Honkai Star Rail: My Chat Group is Full of Broken Timelines — Chapter 55

Chapter 56: The River-Guardian and the Return to Reality

“I must admit, I did not expect someone to actually find their way here.”

When the crimson figure spoke, her voice was like the chime of jade bells submerged in a cool mountain stream—impossibly clear and refreshing, yet carrying an ancient, deep chill.

Acheron gazed at the man slowly approaching, the vibrant red that defined her form swaying gently in the colorless expanse. A flicker of genuine surprise touched her features. In this shadow cast by Nihility, consciousness was a fragile thing. The slightest lapse in focus, and one’s mind would be utterly consumed by IX. To remain lucid and journey this far was a feat achieved by less than one in ten thousand.

Kazuki offered a bitter smile, a bead of cold sweat tracing a path down his cheek before dropping onto the water-like surface beneath his feet, creating a shallow, silent ripple. “If I had a choice, believe me, I’d rather be anywhere else right now.”

He could feel it—the “color” of his very being was slowly fading, as if being wicked away by an invisible sponge. His consciousness grew heavy, a leaden weight threatening to drag him under. If this continued, he knew he would become just another Self-Annihilator, a hollow shell that had lost all sense of self.

Acheron’s gaze settled upon him, and the crimson of her existence seemed to deepen, growing more intense. “I can see that.”

Half of the color had already bled from Kazuki’s form. While he wasn’t yet in her extreme state—a being reduced to a single, stark stroke of bright red against the gray—it was clear he was not far from that final, irreversible step. To have held on for so long within the shadow of IX was, in itself, a proof of an extraordinary will.

She paused, her voice softening almost imperceptibly. “Is there someone waiting for you on the outside?”

“Yes.” Kazuki’s voice, though strained, suddenly found a new firmness, like a match struck against the oppressive dark. “There are many people waiting for me.”

As he spoke, his thoughts flashed to them. To Firefly, whose affection had taken on a fiercely protective, almost yandere edge. To the other three members of the chat group, scattered across worlds but bound by their shared journey. To Tingyun, for whom he had fought so desperately. Even to General Jing Yuan and the others on the Xianzhou. They were all waiting.

“Follow me.” Acheron nodded, a simple, decisive gesture. She turned, and the crimson slash of her being began to move, carving a distinct path through the gray, featureless space. “In the name of the River-Guardian, I will ferry you out of His shadow.”

Kazuki hurried to follow, his footsteps making faint, splashing sounds against the liquid nothingness underfoot.

The space remained unnervingly silent, the only sound the soft echo of their passage—two lonely figures confronting an endless, uncaring void.

“Still,” Kazuki couldn’t help but speak, his voice a small rebellion against the crushing silence, “I never expected to meet a Self-Annihilator like you, one who still retains their consciousness, here within the shadow of Nihility.”

“I have always been here,” Acheron replied, her tone calm and steady. “Ferrying the blood-sin spirits trapped under His shadow. You are the first living person I have encountered.” Her form rippled in the crimson light, seeming as though she might dissipate into the gray at any moment, yet she moved with an unshakable, grounded stability.

“How should I address you?”

“Just Acheron is fine.”

“Acheron… It suits you,” Kazuki said with a faint smile, inclining his head slightly. “Thank you for your help today, Miss Acheron. My name is Kazuki. I’m from the Xianzhou.”

“From the Xianzhou?” Acheron paused her stride, the crimson of her form turning toward him. “It is not so uncommon for those from the Xianzhou to find themselves shrouded by the shadow of Nihility.”

Compared to the often-hazy state of her memories in the physical universe, her mind here was far clearer. She recalled the affliction unique to the Xianzhou, the condition known as “Mara-Struck.” The way it eroded the self, the “non-retention” of memory and identity, was remarkably similar to the path of a Self-Annihilator. The only difference was that the people of the Xianzhou would inevitably be consumed by the Mara before they could fully dissolve into nothingness, their lives ended by its violent curse.

“It’s a long story,” Kazuki sighed. “I… I had to actively trigger the manifestation of the Xianzhou people’s collective will. The price is that I will likely suffer from the lingering wounds of the Mara-Struck state, or perhaps even the Other Transformation.”

He was only in his early twenties, an age that should be defined by boundless energy and potential. Instead, he was now facing a chronic, degenerative ailment that typically afflicted veterans thousands of years old. The absurdity of it was staggering—like a two-year-old child suddenly developing Alzheimer’s. It was a fate so ridiculous it made one’s heart ache.

Acheron did not press for details. Her voice was soft as she replied, “When one travels the galaxy, there are always moments when there is no other choice.” She had seen countless souls sacrifice themselves for the sake of protecting others. The fierce determination burning in Kazuki’s eyes was identical to theirs.

“The person you fought so hard to protect,” she asked suddenly, a trace of warmth weaving through her cool tone, “were you able to save them?”

Kazuki’s pace faltered, and a flicker of pained confusion crossed his face. “I don’t know.” He had been trapped in this shadow for far too long. Everything in the outside world had become a blurred, distant memory, like a Phantasm of the real thing.

Was Tingyun safe? Was Firefly okay? The worries were like a swarm of fine needles, pricking gently but persistently at his heart. All he could do was repeat a silent prayer in the depths of his mind. Please, be safe…

The two continued forward in silence. After an unknowable stretch of time, the gray ahead began to recede, giving way to a hazy, ethereal white light.

The light was faint, yet it carried with it a long-lost “sense of reality,” a texture and presence utterly alien to the dead silence of Nihility. The water-like surface broke here, forming an invisible boundary. On the other side, the white light flowed like a gentle current, and through it, the faint outlines of the material world were just barely visible.

“We are here.” Acheron stopped, the vibrant red of her form appearing exceptionally warm against the backdrop of white light. “Step through, and you will be able to return to the real world.”

Kazuki stared at the shimmering curtain of light, his heart beginning to pound in his chest, a frantic, uncontrollable rhythm. He could feel the essence of the outside world bleeding through the boundary—the cold, hard tang of metal, the dry caress of wind and sand, and a faint, familiar scent that belonged only to Firefly.

“Thank you.” He turned and bowed solemnly to Acheron, a gesture of deep gratitude. “If there is ever a chance for me to help you in the future, I promise I will not hesitate.”

“There is no need.” A hint of a smile touched Acheron’s voice, and the crimson light that was her body swayed gently. “I only did what was necessary.”

She looked at Kazuki, her tone growing more sincere. “I hope that we may meet again, in a waking reality.”

Kazuki nodded vigorously, then waved to her before turning decisively toward the white light. He did not look back. Some goodbyes were best left clean and swift.

The moment he passed through the light, a powerful, irresistible pulling sensation seized him, as if his very soul was being violently stuffed back into its mortal shell.

What followed was an overwhelming, all-consuming wave of pain. The dull, grinding ache of bones grating against each other, the twisting agony of displaced internal organs, the searing burn of flesh and blood regenerating… every sensation exploded at once, forcing an involuntary groan from his lips.

Thump. Thump. Thump—

His heart hammered against his ribs, a frantic drumbeat trying to break free from its cage.

Deep within his elixir organ, the blessing of Abundance erupted like a supernova, unleashing a torrent of endless vitality that surged through his blood vessels, reaching every corner of his body. The slightly mismatched tissues that Firefly had painstakingly pieced together were reactivated. His skin tone gradually evened out, and his displaced bones snapped back into place with a series of sickening clicks. Even the air around him seemed to freshen, charged with a new aura of life.

“Three Breaths Return!”

Kazuki shot up from the bed, expelling the turbid air from his chest in a single, forceful breath that carried with it faint, bloody traces.

Before he even had a moment to adjust to the sensation of being back in his own body, he met a pair of luminous, glaze-colored eyes.

Firefly was sitting by the bed. Her eyes were red-rimmed and bloodshot, a clear sign she hadn’t slept for a very long time. Her silver-white hair was a disheveled mess, but the instant she saw him open his eyes, they burst alight with an incredible, dazzling radiance.

“Kazuki…” she whispered, her voice as hoarse and raw as if it had been scoured with sandpaper.

In the next second, she lunged forward, throwing her arms around him in a desperate, crushing hug. The force was so great it felt as if she were trying to merge him into her very bones and blood.

“Cough…” Kazuki choked, the pressure squeezing the air from his lungs. A trickle of blood leaked from the corner of his mouth; it seemed a few of his newly-repaired internal organs had been crushed again in the embrace. But he didn’t push her away. He simply raised a hand, gently patting her back in a soothing rhythm.

It’s okay.

The self-healing abilities of a Xianzhou native would repair all of this. As long as she could return to her normal self, what did a little pain matter?

“You’re finally back…” Firefly’s voice was thick with emotion, choked with unshed tears. Then, they fell without warning, hot droplets landing on the crook of his neck, searing like the flames of her armor. “I was so scared… so scared you would never wake up again…”

She held him even tighter, as if terrified that if she let go for even a second, he would dissolve back into the shadow of Nihility.

“Alright, alright, I’m back now, aren’t I?” Kazuki managed a weak smile. He raised his hand to wipe away her tears, his fingertips brushing against her cold cheek. “I’ve made you worry.”