Parallel World Light Novelist

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To be honest, the Cyberpunk anime had never shied away from visceral, bloody imagery since the very first episode. In that opening chapter, the sight of gang members riddling each other with bullets until their bodies were full of holes was practically child's play compared to what followed.

The series was filled with horrific sights.

High-speed chases through the streets where bodies were crushed and severed at the waist by heavy vehicles, and gang members literally torn in half. In the earlier stages, viewers saw Maine use heavy artillery to blast an enemy's upper torso into a red mist, leaving nothing but a pair of legs standing frozen on the pavement. There was the haunting moment after Maine's death, where his body was blown to pieces, leaving David with nothing to recover but a single cybernetic arm. And, of course, there were the countless enemies whose heads were detonated by David's precision.

From the first episode to the tenth, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners was constantly showing that this world was cruel.

But audiences are an optimistic bunch. They tend to believe that a "cruel world" only applies to the protagonist's enemies, never to the hero or his companions. That illusion shattered completely during the scene of Rebecca's death. One second, she was the green-haired, foul-mouthed firebrand holding her dual pistols to protect David. In the blink of an eye, Adam Smasher descended like a falling mountain, crushing her into the pavement.

It was an absolute human tragedy.

Although the shot lasted for less than a second, the human eye is capable of processing frames at an incredible rate. For those watching, one second was more than enough time for the horror to sink in. While this image burned itself into the hearts of the viewers, it simultaneously ignited a bottomless well of rage within the fans of the series.

However, this anger was directed at two specific entities.

The first was Adam Smasher, the monster who had reduced Rebecca to a pulp. The second was Haruto, the creator of this story.

The fan groups were no longer silent. Even the most dedicated "lurkers" who never posted a word could no longer suppress their emotions.

"Haruto, you bastard! Go eat trash!"

"Dammit, dammit, dammit! I'm going to have nightmares tonight because of this."

"Adam Smasher, I swear I'll see you dead!"

"Is Haruto actually insane? What is wrong with him?"

"My heart literally stopped. Can someone tell me if Haruto is a legitimate psychopath?"

"First, the protagonist of Initial D gets cheated on, then that creep Sugou in Sword Art Online was a total disaster, and now Cyberpunk: Edgerunners does this? What is he even trying to do?"

"Is this just his sick idea of fun?"

"Do you guys remember his pen name? 'The Warrior of Love.' Hahaha! If he hadn't revealed his identity, and he released this under that name, imagine how ridiculous that would be."

"Rebecca, my poor Rebecca."

"It's not that she couldn't die, but did she have to die like that? You could have at least let her breathe one last time so she could say goodbye to David!"

"Maybe this is just the reality of this world. The world is heartless. It is heartless toward the enemies, and it is equally heartless toward the hero and his friends."

Many fans reached their breaking point, flooding the forums with frantic rants. But the plot that followed only served to break their spirits further.

Typically, when a supporting character makes such a massive sacrifice, the protagonist gains some kind of advantage.

Either they tap into a hidden power to crush the enemy, or they manage a miraculous escape.

But Cyberpunk does not follow those rules.

In the history of Night City, David Martinez was indeed a legend whose name was toasted at the Afterlife.

But Adam Smasher was a legend-killer. Johnny Silverhand, Jackie, David, an entire lineage of Night City legends had perished by his hand. He was the strongest cyborg in the entire setting. Against anyone else, he was a god of death.

After finishing off Rebecca, Smasher turned his gaze toward David, Lucy, and Falco.

"Don't worry," Adam Smasher said with a cruel sneer. "I'm going to kill every last one of you!"

"Go to hell alone!" David shouted. He pushed his Cyberskeleton and Sandevistan to the absolute limit, clashing with Adam Smasher in the plaza beneath Arasaka Tower.

However, every viewer could see that David was being systematically dismantled. Smasher had superior speed and greater strength. Moreover, both the Sandevistan and the Cyberskeleton were products of Arasaka's own research. Adam Smasher knew their strengths and weaknesses better than David ever could.

Furthermore, the side effects of David using immunosuppressants in a single day began to take hold. His organs were failing, and his mind was slipping over the "edge" into cyberpsychosis.

At the critical moment, David locked eyes with Falco. Falco understood the command instantly. He grabbed Lucy, who was too weak to move, and shoved her into the vehicle.

Then, David used every ounce of his remaining strength and sanity to stand between them and Adam Smasher. He even utilized anti-gravity technology to pin Smasher down, desperately trying to keep the monster from moving.

But in the end, the gap in power was too vast.

The combination of the Cyberskeleton and the Sandevistan, which had seemed invincible when David first donned them, could only struggle to survive against Smasher. After a brief, violent exchange, the Cyberskeleton was beaten into scrap metal.

The immense weight of the cybernetics collapsed onto David, and finally, he fell.

"Falco, go back!" Lucy cried out from the car as it sped away from Night City. She begged him to turn around and save David.

"Shut up! David told me to do this! If I turn back now, then he died for nothing!" Falco looked at Lucy, his expression heavy with grief. "For this job, I've already received the payment. He told me we should split it between the two of us. Also, he wanted me to tell you something. He said... 'I'm sorry. We can't go to the moon together after all.'"

The opening notes of the series' iconic theme, "I Really Want to Stay at Your House," began to play.

The animation transitioned into a montage of memories. It showed the first time Lucy and David met on the train. It showed David being led by Lucy as they ran freely across the rooftops and through the streets of Night City.

It showed their first confession and their kiss under the moonlight. Every moment they shared, every flash of happiness, eventually faded into the blood-stained, smiling face of David as he lay at Adam Smasher's feet.

"Hahahaha!" David laughed toward the sky, even though his abdomen had been pierced by Smasher's attack and his limbs were shattered beyond repair. He laughed because he knew he had stalled Adam Smasher long enough. Lucy could finally escape Night City. With the savings he had left for her, she would have enough to fulfill her dream. She could leave this hellish world and reach the moon.

With the thunderous crack of Smasher's gun, the life of David Martinez ended forever. The scene transitioned seamlessly, the camera pulling back rapidly from the ground until it reached the lunar surface. Though the transition was quick, it was unclear how much time had passed since the night of David's death.

Lucy had taken a spacecraft and arrived at the desolate moon. She walked across the lunar plains in her spacesuit, her expression hollow and lonely. Was her dream really just to get to the moon? No. Perhaps from the moment she met David, her dream had simply been to stay by his side forever.

She looked up at the sun, which shone brightly without the interference of clouds or atmosphere. In her mind's eye, she saw a young boy in a yellow jacket smiling at her.

"The sun is so hot," he said.

Those were the exact words David had spoken back in the second episode when he visited the moon inside Lucy's braindance. The boy turned around, showing her David's bright, carefree smile.

But a second later, the vision vanished. Tears welled in the corners of Lucy's eyes. The camera zoomed out, showing Lucy standing alone on the vast, silent moon, reaching out to embrace the sun.

Episode Ten: End.

Kagura sat in silence for a long time after the episode finished. With tears in her eyes, she watched the ending credits, carefully reading the names of the production staff.

Finally, the two-minute song ended.

There was no post-credits scene like she had hoped for. Nothing.

Was this really how the story ended?