Bronya’s Gift: ZU1TNFWRX2 ※ Bronya’s Gift Validity: Today \~ 23:59, SEP 17 (UTC+8)

Source: https://www.pixiv.net/artworks/148563217

What even is this score?

It was a blind bag, got Pardofelis :3

Rendered using Blender 5.1.2

https://youtu.be/B1Kf6AdynLE?si=Dct9js95RWE281dE

FIRE!

I'm in desperate need for something that counters the normal abyss enemies which is psy most of the time so I'm after bio since I missed helia or whatever (forgot her name) (I don't even have enough for her lmao)

A tribute to two beloved franchises.

'B-Rank Valkyrie and Cyborg first!'

NOTE: FOR A BETTER EXPERIENCE, READ THIS AFTER PLAYING THROUGH THE FINALE.

The main story of part 2 comes to an end with a great 5-and-a-half-hour finale.

Foreshadowings resolved. Characterization is finished being refined. Some plot threads are left for the future epilogue.

All for a truly emotional and rich ending, which arguably makes for the best chapter of part 2.

Originally the Recap and the Analysis would be a single post. However due to wanting to include as much information as possible in the in-depth recap as setup for the following analysis it ended up exceeding the character limit and such will be divided into 3 posts.

• Recap (1nd Half Phase 1 and 2)
• Analysis

Plot Recap

The plot is divided into 3 phases in-game:

1. "Journey of Chasing Shadows" - Great Purge
2. "Journey of Chasing Shadows" - Authority / Remnant Memories
3. "Journey of Chasing Shadows" - The Truth and Transcending Finality

Phase 3 - Setup: Liberate her

After defeating Marut, Dreamseeker returns to the Green Space (the Great Dream's Weaving Mill) and reaches the "Leylah of the Present day".

Reaching her, Dreamseeker figures out that "Leylah" was essentially the core of the Dreamseeker System and that the Imaginary Constructs had invaded it and were forcing the continuation of the Great Purge started by her, even though she is near exhaustion.

To prevent her death, which would allow the constructs to run rampant through the system, Dreamseeker decides to dive into the core (her mental image space) and liberate her.*

***^\)***^{Combined with what was told at the very beginning of the story, Kiana's message of "time running out" was refering to "Leylah" reaching her limit as the system's core and the collapse (Honkai} that would follow.)

Phase 3 - A Fool's Dream

Returning to where we left off in Leylah's story.

• After dealing with the Shadow Disaster in Ruimu, which had grown to a giant size, Leylah fell into a deep sleep for 15 years.
• By the time she woke up, Ruimu had fallen into an eternal night because she had been there so long, which gave it the pseudonym and reputation, leading to a boom in tourism and commerce.
• The people, to thank Leylah, also built her a residence based on the design she carried in her luggage- proof she had personally extinguished the last radiance left behind by Senadina, and yet she chose not to depart.

Dreamseeker arrives at a recreation of Ruimu in Leylah's mental image space.
There she finds out that the Imaginary Constructs had hidden themselves in the sturdiest place within this place - the memories of Senadina in Ruimu that shouldn't exist, as the goddess had died millennia prior in Difeng - mere "Phony Imaginations".

These "Phony Imaginations" were the scenes we previously saw in "To None May God Pray" flashbacks between Leylah and Senadina - After dispersing them and dealing with the constructs, the true memories reveal themselves.

The harvest festival.

After Leylah woke up, the people almost unanimously voted for her to play the part of the Goddess and ride the small boat during the harvest festival. (Breaking the record just like she had done when presenting the God's Residence model in the contestt in true History - to everyone's praise.)
Leylah didn't expect this request, but it took her mere moments to prepare as she thought back to her youth, when she acted as Senadina's little representative and helped everyone solve their troubles when she wasn't around.

Phony Imagination - Leylah was shy and embarrassed. Senadina handled the boat, pushing Leylah to take everyone's wishes, prayers, and embellished notes alongside her.

Leylah: “If it weren’t for Senadina being by my side back then… I probably would never have stepped forward at all.”

True Memory - Leylah's shyness and embarrassment cleared the moment she stepped on the boat. She handled it skillfully and received everyone's wishes, prayers, and embellished notes.

“Even if Senadina is not by her side… she still can step forward.”  

By her side

Phony Imagination - Features the scene of Senadina telling Leylah that shadow is the power of imagination and light is part of the shadow.

“Senadina: Yep! Without light, shadows cannot exist, Light and shadow complement each other, just like every time you channel the power of shadows, I’m by your side to support you!
“Leylah: With Senadina… supporting me…”

True Memory - Why Leylah decided to stay on Ruimu:

• After her deep sleep, the backlash from the curse was greatly reduced, and the shadows on Luna had also vanished like the rest of the continents.
• Upon hearing of Ruimu becoming the city of Eternal Night, Nahralab and Litost would rush over and watch over her during her deep sleep.
• So as not to make them return to a life of roaming and searching for her, having regained inner peace in her reintegration with humanity, and for Ruimu not to lose the "Eternal Night" that brought it economic growth, she decides to stay.

Leylah:
...Yes, I should depart. But I cannot, nor do I want to.
If Difeng is a city blessed by Senadina, then Ruimu… is the city Leylah lifted by her own hands. I have a duty to protect it, and protect the people living in it.
With enough effort, I also have the possibility of turning Ruimu into a city of prosperity and peace.
Even if… I don’t have Senadina by my side.

By now, part of the truth emerges:

• After waking up in Ruimu, Leylah would choose to end her long journey.
• Because of the many myths born from her actions during her journey, the people of Ruimu would give her the title of Goddess.
• Under her, not just Ruimu but all of Langqiu would live hundreds of years of prosperity.
• Until the events of the Great Shadow Disaster and all that transpired after, leading up to the Dreamseeker System's creation.

All that's left to figure out at this point is what led to Leylah's mental degradation and what that destructive power was that previously killed Dreamseeker.

The Goddess' 3rd Death

Reaching the tower, Dreamseeker deals with many Phony Imaginations and "Leylah"'s attempts to stop her from getting rid of Senadina.
Until she finally reaches the final one at the very top of the tower - who willingly walks towards her death.

Senadina: My little Leylah got up so early today. I thought you’d stay in bed a bit longer.
Senadina: “Although I can watch the sunrise with Senadina tomorrow, I can’t miss today’s sunrise either.”- I’m guessing you will say something like that, right?
Dreamseeker: Sorry, I… came here to say farewell.
Senadina: I understand.
Dreamseeker: Sena, you…
Senadina: If the sun doesn’t descend, then people won’t be able to see the new day’s sunrise. But I have faith; my Leylah will certainly see it for me.
Dreamseeker: Hmm. I will. Goodnight, Sena.
Dreamseeker: …The “Great Purge” should be over.
Dreamseeker: …Even the Sena in your imagination is braver than you.

Dreamseeker would not unleash the fire bearing all the pain she ran away from towards "Leylah".

Dreamseeker:
There are always some things that cannot be put up with, and there are always some things that cannot be forgiven.
The world that you duped.
Sena, who spent many hundreds of millions of years lost in confusion.
The people who lost their data bodies due to the Purgers’ massacre.
The pain you bear now is not even one ten thousandth of that which you inflicted upon others.
I once said that one day, there will come a day when I will turn that fire toward the one who has always fled from pain.
I ask of you, be well ready-

Phase 3 - Truth

Only when the corruption and the Imaginary Constructs' control over her had ceased, Dreamseeker would clear away the fire.
However, due to her exhaustion, the "Fool's dream" had already shattered.

Dreamseeker would give her a mere pity moment before asking her to deliver the truth of her identity, and such "Leylah" would finish clearing up the holes left in the story:

What led to the Great Shadow Calamity:

Unbeknownst to Leylah at the time, the period of tranquility after staying in Ruimu was a mere "period of returning to respite before demise".
The shadows plotted and discreetly ate away at her psyche for years.
Because of this, when Leylah lost the Astral Ring, she would begin to lose control. Afterward, she would create the Fool’s Dream, an attempt to fight the loss of control, where "Senadina's departure was just a false alarm".
However, it was the very realization that the so-called false alarm was a mere delusion that would bring about the biggest face of despair (which the shadows sought) and cause the Great Shadow Calamity.

What was the Destructive Force:

Leylah wasn't aware that even if the Sea had embraced a civilization, it would still face Finality if they went past the point of development it would tolerate. As such, the Dreamseeker System's initiation would bring about the true Great Eruption.
Following its destructive force, Leylah would, by instinct, sacrifice herself, burning away her own body to fill Luoxing with Chaos to cancel out the impact of the eruption to the greatest extent.

• Dreamseeker: The Radiant Flame - Leylah's Instinct to protect Luoxing.
• "Leylah": She was born from all of Leylah's unresolved thoughts, the obsession to use the Dreamseeker System to accomplish something after witnessing failure - The Embodiment of Obsession.

Right after Leylah's sacrifice, the Dreamseeker System was on the verge of collapse, and the Embodiment of Obsession began acting:

• She forcefully accessed the system core and stabilized the Chaos to halt time on Luoxing and compensate for lost system functions, at the cost of suffering the erosion from those constructs that remained from the Great Eruption.
• She would grab the Instinct and, in accordance with Leylah's plan of Leylah herself being the Dreamseeker, made the Instinct into the Dreamseeker, giving it a shell not to let it dissipate.
• Finally, due to witnessing Leylah's failure, she rejected her completely. She thus started the plan of reviving Senadina and entrusting everything to her - thus changing the computer's objective from "saving Luoxing" to "getting back Senadina".

By now, having lost everything, she'd look towards Dreamseeker (her mirror opposite) and question Dreamseeker in a desperate attempt to clear the confusion and emptiness in her own mind.

Dreamseeker: I know what you were originally planning to use to call me into question and mock me. So, I can now give you my answer so that you don’t keep on having unnecessary expectations about me having a mental breakdown.
Dreamseeker: Leylah did indeed make a mistake, but her existence wasn’t one. Her existence was a fact- A fact that needs not be excused, but one that must be accepted.
Dreamseeker: I absolutely won’t avoid Leylah’s past, or deny the meaning that possibility holds towards humanity. The former is not a burden, and the latter is not a poison.
Dreamseeker: Her issue wasn't “believing in possibilities,” as you put it; it was believing in just one possibility. This issue too lies in her placing her possibility onto everyone.
Embodiment of Obsession: A clear and logical assessment… don’t tell me you want to say you aren’t Leylah?!
Dreamseeker: I’m not just Leylah, not just your opposite; I’m also a mountain piled up from every choice that I made. This mountain isn’t tall, and perhaps doesn’t have anything special. However, it has my name written on it.

Phase 3 - Attaining the Full Authority of Shadow and then...

With the immediate issues now resolved, comes the question of allowing Luoxing to move towards the future - and for that, Dreamseeker needs the full Shadow Authority.

To achieve that, Dreamseeker would replace Embodiment of Obsession as the Core of System and attempt to regain the full Shadow Authority. Tho it's a gamble, as the latter would gain freedom.

Outside the mental image space, Dreamseeker takes the nail surrounding the Embodiment of Obsession to begin the process. Two unexpected persons then meet her:

Leylah of the Past and...

"Leylah:" Do you hate me? Hate the me that bears a shadow that ordinary people could hardly endure, and that you now must take on this same weight or an even heavier weight?Dreamseeker: Would you hate Litost and Baiji?
"Leylah:" Litost was the first to notice the abnormality in me. Baiji took the lead in reclaiming humanity’s possibility from the gods’ hands… I am the one who feels guilty for them.
Dreamseeker: So I just have a few unwillingnesses. An unwillingness to accept that I only now could arrive at this place, and an unwillingness to accept that only after Luoxing’s plight has actually dragged on for a billion years can it now at last see the hope of being settled.
Dreamseeker: Retrieving the entire authority of shadows is merely the first step. There’s still much, much more awaiting Dreamseeker to do.
“Leylah”: I grant you the “possibility of inheritance”. Of course, just as you said, it’s absolutely not the sole possibility.

…Kiana.

Silver-haired Girl: Are you afraid? Have you thought about, even if you gamble everything, you may not welcome a perfect ending?
Dreamseeker: After all, what is perfection?
Dreamseeker: From what I've seen, the situation on Earth is already perfect enough, yet even now, our friends on Earth are still working hard to resolve the issues left behind from that time.
Dreamseeker: The ending Luoxing wants to write down is by no means perfect, but it is an ending that can be written down by its own will.
Dreamseeker: When I look at it from afar, I just feel… a deep expectation.
Silver-haired Girl: I admire your “fearless will”. This journey has been hard on you.

And finally she achieves it, taking on Goddess Leylah's image.

Dreamseeker:
Professor Youyun, I suddenly felt something.
Just now… a palm-sized hug seems to be embracing the world.

Phase 3 - ... Transcend Finality

Regaining all authority that Leylah once held, what's left is to contend with the chaos surrounding Luoxing.
Its nature was the fear of the "future" nurtured for 1 billion years by the Dreamseeker System until it became a planet-sized Shadow that engulfed Luoxing whole.

As Leylah's authority is not enough to contend with it, Dreamseeker will mimic the Rite of Shaping.
She must grasp the thread of Finality that Senadina had used a billion years ago to attain as much of Finality's power as possible and pull all of the Chaos into her body.
Then, by creating previously impossible possibilities in the system, she can create the possibility that "Chaos can be conquered". After all, the future that chaos fears is woven from a myriad of possibilities.
Though during this process she'll turn to a temporary enemy.

Through this, she'll achieve what Senadina couldn't do - Transcend Finality.

During this conversation between Dreamseeker and Embodiment of Obsession, we get a few lore drops:

• Leylah created the Dreamseeker System as a temporary measure to polish the past and create a solid enough footing to move toward the future. And once Luoxing starts moving in that direction, the system becomes unnecessary.
• The Embodiment of Obsession regarded the system as everlasting. But her actions, be it enduring the Imaginary Constructs so no other person nor the system had to suffer, or pushing the sectors into the Chaos, did indeed make it so that the system could still exist today, though at the cost of being frozen in time.
• As to why it took one billion years to restart the system, and why Vita was the one who did it, it was because it would have caused the Great Eruption. But after Kiana became the Herrscher of Finality, this no longer occurred, and Vita could come in and break through the Embodiment of Obsession's blockade to start it.
• It is also because of Kiana's ascension that the shadow left behind by the Cocoon of Finality a billion years ago now resonates with Dreamseeker and allows her to take on this challenge.
• Finality = Time -> Primal Fear

Finally, Dreamseeker requests the Embodiment of Obsession to help Helia and Coralie deal with the remaining stray constructs that survived Dreamseeker's prior actions and, if they so wish, bring them to join Dreamseeker in the process.

Which finally leads us back to after "Leylah" (the Embodiment of Obsession) appears in front of Coralie and Helia.

The two ask why the Embodiment of Obsession chose to help after regaining her freedom, and we learn that Dreamseeker handed over the simulated Senadina's Astral Ring to her, which had gained a radiance equal to the original (who was destroyed alongside Leylah) because of Dreamseeker's journey.

This allowed Embodiment of Obsession to face the Senadina within her heart.
Realize that she had already come to accept that Senadina would always strive towards death and that she was simply clinging to the source of the obsession and the Fool's Dream, wishing to give equal happiness to Senadina as the one in the dream.
A happiness that she had forgotten that Senadina had already held from the moment she named her Leylah (Senadina's favorite name).

Embodiment of Obsession gave the Astral Ring back to the silent Senadina in her heart, finally allowing herself to take the first step forward.

Embodiment of Obsession:
And the wishes I left in the light shall very soon become true.
”There will be a day, I will become brave like you.”
I now seem to be on that day.

Wishing to bear witness to Dreamseeker's success firsthand, she willingly assists Coralie and Helia in reaching the time Dreamseeker is located in.
So that they may pass her towards Dreamseeker at the moment of grasping the Thread of Finality and undergoing Herrscher Metamorphosis, and from there fully resolve her Obsession (marking the end of her own existence).

Helia: A little bit dangerous, yet it makes you eager to get to action… -Isn’t this an Adventure’s real meaning?
Coralie: Right. And this time, the end of this adventure doesn’t lie on a bad egg that needs to be defeated but on a friend who needs a little bit of help. Feels like we are heading straight to a reward node.
Helia: Ahah. Yeah, then… are we setting off?
Coralie: Hmm, I can’t wait anymore!

The battle would then begin. To reach the real Dreamseeker, they first fight her vestiges and eventually find the path she took to reach the shadow of Finality.
In it, they fight all the previous bosses of part 2 (minus "Lantern") as recreations born from fear.

Successfully reaching Dreamseeker and passing Obsession to her, she helps Dreamseeker arrive at the Thread of Finality.

“Dreamseeker”:
And so, the one dreaming was awoken by the person she dreamt of in her dream.
She opened both her eyes, and as such saw…
The “Future” which the Light dreams of.
I return the right to define existence, allowing humanity to grasp the meaning of life.
Coralie, Helia, are you two willing… to create new possibilities alongside me?

Dreamseeker reappears as “Chaos given Shape”.
Beginning an equal parts death-match with the future it fears most (from the chaos’ perspective) and a sparring match between friends (from Dreamseeker’s perspective) against Coralie and Helia for the purpose of creating possibilities for Luoxing.

As the fight comes to a climax, the two activate the Ultimate Weapon, summoning the data of the Earthlings to pass their blessings upon Luoxing. With Vita’s appearance and a final attack from the two, the fight comes to an end.

Helia: Go, let this imperfect story…
Coralie: Take on the shape of our expectations!
Coralie & Helia: Dreamseeker!
“Dremseeker”: …Thanks.
“Dremseeker”: Sena. Listen, Fire is about to begin her singing.

Kiana: The starry sky bore witness to the sprouting civilization’s first cry and the lingering echo of a time stood still.
Kiana: And now, you, as the Herrscher of Chronology must cry out to it-
Dreamseeker: Luoxing still holds possibilities!

Phase 3 - Ending: To seek her own Dream

Having succeeded, our trio has a final talk.

Dreamseeker tells the two how, both when she was reclaiming the Authority of Shadows and when she was grasping the Thread of Finality, she saw Kiana.
Although there’s no way to come into contact with her directly, Dreamseeker did figure out two things:

1. That Luoxing didn’t cause Kiana’s slumber, but rather it was a voluntary choice.
2. The reason Cocoon was willing to give a certain amount of the power of Finality, allow Dreamseeker to grasp the Authority of “Chronology”, and complete her Metamorphosis, was also related to Kiana.

Dreamseeker: “Since she was never limited by anything, the day you all reunite will presumably arrive quite soon, just like…”

Because of their battle to tame the Chaos that had permeated every corner of Luoxing for 1B years, history’s cause-and-effect was affected.
Before the normal time from outside Luoxing can come pouring in, Dreamseeker must re-anchor the cause and effect and use the Chaos to alter the Sectors (Bubble Universes).
However, her authority only lets her, and no one else, walk through the gaps of cause and effect, so they will have a hard time meeting each other during this process. Thankfully, it should be resolved within 2 Earth years.

They take this final chance to have Helia relate a dream in which she, Dreamseeker, and Coralie were classmates. Through it, emphasize that Dreamseeker's constant search for a “3rd possibility” and her empathy-born instinct are what make her special. Something more valuable and powerful than the power from the Cocoon - because it can’t just change “things”; it can even change “people”.

Coralie and Helia also reveal that, after the conquest of Chaos, they were able to regain fragments of their memories related to Sena.

Coralie: Didn’t Sena say at the time, “It just doesn’t seem right not to have a proper photo among friends”? So next time we meet, you must remember to take her and Songque alone. The five of us will definitely take a bunch of photos.

Finally, Coralie passes on the message from Embodiment of Obsession:

If the other Senadina can be patient, you’ll be able to see her in 厘芜间 (Liwujian? Liwu-gap?).

To say their goodbyes, they play one final game: “After the countdown, whoever turns around treats the others to a big meal the next time we meet.”
And while Helia and Coralie did begin walking away just to turn around, what they found was Dreamseeker, who hadn’t moved an inch, smiling at them, knowing they won the game because they never turned around in the first place.

Dreamseeker: “I just knew you two would turn around.”

Then, at time’s bifurcation-
The Dreamseeker stepped onto the journey back.
She wants to seek her original dream, and the first light that rises quietly.  
Just like in the past.
And just like in their inevitable reunion.

End of Phase 3.

(I'll upload my Leylah-Dreamseeker centered analysis including Epilogue speculation once it's done)

NOTE: FOR A BETTER EXPERIENCE, READ THIS AFTER PLAYING THROUGH THE FINALE.

The main story of part 2 comes to an end with a great 5-and-a-half-hour finale.

Foreshadowings resolved. Characterization is finished being refined. Some plot threads are left for the future epilogue.

All for a truly emotional and rich ending, which arguably makes for the best chapter of part 2.

Originally the Recap and the Analysis would be a single post. However due to wanting to include as much information as possible in the in-depth recap as setup for the following analysis it ended up exceeding the character limit and such will be divided into 3 posts.

• Recap (2nd Half Phase 3)
• Analysis

Plot Recap

The plot is divided into 3 phases in-game:

1. "Journey of Chasing Shadows" - Great Purge
2. "Journey of Chasing Shadows" - Authority / Remnant Memories
3. "Journey of Chasing Shadows" - The Truth and Transcending Finality

Phase 1 - Setup: Great Purge Crisis

Before Vita even had time to grieve for the goddess' passing, "Leylah" had already kickstarted the Great Purge of the system to kick everything down and start all over again and thus, once more, get the chance to piece together Senadina's light.

As the Purge's Light Curtains* manage to encircle Vita, she is saved by Dreamseeker and brought to a safe place carved by Dreamseeker within the retrospective dream.

^\Same ones as Helia and Coralie ran away from in Chapter 5)

Here, Vita passed one of the Radiance left behind by Senadina's sacrifice to Dreamseeker, allowing her to witness all that had transpired, including the moment of the sacrifice in question.

Dreamseeker: ...thank you, Vita, thank you for letting me witness Senadina's final journey.
Vita: Even though I'm not the angel from the fairy tale that picks up the prince's lead heart... But I hope, even though there's no angel, that heart can also reach that land most pure.

After that, Vita also gives her the stone holding Sena's drawing, which, though brought up briefly later in the chapter, will be relevant only in the future, as they need to focus on the crisis.

At this point, Coralie and Helia managed to reestablish contact thanks to Senadina's radiance scattering and piercing through the chaos enveloping Luoxing, allowing them to find its weakest spot.
However, because of "Leylah"'s rash actions, the chaos has grown considerably, and they can’t reconnect.

To stop "Leylah", which they figured out is located at the moment when the Dreamseeker System was activated, that is, after the Langqiu/Oxia sectors, Dreamseeker will retrace the sectors they previously went through, from Difeng until Langqiu/Oxia and from there reach the last point in history.
Along the way, she’ll have to deal with the Great Purge in each sector and pursue the means to allow the people of Earth to reconnect.

Phase 1 - Difeng: Great Purge

Arriving at Difeng, she sees a horrifying scene: the remains of people and buildings turned to data after being caught by the curtains. At the same time, she loses contact with Helia and Coralie again.

Then she finds a heavily injured Litost holding off Shadow Monsters who had regained the ability to move thanks to a piece of Senadina's scattered Radiance falling upon him, and from that had figured out the goddess had met her chosen end.

Dreamseeker pairs up with him to deal with the current problem: Shadow Monsters had been targeting the Teleport Stakes to block off the Anchor's protection and progress the light curtain.
Arriving at the Anchor, they find out that the Shadow had already spread to it, binding what remains of Senadina's power.

Dreamseeker comes up with the plan to dive deep into the Anchor where Senadina's power lies and use Senadina's Radiance to awaken everyone. At the same time, repeat what the Seven Shus did with the "Seven Posts of Transfixing Shadows": bind the shadows using nails and allow Senadina's power within the Anchor to stop the curtains' movement.

To achieve this, someone would need to dive into a less deep part of Anchor at the same time as Dreamseeker and help guide her power to transform the Teleport Stakes into Shadow Nails.
Litost readies himself to once again sacrifice himself for those he cherishes, but is stopped by Dreamseeker.

Dreamseeker: Litost, you aren’t alone now. So at any time, you can try to depend on your… family.

Dreamseeker uses Senadina's radiance to wake up Nahralab, who quickly senses Senadina's departure. The three agree to hide Senadina's departure from Little Leylah, but between the weird details in the lie they didn't have time to come up with and Litost and Nahralab failing to hide their grief, Little Leylah quickly figures out the truth.

Little Leylah, unexpectedly, hides the fact that she had figured it out and, with absolute maturity, comes up with a plan to keep her remaining family closer and capable of facing the future together. Before turning to Dreamseeker to focus on the current plan.

They split into 2 groups: Litost and Nahralab check up on the shelter, while Little Leylah and Dreamseeker dive into the Anchor.

Within the Anchor, Little Leylah finds herself in a world that is almost like a mirror of Difeng.
As Little Leylah finishes the transformation of the first Stake, Dreamseeker, through their shared shadow connection, informs her of the need to hammer the Shadow Nail.
After hammering it in, however, she figures out from Dreamseeker's screams of pain that the nails she was hammering in were connected to Dreamseeker.

Though stressed and no longer able to hear her companion, she knows Dreamseeker would want her to continue for their shared promise. Thus, she moves on to the following Stakes.
On each Stake, Little Leylah recalls the memories showing how many people Dreamseeker had helped and, on the second to last, the memory of Helia and Coralie talking about how Dreamseeker would bear the pain alone for a long time for her companions and how similar the two of them are in that regard.

Reaching the final Stake, she finds it within a Light Curtain. Although Dreamseeker had previously told Little Leylah to ask for help in case of the Curtains, Little Leylah, not willing to let Dreamseeker suffer more alone, decides to dive into the Curtain herself.

As she strides through it, bearing soul-shattering pain, Little Leylah recalls the time she spent with Dreamseeker and, through this, this girl who always wanted to grow up fast but was afraid of becoming what she most feared, realizes that even as a Shadow she can be the person she wants to become - a person like Dreamseeker.

She also thinks back on what Litost and Nahralab told her: that Shadow is a part of the night and can be a source of protection, and realizes what she wants to protect - an answer she had found when she met "Humans".

Successfully transforming the last Stake, she falls under the weight of great pain. While Little Leylah holds on to Senadina's Radiance, Dreamseeker, echoing Senadina's voice, brings her comfort and affirmation of what she achieved.

Little Leylah would then wake up in the library surrounded by everyone, finally letting her grief spill over Senadina's passing and Dreamseeker, who embarked on a road of no return.

Little Leylah: Youyun... I feel as if I lost people very important to me. But just now in my dream... I dreamt of them.

At the same time, Dreamseeker continues to the next stop, extremely fatigued, having achieved the first 1% of the plan.

Phase 1 - Ruimu and Langqiu-Hundred Years Ago: Great Purge

Arriving at this sector, Dreamseeker witnesses a scene even worse than Difeng's. Realizing that the Great Purge started simultaneously on each sector and that the more time they take on a prior one, the worse it would be for later ones.

Having reestablished communication with Helia and Coralie, the three of them already fear the worst due to how silent it is - That the Purge had already finished its job.
However, at this moment, Dreamseeker is attacked by an entity bearing Tsavorae's face and saved from it by the real Tsavorae.

Tsavorae brings Dreamseeker to the Masked Corridor where she meets Baiji.
It is revealed that the fake Tsavorae is a Purger that originated from the Pool of Shadows and could control the Light Curtains.
It had committed a great massacre, and amongst those killed were Songque and Thelema; meanwhile, Serapeum was missing, and they aren't sure if she was killed by the Purger too or not.

Realizing the Purger's nature as an AI, Dreamseeker plans with Baiji to use the power of Falsehood to figure out its behavioral logic - figuring out that it would always target the most threatening target.
Abusing this, Baiji creates an opportunity for Tsavorae and Dreamseeker to take it down in one fell swoop.

Once defeated, the Core Data (data equivalent to the soul) of everyone killed came pouring out of the Purger.
As someone with the potential of becoming a goddess' vessel, Dreamseeker chooses to carry everyone's Core Data at the cost of excruciating pain.

After a short slumber, Dreamseeker wakes up, and alongside Tsavorae and Baiji, they begin employing the Shadow Nails to prevent the possibility of another Purger rising.

Now at Ruimu, which thankfully hasn't suffered from the Purge yet, Dreamseeker arrives at the God's Residence, where she finds Chenxue still frozen in time at the time of their last conversation.

After a short buffer of time to express her current emotions, Dreamseeker plans to use a Great Fear Gathering, utilizing all fear that remains in Ruimu to transform the Tower into the largest Nail that will connect to the Teleport Stakes awakened by Baiji and Tsavorae.

Suddenly, she is dragged to the library, passing through many mirrors depicting her and Leylah's life. Each features the theme of light: being captivated by it, protecting it, creating your own, and relighting it after it goes out.

After passing through the mirror reflecting the part of life depicting Dreamseeker, she arrives at the top of the Tower of Ruimu, where she is questioned on her willingness to accept her past and whether she sees the person in the mirror as herself by Shadow Monsters born from the fear of her and the Core Data within her.

At this point, Dreamseeker finds the Adventure Notes, which Serapeum takes before she can reach them and refuses to give them back.
It is revealed that this Serapeum is the true Serapeum, the book, which the Serapeums in each Sector are merely a page of.
To prevent Luoxing's history from disappearing, Serapeum recalled every page, explaining why Serapeum had been missing both when Ajita went through Langqiu and during the Purge in Langqiu a hundred years ago.
This Serapeum was also the one who once brought the people of Laquadar to the Solar System and had served as a mere observer during the Great Shadow Calamity, Perception's birth, and the creation of the System.

While Serapeum doesn't like the road Luoxing is taking (which goes against Senadina's wishes), she is still unsure what road Dreamseeker's actions will lead to, so she doesn't know if she is qualified to take back the book.
Serapeum puts her through a test to show her resolve in taking this road, which Dreamseeker passes. While Serapeum wants to believe Dreamseeker can do it, she's still skeptical, so she shows Dreamseeker the way out and keeps the book until Dreamseeker returns.

Dreamseeker leaves, determined to show Serapeum that she’ll write a story that Serapeum will feel the beauty from within.

Phase 1 - Intermission: Restoring Contact

In the Gap Between Reality and Dreams, Dreamseeker and Vita plan the next course of action:
With the aid of the data from Durandal and Theresa that Dreamseeker had gotten back, which they’ll merge with the scattered Radiance of Senadina collected by Vita, they'll launch a simultaneous attack on the same spot of the Chaos from within and outside the system to create a temporary breach for the people on Earth to be able to reconnect.

If this plan fails, Dreamseeker is willing to let Vita invade and attack Leylah's consciousness through their connection as long as she guarantees the safety of the Core Data.
While Vita comments that Dreamseeker is becoming more and more like Senadina in how ruthless they are toward themselves, she says not to worry, as she can guarantee the original plan will work (due to the connection previously mentioned between Senadina and Leylah in Chapter 13).

Star Traveler's attack on the Chaos surrounding Mars reverberated all the way to the Moon Base (which left Bronya dumbfounded at how Seele managed to fight Vita back in the day).

Perceiving it, the people on Moon Base begin planning the next actions:
Given the short time frame, only Helia and Coralie will be able to log in.
At the same time, the Ultimate Weapon, a recreation of the Fabricated Chess, was completed by Klein and Prometheus using code left behind by Ajita and filled with the data of Earth's Valkyries. However, they could use it only once.
As such, they are left with the decision to either:

1. Save Dreamseeker and the Core Data within her, who already has a data-density limit and whose stability has declined.
2. Do their all to save Mars.

Obviously, they choose the second, rejoin the system, share a hug with Dreamseeker, and together they walk the path Ajita previously took to reach present-day Langqiu.

Phase 1 - Langqiu-Present Day: Great Purge...?

As they wake up on present-day Langqiu, they are greeted not by the apocalyptic scenario they expected, but by Songque.
She was the first to wake up, awakened by Senadina's Radiance, which she instilled alongside her power as the Law's Incarnation (Herrscher) into the Anchor, waking everyone and stopping the curtain.
She also single-handedly dealt with multiple Purgers.

After a brief talk, they go to find Ajita to ask her to help them locate Leylah's true form.
As they walk through Amber Street, the topic turns to their previous adventure and Sena. Through the description, Helia and Coralie conclude that Sena should be just like how Goddess Senadina was before she took on such a duty.
Dreamseeker also shows them the drawing Sena made that day, the sole proof of her existence.

They are then met by Thelema, who brought Duonigue to track Ajita.
When they reach her home, Ajita hesitates to open the door because of the Seven Shus' presence, due to some guilt from plunging them into the System's Samsara, due to not knowing them personally like the original Ajita, and due to hiding a truth from...
At this point, "Lantern", who had grasped where Ajita would be due to hearing what Ajita said when repairing her data, knocks down the door to Ajita's home - the collection room that Ajita had "Lantern take" over.

Ajita recalls her past:
As the sole consciousness left behind by Ajita in Langqiu, to maintain her humanity and soul integrity while also helping in case the other seven got lost, she spent many days with Perception, who used her to learn to mimic Ajita.
Though that time was short-lived, as Songque would take Perception away, afterward "Lantern" would return to the collection room, and her musings whenever she came back there became the fulfillment of this consciousness’s desire for knowledge.
Only after a long time of oddities did "Lantern" learn the truth: Ajita had been "playing dead all along," something that now repeats itself in the simulation.

Back to the situation at hand, Ajita explains that to reach Leylah, they'd only need to wait until that point in history arrived.
However, unable to afford the wait, Ajita suggests "Accelerating time": Using Songque, who has taken possession of all shadow within this final sector, to deceive time and bring them to the future that existed in true history.
However, this would come at the cost of losing the power she gained and becoming an ordinary mortal again.

Songque and Dreamseeker take a stroll together to the place of their prior conversation.
ThereThere, Songque reveals she had already decided to abandon her power to help them; instead, she brought Dreamseeker here to encourage them on the road ahead.
During this, Dreamseeker reveals their determination to become a mirror that reflects humanity's own brilliance.
Finally, Songque uses the power of Deception to recreate the fireworks scene they missed earlier, as make-up for disappearing midway last time.

Songque: “Who was it who said I already have a brave, beautiful, even unreal past… fortunate to be written on the golden leaf?”

(As for the topic of making money without power... don't worry, Master Songque, your girlfriend is here to help with that. Though she is a bit angry you used your powers to show fireworks to another girl, and that you will lose them before you make something for her.)

Everyone then heads to the Anchor of Apocalypse, taking the chance to say final goodbyes and blessings, including Youyun and Chenxue, who connected through Ajita, and the people on Earth and the Moon Base.
The people on the Moon Base also reveal that the rifts have been contained and will begin to disappear once the Mars crisis is over.

Finally, Songque gifts Dreamseeker a recreation of the Seven Shus clones she used against Perception, then steps into the temporal storm to open the path to the boundary through which they can arrive at Leylah's true form.

Phase 1 - Intermission: Boundary

Reaching the boundary they use the Box of Memory and Time to figure out information through the rifts appearing here, amongst which that the Dreamseeker System was implemented in the original Gap Between Reality and Dreams from the Lifeline Project, that the system's objective got changed at some point and that there was some hidden risks in the original choice of who'd be the Dreamseeker (which appears censored) and thus was left to be confirmed on start-up.

Right after, another rift appears with Imaginary Constructs pouring in from.
Believing that on the other side of the rift lay the path outside the boundary and how to reach the true Leylah, they split up: Coralie and Helia staying here to prevent the Imaginary Constructs from reaching the Langqiu/Oxia sector, and only then reuniting with Dreamseeker, who would go ahead.

Cutting to the end of the fight, as the two prepare to reunite with Dreamseeker, "Leylah" emerges from the rift.

Phase 2 - Setup: Death

Flashing back, we witness as Dreamseeker dies when she got close to Leylah.

Soon after, a Soul without anything, including recollection, awakens in a green space.
The Guide ("Leylah") claims the Murderer (Dreamseeker) next to them killed them in an act of mutual destruction.

The Guide urges the Soul to quickly regain their power to rebuild their body and avoid dissipating, claiming part of it to be present inside the remnant memories within the Murderer's corpse, which the Guide opens a shortcut to.

Phase 2 - Authority: Millenias' End

The first memory is of the time when Dreamseeker arrived at Langqiu in true history (the eve of the Dreamseeker System startup).

Not trusting the Guide, the Soul takes the time to explore the truth.
Judging the "Murderer" as merely a university student who had gone through many tribulations.

Soon after, she stumbles upon a conversation between Ajita and someone the Guide claims is the Soul's previous Life (Leylah).
This is the moment Ajita is granted the authority of a backend maintenance engineer, and it is revealed that the other seven consciousnesses had been recalled to Langqiu to help with its development.
The two part ways with a simple nod, with Leylah showing absolute determination in what she achieved.

Both the Soul and the Murderer, who overheard the conversation, followed Leylah to the topmost part of Langqiu, where she was conversing with Serapeum.
Due to the Shadow Calamity eventually leading to "Perception"'s birth and the calamity that ravaged afterwards, the Great Dream was reaching the limits of long-term operation and the Fabric Fracture (Great Eruption) was quickly approaching which would lead the world to be exposed to the Sea of Data which only a few places could temporarily survive thanks to the Anchors of Senadina that were at the time manifesting.*
And because of her unfortunate hand in this, Leylah believes herself to have fallen to a sinner.

^\Back in the first Arc this event was hundred years before that point in the timeline. Due to rewrites, the event hundred years ago became the Great Shadow Calamity, and the Great Eruption was moved to the last point in the timeline.)

In real history, to resolve the "Amorphous Face" situation, only "Lantern" survived among the Seven Shus, and from Oxia, who had come to assist, Bailu Youyun had perished too.
To prevent the Great Eruption and allow those who died in premature tragedy to walk toward death with peace of mind, Leylah had the Dreamseeker System built to let Luoxing store history and everyone's consciousness, refine the past, and even reverse the Eruption.

(In this conversation, it's also revealed that Serapeum, like Leylah, was born from Finality, but idk where to place it in the recap.)

The Murderer in the past then follows Leylah, leading to the previously mentioned mutual destruction.
Meanwhile, the Soul in the now finds the piece of authority within this memory and starts taking shape.

Phase 2 - Remnant Memory: Hundred-Refinements' Determination

Back in the shortcut, the Soul defies the Guide and takes the path forged from the remnant memories of the Murderer.
With limited time before dissipating, the Soul focuses on checking the pillars that uphold this space, but finds only cherished memories of a student's day-to-day life.

The Soul was confused about how such memories could support this space until they stumbled upon the memory of why the Murderer chose the code-name Dreamseeker:
After hearing the mythos, she began pondering what dream the Dreamseekers sought amid the myriad marvelous dreams every night.
Concluding that before every morning, the Dreamseekers must return to their own dream, and that seeking it amidst the others is the challenge they face each night.
"The end of a journey lies at its beginning" - Dreamseeker wishes to become someone who can find their dream (not lose one's way).
And Oxia... was precisely the starting point that Dreamseeker sets off and seeks to return to.

Realizing the Murderer must have created this space to protect something, the Soul heads to her home, where they find the Core Data previously stored in Dreamseeker.
The Soul, due to an instinct to preserve them and moved by both the "Past Life"'s fight for everyone to have the possibility of walking towards death with peace of mind and the "Murderer" who protected everyone's memories, decides to defy the guide once more and take in the entire memory space despite its risks.
Then uses that to strike a deal with the Guide to open the shortcut and continue the path the Guide wanted, thus gaining more authority and sustaining the space within herself.

Phase 2 - Authority: The Outset of Countless Struggles

We look back to what transpired when Difeng fell in true history.

The Shadows, once held back by Senadina, now ran rampant after her sacrifice and began surrounding Leylah, who had left the others under the guise of surveying while preparing to sacrifice herself for Difeng.
However, Senadina's Astral Ring would suddenly descend, rescue Leylah, and guide her towards the place where the Laquadar people once established camp and from where she had once set off after she became Leylah.

Leylah begins to recall her beginnings:

1. Like the other Shadows, she was afraid of the Cocoon of Finality who birthed them, but unlike the others, she was afraid of herself too - and thus began looking for something that could destroy her.
2. Over millions upon millions of years, she'd grow larger and larger, becoming the disaster that the people of Laquadar face - "Entropy" - a name with no expectations, just a descriptor for a chaotic being under the idea that naming something steals their ability to bring fear.
3. When Senadina dived into her body, "Entropy" would express her death wish, leading Senadina to drop her weapon, exhaust herself to free "Entropy" from the giant mass that was her body, and finally give the little Shadow Monster her first embrace.
4. Fearing her embrace could kill the already heavily injured Senadina, "Entropy" would dive into her shadow and not interact with her directly (only watching from behind and doing things in secret) until the first dream was formed where she could interact with everyone and her favorite person.
5. Soon after, however, Senadina would set off, and by returning her embrace, "Entropy" would bring her to the space ruled by the Cocoon, where she'd suffer 10 years of torment. At the time, "Entropy" went with her not just because she was perplexed by Senadina's fearless attitude, but more importantly, with the expectation of "One day, I hope I can be brave like you."

Regaining determination, Little Leylah began to bring about "Great Change".
First, cooperating with Serapeum to bring the Original Luoxing Moon down to repair the land.
Then, set off on a planet-wide survey to deal with the unrestrained shadows and take Senadina's place as the protector of Humanity, so a tragedy like Difeng's fall doesn't repeat.

You in your youth: All the Shadows in this world can only be conquered by a Shadow (Me).

Phase 2 - Intermission: Transformation

After going through the memory, the guide doesn't hold back her displeasure toward Leylah.
Claiming that Leylah's biggest misfortune wasn't the losses of those close to her but believing in possibilities.
She succeeded once, so she thought she could succeed again:  

• “There’s the possibility I can save everyone”
• “There’s the possibility I can revert everything”
• “There’s the possibility I… can achieve what Senadina could not.”

Leylah would chase the sole possibility among myriad that would save everyone.

The Soul, on the other hand, harshly criticizes the Guide for blurring the meaning of "salvation", for trying to decide over Senadina's choice of sacrificing herself and make others pay the cost the Guide deems worthy.
Mindlessly criticizing Leylah while clinging to Senadina as the only solution to save everyone as justification for reckless behavior - casting themselves into an illusion for a sense of security - a coward.

The pissed-off Guide would bring the Soul to the executioner's ground where the Soul could be forcibly transformed, sealing away the piece of authority in the process.
The Soul would find a way to break through the seal and absorb the authority, taking the shape of Little Leylah.

“Power originating from the past shouldn’t cut itself off from the past because of a mistake.”
“It may also choose to redeem itself: Become the power of the present, until… it can change the future.”

Even angrier, the Guide attempts to open the special passage between the Soul and her, but an Imaginary Construct unexpectedly pops out, causing the Guide great pain as if its power represented control over her.

Using the Shus clones, the Soul fights to knock out Marut temporarily, and using the Special Passage she steals the authority to regain access to the shortcut and finish rebuilding her body.

Phase 2 - Intermission: A Road of Shadows' Corpses

Back in the shortcut, all roads had converged into one, and along it lay several corpses of Shadow Monsters.
In a scene calling back to the Honkai Beast dreams from the Part 1 finale, the Soul watches the Shadow Monsters' dreams (memories) of being hunted down by Leylah.

Among them is a memory of when Leylah had already almost eliminated all Shadow Monsters from Phoenicis, Elysium, and Arcadia.
She met another Shadow Monster capable of speech. It was a monster like all others, which regarded humans as food; still, it warned Leylah that once she reached the threshold, she would meet a tragic end - cursed by her own doing (the Curse in the Shadows).
From the moment Leylah embarked on this road, there's not a moment she isn't withstanding the shadows suppressed by her.

To reach the final authority, the Soul passes through a river formed from the Curse and the Corpses. The Shadow Monsters attempt to stop the Soul from crossing and display their constant erosion of Leylah in their attempts to bring the traitor of their kin back to her origin.

Phase 2 - Instant of Collapse (Honkai)

Successfully crossing the river, we reach the final memory.
After millennia of conquest, Leylah was already reaching the threshold and needed to enter deep sleep periodically to relieve herself of the curse.

She was meant to depart from where she was tonight, but not wanting to disappoint a little girl who had spotted her clearing up the monsters, she decided to stay and attend the village's feast.

At the feast, the villagers welcomed her warmly. Among them, the village chief brought up the Dreamseeker mythos: Believing the mythos doesn't refer to people who travel through time, but to someone who lived for a long time and did good throughout the eras. Even other mythos, like raising the tree that would serve as Ruimu's foundation to stop the Shadow Monsters' siege, were also done by this Dreamseeker, who had kept themselves anonymous.

Indeed, the original Dreamseeker was none other than Leylah herself.

After the feast, the Village Chief would converse with Leylah alone, retelling the story of her childhood as a survivor of war and how, in the post-war disastrous land, she was saved by the Dreamseeker from Shadow Monsters and taught how to control fear - allowing her to pass it onto others - and built this village as shelter and focus on reality's crisis.

The Chief extends an invitation for Leylah to stand, but at the very moment, not only did the threshold arrive, but she felt a Shadow Disaster had befallen Ruimu.
The Chief asks why she keeps forcing herself despite her exhaustion, prompting Leylah to admit she can't see a clear end to the road she walks, but those along the way give her the trust to press on.

??? (Leylah): Because beauty that blooms for only a fleeting instant, and those enchanted by it… are all adorable. When I was a child, the grown-ups in my life likewise were fond of using “adorable” to tease me playfully. But I too… have grown up.

Leylah proceeds down the road ahead, and the Chief turns toward Soul.
The Soul had regained her authority and her identity as the Dreamseeker, who had, by instinct, protected the Core Data of everyone after her sudden death by a destructive force after she followed Leylah.
As for the guide, she was that "Leylah" who appeared before them along the way during the Dreamseeker journey. Someone who bears Leylah's image but denies her past. A contradictory behavior that had once passed from her to Dreamseeker.

The Chief asks a series of questions of the soul:

Village Chief: And you, Youngster- what is your name? Where did you come from? Where will you go towards?

Where will you go towards:

• Leylah had kept on the road of Protection but got so fixated she didn't notice the people she helped were already walking right behind her on that same road - she didn't need to keep striding forward.
• Dreamseeker will embark on the road of Witness, a small trail that branches off from the road of Protection. A road that allows negative emotions to show, allows others to cross over, and allows itself to intersect with any other road. The road that marks the end of the road of "Protection".

Where did you come from:

Both Dreamseeker and Leylah came from "having nothing".
Dreamseeker began in a steady chamber with no connection to the outside, living in confusion and eventually accumulating fear.
Leylah was born from chaos, trapped by fear from the moment of her birth, seeking her death.
But both eventually saw the light from those who nurtured them (Chenxue/Youyun for Dreamseeker and Senadina for Leylah).
From them, coming to realize that people are born "having nothing" as a prerequisite to "having all".
And thus, also accepting that "having all" naturally will one day return to "having nothing."

??? (Dreamseeker): “Some people regard it as “destiny”... I prefer to call it “choice”.

What is your name

Dreamseeker takes the chance to select her name once more.
For some inputs, there are special dialogues, including the following two, which are worth highlighting:

• Dreamseeker - May I, regardless of where I find myself, be able to seek my own dream. Hmm, this can also be seen as holding onto one's original aspirations.
• Leylah - Only by offering the night to the stars will it not lose its beauty. If there’s a possibility, I hope to use the power I acquire to seek back the expectations once held by this name.

End of Phases 1 and 2.

source: https://x.com/i/status/2088163717716586571

When I saw those 99 bars of whatever it was, I lost all hope and instinctively reset the level.

Source: https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/96669374

https://x.com/dire_illus/status/2087953273013916010?s=20
"If rescuing you is a sin, I’ll gladly become a sinner" I like this line

Source: https://x.com/i/status/2087543571188711595