NOISZ STΔRLIVHT/Story/Chapter 5.III (True Heroes)

Chapter 5.III (True Heroes)
Level Requirements
46 46 46 46 15
Release date: December 31st, 2023

Sera risks everything to convey her true feelings, but Yashiro uses the chaos to try and bury STΔRLIVHT once and for all.

Characters

Story

As the Clash of Twilight continues, Sumire shows up to Producer's office asking to speak to Beyond. Producer agrees, but as soon as she picks up the phone, Sumire takes it from her hands. Sumire surmises that "Beyond" is like her, and the phone is merely a trigger to allow her to speak and switch out with Producer. "Beyond" confirms this, now in Producer's place, figuring if anyone would realize this it would be Sumire. She informs Sumire her true name is Arietta, though not even Producer knows this, since she can't let Producer know about her. Sumire finds their dynamic interesting, being vastly different between her and Hitori's, but quickly moves on to her actual point-defeating Gaius Antiphon. Arietta tells her that the plans are already in place, but tells Sumire to bring Producer with the rest of STΔRLIVHT on the day of the battle. Seeing her confidence, Sumire asks her why she would do all of this, to which she responds that it's her dream to compose the ultimate music. In exchange, Arietta asks Sumire not to tell anyone about her, claiming it would get everyone killed. Sumire agrees, but asks one last question; who is Firebird?

Despite the chaos, the group manages to get back on track for the Clash of Twilight. Sera unexpectedly compliments Hakuno on her performance in training, to which Hakuno admits she thinks she's found her true reason to be an idol. Despite this, Sera is still concerned, as she knows that Grace is aware the ultimate attack Stornel spoke of is real. Unsure of who to go to, she discusses her concerns with her mother.

Setsuna assures her that Grace would ultimately die for her, which Sera says is the issue; she wants Grace to value herself more. Setsuna is unsure of how to respond, but tells Sera the engagement present she made for Grace is almost ready. Sera reflects on her relationship with her mother; as much as she wishes they were closer, she's come to realize Setsuna does love her in her own, strange way. Setsuna tells her that sometimes all you can do is your best and hope it works out, and that worrying about things out of your control is a waste of time. Sera is surprised by her mother's wisdom, before Setsuna calls her over for a meal she made-chunky peanut butter and sardine sandwiches.

At their next show, Sera proposes to Grace on stage with the Binary Star-a sword forged just for her. Grace says yes, and the two kiss on stage. Afterwards, however, their lead in the Clash of Twilight has dropped. Producer doesn't regret signing off on it, and muses about how many resources they have at their hands despite their status as a splinter faction to Antiphon. She wonders if Gaius simply doesn't consider them a threat, or would be happy being killed by his children if they can pull it off. She notices an interview with Gaius being broadcasted, and reads the subtitles for a bit.

A newscaster is asking Gaius about the future of his new AI Products, asking if it could behave as a true human. Gaius claims it is a matter of what you train it on; people focus too much on output, and there is a vast difference between a humanlike AI and a living artificial being. Moving onto the next question, the newscaster asks about the possibility of AI controlling people via Antiphon's neuron chip implants. Gaius interrupts the question, calling the scenario ridiculous, saying one shouldn't have a chip installed if they think the supplier may be incompetent or malicious. He does state, however, that every Antiphon AI product contains a subroutine to delete itself should it be detected controlling a human body. The Producer is amazed that human-like robots could be possible in the future, and returns to her work.

To her shock, the outrage on social media is directed not at Sera and Grace, but at Hakuno; Yashiro has decided to out her to finish STΔRLIVHT for good. Unsure of what to do, Producer calls in Sumire to ask for advice. Sumire says she'll tell Hakuno, and Producer agrees to focus on the social media front for now. Relieved, Producer begins to type up a response to the outrage.

Meanwhile, Sumire enters conceptual time and screams her frustrations into the air. Hitori attempts to calm her down, saying she's losing herself, but Sumire counters that Eito is gone because of them, and that they'll be taking out Gaius soon as well; if they can use this power to make the world better, why not do so? As they argue, Hitori suddenly warns Sumire of a Noise Beast attack. A grotesque, monstrous Noise Beast appears, and Sumire links with the others to fight it.

After the fight, Sumire realizes the Noise Beast they fought had been a reflection of her own feelings towards everything that has happened. Sumire, still wanting Yashiro to face justice, asks Hitori why he wants to stop her so badly. Hitori admits he's afraid of dying; ever since the day where those wings burned brightly on their back, the boundary between them began to weaken. Hitori fears if Sumire accepts that part of herself, he'll disappear, and Sumire will be the one left if they become "whole". He admits that he might be imagining it, or that there isn't anything they an do to stop it, but there's still things he wants to do as himself. Sumire agrees, not noticing the change, and tells him they're more then one complete person together. The two decide to figure out what to tell Hakuno, though Sumire figures that "another her" won't overlook the situation either.

Drops

• Song: halved halved halved
• Ruby Chip x10

Song

Chapter 5.III's song is halved halved halved, as Sumire in her STΔRLIVHT STΔGE style.

NOISZ STΔRLIVHT Story Navigation
Chapter -1.II	Chapter 5.III (True Heroes)	Chapter -1.III
False Timeline Ch 0 Ch 1 Ch 2 Ch 3 Ch 4 Ch 5 Ch 6 0.I 1.I 2.I 3.I 4.I 5.I 6.I 0.II 1.II 2.II 3.II 4.II 5.II 6.II 0.III 1.III 2.III 3.III 4.III 5.III DE 0.IV 1.IV 2.IV 3.IV 4.IV 5.IV
True Heroes Ch 5 Ch VS Ch 6 5.I VS Prelude 6.I -1.I VS.1 6.II 5.II VS.2 6.III -1.II VS.3 6.IV 5.III VS.4 -1.III VS Postlude 5.IV -1.IV