Honkai Star Rail: Saving the World with a Mobile Game — Chapter 20

Chapter 20: A Sweet Death and an Alternate Ending

Even someone as seasoned in front of an audience as Guinaifen found that her livestream chat was spiraling completely out of control.

[What is going on here?!]

[Is this really necessary? Even if a promise wasn’t kept, is a death threat the only way to handle us?!]

[Hold on, we just broke our backs helping Okhema! Is there not a single shred of basic trust here?!]

[Why? How come? Even Castorice… I thought we were friends.]

[I feel like a total clown right now, chat. The locals treat us like garbage. Why are we even staying in this city?]

[Professor Dan Heng, do something! If we can’t win, can we at least run? Are we just going to stand here and die?]

[Don’t panic, everyone. Maybe they don’t actually want to kill us. Perhaps this is just a test of character?]

Seeing the barrage of panicked text flooding her screen, Guinaifen immediately spoke up to run damage control. “Whoa, whoa, don’t panic, family!”

“Let’s just see what she wants to ask first. There might be a twist coming up, right?”

Hoping for a sudden reversal, Guinaifen quickly clicked through the dialogue to proceed with the story.

The sudden tonal shift was incredibly jarring. Even though she could somewhat grasp why the political leaders of this world were acting so ruthlessly, judging by the community’s explosive reaction, the outrage was already beyond stopping.

Who wouldn’t lose their minds when Stelle was suddenly threatened with execution, especially when the Astral Express Crew had such a massive, dedicated fanbase?

However, the anticipated twist never came.

Aglaea simply stared down from her position of authority and posed four chillingly precise questions in succession.

“Why did you come to Amphoreus?”

“For what reason did you extend your aid to Okhema?”

“If the situation were to drastically change, would you possibly turn your blade against Okhema and its citizens?”

“That surging, unknown power within you—are you willing to use it to assist the Chrysos Heirs in deicide?”

Inside the Parlor Car of the Astral Express, Himeko fell into a long silence before her screen.

“These are all very pointed questions,” she murmured, her eyes tracking the text. “Even if this is merely a game, the one who wrote these lines clearly understands the kids’ characters perfectly. They are far too familiar with the recent circumstances of the Express.”

Mr. Yang adjusted his glasses, his expression serious. “Indeed. But since what she demands is absolute sincerity, then given the current circumstances, answering honestly should suffice.”

“There are three dialogue options for each question. handling this shouldn’t be too difficult.”

Faced with the absolute distrust of the Amphoreus locals, Himeko and Mr. Yang had no choice but to remain calm and analytical. They had been Trailblazing for a long time. This was far from the first time they had encountered hostility from a new faction. The initial landings on Jarilo-VI and the Xianzhou Luofu had been fraught with similar misunderstandings.

If anything, Aglaea’s ruthless caution only proved that she was a competent leader genuinely focusing on Okhema’s survival.

Approaching the game as a story-focused player, Himeko carefully selected the most honest answers from Stelle’s perspective. The logic held true, and she perfectly passed Aglaea’s interrogation.

Guinaifen, however, was not so fortunate.

Thinking she could game the system and trigger a hidden funny reaction, she picked the most chaotic answers at random. She ended up getting every single one wrong.

Not only did she fail, but the game offered zero mercy. Aglaea let out a disappointed sigh, stepping back as Castorice began to approach the Trailblazer, step by agonizing step.

“No need to be tense.”

“Please… relax.”

One finger.

Two fingers.

Three fingers.

Castorice gently reached toward Stelle’s pulse point. The soft, gentle smile on her face in that final moment was chillingly terrifying.

Gradually, Guinaifen’s screen faded to pitch black. A single line of blood-red text appeared in the center.

[The Trailblazer has welcomed a sweet death.]

[Holy crap?! What is this, for real?!]

[There, there. Take a deep breath. Feeling a bit dizzy from the betrayal is normal!]

[I am actually laughing out of pure anger right now. My Stelle is just gone? No resistance at all?!]

[To die by Castorice’s hand… I suppose I can die content.]

[Can the person above have some self-respect? She literally just murdered you, hello!]

“Do you think we actually would have died?”

Lounging on the comfortable chair out on the balcony, Ash asked the question casually, his eyes fixed on the floating screen displaying the livestream.

Castorice leaned in from behind him, her slender figure bending over the back of the chair to watch the chaotic chat alongside him. The faint, clean scent of her presence mingled with the evening breeze.

She remained quiet for a moment, her breath hitching slightly before her expression twisted into deep apprehension.

“My lord, actually, I should clarify…” Her voice was tight, laced with genuine anxiety. “I had already sent a secret message to Lord Phainon before the interrogation even began.”

She leaned closer, her cool skin brushing against his shoulder. “Even if Lady Aglaea were to push things that far, nothing bad would happen to you. Would you believe me?”

Ash let out a puzzled hum and tilted his head back. He caught sight of Castorice’s face, noting the nervous, almost dejected look in her eyes. The tension radiating from her was entirely real.

This scenario was not just a fictional game plot. In reality, Ash had intentionally experienced this exact sequence of events during his time in Amphoreus. The only difference was the final resolution; things had never escalated to the point where Castorice needed to beg Phainon for a rescue.

But looking at the reactions of the players and remembering the cold pragmatism of the Chrysos Heirs, it was obvious how deeply hurtful this level of distrust felt. It bordered on outright betrayal.

Ash had only asked the question as a casual observation of the game’s branching narrative. He had not expected Castorice to be so sensitive to the topic, mistakenly assuming he was subtly accusing her of harboring murderous intent.

“No, Castorice.” Ash reached up, his fingers finding her hand where it rested on the chair. He patted her knuckles gently. Her skin was cool to the touch, smooth and familiar. “Of course I know what you were thinking back then. I am not blaming you at all.”

“Look, I made your true intentions very clear in the later parts of the story.”

Having lived through the events and now watching them unfold digitally, Ash knew exactly where Castorice’s loyalties lay. Even taking a step back to view it objectively, they had barely known each other at the time. Okhema had taken her in, and on the surface, she had a duty to follow Aglaea’s commands.

Feeling the warmth of his hand and hearing the gentle reassurance in his voice, Castorice’s rigid posture melted. A visible wave of relief washed over her delicate features.

Ash’s words held true in the game’s narrative. Just as Dan Heng and Stelle were about to be executed in the canonical timeline, Phainon arrived precisely on cue.

Using his own prestigious reputation as collateral, he forcefully intervened, rescuing the two Nameless from Aglaea’s grasp. Shortly after, following a tense discussion, Castorice also stepped forward to personally vouch for them, finally convincing Aglaea to completely abandon the execution order.

Back inside the Astral Express, Mr. Yang’s brow furrowed. “This looks suspiciously like a classic interrogation tactic. One playing the bad cop, and the other swooping in as the good cop.”

With the narrative pushed to this critical juncture, relying solely on the surface-level information, it heavily implied that the Chrysos Heirs were deliberately manipulating the Astral Express Crew to force their cooperation.

Himeko, however, held a different perspective.

She rested her chin on her hand, her eyes thoughtful. After their recent interactions with Phainon and observing Aglaea’s unyielding demeanor, she doubted it was a coordinated act. The hostility had felt far too genuine.

“Regardless of their political games, as long as the kids are safe, that is what matters.” Himeko let out a soft breath of relief.

“But Welt, look at this. The game actually offers branching storylines.”

On her screen, the story had paused at the exact moment Phainon formally invited the Astral Express Crew to join the Chrysos Heirs.

A rare, glowing prompt appeared, allowing Stelle to freely decide their next course of action: Stay or Leave.

It made perfect psychological sense. After risking their lives to save a city only to be met with blades and death threats, most ordinary people would wash their hands of the entire planet.

But as the guiding parental figures of the Express, Himeko and Welt naturally leaned toward staying. March 7th’s mysterious condition was still unresolved, and the train’s missing fuel remained entirely unaccounted for. They could not simply walk away.

Himeko knew that if Stelle and Dan Heng were truly standing in that grand hall, they would swallow their pride and choose to stay.

Yet, a spark of curiosity ignited within her. This was, after all, just a simulation. What exactly would happen if they chose to walk away from Amphoreus entirely?

Noticing her hesitation, Mr. Yang leaned in closer, his own curiosity piqued.

Himeko clicked the option.

Driven by the sting of betrayal, Stelle angrily rejected the offer. After a brief, tense exchange with Castorice and Phainon, she and Dan Heng turned their backs on Okhema.

Accompanied by the sorrowful, lingering farewells of their former allies, the screen slowly faded to a deep, suffocating black.

A sequence of stark white text slowly typed itself across the void, concluding the scene.

[Under the escort of Phainon and a group of Holy City guards, you and Dan Heng returned to the crash site of the Abyss, successfully salvaging the buried train carriage.]

[Upon returning to the Astral Express, you found that Black Swan had quietly departed without a word. March 7th’s condition had rapidly worsened, and no one could determine the cause of her terminal symptoms.]

[Despite the critical fuel shortage, you managed to initiate one final, desperate jump, placing all your hopes on the next destination to solve your mounting tragedies.]

[As for the fate of the Eternal Land, Amphoreus, and the great upheaval its destruction would ultimately bring to the galaxy… at least within your lifetime…]

[It all had nothing to do with you anymore.]