The Elysian Realm's Pickup Artist / Becoming Kevin (Not Really)

Sweet and lovely, wasn't she?

Su Nian felt that Elysia absolutely needed a character illustration here.

In MiHoYo's CG cutscenes, characters generally maintained a single pose, which gave rise to the meme of striking a pose.

To this day, we still had no way of knowing how long Elysia had spent perfecting that pose.

Of course, that was only part of the joke.

Su Nian did not have much confidence in his writing. How could words possibly convey Elysia's beauty in so few passages?

The audience's imagination was one factor; another was that words simply were not as direct.

They could experience her personality and character through her words and actions.

But... in the end, only an illustration could make people fall in love with her at first glance.

Though it seemed he did not need to rely on an artist to achieve that effect...

Elysia really existed in this world. Once he found her...

Wouldn't he be able to use a photograph directly after getting her permission?

Holy shit, that idea was genius!

Su Nian committed it to memory as something on his bucket list, something he absolutely had to do if given the chance.

It was his one and only wish!

Ah, all my illustrations died today. What a pity, though I had expected it.

I'm out of drafts. I really don't have a single drop left. Yesterday's update was something I scraped together over the past two days.

I've always been pretty scatterbrained, so I occasionally make little mistakes, like typos and such... Please bear with me.

The Elysian Realm's Greatest Girl-Chaser

Su Nian continued writing the story of The Past's Paradise.

By then, the viewers seemed to have discussed things into some semblance of understanding and finally realized that this was the actual main story Su Nian had written.

But this time, the story was actually told from a Herrscher's perspective.

That left people utterly confused.

Especially Kevin. Su Nian had focused heavily on his story, so the viewers all knew that Kevin had long since become irreconcilable enemies with Honkai.

Why had he not immediately rushed over and chopped down the Herrscher?

And the Herrscher had not begun wreaking havoc either!

That was far too strange. Did this not overturn the previous setting?

Not a single Herrscher from the Previous Civilization had turned traitor. Kevin had mistakenly believed that Herrschers possessed humanity, and humanity had paid a terrible price for it.

So why had this happened in the current civilization?

Could "God" not control its own apostles?

They had the same question as Raiden Mei.

But they would not receive an answer anytime soon.

Speaking of pink hair... Sakura should not have that kind of personality, right? Who was she?

Could Prometheus have successfully hacked in?

If she had successfully hacked in, why had Honkai not simply disappeared?? A hacker should be able to alter the "data" however she wanted, right?

If it were really that easy, would they still have needed to go into hibernation? They could have simply declared humanity victorious over Honkai!

Pit-Digging Immortal was at it again. I knew he had written Kevin's story arc a little too quickly before.

I don't get it. Let's see how Su Nian plans to patch up the setting.

Although the "answer" had been thrown right in their faces from the very beginning.

They clearly had not immediately realized it was the answer.

No one had thought of it.

Not even Kevin had seen through Elysia's identity back then.

Not until she confessed it herself and sacrificed herself.

Only after teasing Mei did Elysia finally introduce herself to her.

"Alright, let's introduce ourselves one more time. You have to remember properly this time, okay? If you forget again, I'll get a little upset."

"My name is Elysia. As you can see, I'm a beautiful girl worthy of my name."

"In Mu's common language, Elysia carries the meanings of paradise and Elysian Realm."

"My friends call me Ai Li. You can call me that too. It sounds adorable, just like me."

Elysia laid out her identity and her existence as a memory entity without holding anything back.

The Past's Paradise was a world of memories, one that had existed here since the birth of this civilization.

When Raiden Mei first stepped into that palace, the mysterious woman had appeared without warning like a ghost and welcomed her arrival.

After staying in World Serpent for so long, Mei had long ceased to be surprised by memory entities. Yet Elysia's existence still drew her attention... or rather, left her puzzled.

She sought an answer from Kevin, and this was the answer Kevin gave her. The history buried beneath dust was the secret World Serpent had always concealed.

Elysia would not hold anything back. As long as Raiden Mei asked, she would tell her everything.

But Mei had clearly made no progress yet.

Advancing the story from Raiden Mei's perspective was a good way to control its pacing, wasn't it?

Among the Flame-Chasers in The Past's Paradise, there were people like Mobius, whose reputation was not particularly good, making people doubt the truthfulness of everything she said.

There was Kevin, who refused to say anything and ended every topic with that being the end of it.

And there was... Sakura, who had died too early to know anything, as well as Chijie, who only wanted to fight, and so on.

Aponia, who seemed to know everything, immediately predicted that Mei was doomed...

It was nearly impossible to obtain any useful information.

It turned the viewers into Raiden Mei, letting them rack their brains without ever reaching the correct answer.

Wait, Elysia... that name sounds really familiar, but I barely remember anything about her.

Because Su Nian barely wrote about her at all. Before this, apart from Kevin and Mei, no one had received much page time.

Exactly. We don't even know who died.

That's why he's Pit-Digging Immortal. It makes perfect sense.

But Su Nian's writing is seriously incredible. His descriptions are fresh and elegant. I can picture her already—a beautiful girl!

Why not have Kevin be the guide? Come on, a cold-faced big guy passing down the torch would be pretty interesting too, wouldn't it?

Illustration, brothers bidding in the livestream. If you commissioned an illustration, wouldn't that create publicity right away?

The viewers discussed the story that had finally begun in earnest.

They had seen the setting presented through Kevin's perspective earlier, but now it felt like...

They had seen it, but not really seen it. Still, it was somewhat connected, so it was not completely incomprehensible.

They would begin getting to know the other Flame-Chasers besides Kevin, whom they already had some impression of.

The device in the center of the hall was exceptionally well preserved. Mei even had the impression that World Serpent had established a base here specifically to protect it.

No one knew what Kevin had been thinking at the time, but asking Elysia would not yield an answer either. Only Kevin himself knew the reason.

Watching the memories of The Past's Paradise was like exploring a library after an earthquake. It felt immersive, yet chaotic and disordered. Different fragments were pieced together, making it difficult to form a concrete picture.

If this was the answer Kevin had given her, then it was far too indirect.

This was definitely not the answer Mei wanted.

"Rather than a place of inquiry, this feels more like a place of trial."

Then Ai Li lavished her with praise.

"You really are perceptive. See? That's why Kevin is so sparing with words. He knows you can always uncover the truth with ease."

"But he wasn't lying either. The answer... everyone comes here for an answer. No matter what they seek, The Past's Paradise can provide an answer."

"Etching down moments of the past, allowing people to follow in the savior's footsteps toward a more distant future—that is the meaning of its existence. The roots of every result can be found here."

Only after learning the truth of The End could one truly understand the meaning of "a more distant future."

Every sentence Elysia spoke contained profound meaning.

But those were things one could only suddenly realize upon looking back at the past.

Including that seemingly teasing remark Elysia had once made.

Su Nian quickly typed on the keyboard, writing out the passage he remembered, the one that concealed foreshadowing.

It was hidden within an utterly inconspicuous exchange.

But upon careful reflection, one would realize that everything truly had traces to follow.

"The Thirteen Heroes of Fire... Flame Chasers... Judging from Kevin, a Flame Chaser's strength can even rival that of a Herrscher."

"An objective and rigorous answer. You've done your homework well. You must be the kind of child who is very good at studying."

"And you're very confident, too. In your eyes, even Kevin is only on the same level as you."

"That's not what I meant."

"Don't be afraid. You can say that even in front of him. I'll stand on your side."

Why would Elysia stand with Mei rather than Kevin?

They had been comrades for a long time, and there was no disagreement or conflict between them.

Yet Elysia had directly stated that she would stand by Mei's side, which was quite thought-provoking.

At first glance, people thought she was the Elysian Realm's lesbian queen!

But in truth, she flirted with everyone like that, without exception.

There was no deliberate attempt to win Raiden Mei's heart through flattery.

I still have the bounty event open, and it hasn't reached the limit yet. Can you give me your votes?

There should be two more updates tonight.

Becoming Kevin (Not Really)

There was only one truth!

It was not because Ai Li was flirting with girls—though that remained questionable.

Actually, whether Mei was a Herrscher or not, Elysia would have stood by her side. After all, Kevin could not do anything about her...

Humans—she loved them all?

After all, Elysia had witnessed the beauty of humanity and then gone on to witness many more things.

She understood how complex and contradictory the emotions of humanity were.

Yet that understanding did not discourage her. Instead, it deepened her love for humanity and strengthened her recognition of herself as "human."

From those experiences, one thing could be certain.

Elysia deeply loved everyone.

Of course, the reason she stood by Mei was not because she was on bad terms with Kevin.