You asked for healing, but wrote Honkai Impact 3rd?

Honkai grows alongside civilization; if the Previous Civilization advanced their technology, it would only strengthen the Honkai as well.

The Previous Civilization's technology was already highly developed—they were fighting on hell difficulty from the start.

But they had no predecessors' experience to draw from, could only grope forward step by step through trial and error, and arriving at this ending was all too obvious...

Under such circumstances, even with sacrifice, even after staking nearly their entire foundation, only three cities remained...

Just managing to achieve this much was already a miracle.

Yes, a miracle.

The Previous Civilization itself was a miracle.

Chapter 31: The Binding Tragedy

This setting appeared for the first time, overwhelmingly countering the Previous Civilization's capabilities, leaving no visible possibility at all.

The previous Herrscher enemies, though devastating in destructive power, could at least be approached—there was always some hope, a chance to kill.

Through every conceivable method, constant improvement, with luck and strength working together, they still managed to kill them.

The Domain of Constraint wasn't merely a restriction on Honkai Energy, but a restriction on energy transfer itself—meaning that within the domain of constraint, there was no concept of motion; everything was static.

Now... they could see no hope.

They were utterly helpless against it.

It had been a long time since Su Nian wrote a story with such a tone of despair.

Probably since Kevin grew strong, even when there were sacrifices, they never felt this severe.

This would be the most direct experience, letting them feel the oppressive weight of the Honkai, and the mountain of blood and sea of corpses that came with sacrifice.

A victory truly built on piled-up lives.

Every step came at an unbearable cost.

That was a barrier with a radius of one hundred kilometers! Inside the barrier, because all energy was weakened, Moth of the Fire couldn't even pinpoint the Herrscher's exact location.

And it was still expanding outward—the longer time dragged on, the harder victory became.

The only saving grace was that while her Constraint Barrier was powerful, relative to the ground, the high altitude remained unaffected by her influence.

That gave them the single sliver of possibility—it made reconnaissance feasible.

[Immer, Chijie's adjutant, became one of the victims of the Thousand-Man Herrscher incident. After the Herrscher of Constraint descended, Hua hoped Chijie would head to the battlefield, but the two clashed over the Immer incident.]

[Footprints and scorch marks stretched across the steel-forged ground, trailing his fury...]

[Then, Chijie suddenly collapsed face-first onto the floor.]

[Hua unconsciously took half a step back, as if avoiding a boundary that divided life and death.]

[The Eleventh Herrscher's Constraint Barrier had already expanded to this location.]

This was the beginning of the Eleventh Herrscher's first appearance.

Chijie had once torn apart the Fifth Herrscher with his bare hands, and the Herrscher hadn't even had time to scream.

But such a powerful, ferocious warrior—the moment he touched the barrier, he collapsed instantly.

[Hua dragged Chijie out, then rushed to the battlefield to join the fight against the Herrscher of Constraint.]

[Afterward, Chijie made a deal with Mobius, became a Flame Chaser, and headed to the battlefield.]

[Though his destructive power was astonishing, he didn't last long inside the Herrscher of Constraint's barrier. No reconnaissance was possible—drones could reach their battlefield... but some special powers remained uncontrollable.]

[Su connected to Chijie's mind, and with his consent, used his body to charge across the battlefield.]

[But even Chijie and Su working together only bought time; the Flame Chasers suffered heavy casualties.]

Su Nian glossed over these events quickly—the Binding Tragedy really didn't have much content.

He hadn't experienced it firsthand, and his understanding of this chapter, which should have been a mountain of corpses and sea of blood... was also limited.

He couldn't even imagine the brutal state of things back then.

[Countless people fought with all their might to destroy the Herrscher, charging to their deaths even knowing full well the path ahead meant certain doom.]

[Countless Flame Chasers paid with their lives to scout out the Herrscher of Constraint's location, and to pin her down—even pushing her Constraint Domain to what seemed like its "upper limit."]

The Constraint Barrier's upper limit wasn't a total energy limit, but a power output limit.

Piled up with human lives, they had only a single instant to attack.

[The Flame Chasers suffered devastating losses. At the critical moment, Chijie arrived just in time, and Hua seized the opportunity to use the first rated power of the Feather of Dust, temporarily halting the Herrscher of Constraint's ability usage.]

Unlike Du Chen's first rated power, which was like a data cable transmitting his own memories to overload the enemy's brain.

Probably because the situation was urgent, with no second chance...

Hua staked all her memories, just to create an opening for Kevin.

[Under the impact of Hua's memories, they finally created the one and only chance to defeat the Herrscher of Constraint.]

[Before she completely lost consciousness, her purple Crystal Flower gradually enveloped her.]

Elysia stepped in to save Hua, preserving her life.

[Between the gaps of the petals, there was still a flame.]

[That flame fell from the sky, as if it could burn everything... including this deathly stillness itself.]

Before this stage, Kevin had not yet fully mastered the 150% power form of Tears of Heaven—Jie Mie.

But now, this form was completely under his control.

What was Kevin thinking at that moment? At the time, that was the only attack opportunity they had created. If he failed to seize it... the consequences were unimaginable.

"He might have remembered that time with the Herrscher of Death, when his softness of heart destroyed a city..."

"Or perhaps because if this strike failed to eliminate the Herrscher, it could directly annihilate civilization."

The momentum had reached its peak, and the Herrscher was locked in his sights.

In that moment, both Kevin and the Herrscher had no retreat, no escape.

[The flames of Jie Mie surged, indiscriminately covering the entire domain, followed by biting, frigid ice.]

[Ice and fire turned into blades, erasing the enemy's form,]

[And also erasing the cries of the suffering beneath the Red Ice.]

[Thus, the Eleventh Herrscher returned to silence.]

A cold barrier froze the steps of those who walked alongside him. It was unknown whether the chill came from the increasingly stern figure, or from the perilous path that only one could tread.

Kevin stood upon this land, surrounded by red ice, everywhere.

This was all the blood that had been spilled on this soil, frozen mid-air in the very posture it had gushed forth, like a crimson wave...

The ice associated with Kevin was always visually depicted as blue.

The red ice was because it was mixed with blood—the blood of his fallen comrades.

This strike indiscriminately killed the Flame Chasers who were restraining the Herrscher of Constraint.

"He remembers those who came before, remembers old friends, remembers his companions, remembers all those who can only be placed behind him..."

"But he is alone, and has never felt himself to be a hero."

"Kevin defeated the Herrscher once again, only this time, victory was bought with countless lives."

He had trampled upon the ideals of countless people, and countless lives had been extinguished because of him.

This was a meaningless victory.

Su Nian did not continue writing. It was too heavy, far too heavy.

Perhaps the viewers in the comments couldn't understand.

But ever since the concept of The Past's Paradise was introduced, after Su Nian got to know the Thirteen Heroes, and after finishing the story of Honkai Impact 3rd, the impact was profound.

Now, recalling it all from beginning to end, it felt as if she had been drawn into it, seeing those heavy scenes.

Before she could make others feel the pain, Su Nian was made to feel it again by miHoYo.

I heard the review team is on leave.jpg

Sorry for the late update today, I'm a total mess...

I originally sprained my left ankle, but it was almost healed. Just when I went out to eat with my parents, and then...

Disaster! While holding my one-year-old niece, I wasn't paying attention and sprained my right ankle too.

My left foot isn't fully healed, and now my right foot is sprained too. I've become a lame duck.

Chapter 32, Kevin... Do Your Tears Freeze?

[Though the battle had long since ended, the unique chill emanating from Kevin still shrouded the entire battlefield.]

[At the center of it all, a faint purple light flickered and died. The eternally blooming crystal rose withered and shattered, broken by the tragedy before it.]

[Elysia, holding an unconscious young woman in her arms, stood before Kevin. "Kevin... how are you going to explain this to her? This is definitely not the ending she wanted to see."]

["Hua will understand me. As I've said before, we had no other choice."]

[Ice and frost spread from beneath the man's feet like veins, the surrounding cold seeming to intensify by several degrees.]

On the battlefield where the Eleventh Herrscher had died, Elysia asked that famous line.

["Look at their faces, Kevin. Your tears... do they freeze?"]

In such a scene, amidst the dark red waves of ice, Elysia asked this question.

[After this battle, human civilization was seventy percent destroyed, leaving only three cities.]

[After this battle, only thirteen Flame Chasers remained in the entire world.]

This was the origin of the Thirteen Heroes of Fire.

If this wasn't called the Tragedy of Constraint, what else could it be?

It was so tragic that even the usually optimistic Elysia, upon seeing such a devastating outcome, rebuked Kevin.

As the only one present with the strength and the standing... Elysia was the only one qualified to "supervise" Kevin.

Su Nian remembered someone had once analyzed what they were thinking back then.

Kevin was influenced by Mei, carrying the shadow of the Sixth Herrscher—he knew all too well the consequences of a moment's softness.

Kevin no longer clung to the past; he fought for humanity's future.

But Elysia might have felt this way...

If two warriors as powerful as them, both serving as the main attackers, couldn't kill the Herrscher of Constraint together... then perhaps dying alongside their comrades was the best ending.

So many Flame Chasers and humans had already sacrificed, and the world was riddled with scars.

This was also a conflict born from differing philosophies.

Every Hero had their own soul and personality—that was the charm of the Thirteen Heroes of Fire.

A heavy feeling weighed on Su Nian; he had been caught by his own blade.

Those who wield sorrow are ultimately cut by the knife.

Su Nian chose to open the studio window, letting the warm breeze blow in to ease his mood a little.

He wondered how many people were watching the livestream, and whether they could immerse themselves in this story—either way, he'd cut as many as he could.

Su Nian felt it was a pity he couldn't see the comments; it was too bad he couldn't transfer the smiles off others' faces onto his own.

But if the production team had given the contestants a teleprompter for the comments, they'd probably lose the heart to create.

The comments were surging wildly at that moment. If Su Nian had chosen to make his address public, he might have gotten rich selling razor blades.

It was noon, just when everyone had time for a break. The livestream's popularity was booming thanks to the industry big shots, but Su Nian dropped a bombshell on them.

The stream viewers had just been chatting idly.

In an instant, the livestream room boiled over like water coming to a rolling boil—they simply couldn't stay calm.