"This has to be the real deal. The Boss Theme is playing—how could it be fake?"
As the battle music in the game shifted to Robin's "Hope Is the Thing With Feathers," Little Bear immediately understood: this was the true Boss battle! No longer just a dream.
If the Boss Theme is playing, it has to be the Boss, right?
Aside from a slight disappointment that the brilliant and valiant General Jing Yuan hadn't appeared, Little Bear's heart surged with excitement. He felt like he had transformed into a hot-blooded shonen protagonist.
"But wait a minute... if the Boss Theme is already playing in Phase Two, what's going to happen in Phase Three?" Little Bear stared at the three dots beside the "Sunday" label, a growing sense of unease creeping in.
[ It's just the instrumental version for now. Not the full Boss Theme yet. (Covers face) ]
[ Cocolia's theme didn't play until her final Phase either. It started as an instrumental, and the vocals only kicked in after her Last Choir of Genesis. ]
[ Did you guys realize we got a cutscene in Phase Two? That means there's probably another one in Phase Three, and someone's almost certainly coming to save the day! ]
[ That makes sense. When it comes to Emanator-Class bosses like Sunday, the usual suspects are Acheron, Lumina, and Herta. ]
[ Not Lumina again... Teacher, why did my Lumina just disappear? No story left at all... ]
[ What was Lumina's purpose in coming to Penacony? It's still a mystery (smirking emoji). Her storyline was pitifully short. ]
In the comment section, the initial discussion about how Sunday would ultimately be executed was quickly drowned out by a chorus of resentful voices the moment Lumina's name surfaced. The clamor soon subsided, likely just venting frustrations without intending to blame the developers.
Well... okay, there were still some angry comments, but the live stream's auto-moderation system filtered them out...
After all, Lumina's storyline in Penacony was indeed pitifully short. After selling her character so hard, they abruptly axed her plot halfway through. That's a bit much, don't you think?
To be fair, since the Penacony story is actually good, I'll spare you for now...
That's what some Lumina simps were thinking. No story? Fine, whatever. Just don't suddenly kill her off for no reason.
"Phase Three! Phase Three!" As Little Bear Acheron exclaimed, I Weep for the Departed entered its final phase.
Accompanied by a deeply oppressive cutscene, Embryo of Philosophy Sunday appeared on the massive screen.
"Hiss... Why does that face look so familiar?" Little Bear thought, staring at Sunday's imposing visage. I swear I've seen him somewhere before.
-
[ Holy Ena of Order, I surrender! I surrender! No more fighting! I'm going to nap in Sweet Dream now! (Terrified) ]
[ Hey buddy, do you even have a shred of Trailblazer spirit left? ]
[ What Trailblazer? The moment Ena's face showed up, I became a protector of Paradise! ]
[ Could it be... this is just Sunday, not Ena? We don't even need to fight the Aeon! (Covers face) ]
[ Oh, never mind then. I'm still a proud Trailblazer. ]
[ Ugh... seven layers of Attribute Resilience? Acheron's blade is gonna be smoking hot trying to break through them, and they're hard to stack too. This is gonna be tough." ]
[ But good thing I brought Aventurine.]
Little Bear's mouth twitched as he stared at the x7 Resilience bars above Sunday, the Embryo of Philosophy.
[ If miHoYo dares to release x7 Resilience bars now, they'll probably go for x999999 next... ]
(Spy- Uh...)
[ Still, it's alright. I'm playing Acheron anyway... Whatever the number of Resilience bars, I'm not listening! I mourn for the departed! ]
Little Bear thought to himself, not for a moment doubting his ability to defeat a story boss.
Until...
[ "It was not you who created all things, but it was humanity that created you!" ]
[ Witness the Work of Creation! ]
[ "Your divine being will become the foundation for our Paradise!" ]
[ -99999, -99999, -99999 ]
As Sunday's finger collided with the "divine" finger descending from the heavens, countless instances of -99999 damage erupted across every character on the battlefield.
[ Little Bear: ? ]
[ Live stream viewers: ? ]
[ All Players fighting Sunday: ? ]
"Holy shit?!" Little Bear exclaimed, stunned by the scene before him, before letting out a trademark Little Bear curse word.
"Seriously, dude? A full-party one-shot attack?!"
"Seven actions to break seven toughness bars, and if that doesn't trigger the full-party instant kill, I'm gonna kick your ass."
[ Oh, I get it now. The BGM is Sunday's execution music for us. (Facepalm) ]
[ See? I told you the Astral Express Crew would hit another wall in the final phase. ]
[ -99999 × n? This isn't just a wall anymore, this is a freaking dead end! ]
[ Dead end? Isn't this the Death Trap? How did it become a dead end? ]
[ Who's the villain? Who's the hero? No doubt about it—we're the villains! ]
[ Actually, I can argue this. We're definitely the heroes because Robin's on our side. ]
[ What does Robin being here have to do with it? Sunday isn't holding back at all! (Facepalm) With a -99999 × n damage nuke, I can't think of any solution except the Traffic Lights. ]
The scene instantly ignited the Comment Section, with users questioning who the real villain was.
"Don't panic, there's bound to be a twist," Little Bear said, coughing a few times as he stared at the crimson "Failure" screen. He was convinced there had to be a solution.
Given Little Bear's account level, taking down a mere seven toughness bars should have been trivial. But other players might not fare so well.
If the battle design truly worked this way, Little Bear could already imagine the official account being bombarded with criticism tomorrow.
Without dwelling further on it, he clicked the "Retry" button on the crimson "Failure" screen.
"Don't worry, don't be afraid, don't cower. I'll help you all."
Instead of immediately returning to combat, clicking "Retry" triggered a cutscene.
As Sunday completed the Seven Days' Vow and his Manifesting finger collided with the High Heavens, unleashing the Work of Creation, a tiny, faint green light emerged. Against the overwhelming golden radiance, it appeared utterly insignificant.
Yet when the golden light, capable of crushing entire galaxies, erupted, it was completely blocked by a minuscule green glow. If not for the lingering aura and oppressive force, one might have believed the preceding events were mere illusions.
"Go forth and defy the strong."
As the CG cutscene showed only a pair of feet turning to leave and the gentle sway of a white skirt with the movement, that voice echoed softly in our ears once more. Then, the screen abruptly transitioned to combat footage.
At first glance, nothing seemed to have changed in battle. Each of our characters now had a small green light swirling around them, but beyond that, there were no other apparent differences.
No new synergy skills were added, and Sunday's mechanics remained unchanged...
But soon, Little Bear and the live stream viewers noticed another, far more significant change.
All of their characters' HP had been set to 999,999.
"Holy shit?!"
Seeing the scene—the six-figure health bar beneath his character's HP—Little Bear once again erupted with his trademark Little Bear profanity.
[ Wow, even the salt has gone bland. ]
[ Want to counter Work of Creation's 99999? Simple! Just make your character's HP 999999 instead! (Facepalm) ]
[ Lady Lumina is unparalleled in the world! Lady Lumina is supremely intelligent! Lady Lumina is so beautiful she could make fish sink and birds fall from the sky! ]
[ I'm eating, I'm eating, I'm eating eating eating, I'm devouring everything in a 360-degree feast! ]
[ Excellent! Lady Lumina's slightly soiled hem has single-handedly carried the entire Version 2.2's hype! (Facepalm) ]
"As expected of Lady Lumina!" Watching the scene unfold on his screen and scanning the comments section, Little Bear triumphantly raised the banner of Lady Lumina as the undisputed champion of the cosmos.
Then, his gaze shifted back to the game, a slightly wicked grin spreading across his face.
"Heh heh heh... Sunday, God's Day, huh? It's time... to settle all accounts!"