MiHoYo held a rare all-hands meeting.
The reason? Kiana had finally presented the detailed settings related to "Original Sin."
From the game's development phase, "Original Sin" had been a mystery to MiHoYo's production team. Even Kiana herself couldn't fully explain what "Original Sin" was, it was more of a spur-of-the-moment idea.
Whether it was creating the Hydro Archon of Fontaine and the Supreme Bishop of Fontaine before the game's launch, setting the Supreme Bishop as an outsider like the protagonist, introducing the term "Descender," or inserting the character Astrea and creating the power of "Original Sin," which seemed completely out of place in Genshin Impact's power system all of this was Kiana's unilateral decision.
In game development, Kiana held absolute authority, a decision made when the company was first established. This was mainly to prevent the strong-willed girls from clashing and being unable to make decisions. Kiana, who had proposed the game's concept, was naturally the best person to make the final calls.
But who could have guessed? Once Kiana had this power, her true nature quickly revealed itself. She didn't have a solid foundation for the game's basic settings, making things up as she went along, often coming up with whimsical ideas that posed constant challenges for the production team.
All we can say is... thankfully, the end result was good.
But the doubts within MiHoYo never ceased. After this version update, questions about the "Original Sin" setting reached a peak. MiHoYo's CEO, Qingque, and General Manager, Fu Xuan, finally joined forces to pressure Kiana into immediately finalizing the "Original Sin" settings.
And now, it was time to see the results.
At the large round table, the girls looked down at the setting documents in their hands. Kiana sat with her legs crossed, head held high, waiting for their praises.
This setting wasn't easy to create. Kiana had struggled for days without a clear idea. But yesterday, when inspiration struck, she wrote it all out in one go, smoothly and without pause.
To put it simply...
"You got carried away, didn't you?" Bronya commented on Kiana's state. "Path? Aeon? Such grand settings how can Genshin's storyline continue with this? Bronya can't even understand how the Supreme Bishop ended up working for the Hydro Archon in Fontaine."
"There's a reason for that," Kiana said mysteriously.
Fu Xuan remained expressionless. "What's the reason? Was he, like the Traveler, stripped of his power by the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles? Or was it directly done by the Heavenly Principles?"
Kiana paused, then hesitantly asked, "Would that make sense?"
"You know it doesn't!!!"
Fu Xuan took a deep breath.
"This setting could be used for a new game, but for now, let's not reveal it in Genshin. If players find out about the Supreme Bishop's setting, Genshin's entire storyline would collapse. So, let's keep this setting among ourselves for now. When making future games, be careful not to portray the Supreme Bishop as just a subordinate of the Hydro Archon or a Descender. Let's delay Genshin's collapse as long as possible."
Fu Xuan didn't ask Kiana to take back the setting and redo it because she had to admit the setting was good. It just didn't fit Genshin's current storyline.
However, it did provide a relatively reasonable explanation for the Supreme Bishop's overwhelming presence and the immense strength of the Sacred Knights.
The only unreasonable part was how the Supreme Bishop ended up in his current position.
The storyline mentioned the shattering of the Original Sin path, but Kiana clearly hadn't figured out how it happened.
Even if she had, the setting of the Supreme Bishop being an Aeon couldn't be revealed in Genshin—at least not now. Unless Kiana later patches Genshin's settings to elevate its power system to match that of the Aeons, having such an out-of-scale character in Genshin would only make players feel that all other characters had become jokes.
Especially the Seven Archons.
In the hearts of most players, the Seven Archons have a natural prestige. If they were turned into jokes, the entire Genshin Impact would become a joke.
If an Aeon-level setting suddenly appeared, not only the Seven Archons but even the Heavenly Principles would become a laughingstock.
Therefore, the setting of the Supreme Bishop being the Aeon of Original Sin could be used but not in Genshin. At least not until Kiana could provide a reasonable explanation for the Supreme Bishop's current situation. This setting absolutely couldn't be revealed to the players.
"Use this setting for a new game?"
"Exactly."
In response to Qingque's question, Fu Xuan firmly stated:
"We all know that Genshin will eventually collapse it's just a matter of time."
Kiana: "Hey!!"
Fu Xuan ignored her: "By creating a new game, we can seamlessly transition when Genshin collapses. Oh, and the new game must include me!"
Qingque also perked up: "And me, me!"
The CEO and General Manager of MiHoYo were clearly extremely dissatisfied that Genshin only had characters based on Kiana and not themselves.
In Genshin, Kiana became the highly prestigious Sustainer of Heavenly Principles.
In the current storyline, with Ye's Aeon setting not yet revealed, the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles was undoubtedly the most prestigious character, even overshadowing the Seven Archons.
And in the upcoming Genshin mini-game—called a mini-game but essentially a new game Honkai Impact 3rd, Kiana even made herself the protagonist, using her own name. How shameless!
Could Fu Xuan tolerate this? Could Qingque tolerate this?
Obviously not!
The new game must include both of them! And they must appear under their real names!
"Uh, everyone will be included."
Kiana nodded.
"Don't worry, I have ideas for this new game. Everyone will be in it."
Fu Xuan silently glanced at her: "Did I say this game would be handed over to you?"
Kiana widened her eyes: "I'm MiHoYo's game producer. I came up with the world setting. Who else could do it besides me?"
"And let the new game collapse too?"
"Has Genshin collapsed yet?"
"..."
Fu Xuan was momentarily speechless.
Indeed, no matter how much they said it would collapse, Genshin hadn't collapsed yet. Kiana's achievements were undeniable. In game development, no one could compete with her.
No matter what, Kiana's game development skills were evident. MiHoYo's current success was entirely due to Kiana's planning. Who could confidently say they could do better than Kiana?
...That's the logic, and it makes sense, but why can't we trust Kiana?
"Kiana, change your twin tails to long straight hair."
Ah, Fu Xuan found the key point. Kiana's current image just doesn't inspire confidence. It's time for an upgrade!
Look, as the protagonist of Honkai Impact 3rd, Kiana looks like a total airhead.
But then look at Genshin's Sustainer of Heavenly Principles, and Honkai's Herrscher of the Void such queenly vibes.
Same face, such a huge difference? Shouldn't you reflect on this? Clearly, it's because of your hairstyle!!
"Fine, I'll hand the new game over to you too, as long as you can manage your workload."
In the end, Fu Xuan could only make this decision.
No choice on one hand, she didn't trust Kiana, but on the other... she had no choice but to trust her.
As Elysia once said about Kiana, beautiful girls always create miracles. So, let's continue to expect Kiana to keep the miracles coming.
At least she hasn't failed yet, right?
Ye directed the Traveler to the resistance army led by Kokomi, while he himself headed to Mt. Yougou and arrived at the Grand Narukami Shrine.
"You really left in a hurry last time."
As soon as they met, Yae Miko began mocking Ye.
"Weren't you supposed to defeat Ei? You played the hero for a moment and then ran off, it might have looked cool in front of that Traveler, but to me, you've become an untrustworthy, despicable scoundrel."
Ye had to explain: "Things changed. It's not my fault."
"Cut the excuses. Who would believe you? You must have planned this, right?"
Congratulations, you're right, but no prize.
Ye sighed inwardly. This fox spirit is really hard to fool!
"Let's skip the small talk. We'll just wait for the next opportunity. We have plenty of time."
Yae Miko pouted: "We won't need you for the next opportunity."
"Seems you've changed your mind."
"Because I've realized, for reasons unknown, you want that Traveler to take on this task."
"Unknown reasons? Isn't it obvious? Look at Ei's state. Do you really think she can control herself when facing me?"
"Fine, I underestimated Ei's hatred for you. I really don't know what you did to her in her dreams to make her hate you so much."
Seeing Yae Miko's gossipy expression, Ye just wanted to laugh dryly and not answer.
Putting himself in Ei's shoes, not only was she toyed with, but her deceased sister was also desecrated. It would be strange if she didn't want to tear Ye into pieces.
Ye completely understood Ei, so he wasn't surprised by her murderous intent—but understanding didn't mean he intended to atone with his life.
"Anyway, what's done is done. For now, let's focus on how to kick those troublesome Fatui out of the picture."