Honkai Impact: I, The Herrscher of Ice, Am Loved By Players-Chapter 207: The Garden Reborn: Return of the Heroic Spirits

Chapter 207 - 207: The Garden Reborn: Return of the Heroic Spirits

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After heartfelt farewells from each Heroic Spirit, once all emotions had been drained, as Raiden Mei departed the Elysian Realm, Brother Cake and the stream viewers suddenly realized—

Behind this facade of tranquility and harmony, someone silently bore everything, continuously battling the Herrscher of Corruption.

"Damn, we forgot! Ana is still out there, fighting the Herrscher!" Brother Cake exclaimed, smacking his head abruptly.

[F uck! I...I totally forgot too!]

[M...Me as well!]

[Aaaaaah, wait for us, Captain! We're coming to save you, Ana!]

These bullet comments were swallowed by the dark tide—essentially, the screen went black. When the darkness receded, all that remained before everyone was the Herrscher of Corruption, or rather, Corruption Ellie.

Simultaneously, she uttered those words:

[No, Ana... Did Ana not emerge victorious?]

[This... How could it be?!]

[It seems Ellie needs to step in now, but... Ana isn't one of the Garden of Eden's Heroic Spirits. If her memory fragment vanishes, so does she.]

[Then she...]

[Ahhh, MiHoYo, why must you stab me again here?!]

[MiHoYo!]

Regardless of how the streamers mourned, nothing could change the fact that Ana's memory fragment had fallen just before dawn.

"Now, our hope lies with Elysia," Brother Cake sighed softly. As an avid fan of Ana, he felt somewhat numb at this point. It seemed whenever Old Mi sensed a lack of emotional impact, they would bring out Ana for another heart-wrenching moment.

At this stage, it truly... became numbing, or perhaps one should say, if things don't improve, embrace the love for Elysia instead!

The upcoming animated short featuring Elysia's battle against the Herrscher of Corruption was set to be released in the next update. Honestly, the animation style took some getting used to, but both its production quality and content remained impeccable.

"The visual quality and aspect ratio have changed significantly," Brother Cake observed with a glint in his eyes, offering a mild critique. As an experienced anime fan, he could immediately spot these shifts.

[Aspect ratio transitions from 16:9 to 4:3 back to 16:9; video resolution changes from 1080p to 360p, then cycles through 480p, 720p, and finally back to 1080p.]

[It feels like revisiting the golden age of cel-animated films. That era has now come to an end, much like the previous civilization's brilliance fading into silence. Today marks the dawn of a new era, one destined to be shaped by the youth.]

["Never do the elderly create a new era!"]

This sentiment resonated across both the game world and reality during this wave.

As for the storyline itself, there wasn't much to discuss. No one genuinely believed that Elysia couldn't defeat the Herrscher of Corruption, whether within the Honkai World or in our Present World.

Finally, as the Herrscher of Humanity, Elysia gathered the power of the Heroic Spirits and defeated the Herrscher of Corruption, bringing everything to a definitive conclusion.

However, it wasn't truly over. Or rather, what Captains had hoped for didn't completely cease yet. In the closing tribute segment, there were images depicting the normal lives of the Heroic Spirits, with the entire narrative ending on Elysia's smile.

With this, the story of the Elysian Realm reached its conclusion.

Well, that's what everyone thought.

Brother Cake let out a long sigh, feeling as if a burden had been lifted. Although he noticed no immediate changes in Ana's memory fragments, the narrative arc within the Elysian Realm indeed came to an end.

To put it simply, during this period, the Elysian Realm storyline was arguably the best addition. Aside from introducing new gameplay mechanics, revitalizing older characters with fresh roles, and enhancing engagement, the plot significantly enriched the stories of The Thirteen Flame-Chasers. It effectively filled a major narrative gap. Remarkably, the writers managed to develop numerous characters in such a short span, achieving similar depth as seen throughout the lengthy history of Honkai Impact 3.

This truly showcased the new writer's prowess. Of course, opinions varied among players, but for Brother Cake, appreciating the older storyline likely stemmed more from his fondness for the past game environment and atmosphere.

"The story of the Elysian Realm has ended; then what about Honkai Impact 3's narrative..."

Brother Cake gazed at the screen, feeling somewhat melancholic. Honestly, Honkai Impact 3's overarching plot was nearing its conclusion as well. With the defeat of the Herrscher of Corruption, the next Chapter would inevitably involve the Herrscher of Finality.

But after the Herrscher of Finality, how much longer could this story continue? Probably not much further.

At that moment, Brother Cake had yet to receive any specific updates regarding Honkai Impact 3's future, nor did most players. Witnessing the end of Elysia's story naturally induced a sense of wistfulness across the audience.

A wave of somber nostalgia enveloped the entire live stream.

However, it is precisely the unexpected twists that can be labeled as surprises or shocks.

In the Honkai World's Elysian Realm,

as Ellie fired her arrow, everything seemed to dissolve into nothingness. The Herrscher of Corruption consumed vast amounts of data, and Ellie's attack likewise depleted a significant portion.

It appeared that the Elysian Realm had truly reached its end.

However—amidst the void, a hint of green emerged. It was the Herrscher of Corruption, struggling even to maintain its true form, let alone Ellie's corrupted state.

Nonetheless, surviving was victory enough for it. After all, this is precisely what it yearned for.

Now, amidst great effort, it attempted to express its joy, but sadly, there was no one left to share in this happiness.

No Heroic Spirits remained in the Garden of Eden, but perhaps...there might still be a twist?

Within the emptiness, a shade of black materialized, followed by a touch of white. As they merged, they transformed into a figure dressed in monochrome attire. Compared to the usual Ana, this version exuded more mystery, yet her identity was unmistakable—it was none other than the defeated Ana from before.

"Hello there, Herrscher of Corruption. You seem to be in quite a dire state," Ana said with a soft laugh as she extended her hand. The swirling green data mass attempted to flee but was effortlessly captured by her grasp.

"Why run away? I'm not inherently evil; my only goal is to create a world where everyone can coexist harmoniously." Ana spoke gently, yet for some inexplicable reason, her words and tone instilled a chilling sensation.

However, the data stream in her hand seemed oblivious to this, calming slightly upon hearing her words.

"Hmm, but to achieve this vision, your sacrifice is necessary. Don't worry, we will remember both your contributions and your transgressions."

As Ana's words echoed, the data stream in her hand began writhing again. However, truthfully, from the moment Ana appeared, it had lost any chance of escape.

She tightened her grip, crushing the data stream, releasing a pale green energy that flowed like liquid—the remnants of the Herrscher of Corruption. Then, Ana infused it with her own power.

As energy flowed into it, the emerald-green mass began to shimmer and, like a seed, sprouted roots, germinated, and rapidly grew into a towering tree—albeit one composed entirely of data streams.

Continuing its robust growth, Ana lifted her hand beneath the tree, releasing another burst of energy that transformed into a pond at its base, eventually expanding into a vast ocean.

The sight of a Tree and Ocean inevitably evokes certain associations, and indeed, that was precisely the intention.

Within this digital realm, Ana had created a Tree Sea—an unprecedented endeavor for her. And judging by the outcome, it proved quite successful.

Leaves sprouted from branches, each branch developing distinct patterns. Upon closer inspection, these patterns mirrored the engravings of Heroic Spirits.

Yes, each branch represented a Heroic Spirit.

Although resembling a Tree Sea system, it wasn't truly such, as this remained merely the Elysian Realm. At best, Ana could only establish a model within it.

Furthermore, Ana's creation of the Tree Sea system has opened new possibilities for the Elysian Realm. The intertwining branches represent these potentialities, and what exactly they entail... well, heheh.

This new system also signifies an increased capacity for the Elysian Realm. In the future, it can accommodate more visitors simultaneously, leading to even greater potentialities. It may even allow additional visitors to leave their memory fragments behind.

Consequently, this once-exclusive domain of Heroic Spirits could transform into a broader data world.

Of course, as the foundation stone—the tree itself, sprouted from the seed Ana crafted—this realm remains solely owned by the Heroic Spirits, serving as their Eternal Paradise.

In essence, visitors are granted access to the outer regions of the Garden, while the memories and territories of Heroic Spirits are integrated into the Eternal Paradise. This effectively expands the public areas... although, I suppose that's not the main point.

What truly matters is that the Elysian Realm has returned, improved compared to its past state, and no longer remains closed off.

Additionally, the memory fragments within the Garden of Eden now had a genuine chance to depart, but this would not affect the operation of the Elysian Realm. After all, its maintenance now rested solely with Ana, the new Herrscher of Corruption.

As for the underlying principle behind departure, it is temporarily unimportant.

This chapt𝙚r is updated by freeωebnovēl.c૦m.

Upon their return, the Heroic Spirits would not forget what transpired, as Ana had always preserved their memories. Consequently, they likely would have even less desire to leave the Elysian Realm after this experience.

Moreover, initially, only Mobius expressed a wish to depart.

Ana raised her hand once more. With the framework rebuilt, the next step was to bring back all the Heroic Spirits.

She gently pointed at the branches representing each Heroic Spirit, activating their memories, and thus, the departed souls returned anew.

However, this Tree Sea serves as the framework, not directly observable parts of the Elysian Realm itself. It's akin to how Kalpas chose to destroy the Elysian Realm earlier to identify the culprit.

Similarly, accessing this realm requires either the same method or utilizing Ana's authority here. Nevertheless, given Kalpas' current strength, even exerting his full power could not damage the newly reconstructed Elysian Realm.

Within the Elysian Realm, the Herrscher of Corruption essentially holds a status comparable to Finality, and Ana herself surpasses even that level. Naturally, there would be no further attempts to maliciously disrupt the Elysian Realm.

Within the Eternal Paradise, the Heroic Spirits reappeared one by one. To them, death felt like waking from a dream, and now everything had returned to normal.

"Elysian Realm... Has it been rebuilt?" Hua assessed her state and asked Su beside her.

"Yes, as expected, she took action in the end. Her purpose within this Garden was likely for precisely this moment," Su replied calmly with eyes still closed.

"Hmph, I played my part too, you know." Mobius spoke casually, sounding nonchalant.

"That's not quite accurate, Mobius. In truth, your assistance was largely inconsequential to her," Aponia countered.

"Hmph, but where did that Elysia brat disappear off to?" Mobius scanned their surroundings, frowning slightly. It was unexpected that such a question would first come from someone known for insincerity.

"Hmph, those two women might just be together somewhere." Kalpas, crouching on a garden stone, remarked coldly.

In the breathtakingly beautiful garden of the Eternal Paradise, reminiscent of a dream, an innocent young girl awaited grandly dressed. Soon, Ana arrived elegantly, fulfilling their appointment.

"This time, let me speak!" Seeing the smiling girl before her, Ana also broke into a grin.

"As you wish."

"Hey—"

"Did you miss me?"