Honkai Star Rail: My Chat Group is Full of Broken Timelines — Chapter 73

Chapter 73: A New Voyage and an Echo from the Past

In a distant galaxy, a sudden violet rain began to fall.

At first, it was merely a scattering of purple motes piercing the deep void, like stardust flicked from the fingers of a mischievous child. But in the span of a breath, that gentle shower swelled into a surging river of light.

Billions of arrows, condensed from the very fabric of the void light-years away, materialized in an instant. Their tips flowed with the unmistakable, lethal sharpness of The Hunt, their fletchings trailing violet tails of flame as they descended in a dense, suffocating blanket over the entire star system.

They were no longer loose strands of rain, but edges calibrated by an invisible hand. Every trajectory was as precise as a line drawn with a compass, carrying the weight of an absolute judgment as they swept toward the lone figure standing in the Simulated Universe.

Kazuki stood before the torrent of light, making no move to dodge or flee.

He knew. From the moment Lan had nocked the first arrow, the outcome had been decided.

The next second, the arrows of light pierced the very barriers of time and space.

Like the most precise surgical scalpels, they bypassed all irrelevant stardust and stray energy fields, plunging straight into Kazuki’s body.

There was no earth-shaking explosion, no ear-splitting roar. There was only a soft, collective rustle, like the last batch of late autumn leaves settling upon the ground.

Billions of light arrows bloomed from his form, yet left no gruesome wounds. The moment the arrowheads entered his flesh, they dissolved into pale purple points of light, coursing through his blood vessels before finally converging at his heart to form a gently pulsing cocoon of light.

Kazuki looked down at his own body, impaled by the countless shafts of light until he resembled a carefully carved purple hedgehog.

Immediately, the scenery of the Simulated Universe shattered like a pane of glass. He snapped his eyes open, finding himself still seated in the testing chair in Herta’s office. A faint, lingering numbness tingled on his forehead where the phantom arrows had passed.

“And there we have it. Lord Lan has turned me into a porcupine again,” he murmured, rubbing his chest, which still felt strangely warm. “Still, every time I take a full volley from Him, the Mara-Struck state calms down quite a bit.”

Herta was raising a delicate eyebrow at the data cascading down a light screen. Without looking up, she commented, “The Hunt’s power is tailored to counter the Abundance. It’s naturally going to be more effective than my medicine.” Her fingertip slid across the screen, pulling up the fluctuation curves of the energies within Kazuki’s body. The powers of Abundance and the violent Mara, once tangled like a chaotic mess of yarn, were now as neat as combed silk. The crimson curve representing the Mara was particularly noteworthy, its amplitude so flat it was almost docile.

The Simulated Universe project was already a resounding success, and Kazuki had deservedly become its chief tester.

During his very first test, he had barely encountered a simulation of Yaoshi, the Aeon of Abundance—whose brow was lightly touched by a drooping rice ear from His fingertip—before he turned around and ran headfirst into the endless volley of light arrows chasing the Aeon.

That was the first time he had faced Lan’s attack head-on in the simulation.

The therapeutic effect was more potent than all of Herta’s previous treatments combined. It was, as she said, a proof of The Hunt’s specialized power.

Because of this, every time Kazuki tested the Simulated Universe thereafter, he would deliberately acquire more Blessings of Abundance just to call down Lan’s trans-galactic judgment upon himself.

“At this rate, the energies in your body should stabilize within half a year,” Herta stated, archiving the data. She finally looked up at him, her amethyst-like eyes hiding a trace of an almost imperceptible question. “Once the Mara-Struck condition is completely cured… what are your plans?”

If Kazuki’s condition was cured, there would be no real reason for him to remain at the space station. She watched him quietly, observing his reaction.

“Well… how should I put it?” Kazuki mused. “Regarding the matter of the other Ms. Herta, and the business with the Romanticists… an outsider like me can’t really help you or Mr. Screwllum. I suppose I might try wandering the galaxy again?”

As for Tingyun’s situation… Herta and Screwllum still hadn’t managed to contact Ruan Mei. For a member of the Genius Society, being out of touch for a few years was hardly unusual. Ruan Mei, in particular, was known for venturing into remote, uninhabited star systems to conduct her experiments—places where even long-range remote sensing failed to penetrate, leaving even Herta and Screwllum helpless.

Herta’s fingertip tapped lightly on the tabletop, making a soft, rhythmic thud… thud… sound. “Suit yourself.”

“Could it be that Ms. Herta can’t bear to see me go?” Kazuki suddenly grinned, deliberately leaning closer, eager to see what expression this particular Genius would make.

“Who cares about you?” Herta abruptly turned her face away. “It’s just that once you’re gone, I won’t be able to find such a useful experimental subject to test data on.”

What Herta said wasn’t entirely false. Kazuki’s body was a unique cocktail, mixing the powers of four different Paths: Abundance, Erudition, Nihility, and Destruction. This peculiar blend often attracted the attention of certain Aeons—especially Aha and Fuli, who had previously paid her simulations almost no mind. Now, every time Kazuki stepped into the Simulated Universe, those two seemed to love popping out for a visit.

‘There’s nothing I can do about being so popular with the Aeons,’Kazuki thought with a mental shrug,’but there are some I can’t seem to call out no matter what.’Aside from the aforementioned Aeons, Kazuki had never once laid eyes on IX of The Enigmata, Oroboros of The Voracity, Xipe of The Harmony, Ena of The Order, HooH of The Equilibrium, Idrila of The Beauty, or Long of The Permanence.’Well… Tayzzyronth isn’t here either,’ he added internally. Herta hadn’t begun the Swarm Disaster experiments yet, which meant Ruan Mei hadn’t created the simulated Aeon of Propagation.

“Being able to stably draw out a few Aeons is already an impressive feat,” Herta said, having finished her analysis of all the data. She looked up.

“Next, Screwllum, Stephen, and I will be starting two projects on the Emperor’s War, so don’t you go leaving just yet…” she added suddenly.

“Two projects on the Emperor’s War?” Kazuki blinked. That didn’t seem right. ‘Logically, Herta’s Simulated Universe is for studying Aeons. They haven’t even finished with The Propagation, so why are they preparing to study the Emperor?’

“That’s right,” Herta confirmed. “To face that kind of trouble, the two generations of Emperors will be excellent reference objects for me and Screwllum. For instance, the progression from Rupert I’s Anti-Life Equation to Rupert II’s Anti-Organic Equation, and then to that guy’s Equation of Destruction… there has to be a gradual process. We’ll find many things worthy of reference in all that.”

“Then… since Ms. Herta’s experiment needs me, I’ll stay for the time being,” Kazuki agreed, sensing the unspoken request in her words. “I’ll consider whether to leave after all of your projects are completed.” Besides, it wasn’t as if he had a clear destination in mind.

The corners of Herta’s mouth curled up into a fleeting, almost invisible smile before she quickly composed her features back into a stern mask. “Consider yourself sensible. Don’t forget to be here at nine tomorrow morning to test the new module. The simulated Aha recently set up some ‘Try Not to Laugh Challenge’ and wants to see if you can last three minutes.”

…

Leaving Herta’s office, Kazuki returned to his room on the space station.

The room was spartan, devoid of any personal decor. In Kazuki’s heart, this was just a temporary stop, a place to rest before moving on.

“Let’s listen to today’s interstellar news,” he said to the empty room, casually tapping the communicator on the table. After a burst of clear static, the characteristic intro of the Interstellar Peace Corporation’s broadcast filled the air, a steady baritone and a clear female voice alternating in a standard, polished broadcasting tone.

“Welcome to today’s Interstellar Peace Broadcast.”

“This is the Interstellar Peace Broadcast. Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening to our audience across the galaxy.”

“The galaxy is vast and boundless, but we are not alone. The Astral Express, which once linked galactic civilizations with its Silver Rails and brought about the first era of prosperity, has recently been confirmed to have re-began from Two-Phase Paradise. As the Silver Rails of Trailblaze are once again cast toward the myriad realms of the galaxy, and as the train’s whistle pierces the silent nebulae, do we still remember those heroes from beyond who once stepped aboard? They may not have left their names, but they carved the very trajectory of the Trailblaze onto the star charts.”

“Next, please let us look back together at the contributions the heroes from beyond, the Trailblazers of the Astral Express, have brought to the galaxy…”

As the two hosts on the broadcast began to review the historical deeds of the Astral Express, Kazuki’s mind was already elsewhere.

‘The Astral Express has actually set sail? It seems… the start of the main story isn’t far off.”The current Astral Express should have just departed. The only two passengers should be Mr. Yang and the Void Archives… and Void Archives probably hasn’t been thrown off the train by Himeko yet. March 7th hasn’t been picked up, and Dan Heng is likely still drifting somewhere in the sea of stars…’

Just as Kazuki was lost in thought, the IPC Broadcast’s recollection of the Astral Express concluded, and the next news module began.

“Next, we have an exciting piece of news. Since the Amber Lord of Preservation, Qlipoth, eliminated the Swarm King of The Propagation, Tayzzyronth, various realms in the universe have continued to be troubled by scattered Swarms, but the resistance has never ceased. Today, the Interstellar Peace Corporation’s observation station has sent back a report: the Glamoth star system, which was submerged by the Swarm in Amber Era 2156, has reappeared within our observable range. After preliminary detection, all Coleopteran creatures in that star system have vanished. The Interstellar Peace Corporation will continue to follow up on this civilization reborn from the ashes of the Swarm…”

“The Interstellar Peace Corporation has formed a special team, and this station will continue to follow the process of re-establishing links with the civilization of the Glamoth star system. This civilization, reborn from the tidal waves of the Swarm, may provide us with new clues for fighting The Propagation. Let us look forward together to what kind of resilient flowers Glamoth can bloom upon the ruins.”

The broadcast continued, but Kazuki had fallen into deep thought. Glamoth being observed again meant that Firefly’s world was merging with this galaxy.

The past, anchored by Nous, would eventually intertwine with the present.

But a new thought suddenly struck him, a question that sent a chill through his contemplation. If Firefly didn’t join the Stellaron Hunters, then who would fill the position of the Fourth Doom of Nihility?

Would it be a new character, one who had never appeared before? Or would fate, in its inexorable way, simply push another person into that vacant, cursed position?