Honkai Impact: I, The Herrscher of Ice, Am Loved By Players

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In the real world,

Despite gaining significant popularity due to her impressive performance in Honkai Chronicles, players were surprised to find that Old Mi did not capitalize on this opportunity by immediately releasing Ana as a playable character. Instead, they chose to keep her hidden.

Version 1.3, "Ship's Crew Embarks": The ship's crew system was introduced, featuring new bosses Yae Sakura (Dark) and Blackened Ji Lin. Social features were added to home bases, along with new weapons, Stigmata, and skins.

Version 1.4, "Sakura Recollection": Open-world mode "Sakura Recollection" launched, with Yae Sakura joining the ship. Her armors Gyakushinn Miko and Goushinnso Memento became available, alongside adjustments to the Stigmata system, additional weapons, Stigmata, and skins.

Yae Sakura's introduction dealt a significant blow to Ana fans, as during this period, Old Mi hadn't released much new content. The only argument they could make was Ana's performance in the Chiyou arc.

However, Yae Sakura resonated with players' preferences, boasted impressive strength, and even offered a grindable variant (Red Sakura). This instantly made her the new favorite waifu among Captains. "Ana? Sorry, we're not that close!"

"Kallen? We want them all!"

But did you think the Ana fans would just give up?

Finally, at the end of Version 1.4, Schicksal's top idol Ai-chan—also known as the official account—took action by releasing a commemorative PV for the completion of the Anti-Entropy Invasion comic series.

Unlike the fan-made PV shared earlier by Ai-chan, this officially produced video showcased superior quality. In it, Raiden Mei and Kiana, originally the main characters, took on supporting roles instead, while Fu Hua's screen time significantly increased. Additionally, Ana, who debuted in the Honkai side story, became the PV's central protagonist.

The developers went further, creating a dedicated character theme song for Ana, which served as the PV's background music.

Even before her full release, Ana already had her own character theme, distinct from any legacy track inherited from Honkai Academy. This move solidified Ana's triumphant rise.

The uploader, Vanilla Cake, known as Brother Cake, was a Honkai Impact 3 streamer. During this period, Honkai Impact 3 differed significantly from its future iterations, with the storyline not yet fully fleshed out. Consequently, Vanilla Cake primarily focused on strategy guides and Abyss gameplay.

Despite being an Abyss-focused guide streamer, Brother Cake had his favorite characters. Initially, he favored Cecilia because he was also a player of the original Honkai games.

However, upon Ana's introduction, he became an unapologetic Ana fanboy, going as far as declaring that if Ana wasn't released by version 1.4, he would wash his hair upside down.

True to his word, he streamed himself washing his hair while standing on his head, earning the nickname "Abyss Hair Washer" among Honkai Impact 3 fans. Remarkably, even Ai-chan liked the video of him washing his hair upside down, making it hard to believe it wasn't intentional.

Today, Brother Cake was once again grinding the Abyss for his viewers as usual. During this period, the Abyss's difficulty wasn't particularly high; rather, many players simply lacked understanding of the game and blindly spammed their skills (the author included).

It wasn't until the emergence and popularization of the Cryo Expansion build that average Captains could consistently clear the Abyss. However, this also led to intense competition, resulting in the ongoing issue of Abyss disruption.

"Brother Cake, Brother Cake, Ai-chan released a new PV—it's about the Anti-Entropy Invasion comic arc."

Quickly, bullet comments alerted Brother Cake about the new PV.

However, Brother Cake seemed unconcerned, reflecting the attitude of many Captains at the time. They weren't really interested in official comics or visual novels; they just enjoyed playing the game. Yet, it couldn't be denied how much they loved the characters.

"What's so interesting about a commemorative PV for a comic? I'll check it out later!"

Brother Cake was focused on grinding the Abyss, using an account with average progression—lacking even fully upgraded individual Stigmata pieces, making each hit feel like mere scratches.

"But, Brother Cake, the PV features your favorite character, Ana! Trust me! Ana looks incredibly badass in it!"

"And the song in the PV is amazing too! Apparently, it's her character theme..."

"Boom—"

The Titan unleashed a fierce punch at the Ranger. Normally, with Brother Cake's skills, he should have easily evaded it. However, his hand trembled momentarily, causing the already low-health Ranger to instantly perish.

With the Ranger's demise, the character automatically switched to Dimension, but Brother Cake remained unmoved, cursing under his breath.

"Fuck!"

Without wasting any more time, he immediately exited the Abyss, opened Bilibili, and spotted a newly uploaded PV from one of his specially followed channels.

As the pleasant intro music played, the first scene that appeared was Ana leaping off the Hyperion. Rapidly flashing on the screen were Ana's words spoken during her jump:

["Wow! Just like those bugs—so badass!"]

["Damn, Old Mi is impressive! With this level of production, why settle for short films? Shouldn't you make a full-blown anime instead?"]

The PV continued, swiftly reaching the segment where Fu Hua confronts Welt. Witnessing Fu Hua being overpowered, the bullet comments filled with lamentations.

"This can't be true! How could Goddess Red Kite be suppressed by such trash?"

"Yeah, I asked the official 'Roast Chicken' forum earlier, and Fu Hua is deliberately holding back here."

"Aha, figured as much. Hmph, just like I said! Fu Hua is invincible; how could she be suppressed? It's merely the First Herrscher..."

Brother Cake didn't pay attention to the bullet comments; his gaze remained fixed on the PV. Concerned that other players' comments might spoil the experience, he had disabled the live video's bullet comments.

Soon, the PV reached the scene of Celestial Grotto Hidden Moon. As the verdant colossal dragon soared into the sky, a flurry of bullet comments erupted across the live stream.

"Damn! That's so badass!"

"Somebody explain my wife's moves quickly—I need to learn them!"

"What do you mean 'your wife'? She's clearly mine!"

"Let's duel, commenter above."

"You keep dueling, I'm taking our wife now!"

The bullet comments were incredibly lively, but the commemorative PV wasn't over yet—it had one final scene: Ana's defeat of Welt, which once again ignited the Captains' enthusiasm to its peak.

[Finally, that idiot bites the dust, heh heh.]

[What goes around comes around—she shouldn't have bullied my Duck.]

[This is what a Valkyrie of Schicksal should be!]

The entire PV concluded with Ana's line—"My appearance fee ain't cheap!" Just as everyone thought it was all over, another message appeared on the fading screen accompanied by a gentle voice:

Unless it's for the people.

"Yes! Now that's my wife!"

As soon as the PV finished playing, Brother Cake suddenly jumped up. In his view, these last two lines were the perfect finishing touch, truly infusing soul and character—a blend of individuality and the essence of a responsible Valkyrie.

"See?! That's my wife!"

Instantly, the chat erupted in boos.

[Brother Cake, we respect you as such, but please don't push your luck.]

[Your wife? To be honest, my idol is Cao Cao.]

[Old Cake, I suggest rephrasing your words.]

[Draw your swords, gentlemen!]