Jiang Yu walked through space and saw Nanook standing at its farthest reaches. The wound that spilled golden blood looked like a fissure, swallowing countless stars.
Karmic Flames scorched the universe. Matter turned to ash and drifted upward, while souls fell into oblivion.
The power Aha had given him surged within his body. This time, neither looking directly at an Aeon nor receiving an Aeon's gaze affected Jiang Yu.
Nanook's golden eyes merely swept over him. A moment later, his magnificent form vanished.
Jiang Yu continued forward. Aha's power protected him, allowing him to brave the blazing flames and ignore the clamoring, sinking souls. He passed through the fog of ash and walked the road to annihilation.
Until he saw surging energy and a point of light deep within the stars...
Stelle was in agony.
She felt her consciousness being torn apart and her body evaporating. Boundless pain tugged at her soul.
Flames were burning her alive...
Suddenly, a breeze rose and supported her body from behind. Stelle felt as though she could smell sunshine. Unlike this expanse of stars scorched dry by Karmic Flames, it was the scent of vibrant life.
A hand reached around from behind and quietly covered her eyes.
From that moment on, she could no longer hear the souls' crazed clamor, see the Karmic Flames burning heaven and earth, or sense the lingering traces of ash after everything had burned away...
Only a familiar voice sounded beside her ear, putting her at ease.
Stelle thought of the boy who had crashed into the space station...
"Don't look. I'm here."
The boy's hand gently closed her eyes. A tender breeze soothed her restless soul, and all her pain receded like the tide...
She quietly fell asleep in his arms.
On the Platform, Himeko, Dan Heng, and March 7th suddenly saw the energy from the rampaging Stellaron disappear.
As the terrifying energy and shock waves dispersed, two figures emerged within them.
The tall, gray-haired girl and the white-haired boy both had their eyes closed as they toppled backward.
A gravitational force quietly appeared, drawing the two toward it so they would not hit the ground hard.
Dan Heng and March 7th immediately rushed forward, each catching one of them.
"Uncle Yang, they're..." March 7th looked anxiously at the refined-looking, middle-aged man who had suddenly appeared, cane in hand.
"They're all right now."
Welt's voice was reassuring. He adjusted his glasses and gave Jiang Yu, who lay in March 7th's arms, a long look.
He charged into the rampaging Stellaron's energy field alone, then forcibly suppressed it with an incomprehensible power... There's much more to this boy than meets the eye...
"Let's talk somewhere else."
Jiang Yu heard every word Old Yang said.
The scene just now made it look as though he had collapsed from exhaustion, but he had used Aha's power to suppress the rampaging Stellaron. Truthfully, Jiang Yu felt full of energy. Doing several hundred push-ups in one go would have been no problem.
Aha's power had successfully canceled out the effects of Nanook's downward glance and had even suppressed the Stellaron quite effectively. Stelle should be able to wield its power freely for a while now.
Jiang Yu kept his eyes closed, pretending to be unconscious.
Because that made it look more tragic.
This was good. Looking a little worse for wear, rather than solving everything effortlessly, made it easier to gain popularity. That was how it worked in some of the tearjerkers he had watched before, anyway.
Besides, being in a pretty girl's arms was comfortable.
Another reason was that, to everyone else, he had already sacrificed so much. That should make it easier when he asked to join the Astral Express Crew. Although he felt Himeko would not really turn anyone away from the Astral Express Family, having this foundation would make things much safer.
Jiang Yu felt himself being picked up, then carried away.
I wonder how long Stelle will be unconscious...
After some thought, Jiang Yu decided to sleep first. He had fought several battles in a row, after all. When it was time to rest, he ought to rest properly!
In the real world.
In Siberian Duck's livestream.
She continued following the quest.
Since the Open Beta began, Jiang Yu's addition had brought quite a few changes to the story. That gave her even more to look forward to in Honkai: Star Rail.
Siberian Duck was now very eager to see how the story would unfold.
After reassuring Abraham, she guided her character back to report to Asta.
"Huh? Little Fish is gone. The Doomsday Beast attacks at this point. So the story's back to how it was before," Siberian Duck muttered.
[Bro Don't Hit Me: I don't know why, but I'm getting a bad feeling.]
[Mango Pomelo Sago wu~: Don't tell me that's it for Little Fish's story? Do we have to wait until the Express departs to see him again?]
[Emanator of Aha: Maybe Little Fish gets left at Herta Space Station to work off his debt.]
[Little Fish My Precious: No, come on! I can't just stop seeing him right after falling in love with him, can I?]
"I don't know. Let's keep watching. Hopefully Little Fish can stay with the Astral Express Crew." Siberian Duck glanced at the chat as she spoke.
The story continued.
"The part where they discuss which way to leave hasn't changed either... Huh?"
[Little Fish My Precious: Yay! Little Fish is back!]
"He just ripped the door off." Watching Jiang Yu tear a door out and run straight into the Astral Express Crew, Siberian Duck did not know whether to laugh or cry.
Then she saw a map she had never seen during the Closed Beta.
There were holes smashed through walls everywhere, and many doors had been ripped out as well.
"Little Fish has really decided he's got nothing left to lose."
[XIYTK, Finale: Little Fish: I've already wrecked the place. What's smashing a little more going to hurt? Herta can afford it anyway.]
[My Pee Is Yellow: With the Doomsday Beast showing up, Little Fish was scared we'd be in danger, so he actually took on even more debt just to find us. He loves us so much, I'm crying!]
[Have Mercy Senior: Exactly, he loves us so much, and I love him so much too! Baby, let Uncle give you a kiss!]
[Tang Sanzang Washes His Hair with Rejoice: With Little Fish's guileless personality, he probably already sees everyone in the Astral Express Crew as his good friends. Someone like him would only do this because he genuinely likes us, and that's exactly what makes him so adorable!]
[Ms. Herta Fan Club: You're absolutely right, but that doesn't justify destroying the space station. Ms. Herta has already said to hand Little Fish over to me. I hereby sentence Little Fish to a month of confinement in my house!]
[Chong Nation Gooner: You'd better actually think that's a punishment, rather than deliberately finding an excuse to reward yourself.]
The chat carried on for a while longer as Siberian Duck continued the quest. After winding through a maze of turns and solving a puzzle, she finally reached the Space Bridge.
"Even with some changes to the story and map, we still have to take all the same detours!" Siberian Duck grumbled, then fell silent.
Because just then, the game cut to a close-up of the starry sky above the Space Bridge-a scene that had not been there before.
[Wahaha: Holy shit, that's gorgeous!]
[In Love with Master: So beautiful! Space is so vast and ethereal. It's breathtaking!]
Everyone marveled at the splendor of the universe for a while. The main story continued, finally reaching the moment when the Doomsday Beast arrived.
"This time, the Doomsday Beast isn't showing off. It just attacks! March... That was awesome, Little Fish!"
Siberian Duck cried out excitedly in praise when she saw Jiang Yu leap up and slash to block the Doomsday Beast's attack.
The Doomsday Beast launched straight into an attack, making the scene intensely thrilling!
Praise kept pouring into the chat as well.
[Anemo Boys Only: See that? That's the sense of security our Xianzhou Sword Immortal gives us!]
[Love Kids Who Smell Like Sunshine: You're so cool, my precious!]
[A-Feng Watches: Holy shit, the blade's about to break!]
Everyone had only just begun praising him when the cutscene zoomed in. Accompanied by a crisp sound, a distinct crack appeared in the blade Jiang Yu had snatched from Arlan.
At that moment, everyone's heart leaped into their throat.
Before you continue