Creating Happiness with Heart in Honkai

I had free time, albeit brief. Enough for this chapter.

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"Long ago, Two races ruled over the Earth: HUMANS and MONSTERS..."

The faint sounds of 8-bit retro electronic game style gradually drifted in, signaling the official start of the game. Cioara couldn't help but comment as she gazed at the screen before her: "Honestly, I never really delved into gaming as a child. I didn't expect my first gaming experience to be here, and with such an ancient theme."

"For our era, this music is quite retro, yet combining simple waveforms to create complex melodies also represents the collective wisdom of countless people back then," Elysia remarked, recognizing the musical style. Although retro, the game before them wasn't like those genuine antique games, merely cycling through a short piece of music repeatedly.

"So, are we supposed to play as this human? This reckless little imp? Naming the fallen human... Though I'm not very familiar with the typical gaming process, let's leave a mark... Raven..."

After observing the opening sequence, accompanied by the serene background music, Raven smoothly arrived at the naming interface. Indeed, it's Raven.

The character under Cioara's control awakened amidst a bed of flowers, and Cioara finally grasped why this human imp was unscathed after falling from such heights—there were flowers below to cushion the fall.

"Haha, our protagonist is quite adorable. Why does he wear such an expression?" Elysia couldn't help but chuckle upon seeing the protagonist's first glance, adorned with such a cute and simple design.

"Who knows? Isn't Su like that too?" Cioara teased.

"Hahaha! If Su were to find out, would he be so furious that he opens his eyes wide?"

It's not wise to casually discuss Su; Cioara immediately fell silent and resumed controlling the protagonist.

[Hello there! I'm FLOWEY, FLOWEY the FLOWER.]

"Have we encountered the first cutie?" Elysia stuck close to Cioara, watching the game screen together, causing Cioara to suddenly feel nervous. Sometimes, interacting with people without boundaries always induces nervousness, but as if sensing Cioara's tension, Elysia slightly distanced herself. At the same time, Bronie also flashed a mischievous smile.

"By the way, Klein, can all the Flame Chasers watch this live broadcast?"

"All the Flame Chasers? Yes, indeed, all them can view the screen through Elysia's first-person perspective, although it may be a bit shaky..."

"Can they send bullet comments? I mean in your era..."

"I understand! But that would only increase meaningless workload; most of them actually prefer solitude and may not necessarily utilize such features."

"[I also wish to have such a feature! Broadcasting within the Elysian Realm; that would be quite a novel scene!]"

Bronie saw Elysia sent a message

"Take a look..."

Klein remained silent for a moment.

"Alright, after the live broadcast, we'll have to clean up this feature. The workload in the Elysian Realm... is quite heavy..."

"Sorry! Whenever I have time, I'll make you an ELF to help with your work!"

"Really!?"

"If there are blueprints..."

With Bronie's assurance like this, Klein's invisbible tail wagged even more vigorously.

Meanwhile, the conversation between Cioara and Flowey continued, but they had already entered the battle interface.

[See that heart? That is your soul, the very culmination of your being! Your soul starts off weak, but can grow strong if you gain a lot of LV. As for what LV stands for? Why LOVE course!]

After seeing Flowey's words, Cioara was slightly stunned, jokingly saying, "Love? I thought it was level. I heard that many games are like that, where you fight monsters to level up, and then become stronger to fight stronger monsters. If only getting stronger in real life were as easy as defeating bad guys again and again~"

"You wouldn't harm such cute little flower right~?" Elysia asked.

"That's hard to say~"

Just as Cioara couldn't guarantee that she wouldn't harm it, after the live broadcast started, the first barrage also appeared.

[Frozen Ice Cubes: ?]

"Who's this? Is it Kevin? Hahaha! This username is quite something! Welcome to Elysia's live broadcast room. What's being broadcasted now is a game brought by a successor! Seeing this cute screen, it must be a very talented person who made this game~"

[Frozen Ice Cubes: People in the Elysian Realm shouldn't know too much about the outside world... And this username wasn't chosen by me.]

"Oh dear~ it's just a game, why are you so sensitive? This is game full of a girl's feelings! You mustn't trample on them easily, and isn't this username quite fitting? I guess it was made by our game developer!"

[Frozen Ice Cubes: @Lazy Tree Lover, what do you think?]

[Lazy Tree Lover: 一_一]

"Hahaha! Is this Su? Welcome to the live broadcast room, Su~ and Miss Raven, why are you still stunned here? Hurry up and continue!"

"Ah? Alright... I thought it stopped here..." Cioara continued to flip through the dialogue.

[You want soms LOVE, dont you? Don't worry, I'll share some with you. Down here, LOVE is spread through these white little—'Friendliness Pellets'! Are you ready?, Get as many as you can!]

"I have a bad feeling, why does it seem like this little flower is planning something?" Cioara controlled her own red heart, watching as some white so-called 'Friendliness Pellets' floated above Flowey's head, and then saw a numerical value of life under the combat frame. As a mercenary, she has always had sharp instincts and felt something was amiss.

Although the white pellets floated slowly, seemingly harmless, Cioara still controlled the red heart to dodge the 'Friendliness Pellets'.

Clearly, Flowey didn't expect Cioara's protagonist to dodge his Friendliness Pellets.

Immediately after, it forcefully squeezed out a smile and said,

[Hey, buddy, you missed them! Let's try this again. Okay?]

This time, the Friendliness Pellets flew even faster and had a clearer direction. Yes, they were specifically aimed at the red heart.

Cioara dodged again.

[Is this a joke? Are you braindead? RUN! INTO! THE! BULLETS!(Removed) Friendliness Pellets!]

At the moment when the bullets were mentioned, Flowey visibly paused, but then immediately changed the text, leaving it to be friendship pellets above.

Now Cioara felt something was amiss; even Flowey's expression and the BGM started to change.

Suddenly, Flowey face turned horrifying.

"Cute?" Cioara looked at Elysia's expression.

Elysis averted her gaze, she felt awkward too.

"Um... perhaps it's the game maker's twisted sense of humor?"

[You know what's going on here do you? You just wanted to see me suffer.]

Suddenly, countless white dots appeared outside the battle frame, surrounding the entire red heart without leaving any gaps.

[Die.]

"Now, without any acting? You just want to kill me like this?"

Raven sarcastically remarked. Just when she thought her character's operation was over, the bullets suddenly disappeared.

The air suddenly quieted down, and even Flowey looked surprised. At that moment, a white flame blasted the stunned Flowey away, revealing a figure resembling a goat, a gentle-looking black-robed woman appearing on the screen.

[What a terrible creature, torturing such a poor, innocent youth... Ah, do not be afraid my child. I am TORIEL, the caretaker of the RUINS. I pass through here every day to see if anyone has fallen down. You are the first human to come down here after a long time.. Come on! Let me take you through this underground cemetery.]

[Lazy Tree Lover: Surprisingly predictable yet intriguing.

Shining Melody: It's a promising start, unveiling a fraction of the vast underground world during the brief tutorial phase. This allows players to easily grasp the mechanics while introducing more puzzles to keep them engaged.]

"You seem quite taken with Toriel, who is she? She looks fuzzy and adorable!"

Elysia quickly shifted her attention from Flowey's antics to the fuzzy and welcoming Toriel guiding Cioara forward.

(Shadows of the Ruins looms above, filling you with determination.)

"Is this a checkpoint?"

After saving her progress, Cioara followed Toriel through a door, encountering a puzzle ahead.

[Hypnotic Butterfly: Toriel doesn't strike me as a mere caretaker of the Ruins; she feels more like a motherly figure.

Cheerful Magician: Everywhere you look, there are puzzles. This underground world seems rather problematic.

Green Serpent: I'm curious about the powers these monsters possess. Shouldn't monsters be foes to be vanquished? Why spare them?]

"But they're all such adorable monsters, aren't they? They just want to interact with the protagonist. Even if they might get hurt, to them, it's all just playful!"

As the livestream progressed, many Flame Chasers tuned in. After seeing Mobius' comments, Elysia quickly quashed the dangerous notion.

Truly, Bronie is a gentle and adorable lovely child. Only someone with such a sweet disposition could create such endearing cute monsters.

Through acts of kindness and unique interactions, players can engage with these monsters. Whether it's the shy ghost pretending to sleep or Toriel guiding the protagonist through mechanical puzzles while holding hands.

"Isn't Toriel's maternal love a bit excessive? Would normal monsters be so kind to a human? Typically, monsters are adversaries, aren't they?"

Since she hadn't skipped the subsequent tutorials, Toriel's instructions on conversing during battles also opened up new possibilities for Cioara.

It's like stepping into a fairytale world; it's truly enchanting.

"Isn't this wonderful? No one gets hurt, even though Flowey was a bit malicious at first, Toriel sent him away, right?"

"But our aim is to return to the surface. Yet now, Toriel seems unwilling to let us leave home, and she won't even allow us into the basement."

Cioara progressed through the latter part of the prologue, and the storyline was about to bid farewell to Toriel.

Along the way, picking up a knife seemed to hint at something.

"This home feels so warm, and Toriel wants to protect us, but we also have our own path to follow."

"Don't do anything that might upset her..."

Elysia also felt helpless; the primary goal for humans is to escape this underground world. Though the sheep mom's cottage is cozy, and the butterscotch-cinnamon pie sounds appealing, children must eventually grow up and leave home.

When the protagonist expressed a desire to return home, Toriel revealed why she wouldn't let the protagonist leave.

In this underground kingdom, there's a king named Asgore, who hunts humans from the surface.

During the explanation, Toriel also prepared to destroy the only way out completely. If you truly wish to leave, you must prove to her that you have the capability to defend yourself.

And the only way to prove it is through battle!

[Hypnotic Butterfly: I can sense the mother's instinct to protect her child, but doesn't this happen repeatedly in the outside world too?

Green Serpent: Despite the grandiose presentation, isn't she just trying to keep the protagonist here as a test subject? I can understand—humans are anomalies to monsters; who could resist the urge to study them?]

"Things aren't so clear-cut! In the previous puzzles, Toriel provided ample hints. If there were any dangers, she would've addressed them long ago!"

Elysia countered Mobius' comments as she watched the livestream, though she knew Mobius had ulterior motives.

Mobius was merely attempting to goad Raven into massacring these monsters. But once such an act is committed, Elysia felt, there's no turning back. This intricately crafted game is a testament to Bronie's intentions, brimming with tender emotions.

"I've talked her numerous times, but she shows no sign of relenting. Must I truly resort to violence?" Raven still harbored some hesitation. Throughout her journey, her compassionate demeanor remained intact, and her actions were understandable.

[Frozen Ice Cubes: People always have to make choices. Perhaps you can choose not to kill her, but you can try to knock her down first and then negotiate.]

The Lord has spoken! Upon hearing Elysia's recap, Raven also embraced this notion.

"Since talking isn't effective, I'll have to weaken her first and then talk again..." Raven initiated the attack.

And then...

With the final blow, Raven scored a critical hit!

"How is this possible! I calculated the damage perfectly; why is this critical hit!" Raven was taken aback.

And in that moment, the mortally wounded Toriel sank to her knees, clutching her wound.

[Ugh... child, remember, once you step through this door, never look back. The farther you go, the better... Asgore, don't let him capture you... my child...]

Then, Toriel's form gradually disintegrated into ashes, vanishing from the screen, leaving behind a small white heart.

Subsequently, the tiny white heart shattered instantly, mirroring Elysia's shattered heart.

"This was meant to be a game brimming with love and hope!"

Elysia wanted to admonish Bronie, but prior to this, she had pledged to Bronie not to disclose Raven's knowledge of Bronie's identity as the creator.

For a moment, her brief grief had nowhere to vent.