“Regarding this point, I need to add a reference case—Chengzhong Dino.”
“Roll the clip.”
Main Sophie tapped on the blackboard, and a light screen appeared.
The footage showed the scene where Chengzhong Dino and Hiso parted ways years ago.
At the mention of this name, the meeting fell into a long, heavy silence.
“That was our first major gamble,” Main Sophie said. “Remember? When we finally cleared Chengzhong Dino’s years-long plotline and watched her reach an ending filled with maxed-out Regret and Blackening, we actually hesitated.”
Angel Sophie lowered her head, her pristine white wings appearing somewhat dim.
“She was the first Destined Crown we raised with our own hands. Watching her hold that gradually cooling corpse and crying until her voice went hoarse... who could have the heart to just walk away?”
Demon Sophie sneered. “Yeah, isn't it because you guys were too soft-hearted? The death-faking was already a success, yet you had to appear before her again and call it a ‘surprise’ to heal her trauma.”
“As if you weren't the one who suggested it, you stupid demon,” Angel Sophie huffed. “Who was it that said, ‘Since we’re challenging the grand feat of clearing seven Destined Crowns in one life, why not just take her along as our strongest combatant, basically a permanent summon’? Who said that?”
“And who was the one who actually carried it out?” Demon Sophie immediately deflected the blame.
“Ahem,” Main Sophie cleared her throat. “It’s normal for a younger sister to travel with her elder brother, right? It’s not like we made her a secret lover. We just wanted to bring her along...”
“Right, making her watch us woo one Destined Crown after another. I can’t believe one of you dared to suggest it and the other actually went through with it.”
Angel Sophie scolded both Demon Sophie and Main Sophie simultaneously.
“You’re no better,” Main Sophie countered. “You told her our plan directly—the one about clearing seven Destined Crowns in one life. Even Demon Sophie wasn't planning on mentioning that.”
“Because I wanted to be honest with Chengzhong Dino...” Angel Sophie defended herself.
“But in the end, you were the one who hurt her the most,” Demon Sophie said.
Angel Sophie was left speechless. After a long while, she managed to choke out, “Stop it, stop it. Sophie, why must you make things hard for Sophie?”
Main Sophie rubbed her temples.
In hindsight, what happened that day was simple.
While Chengzhong Dino, with maxed-out Regret and Blackening, stood atop the highest tower in Ming City feeling utterly lost, her Elder Brother appeared with a look of guilt.
The corpse of the Puppet King was burning fiercely in the square.
Hiso confessed the truth of his faked death, the purpose of his main quest, and his future plans.
And then, he extended an invitation: “Would you like to continue traveling with me?”
At its core, 《Red Moon》 was a quest-driven game. Hiso couldn't stay stuck at 1/7 of the Destined Crown main quest forever.
Even in a normal playthrough, he would have clicked ‘reincarnate’ at that point to start the next chapter of his life.
But would running away really have hurt Chengzhong Dino any less?
He explained his origins in what he believed was the most honest way possible.
He asked the tear-soaked Chengzhong Dino if she wanted to leave everything behind and accompany him as a companion on the rest of his journey.
At that moment, Hiso truly thought he had succeeded.
Because the system panel indeed showed that Chengzhong Dino’s trauma status had vanished.
【Trauma Effect—Silent Flute Lv.1: What would have happened if she hadn't let go of that side-string? On the day of the battle with the Puppet King, Chengzhong Dino sat atop the highest tower, holding a thread that had long since snapped, until the lights of the city were completely extinguished.
Since then, everyone who watched a puppet show would unconsciously glance at the empty seat beside them after the curtain fell. Even though family was just traveling far away, they would repeatedly confirm the return date; even though it was just a normal farewell, they would long to hear the words “I will return.” Only when someone was willing to pick up the next line of dialogue would that hollow feeling of being left on stage slightly subside.
“It's okay, Elder Brother just forgot his lines. In the next act, he will definitely come home.”】
This trauma had indeed disappeared.
However.
Angel Sophie covered her face. “What followed wasn't the perfect reconciliation and acceptance we've seen in other games.”
The memory on the light screen continued to play.
The tear stains on Chengzhong Dino’s face hadn't even dried, but the joy and surprise of seeing her brother instantly turned into bewilderment.
Chengzhong Dino was a gentle sister.
So, she just gently, so gently, grabbed a corner of Hiso’s clothes.
“So?”
“Elder Brother is going to pick up someone else's thread? You're going to become soulmates with someone else? You're going to treat the stage that belongs to us as just a preparation area for the next act?”
The sister who always wore a small top hat and followed obediently behind Hiso tilted her head slightly.
“I don't understand what Elder Brother means by a ‘main quest.’ But the tradition of the Chenzhong family has always been—the brother's main quest exists solely to guide the sister's side-quest.”
She let go of his clothes and slowly crossed her arms over her chest.
“Then what about me?”
“Am I the first act, or just the tutorial?”
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