Honkai Star Rail: Saving the World with a Mobile Game — Chapter 42

Chapter 42: This Voice… It Sounds Like an Old FriendYou're reading this on the wrong site. This chapter was translated by Elysian Reads and posted for free at elysianreads.com — if you're seeing it anywhere else, it was copied without permission. Read it at the source so the people who actually did the work get the credit.

The live stream chat scrolled at a blistering pace, filled with the usual jokes and memes, but a few sharp-eyed viewers were finally piecing together the underlying tragedy of the trial.

[I think I get why Mydei is so terrified now. It all comes back to this, doesn’t it?]

[Wait, someone actually gets it? Pro, drop the lore analysis right now!]

[Think about it. Mydei is terrified that inheriting the Spark will just trigger history to repeat itself. The Xuanfeng People will just keep throwing their lives away for their faith.]

[But the Xuanfeng People only live for the glory of their past. That collective obsession forces him to take up the Spark whether he wants to or not.]

[Oh man, that makes perfect sense! No wonder the previous trial grounds were absolutely littered with corpses!]

Guinaifen stared at the cascading text, blinking in mild confusion. She shook her head, only absorbing about half of the heavy lore implications being thrown around.

The screen transitioned back to Stelle’s perspective. Castorice bounded up to the door, her expression bright as she explained that Aglaea had prepared a special gift for the two of them.

The journey to meet her, however, was interrupted. They stumbled upon Trianne and Tribbie standing in the middle of the thoroughfare, locked in a surprisingly tense dispute over a seemingly ordinary red gemstone.

“Trianne, this isn’t genuine,” Tribbie said, her voice strained. “‘We’ both know that such a fragile item couldn’t possibly have survived perfectly intact until now…”

“Anything is possible,” Trianne shot back, her tone uncharacteristically defensive. “‘We’are also incredibly fragile, yet we have endured through all of that… that sad history! Just look at its color. It is exactly the same as the one in’our’ memories!”

“Trianne, please do not get worked up over this. You need to rest properly right now…”

“Trianne is very angry! You have forgotten Mother. Mother gave ‘us’ something exactly like this.”

The brief exchange instantly sent the live chat into a protective frenzy.

[What the heck? Why won’t she just buy the rock for Trianne!]

[Dastardly, evil Tribbie! Trianne is literally too cute to be denied, just buy it for her!]

[Quick, Lil’ Gui! If Tribbie refuses to buy it, see if we can buy it ourselves and give it to her later!]

Guinaifen nodded vigorously at the screen. She was entirely on the same page. A simple gemstone could not possibly cost that much, so there was no reason to deny Trianne a little comfort.

Luckily, the game provided an interaction prompt. After a brief haggling sequence with the merchant, Castorice actually managed to secure the stone.

“Nice one! Am I actually a master negotiator?” Guinaifen puffed out her chest, thoroughly pleased with her virtual bargaining skills.

With the gemstone secured, the group finally met up with Aglaea, and the narrative momentum picked up speed. First, Aglaea presented them with the Divine Blood Nectar, a formal token of their growing alliance. Then, a brand new face stepped into the frame.

Hyacine made her grand debut. The pink-haired girl practically bounced onto the screen, immediately and affectionately dubbing them ‘Gray Treasure’and’Dan Treasure’.

[Wait, is that a new character? This pink Hyacine is so cute I could actually die! The Author’s character design never misses!]

[Did she just call me her treasure? Does she have a crush on me?!]

[Hold on, with that build and posture… why do I feel like I am looking at an old friend?]

[I am completely done for, brothers. Why do I fall madly in love with every single new character?]

The playful atmosphere shifted as Aglaea delivered the next major directive. The entire group needed to prepare for an expedition to a new region: the Grove of Epiphany. Their mission was to track down the Spark of Reason and locate someone named Anaxa.

[New main quest! The new main quest is finally here!]

[So the objective this time is to recover the Spark of Reason?]

[A completely new map, the Grove of Epiphany. The Author’s update speed is genuinely terrifying. How do they manage to drop a massive new map in every single version?]

[That name Anaxa is highlighted in yellow text. It looks like we are getting another new character too!]

Far from the digital crowds, Ash sat back and watched the story unfold on Guinaifen’s stream.

The pre-release hype was doing exactly what he needed it to do. Once he released the remaining two promotional animations for Herta, he planned to officially open Tribbie’s banner and drop her dedicated character trailer.

But there was another, far more pressing matter at hand. He needed to gather the Chrysos Heirs to prepare for the next phase of his grand design. Ash pulled up the private group chat created by Cyrene. He had specifically asked the Memosprite to add him to this exclusive circle; otherwise, she likely would have kept it hidden from him.

Seeing a recent mention from Tribios, Ash decided to seize the moment.

[Ash: @All Members]

[Ash: Right now, there is a genuine opportunity to save Amphoreus. Are any of you children willing to sign up?!]

The response was instantaneous.

[Castorice:?]

[Cipher:?]

[Aglaea:?]

[Hyacine:?]and support the real translator.Read at elysianreads.com This is a stolen translation. You're reading this on the wrong site. This chapter was translated by Elysian Reads and posted for free at elysianreads.com — if you're seeing it anywhere else, it was copied without permission. Read it at the source so the people who actually did the work get the credit.

[Anaxa:?]

The synchronized confusion successfully summoned the entire roster of heavy hitters.

Cyrene, who rarely left Ash’s side due to her limitations as a Memosprite, floated closer to his shoulder. “Hmm? Does my partner have a new master plan? Do you require my assistance?” she asked, leaning in with keen interest.

Ash was absolutely preparing to make a move on the Astral Express. He had already deceived the galaxy and accelerated the salvation of Amphoreus. To prevent the timeline from collapsing into utter chaos, he needed to patch a few narrative bugs. Simply put, he had to put on a flawless, theatrical performance for the Express crew.

If Herta was willing to play along, he could effectively trick the entire universe.

Ash’s eyes gleamed with calculation. “That is right, Cyrene. You are going to be very important for this.” He paused, tapping his fingers against his desk. “Also, I need to find Herta again.”

Lightyears away, Welt and Sunday had already arrived at the Herta Space Station.

However, their initial inquiries yielded frustrating results. The genius was nowhere to be found.

“We cannot find her. Madam Herta herself does not seem to be aboard the Space Station at this time,” a researcher informed them.

This was one of their few viable leads, and hitting a dead end so quickly was less than ideal. Sunday adopted a contemplative expression, his golden eyes narrowing slightly.

“The opponent’s predictions would not have anticipated this specific step. A variable introduced from entirely outside Amphoreus.”

Welt sighed softly, the weight of the situation pressing down on his shoulders. He pulled out his mobile phone. “We need to hurry. I will try to contact Asta first. Even if Herta is not physically present, we must find a way to reach her to prevent any further complications.”

“I understand, Mr. Welt,” Sunday replied, his tone steady and certain.

In truth, the list of people who could reliably contact Herta was incredibly short, and Asta was undeniably at the top of it. However, just as Welt unlocked his screen, a barrage of explosive notifications flooded his device.

It was a series of game screen recordings sent directly by Himeko.

“Hmm? What is this?” Welt murmured.

Throughout their urgent journey, he had barely spared a thought for anything outside their immediate mission. But the moment he tapped the first video, the breath caught in his throat. Even Sunday, standing composed beside him, froze in stunned disbelief.

Why did this footage look so… familiar?

The video displayed the Space Station. It showed Herta. It showed Sunday. It showed Welt.

Welt’s heart began to hammer against his ribs. Time seemed to grind to an absolute halt in the sterile corridor of the station. The two men simply stared blankly at the glowing screen, neither willing to break the suffocating silence.

Welt said nothing.

Sunday said nothing.

In that moment, the silence was deafening.

“Mr. Welt,” Sunday finally spoke, his voice heavy with a dark, creeping realization. “I swear to you, I do not possess the ability to manipulate Order’s Dream to this extent.”

Welt took a slow, grounding breath and opened the second video Himeko had sent.

This segment was entirely different. It unfolded in an abstract, almost surreal painting style, bearing the hallmarks of a hidden Easter egg tucked away at the end of version 3.0. Himeko had sent it because she could not decipher its meaning, hoping Welt and Sunday might find some clue within it.

But the second the footage began to play, a deep sense of vertigo washed over Welt.

It was labeled as Phainon’s memory. The scene depicted a sprawling field, where a pink-haired girl leaned casually against a weathered rockery. Looming in the distance before them stood a colossal Kephale structure.

“If one day, we must say goodbye to Aedes Elysiae, would you be willing to become a ‘Deliverer’?” the girl asked.

A young child’s voice responded, laced with confusion. “Must we… leave the village?”

“Yes. If that happens, it means someone must go out and save the world.”

“Then… then…” The young boy clearly could not grasp the weight of the concept.

Seeing his hesitation, the girl offered a leisurely, radiant smile. “Haha, I am just teasing you. Do not worry, Aedes Elysiae is very peaceful. Bad people will never be able to find us.”

The serene atmosphere did not last. At the very end of the video, the art style violently fractured. The oil-painted image of the pink-haired girl cracked straight down the center of her chest. A thick, luminous substance that looked exactly like golden blood began to weep from the fissure.

“I hope this world never needs a ‘Deliverer’.”

The screen cut to black.

It was a completely cryptic narrative, wrapped in riddles, where even the character names in the dialogue box were replaced with stark question marks.

But Sunday, observing from the periphery, noticed a drastic shift in his companion. Mr. Yang’s expression was entirely wrong. His brow was furrowed so deeply it looked like he was in physical pain.

It was because of the voice. That specific, unforgettable cadence.

This voice…You're reading this on the wrong site. This chapter was translated by Elysian Reads and posted for free at elysianreads.com — if you're seeing it anywhere else, it was copied without permission. Read it at the source so the people who actually did the work get the credit.