Honkai Star Rail: My Death Feeds Their Madness — Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Imminent Death

[Remaining Lifespan: 100 days, 5 hours, 20 minutes, 13 seconds]

The translucent blue text hovered in the air, a silent countdown visible only to Kagashi. He acted as if the floating numbers did not exist, allowing them to dissolve into the quiet atmosphere of the bamboo house. A calm, breezy smile rested on his face as he set a porcelain plate of seasonal pastries onto the wooden table.

“Senior, may I ask if Teacher’s research… has come to a temporary conclusion yet?”

Yu Qingtu sighed, a sound heavy with helplessness. “It has been over a hundred years. When will you finally be willing to drop that stiff address and call me Sister Qingtu? That woman Ruan Mei truly raised such a stubborn, rigid student.”

She cast a sideways glance at Kagashi. Trying to coax this rule-abiding man into changing his habits was harder than ascending the heavens. Only the Aeons knew how many inflexible, dead concepts Ruan Mei had drilled into his mind.

A hint of apology flickered across Kagashi’s restrained features, but he offered no verbal rebuttal. Toward the woman seated before him, who possessed a classical elegance and the outward appearance of someone in her late twenties, he maintained impeccable etiquette.

Many Amber Eras ago, Yu Qingtu had already secured her seat in the Genius Society. Much like his teacher Ruan Mei, she harbored a fondness for ancient music and the art of mixing drinks, though their temperaments could not be more different. To the outside world, Yu Qingtu was known as a quirky, brilliant pharmacist. To him, she had transitioned from an indifferent stranger to someone who was… amiable.

Perhaps it was because his mastery over pastries happened to satisfy the notoriously picky palate of this senior genius.

Yet, rules were rules. The hierarchy of seniority could not be disrupted, and proper etiquette could not be broken. If he slipped, Teacher would be unhappy.

It had been exactly one hundred and fifty-seven years since the last time Teacher was unhappy with him. Just as mortals forget the mundane unpleasantries of their childhood, the passage of over a century had blurred the exact reason for her displeasure in his mind. He only vaguely recalled that it involved a breach of protocol.

The consequence had been a punishment of five days without his life-sustaining medicine, coupled with solitary confinement. It was not until a virulent illness nearly claimed his life that Teacher finally unsealed the door to that small, pitch-black room.

In Kagashi’s deeply ingrained understanding, failing to use the proper verbal titles constituted a breach of those very rules.

“I can already guess what you are about to say,” Yu Qingtu murmured, reading the serene stubbornness in his eyes. “‘How could a junior disrupt the hierarchy?'”

“Senior is Member Number Fifty-Five of the Genius Society. How could a junior disrupt the hierarchy?”

A perfect prediction.

“You have already completed your apprenticeship,” Yu Qingtu said, rolling her eyes with a touch of irritation. “There is no such thing as disrupting the hierarchy anymore. Even within the Genius Society itself, there are plenty of eccentric fools who show absolutely no respect to their seniors.”

She leaned forward, her tone sharpening. “Besides, your teacher is not a genius of social graces, and I have never seen her treat me like a respected senior. She refuses to even see you now, yet you still defend her so fiercely?”

“A teacher for a day is a parent for a lifetime. This junior cannot bring shame upon Teacher.”

“Stubborn temper. Fine, have it your way.” Yu Qingtu waved her hand dismissively. “Your birthday is exactly one hundred days from now. What gift do you want?”

“A gift from a genius, no matter what it is, is a deep honor for this junior.”

Kagashi maintained his flawless, polite smile, smoothly steering the conversation back to his original concern. “Senior has not yet answered my question. Teacher’s research…”

“It is not over. That woman has locked herself away for decades. If I could not still detect her biological life signs, I would suspect she had died in that laboratory.”

“Thank you for informing me, Senior.”

“Little Fellow, sit down. I have some things to ask you.” Yu Qingtu’s eyes darted toward the empty chair, signaling him not to just stand there like a wooden post.

Kagashi hesitated for a fraction of a second before taking his seat, his posture perfectly upright across from her.

“As long as it does not involve Teacher’s privacy, I will tell you everything I know.”

“Do not worry. Although it involves privacy, it is not hers. It is yours.”

Yu Qingtu narrowed her long, slender eyes. The casual elegance in her expression gradually gave way to a heavy seriousness. “Tell me honestly. Does your sudden completion of apprenticeship have anything to do with you trying to dissuade Ruan Mei from conducting that forbidden research?”

‘…’ Kagashi lowered his gaze. After a long stretch of silence, he shook his head slightly. “I cannot fathom Teacher’s thoughts.”

Yu Qingtu immediately had her answer. As a genius in the field of chemistry, she naturally crossed paths with the domain of life sciences. How could she not see that Ruan Mei was deep into a forbidden project attempting to resurrect the deceased? And those deceased were none other than Ruan Mei’s own parents.

Never interfering in another member’s project was the most basic etiquette within the Genius Society. But that did not stop Yu Qingtu from grumbling in the quiet of her own mind. How could a woman who so casually disregarded the fundamental laws of biology raise such a rule-abiding, inflexible student?

Could it be that he was expelled and reduced to this state simply because he broke her rules and dared to talk back?

“If I had been the one to find you back then, cured your illness, and taken you as my student, you certainly would not be as rigid as you are today.”

Kagashi offered only a quiet, gentle smile in response.

Yu Qingtu had long since grown accustomed to his quiet temperament. After elegantly finishing the last of the delicate pastries, a hint of satisfaction smoothed the lines on her brow.

“Alright, Little Fellow, I should be going. But before I leave, I want to ask you one final question.”

“Please speak, Senior.”

“Do you admire… no, I should say, do you like Ruan Mei? From the perspective of a man looking at a woman.”

“Senior, please do not tease me.” Kagashi’s voice remained even, devoid of any ripple. “I have only the utmost respect for Teacher. How could I harbor such disrespectful and absurd feelings?”

“Is that so…”

Gazing into Kagashi’s perfectly candid eyes, Yu Qingtu found no trace of a lie. Naturally, she could not detect any hidden, burning affection either.

Yet, a deep sense of strangeness lingered in her heart. The primary source of this feeling was the architecture standing not far from this bamboo house. It was an exact, flawless replica of Ruan Mei’s ancestral home.

Yu Qingtu had walked through it. The layout, the furniture, the very atmosphere was identical in every minute detail. She could not tell if the original structure had been moved here intact, or if Kagashi had built it from the ground up with his own hands. If it was the latter, what was the point of constructing such a massive tribute only to leave it empty, yet carefully cleaning it every day to keep it spotless?

In comparison, his habit of sending Plum Blossom Wine to Ruan Mei on time every single year seemed like the entirely normal behavior of a devoted student.

Unable to unravel the mystery, Yu Qingtu could only attribute the strange dynamic to the fact that both teacher and student were utter eccentrics.

“…See you next time, Little Fellow.” With a graceful wave of her hand, Yu Qingtu collected the ten sealed jars of Plum Blossom Wine resting beside her.

“Safe travels, Senior. When the Plum Blossom Wine is delivered, please remember to leave a message for Teacher. Remind her to maintain a regular routine and to eat on time.”

“You have been saying that exact phrase for decades. Do not worry.”

As for whether Ruan Mei would actually listen, that was entirely her own business.

Kagashi escorted Yu Qingtu to the boarding ramp of her starship, standing quietly as he watched her prepare for departure. Once the boarding sequence began, he turned his back and began walking toward the replica residence.

From the viewing deck of the ship, Yu Qingtu was still watching him. Seeing Kagashi move to clean the one-to-one replica home right on schedule, she felt a sudden realization. Between the brilliant teacher and the quiet student, the student was actually the far more baffling one.

Unable to figure out the depths of his mind, she shook her head helplessly and withdrew her gaze as the engines ignited.

“Perhaps this is what they mean when they say a genius is not a genius in every field.”

Only when the subtle, overwhelming presence of the Genius Society member had completely faded from the atmosphere did Kagashi finally allow himself to breathe a heavy sigh.

The facade shattered.

His originally healthy, ruddy complexion instantly drained, turning a sickly, deathly ashen. The illusion of youth melted away, his posture sagging as the dark hair at his temples rapidly frosted into a stark, brittle white.

A violent fit of coughing wracked his frail frame. A thick, metallic taste blocked his throat, the dark crimson liquid nearly overflowing from the corners of his pale lips.

He was about to die.

Admittedly, he had absorbed a vast amount of biological knowledge during his time under Ruan Mei. He knew of countless methods to artificially extend his failing life.

But there was no need.

As a Short-Life Species, reaching a lifespan of one hundred and seventy-five years was fulfilling enough.

Similar to the protagonists in the old tales he occasionally read, Kagashi possessed a system of his own. However, his system did not grant him heaven-defying strength or reality-bending cheat abilities.

The only thing the system provided was: Life.

To be born as a mortal, to die as a mortal, repeating the cycle endlessly through the ages. Natural death was the fundamental law of intelligent life, as well as a quiet blessing. He would not easily break that sacred cycle.

Setting aside his distant teacher Ruan Mei, the eccentric Yu Qingtu was a completely different variable. If she were to learn the truth about his impending death, there was no telling what a genius who had lived for untold Amber Eras might do to him in the name of salvation.

Therefore, there was no need to tell them.

But before the final breath left his lungs, there were still a few quiet tasks that needed to be completed.