Honkai Star Rail: Make Honkai Great Again

The memories that had been forgotten for reasons unknown returned to her mind bit by bit.

Kiana covered her face with both hands, a pained groan escaping her throat. Drop by drop, it gathered into a pitch-black, icy river that drained all warmth and color from her body.

The tide of memory swallowed everything. She was like someone drowning in it, with not a single moment to breathe.

She remembered.

That year, when Dad still hadn't pulled himself together after Mom's death, when she was still living on Schicksal's floating island.

Everything was just as Cocolia had said.

She had been secretly taken away and subjected to the Herrscher Core implantation experiment Cocolia spoke of.

A freezing operating room.

Cold white lights.

A body losing heat. Piercing noises.

That cold, that pain, that despair—it was like a giant hand clamping around her throat.

"Her Herrscher Core is still inside you?"

Blown aside by the shockwave, Cocolia struggled to her feet under the crushing pressure, one hand braced against the wall. There was delight in her eyes, and confusion as well.

"Give me her Herrscher Core!"

Enduring the pressure of the Honkai energy eruption, Cocolia forced herself two steps forward before she could no longer advance.

As if she hadn't heard her at all, Kiana screamed in breakdown, "No... that's not how it was!"

Dad had followed faint clues to find her and fought his way out of Schicksal with her in his arms. But by then, it was already too late.

She had stayed in that laboratory for three months and nine days. The artificial Herrscher experiment had already concluded.

She was the only successful product who survived.

Schicksal would never let her go.

So Dad took her and ran. They kept running and running. And then? What happened then?

Then...

Blood and fire. Buildings reduced to scorched earth. The memory tore at her sanity as fear and despair filled her heart.

She became a monster.

She killed every pursuer who came after them.

And with her own hands, she killed her father.

Dad used his own life to bring back her reason and return her to this world.

"Kiana!" Theresa finally arrived, fury blazing when she saw the scene. "What did I tell you? I told you that no matter what, you were not allowed to come here. Why wouldn't you listen?!"

She unfolded Judas and several golden chains shot toward Kiana, trying to restrain her before she completely lost control.

"Look, aside from me, who else would be willing to tell you the truth, you poor child?" Cocolia's eyes flickered slightly. She knew the arrangements she had made against Theresa had already been undone.

Now she needed to escalate things further. She needed Theresa too occupied to deal with her. What could be better than making the monster who lost control once nine years ago lose her sanity again?

If possible, she would kill Theresa.

Leave that irritating little dwarf here, just like Siegfried back then.

"It doesn't feel good to kill your own father, does it?"

The golden spears had barely approached Kiana before she subconsciously waved her hand. The erupting Honkai energy pressed down so heavily that the spears could not come any closer.

Theresa's face darkened as if water could drip from it. "Shut up! Cocolia, you are not leaving St. Freya today. I'm telling you—you're dead!"

"A butcher who killed her own kin, walking upon a false stage woven by others. What a splendid performance." Seeing the signs of Kiana losing control, Cocolia not only showed no fear but smiled. "A monster with blood-stained hands, talking about saving the world. Isn't your entire life a joke?"

That sentence struck the final thread of reason Kiana was clinging to.

In an instant, her pupils were dyed gold. Terrifying, immeasurable Honkai energy overturned the entire church in a single surge. With her at the core, the power began to skyrocket at an extreme speed.

Tsunamis. Earthquakes. Volcanic eruptions.

A pillar of golden light shot into the heavens, and across the world unimaginable super disasters erupted.

"What happened?"

Just before Theresa was swallowed by the golden beam, a hand suddenly pulled her away, and she reappeared outside the terrifying range of energy.

Acheron stared solemnly at the surge of Honkai energy.

Her heart had already sunk to the bottom.

"Stop Kiana!" After a brief daze, Theresa forced herself up and gritted her teeth. "Cocolia told her about Siegfried's death. The shock made her lose her reason!"

Is it really because she learned of his death?

Acheron's gaze shifted to the side—to Herta, who could only remain an observer. There were advantages to being nothing more than a spectator.

Herta tilted her head back to look at the sky and snorted softly. "That Cocolia told Kiana the truth, and then Kiana's mind collapsed."

Last time she had tried to force Kiana into becoming a Herrscher and failed, even losing everything in the process. And now this was achieved by a... mentally unstable woman.

So the key to becoming a Herrscher wasn't the Core, nor Honkai energy, but whether her mental state was stable?

"The truth?"

"...She lost control once before."

Herta's tone grew complicated. She knew everything here was fake, but remembering what Kiana from the Previous Era had said to her...

And since this Kiana lacked her original memories, this place was undoubtedly real to her.

Killing one's own kin.

"What are you standing around for?" Theresa urged impatiently. "Stop staring and do something!"

"There's no other way." Acheron let out a soft sigh. "Take the others and run."

"What nonsense are you talking about?! How could I let you face this alone? And she's my niece. I can't abandon her here by herself!"

As her words fell, the towering golden pillar of light dissipated.

Noble and resplendent, like a white-haired deity, she stood quietly in the high heavens.

On her face and in her eyes there was only indifference.

Those golden eyes held not the slightest trace of emotion—only disregard for life, like a god looking down upon all things.

"So this is... her Herrscher form?"

Herta had seen Kiana fight before, but this was her first time witnessing her after becoming a Herrscher.

Acheron slowly closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She had prepared herself mentally, yet when she truly saw this scene, her feelings were still complicated.

She slowly exhaled that turbid breath.

"I see."

Like an arrow released from the bow, she shot into the sky, completely unleashing the power of the Herrscher of Thunder granted to her in this trial world.

A nameless blade condensed in her hand, and she swung a strike that seemed to cleave the sky itself.

One gold and one violet figure clashed across the firmament, battling from one stretch of sky to another. From the ground, their silhouettes grew smaller and smaller.

Until the collision of their powers released a shockwave that, in an instant, annihilated the clouds.

"Restricted by Honkai energy?"

Herta watched the fierce battle in the sky without blinking. She had assumed Acheron would not interfere, yet she had actually stepped in to stop Kiana.

And Kiana... she had become like those Herrschers devoid of humanity and reason, as if controlled by something.

Power...

Her strength seemed limited by the Honkai energy level of this world. This civilization had neither her nor Ruan Mei. Its technology could only be described as mediocre. Most of its so-called black technology was borrowed from her, and even then only superficial imitations.

How would this end?

Herta could not help pondering the question.

Was the trial about to conclude?

Or would it enter another cycle?

Could Acheron win?

Herta doubted it.

Acheron was indeed powerful, but to defeat Kiana by relying solely on Honkai's power meant crossing an entire tier of strength.

And she could not use the power of Nihility.

From Herta's perspective, the battle dragged on for more than a dozen hours. The aftershocks alone were enough to shatter mountains and split the earth.

It was as though the world had entered a countdown to doomsday.

In truth, it had.

The war that was capable of destroying the entire planet suddenly ceased at a certain moment. Then came a release of pure energy beyond the limits of detection.

Just a single strike.

That wave of energy swept across the entire planet, turning its surface into scorched wasteland and leaving behind scars that would never heal.

"It's over."

As expected, nothing unexpected happened. Acheron had lost. It likely would not be long before they met again as observers in the next cycle.

Next...

It should be Ruan Mei's turn.

So becoming a Herrscher was not the key to ending the trial either? Another hypothesis crossed off.

Herta waited for events to repeat as before, for the next cycle to begin. She was already impatient to see what solution Ruan Mei might have.

But things did not end so quickly.

To her surprise, a white figure descended from the heavens and landed upon the charred earth.

The cold indifference was gone from her face.

In its place were sorrow and fear.

Has she regained consciousness?

Herta instinctively stepped closer. Kiana, who had never once perceived her presence before, suddenly turned toward her.

Golden eyes locked directly onto her.

Pain that had never dissolved lay at their core. The vigilance that surfaced when she sensed Herta's direction shifted into confusion, then bewilderment, and finally shock.

The girl who carried within her the power to destroy an entire world could barely steady her steps as she staggered toward Herta.

"Herta?"

Like a god whispering a name, the white-haired girl murmured it. A faint, nearly imperceptible light flickered in her eyes.

Did she remember her?

Or did she remember everything?

The question surfaced in Herta's mind, but she did not stop walking. Asking the person herself would be simplest.

Yet things were not that simple.

Herta could feel her own body becoming unstable, as though her perspective was about to shift again. Her expression darkened.

Why now?

"No—don't!"

Her fingertips grasped nothing.

The figure she had just seen was erased from the world by some invisible force, leaving not a single trace behind.

From outer space, the lifeless planet was even clearer to behold. Upon its surface was branded the symbol of Finality.

Time, which had crawled so slowly, began to accelerate at extreme speed.

The charred scars gradually faded. Under the catalysis of time, new life was born upon the planet once more.

Seeing the scene repeat itself yet again, Herta did not spare it even a glance. She lowered her head, her expression as cold as before.

The change in Kiana's final gaze was etched into her mind—far more stubborn than the mark Kiana had carved into the planet.

She had seen that faint glimmer in her eyes shatter with her own eyes.

Despair mixed with pleading.

Fingertips so close—yet forever out of reach.

"What kind of damned trial is this?"

Herta could not help cursing. She was beginning to think that perhaps it was time to end this meaningless so-called Stigmata trial.

Wasn't it merely trying to construct a Stigmata world?

Wasn't it simply attempting to recreate a vanished past and make up for past mistakes?

There was more than one solution to that problem.

She did not need the assistance of this Stigmata trial to find an answer.

She drew in a deep breath.

Her perspective shifted once more. The scorched world, after who knew how many years of rotation, had once again seen humanity build a new civilization.

When the scene changed, Herta once again saw a familiar face. Acheron was looking at the silent Herta beside her with complicated eyes.

"At the end, Kiana remembered the time she spent with you, didn't she?"

Herta's voice was weak. "Maybe." After a brief pause, she added, "If Ruan Mei doesn't have a solution either, then we'll end this so-called Stigmata trial."

End this Stigmata trial?

"...I have no objections."

After a short silence, Acheron gave her answer. Losing to Kiana in a battle of attrition did not surprise her.

But at the end of it all—

For Kiana to regain her sanity and confront everything.

That was too cruel.

Izumo's past had become a shadow she could not dispel from her heart. She did not dare imagine what Kiana might become if such a thing happened several more times.

She preferred the Kiana who always wore a warm smile, who would cling to her affectionately and call her Mei in a spoiled tone.

Building a Stigmata terminal. Constructing a Stigmata world.

If such a thing required harming Kiana, she would never agree to it.

And besides...

Acheron pressed her lips together, her gaze falling on Herta once more. The premonition within her had grown stronger when she witnessed that final scene just now.

So strong.

She would not deceive herself by hoping for the best. She was already almost certain that things were developing in the direction she least wished to see.

When she first saw Herta again, she had wanted to say something—but she forced herself to hold back. There was no point discussing it now.

"...Aren't you coming in?"

While both of them were still affected by the world-ending scene, lost in their own thoughts, a familiar voice sounded from ahead.

It was none other than Ruan Mei, whom Herta had searched for so long.

Just as she had guessed earlier, they had been assigned to different points in time. If Ruan Mei failed again, what would happen next?

Another cycle?

Or would everything be left to Kiana alone?

No. There would be no next time.

She would not allow this meaningless trial to continue.

This damned trial—

It had to end.

"Being able to see you again is an unexpected delight." Ruan Mei led them into the research institute. The place was eerily silent. Along the way, they did not see a single soul other than Ruan Mei herself.

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