[Star Rail Era Year 1, April 21st – Astral Express]
Today is…
April 21st, XXXX.
I succeeded!
But…
damn it!
Missing memories?
Why?
Is it a side effect of reversing the Path?
Curse it!
Why is it that the most important part is exactly what I forgot?
Why did I forget the purpose I came here for?
What am I supposed to do?
xxxx (four unknown characters, suspected to be a name), tell me!
What should I do now?
…
Calm down!
Calm down!
Calm down!
Cang, you must pull yourself together.
Only you can change this world.
Only you can defeat (pitch-black scratch marks).
Damn it, I cannot mention Their name, or the current me will definitely go mad!
Right, the eldritch calamity has not broken out yet.
I need to find the source of the contamination!
Then erase it…
Also…
the diary!
I must carry the diary with me at all times!
I must write in it every day!
The diary is my last trump card…
But why?
What exactly is its purpose?
Ah, my head hurts!
My brain is trembling!
Is this also a side effect?
…
March 7th is really cute.
–+–
“…”
Ye Cang stared at the last line of the diary entry and fell into thought.
This so-called Death Diary seemed a little different from what he had imagined?
Cang?
Is that the name of the diary’s original owner?
Or is it the name of the original owner of this body?
Ye Cang clicked his tongue.
The two were not mutually exclusive.
It was very possible that the person who wrote the diary was the original owner of his current body.
The words “Astral Express,” “Path,” and “March 7th” in the diary further confirmed his guess.
He really had bought a “genuine Astral Express ticket” from that scalper.
From the fragmented descriptions in the diary, he could infer that the original owner of this body, “Cang,” seemed to have traveled back from the future through “reversing the Path,” with the goal of “erasing the source of the eldritch”…
Ye Cang suddenly shuddered, a chill running down his spine.
Cang?
Is there such a person in Honkai: Star Rail?
And that “Them” who could not be mentioned.
That was clearly a substitute for some kind of god.
Did it refer to an Aeon on some “Path”?
But as far as Ye Cang knew, there was no “Aeon” in Honkai: Star Rail whose mere name would drive someone mad just by being mentioned…
This is not an Aeon, this is a Great Old One, isn’t it?
All he could say was…
the amount of information was terrifying.
As for the last line of the diary, the writer’s genuine emotional outburst, Ye Cang silently chose to ignore it.
He rubbed his brow and continued reading:
–+–
[Star Rail Era Year 1, April 22nd – Astral Express]
Strange!
Something is wrong!
Very wrong!
Did the eldritch calamity really break out on the Astral Express?
Why is everything here so normal?
No, it’s too normal!
So normal that I almost thought the eldritch outbreak was a nightmare, just that the dream was too long and too real!
That’s why I forgot part of my memories about the dream after waking up…
But that wasn’t a dream, was it?
XXXX (four unknown characters, suspected to be a name).
Everything can be false.
Only your existence is the only truth I pursue.
Oh, and the diary.
The diary is also real.
It doesn’t belong here.
It…
should be an anchor, used to anchor my connection to this world.
I tried it with March 7th and Dan Heng.
They cannot see this diary, so it is special, something that belongs to me.
This is very important.
Absolutely do not lose it!
I thought about it for a long time.
Although I still cannot recall the most important purpose of this journey, based on the information I have gathered so far, I have summarized the following key points.
Make sure to remember them!
1.
There are less than 4 days until the eldritch completely breaks out (Star Rail Era Year 1, April 26th).
Before then, I must find the source of the eldritch!
That is, the so-called “source of contamination”!
2.
The Astral Express may already be contaminated by the eldritch!
Do not trust anyone.
The only one you can trust is yourself!
3.
There is a strange recipe on the last page of the diary, called [Abundance Potion].
Strange.
The advancement of the [Abundance] Path has nothing to do with potions.
Why would something like this appear in my diary?
And the materials to make the potion…
the heart of an [Abundance] Pathstrider, the blood essence of an [Abundance] Pathstrider, Sprout of Eternal Life, Abundance Nectar, Seed of Abundance, Thin Aether, Solid Purified Water, Lost Light Dust…
Damn it, where am I supposed to find these things?
4.
I remember now.
The diary has a limited number of pages, but no matter how I count, I cannot confirm the exact number.
The last sixteen pages of the diary record sixteen potion recipes, with no order indicated, so there should not be a sequence problem, except for…
[Abundance Potion].
5.
Right, Old Yang said I am a [Pathless Walker].
This world has no Path that belongs to me, so I cannot draw power from a Path.
In other words, I am just an ordinary person?
No, wrong!
Do not trust anyone.
The only one I can trust is myself!
[Pathless Walker] does not belong to any Path, so…
I can only rely on [potions] to steal the power of other Paths!
6.
Remember!
There are only six people on the Astral Express: Himeko, Old Yang, March 7th, Dan Heng, Pom-Pom, Cang (me).
If you see a seventh person…
run!
Run fast!
7.
I might know what this diary’s function is, but…
it still needs verification.
I suspect it may be related to Path reversal.
The current me is too weak.
8.
The Amber Era cannot be trusted.
History has already been tampered with by the Enigmata.
If you want to obtain the correct date, use the diary’s [Star Rail Era] as the standard!
Remember this!
9.
If you remember other important things, remember to write them in the diary in time.
–+–
“…”
Ye Cang’s pupils contracted.
Only now did he confirm that although he had indeed transmigrated into the world of Honkai: Star Rail, it was absolutely not the “12+” Honkai: Star Rail he was familiar with!
Eldritch, contamination, potions, Pathless Walker, Death Diary…
These were all things that did not exist in the original Honkai: Star Rail.
Although he did not know how these “variables” would affect his upcoming journey, there was no doubt: it was absolutely not developing in a good direction.
And these “abnormalities” and “variables” also vaguely revealed a fact: Cang, the disappearance of the original “soul” of this body was not a coincidence, and his own transmigration was clearly not the favor of a “god” either.
No system, no cheat ability, no blessing from a goddess, no support from a childhood sweetheart dropping from the sky, and no overpowered bloodline.
Facing this starry universe full of the eldritch and the unknown…
how was he supposed to survive?
He did not know.
He only felt that at this moment, he was like a blade of grass in an open field, insignificant and silent, not knowing when he would be swept away by a fierce wind or gnawed on by grazing livestock.
Facing the unknown and fear, he could only brace himself and turn to the next page of the diary.
–+–
[Star Rail Era Year 1, April 23rd – Astral Express]
My memories are getting blurrier and blurrier.
Is this also a side effect?
No good.
At this rate, I will very likely forget more important things.
I must record them in exhaustive detail…
What a hassle.
I never had the habit of keeping a diary to begin with, and now there is even more to record.
Forget it, let me start with the important things.
Cang, your name is “Cang.”
Before you reversed the Path and lost most of your memories, you were the only Emanator of the Aeon [xxxx].
The Path you walked is…
Sorry, I have already forgotten.
But that is no longer important, is it?
The current you are a Pathless Walker, one who reverses past and future.
When you chose to reverse, you no longer had any room to turn back.
You can only move forward, forward, constantly forward…
strangle the eldritch in the starry sky, save her, and also save this world she loves so deeply.
Oh, her…
How ironic.
I originally thought her existence was the only truth I believed in.
But now, aside from her name, her appearance, her personality, her every word and action, I can no longer remember clearly.
I only know that I must protect her, must erase the source of the eldritch before the contamination becomes unstoppable.
But…
as you can see, I have even forgotten what the source of the eldritch is.
So next, our goal is to find the “source of the eldritch” that must be erased on the Astral Express, the initial outbreak point of the eldritch contamination.
Do not be afraid.
Since we chose the path of reversing the Path, it means we once understood the essence of eldritch contamination and had the confidence and capital to resist it.
This journey can only succeed…
No, this journey will definitely succeed!
Remember, the [Death Diary] and [xxxx (suspected to be the honorific name of an Aeon)] are the only two truths in this world.
Other than that, even you yourself are not to be trusted!
Huff…
There is a sound of tapping on the glass outside the window, but I cannot see anything.
Heh…
What a joke.
This is interstellar travel.
Do not pay attention to it.
Fear…
Listen, future me, fear is the food of the eldritch.
No matter what, do not let fear defeat you first!
–+–
[Star Rail Era Year 1, April 24th – Astral Express]
Conductor Pom-Pom told me the next stop is the Herta Space Station.
Herta…
In the past, no, before the reversal, she and I seemed to be very good friends.
Her body…
had some problems, so she could only use puppets to act outside.
I cannot remember the specific reason.
It should be related to the eldritch contamination in the starry sky.
If I can help, then help her…
Heh, what a joke.
The current me is this weak.
Not dragging her down would already be great…
Also, the Stellaron Hunters Kafka and Silver Wolf will create the [Trailblaze] vessel on the Herta Space Station.
That person seems to become the new [Aeon of Trailblaze] in the future.
Her name is…
Forget it, I cannot remember.
My memory wear is too severe.
Is this related to Fuli, the Aeon of [Remembrance]?
Cannot verify.
The current me cannot even attract the gaze of any Aeon.
That said, I still need to find a way to avoid being directly gazed upon by these Aeons, or I might die without even knowing how…
The Aeon of Abundance [Yaoshi] will not directly kill people, and is the easiest to respond to the calls of believers, so my first potion can only be Abundance!
Let me see the ingredients for the Abundance Potion…
the heart of an [Abundance] Pathstrider, the blood essence of an [Abundance] Pathstrider, Sprout of Eternal Life, Abundance Nectar, Seed of Abundance, Thin Aether, Solid Purified Water, Lost Light Dust.
Among them, Thin Aether, Solid Purified Water, and Lost Light Dust are daily supplies, easy to get.
Abundance Nectar, Seed of Abundance, and Sprout of Eternal Life can only be obtained from the corpses of hunted Abundance abominations and Abundance followers.
Of course, some cosmic black markets also circulate them.
There are still ways if I think about it.
As for the two main materials, the heart of an [Abundance] Pathstrider and the blood essence of an [Abundance] Pathstrider…
Time to start hunting?
I hope I have not forgotten that combat instinct of licking blood off a blade’s edge.
–+–
[Star Rail Era Year 1, April 25th – Astral Express]
Oh, Herta.
My dear Lady Herta.
Perhaps you no longer remember me, but in my remaining memories, there is still a place that belongs only to you.
I apologize for my rudeness, because next, I will take some worthless little trinkets from you.
As for the password to your vault, let me think.
If I remember correctly…
hehe.
As for the heart and blood essence, I just need to hunt a researcher on the space station.
They are nothing more than consumables to you anyway.
…
Something is wrong!
Were those previous words really written by me?
Why do I have no impression of them at all?
Damn it!
What is affecting me?
Killing an innocent person just for a potion.
Is this something I could do?
I…
…
Today is the 25th?
I was just fighting Voidrangers on the Herta Space Station!
Time…
reversed?
Wait, I think I was…
killed by something earlier.
Too fast!
Was it the gaze of [Destruction] Nanook?
No…
not Them.
Let me think…
No, my memories are about to dissipate!
I have to write this down quickly!
The Abundance Potion has been successfully refined.
Only one step left…
only one step left to complete the ritual!
…
It seems this is the second reversal.
My memories are dissipating, but I drank the potion.
I can feel that even if time reverses, the potion’s power remains in my body.
I must complete the ritual immediately!
The ritual…
…
Back to the 25th again!
The space station…
I cannot go back!
Something on the train has its eyes on me!
Its target is…
March 7th!
March 7th is in danger!
…
The 25th?
I died again?
The ritual…
did it complete?
March 7th…
wait for me!
…
What number is this?
Forget it, I cannot remember.
But…
No matter how many times I restart, I will save you all.
March 7th, Himeko, Old Yang, Dan Heng, Pom-Pom!
Not a single person on the Astral Express can be lost!
…
I can never reach the 26th anymore.
I am trapped in an infinite loop!
The source of the eldritch, the monster prowling within the Astral Express.
As long as it kills me, time returns to the morning of the 25th!
But the contents of the diary do not change.
Organize all useful information.
This is our only way out!
Because the contents of the diary will not change!
No matter how many times I restart, the diary is our only anchor!
…
March 7th died!
Himeko died!
Dan Heng, Old Yang, Pom-Pom…
everyone died!
Why?
Why?
Why?
Why did it not kill me this time?
It does not matter.
Reverse again!
I still have a chance to start over.
As long as I keep trying, I will definitely find a way to save everyone!
…
My hands are covered in blood.
I can no longer tell whether that blood belongs to them or to me, or perhaps both.
I can feel it.
I am about to catch it…
the source of the eldritch, that monster on the Astral Express!
…
Hahahahaha, got you!
Monster!
Die!
Die!
Die!
As long as I kill you, all the eldritch contamination and misfortune will not happen!
Everyone can have their own beautiful future!
As long as I kill you, she and the world she loves so deeply will be saved!
They will obtain the happiness I promised!
As long as I kill you…
Huh?
Eh?
Why?
What am I doing?
No…
This is impossible!
Absolutely impossible!
How could there be something so absurd?
This is too cruel!
I cannot understand!
So sad.
Someone, save me.
If this is the truth I have been pursuing…
then what was all my effort until now for?
Hahahahaha…
So…
That monster!
That monster who killed everyone!
Is me!
…
Be careful of March 7th.