo wouldn't pass up the chance to sell a character. Twilight wouldn't die; as long as Yaoshi, the Aeon of Abundance, existed, everything would be fine!
Although Caelus didn't think Yaoshi could easily save Twilight, he wasn't willing to give up and watch her die either.
He stood outside the medical pod now, silently gazing at Twilight lying inside. The scene reminded him of the first time he met her.
Back then, too, only a layer of cryo-pod glass separated them. He stood outside, while Twilight lay inside, seemingly asleep. But back then, Twilight seemed to be lost in a beautiful dream she wouldn't wake from.
Now, although she was truly on the renowned Planet of Festivity, the famous "beautiful dream" planet, her brow remained tightly furrowed, never relaxing. Pain clearly still pursued her.
Besides worry, panic gripped Caelus's heart. He feared Twilight would truly sleep forever this time, separated from him eternally... He couldn't accept such an outcome. At the very least, however things ended, their last memory together couldn't be his awful attitude.
Right now, he just wanted to pin his past self to the ground and slap him hard across the face until that idiot woke up. But he couldn't. He couldn't turn back time or change the past.
He could only stand blankly before Twilight's medical pod, hoping she would see him the moment she opened her eyes... just as she had once waited for him.
But none of that happened. Even when the pod opened and Twilight was moved to a comfortable large bed, she didn't open her eyes to look at him once.
"Everyone, Miss Twilight's condition isn't caused by external forces, and we cannot resolve it... Rather than keeping her submerged in the pod, it's better to let her feel more comfortable..." The implication from the departing Family medical staff was obvious. Instead of continuing pointless treatment, it was time to begin hospice care.
Caelus remained silent. Of course, he could raise hell. If that could save Twilight, he'd gladly become the laughingstock of the galaxy, but the world didn't work like that.
Just as he wallowed in sorrow, familiar footsteps finally sounded. Welt arrived with Dan Heng and March 7th. The atmosphere in the room didn't liven up with their arrival as usual; instead, it remained heavy.
Parting might be something Nameless ones had to face, but losing a close companion who had always been by their side was still far too soon for this young crew.
"Little Twilight, don't sleep anymore... Wake up, okay?"
Ignoring everyone else, March 7th approached Twilight's side with unprecedented caution, holding her hand and shaking it gently.
Unfortunately, she received no answer. If not for the hand still being soft and warm, she might have imagined worse.
Looking at Twilight's pale and fragile face on the bed, March 7th found herself unable to say whatever she had planned. She lowered her head for a long moment before finally asking in a low, haunting voice.
"...Why?"
The next moment, she spun around abruptly, tears welling in her eyes, staring daggers at Caelus. "Why did you treat Little Twilight like that?!!"
"It's bad enough you guys knew about Twilight's condition and didn't tell us... But if you knew, how could you be so cold to her?! She only has a year to live! Don't you know how precious every single day is to Little Twilight? She was willing to spend almost all her time with you, but you not only bullied her, you kicked her out!"
"Because you told her to get out, she sat outside your door all night last night, counting every single pattern in that corridor... Answer me, Caelus—why did you do it?!"
Faced with March 7th's tearful accusation, Caelus could only remain silent.
Perhaps because he had spent so much time with Twilight, he had grown accustomed to her presence.
Coupled with the fact that she almost never showed any weakness, Caelus subconsciously didn't truly believe she would leave him... Just like humans know the sun will eventually die out, but don't expect it to stop rising tomorrow.
Precisely because of this, he had lashed out at Twilight over the loss of another life... completely overlooking the fact that Twilight herself was like a withered tree already teetering on a cliff's edge.
But Caelus's silence seemed to further infuriate March 7th. Biting her lip hard, she quickly rushed in front of Caelus and raised her hand high!
Caelus didn't resist, just silently closed his eyes, awaiting the pain. It was what an idiot like him deserved. But he waited for a long time, and the slap never fell. He opened his eyes to see March 7th, tears overflowing, choking back sobs.
"I'm gonna hit you... I'm really gonna hit you! I'm gonna beat Caelus up real bad!!"
March 7th shouted loudly, as if directing her words to Twilight on the bed.
But Twilight, who would instantly appear whenever Caelus was in danger, didn't move this time.
Her last hope shattered, March 7th finally couldn't hold back anymore, collapsing onto Twilight and sobbing uncontrollably. No one stopped her, because everyone present felt the same crushing weight.
Except for one person.
Everyone who gets it, gets it. Yes, that person was Twilight herself, lying on the bed playing dead...
When multiple targets of affection belong to the same group, as long as their favorability is high enough, wonderful chemical reactions can occur during energy harvesting.
For example, in this short period, although Twilight herself did nothing but play dead, March 7th's actions acted like a catfish in a fish tank, constantly causing the other sheep [targets] to burst forth with emotional energy.
And in the foreseeable future, similar incidents would inevitably happen again, though the catfish might change to Caelus, Dan Heng, Himeko, Welt, or even outsiders like Sunday—but who cared about such things?
Twilight certainly didn't. Any catfish that could make her carefully raised sheep burst with gold coins was a good catfish.
Seeing March 7th crying herself breathless on top of her, Twilight, timing things carefully, figured it was about time and finally decided to reboot.
She had to admit, the deterioration of her physical condition this time was worse than expected, truly starting to affect her body. While forcing herself to power up for a fight was fine, even simple movements like moving her limbs felt exhausting in her normal state.
But how could such trivial difficulties possibly break Twilight's willpower!
Therefore, as March 7th lay sobbing on Twilight's legs, she suddenly felt something land on her back.
It was a familiar sensation, one that made her instantly look up towards the source.
"Don't cry, March, don't cry..." March 7th looked at the girl before her, pale as paper. Despite her undeniable weakness and fatigue, she still forced a smile. "I'll go... chase away the bad guys who bullied March..."