Honkai Star Rail: Make Honkai Great Again

Chapter 247 247: Help Him Wake Up

It didn't seem like there was any problem.

But precisely because it didn't seem like there was any problem—that was the biggest problem right now.

Herta's message wasn't strange. Judging by the timing, the Astral Express should have already arrived in Penacony.

When she had contacted Herta earlier, Herta had mentioned that something minor had happened to Stelle. They would talk again after the Astral Express reached Penacony.

So there was nothing unusual about that.

"But how did Ruan know...?"

She was fairly certain she hadn't told Ruan Mei about the situation here. Could it be that Herta had casually mentioned her request for Memoria-related research materials while chatting with Ruan Mei?

She hadn't gone to Ruan Mei because she hadn't seen her working on any related topics. Herta, on the other hand, had no fixed research direction. If something interested her, she would study it.

So going to Herta had simply been more convenient.

[Kiana: It wasn't really a difficult problem. It's already been resolved.]

After replying to Ruan Mei, she finally shifted her attention to Herta.

[Kiana: I just came out of the stigmata world. I haven't seen anyone from the Astral Express yet.]

[Kiana: Stop keeping me in suspense. What exactly was that little accident with Stelle?]

She waited for a short while but received no reply. Acheron was probably in a dream right now. As for Ruan Mei and Herta, delayed responses were practically their default setting.

"Better finish what's in front of me first."

She had no idea where Mei was at the moment. After Mei sent a message saying she had arrived in Penacony, there had been no further updates.

Robin and Black Swan were still waiting for her. And the main players in this part of Penacony's story had all already gathered. Thinking about how she hadn't even begun her move yet, Kiana felt a sense of urgency.

Robin trusted her so much. She absolutely couldn't let her down!

Returning to Penacony within the dream, Kiana found Robin and Black Swan at their previously agreed meeting spot.

"Did Araya not come back with you?"

When Robin saw Kiana return, she hurried forward, carefully examining her from head to toe. Only after confirming she was completely unharmed—not even a single strand of hair out of place—did she finally relax.

"It was her first time experiencing something like this. She went back to digest what she gained."

"So she won't be participating in what comes next?" Black Swan sounded slightly disappointed. She had been quite interested in Araya as well. "What a pity."

That child was even more perceptive than Kiana and hadn't given her a single opening. Sometimes Black Swan had only fleeting thoughts—yet Araya had still caught them.

"Not a pity. The real show is about to begin."

Kiana took out the stigmata and let the two of them look at the result of their days of effort.

"This is—stigmata?"

Robin had seen stigmata before. The first time she saw one had been on Kiana, when she returned from the dangerous, silent planet called Izumo.

Robin remembered it clearly.

"A semi-finished stigmata," Kiana said, putting it away again before looking at Robin seriously. "Are you ready?"

"I just received word that the Astral Express has arrived in Penacony. Everyone who should be here—and those who shouldn't—are all present. We need to begin. If we wait any longer, variables might arise."

Ready?

Robin looked at the silver-white girl who had been running around tirelessly for her sake. She took a deep breath, then smiled.

"I've been ready for a long time. If my brother is still stubborn and refuses to see reason... then please help me wake him up."

Robin thought seriously. If even this couldn't make her brother realize that this path wouldn't work in Penacony, then she would have to ask Kiana to quite literally beat some sense into him.

When reason fails to convince anyone, then perhaps it's time to try another method of breaking the stalemate.

At this point, Robin could only steel her heart. She couldn't watch her brother sink deeper and deeper, nor could she let Kiana's efforts go to waste.

Wake him up?

Kiana hesitated.

Does she mean what I think she means? As in—actually beat Sunday up?

She was probably overthinking it.

"No time to lose. Shall we head out now?" Kiana asked. "Where do we find him?"

"Follow me."

She intended to go straight to Dewlight Pavilion. Now that there was no longer any need to avoid Sunday, they could simply go there and let him come to them.

Once again, they arrived at Dewlight Pavilion.

The guards at the entrance showed no reaction upon seeing Robin. Almost no one else knew that conflict had broken out between the siblings.

Before coming, Kiana had thought about the two hounds guarding her own door. To avoid unnecessary complications, she concealed her presence.

She didn't entangle herself with the Family members at the entrance.

"Let's wait here for a moment."

Inside the reception room Sunday used to entertain guests, Robin chose this as the venue for their upcoming conversation.

"My brother should arrive shortly."

Kiana nodded, found a seat, and took out her terminal. Messages between dream and reality were delayed—but within the dream, they were not.

[Kiana: Mei, are you with the Trailblazer from the Express right now? Or are you alone?]

[Acheron: Where are you?]

So she was in the dream indeed.

Receiving Acheron's reply finally eased Kiana's worries a little. She thought she would go find her once this was over.

Come to think of it, she hadn't seen Acheron in quite some time. Just thinking about it made her feel slightly guilty.

Since their reunion, they had hardly ever been apart.

She hadn't noticed it before, but now that she thought about it, a faint sense of unfamiliar emptiness rose in her heart.

[Kiana: At Dewlight Pavilion.]

[Kiana: Things aren't finished yet. I'll need a bit more time.]

[Acheron: Do you need my help?]

Let Mei help?

Kiana blinked, immediately picturing Acheron swinging a world-destroying blade at Sunday. Cold sweat broke out across her back.

[Kiana: No, no! Just one final step left. Mei, just wait obediently for my good news!]

Rejected.

Acheron fell silent for a moment, then lowered her phone.

"Don't look so glum, Ranger. Cheer up. Isn't it a good thing that you managed to contact your friend?" Sparkle, whom she had encountered once more, fanned the flames. "So what if your friend prefers that pair of chicken-wing siblings and left you to the side? What's the big deal?"

She offered a terrible suggestion. "You can find one too. Actually, no—find two!"

Acheron selectively filtered out her words, treating some of them as though she hadn't heard them at all.

"How did you know?"

Most of what this suddenly appearing patient said had turned out to be true. Acheron had verified that herself. That was why she was now standing before this Fool.

It wasn't strange that she knew Acheron was looking for Kiana. Nor was it surprising that she knew Kiana and Robin were friends.

But how did she know what Kiana was currently busy with?

Information spreading quickly among Masked Fools could explain how she knew about Acheron and Kiana. Perhaps someone Acheron had interacted with had been a Masked Fool without her realizing it.

But what about Penacony?

Why had this Masked Fool come to Penacony in the first place?

"Curious?"

Acheron said nothing. Since she had asked, of course she wanted an answer.

"Hehe, it's not like I can't tell you."

Sparkle grinned.

"How about we play a game? If you win, I'll tell you everything you want to know."

...

"I truly didn't expect that behind all of this... would be a guest invited here to attend the ceremony."

Just as Robin had predicted, the moment Sunday learned that she had come to Dewlight Pavilion, he wrapped up everything at hand as quickly as possible and rushed over.

Inside the reception room he used to entertain guests stood several familiar figures.

His younger sister.

His younger sister's beloved.

And a Memokeeper from the Garden of Recollection.

Sunday's gaze locked onto Kiana among them. At first, it had only been a suspicion. Now, it was confirmation.

She was indeed the one who had told Robin the truth behind everything.

What he couldn't understand was how she knew so much so quickly.

She had only just arrived in Penacony. Even his own sister had not suspected him. And yet this outsider—a guest who had only visited Penacony twice—

How had she learned of Ena's Dream?

"Brother."

The moment she saw Sunday again, Robin knew he was still stubbornly clinging to his so-called Ena's Dream.

"I have a question," Sunday said gently, meeting their gaze. Though their ideals had diverged, he was still the Sunday who loved his sister. That would never change. "May I ask you to clear up my confusion?"

"Go ahead."

Since this wasn't a situation that began with combat, Kiana didn't mind speaking a little longer. From a certain perspective, she actually admired Sunday.

"If I remember correctly, this is only your second time in Penacony," Sunday said. "How did you learn of Ena's Dream?"

He paused briefly before continuing.

"Or perhaps I should ask—what is it that brought you to stand here?"

Was there a connection between those two questions?

Kiana instinctively glanced at Robin. Their eyes met for a split second before Robin quickly looked away.

Embarrassed, probably.

"Of course I'm here for Robin," Kiana replied without hesitation.

There was nothing to hide. She was here because of Robin. If not for her, she likely wouldn't have involved herself in Penacony's storyline at all—at most, she would have remained a witness.

Sunday's Ena's Dream would never succeed.

He wouldn't even get past the Astral Express, let alone everything beyond that.

"For Robin?"

"She's my friend. I don't need any reason to help her," Kiana said bluntly. "Your Ena's Dream can't come true. Even if I did nothing, it still wouldn't succeed."

"You cannot shake my resolve," Sunday replied calmly. "Your understanding of Ena's Dream is far too superficial. Ena's Dream is a paradise that embraces all. Within it, everyone can obtain happiness."

"Your idea is beautiful," Kiana answered, "but you seem to have overlooked the will of the people themselves. You never gave them the right to choose—whether they are willing to sink into your so-called Ena's Dream."

"Choice... If even survival cannot be guaranteed, if happiness is already out of reach, is the right to choose truly that important?"

"Choice is the embodiment of free will," Kiana said. "If one loses freedom—loses even the self—and lives only for the sake of living, how is that any different from a puppet?"

"Survival should stand above all choices."

Who was right? Who was wrong?

Both of them were right.

They simply stood from different perspectives.

"Then prove it to me."

Kiana looked at Sunday seriously as the stigmata named [Dreamland of the Idealist] appeared in her hand.

"Prove your will to me."

"And tell me—why does life fall asleep?"

Sunday studied the stigmata in her hand, lifting a hand to his lips in thought.

"So this is what you prepared to persuade me?"

"Yes. A stigmata world prepared specifically for you. You can think of it as a special Memoria bubble." The stigmata floated from her palm and settled between them. "Would you like to try? For the sake of your ideal—and for Robin."

If he was so certain that he was right, then he would not waver in Ena's Dream. And if their conflict could be resolved in this peaceful way, then the rift between the siblings would not deepen further.

Sunday suddenly smiled, turning to look at his sister.

"Even if I prove my will, you won't give up, will you?"

"No." Kiana's answer was crisp and merciless. "If you truly fail to see what you've overlooked, then I will use the Order you believe in to change your mind."

If Harmony meant the strong supporting the weak, then Order meant the strong commanding the weak.

In that case, there was no need to persuade him further. If the strong could dictate fate and establish rules, then she would make Sunday understand something.

No matter how strong you are, there will always be someone stronger.

"That doesn't sound very fair," Sunday said. "But I accept."

If he couldn't even resolve the obstacle before him, then his Ena's Dream was destined to fail regardless.

He would not retreat.

"Please."

Kiana gestured invitingly. Without fear, Sunday stepped before the unusual stigmata.

Just as he was about to raise his hand and touch it—to witness the trial prepared for him by his sister and her beloved—Robin suddenly called out.

"Brother!" Her voice wasn't loud, but it rang clearly. "Don't forget who you truly are, all right?"

Sunday paused.

He did not respond. Instead, without further hesitation, he extended his hand and resonated with the floating stigmata.

A blinding white light flashed.

And Sunday was gone.

He knew what he was saying.

Right?

Robin stared at the stigmata anxiously. She had participated in its creation. She knew what kind of world lay within.

"Don't worry. He'll be fine."

"I hope he can return to the crowd," Robin murmured softly, pressing her lips together. "Instead of walking farther and farther away—standing above everyone else and taking on responsibilities that were never his to bear."

"In situations like this," Black Swan suddenly said, "only a crushing, unforgettable failure that denies him completely can allow him to see his true self again. May I enter as well? I promise to remain merely an observer."

That wasn't something Kiana could decide alone. She looked toward Robin. Only Robin had the right to agree.

"I want to know how my brother will choose," Robin said. She knew Kiana had set protective measures. Once the trial began, no external force could interfere with the stigmata world.

Kiana considered it for a moment, then nodded.

"All right. Let's go take a look together—and see what choice he makes."