Astrologer?
Hokuto's mind flashed with a trace of surprise upon hearing this familiar name.
He knew that Kiana and Theresa were writing Chronicles of the Honkai Kingdom, but he didn't expect Theresa's progress to be this fast.
"Wolong Astrologer—calling her 'Astrologer' is just right."
Mei quickly sketched the final lines on her tablet and then turned the screen to Theresa. On it was an illustration of Theresa in feather fan and scholar's robe.
"What do you think of this design?"
"Excellent!" Theresa's eyes lit up. "This design radiates wisdom at a glance! It captures at least one-tenth of my charm!"
"One-tenth? …I suppose so." Mei twitched the corner of her mouth and barely managed a response.
Tap—tap—
By this time, Hokuto had walked up to them.
Hearing Theresa declare that "Astrologer has one-tenth of my charm" nearly made him lose it.
Unable to hold back, he interrupted their discussion: "Are you girls discussing Chronicles of the Honkai Kingdom right now?"
"Hokuto!" *N
The girls all turned their heads in unison. Upon seeing Hokuto—
Theresa proudly replied, "That's right! With my full support, Kiana's script has been completely revitalized!"
"Oh? Then I'm quite curious. How's the script for Chronicles of the Honkai Kingdom coming along? Mind if I… review it?" Hokuto asked with a smile.
"Hmph, don't be overwhelmed by our collaborative masterpiece." Theresa snorted, full of confidence.
She signaled to Kiana: "Kiana, show Hokuto Chronicles of the Honkai Kingdom."
"Okay~~ Here you go, Hokuto." Kiana happily held up a stack of drafts.
"Mhm."
Hokuto reached out and began flipping through the pages one by one, examining them closely.
The girls quieted down, nervously watching his every expression.
The script of Chronicles of the Honkai Kingdom wasn't all that different from what Hokuto remembered in his previous life.
It was a story about timelines and an all-powerful Wishing Machine.
Once upon a time, the world had only one nation—the Radiant Empire. But the emergence of the Yin Beast Yanluo and the Chaos Beast Wuxiang brought a heavy blow to the empire.
Not only did it cost the empire countless elite troops, but even the former emperor perished, leaving only the then-Crown Prince, Astrologer.
Astrologer, having foreseen that the disaster beast Huodou had yet to awaken, decided to leave the capital, Radiant Moon City, to head for the undersea altar and use the terrain to seal it.
Meanwhile, the Second Prince Kiana's tutor Jackal schemed for power behind the scenes. General Durandal disapproved of the crown prince fleeing the capital. Prime Minister Rita urgently needed to bring Astrologer back to stabilize the court.
If left alone, Astrologer would die in the forest on the first day, and the future would collapse from there.
To maintain the timeline, the Captain's soul took over a passerby's body and, under the alias "Mister Assassin," secretly protected Astrologer.
In the end, with the Captain's help, Astrologer successfully sealed Huodou at the undersea altar and, by chance, activated the Wishing Machine—Gleam.
Astrologer wished for everlasting peace for the Radiant Empire, and Gleam granted her Rita's ageless body.
Later, Astrologer spent nearly sixty years unifying the land.
A thousand years passed. As fate dictated, unity gave way to division. The three kingdoms rose, and a new struggle for the Wishing Machine began.
The Captain was summoned again. After many trials, he obtained the Wishing Machine and sought to end all conflict—yet something went wrong after making his wish.
The Captain was split into two.
Two separate beings.
What followed was a grand adventure to restore the Captain to one whole self. In the end, the Captain was made whole again.
That was where the story concluded.
All in all, it was truly an epic.
Compared to other games' main stories, it was already excellent.
It seemed that under his guidance, Kiana had grown rapidly—just like evolving from [Knight Moonbeam] to [Void Drifter].
"Kiana, is this all of the script for Chronicles of the Honkai Kingdom?" Hokuto asked, as if confirming something.
The scripts for Chronicles of the Honkai Kingdom: Zero, Chronicles of the Honkai Kingdom, and Strange Odyssey were all more or less the same.
But what about The Day You Vanished with the Stars?
Kiana blinked. "That's all for now. Why? Is there something wrong with the script?"
She earnestly added, "If you have suggestions, Hokuto, I can revise it right away!"
"No, no, Kiana. You don't need to be nervous. You've written it very well this time."
Hokuto started with praise. Once Kiana's face lit up with joy, he changed the subject: "I just think the script might be missing a bit of… 'depth.'"
"Depth?" Kiana was puzzled.
"Something that leaves an emotional aftertaste."
Hokuto explained more directly, "I think you can do more with Astrologer's character. For example, let Astrologer…"
"Wait a minute!"
Theresa eyed Hokuto warily and asked loudly, "Hokuto! What are you planning to do to my Astrologer?!"
"Your Astrologer?"
"Astrologer is my creation, so of course she's mine! Got a problem?"
"Well… not really." Hokuto thought it over and replied.
But he wasn't about to give up on adding the plot from The Day You Vanished with the Stars into Chronicles of the Honkai Kingdom.
Without that storyline—of looping endlessly just to change Astrologer's fate—Chronicles of the Honkai Kingdom wouldn't have that same emotional impact as in his past life.
He had to present the original Chronicles of the Honkai Kingdom to players!
This was the integrity a good game developer must possess!
Hokuto firmly believed that.
"Theresa, don't you want your Astrologer to leave a deeper impression on people?"
Theresa shook her head. "No. What if you kill her off?"
Hokuto had a history in that department, after all.
Seeing this, Hokuto revealed an "Otto-like" smile, gently patted Theresa's small shoulder, and spoke in an unusually sincere, persuasive tone:
"Trust me, my dearest Theresa—I promise Astrologer will be just fine."
"Ugh…" Theresa hesitated.
"Then," Kiana raised her hand to ask, "Hokuto, what kind of story are you planning to add?"
Hokuto smiled at Kiana: "We can start by brainstorming one hundred different ways for Astrologer to die."
Theresa: ???
"HOKUTO!!"
"Theresa, let me talk you into—wait, no, I mean, let me explain."
"You said 'talk into' just now, didn't you?! I definitely heard you say 'talk into'!!" Theresa roared like a panther.