Chapter Text
Life has a quirk for always finding ways to surprise you when you least expect it, and I am no exception.
In one moment, I was crawling into bed after I spent a long night finishing my lab report, and in the next, I was sitting in a white room, facing a middle-aged man across the table.
“So you’re telling me…” I paused, rubbing my forehead as I tried to process everything. “I died in my sleep, and now I get to reincarnate into a fictional world of my choice?”
“Slight correction, the destination is through chances as well.” He said with an annoying grin as he pushed his glasses up, which only fueled my frustration.
‘So it’s gacha all over again!?’ I groaned as I sank into the chair.
“Don’t worry, there are no rate-ups. Everything has an equal chance of landing.”
‘That isn’t reassuring at all!’ I sighed and shifted in my seat. I reached out for the teacup he had served earlier. The warm liquid soothed my insides as I took a sip, savouring the flavour as I prepared myself to bet my entire future in the next moment.
I sighed again and put down the teacup. “Alright, let’s do it.”
“Excellent!” The man snapped his fingers, and a giant screen materialised beside us. Inside the screen, a massive wheel split into countless tiny slices, each inscribed with words, but they were so small I couldn’t read them. Still smiling, the man slid a red button towards me.
“Now all you need to do is to press this button to gamb—” He coughed lightly. “Start the world selection process. Rest assured, there will be another process for assigning perks and abilities to accompany you in the next life.”
Ignoring the fact that he definitely almost said “gambling”, I felt a bit relieved that I wouldn’t be thrown into a new world empty-handed, but the uneasy feeling still crept inside me. After all, everything can go wrong when you’re gambling.
I pressed the button and nervously waited for the result, knowing that a pixel could determine my entire future.
The wheel started spinning so fast that all kinds of colours meshed together, briefly forming a white circle before it came to a sudden halt.
“Congratulations, your next life destination will be…Honkai Star Rail.”
‘Oh, this isn’t bad at all.’
After all, Honkai Star Rail was just a story about growth, positivity, and solidarity. A cosmic adventure following a group of people travelling through planets and stars alike to save civilisations from world-ending events or even universal ones. A universe filled with cosmical horrors and beings who could wipe galaxies just from passing by…Oh no.
“I take that back, this is actually bad…” I put both of my hands on my head. “Wait, I still have the perks and abilities wheel, right?”
“Yes, you do, my friend.” He snapped his fingers, and another wheel appeared, but this time with even tinier slices. “Same rules, but this time you get to spin…three—no, two times.”
I felt my eyebrow twitch in annoyance, feeling that he was being deliberately provocative.
“Couldn’t you keep it at three? Pretty please?” I even played nicely by saying the magic word.
“Humn no.” He rejected it without a moment’s hesitation, making me click my tongue. “Instead, I will raise the odds of getting good rolls…slightly, what do you think?”
“That’s acceptable, I guess…” Although I still felt like I was the one being scammed.
“Excellent.” He snapped his fingers once again, and the wheel’s design shifted, but it was still impossible to make out any details from how tiny the slices were. “You may proceed when you feel ready.”
I took a deep breath and silently prayed to every deity of luck and fate I could name off the top of my head before pressing the button.
“Let’s see what you got here…Oh, this is unexpected, but it appears that Lady Luck is on your side. In any case, congratulations are in order.” He rose from his seat and began applauding. “You’ve obtained the abilities [Great Sage] and [Creation Magic], quite the combination, I must say.”
I let out a relieved sigh, feeling a heavy weight lift from my shoulders.
“Well then, your vessel is nearly ready. So live your life to the fullest and…Good luck, you will need it.” He gave me a casual wave before breaking into a menacing laugh.
“Wait what—!?” I didn’t even get to finish the sentence. My vision abruptly went dark. A force yanked me backwards, and a wave of disorientation crashed over me.
The discomfort stopped as soon as I felt solid ground beneath me, and just like that, everything snapped back to normal. I was lying on a cold floor and quickly scrambled to my feet the moment I realised it.
‘That bastard could’ve at least warned me…and I don’t even know his name to curse at!’ I was so irritated that I didn’t even notice someone approaching from behind.
[Notice: An individual with a high concentration of imaginary energy is approaching you from behind.]
‘What!?’
“It seems you’re finally awake, Spawn of Abundace.”
I turned around and found myself face-to-face with a young woman. The first thing that caught my eye was her oversized black witch hat adorned with a single purple flower. Then came her outfit, detached sleeves, and an elegant, witch or magical girl-themed dress. Her long brown hair cascaded down her back, and her amethyst-colored eyes…all of this feels familiar.
[Notice: The individual’s characteristics closely match those of the character ‘The Herta’ from your memories.]
‘This must be Great Sage, right?’ I got distracted by a sudden voice in my head for a second, but immediately refocused on Herta when she summoned her key-shaped staff.
“I watched your body being formed cell by cell with my own eyes. So tell me, how and why have you invaded my home? Otherwise, you will satisfy my curiosity on a dissection table.” Herta twirled the staff between her fingers and aimed it at me, the tip glowing a bright purple.
‘Fuck—!’ I immediately threw my hands up in surrender. ‘First objective after arriving in the new world is to survive an encounter with an Emanator!?’
Madam Herta, the 83rd member of the Genius Society, the genius who has met Aeon more times than the majority of the universe’s population, the Emanator of Erudition, and many more…
‘How will I survive through this?’ My mind raced as I searched for a solution.
[Notice: Great Sage had detected the absence of genuine hostility despite what the individual Herta portrays. The dominant emotion that can be detected from her is ‘Curiosity’. Conclusion: the optimal solution is to tell the truth mixed with lies, for example…]
‘I see.’ My thoughts returned to normal speed as I looked into her eyes. ‘I will do it as you say. Please assist me, Great Sage!’
“It’s an honour to meet you, Madam Herta. I am Welt Royce, just an ordinary man.” I bowed slightly. “And I believe this is a…misunderstanding.”
“Misunderstanding, you say? Tell me more, I’m all ears.” She said in an amused tone.
“I am not a Denizen of Abundance, nor have any relation to that Aeon.” I paused briefly, gauging her reaction. And as expected, there was no change in her facial expression. “I was living peacefully on a planet called ‘Earth’, but I accidentally encountered a Masked Fool and, for some reason, attracted Aha’s interest, and then THEY brought me here.”
Aha, the Aeon of Elation. The Aeon who causes chaos not for the sake of it, but for joy in the face of fleeting moments before the eventual end of the universe, THEY are the true embodiment of carpe diem.
And for this reason: when in doubt, blame Aha.
“Hoh? And for what reason would THEY be interested in you?”
“I am equally confused, but if I have to guess, it’s because…” I paused and looked at her.
“Just say it already. I will let you know that it’s dangerous to waste a genius’s precious time.” She said, raising an eyebrow.
I let out a resigned sigh and continued.
“I believe that Aeon was interested in me because I received a vision from the Finality.” I ‘confessed’, revealing a hint of nervousness and of mystery in my voice. “I caught glimpses of what the Stellaron Hunters call the ‘Script’...and learned of the possible futures.”
This was a risky move, mostly because I had no idea where I was situated in the timeline, but I had to take the gamble.
“So you’ve seen the future, yet you didn’t foresee your own encounter with the Masked Fools or your eventual teleportation?”
“It’s exactly as you have said, Madam Herta.” I didn’t deny her accusation. “What I saw was just a fraction of the complete picture, and there are many things that I still need to decipher. However, I’ve come to discover that my destiny was pointing towards you, Madam Herta, and shows that I’ll be useful in future. And I accidentally came across some things about you.”
“Heh, spoken like a true charlatan.” Herta laughed as if I had told her the greatest joke. “Can you back up your claims?”
“Of course.” Thanks to the Great Sage, my memory was greatly improved, which allowed me to recall many facts about the genius in front of me. “Madam Herta, your feats are known by every corner of the universe—”
“Just cut the chase already.”
“—And I am sure that the fact you’ve sealed a Stellaron is known by many, but do they know that you’ve got it contained in that space station of yours? By now, it should be inside the grey-haired one of the Namesless of the Astral Express, right?”
“Huphm, not bad at all.” Herta dismissed her want and put one of her hands on her hips, while the other raised two fingers. “But you’ve got two facts wrong.”
‘I did?’ I frowned and felt something wasn’t right.
“One, the Stellaron is still in my possession on the space station. Two, the Astral Express you speak of has only become active recently, and the last time they stopped at the station, there wasn’t a single crew member with grey hair.” Herta chuckled as she walked forward, stopping right in front of me.
If it weren’t for the Great Sage controlling my reactions, my real emotions would be showing right now…and that would be very bad for me.
‘If she’s telling the truth, then that means Himeko has only recently repaired the Astral Express… which means I’m years before canon!’
“However,” She continued. “The Stellaron’s location isn’t something I shared with anyone about, and there are enough countermeasures for any prying eyes. So that leaves two possibilities: either you’re the greatest Fool who managed to deceive a genius, or you’re telling the truth.” She crossed her arms. “But even if it’s true, that isn’t a reason enough for me to take you in.”
“I promise I’ll be useful.” I placed a hand over my heart and bowed slightly.
“...”
Herta stared at me silently for a moment before letting out a sigh.
“Fine. I’ll keep you as an experiment. Whether it’s a short one or a long one will depend entirely on your performance.”
Just then, a group of Herta puppets marched into the scene.
“Take him away and find him a place to stay for now. Then assign him any assignment from the list.” She sighed again and turned away. “I’ll be going now. I’ll contact you through them. And if you need anything, just ask them.”
And just like that, the genius vanished.
‘I survived…’ I let out a silent breath of relief, celebrating in my mind…until I felt a finger poke my cheek.
“For someone who attracted an Aeon’s interest, you don’t look that special.” Said Herta puppet #1.
“At least you are somewhat pleasant to the eye.” Said Herta puppet #2.
“You should be thanking Madam Herta for her generosity.” Said Herta puppet #3.
“Hey! Don’t just stand there like a statue. Madam Herta has selected assignments specifically for you! You better not disappoint her!” Said Herta puppet #4.
‘Didn’t she just say ‘any’ assignment?’ I wanted to point it out, but held my tongue and followed them.
“Understood, Madam Herta. I’ll complete them as soon as possible.”
Man… I really hope I don’t end up on a dissection table later.