Honkai Impact: I, The Herrscher of Ice, Am Loved By Players-Chapter 206: Ellie Returns!

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Within the Elysian Realm, after an indeterminate period, the pervasive darkness suddenly vanished, replaced by an all-encompassing green hue.

Data intertwined and coalesced, first forming a massive eye, but this eye appeared unstable. Then, it transformed into the likeness of Corruption Ellie, similarly exhibiting slight instability.

Undoubtedly, even though Ana emerged as the loser, the Herrscher of Corruption paid a painful price. The battle with Ana genuinely depleted its essence, which is inherently irrecoverable.

On the surface, the Herrscher of Corruption defeated Ana, but her corrosive properties did not dissipate. They continued to consume and restrict the Herrscher's data, limiting its capabilities.

This was precisely why the Herrscher of Corruption avoided confronting Ana at all costs.

Such is the outcome: Even if the Herrscher of Corruption emerged victorious, it would still have to pay a data cost equivalent to Ana's loss—an irrecoverable debt. Unable to repay, this led to the current predicament, where absorbing any data only fueled further consumption by Ana.

In essence, it resulted in a severe debilitation for the corrupted entity.

"Ha ha ha—"

Despite being gravely wounded, Corruption Ellie felt remarkably cheerful. After all, she had emerged as the victor and could freely taunt her defeated adversary. With no means left for Ana to stop her now, Ellie reveled in her triumph.

Within the Eternal Paradise, after seeing Raiden Mei off, Elysia didn't depart immediately but chose to wait instead.

Shortly thereafter, Ana quietly appeared. Her appearance and aura remained unchanged, clearly indicating that the battle against the Herrscher of Corruption had little impact on her.

"Hey there, Ana! Up for something fun?" Elysia waved cheerfully with a smile.

"You always seem to enjoy creating misunderstandings," Ana chuckled lightly, taking a seat next to Elysia and picking up the already poured cup of tea on the table.

"Hey, that's mine..."

"I know."

Without any hesitation, Ana drained the cup.

"I've done so much for you already; can't I at least expect some interest?"

As she spoke, there was a hint of wistfulness in Ana's voice, but it was mostly playful banter.

"Hmm, indeed, you deserve a proper reward..."

Elysia blinked earnestly and nodded, then stood up and approached Ana. Caught off guard, Ana felt Elysia's hand gently rest on her shoulder.

"Hey... What are you doing...?"

Before Ana could fully comprehend the situation, Ellie had pinned her down, leaving her utterly bewildered.

How should she put this? Although Ellie has always been quite forward, in reality, she maintained restraint. But what's happening now... Isn't this too daring? Surely not meant to be taken seriously, right?

"What do you mean? Didn't you ask for this?" Ellie looked at her with a mischievous smile. In that moment, she exuded a captivating aura, reminiscent of a fallen goddess, carrying an indescribable wicked charm. To be honest, Ana herself...had only spoken those words casually, without truly intending to act upon them... emm.

"Uh... well, yes..." Despite her words, Ana unconsciously glanced away, wondering why this wasn't unfolding as she had envisioned.

"Hmm, but it seems our other friend is growing impatient."

As Elysia spoke, she lifted her gaze towards something beyond their immediate surroundings. This place, often referred to as the Eternal Paradise, was actually just a hidden space at its very core.

Meanwhile, a certain naughty child was currently constructing her own city within the Eternal Paradise.

"It appears she's treating everything here as her own domain now," observed Ana with a smile, subtly shifting her position downward.

"You're truly mischievous compared to them," Elysia chuckled lightly.

"But I like it."

"I love everyone, but for her, the first lesson she must learn is how to be human," Elysia said while standing up. The Herrscher of Human's radiance faded, returning her appearance to that of Miss Pink Elf—though, in Ana's view, it resembled more closely the Heroic Spirit form of Elysia.

"Leave just a breath behind," Ana suggested with a blink. "It holds significance for both me and this Elysian Realm." As a mere avatar, she preferred to conserve her true self's power whenever possible. Even if the energy consumed here was merely a drop in the vast ocean of her essence.

"Hmm, you've certainly given me reason to reassess my opinion of you."

"Do you think I'm wicked? On the contrary, I meticulously plan every move. The strength required to rebuild paradise is something no one understands better than you," Ana clarified, sensing a slight misunderstanding from Elysia.

"Yes, I know, but..." Elysia paused momentarily, then flashed a playful smile. "But, it seems I might love you even more now."

Ana remained silent, awaiting further explanation.

"So, make sure to resurrect me first because..."

"Why's that?"

Elysia didn't answer directly; instead, she stepped forward as a magnificent gate appeared before her. Crossing through would lead her back to the Eternal Paradise. Without hesitation, Elysia walked right in.

Ana took a deep breath. Although she hadn't received a definitive response, she felt relieved, having narrowly escaped another predicament.

However, amidst the emptiness, a playful voice echoed—because...I just can't wait to devour you...

Silence filled the air.

In the dreamlike garden, Ana sat alone on a floral chair, scratching her head in frustration.

"Damn it... What should I do now?!"

In the Present World, within Brother Cake's live stream:

"Wow! It's Ana, it's Ana!"

As Ana emerged like a true queen amidst the aftermath of nearly all Heroic Spirits being annihilated, Brother Cake couldn't help but exclaim. For several updates now, Ana had remained relatively inactive, and earlier, she herself mentioned her connection with Elysia.

This led most viewers to have almost forgotten about Ana's presence as a memory fragment in Past Paradise.

Now, she returned with immense power, even causing the Herrscher of Corruption to tread cautiously.

"I knew there must be a reason for Ana leaving a memory fragment in the Past Paradise!" exclaimed Brother Cake, his words tumbling out excitedly.

"It's clear that with Ana's foresight, she anticipated this day long ago. Thus, she specifically left behind a memory fragment separate from the Heroic Spirits, revealing information tied to Elysia," he continued passionately.

"With this, she could deceive everyone, existing independently within the Elysian Realm as her final gambit! Truly a brilliant plan!" Brother Cake's excitement soared, feeling as if he had unraveled everything, connecting all the pieces.

Although it was speculation, the reality wasn't far off. If not for the present Ana's intervention, this scenario would likely have unfolded earlier—though not with the Herrscher of Corruption involved.

"However, now Ana doesn't need to confront the Herrscher directly; she just has to buy time," Brother Cake observed intently, his tone serious.

Based on the Heroic Spirits' dialogue and demeanor, their ultimate strategy seemed to involve resurrecting Elysia, summoning back all the Heroic Spirits, and together with Mei, defeating the Herrscher of Corruption.

In such a scenario, Ana merely needed to stall for time.

However, just as everyone began to relax, Ana unexpectedly launched her attack. This surprise move elicited laughter from the Captains, who found it akin to a sneak attack.

"Dang, I never thought Ana would be like this—surprising us with no regard for fair play!"

"Hmph, against scum like the Herrscher of Corruption, ditching fairness is justified. You don't need chivalry when dealing with evil incarnate."

"Maybe it's due to the power gap; by disregarding fairness, she can at least deceive and buy more time."

"Yeah, regardless, I still support her decision."

As Ana boldly initiated combat, the game interface also underwent changes, clearly indicating that a new character using Ana's armor set was being introduced!

But something seemed off about this new character.

For the combat module, it featured gauntlets similar to Fu Hua's fighting style. The attacks appeared to have additional effects, but the QTE (Quick Time Event) and ultimate ability details were unclear.

Previously, they had never released a new character without fully fleshing out its mechanics. Ana's Herrscher of Corruption armor marked the first instance, and notably, it was designed for solo combat.

It's safe to say this design exudes intrigue, possessing a certain Raven-like elegance.

"Wait, is she going to be another support character like Raven?"

After trying it out for a bit, Brother Cake felt slightly uneasy. Upon mastering its controls, he sensed that this character wasn't meant for sustained frontline combat. The gameplay felt disjointed, just not quite right.

Th𝓮 most uptodate nov𝑒ls are publish𝒆d on ƒreewebηoveℓ.com.

However, once Herrscher of Corruption's health reached 50%, the screen went black, transitioning abruptly to Raiden Mei's storyline.

"Hold on, seriously?! I was still playing—why did the scene suddenly change?"

[Ha ha ha, automatic System battle!]

[They split it into two halves now. Probably not crucial at this point, allowing players to test the new armor.]

[Indeed intriguing. There was no mention of this armor in the test server; they've thrown a watered-down version straight into the main story as a trial run.]

[Felt like a hastily added character. Could it mean changes to the plot?]

[Possible, but if so, what's their plan for the original Ana?]

Regardless of the bullet comments' discussions, the narrative indeed shifted towards Raiden Mei's perspective. As for how Ana's storyline would unfold, one could only wait and see based on Raiden Mei's developments.

Undoubtedly, Raiden Mei's arc held the true climax.

If Ana's sudden appearance was akin to dropping a bomb, then the series of revelations and portrayals surrounding Elysia's return were like launching a missile.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the writers had spent an entire year crafting the storyline for the Elysian Realm, all leading up to this grand unveiling.

Elysia was not the Thirteenth Herrscher; it was a lie concocted by Vill-V, the Deceiver, to protect her.

Her true identity was the first Herrscher—the Herrscher of Origin, also known as the Herrscher of Human.

With her life, she provided a new choice for the Herrschers of this civilization era: the Herrscher of Human. She loved humanity deeply, and her elegantly adorned appearance was truly breathtaking.

Now, everything became clear, and all mysteries found their explanations. From why Kevin wanted Raiden Mei to seek answers within the Elysian Realm to how Ana ended up leaving memory fragments here—it all made sense.

Ana voluntarily entered the Elysian Realm before becoming a Herrscher. Meanwhile, Kevin chose Raiden Mei solely to fulfill his past promise to Elysia—to show her the Herrschers of the new civilization era.

Of course, there's one more aspect: passing on the Primogenitor's Legacy. However, this element isn't yet fully evident within the current storyline; only subtle hints can be discerned, which most people tend to overlook.

One such hint is when Vill-V mentions creating a backdoor in Raiden Mei's mind.

Having unraveled everything, Raiden Mei opens the door and finally encounters the answer she had been yearning for—the elegantly dressed Herrscher of Humanity, Ellie.

"Hi, did you miss me?"

As Ellie delivers her signature line, all Captains are deeply moved.

"Sob, sob! Ellie, my Ellie!"

Despite his earlier concern for Ana, Brother Cake momentarily sets aside thoughts of her, overcome with tears for Ellie—indeed, she truly deserves that sentiment.

It was Ellie who initiated this narrative. Her existence gave rise to the present civilization era, transforming everything we know. It's all thanks to Ellie that we have the future as it stands today.

Naturally, this doesn't diminish the efforts of individuals throughout history, but Ellie's contributions are undeniably immense. Now, she has returned once again.

"Amen!" No further words were needed; Brother Cake began praying fervently.

Similarly, the bullet comments displayed remarkable harmony. Although Ellie was a new character rather than one of the established figures, her appeal resonated equally with both old and new captains alike.

The following content felt incredibly heartwarming, almost like a date between Raiden Mei and Elysia. Captains were fully immersed, momentarily forgetting about the Herrscher of Corruption lurking outside and Ana engaged in battle against it.

It truly embodied the sentiment—lost in bliss, oblivious to reality's strife.