"Empathy is one of humanity's noblest traits, but for him, at this moment, it was a mistake."
For Kevin, this was perhaps a regret he would need to remember for the rest of his life.
"This incident, along with his hesitation and weakness, was forever etched into Kevin's heart."
This was the most direct emotional growth Kevin experienced in his life.
At this moment, the theme of regret had begun to take shape within the framework of Su Nian's story.
From Kevin's perspective, regret was like a bottomless sea whose surface had never known calm.
Why had he hesitated... Because of kindness, because the Herrscher had displayed a trace of humanity.
Yet his kindness had brought about a catastrophe.
If an ordinary person had gone through what Kevin did, they might have been crushed long before facing The End.
The cost of growth was immense—so immense that Kevin would remember this experience for the rest of his life.
This atmosphere is bad! You silly child, why are you running? Just freeze up!
I don't want this kind of painful growth!
Haha, luckily I'm blind, so I can't see it.
It's fine, I'm a helpful person. I'll read it to you.
So this was how regret was written? That was incredible.
Su Nian's writing style and setting were the only ones of their kind among all the contestants.
After following along the entire way, none of the other sixty-three contestants had come up with anything even remotely similar.
They had written many kinds of regrets, yet none had thought to write a savior filled with great love—a person who fought for humanity, for the world, for everything.
Only the protagonist written by Su Nian would feel regret and remorse over people completely unrelated to him.
Because he had once had the chance to protect those people, but he had missed it—and was saddened by it.
That was vision.
Exquisite. Truly exquisite.
Kevin's character was established in an instant. From that point on, he shed his earlier immaturity and completed his transformation of identity.
Otto carefully savored the passage. There were only a few lines, but its strengths were obvious.
"This plot completes Kevin's character transition. He began as an unremarkable student, joined Moth of the Fire to become a warrior, then distinguished himself as an elite."
"Now he is moving toward becoming a savior. The timespan is a little large, but the logic is clear. The protagonist has ability, as well as personal charisma."
Saving the world was a weighty phrase.
A savior was someone who would still make a choice and carry on beneath pressure, pain, and despair.
Otto firmly believed that Kevin absolutely deserved that title.
No, it was not just Otto who thought so.
At first, only one or two claps came from the stadium stands, drowned out by the crowd's discussion.
Then more and more followed, until the applause gradually became louder than the voices.
Until even the voices vanished, leaving only applause in the venue.
The scene was incredibly stirring, even more enthusiastic than when Kevin had led the applause earlier.
A good story, a good atmosphere, Otto's guidance, and the admiration spreading from person to person.
This was spontaneous applause from the audience. No one had organized it.
It was applause for Kevin, one of the Flame-Chasers, and a gift to Su Nian as well.
The Story's Ending Was Sure to Be Happy
This part of the story resonated deeply with everyone.
The screenshot of Su Nian's earlier description of Savior Kevin's life, along with Su Nian's name, spread wildly across major websites and platforms.
A savior who bore everything, abandoned everything, and was swept along by fate; one who bore the Insignia of the Savior and crossed The End...
These phrases gave the audience wonderful expectations. Savior Kevin's future achievements would surely be extraordinary.
This story was bound to be magnificent and turbulent!
But the audience had no idea that Kevin's ending differed somewhat from what they had predicted.
Ah, I can't wait to read the actual story. This tiny word count is nowhere near enough!
Serious question: can't you just make an animation based on the outline? Production team, I want to watch this!
I remember the introduction mentioned the Thirteen Heroes of Fire. Only one has appeared so far, and I'm already looking forward to the future!
The makings of a masterpiece!
As expected of Su Nian. Why not rename the Shenzhou literary world Su Nian and the Other Writers?
A master was a master. Even her concepts were beyond what us noobs could hope to reach.
Even viewers who were not present kept praising it online, pouring out their enthusiasm.
Kevin stared blankly at the words Su Nian had written. He reread the passage again and again, his thoughts in turmoil.
Savior Kevin's appearance matched his own, and his experiences at Senba Academy were identical down to the smallest detail.
It even gave him the absurd thought that Su Nian had planted a camera on him.
What happened after Honkai descended had nothing to do with him, yet these words possessed a strange magic.
Kevin merely looked at the passage, and his mind suddenly wavered.
He seemed to truly see it.
Inside a building in a prosperous city, he held a heavy firearm and aimed it at that Herrscher.
Everything unfolded exactly as it had in the story. The Herrscher displayed humanity and deceived him.
He failed to save the people of that city.
The entire city fell silent, its former prosperity completely gone.
He also saw someone who looked exactly like Elysia at his side, speaking with him and telling him to keep this incident in his heart.
At that moment, Kevin swore that he would never hesitate again when facing a Herrscher.
After a brief daze, those scenes remained in his mind. Kevin clutched his head in uncertainty.
Were these really just words?
Was Su Nian's story really nothing more than simple fiction?
Reading this part felt as though he had experienced it himself, yet there was no Honkai in this world.
Doubt spread through Kevin's heart, and he could not wait to see how Su Nian's story would continue.
Based on what Su Nian had just said, the story should enter the Seventh Honkai Outbreak next.
Flame Chasers... an Emperor-class Honkai Beast, Parvati?
What kind of story would this be?
With his eyes fixed intensely on the huge screen, Su Nian continued considering the plot ahead.
The Sixth Honkai Outbreak seemed to have only portrayed Kevin's emotional journey.
But the Previous Civilization's fight against Honkai had absolutely not been as easy as Su Nian was currently writing it.
Although Memory Kevin in The Past's Paradise had once said that defeating Herrschers was no difficult task for the Flame-Chasers.
But that was from the perspective of Kevin whose memories had been recorded at that time.
By then, Moth of the Fire already had Flame Chasers.
But before the Seventh Honkai Outbreak, they did not.
Before this primary means of fighting Honkai had been created, Moth of the Fire paid a terrible price every time it faced a Herrscher.
In the battle against Honkai, humanity's forces had already lost more than half their numbers.
But in the upcoming Seventh Honkai Outbreak, the Herrscher born from it would be unexpectedly powerful.
The Herrscher of Flames was Himiko, whom Honkai had turned into a Herrscher. Her destructive power far surpassed that of the other Herrschers.
Around the same time, Mei also proposed the Flame Chaser Project.
The Herrscher core would later be made into Kevin's weapon, Tears of Heaven.
The powerful technology tree did help Kevin grow much stronger, but it also made him lose much. The cost was simply too heavy.
Kevin was like a person climbing a mountain. At the beginning, the path was wide enough for several people to walk abreast.
He was still at the stage where they could walk side by side, but the path ahead would only become narrower and narrower.
The Sixth Honkai Outbreak he had just written was merely the appetizer before the feast.
The main course had not yet been served.
Su Nian continued writing, composing the next part of the story beneath countless watchful eyes.
But she did not immediately write about the Seventh Honkai Outbreak.
"Before the Seventh Honkai Outbreak, people besides Kevin were also striving in other ways."
This was foreshadowing. Although Kevin held the protagonist's template, his growth followed a relatively reasonable progression.
And there were other undercurrents at work as well.
There were many reasons the Previous Civilization failed, but Su Nian felt that a large part of the problem lay within humanity itself.
The decaying Moth of the Fire was the largest organization fighting Honkai. Because its higher-ups disliked Mei, they sent people to assassinate her—the stupidest possible decision.
Others later killed Ling out of fear, allowing the Herrscher of Erosion's power to be unleashed and destroying humanity's last three cities.
After the Herrscher of Erosion incident, human civilization existed in name only.
Not long after the Sixth Honkai Outbreak ended, Mei proposed an entirely new idea: the [Flame Chaser] Project.
By fusing Honkai Beast genes with soldiers, they could create Flame Chasers with the abilities of Honkai Beasts, allowing them to fight the increasingly powerful Herrschers.
The proposal of the Flame Chaser Project, the [Divine Key] Project, and other plans, along with Mei's overly forceful way of handling matters, eventually provoked the dissatisfaction of Moth of the Fire's higher-ups.
They secretly ordered Poisoned Cocoon to send assassins to murder Mei.
Seeing this, the previously lively barrage of comments immediately realized that something was wrong.
Who was Mei? She was the female lead arranged for Kevin, and her scientific ability was incredibly high. She should have been the virtuous partner type.
And now the plot was heading in this direction...
Perhaps because Su Nian had "sacrificed" an entire city's population in the previous plot.
The audience all felt that the story seemed ready to make Kevin grow once again at any moment.
They began wildly guessing at the following plot in the barrage of comments.
Because the story had successfully drawn them in, discussion of the work had also become extremely heated.
Seeing this, Welt spoke up to comfort the audience present.
"They probably won't kill off the heroine. This plot is clearly following a classic heroic development. Believe that the final ending will definitely be happy, harmonious, and full of love."
"The current enemy, the Herrscher, will be slain through their efforts. Since the protagonist is a savior, then no matter the circumstances, he will surely be able to turn the tide."
Welt confidently analyzed the plot.
If this story had not been about the Previous Civilization, and had not come from a game that began with the word "Honkai"...
Then perhaps it really would have turned out as he imagined.
An Unearthable Treasure Trove
If Su Nian heard Welt's remarks, she would surely flash a brilliant smile and reassure everyone about the story to come.
Until they saw their innocent smiles freeze upon their faces.
Before you continue