Honkai Impact: I, The Herrscher of Ice, Am Loved By Players-Chapter 216: Ai Takes Center Stage

Please support me on Patreon, where you can read a bunch of extra Chapters, not just for this novel, but for all the novels I'm working on. I upload at least 2 times daily for most novels - There are at least twice as many available Chapters on Patreon, compared to here on Webnovel.

Additionally, there are also free extra Chapters available for Free Members, so head on over:

Patreon.com/ThatGreatStuff

******

As Ana in the Elysian Realm pondered over directing the "Golden Courtyard" anime series, within a unique region where world bubbles intersect amidst the vast expanse of stars...

One of Ana's avatars traversed this area. This particular avatar was the one who had previously visited Mei's world bubble, possessing the power of Herrscher of Finality. After communicating with Mei, she departed from that world bubble but left behind a small sub-avatar for future contact.

That small fragment manifested as an ELF.

Indeed, Ana crafted an ELF based on her own likeness. As for whether this ELF would eventually be released in the Honkai Impact 3 game... it most likely will.

In Ana's vision, this ELF was intended to synergize with Corruption Ana's abilities. However... it remained speculative, since ELFs typically pair with main DPS characters in the game.

Of course, that wasn't the primary focus.

Ana couldn't determine how long she had been traversing this place; time held little significance here. In this peculiar region, the concept of time became blurred, but for Finality, who wields control over time, it posed no challenge.

Her purpose in coming here was to meet someone specific.

Ana knew this person would appear, and Divine Self pinpointed the exact location where they might show up. All the Ana clone needed to do was reach that designated spot and wait.

It's uncertain how much time passed in this disordered temporal zone, even Finality could not fully grasp the flow of time here. Nevertheless, the awaited individual finally emerged.

The newcomer bore a striking resemblance to Nappa from the Hyperion, and indeed it was her true self, albeit not from this timeline—her name was Ai.

Ai's arrival caused Ana's gaze to sharpen, as it hinted at new possibilities.

Multiple parallel worlds exist within the Honkai universe, and Ai hailed from one of them. Although she could appear during game events and had knowledge of the Captain's Present World, she herself did not originate there.

Ai represented a unique existence, akin to a crystallization of time. She should have come from an alternate reality where Theresa never awakened her, preventing her transformation into Nappa.

Instead, Ai experienced a different fate, becoming a traveler through time. With the ability to traverse between parallel worlds, she witnessed diverse narratives and even perceived the real-world manifestation reflected in the game.

Of course, the real world is not singular; numerous parallel universes coexist, much like how Ana's homeland and her perception of the real world were distinct realms.

Regardless, Ai remains a truly exceptional being.

Had Sa encountered Ai here, she undoubtedly would have tried to capture her. However, Ana's reason for waiting wasn't to apprehend Ai but rather to verify certain matters.

As widely known, this parallel world line had already been considered saved by her actions, making it a rare exception among rescued timelines, as such instances were indeed scarce.

Thus, Ana was eager to understand how Ai perceived her existence and whether similar beings like herself had emerged in other parallel worlds.

"Hello there, Miss Ana."

To Ana's surprise, Ai showed no hint of astonishment at her appearance.

"It seems you foresaw my presence in the future?" Ana furrowed her brow slightly, speaking slowly. She didn't rely on her Divine Self's power, partly because it wouldn't be particularly effective against Ai, given that Ai originated from another world and timeline.

If Divine Self Ana could truly comprehend everything, perhaps only someone akin to Aha could achieve that level, which seemed far beyond reach.

Ultimately, even with the birth of Divine Self Ana, she remained a pinnacle powerhouse, her strength...roughly bridging the gap between Emanator and Aeon.

Moreover, if encountering an Emanator empowered directly by the Aeon, she would likely be unable to overcome them.

However, the advantage lies in not being influenced by the underlying forces of destiny, as His path has yet to be forged. Of course, should Ana witness monumental events like the Cosmic Locust Plague, there might be a chance for her to ascend to that position.

In summary, although potentially fulfilling the wish of creating the entity known as The Cocoon of Finality, Ana is still far from reaching that ultimate step.

Nonetheless, with assistance from the geniuses at the Genius Club within the galaxy universe, the journey might become easier. These speculations stem solely from Divine Self's analysis based on Ana's existing knowledge.

In reality, even the Feats of Arms game from Ana's previous life was merely another projection, with significant differences from the actual scenario.

"That's correct, but my understanding of your existence is quite limited," Ai admitted apologetically, a hint of curiosity evident in her gaze towards Ana.

The Ana she knew, Herrscher of Ice, had fused with Chen Tianwu to become Herrscher of Ice and presumably met her demise by now.

However, in this current world line, Ana appeared to be alive and well. Moreover, Ai sensed within Ana a power beyond her reach - the Authority of Finality.

"Tell me what you know about me," Ana requested calmly. As Ai shared her understanding, it caused Ana to furrow her brow slightly.

From this interaction, it seemed inevitable that Ai would appear here. Furthermore, across numerous parallel worlds, there might exist more than one version of Ai.

This was not surprising, considering even in this world, there's an Ai-chan known for stealing electricity. It is entirely plausible for multiple instances of Ai to exist across different parallel universes, including other time travelers, which is quite normal.

After confirming the situation with Ai, Ana's interest waned considerably. If Divine Self could deduce everything about Ai based on this information, further conversation may not be necessary.

Nevertheless, out of courtesy for Ai's polite demeanor, Ana briefly explained her present circumstances and the changes in this particular world line.

"I see. I didn't expect that in this world, you have taken a step that couldn't be achieved in other timelines."

"In that case, this place... might become the intrinsic world for everything," Ai pondered thoughtfully before stating.

"No, it won't."

Shaking her head, Ana gazed towards the direction of The Cocoon of Finality.

"Once It descends upon this world, until Its enlightenment, all traces of Its existence will gradually fade away."

"So, Miss Ana, if you don't succeed, even your presence here would vanish?" Ai blinked, drawing this conclusion.

"Perhaps." Ana smiled wryly. Theoretically, yes, but stepping into that realm changes things. Although within the Starchild universe, Divine Self Ana wasn't considered an Aeon, she was indeed a true deity.

To completely extinguish a god is actually a remarkably challenging task. Take Sa, a self-proclaimed pseudo-evil god; for Cocoon-bound Ana, Sa merely represented a slightly troublesome ant.

Consider this analogy: For a human, what would be required to kill an ant crawling on a leaf floating in a lake? While certainly possible, it's quite bothersome.

Thus, Ana needed an efficient and less strenuous method to eliminate Sa. In fact, she could have followed the original plan and entrusted it to Kiana.

For a Herrscher of Finality, confronting Sa would be akin to a higher-dimensional advantage, provided they could directly target its true form.

Sa's most despicable trait was its cunning. A strategy akin to drawing a snake out from its den was necessary, luring this entity from the Sea of Quanta before striking it down.

Otherwise, purging the Sea of Quanta would prove both arduous and unrewarding.

"So..." Even Ai, with her gentle nature, found herself at a loss for words. The person before her, undoubtedly, was the most powerful savior she had encountered during her travels across numerous parallel worlds.

Of course, not all parallel worlds ended with Kiana becoming the Herrscher of Finality. In one such world, Kevin himself became the Savior of the previous civilization, effectively ending Honkai in that era.

Nevertheless, compared to Ana, these beings always fell slightly short—an inevitable reality.

Ana had not only accomplished the main quest but also completed additional hidden objectives. Importantly, her completion of the main quest was exceptional, achieving humanity's greatest victory with minimal losses and planning to propel the entire world towards ascension.

Her boldness and methods were unmatched by any other saviors who claimed to save the world.

"Don't worry, I will succeed," Ana said with a light laugh.

Following this exchange, Ana and Ai discussed various topics before finally bidding each other farewell. Ana returned to her true form, while Ai continued her time travel journey.

In this world, although she had witnessed the desired outcome, it didn't change what she still needed to accomplish.

However, when contemplating their combined strength—the power of Captains from another realm—aimed at confronting the genuine Transcender, even Ai couldn't help but find it amusing.

As per Ana's suggestion, perhaps the script doesn't need to unfold exactly as planned. Regardless, Ai remained vigilant for opportunities, fully cooperating with Ana's strategy.

For Ai, witnessing such a remarkable savior and contributing to her grand narrative was indeed an honor.

The Version 6.1 update unleashed a flood of new main storyline content onto Captains, introducing numerous additional settings and plot elements. Despite being just the beginning of the final Chapter, it was as captivating as ever, featuring an ensemble cast.

Many characters made their appearances in this arc, delighting fans who were devoted to specific roles with sheer joy.

Another noteworthy aspect was Ai's presence within the story. Although her related backstory had already been revealed in the official comic, surprisingly few Captains had actually read it.

Moreover, Ai's introduction bore little connection to the events depicted in the official comic.

Of course, that wasn't the primary focus; what mattered most was—Ai now had a fully developed character model, implying she should be playable on the ship.

"No way!" Upon seeing the model for the first time, Brother Cake exclaimed immediately.

He genuinely couldn't believe that Ai-chan, the AI companion aboard the Hyperion for years, would one day become a playable character.

"Great, great, now Ai is poised to reclaim the title of Schicksal's top idol."

Although the official Honkai Impact 3 account was named "Honkai Impact 3rd - Top Idol Ai-chan," during a previous event, Ai-chan lost this title to Raven.

However, since Raven didn't participate in the award ceremony... Well, it's just another meme.

Regardless, Ai-chan's arrival on the ship was indeed explosive, akin to your everyday pet cat suddenly transforming into a catgirl—and not just any catgirl, but one with quite impressive proportions.

What are you waiting for?! It's time to reclaim Ai-san's rightful place as Schicksal's top idol!

At this point, Ai's introduction had yet to be officially confirmed, but soon enough, data mining from the test server validated these speculations, followed by her character trailer release.

Hmm, Fire element, Support class—nice addition. Perfect fit for the Fire Team as the new fire support. Alright, Miss Raven, looks like it's really time to say goodbye to that title.

Even before her implementation, the trailer was filled with various inside jokes and references.

[Wow, Ai-chan has become sentient!] freёnovelkiss.com

[The magnificent and beautiful Lady Ai is about to reclaim her throne as the top idol!]

[Seems like Raven might need to blow up the Lunar Base again to get it back]

[Anyone else only discovered Ai-chan's name is actually 'Ai' after playing Honkai Impact 3 for years?]

Overall, Ai-chan's arrival was met with enthusiasm, though some Captains struggled to accept the manner of her introduction and the accompanying storyline...