I just finished reading the story for Zenless Zone Zero Patch 2.5, which completes the Yunkui Summit chapter. It featured the usual "assemble the Avengers" style battle against the final boss and marked the end of this current set of patches, which was, honestly, a bit of a boring segment in the ZZZ story.

The plot continues from where we left off last patch, with Ye Shunguang’s condition deteriorating as she continues to use the sword to clear miasma flowers from around the city. Her state worsens to the point where she loses all five of her senses and is left in total darkness.

Belle ends up saving her with the help of her brother, Ye Shiyuan, as the power of the Qingming Sword seems to be connected to the creator. However, the mechanic of why the scene with Belle exploring that illusion was supposed to help recover her senses felt very convenient. 

At times, I felt the pacing was a bit off, mainly in the early part of the patch. I did appreciate getting more information about Sunbringer, though. She was the creator of the Bangboo and one of the Void Hunter title holders. The truth behind her demise was quite harsh.

In the end, she was betrayed by the very people she tried to protect, yet she stayed her course and remained a protector of humanity until the very end. I am curious to see if the other original seven Void Hunters are also dead or if they are still hiding somewhere.

We also saw some quick development for Zhao, who shifted from her calculating persona to be more accepting of her desire for companionship. She basically went through an entire tsundere arc within this patch and is now in the "dere" phase toward Belle and the others.

Yixuan turned out to be completely useless this patch as well. I feel the writers limited themselves by establishing her as so strong in the early parts of the story, causing them to make her conveniently unavailable whenever her skills are actually required.

It was also infuriating to learn that Yunkui Summit has been sacrificing children to the sword to keep it in check. Ye Shunguang is only the latest on the list, and who knows how many others suffered the same fate in the past. Yixuan mentioned there would be "an investigation," but I am guessing we will never hear of it again once we are finished with this zone.

An important detail dropped right at the very end is that the Mayor of New Eridu appears to be involved in this whole situation. He is probably going to become an antagonist or at least someone with ulterior motives. The question is whether he was involved with the recent events or with the AI Youkai that just entered the fray.

Also, what was that power that awakened within Belle to save Ye Shunguang near the end of the story? It is clearly the same power used at the end of the 1.x arc to save Vivian from certain death. I am guessing it is something Belle’s teacher gave her to prepare for a disaster, but how does it work exactly? It seems to defy fate, much like how it completely reversed Vivian’s vision back then.

I am looking forward to seeing where we go now. Will we head back to the video store, or will the base move to an entirely new zone in New Eridu? I truly hope the game returns to its urban fantasy roots and ditches the magic elements explored in this 2.x series. It just did not fit the world setting at all.