There was indeed a lot to say about the new Elysian Realm storyline.
Several new Flame-Chasers with distinct traits, a winding, dramatic plot—
And then...
The biggest character reversal of the arc (i.e., a reversal that wasn't one, yet caught everyone off guard): Elysia.
Not because it was hard to guess she'd become a Herrscher.
But because she was the first to appear in the Realm.
Many players had thought—or used to think—that she was a suspicious woman.
Add in all the narrative foreshadowing...
While enjoying Elysia's teasing, players couldn't help but remain wary of her, half-expecting a betrayal at any moment.
Only for it all to end and, looking back—
They realized Elysia truly was just a purely good girl.
That revelation struck those who had always doubted her in a way that words couldn't quite capture.
Only by looking at the chaos on the forums could one get a sense of it:
"Honkai Impact 3rd fights for the beauty of the world—and Elysia is that beauty!"
"Elysia, take me with you!"
"Elysia, how am I supposed to live without you!!"
The variety of fanatical posts said it all.
And thanks to this "reversal,"
Elysia's popularity soared once more—she had become the hottest character in Honkai Impact 3rd.
Of course, no matter how popular Elysia was now, players still discussed plenty of other characters.
For example:
"After finishing the Elysian Realm story, I suddenly understood Kevin."
A certain Captain (the original poster): Everyone's talking about Elysia right now, but I really want to talk about Kevin. Kevin's story is just tragic!
Here's my brief summary of Kevin's mental breakdown arc:
In the Sixth Eruption, he hesitated to execute the Herrscher of Death, which led to mass civilian casualties;
In the Eleventh Eruption tragedy, countless MANTISes died, and he had to kill most of them with his own hands;
During the Twelfth Eruption, his failure to understand Herrscher powers led to the fall of the final three mega cities—Sakura died in battle while he could only watch;
In the Thirteenth Eruption, Elysia became a Herrscher, and he had to kill her with his own hands—even though she was preparing his birthday present (allegedly);
Dr. MEI's death.
I used to think Kevin went unhinged fighting the Honkai, but now I think it's amazing he's even remotely sane. (facepalm)
Wife Bella (Reply #2): Not gonna lie, it's true.
His lover's hopes, his friends' dreams, his comrades' dying wishes, the expectation of billions of humans in the Previous Era... the survival of the entire civilization rests on him.
Kevin's burdens are way too heavy.
MiHoYo Are You Even Human (Reply #3):
Before Elysian Realm: Kevin fought the Honkai so hard he lost it?
After Elysian Realm: Kevin lost it... this little?!
...
Players felt like they understood Kevin more than ever before.
They completely got Kevin.
But in truth, players really were learning more about Kevin—only, that might still be far from enough.
In the upcoming chapters...
They'll understand more of what Kevin endured. They'll understand more about why Kevin made the choices he did.
They'll also better understand what it truly means to be the strongest human warrior burdened with the Signet of [Salvation].
Of course, that's all for later.
For now, it was almost the Lunar New Year, and Hokuto had already given everyone at MiHoYo a holiday.
The production of Elysian Realm hadn't even started yet.
Time passed—
And it was New Year's Eve.
Ding dong~~ Ding dong~~
"Coming, coming."
Hokuto, who was resting at home, heard knocking from outside.
He walked out of the bedroom, through the living room to the entryway, and opened the door.
A cute pink-haired girl stood confidently at the door.
"Hi~♪ Missed me?"
Elysia waved cheerfully at him.
"Elysia? What brings you here?" Hokuto asked with slight surprise.
"Eh? Can't I visit you just because I want to?"
Elysia crossed her arms dramatically.
Hokuto quickly shook his head. "Elysia, your visit brings honor to my humble home."
"Mhm~ I knew you wouldn't refuse a girl as cute as me~~"
Elysia didn't mind Hokuto's exaggerated words at all.
She laughed, then peeked into the house and asked with a bright smile:
"Hokuto, are you home alone today?"
Hokuto nodded.
"In that case, how about... coming over to my place?" Elysia suggested.
"Uh…"
Hokuto hesitated, "There must be a lot of people at your place, right? Is it okay?"
"It's fine, come on~ There are lots of people you know. The more the merrier."
Elysia jogged behind him, energetically pushing him forward.
And so, Hokuto got pushed into Elysia's home.
As soon as they stepped inside—
Chef Kalpas's booming voice rang out from the kitchen and into the living room:
"HAHAHAHAHA! Let the flames of wrath burn this farce to ashes! You cowardly butter! You timid starch! Duel to the death within this iron cage! HAHAHAHA!"
"What's Kalpas doing?" Hokuto asked Elysia curiously.
Elysia blinked and replied, "Probably making pancakes and donuts for Griseo, her favorites?"
"Oh, I see."
Hokuto nodded gently, readily accepting an answer most people wouldn't.
After all, who makes desserts like they're fighting a war?
Chef Kalpas does.
Listening to Kalpas's thundering declarations, Hokuto and Elysia continued inside.
After just a few steps, they heard Vill-V's voice.
"Dear viewers, allow me to present to you—Vill-V's specially engineered home-use robot!"
A strangely shaped, maid-like household robot was placed on the coffee table by Vill-V.
Beside her, Kosma silently stared at the robot, his eyes faintly shining.
As if saying—
...Cool.
"I think maybe you should go stop Vill-V," Hokuto suggested to Elysia. Sure, Vill-V was a brilliant engineer...
But her inventions always had... issues. Things could get messy.
"It's fine, Mobius will handle it properly."
Elysia pointed to Mobius, who had silently circled behind Vill-V, signaling Hokuto to relax.
"Mobius? What are you doing?"
"I'm just sending scrap to where it belongs," Mobius replied coolly.
"This is a specially engineered home robot, not scrap."
"Oh? Then let me ask—what does it do?"
"Great question!"
Vill-V proudly puffed out her chest. "It can automatically clean the floor around the house. Useful, right?"
"Isn't that just a Roomba?" Mobius deadpanned.
Vill-V shook her head.
"Sure, it's basically a Roomba—but don't you think the humanoid design is incredibly innovative?"
"Even if it means it can't clean places like under the sofa because of its size?"
Mobius pinpointed the robot's flaw with surgical precision.
"Some sacrifices are necessary," Vill-V answered breezily.
"..."
Elysia turned her attention away from Vill-V and said to Hokuto,
"See? I told you Mobius would handle it."
"Mm… fair enough."
Hokuto nodded hesitantly.
The two continued deeper into the house, looking for a place to sit.
And ran into Kevin, who had just come out of the kitchen with a bowl.
"Kevin." Hokuto greeted. "What are you eating?"
"Instant noodles."
"Noodles?"
"Yeah. Want some?"
"...N-no, I'm good."
Hokuto declined.
Elysia blinked beside him.
"Speaking of which, Hokuto, maybe consider giving Kevin some new fan traits. Right now all he's got is the 'noodles' thing—it's kind of one-note."
Hokuto gave it serious thought and replied, "You're right. We could add some fun fan traits for Kevin."
"Oh? Got any ideas already?" Elysia asked excitedly.
"Yeah, maybe… we could make him say 'cool' at really cool moments…"
"Oooh~~ That sounds pretty fun!"
She paused, then added, "Now that you mention it, I've got an idea too—what if Kevin… told cold jokes with a straight face…"
"Not bad at all."
"..."
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