The aftershock from the 1.2 main story was simply too massive for players.
Take the loyal single-target fan Ah Xian—she took a full week to recover.
She spent time rewatching the plot, digging out those subtle, almost imperceptible foreshadowings—
More precisely, the knives planted on Leon.
In the stream, Ah Xian held her fist up to the camera, gripping so tightly that the veins on the back of her hand were clearly visible.
"His heart deserves punishment… his heart deserves punishment!!"
"I won't mention the knives that have already been resolved or the obvious ones; I'll pick the deeply hidden ones."
"First, the Belobog arc. The segment right after we left the Underworld and returned to the surface to swap the wanted poster photo."
Ah Xian dragged the screenshot onto the screen, gnashing her teeth.
"Look at this text—"
"He will always be reliable, always refuse to abandon you, always refuse to disappoint you, always refuse to hurt you."
"At first glance and read, it seems there's not a single problem, right?"
"But when we trace the source—the original lyrics of this song—we discover one line is missing!"
"—Always refuse to deceive you! That line is gone!"
"The first four lines, Leon achieved them all: reliable, never abandons, never disappoints, never hurts us…"
"Lacking 'never deceive you'—do you think that's a coincidence? Bullshit! If it's a coincidence, I'll—"
"Eat this computer screen right now!"
"Leon undoubtedly deceived us."
"He said he was fine before fighting Phantylia, said he was fine during the fight, said he was fine after…"
At this point, those deeply memorable scenes flashed through Ah Xian's mind again; she couldn't help wanting to cry.
"Clearly injured, yet burning himself to tank damage for everyone."
"Clearly nearing the limit of his life, never stopping his sacrifice for a single moment before Phantylia fell."
"Even after defeating Phantylia, he didn't want anyone to worry, stubbornly holding on without showing a crack…"
"Until he could no longer hold on and fell from the sky…"
"The reliable adult only leaves reliability for companions and friends, but never for himself."
"Every time he said he was fine, he was lying!"
"But he never promised to never deceive us—because he knew he would choose to lie, just to put everyone at ease."
"How can there be a character like this? Caring for companions more than himself—does he not consider himself at all?"
"And also—"
Ah Xian finally couldn't hold back; her eyes reddened.
After explaining two more foreshadowing knives that weren't too straightforward, tucked away in corners, she pulled out a tissue and wiped the corners of her eyes.
"I really deserve to die. When Leon killed the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus mole, I actually sang that lyric about wanting to peel open his heart."
"Now it's truly peeled open—it hurts more than peeling my own heart!!!"
Ah Xian eating her own boomerang—normally, stream fans would love to see it.
But watching her frequently wipe her eyes, their moods couldn't help but sink too.
[Once his heart is peeled open, can it be put back together…?]
[Even if it can't, we have to try!]
"And the death flag March 7th raised."
"After this Trailblaze, listen to Leon tell stories—now the Trailblaze is done, but the storyteller might never speak again!"
"Same as 'after this battle, I'll go home and get married'—flags like that really can't be raised casually."
"You all guessed March 7th might get knifed before, but it was Leon who took it."
"Besides that, there's the official!!"
"The day after the version update, they only revealed Leon's satellite transmission!"
"Based on past illustration release timing, releasing big Leon's art that day—it's unlikely to be 1.4 UP."
"Most likely, like Dan Heng • Imbibitor Lunae and Fu Xuan, entering the banner in 1.3."
"We can confirm by seeing if two 5-star illustrations drop on Monday or Tuesday of the preview week."
"The problem is… if big Leon really enters in 1.3, 42-day version with 3 new characters UP—that draw pressure is kinda huge, right?"
"I'm thinking from the perspective of the general playerbase; it doesn't affect me—I'll max 6+5 anyway."
"Damn it, these past few days I've been so upset I can't even draw doujin properly, keep zoning out…"
"Hope the preview has follow-up news on Leon."
…
The preview announcement arrived on schedule, but the promo image had no Leon chibi.
This stunned the players hoping for Leon news.
Their calm hearts surged with endless worry once more.
Is he really entering the banner as a dead character…?
No way!
Friday night at 7:25 PM, the official stream was already packed.
Not just those concerned about Leon's follow-up—Dan Heng • Imbibitor Lunae and Fu Xuan were equally popular; many looked forward to their UP.
Combined, the stream heat was several times higher than the launch preview.
[Open the door… no, warp already! Hurry hurry hurry hurry!]
[No use rushing—next version will definitely have Father news. Can't just knife and drop the story.]
[True, even handling aftermath needs plot space.]
[Here it comes!]
Opening: Fu Xuan teaching Sushang lines—made many laugh.
The vibe was so… cheerful. Maybe the two knifed characters don't need a revival match?
Couldn't help but hope.
Yet the version PV opened with Yukong's first line, nearly shattering fans' emotions.
"I want those who have passed to have a place to return to."
[???]
[Passed??]
The Express crew—Stelle, Welt, Dan Heng, March 7th—all present, only Leon missing. Hard not to associate with that line.
Then Jing Yuan, Yanqing, and Fu Xuan appeared—no Tingyun.
"Place the relics of the departed on starskiffs, sail them into the stars."
"Shine alongside them…"
"MiHoYo, what the fuck are you doing again!" Ah Xian couldn't help freaking out.
[No!]
[Opens with a funeral?? Damn!]
[Maybe the ceremony is for fallen Cloud Knights, not Leon and Tingyun.]
PV reached the new banner characters segment—Dan Heng • Imbibitor Lunae, Fu Xuan, and 4-star Lynx all appeared in turn, but no Leon.
This panicked a lot of people.
As the music seemed to end, the screen went black, followed by a male and female voice.
???: "Only us left, Leon."
Leon: "Yeah, only us…"
???: "Take care. If I don't make it back, the future is in your hands."
Leon: "Alright…"
No visuals, just four short lines of dialogue.
Though the female voice was unfamiliar, it was enough to make players reflexively shudder.
[Buhau! Another knife?]
[MiHoYo needs to be stopped—continuous knifing?]
[Knife is fine, serve it up—I can't wait!]
[Come, knife me, knife me fast—I love knives! I'm not crazy, hahahaha!]
…