Beneath the waters lies a romantic story like none that has come before. So relax darling, it's time for some sweet dreams~ Fuli would highly recommend this. Probably.
***Spoiler warning*** for everything after the young Himeko flashback to the end of the story quest. Please don’t read further if you haven’t completed the main mission for yourself.
I know there’s small statues of her placed around the school and a number of people who said Himeko was pretty when she was younger and they’re absolutely correct. Still crazy to think that this is the girl who apparently got into scraps with thugs in the street.
Unfortunately for us, this flashback takes place during the infamous Phantasmoon games that took place fifteen years ago with the Herald of Death, so we’re witnessing.. a whole lot of death alongside our girl. On the bright side, she doesn’t appear to be totally alone, thanks to this voice inside her head that is undeniably Cia’s (regular Himeko. I haven’t a clue if she also voices the younger version or if it’s someone else completely). Usually when there’s ◻️◻️◻️ in the text/recap, the voice is either unrecognizable or totally silent, but during this conversation we can clearly hear our Himeko saying things. It’s strange indeed, but whatever. I wanted to take note of this one line though because we’re very much aware that our Himeko becomes well equipped with that orbital cannon and saw in the future.
This shot is wild and I’m pleasantly stunned that it’s true. We wholeheartedly believed Himeko when she once said she participated in the Phantasmoon games, but who could’ve thought it was as an imagenae, not as a supplicant. That’s assuming young Himeko is the supplicant here, of course. I was about to wonder if imagenae could even enter the Phantasmoon games on their own, but then I remembered Sparxie did, so I guess that’s fair, considering imagenae are counted as civilians of Planarcadia. Makes me wonder though, if young Himeko is the supplicant here, does that really prevent our navigator from entering the Phantasmoon games on her own if she never had her own mask? Or do the rules simply deny her because she and young Himeko are basically one and the same and they won once already? I assume the latter.
It is quite impressive to think that young Himeko managed to defeat the Herald of Death and repair the Astral Express while clearly suffering from the weathering curse, so it’s unsurprising that “Ryusuke” managed to figure out she had to have some sort of help. Finding evidence of two different yet similar lives at home is quite telling too. What I want to know now is, upon me finding out that there’s apparently a law (from readable Imagenae 101: So Simple Even a Ghost Could Get It) that states it’s illegal to create humans through imagenesis.. how are Sparxie and our Himeko allowed in this world? Unless that’s the entire reason why their imagenae status was kept secret this whole time.. or they’re still just considered imagenae and not fully human? I dunno. Maybe I’m thinking too much into it.
Ah.. perhaps the reason why our navigator decided to stay behind during the big boss battle during 4.2 was simply because she didn’t want to deal with this hellish monster again.
Pfftt okay.. creating a giant mech to defeat the Herald of Death is certainly one way to win the games. No doubt that’s the same robot in Himeko Nova’s splash art, yea? Or something similar at least. Love that we see that young Himeko already had the weapon case our Himeko uses now though.
Well, it’s clear Himeko being an imagenae is something she really wanted to keep secret, even from her “father.” But aww, mother has faith in us!
Very unserious question, but.. how does this dude with no head speak? I need to figure out how to make him stop talking because I don’t like the words coming out from his.. mouth.. hand.. wherever.
Aw, we finally get to see Silver Wolf with the mask on! I guess she really didn’t need it last patch when she went lv999 mode, but now that the cartridge has been deemed too dangerous, she needs to get any extra power she possibly can. Thankfully she’s capable of shooting off lasers and using the wings like her 999 form naturally has with the mask.
Unfortunately, we’re still no match against a lord ravager without the lucky lv999 cartridge. Even the restraint check SW tried to place on him failed. Seeing Trailblazer come to her aide is sweet though. Still family in another life!
As expected, Asat Pramad causes Graphia to go full boss mode and turn on us. The fight was easy enough. I think I just had my Elation team, so hearing story SW mention the cartridge was accurate.
I do find it a bit hilarious that after Wolfie made that comment, Blade made his comeback as if he was like “DON’T YOU DARE!” Such a caring father. Kind of a shame they didn’t hold off on his “death” for longer. Feels like we didn’t get enough time to be upset about it, or at least I didn’t. His return with his new Mortenax form was obvious too, but I get that’s the whole point.
As sweet as it is that Blade came rushing in to save us being rammed by Graphia’s deadly Express train, I kinda wish we had a moment where he protected Silver Wolf for an incoming attack instead.
Oh, goodie.. here comes a new challenger!
You did your best, madam. I would’ve been more surprised if a bunch of wishpower was indeed capable of taking down a lord ravager, but there lies the question.. how in the world are we gonna stop that dice man now?
So he’s proficient in shadow clone jutsu huh? Fantastic. What’s worse than one ravager running wild? Multiple. And they’re after our navigator ohhh nooo! We need to assist her NOW! I haven’t lived HI3’s chapter 9 myself and I sure as hell don’t wanna experience the depression that goes with it!
Yesss queen, call him out! This “Ryusuke” has been sketchy since frame one.
Bruh.. I would’ve accepted that Asat Pramad might’ve took control over Ryusuke since we first arrived on Planarcadia, leaving the childhood memories Himeko had of him to be real and true, but you’re telling me this man had been acting as the father the entire time he’s known Himeko?? Good lord.. talk about dedication to the bit. One lie was truly all he needed.. but that’s also incredibly sad for Himeko, learning that she never truly knew her father.
Oh my heart.. this is beautiful. Himeko really set off to keep her promise to her younger self about returning to Planarcadia with many stories to share with her. It’s interesting to see our navigator with markings of the weathering curse on her leg though.. like I know she confirmed she survived it earlier while roaming the halls with “Ryusuke,” as well as our Himeko no longer having such a mark on her model, but why have it in the first place if she’s an imagenae? Wouldn’t young Himeko want to simply create a version of her without the curse? Or am I not understanding how imagenesis works properly? Probably the latter, especially if they share the same things such as memories/experiences/family/etc.
So Asat Pramad attacks our Himeko with flames to confirm she really is a fake, which makes me wonder.. is she not capable of suffering damage as an imagenae? Or are we using Pokemon type logic here and saying fire attacks aren’t effective against her fire element? Or was the attack just a warning shot? Inquiring minds such as me, myself and I would like to know.
So I’m not completely sure if Ashveil was trying to contain the shadow in his arm or actually call upon it to attack Asat Pramad but the power faltered, but what I’m most concerned about during this scene is.. where’s March? Mr. Detective, she’s supposed to be here at the tavern with you.. is she safe? Is she in danger with that Asat Pramad copy nearby? GASP.. are we gonna call upon Evernight to assist?? PLEASE! If that’s the reason why we’re keeping her hidden at this moment in time then I ACCEPT! But the suspense of waiting will end me til next patch. Watch me get my hopes up for nothing.
Regarding those who may need backup, can we go help out mother please?? Whenever we get the unfortunate pleasure of dealing with a lord ravager, it always takes a whole team of us to come out from the battle alive.. not saying that I don’t have faith in Himeko’s strength, but surely she’s can’t possibly take on this mad man 1v1, right??
Seeing her summon a giant mech does bring me some comfort though. Oohhh I can’t wait until we get the Himeko Nova cutscenes.. as long as she doesn’t have to end up seriously injured to obtain her new form like Dan Heng and Trailblazer on multiple occasions. Let’s upgrade painlessly like March did.
Cutting back and forth between the several Asat Pramad fights happening all at once was chaotic, but I loved seeing Yao Guang, DHPT and Welt team up. They were all moving so quick, even grandpa Welt!
We cheer wildly for our reliable Express guard using his power of Preservation to protect his allies. And yes this is one of the biggest reasons why I’m so desperate for Evernight to return. If we can see our Earth demigod in action again, then I wanna reunite with our Time demigod too.
I dunno what kind of craziness Asat Pramad is letting loose inside here, but things are quite literally falling apart. It was pretty cool to see Welt teleport Yao Guang with his black hole and I assume our General intends to save the both of them with that good fortune slip. May weal be upon ye.
I’ll gladly indulge in such surprises.. but you’re making us wait til 4.4!? This is such an insane cliffhanger! Quite literally in the middle of such an intense and action packed cutscene, are you for real?? Fucking hell.. the wait is gonna be painful.
If 4.4 starts off right where we left off here, it’s gonna be insane whiplash. We’ll probably cut to Trailblazer, Silver Wolf and Blade returning to the city in chaos or something first.. or maybe check in on Sunday. I miss him. Hopefully he’s having a nice day of rest while the rest of us are dancing with danger. Anyways, 4.3 was a really solid patch. Loved all the soft Stellaron Hunter family moments, the lore about Himeko and the build up to her Nova form and all the Asat Pramad fights. This may be my favorite Planarcadia patch so far.. yeah. Let’s say that.
***Spoiler warning*** for everything covering Blade’s “funeral” to the brief chat between Himeko and “Ryusuke” before the flashback to younger Himeko. Be wary that I may ramble on about stuff that happens later on in the story anyways, so don’t read further unless you’ve finished the main mission.
I love how Silver Wolf is thinking about literally anything, even the silliest and craziest ideas, so Blade doesn’t have to sacrifice himself.
She really can’t stand the idea of losing him and Melissa conveys that emotion so well! She’s feels frustrated due to not finding a safer solution and the unfortunate outcome of Blade losing his life is beyond upsetting to even think about. Wolfie knows the sacrifice will help out Planarcadia and will grant Blade’s wish of finally dying, but actually watching him go through with it all hurts because of how important they are to each other.
They’re family.. among many other things she’s too embarrassed to admit at first, but it’s real sweet and I adore the close bond the Stellaron Hunters all have.
The way they would both give up everything just to make their little found family all happy, ooohh I wanna cry. And even nearing his end, Blade’s still watching out for her, telling her that using the SW999 cartridge is too dangerous.. aww. I love seeing them act soft.. best part of the whole patch honestly.
Poor Wolfie doesn’t want Blade to suffer more after he takes that dreaded leap, like the dude has endured a harsh life already, let’s not have a cruel afterlife too! He’s determined though, I’ll give him that.
I dunno whether I wanna laugh or cry. Maybe both. Hearing how Blade already had all these gifts prepared for the girls is so darn sweet.. but also learning that they all already knew about said gifts and kept quiet so he could surprise them one day is cute too. The fact these gifts were forged “a long time ago” also really adds to how special the Stellaron Hunters are to him, like, it wasn’t a last minute task he felt the need to complete right before Planarcadia, but a while ago.. who knows how long ago really, but knowing he had such fond feelings for his fellow hunters for so long is precious.
Oof, yeah.. that’s definitely something Kafka would tell him. And he should be so very proud to hear it! All these soft Stellaron Hunters are making it hard for me to skip pulling for this man right now..
Especially after hearing him say something like this! I firmly believe that Blade would’ve been the one Stellaron Hunter we probably wouldn’t have been close to in our past life, with how closed off and reserved he normally is and Trailblazer apparently following Kafka around wherever she went, so hearing how we’re both quite similar to each other now and him wishing us well is quite comforting.
Okay.. while playing through the quest, I had to question why the Stellaron Hunters would be using the famous “three of a kind, two pair, ace” phrase, because I remember March telling us in Belobog that it was an old Astral Express escape signal, but after looking into it just now… apparently the passphrase originates from the Xianzhou, so of course it was Blade who told the passphrase to the Stellaron Hunters (which we see in a memory in 3.0) and then Dan Heng probably told the crew, most likely because of his connection to Dan Feng. So yeah.. I’m still giggling and kicking my feet that this phrase makes a comeback despite Blade being seconds away from falling off the edge behind him.
Oohh look at us, so worried and sad. Silver Wolf too, reasonably so, since she was against this sacrifice from the very beginning. I snapped the first shot too quick but Wolfie really couldn’t bear to watch Blade fall back, going as far to turn away and close her eyes as he did so. Also, because I didn’t manage to snag a better screenshot of Graphia anytime beforehand, I’ll say now that she’s real pretty.
As if the leviathan below constantly gnawing at him wasn’t already going to hurt enough.. pulling all that out of him would definitely contribute to the pain.
I can’t believe 4.3 is a patch where we get to hear voicelines from all of the Arbiter Generals we’re familiar with.. except for the one that matters to me most. So rude to me and foxians, truly.
Walking through countless memories of some weapons Blade once forged was nice, though it unintentionally gave me unrealistic hopes. Seeing the weapons for Jing Yuan and Ashveil specifically among the very detailed bow Blade made for Baiheng sparked my silly dying wish of wanting her playable despite her being deceased. Listen, if Chrysos Heirs like Anaxa, Cipher and Cerydra were all dead before their own banners dropped, then surely we could figure something out for Baiheng, right? If the demigods can live due to time travel shenanigans, let Baiheng return as a new form of Bailu if they’re truly connected or something, I don’t care.
I know her becoming playable will probably never be possible, but Baiheng just seems so fun and I love all the pieces of lore we’ve received from her, especially about her connections to the High Cloud Quintet and of her being a Nameless who never got the chance to step foot onto the Astral Express. And I dunno if it’s obvious or not, but.. I’m quite fond of Yaoqing foxians. So.. yeah. Give her to me. Please? Also, Yingxing shaming Baiheng’s naming choices when he later goes by Blade.. okay sir, you’re one to talk about terrible names.
Amalee making fun of Cyyu in every universe. Of course I love hearing how Jingliu was before the mara took control, but I pray for the day she becomes story relevant again, not just flashback stuff like now and what we got during 3.6. And aeon forbid they tease use again like they did for the 2.5 trailer.. getting us all hyped up only for that moment to be another flashback. Can we release the ice queen from prison yet?
Speaking of prison, having Ashveil visit Yingxing when he was locked up certainly wasn’t anything I was expecting. He seemed so desperate to help him escape too.
At the start of this whole walk down sword memory lane, I thought they were implying that Blade also made Kafka her sword, but alas, he claims it isn’t work. A shame because I would’ve really like that idea, but oh well. I do like how Kafka’s sword was included in the line of memories anyway after he was asked to give his opinions on it.
Silly me, I nearly forgot to give credit to Daman for his outstanding performance during this entire patch. His range is incredibly and no doubt Blade has become one of my favorite characters of his.
Heading back to Himeko’s side for a bit and I can confidently say that I’ve never trusted Ryusuke since the moment that man has appeared. Doesn’t matter if he’s been trying to reforge a relationship with his daughter since she returned home, this man is beyond shady. Hearing how planets have fallen years after he interfered with them somehow doesn’t help his case either, especially when a lord ravager’s name gets brought up alongside him.
The way he quite literally arrives at the Express in just mere seconds is hilarious, and it would’ve been so endearing too.. if it was actually him.
We learn later on that Himeko had suspicions about someone impersonating Ryusuke, so now I have to wonder if she was trying to kill them off with her coffee because ma’am.. what on earth kind of ingredients are those?? Even Shush knows that drink is dangerous.
Again, this whole reminisce would’ve been real cute if the man was truly her father. But it was also here with the “sending just one soul to the stars” bit that brought back my theory of our navigator being an imagenae or a wish.
Kind of an awkward place to stop, but the story sorta felt nonstop for a while now, like I seriously considered pausing the story before Trailblazer met up with Silver Wolf and Blade to finish it all the next day, but things just kept advancing from there with no real good stopping point, so oh well. Been quite a while since I’ve actually finished the story on the first night. Partially because it was so short, along with me not pulling/building anyone new. Anyways, next part will be the last.
***Spoiler warning*** for everything from the beginning of the quest up until we summon “Graphia” with the lanterns on the snowy path. I do mention some things that are revealed way later in the story, so don’t read further unless you finished the mission for yourself. Thankfully this patch was relatively short so I may be able to fit all these rambles into three parts. We’ll see.
Oh right, March missed us gaining the Elation path. But don’t worry buddy, growing up is a huge pain and I decided I don’t wanna do it anymore. I wish to stay forever young and carefree like you.
I hope y’all took my spoiler warning seriously because yeah.. ever since the 4.3 trailer was shown during livestream, I theorized that our navigator was some kind of fake, either an imagenae or a wish conjured up by the real Himeko who was suffering from the weathering curse and “never left Planarcadia,” and.. I’m thrilled to be correct. It’s confirmed later on but the “borrowed life” is what set alarms off in my head again about my theory, along with “her” referring to the real Himeko was a fair assumption too.
March said we have bad luck when it comes to us running into lord ravagers whenever we go on vacation and I’d like to add Aeons to that unfortunate list too. I feel like if/whenever we do finally get a proper vacation, I wouldn’t be able to relax because I’ll just sit there stressing the whole time waiting for something to blow up.
I love that Sunday was invited to celebrate with us. Him officially joining the Astral Express and getting his very own ticket still remains one of my biggest hopes though.. so please Hoyo! He’s such a good lad and I wanna travel with him forever! He’s already part of the Express Cohort bond in Currency Wars anyways!
For a brief moment, I had the thought that perhaps Pom-Pom was also an imagenae like our navigator.. like maybe their memory of “Himeko” joining is fuzzy because they were just coming into existence by the real Himeko. They’re also quite a uniquely designed character and no one really knows where they came from, but then I remembered that Pom-Pom traveled around with other Nameless like Mikhail, Tiernan and Razalina, along with Granholm (a previous navigator), sooo nevermind. That was a completely silly, random thought that made no sense, so we’ll toss it aside. All of it does make we want to learn more about Pom-Pom’s origins though.
You would think that after Amphoreus we would learn to all stick together, working on the same mission so I wouldn’t have to worry about everyone’s safety when we’re apart, but I guess not. The end of this story leaves me worried for several reasons. I just love the Trailblaze trio so much and how much they care for each other, along with the constant teasing.
Speaking of found families, it was so bittersweet seeing our always cool and snarky gamer actually show some emotion during her last travels before Blade’s “death.” I mean, of course I’m happy we got to see this new side of her, but it made my heart hurt! “There’s only one thing I care about. Does he have to die?” like oh my god girl, I adore how special he is to you!
Even though we didn’t see a whole lot from Yao Guang this patch, her divination of “an Arbiter General will fall in this arcadia of Elation” still worries me to this day, especially now that there’s another lord ravager in play. Thankfully she’s got Welt and Dan Heng to help keep her safe.
EVERNIGHT MENTION! While I absolutely don’t wish for March’s life to be in serious danger again, I’ll suffer through any amount of intense cutscenes necessary for Evernight to make comeback. I know such a grand return is possible considering we saw March use Evey in 4.0 and Dan Heng pulling out his Permansor Terrae form later on this patch, so now it’s only a matter of time and I shall wait anxiously til then.
Speaking about comebacks, hello ladies~ Wonderful to see you both again. Sorry to drag you into another cosmic mess, Ruan Mei, but thank you for your assistance back then with Therta. And for reviving Tingyun. Can never thank the mad scientist enough for that.
Just imagine, you could’ve arrived here sooner if you were still in Planarcadia, but nooo. Madam Yao decided to send you back to the Alliance during the 4.2 side mission. That still ticks me off a bit if that wasn’t already clear.. like, you give me a quest with both Silver Wolf and Fugue, both of whom I’ve come to love twice as much as I previously did thanks to their time in Planarcadia, but everything is unvoiced and completely optional. Sigh.. I know researching Skott’s death wouldn’t have really fit in alongside all the 4.2 mains story happenings, but it was still fun to see my girls interact! SW got a lot of love because of the anniversary patch, sure, but my foxian deserves better!
The way I can’t fully concentrate on the news that “Oroboros has long been dead. THEIR death was merely buried beneath layers of secrecy” because I laugh at seeing the characters I’m mildly fine with be upfront and center while my favorites are pushed further back in this pretty scene. Just my luck.
Hey hey, that’s a planar ornament. Also not surprised our merchant is familiar with the place. Whether it’s because of her past travels, chatter from clients or simply due to tradable goods, our girl is certainly knowledgeable about many things. Can you tell I’m savoring each moment this lady speaks? Because who knows when she’ll show up again after this.
Why did it never occur to me that Narrator might’ve been human before.. like I understand if I was just so used to seeing talking monkeys appear like they did during the 2.6 story quest, but that was also part of the problem.. turning those people back to normal from monkeys. Forgot about that part. 2.6 was eons ago and I honestly don’t remember much in great detail. That patch felt like a fever dream.
2.4 however, that patch I remember more clearly. That’s when Himeko and Welt delivered said carcass to Ruan Mei. What a wonderful patch indeed. Totally not just because the Yaoqing trio made their debut. Don’t be silly. Even if they were the obvious reason why I’m so fond of it, at least I’m out here remembering the tiniest of details from it!
Dang, being able to consume anything and everything only to not have any recollection of what it all tastes like? That’s kinda tragic. That really makes the act of eating seem like pointless, which is Voracity’s main gimmick. Aha truly is a menace.
I know we joke a bunch about Himeko staying on the Express to stay safe from all of our chaotic adventures, but nah, now’s the time to stay off the train! Thankfully she’s off tending to other matters as the story goes on, as well as everyone else dealing with their own personal missions.. aside from Sunday. Oh no. Unless.. I’m thinking too far ahead, and this imposter boarding the Express is referring to “Ryusuke” when he visits Himeko later.. ah, I see now.
Money really can allow you to do anything, huh? Indeed, the IPC are ones to be feared.
Pfftt wait, wasn’t Benzaitengoku the name of the planet we were supposed to travel to before Planarcadia happened? Or was it just the name that got changed? I don’t remember much of the changes due to the actual political issues, but if we’re just saying it vanished now.. that’s hilarious.
Is this how we’re gonna set up for the second Fate collab? Hold another Holy Grail War in Planarcadia? Oh boy. If so, I hope the new story is better than last time. The one in Penacony didn’t really thrill me. Anyways, traveling around with Nihilux is so fun. She’s hilarious and her voice is so darn good. I love how animated Amber always sounds. She kinda got me tempted to pull for her.. whenever she officially gets announced as playable.
The long awaited meeting with the legendary Graphia is finally here.. and she hits us with a 67. I swear I wanted to bash my head against the wall because ain’t no way this graceful queen would make such jokes, right? Thankfully, the saving grace here is that this “Graphia” is nothing but a fake by Asat Pramad, so I guess the silly meme matches the silly looking lord ravager.
topping here for a moment. Again, it should probably finish up in another two posts. I will say, I did quite enjoy this patch updating on a Sunday night. Wish that happened more often.
This was one of my first thoughts after finishing 4.0 akldjLJSLG Now that Sunday is more secured as part of our group he needs to be affectionately bullied more <3
