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

Chapter 81: The Flame-Chasers—The Truth About Kevin's Burden

As the scene played out, the audience's reactions flooded the chat.

Among them, Elysia and Mobius found themselves at odds.

One was the First Herrscher, a beacon of warmth and empathy.

The other?

A scientist seeking to redefine humanity itself.

Their disagreement wasn't trivial—

It was a battle of ideologies.

A question at the very core of human nature.

Though the answer had long been revealed, Mobius simply refused to believe it.

Perhaps, when she saw that shooting star streak across the night sky, she would finally understand—

This era was not the same as hers.

At that moment, in the game, Kiana voiced her own doubts.

["Hey, hey, don't tell me you lost it because so many of your people died?"]

["To stop you from doing anything reckless again, I should tell you—I did my best to save some of them."]

Hearing this, Rita gave a weak response.

["Don't worry, Miss Kiana. I don't intend to make any meaningless sacrifices. From the way the enemy has positioned their forces, it's clear they intend to hunt us down within this city."]

["So, I simply created the illusion that we died together—to buy us some time."]

["You really think that will fool them?"]

["Just covering up such a massive disturbance will take effort. Whether it fools them or not, it will at least split their focus."]

["Before World Serpent finds our tracks…"]

Rita's voice trailed off.

Then—

A sudden tremor overtook her body.

["Ngh…!"]

As if the battle had drained her very last ounce of strength, Rita collapsed.

She lay motionless, no longer responding to anything around her.

With that, Chapter 13—"A Dark Night's Long Shadow"—came to an end.

Hokuto immediately opened the next chapter—

"Breaking Dawn in the Darkness."

This chapter was significantly longer than the previous one, featuring three major trials.

More characters could be upgraded, though Mei was still locked behind progress requirements.

And—

Just like the last chapter, this one began with a prologue cutscene.

Hokuto clicked into it.

The screen faded into darkness.

A barren wasteland of pale white sand stretched as far as the eye could see.

Then, words appeared in the dialogue box.

Upon this desolate land, she and seven warriors who shared her dream stood at the end of a war that had lasted far too long.

As the final battle that would decide humanity's fate loomed ahead, she wondered—

Would any of them live to see the dawn of a new day?

She had no answer.

["Hua, it's time to prepare."]

Suddenly—

A familiar figure emerged.

Clad in a dark uniform, a black cloak draped over his shoulders, Kevin stood before her.

["According to Mei's calculations, we have only one hour before 'it' arrives."]

["Understood."]

In the game, Fu Hua responded to Kevin's command.

『Pink Fairy Miss:』 "Wait… is this… the Moon? Mei's calculations… Is this really the final moment?"

A pink-colored message floated across the screen.

Elysia had already figured it out.

This was it.

The end of the Previous Era.

『Today's Performance Wasn't Perfect:』 "The Moon… So this was the final battlefield?"

As Elysia voiced her realization, Fu Hua—the one watching the stream—finally understood too.

["Kevin, I hope that after today… humanity can continue forward."]

Fu Hua's voice was solemn.

Kevin—

Did not hesitate.

["It will."]

He gave his answer without a shred of doubt.

["If you still have doubts, then turn around and look at Earth."]

The young woman turned.

Suspended in the infinite abyss of space, Earth hung before her.

Like a fragile blue marble, it floated amidst the darkness.

A soft glow surrounded its curved surface, as if it were struggling against the consuming void.

And then—

A song began to play.

"Lyin'"

The very same song that once heralded the end of an era.

A requiem for the fallen.

The background music alone was enough to send chills down Hokuto's spine.

As it played, Kevin spoke once more.

["Every time I look up, I shudder at the cold, endless darkness of the universe."]

["And yet… I know that warmth still exists."]

["Because Earth gave birth to us. Because the stars still shine above us."]

Fu Hua stood in silence.

She pondered the Earth below.

What were the people doing at this moment?

Were they weeping? Praying? Indulging in a final celebration before the end?

From the Moon, all conflicts, all pain, and all grudges seemed insignificant.

Only one thing truly mattered—

The future.

Even if humanity survived, there would still be war, suffering, and hardship.

But—

The future would always be worth fighting for.

["Kevin… about my arguments with Mei, and the things I said to you before… I'm sorry."]

Fu Hua finally apologized.

Yet—

Kevin remained composed.

["For those you entrust your life to, apologies are unnecessary."]

["Is that so…? Then what should I say?"]

Kevin paused.

Then, he gave her his answer.

["A promise."]

["If any of us survive this battlefield, we must carry on the burden of responsibility."]

["Mei left behind several plans—The Stigma Project, EMBER, The Ark Plan…"]

He did not demand anything from her.

Instead—

He sought only a promise.

["Not everyone agreed with these plans. But they will plant the seeds for humanity's revival."]

["Whoever lives must nurture these seeds—so that our mistakes will never be repeated, until a new civilization is born."]

As Kevin's final words echoed, the screen faded to black.

His voice, carrying the weight of an entire lost era, rang through the silence.

["Hua, I believe that within these plans, lies the hope to finally end the Honkai."]

["To reach that future, humanity will have to sacrifice much."]

["But humanity… will never lose hope."]

『Pink Fairy Miss:』 "So… Kevin has been carrying all of this…"

[Because of your livestream content, Pink Fairy Miss feels sympathy. You have gained 1,400 crystals!]

『Today's Performance Wasn't Perfect:』 "A promise… hope… Just how tragic was this final battle…?"

[Because of your livestream content, Today's Performance Wasn't Perfect is shocked. You have gained 1,400 crystals!]

『where did the little lab rats hide?:』 "Heh… I never imagined someone could go this far. Can he even be considered human anymore?"

[Because of your livestream content, Pink Fairy Miss is astonished. You have gained 1,400 crystals!]

For the first time, they saw—

The truth behind Kevin's burden.

The Unraveling of Kevin's Motives

Compared to Chapter 13, where Kevin only made a brief appearance,

Chapter 14's prologue provided far deeper insights into his past.

It was no wonder the audience was left reeling from the revelations.

After all—

For the first time, the true motivation behind Kevin's actions had been exposed.

But with one question answered, another took its place.

What connection did Kevin's past have with what World Serpent was doing now?

Hokuto already knew the answer.

But for the viewers, the truth would only come to light in the chapters to come.

Hokuto clicked into the first mission of Chapter 14.

The screen opened with a recap of past events.

A montage of scenes from the previous chapter played, narrated by Rita's voice.

Then—

The game transitioned back to Kiana and Fu Hua's perspective.

At the edge of Arc City, in an unknown hideout—

Kiana awoke abruptly from a dream.

Her sudden movement caught Fu Hua's attention.

["Kiana?"]

Kiana blinked groggily.

["Did I fall asleep? I… I had a dream."]

["I dreamed I was standing on a place like the Moon… preparing for a great battle."]

["And I saw a man… He looked familiar, but I didn't recognize him. He called me Hua."]

Fu Hua's expression darkened.

For the first time, she looked truly sorrowful.

["Kiana… That was my past."]

["For some reason, our consciousnesses must have intertwined… It seems that as you dreamed, I was able to recall many memories as well."]

Then—

For the first time, Fu Hua acknowledged the truth.

A truth that the livestream audience had long since suspected.

["There hasn't been a chance to tell you before. And even if I did, you might not believe it."]

["My identity is not just that of a Valkyrie of Schicksal…"]

『Today's Performance Wasn't Perfect:』 "Survivor…?"

As Fu Hua finally admitted to being a survivor of the Previous Era, the chat exploded with shock.

[Because of your livestream content, Today's Performance Wasn't Perfect is shocked. You have gained 1,400 crystals!]

For so long, the truth had been an unconfirmed theory.

But now, with Fu Hua's direct confession—

There was no longer any room for doubt.

["W-Wait, what?! I always thought you weren't normal, but hearing you actually say it…"]

["So everything we found about you in that lab… it's all real?!"]

Kiana's shock was evident.

But—

She quickly latched onto another, even more pressing question.

["That man I saw in my dream… Who was he?"]

Fu Hua's response was immediate.

["Kevin Kaslana. The ancestor of your Kaslana bloodline."]

["A survivor of the Final Battle. Humanity's greatest protector."]

『No Matter the Cost, Humanity Will Prevail Against Honkai:』 "Before he was a Kaslana… he was Kevin."

A blindingly white comment appeared.

Kevin himself had spoken.

Unlike others in the chat, he rarely commented.

Even when Rita had been caught in the conflict, he had remained silent.

But now?

Now, he could no longer stay quiet.

Kevin cared little for his bloodline.

What mattered to him was his mission.

The burden of the Previous Era itself.

["If he had died in that war… then that would have been the end of it."]

Fu Hua's voice was solemn.

["But the Final Battle was too devastating… It changed me. It changed Kevin."]

["After the war, Kevin founded an organization—World Serpent. He carried out humanity's revival plan using the legacies of the Previous Era."]

["World Serpent… You mean the Stigma Project?"]

Kiana narrowed her eyes.

She was beginning to piece things together.

But—

Fu Hua did not reveal everything.

["Yes. The plan may have been necessary… but the price it demanded was something humanity could never bear."]

["Many of us could not accept what Kevin had become. Some fought against him. Then, one day—"

["Kevin vanished."]

Kiana immediately pressed for answers.

["What happened to him?"]

But—

Fu Hua did not answer.

["It's a long story. I'll tell you another time."]

["But after Kevin's disappearance, World Serpent fell apart. It became a scattered, leaderless faction."]

["I believed they had disappeared centuries ago. But after seeing their files in that lab, after seeing that familiar insignia…"]

["I realized they hadn't vanished. They had simply gone into hiding—waiting for their leader to return."]

At that moment, Fu Hua made a firm decision.

They could not stay in Arc City any longer.

If Kevin appeared… there would be nothing she could do.

But—

Kiana refused to run.

After exchanging words, she decided to seek out the one commanding the Honkai beasts.

Perhaps they could be a key to unraveling this mystery.

After confirming that Rita was stable, Kiana left the hideout to search for answers.

But what she didn't know—

As she shut the door behind her…

Rita, who had been unconscious just moments ago—

Suddenly opened her eyes.

End of Chapter 81