Chapter 2: Kids, I Won the Comeback Match!
Little March 7th really was too cute when she cried.
Rekka sat cross-legged on his bed, looking at the stunned, pale faces of the Astral Express crew surrounding him. He held up his hands, counting off on his fingers as he explained the sheer absurdity of his existence.
To put it simply, Rekka had nineteen lives. Each of the universe's Paths acted as a literal revival coin for him. If all eighteen Path-lives were consumed within a single twenty-four-hour period, he would revert to an ordinary, powerless human—and then, if killed, he would truly die.
But as long as those nineteen lives weren't fully depleted, the destruction of his physical body meant nothing. He would simply respawn at the last safe point he had slept in.
"So, taking all that into account," Rekka said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, "this morning I was probably researching something incredibly important. And that, naturally, attracted something terrifying to come and assassinate me."
The newly minted Trailblazer offered this explanation with a bright, entirely unbothered smile, briefly recalling the sensation of a pen being driven straight through his heart.
"It's totally fine, though! I still have eighteen lives left for today."
Silence descended upon the passenger cabin.
"..."
"Huh?" Rekka blinked.
"You didn't say that yesterday!" March 7th exploded, her pink hair practically bristling with indignation.
Rekka scratched his cheek, offering a sheepish grin. "Uh... wasn't I planning to give you guys a practical demonstration today?"
"That is not something you demonstrate!"
"Look, every Path represents a facet of my consciousness," Rekka explained, waving his hands to placate the frantic archer. "You guys don't need to worry about there being eighteen or nineteen different versions of me running around. It's just that the focus of my personality and abilities shifts. For example, the me in the Trailblaze state is the most normal version—warm-hearted, eager to help, and absolutely obsessed with exploring new things."
March 7th wiped a stray tear from her eye, still glaring. "Then... what was your Path this morning?"
"Oh, it was originally Erudition! But since that guy died, now it's Trailblaze!" Rekka announced cheerfully, clapping his hands together. "Sorry for making everyone worry!"
March 7th stared at him. Her expression shifted from deep confusion to flat, unamused realization.
"So... did I just cry for absolutely nothing?"
Rekka looked into March's red-rimmed eyes. For the first time since waking up, he felt a genuine spike of panic.
"Uh... well, about that..."
He rubbed the back of his head, his bright smile turning stiff and awkward.
"Well... your tears definitely weren't shed in vain!" he declared, suddenly sitting up straight and adopting a tone of utmost solemnity. "It shows you genuinely care about me, March! And I am incredibly touched! Really! I'll treasure those tears forever!"
March 7th looked at him as if he were a particularly disappointing piece of space debris.
"So what you're saying," she crossed her arms, "is that you knew yesterday you might die this morning?"
"No, no, I swear I didn't know!" Rekka waved his hands frantically, desperate to clear his name. "I only knew that my Path switches randomly every day! I had no idea the Erudition Path would be this ridiculously dangerous! And I definitely didn't expect a cosmic assassin to spawn in my room..."
"You talk about dying so lightly," Dan Heng muttered, his arms crossed over his chest, his teal eyes narrowed in scrutiny.
"Because I really didn't feel much, you know?" Rekka spread his hands casually. "It was exactly like getting disconnected from a video game. The screen went black, and when I logged back in, I opened my eyes to find you all crying around my bed. Honestly, it was a little embarrassing."
"You even know how to be embarrassed?!" Pom-Pom suddenly shrieked, jumping up and down. The conductor's long furry ears flapped wildly with each indignant bounce. "The Conductor's heart nearly leaped right out of their chest because of you! Bad passenger! Terrible passenger!"
Welt Yang, who had been standing quietly near the door with his hand resting on his chin, finally spoke up. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, his tone measured and analytical.
"So, to clarify... you have eighteen chances to resurrect every single day?"
"Yep, that's the gist of it!" Rekka nodded. "Early this morning, the daily switch landed on Erudition. But since Erudition temporarily kicked the bucket, the system rolled again, and now I am Trailblaze!"
Dan Heng's expression remained cool, but a subtle tension in his shoulders betrayed his concern. "Are you experiencing any lingering discomfort? What about the killer? Did you catch a glimpse of who it was?"
"I don't know who it was, but it didn't hurt at all." Rekka scratched his head again, trying to piece together the fragmented memories.
Internally, however, Rekka had a pretty solid theory. As a transmigrator who had poured countless hours into Honkai: Star Rail before ending up inside it, he could easily guess exactly which cosmic powerhouse had just claimed his first life.
The Lord of Silence. The stern mother of the Erudition Path walkers. Member 4 of the Genius Society: Polka Kakamu.
According to the lore, Polka believed that Chaos and the Unknown would prematurely drag the universe into the Finality. To maintain the perfect, calculated future model proclaimed by the Aeon Nous through the Moment, she ruthlessly hunted down other geniuses. She restricted the unchecked growth of knowledge across the cosmos, personally extinguishing any chaotic variables that threatened the grand equation.
Her operational style wasn't sadistic or cruel. It was just terrifyingly decisive.
Was I really that overpowered in my Erudition state? Rekka thought, a bead of sweat forming on his brow. Did I accidentally touch upon a knowledge singularity while brushing my teeth?
"However," Rekka said aloud, bringing his attention back to the crew, "under the Erudition Path, if an enemy managed to get right in my face, I was guaranteed to die. In that state, I was the ultimate glass cannon."
He could conjure complex equipment and conceptualize galaxy-brain theories out of thin air, but his physical constitution remained tragically average.
Perhaps someone tampered with me, he mused inwardly. A brilliant mind, but shattering the moment someone poked me.
"The fact that an assassin could infiltrate the Astral Express, kill you silently, and leave without triggering a single alarm indicates their strength cannot be underestimated," Dan Heng said, his gaze sweeping the room for lingering threats. "Even with multiple chances to resurrect, you cannot guarantee you'll be safe every time., if the opponent discovers your resurrection mechanic, they might resort to far more extreme measures to contain you."
Rekka's expression finally sobered. The chaotic humor faded from his eyes, replaced by a sharp clarity. "Mhm. I understand. It's just... I'm really not clear on who exactly pulled the trigger. In the Erudition state, I was definitely researching something massive, but the actual contents..."
He trailed off, sliding off the bed. He crouched down near his desk and picked up a tiny, charred scrap of paper.
"...I was killed before I could even finish reading my own conclusions."
He rolled the ash-stained scrap between his fingers. "These notes were destroyed with absolute precision. It seems the other party didn't want a single trace of that knowledge left behind."
"Do you..." Dan Heng hesitated slightly. "Do you still remember what you were researching?"
Rekka closed his eyes, diving into his own mental archives. He searched for the spark of genius that had possessed him just an hour ago.
Nothing.
He opened his eyes and sighed. "I don't remember a single thing. The memories from the Erudition state seem to have vanished the moment I died. Right now, I only have the vague lingering feeling that I was looking into something universally important. The specific details are a complete blank slate. It's probably a defense mechanism. My Erudition consciousness likely realized that if I retained that knowledge, I [would definitely be killed] again."
"Then what will you be like tomorrow?" Dan Heng asked, cutting straight to the most crucial problem.
"I really don't know. It's completely random." Rekka spread his hands, offering a reassuring smile. "But don't worry. No matter what Path I roll, no matter what personality traits get amplified, my core remains the same. I stand with the Astral Express."
Dan Heng held his gaze for a moment before giving a slow nod. The heavy solemnity in the guard's eyes lessened just a fraction. "That is good to hear."
"So," Welt interjected, tilting his head slightly, "do you possess any special combat abilities right now?"
"Uh." Rekka blinked, looking down at his own hands. He flexed his fingers. "Right now? My special abilities include... being incredibly spirited, exceedingly kind-hearted, and possessing an overwhelming urge to help people?"
Dan Heng stared at him. "Then how are you any different from your Erudition state?"
"Maybe Erudition wasn't quite as enthusiastic about doing the dishes?"
"So you are just an ordinary person right now."
"Hey, you can't say that!" Rekka puffed out his chest, deeply offended. "I am an ordinary person with an unbreakable spirit of Trailblaze! Look, right now my blood is boiling! I want to help everyone clean the passenger cabins! I want to help the Conductor vacuum the rugs! I want to help Sister Himeko brew coffee! I want to help Mr. Welt with his mecha models—"
"Stop, stop, stop!" March 7th lunged forward, waving her hands frantically to cut off his rambling. "Aren't you being a little too enthusiastic?! You definitely weren't this... this hyperactive yesterday!"
"I was also on the Path of Trailblaze yesterday!" Rekka argued, as if this were the most obvious thing in the world. "It's just that yesterday was my very first day on the Express, so I was still getting familiar with the layout. Today is completely different! I'm an official Trailblazer now, so naturally, I have to contribute to the crew!"
Eventually, after thoroughly checking him for hidden injuries and lecturing him on basic survival, the crew filtered out of his room to let him rest.
The door slid shut.
Rekka stood alone in the quiet cabin. He looked down at the scattered, scorched paper scraps littering the floor. His gaze shifted to the sleek, metallic pen lying near the foot of his bed—the exact pen that had been driven straight through his previous life's heart.
The cheerful, enthusiastic smile slowly melted off his face.
He squatted down and began methodically picking up the trash.
Sure, Erudition died today, he thought, his eyes narrowing. But there's still a one-in-eighteen chance that the exact same Path will refresh tomorrow morning.
Did that mean Polka Kakamu was going to spawn in his room and murder him every single time he rolled Erudition? Was he doomed to be spawn-camped by a Genius Society Emanator?
"Rekka?"
A smooth, elegant voice broke his train of thought.
"Here!" Rekka instantly snapped back to his cheerful Trailblaze persona, spinning around.
Himeko leaned gracefully against the open doorframe. In her hands, she held two steaming ceramic cups of dark, viscous liquid. She stepped into the room, her amber eyes sweeping over the newly tidied space.
"You recovered quite quickly," she noted with a soft smile.
"Well, after dying once, a guy's gotta show some improvement, right?" Rekka chuckled, walking over. He accepted the cup she offered and took a polite, albeit slightly bitter, sip. "Sister Himeko, did you come all the way back here just to confirm I'm really okay?"
"Half and half," Himeko replied, taking a seat at the small table opposite his bed. She crossed her legs, her expression turning slightly more serious. "The other half is... I wanted to ask if you had any actual leads on the killer who targeted you."
"Ah, about that..."
Rekka opened his mouth to answer.
Then, the absolute, unadulterated biohazard that was Himeko's custom-brewed coffee hit his system.
His eyes rolled back into his head.
[System Status: Went to sleep immediately.jpg]
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