Today is the update day for Honkai Impact 3rd's main story.
Hokuto is at the miHoYo studio.
Since there was no official livestream scheduled, he joined the rest of the miHoYo team, per usual, in opening Elysia's channel to watch her stream Honkai Impact 3rd.
Just like before, a group of viewers was already waiting early in Elysia's channel—they didn't want to miss her grand entrance.
As everyone patiently waited, the screen finally changed.
A mirror floated in the darkness.
Elysia's silhouette could be faintly seen.
"Tap—tap—tap~~"
She tapped on the mirror from the inside.
"Everyone outside, can you help me?"
[???]
[???]
Confused viewers unfamiliar with Miss Pink Elf's antics flooded the screen with question marks.
But right after this wave of barrage messages passed—
Streams of radiant light rushed in from all directions into the mirror. Elysia's figure inside became more vivid, her colors more vibrant.
"Still need more~~" came her soft voice.
Now the viewers understood.
Excited, they flooded the screen with supportive messages like "Go Miss Pink Elf!", "11111", and "Love you~♪"
With their enthusiastic cheers, the incoming streams of light merged into a rainbow river, making the livestream screen brilliantly multicolored.
As countless rays of light flowed into the mirror, Elysia became clearer and clearer.
Crack—crack—
Fractures spread across the mirror.
The next moment—
It shattered completely. Fragments flew outward in slow motion, and amidst their reflections, Elysia stepped out gracefully in her elegant gown.
"Hi~♪ A new day begins with a wonderful encounter."
[Miss Pink Elf's openings are getting more impressive.]
[Right? This one's not only just as dazzling—it's interactive too!]
[Ever since she trained at miHoYo, her production value's gone through the roof.]
"Sigh~~ hearing everyone praise the beautiful and kind Miss Pink Elf~♪"
Naturally, Elysia wasn't shy about the flattery. Her cheerful tone responded:
"I'm really, truly happy~~"
"Starting a stream with such joyful feelings—it's a blessing~~"
Her genuine happiness was infectious, bringing smiles to her audience's faces.
[Even though she hasn't done anything yet, I'm already inexplicably happy. So magical.]
[That's probably Miss Pink Elf's unique charm. Love you~♪]
"Alright, let's begin. Today as always—Honkai Impact 3rd."
Despite saying that, Elysia first opened her voice call software before logging into the game.
"To make today's stream more entertaining, I've gone to great lengths to invite some very special guests. Familiar faces! Say hi to everyone~"
Mobius: "Tch."
Kalpas: "Tch."
Seele: "Hi, everyone." (timidly)
Audience: "..."
"Aiya aiya, such unique greetings from each of them, don't you think?"
Elysia giggled.
See? She told you it'd be entertaining.
While the viewers were stunned that today's guests included Miss Snake, Bro Kalpas, and Seele—
Elysia had already logged into Honkai Impact 3rd and navigated straight to the main story.
She officially began Solo Stage.
The chapter opened with a rather cryptic scene.
A boy calling himself "John Doe" spoke endlessly about his repetitive, mundane daily life and his existential confusion.
He went to an ordinary high school, scored average grades, entered a typical university...
Even his chosen major didn't seem like something he truly liked...
The narration quietly painted this "John Doe" for the players.
Just as they were scratching their heads about its meaning—
The scene suddenly shifted to a bottomless darkness.
When the dark lifted, what appeared was a massive, ornate, floating fantasy theater and numerous marionettes approaching it.
The boy, John Doe, realized he too was one of these marionettes.
Yet he didn't panic—instead, he laughed maniacally, as if everything had finally made sense, declaring the coming end of himself and all like him.
Then, in glaring red, the words "THE END" appeared.
The prologue ended.
"..."
"Uh... how's everyone feel about that intro? Kinda felt like a metaphor, didn't it?"
Elysia lingered on the chapter screen and asked the others for their thoughts.
Seele replied in her usual quiet honesty:
"Seele didn't understand the metaphor here."
She knew this part introduced the Herrscher of Dominance, but when it came to analyzing it in detail, she found it hard.
She paused.
"But... maybe 'Seele' understood. I'll ask her."
Then, the reserved Seele sitting upright at her desk turned to the other Seele—
the one sitting beside her in a red chair, legs crossed, slouched in a relaxed, delinquent posture.
"'Seele', did you get it all?"
'Seele': "..."
"O-Of course! Who couldn't understand such an obvious metaphor?"
"Then... can you—"
"No way! You accepted Elysia's invitation, not me. I'm not doing extra work."
Though turned down, Seele didn't seem upset. Instead, she sweetly replied:
"Mhm, 'Seele' is just worried I'd get nervous with so many people watching. I'm already grateful she's here to support me."
"...Hmph. As long as you know." 'Seele' turned away, awkwardly.
Setting aside the Seele Theater—
Viewers responded to Elysia's question with their own takes:
[That intro was too real.]
[So relatable—I've opened my sad song playlist.]
[Theater? Puppets? Control? Definitely hints at a new enemy.]
[New enemy in Honkai 3rd... is it a new Herrscher?]
Elysia looked at the comments, thoughtful:
"So, is John Doe the new Herrscher?"
"John Doe probably doesn't refer to a specific person," Mobius interjected.
"In slang, 'John Doe' means a nobody—an unidentified person. Coupled with his description, it's likely he represents a group, not an individual."
"A group? Mobius, you think the new enemy isn't a Herrscher?"
"Who said a group can't be a Herrscher?" Mobius shot back.
So the narrative metaphor was: the new Herrscher is different—this one is a collective.
"...Makes sense!"
Enlightened, Elysia smiled and said:
"Everyone~ thank Miss Snake for her explanation~"
With that prompt, the chat exploded:
[Thank you, Miss Snake!]
[Thanks for the lecture, Miss Snake!]
Mobius's temple twitched.
"Elysia, keep going with the story." she said firmly.
"Got it~~"
Elysia moved on to the next stage.
The perspective shifted—
It was Durandal, meditating inside an illusion.
The narration explored her inner thoughts.
She was reflecting on Black Abyss White Flower.
Players had noticed—despite Durandal being declared the wielder of the Sixth Divine Key, she rarely used it in battle.
Even during her brutal defeat at the hands of Herrscher Fu Hua, she hadn't used it.
Not because of the weapon's tragic history—all its previous wielders had met untimely ends.
But because Durandal always maintained a beautiful sense of distance from it.
She hadn't truly affirmed whether she was worthy to inherit it from Cecilia.
Of course, Durandal was worthy.
In fact, perhaps no one in the world was more worthy than her.
After all—she was the real Kiana Kaslana.
Everyone at miHoYo had already guessed that. It was too obvious.
Kiana and Durandal are sisters in real life—so of course they'd be sisters in the game too. Makes perfect sense, right?
Given Hokuto's writing style, the devs figured he would write the plot that way.
He always makes things strangely real.
But players didn't know that insider info.
So they were still coming up with all sorts of theories about who the true Kiana was.
Some were absolutely wild.
Like—
What if Theresa was the real Kiana, and all her memories were fabricated by Otto using a "Pseudo–Feather of the Past"?
After all, they both had white hair, blue eyes, and Kaslana blood.
Bold speculation, careful verification.
The players really knew how to theorize.
Of course, those posts always had a (dog head) emoji at the end.
And replies like:
[If you're a prophet, come back so we can stab you (dog head)]
[Thanks OP, I now understand everything (sarcastic)]
Back to the plot.
Rita's voice suddenly interrupted Durandal's meditation.
"Apologies for disturbing your training, Lady Durandal."
Her consciousness returned to reality, and the illusion faded.
"Ah... Rita, what's going on?"
Rita replied:
"There's a series of strange reports."
She then described the escalating frequency of Honkai Erosion events worldwide.
To prevent disaster, Durandal decided to cooperate with World Serpent and Anti-Entropy.
This was the first time the three major factions worked together.
[The moment Otto's gone, the world suddenly becomes peaceful.]
[Still, we can't deny Otto's contributions to fighting the Honkai.]
[Yeah. Maybe if Otto were around, Schicksal alone could've handled this new Herrscher. We can be mad at him, but we can't underestimate him.]
[Huh? Aren't you giving Otto too much credit? Maybe he'd just make things worse.]
[Speaking of Otto... he's still MIA. I get the feeling he's planning something big—next time he shows up, it might shake the world.]
...
Looks like Hokuto's recent plot additions for Otto are working.
The playerbase has started developing mixed feelings about him.
They wouldn't say they like him, but... how should they put it—
Otto just makes them feel complicated.