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

Is this a real blade or a fake one?!

Previously, because of a single expression from Su Nian, they all felt he was definitely about to drop a knife.

But Su Nian did not do so.

This made them doubt once, as if Su Nian was constantly teetering on the edge of dropping a knife.

Su Nian didn't knife Kevin before, but everyone except Kevin got knifed!

It was practically to the point of No Survivors!

[Now, Raiden Mei has come into contact with all the Flame-Chasers, and this is the second time she's encountered someone... who wants to put her to death.]

[Aponia didn't say anything hard to understand this time. From the Flame-Chasers' evaluations of her, it's clear she truly possesses the ability to see fate.]

[Mei doesn't know why Aponia's prophecy arose, and her plan to head to The Deepest Place has stalled with no progress...]

[Ten days... At the very least, she needs to understand the meaning behind Aponia's words, or find a way to reach The Deepest Place before then.]

[To that end, Raiden Mei diligently investigates everything, and most of the Flame-Chasers are happy to share their insights.]

[Every time she learns some new information, Aponia also pulls her back into The Deepest Place for a "prison visit."]

[She met Vill-V and got more intel, but still couldn't grasp the whole picture. In the blink of an eye, the ten days dwindled to just four.]

[If she can't find the reason, she might really end up trapped in The Past's Paradise forever.]

[Elysia asks with considerable worry, but her following words only confirm the fact further.]

[Aponia's prophecy seems to truly be about seeing fate. No matter how meticulous the plan, if Aponia "sees" it, then it will definitely happen, regardless of any effort made.]

[]

["Her prophecies have never deviated so far. So... Mei, you must be very careful."]

["As things stand, this is no longer a situation I can handle just by being careful. But... even if it's a hopeless situation, I'm not about to just sit and wait for death."]

["Alright, I'll also try asking Aponia for you. She never does this, but... hopefully she's just joking with the successor."]

["After all, she rarely tells someone the specific time like this..."]

A clue, barely showing.

But it seemed like nothing more than Elysia's casual remark.

No one noticed this foreshadowing.

[No way out... Raiden Mei now comes up with another plan.]

[Sitting and waiting for death is absolutely not her style. If death is ultimately unavoidable, why not use it to her advantage?]

[The man Raiden Mei met before in The Past's Paradise left a deep impression on her.]

[As far as she knows, only Chijie and Mobius have actually caused the death of a successor. Chijie's method is extremely simple: fight to the death until one falls.]

[Aponia's prophecy was, "Mei will die in ten days, at her hands."]

[So, if she were to die before the tenth day arrived, what kind of outcome would that bring?]

[Would it mean the prophecy is broken?]

[To that end... she decides to challenge Chijie.]

Chapter 54, Almost Touching the Truth

[If things are at a complete standstill, it's better to be more aggressive now. Dying now and dying in four days seems to make no difference.]

["Oh, Herrscher, you..." Chijie still had his back to her, but his tone was much gentler than when they first met.]

["Chijie, please roll over here."]

["...Huh? Herrscher... what, did you mistake me for someone else?"]

Poor Jie Bro, he originally wanted to get along with Raiden Mei.

Now he's completely dumbfounded.

The moment they meet, Raiden Mei comes to pick a fight, making their already unpleasant relationship even worse.

But Raiden Mei is still going off, determined to provoke Chijie's fury until he really tries to kill her.

So, right now, Raiden Mei is super brave.

That's right, since Aponia prophesied she'd die in ten days, if she gets Chijie to kill her now, the truth of Aponia's prophecy disappears.

["No, that's what you're like too, Chijie. Haven't you always been bluffing like this?"]

["It's nothing new. I've seen many small animals use similar methods to try and scare off their natural predators."]

["Hahahahahahaha... You think this is bluffing... Good, very good."]

[His final tone was drowned out by the sound of air splitting. The distance between them might as well have not existed. In less than the blink of an eye, the man's right fist had already grazed Mei's cheek.]

[Her blade, raised just in time, deflected the trajectory of that heavy blow, but even the residual force was enough to send her stumbling backward uncontrollably, leaving two long trails on the ground.]

[That's right, this is the power. The power Raiden Mei needs, enough to kill her.]

["Before you provoke me... have you prepared your last rites, Herrscher?"]

["There's no need for that. My only preparation... is to plan what I'll do next if you disappoint me."]

["Oh... you once said that when you served as the final trial, The Past's Paradise had a period of No Survivors. That's not just your boasting, is it?"]

["You'll find out when you try." Chijie's voice turned gnashing, but aside from that one punch, he showed no intention of making another move.]

[Being the final trial was a decision from before, now abolished. There's no issue with the Flame-Chasers actively fighting successors, but Chijie is an exception—he always leaves no room for mercy.]

["Chijie, you should understand by now—this is a challenge. I think... you're not too cowardly to fight a successor without permission, are you?" Raiden Mei continued to provoke Chijie.]

["Then as you wish. It's been too long since I've personally slain a Herrscher. Go ahead, I'll give you enough time to think of a hundred ways to save your life... then die convinced."]

[Easier than expected—Chijie's tone had already grown aggressive.]

It's probably like... during the pandemic, when they couldn't go to the recording studio, and the voice lines for Chijie were mistaken for those of a domestic abuser.

["Herrscher, do your best to reach the deepest part of the Paradise. Even if you have to crawl, get there. Otherwise, you're not even worthy of dying by my hand."]

[The killing formation they prepared for Chijie back then... was part of "The Deepest Place," becoming the venue for their duel, and... Raiden Mei's burial ground.]

[Then, Raiden Mei set off on her path to seek death.]

Overwhelming force breaks all techniques. Raiden Mei briefly played detective, but now she chose to take a risk.

The clues made no progress, so the story always needs some catalyst.

In detective novels, that catalyst often comes from others, but this time, Mei could only rely on herself.

Yet there's no way she'd die here.

Elysia was watching, and so was Aponia.

Su Nian let out a long breath and flexed her wrists.

After writing the next part of the story, she'd rest for today!

The information in The Past's Paradise was fragmented, but it still had a main thread—the truth Mei sought. The people and events she encountered along the way were passive feedback to the outside, forming a new main thread.

The story of The Past's Paradise was mainly divided into three parts. Though the fragmented content made it hard to understand, the confusion lay in the story itself, not in flawed writing.

As a story, The Past's Paradise was definitely qualified.

But its overly cryptic plot made it one of the hardest to understand among all of miHoYo's games, ranking among the top even now.

Only the plot of Star Rail's Penacony could match its level of enigma.

In the infinite shadows, first meeting Elysia—this was also the answer Raiden Mei sought from the very beginning.

To the other me in the world—this section shaped Mobius, representing the dark side of the Moth of the Fire.

May time stand still forever, may tomorrow—this part was about Aponia...

The other Flame-Chasers were woven into the story, first encounters, then learning more from the stories they shared, forming the whole of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers.

The overly fragmented content of The Past's Paradise—Su Nian hadn't even written it yet.

That part included the characterizations of the other Flame-Chasers and some iconic scenes.

The stories among the Flame-Chasers, and they themselves, were also very interesting.

But for the sake of narrative, something always had to be cut.

Not just because it was hard to read—the main reason for this "soulless" writing method was...

She couldn't finish it! The most haunting part of this story... ah no, the most brilliant part wasn't in The Past's Paradise.

It was Eternal Paradise!

Even if you hadn't played through the story, you'd have heard of the Paradise Ice Cube's reputation.

Thirteen people died over forty times, and many of those deaths were contributed here.

The text volume of The Past's Paradise was over 700,000 words, spanning multiple versions. Even if Su Nian turned into a human typewriter, she couldn't finish it.

Let alone the existence of Eternal Paradise later on.

Eternal Paradise was where Mei's initial questions would finally be answered.

Su Nian took a deep breath. For now, she had to write Eternal Paradise first.

The production team was quite considerate—the time reminders were meant to keep contestants from falling behind. But from the memories left by her predecessor, she had once understood the show's procedures.

The next day, the show would enter an overall review phase.

Given that the competition only lasted a week, this arrangement was indeed reasonable.

The entire day was given to the contestants.

To create a good story in such a short time was indeed a bit tight.

In this regard, they tried to let contestants leave themselves some leeway.

Even finishing summer or winter homework required a whole night to work miracles.

If there wasn't even a chance to overtake at night, it would be unfair to contestants who thought more slowly and pursued better storytelling.

So, the production team chose to review the next day.

As long as one achieved a "good" score in the review phase, they would receive a mysterious grand prize.

Schicksal has long sponsored this competition, and in the fifth edition of the tournament, they contributed their newly developed technology: the Thought Imaging Projection.

However, this technology wasn't applied to the film industry, and its cost was extremely high. Using it here was far too extravagant, making civilian use impossible.

That's also part of the reason the tournament has consistently maintained such high popularity.

Both Schicksal technology and Anti-Entropy technology have produced exceptionally bizarre innovations in the past.

Su Nian held no hope for this prize—after all, it was genuinely expensive and had only appeared in the fifth edition.

But if it really was that, then "The Story Because You Exist" could be fully materialized!

The visual concerns that had always troubled Su Nian would no longer be an issue.

Will she win?

She will!

There's more for today. I was planning to finish today's batch in one go before posting it to you all, but since someone's urging, take a look first!

Chapter 55: The Flame-Chasers Are Not Perfect, But They All Once Lived with Such Pride

The truth behind Aponia's prophecy is about to be revealed.

[After a journey of cutting through thorns and brambles, Raiden Mei finally arrived at The Deepest Place, the site where Chijie once served as the final trial.]

[A portion of The Deepest Place—this could indeed be considered an unexpected gain, but...]

[Raiden Mei took a deep breath. What awaited her next was a Flame-Chaser who regarded battle as everything, one of the most powerful Flame Chasers of the Previous Civilization... If a gap truly existed between them, then... this was also the chance to see it clearly.]

[Crossing the final door, Raiden Mei saw Chijie, who had long been waiting for her here.]

["...Too slow, Herrscher."]