My Game Studio is Full of Valkyries?!

Players found the continuous resurrection of the Herrscher of Dominance increasingly difficult to handle.

Elysia simply stared intently at the gradually darkening screen—more than that, she was watching Kiana, who still burned bright even as the oppressive darkness closed in.

Even if she was but a single spark, she burned with such unwavering resolve—so radiant.

The hope that moves forward, the yearning for the future—would never bow to malice.

"Kiana, move forward."

This time, she didn't say "You can do it." She only said "Move forward."

Because Kiana no longer needed the encouragement of others.

She already had within her a belief strong enough to carry her forward through anything—without ever faltering.

So—

Move forward, Kiana.

Stride boldly ahead.

Ignite the flames that lead to tomorrow!

The screen changed.

miHoYo's animated short began.

"Everlasting Flames."

Everyone focused their attention—after all, it was a miHoYo short. What Honkai Impact 3rd player wouldn't be excited?

Especially after such a spectacular main story.

Naturally, expectations for the short were sky-high.

Yes—tissues in hand. That's what it meant to be "tough."

They were ready—mentally and physically!

Even Elysia, though somewhat reassured by the answer she'd gotten from Kiana earlier, still pulled out a few tissues in advance.

The short began to play.

In an endless dark void, threads controlled puppets in motion, the malice of thousands running rampant.

It was as if trapped in a lightless prison—an oppressive atmosphere nearly tangible, seeping with strangeness and doom.

"Huff... cough..."

Kiana's ragged breathing echoed outward. She dragged the Key of Destruction forward with difficulty.

Then—

As if the stage performance had begun, blinding light suddenly flooded the entire space.

"Kiana!"

The eerie voice of the Herrscher of Dominance echoed from all directions, its tone chaotic—like a thousand voices speaking at once.

"Stop struggling!"

Kiana could see what was happening inside the theater now.

Countless floating hands pulling threads suspended Fu Hua and Bronya in midair, bending their bodies far beyond normal human limits.

"Bronya... Squad Leader..."

The searing sight pierced Kiana's heart with pain—and filled her with fury toward the Herrscher of Dominance.

Rustle—rustle—

Then, countless puppets descended from above, layer upon layer, encircling the girl from all directions.

These were different than before.

Not only were their outfits now complete, but each carried their own weapon—

Hooks, chainsaws, firearms... physical embodiments of each puppet's malice.

A sign that the Herrscher of Dominance had grown stronger.

"Without Herrscher powers, you're nothing but a mere... weakling!"

With a slight twitch of her finger, the Herrscher pulled the threads taut.

Fu Hua and Bronya groaned in pain, unable to hold it in.

The threads sliced into their skin like blades, contorting their bodies even further.

"Let them go!!"

Kiana lifted her greatsword and charged at the Herrscher—

But several puppets leapt in her path.

The Herrscher continued tormenting the two, as if taunting her.

"You have faith, yet you're powerless."

Bronya's arm gave a crisp snap under the tension of the threads.

"Stop!!"

Rage surged through Kiana like a tide, but reason told her—now wasn't the time.

The puppets rushed at her under the Herrscher's control, and a chaotic brawl erupted.

Kiana kicked away a puppet before her, then grabbed another by the jaw and slammed it into the ground...

Meanwhile, a Subspace Lance silently formed above the Herrscher, aimed at the giant hands binding Fu Hua and Bronya—intending to destroy them all at once.

"Just your so-called sense of justice and compassion..."

"In the end, it's just self-satisfaction..."

"You can't change the malice in people's hearts..."

The Herrscher's voice echoed throughout the theater.

"Just a little more..."

Kiana swept away the puppets in front of her with everything she had.

The Subspace Lance was almost complete.

"A little—"

BOOM!!

A silent blast struck Kiana from behind.

It was the Herrscher—

Having sent a puppet through space to sneak attack her.

"You cannot change this ugly world."

Fallen, Kiana pushed herself up with all her strength.

Puppets instantly swarmed her, holding her down.

One even struck her in the abdomen—exactly like the attack Mei took in Lament of the Fallen.

It was hard not to think it was a deliberate attempt to provoke her.

Between this and Fu Hua and Bronya's injuries, players watching no doubt felt their blood pressure spike again.

Yet Kiana didn't give up.

She summoned the Void Drifter's Subspace Lance and counterattacked.

But—this too, had been within the Herrscher's expectations.

At the very instant the Subspace Lance descended—

Threads coiled around it. With one tug, all the lances shattered into fragments.

"See? You couldn't even protect them."

Then, with crossed hands, the Herrscher yanked the threads around Fu Hua and Bronya—

Riiip—

The threads tore through flesh. Blood sprayed.

Drip. Drip...

Pinned beneath puppets, Kiana caught the falling blood in her peripheral vision.

Enraged, she struggled with all her might—desperate to save her companions.

But...

The more she struggled, the more puppets piled on.

Until, at last, even the final glimmer of light in her eyes was blotted out.

And all that remained was the Herrscher's final line:

"This... is humanity's end."

In that moment—

Kiana felt as if her whole body was bound by threads of domination.

As if some invisible hand was slowly closing in—trying to control her, or perhaps crush her entirely.

The Herrscher's whispers continued, infiltrating her mind like bone-deep rot.

"We are all failures..."

"No!" Kiana forced the words out.

"Humanity... is a failure!!"

"I will never... bow to you..."

"They've already fallen..."

The Herrscher tightened its grip, forcing Kiana's knees to the ground.

"...You are the last."

That sinister tone still hinted at mockery—but now tinged with the thrill of victory.

"I... won't."

Pain and suffocation flooded Kiana's senses—her pupils dilated, limbs numbed.

Her consciousness, trapped in an endless darkness, was on the verge of collapse.

But she could not—must not—fall here.

Her fire, their fire...

Must never be extinguished.

"They've never given up!"

That belief sparked like a single star in the void—

And in an instant, it became a blazing wildfire.

Brighter than any light in the theater—

Brighter than any flame.

In that moment, the crimson knight from Void Sky, Lonely Moon, who had once stood in the endless dark, appeared once more before her—

Burning gently.

And passed to her everything.

She had once made a promise—to take up the torch and complete the journey another could not.

That beautiful dream... was no fleeting illusion!

Light returned to Kiana's eyes.

In the void, she fought with all her might to shake off the Herrscher's domination.

She reached for the flaming silhouette ahead—

That silhouette morphed into a massive sword—

The Key of Destruction.

"Now it's my turn—to do what I must..."

Though pain once buried the path forward, the burning flame would rise again!

Once, someone had raised a sword of rebellion to the heavens—to save her.

Now—

That person was gone.

But her sword remained.

Still burning.

Awaiting the one to inherit it.

Kiana reached out and gripped it firmly.

She would prove—with this sword—that their choice... was not wrong.

...

Unyielding willpower pulled Kiana back into her body.

The Herrscher's scheme had failed again.

What had seemed like the final curtain call—now twisted into something new.

A brilliant purple glow lit the center of the theater.

A powerful aura descended.

And somewhere within, the first notes of battle's grand symphony began to echo!

BOOM—!!

A shockwave blasted away all the puppets crushing Kiana.

Kiana stood firm, sword in hand—

The Key of Destruction now embedded with a golden crystal of the Void Drifter.

Then she pointed her blade at the Herrscher—

Just as Himeko once did.

"Your turn is over. Now it's mine—any objections?"

"Why do you still stand?"

The Herrscher couldn't comprehend—

Why its power couldn't crush Kiana's will.

Why its malice—humanity's malice—couldn't extinguish that tiny flame.

Kiana didn't answer.

She charged forward, sword in hand.

Puppets fell one by one before her.

Then she leapt high into the air—

Like Himeko once did against Benares—

Her sword wreathed in flame.

She struck downward with a ferocious blow.

Flames erupted.

Countless puppets shattered.

The threads binding Fu Hua and Bronya were severed.

"No matter how you struggle, nothing will change!"

The Herrscher snarled.

It took advantage of the gap in Kiana's power to have a puppet pin her down.

Others followed, swarming.

But—

Just then—

The airborne puppets were pierced by streaks of cerulean light.

"Hm?"

The Herrscher turned, puzzled.

Not far away, Bronya lay unmoving—

But her voice still rang out:

"Kiana doesn't care what you say...

Because she's an idiot..."

In that moment,

The core of the Herrscher of Reason activated—

A blue crystal formed in Kiana's sword.

Bronya's silhouette appeared beside her.

"Idiots don't give up!"

Countless Keys of Truth formed around the theater,

Scattered like stars across the sky.

"Fire!!"

The two extended their hands—

And gave the command in unison.

Thousands of beams of blue light rained down like starlight.

Explosions roared as the floating turrets fired.

All puppets were annihilated.

And no one noticed—

Before vanishing, Bronya's silhouette quietly tied Kiana's hair into a high ponytail.

Added a black hairpin.

And a crimson earring just like Himeko's.

The destruction of all the puppets made the Herrscher uneasy.

It pulled the twelve pillars supporting the stage and hurled them toward Kiana.

BOOM!

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Faced with such immense force,

Kiana raised her sword to block—

Suddenly—

A single feather floated down from above.

"She changed me—

Changed so many of us..."

Fu Hua, unconscious and leaning against the rubble,

Spoke in a voice that rang clearly.

Feathers spiraled into a radiant orb overhead,

Then exploded outward.

Kiana dove from within—saved by Fu Hua's Herrscher of Sentience powers.

Her right eye now bore the Herrscher of Sentience's pupil—

Hands and sword hilt clad in armor.

A red crystal embedded in the Key of Destruction.

"She will go on to change even more people—

And I want to witness that day."

"So—we will not—stop here!!"*2

Blazing Feather: Fu Hua appeared at Kiana's side.

Teacher and friend—

Together, they unleashed their greatest technique:

Tai Xu transforms across time eternal; a single thought forges a blade to protect all of Shenzhou.

Tai Xu Sword Qi in its supreme form.

Tai Xu Sword Deity! Divine Resonance!

The Herrscher of Dominance summoned mechanical hands to stop the attack.

But—could such power block this conviction and resolve?

The Tai Xu Sword Deity shattered the Herrscher's resistance like clay.

"Your ideals can never come true!!"

The Herrscher summoned more arms, desperately trying to bind Kiana.

It raised both hands, shouting its hatred for this world:

"The world was never beautiful!"

That declaration seemed to strengthen it.

Tai Xu's attack was repelled.

Darkness crept into Kiana,

The three crystals on her sword began to dim—

But!

Kiana's strength—her resolve—was far from spent!

"WRONG!!"

She lifted her head—facing that malice.

That firm belief resonated with the Gem of Haste—

Blue flames exploded, blasting away the Herrscher's prison.

The girl emerged from the fire—

Now wielding a transformed, blazing sword: Flameborne Prominence.

Four core gems lit up in sequence.

The fire of Everlasting Flame would burn away the thorns.

Light up the night sky.

And declare with its blaze:

Dawn is breaking!

The final battle had arrived.

Kiana charged toward the Herrscher of Dominance.

And in her heart—

Words flowed:

The world is far from perfect.

But there were people who told me not to give up.

They showed me this world isn't so bad.

I love them. And everything they love.

This sword connects us all. It will burn away the darkness—

And let light shine even farther.

The final blow landed—

Her sword cleaved into the Herrscher puppet's ultimate defense.

Could she pierce through?

Absolutely! Without doubt!

Because she was no longer alone.

Theresa, Mei, Bronya, Fu Hua—

All supported her from behind.

And—

A face turned back to smile silently.

That face bloomed like a flower.

Proud. Without words.

As if to say:

Kiana, you are my pride.

With that final farewell—

Himeko's figure vanished in blinding flame.

"AHHH!!"

The girl ablaze—

Raised her sword of dawn.

Truth turned in endless reality.

Thunder still echoed in her ears.

Blazing Feather rebirthed her from despair.

Twilight broke the long night.

Crimson lit the flame of inheritance.

They had led her here—

Back to the path home.

"With this fire—cut through all that cannot be severed!"

Light and shadow clashed.

A blinding flash engulfed the world—

And all that remained...

Was a brilliant white glow—like the morning sun.

The flame that leads to tomorrow.

...

...

The glorious short came to an end.

Only the soft echo of song lingered:

"Some deserts on this planet were once oceans...

Places shrouded in darkness... will one day see sunlight...

...

When hope and conviction grow wings, say goodbye to yesterday—

Once more, open these wings for me—

Let me soar above the world...

...

And become the moon, eternally carrying the light of the sun...

May all beautiful things be blessed..."

As Kiana, Mei, and Bronya's voices harmonized in song—

The audience, who had cried since the moment Kiana took the Key of Destruction,

Now closed their eyes—emotionally drained after Himeko's flashback hit its peak.

They didn't even bother wiping away the tears.

Why?

Because—damn!

These tissues ran out way too fast!!

Even Elysia had to cover her mouth with a tissue, sobbing quietly.

After watching Everlasting Flames,

She truly had no regrets.

Even if she could never see Himeko again.

Even if the silly paramecium might never appear again.

Even though some were gone,

And others had grown up—

Shedding their past selves,

And stepping forward in new form.

But that—

That's exactly what Himeko would've wanted to see.

To see her students, just as she was once inspired by her Captain—

Taking her path forward.

Walking where she could not.

Carrying hope.

Passing on the flame.

Forever.