The moment she started thinking deeply about Everlasting Flames,
Elysia immediately felt her eyes sting again.
In a sense, Everlasting Flames was an absolute emotional knockout for someone as sensitive as Elysia.
Its strength lies in the aftermath—the more you reflect, the harder it hits.
Thinking of the paramecium from before, and now the blazing Kiana in Everlasting Flames...
Thinking of her growth, their growth—it's both a proud reassurance and a sorrow, knowing how heavy the price of that growth was.
"Ugh..."
As the emotions surged once again, Elysia hastily threw away her already-soaked tissue and reached for another.
But the moment her hand touched the tissue box—
She froze.
"There's no more...?!"
"Why...?"
"Mr. Hokuto... 'Otto'... you're truly heinous..."
Even her voice trembled with emotion.
Hokuto: "..."
Hokuto, who had been about to step in and offer a tissue, silently lowered his hand.
In the end, it was Kiana who handed Elysia an unused tissue, resolving the urgent crisis.
Meanwhile, the livestream viewers were both teary-eyed and uncontrollably excited.
Everlasting Flames delivered on all fronts—visuals, combat, narrative, music... and above all, sentiment.
Everything about it was flawless.
Especially that moment when light dispelled the darkness—
The scene of destruction no longer felt like a lonely fall,
but a radiant sky reborn from embers.
They felt... transcendent.
[Kiana, raise your head and walk proudly into your future!]
[She is Kiana Kaslana. She is K-423. She is Sirin. She is the Herrscher of the Void. And she is—the Herrscher of Flamescion!]
[You did it, Kiana! Beautifully done!!]
Countless messages flooded the screen.
They had witnessed Kiana's journey firsthand.
Words couldn't contain their surging emotions—they could only keep typing, one after another, again and again...
So this was the kind of excitement that truly existed.
[miHoYo really nailed it this time! Maxed out every detail!]
[Bronya raised her hair and reforged the broken blade; Fu Hua gave her gauntlets and armor; Himeko draped her cloak and pointed the way—this is the Herrscher of Flamescion!]
[Theresa, Bronya, Mei, Fu Hua... and Himeko—when they all supported Kiana to deliver that final strike, I completely lost it.]
[A perfect sentimental masterpiece. And I'm exactly the target audience for it.]
...
Even after the Everlasting Flames short ended, time passed, but the barrage of messages didn't slow down.
Instead, they kept increasing.
Not only were the original livestream viewers overwhelmed,
More people who had just finished the story offline were pouring into the livestream too.
Why? Probably to see if others felt the same as they did.
Everyone was excited together, emotional together, laughing and crying together...
The official Honkai Impact 3rd stream stayed lively for a long, long while.
Only after some time did it finally calm down.
That's when people started goofing off again.
[I'm moved, but every time I remember that one of the core pieces was a scam, I crack up. I won't say who.]
[Shibao: ??? The Herrscher of Sentience has altered your consciousness. You no longer remember this event.]
[Mei: If I took away one Gem, Kiana would've had it easier. Flamescion Kiana: Mei! Mei! Look at my new weapon—Quad-Core Greatsword! Mei: ?]
[Fan creators, you've got one week. I want to see all these ideas animated by then. (LOL)]
"Speaking of fan works..."
Kiana glanced at the chat and revealed a bit of info:
"We've prepared a few really fun creative videos, which we'll be uploading to video platforms soon."
As for what kinds of creative works?
Things like Honkai Olympics, Herrscher of Sentience's Lecture: How to Avoid Online Scams, etc.
[Oh no! The official team is diving into fan creation again. Total annihilation incoming.]
[Hyped! Hyped!]
Kiana reminded everyone:
"Follow the official account to stay up to date on the latest releases."
Naturally, the viewers all responded that they understood—
Then someone finally asked about what's coming next in the story.
[After the paramecium nuked the Herrscher of Dominance, what's next?]
[Next up should be Anti-Entropy, Schicksal, and World Serpent wrapping things up, right?]
[What about Miss Fairy? Is she still out of it?]
"Phew~~"
After letting all those emotions settle,
Elysia took a deep breath.
She recalled the most brilliant flash of fire, and a satisfied smile appeared on her face.
"May all beautiful things receive blessings..."
"A thrilling story... an exhilarating experience... flawless presentation."
She wasn't stingy with her praise.
"Even though... I still have to thank 'Otto' for giving us such an incredible Honkai Impact 3rd."
Kiana chimed in:
"Yeah, following Honkai Impact this whole time, I feel like I've really been living in another world, fighting for all the good things in it."
Elysia blinked.
"Kiana, are you having an immersive experience now?"
"Mm... I guess so." Kiana paused and nodded gently. "It's hard to explain, but... it's a pretty subtle feeling."
"Sigh~~ Now I'm really curious what that feels like. So curious~~"
"Aren't you about to—" Kiana reminded her.
"...Ah, right. I almost forgot."
Elysia refocused on the game, swiped through the stage selection screen, and tapped the next play button.
"Let's continue the main story~~"
...
On screen—
Kiana, clad in her Herrscher of Flamescion armor, wielded the Blazing Greatsword, pointing it straight at the puppet.
"You've lost."
The puppet lowered its head in silence, then asked in confusion:
"Lost... yes, we've lost...
But what exactly did we lose to...?"
"Did we lose to justice? To hope? Or...
Did we simply lose to strength?"
Kiana replied calmly:
"You wouldn't understand."
"But we want to understand, Kiana."
The puppet's demeanor was strange.
Who knew—maybe even Herrschers had a "final words before death" mode.
Or maybe... this was one last attempt at emotional manipulation.
"Kiana, we envy you..."
"No matter what obstacles you face, you never waver...
No matter how desperate the situation, you always overcome it alone..."
"I've never been alone!" Kiana interrupted.
"But we're not alone either... We clearly had a thousand companions..."
Kiana gently shook her head.
"What bound you together wasn't ideals, wasn't understanding, and definitely wasn't trust."
"You gathered only for a shared goal—to vent the same polarized emotions."
"People like that... aren't called companions."
The puppet fell into contemplation.
"I see..."
"But Kiana, let me ask you one more thing...
With your so-called trust, your so-called companions, your so-called protection...
Do you really think you can defeat the Honkai?"
That line hit the players outside the screen too.
Some even started to wonder—
Maybe civilization truly is just struggling against the inevitable.
"Miss Himeko once told me,"
Elysia softly recited,
"These are seeds we've planted.
They may seem small, seem futile—but they exist, truly and surely."
Why do people believe in hope?
"Because hope has always existed in the world."
Such a simple answer.
Likewise—
Kiana, who inherited the torch from Himeko, stood unwavering.
"I won't give up. That's what it means to be human."
"..."
"Kiana, to be honest... I'm starting to believe you."
But then, the puppet burst into harsh laughter.
"Yet human malice will never disappear...
The trials that await you—are far from over..."
Suddenly, its words cut off.
Its voice even began to tremble with fear.
"Ah... he's coming.
The golden thread... has wrapped around me..."
And then the puppet lowered its head,
Fell silent.
Awaiting its end.
Toward the final puppet—
Toward the final curtain—
Kiana swung her sword.
Seeing the Herrscher of Dominance finally fall...
Seeing this ending—
The players exhaled with relief—
And a twinge of confusion.
What did the golden thread mean?
The Honkai scholars began spinning up theories.
But Elysia?
Her thoughts were much simpler.
Something bad happened again?
Obviously—
It's all Otto's fault!!
Hmph.