Honkai Star Rail: Saving the World with a Mobile Game — Chapter 94

Chapter 94: Finding Him for Real in Reality!

Guinaifen was absolutely livid.

Castorice had literally just sacrificed herself for the Fire-Chasers, damning her soul to the eternal gloom of the Underworld. And yet, in the epilogue, the game’s developer actually had the audacity to milk her tragedy for even more cheap angst?

This was crossing a line!

Killing off her favorite characters one by one was bad enough, but subjecting them to such relentless, agonizing cruelty? Unforgivable.

It was time to flex her influence as a top-tier streamer. She was going to edit a blistering video essay, publicly dragging the developer through the mud and tallying up his narrative sins for the whole internet to see!

True to her word, Guinaifen slammed her hands onto her keyboard and immediately got to work.

Meanwhile, beneath the sunlit skies of Amphoreus.

Castorice rested a delicate hand over her chest, letting out a soft, contented sigh. “My Lord truly knows how to make a girl happy,” she murmured, a teasing lilt in her voice. “You must have quite the collection of friends in the outside world.”

Though she had lost her composure in a flurry of excitement earlier, it was obvious how thrilled she was to simply be outside. For the first time, she was experiencing the mundane joys she had been denied her entire life.

Ash, however, remained quiet for a moment, letting the ambient noise of the city wash over them.

He cleared his throat, steering the conversation. “Castorice, if we are truly friends, why do you still insist on calling me ‘My Lord’ in every single breath? You don’t do that with Polyxia. You just call her Polyxia, or Little Polyxena.”

Castorice’s expression froze. She glanced down at Polyxia, who was smiling up at her from the wheelchair.

Panic flickered in Castorice’s eyes. She thought Ash had misunderstood her intentions, believing her friendship was nothing more than superficial flattery.

She hurriedly waved her hands, her voice pitching up in defense. “My Lord, you misunderstand! I… I just…”

It was not that she disliked being close to people. For years, her curse had made physical proximity a literal death sentence. Even something as simple as Aglaea brushing her hair had been a life-or-death gamble.

Over time, to protect everyone around her, Castorice had deliberately built walls. She kept her distance physically, and she enforced it verbally with rigid formalities. If she made herself seem unapproachable, no one would get close enough to be hurt.

Eventually, the isolation had calcified into a habit. She had become a total recluse, even earning the teasing moniker of ‘Snail Princess’ from Lord Zephyrus.

“I just… wanted to maintain a safe distance,” she confessed softly, her gaze dropping to the cobblestones. “It is a habit. I didn’t want my curse to harm you, My Lord.”

She tilted her head, her eyes darting away shyly. “Of course, now… if you are willing, I can change how I address you.”

“Hmm.” Ash nodded slowly. “Have you thought of any alternatives?”

“Well…” Castorice tapped her chin, counting off on her slender fingers as they walked. “Lord Ash? Mr. Ash? Little Ash?”

She frowned slightly. “Or should I just call you Ash, like Lord Zephyrus does? None of them feel quite right. Naming things really isn’t my strong suit.”

“Then let’s leave it as is for now,” Ash interrupted gently, saving her from her overthinking. “Whenever you think of something that feels right, you can tell me.”

Relief washed over Castorice’s face, blooming into a bright, radiant smile. “You are far too considerate.”

“Very well then, My Lord!”

She gripped the handles of Polyxia’s wheelchair, pushing her gently along the vibrant street. Then, a sobering thought seemed to strike her. “But speaking of which… the power you bestowed upon me today. It isn’t permanent, is it?”

Ash looked at her, the faint amusement fading into a calm seriousness. He shook his head. “No. It isn’t.”

While he possessed the authority to rewrite the Rules of this world, doing so casually was dangerous. Such foundational modifications drained his Path energy. Ever since he had elevated his abilities from a mere system interface into a genuine Path, gathering his own nascent Pathstriders, the power no longer relied on a detached system. It drew directly from his own existence.

“It is only for this one occasion, to spare us any unnecessary trouble,” Ash added.

Endless ‘Death’was a horrific burden, but unchecked, uncontrollable’Life’ was no better. If left permanent, wouldn’t she just become another Yaoshi?

He knew Castorice wouldn’t want that. Deep down, she only ever wanted to be an ordinary girl.

“Is that so?” Castorice murmured. Surprisingly, a flicker of genuine disappointment crossed her delicate features.

“I know my life right now is already a blessing, and it is greedy of me to crave this power, but…”

Ash hummed in acknowledgment. He watched as Castorice turned to him, her large, watery eyes shimmering with a painfully cute innocence. Beneath the shyness, there was a desperate, hopeful longing.

“Could I…” She paused, her voice dropping to a pleading whisper. “Just one more time?”

“I want to borrow this power once more. Just to give it to Polyxia.”

Sitting in the wheelchair, Polyxia blinked, turning her head in confusion. “Sister…?”

Ash blinked, processing the request, before letting out a soft sound of realization.

She was thinking about Polyxia’s legs.

He recalled the bitter end of the final timeline. Even though Castorice’s mother, Amonet, had survived, Polyxia had remained bound to her wheelchair. If Castorice had the power to grant one miracle, her greatest wish wouldn’t be for herself; it would be to free her little sister from those physical constraints.

“It’s possible. Sure,” Ash said smoothly.

Castorice gasped, her face lighting up with pure joy.

“But,” Ash drawled, his tone shifting into something more demanding. “What is the price?”

“The price?”

Castorice bit her lower lip, her expression twisting into deep conflict. In Amphoreus, everything demanded a toll. In the game’s countless loops, Polyxia had been trapped in the Underworld just to resurrect her. And when Castorice herself took up the authority, she had been permanently exiled from the human realm.

“My Lord, if there is a heavy price…”

“The price,” Ash interrupted, a lazy smile touching his lips, “is just to give me a hug.”

Meanwhile, millions of light-years away.

Asta had just finished the grueling emotional gauntlet of the Version 3.2 story. She was mindlessly scrolling through the community forums and official accounts when a trending video rocketed to the top of her feed.

Checking the creator profile, she blinked in surprise. It was uploaded by the Xianzhou’s rising internet star, Guinaifen!

Usually, Asta wouldn’t care. As a hardcore meta-player, she notoriously skipped dialogue and ignored the lore.

But not this time.

With the back-to-back devastating conclusions of Versions 3.1 and 3.2, Asta felt like her soul had been dragged through broken glass. No wonder the community was out for the developer’s blood.

What happened to the promised happy ending?!

A reunion in the Underworld?!

The thought of Castorice clocking in for her first day of eternal Underworld labor, only to see her own dead teacher floating casually by… it was a special kind of hellish comedy that made Asta want to scream.

Was this a script written by a human being?!

Fortunately, as the Lead Researcher of the Herta Space Station, Asta had resources. There was only one way left to alleviate this deep psychological damage.

“Arlan!”

Asta marched out of her office, her heels clicking aggressively against the metallic floor.

Arlan was already standing at attention outside her door. He bowed slightly, his expression perfectly stoic. “Lady Asta. The space jump coordinates are locked in.”

“The private combat fleet you requested has also been fully assembled. We are ready to depart at your command.”

That was right.

The moment Asta had received the real-world coordinates sent by Ash, she had begun her preparations. She was going to pay him a little visit.

“Excellent. Arlan, did you remember to pack the Space Station’s ‘local specialties’ we are gifting him? Tell me you didn’t forget!”

“Rest assured, Lady Asta,” Arlan replied with deadpan seriousness. “I guarantee that when the time comes, no one in the vicinity will notice a thing. Even in the event of a planetary-level explosion.”

Asta nodded, a dark, immensely satisfied smile spreading across her face.

“Then let us depart. We are going to find him in reality!”

‘Go find him in reality?’No.’Go hunt him down in reality?’ Yes.

Fueled by the righteous fury of a scorned gamer, Asta pointed dramatically toward the hangar.

“Depart!”