Honkai: Star Rail, Marry Acheron First Upon Landing Chapter 6

Just then, the ring hidden beneath the glove suddenly flashed with light. Immediately after, sweet juice and pulp burst forth with a rich flavor between Hotaru's lips and teeth.

With just one bite, Acheron froze in place.

"It's so sweet, what kind of peach is this? What variety is it, and on which planet can I buy it? I want to buy more later."

Lin Shuang's voice sounded in her ear, but to Acheron, it was like hearing through a barrier, eliciting no reaction.

She stared blankly at the peach she had bitten a notch into, her white hair beginning to spread downwards.

At that moment, Lin Shuang, receiving no response, looked up. Her smiling face instantly froze:

"Acheron? Acheron, what's wrong!"

"Hm?"

The white strands of hair retracted. As if snapping back to reality, Acheron looked at Lin Shuang with a hint of confusion, then at the peach in her hand.

"What does your peach taste like?"

Lin Shuang looked at Acheron, her expression becoming tense. She moved closer, sitting right beside Acheron, and took Acheron's hand, which was gripping the sword hilt.

"It's just a very sweet peach flavor, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell? Do you want to go back to the camp and rest for a bit?"

Lin Shuang remembered that Acheron was highly likely to walk the path of The Nihility, and the path of The Nihility led to nothingness and self-destruction.

Seeing Acheron's current state, Lin Shuang worried it was the influence of The Nihility. If it truly was The Nihility, Lin Shuang didn't know how she could help her.

"..."

However, Acheron didn't answer Lin Shuang's question. She simply lowered her head and took another forceful bite of the peach.

"So sweet... this taste, just like in my memories."

Closing her eyes, she savored it carefully, as if unwilling to let even a trace of the flavor escape.

The power of The Nihility was what had taken away her sense of taste, and this was not something that could be covered up with a mere coincidence or miracle.

What power could counteract the power of The Nihility, even restoring Acheron's lost sense of taste, where did it come from?

The sweetness on her tongue continued to spread, and Acheron's thoughts became incredibly chaotic.

Why?

Why could something taken by The Nihility return?

This did not align with Acheron's understanding of The Nihility...

After a long while.

Acheron, her thoughts in disarray, opened her eyes to meet Lin Shuang's worried gaze and the hand that had not let go of hers for a moment.

Acheron looked directly into Lin Shuang's eyes, then her gaze shifted downwards. Her lips, stained with sweet juice, reflected the sunlight, appearing crystal clear.

Perhaps... it would be very sweet.

For some reason, she remembered the taste of the peach.

"Can... can I have a taste of yours?"

"Hm? Sure, go ahead and eat."

Handing the peach over, Lin Shuang found it difficult to describe the complex look in Acheron's eyes before her. It was a look Lin Shuang hadn't seen in the two days they had been together.

Why was her emotional fluctuation so significant? Wasn't Acheron a very reserved, even cold, person?

Lin Shuang carefully considered Acheron's few words and suddenly realized.

Had Acheron just tasted something?

As an Envoy of The Nihility, wasn't Acheron not only missing memories but also her sense of taste?

And had her missing taste buds just awakened?

Lin Shuang watched as Acheron lowered her head and bit into her peach. From her vantage point above, Acheron's beauty was even more captivating.

Looking at Acheron like this, Lin Shuang felt a bit agitated. With only a few days left until the version update, why did they have to send her over before Acheron was officially released?

Now she only had a vague understanding of Acheron's situation, which was so annoying.

"Yours... is also sweet. Thank you."

Looking up, perhaps she hadn't been careful enough while eating earlier, Acheron raised her hand and gently wiped the corner of her mouth.

She could feel her heart leaping with joy from tasting the sweetness of the peach.

Shocked, unable to comprehend, yet surprised and fearful.

To the point that Acheron was anxiously eager to taste a second flavor, one that could still linger in her memory.

And at that moment, Acheron's gaze, following the peach, returned to Lin Shuang's lips once more.

"It's okay, so Acheron, you really like peaches."

Lin Shuang responded with a smile, keeping her thoughts to herself. She took a big bite of the peach flesh, wanting to savor its flavor together with Acheron.

And just then, Acheron suddenly let go of the sword in her hand and grabbed Lin Shuang's shoulders.

Accompanied by the sweet scent of peach, and disregarding Lin Shuang's shocked expression, she bit down.

Volume 1: Chapter 8 - Making Up for All the Sweetness You Missed in the Past.

Lin Shuang's eyes widened.

By the time she registered what was happening, she couldn't move.

A tangible force bound Lin Shuang, and the sweet flesh of the fruit, mixed with its juice, was continuously taken.

In the eyes of the person right in front of her, suppressed desire and longing shocked Lin Shuang.

It also made Lin Shuang realize that this wasn't a kiss, but Acheron greedily consuming past memories.

Understanding this, Lin Shuang stopped struggling. Her right hand, which had been gripping Acheron's wrist, released and braced herself behind her, taking Acheron's weight.

She couldn't imagine what Acheron must be feeling at this moment.

Filled with a wild, aggressive energy. Even the usually calm Acheron seemed to have fallen into a frenzy by this sudden turn of events.

This continued until the peach's fragrance completely dissipated.

Acheron still didn't stop. She pressed down on the back of Lin Shuang's head, moving slightly lower, her teeth biting into Lin Shuang's skin, applying gentle pressure.

"Hiss..."

The sudden pain made Lin Shuang instinctively struggle, but she couldn't overpower Acheron.

A metallic, rusty taste spread through her mouth, and Acheron's pupils trembled.

The familiar taste of blood had never been so clear.

It was even mixed with a hint of peach sweetness.

Acheron's frenzy gradually receded, but her eyes still couldn't regain their usual calmness.

As if realizing what she had just done, Acheron released Lin Shuang's shoulder. Her tongue swept over the wound one last time, licking away the final drop of blood.

"Haa... haa..."

Lin Shuang panted, looking at Acheron, whose lips were stained with blood, giving her an eerie appearance. She also met Acheron's apologetic gaze and let out a laugh.

She raised her hand and gently wiped away the trace of blood at the corner of Acheron's mouth.

"Feeling any better?"

As she spoke, a drop of blood trickled down her lip, landing precisely on the half-eaten peach, splashing a conspicuous crimson.

"..."

Acheron looked at her, her eyes seeming more alive than before.

"I'm sorry. While I'm skilled with a blade, I'm not good at healing."

"It's fine. Compared to your teachings, this is barely even a wound. There's nothing to apologize for."

Lin Shuang wiped her mouth. The bleeding had already stopped in this short time.

She continued, "What was wrong with you just now? You weren't yourself."

Knowing that Lin Shuang was deliberately skipping over the recent events, Acheron nodded and continued, "For some reason, I've almost completely lost my sense of taste, and my memories are fragmented. The sweetness of the peach is one of the few tastes I can remember."

"Just now, I tasted a sweetness from my memories after a long time – something that should have been impossible for me. I desperately wanted to confirm it, to taste more, even to taste another flavor I could remember..."

As Acheron spoke, her eyes lowered, looking at the peach in Lin Shuang's hand, at the drop of blood smudged by the juice.

Lin Shuang nodded thoughtfully.

"It was the taste of blood, wasn't it?"

"Yes."

Acheron nodded slightly.

Strictly speaking, what she remembered was the taste of death, and blood was merely one aspect of it.

However, Acheron had no intention of telling Lin Shuang this.

To Acheron's relief, Lin Shuang didn't press further.

Instead, she smiled. "If that's the case, then in the future, you must go to more places and taste more wonders, so that blood is no longer the only taste you need to remember. Make up for all the sweetness you've missed in the past."

"..."

Acheron hadn't been moved by someone else's words in a very, very long time.

Or perhaps she had, but had forgotten it.

For the first time, Acheron wanted to engrave this moment in her memory forever.

"Lin Shuang, can I take a picture?"

"Huh?"

Lin Shuang was momentarily taken aback, as the topic had jumped quite suddenly.

But Acheron had already pulled out her phone from her pocket, and seeing that, Lin Shuang naturally couldn't refuse.

With a click.

The girl's smile, bathed in sunlight, was captured in the photo.

On the ring finger of her left hand, which held a half-eaten peach, the silver ring gleamed.

After taking the picture, Acheron tapped on the screen, operated it for a moment, and then showed the screen to Lin Shuang.

"Does it look good?"

Despite Acheron's calm tone, Lin Shuang felt a hint of smugness within it.

Smug about what?

Lin Shuang felt she was being a bit presumptuous, perhaps due to the ambiguous 'kiss' just now.

She chuckled self-mockingly and looked closely at the line of text in the photo.

Then she couldn't laugh anymore.

"How did you even record what I just said..."

"Because I thought it was good, and I really like that sentence. Is that not allowed?"

Anyone would be flustered if their casual remark was officially recorded like that.

Lin Shuang even felt a heat rising to her cheeks.

But with Acheron, like an older sister, sitting in front of her and carefully asking if she could keep the photo...

Who could resist that?

"Fine, fine, keep it. I won't see it anyway, so I'll just pretend I don't know."

"Mhm, thank you."