The voice acting process for Honkai Impact 3rd had a few minor hiccups, but overall, things were progressing smoothly.
"What happened?! Bronya?!"
"VALKYRIE SYSTEM: Detected abnormality in Honkai particle signature… Forcing emergency control reboot, switching to Purge Mode—eliminating all surrounding enemies!"
"Alright, alright, let's wrap it up for today."
Hokuto clapped his hands, signaling the end of the recording session. The girls—who had been unsure at first—were now completely hooked.
Bronya turned her slightly expressionless, doll-like face toward him. "It's over already? I was just getting to the part where I obliterate everything."
"No, according to the story, you get flattened by the player."
"…Is that so?" Bronya took a step back.
"I've decided to secretly buff the difficulty of this stage during closed beta."
Hokuto: ???
"Please refrain from unauthorized modifications."
Hokuto recalled how difficult this level was in the original Honkai—what kind of chaotic timeline was he living in now?
"Rita," Theresa called out, barely able to reach her assistant's waist. "Hokuto really is just like you said."
But Rita was completely off-topic. "What a shame. I was hoping I'd get to say that line today—'Theresa is still as cute as a doll.' I was looking forward to it."
Theresa's face froze. "What is going on in your head, woman?"
"Everything I think is written on my face. After all, I'm an honest woman."
With a subtle shift of her short hair covering her left eye, Rita lowered her head with practiced sincerity.
Theresa looked up and just… stared.
"..."
"I don't want to talk to you about this. Let's go back to talking about Hokuto."
"Don't you think it's strange how, even though we've only known him a few days, it feels like we've been working with him for years?"
As she watched Hokuto chatting casually with the others, Theresa whispered, "He feels… familiar. Like an old friend."
"Isn't it a good thing that everyone gets along?" Rita replied seriously. "And we're all adults—we're allowed to have our own secrets. As long as they don't hurt anyone, it's fine."
"…Yeah, I guess you're right. Maybe I'm overthinking it."
Theresa admitted her doubts honestly.
Truth be told, since Hokuto had joined, miHoYo had clearly entered a period of rapid growth.
She should be grateful to him.
Rita quietly walked over to Hokuto and dutifully gave her report.
"Honkai Impact 3rd is progressing faster than expected. We might be able to make it in time for PiliPili's 'Best Domestic Mobile Game of the Year' awards. Winning could give us a major boost…"
"PiliPili? Best domestic mobile game?" Hokuto blinked.
"I know about it," Bronya cut in. "Even Penguin's new mobile game entered that contest. Competition is fierce."
"So, it's pretty high-profile?"
Hokuto didn't care how fierce the competition was. He had a version of Honkai that was better than the one from his past life.
In this barren game market, wasn't he basically holding a cheat code?
Unless Penguin dropped a divine-tier title out of nowhere, they didn't stand a chance.
"Exactly."
"Then of course we're joining!" Hokuto made the call without hesitation.
That same afternoon, he finished aligning the voiceovers with the CG footage and uploaded the promo to LittleBrokenStation.
—
Meanwhile, downstairs at miHoYo Studio.
"Where am I? I'm almost at your studio."
"Then I'll let the boss know. Oh, and make sure to check out the Honkai promo CG we just posted on PiliPili—otherwise, if the boss brings it up and you're clueless, it'll be embarrassing…"
"A promo CG?"
A tall woman with a commanding aura put down her phone and opened a pink-themed app.
It didn't take long to find the CG her friend had mentioned.
Curious, she tapped play.
The screen lit up, and a line of white text slowly appeared in the middle:
[miHoYo]
A clear, resonant female voice followed.
"Helios, this is Hyperion. Report mission status!"
"Major, optical targets are not visible. Threat level has escalated to Grade A. Requesting confirmation!"
"Mission continues."
"Yes, Major! Disengaging safety locks. Manually opening airlock doors."
As the dialogue played, a timestamp appeared on-screen:
Time since the Third Eruption: 2 years, 5 months, 16 days, 2 hours, 34 minutes, 22 seconds.
The numbers continued to tick upward.
"Entering orbital path."
"Cabin pressure normal."
"Launch station confirmed. Preparing for Valkyrie landing."
The airlock opened slowly, and the sound of high heels clicked against the metal floor.
High-altitude wind swept through, lifting two long, signature twin tails. The figure stepped forward—undeniably a Valkyrie.
The camera panned to her side profile.
"…Kiana?"
The woman watching froze. "Why is it… Kiana?"
But the CG continued.
"Valkyrie ready for descent! 10! 9!"
Before the countdown even finished, Kiana shut off her comms and jumped out of the airlock.
The woman's expression grew even more complex—her reckless energy, her spontaneous style… it was exactly like the Kiana she knew.
As Kiana leapt—
The music surged to a crescendo. With her silhouette falling through the clouds, wind howled dramatically in the background.
The scene shifted.
The camera zoomed out from a close-up to a breathtaking wide shot.
Kiana fell through layers of cloud, descending like a comet under the brilliance of the sun.
You could pause any frame and use it as wallpaper.
The sense of impact was overwhelming.
The title appeared:
Honkai Impact 3rd
The CG ended there—abrupt, but unforgettable.
The comment section was already exploding:
[This is a game I can actually play?! I, a keyboard warrior, hereby declare miHoYo the strongest!!]
[I was wrong. I seriously misjudged miHoYo. I thought they only made trash, but it turns out they were cooking something huge.]
[This looks amazing. Honestly, I'm not even into anime games, but I have to try Honkai Impact 3rd—this gameplay's on a whole other level.]
[Guys, be rational. A fully polished 3D mobile game just popped out of nowhere? This smells like a scam.]
[Why is it called Honkai Impact 3rd? Was there ever a Honkai 1 or 2?]
…
"What the hell have they been working on?"
The tall woman's thoughts were in chaos.
Not just because of the stunning CG…
But because—
"Kiana… is my little sister."
"Making a game is fine… but why the hell did you put yourself in it?"
As her voice wavered with emotion, a few strands of pale golden hair drifted down, landing gently on the phone screen.