You wanted healing, but you wrote Honkai Impact 3rd?

Details determine success or failure.

It was in these tiny, insignificant details that Welt found an unexpected surprise after realizing them.

Most works can't withstand close scrutiny.

But Su Nian's current situation had eliminated that possibility.

Shenzhou had a timeless ancient palace drama called "Empresses in the Palace," whose excellence was always a topic of lively discussion.

Even when countless bored people dug deep into it, there were hardly any flaws.

Whenever a new interpretation emerged, people would still feel that humanity had only scratched the surface of Empresses in the Palace, less than 1%.

That show was just one example, but many classic literary masterpieces shared this trait.

Some people could even study Dream of the Red Chamber, one of Shenzhou's Four Great Classical Novels, and become a Redologist, making a lifelong career out of giving lectures on that single book...

If Su Nian could maintain her current level, making "The Past's Paradise" a story that could still shine after being tested by time and public scrutiny, Then, while it might not become exactly like those classics or national treasures, At least becoming a phenomenon among young people would be no problem.

It all depended on how Su Nian would play her cards from here on.

["The Eighth Herrscher's power can no longer affect me. Begin the counterattack."] ["Sigh, Kevin... you know, this is what I dislike most about you."] ["You don't have to shoulder everything yourself, really. Even if you don't trust Mobius, you should at least trust your old classmates a little more."] ["Su...?"] ["The counterattack already started long ago, you know?"]

This time, it wasn't Kevin's personal solo show, so Su Nian chose to give more development to the others.

By this point, most of the Thirteen Heroes of Fire had already joined Moth of the Fire.

In this incident, Mobius led the surgery, Su fused with a psychic-type Honkai Beast, and Elysia kept everything running smoothly while Kevin was away.

The dialogue felt alive, revealing hints of Elysia's lively and playful personality.

And that uniquely characteristic tone?

But nothing was as easy as Elysia made it seem.

The Eighth Herrscher had caused no small number of casualties; a cunning Herrscher never just sat around waiting to be caught.

[The Honkai Beast Su fused with was Moyuli, an Emperor-class Honkai Beast born alongside the Eighth Herrscher. Thus, Su became a psychic-type Flame Chaser.] [At the last moment before the drug called "Mental Lock" was about to wear off, all psychic-type Flame Chasers used the Observation Hub to dive into the Eighth Herrscher's dream and locate her position.] [Su's mentor, Dr. Spacy, founder of the Fifth Science Department, along with most of the researchers, would never hear the news of victory.] [When Su sent his consciousness into the Herrscher's dream to find her trail, he never expected the cunning Herrscher to attack him.] [Before that person could take the Mental Lock, the Eighth Herrscher had already taken control of his body and sabotaged the operation from within.] [But in his final moments, he still gave his all to restart the Observation Hub, allowing Su to return to reality. Moth of the Fire was then able to locate and capture it.]

Honkai, Herrschers...

Words that were once unfamiliar to Su were now devouring the civilization of this era.

Honkai wasn't a world-building concept created just to shape enemies.

Every growth... seemed to come at a cost.

[Though hope still remained, sacrifices were inevitable. The sacrifices plunged Su into a state of depression.] [Kevin didn't offer comfort. He simply stated the threat Honkai posed to civilization. On his face, his former friend wore an expression of cold severity Su had never seen before.]

They didn't have much time to wallow in sorrow. Honkai would keep appearing, threatening the civilization of this era.

By now, Kevin had also begun to freeze his heart for various reasons.

He was no longer the naive youth from Senba Academy.

He had become a warrior.

["If you don't want his sacrifice to be in vain, stand up and keep fighting."] ["Humanity will definitely defeat Honkai... no matter the cost."] [Su took over his mentor's duties and assumed control of the Fifth Science Department.] [Thus, the Herrscher was eliminated, and Moth of the Fire officially named this disaster.] [The Eighth Honkai Outbreak ended.]

Su Nian stretched. The general course of the Eighth Honkai Outbreak was all laid out.

If anyone was watching, they would never guess what consequences the Eighth Herrscher had brought besides destruction.

The amount of information in this outline was overwhelming—so much that everyone present needed time to digest it.

Everything Su Nian had written before was based solely on Kevin's perspective.

The roles' screen time was also streamlined, so even if something went wrong, he could revise and perfect it at any time.

But in this segment, since Kevin wasn't the main character, Su Nian depicted the others in great detail.

Their charm was only just beginning to show.

Yet these character archetypes were extremely distinctive.

No two characters overlapped in design, and no one was marginalized.

"If this segment were just a bit more detailed, it would count as a main narrative unfolding in an ensemble format." Otto mentally mapped out the relationship web of the characters appearing in this segment.

Each person's image in his mind became three-dimensional.

Kevin, somewhat aloof and proud; Elysia, beautiful like a flower; Su, experiencing the cruelty of the Honkai for the first time; Aponia, shrouded in mystery...

And the key figure for the mission's success, Su's mentor, Spasi.

Even though he still didn't know the facial features or appearances of these characters, he hadn't once gotten confused.

His genius brain accounted for part of the credit, while the rest came from the story itself.

"Ensemble cast..."

Otto seemed to have thought of something.

Chapter 18: Ensemble Writing—Everyone Is the Protagonist of Their Own Story

This story had never clearly defined who the protagonist was. Kevin had plenty of plot.

But from this incident, it was clear that the efforts of others were no less significant.

Although Su Nian didn't describe much about what happened in the dream or Su's mental state, this omission was noticeable.

It was the part about Su that had been deliberately concealed.

And many other details were presumably selectively shown.

"Su Nian's depiction of the great Honkai disaster is vast, yet the number of characters appearing is relatively small. There could be two possibilities: either there are too many characters to manage within the word count, or those people don't have a deep enough connection with Kevin, so they were omitted from Kevin's character card."

Otto analyzed, sensing something off.

They had all subconsciously overlooked one of the most important things, which was...

Who said Kevin was the protagonist?

Or... who said Kevin was the only protagonist?

When the words "ensemble cast" slipped out, Otto suddenly realized Su Nian's writing method.

This story was dedicated to the Thirteen Heroes of Fire, so building the world through an ensemble format was perfectly viable!

This would completely solve the problem of a vast world lacking content to support it.

It also matched the synopsis's dedication to the Thirteen Heroes.

"History's buried stories... that glorious, radiant era..."

If written in an ensemble format, having multiple protagonists was no issue at all.

The show's production team hadn't restricted the theme or format either.

Genius!

To have this kind of control at such a young age—if that wasn't genius, what was?!

The vast majority of works didn't use the ensemble format.

Otto had initially fallen into a thinking trap, subconsciously treating Kevin as the sole protagonist while reading his story, never remembering this method existed.

"If it's an ensemble format, everything makes sense."

"What have you thought of now?"

Welt leaned in, looking at Otto's excited expression—he must have discovered something again.

Although Otto was full of tricks, his intelligence was beyond doubt.

Another judge, Eden, heard Otto's words and understood immediately. "Indeed, we were biased by preconceptions. This isn't a story presented in an ordinary format."

Now it seemed only Welt was still in the dark.

The ensemble format wasn't rare, but Welt hadn't encountered it.

"Let me explain. Ensemble characterization means not focusing solely on one or a few individuals, but reflecting the world and life from different angles. It depicts the choices and fates of individuals against a grand historical backdrop."

"The difficulty of an ensemble cast isn't in the individuals themselves, but in the collision between the individual and the background."

"The identity Su Nian initially crafted for Kevin was nothing more than the most ordinary version of us in a vast world. Ensemble is an art of expression, and this was traceable from the very beginning."

Once this point was revealed, the story's brilliance instantly jumped several levels.

Su Nian's intent was also laid bare—he indeed had ambition.

This writing technique had been used in another historical masterpiece from Shenzhou.

What made Su Nian terrifying now wasn't just his genius.

Nor was it his quick plotting, gripping story, or smooth transitions... all things that showcased Su Nian's literary skill.

He also possessed an extremely profound literary foundation.

As Eden had said, the difficulty of this theme lay in the deeper collision between the individual and their background.

Translated into this story, it meant countless human individuals trapped in peril by the Honkai within a world ravaged by it.

And the protagonists of the story could very well be the Thirteen Heroes of Fire!

"Ah?"

Hearing their analysis, Welt immediately understood.

Then, recalling the various settings Su Nian had established earlier, he couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

Were young people these days all this monstrous? They, the older generation of seniors, were about to have their gold coins plundered!

Kevin the Deliverer's everything wasn't merely to flesh out his life.

The student phase was also a portrayal of ordinary people under the Honkai, a collision between common folk and the calamity—but before the Honkai, they were all just lambs to the slaughter.

Every stroke of Su Nian's pen carried a corresponding meaning; she wasn't just assigning a character design.

The hypothesis of a group portrait writing style was valid.

Scrutinizing it in detail, they couldn't find a single flaw.

Just how many more surprises did Su Nian have in store for them to uncover?!

Thinking this, Welt and Otto exchanged a knowing glance at Eden, the thought in their eyes unspoken.

Eden's earlier evaluation of Su Nian included the line: "Although his work lacks detail..."

[I'm dying of laughter at their expressions... They've practically written their thoughts all over their faces!]

[A psychology student here—they must be thinking: And you called this lacking in detail?! Because that's exactly what I'm thinking.]

[Haha, maybe it's because the bar really was set too high.]