Back then—
Hokuto had solemnly gathered them to brainstorm a thousand different names for the puppets.
Ideally, each puppet would also have its own backstory.
All just to replicate the concept of "1,000 distinct souls" as faithfully as possible.
At the time, everyone was shocked by Hokuto's proposal.
Wasn't that a bit too much?!
Would players even care about this?
Still, despite their surprise, they took the task seriously and helped Hokuto complete the full set of puppet designs with both quality and quantity in mind.
As Hokuto put it:
Even if it only improves the player experience by a tiny bit—it's still worth it.
Thinking back to that,
Kiana couldn't help but sigh, "The way he polishes the details… sometimes it feels a bit over the top."
"Kiana's evaluation of 'Mr. Otto' sure is high."
Elysia smiled, lips pressed together.
"But I do think 'Mr. Otto' really does deserve that kind of praise."
Hearing Kiana and Elysia's comments, the stream chat exploded with questions about what kind of person 'Mr. Otto' was in real life to earn such unanimous praise.
But Elysia didn't intend to answer.
She continued progressing the main story.
Mei and Raven exited the Theater of Domination and returned to reality.
They looked completely at ease.
Naturally, players immediately thought back to Bronya's experience in the Theater.
No comparison, no pain.
The gap between a fully awakened Herrscher and an incomplete one... was immense.
Or maybe—Mei was just that strong now?
After coming out,
Mei spoke about what had happened inside: "Just now, the puppet used the power of the Herrscher of Sentience."
Raven responded quickly, "I saw it too. Want me to look into it for you?"
"Mm..."
Even though they had parted ways,
Even though World Serpent never spoke of them again,
Mei still deeply cared about them.
Perhaps, just as the saying goes—
For those who always keep the hope of "reunion" in their hearts, they were never truly separated to begin with.
Moving on from that topic,
Mei analyzed the situation again.
She suspected the Herrscher of Domination had found a method to bypass Herrscher cores and seize powers.
It was like diverting the water from your home into their own reservoir—
And still making you pay the water bill.
The condition for triggering this ability likely had something to do with the puppets deliberately provoking Herrschers into using their powers.
"Raven, can I trouble you to take this puppet back for now?"
"Of course, but could you tell me what you plan to do?"
"There's something I must confirm... personally."
...
That stage ended on Mei's loaded statement.
Clicking into the next stage—
To verify Dr. Einstein's theory, Fu Hua and Theresa disguised themselves as students and infiltrated a university suspected to be where the first Herrscher of Domination once worked as a medical professor.
However, as they were about to enter, they encountered some trouble.
The campus security guard stopped them.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa—you're at the wrong place."
"Hm?" Theresa tilted her head, surprised.
Fu Hua also asked, "The wrong place? This gate doesn't lead in?"
The guard shook his head and pointed across the street.
"No, no. This is the university. The elementary school's across the road."
"Elemen...!?"
Theresa's eyes went wide, frozen in place and unable to respond.
[Hahahahahahahaha]
["The elementary school is across the road"]
[Official clowning—Theresa's vision just went black]
[Mr. Security, do you want to learn about the different uses of the Oath of Judah?]
[A forty-something child and a thirty-year-old uncle?]
...
The stream chat went into full meltdown.
Even Kiana, who had been composed all day, lost it at this scene.
"Pfft—Auntie really is... the same in-game and IRL."
"Hmm?"
Elysia perked up with interest.
"Theresa's encountered this in real life too?"
"Yep." Kiana answered without thinking.
"Auntie doesn't even need to—"
Bang!
A soft thud echoed.
Kiana looked up and saw Theresa—who had been spectating from outside the recording area—jump up and get tackled by someone trying to hold her back.
She promptly went quiet.
Even though Kiana didn't finish her sentence,
Elysia understood everything.
"Well..."
Elysia tried to speak in Theresa's defense.
"Maybe it's something to be envious of? Lots of girls wish to stay unchanged forever."
"True, but Auntie's... a little too small." Kiana replied carefully.
Elysia agreed:
"Mm, yes. Small is cute, but just a little bigger wouldn't hurt."
"Like in the game—clearly a grown-up, yet mistaken for a grade-schooler... pfft~~"
She couldn't finish before laughing again.
"..."
"Elysia, if you don't want Theresa to come after you when the stream ends..."
Himeko gestured toward the outside with her chin.
"...you'd better stop right there."
"Mm."
Elysia blinked.
She obediently tapped the game screen.
Although Theresa was fuming over being mistaken for a grade-schooler,
So as not to interfere with the mission,
She claimed to be Fu Hua's little sister and said she was here for a campus tour.
Technically speaking, it wasn't too big a stretch—Fu Hua was over 50,000 years old, after all.
Successfully blending in,
The two entered the university and found the target professor's office.
They rummaged through the room.
They discovered signs that the professor was under considerable financial pressure.
Just as they were about to keep looking—
A carelessly discarded notebook in the corner caught Fu Hua's eye.
Fu Hua picked it up and flipped through it with Theresa.
The early entries were fairly normal—
Mundane life notes, complaints about economic stress, and accumulated negative emotions.
Until—
[Last night, I dreamed of a theater... It was huge, but empty. I vaguely heard a voice saying I belonged there. That everyone belonged there.]
[I dreamed of the theater again. I danced and sang onstage... Maybe I should see a psychiatrist. Strange thing is—I want to dream about that theater again...]
From that point onward, every entry became more and more incoherent.
[I think I slept the whole day yesterday. No memory of it. But when I woke up... a wooden version of myself was sitting in front of me.]
[...Welcome to the Theater of Domination, someone in my dream said. No, wait—that sounded like my own voice, like I was talking to myself...?]
The content suddenly turned bizarre.
Assimilation. Transformation. Distortion.
It exuded a surreal, indescribable tone.
The stream chat was flooded with comments like "Creepy" and "Feels like an urban legend."
Even Elysia rubbed her goosebumped arms and said:
"Man, I wish the scriptwriter would write a cuter story sometime."
Of course, cute stories do exist.
Take Elysia's own childhood—that was practically a fairytale.
The daughter of the stars and moon, traveling across the land like a picture book heroine...
Later, Fu Hua and Theresa decided to split up.
While Fu Hua was on her way to security to ask about some details,
A puppet suddenly approached her.
But of course, Fu Hua had nothing to discuss with a puppet.
The two immediately engaged in combat.
Despite being unable to use Herrscher powers,
Fu Hua still beat the puppet easily.
It tried to flee, only to be caught and restrained by Theresa using the Oath of Judah.
Things were going smoothly.
But...
"This is going too smoothly. It's unsettling... They don't care about sacrificing comrades or themselves. It's like they're really just puppets..."
Theresa muttered.
Elysia had a feeling there were many hidden clues in this chapter.
"If only Mobius were here."
[Don't only think of me at times like this.]
"Oh my, Mobius, you are here."
Elysia somehow magically spotted a certain snake in the chat.
Still, it was surprising that Mobius was watching the Honkai Impact 3rd stream.
Or maybe not? Maybe the other Flame-Chasers were watching too. They were all fans, after all.
"I think of you at all kinds of times—whenever there's something fun or tasty I want to share, mmm... as long as you're not against it."
The two just had very different understandings of the word "interesting."
[...]
[Maybe these puppets really are just puppets—the real Herrscher of Domination hasn't appeared yet.]
"The real Herrscher of Domination?" Elysia asked.
[Yes. To in-game characters, it was just a line Theresa said. But to us players with a God's-eye view, it's clearly a deliberate hint from the scriptwriter—a narrative foreshadowing.]
Mobius's analysis was next-level.
"But if there's a puppet master behind them, doesn't that contradict the idea that the Herrscher of Domination is a collective?" Elysia asked again.
[...Maybe the scriptwriter just forgot. Who knows.]
At that moment, Kiana blinked beside her.
Of course, having read the rest of the story, she knew it wasn't a case of the scriptwriter forgetting.
But since Hokuto had reminded her not to spoil anything, she stayed silent.
Elysia looked at Mobius's analysis, then glanced at the viewers' barrage of theories.
She resumed progressing the main story.
A few days later—
Inside Anti-Entropy's Salt Lake Base conference room.
After thorough investigation, they concluded that the Herrscher of Domination aimed to steal Herrscher powers to grow stronger.
So, Kiana proposed a bait strategy.
She possessed two Herrscher cores—an irresistible lure to the puppets.
And sure enough, they weren't wrong.
Inside the Theater of Domination, puppets who intercepted Anti-Entropy's plan to relocate the Herrscher of the Void decided to respond directly to the challenge.
This time, the Herrscher of Domination's council unanimously passed the decision.
They would launch a full-scale assault on the Herrscher of the Void and Anti-Entropy.
"This time, it's unanimous—ATTACK THE HERRSCHER OF THE VOID!!"
As the puppet on the judgment platform finished speaking—
Muahaha!
Muahaha!
Every puppet in the audience raised their right hand, spirits high, declaring their war cry against the Herrscher of the Void.
The scene was hilariously cursed.
Even the players couldn't help but join in:
[Muahaha!]