Honkai: Star Rail, Marrying Acheron Upon Landing Chapter 4

Lin Shuang nervously withdrew her hand, clenching her fist against her chest.

The silver, shimmering wedding ring gleamed, catching Acheron's eye.

As if in response, the ring on Acheron's ring finger also flashed with light.

Strangely, it felt like a clear, gentle moonlight was softly falling upon Acheron's heart.

This caused Acheron, who should have been unfazed, to pause for a moment.

"Acheron?"

Snapping back to reality, Acheron saw Lin Shuang's gaze. She regained her usual composure and removed the red clothing she was wearing.

"It's fine. More importantly, did you gain power?"

"I should have. Let me try."

Lin Shuang finally remembered her purple gacha draw.

The system's judgment had clearly downgraded the reward. Based on the information the system had previously provided, a marriage should have resulted in a gold-tier reward.

But Lin Shuang's clever workaround had obviously downgraded the gold-tier reward to purple.

Still, Lin Shuang was quite satisfied with purple. After all, she had gotten something for nothing.

She doubted she'd have another chance like this.

Thinking this, Lin Shuang silently recited in her mind:

Draw!

A deep purple flashed before her eyes.

[Herrscher of Flames of Corruption Core (High-Imitation Toy Version)]

['High imitation from the Celestial Empire. Isn't it normal for a few to synthesize into one? It's absolutely 1:1 simulation, at least in terms of special effects. As for power, that depends on what energy source you provide.']

['I know what you want to say. Those who know, know. Since you're here, you need to make up for what's missing.']

Damn it...

Lin Shuang now seriously suspected this darn system was a bit crazy.

Where in the original story did such a core come from? What was it imitating?

It really had that abstract, mixed-and-matched feel of a supermarket toy.

And in Acheron's eyes...

After Lin Shuang slightly nodded and appeared to be deep in thought for a moment.

Flickering flames gradually spread. Acheron could feel a power rapidly strengthening Lin Shuang's body.

At the same time, the dress, originally unsuitable for combat, was quickly replaced.

Flames clung to Lin Shuang's body like blooming red lotuses. The burning dress transformed into white armor, and the flickering sparks trailed into a long, narrow cape.

Her scattered white hair was tied into a ponytail, and a broad-bladed greatsword was forged within the flames.

Four gradually lighting gems were embedded in the greatsword, appearing crystal clear.

Everything looked incredibly spectacular.

The surging flames released high temperatures and light, appearing highly aggressive.

Acheron watched this transformation in surprise. She hadn't expected Lin Shuang's words to be true.

Or rather, she hadn't expected such a simple ritual could summon power of this caliber out of thin air.

There was no gaze from a Stellaron, nor any existing power source. This power seemed to have appeared from nowhere.

Although Acheron's memories were always incomplete, she could still judge that a scene like this, even across the entire galaxy, would be considered among the most absurd.

Even someone as unfazed as Acheron felt a trace of curiosity looking at the girl engulfed in flames.

Volume 1: Chapter 5 Do You Like Greatswords with Their Own BGM?

Lin Shuang, holding the greatsword, reopened her eyes.

Compared to Acheron's curiosity and surprise, her own feelings were somewhat complicated.

Lin Shuang could clearly feel the enhancement her current body received when this imitation core integrated with it.

But as the description stated, the energy available within the core was limited. Merely strengthening her body and constructing the greatsword and armor had consumed most of the energy.

This core couldn't automatically draw Honkai Energy or Imaginary Energy. The energy it came with wasn't even at full capacity; using one portion meant one less.

She needed to find a continuous power source, a 'battery,' to install into this core. Otherwise, Lin Shuang would just be a strong girl.

Of course, if it were only this, Lin Shuang wouldn't be so conflicted.

After all, pure strength represented pure violence.

What truly made her speechless was the greatsword in her hand.

At the hilt, there was a button. And when Lin Shuang pressed the button in front of Acheron...

The flames on the sword surged! The cape billowed without wind, and the four gems lit up one after another—

The greatsword suddenly emitted a cheap "beep beep beep" sound effect.

After Lin Shuang pressed the buttons twice more, the cheap sound effects gradually faded, and then, a melodious song began to play:

"Some deserts on this planet were oceans once~"

"Somewhere shrouded by the night the sun will shine~"

Yes, this sword had actually started playing the Herrscher of Flames of Corruption's BGM, "Moon Halo."

And it didn't stop there.

Four gems began to flash rhythmically, and the surrounding flames danced along with the music.

When Lin Shuang long-pressed the button again, the cheap toy sound effect "beep beep beep—" rang out once more.

At the same time, the singing changed to another song:

"When good old friends are going away"

"Will you wish them to remember your name?"

This time it was "Da Capo."

The song was beautiful, but paired with these inexplicable sound effects and this greatsword...

Dejà vu.

An overwhelming sense of dejà vu.

It made her hard-pressed not to think of the plastic toys that relatives' children would hold and make noise and light up by pulling a trigger when she visited them during Chinese New Year.

What was even more unbearable was Acheron beside her curiously reaching out to touch the flames, only to discover.

"These flames seem to be just illusions? There's no energy radiation."

"I know, I know... this sword is a toy sword."

Lin Shuang took a deep breath, trying to stay calm.

It was all special effects.

This damn greatsword was just a special effects toy sword!

All the equipment on her body existed solely to complement the sword's special effects.

The four gems on it were four LED lights, and the cloak and armor behind her generated illusory flames.

Lin Shuang fumbled around for a long time and even found a slot for batteries!

The slot was adaptive, able to transform regardless of which version of batteries Lin Shuang inserted.

"Isn't this insane!"

Lin Shuang raised her hand, lifted the giant sword that was playing music and wouldn't stop, and slashed it towards the wall beside her!

BOOM—!

However, Lin Shuang, who expected the greatsword to shatter, watched in disbelief as the swung greatsword effortlessly pulverized the seemingly solid building material.

And it was completely unharmed itself.

Acheron, however, calmly took the greatsword from Lin Shuang's hand and weighed it. She swung it a few times while listening to the music.

"The material of your sword is good, it's light, hard, and most importantly... hmm, the song is nice, I'll remember it. Even though it's a toy, it's not unusable as a weapon."

"Ah... um..."

Lin Shuang took the sword back, utterly defeated. This thing was a weapon that came with the Herrscher Core, so it would naturally be the most compatible with her current strength.

Besides, since Acheron herself admitted it, it meant the sword was definitely qualified as a weapon.

If only it didn't have that inexplicable sound effect...

Would she, from now on, be a woman who fought with her own BGM?

And such sentimental songs at that...

While looking cool is a lifelong pursuit, she really didn't need this kind of "coolness factor"!

Lin Shuang found it hard to cope.

Especially when she imagined suddenly activating the sound effects and lights during a fight.

She wasn't sure who would be more embarrassed, her or her enemies.

This kind of mutually assured embarrassment was not worth it!

Seeing Lin Shuang's expression, Acheron seemed to imagine the cheap horn-like sound effects blaring during Lin Shuang's battles.

A faint smile, one she herself hadn't noticed, touched her lips.

"At least you're not empty-handed. What are your plans now?"

"Uh..."

Acheron's words pulled her back to reality.

Although this set of equipment didn't look very serious, no matter how she looked at it.

But for now, in terms of quality, it's acceptable. What needs to be used, must be used.

So Lin Shuang thought for a moment. The most pressing issue now was to find a suitable energy source for her Herrscher Core.

After all, the energy reserves in the core weren't exactly abundant. Once they ran out, she wouldn't even be able to conjure a spark.

Although she didn't know what would be considered "suitable," perhaps a Stellaron could be tried to see if it could fit.

This thing, despite being called the 'Cancer of all worlds,' seemed to have been used by some civilizations in the past.

Maybe it could provide power?

And she also had a 'Storage Card' from before.

This item was limited to one object, but it didn't specify a weight limit. Maybe it could hold a Stellaron and be carried away?

With that thought, Lin Shuang smiled and said:

"Thanks to you, I've gained some ability to protect myself. From now on, I plan to find this world's Stellaron. It might be useful to me."

Lin Shuang looked at Acheron, only to see her putting on a glove for her left hand, covering the ring beneath the fabric.

Acheron frowned slightly and spoke:

"Stellarons... it's best not to get close to them. If you're worried about leaving, I can take you. If you're just curious, I advise you not to be curious about Stellarons at your current level."

With that, Acheron ignored Lin Shuang's gaze, stood up, and tapped her scabbard against a nearby gap. Using her height to her advantage, she spoke from above:

"You have power now, but you're not skilled in combat, are you? The Anti-Matter Legion and Void creatures are far more dangerous than what we just encountered."

Looking out the window, one could still see Void creatures lingering in the distance.

" this planet has already been destroyed by a Stellaron. Near the Stellaron, there will be more and stronger monsters lurking."

Although, by all rights, Acheron had already shown the utmost kindness by saying this much.

In reality, however, beneath her calm tone, a hint of displeasure could be detected.