As for who would voice Otto...
Hokuto really hadn't decided yet.
"Rita, you want me to voice Otto?"
Hokuto recalled how the Herrscher of Reason once roasted Otto in Wings of Rebirth:Otto was basically the embodiment of "Because the writer said so," where everything happened according to his "grand plan."
No, seriously. Hokuto had zero interest in self-parodying like that.
"Boss, you're unwilling?"
"I just don't think it suits me." Hokuto answered honestly.He wasn't exactly some Kallen fanatic or anything.
"In Rita's opinion, there's no one more suitable than you," Rita said, placing her hands neatly over her abdomen, her legs elegantly crossed.
It wasn't clear if she was being polite or completely serious.
"If you were our Overseer, I would have no complaints."
"Or..." She tilted her head slightly, those wine-red eyes gleaming with hidden depths."Are you hesitating because Otto Apocalypse is a villain in Honkai Impact 3rd?"
"That's not it," Hokuto shook his head.
Although Otto was the kind of villain you'd want to make absolutely sure was dead—maybe even stab him a few extra times just in case—he was also someone you might actually lay a flower on his grave once it was over.
You didn't have to like him, but it was hard to truly hate him.
"In that case, what's there to hesitate about?"
Rita paused, then deliberately used Hokuto's earlier words against him:"Just as you said yourself, Honkai Impact 3rd belongs to all of us. Everyone hopes you'll leave your mark in it too."
"She's right, Hokuto. Why resist?" Durandal chimed in from the side."Isn't becoming part of the game and voicing a character a wonderful thing?"
"...Fine, I'll give it a try."
Hokuto sighed.
He had no choice—if he refused, Durandal might start suspecting something.
As for Durandal officially joining miHoYo Studio, Kiana was the only one truly surprised.
Everyone else warmly welcomed Kiana's "big sister."
Hokuto left Himeko in charge of helping Durandal get familiar with the workflow, while he returned to his office to continue pushing forward the development of Honkai Impact 3rd.
Night fell, and neon lights flickered outside the windows.
Hokuto finally stepped out of his office into the darkened work area.
Well, not entirely dark.
At Kiana's workstation, a lone desk lamp still glowed.
A certain girl was hunched over her desk, a pen clenched in her mouth, furiously scribbling away.
Stacks of drafts towered around her, and crumpled balls of discarded paper littered the floor.
Every now and then she'd ruffle her hair into a bird's nest of chaos.
"Kiana?"
Hokuto stepped forward and picked up a stack of papers.
They were full of rough plot outlines and random ideas.
Clearly, Kiana was working hard behind the scenes.
He raised an eyebrow.
Honestly, Hokuto had always thought that without enduring "The Last Lesson," without having to kill and be killed alongside Mei,Kiana should have been able to keep that innocent, mischievous nature.
It was lucky, right?Better to remain a little naive than to shoulder all the pain the more mature Kiana carried in his previous world.
But now...
Seeing her like this, he realized he might have been too idealistic.
This Kiana—who had grown up normally, without suffering through countless tragedies—still had a hidden side of maturity.
"Boss?"Kiana finally noticed the movement and looked up.
"Just call me Hokuto."
"Hokuto? Hehe, that's better. 'Boss' sounds too stiff."
"Still working this late?"Hokuto teased lightly as he waved the manuscript in his hand."You know, our studio's broke. I can't even afford to pay you overtime."
Kiana glanced out the window and gasped."Eh? It's that late already?"
"Forget that for now," she said, shaking her head vigorously.She pointed at the draft in Hokuto's hands."I thought it through! You're already handling all the main storylines, so I can't really help there.But there's always extra side stories, right? I want to help write those!"
Hokuto raised an eyebrow."This was your idea?"
"Of course! What's wrong with that?"
"…Nothing. No problem at all."
He carefully read through the draft.
"You're writing a story about fictional characters invading the real world?"
"Yep! What do you think?"
"It's pretty interesting."Hokuto nodded thoughtfully."But I think it would be even better if you wrote about the Honkai Impact 3rd characters invading miHoYo Studio... and then beating up the writers."
"Why?" Kiana blinked innocently, completely baffled.
Hokuto gave a sly, confident grin.
"Kiana, trust me. Once the main story updates, the players will definitely love that kind of event."
"Uh…?"
Kiana tilted her head in confusion as she and Hokuto left the studio together.
Along the way, Hokuto casually shared writing tips using examples from Battle Through the Heavens—a simple and straightforward story perfect for beginners to learn about pacing, building tension, and maintaining reader engagement.
More complex works, like Lord of the Mysteries, would've been way too much for her right now.
By the time they reached the ground floor, the streets were nearly empty.
A cold wind blew past.
"Brrr—so cold…"Kiana shivered, rubbing her arms.
Step, step—
A warm orange jacket was suddenly draped over her shoulders.
"Mei?"
"Were you just with Hokuto?"
"Yeah! Mei, he's amazing! He taught me so much today!"
"..."
Mei gave Kiana a long, quiet look, then sighed helplessly.
"All right, all right. Let's go home. I'll make something delicious for you."
"Mei's the best~~!"
Kiana threw herself into Mei's arms with a happy squeal.
After the initial chaos of recruiting Durandal, realizing everyone at miHoYo looked like Valkyries, and adjusting to the new studio rhythm—
Life settled into a calm, steady flow.
In the blink of an eye, four months passed.
Thanks to the system's incredibly detailed technical support, when September arrived,Honkai Impact 3rd was finally completed.
On the day of the open beta—
Mei: [I'll be counting on you again today.]
Elysia: [No problem! I'm happy to help you, Mei! And after watching the latest promo CG... I really feel like Honkai Impact 3rd will be amazing.]
At Pilipili, a certain virtual streamer named Elysia had over a million followers.
Her avatar was the very embodiment of beauty and brilliance:a sparkling, vibrant pink fairy.
With her bright, cheerful, mischievous personality—and all sorts of wild, unpredictable stream content—she had captured the hearts of countless fans.
At 6 p.m. sharp, the Pink Fairy went live.
A soft pink glow filled the stream.
Her gentle voice resonated:
"From the curtain of the heavens and the embrace of stars—"
The pink light gathered into a crystal at the center of the screen.
"Above the barren wasteland, blooms a thousand shadows of love—"
The crystal shattered, scattering a storm of petals.
The Pink Fairy floated gracefully among the falling flowers.
"A girl as shy and lovely as a flower—Elysia, at your service!"
"Did everyone like my opening performance today?"