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

This was the conclusion Raiden Mei had reached—the story of The Past's Paradise was simply that simple.

The Flame-Chasing Heroes were merely flawed ordinary people.

They had their own selfish desires, and most could hardly be said to possess great love. But they could also be moved in a moment, or act on a whim, doing something impulsive yet remarkable.

["Well said... I think, now, Mei can face 'my ending' with a clear conscience."]

["The two of you have opened your hearts, being honest with each other, not holding grudges over the little lies Elysia once told. Elysia..."]

["When you called yourself the deputy leader of the Flame-Chasing Heroes, I didn't let my guard down either. Likewise... the 'Thirteenth Herrscher' wouldn't make me see you differently."]

["Even if you became a Herrscher... so what? Am I not a Herrscher too?"]

[Elysia smiled.]

[That girl, always thought to have ulterior motives—every word and action she showed Mei, everything she revealed, perhaps from beginning to end, was only for this one "answer."]

[In the distant past; on that night when she wore pure white garments, with a bridal makeup she would only have once in her life, walking toward the end...]

[Did she get the "answer" she wanted? Even... after becoming a Herrscher?]

These descriptions... seemed like roll after roll of beautiful brocade, presenting scenes before their eyes.

Aesthetic.

That was their only feeling.

They could almost see Elysia, hands behind her back, her gaze too shy to meet her own, seemingly absentmindedly revealing the little thoughts of a maiden's heart...

This was Elysia's "fragile" side.

All along, she had shown the audience impressions of playfulness, mischievous little schemes, a talent for teasing... and the like.

But now, they instead felt a sense of a beauty's untimely end.

Elysia would tell a little lie because she cared about your opinion of her...

This didn't ruin her perfect persona—it wasn't even a minor flaw.

Instead, it closed the distance between them.

Yes, this was what it meant to be human, not just a persona crafted for the sake of perfection, perfect for perfection's sake.

Every beautiful thing they could imagine seemed to awaken at this moment.

Elysia's image was completely overturned, and as the world's best Miss Pink Fairy, she truly walked into their hearts.

It began with looks, bonded by personality, admired for talent, lasting through kindness, and ending with character...

Those who had been indifferent were now touched at heart.

Those who had doubted now set their minds at ease.

Emotion was sublimated in this moment.

But, mischievous Elysia wouldn't let this opportunity slip by.

["Even if you became a Herrscher—"]

["Hm?" A familiar voice pulled Mei back to reality.]

[She followed the sound. Under the sunset, Elysia's smile was pure and sweet, light spilling across her cheeks, flowing down her fair skin...]

[Winding around her soft body, in the haze, something was faintly visible behind her—it was... a loudspeaker.]

[Elysia's expression didn't change, but she played back everything Mei had just said.]

["It also has a recording function, you know?"]

Raiden Mei never dreamed that, in such a romantic moment, she would still pull these ridiculous little stunts.

Nor did she imagine that Elysia, with her hands behind her back, was actually operating the loudspeaker's recording function.

She had thought buying such a loudspeaker for three Crystal Flowers was a bit expensive compared to a tool for finding people, and hard to understand.

But now, looking at this loudspeaker, it was an absolute steal!

For Raiden Mei, however, it was a bit less friendly.

["Elysia—!!"]

The originally heavy atmosphere was instantly shattered.

When the mood seemed to fester and infect the audience, miHoYo always liked to break it with some small matter.

Kevin's "Red Ice" was the same—finally sensing on the battlefield that Chijie was still alive, he then transformed the Flame-Chaser into a military shovel and dug Chijie out.

Such little interludes cleverly dispelled the originally tense atmosphere.

And allowed the story to continue.

It was good for the audience to be immersed in the story.

It was as if they too had been teased by Elysia, a beautiful emotional experience.

But if the negative emotions were too strong, it would often make them feel uncomfortable too.

As long as the atmosphere was rendered just right.

After all, this is a happy plot point.

"Su Nian did an excellent job with emotional transitions. Stirring emotions is important, but chasing a single feeling for too long without ups and downs can easily become 'stale.'"

Eden found that Su Nian's story could genuinely serve as a model example.

Every aspect was commendable.

The pacing was exceptionally comfortable, and the character design was outstanding and prominent.

A truly rare gem.

Like savoring... the finest wine in the world, reading and analyzing it felt like spending an afternoon quietly sipping drinks with Elysia.

Admittedly, the world is vast and people are many—this story couldn't possibly win everyone's favor.

From a reader's perspective, the story might still be slightly lacking, not as thrilling as the fast-paced tales they love.

But as everyone knows, popular works aren't necessarily good, and unpopular ones aren't necessarily bad.

In terms of writing technique, the title of "model work" was well-deserved for Su Nian.

They had initially thought Otto was just making an excuse to see Su Nian, but from every angle, those words rang true.

Yet they never expected... Su Nian to wield all these techniques with such masterful skill.

What writing method was left that he didn't know?

Now their question wasn't what Su Nian could do, but what he couldn't do.

Could he really be an all-rounder, capable of anything?

Chapter 67: Bored, I Want to See Blood Flow

What other surprises did Su Nian have that they didn't know about?

This question surfaced in their minds once again. Su Nian was as mysterious as the deep sea—profound, with no visible bottom.

Like the tide gradually revealing his secrets before them...

It was almost breathtakingly stunning.

With such literary skill, Su Nian would inevitably bloom like an epiphyllum, leaving everyone in awe at the moment of his flowering.

But unlike the night-blooming, short-lived epiphyllum, Su Nian's flowering season would clearly last much longer.

There should have been naysayers—after all, even world-famous classics had people who disliked them.

With Su Nian's sudden explosion in popularity, some would surely claim the praise was excessive and his ability didn't match the hype.

But with the judges praising him like this, breaking down his skills piece by piece...

That kind of voice grew much quieter.

Now it seemed Su Nian's explosive rise was only natural, a matter of course.

Not a stroke of luck.

Nor the result of bribing the show's judges.

After these contents were dissected part by part, someone immediately compiled them into a collection, using Su Nian's writing as a template—he truly excelled in every aspect.

Emotional control, character depth, plot direction, foreshadowing placement and payoff...

Simply put, invincible!

Surprises everywhere.

They stared intently at the big screen, afraid of missing a single word.

["Alright, alright, I'll stop teasing you. Since Mei will leave once she gets her answer, I want to leave behind some memories of you too."]

[Elysia hugged the loudspeaker tightly, but her gaze drifted into the distance, landing on a mist-shrouded island on the sea surface.]

[What was strange, though, was that Elysia had clearly prepared herself—so why was that island still covered in mist?]

This tug-of-war had begun again.

The audience suddenly understood—they should have known Su Nian wouldn't give up on playing this pull-and-push game.

Only this time, the tug-of-war unfolded in a place none of them had anticipated.

Something was indeed wrong with the Eternal Paradise.

The actions of those Flame-Chasers proved it beyond doubt.

But what was the cause?

It seemed that ever since Raiden Mei entered the Past's Paradise, problems had been cropping up frequently.

Su Nian wouldn't set up something completely unfounded, a low-level trick that only created trouble for trouble's sake.

And Su Nian was the Pit-Digging Immortal—he had definitely dug a pit somewhere, just too well-hidden for them to find yet.

Maybe it was Aponia? She could trigger changes in the Paradise.

Or maybe Mobius, since she had previously deleted the entire space's data to kill Mei.

Elysia?... No, absolutely impossible.

["She's this adorable—how could she possibly be some mastermind behind the scenes!"]

["Wake up, will you? The prettier the woman, the better she lies."]

["I'm happy being deceived by her! I suggest you don't play the killjoy monk."]

["Hmph, stubborn and delusional—nothing I say will matter. Great Divine Dragon, arise!"]

["Throw that killjoy monk out! This is the era of Miss Pink Fairy!"]

There were also those who held opposing views, still believing that Elysia was now a bad woman in disguise.

This was Elysia's world of the mind, yet as a memory fragment of Elysia, she herself didn't know what was happening in her own domain.

It was truly getting rather mysterious.

The issues triggered by this incident remained unknown; they could only continue watching.

["Mei, how do you see us?"]

["Whether it's the martyrs who fell early or the pioneers who lived into the future... in the end, they're all real existences unrelated to us."]

["What stays here is just a fragment of the past, a shadow left behind. We can only remain here, unable to touch the reality you inhabit, nor accompany you into the future."]

["When you leave here and return to your normal, real life... you know very well that everything happening here is just a story, a virtual tale."]

["Maybe before long, you'll forget these events, forget these words, forget... our existence. You'll meet someone better than me, have your own life, and embrace your tomorrow."]

["If that's the case, do our emotions, our thoughts, our will, our actions... really have any meaning?"]

["To you, to anyone... what do we mean?"]

This was a question that broke the fourth wall.

On the surface, it seemed to be asking Raiden Mei, but in truth, it was asking the player behind her, through Raiden Mei.

How do you feel about this story?