In the neon-drenched, rain-slicked streets of Night City, choices have always carried weight, but none more so than those presented in the sprawling spy-thriller expansion, Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty. As of 2026, the journey of V and the enigmatic Songbird "So Mi" Song remains a pinnacle of narrative-driven role-playing, offering players a labyrinth of moral quandaries and life-altering decisions. The expansion weaves a tale of betrayal, survival, and desperate hope, culminating in four distinct conclusions, each named for a card in the Tarot's suit of Kings. These endings—Wands, Swords, Cups, and Pentacles—are not merely variations on a theme but radically divergent paths that reshape the fates of every major character involved. This guide will chart the course to each of these fates, exploring the pivotal choices and their profound, often heartbreaking, consequences.

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The King of Wands: The Path of Sacrifice

Considered by many to be the expansion's most altruistic, if bittersweet, conclusion, the King of Wands ending is a testament to loyalty in the face of personal cost. To walk this path, V must commit to a singular goal: saving Songbird, no matter the price.

The journey begins during the critical "Firestarter" mission. When tasked with infiltrating the volatile Black Sapphire, you must unequivocally side with Songbird, aiding her escape from the clutches of Kurt Hansen and the NUSA. This decision sets a chain of events in motion, unlocking the follow-up mission, "Killing Moon." Days later, this quest reaches its emotional crescendo aboard a space-bound shuttle. Here, Songbird, weakened and desperate, reveals the full extent of her deception. You are presented with a final, defining choice.

To secure the King of Wands ending, you must forgive her betrayals and grant her freedom. When prompted, select the dialogue option: "Time to go, So Mi." This commitment is tested one last time when Solomon Reed makes contact. Stand firm in your decision by telling him, "Reed, dammnit!" The outcome is stark: V forfeits any chance at a cure for the Relic's degradation and is forced to kill the steadfast agent, Solomon Reed. However, in doing so, both Songbird and the undercover operative Alex are saved.

Consequences & Aftermath:

  • Songbird's Fate: She successfully reaches the Moon's medical facilities. While her long-term survival is uncertain, she achieves her goal of freedom from the FIA. V later receives a poignant message from her during the short quest "From Her To Eternity," which rewards a unique iconic cyberdeck, the Quantum Tuner, and a pin from the lunar city of Tycho.

  • Alex's Fate: Having survived, she invites V for a drink in the side mission "Unfinished Sympathy." She later retires to a peaceful life in Monte Carlo, sending V a postcard—a rare token of a happy ending in Night City.

  • V's Fate: The search for a cure continues, leading V back to the original game's perilous endings. The sacrifice of Reed and the cure is a heavy burden, but the knowledge that two allies found peace offers a fragile solace.

The King of Swords: The Pragmatic Bargain

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The King of Swords represents a colder, more pragmatic calculus. It begins with the same act of trust as Wands—siding with Songbird during "Firestarter"—but culminates in a devastating reversal of allegiance during "Killing Moon." Confronted with Songbird's lies and your own mortality, you can choose self-preservation.

To trigger this ending, you must ultimately betray her trust. The crucial dialogue sequence starts with a harsh "Wake the hell up" to Songbird, followed by a definitive "Reed'll take care of you." Finally, when Reed arrives, you must seal the deal with the transactional phrase: "All yours, but you'll help me live on." The result is a brutal exchange: Songbird is captured and returned to the FIA's Blackwall project for further experimentation, and Alex's fate is left uncertain and grim. In return, Solomon Reed survives and honors his debt, dedicating himself to finding a cure for V.

Consequences & Aftermath:

  • Songbird's Fate: She is re-enslaved by the very forces she sought to escape, her consciousness likely consumed by the Blackwall. Her story ends in silent torment.

  • Reed's Promise: True to his word, Reed contacts V after the events, initiating a series of missions aimed at securing the cure. His method is successful.

  • The Ultimate Price for V: This ending unlocks the secret "The Tower" ending for the base game. Reed's cure works, but the cost is catastrophic. V spends two years in a coma and awakens to a Night City that has moved on without them. All cyberware functionality is permanently lost, along with relationships and status, reducing the once-legendary mercenary to an ordinary, powerless citizen.

The King of Cups: The Merciful Execution

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This ending branch forks from a fundamental decision at the very start: during "Firestarter," you must side with Solomon Reed instead of Songbird. This act of loyalty to the NUSA agent sets a darker, more violent chain of events into motion. Songbird, seeing your betrayal, succumbs to the Blackwall's corruption and becomes a cyberpsycho, forcing V and Reed to fight their way out of the stadium alone. Alex does not survive this chaotic escape.

This path leads to the missions "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos" and the chilling, atmospheric "Somewhat Damaged," where V finally locates a captured and deteriorating Songbird. In the depths of a buried bunker, she makes a desperate plea. To end her suffering and prevent her consciousness from being eternally weaponized by the FIA or lost to the Blackwall, she asks V for a final mercy: to kill her.

To achieve the King of Cups ending, you must grant her wish. There is only one required choice: agree to her request. This act of euthanasia spares her a fate worse than death but annihilates any hope for V's cure. President Myers views the entire operation as a catastrophic failure.

Consequences & Aftermath:

  • Songbird's Fate: She finds peace in death, freed from her physical and digital prisons.

  • Alex's Fate: Killed during the Firestarter mission's chaotic fallout.

  • V's Reward: A pitiful 5,000 eddies from a disgusted President Myers and no cure. This leaves V with no options but the original game's desperate assaults on Arasaka Tower, alongside Johnny Silverhand. It is widely regarded as the most nihilistic conclusion, where nearly everyone loses.

The King of Pentacles: The Transactional Survival

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The final ending mirrors the start of King of Cups but diverges at that same critical moment in "Somewhat Damaged." Again, you must side with Reed in "Firestarter" and navigate the subsequent missions. When faced with Songbird's plea for death, you must make the consciously selfish choice: refuse.

To lock in the King of Pentacles ending, reject her request. Choose dialogue options like "That's not a solution!", "Won't do it," or the brutally pragmatic "So Mi, I need the FIA's help. So I need you alive." You trade her freedom for your own survival. Songbird is delivered alive to the FIA, condemning her to a life of torture and experimentation. Alex is already dead from the earlier conflict. However, Reed lives, and President Myers, satisfied with retrieving her asset, grants V the coveted cure and a hollow medal of honor.

Consequences & Aftermath:

  • Songbird's Fate: A living nightmare of endless experimentation. Her survival is a punishment, not a salvation.

  • V's "Reward": Just like in King of Swords, securing the cure via the FIA unlocks the secret "The Tower" ending. V is cured but awakens from a two-year coma powerless, all cyberware rendered inert, and their former life utterly erased. The medal from Myers is a cold, metallic reminder of the soul sold to obtain it.

Conclusion: The Tarot's Final Deal

As of 2026, the endings of Phantom Liberty stand as a masterclass in consequential storytelling. There is no perfect path, only varying shades of compromise and loss. The Tarot's Kings offer a fitting metaphor:

  • The King of Wands (Fire): Passionate, sacrificial, but ultimately leaving the protagonist's future aflame with uncertainty.

  • The King of Swords (Air): Intellectual, pragmatic, cutting away emotion for a clear, yet sterile, survival.

  • The King of Cups (Water): Emotional, merciful in its brutality, but drowning all hope in its wake.

  • The King of Pentacles (Earth): Materialistic, transactional, grounding one's survival in the soil of another's suffering.

Each playthrough forces a player to answer the core question of Night City: what are you willing to sacrifice for another day, and who will you become to get it? The legacy of V and So Mi is forever etched in the choices made in the dark, proving that in the world of Cyberpunk, freedom, trust, and survival are the most expensive commodities of all. 😔⚖️🔮