Players were actively discussing Mauvika's identity. Most believed she was unlikely to be the reincarnation of the Pyro Archon, because the Traveler's reaction clearly showed doubt.
In that case, Mauvika's identity was most likely the Pyro Archon from 500 years ago, or perhaps something similar to the relationship between the former Hydro Archon and Furina, a contingency plan left behind by the Pyro Archon of five centuries past.
However, what was hardest for some players to accept was another theory entirely. A portion of them speculated that the current Pyro Archon, Caelus, had been exposed for colluding with the Abyss, and that Mauvika intended to join forces with the Traveler to overthrow him.
"These players really have wild imaginations."
After reading the comments, Caelus felt both amused and speechless.
Should he simply go along with it and deliberately create the illusion that he was cooperating with the Abyss?
A god making a dramatic entrance as a villain certainly sounded intriguing.
"But it's probably too late for that."
The moment the idea formed, Caelus realized the feasibility was extremely low.
On the Traveler's journey to the Sacred Flame Arena, he had personally eliminated the Abyssal monsters that attempted to attack her.
During the Traveler's exploration of Natlan, defensive installations designed specifically to combat the Abyss could be seen everywhere.
With eyewitness testimony and tangible evidence like that, even if Caelus stood before the Traveler and claimed he was an Abyss spy, neither the Traveler nor the players would believe him.
"What about colluding with the Fatui?"
After brief consideration, Caelus dismissed that idea as well.
Following the events in Fontaine, the Traveler had already interacted with The Knave and understood that not every Fatui Harbinger sought chaos.
Even if Caelus cooperated with The Captain, players would probably not consider him a villain.
"Looks like I really can't become the antagonist."
Since he could not harvest Emotion Points from that angle, Caelus could only focus his efforts elsewhere.
For example, the upcoming Individual Competition of the Holy Night of the Return of Fire.
Player World.
After the NPC announced that the Individual Competition was about to begin, Ying Ying Yue controlled his character toward the arena.
The Individual Competition consisted of multiple rounds, with the final result determined by total victories.
The system prompt clearly stated that players needed to win 5 out of 8 matches to claim overall victory.
"Why specifically emphasize eight matches?" Ying Ying Yue muttered.
Could it be that some opponents were exceptionally strong, and underleveled players would be eliminated instantly?
If so, that would imply at least five opponents were intentionally easier, guaranteeing that players could clear the stage.
Just as Ying Ying Yue was wondering whether his first opponent would be manageable, a familiar red haired figure appeared before him.
"Traveler, I did not expect us to meet again so soon," Mauvika said as she drew her greatsword. "I look forward to an exciting match."
"Huh? I have to fight Mauvika?" Ying Ying Yue was stunned.
Wait, this is not a Weekly Boss domain. Why am I fighting story characters here?
At the same time, chat exploded.
"Oh no, my opponent is Kachina!"
"Mine is Mualani!"
"Why isn't Kinich in the opponent pool? I can't bring myself to hit girls."
"Didn't Kinich say earlier that he wasn't participating?"
"Yeah, because he alone can't trigger the Burning reaction consistently, so he withdrew."
"I matched against a tall woman with sharp ears. I don't even know her name."
"I got a short white haired kid…"
"I just got matched with a random NPC?"
Meanwhile, other players were also entering their Individual matches.
However, the opponents were not fixed.
Some encountered Mauvika, others Mualani, and some only faced ordinary NPCs who would not appear in the Event Wish banners.
"So the Individual Competition includes future banner characters as opponents."
Ying Ying Yue immediately understood why the system emphasized winning five matches.
Out of eight total matches, it seemed that three potential opponents were drawn from the Natlan Event Wish pool.
Just as he reached that conclusion, Mauvika assumed a battle stance on screen. Her red hair gradually shifted to a blazing golden hue, like a sun igniting at noon.
"It's starting."
Ying Ying Yue instantly switched to Zhongli, intending to rely on his Jade Shield to survive the opening attack.
However, the moment the character swap completed, Mauvika had already vanished from the screen.
"Hearken to the sun's roar!"
A thunderous voice echoed as a figure descended from above, carving a brilliant flaming arc across the battlefield.
"Even bedrock… returns to dust…"
Zhongli, freshly switched in, was obliterated along with his Jade Shield in a single strike.
"What kind of damage is that?" Ying Ying Yue stared in disbelief.
His Zhongli had over fifty thousand HP and a fully upgraded shield.
Even high damage Weekly Bosses required several seconds to break the shield, and eliminating a tank Zhongli would take even longer.
Yet Mauvika's single slash erased both the shield and Zhongli instantly, even triggering Zhongli's defeat voice line.
Wait. Zhongli actually has a defeat voice line?
Ever since pulling him, Ying Ying Yue had never once heard it.
Before he could recover from the shock, Mauvika mounted her Flamestrider and began spinning in place at high speed, each rotation dealing devastating Pyro damage.
His remaining characters entered the field one by one and were eliminated before they could even dodge.
"What kind of DPS method is this? This is absurd."
"Herta would like a word about spinning supremacy."
"Is the combat designer obsessed with spinning? The Hydro Dragon spins, Kinich spins, now Mauvika spins."
"Do you think this will actually be Mauvika's kit when she enters the Event Wish?"
"Probably not… right?"
"Weekly Boss Childe and playable Childe are two completely different beings. Story Mauvika and playable Mauvika should also differ."
Ying Ying Yue continued streaming as his audience shifted from complaining to analyzing whether this was an early preview of Mauvika's future kit.
"I checked other streamers. The Kachina and Mualani they fought used mechanics identical to their banner versions."
"Seriously?"
"Yes. One streamer used Bennett, who applied Pyro to himself, and then got instantly detonated by Kachina's crystallized magma shards."
"So they basically leaked multiple character kits in advance?"
"This is even more extreme than typical leaker spoilers."
"Truly worthy of Mihoyo Insider."
Realizing that the characters in the Individual Competition were demonstrating their future Event Wish mechanics, player excitement skyrocketed.
Even those who followed leak culture had never seen so many kits previewed simultaneously. The stimulation was overwhelming.
Emotion Points began flowing toward Caelus in a continuous stream.
"Heh. Colluding with the Abyss? Colluding with leakers is far more efficient."
Caelus chuckled softly.
Originally, he had only intended to let the banner characters overwhelm the players. On a whim, he had allowed them to display their future combat mechanics.
Even if the official release later adjusted those mechanics, it would not matter. When the backlash came, it would target the developers, not him.
"Come to think of it… does this count as cooperating with leakers?"
The thought crossed Caelus's mind briefly.
He dismissed it almost immediately.
It hardly mattered.
...
Read advance chapters on p@treon
[email protected]/guilt_free_daoist
Join disc0rd link in synopsis.
GIVE ME YOU POWER STONES.