Black Calamity's Power, Gu Yuena Questions Her Life as a Dragon!

He knew that name all too well.

In Honkai Star Rail's story, the Flame Reaver—

The nameless swordsman who arrived alongside the Black Tide and hunted the Titan Core Flames.

No one knew his true identity, and no one knew where he had come from. All they knew was that he possessed unimaginable power, that his swordsmanship was nearly flawless, and that both the Grove of Epiphany and Aedes Elysiae had fallen by his hand.

Among players, though, he was more commonly known by another name.

Black Calamity.

Bai Yuan slowly sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and sank his consciousness deep into the Core Flame.

The plot analyses and player discussions he had read online flooded into his mind like a tide.

Black Calamity...

Was actually the future Phainon.

The Phainon who had struggled through countless cycles, lost everything, and ultimately chosen to bear it all alone.

According to the players' prevailing theory, the Flame Reaver was Bai Yuan from the first cycle. He had watched his family and friends leave him one after another, powerless to stop it, yet through that suffering, he had learned the truth of this world.

He had stepped beyond the cycle and entered other cycles as the Flame Reaver, continuously obtaining the powers of the Golden Twelve Descendants.

In search of a way to sever the cycle and lead everyone in Amphoreus toward a bright future.

Phainon took a deep breath.

The destroyer of Aedes Elysiae, Cyrene's killer, the black-robed swordsman who had cast an endless shadow over the young Phainon.

Was, after countless cycles, Phainon himself—already battered and broken.

How ironic!

How impossible to accept.

The silver-haired boy he had seen in the illusion, standing alone amid the ruins—the child who bore the collapse of the entire world on his shoulders—had eventually become someone else.

No, not someone else—another side of the same person.

The "Phainon" who had endured endless cycles, lost all hope, and been left with nothing but obsession.

Bai Yuan opened his eyes and looked down at the Core Flame in his palm.

The tiny flame intertwined with gold and black continued to flicker, as though trying to tell him something.

According to the players' analysis, Phainon and Black Calamity had always been two sides of the same coin—projections of the same person across different timelines.

Phainon was the "past" that had yet to experience every tragedy, while Black Calamity was the "future" that had already borne everything and been tortured beyond recognition by the cycles.

Their confrontation had never been a clash between justice and evil, but a conversation between one's "past self" and "future self."

Bai Yuan could not help recalling the scenes he had witnessed in the illusion.

The golden wheat fields, the boy in white, the girl in pink.

"If one day we have to say goodbye to Aedes Elysiae, would you be willing to become a savior?"

That was where the story began.

And Black Calamity was where it ended.

The Core Flame grew faintly warm in his palm.

Bai Yuan slowly exhaled, the shock in his eyes gradually turning into resolve.

"Black Calamity..."

he murmured, his gaze settling on the golden flame entwined with black at the Core Flame's center.

"So, future me, did you leave your mark within this Core Flame too?"

The Core Flame did not answer.

But the black-and-white fire flickered more fiercely than before.

Bai Yuan clenched his fist, rose to his feet, and walked to the window.

The Spirit Pagoda's morning bell rang in the distance as sunlight pierced through the mist and fell across his face.

He closed his eyes and sensed the newly born black energy inside him.

After a while, Bai Yuan slowly breathed out and withdrew his consciousness from the depths of the Core Flame.

The black energy was still moving through his body, cold and heavy, but it was no longer as violent as before.

"Looks like... it'll take some time to absorb."

Bai Yuan murmured as he glanced down at the Core Flame in his palm.

The gold-and-black flame was still flickering, much steadier than before.

But its color was still not quite right. That trace of black mixed into the gold—

Rather than fading away, it seemed to have fused into the flame and become part of it.

Forget it. I'll deal with it tonight.

He stood and stretched his somewhat stiff limbs.

The black energy had not affected his movements in the slightest, nor did it cause any discomfort. Instead, he felt lighter and stronger than before.

As though some power that had been sealed away for a long time had finally had one of its locks undone.

Bai Yuan glanced at the soul-guidance clock on the wall. It was almost time for training.

He quickly changed into his training clothes, pushed open the door, and left his room.

The elevator doors opened. He stepped inside and pressed the button for the floor where the training grounds were located.

The elevator descended steadily.

Leaning against the elevator wall, Bai Yuan closed his eyes. The scenes he had just seen deep within the Core Flame emerged in his mind.

The golden wheat fields of Aedes Elysiae, the conversation between the boy in white and the girl in pink, and that black power that belonged to Black Calamity.

"Black Calamity..."

He silently repeated the name in his heart.

And now, that power rested quietly inside his body, waiting to be awakened.

Ding.

The elevator doors opened. Bai Yuan opened his eyes, his purple pupils utterly calm.

He stepped out of the elevator, walked down the corridor, and pushed open the training ground's doors.

The moment Bai Yuan entered the training ground, he saw Gu Yuena already standing on the other side.

Her long silver hair was tied into a high ponytail. Dressed in white training clothes, she was lowering her head as she adjusted the protective gear around her wrist.

Hearing his footsteps, she looked up. Her purple eyes swept calmly over him before quickly turning away.

The corner of Bai Yuan's lips curled up as he leisurely walked over with his sword in hand.

"Junior Sister, you're here so early?"

He stopped beside her and tilted his head at her.

"Did losing to me make you spend all night figuring out how to deal with me?"

Gu Yuena's hand paused.

She raised her head, her purple eyes staring straight at Bai Yuan. A trace of carefully concealed surprise filled her gaze.

How could this human know what I was thinking?

She truly had tossed and turned all night.

Bai Yuan's sword strike, the angle at which it had broken her shield, that bizarre burst of speed—every detail had replayed over and over in her mind.

What utter humiliation!

An insect actually guessed my thoughts?

Gu Yuena clenched her teeth and said nothing.

She did not want to admit it, and she could not admit it.

Yet the fire she had suppressed all night suddenly surged up within her.

Since he had guessed it, there was no need to hide it.

She raised a hand and spread her fingers.

Fire and wind elements gathered in her palm.

Bai Yuan watched the elemental storm rapidly take shape in Gu Yuena's hand.

Not only did he not dodge, he smiled instead.

He took a step back and held Dawnmaker horizontally before him. Pale golden patterns of light flowed along the blade.

"Interesting,"

he said, his eyes curving with amusement.

"Looks like this girl holds a grudge."

The elemental storm in Gu Yuena's palm had condensed to its limit, and she suddenly thrust it toward Bai Yuan.

Fire rode the wind, and wind fueled the fire.

Crimson-gold flames became a roaring fire dragon, lunging at Bai Yuan's face with fangs and claws bared.

Bai Yuan moved his feet, his body sliding sideways like a ghost. The fire dragon brushed past the edge of his clothes and exploded against the wall behind him, leaving a charred black patch.

He turned to glance at the still-burning flames, then looked back at Gu Yuena, the smile in his eyes deepening.

"Junior Sister, are you trying to murder your Senior Brother?"

Gu Yuena stared at him coldly, her purple pupils reflecting that infuriating face of his.

She took a deep breath, suppressing the anger churning within her. Her tone returned to its usual cool indifference.

"Senior Brother must be joking. It's merely a spar."

Seeing her expression that practically declared, "I'm fine, I'm perfectly calm," Bai Yuan could not help laughing.

She was obviously furious beyond belief, yet she still had to put on an air of utter composure.

This Silver Dragon King was rather interesting.

He tightened his grip on Dawnmaker and pointed its tip at Gu Yuena, unable to suppress the curve of his lips.

"Fine, a spar.

Come on, let Senior Brother see what new moves you came up with last night."

Gu Yuena said nothing, but the air around her began to ripple violently.

Ice, fire, wind, earth, light, darkness.

Six elements surged wildly around her like six enormous dragons of different colors, slowly circling her body.

Something burned deep within her purple eyes!!!

She had lost last night, so she had to win today.

Not to prove anything to Leng Yaozhu, nor for the Spirit Pagoda's resources.

It was simply because—she, Gu Yuena, the Silver Dragon King, could not lose to a human.