Honkai Star Rail: Saving the World with a Mobile Game — Chapter 23

Chapter 23: It’ll Be Your Turn Soon, Cyrene!

“What do you mean ‘see you tomorrow’? What in the world is ‘going offline’?”

“Oh my god! No way, what’s going to happen to The Seamstress? I can’t hear clearly!”

“Hey, hey, hey, Princess Snail, don’t push me! I can’t hear a thing either!”

“Lord Sefaria, I…”

“Oh no, oh no, there’s movement inside! Quiet, don’t speak!”

“And you, help me out!”

“Mmph, mmph—”

Click.

The heavy wooden door swung inward. Because Tribios had abruptly pulled it open from the inside, the two figures leaning desperately against the crack lost their balance, tumbling forward in a tangle of limbs. Sefaria hit the floor flat on her face with a heavy thud.

“Ow, hiss… that hurts…” She scratched her head, her face scrunching in distress as she scrambled to pick herself up from the polished stone floor.

Beside her, Castorice had already sprung to her feet, instantly adopting a mask of perfect, solemn professionalism. “Uh, Lord Tribios. Ms. Aglaea.”

Tribios glanced between the two eavesdroppers, the corners of her lips curling upward as she easily pieced together the situation. A distinct hint of amusement danced in her eyes.

Aglaea, on the other hand, merely looked down at the sprawling girl and let out a long, silent sigh. “Sefaria, I really need to keep you on a tighter leash.”

Before the girl could protest, Aglaea seized her collar. “Come with me. I have some important matters to discuss with you.”

“Hey, hey, hey, Seamstress, don’t pull me!”

“Hey! Let me get up first! You Golden Weaver, you absolute control freak, Agy, Aglaea…”

Sefaria’s indignant squawking gradually faded down the grand corridor, her flailing silhouette dragged away into the shadows.

No one knew exactly what Aglaea wanted with Sefaria, and naturally, Ash was completely in the dark as well. But seeing the delighted, knowing smile lingering on Tribios’s face, he figured it might just be a good thing.

“Eh? Anaxa is here too?”

Anaxa didn’t offer a word. She merely gave a curt nod of acknowledgment before turning on her heel and quietly departing.

Watching the chaotic group disperse, Ash couldn’t help but wonder what special ‘gift’ Aglaea had prepared for him.

But before he could dwell on it, a soft, familiar voice drifted up from his lap.

“That was a really, really long dream~”

A little pink fairy tilted her head, blinking away the remnants of sleep. Her delicate ears flapped gently as she floated up from Ash’s legs. Though she still looked adorably dazed, she immediately drifted closer, nuzzling affectionately against his chest. “Being right here where my partner is… it really makes me feel at ease.”

She rubbed her eyes. “Did I actually sleep for that long?”

“You’re finally awake, Cyrene?” Ash asked, his tone softening.

“Eh, partner, where are we in the main quest now? Let me see.”

To get a better look at the glowing screen of Ash’s mobile phone, Cyrene quickly shifted out of her diminutive Mem form, her body expanding in a burst of soft pink light until she stood before him as a young girl. She pressed a slender finger to her lips, flashing a playful ‘shh’ gesture, then stood on her tiptoes, leaning in until they were practically face-to-face.

“Partner, it looks like the situation online isn’t very optimistic, huh?”

Having just pushed through Aglaea’s controversial plotline, the community’s reaction was naturally volatile.

Ash merely glanced at Cyrene, a confident smirk touching his lips as he snapped his fingers. “It’s fine. It’ll be optimistic very soon.”

“Because it’s finally time for your official debut, Cyrene!”

[Stop it, stop it, seriously, don’t.]

[Feedback to the game dev: can we get fewer of these abstract, confusing characters? I spent actual money on this!]

[If I hadn’t heard that Madam Herta was going to show up later, I would have uninstalled this game yesterday.]

[Looking at the pacing now, isn’t Herta just going to be an early-game gimmick? Purely used to farm Credit Points. I swear, if she just disappears from the story later…]

[As long as we don’t get any more amateur-hour characters like Aglaea. If we do, it just proves the dev has zero skill in character design. What a waste of a god-tier PV.]

[Phew, after waiting for what feels like an eternity, it seems we’re finally getting a boss fight. Let me see how the combat mechanics in this game actually hold up!]

The community’s toxic discourse raged on across the forums and livestreams. Although the player base harbored a mountain of complaints, the promise of seeing Herta, the Stellaron Hunters, and other fan favorites kept the retention rate surprisingly high.

Ash didn’t bother issuing a public response. He knew better. Just as he expected, as the main quest plunged forward, the relentless noise of the haters was swiftly drowned out by the unfolding epic.

After locking onto Nikador’s location, the trio of Phainon, Mydei, and Stelle officially set out on their subjugation mission.

Along the treacherous path, Phainon and Mydei relentlessly competed, bickering over who could slaughter more monsters. Sitting behind her monitor, Guinaifen watched their macho rivalry with immense entertainment, her chat spamming laughing emojis.

As the plot progressed, Nikador’s horrifying conspiracy was finally laid bare—the mad decision to pierce Kephale’s body to achieve its goal. But rather than feeling a sense of dread, Guinaifen was practically vibrating with excitement for the impending boss fight.

After all, she was armed to the teeth. She had an E6S1 Aglaea ready to deploy.

Have you ever heard of life being as fragile as a gossamer thread?! she thought smugly, ready to one-shot the enemy.

Unfortunately, reality hit like a freight train.

The moment the boss battle actually initiated, Guinaifen’s smug smile vanished. She realized with mounting horror that she couldn’t win. At all.

It wasn’t a matter of her characters being poorly built or her relics lacking optimal stats. It was a scripted loss. The very second Nikador’s HP hit zero, the colossal entity immediately stood right back up, its health bar resetting with a terrifying metallic screech.

“Wait, isn’t this the boss, guys? Is this not the real boss battle?!” Guinaifen panicked, her fingers flying across her keyboard.

“Oh no, it looks like a cutscene kill. This Nikador actually stood up again!”

[Wait, Little Gui, look closely—it doesn’t want to fight us at all. It seems like every time it dies, it’s tempering that Scourge Blade thing!]

[Holy crap? The Authority of Strife is actually absolute immortality and indestructibility? No wonder that red-haired guy also…]

[Oh no! Its real goal is to pierce Okhema!]

The realization hit the livestream chat like a physical blow. Everyone finally understood Nikador’s true objective. The Titan couldn’t be killed; in fact, every single death it suffered was merely a catalyst to accumulate more devastating power. The chat dissolved into an absolute frenzy, thousands of viewers screaming in panic, asking what they were supposed to do.

Even Guinaifen felt an inexplicable knot of anxiety tightening in her chest. The oppressive atmosphere of Amphoreus was bleeding through the screen.

And just then, the narrative shifted.

Mydei stepped forward, his broad shoulders blocking the path, taking the initiative without a hint of hesitation. “Deliverer, I’ll give you a chance to be a hero.”

He drew his weapon, his eyes locked onto the towering monstrosity. “I will hold back this shell, leaving it no time to swing the Scourge Blade. Take the news back… notify those two demigods!”

“Are you crazy? Facing a Titan alone? Then I’m staying too!” Phainon immediately fired back, refusing to abandon him.

But he was instantly, harshly rebuked by Mydei. “Get lost! Do I really have to spell it out for you?!”

Mydei’s sudden, furious roar blasted through Guinaifen’s high-end headphones, making her jump in her gaming chair, a full-body shiver running down her spine.

He had genuinely given her a fright!

“Why did he have to shout so loudly?!” she complained, rubbing her ears.

But honestly… why did her chest feel so tight? Why did it feel so incredibly moving?

This guy, Mydei—who usually looked down on everyone, who carried himself with unbearable arrogance and mocked people every time he opened his mouth—was actually taking the initiative to block an immortal god at the most critical moment. He was willingly throwing his life away to leave the only chance of survival to Phainon and Stelle.

[Huh? For real?]

[This Mydei is actually such an absolute edgelord? But wait, this makes me feel like he’s actually a total badass!]

[Mydei, you absolute madman, I swear I won’t call you Lion-head anymore…]

[Okay, it’s understandable that the previous pacing was a bit slow. But is Mydei really written this well? Better than Aglaea?]

“Hold on… don’t die too many times…” Phainon muttered, his voice thick with frustration.

Helplessly, knowing that the absolute safety of Okhema was at stake, Phainon and Stelle could only swallow their pride. After a bitter final argument with Mydei, they turned and fled, leaving with heavy hearts and deep regret.

In the end, only Mydei and Nikador remained in the desolate ruins.

One man and one god. Two immortal beings, facing off in a silent, suffocating standoff.

Staring up at the long-decayed god, Mydei didn’t show an ounce of fear. He had already prepared his soul for a fight to the absolute death.

He raised his weapon, his voice echoing through the shattered landscape. “You and I, two warriors shut out by death. Is there any fairer competition in this world?”

The wind howled around them, carrying the weight of his challenge.

“Come! The King who failed to become King, the God who has lost divinity! How perfectly well-matched we are, right here—”

Nikador’s answering roar was deafening, a shockwave of pure, unadulterated Strife that shook the very foundations of the earth.

“Let us slaughter until all things are exhausted—!!!”

[It’s getting hype, holy crap, it’s really getting hype!]

[Slaughter until all things are exhausted!]

With that single, devastating line of dialogue, the livestream chat was instantly flooded with a uniform, blinding wall of exclamation marks.

Even the massive hate-train surrounding Aglaea’s plotline that had just dominated the forums was instantly, utterly suppressed by this single, legendary stand from Mydei.