Universal Harmony, stars shining as one! Universal brethren, all things sharing one root—supreme merit, praise the Lord!
A trace of narration-like echo began to emerge within that gentle female voice that had been reciting all along!
[Then, they said,
O you who have reached the end,
Go to the paradise that embraces all!
Join this grand hymn and feast,
Listen to countless billions of hearts beating,
And be welcomed into its embrace—]
Above the Three Heads opened its arms to you. The Family would always welcome you!
The Harmony Star God—Xipe!
[Behold the court jester's honeyed words, the sailor dead drunk, hear the baby in the mirror crying and laughing, the tide entering dreams, the scales collapsing, welcoming the invisible heir.]
The names Elation, Voracity, Beauty, The End, Propagation, Mystery, and Equilibrium flashed past one by one, before finally revealing the figure of Fuli, the Memory Star God!
[In the end, measure the world with your body, and engrave all of this in your heart.
They said this was the path you were meant to walk—
Acheron, set out once more, Acheron!]
The soft female voice gradually rose in intensity, and the scene finally flashed.
A female diviner wearing a headscarf and purple robes closed the book in her hands.
[Countless shooting stars streak across tonight's sky. If you choose the right one... it will carry your wish to thousands upon thousands of worlds.]
The PV ended there, leaving the viewers profoundly shaken and unable to recover for a long time!
Unlike the previous promotional videos that merely introduced characters, the Star Gods in this PV were transcendent beings who truly existed in reality!
For ordinary people, merely being fortunate enough to see one of them was something worth boasting about!
One Star God after another appeared, their bizarre forms stunning the audience so much that their eyes could barely keep up!
Many people who had never seen the true forms of Star Gods—people whose civilizations had even desperately concealed the existence of Star Gods from them—began awakening after watching the Star Gods in the video and became devoted followers of the Paths!
With a single moment of enlightenment, they became Pathstriders!
Because of this, the entire PV even became taboo in some feudal civilizations!
That Night, Lan and Nanook Both Got Drunk
With the release of Galactic Odyssey PV, its contents seemed like a dazzling meteor streaking across the heavens, instantly igniting the fervor and curiosity buried deep in every viewer's heart!
The captivating figures of several Star Gods were like a visual feast, leaving viewers dazzled and their hearts surging!
The moment the video ended, the audience fell into brief silence!
They had been deeply shocked, their minds still replaying everything they had just seen. For a while, they did not even know where to begin!
After a long time, that quiet was broken, followed by a fierce discussion as overwhelming as crashing waves and a roaring tsunami!
"Holy shit! Th-this is a Star God PV?"
"Oh my God, what the hell did I just see?!"
"Star Gods! So many Star Gods!"
"That was way too much information! I couldn't even take it all in!"
"I only recognized the Destruction Star God and the Preservation Aeon, and that was only because I saw them in the previous Main Story. I never thought there would be so many other Star Gods! I've learned so much!"
"So King of Amber really is a rock, just like the rumors said!"
"A rock can become a Star God?! That's way too ridiculous!"
"Star Gods are amazing, aren't they?"
"The Hunt was so cool! No wonder every record of the Hunt Star God in the universe says he's fast. That Centaur form just looks insanely fast!"
"And that bow! The Lord of the Hunt drawing it was unbelievably cool!"
"But why does he kind of look like the Anti-Matter Legion's Trampler..."
"According to unofficial history, that night, Lan and Nanook both got drunk..."
"Holy shit, that's wild!"
"That really is unofficial history. There's barely any history left in it!"
"So this is what the Abundance Aeon, the Abundance chased down by the Hunt, looks like. That body covered in eyes is seriously a sanity drain!"
"Even though I can't tell whether the Abundance is male or female, she's kind of pretty!"
"Yeah, judging by the Abundance's expression, she feels like the Star God closest to mortals!"
"I heard that as long as you pray to the Abundance, it never refuses after receiving your prayer. That can't be true, can it?"
"I suddenly have a bold idea!"
"The mic is yours. Go on, say it!"
"Medicine King's Mercy! Believe in the Abundance Cult, and you shall receive Medicine King's Blessing, free from the suffering of age and illness!"
"Wow, a living Denizen of Abundance!"
"The Abundance is so loving. No wonder Lan chases her all across the universe. Maybe it's love turning into hate—he wants the Abundance all to himself!"
"Damn, yours is even more unhinged!"
"When something happens later, don't let the blood splash on me!"
"This is the Yaoging Xianzhou. We believe your historical theory is exceptionally insightful and would like to grant you a reward. Please provide your star system coordinates!"
"Holy shit, he's done for!"
"Did anyone else notice that the music during the Erudition section sounded like it had the rhythm of a code?"
"Me, me, me! Short short short short long, short short long long long—that's 42 in Morse Code!"
"The portraits below were all members of the Genius Club. One of them was Zandar, the first member of the Genius Club and the creator of The Erudition!"
"Is it really that detailed? Were you all watching with magnifying glasses?"
"Am I the only one who can only go 'uh uh uh'?"
"That flash of red light in its gaze... I never thought a computer could give off such overwhelming pressure!"
"Fun fact: The Erudition's eyes are actually off to the side. The red light is more like its mouth!"
"Holy shit, now that you've said that, I can't unsee it!"
"If we're talking about oppressive presence, it has to be the Nihility Aeon, IX!"
"I never thought this Star God really existed. With the concept of the Path of Nihility, this might be the strongest Star God right now!"
"The person above, take out the 'right now'!"
"Doesn't that mean you can just lie around and keep getting stronger? That's way too overpowered!"
"Uh... does it really feel oppressive? When those eyes opened, why did I feel like it was kind of cute?"
"Watch your mouth! That's disrespecting Black General!"
"What the hell is Black General? That's the Nihility Aeon!"
"I heard anyone who sees Black General falls into irreversible self-annihilation. I watched it and I'm totally fine!"
"Waaah, IX, take me away!"
"Together with the Harmony Star God Xipe appearing at the end, these seven Paths are the ones currently implemented in the game!"
"There were lots more Paths later on, but I've only seen Elation and Memory in the Simulated Universe!"
"No matter how many times I see Fuli, the Memory Star God, I still think she looks cool!"
"Some Star Gods seem to have already fallen. Like the Bug Emperor of Propagation—it was smashed to pieces by King of Amber!"
"Seeing so many Star Gods has me so excited right now. It feels like something is about to—"
"The person who made this PV is incredible! How do they know so much about the Star Gods?"
"And who was that woman who kept talking? Can she be added to the game? I really want to pull for her. She can pull me too!"
"I wonder whether Star Gods will be added to the game in the future. I'm getting more and more excited for this game's future developments!"
"First the Herta Space Station and Belobog, and now Star God data. What exactly is the official team behind this game?"
"This game can't really be exactly the same as reality, can it? Maybe one day even I'll appear in the game as a character!"
"Wake up. You're just some stinky gamer!"
"Say that again!"
Galactic Odyssey PV once again ignited the viewers' enthusiasm, and they all began discussing it beneath the video!
This hardcore introduction to the Star Gods also drew the attention of many outsiders. When they clicked in, they initially thought it was Star God information produced by some master!
Only after finishing it did they notice the Honkai: Star Rail download button at the side. This PV had actually been made by a game company!
They all drew in sharp breaths. It was terrifyingly impressive!
At the Herta Space Station.
Asta watched the PV playing on her phone. Even with all the knowledge expected of a young lady like her, she was shocked by the true forms of the Star Gods appearing one after another!
It was understandable for Star Gods close to mortals, or those with records of appearing several times, to be documented.
But the Nihility Aeon... could anyone truly witness its full form and escape the shadow it cast?
Just what faction was behind this game's official team?
Just as Asta was lost in thought, Herta's voice came from beside her.
"Hmm, I didn't expect it to include information on The End either, even if it was only a name."
The sudden voice made Asta cry out in fright. Only when she saw it was Ms. Herta's puppet did she let out a long breath.
"Ms. Herta, could you please let me know when you're about to appear?"
"You looked so focused that I didn't want to interrupt you. Oh, right, help me apply to the company for a batch of funding."
As she said this, Herta looked toward the video on Asta's screen.
"Just say it's for finding development materials for the Simulated Universe."
"Ms. Herta, you're not going to use it to top up the game, are you...?"
Seeing Herta's expression, Asta had a bad feeling.
"Research. This is necessary research funding! It's only a little money. I'm leaving it to you!"
"Hey, Ms. Herta, Ms. Herta—!"
Have You Caught Honkai: Star Rail?
After negotiations with the company's headquarters fell through, Lin Guang turned his attention toward the branch offices.
With the investment of Credits, the game's promotion gradually began spreading across one planet after another.
Blue-12138 was one of them. It was a human-majority colony world whose civilization was connected to the interstellar community, making it a relatively developed planet in the universe.
And Honkai: Star Rail's promotion had already begun taking effect on this planet.
On the planet-wide local network's game rankings, Honkai: Star Rail shot to the top like a dark horse, immediately drawing the attention of countless players across the planet!
When faced with a game that suddenly exploded in popularity, many people chose to click download and give it a try.
But there was another type of person who did not think that way!
As if driven by contrarianism, the more popular a game was, the more they disliked it and refused to download it.
Just like how some people disliked following the crowd in everyday life, there was no right or wrong in this behavior. It was simply a matter of personal preference.
Among this contrarian group, there was also an extremely rare kind of group!