The PV footage was extremely eerie.
As Castorice continued her narration, the camera shook violently along with it.
Behind her, a black tide pursued closely until, with nowhere left to run, she leapt from the high-rise!
Whoosh—!
In an instant.
When she opened her eyes again, Castorice seemed to have arrived at a shallow beach.
The sky reflected a grayish-purple hue, and in the distance stood a massive Dragon's Nest.
"'death' was originally two palms of a single body."
Who is that?!
Guinaifen was startled.
That sounded like Polyxia's voice!
After those words were spoken, Castorice seemed to understand something as well, and she began to walk forward across the shallows:
"It also split you and me in two, so that we could never touch each other again."
Polyxia: "This journey has been so long and absurd."
Castorice: "But on the cold shore, there will also be the fragrance of flowers."
Castorice fell backward.
In the moment the 3D transitioned to 2D.
Finally!
Inside the Dragon's Nest, Polyxia broke from her shell; the Butterfly Dragon soared from beneath the water toward the heavens, like a passing meteor.
From the same perspective, the shallows turned into a deep sea, and Castorice was falling into the bottomless Abyss of the Underworld.
"Newborn, or death..."
In the visually powerful imagery,
The giant dragon roared, incinerating the black tide and the earth, until finally, it dove down toward the direction where Castorice was falling.
In a trance,
A melodious and stirring BGM echoed.
In Castorice's memories, the Twins of the Other Shore were making a pinky promise.
She was pushing her sister's wheelchair, gently stroking her forehead.
Until Polyxia looked back once more, and the giant dragon gently nuzzled Castorice.
Just when everyone thought Castorice was motionless, she suddenly snapped her eyes open!
Purple butterflies danced in the air.
She strolled and skipped through the sea of antiling flowers, and slept with Polyxia in the waters of the shallows, surrounded by the giant dragon.
A butterfly landed on a flower, and the flower withered away with the wind.
Newborn and death.
Dance steps, flipping pages, Okhema, the giant dragon, grand sunlight, and all the things of the past surfaced one by one.
Finally, Castorice ran across that sea of flowers, wearing a rare smile.
Just like the last withered flower blooming again, growing new stamens and petals, it crowded around the young Twins of the Other Shore.
And suddenly,
Silence.
An abnormal silence.
The PV had actually ended before anyone could react?
But it wasn't just the PV; even the livestream was as silent as the beginning.
After waiting a moment, the end arrived.
A book engraved with a butterfly mark closed, and a butterfly landed gently on Castorice's fingertip.
She tried to tap the book, but the book turned into a vast sea of flowers.
At the end of the story,
Castorice folded her hands over her chest and looked up at the starry sky, a single tear slowly falling.
"Do not forget."
"Do not... forget..."
...
There was still no sign of the atmosphere easing up.
Castorice and Polyxia, sitting on either side of Xu Qiong, were clearly dazed for a moment, let alone Cyrene and the others.
Because the livestream was improvised, they didn't know that Xu Qiong had actually saved a segment of the PV?
Now that this individual PV for Castorice was released, it wasn't just a matter of high quality; the performance effect was simply explosive!
Newborn and death.
Twins of the Other Shore.
Withering only for a better bloom.
"This is... too poignantly beautiful..."
Polyxia opened her mouth and said slowly, "Sister... did you write these?"
Castorice: "●_●?"
Castorice pointed to herself and gave her a confused look.
After a long while,
[Watashi, watashi, why am I crying?]
[Even though it was only a short three minutes, I feel a stinging sensation in my nose.]
[Holy crap, Author, give me back my tears! These PV transitions are too brutal. It's broken records; this is definitely the highest production value in honkai: star rail right now!]
[Is Castorice's individual PV called Epitaph? I think I understand it now.]
[Twins of the Other Shore? The other half Castorice said she wanted to find back... couldn't it be her sister Polyxia?!]
[Watching it on repeat, I must watch this PV on repeat!]
There was no suspense.
In front of their screens, Xiao Guizi and Sushang were both dumbfounded.
The comment section even began to see a massive influx of gifts.
And Xu Qiong, the creator of it all, reappeared in the most stable manner: "Welcome back, players."
"I believe Castorice's individual PV, Epitaph, should have explained the relationship between the two to some extent."
Influenced by Xu Qiong's voice, Castorice and Polyxia realized they were still on the livestream.
So the two of them quickly began to pick up the conversation.
Just like that, after a short while, the livestream drew to a close.
Xu Qiong held up an index finger and revealed: "Besides this, we've reserved a few more things."
"For example, Castorice's individual short film is an animated story about Castorice in Aidelia, which will be screened later."
"At that time, you might find that it will also be highly connected to the main storyline."
[?]
[?]
[?]
[...]
Another row of question marks flooded the screen.
[Apricot Kernel Hand: There's more?!]
That's right.
Everyone thought releasing two PVs in a row was explosive enough, but they never expected Castorice to have her own individual animation too?
What kind of 'favored daughter' treatment is this?!
Undoubtedly, the short film was 'That Peaceful Long Night'.
But the bewildered Castorice quietly glanced at Xu Qiong at this moment.
This amount of content was unprecedented.
A Golden Epic PV, an individual PV, a livestream, and even an animation.
Sir...
It seems you value her unexpectedly much?
Castorice didn't quite understand.
[Life is getting more and more promising. Besides 'awesome,' I have nothing left to say.]
[Animated short film? Could it be that future characters will have this too?]
[Watching seriously! The Author is awesome!]
"Finally."
Xu Qiong spread his hands and suddenly spoke: "At the end of the preview content, there is one more small easter egg segment."
"I believe some people have already observed that in this main storyline, a slight change seems to have occurred in a certain companion."
"Therefore, our production team has also added a new companion."
After speaking, Xu Qiong turned his head and gave Cyrene a look.
Cyrene also gave a 'bling' wink, returning a look that said 'I understand' to Xu Qiong.
Then she walked toward the front of the camera.
At this point in time, absolutely no one could have finished the plot.
So after hearing Xu Qiong say this, Guinaifen's first reaction was...
If there was only one change, it seemed only Hesitation could speak now?
[Xiao Guizi Guinevere: Could it be?!]
Not surprisingly.
Without a chibi image or any concealment, Cyrene walked in front of that sea of flowers in her full appearance.
Pink hair with blue highlights, a pure white dress with blue-purple lace trim, and a stained-glass pattern on her chest.
"Hi~ Hello everyone~"
She gently leaned over beside Xu Qiong, revealing a smile to the camera that rivaled the beauty of all that matters.
At this moment,
It was as if even the swaying, mysterious antiling flowers bloomed for her.
Xu Qiong took Cyrene's hand, paused, and introduced: "This is..."
"This is Elysia, Miss Elysia."
Cyrene held an index finger to her lips, and her voice suddenly became cute: "It's also Hesitation~"
"I am also Hesitation~!"