Chapter 41: I SHALL... SET THE SEAS ABLAZE!
『 Not long after, Black Swan returned with news regarding Himeko and March 7th. It turned out they had been intercepted by the Family the moment they entered the dream, preventing them from delving deeper into this dreamscape.
Himeko requested that Black Swan escort Stelle to a safe location, with the group to reconvene later at the Clockie statue. 』
『 ....』
〘March 7th〙: So it was us who had the rough start this time…
〘Stelle〙: A tragedy before the curtain even rises.
....
『 After relaying this, Black Swan proposed taking Acheron and Stelle back to reality. Acheron looked at her, puzzled, and asked if they couldn't simply open a portal.
Black Swan shook her head, explaining that given Stelle's current mental state, it would be best to avoid such a crude method.
"And—while we evacuate, we can still do more for Miss Hotaru, can't we? Traces of her still linger nearby. Before they vanish entirely, let them become your Memories."
Stelle nodded and approached the pile of Firefly-residue. It was dissipating bit by bit, leaving behind only half of a phone on the verge of vanishing. Stelle stared at the device, stunned, then knelt and reached out, trying to touch it.
On the screen was a photo of the two of them at their secret base, along with an unsent message. The joyous smiles in the photo now seemed agonizingly blinding to Stelle.
Yet, the moment Stelle reached to pick it up, the half-dissipated phone turned entirely into dream bubbles, vanishing from her grasp just like Hotaru had from her embrace—as if it were all just a dream. 』
『 ....』
〘Stelle〙: Wait, what? Why are you digging up the knife to twist it again? Stop picking on one person to torment!
〘Reca〙: A masterful technique. It calls back to the beginning—brilliant!
〘Belle〙: And she wanted to send that photo earlier…
〘Fu Xuan〙: That raises the question: who was she trying to send it to?
....
—✦In Between✦—
—✦Honkai Star Rail World✦—
Stelle, whose emotions had mostly stabilized after the day that had passed since the incident with Hotaru(Check Afterthought at the bottom), completely lost her composure at this sight. She buried her face in March's shoulder and wept.
March patted Stelle's back, comforting her.
"Don't cry, don't cry. Hotaru said she was fine, remember? She's coming to visit the Express in a couple of days."
Then, looking at the silent Dan Heng, she urged anxiously,
"Dan Heng, don't just stand there like a statue! Do something!"
Dan Heng pointed behind them.
"It won't take a couple of days. She's already here. And she's not alone…"
Upon hearing Dan Heng, Stelle whipped around. Seeing Hotaru, she immediately lunged at her. Hotaru, caught off guard, blushed furiously, completely flustered.
Silver Wolf watched Stelle, who had completely ignored her, and twitched her lip. Sure, she was only appearing as a projection, but that was no reason to ignore her.
But seeing the tears still staining Stelle's face, Silver Wolf smiled and shook her head. Forget it. Just this once, I'll let it slide.
Himeko looked at Silver Wolf, puzzled.
"What about the script?"
Silver Wolf cleared her throat, imitating Kafka's tone.
"Elio says the script has already been leaked, so do whatever you want. We'll call you back when we need you."
"So, I came to find you."
Hotaru patted Stelle's back, then gently pushed her back to wipe away her tears.
"Alright, I've delivered the package. Time for me to go back to gaming. Bye~"
Silver Wolf's projection waved and vanished.
With Silver Wolf gone, Stelle, Hotaru, and March settled onto the sofa to continue watching the light screen. Stelle's melancholy had vanished with Hotaru's arrival.
Little did Hotaru know, she was about to experience a social death.
—
『 Acheron mentioned she needed a few minutes for something, then turned and walked to the spot where Hotaru had dissolved into bubbles.
She stopped, pressed her lips together, and lowered her eyes. After a long moment, she stooped down, cupped her hands as if gathering something, and stood up again.
"May death end your long, long dream…"
"And guide you back… to the waking world." 』
『 ....』
〘Hotaru〙: Watching someone on screen deliver a eulogy for me… feels so strange…
〘Belle〙: Indeed, very strange…
〘Luciana de Montefio〙: Piper! Look at what you've done. Belle still remembers!
〘Piper〙: Hahaha, isn't that great? Doesn't it just prove that Belle has a strong impression of us, the Sons of Calydon?
....
『 After completing the memorial rite, Black Swan began leading Acheron and Stelle through the dreamscape in search of an exit. But as they ventured deeper toward the exit, the surrounding Memetic material suddenly grew scorching, as if something had begun to burn…
Passing through a corridor, they reached a grand hall filled with the charred remains of monsters.
The trio inspected the corpses. All had perished from intense heat, and their deaths were recent; it seemed the perpetrator had only just left.
Acheron asked if this might be related to what happened earlier.
Black Swan shook her head, noting that the clues were still too scarce and fragmented to draw a conclusion.
However, through the memories lingering in the remains, she formed a vague conclusion: the person was tall, more robust than an average adult male, and their methods were swift and decisive—a single strike to kill. A mercenary, perhaps, or an assassin.
Furthermore, this individual had entered from a door on the other side of the hall, heading deeper into the hotel. They had likely witnessed everything that occurred previously.
Black Swan urged them to pick up the pace. Given this individual's methods, if they reached the destination first, the clues regarding Hotaru would likely be destroyed.
The three hurried to the room containing the clues about Hotaru. Along the way, Black Swan used memory to reconstruct a conversation Hotaru had in the corridor with someone.
It seemed that person had betrayed her, leading Hotaru to the hall where she was killed by Death. 』
『 ....』
〘Hotaru〙: This is taking things completely out of context! If this deduction holds, doesn't it mean I betrayed myself? (Pam angry.jpg)
〘Silver Wolf〙: Standard procedure. Mislead the audience first, then hit them with a big reveal. I bet the next thing they see is Sam.
....
『 Just as Silver Wolf predicted, the three followed Hotaru's lingering shadow back to the hall. But this time, the hall had become searingly hot, and waiting for them was no longer a delicate young girl, but—Stellaron Hunter Sam.
Dun~ dun-dun-dun~ dun~
"It seems someone has been waiting for quite some time. Finally decided to step onto the stage, have you…" Black Swan said, looking at the silver mecha ahead. "Stellaron Hunter—Sam."
The hall was littered with the remains of Memes. Upon hearing Black Swan, Sam dropped the burning Meme in his hand and turned around.
His gaze bypassed Stelle and fell squarely on Acheron. The mecha emitted a mechanical, masculine voice.
"A Galaxy Ranger."
Then, his gaze shifted to Black Swan, continuing in that cold, mechanical tone: "And… a Memokeeper."
Sam slowly raised an arm, his tone calm yet laden with threat. "Leave now, and no one gets hurt."
"Otherwise, you all die!"
"The detective game is over. You shouldn't be here." Having said this, Sam swung his arm violently, and flames erupted from his body. Instantly, fire soared into the sky, illuminating the entire hall. The temperature spiked, making it feel as if they were inside a furnace.
"I shall... Set the seas ablaze!" 』
『 ....』
〘Kiana Kaslana〙: I shall set the seas ablaze!
〘Hook〙: I shall set the seas ablaze! What a cool line! Hook is going to remember that.
〘Billy〙: Whoa, what a textbook Rider Kick!
〘Stelle〙: Hotaru, Hotaru, do the move! I wanna see!
〘Hotaru〙: I really can't say no to you. I shall set the seas of stars ablaze!
〘Silver Wolf〙: You're spoiling her way too much. It's a good thing she's not from Glamoth, or you'd have handed over your transformation device by now.
〘Hanabi〙: How come you changed the line?
〘Stelle〙: It's an improvement!
....
—✦In Between✦—
—✦Honkai Star Rail World✦—
Astral Express, in the Parlor Car—
Hotaru performed it for Stelle as well. Stelle and March applauded vigorously. After finishing, Hotaru returned to the sofa, blushing, but seeing Stelle's smile, she nudged her and said,
"Stop laughing."
"Ahem, 'A Galaxy Ranger,' mmmph!"
Before Stelle could finish, Hotaru, blushing furiously, covered her mouth.
"Forget it! Forget all of it!"
Himeko watched the two of them getting along so well, took a sip of her coffee, and smiled.
"It's wonderful, isn't it?"
Meanwhile, on the Stellaron Hunters' ship, Kafka watched the scene through the micro-surveillance left by Silver Wolf. She took a sip of red wine and smiled.
"Yes, it is wonderful."
—
( I'm crossing that out because I think it would create a plot hole. I double-checked the previous chapters, and the last long interval(In between) in this timeline was three days ago, right after Tingyun's funeral(Chapter 6). They haven't moved since then, and the only other short interval for them was in Chapter 38. I'm going to contact Author-san first to make sure this wasn't just an oversight.
And about 'I shall set the seas of stars ablaze!', this is a hidden achievement. after you use Hotaru Ult 4x before the Complete Combustion state ends while using SAM.)