Chapter 5: Kevin, Bearer of the Insignia of the Savior
Under the gaze of the entire audience, Su Nian did not stop writing until a long while later.
He had already written all the key points onto the paper.
"Joined Moth of the Fire during the Third Honkai Outbreak. By the Sixth Honkai Outbreak, became an outstanding anti-Honkai warrior. Accepted an experiment during the Seventh Honkai Outbreak, fused with the genes of the Emperor-class Honkai Beast, Parvati, and became a Flame Chaser..."
His train of thought was exceptionally clear and swift. Su Nian recorded everything in his notebook; paper records were always the safest.
To sort out the character arcs, he would begin with Kevin Kaslana.
Countless unfamiliar terms spilled out, though the viewers could still roughly grasp their meanings.
"Contestant No. 13's thinking can no longer be described as excellent. It's terrifying. How did he come up with so much in such a short time?"
"Creating something is far more difficult than working from an existing foundation."
"What terrifying creativity. Yet it draws from reality without relying on a supernatural power system. His ideas are bold and innovative. No wonder he is a seeded contestant this year."
As Otto watched Su Nian continuously write, a bead of sweat unknowingly formed at his temple.
Using Honkai outbreaks as the timeline, introducing an organization, and even creating an entirely new concept—Honkai Beasts.
There was no pause. The words simply sprang forth.
Was this something a human brain could accomplish?
All three judges gave exceedingly high evaluations. At this moment, all their interest had been drawn in by Su Nian's concept.
They watched Su Nian eagerly, waiting to see what he would do next.
Su Nian had also finished organizing the timeline by then.
But a timeline alone was clearly not enough. He still needed to draft an outline, as well as the things every book needed.
A title and synopsis.
He turned on the top-tier computer provided by the production crew.
The story of the Previous Civilization was fragmented, making it quite a challenge for him as well.
Su Nian typed out the title and synopsis he had long prepared for this story.
"The Past's Paradise"
The Past's Paradise? That was the title?
I don't get it at all!
Novels these days all loved long titles. It had been ages since anyone had seen such a short one.
You wouldn't come here without absolute confidence. Let's see whether he's a dragon or a worm.
This guy definitely has real skills.
In places Su Nian could not see, the comments surged. He immediately began writing the synopsis for the book.
This was a story doomed to fail from the very beginning...
This was a story belonging to thirteen people who failed to become heroes...
Let the ballad no one ever sang be sung once more.
Let a new chapter be written for the story buried by history.
Pure and noble souls set out upon their journey.
Everything came from the distant past, from that brilliant and dazzling era.
This story was dedicated to thirteen heroes—the Thirteen Heroes of Fire.
For some reason, Elysia's heart trembled when she saw this.
It was merely a synopsis. The writing was not especially ornate.
It did not even make clear what kind of story the synopsis and title were describing.
Yet those brief words moved her.
It felt like the guidance of fate, an unexpected bond.
It was not just Elysia. Kevin and Eden, who were present, had their gazes drawn over as well, unable to look away.
Pure and noble souls... wasn't that describing Elysia?
It was not flattery.
That was what they had thought ever since meeting her. The description suited Elysia so perfectly, as though it had been written for her.
There might not have been anyone in the world more fitting for those words than Elysia.
Su Nian continued writing. Those words seemed to possess magic, drawing them onward.
Character: Kevin
A man who bore two eras upon his shoulders with the Insignia of the Savior.
The instant they saw those words, all their gazes focused on Kevin.
Well, damn! Kevin!
There just happened to be a Kevin at the scene.
If this had not been such a solemn occasion, Elysia would have wanted to tease Kevin.
No matter how one looked at him, Kevin, the big boy, seemed completely unrelated to someone burdened with a responsibility like "saving the world."
Unfortunately, this was not a private setting, so it was not suitable for jokes. Still, that did not stop playful Elysia from planning to tease Kevin later.
Su Nian did not know that all three judges were watching him. He continued writing and developing the story, but he did not choose to write Kevin immediately.
Instead, he continued recording the setting.
"Worldbuilding takes priority over characters. Before writing Kevin, I still need to flesh out the other settings."
The setting that ran through the entire story: Honkai.
As the world's backdrop, Honkai was born alongside civilization. The more humanity's civilization developed, the stronger the Will of Honkai became.
Honkai was a periodic natural disaster, as well as the rhythmic pulse of the universe's periodic adjustment. The timing of its outbreaks was utterly unpredictable, and its manifestations were impossible to determine. However, one thing was certain: when Honkai erupted, it released an efficient yet dangerous energy—Honkai Energy.
Su Nian chose to establish the worldbuilding first. This was the most important element of the Honkai world.
Every tragedy was born because of Honkai.
"And the main enemies."
Born from Honkai were beings that possessed human forms yet defied all common sense—"Herrschers." Every Honkai outbreak was inevitably accompanied by the deaths of countless living beings, and every major outbreak gave rise to a Herrscher. Each Herrscher possessed different abilities.
Humans could be transformed into Herrschers.
Those were some of the basic settings of Honkai. The necessary groundwork had now been established.
Only after introducing those elements could he show what made this world utterly different from one without Honkai.
Now it was Kevin's turn.
Su Nian recalled the information revealed in the manga and game, then quickly typed the next section onto the computer.
Chapter 6: Prince and the Bookworm Girl
On the eve of the Third Honkai Outbreak, most people in the world lived in a false peace.
In Chang Kong City in the Far East, there was a school called [Senba Academy].
Kevin, who came from a European country, had transferred to this school three months ago.
The handsome white-haired young man wore a sports uniform as he raced across the basketball court, his expression brimming with confidence. With his exceptional looks and athletic ability, he soon became the Prince in the hearts of the school's girls.
Kevin had countless admirers, but the Prince had no interest in their pursuit.
Because three months earlier, on his first day after transferring to the school, he had already found the love of his life—Mei, the girl his classmates called the Bookworm Girl.
This was Kevin's past, as well as the emotional arc between him and Mei.
It was also narration from the manga. Put into words, it lacked visual impact, but before polishing, it was more than suitable for advancing the plot.
"So it looks like it starts on a school campus. Is he a coming-of-age protagonist?"
"But since the theme is regret... this kind of development will be anything but ordinary."
Welt recalled Su Nian's earlier setting regarding Herrschers. When a major Honkai outbreak occurred, people could be turned into Herrschers.
Combined with the competition's theme of regret.
He already understood Su Nian's intentions. There would definitely be a moment that made people's hearts ache.
"Starting by shaping Kevin and Mei's romance makes it highly likely that Mei will be the target."
In Welt's eyes, Mei was now extremely dangerous, practically wearing a red sign that read "Danger."
This theme was difficult to handle and placed immense demands on the contestants' writing and character-building skills. If he chose to kill off the female lead, the result might not be ideal; it could even backfire.
This was a risky move.
"Welt, regret can be approached from many angles. Losing something is not the only kind of regret... regrettably, you do not understand that."
"I merely proposed a possibility. There is no need for the former Schicksal Overseer to educate me on such matters."
Welt did not give Otto a pleasant look.
Anti-Entropy and Schicksal were old enemies. Back then, Schicksal's North American branch had become independent because it was dissatisfied with Otto's tyranny.
The smell of gunpowder between the two was thick.
The atmosphere on the other side was far more harmonious.
Elysia was now doing everything she could to cover her mouth, lest she accidentally burst out laughing.
The title Prince was actually rather cute, yet she had never heard Kevin mention it.
She had only met Kevin after they began working, so she had not known he once had such a period or looked like this.
But Mei really was Kevin's wife. It seemed Su Nian had not merely used Kevin's name; he had even used his wife's name as well?
Kevin's ears were red now. She was truly curious what he was thinking about.
Elysia's gaze settled on Kevin.
Kevin stared at the words above, somewhat silent, while an unconscious blush spread across his face.
When he did nothing, he gave people the impression of an iceberg.
But the flush on his face had clearly sent Kevin's aloof aura flying off to some unknown corner.
That was how a shy big boy was.
Kevin's thoughts had already become a tangled mess.
How was this passage... exactly the same as his experience of first falling in love when he was young?
If Su were here... his best friend would definitely understand why Kevin was blushing.
He had attended Senba Academy in the past, and there he had fallen hopelessly in love with Mei, acting like a complete fool.
The title Prince suited Kevin perfectly when he was still a high school student, but for the current Kevin, it felt like having an embarrassing part of his past exposed.
He was so embarrassed that he wanted to leave immediately.
How could Su Nian possibly know about this relationship? He was merely an unlucky guy temporarily pushed into being the host.
It would have been understandable if Eden had encountered this scene, since her experiences and life story were public knowledge.
But Kevin was not a public figure!
This had to be a coincidence, nothing more than a coincidence.
Kevin, Kevin, you were already an adult. Do not get so embarrassed over such coincidences that you acted like a high school student.
As long as he did not admit it, what could it matter even if Su Nian happened to write everything correctly? No one would know.
So long as he kept his mouth shut tightly enough.
Even with his face flushed, Kevin still tried hard to maintain his image.
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