Chapter 57. Elysia: I Want to Become a Herrscher!

"No, no."

Kiana quickly shook her head and continued pushing forward in the main story.

In the story, after Kiana deduced where she needed to go,

She left the "base" at Fu Hua's reminder, vanishing into the high night sky and heading for the headquarters of Shencheng Pharmaceuticals.

At this moment—

A battle had already erupted there.

The darkness of night itself seemed the perfect stage for this deadly showdown—staggering zombies, monstrous mechs, and Valkyries of the Immortal Blades tangled in combat, fighting tirelessly.

Though Schicksal's elite troops were well-trained, in the end, their inferior numbers were overwhelmed by sheer volume.

"These people are badly wounded. If left alone, they'll…"

Even if they had been pursuing her, Kiana still decided to help them.

Perhaps this was Kiana Kaslana—

Perhaps this was the Kaslana bloodline.

Just like Siegfried, like Kallen, like… Kevin.

Even if Kiana was, in truth, just an experimental subject, she was still worthy of the Kaslana name—perhaps even adding a new brilliance to it.

After a fierce battle,

Kiana eliminated all the zombies and mechs, and from the Valkyrie she saved, obtained information about Rita.

However, on her way to find Rita, she unexpectedly acquired several files concerning Fu Hua.

"1475, Illustrated Scroll of the Phoenix Immortal Breaking the Formation… Eh, class monitor, the immortal in this scroll looks a lot like you?"

"1877, Photograph with Dr. Conan Doyle in London? Wait, this person in the photo…"

Fu Hua directly addressed Kiana's hesitation:

"Kiana, you didn't misread. This is indeed my record. This file contains almost every place I've ever been, everything I've done."

At this point—

The players were stunned.

No one had expected that class monitor Fu Hua was actually from the same era as that World Serpent boss, Kevin!

That is to say, she was from the Previous Era!

This part of the story instantly elevated the already mysterious Fu Hua, who always appeared at pivotal places and moments, to an even higher pedestal.

As expected, there wasn't a single simple character among the protagonists—either future Herrschers or ageless immortals who'd lived for tens of thousands of years.

Players looked at Fu Hua's calm face, her features smoothed by the passage of time,

And seemed to sense the immense power within.

Fu Hua the Immortal! Forever God-tier!!

As the players were awestruck by Fu Hua's identity, Elysia—also watching the livestream—was equally amazed.

"Wow! Hua is that amazing!? An immortal who's lived for tens of thousands of years?"

She was full of envy: "Hua's identity in Honkai Impact 3rd is really incredible~~ I wonder what kind of identity I'll have in the future?"

"Aiya, maybe Hua's so amazing because she's a miHoYo employee. As for me…"

People at the miHoYo studio—none of them had ordinary roles in the game.

Hmm? You're talking about Theresa?

Ah~ she'll definitely become amazing later too, Elysia believed wholeheartedly.

"Don't worry," Eden said warmly, "I believe miHoYo won't make someone as charming as Elysia an ordinary character."

Elysia quickly perked up: "That's right, after all, I'm such a rare beauty."

"Aha~~" Eden couldn't help but laugh. "Was that supposed to be a humblebrag?"

"Having self-awareness is my greatest virtue," Elysia elegantly intertwined her fingers.

"Actually… Elysia, you can make suggestions to miHoYo yourself," Eden reminded.

Since miHoYo was bringing Elysia's likeness into the game, it was only reasonable for her to offer input on her own character design.

"Then, Eden, what kind of character design do you think I should have?"

"Hmm… She'd have a side that's easily seen through, because she's truly sincere. But she'd also have a side that's hard to decipher, because you'd never know what lies behind that sincerity."

Eden spoke slowly and earnestly.

Elysia blinked at her: "It's not that deep~~ I just think, since Kiana and the others are all Herrschers, I want to be one too—a sincere, kind, and beautiful Miss Herrscher~♪"

Eden smiled: "Elysia's wish will surely come true."

"Receiving Eden's blessing makes me so happy~~" Elysia leaned in.

"Elysia."

Elysia and Eden sat shoulder to shoulder, continuing to watch the stream.

"Speaking of which, Eden, do you want to be like me?"

"Like Elysia?"

"Join Honkai Impact 3rd! Besties outside the game, besties inside too~♪"

"Uh…"

While they were chatting, some of the game's story had already progressed.

Kiana didn't waste time and quickly infiltrated the lower levels to rescue Rita.

She saved Rita from danger.

The moment Kiana appeared, Raven already understood—no wonder she'd always sensed someone pulling the strings behind all these events.

"Eliminate them!" Raven coldly commanded.

Raven deployed all available combat units near Shencheng Pharmaceuticals into the fray.

Their terrifying numbers made it difficult for the two to fend them off, and Rita was gravely injured.

At a critical moment, Kiana planned to open a teleportation gate for Rita to escape.

"Apologies, Miss Kiana. Allow me to handle one last matter today. After all, a maid's true duty… is cleaning."

"Eos Unit, auto-navigation system activated. Command directive: Clean."

"Target: current coordinates."

Following Rita's command—

The Eos Unit charged straight toward the industrial zone of Shencheng Pharmaceuticals.

And such a reckless action didn't feel out of place to the players at all—on the contrary, they thought Rita was incredibly elegant.

[E——O——S——!!]

[Others: There's no such thing as perfection. Me: Rita! I demand miHoYo give her ten new battlesuits—I will whale!!]

[Remaining graceful even when in danger—maid onee-san is just too precious!!]

Rita's character grew even more vivid and compelling as the story progressed.

Players declared they would whale for Rita.

And as is widely known—

When miHoYo writes these scenes that boost a character's popularity, it's never without purpose.

It's usually foreshadowing meant to stir deeper emotional resonance in what's to come.

Sure enough—

Rita, just after escaping danger and exchanging a few words with Kiana, collapsed unconscious with a soft thud.

The stage ended there.

Viewers in the livestream started urging Kiana to move to the next stage—they were anxious.

Honestly, given the usual style of miHoYo's writers,

Even if they gave Rita a "glorious sacrifice for the people of Arc City" kind of script,

Nobody would be surprised.

[Rita's situation reminds me of Himeko-sensei. The constant highlights, the deepening impression… and the severe injuries…]

[Stop, stop, I'm already panicking!]

[Isn't Kiana and Himeko part of the dev team? They must know how the story ends!]

[Himeko-sensei, give us spoilers, please? We're desperate.]

[Get lost! I'm not spoiling anything! Spoilers are the worst!]

"Hmm…"

Himeko hesitated, partly because of the ongoing debate in chat, partly because she wasn't sure how to put things gently.

At last, under Hokuto's gaze signaling her, she hesitated slightly and replied:

"I know some of the story ahead. Don't worry—Rita will be fine."

Rita being fine… didn't mean there wouldn't be pain ahead.

In fact, Chapter 14's story was a series of heartbreaks—

Guaranteed to showcase miHoYo's next-level emotional damage.

[Hearing that from Himeko, I feel a little better.]

[By the way, Chapter 13 is done—how come there's still no sign of Himeko? Weren't we told she's coming back?]

[Don't worry, there's still one more chapter left. Himeko will definitely appear.]

[Really? Himeko-neesan?]

Himeko didn't expect another question right after the first—

And this one was even harder to answer.

After all, she knew exactly what the viewers were hoping for.

Unfortunately…

Himeko thought for a moment and gave a vague reply: "Himeko… does show up."

As soon as she said that, chat exploded with excitement.

She hurried to clarify: "It's just a very short scene, don't get your hopes up."

But the viewers, already swept up in joy, didn't take her words seriously.

Kiana secretly peeked at the chat beside her, barely holding in her laughter.

Sigh~~ Why won't they listen?

Even she knew to learn her lesson eventually.

Aiya, aiya.

The paramecium shook her head and opened Chapter 14 of the main story.

At the start of the chapter, it didn't follow directly from the Kiana-Rita plot.

Instead, the narrator explained: the setting was the moon in the Previous Era.

Fu Hua and her seven comrades stood ready to face the Previous Era's final and strongest Herrscher—Final Herrscher—including Kevin!

Through their exchange, players learned that Dr. MEI had more than just the "Stigmata Plan" to combat the Honkai.

There was also the "Flame-Chaser Project," the "Ark Project," and more.

To think—the Stigmata Plan was merely one of their countermeasures.

Naturally, players became curious about the rest.

And more intrigued by the Previous Era.

They had assumed the Previous Era was just background lore—

A backdrop for Fu Hua the Immortal and that mysteriously deranged Kevin.

But now, it seemed miHoYo didn't intend to stop at background lore.

Could the story of the Previous Era be far more expansive than imagined?

As players pondered—

The real plot began.

Kiana awoke from a dream, told Fu Hua about the conversation she had within it—

And unexpectedly learned: Kevin was actually her ancestor!

What should you do when you wake up and discover you have a 50,000-year-old grandpa?