Aglaea was undeniably beautiful. After all, in the original Honkai: Star Rail game, she held the title of "First Beauty of Okhema." Of course, the current undisputed "First Beauty of Okhema" was undoubtedly Tribios.
As Aglaea examined herself, she suddenly realized she could see. In the original story, Aglaea's ascension to demigodhood came at the cost of her vision and the gradual loss of her humanity. Yet here she was, seemingly without these sacrifices.
Could it be that the characters drawn from the System are all 'flawless versions' of themselves? she wondered. Tribios had been the same—the "Big Tribbie" form rather than the fragmented "Little Trib" state.
Standing opposite her, Tribios could see Aglaea's striking eyes—a mesmerizing blend of teal and pale yellow—reflected in the gleaming highlights of her pupils.
After a brief glance, Tribios took two steps back. It's just too weird to use my own eyes as a mirror to see my reflection.
After appearance, naturally came the ability test. Aglaea was the Demigod of Romance—or, to put it more simply, the Goddess of Beauty and Love.
She possessed the ability known as "Golden Thread"—a golden, exceedingly thin yet incomparably resilient thread. It could be used for both offense and defense, with a range vast enough to easily cover an entire city.
Furthermore, this Golden Thread possessed extraordinary "Perception" capabilities. By lightly wrapping it around someone's finger, Aglaea could instantly discern whether they were telling the truth.
Whether the Golden Thread remained visible or invisible was entirely at Aglaea's discretion. This meant that, if she so desired, she could invisibly wrap the thread around every citizen of the city, monitoring their every move without their knowledge.
Of course, such surveillance was entirely unnecessary. Tribios trusted all the current residents of Okhema implicitly.
Beyond its surveillance applications, however, the Golden Thread offered another function that Tribios cherished above all others: networking!
Aglaea could use her Golden Thread to create an environment throughout Okhema similar to the internet from her previous life. This would give the mobile phones, previously limited to P2P connections, far greater development potential!
Of course, realizing this vision would require Aglaea to gradually familiarize herself with her newfound ability.
Aglaea gently raised her right hand. With a mere thought, a delicate, beautiful strand of Golden Thread materialized in her palm, coiling repeatedly around her fingertips.
The thread then extended forward, wrapping around Tribios opposite her. Naturally, Tribios felt nothing—or perhaps... since they were essentially one being, whether she perceived it or not was ultimately meaningless!
It's worth noting that beyond her Golden Thread ability, Aglaea had also been a formidable Sword master in the Honkai: Star Rail game. However... in her current state, she had absolutely no proficiency with the blade. Furthermore, unlike in the game where she was surrounded by Tailors, she now had none by her side.
In any case, Aglaea lowered her head to continue studying the Golden Thread's capabilities, while Tribios turned her attention to the second person present: Anaxa. He had short green hair, wore an eyepatch over his left eye, and was dressed in black and blue clothing. A strange red pattern resembling a Command Spell marked his right hand.
Anaxa stood slightly taller than Tribios and Aglaea, even when they wore high heels. Just standing there, silent and still, he exuded the air of a scholar.
Of course, if he were to speak, that scholarly aura might vanish instantly. For example... him screaming out Magic Technique names!
If they weren't currently in Tribios's office, such a sudden and peculiar outburst would undoubtedly attract attention. Otherwise, he'd have tried shouting it out at least once.
"Speaking of which, a male body?" Anaxa murmured, looking down at his hands. Having lived as Tribios for three centuries, he had grown completely accustomed to a female lifestyle. Now, suddenly inhabiting a male body, he wasn't exactly uncomfortable, but it felt... novel?
At that moment, Anaxa was the Demigod of Reason, or perhaps more accurately, the God of Wisdom, standing in perfect contrast to Aglaea, the Demigod of Romance. Throughout the history of the game Honkai: Star Rail, the Romance Titan and the Reason Titan had always exuded a strong sense of romantic chemistry. As for Aglaea and Anaxa themselves?
In a certain sense, their dynamic indeed carried a palpable tension, but it was devoid of affection—their relationship was one of mutual annihilation rather than love.
Upon closer reflection, it's no wonder Aglaea is considered the Demigod of Romance and a top-tier Succubus. Within the game, she had strong romantic chemistry with almost every other demigod. Aglaea provided Cipher with a warm home, shared the longest-lasting bond with Tribios, and had Castorice as her absolutely loyal subordinate.
With Mydei, their relationship evolved from enmity to alliance, while with Hyacine, she recognized her hidden potential like a discerning patron. With Phainon, she poured all her efforts into nurturing him. And there was Hysilens—Aglaea had learned to love soaking in hot springs from Hysilens, and in the game, Aglaea had written over fifty extremely suggestive letters to her.
It seemed the only exception was Cerydra, who lacked any romantic chemistry. After all, she was the Great Imperator, radiating dignity and authority.
After all that thinking, Anaxa suddenly began to wonder: So... what exactly is the Authority of the Demigod of Reason? It wasn't particularly well-demonstrated in the game, mostly manifesting as Anaxa's wisdom—like uncovering the Titan's secrets or refining himself into a Philosopher's Stone to imprison Lagus.
Could the Authority of the Demigod of Reason just be increased intelligence? If that were the case, this body would offer him the least improvement, since the System-generated body carried no memories—everything would need to be learned from scratch.
Anaxa could already envision his future self buried in endless studies. At least until his knowledge reached a certain level, it would be best to avoid showing himself to others. After all, it would be utterly embarrassing for the Demigod of Reason to be completely clueless and unable to answer even basic questions.
Anaxa glanced at the bookshelves in Tribios's office, initially intending to find a book to test his memory and comprehension. But then he suddenly remembered: Tribios's office didn't contain any such scholarly books at all!
The room was filled with novels and comics.
You couldn't blame Tribios for this! How else could she have endured three centuries without such distractions?
Tribios pulled a stack of banknotes from her desk drawer and handed them to Anaxa. She then opened a Century Gate, and Anaxa quickly stepped through, vanishing from sight.
Finally, Tribios lowered her gaze to the third person present: Hyacine, whose full name was Hyacinthia.
From Hyacine's perspective, she had to tilt her small head back slightly to meet Tribios's eyes. Her height was barely 1.45 meters, and she had long grown accustomed to Tribios's towering stature and condescending gaze. This sudden change in perspective felt incredibly disorienting, as if the entire world had grown larger in her eyes.
Hyacine had long, pink hair styled in twin ponytails that framed her forehead. The ends of her hair gradually faded into turquoise. She wore a red and white jumpsuit that resembled a school uniform, white stockings covered her legs, and she wore plain black leather boots with no added height.
Around her ankles, tied to her white stockings, were adorable red bows, each adorned with a tiny bell that jingled sweetly as she walked.
Hyacine lowered her gaze to her hands, and for once, her vision wasn't obstructed! Instead, she could see her small leather boots in plain view. While she wouldn't exactly call herself flat-chested, her figure was now remarkably streamlined. She also noticed her fingers were bare, with no nail polish, looking perfectly ordinary.
If Tribios and Aglaea embodied mature beauty, Hyacine had sprinted headfirst toward the finish line of "cuteness."
Hyacine tentatively took a few steps forward. Her petite 1.4-meter frame, the sudden absence of weight on her chest, and the flat shoes she hadn't worn in ages all felt foreign. In a soft, endearingly sweet voice, she murmured to herself, "Looks like I'll need some time to get used to this~"
Before she could stop herself, Tribios took a step forward and embraced Hyacine, burying the girl against her chest. "Mmm, you're such a sweet and soft little strawberry cake! You're just too adorable~"
Though, given the situation, it would be more accurate to say, "Am I really that adorable?"
Hugging herself was undeniably wonderful. To Tribios, it felt like cuddling a small animal, like petting a cat or dog. To Hyacine, she directly experienced the full force of the bosom press, her entire cheek enveloped in warmth and softness. With each breath, her nostrils filled with Tribios's delicate, ethereal fragrance.
Wasn't this pure double happiness?
Next came Hyacine's abilities. As Demigod of the SKy, she was also a highly skilled physician. However, this medical expertise seemed to be a personal skill. Without her memories, she was like Anaxa—unable to heal or save lives. Everything had to be relearned from scratch.
As for the authority of the Demigod of the Sky, it was immensely powerful, capable of freely manipulating weather phenomena. Sunny skies, rainstorms, thunder, and lightning were all at her command with a mere thought.
Furthermore, just as with Castorice, Hyacine also had a memosprite: Little Ica, a chubby Pegasus with small wings and a crown on its head, appeared beside her at her mental command.
Like Hyacine herself, Little Ica was utterly adorable—the kind of creature that could melt anyone's heart. Upon materializing, its first instinct was to fly into Hyacine's arms. However, Tribios was still holding Hyacine, blocking its path. The bewildered pegasus fluttered around them, chirping anxiously.
Seeing Little Ica's desperate eagerness, Tribios finally released Hyacine, allowing her to cradle the pegasus. Tribios, meanwhile, stayed beside them, playfully pinching Hyacine's rosy cheeks, marveling at their delightful softness.
If she kept pinching people like this, they'd probably get annoyed quickly. But since both of these were herself, she could pinch as much as she liked.
As for the last person present, Mydei, he had already been introduced—the Demigod of Strife, no further introduction needed.
Just then, the door to Tribios' office burst open, and Melly hurried in. "Teacher Tribbie! There's a new film..."
But her words froze mid-sentence as her expression stiffened. She stared blankly at the room full of people, her gaze sweeping repeatedly between Tribios and Hyacine.
Who... who are all these people? And why does Teacher Tribbie seem so close to that little girl?! A sudden wave of anxiety washed over her.
Tribios, however, showed no surprise. After all, Agy (Aglaea) was right beside her, familiarizing herself with her abilities. Golden Threads had already permeated the entire building, alerting Tribios the moment Melly entered the lobby.
Tribios turned to Melly and said, "Didn't I mention earlier that there are eleven other demigods besides me who will protect Okhema? These three are the first to return. They're all old friends of mine, people you can trust."
"De... Demigods?" Melly stammered, repeating the word blankly. Although Tribios kept referring to herself as a demigod, Melly knew perfectly well that this was just a figure of speech. Teacher Tribbie was, in fact, an Ancient God.
So, if Teacher Tribbie's friends—the three other demigods she spoke of—weren't they also Ancient Gods?
Melly naturally believed Teacher Tribbie's prophecies, but when she witnessed this scene firsthand—three True Gods standing before her—she was still deeply shaken.
At that moment, Tribios introduced them one by one: "This is Aglaea, the Demigod of Romance. And this is Mydeimos, or you can just call him Mydei, he's the Demigod of Strife."
Finally, she introduced the pink-haired girl she had been playfully pinching: "This is Hyacinthia. You can call her Hyacine, she's the Demigod of the Sky."
Melly: "Ah... Ah?"