Help! My Honkai Impact 3rd Livestream Attracted the Actual Characters!

Chapter 104: Farewell, "Raiden Mei"—Become the True Herrscher of Thunder!

Otto Apocalypse probably never imagined that the place he had longed to reach would be effortlessly accessed by this girl.

Was this the privilege of a Herrscher? It was unexpected…

It seemed that to reach that place, one must establish a connection with the Imaginary Tree…

I must become a Herrscher.

As Otto's comment drifted across the screen, the game transitioned to the next stage.

Inside the stage, Mei was rushing toward the falling dragon.

[Benares…! What happened…?]

[Where is Kiana…!?]

As she got closer, the sword embedded in Benares' body suddenly trembled.

An ominous shockwave burst forth. Though it seemed ordinary, it transformed the surroundings in an instant.

The scenery of Nagazora City rapidly faded, replaced by the shattered remains of a school campus…

In this bizarre transformation, a colossal being emerged—one that resembled a Construct, yet was something far beyond.

It looked like a mechanical giant centered around a pendulum, yet its internal structure was not overly complex.

As it fully materialized, the entity grabbed the sword impaled into Benares.

[What… is this…!?]

With the appearance of the Imaginary Construct – Nihilism, the game entered combat mode.

Holding its sword high, Nihilism charged straight at Mei, rolling forward on its mechanical wheels.

Mei dodged quickly, but the creature pursued relentlessly.

After a series of three consecutive charges, it finally came to a stop.

This was Mei's chance to counterattack.

However—

Her body was already exhausted.

Even her battle voice lines sounded weaker than before.

Yet, despite everything, Mei pushed herself to the limit and defeated Nihilism.

But—

Unlike most enemies that collapse when their health runs out, this thing was different.

At low HP, it activated a protective barrier.

Above, golden clock-like structures descended from the sky.

Players had to dodge rotating clock hands while destroying the surrounding gears to break the barrier.

Normally, this phase only occurs once.

But in this storyline boss fight—players had to do it three times!

This meant three cycles of dodging and attacking, making it a gruelling endurance battle.

Finally—

After an exhausting struggle, Mei landed the finishing blow.

[It's over… finally…]

"Mei has it too rough… She looks like… she could pass out any moment…"

A pink comment floated across the screen.

Clearly, Elysia was worried about Mei's condition.

And she wasn't the only one.

『Hard Work Always Pays Off:』 "She's already at her limit, isn't she?"

『where did the little lab rats hide?:』 "Hmm~ That stubbornness of hers… it's quite admirable."

『Your Great Inventor:』 "She's still pushing forward? Should we be worried she'll run into another one of those?"

A green comment appeared from Otto Apocalypse, showing his keen foresight.

But—

For once, Otto was wrong.

There was no second Nihilism waiting ahead.

The real danger—

Was creeping up from behind.

[Finally… it's over…]

[Benares… are you okay…?]

Mei staggered forward, her legs trembling.

At this moment, she didn't even have the strength to lift her blade.

[I have to… quickly… find… Kiana…]

As Mei continued her struggle forward, the entire screen flickered violently.

A blinding mix of black and white light filled the screen, disorienting the players—

[Ugh…! Hah… Hah…]

Eventually, Mei fell to one knee, unable to move any further. It was at that moment, as the screen briefly faded into black and white, that she realized something horrifying.

[What… My body… I can't move…!]

As Mei's words fell, a massive, rotating clock projection suddenly appeared on the screen. With each turn of the clock hands, time seemed to rewind by a second.

The once-shattered Void Archives began to reassemble, the battlefield destroyed by combat slowly restored itself.

In the end, the entity known as Void Nihility stood once more, its massive sword still in hand, approaching Mei step by step.

"It can reverse time! What kind of broken ability is this? Why does Mei always have to fight enemies like this…?"

A pink-colored chat message floated across the screen, expressing Elysia's sympathy for Mei.

An enemy capable of reversing time—how could anyone fight something like this?

Given Mei's current condition, defeating it was impossible.

Could this be it? Would Mei die here?

Just as the sword was about to strike her, the screen suddenly cut to black…

Before everything faded, a flash of blue-white light streaked across the screen.

When Mei opened her eyes again, that same massive sword that had been coming for her…

Had pierced straight through Benares' neck instead.

"Benares… No… No…"

As the sword was slowly pulled out, Mei's final vision was of the blade swinging down once more.

At that moment, Void Nihility had already raised its sword…

Perhaps in the next second, she would die just like Benares.

Mei's eyes slowly closed…

The screen faded into complete darkness.

If it weren't for the dialogue box that suddenly appeared, the livestream audience might have thought she was already dead.

The Abyss

Darkness.

Nothing but darkness stretched as far as the eye could see.

She could see nothing.

She could hear nothing.

She could smell nothing.

She was weightless, floating aimlessly, drifting… drifting…

…No, she had seen this before.

That day, three years ago, the world had also died like this.

A darkness with no end in sight.

There were voices screaming, cries of sorrow, silent whispers, and bodies collapsing.

And then, in the end… only silence remained.

Only silence… and the feeling of falling into the abyss.

[Crybaby, long time no see.]

A beam of light, and a voice, echoed in the emptiness.

A streak of violet appeared within the void.

Violet streams curled, pushed, embraced every inch of her body, lifting her toward the light.

"You've changed a lot."

A voice rang from an unreachable distance, yet it also whispered close to her ear.

That voice was cold. Dangerous.

That voice was familiar. Nostalgic.

[This is the first time… you've willingly come to me.]

As the screen flickered, the perspective zoomed out.

Mei knelt within the endless darkness, her body bathed in violet radiance, a strange, glowing sigil spinning behind her.

"Are you no longer afraid?"

…Afraid?

How strange.

Her heart… no longer felt fear.

All the regret, self-blame, sorrow, and pain... vanished.

There was only calmness left in her heart.

[Step forward, and you will fall into an even deeper hell.]

It doesn't matter.

If I can trade myself to bring her out of hell, I will.

[You will have to say goodbye to everything—your comrades, your family.]

It doesn't matter.

I have long been used to being alone.

[You will be met with doubt and criticism, walking down a lonely road with no way back.]

It doesn't matter.

This is the fate I should have faced long ago.

[You will be separated from her forever.]

…

Faced with this voice's question, Mei fell silent.

[You will never return to her side, never see her smile, never hold her hand again.]

[Step forward, and there will be no turning back.]

[Are you truly willing to do this?]

…

It doesn't matter.

Everyone is there…

They will take care of her…

Let me go and do what I must…

I have… already decided.

The CG camera zoomed in, capturing Mei's eyes, glowing brilliantly with violet lightning.

[…Go.]

[Bury me with your own hands—turn my anger, my sorrow, my death… into the strength that will drive you forward, alone.]

[Go forth, and proclaim to the world… the return of the Thunder Queen.]

[Go forth, and become… the True Herrscher of Thunder!]

As that voice faded into the distance, the pitch-black screen was swallowed by a blinding white light.

It was only at this moment, that Mei's final thoughts emerged.

[Farewell… "Raiden Mei".]

The white light faded, and Void Nihility's greatsword was suddenly knocked aside by an unseen force.

Amidst the flash of violet lightning, a flowing mane of long hair appeared on the screen.

Then, the camera panned up, revealing Mei's face.

Gone was her softness, gone was her hesitation.

As those brilliant, violet Herrscher eyes opened, a suffocating pressure—one that only belonged to a true Herrscher—filled the air.

"This is… Mei's Herrscher form? So beautiful… But why does she suddenly feel so distant…?"

"The True Herrscher of Thunder… She looks so much stronger now."

"That voice earlier… Was it her talking to her own Herrscher consciousness? Hmm~ I really want to dissect her brain and figure it all out."

As Mei finally ascended to her throne as the Herrscher of Thunder, the livestream chat flooded with reactions.

The CG camera pulled back, finally revealing Mei's full form.

A pair of horns now grew from her forehead, her long, silky black hair cascading down to her waist.

Her rose-colored eyes glowed with violet lightning.

The armor and battle suit she once wore had transformed—now adorned with flowing capes and metallic plating.

A fractured, godly halo hovered behind her, along with a pair of levitating, armored gauntlets.

And in her hands… was a massive, jet-black katana.

With the CG concluded, the game re-entered combat mode—but this time, the battle was entirely different.

Now, the balance of power had flipped.

Void Nihility charged at her, but Mei didn't even dodge—she simply pressed the attack button.

In an instant, its health plummeted.

As its HP neared depletion, the ULT button finally appeared.

With a single swift slash, Mei cleaved Void Nihility into pieces.

BOOM—!

The grotesque construct collapsed, vanishing alongside the crackling thunder.

Raindrops poured down, trickling past Mei's face, washing away the past.

[...]

The voice in her head had disappeared.

Now, only the sound of rain remained.

Silence.

She walked toward the lifeless Benares, gently placing a hand upon the dragon's motionless body.

A faint glow—a gentle warmth—spread from her fingertips.

The colossal beast's form slowly dissolved into light.

Within that radiance… a shadow began to fade.

Within that radiance… a voice whispered a final plea.

"From the moment she awakened, she had always been flying."

As the CG played, a female voice narrated the scene—a monochrome sketch of a dragon.

"Benares, a Honkai beast, a monster."

The Queen's figure appeared before the mighty dragon.

She knelt before it, as if asleep… or perhaps, whispering something in its final moments.

"The people below screamed and fled… but she could not hear their voices. She only heard the call of her heart."

The Queen floated before the dragon, reaching out her hand.

The dragon's body glowed brilliantly…

"She fought for her Queen. She guarded the one who called her 'Bella'."

She soared across snowfields, across mountains, across the sea of stars, across the mortal world…

In the end… she fell, never to fly again.

"A dragon who died, guarding only memories."

"Within her heart, only one final voice remained."

On the screen, the dragon-turned-girl looked up, crying toward the heavens.

"My Queen… I just… I just wanted to hear you call my name one last time…"

Raindrops fell, shattered, and disappeared—vanishing alongside the soul known as 'Bella'.

Where she once lay, only a crimson-scaled beast remained.

The dragon rose once more, spreading her wings to declare her rebirth.

But now, she was no longer 'Benares'.

She was simply a beast who obeyed the Herrscher of Thunder.

Mei looked up toward the sky.

The glowing halo above Nagazora flickered, dimming as the Herrscher's rebirth was complete.

The Honkai energy was fully absorbed.

The Void Singularity was collapsing.

All that remained were the lingering Quantum Shadows.

Once they were eradicated, this city would finally return to peace.

Mei leapt onto the back of Kurikara.

The crimson beast recognized her master's will, spreading its wings.

Rising from the radiance, soaring beyond the chaos…

Flying toward a world beyond—

Once, she awakened as a Herrscher, bringing destruction to this city.

Now, as the true Thunder Queen, she descended upon it—

Not to destroy… but to bring salvation.

End of Chapter 104.