On a whim, a Honkai Impact 3rd player from the Flower Kingdom was browsing forums from the Sakura Country and kept scrolling through threads.
Very soon—
They found the post they were truly looking for.
[Amateur! Starting from Zero! First-Time Experience with Honkai Impact 3rd!]
Players excitedly clicked in, browsing through the contents of the post.
They saw the full process of a Sakura Country newcomer getting into Honkai Impact 3rd.
She was drawn in by online fan edits labeled as "The Flower Kingdom's most healing game of the year" and "pure sugar, no knives," and decided to start playing.
Some players couldn't help but feel gratified—so their editing efforts hadn't been in vain.
They had lured… no, attracted—attracted!—a new player into the game.
Next, she began studying online guides and, after multiple attempts, successfully registered a Honkai Impact 3rd account.
On her first day playing Honkai Impact 3rd, she was very excited. From the massive number of screenshots she posted in the thread and her passionate comments like "Honkai Impact 3rd is amazing," "I'm so satisfied by this game," and "So sweet, so sweet," it was easy to tell.
Her story progress was slow, but she played with great sincerity. Even with her Flower Language proficiency barely passing level four after many tries, she still worked hard using translation software and dictionaries to understand every line of dialogue. She was deeply immersed in the story.
She frequently posted her thoughts on Honkai Impact 3rd as well.
Gradually, more and more people began watching her thread.
Naturally, some… bewildering comments appeared.
"Hurry up and get to Chapter 9! It's super sweet!"
"Honkai Impact 3rd's writers are the most positive energy writers in the world!"
"Really hope OP reaches the latest chapter soon!"
...
Just like that, until yesterday, she finally said she was preparing to start Chapter 9.
And since then—silence.
She hadn't posted again.
Well, not quite. Just as a player scrolled to the bottom of the thread, feeling like this post had "healed" the emptiness inside them…
The OP posted again.
[OP: What was it that turned you all into what you are now?]
Replies quickly followed.
[Of course, it was Honkai Impact 3rd! (dog head emoji)]
[OP, don't you think Honkai Impact 3rd is fun? (dog head emoji)]
Someone asked in return. After a short pause, this newcomer replied:
[OP: Honkai Impact 3rd is amazing! I strongly recommend everyone try it!]
Another newbie successfully assimilated by "Captains."
Someone chimed in support:
[That's right! Honkai Impact 3rd is so good, if you're not playing it, are you even a gamer?]
[But it's really troublesome to register an account from the Sakura Country now.]
[I can help. We Honkai Impact 3rd players are just that helpful.]
Of course, no matter how enthusiastic the players were, many ordinary users still felt it was too troublesome.
They'd wait until a company in the Sakura Country officially published the game before trying.
...
...
[Current Honkai Impact 3rd user count: 12,016,513]
At the same time, in the miHoYo office far away, Hokuto skimmed the system panel.
Although Honkai Impact 3rd's active user count was still steadily rising, the growth rate had started to slow.
He began to consider whether he should push Honkai Impact 3rd overseas.
Hmm, Hokuto thought starting with the Sakura Country would be a good idea.
The question was—which Sakura Country game company should he have publish Honkai Impact 3rd?
The company's size didn't matter. What mattered was reliability.
He didn't want to look away for a moment and have the publisher pull some shady stunt that ruined Honkai Impact 3rd's reputation.
To him, Honkai Impact 3rd wasn't just a game. He had a responsibility to the girls, to Kevin, to Welt…
Let's have Rita conduct some research on the Sakura Country's game publishers for now.
Hokuto had already begun to think seriously about Honkai Impact 3rd's promotion.
Meanwhile, Elysia was still unable to pull herself out of the emotional aftermath of "Lament of the Sinner." This was probably the first time a story had broken through her emotional defenses.
The main trigger was the story of two girls who liked each other but had to part ways for each other's sake. It hit right at her emotional weak spot.
After watching the short animation, she seemed a little melancholic.
"Stop fighting! Stop fighting! It's not your fault!!"
Miss Elysia cried out in anguish.
"If I could be a Herrscher, I'd go myself!!"
Just as she shouted that, she suddenly remembered she could join Honkai Impact 3rd.
Her gaze immediately turned to Hokuto, who seemed lost in thought.
"Hokuto~!"
"Hmm…?"
Hokuto slowly returned from his mental blueprint of miHoYo's grand future. "Elysia, what is it?"
"I want to be the main character!"
"?" Hokuto didn't get it.
Elysia added: "In the part of the story that's about me, make me the protagonist."
"Why the sudden request?"
It was a very Elysia-like thing to say, but Hokuto still wanted to know the reason.
"Because with your writing style, Hokuto, being the script's protagonist is very dangerous."
Elysia said seriously, "I don't want to see others get hurt. So let me bear it all instead."
Hokuto: "..."
He fell silent for a moment, struck speechless and slightly moved.
At last, he only sighed:
"No wonder you're the pure and flawless Miss Fairy."
Hearing his compliment, the melancholia that had come swiftly now faded just as quickly, and Elysia lit up with a smile again.
"Of course~ Elysia is a kind, beautiful, and adorable girl~♪"
She paused, raised a finger, and wiggled it. "So, Hokuto, you're agreeing?"
"Mm." Hokuto nodded.
"In that case…"
Elysia had another request: "I have a tiny wish. Miss Fairy's exit must be grand and dazzling, like a ball."
"..."
"You're already assuming I'll write you off."
"Won't you?"
"This…"
Just as Hokuto was about to respond, a noisy commotion came from outside the office.
He and Elysia both fell silent and turned their heads toward the door.
With a rush of footsteps—
The office door burst open.
Bang!
"Hokuto!"
Kiana led the charge, rushing inside.
Behind her were Mei and Bronya.
"Kiana?"
Hokuto stood up, his gaze sweeping over Kiana and the others. "What's going on?"
Mei and Bronya looked toward Kiana.
Kiana zipped straight up to Hokuto.
With utmost seriousness, she said, "Hokuto, Hokuto, in the upcoming story, you must make Kiana and Mei reconcile!"
Even though she'd watched "Lament of the Sinner" more than once, she still couldn't calm down after rewatching it.
"..."
"Saving the world is important! But Mei is important too!"
Kiana said with absolute solemnity, "Hokuto, I'm begging you."
"Hmm… Okay, I will."
Under Kiana's intense gaze, Hokuto nodded lightly. "Kiana and Mei will reconcile."
He wasn't lying.
After all they'd been through, once they truly understood each other, Kiana and Mei would meet again during the moon mission.
Beep~~
A strange chime sounded out of nowhere.
Elysia, holding her phone, lifted her finger from the record button.
"?"
"Elysia, what are you doing?" Hokuto couldn't help but ask.
"Just like that."
Elysia tapped her phone screen.
A recorded clip played for all to hear:
'Kiana and Mei will reconcile.'
"I've kept the evidence. Hokuto, you're not allowed to go back on your word!" Elysia reminded.
Hokuto: "..."
Are you planning to go around broadcasting this on a loudspeaker?
Seeing Elysia's "magical" maneuver,
He now deeply understood why, in the Elysian Realm script, Mei was constantly "...?"
Elysia was practically a six-dot-and-question-mark generator.
"Don't worry."
Under everyone's gaze, Hokuto nodded gently. "I wouldn't lie to you about something like this."
"Yay!"
Kiana cheered and threw her arms around Hokuto. "Hokuto, you really are the best!"
Two flying white braids instantly blocked Hokuto's vision.
She pounced on him, rocking him left and right.
They played around for a while.
"Alright, alright. While we still have time, let's get started on the interview." Hokuto pushed down on Kiana's head.
"Interview? Oh right! The interview! I nearly forgot."
Thanks to Hokuto's reminder, everyone finally remembered the main thing they still had to do today.
"Come with me."
Hokuto turned and led the way. The others quickly followed.
They had barely left the office when they didn't even need to go looking—Rita had already approached proactively, handing over neatly printed interview scripts.
"Thanks a lot."
"Handling the boss's work is a secretary's duty," Rita said with an elegant smile.
"Rita, you're truly dependable."
The perfect maid made a perfect secretary as well.
As the group walked and chatted, they quickly arrived at the voice booth, where the interview would be recorded.
Hokuto stopped at the door and handed out interview scripts to Elysia and the others.
"Can't we just improvise?" Elysia asked.
"I only prepared these in case you ran out of things to say," Hokuto replied. "If you can get lively on your own, even better."
"You're underestimating me?" Elysia put her hands on her hips. "Watch me show you what it means to be a profession~al host!"
With that, she "aggressively" led Mei and Kiana into the voice booth and sat down.
Hokuto, watching from outside, quickly reminded her.
"Elysia, don't sit in front of the camera. You're just doing the voice. I'll add the virtual image of 'Miss Fairy' into the video later."
Elysia's real appearance hadn't been revealed yet.
Although ever since miHoYo confirmed that Kiana, Mei, Himeko… were real,
And since Miss Fairy often spilled too much during her livestreams,
People had long suspected Elysia looked just like her avatar in real life.
But officially, she hadn't been "opened" yet, right?
"Hmm…"
Elysia thought for a moment. "Then why not take this interview to reveal the real me? I feel like I can't keep hiding it anyway."
Her tone rose playfully: "Humhum~♪ Everyone will definitely think Elysia is even more beautiful than 'Miss Fairy'~~"
Being competitive with herself like this—that, too, was very Elysia.
"Isn't that… a bit sudden? A bit reckless?"
"What's the big deal? You've been wanting a big bombshell to distract everyone's attention anyway. Isn't it great if I add fuel to the fire?"
"I…"
Hokuto wanted to say more, but Elysia cut him off. "Hurry up and say~~ 'Thank you, dear Elysia~~'"
"Say it~~" she urged.
"..."
Hokuto was silent for a moment, then slowly said:
"Thank you… dear Elysia."
"Aye~~"
Elysia beamed with joy.
Seeing her so happy, Hokuto felt both helpless and amused.
Meanwhile, the others had already turned on the recording equipment.
He stayed quiet, and Elysia composed herself.
The interview officially began.
After a round of self-introductions, Elysia introduced Mei, Kiana, and herself.
Then, she immediately asked Mei a very chaotic question:
"We all know Mei has always been a very gentle figure in Honkai Impact 3rd."
"So Mei, is there any line you're really looking forward to, something you've always wanted to voice but haven't had the chance yet?"
Hearing the question, Mei instinctively glanced toward Kiana, and Kiana happened to look her way.
Their eyes met mid-air.
"Hmm~~ Of course there is."
A strange smile slowly spread across Mei's face, and she placed her hand on Kiana's thigh.
Kiana tensed.
"Sometimes while recording, I think—this person, Kiana… If only Mei could lock her up so she'd stop running around."
"But Kiana definitely wouldn't let Mei get her way, right?" Elysia said.
"Mm, that's true. When that happens, Mei would chase Kiana down, tower over her, and deliver one line."
Mei's voice suddenly turned low and hoarse: "Kiana… where do you think you're going?"
Everyone: "..."
And this is just the beginning?