Honkai: Star Rail – Banner Character, Delivering Knives to the Player [16]

As she watched them disappear upstairs, Himeko couldn’t help but smile.

“Looks like things are going to be a lot livelier from now on.”

“Good,” Welt said. “The rest of us are a bit too serious. Trailblazing needs a bit of lightness too.”

He had seen much—enough to cultivate a mindset that remained unmoved even with the sky falling.

Himeko had weathered many turbulent times. Dan Heng, for all his silence, carried a past shrouded in mystery.

And Lingzhou—despite his youthful appearance and “amnesia”—had lived through far more than he let on. Calm and grounded.

That carefree, irreverent attitude he showed to others was just a smokescreen.

Lingzhou glanced at Welt with a peculiar look in his eyes.

I could act less “serious,” you know. Aha would love that.

But if Aha’s happy… no one else will be.

“Next stop is Jarilo-VI, right? When do we depart?” Lingzhou asked.

Himeko offered a faint smile.

“Get some good rest tonight. We set out in the morning.”

...

Lingzhou had just finished admiring the glittering galaxy outside his window and was preparing to sleep when—of course—the human-shaped flypaper showed up.

“Off. My. Bed.”

“Why? Is Aha not pretty enough for you?”

Aha curled up one leg just enough to accentuate Her stunning figure, shooting Lingzhou a devastatingly flirty glance.

She was, undeniably, gorgeous.

Unfortunately for Her, Lingzhou’s heart was as still as water.

“You’re pretty, sure. But I’d rather not catch a plague and get diagnosed with a terminal case of Elation."

He wasn’t worried this conversation would appear on a player’s screen.

Without his permission, the system couldn’t render it as in-game content.

“So heartless! Calling Aha a plague god? Sniff sniff sob sob sob, you’ve broken my poor little heart…”

“Treating Aha like this—better you ignore me outright. At least that way, I wouldn’t look so clingy and pitiful…”

The woman on the bed covered Her face and began to cry, frail and tragic.

Lingzhou strolled to the bedside, casually lifted one foot—

—And kicked Her off the mattress.

“Look at you! I barely say two words and darling’s already getting violent!”

“Say one more stupid thing and I’ll—”

“What? What what what? Gonna beat me up? Go on, do it! Don’t go easy on me just ’cause I’m delicate—put your back into it!”

Aha was delighted, crawling back up to the bed edge, resting Her elbows on it, staring up at him with unfiltered adoration.

Lingzhou twitched at the corner of his mouth. A wave of cold dread crept over him.

“I was gonna say I’d treat you like air. Beat you? As if.”

“Why not?”

“Because you’d enjoy it. And that would be gross.”

“No love, no love at all! This poor heart of mine—it’s colder than a snowdrift in the ninth winter month. Darling’s indifference is killing me!”

Aha flopped on the floor, dramatically rolling back and forth.

Lingzhou lay back down, crossed one leg over the other, and completely ignored the god of mischief’s tantrum.

When Aha really wanted to mess with him, She never asked for permission. This routine was just Her trying to get in his head.

“Okay, enough of that. Shut it. If you behave, I’ll let you find some fun on Jarilo-VI.”

“1111111!”

Aha’s eyes lit up like twin stars.

“Is that true, Daddy?!”

“I’m counting to three. Disappear. Three.”

Before the word even finished leaving his mouth, the devastatingly beautiful woman was gone—without so much as a wisp left behind.

With that noisy deity finally gone, Lingzhou slowly closed his eyes.

Compared to the lives he’d led before, he rather liked this one.

No running around saving worlds, no burden of responsibility for strangers, no existential-scale stress.

He’d been numb before. At one point, he’d even considered switching to collecting faith through sin instead.

Unfortunately… he had a conscience.

Not a great one, but enough to steer clear of that path.

Bullying the weak? Never his thing.

---

In front of the screen—

Ah Xian cracked her knuckles, ready to tackle the game’s second “newbie zone.”

Even though she’d already played the beta and knew the story, Lingzhou’s presence had rekindled her excitement.

Before continuing the main plot, she clicked through optional dialogue with the Express crew.

She'd just finished talking to Lingzhou and now headed for the last person—not for progress, but for research.

“I don’t know why you’re rushing. If I’m going to draw a longform doujin, I need to understand his character properly.”

“You can’t make high-quality content without putting in the work. Unless you want me to drop some OOC trash fire of a fancomic?”

She clicked Welt’s dialogue option about Lingzhou.

Welt: “He arrived on the Express more than two months before Dan Heng."

Welt: "Himeko and I met him on a world plagued by natural disasters… one on the brink of death."

Welt: "He was the only one left there, watching over a few nameless grave markers."

Welt: "Even then, I could see the weight of time and loss etched into his face."

Welt: "We asked what he was waiting for, how long he'd stood vigil—but he said he’d already forgotten."

Welt: "He remembered only that he was a Tianyu—his name, Lingzhou."

Welt: "And that he remained there for one reason: to wait. For someone, or something."

Welt: "Whether fate led him to the Astral Express, we’ll never know."

Welt: "But we did know that his world was about to pass into history. And that he couldn’t remain in it."

Welt: "So, he boarded the train—to find the pieces of his forgotten past.”

[???]
[BUHAO!]
[Bro are you serious—already seeding backstory on day one?!]

Ah Xian felt that same familiar chill crawl up her spine. Almost triggered her PTSD.

Alone in front of a grave. Waiting so long, he forgot everything. Waiting until the world withered to dust.

Even just hearing the description, the atmosphere was thick and heavy.

Why was Lingzhou the only one left? What caused the world to die?

Everything about him—his voice lines, his abilities, his backstory—had painted him as a chaotic fun-loving troll.

But this story from Welt?

It weighed like stone.

Welt: “The Express asks nothing of the past. No matter what thoughts you carry, no matter what secrets you keep…"

Welt: "As long as you’re willing to journey with us, the door will always open."

Welt: "Lingzhou, Dan Heng, March—they all have their pasts. And so do you."

Welt: "A Nameless looks ahead, not back. Our only duty is to face the future, together.”

That was all Welt had to say about Lingzhou.

Ah Xian bit her lip, visibly more serious now.

Out of love for Lingzhou, she couldn’t help but empathize.

He must’ve endured a lot… to keep watch over a dying world for so long.

“Still not enough info. I’ll trust the writers. After all, this is a space comedy game.”

Shaking off the stormclouds in her head, Ah Xian smiled again.

“Compared to March, Lingzhou’s already doing great. At least he remembers his name and skillset.”

“…Wait no, what if healing is actually the least of his talents?”

“Why? Call it a hunch. Or, you know, women’s intuition.”

“Like come on—if Lingzhou really were just a doctor, how the hell could he stand guard over an entire world until its end?”

“Whether it gets dark or not, whatever. Same thing I always say: trust the writers.”

[But Ah Xian… the full title is Honkai: Star Rail. You do remember what Honkai Impact 3rd did to people, right?]
[The Last Lesson, Elysian Realm, Flame-Chasers Eternal—]

Reading those comments, Ah Xian’s eyes widened slowly.

[BUHAO.]
[Old Yang from Honkai 3rd is in Star Rail.]
[I CAN’T ESCAPE THE PAIN.]

---

This is a fan translation of 崩铁：卡池角色，给玩家发刀 by 三十度幻. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!