The audience was passionately discussing the Tai Xu Sect.
Even Elysia hadn't expected the plot to develop like this, and she found the "Big Empty Sect" meme quite amusing.
Lacking martial virtue and all that…
It was just too funny… outrageous, pfft.
Hua probably understood the meme, but who knew how the Herrscher of Sentience was reacting right now?
Hmm…
Maybe she was currently pacing behind Fu Hua and Li Sushang, hands behind her back, acting all solemn.
Saying: "Old relic, Little Li, I suppose I'll have to carry the full burden of our Tai Xu Sect's martial virtue from now on."
"Remember, in Tai Xu Sect, sincerity is the core of our virtue!"
Since Hokuto hadn't released certain content or dolls from A Post-Honkai Odyssey, the Herrscher of Sentience boasting like this wouldn't even be a stretch.
After all, she'd never deceived anyone—only ever been deceived…
"Pfft~~"
Elysia chuckled softly at the thought, then glanced at the stream, now calming down, and refocused her attention on the game.
The fight between Fu Hua and Li Sushang ended.
The perspective shifted to Kiana, who had separated from Fu Hua and arrived alone at the chapel.
At the chapel, Kiana established communication with Theresa.
Kiana reported on Fu Hua's situation, while Theresa updated Kiana on the others and warned her to be cautious of Otto.
But the communication was suddenly cut off.
"If the one who comes is that old friend of mine, it'll be more troublesome."
"She, who survived that tragedy… is more experienced, after all."
A man's low voice echoed nearby, and Kiana looked toward the source.
There stood Otto, calmly awaiting her, Black Abyss White Flower in hand.
"Black Abyss White Flower? Why is that in Otto's hands?" Elysia immediately caught the anomaly. "Is it a fake?"
Kevin beside her replied, "That Black Abyss White Flower is likely real. The simulated ones should be golden."
"Then… does that mean something happened to Bianca?!"
Elysia's expression changed.
So did the tone of the bullet comments, as players started worrying about Durandal's safety.
[Goose can't be in trouble, right?!]
[Black Abyss White Flower? A tragedy? Oh no… does Otto plan to suppress a Herrscher?!]
[Durandal fans experiencing cardiac arrest.]
"Everyone, don't panic yet. Let's keep watching. Maybe it'll explain why Otto has Black Abyss White Flower."
Elysia comforted the viewers with a gentle tone while tapping on the screen.
But just as Kiana said "That's… Black Abyss White Flower?" the scene cut off abruptly.
The game returned to free control mode.
Seeing this, an unpleasant memory instantly returned to many.
Was MiHoYo going to cut the chapter again?
Fortunately, Elysia reminded them from the side.
"You can keep progressing the main story, so it looks like this update is pretty substantial. MiHoYo probably isn't planning to leave us hanging like last time."
Hokuto: "..."
Hokuto remained silent as Elysia controlled the character and ran toward the main quest trigger point.
During this, she asked Theresa a question—not Hokuto—because she knew he'd never give her a straight answer.
"Theresa, is there anything you can share?"
"I… don't know Bianca's situation either."
Theresa answered honestly, then paused before adding, "Actually, speaking of breaks in—"
"Ahem, Theresa."
Hokuto suddenly cut her off, reminding her meaningfully, "It's rare to get an animation—even a short one. You probably don't want that to stop happening, right?"
Theresa: "..."
Theresa fell silent.
Seeing their exchange made Elysia a little nervous.
"?"
"Why did you two suddenly switch to encrypted talk? What can't be said out loud?"
"..."
Hokuto thought for a moment, swallowed the words in his mouth, and refrained from joking "Bianca has already gone to another world."
Since he said nothing, Elysia—having reached the main quest trigger—suppressed her unease and focused on the story.
As long as the story continued, the truth would eventually come out, right?
One hour before Kiana arrived at the chapel—
Durandal and Rita hadn't set out yet. They were trying to contact Elizabeth McSmit, hoping to understand Otto's plan. Unfortunately, Elizabeth McSmit was no longer reachable.
Luckily, the two eventually got in touch with Amber. After a round of mutual "My Lady" greetings between Rita and Amber, they received information Elizabeth McSmit had left behind.
In that message, Elizabeth McSmit—already detached from the situation—disclosed the plan she and Otto had devised, along with its costs, to Durandal and the others.
Players also learned that Otto had two contingency plans: one that sacrificed 500 years of history for a new world to sprout, and a second plan with a much smaller cost.
[A much smaller cost? Otto's obsessed with Kiana. Is she the price?]
[Is Otto planning to sacrifice Kiana?]
[Yikes~~ hard to say. At this point, nothing Otto does would surprise me.]
After reading Elizabeth McSmit's message, Durandal, feeling uneasy, decided she needed to "have a talk" with Otto.
Before setting out, to avoid distractions, she entrusted her World Bubble and the holy sword "Durandal" to Rita.
This explained where Rita's new battlesuit came from during her battle with Bronya.
But players weren't focused on that now.
They were starting to panic. When a character hands off their important gear before a fight, isn't that just setting a FLAG?
Add to that Otto's appearance with Black Abyss White Flower in the last chapter—
The bad feeling intensified.
Even Rita sensed something off. She tried to dissuade Bianca, urging her not to confront Otto alone.
"But… no matter what, I can't ignore Elizabeth McSmit's message. Please understand, Rita—"
"I truly believe, in this moment and in the time to come, you are… better suited to protect this world."
Hearing this, Rita took a deep breath.
So did the players, clutching their little hearts.
Please don't. Please don't… This direction doesn't feel right at all.
And that wasn't the end of it.
Failing to persuade her, Rita handed Bianca the "Genius" as a protective charm and made a promise to wait right there for her return.
"I'll wait for you to come back, alright? Promise?" Rita said with a choked voice.
"Mm. Promise. Don't worry. No matter what happens, as long as I have your charm, I'll definitely return."
And with that, Bianca set another FLAG before departing.
Players were starting to go numb.
Too many flags! Goose, you're becoming a walking banner stand!
[Writer, stop! Don't mess with her!]
[Goose, stop talking! No more flags! (Too many flags = certain doom.)]
[That charm from Rita is related to Schrodinger, right? Should be useful to Durandal, right?]
[Maybe… in the end, only the charm comes back.]
[Whoever said that—are you the devil? Satan should tattoo your name.]
...
Elysia was equally flustered. Her hands trembled slightly as she guided the character toward the chapel.
Right before reaching the door to trigger the scene, she paused.
She hesitated to step forward.
Because—after this scene, would Bianca…?
"Elysia, don't scare yourself."
"Whose fault do you think that is?!"
Elysia snapped back, "It's Honkai Impact 3rd's previous arcs that gave me psychological trauma!"
"This…"
Hokuto was momentarily speechless. After a moment, he replied, "Even so, do you really need to be this nervous?"
"Because this isn't the Elysian Realm. In reality, dead means dead. I'm feeling really insecure right now—of course I'm nervous," Elysia replied.
Hokuto: "..."
Actually, the Elysian Realm isn't all that secure either.
But after venting a bit to someone, Elysia genuinely felt calmer.
She steadied her nerves and moved the character forward to trigger the scene.
What surprised her was that the story gave Otto the first point of view.
He was reminiscing with the Void Archives about his memories with Kallen.
Some of these scenes players had already seen.
So this wasn't just a simple replay.
Each time Otto recalled a memory with Kallen, he gave his own commentary.
Back then, players had always wondered: what would Otto think of his younger self five hundred years later?
And MiHoYo had answered that question.
Though there was also the addition of a snarky Void Archives commentary.
His encounter with Kallen in his youth was undoubtedly the beginning of his dream. Even now, it remained his most cherished memory.
In his youth, he went to battle alongside Kallen...
On the eve of war, Kallen spoke with Otto about its meaning. Otto simply said he would unconditionally support her.
After the war failed, Kallen asked Otto what he thought of Schicksal's decay. Otto dodged the question entirely with, "Are you hungry?"
Otto didn't sugarcoat his evaluation.
"Back then, I was laughable—thinking those so-called 'gentle gestures' could fix everything."
The Void Archives added, "Generally, that kind of thing does matter. If there's anyone to blame, it's your younger self, who didn't understand her heroic ideals at all."
Players who had wanted to comment suddenly found themselves silent.
Because Otto had already said everything they wanted to say.
His self-roasting was more brutal than any of theirs.
And that left them at a loss.