He remembered that in an interview, when discussing the Flame-Chasers, the writers had said that in their daily exchanges, they had to put themselves in the Flame-Chasers' shoes. They were exceptionally dedicated and serious.
Eternal Paradise would add another brick to this story.
Give them a little Werewolf shock!
Su Nian was finally going to start writing today. She had looked forward to it all night, all for this very moment!
"Welcome to the deepest secret of The Past's Paradise, preserved by The Deepest Place—"
"A mental world made from Elysia's memories, a perfect restoration of everything Elysia loved in her life."
It was the culmination of all beautiful things, a peaceful and eternal dreamlike wonderland, an immaculate paradise standing at the end of all ideals.
Eternal Paradise.
Did they think that after meeting Elysia as the Thirteenth Herrscher, the truth would immediately be revealed?
How could that be possible?
Drag it out. Keep dragging it out. Back and forth.
Back then, the writers had played the players like puppets in the palm of their hands.
Now, Su Nian would recreate all of it.
So that they could suffer the same pain.
Good things had to be shared.
By now, they had already felt Su Nian's malice.
This was not what they had expected!
They had thought the truth would be revealed today, that Su Nian had merely been stringing them along. But now it seemed that The Past's Paradise storyline was far from over.
Su Nian cut off chapters according to the story's pacing.
They could understand that, but it still made them so angry!
So you're a master at cutting off chapters, huh? Give me your life!
The urge to kidnap Su Nian grew stronger and stronger. I'm pulling out that Saw-style voice-typing plan!
What exactly was the truth? Hurry up and tell us already! Stop beating around the bush!
...It felt like Elysia might not know either, right? A memory recorded before death—would it know what happened at the moment of death?
But it did not feel like Elysia knew nothing, either. Over fifty thousand years, had her memory never spoken with the other Flame-Chasers' memories in The Past's Paradise to find out?
Losing a comrade was already painful enough, and then having to tell her exactly how she died... that felt like hell...
They publicly claimed Kevin had killed her... With how Kevin had been back then, insisting that Herrschers had to die, could he really have killed her?
Kevin: My dead memories suddenly started attacking me!
That explained it again. No wonder Elysia was also a "riddle-speaker." Maybe she had told Raiden Mei everything she knew... and what she did not know, she simply did not know.
The barrage resumed its tireless speculation about the upcoming plot based on the earlier story.
They needed speculation to ease their curiosity.
But that was also proof of how much they loved this work.
Only if they cared would they spend time and energy on things that seemed "meaningless."
Another reason was that someone had started this trend.
It was the fan-created works analyzing Su Nian's plot.
The riddles had gone too far, forcing them to rely on guessing Su Nian's intentions just to make their own guesses at the plot seem somewhat reasonable.
They lacked crucial information. That was how it was.
However, they still did not know that Su Nian had planted another mystery long ago.
"I wonder whether the name Eternal Paradise... has filled you with curiosity?"
"To be frank, I don't really feel anything. Coming here will reveal the truth? Knowing you, I'm afraid it won't be that simple."
"Oh my, why would you think that? Who turned you into this?"
I'm making fun of myself!
Good lord, Su Nian, you actually know what kind of person you are!
It was as though she could see the audience's complaints straight through the screen.
But she could not see them. It was as if she had predicted every one of their moves.
Deliberate. It was absolutely deliberate!
Who else could have turned her—turned all of them—into this?
It was all Su Nian's fault!
"You've already proven yourself to the vast majority of people. If I keep concealing things now, wouldn't that be going too far?"
Elysia's other identity—the Thirteenth Herrscher—had already been revealed to Mei. But for Mei, it was merely confirmation, not new information.
She had come to The Past's Paradise in search of the truth. The first person to appear before her was Elysia; the one who led her deeper step by step was Elysia; and in the end... the person about whom she knew nothing was also Elysia.
"I have many questions for you. About your authority, the truth behind your becoming a Herrscher, whether you and the Honkai share some connection beyond what has been written here, and also... how I should face you."
"I thought so. Of course, you can find the answers to all those questions here, one by one. That is the meaning of Eternal Paradise's existence."
When Eternal Paradise opened, Raiden Mei was not the only one to enter. The other Flame-Chasers were drawn there as well.
The Flame-Chasers clearly knew about the Thirteenth Herrscher, yet they still would not get to the point.
Sakura told Mei that Elysia was the purest person among the Flame-Chasers.
Eden told Mei that in her era, Elysia had not been a Herrscher who stood against humanity or brought suffering and scars to the world.
Elysia was not an enemy, not a threat to humanity... she was also Eden's irreplaceable friend.
Elysia wanted Mei to experience it all for herself. After all, these were her memories. Mei was walking through Elysia's heart and could glimpse, one by one, the emotions Elysia had treasured deep within.
Seeing this, the audience could not help becoming curious.
This story once again revolved around Elysia, this "bad woman."
But two Flame-Chasers in a row had said that Elysia was a good person.
Sakura had already died during the Twelfth Honkai. It was understandable that she did not know the truth about Elysia being a Herrscher.
But Eden's reaction made it clear that she definitely knew, yet she still considered Elysia her closest friend.
Wait, that was not quite the same as the direction they had been given before!
The feelings she had hidden deep in her heart... what were they?
With that description, could Elysia actually be a good woman? Was Su Nian starting to clear her name?
I never thought Elysia was a bad woman from the beginning. At most, she just had some girlish little schemes.
I don't believe it. She's deeply calculating and a riddle-speaker.
I don't believe it either. She flirted with Mei so much—she's definitely a "bad" woman.
Anything pink is black on the inside once you cut it open.
Then why did Mobius call her a "traitor"? There had to be a reason, right?
They had lived through the Previous Civilization, yet none of the Flame-Chasers had as much energy as she did. She was way too cheerful... something was definitely off.
Wake up. How could anyone in this world be nice to you for no reason? The moment she met Mei, she practically latched onto her like they were old friends!
She hid too much. It's hard for me to trust her. It feels more like those two have been fooled completely.
Heh, that makes sense. If Elysia wanted to fool me, I'd gladly let her fool me completely!
Su Nian had once again thrown out plenty of questions, and the most controversial one was still Elysia.
Because after Eternal Paradise appeared, Elysia's image had indeed undergone a reversal from their first impression of her.
At the time, some people had guarded against Elysia, while others thought she really was a good woman.
The writers had done it on purpose.
Because Elysia was the second-in-command of Moth of the Fire, its deputy leader. She needed to possess an imposing presence no weaker than Kevin's.
That mysterious smile, along with the established image of an "alluring muse" and a "bad woman"...
And the word "traitor," deliberately spoken by Mobius in front of Raiden Mei, a Herrscher whose true background was unknown.
Therefore, it was only natural that the audience in the barrage remained wary of Elysia as they retraced the players' old path.
It had been said before that the easiest way to establish a character was to create a stereotype, then break it afterward.
Now was the time to shatter that false, distorted "mirror" and reveal Elysia as she truly was.
News that Su Nian had started creating again spread rapidly.
In the blink of an eye, it flooded the judges' livestream chat.
By now, they had finished reviewing submissions, but the judges' room was unexpectedly quiet.
What had just happened had caused a tiny, minor unpleasantness between them.
They had teleprompters, so they could see the barrage.
Su Nian has started writing again!
This message kept flooding the screen, urging them all to continue reviewing Su Nian's later work.
Sharp critiques and ruthless grilling—everyone loved to see it.
But Su Nian definitely would not end up in such a situation.
They saw the barrage, and thoughts began to form in their minds.
New plot? It's finally here!
There had originally been no segment today for reviewing contestants' subsequent works.
But all of them wanted to watch. There was no question about that.
In truth, the program's so-called schedule was not all that important...
They wanted to go to Su Nian's livestream immediately!
If they had been other judges, they naturally could not have acted so willfully.
But the three of them were the program's biggest financial backers.
Besides being judges, they were also investors. Eden invested money, while Schicksal and Anti-Entertainment jointly sponsored the technical side.
Yet none of the three spoke.
Because of what had happened when they tried to recruit Su Nian...
First, Eden had committed the sin of jumping the gun. She had ambushed the two of them while they were unprepared and thrown out an olive branch first.
Second, Otto had committed the sin of arrogance. He had publicly refuted Eden and claimed that she could not guide Su Nian. This was malicious competition.
Third, Welt had committed the sin of prejudice. Schicksal was decayed, Eden was crossing into another field, and the only one qualified to recruit Su Nian was Anti-Entropy.
They would not make things difficult for Su Nian, but their behavior just now had made their already poor relationship even worse.
Silence. They were deadlocked.
"...Uh."
Kevin looked at the three of them. This situation... was tricky.
There was no segment for reviewing contestants' works right now.
But Elysia saw Eden's expression. It seemed unchanged, but Eden's gaze had drifted toward the barrage several more times.
Then... it was time for her to step in!
Even if she had misunderstood, her dear Eden would not say anything, right?
After all, this was practically their "own" program. Making a slight adjustment would not be a problem.
"Wow~ Are all the people in the barrage fans of contestant Su Nian? Everyone is so enthusiastic about wanting the judges to rigorously review Su Nian's work."
"Contestant Su Nian has indeed performed brilliantly at this stage. I heard yesterday that because his readers could not see the continuation... they stayed awake all night."
Before you continue