Honkai Star Rail: Saving the World with a Mobile Game — Chapter 76

Chapter 76: Because Castorice Is Important, Castorice Is Warm!

“It is fine, Castorice. As long as you are satisfied with the PV animation.”

Ash leaned back slightly, his tone relaxed. The ambient light of the Bath Palace reflected off the polished stone floors, casting a soft glow over the room.

“I am very satisfied, Your Excellency.” Castorice offered a pleasant, elegant smile, her posture immaculate.

Beside her, Polyxia also nodded slightly, her voice quiet but sincere. “Thank you for taking care of my sister for such a long time.”

“My sister usually enjoys creating things. I almost thought she made all of this herself,” Castorice added, a hint of pride in her refined voice.

Seeing their positive reception, Ash nodded. “It seems Little Polyxia is also very satisfied.”

Although Polyxia’s face was partially obscured by her garments, one could still detect the slight, startled shift in her posture.

“As for me… I do not really have an opinion. It does not matter either way, as long as my sister likes it,” Polyxia murmured, her gaze dropping to the floor before she quickly added, “Of course, if you insist on asking, I certainly do like it.”

Ash nodded again. That settled it. There was no problem at all. After all, in a little while, he might have to trouble Polyxia to act as an extra for the upcoming content.

“Your Excellency, if you are not busy for the moment, I would like to take Polyxia out for a walk.” Castorice spoke with a gentle, polite cadence, phrasing it as a formal request. “It seems we have not been together for a long time, and she is not very familiar with the present-day Okhema.”

“Do you need someone to be your guide?” Ash asked.

Castorice smiled and shook her head, her ornaments clinking softly. “No need, Your Excellency. We will be back soon. I also want to let Polyxia see Your Excellency’s work out in the city.”

Ash held up his mobile device and waved it at the two of them. “Alright then. I will post that animated short of yours in the group first.”

With a graceful bow, Castorice led Polyxia out of the grand halls of the Bath Palace.

Meanwhile, Ash opened the Chrysos Heirs group chat.

A short while later.

[Ash: @All Members!]

[Ash: The animated short ‘That Restful Long Night’ has been successfully uploaded!]

Good things, of course, should be shared with one’s own people first. Even though Aglaea, Tribios, Mydei, and the others were temporarily absent handling their respective duties, they would see the notification later.

[Castorice: @Ash, Your Excellency, there is a question I would like to ask you?]

Ash paused. Not long after she had left the room, Castorice was already sending messages.

[Castorice: Your Excellency, why do I feel like there is an exceptional amount of content about me in this version? I do not seem to have anything particularly special or important about me.]

[Castorice: In terms of contribution, I cannot compare to Teacher Anaxa. In terms of importance, I cannot compare to Lord Mydei. In terms of seniority, I do not seem as good as Lady Tribios…]

[Castorice: Castorice_writing_furiously.jpg]

Ash stared at the glowing screen and thought for a moment. He could not exactly tell her that this was just how the version was designed from a meta-perspective. That would ruin the immersion.

So, he typed out a sincere reply.

[Ash: Because Castorice is very important to me. Am I not also very important to Castorice?]

[Ash: I was the first living person you touched, and yours was my first hug too. I still remember, Castorice… is very warm.]

There was a long pause in the chat.

[Castorice: Is… is that so, Your Excellency?]

[Castorice: Shy.jpg]

[Castorice: Castorice_covering_face.jpg]

[Castorice: I… I understand. Bye-bye, Your Excellency!]

A few seconds later, another message popped up.

[Anaxa: Hey.]

[Anaxa: Although I do not want to talk much in the group, I am still here, you know? If you two are going to flirt, can you open a private window instead of causing a PDA overload directly in the main group…]

Not far away, just outside the towering columns of the Bath Palace.

Castorice hurriedly tucked the stone slab back into her robes. Her cheeks were flushed a deep crimson, and she looked around guiltily like a thief caught in the act.

“Sister, what is wrong?”

Polyxia was not in the group chat, so seeing Castorice suddenly freeze in the middle of the walkway left her completely bewildered.

“Ah? Polyxia?” Castorice shook her head rapidly, trying to fan the heat from her face. “No, it is nothing. Let us hurry.”

“Do not go, do not go! Wait, do not leave yet!”

“What is all this?!”

“No way, why is Cerces appearing here? And Gnaeus too!”

Lightyears away, on the bustling streets of the Xianzhou Luofu, Guinaifen was currently being dragged by Sushang toward a food stall for lunch.

Because her gaming addiction had reached critical mass, Guinaifen was playing while walking, even keeping her holographic livestream floating in the air. Her sudden, dramatic shouts gave the surrounding pedestrians a massive startle.

“Guinaifen, hurry up. What did you see now?” Sushang sighed, tugging at her friend’s sleeve.

“Shangshang, look at this!”

On the screen, the player perspective followed Anaxa. After meeting Caenis, Anaxa had engaged in a round of probing and exchange with her, then ascended to the highest level of Dawn Cloud Cliff via Lygus to have an audience with Kephale.

As a result of this journey, while walking through the desolate landscapes, the player encountered a cluster of ethereal figures that looked like soul remnants.

There was Cerces, and there was Gnaeus—or more accurately, Calypso. The two phantoms seemed to be discussing someone named Khaos. But when Cerces was questioned about it, she had no memory of the event at all.

Guinaifen followed the questline intently. On the screen, Anaxa fell into the Underworld once again as he walked, and then the entire art style shifted, transforming into the faded, textured aesthetic of an ancient parchment scroll.

The shift in atmosphere was so striking that even Sushang was drawn in, stopping dead in the middle of the busy Luofu street to watch the floating projection.

Two figures appeared in the parchment-style image first.

Gnaeus crossed his arms, sighing incessantly. “Since it has come to this, let us remain calm.”

Calypso, on the other hand, sat heavily on the ground, looking defeated.

And in the next second, a new figure was revealed.

“Lord Gnaeus, and My Teacher, are you also here to pay your respects to Khaos?”

It was a young girl with a gentle, pleasant voice, wearing a distinctive headband. But her name above the dialogue box was simply displayed as a question mark.

Guinaifen’s eyes immediately widened. She gestured wildly at the stream chat. “Chat, look at this! Who is this?!”

[My goodness? Who is this? She looks a bit familiar!]

[Castorice! Isn’t this Castorice? Why would Castorice appear in the Underworld memories? Could it be?!]

[This isn’t Castorice. Although she looks very similar, I still recognize the voice.]

[Could it be… Polyxia!]

[Strange? Who is this? How can there be someone who looks exactly like Castorice? Where did she pop up from?]

Ash had not kept the preview up; he had just uploaded the PVs one by one. So those players who had not seen the earlier leaks truly had no idea what was happening.

However, very soon, the mysterious girl with the question mark indeed mentioned her sister.

“Speaking of which, Little Polyxena, have you come alone to pay your respects to Khaos this time?” Calypso asked the girl.

“Ah, Sister said she still needs some time to look after the…”

At this very moment, the question mark shattered, and Polyxia’s true name was finally revealed on the screen.

The players in the livestream chat were shocked. Her name really was Polyxia? Castorice actually had a sister?!

“Heh…” Calypso’s voice drifted through the speakers, her tone carrying a heavy, sorrowful hint of regret. “Poor things. You two were born to inherit the authority of Thanatos, yet you possess more compassion than anyone else.”

The parchment memory came to an abrupt end, fading into darkness.

The remaining audio was Anaxa’s voiceover. Through piecing together these fragmented memories, it seemed he was on the verge of revealing the ultimate answer to his grueling research topic.

‘What exactly are we?’

But the revelations did not stop there. Because his secondary research had also reached its terrifying conclusion: the method for a mortal to fuse with a Titan’s soul and take its place entirely.

[Such a short memory? I didn’t understand. What does ‘What exactly are we’ mean?]

[A mortal replacing a Titan’s soul, just like that? By the way, are Cerces and Calypso the same person?]

[Eh? Why did Cerces disappear!]