Chapter 442: The True Meaning of 'Thief's End' (Requesting Subscriptions, Monthly Passes)

Chapter 442: The True Meaning of 'Thief's End' (Requesting Subscriptions, Monthly Passes)

Following the clues left behind by Sam and the others, Elena and Nathan finally reached the palace with the large guard tower they had seen earlier.

The collapsed Structures, weathered walls—these ancient buildings were covered in thick moss, with trees growing wildly through the ruins. However, most of this island Elysium's territory had already been submerged by rising waters.

Yet, undeniably, the sight before them was breathtakingly beautiful.

Song Ren widened his eyes, observing every detail of the surroundings, not even paying attention to Nathan and Elena's conversation, which was part of the story.

Well, after these two had poured out their hearts to each other, the rest of the journey was just feeding dog food to players like him.

Who needed to listen to that drama anyway!

Gazing upon the lost Pirate Utopia, Song Ren was filled with awe.

Although this was a forgotten city, hidden on this deserted island for 300 years,

time had only enhanced the grandeur of this Pirate's Haven.

It even gave Song Ren an illusion.

That in the real-world, there truly existed a Pirate Utopia, hidden somewhere in a forgotten corner of the world—and that Libertalia itself should look exactly like this.

While Song Ren was marveling at the scenes around him, Nathan and Elena, through their binoculars, spotted Sam entering the depths of the building complexes.

To save this unreliable brother, Elena and Nathan set off immediately.

Along this path, there were no more puzzles or mechanisms to solve.

Just climbing and finding the correct route. If it had been his earlier self facing this area, the complex climbing design might have stumped Song Ren for a while.

But for him now, it was nothing.

A brief observation made it easy to locate the right path.

What captured Song Ren’s attention more were the things Nathan and Elena discovered along the way.

Letters left by pirates, and various clues, were gradually revealing everything that had happened 300 years ago in this Pirate's Haven, Libertalia.

Finally, inside a grand hall, Nathan and Elena discovered the corpses of a group of pirates.

These were historically renowned great pirates, all of whom had met violent deaths at the same time.

Yet one person was missing from the group: Henry Every.

By now, the truth was clearly evident.

Henry Every, a pirate once considered legendary,

had gathered these famed pirates together through a series of schemes—and had likewise gathered their wealth.

Together, they had built the Pirate Utopia, Libertalia.

But in the end, Henry Every murdered his Companions to claim all the treasure for himself.

Countless riches turned these thieves into monstrous devils, leading them to slaughter one another.

Of course, this Adventure also involved inevitable fierce battles.

With machine guns, hand grenades, and RPGs, Nathan and Elena, possessing overwhelming Combat Prowess, wiped out a group of mercenaries.

At the same time, another large section of the pirate palace collapsed.

But Song Ren was completely unfazed by this—had it not collapsed, that would have been strange.

After a series of intense battles, Nathan and Elena finally rescued Sam.

Yet the obsession with the treasure still haunted Sam’s heart. So, after sending Nathan away, Sam still decided to go alone in search of Henry Every’s treasure.

Well, having come this far, what more could Nathan say?

Though he wanted nothing more than to punch his brother in the face, Nathan couldn’t abandon him.

So he instructed Elena and Sully to prepare for evacuation, while he turned back once more.

Climbing, fighting, and finally reaching the treasure ship of the great pirate Henry.

Amidst a sea of gold coins and riches, Nathan and Rafe engaged in a traditional pirate duel with curved swords.

Dodging, fencing—this was the most difficult battle Song Ren had ever faced in the game.

Even in Explorer mode, it was filled with peril.

But fortunately, he managed to defeat Rafe at last, and escaped the treasure ship with Sam.

With explosions and sparks, the treasure ship and Rafe sank into the ocean.

Watching Nathan escape with Sam, Song Ren, upon reaching this point, felt a sudden clarity—finally grasping some of the meaning behind the game’s title, 'Thief's End'.

Henry Every, the historically renowned pirates, and men like Rafe—all of them were thieves.

And in their pursuit of treasure, they had all truly reached their end.

But Nathan was different. He was not the owner of the treasure, but its witness.

For Nathan Drake, the thing he was truly obsessed with was never the treasure itself.

Nathan Drake was merely a witness to the treasure, not its possessor.

He had seen the treasure exist—and then buried it once more.

For Nathan Drake, that was enough.

Sam, too, was not truly curious about the treasure’s value—he was curious about the treasure itself.

But unlike Nathan, who had already seen enough treasures to let go,

Sam was not yet able to fully release his obsession.

At the end of the return journey, Nathan and Sam shared a conversation.

Sam: 'I just thought... once we found Henry Every’s treasure, I’d... feel satisfied?'

Sam: 'Quite the opposite... I... have this strange sort of...'

Nathan: 'Emptiness. Yes, you know that no matter how thrilling the next Adventure is, in the end, you’ll feel the same way.'

Nathan: 'Sometimes you just have to make a choice—what to hold onto, and what to let go.'

Sam: 'Well... I guess I haven’t reached that point yet. Besides, you’ve discovered several ancient RUINS I haven’t even touched. I can’t just leave them be, so...'

Nathan: 'I’ve saved a few for you.'

Listening to the dialogue between Nathan and Sam, Song Ren couldn’t help but smile knowingly.

Judging from the ruins of Henry Every’s Pirate's Haven and the treasure ship,

Song Ren guessed that in the subsequent DLC, the ancient RUINS Nathan explored would inevitably face Trouble/Difficulty.

Before Nathan discovered them, these ancient RUINS were intact and undisturbed.

But once Nathan found them—well, who could say what would happen?

Yet more than that, what truly moved Song Ren was Nathan himself.

What thrilling Adventures Nathan Drake had experienced in the past, how exactly he had met Elena and Sully—

these were things Song Ren didn’t understand.

But from the story of Thief's End, Song Ren could clearly feel the attraction within Nathan Drake.

From the very beginning—Nathan recovering artifacts from the sea, cherishing his wife at home, and occasionally falling into a daze, reminiscing about the past—

every moment revealed Nathan’s inner world.

Nathan could be described as a contradiction, a man of dualities. His blood carried a thirst for Adventure, yet he deeply valued the people around him.

He was never someone content with an ordinary life. His heart always yearned for thrilling escapades.

So Nathan Drake had been pretending all along—pretending he was truly happy, trying to convince himself he could adapt to a mundane existence.

He had constantly struggled to overcome the emptiness between excitement and normalcy.

But when he finally set out on Adventure again, when he discovered those clues about treasure, those hidden truths of history—

Nathan Drake’s eyes burned with intense passion.

Yet this journey was different. At last, Nathan Drake had truly found the answers he sought.

At the story’s end, Sam took a few gold coins from the treasure.

He gifted them to Elena, who used the coins to purchase Nathan’s salvage company and pulled strings to obtain a salvage license for the Southeast Asia waters. The couple decided to pursue legal work with a treasure-hunting flavor.

Nathan would handle the salvage operations, while Elena would film everything with her camera, turning it into a television program.

Finally, as the screen faded to black, Song Ren sighed with emotion.

At the same time, the player’s control shifted to Nathan Drake’s daughter, years later.

From the photos and information inside the house, it was clear that Nathan and Elena’s life was contentedly fulfilling.

Sam, meanwhile, had formed a new Adventure duo with Sully, and judging by the photos, both were alive and well.

Finally, the daughter discovered her parents’ little secrets hidden in a cabinet.

So the family of three gathered aboard a boat, sharing stories of those mad Adventures from long ago.

In this warm Atmosphere, the game came to an end.

Watching the full list of the game’s development team, Song Ren exhaled with a smile.

(End of Chapter) <>