To avoid awkwardness, Kiana quickly changed the subject, chatting with Mei about their future with full confidence about escaping the Dead Walkers in Nagazora.
Mei didn't respond at first. After a long silence, she advised Kiana to abandon her and escape alone—because she was dangerous now.
Here, Hokuto added a flashback not in the original story—a scene of Kiana fighting the Herrscher of Thunder version of Mei. Of course, the audience could clearly see Mei was holding back. In fact, it looked like she was already being "won over" by Kiana… which is why she chose to retreat.
Flashback over, Kiana flatly rejected Mei's suggestion to run alone, and declared in her classic style:
"If danger comes, I'll take you with me. If enemies appear, I'll wipe them all out.
If you turn into that Herrscher again, I'll just knock some sense into you with my bat.
Once, twice, ten times—I'll keep hitting you until your head's covered in bumps!
I'll always stay by your side. I'll always protect you."
Seeing Kiana say such a strange line so earnestly, Mei couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time. But part of her was convinced. Still, she remained uneasy.
"But… others won't see it that way…"
To comfort her, Kiana held out her pinky and smiled:
"Then don't tell them! Let's keep this a secret between us!
Besides, we're both this cute. If we beg a little, they won't suspect a thing.
I've used this trick tons of times back when I was wandering!"
Seeing this version of Kiana, Mei finally relaxed.
"Seriously… You're such a dummy.
But… a reassuring dummy."
She extended her own pinky and linked it with Kiana's.
A promise was made.
Chapter 16 was a full-on Kiana x Mei sugar bomb—easily the sweetest one yet.
Players felt like they were drowning in sugar.
[Why does this sweetness make me feel so bitter?]
[Is this sugar forged from knives? Or knives made of sugar?]
[I should be smiling… But knowing this is just Mei's dream, while the real Kiana's still missing, I can't smile at all.]
The audience had mixed emotions. Elysia, who was also watching the stream, was no different.
She turned to Hokuto, who had returned to the office and sat beside her to watch the stream.
"Hokuto, the Kiana x Mei sugar you served is way too sweet."
Though it sounded like praise, Elysia rarely wore such a gloomy look.
"Isn't sweet good?" Hokuto turned the question back on her.
"Sigh… Sweet is nice.
But this kind of sweet… makes my heart ache."
Elysia let out a gentle sigh. It was her first time seeing cute girls being affectionate and feeling so conflicted.
No doubt, the script was impressive.
"Think of it as necessary buildup."
"Buildup?"
"Look—if I didn't write these scenes, Mei suddenly risking everything to find Kiana would feel forced.
And later choices would feel like they came out of nowhere."
Not to mention, if players didn't understand the past between Kiana and Mei, they wouldn't truly feel Mei's goodbye in Lament of the Fallen, when she said:
'You're more important than this world.'
So, it was necessary to show their history.
"Or is it because you wanted to slowly build up the players' emotions, then ignite them at some point—causing an explosive chain reaction they can't control?"
Elysia looked suspicious.
"How could that be?" Hokuto denied flatly.
"I just want the players to immerse themselves in the story. That's all."
He was just an ordinary game developer. What bad intentions could he possibly have?
This conversation between Elysia and Hokuto happened off-screen, unnoticed by others.
And it didn't stop Mobius from continuing the main story.
The dream ended.
The next day, at dawn.
Mei urgently woke up Tesla, who was groggy with sleep. Apparently, the water level in Nagazora had risen drastically overnight.
Tesla followed Mei outside the battleship and was stunned by the sight.
The seawater flooding the city remained calm, without a ripple—but it had risen by dozens of meters overnight.
"This is definitely not normal… The kids might be in danger. We have to hurry!"
To protect the children in the Nest, Mei returned to help them evacuate.
After the successful evacuation, Mei learned from Sora about the appearance of a "Great Honkai Beast."
The situation was urgent. Mei decided to begin her investigation immediately—only to encounter the Judgment-Class Honkai Beast, Benares.
And the appearance of Benares could only mean one thing—Kiana was indeed in Nagazora.
Mei fought fiercely against Benares, who had gained new powers. She tried her best to hold her own, but amidst lightning and thunder, she began feeling dizzy.
In that moment of crisis, someone both unexpected and inevitable appeared—
Raven.
She blocked Benares's attack.
Turns out Raven was Sora's teacher. And to protect Sora, Mei had no choice but to retreat back to the Nest.
[So Raven really was the teacher!]
[I seriously can't imagine Raven crying and rolling on the ground screaming "My island… my villa…" LOL]
[Someone PLEASE Photoshop that right now. Urgent request!]
The barrage of comments flew in as the plot moved forward.
Back in the Nest, Mei discovered that Dr. Tesla was missing. Soon after, Raven returned, having wounded Benares, and began a serious—though relatively calm—discussion with Mei about Kiana.
Raven had returned with the intention of eliminating Kiana, whose core had already been eroded.
But Mei thought Raven just wanted to kill her.
The standoff escalated until Sora suddenly intervened to plead on Mei's behalf. Out of respect for Sora, Raven agreed to give Mei a chance.
To locate Kiana, the two of them began hunting Honkai beasts. Raven used her powers to interfere with and share the beasts' senses, using the Herrscher's natural draw to Honkai energy to pinpoint Kiana's position.
Thanks to their efforts, they cleared out Honkai beasts across half the city.
During a break, they argued again about whether Kiana posed a danger. Their experiences led them to irreconcilable conclusions—and they parted on bad terms.
Through Mei's multiple confrontations with Raven, players came to understand Kiana's condition:
Just one Herrscher Core could destroy an entire city—Kiana had three sealed inside her.
The rising water, the gathering beasts, and the appearance of Judgment-Class enemies all pointed to one fact—Kiana was losing control of the Herrscher of the Void's consciousness.
Anti-Entropy had no method to help her control the Herrscher's power.
Faced with these truths, Mei felt helpless and powerless.
Would she just keep missing Kiana again and again?
Keep watching her sacrifice herself for the world—unable to do anything but watch?
Yes. She knew.
She truly could do nothing now.
She was weak, powerless, unable to protect Kiana.
But! That didn't mean she would give up. On the contrary, admitting that let her see things clearly.
She understood that if she wanted to bring Kiana back, she'd have to… make sacrifices.
"Mei current look is actually much better than before."
Mobius narrowed her eyes and shared her insight as if stating the obvious.
"[Humanity] is flawed. That's why one must face their weakness, and change.
This… is evolution."
To her, Mei's desperate struggle wasn't ugly.
Because the process of evolution was never beautiful.
On the contrary, it was hideous. Absolutely hideous.
Only by enduring this ugliness could one understand… the beauty of life.
The story reached this point.
Mobius hadn't seen the rest yet, but she had a strong feeling that Raiden Mei would eventually join World Serpent.
Because… Mei's will was drawing closer to "the Serpent."
[Anyone else think Miss Snake just got way creepier?]
[Yeah, I've got goosebumps.]
["My dear Elysia": Just between us, Miss Snake is actually a mad scientist~~]
After Elysia's comment, the stream paused for a second.
Then a flood of new comments appeared—
[A mad scientist? LOL thanks to Miss Pink Elf♪ for the laugh. That pulled me out of my sadness.]
[You really think she's joking? I swear Miss Pink Elf♪ never lies (lol)]
[Impossible! If Miss Snake is a mad scientist, I'll wear a dress and show my roommate!]
[Just say you wanna cross-dress, no need for excuses.]
Though someone mentioned Miss Pink Elf♪ never lies, no one really believed Miss Snake = Mad Scientist.
After all, mad scientists are supposed to cackle in creepy labs, fiddling with bizarre equipment and looking gloomy, right?
But Miss Snake was currently streaming Honkai Impact 3rd.
Not the picture of health and sunshine, maybe—but definitely not "mad scientist" material.
Clearly, these netizens didn't get the appeal of contrast moe.
Let's see if they still remember today's words when Elysian Realm drops.
That's going to be very interesting.