The story began
with Mei returning from Vill-V's consciousness back to the amusement park of the Elysian Realm.
Elysia also noticed that this section of the main story was titled "A Familiar Stranger."
A Familiar Stranger?
The meaningful title made her frown slightly.
And in the game—
almost at the very moment Mei fully regained her senses, the pain in her head nearly made her faint again.
But she did not panic.
Because she knew this pain was carving out the key to counterattack inside her mind.
This was Vill-V's setup.
Unfortunately… her enemy seemed to know it as well.
In Mei's perception, countless faded monsters suddenly appeared around her.
It was a trap set by Corruption.
Normally, Mei could have easily dealt with them.
But in her current state, she was clearly in no condition.
Against the surging monsters, she gradually began to falter.
Within just a few minutes, Mei was struck by a Honkai beast and slammed heavily to the ground.
The game screen went black.
[Mei isn't going to fall again, is she???]
[Mei, hang in there!!]
[Kosma, Eden, Su—anyone! Please save her!!]
And just as players were panicking—
a voice suddenly rang out.
"Hmm? Over already?"
Hearing that voice, that familiar tone,
everyone's eyes flew wide in disbelief.
That voice…?
Elysia had returned?
No—impossible!!
They quickly denied the thought in their hearts.
Because Vill-V had already told Mei: [She] had been completely deleted.
Vill-V would not lie about such a thing.
Besides—
if Elysia were to return, it would never be in such an abrupt fashion.
Knowing miHoYo's writing style, it would definitely be described in painstaking detail.
Therefore—
the voice they heard now could only belong to a parasitic impostor.
Everyone gradually realized what was happening.
They sensed something was wrong, their brows furrowing.
But because a sliver of uncertainty remained, they held back their emotions.
Until—
the Herrscher of Corruption appeared before Mei, in the most vicious form imaginable.
"Well well, still alive?"
With that voice, the game screen lit up again.
The camera panned upward.
"Then I suppose my next line should be—"
A familiar yet alien figure entered everyone's sight.
"Hi, how do you feel?"
What—?!
Corruption had put on Elysia's skin????
Even speaking with the exact words Elysia used when she first met Mei??
No one could take it.
Not a single one.
Herrscher of Corruption! How dare you!!
Writer!! How dare you write this!!
Did you really have to shear wool off the same sheep again and again?!
Players' hands were literally shaking with rage, unable to even type.
Corruption! Get out of Elysia's body!!
This time—
players were truly trembling in fury.
No Honkai Impact 3rd player could endure such a sight.
And if someone could… it certainly wasn't them!
They were fans of Elysia both in-game and in real life.
To see Corruption "possess" her… words couldn't describe the feeling.
They just wanted to punch through their screens.
Meanwhile, from the very start of the stream, Elysia had been guessing where her voice line would appear.
Elysia: ???
Her head was now filled with question marks.
That line? That line?
And it appeared here??
Spoken by the Herrscher of Corruption??
And worst of all—
Corruption wore her face??
Had she been swapped??
So that was what "A Familiar Stranger" meant?
Her expression twisted over and over.
As a virtual streamer, she felt a massive wave of malice.
It was like watching a horror movie.
She had truly never expected the script could twist like this.
...
As Elysia worked to calm her shock, time passed.
The viewers, finally able to suppress their rage just enough to type, began venting.
[Herrscher of Corruption! You are not worthy to wear this face!!]
[Congrats, Corruption—you've finally surpassed Herrscher of Domination and taken the #1 spot as my most hated character in Honkai Impact 3rd.]
[Writer!! How dare you let Corruption show up with Elysia's face?! You are heartless!!]
[miHoYo's address?! I'm mailing a "gift"!]
[Too late, I already sent ten big boxes!!]
Their fury filled the stream.
Watching, Hokuto exchanged a quick glance with Rita, making sure the storage warehouse for players' "thank-you gifts" was ready.
Once confirmed, he was at ease.
Send as much as they liked—the warehouse was big enough.
He would "accept" their heartfelt tokens.
[Well great. Didn't they say without Elysia they couldn't use "Model 666"? Now "Elysia" is back… writer you are so kind… I f***ing knew it!!]
[I admit I underestimated the writer. This twist hit me so hard I blacked out.]
[mhy you've done every evil under the sun!!]
The more players thought about Corruption appearing in Elysia's form, the angrier they became.
Yes—
the Herrscher of Corruption had revealed herself in the most malicious way possible.
None had expected Corruption could go this far.
Of course, some tried to reason there might be deeper meaning.
[Why take Elysia's form? Knowing the writer, it can't be just to upset us. There must be another reason.]
[Corruption has always been learning from others. Maybe when studying Elysia, she was… drawn to her? Not impossible—Elysia is that beautiful.]
[Normal Elysia-fans: I love her so much, I'm in tears. Twisted Elysia-fans: If I can't have her, I'll become her.]
["Realm of Hell" humor…]
...
"Corruption taking Elysia's form… doesn't that mean, in some sense, that Elysia truly can't come back?"
Pardofelis watched, fear in her eyes.
Even with the same sweet voice and face, the Herrscher of Corruption only evoked dread.
Fear—and sorrow.
She had been one of those players who still held out hope.
Refusing to believe Elysia had really died.
But now, with Corruption walking in her image—
she could no longer deny it.
"Maybe so," someone replied.
"No room left for reversal?"
"..." N
The question silenced everyone.
If it were possible, of course they wanted Elysia to return.
But now—
that possibility seemed smaller and smaller.
The atmosphere in the stream grew unbearably heavy.
Elysia noticed, and while thinking of how to lighten the mood, she backed out of the Elysian Realm menu.
Yes—the main story had ended here.
After Corruption appeared in Elysia's skin and said, "Hi, how do you feel?"—
miHoYo! They had once again cut the chapter short!!
But she had grown used to it.
Just like she had grown used to Honkai's story randomly stabbing you with knives.
"..."
She wondered—
what had made her so used to such things?
Surely…
Her thoughts stopped as she tapped out of the menu—
only to see a notification for a new skin.
Her mind froze.
On the screen:
A new Elysia skin called "Faded Miss Fairy♬."
Even the "♬" instead of "♪"—a detail so very miHoYo.
She stared blankly.
This purple "Elysia"… wasn't that just the Herrscher of Corruption's Elysia??
Oh right—this update had a free Elysia skin event.
Everyone had been so excited about it.
So the free Elysia skin… was Herrscher of Corruption??
If players put this skin on Elysia in the Hyperion, wouldn't that mean even she was corrupted?
No matter her own feelings, she knew players wouldn't accept it.
They'd explode.
Sure enough—
the chat that had just begun to calm immediately reignited.
[???]
[???]
[???]
...
[miHoYo! Are you insane?! After this main story, you drop this skin?!]
[What's the meaning?! What's the meaning?! Spitting in our faces?! Writer, if I die from anger I'm haunting you!!]
[Who would ever equip this skin?! Just looking at it raises my blood pressure! And it dares call itself "Faded Miss Fairy"?!]
[Ugh, the shamelessness of Corruption. Spit!!]
[Wait, don't panic—Elysia, check the description.]
Description?
Elysia, staring at the furious barrage, saw that message.
Following the hint, she opened the skin's description and read it aloud:
"Hehe~~ Surprised? I wanted to try the color she picked when she turned into me."
"So? Don't I look super cute no matter what I wear? Ahem… anyway—"
"Careful now, I'm going to invade your heart~♪"
"..."
After reading, Elysia finally understood.
So that was it.
It was Elysia cosplaying herself?
That explained the name Faded Miss Fairy.
In its way… it did fit her style.
[???] N
A flood of question marks filled the stream.
But unlike before, these held a very different meaning.
[So it's Elysia cosplay? This… was a misunderstanding!]
['Invade your heart~♪'? This skin is adorable! Thanks, miHoYo, for such a lovely palette swap!]
Such was the players' ever-flexible stance.
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