"Miss Fairy."
Su Luo had to speak up to remind Elysia. He hadn't expected the players' reactions to be so strong right at the beginning of the interlude.
"The story has only just begun."
"If it starts like this, there are definitely knives coming later."
However, despite saying so, Elysia still wanted to continue watching, eager to know what would happen to Kiana.
The players naturally shared the same sentiment.
She continued to progress through the main story.
Kiana's memories unfolded within the game.
The faces of Theresa and Mei appeared one by one.
Then came Sirin's insidious, bewitching voice.
"Those friends who kept saying they wanted to take you home... when they witness your true face, will they still be willing to let you get close to them, embrace them?"
"At this very moment, in their eyes, the girl named Kiana no longer exists."
"The only way to save you now is to eliminate you."
As if to confirm Sirin's words, as soon as she finished speaking, the illusions of Mei and Theresa beside Kiana began to attack her.
Elysia didn't even react in time and was hit by a combo from Mei, knocked to the ground.
Mei's voice was filled with sorrow: "Kiana, I'm so sorry..."
Yet, her attacks showed no mercy.
Similarly, even though Theresa's voice was full of struggle, she still brought down the Judah in her hands.
It seemed to be a reflection of Kiana's inner turmoil.
It seemed to highlight Kiana's current difficult predicament.
This stage was incredibly arduous for the players.
Even Elysia almost failed due to her initial愣神 (lèngshén - moment of distraction/being stunned).
After finally defeating the illusions of Mei and Theresa, Sirin summoned an illusion of Fu Hua and 'helped' Kiana recount Fu Hua's "crimes" against her.
"From beginning to end, she treated you like a monster, constantly monitoring you, wary of you. In the end, she destroyed your life and handed you over to Bishop Otto. Hahaha, to her, you were always prey."
"Look! She's here to hunt you again~☆"
As Sirin's voice fell, Elysia had already prepared for battle.
Unexpectedly, Fu Hua, who should have attacked, did not strike Kiana.
Instead, she tried to persuade Kiana: "Don't believe her, Kiana! Don't let her sway your thoughts."
This seemed to add a touch of warmth to the increasingly chilling plot.
But the good times didn't last; Fu Hua soon disappeared.
The next to appear was Otto.
The scene showed Otto conducting cloning experiments in a research institute, attempting to resurrect the Second Herrscher. The target of his experiments was precisely K-423.
Due to Sirin's deliberate actions, Kiana witnessed the birth of herself, the one named K-423.
She learned part of the truth.
She was, in fact, just a clone.
"This isn't real!"
Kiana, who had been desperately holding on, experienced intense emotional turmoil. These scenes brought her to the brink of a mental breakdown.
She nearly lost her sanity, viciously attacking the surrounding illusions of clones purely on instinct.
The Second Herrscher's laughter echoed in the air, like a clamorous flock of crows circling a dying person.
The plot was so oppressive that it even made the players feel suffocated.
The number of viewers in the live stream chat had doubled compared to when Elysia first started broadcasting, but the number of bullet comments was several times less than before.
Everyone watched in silence, feeling it was too heavy.
They could see no hope at all, and no matter how they thought about it, they couldn't figure out how Kiana could overcome her inner darkness.
Identity, lineage, name – not a single thing truly belonged to her.
Until.
Someone appeared, interrupting Sirin's laughter, and took Kiana away from this place filled with despair.
"It's Hua!" Elysia's eyes lit up. "Hua is usually quiet, but she always appears at critical moments. She's indeed a very reliable person."
[Our Monitor! Truly the Push-up Immortal!!]
[Damn it, this is the first time I've been so nervous watching a story unfold.]
[Next, Kiana will definitely defeat the Herrscher of the Void with love and justice, right? It must be like that! (panicked)]
The plot continued, and the scene shifted to the outside.
However, the conversation between Kiana and Fu Hua was not as harmonious as they had imagined.
First, Fu Hua sternly lectured Kiana, who was clutching her head in pain.
Then, Kiana intensely questioned Fu Hua, venting her emotions.
Kiana's painful and pitiful appearance, contrasted with Fu Hua's hesitant, aggrieved helplessness, made the players feel a distinct pain, even if they couldn't pinpoint where the "knife" was.
If miHoYo's previous plot twists were like blatant stabs, this was now a hidden force dealing internal injuries to the players.
This was especially true for Kiana's subsequent, stumbling monologue.
"The girl walked aimlessly, searching for a place to hide from everything."
"At the age of twelve, 'she' woke up for the first time and caused massive destruction. Since then, the girl had been constantly on the run, never daring to stay in one place for too long, nor daring to get close to anyone."
"Until she met them... Mei, Bronya, Theresa... These encounters allowed her to experience the warmth of a home, creating the desire to stay."
"Unconsciously, the fragmented lights of neon signs flashed before her eyes. The clamor of human voices and the aroma of food disrupted her thoughts. The girl trembled like a frightened little animal."
"She realized she couldn't stay here; she had to hide from the crowd... But her footsteps defied her consciousness, continuing forward like a moth chasing a flame."
This narration made Kiana's character even more fleshed out. Her struggles, her helplessness, her desires – all were fully displayed before the players' eyes.
Her fragile appearance made people want to jump into the game and hug her.
"Mr. Otto, is Kiana okay?" Elysia asked.
To the viewers in the live stream chat, Elysia was asking about the Kiana in the game, but Su Luo knew she was asking about the Kiana outside the game.
This part of the story had hit even the players hard, let alone Kiana herself.
"She's okay." She was just depressed for a few days after finishing the voice acting.
"I really want to hug her."
[Sob, I also really want to hug Tuna, my poor Tuna.]
[I feel like I'm watching my own daughter being abused right now.]
[Tuna is my daughter! Draw your sword!]
[Draw sword +2! Let's fight it out!]
...
[??? Are you guys nuts!]
The viewers in the live stream chat truly never disappointed.
Elysia perked up: "I believe in Kiana! She won't be defeated just like this!"
"Even if she's just a moth chasing the flame, so what if she's a Flame-Chaser Moth!!"
"Kiana! You can do it!"