(kisa route) in a way, sissia vs gashadokuro really is as much a competition between kisa and chui as it is between present neji and past neji, and all of the things kisa, chui, and neji represent. quartz vs amber, transformation/collaboration vs raw talent, reaching for visions yet to be realized vs perfecting a vision. the "gear" and "gods and mortals" metaphors

the irony of chui "I'll die for theater, literally and figuratively" tanakamigi existing while neji is writing a play where the lead also "dies for theater", but chui and sissia are coming at it from completely different directions

like, to me, this is neji's finale as much as it is kisa's. quartz exists the way it does because neji transferred there and reshaped the class to make up for tsuki's absence. all of the plays they perform are a product of neji absorbing everyone around him, but every play is also a reflection of neji's thoughts on his classmates and his growth as a character and artist

just look at I Am Death and how his writing progressed to central nation of sissia. neji wrote takihime because he wanted chui to have hope that there is someone out there who can match his talents, that he wouldn't be lonely on the stage. but neji himself didn't really believe (at the time) that such a person exists. while he meant well, it's kind of a mean thing to write for chui, who is the kind of artist who will try to perfect the script over and over, always searching for takihime

sissia, on the other hand, was written for kisa. neji wrote all the things necessary to kisa, which includes having "warm and welcoming friends"

if chui met quartz!neji instead of amber!neji, he might have gotten a kinder script, one where gashadokuro doesn't get summoned by a takihime that acts as his mirror, but one where he is brought down to earth and warmly humanized by the people around him

all this is made all the more poignant during the scene when kisa saw chui practicing at the himehiko shrine and the player can make the choice for kisa to see chui as just another seventeen year old boy, reaching for his dreams like she is. in many ways, neji and kisa are probably the only people in univeil who take the time to see chui as just another fellow artist, human and growing and changing, while the rest of them (amber, univeil, tamasaka) are basically elevating him to god/demon status and distance themselves from ever connecting with him