Amidst the players' wavering emotions, the plot advanced considerably.
Things gradually started to feel… off.
Welt suddenly went berserk, killed Mei, then wiped out all the Valkyries on the battlefield, and destroyed Schicksal.
Only Bronya remained alive.
Facing this unreasonable, terrifying power, Bronya didn't flinch. Dragging her Honkai energy-eroded body, she confronted Welt.
The enraged Welt, while recounting Schicksal's crimes and the deaths of countless Anti-Entropy members, manipulated the Star of Eden, inflicting wound after wound on Bronya.
Yet, he couldn't break Bronya's will.
"Enough! Kneel before me!"
Welt (the First Herrscher) was becoming unhinged. "You have no right to accuse me! I killed someone important to you. You hate me too. How are we any different?!"
—But the Valkyrie continued to advance.
Bronya's voice was surprisingly calm. "Bronya does not hate you. Bronya only finds you pitiful and pathetic. In your eyes, Bronya can only see fear and cowardice."
Hearing this, Welt seemed to have a sore spot poked, his voice growing more intense.
"Cowardice? What a joke! I am stronger than anyone!"
To this, Bronya merely spoke in a reminiscent tone, "You are not strong at all. Bronya has met someone much stronger than you. Even when disaster struck, she could face it with courage... Even when despair blotted out the sun, she would fight back with her will..."
"She was just a mortal. Bronya knows her confusion, her bewilderment, the pain and sorrow she experienced along her journey..."
"But Bronya also knows, no matter how long the road, she would still uphold her responsibilities... She is still the hero who protected hope!"
As Bronya spoke, the image of a figure muttering 'I'd love another drink' couldn't help but surface in the players' minds.
Their stomachs began to ache faintly, yet their hearts were deeply moved.
Previously, Bronya would still fall for Kiana's childish taunts, putting aside her studies to compete with Kiana in games.
Now, facing such a crisis, Bronya could calmly articulate her thoughts.
Himeko's departure had allowed everyone to grow, and it also elevated the plot of Honkai Impact 3rd.
[Himeko truly was a great teacher, so the scriptwriter must die!]
[Bronya has grown, but it makes my heart ache even more, so the scriptwriter must die!]
[...Can't think of anything witty, anyway, the scriptwriter must die!]
"I really wish Himeko could come back and see how much they've grown," Elysia voiced the sentiments of all the viewers. "She would definitely be very gratified if she saw it, right?"
"What do you think, Mr. Otto?" she asked softly, with a hint of subtle probing.
"Himeko would indeed be very gratified. She would know... never mind."
Su Luo managed to stop himself just in time, but the audience still keenly sensed something.
[Listening to Otto, could Himeko actually meet the main cast again?]
[As expected, Himeko isn't dead! I reasonably suspect Himeko will become a Herrscher!]
"Ahem."
Su Luo had to cough lightly twice to interrupt the audience's speculation. "Don't overthink it."
He was uncharacteristically sincere, yet the audience members all declared that Dog Tuo was definitely trying to deceive them, trying to cover up his earlier slip of the tongue.
As expected.
Sincerity is seldom rewarded; only routines win hearts.
Forget it, forget it. I won't be the one crying when the time comes anyway.
The plot continued. Ultimately, because the First Herrscher wasn't as eloquent as the Herrscher of the Void, he narrowly lost the verbal beatdown to Bronya.
Bronya, following the Star of Eden's choice, released a pseudo-black hole to take down the First Herrscher in a mutual destruction.
The scene changed. Bronya and Seele stood on a small path, the Herrscher of Reason Core at its end.
Everything seemed to be concluding smoothly, yet the players didn't let down their guard.
Because Seele, who had always appeared gentle, had actually turned dark!
And she was incredibly strong, defeating Bronya in just a few moves.
A portion of the audience's hearts instantly clenched.
But a small minority of viewers, whether in front of their computers or phones, saw their own twisted smiles reflected on the screens that momentarily darkened during the scene transition.
Hehehe~ They just knew miHoYo wouldn't possibly give out sweets!
Knives, it was indeed knives!
However, the subsequent plot development was different from what this small minority of viewers expected.
After being defeated by Seele, Bronya returned to Joachim. Disregarding her injuries, she struggled, wanting to return to the Sea of Quanta.
Her conviction eventually earned Joachim's approval.
With his help, she actually defeated Dark Seele quite easily.
Even...
"Why are you stopping me, Big Sis Bronya? If I fail, Seele will return to that void..." 'Seele' questioned Bronya.
Bronya, however, retorted with a firm gaze, "If it wishes, it can make you both dissipate in the Sea of Quanta at any time... This is not salvation at all."
"Bronya will use her own method to take Seele away... Bronya must fulfill her promise to Seele."
'Seele' was silent for a long time, then, as if giving up, said in a voice much gentler than before:
"I don't want to go back there for even a second... But Seele said, she is willing to wait for you."
"Really, I can't win an argument against her..."
That small minority of viewers never expected miHoYo to actually opt for a straightforward heroic plot, saving everyone through love, justice, and talk-no-jutsu.
[Impossible! Absolutely impossible! The miHoYo scriptwriter must have been body-snatched!]
[Where are the knives? What about the promised knives? If you don't deliver the knives soon, I'll, hehehe~~]
[Are you guys nuts? Isn't it good to have sweets?]
[Exactly, exactly. Itching for knives when you have nothing better to do. Guess you've had it too easy if you're asking for pain.]
['I will always love Miss Fairy' gifted a Rhythm Storm: Celebrating the miHoYo scriptwriter turning over a new leaf!]
And just as the two groups were endlessly arguing, a sudden change occurred.
An alien, giant hand rose from the abyss, and a black tide surged forward.
"Seele! Danger!"
Bronya rushed over to save Seele, but it was too late.
She could only watch as the black tide mercilessly engulfed Seele, her body gradually dissipating, transforming into a blue butterfly that flew towards her.
Then, just as it was about to touch her fingertips, it completely vanished.
Leaving behind only one sentence: "Seele... believes in Big Sis Bronya..."
This time, both groups of viewers were stunned.
One group hadn't expected the plot to take such a sudden, sharp downturn. The other group, while wanting knives, hadn't wanted someone to die!
They just wanted something more 'twisted,' like Bronya and Seele locked in a love-hate killing relationship.
[The knives I wanted aren't this kind of knives!]
[Knives, knives, knives, great, now my Seele! I just got her to SSS-rank! (crying)]
[Can't you write a plot without killing someone? And you even drew so many Seele and Bronya comics beforehand. Having read them all, I'm simply a clown!]
"Everyone, please don't get too agitated yet. There's still an animated short," Elysia timely soothed the viewers in the stream.
She immediately clicked on the animated short she had been looking forward to for a long time.
"I believe Seele will definitely be okay."
"Bronya will definitely save Seele."
[I feel like I'm witnessing a colossal FLAG.]
[Miss Fairy, don't jinx it anymore. If you keep it up, Seele's body will get cold.]