Chapter 533: The First Blade of Honkai! There's Still Time to Run Now!
"Have you heard? The second game released by Feathered Spirit—Honkai Impact 3rd?"
"I've already been following Little Gui's livestream and watched up to Chapter 3!"
"There's a Silver Wolf with twin drill tails, a younger version of Himeko, and even a youthful Acheron… Wonder how many more familiar faces are waiting down the line!"
"Is it just me, or does that Fu Hua character have a bit of Marshal Hua's shadow?"
"Totally normal. The universe is vast; there are bound to be similar people."
"Could it be that something called destiny truly exists in the dark? Otherwise, why would not only their appearances be identical, but even their Paths and personalities be so strikingly similar?"
"I feel like the world of Honkai Impact 3rd has some sort of deep connection to ours!"
"Keep watching!"
"As an alternative during the Star Rail content drought, this game is actually pretty solid."
…
Little Gui's Livestream Room.
"Thank you, BigFirework 49886, for the gift…"
"Where are we in the story right now?"
"We've just finished the Valkyrie exam and set out to find a gem containing Herrscher energy."
"Yet when we reached the destination, we discovered the target wasn't a stone at all, but a living, breathing human being!"
Little Gui brought up a screenshot from the story.
On the screen was a young girl sitting in a wheelchair.
She had short, teal hair.
She wore a gentle, tender smile.
Little Gui continued her commentary,
"Her name is Wendy. She used to be a Valkyrie… an exceptionally brilliant Valkyrie."
"To prevent the unstable energy inside the gem from leaking out, Wendy became its vessel and fused with it."
"The price, however, was losing the use of her legs forever."
"Not only that, but she had to endure the Herrscher's relentless, daily torment eroding her sanity!"
Saying this,
Little Gui couldn't help but show a look of heartache.
A tear glinted in her eye.
"Sigh… When I first reached this part, it already felt so cruel."
"Who knew it would get even more brutal!"
"In the end, Wendy couldn't hold out any longer. Influenced by the Herrscher, she blackened right on the spot."
"We had no choice but to engage in a boss fight against her."
"And the final outcome… you guys will definitely never guess it!"
Little Gui pulled up another story screenshot.
The Herrscher-fied Wendy hovered in the air,
looking somewhat flustered.
Surrounding her
were rows upon rows of cold, metallic mechs!
Their heads glowed with menacing red lights,
trapping Wendy right in the center.
"The organization that deployed these mechs is called Anti-Entropy!"
"These mechs were immensely powerful. Not only did they overpower Wendy, but they also captured Mei, intending to dissect her and study the Herrscher Core!"
"Fortunately, we managed to rescue Mei!"
"Bronya… ahem, I mean the Bronya from Honkai Impact 3rd. To make it easier to tell them apart, let's just call her Da-ya[ The(Da) bron'YA' ]."
"Da-ya sacrificed herself to break free from their control, allowing Mei to be saved."
"Wendy, however, wasn't so lucky. The main cast couldn't find a single trace of her!"
"Huh? Good news! A comms link from Wendy just came through!"
…
Wendy's communication suddenly connected.
Unlike her state when she was controlled by the Herrscher,
her voice at this moment
sounded remarkably calm, yet desperately faint.
It was as if she was clinging to her very last breath just to speak.
"Miss Kiana… My time is running out. There are a few final words I want to say to you, so please remember them well."
"A few days ago, the Honkai energy inside the Gem of Desire restored my ability to walk."
"I thought… if that Honkai energy could also heal Bronya-oneesama…"
"If… if you ever have the chance to get the Gem of Desire in the future… please…"
The communication abruptly cut off!
Immediately after,
an arrogant, condescending woman's voice came through.
"Hi there. Did you like the gift I just sent you?"
On the comms display,
the other party's name appeared—
Cocolia!
"Shouldn't you be thanking me for my immense mercy? Delivering Wendy's last words straight to her beloved Bronya-oneesama."
"Oh, by the way, I've already killed the Fourth Herrscher and extracted the Honkai energy crystal from her body—that very same Gem of Desire."
"I figured out the technology to utilize the Gem of Desire in mechanical units long ago…"
"Seeking revenge against Schicksal was her wish all along anyway. I merely fulfilled it on her behalf."
Cocolia kept drawing massive aggro!
The emotions of the players in the stream erupted into sheer fury!
…
"??? MY WENDY AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"It hurts! It hurts so much!"
"NO!!! MY WENDY!!!"
"What's going on?! She really died?!"
"Flaming Lance, Forward!"
"I'm heading back to Belobog right now to beat up the weekly boss Cocolia."
"Wildfire, ignite!"
"This world's Cocolia is way too venomous and wicked!"
"In comparison, Belobog's Supreme Guardian looks practically benevolent!"
"I still prefer Belobog's Cocolia. The Engine of Creation looks way cooler than whatever this Wotan robot is supposed to be!"
"To someone like me who has gutted fish in Aurum Alley for ten whole years, this level of angst can't hurt me at all. [ Sunglasses ]"
"What if I told you that this is the actual reality in another world?"
…
[ After a grueling battle, Anti-Entropy's colossal mech, Wotan, was destroyed.
Kiana and the others seized the opportunity to escape from the ME Corp Headquarters.
Though they succeeded in rescuing Mei, they lost Wendy forever. ]
On the screen,
a brief frame of Wendy flashed by.
Little Gui broke down completely.
She wailed, "Wuu-wuu-wuu… When I reached this point, I really didn't think Wendy would actually die!"
"Our protagonists are so powerful, why couldn't we save them both?!"
"Yet the cold, hard truth is…"
"Wendy is truly gone, and Da-ya is severely injured…"
"People actually die in this game!"
"Wuu-wuu-wuu… Wendy, if there is a next life, I hope you can become a free, unbound wind!"
…
Aboard the Astral Express.
Himeko let out a deep sigh.
That world was truly cruel.
And to think that the version of herself there had become a teacher instructing others.
It felt utterly surreal.
"By the way, Welt. You mentioned that these events took place in your homeland."
"So… what happened next?"
"Was there any chance left to save Wendy?"
Ever since Honkai Impact 3rd appeared,
Old Yang's nerves had been stretched taut!
From the moment the stream started until now, he hadn't missed a single beat of the plot.
Every plotline, every timeline matched up completely!
He could be practically certain—
this was indeed his homeland!
Hearing Himeko's question,
Old Yang's Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily.
Cold sweat began to bead on his forehead.
"To my knowledge… that girl named Wendy indeed perished during this period."
Hearing this,
Himeko fell silent.
As expected…
The most helpless part was that
these were things that had already come to pass.
Even if the Astral Express wanted to step in and change it, there was nothing they could do.
This was the cruelest aspect of history.
"Uwaaaaaah…"
A bout of sobbing interrupted Himeko's train of thought.
She turned her head.
It was March 7th, tears streaming down her face.
March wiped her eyes with her hands, sniffling as she choked out, "Uuu… this is way too cruel!"
"Does this game really have to hit us with such heavy heartbreaks right off the bat?!"
"Wendy bet her entire life for the greater good, sealing away the source of danger…"
"Yet in the end, she met such an early, withered demise."
"And even at the very end of her life, all she thought about was donating her own body parts just to lend one final bit of help."
"Uncle Yang… is your homeland truly so beautiful, yet so terribly cruel?"
Old Yang parted his lips.
Instinctively, he wanted to offer some comfort.
However,
the moment he thought about what was to come next, his throat went completely dry.
Was he supposed to…
tell March that this was merely the beginning?
Or perhaps,
he should just shut down the livestream right now!
If they pretended this game had never existed, it might still not be too late!