The opening act of Honkai: Star Rail begins at the Herta Space Station, the place where all dreams start.
At that time, the space station was under attack by the Antimatter Legion. Just as the station's personnel were exhausted from fending off the external threat, two Stellaron Hunters slipped in amidst the chaos. They activated a Stellaron in the Curio Collection, giving birth to the game's protagonist, the Trailblazer.
After waking up, the Trailblazer was rescued by the members of the Astral Express, who had arrived just in time. The group formed a small team to fight back against the minions of Destruction.
Their first battle was a success. The Doomsday Beast was utterly defeated, but the Trailblazer, having been glanced at by Nanook, nearly lost control of the Stellaron's power and went berserk.
At this critical moment, Welt Yang, arguably the strongest man on the Astral Express, made a dashing entrance, suppressing the Stellaron crisis with a single tap of his cane.
This was the initial plot of Star Rail. What followed was the appearance of the beautiful and kind-hearted Madam Herta and content related to the Simulated Universe.
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[The King of the End walks backwards in time, and another Trailblazer, having lost their memories, must start over from the beginning.]
From a high point in the space station, Aha, still in the comical form of a doro puppy, looked down upon the people of the Astral Express, its gaze fixed particularly on the unconscious, gray-haired girl in March 7th's arms—the being named Stelle.
What on earth was Akivili trying to do?
That Aeon of Trailblaze always brought such fun, so full of surprises. Aha absolutely adored it.
Aha could find out the answer directly, but it wouldn't. An audience needs drama; what's the fun in reading spoilers?
It was just a shame that the Aeon of Elation had to start watching the series from the beginning again. Just imagine having to sit through the Amphoreus arc again at the current pace. Could it even hold back its laughter?
Fortunately, this cycle had a new variable. At least this second playthrough would have the butterfly effect to watch, so it wouldn't be so dull and boring.
And so, Aha turned its head to look behind it.
The Antimatter Legion had vanished. A meteor shower of Destruction rained down from the sky, and within it, a young girl was being baptized in the light.
She rested a parasol on her shoulder, looking mysterious and ephemeral.
She stood on a high platform, her long, silver-white hair cascading down like a waterfall. As it stirred in the night wind, it seemed purer than snowflakes. Tied into twin tails, her vivid red eyes and black gothic lolita dress further accentuated her fair and pretty face, her skin almost glowing. It was a beauty that carried a fatal, inhuman sense of detachment.
This girl was Baimo, or rather, having given the character a new name, let's call her [Orchis].
Looking at this magnificent image of a white-haired, twin-tailed loli, Aha felt that a sense of loyalty should be welling up inside it.
Too bad the person inside was a guy... But isn't that even better?!
How does that saying go? Orchis is a woman who could be my mother!
[MOMMY—!]
The Aeon of Elation opened its heart, raised a small pinwheel with both hands, and went completely insane without any warning.
"..."
Orchis shuddered, staring at Aha with a speechless expression, unable to stop the disdainful thoughts in her mind.
Don't you dare make fun of me.
[WIFEY, THEN—!]
Aha continued its antics, hopping and skipping over to the doll-like girl's side, only to be grabbed by the exasperated girl, who brought a swift karate chop down on its head, showing not a shred of respect for an Aeon.
Don't try to test the sensitive nerves of someone who has debased themselves to sell their body. Even prostitutes need hazard pay and dignity.
Fast forward to us having done the deed, you've already called me mommy, and now you're calling me wifey? What does that make me?
[By the way, speaking with general rationality, shouldn't a boy who turns into a beautiful girl have a shy plotline where she explores her own body?]
[Isn't that an ancestral tradition of the gender-bender genre, a rite of passage that must be savored?! Bring out the main course!]
Pinned to the ground, Aha giggled and twisted, writhing like a giant maggot.
What was this guy expecting? Did it find the idea of a blushing, newly-gender-swapped girl comforting herself for arousal entertaining?
[Cuteness is justice!]
Unfortunately for Aha, Orchis wasn't buying it.
She had seen at least nine out of ten works in the gender-bender genre with that kind of trope. She had already mentally prepared herself when creating this body.
The girl wasn't sure if a memetic lifeform would have strange quirks, so she had built herself a puppet's shell on top of that foundation.
Therefore, she had no physiological needs and wouldn't secrete any of those superfluous hormones. Give it up.
[You really are stubborn and completely uncooperative,] Aha said, greatly disappointed.
I've said it before, gacha characters are essentially idols, which is a type of service industry.
Idols have to manage their private lives and be responsible to their fans. Less of that Ai Hoshino stuff.
Orchis continued her mental conversation with the Aeon of Elation, twisting a strand of hair at her forehead.
This avatar is a precious commodity. I can't act recklessly and harm the precious players.
[If you don't tell and I don't tell... no one will know! We can just avoid the camera. In a 12+ game, Madam Herta showing her back is already an act of great rebellion!]
[Our miHoYo game is extremely wholesome! We even have the noble anti-upskirt design! All the gentlemen have been thwarted!]
Orchis was speechless. This Aeon of Elation shouldn't be so "amused to death" and contemptuous of the masses.
If you want to create dreams for others and get the audience to pay, you first have to be respectable yourself and believe in that dream!
How can someone who is just going through the motions or even trampling on the dream possibly make a good game?!
That's why I will stake my life on loving the little gray-haired girl.
[A dream? Heheheh, the characters all have their own lives. I treat them like my own daughters.]
Stop, that's a topic we can't touch! Are you trying to start a war?
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Aha giggled, no longer teasing Orchis. It was time to get down to business.
They needed to discuss how the doll-like girl, as a newly added character, should develop within the script.
[Aren't you going to appear before the Trailblazer soon?]
Orchis shook her head, indicating that it wasn't time yet.
She watched as the little gray-haired girl was helped up by the Astral Express crew, taking no action.
[Why not? When the little gray-haired girl was glanced at by that mysterious man of Destruction, wasn't that the perfect time to pop into the Path's Space and deliver some cryptic lines? Give the protagonist some power, then stuff some memory fragments into her head to plant foreshadowing and leave the audience impressed but confused.]
[If you had made an avatar with power, you could have even appeared directly to suppress the Doomsday Beast. The power-worshipping crowd is quite large.]
[A character will become popular through power-level debates and one-upmanship as long as they're strong enough!]
The effect of doing that would be mediocre at best.
Orchis projected a virtual screen in front of her. At the same moment, the doro Aha hopped onto the girl's shoulder.
On the screen, one could see information from the game's players. Orchis opened the livestream section of Bilibili, watching the content rhythm of the streamers.
The streamers who had taken on sponsored deals and were feasting on miHoYo's promotional budget were gradually starting to play the game.
[What are you doing?]
There are too many characters appearing at once.
[Oh?]
Putting aside the fact that most of miHoYo's player base is migrating from Genshin Impact, even if we treat all players as Honkai Impact 3rd veterans who know Welt, Himeko, and Bronya, and who might mistake March 7th on the game icon for a supreme deluxe Kiana, the initial story still has Kafka, Silver Wolf, Dan Heng, the Trailblazer herself, Herta, Asta, Arlan, Nanook, and the Doomsday Beast.
The opening act is so short and already crammed with over a dozen characters. We have to consider the players' capacity for information intake.
"My appearance has to be timed well, for when the little gray-haired girl has a basic understanding of the Herta Space Station and gradually has some time to herself."
The story beats for a private rendezvous had to be chosen with care.
[You're even considering the narrative pacing?!] Aha was surprised.
Not only that, but as the Aeon of Elation looked closer, it saw that Orchis's screen interface was already starting to collect data from other works, copying a bit from here and a bit from there, then adding a dash of inspiration to stitch it all together... ahem! To pay homage! She was diligently writing character stories to have templates ready for later, and had even begun creating and vetting her own character lines, listing out a huge pile of scripts and then deleting any remarks that weren't sufficiently fawning.
Let's see the script...
"Every word you speak, I hold dear to my heart, and I want to understand the meaning behind them."
"My honor belongs to you, my body and soul belong to you, and I offer you my very life as well."
"Don't push yourself too hard. Please, you must... cherish yourself more."
"If I'm with you, if we're together, we can overcome any hardship. Every day, every second, even in a world like this, I can keep going. Meeting you, even if I face pain and sorrow, those will become one-of-a-kind memories."
"Do you think the words 'I believe in you' are too childish?"
Wow, Baimo. You...
You're actually this serious. Staking your life to become the female lead wasn't just talk. You're this determined?!
While Aha was stunned, it saw that Orchis had already conjured a mirror in front of herself and was starting to practice poses and enunciation.
Victory for the action-oriented! Such strong execution! I love her so much!
It seemed Aha also had ulterior motives; it hadn't just picked someone at random to play with.
The Aeon of Elation scratched its head, deep in thought. Then, it waved its hand to get Orchis's attention, indicating that it had a line perfect for a mecha-girl or doll-girl with a kuudere personality. You be the judge.
Orchis took a look.
"...Onii-chan, I can't take it anymore. Make me a woman."
The doll-like girl's vision went black, and she brought a swift karate chop down on Aha's head.
Don't bring lines from Japanese gal games over here! Translated into a Chinese context, it's so saccharine it's sickening, so sickening it's pustulent.
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[Well then, the pleasant newbie tutorial period is now over.]
Orchis had a very clear purpose regarding her situation and what she needed to do.
Aha had enjoyed their conversation, but it wasn't about to delay the script's progress any further. It was time to leave things here.
The protagonist of the story was the little gray-haired girl. The female lead of the story was Orchis.
The god who introduces the world only needs to appear at the beginning; they shouldn't interfere too much in the choices of mortals.
After all, the Aeon of Elation had its own life. It was not a participant; it was an audience member. It wanted to thoroughly enjoy a comedy created by others.
Its body died and its presence dissipated.
A strange light began to flicker around Aha's body as its form started to disintegrate into scattered dust, as if it were ascending to Buddhahood.
I'll wait for the moment the female lead and the game's protagonist meet. Before that, I should find a good seat.
What kind of seat? Why, to go find a streamer on Bilibili, of course, parasitize their livestream, and enjoy the show with the netizens.
[Goodbye. I'll be back to play with you after I've gathered some excrement from Xiaohongshu, Tieba, Weibo, and the lewd forums.]
Thanks, but no thanks. Orchis rolled her eyes at Aha, just as the Aeon of Elation's spirit returned to the heavens and vanished like smoke.
Giggle, giggle, giggle... A wild laugh echoed throughout the space, and then silence returned.
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The scene changes, shifting to the location of the Astral Express crew.
"What's wrong, Stelle?"
The vibrant, pink-haired girl walking ahead, March 7th, seemed to notice something was amiss. She turned to look at the gray-haired girl behind her, who was clutching her head and looking around. The black and gold-trimmed windbreaker she wore swayed with the wind, making her look a bit unsteady, yet she couldn't help herself.
"...Just now, was that... laughter?"
Stelle looked up. Could the girl vaguely sense the presence of the Aeon of Elation?
"Laughter? You must be imagining things. Everyone on the space station is miserable because of the Antimatter Legion's attack. What kind of screw-loose person would laugh at a time like this?"
March 7th blinked. At the same time, the black-haired young man beside them, Dan Heng, also came forward to ask after the weakened Stelle.
"You should rest soon. The Stellaron seems stable inside you, but we'll need to see what Mr. Welt and Miss Himeko decide to do about it. As for its ownership, this Stellaron belongs to Madam Herta. You'll probably have to meet the master of the space station next."
"...Okay."
Stelle didn't know what to say, feeling only confusion.
She didn't know who she was, nor where she should go.
She had woken up to find herself on a battlefield, unable to recall anything about her past. Acting on instinct to survive, she had scrambled along with this group of people before her. She didn't really know them, nor did she have anything she was pursuing. She could only go with the flow.
Taking it one step at a time, the girl remained silent, yet she subconsciously looked back, unwilling to give up on finding that faint, elusive laughter from just now.
In terms of personality, she seemed to be a person with a strong sense of curiosity and a spirit of exploration, finding it hard to tolerate a mystery that tickled her mind.
And it was this subconscious action that led to a result that left Stelle stunned.
"...?!"
She saw a girl.
The first encounter always happens when you least expect it.
Faint and ephemeral, leaving behind a dreamlike figure that one could not forget.
The massive moon, detached from any planet, seemed to cover half the sky. Beneath its glow, the meteor shower formed by the falling Legion monsters merged with the boundary of light and shadow on the Herta Space Station's platform, creating a unique work of art.
Yet the illusory girl, with an even more vivid presence, embellished this entire scene.
A noble black dress, a parasol obscuring her bangs so her face couldn't be seen clearly, and silver-white hair hanging down, made all the more translucent and dazzling by the light.
The sense of the unknown was captivating and breathtakingly beautiful. Amidst the dazzling lights and ornate attire, only her true face remained unperceivable.
Abruptly, the urge to catch a glimpse arose.
It was unclear, but that must be an incredibly beautiful person. Stelle's intuition was certain of it.
The Trailblazer thought she was seeing things. She rubbed her eyes, but when she opened them again, where was any girl?
It was as if it had all been a dream.
The first encounter needs no words, no background music, not even a clear view of the face.
A single, artistic snapshot is enough.
If one were to use the completely unromantic and chaotic phrasing of Orchis and Aha, they might say something like this:
[Players only need a picture or even a single line of background lore to start taking out loans on a character.]
We Honkai: Star Rail players are all masters of taking out loans on characters. We are very familiar with the two principles of "arbitrarily": arbitrarily getting our hopes up and arbitrarily being disappointed.
Taking out loans on a character's power, taking out loans on a character's design, taking out loans on a character's lore, and even taking out loans on a character's story.
Being baited by the art of Amphoreus only for the final product to be completely different; pulling for Jing Yuan expecting an Erudition support only to get kicked aside.
Even though the story and characterization are what the officials sell and what players filter based on their tastes, the fact that so many people had a meltdown over Firefly and Sam being the same person is really... quite magical!
In any case, at this very moment, the amnesiac little gray-haired girl, the newborn Akivili, in her most innocent period of burgeoning curiosity, encountered what was, in her eyes, the most mysterious girl in a formal dress, a fae under the moonlight. The breathtakingly beautiful sight captured her entire heart and soul.