Honkai Star Rail: Saving the World with a Mobile Game — Chapter 12

Chapter 12: I Will Replay “The Absolutely Safe Okhema”

Ash turned his head at the sudden sound of stifled laughter. A few paces away, Phainon was brandishing a sleek communication tablet, mercilessly shoving the glowing screen into Mydei’s face.

The towering warrior had one massive hand clamped over his forehead, his expression caught somewhere between deep exhaustion and utter speechlessness.

On the tablet’s display, the live broadcast had officially crossed the borders into the territory of Okhema. Right on cue, the digital, in-game version of Mydei made his grand, dramatic entrance on the stream.

Ash couldn’t help the quiet chuckle that escaped his lips. He shot Cyrene a helpless, knowing glance.

The pink-haired girl merely let out a soft, airy “hee” of amusement. The interruption hadn’t dampened her spirits in the slightest; the radiant smile on her face remained untouched. If anything, Ash’s reaction seemed to validate her earlier teasing. She looked like a cat that had successfully stolen the cream, her delicate features glowing with a secret, triumphant delight.

Without a hint of hesitation, Cyrene reached out and took Ash’s hand, her slender fingers lacing earnestly through his. “There is no need to rush into promising me anything right this second.”

Her voice was a soft, melodic hum against the ambient noise of the room. “Because we still have tomorrow. And the tomorrow after that. The tomorrow after the tomorrow after tomorrow… and countless more unknown tomorrows waiting for us.”

“I will always stay by Trailblaze’s side. I will always stay by your side~”

The girl tilted her head, her pink hair cascading over her shoulder as she offered him a smile so pure it made his chest tighten.

Looking down at her, Ash genuinely hoped that this warmth was the true shape of eternity, rather than just another fleeting moment trapped within the predetermined, tragic cycles of Amphoreus’s future.

“Alright.” Ash squeezed her hand, a deep sense of relief washing over him. “Then hold onto that wish list. Wait until the dust settles to share it with me.”

He paused, a playful glint returning to his eyes. “I’ll also need to formally invite you to visit the Astral Express as a guest. Oh, wait…”

Ash caught himself. He had been about to say that perhaps he should ask Pom-Pom to print another permanent ticket for the Astral Express. He wanted to fulfill the Trailblazing journey that had been cut short in the dream—to take her across the stars for real.

But it was still too early to make such sweeping declarations. The Astral Express Crew had only just pierced the veil of Amphoreus, and his own faction was still fighting tooth and nail to let this world ascend and achieve its rebirth.

This wasn’t the end of the line. It was the true beginning.

Leaving those unspoken promises for the future, Ash gently pulled Cyrene to her feet, turning his attention back to the digital chaos unfolding in the outside world.

Phainon and Mydei were currently glued to the main storyline.

Over on Guinaifen’s livestream, the narrative was moving at breakneck speed. After Dan Heng and Stelle crossed paths with Phainon and Tribbie, the group had handled a labyrinth of twists and turns. They had successfully evacuated the desperate residents of Januspolis and were now escorting them toward the supposed safety of Okhema. Along this harrowing journey, Tribios’s true name had finally been revealed to the players.

Through Phainon’s in-game narration, the audience was hit with a massive lore drop: the end of the world was imminent. The once-great Titan had degenerated into the Mad King, and the ravenous minions of strife were gnawing at the edges of reality with every passing second.

The Chrysos Heirs were destined to strike down the Titan, reclaim the Primal Fire, and ultimately complete the Re-creation!

It was a grand, sweeping epic of a backstory. It sounded like classic, high-fantasy flavor text—until the game decided to make it violently real. The absolute second Guinaifen’s party stepped foot inside Okhema, the screen exploded into a cinematic nightmare.

Blazing meteorites tore through the sky, shattering the clouds. The fanatical followers of Nikador of strife were besieging the city in full force. Okhema, the Holy City, was already drowning in a sea of roaring flames, the desperate wails of its citizens echoing through the crumbling streets.

[My god! How is it already like this the second I open my eyes? Is this a movie-level opening sequence?!]

[Wait, are we doing this for real again? I thought saving the world was just a side gig! This is a literal apocalypse!]

[I’m putting “The Absolutely Safe Okhema” on loop!]

[Meteorites! Actual meteorites are falling on my head!]

[Help, I don’t want to be a Trailblazer anymore! I just like to tell little lies on the internet; I’ve always been a law-abiding citizen of the Xianzhou!]

True to the inherent virtues of the Nameless, they saved whoever crossed their path. Faced with the encroaching tide of strife’s minions, Dan Heng and Stelle drew their weapons without a second thought, diving into the fray to fight Nikador’s forces.

As they carved a path forward, the duo encountered Trianne and Trinnon, followed shortly by Mydei.

[I recognize them! These are the Three Children of Fate from the promotional PV! Three lolis, triple the happiness!]

[Trinnon is so cute, Trianne is so cute, I’m dying of cuteness overload!]

[Upstairs, open the door! The Cloud Knights are here to deliver some warmth to your degenerate soul!]

[Is this red guy that lion warrior from the PV? Why is he so arrogant?]

[Move aside, don’t hold me back, I need to spar with this guy!]

[Upstairs, literally no one is stopping you…]

Back in the real world, the CG of Mydei’s grand entrance finished playing.

Phainon tapped the scrolling chat on the tablet, then slowly lifted his gaze to the real Mydei standing right in front of him. He didn’t say a word. He just smiled. A slow, agonizingly smug smile.

“Mydei, haha…”

As the laughter bubbled up, Phainon cleared his throat and began mimicking the dialogue from the game, deliberately dropping his voice an octave to capture that oppressive, edgy tone:

“Listen closely… I have told you since the moment our paths crossed. Whether in the ashes of the past or the uncertainty of the future, the Xuanfeng People will never agree to shake hands and make peace with your kind!”

Phainon broke character, snickering uncontrollably. “Hahaha~ Mydei, shake hands and make peace…”

Mydei: “…”

The massive warrior crossed his thick arms over his chest. His expression was carved from stone, completely unreadable, but the heavy, rhythmic sound of his breathing betrayed his internal suffering.

Everything either erupts in silence or perishes in silence. If not for the sheer lack of noise, the awkwardness in the room would have been deafening.

In the main storyline, Mydei’s first appearance consisted of him mocking Phainon while delivering incredibly edgy, self-serious one-liners. At the time it was written, it was meant to sound domineering and badass. But hearing it played back now, in a room full of the actual people involved, made it exceptionally difficult to keep a straight face.

It made sense in the context of the lore; the Xuanfeng People were still blindly chasing a hollow, meaningless glory, so naturally, their representative would act like an arrogant powerhouse.

“Family, are the character models in this game always this insanely detailed?”

On the stream, Guinaifen was practically vibrating with excitement, her gamer instincts itching for action. “Since the Trailblazers are playable, do you think the game Author is going to put these local characters on a banner in the future?”

She really didn’t want to empty her wallet, but the temptation was physically hurting her. She had already been having the time of her life farming mobs with Imbibitor Lunae and the Harmony Trailblazer. If the free-to-play characters felt this incredibly smooth, what kind of monstrous kits would the premium, paid characters have?

The locals of Amphoreus were so visually distinct and dripping with personality that Guinaifen was genuinely hyped to pull for them.

While she was busy fantasizing about gacha mechanics, the in-game party finally arrived at the Cloudstone Market.

The area was an absolute wreck. The once-bustling commercial hub was reduced to smoking rubble, swarming with grotesque monsters. It was a tactical nightmare.

“There’s no one nearby; the citizens should have already been evacuated,” the in-game Phainon analyzed. “But this is the Cloudstone Market, a vital residential and economic artery of the Holy City. If we try to force a breakthrough with raw power, it will definitely cause catastrophic, unnecessary collateral damage…”

The digital Phainon paused, a confident smirk touching his lips. “However… our reinforcements have arrived.”

[Wait, we have reinforcements?!]

The moment the chat fired off the question, the atmosphere on the screen shifted. The ambient lighting dimmed, the roaring flames of the city seemingly choked out by a sudden, suffocating chill.

“Lord Phainon. And… our two esteemed guests.”

From the shadows ahead, amethyst butterflies fluttered into the light, dancing elegantly around ornate, gothic pauldrons. With every step the figure took, a dark, creeping blight bloomed across the cobblestones, paving a path of withered flora at the end of the long road.

The suffocating scent of death permeated the air, wrapped in fragrant, ghostly murmurs as the woman stepped out from beyond the line of sight.

Step by agonizing step, wherever her boots touched, all living things withered, curled, and turned to ash.

“Welcome to Okhema.”

The livestream chat completely froze for three seconds.

[Uh… reinforcements? Just this? One person?]

But the confusion didn’t last. Someone in the chat finally connected the dots, and the text box exploded into a blur of frantic scrolling.

[Holy crap! Isn’t this the mysterious butterfly woman from the second PV?! The Ashen Hand attendant who carries a literal dragon coffin?! She actually showed up here?!]

[This pressure… her ability is terrifyingly obvious, right? Those monsters just turned to dust the second her aura touched them!]

[Wait, this is too scary, family! I feel like my soul is going to be corrupted just by looking at the screen! I literally forgot how to breathe!]

[Did the game Author actually drop the final boss in the starting village? Interesting move. Get ready to wipe, kids…]

[Are you guys blind? She was introduced as reinforcements! She’s one of ours!]

Castorice’s arrival was a localized extinction event. The impenetrable wall of monsters dissolved into ash, instantly clearing the path forward. She turned slightly, preparing to lead the Trailblazers deeper into the ruins.

“In the face of death, even strife will hesitate.” Her voice was a chilling, emotionless whisper that seemed to echo from the grave. “I… am the shadow of death.”

Dan Heng and Stelle instinctively stepped forward to follow her, but her next sentence made the entire audience gasp, the hair on their arms standing straight up.

“Please… keep a distance of exactly five paces.”

In the real world, Ash was staring at the viewer count on Guinaifen’s livestream, which had effortlessly shattered the ten thousand mark. Just as he was marveling at the engagement, he felt a weak, trembling tug on his sleeve.

“Lord…”

Ash turned his head.

He found Castorice standing right beside him. Her fingers were gripping the fabric of his sleeve so tightly her knuckles were white. The terrifying ‘shadow of death’ currently looked like a nervous, deeply unsettled wreck.

She was staring wide-eyed at the livestream screen, her face burning with a deep, soul-crushing embarrassment as she listened to her own chuunibyou dialogue broadcast to tens of thousands of people.

Ash instantly understood the sheer magnitude of her cringe. A soft, affectionate smile broke across his face. He reached out, gently pulling the trembling Castorice into his arms, and raised a hand to cover her eyes.

“There, there,” Ash murmured, patting her back soothingly. “We won’t watch anymore. Don’t be afraid, it’s over now. Don’t be afraid~!”