Kiana is just Kiana.
No matter what she's been through, she's still that radiant, beautiful girl.
"Kiana, well said! Clap clap clap~~"
Hokuto came to his senses, smiling genuinely as he applauded her.
"Hehehe~~ it's not that great…" Kiana scratched her cheek awkwardly.
"No, no, it really is. I'm sure everyone thinks so too."
Hokuto glanced toward the others as he spoke.
Mei nodded with a smile.
Cecilia came forward and hugged Kiana.
"As expected of my adorable Kiana."
"Mom, I'm not a kid anymore." Kiana quickly pushed Cecilia away.
"And besides, so many people are watching us."
Cecilia blinked and obediently let her go.
"That's true. Out here, Kiana still has to maintain a reliable image.
If everyone finds out Kiana's actually a clumsy kid, that won't be good."
"Moooom!" Kiana raised her voice in protest.
Hokuto chimed in from the side, "Don't worry. Actually, everyone already knows that part."
Kiana: ???
"Really?" Cecilia covered her mouth in mock surprise.
Mei glanced at wide-eyed Kiana and added softly:
"After all, Kiana isn't good at hiding her thoughts at all."
"Even newcomers like Raven and Sora who joined miHoYo later probably already know what kind of person the real Kiana is, right?"
"Hokuto, Mei, you guys…"
Kiana wanted to argue, but couldn't find any reason to.
Her ever-changing expressions drew smiles from everyone.
The miHoYo studio was momentarily filled with joy and laughter.
...
On the other side, the new Honkai Impact 3rd version's promotional PV had already caused a huge stir.
Players were watching the info-packed PV over and over again.
Once again, they clicked play.
The video began with a whisper.
"Ich liebe Dich."
Players were familiar with this line. It came from the previous main story chapter, Babylon's Prisoner, where Kiana found a "magic spell" in Sirin's diary.
It was said to grant any wish.
It means "I love you" in the language of the Sakura Country's neighbor.
As "Ich liebe Dich" echoed, the scene became clearer—
It was the moment Kiana was born as an experimental subject.
Otto looked at her from outside the incubation pod.
Next came Siegfried's voice.
"Kiana, we made a promise… You won't lose to her! Absolutely not!"
The scene shifted—
A battlefield bathed in flames.
One-armed Siegfried held young Kiana in his arms.
In her eyes: confusion.
This was Kiana's first time losing control.
It was her who cut off Siegfried's arm with her own hands.
More flashes followed.
"Mei… Mei! My beloved other half, my burning soul, don't wait—come into my embrace and become my power once more."
The Queen stole the Gem of Conquest from Mei's body, nearly killing her.
Watching the Queen's arrogance, players couldn't help but recall the awe they felt when she first descended.
It was truly epic back then!
Then—hearts sank.
If their guess was right, the next scene would be…
A collapsing Imaginary Space.
The Herrscher of the Void knelt weakly on the ground.
The red figure didn't appear.
But they knew exactly what scene this was.
Final Lesson.
Teacher Himeko…
The video continued—
Now, a new scene.
On a grand stage, Kiana and the Queen faced each other.
"I've always known this day would come. Let's finish this now."
Kiana's voice was resolute. She took the initiative to declare war.
"Hohoho~~☆"
All she got in return was the Queen's series of mocking laughs.
They clashed.
The screen went black.
Then—
A blaze slashed through the darkness.
"With these flames, I sever all bonds!"
The burst of white light perfectly mirrored the very move Himeko used to slice through the Queen's attack in Final Lesson.
And that was the end of the video.
Just a few minutes long.
And less than half an hour after it was released—
The comments section had already exploded into thousands.
[Anyone got a breakdown of the story?]
[Watched it several times. Only got that Kiana's going to end things with the Queen? And that flame slash—it's just like the one in Final Lesson!]
[Based on the latest official announcement, Chapter 24 is "The Solo Stage"—makes sense as it continues the story. But Chapter 25 is "Set Tomorrow Ablaze." That sounds way deeper.]
[I don't care about all that. I just want to know—can I see Himeko one more time?]
[Maybe we should trust the writers a bit more. Last chapter was sweet and satisfying, right?]
As discussions exploded,
As players replayed the new Honkai Impact 3rd version PV countless times—
The game's already blazing popularity shot even higher.
On pilipili, Weibo, and even overseas on TubeYou,
Countless content creators uploaded theory videos on the new story.
Players everywhere were eagerly waiting:
miHoYo, please update the story already! We can't wait!
...
Days later, Hokuto finished the Sirin manga series.
With players' anticipation at its peak—
The Honkai Impact 3rd main story update day finally arrived.
At the same time, miHoYo hosted the third official livestream.
Hokuto had planned to host it himself,
But Elysia requested the role, saying she wanted to hype up the arrival of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers.
After a brief thought, he agreed.
Maybe Thus Spoke Apocalypse really was her perfect stage.
Since it was already the third official stream,
Everyone at miHoYo had gotten used to it and wasn't as hyped as the first two times.
Before the game update went live, Elysia had already taken her seat in the livestream studio with Kiana and Himeko.
Viewers, who had been waiting forever, erupted the moment the stream began.
[Finally updating! I've been dying these past few days!]
[Himeko's here too! Could it be she'll appear in the main story again?!]
"Hi~♪ Hello everyone~~"
Elysia greeted the viewers. "I'm your host for today's stream—Elysia!"
[Elysia's hosting the official stream??]
[I'm starting to think she's secretly part of miHoYo staff.]
"That might actually be true~~"
Elysia laughed at the comment, "Who knows, maybe I'll become Honkai Impact 3rd's official poster girl~♪"
[Kiana disagrees!]
[Theresa disagrees!]
[Ai-chan disagrees too!]
"Ehh~~ Don't turn me into Kiana and the others' rival now~"
Elysia blinked playfully.
"We're all close, you know! I've got Kiana in one hand and Theresa in the other… hehehe~~"
[???]
[???]
"Alright, let's get to the main event."
Elysia smiled, seeing the mood had warmed up enough.
"Himeko and Kiana, please say a few words before we begin."
"Himeko, anything you'd like to say to everyone?" she asked.
Himeko thought seriously, a complicated expression on her face.
"I really appreciate everyone's continued support for Honkai Impact 3rd.
We will transform this flawed world into one worthy of your hopes."
"A very Himeko-style message. Now, what about Kiana?"
Kiana also looked a little conflicted.
She just softly said:
"To fight for all that is beautiful in this world."
"So full of positivity, health, sunshine, and good vibes."
Elysia grinned as she dropped a pun.
Without further delay, they logged into the game and launched the new main story.
Elysia had been waiting far too long for this moment.
[Chapter 24: The Solo Stage]
Continuing from the last chapter.
It opened with hundreds of identical puppets gathered in a solemn courtroom, arguing furiously.
"Silence! Silence!"
At the center, one puppet sat like a judge.
But her voice only made the others louder.
"Hey! Why do you get to sit up there?"
"Yeah! Get down here!"
The puppet on the bench ignored them and began explaining the meeting's purpose: syncing updates and setting new strategy.
"What's there to sync? Isn't it always the same? Cause chaos here and there."
"Exactly. It's all small stuff. We're Herrschers, aren't we?
Shouldn't we be destroying the wretched ant civilization?"
It was hands down the most chaotic meeting in history.
The puppets in the audience heckled the one on the bench,
showing nothing but disdain for her strategies.
What's more, even the puppet on the bench kept calling others by the wrong names.
She couldn't tell them apart either.
Eventually, the audience broke into fights.
The others didn't stop them—
Some even egged them on or took the chance to land a few kicks.
Players were stunned.
[What kind of ragtag circus is this??]
["Gentlemen seek harmony, not uniformity; petty men seek uniformity, not harmony." The ancients were right.]
[Muahaha!!]
[Did Black Seele beat the brains out of this lot?]
...
After heated debate and a vote,
The puppets finally agreed to continue conserving power while disrupting social order.
Next, the story shifted to Mei and Raven.
The two had been investigating the Herrscher of Dominance.
But so far, they'd made little progress.
After a recent infiltration mission, they rescued a young boy who had awakened natural stigmata.
Then came a segment of Mei accompanying Raven to visit Sora and the others.
Raven and Mei set off again to their next mission location.
While traveling, Mei suddenly recalled something—
She had once gone to see Kevin,
to ask about the whereabouts of the Gem of Haste.