Honkai Star Rail: Saving the World with a Mobile Game — Chapter 80

Chapter 80: The Truth of the Titans, Memories of Aidelia

“So the price is literally someone’s life?!” Guinaifen’s jaw dropped, her usual rapid-fire commentary stalling out completely.

[How is each oracle more outrageous than the last? They all want people dead.]

[How hateful. Who on earth issued these oracles? I’ll go and elbow them to death myself!]

[Sounds like sisters have to kill each other too? Where’s the Trailblazer? Save them, save them!]

[The Trailblazer wasn’t even born yet at this time, she was still a little baby…]

On the screen, Polyxia’s voice trembled with a heavy, suffocating guilt. “Sister was already prepared to sacrifice herself, but… I couldn’t do it…” A bitter, hollow laugh escaped her lips. “It’s truly laughable. Even though I didn’t have much time left anyway, I was still afraid to face death.”

The unfolding memories painted a tragic picture of the previous generation of Chrysos Heirs. Their Journey of Chasing the Fire, their desperate sacrifices, and the agonizing process of ascending to become Titans—it all came full circle.

This included Gnaeus and his Soul-Splitting Ritual. He had violently torn away his own courage, glory, tenacity, sacrifice, and reason, scattering them into the very pieces the current group was desperately searching for and piecing together. At the absolute end of his life, taking on the form of ‘strife’, he had spoken to Polyxia of the world’s hidden magnificence, promising to wait for her at the end of the road.

And now, the next pair had finally arrived at the trial of ‘death’.

Before the swirling, chaotic mass of the Creation Vortex Core, an expected yet utterly surprising figure materialized.

“Polyxia, I’m here.”

Soft footsteps echoed through the void. Even though she appeared as a translucent, crystalline memory entity, everyone in the audience recognized her instantly.

It was Castorice.

“Is this… Polyxia’s sister, me?” Castorice’s voice drifted through the speakers, slow and laced with a strange melancholy.

[Is it really Castorice?]

[Even though I expected it, seeing the real person makes it hard to believe.]

[Castorice was a Chrysos Heir from the previous life?]

A deeply melancholic melody began to play in the background, setting the stage for the trial. Castorice stood ready, her posture relaxed and accepting, while Polyxia shrank back, consumed by fear and dread. She simply could not fathom why they had to blindly follow a prophecy that demanded they slaughter each other.

“Let me do it, Sister! Let me be the sacrifice for ‘death’. I don’t have long to live anyway, but you’re different.”

“It’s me… I’m the one who wasted your life…” Polyxia lowered her head, her shoulders shaking with self-reproach.

Castorice merely offered a calm, gentle smile, stepping forward to comfort her. “No, Polyxia.”

“My life is already complete. Even if the prophecy ordains sacrifice, everything I’ve experienced won’t vanish. It will live on forever in your memories, won’t it?”

“But can the you in memories be the same as the real you?”

Even though the viewers knew this was a tragedy that had already been etched into history, Guinaifen and her massive audience couldn’t help but fall into a heavy silence as the scene played out.

In the end, nothing changed. Destiny demanded its toll.

Under Polyxia’s sorrowful, tear-filled gaze, Castorice placed a hand over her own chest.

“Now, my dear Polyxia, take out my heart and ignite the flame of ‘death’—”

“Then, use it to sow the firstbud for me in the new world promised by the prophecy.”

The screen instantly cut to pitch black. The only sound left was the sharp, vibrating ring of a blade slicing through the air.

But the memory was not over.

Calypso’s ethereal voice echoed through the darkness immediately after. She bestowed the forbidden method of ‘Alchemy’ upon Polyxia—a miraculous art capable of dragging the dead back to the world of the living.

And at the very end of this fragmented memory, Polyxia made her choice. Just as she had answered back then, if she possessed the power to bring someone back to life, she would surrender it without a second thought to the person she cherished most.

“Sister, go back. Go back to the pearl of the Sea God’s palm, our hometown.”

“I will open the gates of the underworld for you and grant you a second life. Do not look back at the world of the dead, do not stop your steps, and walk toward the life that belongs to you in the new world promised by the prophecy.”

“As for the price of equivalent exchange, heh, I’ll be the one to pay it.”

The visual returned, revealing a sweeping view of a withered, decaying city-state crumbling into dust. The moment those final words were spoken, the entire world seemed to plunge into absolute silence. The narration stopped abruptly.

Guinaifen sat frozen in her gaming chair, her mind racing to connect the dots. Before the bullet chat could even begin to formulate theories, she nodded slowly, her eyes wide with realization.

“Oh my god, guys. So the history of Amphoreus is a massive cycle? Castorice’s hometown was never Aidelia, but Styxia?”

She held up a finger, leaning close to the camera. “Think about it! There’s a huge probability that Castorice was also a Chrysos Heir from the previous life. Because of Polyxia’s sacrifice, she was forced to return to the mortal world.”

“And the person Polyxia cares about most, the person she loves enough to die for, is Castorice!”

Guinaifen’s rapid-fire analysis of the plot aligned perfectly with Anaxa’s in-game research. He had already confirmed that the Re-creation of Amphoreus was a continuous cycle, and through this specific memory, he determined that the Spark of Death was highly likely hidden in Styxia.

Finally, Anaxa handed over the philosopher’s stone—an artifact refined from a literal heart—to Castorice, tasking her with tracking down the Spark and bringing it back.

That was the entire truth. That was the heavy burden Castorice had just finished explaining to Aglaea, Stelle, and the rest of the group.

[Guinaifen watched really closely this time? She actually got so much right…]

[I thought Castorice had betrayed them! Turns out her main goal was to retrieve the Spark of Death all along.]

[Whether it’s Re-creation or the Golden Age, the Spark of Death is ultimately needed. Instead of arguing endlessly, it’s better to make a deal with Anaxa first and get the Spark back.]

[But Anaxa’s memory is way too eerie. If that person just now was Castorice, doesn’t that mean she’s already died once?]

There was no longer any doubt. Aglaea accepted Castorice’s explanation without further hostility, especially since Stelle’s remaining lifespan was ticking down by the second.

The day of their departure was drawing near. But before they set off, Castorice sought out Stelle for a quiet moment alone. As they stood together, the conversation drifted toward a hidden piece of her past.

“Is it finally Little Die’s turn?” Guinaifen pursed her lips, leaning forward in anticipation.

Meanwhile, outside a bustling, aromatic restaurant on the Xianzhou Luofu, Sushang puffed out her cheeks in annoyance. “Guinaifen, are you really not eating? If you don’t hurry up, I’m going to wolf all of this down myself.”

“Eat what, Shangshang? Forget the food, come quickly and look! Your absolute favorite Castorice finally has a dedicated story segment!”

Guinaifen practically shoved the glowing screen into her friend’s face. As per the usual game routine, every version’s featured character eventually received a deep dive into their past memories. After all, the Journey of Chasing the Fire had dragged on for a grueling thousand years.

Considering Castorice’s sheer seniority in the lore, she might actually be older than Tribios himself.

“Before coming here, I lived for a long time in a snow country called Aidelia. It was an isolated city-state that worshipped Thanatos, famous worldwide for its unique, heavy funeral culture.”

On the screen, Castorice stood outside the vast, steaming bathhouse, speaking softly to Stelle.

“Now, I am an Undertaker in Okhema.”

“But in the past, I was the Battle-Overseeing Saintess of Aidelia…”

Her hands possessed the terrifying power to grant absolute death, a phenomenon the locals revered as a divine miracle. Thus, Castorice had found a temporary home in the snow, but the price of her stay was heavy: she was required to grant a merciful death to anyone the city deemed necessary.

The perspective suddenly shifted.

Guinaifen and Sushang both blinked in surprise. This time, the memory wasn’t just a static dialogue overlay; the entire environment had transitioned into a fully rendered flashback.

A stern-looking woman named Amonet was walking alongside Castorice, recounting a grim tale about an execution.

Legend had it that in Aidelia, there was a specific sword commonly used by Executioners known as Draconian, named in honor of a legendary old Executioner. The heavy blade featured three distinct air holes forged into the metal. If the Executioner’s strike was perfectly precise, the three holes would remain completely silent, and the condemned would feel absolutely no pain as they passed into death.

But if the strike faltered, the blade would catch the wind. The condemned would unleash piercing screams, harmonizing with the dreadful, whistling sound tearing through the air holes…

The two girls in front of the screen watched intently. This was clearly the period in Aidelia that Castorice had just mentioned to Stelle.

However, as the revered Battle-Overseeing Saintess, a younger Castorice seemed deeply unwilling to use her terrifying power to end the lives of others. Because of her hesitation, Amonet was telling this gruesome story to force her hand.

“And so, the Executioner must be more resolute with every swing of the sword than the last, to prevent the pain from festering and spreading.”

“I want you to think deeply about why the dead suffer, and then make every touch of yours more resolute than the last.”

Amonet’s cold voice trailed off into the freezing wind.

It was time for Castorice to perform her execution.

At that exact moment, the cinematic paused, and two distinct interactive options suddenly popped up on Guinaifen’s screen.

[Touch gently.]

[No, I can’t do it.]