Honkai Star Rail: I Played the Villain, Now the Heroines Want Revenge — Chapter 182

Chapter 182: A New Script

A low, steady beep. That was the first sensation.

Then, softness. The sheets beneath his fingers were impossibly smooth, with a thread count his old life could never have afforded. The air was sterile, an antiseptic tang overlaid with a faint, alluring scent of spider lilies and expensive perfume.

He opened his eyes.

The ceiling was unfamiliar—dark, metallic, and reflecting a soft, recessed light. This wasn’t his apartment. This wasn’t his body.

He sat up, the silken sheet pooling around a torso that felt… wrong. It was lighter, thinner, and his limbs felt uncoordinated, as if they belonged to someone else.

“He’s awake.”

The voice was musical, calm, and held an edge of amusement. He turned.

Two women stood in the soft light of the room. One, a girl with pale, flowing hair, looked anxious. She wore a high-tech, armored suit that seemed partially deactivated, revealing a simple dress underneath. Her hands were clasped nervously in front of her.

The other woman… she was a masterpiece of danger. She leaned against the wall, a calm, knowing smile on her lips, her wine-red eyes seeming to look straight through him. She wore a stylish black coat, and her presence filled the room, eclipsing the sterile environment.

“It’s alright, Firefly,” the woman said, her voice never losing its smooth cadence. “Confusion is normal after a ‘rebirth’.”

“Rebirth?” he managed, his voice hoarse. “Who… who are you? Where am I?”

The girl, Firefly, stepped forward, her movements a bit jerky. “I’m Firefly! And this is Kafka. We… well, we found you. You’re on our ship.”

“Found me?” His head throbbed. He tried to access his last memory. Flashing lights… the shriek of tires… “A truck…” he muttered. “A car accident?”

Kafka’s smile widened. “Something like that.”

His mind raced, trying to piece it all together. A car accident. A high-tech room. A new, unfamiliar body. Two beautiful, strangely dressed women.

He had read this script before. An utterly absurd, yet horrifyingly plausible thought surfaced.

This is a transmigration plot! I died, and now I’m in a new world!

His gaze darted between the two. The anxious, slightly naive one (Firefly) and the mature, alluring, dangerous one (Kafka).

Oh, gods… it’s a harem plot!

His mind spiraled. Okay, okay, analyze. Kafka is clearly the main wife, the ‘leader’ type. Firefly is the ‘new lover’ or the ‘childhood friend’ type, probably the mecha girl. I’ve been in an accident… but wait.

He looked down at his intact, healthy body. Why do I feel so weak? What did they ‘find’?

“Wait,” he said, his voice strained. “What did Firefly mean… ‘just a head’?”

Firefly winced, looking horrified. “Ah! Kafka, he heard me!”

Kafka just chuckled, her wine-red eyes fixed on him, dripping with amusement. “That’s right,” she said.

The delusion shattered, replaced by a colder, more terrifying reality. My… my head?

My god, this isn’t a harem plot! It’s a body-horror sci-fi! My philandering was exposed, I had an accident, and they fought over my body, but only my head survived! They transplanted my head onto this new, weaker body… and now they’ve come to contend for ownership of me!

He stared at Kafka, then at Firefly. Main wife… new lover… a disembodied head… This plot is too melodramatic! Reality can’t be this insane!

“It seems his mind is still very confused,” Kafka observed, her smile unwavering. She gave Firefly a look. “Firefly, could you step out for a moment? I need to talk to him alone.”

“But, Kafka… he just woke up…” Firefly looked uneasy.

“Be good. Go make me a cup of coffee,” Kafka said gently, but her voice left no room for argument.

Firefly looked at Kafka, then at him, and finally stomped her foot in frustration. “Got it!” Before leaving, she shot him a complex glare. “…I’ll find you later!”

The door hissed shut. Only he and Kafka remained. The sterile smell of the room was now completely overpowered by her scent of spider lilies and ozone.

She slowly walked to a high-backed chair near the bed and sat down, elegantly crossing her legs. “So…” she propped her chin on her finger, her wine-red eyes fixed on him. “Do you have anything you want to ask?”

He had too many questions. He took a stabilizing breath. “Who are you? And what… what did you mean about… my head?”

The smile on Kafka’s face deepened, as if she was enjoying a private joke. “My name is Kafka. As for our relationship… you can see me as… the one who pulled you back from ‘the End’.”

“‘The End’?” The word made his heart skip a beat.

“Yes. Everyone’s destiny has a ‘script’. Yours… broke a long time ago. We just… helped you reconnect it.” She uncrossed her legs and leaned forward slightly, the motion captivating.

“What Firefly said was literal. Your past, in a rather brutal war, vanished along with your old body. We took a lot of effort to find your ‘thinking’ head from the dust of the universe.”

His pupils contracted. War… cosmic dust… a thinking head… “Vanished? But my body is clearly still here…” He touched his arm, feeling the incredibly real, warm flesh.

“Hmm… regarding this, we were also very surprised,” Kafka looked at him with genuine, almost scientific interest. “When we found you, honestly, you were just a head, frozen in the void. We originally planned to find a new vessel for you. But Elio said it would be best to let you try it yourself.”

“Elio?”

“Our leader. He sees the ‘script’. He said you were special.” Kafka continued, “So, we just defrosted your head and put you in the medical pod, nourishing you with the highest concentration of nutrient fluid. But unexpectedly… in just a few days, your body grew back on its own. From the neck down, bones, flesh… regenerating at an extremely fast, almost… greedy rate.”

“…It grew back?” He was stunned. Growing a body from just a head? What kind of monster was he?

“Why did you save me?” he asked, his voice low.

“Because Elio needs you. In his ‘script,’ you are an indispensable part. A key player.”

“Alright, enough small talk.” She stood up and walked over to him, standing by his bedside. The height difference was… intimidating. Her shadow fell over him. “Now, it’s your turn to make a choice.”

“A choice?”

“Yes.” She bent down slightly, her eyes gazing into his. Her beauty was overwhelming, but her aura was suffocating. “We never force anyone. You have two choices.”

“First, join us—the Stellaron Hunters. And embark on another, absolutely not boring life.”

“Second,” she continued, her voice soft, “tell us where you want to go. Your hometown, or anywhere else. We will safely send you there, and then, we will never meet again.”

This choice seemed fair, but… “My hometown? Where… where am I from?”

“The Xianzhou,” Kafka softly uttered the word.

Xianzhou… The word was like a key, violently prying open a sealed, blood-soaked door in his mind!

BOOM—!

It wasn’t a memory. It was a sensory assault. Endless white light! Golden arrows of judgment raining from the sky! The smell of burning metal and ozone. The shriek of a war horn. The feeling of… falling. The desperate, final screams of… of…

“NEERGUL—!!!”

“Ugh ah—!” A violent, tearing headache instantly struck. He clutched his head, collapsing back onto the bed, a scream caught in his throat as his mind fractured.

“Listen to me… don’t think about it.” A hand wearing a purple glove gently pressed on his head. Kafka’s voice, now soft and soothing, seemed to carry a strange magic. The tearing pain slowly, agonizingly, subsided.

“See? Past memories are poison to you now. Even so, do you still want to choose to go back?”

He gasped for breath, his forehead covered in cold sweat. The feeling of that moment was so real, so desperate. Go back? His body, his soul, instinctively recoiled in terror.

“I…” He looked up at her, his choice made by that agonizing pain. “I want to stay here.”

Hearing his answer, Kafka’s face showed a predictable, satisfied smile. “A wise choice. Welcome to the Stellaron Hunters, Orion.”

She stepped back, her professional, yet alluring demeanor returning. “Oh, and…” She suddenly blinked, her expression turning playful. “Please forget those absurd and melodramatic delusions you had earlier… ‘Main wife,’ ‘new lover,’ ‘contending for ownership’… They’re too unhealthy.”

He froze. His cheeks, which had been pale from pain, now felt a little hot. She was referring to the little scenario he had just imagined…

Wait. How did she know?

“However…” she leaned close again, her voice dropping to a seductive whisper, her breath like an orchid as she leaned close to his ear. Her wine-red eyes held a dangerous, alluring smile.

“…Why not tell me directly? Maybe I’ll agree.”

His heart skipped a beat. Looking at this dangerous and captivating woman, he found that he felt no repulsion.

Instead… he was somewhat drawn to her. This… was going to be an interesting life indeed.