To create Honkai Impact 3rd in a world where Kallen exists.

The event was held as scheduled, which boosted morale and inspired people; it's good in any way you look at it.

Everyone at the banquet was toasting and laughing, enjoying the hard-won happiness.

Just as Hua's instructor said at the time—forgetting is a bitter medicine.

People shouldn't always dwell on sadness, especially after war; people need happiness to forget the pain.

But Kiana couldn't do it; the doll's words played over and over in her mind, never stopping.

Although she didn't hesitate when she fired, once the dust settled, she couldn't help but let her mind wander.

If she hadn't been rescued by her father, hadn't met Mei and Bronya, hadn't been taken in by Theresa, hadn't met everyone...

Will she become a doll?

“…Bronya, I understand them. They have only experienced repeated failures and betrayals, lost their pursuit of hope, and succumbed to the darkness within themselves.”

“I can understand, but I don’t think that’s the right thing to do. Failure doesn’t mean you should give up, and pain doesn’t mean you should give in.”

The girl smiled gently, her lips curving upwards, her eyes bright as she shared her thoughts.

She has received kindness from many people and experienced the beauty of the world.

Even in the most perilous and desperate situations, there is beauty. Perhaps, next time it will be my turn to help someone else.

She pursed her lips, the unspoken thought being that she would bring Himeko-sensei and Mei back sooner or later...

...In another scene, on a small hill of dolls, a doll slowly rises from within, its eyes emitting a red light.

This seems to indicate that the matter is far from over.

...

Inside the Golden Courtyard,

"As expected, I guessed that stubborn pest wouldn't be so easy to get rid of. Although this operation was perfect... unfortunately, we couldn't ensure that all the cores were detected."

Mebius said with some regret, his fingers still gently stroking his cheek.

Her soft body nestled against the sofa, leaving a shallow indentation; her alluring curves were unmistakably revealed beneath her casual clothes.

However, it shares similar shortcomings with Hua, lacking some of the charm.

"It's a bit of a pity, dolls... huh? If they could return to humanity, I wonder if they would regret their dark thoughts back then..."

Alicia said, unable to let it go, especially the last doll's words.

What makes them different from humans?

Is it only negative emotions? Or the doll's body? Or perhaps the unknown threads behind it?

"A brief moment of emotional outburst can be salvaged, but a person who has lost hope in life cannot be saved."

Aponia said compassionately, clasping her hands together as if in mourning.

"...Yeah, that's true. Although there are signs that the thousand Herrschers might make a comeback, Kiana and the others will still win next time, right?"

Alicia stared at one spot for a moment, seemingly lost in thought, before quickly regaining her composure and smiling as she spoke.

"That's not necessarily true~"

"Hey, Mebius, stop undermining me. Do you prefer those puppets to me?"

"...Huh? What are you talking about? I hate both of them."

"Eh?"

Chapter 160 If only she had died in that disaster too.

"Speaking of which, haven't the thousand-person Herrschers changed a lot compared to the ones we had before?"

Alicia pondered, lightly tapping the air with her finger to aid her thought.

The way she tilted her head to think was so cute and playful; she really did look like an eighteen-year-old girl.

"There have been many changes, and it's become more targeted at those Herrschers. What? That's normal, isn't it? The Honkai can't remain unchanged."

Vilvi waved her hand casually, not at all surprised.

Her gaze, however, was more focused on the commotion caused by the deaths of the thousand Herrschers inside.

She was very curious; even if the anti-entropy team had a big heart, they should at least be able to detect the Honkai energy concentration, yet they hadn't detected it.

It's possible that the puppet itself had a plan this time... and had already prepared an escape route.

If she hadn't died, her final conversation with Kiana would have given her ample time to connect her supposed connection to Kiana.

But if it were her, how would she eliminate those dolls completely? Velvi's eyes flickered. Make a dismemberment machine? No, no, that's too cruel…

Forget it, judging from Möbius's expression, there's no need for me to interfere. Based on our shared... no, our deep understanding...

She concluded that the method the other party had come up with was definitely to release a corrosive virus.

Having thought this through, Velvi stopped pondering it and maintained her smile without changing her expression.

She decided to renovate the house first to prevent the virus from spreading to these memory cells. She also wanted to add some minor features, but alas, she had only done a basic renovation initially, so she couldn't make too many changes…

At the very least, the ability to raise the stage space at any time must be added! A determined look also appeared in Wilvi's eyes.

...

In the otherwise empty theater, a strange laugh echoed through the hollow space.

"Hehehe... Hahaha... Success... The deaths of a thousand people have brought about the birth of one person."

The individual who rose from the remains of his companion crawled, danced, and cheered in a dark and twisted manner.

Even though the ground was littered with the bodies of their comrades, it couldn't compare to the joy of achieving a partial victory.

The collective of all people is more powerful than any single person.

"The thread... has already gotten tangled around you..."

She said with a bitter smile, which was quite intriguing.

The scene shifts to the perspective of someone who has long since disappeared. In Kiana's dream, she recalls once again the life of a person named Sirin.

From a test subject of destiny to the Second Herrscher feared by all, from ignorance to a heart filled with nothing but revenge and hatred,

The pain that humanity inflicted upon her, she returned to humanity tenfold, a hundredfold; traces of Honkai energy still remain in the permafrost of Siberia…

Even with Cecilia playing the role of a mother in the illusion, she ultimately couldn't escape the struggle of fate.

In the end, the lonely girl, yearning for love, died holding onto those words.

"Ichliebedich".

Kiana had this dream over and over again in the darkness, until she woke up.

When she looked in the mirror, she realized that the reflection was of a purple-haired girl—it was Celine.

That figure, slumbering in the past, whom Kiana desperately fled from.

At the boundary between memory and reality, it appeared before her once again.

[The Herrschers of Domination have merged into one? This vividly illustrates the principle of eliminating the root of the problem. Wouldn't it have been better to just unleash two fission bombs in the Domination Theater?]

[Sirin? Is my queen finally making her appearance again? Haha, humans, welcome the queen's arrival!]

The world inflicted pain upon her, and she responded with hatred and loathing towards others; but some people also gave her love, prompting her to show even the slightest bit of kindness…

...

"Me?... Well, judging from the voice acting, it's time for me to make my appearance too."

Celine stopped patting Bella's head and obediently started watching the game.

Her voice carried a hint of expectation, and a sense of relief.

She felt she had done a very good job with the voice acting, but she also learned of the failure... However, now all she wanted was Cecilia's praise.

This proves that her voice acting is more perfect than that of her younger sister.

"...You two really can't stand each other. Alright, let's see what your standoff is about to have."

Cecilia sighed, somewhat helplessly.

But they also knew that the two of them could no longer reconcile in the game. After a series of events, harmonious coexistence had become increasingly impossible, and neither of them wanted to.

However, reality is not a game. As long as they don't fight to the death in reality, that is, in this world, it's fine.

Speaking of which, she used to think that the two of them had a bad relationship because of her parenting, but now it seems that there might be some influence from parallel universes?

Who cares, just put it on.

"Hehe--, even though I'm the villain, I feel like those lines make a lot of sense. Maybe Kiana just had the protagonist's halo and defeated me. She can't argue with me."

Sirin said with a confident look on her face.

Although I don't know what she's so confident about, the lines were all come up with by others, not written by her.

"Mom has figured it out. Sirin, you really are a great writer in the game. Your popularity online is no less than that of the main character... if it weren't for that short film, The Last Lesson."

Cecilia stared intently at Sirin for a couple of seconds, then asked, puzzled,

"But the you from the parallel universe makes so much sense, so why do you only ever swear and curse during games..."

"Ah? Uh..."

Celine was speechless.

Having a low level of education isn't what she wants; studying is too painful, playing games is much more enjoyable.

Besides, isn't the greatest help you can give by not destroying humanity? Why force yourself to become irritable and turn into a Herrscher?

But he dared not say that in front of Cecilia.

...

"Huh? I thought it was all over?"

Kiana was greatly disappointed and pouted, saying, "Tsk—well, there's still a lot of voice acting later on."

"Hey, this is nothing! I haven't even appeared yet!"

The Law Master said discontentedly, "What's the rush? She should at least show her face."