Honkai Star Rail: Saving the World with a Mobile Game — Chapter 88

Chapter 88: The Truth of the World, I Have Unraveled!

[Announcement: The character PV for Anaxa in ‘Honkai: Star Rail’—’What Crime Have I Committed?’ has been released.]

[Shocking!]

[Anaxa’s PV is online, quick, notify the Guinaifen Aeon!]

[Honkai: Star Rail’s number one streamer is here, everyone move aside!]

Not long after the system notification chimed, the highly anticipated promotional video for Anaxa went live. The digital waves rippled across the network, and streamers like Guinaifen were immediately summoned by their ravenous audiences to react.

Anaxa’s personal trailer was not particularly long, but it packed a staggering punch. Paired with a stirring, orchestral soundtrack and the suffocating, ever-multiplying horrors of the Black Tide Creation looming in the background, the visual spectacle was nothing short of thrilling.

“The gods will deliver divine punishment upon you!” a disembodied voice boomed from the screen.

“So what?” Anaxa’s voice cut back, sharp and dripping with disdain.

“The gods will despise your very existence!”

“As do I!” Anaxa sneered, his gaze piercing through the screen. “The notion that ‘God loves mankind’ is nothing but a childish delusion. Cast aside this naivety!”

Sitting in her streaming room, Guinaifen had completely paused her gameplay. Swept up in the sheer theatricality of the moment, she struck a dramatic pose and shouted the lines right alongside the character, fully embracing the chuunibyou energy.

The chat immediately exploded into a flurry of teasing.

[Hahaha, you said it yourself, Guinaifen. I’m going to contact the Cloud Knights right now. So Guinaifen looks down on Lan!]

[Finally caught you red-handed, huh? Quick, quick, Shangshang, execute her on the spot, or drag her straight to the Shackling Prison!]

[Stop, really stop, Guinaifen. The Aeons of ‘Ridiculousness’and’Absurdity’ are about to be born from your cringe.]

[Lol, although I quite admire Anaxa’s bravery, he stands entirely opposed to the Journey of Chasing the Fire. I wonder, can villains also enter the gacha pool?]

Reading the scrolling comments, Guinaifen rubbed her chin, genuinely hesitating over whether she should spend her Stellar Jades to pull for him. The special effects and the music were undeniably hype, but Anaxa’s narrative stance put him in direct conflict with the Journey of Chasing the Fire. That meant he was opposing Mydei, Phainon, and even Castorice.

From their omniscient perspective as players, Guinaifen and her audience understood the bitter truth. Aglaea had sacrificed everything and bled for the Journey of Chasing the Fire. It was absolutely not a scheme to hoard power or control the citizens, no matter what venom Caenis spat from his podium.

As for Mydei, Castorice, and Phainon, their unwavering loyalty and sacrifices spoke for themselves. There was no need to even debate their merit.

Deciding to hold onto her currency for now, Guinaifen switched back to the game to watch the story unfold before making a final judgment.

She happened to be right in the middle of the tense Citizens Assembly questline.

After Anaxa took his seat in the grand amphitheater, the ultimate decision on whether the Journey of Chasing the Fire would continue rested on the final debater defending the expedition: Phainon.

Before the youth took the stage, absolutely no one believed this earnest warrior could win a battle of words against a seasoned politician like Caenis. Even Phainon himself looked uncertain.

That was, until he began to speak.

Starting with the tragic plight of his ruined homeland, the Aedes Elysiae, his raw emotion immediately gripped the audience. Even the usually stoic Aglaea showed a flicker of movement. He then painted a vivid picture of the Chrysos Heirs, detailing how they stepped forward one by one to sacrifice their lives, cementing the absolute necessity of the Journey of Chasing the Fire for the survival of Okhema.

His voice grew louder, shedding all hesitation, completely shattering the absurd premise of the debate and igniting a righteous fury across the entire assembly.

“Citizens, look well! Aglaea has never failed Okhema’s expectations. Should she suffer such immense humiliation just because of the siege and bites of insects?” Phainon roared, his eyes blazing. “See if the demigod you thought cold still shines with the light of humanity. And see if those clad in human skin, slandering with malice, are possessed by the demon of power-lust!”

Silence hung over the venue for a brief, breathless second.

Then, the amphitheater erupted into a roaring tide of agreement and furious discussion. Before Guinaifen could even open her mouth to praise the speech, her comment section was already ablaze.

[So powerful? Is this really something our boy Phainon could say?!]

[It seems ever since Trianne left, Phainon has been growing more and more into a true leader!]

[Everyone is persevering. Mydei guarding the empty city alone, Tribios’s resolute, almost self-destructive determination to depart… all of it has forced our little Phainon to grow up fast.]

[Although it’s truly inspiring, with just a good speech, can the Journey of Chasing the Fire actually continue?]

The chat’s worry was justified. Despite Phainon’s inspiring words, the vote count had not opened any significant gap. Guinaifen watched the screen intently, tracking the votes cast by Pottery Shards. The scales for both sides remained perfectly balanced.

There was only one shard left.

And it belonged to Anaxa.

“Wait, no way, seriously? The last vote is actually Anaxa’s?” Guinaifen widened her eyes, leaning closer to her monitor.

Beside her, Sushang shook her head in disbelief. “This development is way too dramatic.”

A heavy tension settled over the stream. Up until this exact moment, Anaxa’s stance had been firmly against the Journey of Chasing the Fire. He even had a prior agreement with the Senate.

On screen, Anaxa walked slowly to the center of the Taranton Scales. He stood there, seemingly hesitant. His inaction drew immediate dissatisfaction from the surrounding citizens, who began shouting and urging him to cast his shard.

Yet, his posture remained rigid, showing not the slightest intention to move.

[What does Anaxa mean by this? He wouldn’t really vote against the Journey of Chasing the Fire, would he?]

[He clearly doesn’t get along with Aglaea, and in the PV, he treats the gods like dirt. Feels like he’s about to pull a massive stunt.]

[Then what do we do? No way, Anaxa—! If we don’t chase the swarm, won’t I get a bad ending?!]

[It’s over. Could the Journey of Chasing the Fire actually end right here?]

At this final, agonizing moment, the reason Anaxa had not cast his vote was not out of spite, but because he still held deep reservations. He needed to look into the underworld one last time. He needed to figure out how to answer Cerces’s lingering question, and how he should truly choose.

Both inside the game and outside the screen, the suffocating atmosphere neared its absolute peak.

In the blink of an eye, the scenery shifted. Anaxa’s consciousness arrived once more at that familiar, desolate place—the misty outskirts of the River Styx.

This time, what he heard and saw amidst the gloom were no longer the wails of countless wandering souls, but the final, echoing words of an old friend.

Empedocles, Anaxa’s former teacher.

“As a sage of the Worship Sect, secular demands forbid me from agreeing with you,” the old man’s voice drifted through the ethereal chill. “But as a friend and mentor to Anaxagoras, I would say… Go ahead, the truth is already in your hands.”

The phantom figure pointed toward the false starry sky above the underworld, yet his words spoke of the world’s ultimate reality.

“Your lonely path of seeking is about to welcome a new starting point. And when you reach its end, may we meet before the truth. May Cerces defend your thoughts.”

Anaxa closed his eyes, absorbing the weight of the blessing. “May Cerces defend your thoughts.”

Moments later, Anaxa’s consciousness snapped back from the underworld.

Countless players held their breath. Inside the grand amphitheater, the impatient citizens began to roar.

“What are you waiting for? Vote now—!”

Guinaifen felt cold sweat forming on her palms. She gripped her mouse tightly.

[Is it coming?]

[How will Anaxa choose?]

[He wouldn’t really listen to Caenis, would he?!]

Standing before the scales, Anaxa appeared exceptionally calm. The hesitation was gone. He raised his head and solemnly declared to the entire Assembly.

“Behold, Cerces. At the center of the world now, I shall write the final step of the proof.”

As his words fell, the game transitioned into a stunning cinematic cutscene.

There, the long-waiting Anaxa finally received the answer he had sought for so long. In a daze, amidst the sea of souls in the underworld, Castorice calmly glanced back. He saw her. He truly saw Castorice.

“Teacher… the proof you wanted, I have completed it.”

He smiled.

Anaxa smiled, a genuine, unhinged expression breaking across his face. He pressed a hand against his forehead, his shoulders shaking as he began to laugh—a loud, almost maniacal sound that echoed over the bewildered crowd.

Just as the assembly murmured in confusion, a stirring orchestral swell kicked in. With a sharp, decisive flick of his wrist, Anaxa threw the final Pottery Shard.

“Thank you, Castorice. The answer is obvious.”

The ceramic plate spun through the air. Unexpectedly, its final resting place was not on Caenis’s side of the scales.

It landed squarely at the feet of Phainon and Aglaea.

Under the silent, approving gaze of Castorice and Polyxia in the underworld, Anaxa spread his arms wide, embracing the shock of the crowd.

“Without a doubt, I choose the ‘Journey of Chasing the Fire’!”

The entire assembly froze in stunned silence.

Then, accompanied by the dramatic downfall of Caenis’s faction, a deafening roar of cheers erupted from the venue, shaking the very foundations of Okhema.

Anaxa looked up, his voice cutting through the celebration.

“The truth of the world, I have unraveled—!”