"I'm sorry."
"Okhema has been having some internal problems lately."
"If that caused you any trouble, then I apologize."
Phainon spoke with a slightly embarrassed expression before beginning to show the three of them around Okhema.
After wandering through the city for a while, Stelle could no longer suppress the question that had been bothering her.
"Phainon, about Caelus..."
"What exactly is going on with him?"
"What do you mean?"
Phainon did not understand what she was asking.
"I mean, is the Caelus you know really someone who grew up with you?"
"Like, actually grew up with you from childhood?"
"Of course."
"Caelus really did grow up with me."
"I still remember when we were young, playing together in those golden wheat fields of Aedes Elysiae."
"Cyrene would always sit nearby, smiling as she watched the two of us."
"Those really were unforgettable memories."
Naturally, none of that had actually happened.
Outside of the original timeline before the cycles began, where Caelus truly had grown up in Aedes Elysiae, every later cycle had been different.
In those timelines, Caelus and Cyrene had already begun wandering Amphoreus more than a thousand years earlier and had participated in the Flame-Chase Journey under different names and identities.
The childhood memories Phainon and everyone else possessed had all been fabricated.
They were copies of what had happened in the original timeline, recreated and implanted into their memories.
There were slight differences caused by how each person's mind processed those memories, but the overall events remained the same.
So the scenes Phainon remembered, of himself and Caelus laughing and playing together in the fields as children, were false.
They existed entirely within his mind.
"Unfortunately, your timing isn't very good."
Phainon's expression became more serious.
"During the operation to recover the Coreflame of Reason, Caelus held back the Black Tide alone for ten straight days and nights."
"He's currently unconscious from severe injuries and still hasn't woken up."
"Otherwise, I would've taken you to see him immediately."
"What?!"
"Caelus is seriously injured and unconscious?!"
Stelle was completely stunned.
Just how powerful were those Black Tide monsters if they could beat Caelus badly enough to knock him unconscious?
"Dan Heng!"
"This is bad!"
"Can the Express still move?"
"Should we get out of here first and call for backup?"
"Or should we just crush the Jade Abacus of Allying Oath right now?"
Dan Heng's expression had also become extremely serious.
Caelus's strength was terrifying.
After their previous battle, when the crew had spoken with Acheron, she had estimated that Caelus's combat ability was at least comparable to hers, if not somewhat greater.
Emanator-level strength.
The ability to call upon Aeons.
And someone like that had supposedly been beaten into unconsciousness.
That was far too alarming.
"Just to make absolutely sure..."
March 7th asked cautiously.
"The Caelus you know has gray hair, golden eyes, and usually has almost no expression on his face, right?"
"So you really do know him."
Phainon immediately brightened.
"And it sounds like you've interacted with him before."
"Seriously, though..."
"He found his own family and never told me?"
"Was he afraid I'd worry too much?"
"Or was there some other reason?"
Whatever hope the trio had been clinging to immediately died.
"You've got to be kidding me!"
March 7th looked horrified.
"If this is a world where that guy can get beaten into a coma, are we seriously supposed to survive here?!"
The first time they had fought Caelus, he had practically overwhelmed the entire Astral Express crew the moment the battle began.
And that was before considering the ridiculous combination of Finality, Nihility, and multiple other Paths he carried at once.
Anything capable of beating someone like that into critical condition had to be among the strongest Emanators in existence.
Or an Aeon had personally intervened.
"Can we see him ourselves?"
Dan Heng asked.
Phainon hesitated.
His instincts and the trio's strange reactions told him they probably did know Caelus.
But his friend was currently at his most vulnerable.
Could he really bring three strangers to see him?
At that moment, Phainon's phone received a message.
The sight was admittedly a little strange given the surrounding architecture and clothing.
But the Xianzhou was not all that different.
People dressed in ancient styles while casually using some of the most advanced technology in the universe.
Phainon's expression immediately brightened.
He quickly sent several messages back.
After receiving a reply, he put away his phone and smiled at the three of them.
"Great news!"
"Caelus woke up!"
"I told him about the three of you."
"He wants me to bring you over right now."
The trio remained uneasy the entire way.
Their minds were filled with one question.
What kind of enemy could possibly have injured Caelus badly enough to put him into a coma?
That was terrifying to think about.
Eventually, they arrived at a private room within Marmoreal Palace.
The moment they entered, they saw Caelus lying flat on a bed.
His face was pale.
His entire body gave off an impression of extreme weakness.
"Caelus!"
Stelle shot across the room toward the bedside so quickly that she practically slid over the floor.
"What kind of enemy beat you this badly?!"
Her concern was genuine.
If Caelus had been reduced to this state, then what would happen when the three of them had to face an enemy on that level?
"Cough, cough..."
"Phainon."
Caelus coughed weakly.
"I need to speak with these friends privately."
"Don't worry."
"They're trustworthy."
Phainon's face remained full of concern, but he respected his friend's privacy.
He stepped outside and closed the door behind him.
Before leaving, he added that if anything happened, Caelus only needed to call out and he would immediately come back in.
The moment the door closed, however, Caelus vanished from the bed.
Then his voice came from the balcony outside the private room.
"Long time no see, everyone."
Caelus stood there wearing the same black coat he always wore.
He looked exactly as he had before.
"...You were faking it?!"
Stelle immediately understood.
All three members of the Astral Express let out a breath at the same time.
Thank goodness.
No fighting Aeons.
No fighting top-tier Emanators.
"We haven't actually been apart for that long."
March 7th stared at him.
"Also, what exactly is going on here?"
"That guy outside, Phainon, said you grew up together."
"Don't tell me this place is actually your hometown?"
"In reality, it has been a very long time since we last met."
Caelus answered calmly.
"From my personal perception of time, more than thirty-three billion years have passed."
"...How many?!"
Stelle's eyes widened.
Her mouth fell open.
She even threw both hands behind her head in disbelief.
"This world is a virtual reality constructed entirely from data."
"Every anomaly you've noticed, every strange inconsistency, exists because this world developed through simulated evolution."
"That naturally created certain differences from a truly physical world."
"And because I wanted to elevate this digital world into a real one, I forced it to repeat the same era over and over."
"Each cycle lasts more than a thousand years."
"I've experienced more than thirty million of them."
"You also happened to arrive at exactly the right time."
"This is the final cycle."
"You'll be able to witness the conclusion yourselves."
"Oh, right."
Caelus continued.
"That Intellitron you met earlier, the one calling himself Lygus, is the mastermind who created this virtual world."
"He repeatedly simulated and evolved the course of this world in order to accumulate enough data for an Emperor's Scepter to mature."
"His ultimate goal is to use it to destroy Nous and restore uncertainty to the future of the universe."
"...You're seriously dumping all of that on us the moment we arrive?!"
March 7th stared at him in disbelief.
"Why does it feel like you just hit fast-forward on the entire plot?!"
"Normally, aren't we supposed to arrive in a new world, get dragged into conflicts with the locals, go through a bunch of adventures, solve several crises, collect scattered clues, and listen to suspicious people speak in riddles?"
"Then, after everything keeps escalating, we're supposed to slowly piece together the truth bit by bit!"
"Why did you just reveal everything immediately?!"
Stelle threw up her hands.
"That's not how Honkai: Star Rail is supposed to work!"
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)